The Fallen Angel and The Girl Next Door

Chupacabra

Daryl sighs as he glances at me. "Yer not gonna give up, are ya?" I shake my head 'no' and he groans in announce. "How did the army make you more stubborn? Fine, fine, go saddle up a horse."

I grin widely. Half an hour of begging is finally paying off. Plus, I wasn't about to let Daryl go searching for Sophia alone during a zombie apocalypse. Saddled horse? Check. Knife? Check. Gun? Check. Ok, ready to go.

"Come on cowboy, we've got a lot to cover."

Daryl let out a snort as the black horse I borrowed trotted past him. "Why're you so desperate to come with me anyways?"

"I just don't want to sit around doing chores all day. Plus, Glenn is really terrible at flirting and he should be lucky Mags is into him. I do not want to watch them try to flirt."

"Nah, I don't think that's it."

I glance at him momentarily before looking forwards again. "Mmmhhmm. What is it then?"

"You missed me."

"Sure I did Dare. Now less talking, more finding a missing girl." We trotted through the forest with minimal talking. Every once in a while, one of us would point out something. Otherwise the only sounds for miles was nature itself.

"Whoa." I pulled my horse to a stop by Daryl. He nodded towards the water and we dismounted our horses.

He walked down towards the water first, holding out his hand for me once he reached the bottom.

"What a gentleman," I teased as I grabbed his hand.

"Shut up."

I made my way past him. "Ladies first." Bending down, I picked up the muddy, waterlogged doll. It was Sophia's alright. But where was the girl? Before I could mutter that out loud, Daryl was already calling her name. "Looks like it's been here a while. At least a day, I'd say. What do you think Daryl?"

"I think we need to get this back to Carol." We made our way back to our horses in a solemn silence. I couldn't think of what to say. Slowly, we lead the horses up the path.

Daryl's horse let out a whinnie as a few birds frighten it. "Whoa, easy, easy."

My eyes scanned our surroundings before my eyes widen. "Daryl, wait!" His horse starts to buck wildly and I quickly dismount mine, grabbing the reins of his. 

"Whoa whoa whoa!" My grip tightened around the reins as the horse tried to pull away from me. It stood back on its hind legs, ripping the reins out of my hand. What happened next seemed so fast. I gaped in horror as Daryl started to fall backwards. I lunged forwards to try and catch him, but it was too late. He was already rolling down the hill and the horse was gone.