Losing Hope *EDITING*

Chapter 24; Claire Curvel

I climbed into the back of the red car, buckling up as the others got in. No one spoke as Rick turned it on and slowly drove past the other cars before speeding off. I leaned my head against the window, the coldness of the glass reminding me that I was sticky from the sweat I woke up in. Should probably see if I can find some clothes on this run so I can rinse off in that little pond again. I looked down towards my leg, seeing the blood from the cuts on my leg with the bad ankle was still bleeding through just a little now. Yeah. Definitely need to clean up when we get back.

It took ten minutes or less before Rick slowed down, pulling over to the side of the road. Ahead was a few cars that were scattered on the small road as far as I could tell from the back seat.

"Each of us take a car, check the contents inside and once they're all checked, T-Dog and Daryl will siphon the gas while me and Claire stand watch," Rick ordered.

I nodded, unbuckling and hopping out the car. "Ay' kid, take this and only use it if there's too many," Daryl told me as he held out a black handgun. "And stay in my sight, I don't need Glenn killing us if something happened to you."

I rolled my eyes -nonetheless taking the gun and tucking it into the waistband of my jeans behind my back. I pulled my knife out, stalking over to the large green SUV that was a little aways from the other cars. Surely there'd be something useful in there.

Hopefully some food because I'm starving and I'm sure everyone else is too. 

I pulled the sleeve of my jacket over my hand -using it to wipe the muddy window to peer inside. The windows made it hard to see anything because they were so tinted, but I could easily see something moving in the back. I raised my knife up as my fingers wrapped around the left back door. I swung it open and took a step back. My eyes widened as I stared at the small dog. Its tail was wagging while it stared back at me, its matted fur making it look vulnerable.

I lowered my knife, a grin on my face as I moved closer to the back seats. "Hey, what are you doing in here," I whispered. I held my hand out towards the dog, letting it sniff it. The dog barked, its head tilting to the side as its tail wagged faster. "Come on, I'll find you something to eat."

The dog hopped out of the backseat, following me as I moved to the front. I swung the door open, gagging a bit at the dead corpse leaned against the steering wheel. This must have been the dogs companion. Poor man didn't make it. I pushed it back, my attention being grabbed by the shiny object in the corpses hand as the sun reflected off of it. The dog barked happily behind me as I pried the fingers off of a card.

"What the hell is that?" I heard Daryl asked loudly from somewhere.

"Is that a dog?"

I ignored them as I read the small card. Couldn't make it. I left some dog food and water in the trunk, whoever finds this... take care of Franco for me. I frowned, looking at the dead man. He just let go when he should have stayed alive to take care of this dog.

"Woah, Claire step back from the dog," Rick said slowly, raising his gun towards it.

I spun around, quickly stepping in front of the dog that cowered behind me. "Stop," I hissed. "He's harmless. His name is Franco." Rick looked at me like I was crazy as T-Dog and Daryl walked over, confused looks on their faces.

"Never thought I'd see a dog again," T-Dog commented.

I shrugged, squatting down and petting the top of the dirty dog's head. It licked my neck excitedly, its tail going back to wagging. "Can we keep him?" I asked, turning to look back at Rick with a hopeful smile.

"No."

I frowned, turning back to Franco. "Why not?" I whined. "We won't have to feed him, there's dog food in the trunk."

"Come on Rick, let the kid keep the mutt," Daryl tried to persuade. "I'm sure it'll cheer up the others when we get back too."

"Fine," Rick muttered behind me. "It's your responsibility to protect that thing."

I nodded excitedly, standing up and rushing to the trunk with Franco and T-Dog following. I could hear Rick and Daryl whispering among each other -I could care less, I loved dogs and finding Franco is like a miracle. T-Dog opened the trunk, a loud laugh erupting from him.

"You'd never believe how lucky we just got," T-Dog announced.

I laughed along with him as Rick and Daryl walked over. Inside the trunk was heaven. There was a box full of cans, another box full of dog food, 2 crates of water bottles, and blankets. My smile only grew as I spotted a leash and some small dog treats in a small plastic bag. "Looks like Franco was looking out for us," I commented.

"Let's start loading up," Rick said. I didn't have to look at him to know he was smiling. We hit the jackpot.

>>>>

I sat against a wheel of the SUV, Franco eating a can of dog food greedily out of a dog bowl. Rick was looting the rest of the cars while T-Dog and Daryl got the gas cans filled. All three of them seemed to be in better moods after finding the supplies. I'm just glad I was the one to check the SUV because I feel like I proved I ain't so useless.

I looked towards Franco, smiling as he finished his bowl of food and barked at me expectantly. "Nope, no more food until tomorrow boy, we don't know how long that box of cans will last." I patted my lap, the dog quickly moving to crawl into it. I chuckled lightly, running my fingers through its fur. I'd have to give him a bath when we got back.

A car honking brought me away from the dog in my lap. I looked towards Rick confused as he honked the horn frantically. "Claire let's go! Walkers are coming!"

I quickly picked the small dog up, almost tripping over. For a small dog that looked starving, he was heavy. I ran towards the car after scooping up Franco's bowl and leash. Rick opened the back door for me and I quickly set the dog in before feeling around for my knife. Fuck. I turned around quickly, running back to the SUV.

"Claire!"

"Kid what the hell! Get to the car!"

I yanked my gun out, firing one shot into the side of a walkers head. I bent down, grabbing my knife and spun back around. I yelped as a walker lunged at me. I swung my knife, slashing its neck open. I shut my mouth, blood flying to my face at the cut. I raised my gun, shooting into the walkers head before taking off for the car again.

Rick pushed me towards the back door, a angry expression on his face as he fired behind me. "You almost got yourself killed!" He screamed.

"But I lived." I hopped into the back seat, slamming the door shut as Daryl and Rick got into the car and Rick sped off. The only sound heard was our heavy breathing as Rick drove as fast as he could. Franco crawled into my lap, his head tilted as he looked up at me. I chuckled, rubbing my bloody hand through his fur in comfort.

"What the hell did you go back for?" Rick snapped from up front.

My gaze went to the rear view mirror, my glare just as cold as his that stared back at me. "My knife," I spat. I tossed Daryl's gun to the front seat and turned my head to look out the window so they got the hint I didn't want to talk anymore about it.

I should have at least got some credit. I didn't hesitate to kill any of the walkers and I didn't waste any bullets by missing. These people just don't understand that I can survive just fine on my own.