(1) Vita Brevis (D. Dixon)

Chapter Nine

Catelyn splashes water onto her face from a bucket on the porch that Patricia set up for her to use. She thinks they mean to clean her hands after seeing to Carl, but she needs the cold water to keep her awake. She's exhausted and about ready to drop, but she can't fall asleep with these people around her. She's too on edge to do that. She just needs to keep herself busy. She brushes her wet fingers through her hair and lets out a breath as she looks out from the porch. She needs to get away from this group for an hour or two. To think about what she and Marie will do after they leave them. She needs to decide whether or not to go back to the church that they were held up in. She heads towards Rick and Shane as Maggie approaches them with a rolled-up map. That could be just what Catelyn needs to escape today. Plus the sooner they find Sophia...the better.

"County survey map. Shows terrain and elevations" Maggie rolls out the map on the hood of the truck for Rick, Shane, Hershel and Daryl to see.

"This is perfect" Rick thanks her. "We can finally get this thing organized. We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams"

"Not you" Hershel warns. "Not today. You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out" He then turns to Shane. "And your ankle... Push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody."

"Guess it's just me" Daryl points out.

"And me" Catelyn offers as she moves towards them. "Carl's fine, I don't need, nor do I want, to be watching over him all day...I'd rather get out there and get this over and done with so we can leave"

"Leave?" Rick draws out as he looks at her. He was hoping that now that she and her mother are here, that they'd stay with them. That he can keep an eye on them. Keep them safe. He really hates the idea of them leaving. If something were to happen to them, then he'd never know. He'd never know if they died. Catelyn gives Rick a look.

"Yeah" She answers. "You didn't really think we'd stick around, did you? It's not safe"

"You'll be safer with us than out there alone," Shane tells her, she scoffs.

"We were alone for months and we were fine, no injuries, no bites, nothing...we've been with you one day and someone is already dead, not to mention you lost a little girl...That other guy almost died through an infection....yeah, getting far away from this group is what's best for us" She pulls her quiver up her arm, her bow attached to the side of it. She glances down at the map as Rick and Shane share a look. She's kind of got a point. "I'll take the woods on the left of the access road" She offers. Daryl lets out a breath.

"Then I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there," He tells them.

"I can still be useful" Shane states. "I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back" Catelyn rolls her eyes a little, bored of this conversation, so she walks away. She is not staying with them. She and her mother were perfectly fine far away from these people, and they will be fine again. She adjusts her quiver and her bow before she jogs off into the trees, more than happy to go off on her own for a while. Rick looks across at Marie who stands by the RV, watching Catelyn disappear into the trees before she turns and looks at Rick. The two of them share a look. She fakes a smile and shrugs. But her worry for her daughter is written all over her face. As much as she knows that Catelyn has brought her this far, so she has to have some skill, she's working on no sleep and very little food.

.......

Later, Rick sits next to Marie on the porch and lets out a breath. She knows he's going to want to ask about Catelyn, and how she became this wounded woman. But she doesn't have the answers that are going to make him feel better. She has nothing to give him. It should be up to Catelyn to tell her what she went through, if she ever does.

"What happened?" He asks, but instead of talking about Catelyn, he motions to Maria's plastered arm. Marie touches the cast and shrugs.

"An accident" She answers, drawing her fingers over it. "High heels and stairs...."

"Marie" He whispers. "You've never worn high heels in your life" She lets out a breath and looks at him.

"Oh," She seems to realise what he's implying. "No, Catelyn didn't...." She snorts. "She is an angry young woman, but not at me...no" She smiles softly, but she probably shouldn't be smiling about this. "No, she...saved me" She admits and looks down at her arm. "I made a mistake and Catelyn suffered for it, we both did, but...she'd had enough. Saved us both" Rick scoffs a little.

"Jack" He realises, she closes her eyes. "I always felt something with him, but..."

"Worried you'd sound like the jealous ex" She finishes, he lets out a breath and looks at her. "He made a good show of it" She assures him softly. It's not Rick's fault. "Fooled everyone....except Elka..." Rick nods a little. "Fooled me for a long time too....and then it was too late. I was stuck. Two young daughters. Far away from my family and friends....."

"You could have called me," He tells her. "I would have dropped everything"

"I know" She agrees. "But...I was trapped, Rick and scared and embarrassed" He touches her arm and then curls his arm around her shoulders. "Catelyn is...Catelyn, she'll soften....maybe, eventually...but she finds it hard to trust people after Jack, she was a just a kid..." Rick can understand that. Jack was the worst of humanity and Catelyn was witness to everything bad about the human race and men.

....

There is a crunch from a broken twig behind Catelyn that has her turning, her bow ready, an arrow knocked as her eyes scan around for whatever might have made that sound. A lone walker. She scoffs and rolls her eyes. She's getting jumpy at a single walker now. She aims and releases the arrow before she continues to walk away. Not even looking back to check if she made her mark. She did. She knows that Sophia didn't come this way. But she is still going to keep walking until it is getting dark and she has no choice but to turn back. Then she's going to have the trouble of finding something to keep her awake all night. No coffee anymore. No energy drinks or caffeine pills. She actually really misses coffee. She sighs and then lets out a large yawn. She is not going to be able to fight this off much longer. And that scares her more than any walker can.