Entombed

“You ready to go?” Daryl asked me the next morning. I was in the stables, pulling out a horse and brushing its mane. He had Nelly by the reins and was already walking out of the stables. His crossbow was over his shoulder and his pace indicated that he was in a hurry.

“Wait!” I said, throwing down the brush and dragging the horse with me. “You can’t take Nelly. She doesn’t know you.”

“Don’t care,” Daryl replied. “We’ve gotta find this girl. That’s all I care about.”

“Nelly’s going to throw you off if you do something wrong,” I warned him. “It’s best if you trade horses with me.”

We crossed onto the dirt road and he shook his head. “No,” he said. “I can handle her.”

A moment of silence passed between us and I cleared my throat. “So, finding this girl really does mean everything to you?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Why?”

“Is Carol--the girl’s mother--your wife?”

Daryl laughed and shook his head again. “You crazy? Carol ain’t my wife.”

I smiled in embarrassment. “Then why does it mean so much to you?”

He stopped in front of the edge of the woods and turned around. He stepped up to me and I could smell his shirt that reeked of sweat. “Because she’s a little girl... No one deserves to get lost out there like that.” He faced forward and continued walking with Nelly. “It could have been Rick’s kid and I would still be looking as much as I am now.”

“I respect your dedication.”

“Thanks,” he said, hopping up onto Nelly. “You take the west. Should be safer on that side.”

“I’ll go with you,” I offered. “I’m worried that Nelly will hurt you.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said before speeding off.

I sighed and climbed up onto my horse, riding in the opposite direction. I took my time and weaved through the woods, searching for any lost items that could’ve belonged to this little girl. Like I expected, I found nothing. The search was starting to go awry. I’d rather find the girl dead, to be honest. It was an awful thing to think, but the condition the world was in was no place for children. I felt awful for them, having to be dragged around while being so confused about whether they’ll be okay or not.

Sophia was the girl’s name. Just by hearing her name, she sounded like a sweet girl. Her mother was the one who obviously taught Sophia her mannerisms, so she must have been shy, too. I overheard Carol talking to Lori about “Ed”--whom I assumed was her husband--and how he hardly did a thing in their household.

I scouted further and further into the woods and came across nothing. Daryl had sent me to the boring side. No abandoned buildings or tents--just trees. I looked up, doubting that Sophia would be in a tree. And I was right to doubt it. The only thing I saw in the trees above were dry leaves that were withering away from the branches.

I circled the area, through and through, twice before I decided to head back. It should have been close to two in the afternoon by the time I got back.

When I reached the farm, Rick’s group was already back--with no results. I hurried into the stables and put the horse back for resting. They asked me if I had anything but I just shook my head. “Where’s Daryl?” I asked. “Is he back yet?”

“One of the horses came back on its own a few minutes ago,” Rick said.

I stared at him for a moment and then burst into laughter. They all looked baffled and I was sure they thought I had gone crazy from the heat. “What’re you laughin’ at?” Shane asked.

I forced myself to stop. “I’m so sorry... It’s just that I warned him that Nelly would throw him off, but he didn’t listen to me.”

Rick and a few others--except for Shane--chuckled. “That sounds like Daryl,” Rick said. “I’m sure he’s walking back by now. He’ll be fine.”

We all stopped for a rest and took up some chores to do around the property. I was carrying some firewood into the group’s camp and passed behind the RV. I heard Glenn’s voice and immediately stopped.

He had been asking if all the women were on their periods, because apparently, when a group of women spent a lot of time together, their cycles lined up. I covered my mouth to muffle my laugh and listened in further.

He brought up the subject of he and Maggie going for a supplies run the day before and how sex had been an option for them. Dale was appalled and asked Glenn if he actually had sex with Maggie. A few seconds later, Dale asked Glenn what he was thinking and what Hershel would think about that.

“I was thinking that I could die tomorrow,” Glenn said. He mumbled something about a book and then his footsteps exited the RV.

I quickened my pace towards the camp and ran into him as soon as I came around the corner of the RV. The firewood fell onto my feet and I immediately kneeled down to pick it up.

“I’m sorry,” Glenn said. “I didn’t hear you walking.”

“It’s okay,” I replied, shoveling the firewood into my arms. I hurried past him and could feel him staring at me as I walked away. I’m sure he was wondering what was wrong.

I was jealous.

--

Daryl had returned--but not without getting shot at.

He had emerged from the woods, walking in a strange manner. Rick, Shane, Glenn, and the one who called himself “T-Dog” ran out to him, mistaking him for a walker. Andrea begged for them to let her shoot it from the RV, but they denied her.

Still, she fired and the apparent “walker” fell to the ground.

When Rick started shouting, that was when everyone else realized it wasn’t a walker--it was Daryl. I glared up at Andrea and shook my head. She was such a stubborn bitch.

“Why didn’t you just listen to Rick?” I called up to her.

She turned to me, her face full of distress. “I... I didn’t know. There was a glare in the lens.”

“Then you shouldn’t have taken the shot,” I argued before running towards the group of men in the field. They were dragging Daryl through the grass. He appeared to be dead.

“Shit,” I hissed. “Don’t tell me he’s gone.”

Andrea and Dale were right behind me as we reached them. “Is he dead?” Andrea asked. Her voice cracked and she sounded as though she were about to cry.

“You just grazed him,” Rick said as he and Shane hauled Daryl forward. “He’s fine.”

“Hey!” T-Dog called. We all turned and saw a dirty doll in his hand. “Isn’t this Sophia’s?”

--

The women from Rick’s camp offered to make us dinner. They’d been working for hours and the dining table was full. The overall atmosphere was silent and awkward. Beth, Maggie, Glenn, Jimmy, and I were placed at a separate, smaller table next to the main dining table. There weren’t enough seats for all of us--a first in Hershel’s life.

I looked at Maggie and saw her looking towards the floor. She moved her arm and suddenly, Glenn jolted slightly in his seat and looked into his lap. I wanted to roll my eyes. Were they passing a childish love note or was Maggie grabbing Glenn?

Jealously burned inside of me like a growing campfire and I wanted to clear my throat so I could interrupt their little moment. But I couldn’t bring myself to do such a thing.

The noisy sound of a piece of paper unfolding sounded throughout the room and people at the main dining table looked over. Glenn was noisily scribbling onto the piece of paper like a hormonal teenage boy that got his first love note.

Maggie looked over at me and I rose an eyebrow. She shook her head, telling me to not ask or say anything about it.

To my dismay, I complied.

--

The women, naturally, cleaned up the kitchen while the men went back to chores or relaxed outside. It took a little under an hour to clean up everything and we were putting away dishes when I decided I needed to talk to Maggie. I needed to tell her what I thought about Shane and that I was considering an accusation against him.

She was standing at the china cabinet, unfolding the letter when I approached her.

“Maggie,” I said. “I need to talk to you.”

She shoved the piece of paper behind her back and asked me what I wanted to talk about.

“I need to talk to you about one of the men from Rick’s group--”

“Hold on,” she said. She started reading the note again.

“Can you set aside your love note for just a second?” I asked angrily. “This is important.”

She fled out of the dining room and the front door flew open. I stared as the screen door slammed shut, wondering what the hell just happened.

I followed her path and saw her running towards the barn. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion until I had figured it out--Glenn was waiting for her there so they could hook up again.

“Fuck,” I whispered. I took hesitant steps forward before stopping myself. This situation wasn’t any of my business.

Maggie could deal with it herself.