it's been 3 days.
we're moving past atlanta to try our chances in fort benning. it's a long journey, but we need to hit the road.
we can't stay here. it's too dangerous.
we drained the gas out of the truck we were in and switched over to merle's bike. and it feels so damn good to be on a bike again.
dad and i put our book bags in the car rick was in, and just kept our bows with us. it's easier that way.
dad and i led the group out. i wrapped my arms around his torso, but i kept my head up so i could be aware if everything going on around us.
carl thought that me being into motorcycles was cool. motorcycles are my childhood. being back on one after all this time feels amazing.
"damn it feels good don't it rae" dad said loudly so that i could hear him. "yeah it does" i said back smiling.
we then drove out of atlanta and started our long journey. we traveled for quite a while until we came to an interstate. one that was completely blocked off. there were cars lined up on both sides of the road. "shit" i whispered.
dad maneuvered through the cars to see if there was a clear spot we could go through. there was a small one.
"ya think they could make it?" dad asked me. "not sure" i responded.
we circled back and signaled dale to follow us. we're gonna take our chances. the pathway was tight. and as we were making our way through, the rv broke down again. i sighed, this is exactly what we need right now.
we turned off the bike and got off it. the group gathered around and dad and i started going through one of the cars.
"this could be a gold mine" i said looking through the stuff with dad. "this is a graveyard" lori said. i rolled my eyes and continued what i was doing.
we all spread out. i helped dad and t-dog drain gas from some cars. we need as much fuel as possible.
we were draining a car when i saw dale duck down on the roof of rv. i looked to the other side of me. there was an entire herd of walkers approaching us.
"dad, dad walkers" i whispered pointing. he ducked down to the ground and grabbed my arm to pull me down with him.
he gently shoved me under a car and he got beside me. i looked him in the eyes. he put an arm around me to make me feel protected. he then nodded and i nodded back. he wasn't going to let anything happen to me and i knew that.
to the side of us, a walker was getting ready to go after t-dog. and t-dog looks like he cut his arm.
"stay, i'll be right back" dad whispered to me. he climbed out and went up behind the walker. he stabbed it in the back of the head and gently layed it on the ground so it wouldn't draw any more walkers.
right as he did that, the herd starting coming his way.
i sighed and got a tighter grip on my bow. dad helped t-dog get on the ground and he put a walker on him. then dad put a walker on top of him and faced me.
he looked me in the eye as the herd went through. he knew it would comfort me. once they passed dad pushed the walker off of him.
when he did that i got out of where i was hiding. i then got a t-shirt from the car i was hiding under.
i ran over to t-dog, who dad was assisting. "here" i said getting closer to t-dog. i wrapped the shirt around his arm and he winced in pain. i then tied it very tightly around his arm in hopes that it would control the bleeding. "come on, let's get you back to the rv" dad said to him.
we propped t-dog up against the rv and dale broke the news to us that two walkers are currently chasing sophia through the woods.
that can't be good. she don't know how to fight.
rick came back a little bit later after going after her. apparently he left her under a river bank and when he came back she was gone. dad, glenn, shane, and i decided to help rick look for her.
"reagan, i want you to say up here where your safe" rick said. i shook my head no. "you'll have to track her to find her. you'll need both me and dad" i said. "yeah. come on" dad said heading towards the woods.
us five went to the spot where rick supposedly left sophia. but there was no sophia in sight.
"got clear prints right here" i said looking at the ground. everyone looked over towards me. "she did what you said and headed back towards the highway. let's spread out!" dad said to everyone. "stay close rae" dad said quietly. that was already my plan.
everyone just decided to tag along with dad and i since we knew what we were doing. i kept watch of the ground. you could see her footprints clear as day. dad stayed close to the ground so he could get a sense of the prints also. i then noticed a fault in the pattern of her footprints.
dad and i both got closer to the ground. "she was doing just fine up until right here" i said pointing to the tracks. everyone else squatted down.
"all she had to do was keep going. she veered off that way" dad said pointing to the right. we all looked over at that direction. there was no other footprints so there couldn't be a walker that made her go off track.
rick sent glenn and shane back to the highway to join the rest of the group. dad, rick, and i stayed in the forest in hopes we could find sophia.
we continued to follow her footprints and we followed them for quite a bit. "the tracks are gone" rick said. "nah" dad said. "they're faint. but they ain't gone" i said finishing dad's sentence. "she came through here" dad said pointing. "how can you tell? i don't see anything but dirt and grass" rick stated. "you want a lesson in tracking? or do you want to find that girl and get our ass back on the interstate?" dad asked continuing to follow the trail.
we continued to follow it until we heard leaves rustling. we all ducked to the ground and dad and i got our bows ready. we headed towards the sound, it was a single walker.
rick split off from dad and i so we could attack it from both angles if needed. rick got the walker's attention as dad and i went up behind it. "got it" i whispered to dad. i then shot it in it's skull and it fell to the ground.
we went over to it and i yanked my arrow out of it's skull.
dad called out for sophia as rick put on gloves. rick started observing the walker, see if it had any trace that would indicate it attacked sophia. dad bent down to help. "reagan keep watch" rick ordered.
i faced away from them and looked around the woods. i had my bow by my side with an arrow ready. i then heard flesh squelch.
i turned around to see dad digging his knife into the walkers stomach. turning around, i continued to keep watch. they didn't find any trace of sophia within the walker.
night time was approaching and there was still no sign of sophia. we decided to head back.
carol looked at us with hopes of good news, but we couldn't deliver any. we told her that we planned to go looking again in the morning.
"we have to make this an organized effort. daryl and reagan know the woods better than anybody. i've asked them to oversee this" rick said. dad put his hand on my shoulder.
carol freaked out when she saw the blood from the walker we killed earlier. lori tried calming her down. everyone looked mortified when dad said that him and rick cut open the walker to make sure sophia wasn't in there.
then carol started to blame this entire thing on rick. i mean this isn't completely his fault but it somewhat is at the same time.
andrea went over to comfort carol along with lori as dad and i went off. rick layed out the knife set that carl found. we were passing them around.
"daryl, reagan, rick and i are carrying. we can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles." shane said.
"it's not the trees we're worried about. and why are you letting a kid carry one around and not the adults?" andrea questioned shane.
"reagan's the best shot we have" shane said. andrea rolled her eyes at me.
dad went over what we are going to do to try and find sophia. we're searching the creek. and rick reminded us to be quiet and careful.
andrea and dale started fighting before we all split off. we all just awkwardly watched. we then headed towards the woods leaving dale and t-dog behind to work on the rv.
dad and i lead the group with our bows ready. after a little bit i raised my hand to stop the group. there was a tent up ahead.
we all ducked down. "stay" rick said to me as him, daryl, and shane went to go check the tent.
the rest of the group needs at least one armed person with them. rick then called carol over. if sophia was in there she would want to hear her mom's voice.
all of us slowly merged our way towards the tent. sadly the only thing in the tent was a dead person.
we then heard church bells ringing. i scrunched my eye brows together in confusion. we all quickly ran towards the sound. after a few minutes, we finally found a clearing which lead to a church. rick started running towards the church and we all followed.
we made our way towards the entrance. rick had his hand on the door nod as dad, shane, and i got ready. rick opened the door and we slowly went in. dad and i raised our bows. lori handed rick a machete and shane got out a knife.
dad handed me his crossbow as he got out an axe to go kill the remaining walker. he walked towards the front of the church and like usual he made a smart remark.
the bells sounded again and dad ran outside. i was hot on his trail, along with the rest of the group.
glenn cut off the ringing. it's an automatic thing. it's not an actual church bell.
shit.
i handed dad his bow and we all kinda just did our own thing. dad and i took a look around the place and eventually joined the group again at a tree right outside of the entrance of the church.
shane then gave us orders. shane and rick are gonna hang back as the rest of us check the other side of the creek bed and head our way back. he put dad and i in charge.
andrea scoffed when shane said i was also in charge. she hates the fact that i get to do things and she don't.
carl decided to stay with rick and shane. dad and i then started leading everyone into the woods. we made our way through the woods trying to keep an eye on everything.
carol decided she needed a break so we stopped. then lori started lashing out on everyone. we all just shut up. eventually, we decided to keep moving. "this is bull shit" i murmured to my dad.