Junebug • TWD

15. Persistence.

I've been walking for about twenty minutes when I finally, finally hear something moving not too far ahead of me. I stick my back up against a tree, hiding myself. I listen close. Footsteps, and then a quiet whoa. 

That's my dad's voice. I know it is. 

I get out from behind my tree and start going towards where I heard his voice. "Dad," I call out, just as I spot him tying the horse to the tree.

His head snaps towards me. His eyes are wide and angry and it makes me get this awful, terrified feeling in my gut. Maybe Hershel was wrong. I don't gotta be persistent. I gotta shut up and listen to my dad so I don't get hit. 

"What the fuck are you doin' out here, Juniper Jo Dixon?" Dad asks me. He's not yelling because he knows better than to yell out here in the woods, where walkers could be listening. But his voice is still so incredibly angry that I have to take a deep breath in order to calm my racing heart. He marches forward and I jump when he grabs onto my shirt, pulling me closer to him. His furious eyes stare into mine. "I told you to stay at the fuckin' farm."

"I- I'm just- I talked to-" I can't even make up my mind on what I want to say. 

"I'on give a shit who the hell you talked to! I said stay at the goddamn farm!" Dad says loudly, almost shouting. 

"I wanted to help!" I insist.

"You know better than this, Juniper. I fuckin' know you do. I oughta smack you for this shit," Dad grumbles, pressing his fingers into his eyes. 

I can't control what I do next. I back away from him, my heart racing in my chest. "No, Dad. No. Please don't," I say, trying not to let myself cry. I'm cowering away from him like a baby. Like the wimp I am. And Dad's standing just a few feet from me, staring. I can't tell what he's thinking. I can't tell if he's gonna hit me for this. I want to go home. I want to go home so bad. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm sorry. I just wanted- I wanted you to-"

I stop mid-sentence because my eyes just caught onto something that I can't hardly believe. We're standing at the top of a small hill, and at the bottom of it is a river. And across that little river, I can see Sophia's doll sitting there on the shore.

Before I can even think about what I'm doing, I bolt down the hill and across the water. Before my dad can run after me, he's gotta finish tying up that horse. So I get across way before him. I grab the doll, holding it up high. 

"Dad, look! Look! It's Sophia's! Sophia's doll is here!" I shout at him, waving the doll high above my head. 

"June-!" I hear my dad shout back at me just before my hair is grabbed from behind me. 

I'm pulled to the ground, and now I can hear it all. I can hear the growling and the snarling. The walker- it's a man, one about three times my size- is sitting on top of me, and I'm screaming at the top of my lungs without even meaning to. I'm pushing it off of me with all my strength, but I'm weak. I'm weak and it's face is getting closer to mine. It wants to rip the skin off my cheeks and kill me right here and now. 

"Daddy! Help! Daddy!" I'm screaming, all panicked. I can hear splashing. I can hear yelling. But it's all overpowered by the snarling just inches from my face. "Daddy!"

Another splash, and then a bolt goes through the walker's head. I scramble out from underneath it, and my cheeks are wet with tears. I'm struggling to catch my breath. I look up and see Dad standing in the river. His clothes are wet and he's leaning his weight on only one leg. The other looks wrong. Don't know how or why. 

"Dad," I breathe out, my eyes wide. 

"You- you're not bit?" Dad asks quickly, catching his own breath.