Struggling (Sequel to Little Mouse)

Baby-Sitting

Jason.

It had been about two days since I had found Sophia. Since then, she had been more talkative and had started talking about her family and friends from before the Turn. I honestly couldn't care less, but who was I to tell her to shut up? She was getting a little bit on my nerves, however. I hadn't had any vodka in who knows how long, or any other liquor for that matter. I wasn't a perfect human, I knew that. Most people wouldn't admit that they had a problem. Some knew about it, others didn't. I knew about my problem, but I never had a reason to admit it before? Alcoholism ran in my family, and a lot of people down south loved liquor. It had been a great idea to move down here from boring old Pennsylvania before the Turn, but despite the freaks or walkers, finding liquor hadn't been as easy as I had thought. My usual flask was dirt dry. It was killing me, but hopefully I'd find my liquor sometime soon.

Sophia had also told me a bit about the group that she had lost, mostly about her mother and now deceased father. The leader of the group appeared to be a sheriff named Rick and his deputy, Shane. There was one doctor lady who went by Courtney, but apparently she might have had a boyfriend who was some redneck named Darrel or something. But he was a hunter, so there was a steady supply of food coming from him. It sounded like a well-off group, and I had hoped that they wouldn't mind adding an extra head to the count.

Yet I couldn't help but wonder about Courtney. She sounded nice and a lot like my ex-girlfriend, who had wanted to become a veterinarian. I had no idea where Vanessa was now, but I missed her a lot. I hoped her and her family were alright. But we had split for a reason.

As Sophia and I were walking by a steep hill, she was talking about her doll. The doll itself was creepy and disgusting in my opinion, and I would've gotten rid of it if it hadn't kept Sophia calm. But god, if she didn't shut up soon... I glanced to my left and found that the hill was a little valley, with a large stream on the bottom of it.

"Eliza said that this was her favorite doll. I miss Eliza. We met her at a water quarry, but she had to leave because her Daddy-" Sophia rambled on, probably attracting freaks from a five mile radius. I was already agitated with my lack of liquor, and with this kid just talking nonstop, I was ready to snap. I suddenly stopped in front of her, making her run into me and fall to the ground. I whipped around to find her on the floor, just starting to sit up. The doll was laying in the leaf litter beside her, and I let go for a second. I reached down and grabbed it by the dress. Sophia stared at me in horror as I , tossed the doll into the valley water without a second thought. It landed with a splash and started traveling downstream. I glanced down at Sophia, who looked ready to start crying. I didn't like kids much before the Turn, and whenever one started bawling like a baby something inside me just couldn't handle it.

"Knock if off, alright?" I snapped. She was frozen in terror, shivering noticeably. I breathed heavily for a few seconds before collections myself and sighing, getting down onto my knees in front of her. "Look, I'm tired. Just - can you be quiet for a while?" I asked calmly, my head pounding and my throats begging me for vodka or something.

Sophia nodded quietly, glancing down at the doll in the ravine. I stood up and glanced around, hoping that my outburst hadn't attracted any unwanted attention. Then something above the tree line caught my eyes. It was a thin stream of billowing grey smoke, and one word popped into my head.

Fire!

I glanced down at Sophia, my hopes getting high at the thought of joining another group, hopefully Sophia's group. She hadn't noticed my excitement and was still staring down at the doll. "Hey, look," I ordered, pointing towards the billowing smoke in the distance. "There's a campfire. That means there could be people, probably even your group." Sophia's eyes widened and I could see the hope in the brown irises. I glanced back at the smoke, when a thought crossed my mind. If it wasn't Sophia's group, they might not let us in. We'd need a good, solid plan. I turned to look back down at Sophia, who glanced back at me with a small smile. "Listen, though. If this isn't your group, we need a plan. You're my daughter, and we just need a place to stay the night, ok?"

Sophia nodded quietly, which made me pleased. I nodded in response and started walking towards the fire, hoping for the best.