The Little Sister

Chapter Ten

Val's POV:

It was time now for the remainder of us to leave the highway, reunite with the others that are at the farm. We wrote on the windscreen of one of the cars, leaving supplies on the hood of it, before packing up and leaving. A part really believed that Sophia just might come back and be reunited with her mother, but the other part really began to lose hope that we were ever going to find her. I wasn't ready to give up just yet, but I couldn't shake the doubt I had away.

When we arrived, I immediately got off the back of Daryl's bike and made a run towards my brother and Lori. I just wanted to know if my nephew was alive. I needed to know. "How is he?" I asked straight away, pulling them both into a hug. "He'll pull through" Lori replied. A wave of relief washed over me as I heard those three words.

**

They held a funeral for the man named Otis. He was responsible for Carl being shot; a hunting accident was all it was. Shane spun this story, that I didn't believe for a second. Saying that Otis sacrificed himself, believing he wouldn't make it, telling Shane he needed to make it back so that Carl could live. Complete bullshit if you ask me. I did not believe a single thing he said. For Shane to shave his head, means he has to be hiding something. Through the entirety of our relationship, he's never once said he would willingly shave off his hair, something would have to make him do it. He never told anyone, not even Rick. Only me.

**

Carl was on the mend, Daryl had gone back out to the creek to search for Sophia some more, Hershel wanted us to not use any guns, which then Rick followed through with, asking us all to turn in our guns. T-dog and Dale went to check out the water situation only to discover that there was a walker at the bottom of the well. Glenn was sent down into the well as live bait, the aim was to get rope around the walker to hopefully pull it out of there, trying not to contaminate the water any more than it might already be.

It worked, well kind of. Glenn almost just died, all just for the walker to split in half. The bottom half going straight back to the bottom of the well, contaminating it. All that work, risking Glenn's life just went to waste. I started to head back to the house to see Carl, I could hear Shane calling out my name, when I didn't stop, he followed me, until he caught up. "Do you not know how to take a fucking hint!" I shouted, just his presence pissed me off.

"what the hell is your problem!" He yelled back.

"YOU! LITERALLY YOU!" I screamed in his face.

"coming from the whore who can't wait for Daryl Dixon to be tongue deep in her! Be careful though, you might catch a disease!"

"You know what, you're right! And let me tell you something he's pretty damn good. The best I ever had." I smirked walking away from him; it may not have been true but knowing it was going get under his skin felt great.

**

I woke up that morning and changed the moment I got up letting down the pieces of hair i had tied back in a bun. I hadn't a chance to wash any of the clothes I had been wearing the past few days, all I really had was a Calvin Klein bralette, a pair of denim shorts that showed a little more skin than what my mother would approve of. Deciding to not bother washing the flannel I had been wearing and threw it on over top. I may be showing a bit more than I intentionally would have wanted but as long as I could keep these secrets hidden, I could care less.

"Morning sunshine!" my brother called, standing around the hood of the Carol's Cherokee along with Shane, T-dog, Andrea, the youngest Greene's boyfriend whose name was Jimmy and Daryl. My brother knew I hated that nickname but every time I said not to call me it, he did anyways, fully knowing it annoys me. I felt my cheeks heat up when Daryl looked over at me, after Rick called out to me. 'way to go to rick' I muttered under my breath out of complete embarrassment.

Daryl had found an old farmhouse when he went out the other day, thinking she may have made it to there, means we need to search more out east. "Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me." Shane expressed, of course being the debby-downer that he is. He's been wanting to give up on this whole thing the entire time.

"Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea commented.

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high." Daryl explained.

"It's a good lead."

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again."

"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."

"Maybe you'll see your Chupacabra up there, too." I remarked.

"Chupacabra?" Rick questioned, a confused look on his face.

"You never heard this? Our first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra." Dale explained, receiving a snicker from Jimmy.

"What are you braying at, jackass?"

"So, you believe in a blood-sucking dog?"

"Do you believe dead people walking around?"

"Hey, hey. Ever fire one before?" Rick asked, stopping Jimmy from picking up a rifle off of the hood.

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one." Jimmy stated.

"Yeah, and people in hell want Slurpees." Daryl remarked, walking off with his crossbow over his shoulder. I didn't bother to listen to the rest of what was being said, I just decided to follow after Daryl. I could feel someone watching, looking back briefly I could see Shane staring at me. "hey Daryl, wait up a sec," I called out to him, as he stopped in his tracks, waiting.

"Um I just wanted to wish you luck and um please come back safe, be careful out there. I really care about you." I said, not even thinking before giving him a quick peck on the lips. Then walking off to my tent, not giving him a chance to answer me. Now knowing that the kiss, a quick little peck, would leave a lasting impression on him.

**