Living Like You're Dead

The car was driving along the road, how many miles had passed? Addie didn't know. She rested her head comfortably on soft fabric, no, someone. She sat up, dazed to find herself in the passenger seat of the black jeep. She held her hand over her eyes. The fall had caused her to land on her head, and it hurt, she reached her hand back and felt a crust of what was sure to be dried blood.

"You hit pretty hard." Daryl said.

"Obviously." she said back. "But - thank you."

"No thank you needed. Just killin' one geek after the next." Addie's heart jumped a little, Alex, he was dead.

"So he's dead?"

"Yep wasn't moving when we left." then the stab of fear krept back into her stomach.

"You didn't by chance... rip off his head did you?"

"No... smashed him into stew...the usual." he said with a raised eyebrow.

"Then he isn't dead."

"What'do you mean?"

"He's the reason I'm in a hurry."

"Okay - well we've got a long car ride you wanna explain?"

"His blood was mutated. And the virus can regenerate using useless cells in the body. He'll be slower - but he'll be up and around eventually."

"Yer telling' me some geek out there has superman blood?"

"What? - I - no. What controls them is a virus - diseases they mutate - change to better fit their environment, and their host. Why do walkers get killed?"

"Well for one they're slow.."

"Exactly - survival tip number one - move faster, so the disease made them faster."

"What the fuck, that's a lie."

"I wish it was." They sat in silence for a long time. The air blowing across their faces. Adeline's dark curls washed over her face. Her reflection in the glass was repulsing. Dirt covered her face except for where tears had wash some away. Her once blue eyes were riddled with red, and blood had run down her neck. She lifted her shirt to see her ribs, each one seemed to have taken damage since each rib was a deep purple. The still hurt when she turned left or right - she just prayed none of them were broken.

"I didn't mean to hit ya." he said. For a moment Daryl thought about when the front of his car collided with Adeline. He thought she was a walker, but something was different about her - but even though he tried to brake it wouldn't have stopped in time.

Silence still filled the car.

"So where'd you get that pretty ring in your pocket?" Daryl asked.
"From the same man that attacked me." Adeline said.
______________________________________________________________________

"You have pretty hair." a little girl said. Adeline looked down at the small girl - maybe eight or nine.

"What's your name?" Addie asked.

"Sophia." she smiled.

"Sophia..." she said dragging our the s and the ph sound. "That's my mothers name."

"Was she pretty like you?" she asked still smiling.

"Even prettier she replied." They had stopped to siphon gas from some surrounding cars.
They seemed to be parked and in good condition - women were taking potty brakes, scavenging for any supplies.

"May I see your hair?" Addie asked Sophia. She nodded in response, following with a smile. She seemed as though she was about to explode from excitement. Adeline took half of Sophia's hair and french braided it from the top to the bottom securing it with the tie from her own hair, she repeated the same process to the other side this time having to secure the bottom with some string. Sophia held up each braid looking at them,

"Now don't take them out till tomorrow morning." Addie said. Sophia nodded and skipped back to the RV where her mother was calling her, Addie turned towards the Jeep and caught Daryl's eye. For a moment she decided the RV was where she should go - but then Daryl opened up the side door and motioned for her to join him.