Iridescence

Gone With The Wind

Keeping a steady pace in front of Sophia, Mia constantly checked over her shoulder for the small girl's presence. The day had passed by quickly seeing as they left by sunrise and were approaching the farmhouse by noon.

She had another sleepless night, it never came easy to her anymore. Every time she closed her eyes, Mia would relive her final moments with her family. Their screams, their cries, their begs for Mia and Scotty to run. It wasn't enough though... It was never enough. No matter how hard she curled her fists, how tightly she bit her lip, the image of her parent's death never ceased to erupt in her mind.

Quickly shaking off the thoughts as best as she could, Mia pushed towards the cluster of trees before her. Stray twigs and branches clawed at the pale bear skin of her arms. White gaws remained wrapped around her left bicep though, blood soaking through the white cloth.

Once through the cluster of forestry, she turned to check on Sophia's progress. Normally an *oomph or a *ouch could be heard from the girls lips, but this time, there was nothing.

As soon as her eyes were on Sophia's figure, Mia was dashing back the way she came and to her side. Sophia was completely unconciouss, chest heaving violently as her eyes remained sealed closed. The girl was exhausted, pale as a ghost, and sweating like a pig.

They still had at least two miles to go... But with Sophia in the condition she was, there was no way she was continuing on anytime soon.

Having no other option, Mia looped her own arm under the girls legs and the other behind her back. Then, with the best whisper she could mutter, Mia mouthed alright kid, almost there.

Of course, the only actual parts of the words that could be made out were the lisped s's.

Readjusting the smaller weight higher into her arms, Mia continued forward and towards her destination. She was getting this girl to that farm, back to her people. She had to, if not for her, then for Scotty too.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Pushing through the treeline Mia blinked away the forming tears from her eyes. She made it, the farm was right there! Just in the Nick of time too, in no way shape or form of exaggerating was she doing by stating that her arm felt as if it were going to fall off. The stitches were completely torn by this point, blood soaking through the bandages and onto the light blue shirt of Sophia.

With each step the world seemed to get darker and darker around her. There was too much blood lost, if the farm was any further there was no way she could possibly make it. Dropping her head and trudging forward, Mia once again adjusted Sophia to a better grip and carried the unconciouss girl forward.

The field seemed agonizingly longer than the last time she crossed it, then again she had only made it halfway before being shot.

Once at the wooden fence, she took her time scaling it. The process was definately more difficult seeing as she had another person to carry over. As soon as she made it over though, her eyes locked on a sudden movement. From a picnic table across the way, a woman with short grey hair launched from her seat and began sprinting towards them. "Sophia?! OH MY GOD SOPHIA MY BABY!" the woman Mia presumed to be her mother raced towards her.

As soon as she was in arms distance, the girl was taken from Mia's arms as others surrounded them. Instantly she felt uncomfortable... So many eyes, and they were all on her. Three pairs really stood out to her though. The redneck, the leader, and the man whom shot her.

Keeping herself steady, Mia remained tall and proud before the strangers. Most women went off with the mother and Sophia. The men however, they stuck around concentrating on the new potential threat.

That is when she understood that she needed to go... Even after all this, They didn't know her  let alone trust her.

Pulling off the string of squirrel carcasses Mia placed them on the ground along with a few water bottles and bags of snacks. She had enough to spare, she could always hunt for more food. Tracing her finger in the dirt, Mia traced out Sophia's name and stepped backwards with her hands up.

Step by step she began pacing backwards and away from the group. They all watched her in utter shock..

Backing away step by step she moved over the fence and locked eyes with Daryl. His emerald made her freeze, the wind was now the only thing moving around them. Neither could really look away from one another... She didn't let him down, there was no way he could regret letting her go.

Suddenly, the screen door on the front porch slammed open. An elderly man yelled. "Rick! Carl's awake."

Everyone turned their attention towards the man; but obviously that was their mistake because as soon as they turned back around to where the girl was, she was gone. The entire group stood in pure and utter disbelief. It was almost like she was some type of myth... Arrived when you needed her, and gone with the blink of an eye. However, they knew she was real. The food, water, and squirrels all remained in the same pile on the ground before where she once stood.

One by one everyone slowly slipped away to go see Carl. That is until eventually, it was just Daryl left. Shane had grabbed the supplies she left, so he just waited, observing his surroundings. He knew she was still around... She was listening... Watching... Almost like... Their personal guardian angel.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Keeping her back tightly against a nearby pile of boulders, Mia again waited the group out. One by one they went off in their own directions until eventually it was just Daryl left.

Both seemed to be waiting one another out... Almost like a silent unspoken battle.

Finally though, Dixon shoved his hands deep into his back pockets and sighed. "Good job kid." His voice was loud enough for just her to hear. "You take care of yourself." And just like that, he turned his back in her direction and trotted off the other way.

Mia peeked around watching him go... Something about him intrigued the girl. He was older, and by far that was for sure. But he reminded her of someone, someone she had always been close to. Daryl somewhat reminded her of her father...

He wasn't him though, they were gone, wiped from the face of the earth. The only family she had left was in the area, these people seemed a good chance of finding him. Let alone daryl, he knew how to track, and he knew the woods by the looks of it... Maybe he could help her... Or maybe she would just end up like before... These people didn't trust her. She was a danger to them and they were a danger to her... But what if they could compromise? What if they could find Scotty... What if he was close by.

Once together they would need a place to go. She could look out for herself, but babysitting a kid in this kind of world? Clearly.. She would need more help with that.

She needed these people, and they needed her. Even if they didn't know it yet.