In the Shallows

The whole way back, I couldn't stop thinking about what Daryl could have possibly meant by what he said earlier. I was never one to dwell on things but this one just wouldn't leave my head, If I lost you, I'll never make it. You'd be fine without me, Lex. I'd be an emotional wreck if something ever happened to him, I would be mentally unstable. I wouldn't want to go on and I know that was a little dramatic, believe me, I know. But, ever since I could remember I always had Daryl or Merle around me, it gave me slight anxiety when Merle had disappeared but it was very minimal. Merle and I didn't quite get along too much after I got a little bit older. But, he was still like family, even if I didn't want to admit it.

When I finally snapped out of my head, I was shocked to find that we were already back on the Greene farm, had I really been that consumed in my thoughts that I didn't remember the walk from that house to here? I shrugged it off and walked into the RV, my body slowing it's pace as I looked around the place. It was spotless. Daryl raised an eyebrow as he looked around, shocked by it all too. I let him walk ahead of me, he had the Cherokee Rose in a beer bottle and I was urging him to go give it to her.

Carol looked up from her needle work, "I cleaned up. Wanted it to be nice for her."

Daryl nodded, chewing a piece of straw in between his lips, "For a second I thought I was in the wrong place." It kind of warmed my heart to know he had taken a liking to her, I didn't know if it was the fire inside of him to search for Sophia or if he just recognized the broken and damaged person she was. I knew the horrors of Daryl's beatings from his father, I had even witnessed a few. I had a few scars of my own for the times that Daryl and Merle couldn't shield me. Damaged people always gravitated towards damaged people and this was no exception. Daryl placed the bottle on the little counter top in front of Carol, giving her a small smile.

Carol raised an eyebrow, "A flower?" She questioned.

He took the straw out of his mouth, and motioned towards it, "It's a Cherokee Rose." Daryl let a small sigh escape his lips as she gave him a questionable look, "The story is that when American soldiers were movin' Indians off their land on the trail of tears, the Cherokee mothers were grievin' and cryin' so much 'cause they were losin' their little ones along the way, from exposure and disese and starvation." Daryl's tone sent shivers down my spine, these kind of moments were the moments I wished everyone could see. "A lot of them just disappeared, so the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next this rose started to grow right where the mothers' tears fell." Daryl looked away and down at his hands, "I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers bloomin' for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for ya little girl."

Carol wiped away tears and if it weren't for the fact I already knew the story behind those flowers, I probably would have cried too. She smiled through her tears and gave a soft and short laugh. Daryl nodded and headed back towards the door, patting my side to motion me along with him. We were just about to leave when he stopped and looked back towards Carol, "She's gonna really like it in here."

I gave a soft smile and rubbed his shoulder as we walked out the RV, turning around to close the door behind me, "That was sweet."

He grunted, "Whatever."

I sighed, but dropped it. I walked into our makeshift camp area and asked them if they needed any help. It was probably best if I kept my distance for the rest of the night, I still had a swirl of thoughts running through my mind and I didn't want to over think it around him. Like he's said time after time, I'm easy to read. And the idea of those words still floating around in my head would probably result in him getting absolutely pissed off and then words would be said and then I wouldn't talk to him and so forth the cycle would begin. I ended up helping by tidying the place up and organizing the many things we each had in our packs. I sat in one of the fold up chairs and wrapped a blanket around me as I watched the fire dwindle down to nothing, I liked fire, it was so pretty and everything you fed to it, it would grow. But the less you fed it the smaller it got. It reminded me almost like friendships, although, in this world now, it was less of a chance for people to walk away. We all needed each other, we all had skills that one or the other didn't have and together we made a solid group, but I had a feeling that something was going to go terribly wrong and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I hadn't even realized that I had slept all through the night in the fold up chair, and it was even worse when everyone started coming out of their tents with raised eyebrow and the obvious question of whether or not I slept outside all night. I sighed and stretched out the kinks in my neck and straightened up. I walked over towards Carol and helped her with laundry, it was quite peaceful and I enjoyed it. I loved nature and hearing the birds chirp and sing their morning song gave me a sense of knowing that maybe things would be okay.

I looked up as Lori came from her tent and started going on about how she couldn't believe she slept in, I tuned their conversation out of my head, trying to focus on the birds and the leaves swaying again. Eventually it was just hard to drown out their voices and I just listened quietly until Rick called out, "Morning, guys, let's get going. We got a lot of ground to cover." All of the people that were going out to help look for Sophia, huddled by the car, peering over the map that was sprawled out across the hood, "All right, everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl and Alex found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far."

We all looked up as a teenage boy made his way towards us, "I'd like to help," he had to be no younger than seventeen, "I know the area pretty well and stuff."

Rick rose an eyebrow, "Hershel's okay with this?"

The kid nodded, "Yeah yeah. He said I should ask you."

He nodded, "All right then, thanks."

Shane spoke up, his voice husky and rough, "Nothing about what Daryl and Alex found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

Andrea was quick to respond, "Anybody includes her, right?"

Daryl nodded, looking over at me, "Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high."

Andrea nodded, "It's a good lead."

Rick cleared his throat, "Maybe we'll pick up her trail again."

Daryl looked over at the map, "No maybe about it, I'm gonna borrow a horse." He pointed, "Head up to this ridge right here, take a birds-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."
"Good idea, maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too." T-Dog joked.

Rick raised an eyebrow, "Chupacabra?"

I groaned, giving Rick a look, "Oh dear lord, you haven't heard this story?" I flickered a smirked towards Daryl, "Swears up and down he saw one but I'm telling you it was a wolf with mange."

Dale came over and set the weapons bag down on the hood of the car, chuckling, "Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time he went squirrel hunting with Alex and he saw a Chupacabra"

The kid chuckled and Daryl was quick to catch that, "What are ya braying at, jackass?" I quickly nudged him with my hip and gave him a stern look, this kid was still a kid and if the kid wanted to retaliate then so be it. But, I wasn't going to have Daryl making the first move.

The kid shrugged, "So you believe in a blood sucking dog?"

Daryl itched his nose and then shrugged his shoulders back, mimicking his actions, "Do you believe in dead people walking 'round?"

The kid ignored him and reached for the rifle but not before Rick stopped him, "Hey hey. Ever fire one before?"

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one."

Daryl scoffed as he placed his crossbow over onto his back, "Yeah and people in hell want slurpees."

I couldn't but snort back a laugh, I covered my hand with my mouth and pressed my lips, "Sorry."

"You comin', Lex?"

I pressed my lips again, shaking my head, "Not on this one. I don't like horses and horses don't like me. I'll go wherever Rick needs me but not with you."

He scoffed, shaking his head too, "All 'cause of one time. Get over it, Lex. Not all horses are like that one."

I squinted my eyes, "It straight up bucked me off of him and then proceeded to almost kill me. I think it's fair enough if I say no."

Daryl shrugged and continued on, "Well, alright then." He called out.

I rolled my eyes and then turned towards Shane who called out to the kid, "Why don't you come train tomorrow? If you're serious, I'm a certified instructor and Alex here may not be certified but she can make one hell of a shoot."

Andrea puckered her lips and gave the kid a small smile, "For now he can come with us."

Shane scoffed, "He's yours to babysit then."