Fighter

“Did you find her?” Carol asked, as soon as she could see Shane, Glenn and Isabell appear through the trees.

Isabell sighed and shook her head. She could see the fear that flashed stronger across Carol’s face. “Daryl and Rick are still out there. They are going to do whatever they can to find her. And we’ll scavenge this whole forest if we have to.” Isabell moved next to Carol and put a comforting arm on her elbow. “Daryl will find her.”

“Daryl? What makes you so sure that he actually cares?”

Isabell let out a gust of air. “He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who wouldn’t. There’s a lot about him you don’t know. He’d do anything for me. For you and that little girl. You’re a part of our family now.”

Carol, not knowing what to say, turned back to the trees, hoping that her daughter would come through them.

“They’ll find her. Don’t lose home.”

Carol nodded.

“I’m gonna go help Dale. Do you wanna come?”

Carol shook her head. “I’ll wait here.”

Isabell nodded and walked towards the RV.

Dale was messing with the grill. “Anything?”

“No, but Daryl and Rick are out looking.”

“Daryl?” Dale questioned. He was unsure Daryl was the one who would be out there willinging, just like the others.

“Yes, Daryl. Do you people really think he’s that terrible of a person?”

“We just don’t know him to help out.”

“Well, yes. Daryl is out there. He’s gon’ find her.”

“You’re so sure.” Dale pointed out, putting down the couple tools he had in his hand.

“I trust him. I know him. More than anyone. Even more than his brother did.” Isabell insisted.

Dale nodded, taking that as the truth.

“Do you need any help?” Isabell asked, getting off of the subject of Daryl.

Dale nodded again. The two worked at the engine for a while.

Shane and Andrea were moving some of the cars out of the way so that the group could get through when they found Sophia and it was time to clear out.

Carol walked over to Dale and Isabell, looking impatient. “Why aren’t we all out there looking?” She asked the two. “Why are we moving cars?”

“We have to clear enough room so I can get the RV turned around as soon as it’s running.” Dale explained. “Now that we have the fuel we can double back to a bypass that Glenn found on the map.”

Shane came up and spoke. “Going back’s going to be easier than trying to get through this mess.”

“We’re not going anywhere ‘til my daughter gets back.” Carol stressed.

“Of course. We’ll stay here. We wouldn’t think about leaving without Sophia.” Isabell promised.

“Rick and Daryl, they’re on it, okay?” Shane rationalized. What was left of the group gathered around Carol and Shane. “Just a matter of time.”

“Can’t be soon enough for me.” Andrea complained, throwing a water bottle in Glenn’s direction. “I’m still freaked out from that herd that passed us by.”

Carol shook her head and walked out of the group.

Isabell joined her, not wanting to hear Andrea complain about how shitty her life is. Isabell started to dig through a few more cars, scavenging what she could, anything she thought would be useful along the way. She needed to find something to get Sophia off of her mind. Thinking about the missing girl would drive her crazy. It’s amazing how she was connected to the girl only knowing her for a short while.

After about an hour of searching through cars, she heard a car start up. The next sound was a radio, which confused her. She walked over to where she heard the noise and saw the group had gathered around a car Shane was sitting in.

“The Office of Civil Defense has been issued the following message: Normal broadcasting will cease immediately. This is a civil emergency.”

“Is that a local signal?” Glenn asked aloud.

“It’s got to be within fifty miles of here.” Dale guessed.

“Avoid anyone infected at all costs. Remain calm. Help is on the way. The emergency alert system has been activated.” The recording started to repeat itself.

Shane reached in and turned off the car. “Asshole.” He said to the radio. “Okay, let’s get back to work.” Shane said, hitting the top of the car.

Isabell hadn’t found anything in the cars that she wanted for her or Daryl. She decided to stop looking and take a break for a while. She joined Carol by sitting on the guardrail next to where she stood. “How’re you holding up?” She asked her.

Carol shrugged, not looking in Isabell’s direction.

“I told you that they’ll find her. We won’t stop looking until we do.”

Carol nodded. The two sat in silence for a long time. Sitting around didn’t keep the time from going any faster. It seemed to drag on.

Isabell didn’t want to leave Carol alone again. She didn’t know if Carol would get restless and run into the woods alone. The sky started to change colors and then darken.

Andrea came up to the two and put a hand on Carol’s shoulder.

Carol noticed her approach and looked in her direction. “It’s late.” Carol said. “Gonna be dark soon.”

“They’ll find her.” Andrea insisted.

Carol nodded before Andrea walked away.

“Carol, I’m sorry.” Isabell said, once Andrea was out of earshot. “I should’ve grabbed Sophia. Not Carl. If I had just taken an extra step to her…” Isabell trailed off.

Carol wouldn’t look at her.

Isabell didn’t know how else to get her to talk. “I know what you’re going through, Carol. I know the pain that you’re feeling. And it’s all my fault.”

“Like hell you know.” Carol responded spitefully.

Isabell furrowed her brow and looked up at Carol with a confused expression on her face. “What?”

“You have no idea how it is to lose a child.” Carol explained. “My only daughter is gone. Lost in the woods. With no one. You can’t know how that feels.”

Isabell stood from her spot on the guardrail. She wanted to scream. Isabell wanted to yell at Carol, but it wouldn’t help anything. “No, I guess you’re right.” She said softly. “I don’t know what it feels like to have a daughter lost in the woods. But it’s only because my daughter would’ve found her way back.” Isabell snapped before she walked away from the group, father down the highway.
Glenn was hurrying towards Carol.

Isabell hid herself behind the RV. She sat on the ground and leaned against one of the tires, pulling her knees to her chest. Isabell put her head down, hoping to drown out the sounds of everyone talking. She breathed deeply, focusing on the sounds around her. Birds, wind, and trees.

“Isabell.” A voice said next to her.

Isabell tilted her head to the side to see Daryl standing next to her.

“Wha’s wrong?”

“I tried to apologize.” Isabell explained. “For grabbing Carl instead of Sophia. She wouldn’t hear it, no matter what I said. I tried to sympathize with her. Told her I know how she feels and she denied that I did.”

Daryl scoffed, leaning his crossbow up against the RV.

“She told me I didn’t know what it was like to have a daughter lost in the woods. I told her that my daughter would have found her way back.” Isabell hid her face between her legs. She felt Daryl shift and move to sit down beside her.

“Yeah, she would’ve. You’d’ve taught her not ta be scared. I’d’ve made sure she knew her way ‘round a forest.” Daryl admitted.

Isabell shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Carol’s just upset.” Daryl reasoned. “Mad at herself for not bein’ there. Tryin’ to fin’ someone else ta blame so she don’ have ta feel bad for that, too.”

“I should’ve grabbed her through. I promised that I would look after Sophia. I didn’t. I grabbed Carl.”

“You grabbed a kid.” Daryl defended. “That’s wha’ ya promised yerself. Take care o’ the kids. Yer only one person, Izzy. They’s two.”

“I coulda done it. I coulda pushed them under the same car. Sophia would be here with her mom. We wouldn’t be in this mess, on a completely unsafe highway. We’d be movin’ on.”

“Damn it, Iz. I can’t comfort ya if yer not willin’ to see another side o’ the story.”

Isabell picked her head up from her legs and looked to Daryl.

Daryl sighed. “Ya did what ya had to. There wasn’t nothin’ else that could be done. She just didn’t know her way in the woods. But I’m gonna find her. I promise. I promise you and I promised Carol. We’re gonna go back out tomorrow. In larger groups. Spread around. Rick put me in charge of the search party.”

“That’s the smartest thing that man has done since I’ve been around.” Isabell joked.

The two sat for a moment before Daryl spoke again. “Ya better now?”

“As good as I can be. Just make sure that we don’t leave until we find her.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

!@#$#@!

Early in the morning, Daryl was up before the sun. He wanted to get out and start searching so they could find the little girl. Daryl was just as worried as everyone else was. He was worried about the girl and about Isabell. Daryl had seen Isabell’s attachment to Sophia coming the second Isabell saw the little girl at the camp. Now it was his job to make Isabell feel better again. That meant finding Sophia, no matter how long it took.

The group gathered around a car as Rick took a sleeve of weapons and unrolled it on a car. The sleeve had knives and other sharp objects that they’d use instead of using guns. “Everyone take a weapon.” Rick ordered.

Isabell stood off to the side, not needing one. She adjusted her bow that was around her body.

“These aren’t the kind of weapons we need.” Andrea complained. “What about the guns?”

“We’ve been over there.” Shane spoke from the RV. He earned the attention of the group. “Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying.”

Isabell looked to Daryl, questioningly. He’d failed to mention that to her. Not that she minded, but it was almost like Daryl was finding a place in the group.

“We can’t have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles.” Shane stated.

“It’s not the trees I’m worried about.” Andrea muttered.

“Say someone fires at the wrong moment. A herd happens to be passing by. See then, it’s game over for all of us.” Shane explained. “So you need to get over it.”

Isabell stifled a chuckle at Shane’s words. He’d just done something Isabell’s been wanting to do since Andrea came out of the CDC complaining about her life.

Daryl spoke next. “The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are she’ll be by the creek. It’s her only landmark.” Daryl and Isabell started to walk to the edge of the trees as Rick began explaining more of what was going to happen in the search party.

Isabell sighed as she and Daryl stopped next to the tree line. “I’m about done with her complainin’ shit. She’s gonna get an arrow to the head in a second.” Isabell said.

Daryl chuckled quietly. “You don’t know how to get along without a gun in this world, you might as well kill yourself now.”

“Guess.” Daryl agreed.

“I mean, I know not everyone had our childhood where we learned this stuff, but she should at least try to adapt.” Isabell let out a breath again. “Dale was right. Takin’ her gun.”

Daryl nodded. “You ready for a hike?” Dale asked, changing the subject.

“Aren’t I always.” Isabell countered. “I’m just ready to find her and get off the highway.”

The group got together again at the treeline and started off. Daryl led everyone through the trees.

Isabell was closer to the middle of the line behind Glenn and in front of Carl. She wasn’t happy that the kid was coming, but she had to make sure that he was well looked after. Isabell didn’t want him running off like Sophia did. She would much rather be by Daryl since she still hadn’t learned to fully trust the rest of the group.

“Shane, look!” Carl said.

Isabell turned her head to see Carl walking out of his place in line to walk next to Shane.

Carl was showing off his knife to the deputy. “Dad said I could carry it and Mom said as long as I was - ”

“Keep it down.” Shane interrupted. “We’re looking for Sophia.”

Isabell furrowed her brow.

Shane was bitter about Lori going back to Rick.

Isabell rolled her eyes when she had figured it out.

“You need to focus on the task.”

Lori turned back to see Carl looking upset that Shane had just blown him off. “Gotta keep up.” Lori said to Carl, pushing him along away from Shane, but still eyeing the older man.

“I know.”

Isabell sighed. “Carl, dude. Let me see that.” She said, feigning excitement for the kid’s sake.

Carl slowly caught up to the blonde and held out his knife for her to see.

“That’s so cool. It’s bigger than mine.” Isabell said, pulling her smaller knife out of her boot to show him.

“I think Shane’s mad at me.” Carl said.

Isabell knew he was upset. She hadn’t known how Shane acted around the kid before Rick was reunited with his family, but she was sure it was better than he was now.

“Did I do something wrong?” Carl asked.

“No, bud. You didn’t.” Isabell told him. “We’re all just on edge from Sophia goin’ missin’.”

The group came upon a tent in the woods. Everyone became quiet as they slowly approached, not sure of what could pop out of it.

Shane, Rick, Daryl, and Isabell all readied their weapons towards the tent as a precaution.

“She could be in there.” Shane pointed out.

“Could be a whole bunch of things in there.” Daryl counted, moving closer to the tent with his crossbow raised.

Rick, Shane, and Isabell got up to move closer to the ten after him. The rest stayed behind.

Daryl signalled that he was moving towards the tent and for the the rest of who followed to stay where they were. He pulled his knife out and sidestepped towards the campground. Daryl walked around the tent to see if he could get a glance into it, but he couldn’t without making too much noise. He shrugged to the three others standing by.

Rick turned back to the group and quietly called Carol over.

Carol joined by his side quickly, but quietly, and the others followed.

“Call our softly.” Rick instructed. “If she’s in there, yours is the first voice she should hear.”

Carol nodded and timidly spoke up.”Sophia, sweetie. Are you in there?”

The group waited.

“Sophia, it’s Mommy.”

Still nothing.

“Sophia. We’re all here, baby. Isabell, too.”

Isabell was shocked Carol made mention of her name. She didn’t think the woman would ever talk to her again. Isabell looked to Rick, who nodded. “Sophia?” Isabell called. She waited a moment before speaking again. “Marco?” She waited for the ‘polo’ response, but heard nothing. Isabell sighed.

Rick and Shane moved forward towards Daryl and the tent.

Carol reached for Isabell for her comfort, and Isabell put an arm around the older woman.

Daryl started to unzip the tent. He opened the tent, peeked inside, and turned back to cough away the stench.

Isabell was getting anxious since the men weren’t saying anything, they were only coughing. “Daryl?” she called.

Daryl didn’t respond.

“Dammit, Daryl, come out.”

Daryl stepped out of the tent, quickly. “It ain’t her.”

That was all Isabell needed to hear.

!@#$#@!

Night of the Breakout

“It’s too quiet in here.” Isabell said to Daryl as she threw herself onto the couch on top of him.
Daryl grunted against the force.

“Play some loud music or something.”

“Iz, we ain’t had quiet in a long time. You wanted it quiet.” He explained. “We needed quiet for a weekend.”

“I know, but now I don’t want it. I need chaos again. Where in hell is Merle when you need him?”

Daryl groaned and picked himself and Isabell up off the couch.

Isabell squealed in delight, feeling weightless.

“We don’t need Merle. We don’t need noise.” Daryl explained. He carried her off to his bedroom and gently threw her on the bed. “We need ta relax.” He said, as he sat down next to her.

Isabell looked up at him in confusion.

Daryl smirked. “Lay on yer stomach.” he said.

Isabell smiled, knowing what was coming. She pulled her shirt over her head and stripped off her bra.

After laying down on her stomach, Daryl straddled her, hovering over her butt. His hands quickly wrapped themselves around her shoulders, pushing in places where he knew she would relax instantly.

Isabell closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his hands pushing the knots right out of her back. Every now and then she would feel a pop and moan into the sheet. “You were right, D. It’s been a while since we’ve had time for this.”

“Shuddup.” Daryl ordered jokingly.

Isabell laughed. “Yessir.”

Daryl leaned over her and began pressing kisses to her back that gave her chills.

Isabell would shudder every time his lips touched her back. She would moan when she felt his teeth nip her. Isabell didn’t want him to hold back anymore. “Daryl?” She called.

Daryl sat up. “Wha?” he asked.

Isabell quickly flipped over underneath him, grazing herself against him.

Daryl hissed at the contact. “Wha’ are you doin’?”

“Shut up.” She said, as she pulled him down to her by his shirt. The two quickly got lost in each other and Isabell hadn’t complained about it being quiet again.

Once the two had their fun, Daryl quickly fell asleep next to Isabell.

Isabell felt as if she would have trouble sleeping tonight. She opted for turning on the tv on a low volume. It was already on a news channel. The picture on the screen was of a city in rubbage. there were fires in every corner of the screen. Isabell watched in horror as the people of the city were running across the screen, shouting and screaming for their lives and others were moving at a slower pace. The name of the city flashed across the screen.

Isabell’s eyes went wide when it clicked in her brain. “Daryl!” she shouted to get him awake. She crawled out of bed and started to get dressed as quickly as she could. “Daryl, wake up!”

Daryl groggily opened his eyes and cussed at her.

“Daryl, look at the fucking tv.” She ordered, pulling her shirt over her head, a few tears burning her eyes.

Daryl turned his head. “Fire?”

“She’s there, Daryl. She’s in the city tonight.”

“Who?”

Isabell’s voice cracked. “Harley.”