From the Shadows

The small girl was filthy and gaunt. Her eyes were dark from exhaustion, but she was alive. The group had all but lost hope in regards to Sophia's whereabouts and safety. Teagan bent down on her knees in front of the terrified girl, and tried to calm her. Sophia screeched, and pointed behind Teagan. She was fast, and noticed it was a walker staggering and moaning behind her. She stood, stabbed it's head, and it fell to the floor with a loud thunk. Thick, dark blood began to ooze from the wound. She recognized the corpse as one of the four she had killed the last time she was here. Should have finished the job.

​​Teagan knelt back down in front of the girl, giving her plenty of space. “Sophia, is that you?”

​​The little girl started to cry, but nodded. “Y-yeah. Who are you?”

​​“I'm Teagan. I was with your group. Rick and Daryl... your mom, too.”

​​Sophia smiled and jumped and ran to Teagan, hugging her tight. Teagan hugged back, and the two let go. “Are you hungry?” Sophia nodded vigorously, and Teagan handed her several granola bars, as well as a water bottle.

​​“In a few, I'm going to take you back to the group. Are you okay to walk?” Sophia nodded and chewed simultaneously. After a few moments, Teagan collected some of the supplies Sophia was utilizing, like blankets and towels. She also snuck into the room next door and dug for the key chain, but it wasn't there. She grew very upset, frantically searching through every drawer.

​​​​Sophia poked her head into the room, and observed the chaos. She spoke meekly. “Are you looking for this?” She held out the key chain.

​​Teagan took a sigh of relief. “Yes.”

​​“Who is... Cheyenne?” She struggled with the name, but promptly handed the key chain to Teagan.

​​“She was my mother. This is all I have left of her.”

​​Sophia looked down at her feet, but sprung up quickly. “Do you miss your mom?”

​​“Yes, I do.”

​​“I miss mine, too...” Sophia's voice grew sad.

​​“I'm bringing you back to her. Don't worry.”

​​Teagan decided it was best to rest up before bringing Sophia back to the farm. The next day, the two set off on their journey back to the farm. Teagan started to tell Sophia all about the farm. She talked about Hershel and his family, the garden and the horses. Sophia got really excited about the horses. “Their my favorite!” The journey home took longer, but that's because an exhausted child was tagging along. Teagan patiently waited and slowed her pace, making plenty of stops for Sophia to get a drink of water and catch her breath.

​​They reached the farm by midday. The sun was sweltering, but luckily the forest provided plenty of shade. In the distance, Teagan heard shouting, and recognized it as Shane's. She internally cowered. She had temporarily forgotten about him, and was regretful she had remembered. Teagan saw Shane going crazy, and decided to hold back in the forest to watch.

​​“What's going on?” whispered a frightened Sophia.

​​“I don't know. Let's wait. You'll see your mom soon. Don't worry.” She ruffled Sophia's hair, and instinctively held her close. They watched as Shane broke open the lock on the barn and stepped back. Half a dozen walkers staggered out of the doors. Teagan noticed two walkers with neck restraints already dead on the ground. What the hell is this? She looked at Sophia, and the girl nodded at her.

​​Teagan whispered, “Stay close behind me. We have to help.” She grabbed out her bow and quiver, and jogged towards the scene. Nobody noticed her, let alone Sophia. Teagan managed to strike down the very last walker, and when the group noticed it was an arrow, not a bullet, their heads spun towards her. At first, they didn't notice the thin and tiny girl cowering behind Teagan's comparatively larger frame. The faces in the crown were a mix of anger, anguish and confusion. Teagan reached behind her, and encouraged Sophia to show her face. Everyone's mouth dropped and Carol began to sob uncontrollably. She fell to her knees, and opened her arms. Sophia ran as fast as she could, and almost glided into her mother's arms. They held embrace, and everyone remained awkwardly silent from the series of events.

​​Carol was the first to speak. She held on to Sophia's hand tightly, but walked over to Teagan, thanking her repeatedly, hugging her tightly, and smiling. She knelt down and hugged her daughter again, afraid to let go. Shane and Andrea stormed off in a different direction. Hershel and his family mourned the dead on the ground. Rick and Glenn approached her, both happy to see her but curious as to her presence.

​​“Where did you find her?” Glenn voice was of a higher pitch than normal.

​​“In the house where you found me. She was holed up in one of the rooms. Went looking for something and found her.” Teagan hesitated about asking her next question. The carnage in front of the barn was unbelievable. This place had seemed so safe, so sacred, and now infected bodies littered the ground. “What exactly happened here?”

​​“The barn was full of walkers. Hershel thought they were sick and kept them around. Shane went nuts and, well, you know the rest.” Glenn spoke too fast, as if nervously giving a speech. Teagan simply nodded at the mention of Shane's lack of sanity.

​​Teagan couldn't believe the chaos that went down in a day. She left the peaceful farm, and came back to a distraught and seemingly broken living space. “Is everyone okay?”

​​“Everyone who was alive still is. Hershel and his family aren't all together, though. He had family in that barn...” Teagan swallowed hard. She couldn't imagine how Hershel felt, or the jeopardy Shane's irresponsibility placed on the group. Maybe I can talk to Hershel. Wait, why am I even getting involved? Teagan came out of her daze and shook her heard, and she realized Rick had asked her a question.

​​“Oh, uh, I'm sorry. What was that?”

​​“Do you plan on staying this time?”

​​Teagan knew the question was inevitable, but she hadn't really thought about it. She had sworn to herself to survive alone, that it was truly the best option for her. Maybe I've been so hellbent, I've been ignoring the facts... At the farm, there were more people to feed, to protect and worry about, but there were also more people to take responsibility, to help, and to defend. Teagan took in a deep sigh, and against her better judgment, made her decision.

​​“I'll stay. If all this shit happened in a day, I can't imagine what'd happen if I never returned.” She tried to joke, lighten up the mood of what had happened. Relief quickly spread over Rick and Glenn's face. With this decision, Teagan mentally listed off all the things she would need to take care of, when Maggie came bursting out the front door of the farmhouse.

​​“Daddy? Where's my dad? Have you seen 'im?”

​​Rick, Glenn and Teagan looked around in disbelief. No one had seen him leave, and no one knew where he'd be.

​​“Beth needs him. She passed out an' isn't moving.”

​​“When did he leave?” inquired Glenn.

​​“Not sure. Said he wanted some fresh air, but he hasn't come back. He might be at the town bar.”

​​“Didn't know he drank,” said Rick, raising an eyebrow and shifting his weight.

​​“He doesn't. Well, didn't. Gave it up when I was born.”

​​“We'll get a group going to go find him. Go help Beth.” Rick's leadership wasn't a surprise to anyone. He exchanged glances with Glenn and Teagan, both of whom nodded without needing to be asked a question. “Alright, let's head out soon. Grab what you'll need. Meet you in the car.”

​​While not on the bottom of her list, talking to Daryl was thing she was not looking forward to. They had left on bad terms, and she was afraid what he'd say, but she felt she needed to talk to him before she left to find Hershel. She meandered over to his tent area. Daryl had seen her come up, but ignored her, continuing with gathering his things in preparation for a hunt. Teagan stood back nervously, hands in her pockets and close to her body. She quietly watched Daryl putter around his campsite, grunting every so often. She was so quiet, he almost forgot she was there, until he turned his head and her figure remained in his peripheral vision. He had kind of hoped he had imagined her being there, but then he remembered Sophia's return, and how it had been Teagan who saved her. He abruptly stopped what he was doing, and quickly faced her. His strong and angry eyes made Teagan uncomfortable, but she shook the feeling and remained quiet, returning his gaze with less anger. Daryl's defense for being upset was to convert it to pure anger and intimidation. He tried to size Teagan up, puffing out his chest and taking heavy, long strides towards her. As expected, she held her ground.

​​“The hell ya doin' here? Ya ain't welcome.”

​​“Thought I'd let you know I decided to stay.”

​​Daryl scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Thought we was rid of ya fer good.”

​​Teagan knew Daryl aimed to hurt her with his words, so she didn't take it personally. His defense was to throw daggers at anything and everything. She could handle it. She met his eyes and simply waited for him to calm himself down. He backed off, swearing under his breath, and turned away.

​​“The hell ya want anyway?”

​​“Was heading into town. Hershel's missing. Need to go find him.”

​​Daryl scoffed and kicked the dirt. “Just come back an' ya go n do sumthin' stupid?” He didn't intend on saying it out loud, but it was just loud enough for Teagan to hear.

​​“What was that?”

​​“Nuthin'. Go 'n' do whatever stupid shit ya gonna do.”

​​Teagan didn't respond. She lowered her head and walked away. Her pace quickened when she left his campsite, seeing Glenn and Rick waiting in the car for her. Daryl waited until he heard her walk away before he turned to look at where she stood. He watched her walk away as anger and guilt flooded him. Why I gotta be mean all the time? 'S not her fault... He replayed their encounter over and over in his head, wishing he had said something different. His anger always got the better of him. He was hurt, but he understood. She's lookin' out fer herself. I prolly woulda done the same thing... He remembered where she was going, and panic started to swell in him. He'd never admit it, but he cared about her. He was worried she'd get hurt. He knew she could take care of herself, but he was worried the others might screw it up. He began pacing, and his frustration grew rapidly. The last thing he said to her was cruel. What if she don't come back? He tried to shake the idea out of his head, and convince himself she'd be okay. I gotta talk to her when she get's back... He continued shuffling around his campsite, pacing back and forth, uneasy.​​