Iridescence

His Came To Life

She kept her hands closed tightly together. Everything else was exhausted; her feet, her legs, her body, her mind, everything but her hands. The dried skin flaked from the tips of her fingers, and from her side, Mia watched as they danced with the wind.

Somewhere far ahead of her, the morning sun was fighting through the trees meeting her eye with a bright alarm.

Not but two hours ago, Mia had awoke from her short night sleep haunted by the memories of the herd before. They were so slow, elongated, eyes hungry, and limbs flailing. The worst part though, was that she felt like she belonged in that herd. They groaned, wandered, and drifted from place to place where ever the resources took them. It sounded a lot like the young girl.

With a new hollow feeling taking over within her, Mia let her mind assess the situation. The group was alone now, no place to hide. Andrea was missing, the group was hungry, they were lost, and unfamiliar with the area. Lucky for them, Mia had been mapping out these towns ever since this apocalypse started.

There were plenty of places that were ready to house a group like their own, but not for a long period of time. Only one place came to mind, but it was going to take a lot of work. She passed it, but never entered the premises of the prison yard. It seemed like the structure was too frightening for Scotty. There was no way that he would ever go in there, his tracks made that clear.

Mia didn't want to get there hopes up, there was no saying what the condition of that prison could be. In the end though, it was worth a shot. All they had to do was follow the signs, it was a hike, but they could do it.

For just an opinion though, she went to the only person who could assess it without getting false hopes. Daryl.

He was asleep, just like all the others. Glenn had so kindly volunteered for watch, but fell asleep with Maggie on his shoulder before the sun could even rise. Mia knew that something like that would happen, so subconsciously she stayed awake listening for any danger around them. However, throughout most of the night, all she could hear were soft snores and the occasional Whinny from her four legged companion.

With ideas running through her head at a non stop rate of how they can get to it, how they can take it over, and how they can build it up, Mia let out a sigh.

It would only put her mind at ease if she asked.

So, in a push up form, Mia rose to her feet and stepped towards him silently. The guy wasn't always the most aware, and when he slept, he slept like he was dead. There wasn't a noise loud enough in the world to wake him up when he didn't want to be woken up.

In a crouch, she grabbed ahold of his arm and began to shake. Luckily for her, she didn't need noise.

It took a few pushes, each one getting harder and harder. But eventually, he stirred awake and looked to her in confusion. All she did was nod behind her, a motion for the redneck to follow her. In a tired stoup, he did what she asked knowing that it had to be something important.

Making their way across camp, the two archers moved silently towards a flat ground. There, she sat on her bottom and he did the same. "What's goin on?"

In the dirt, she wrote the following words.

I KNOW A PLACE WE CAN GO.

Daryl looked at her questionably. "What is it?"

PRISON. 56 MILES FROM HERE.

"How do you know it's safe?"

I NEVER SAID SAFE. Both looked to each other for a short while. IT HAS FENCES. CONCRETE WALLS. WE CLEAR IT, WE REINFORCE IT.

"What's going on over here?" Rick's voice spoke quietly knowing that the others were sleeping. Looking over their shoulders both archers greeted him with a nod.

"Mia might know a place we can go."

"Really?" he sat down next to them. "What are you thinking?" the officer looked to her.

"She said there is a prison, 56 miles from here. Got fences, walls, but it's gonna take some work."

Looking around him, Rick sighed. "Winter is going to be hitting soon. We can't have them out. They need shelter, you think we can make it?"

Mia looked back to the others, their sleeping figures slumped. It was a long haul. Before the world went to shit, 56 miles didn't mean anything. But now, now that was so much room for things to go wrong. Survivors, walkers, they were all against each other now.

It was their only option though. Winter was coming, the temperatures are going to be dropping soon, mobility would be slow for both them and the walkers. If they could find somewhere to hunker down, it was their best option. Especially with Lori pregnant.

Biting her lip, Mia nodded. They had to make it.

Rick sighed nodding. "Alright. Then we start moving as soon as everyone is up."

Just like that, the plan was set. They knew where they were going, Mia knew how to get there, but what lay there for them nobody could guess.

It was going to be a long journey, and not everyone was ready for it. But Mia, Daryl, and Rick. They were. They would do what it took to keep this group alive. It was then that Mia understood. She was finally a part of the group, Rick's stare and trust towards her showed that.

They didn't have the heart, the soul, the passion that Mia shared towards Scotty and her family. And looking back on the graves behind her, she stared at the three mounds and breathed heavily. Rick patted her on the shoulder, then rose to his feet, but daryl simply watched her. the way she stared longingly towards the three graves.

These people were strangers to her, but slowly she was getting to know them. It was what she did. Observed, shadowed, and pulled through when they needed her. But slowly, it seemed to be reversing. The group was getting to figure Mia out, where her priorities lay.

Soon, they would be with them. she just didn't know it yet. But they didn't need to, nobody did. The journey ahead of them was set in stone, but not in one that they could see. By joining these people, by fighting beside them, Mia didn't know what she was getting into. But with the family that she would gain through it, the young girl would push through it with her head held high. She had. For Dale, for her mom, for her dad, for Scotty, and for everyone living beside her.

Looking away from their graves, her eyes wandered to Daryl. And as their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat. For him, his came to life.