Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

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"Are you sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked as he checked inside the tunnel for any traces of Sophia.

"Positive," I muttered, wrapping my arms around my midsection as tightly as possible. I felt my teeth gnaw on my bottom lip as worry floored me. Rick nodded his head and walked up, pointing to the tunnel.

"We left her right here," Rick said, peering into the tunnel as if Sophia was hiding deeper inside. I can tell he's freaking out over this as much as I am – he's just a bit better at hiding it.

I'm sure I looked as much of a mess outside as I felt inside. I could've stayed behind, protected her, and ensured she returned to Carol safe and sound, but no. I had to go and play hero, abandoning Sophia in the process. When we realized she was gone, we raced back to the highway to see if she had made it safely but were told she hadn't. Poor Carol all but had a heart attack when we told her that her only daughter was missing.

"We drew the walkers way off in that direction up the creek," Rick said to Daryl, Shane, and Glenn, his eyes flashing to me briefly before looking at the three men in front of us. "She was gone by the time we got back here."

"I figured she just took off and went back to the highway. He told her to keep the sun on her left shoulder and run that way." I muttered as I pointed in the general direction of the highway. Daryl walked forward, splashing around with his eyes peeled to the earthy ground surrounding us. I walked with him, straining my eyes to find any signs of her tracks. In my panicked state, I didn't trust my eyes; that's why I needed Daryl here – someone with a cool, calm, and collected mind.

"Hey, short round!" Daryl shouted at Glenn, "Why don't you step off to one side? You're mucking up the trail." Glenn quickly stepped away, his face red.

"Assuming she knows her left from her right," Shane muttered, bringing the oh-so-needed pessimism. I rolled my eyes and continued searching the ground for any footprints. Did Rick and I mess up by wasting time running off? And what about embrace? Undoubtedly that wasted time! We could've run back to Sophia right away! We would've seen her before she wandered off.

"She understood me just fine," Rick muttered, getting defensive.

"Kids tired and scared, man." Shane said, being a sourpuss, "She had a close call with four walkers. Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck." Again, I rolled my eyes and bumped into Daryl as he suddenly stopped. He pointed down to the ground before us and nodded at me. Faintly, I could see small footprints. Usually, this would offer me some peace of mind, but why isn't she back on the highway yet? What made her turn directions if she was already going the right way? My stomach dropped as all the possibilities filtered through my mind.

"She did like you said," Daryl spoke, getting Rick's attention. "Headed back to the highway."

"Man—" Shane started, his eyes on Daryl and I.

"He's right." I interrupted him, "The tracks are light, but they're here." I turned back and saw Shane's eyes glued to me, happiness far from them. He sighed and shifted his weight from one leg to another before walking forward.

"She couldn't have gone far." He muttered. Daryl climbed the ledge, extending his hand out to me to help me up. I grabbed his hand and let out a yelp of surprise as Daryl pulled me up with ease, a slight smirk on his lips. I lightly smiled at him and pushed him lightly before gluing my eyes back onto the trail, following it and hoping it would lead us to the scared girl. I walked closer to Daryl, trying not to cover the trail with my footprints, and followed, seeing them stop and turn in the opposite direction of the camp. I swore under my breath and squatted, brushing away some leaves to make the trail more distinct.

"She was doing just fine till right here." Daryl muttered as I brushed away the dirt, "All she had to do was keep going."

"She went the opposite direction." I sighed, a distressed look overcoming my features.