"God, they're driving so slow."

A groan left my mouth as I leaned against my car seat. Driving is no fun when everyone else drives like a grandma. I thought it would be more fun when I agreed to do it.

"There's literally a hundred cars blocking our way, Josephine. They can't go any faster." Ryan said.

"Can't or won't?" I wondered.

"Does it really matter? Just follow them." Abby whined.

We were all bored out of our minds and there's only so many games you can play while in the car. I spy with my little eye something apocalyptic. Oh wait, that's everything. That game was ditched five miles ago.

"Wanna hear another joke?" I asked.

"No!" They protested at the same time.

A scoff left my lips as I looked at the road. Apparently, hearing over a hundred jokes in a few hours isn't enjoyable. I put in so much effort only for them to disregard my jokes. It's not fair, some people just don't understand culture.

The cars in front of us slowed down even more and I almost went to protest but people started exiting their cars. There were hundreds of other cars left to rot all around us. I parked our car as s sigh left my mouth.

"What now?" I wondered.

We exited the car and reached Dale's RV. That's where everyone was gathered watching him tinker with the engine. Smoke emerged from the front of the RV as Dale frowned at the sight.

"I said it. Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water." Dale mumbled.

"A problem, Dale?" Shane asked.

"Well, just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-" He stopped talking when he saw Daryl rummaging through various stuff in the cars.

The fact that this place was abandoned could work in our favor. If everyone left their stuff, then we could take it for ourselves. It's easier than trying to go shopping in the middle of the apocalypse. At least now, everything's free.

"Okay, that was dumb." Dale said.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane trailed off.

Or he could just dump the RV and get a new vehicle. Perhaps throw out Andrea, Lori and Shane with it. I feel like that'd be asking for too much though. Once again, being silent is the smarter choice.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl said.

"Get more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog added.

"Water, food, clothes even. Anything your heart desires." I said.

My siblings and I couldn't afford most of the stuff located in these cars. Living was difficult without proper jobs. Dakota was a waitress who babysat every other day, Ryan worked as a delivery man and I was a hostess who did all sorts of odd jobs.

"This is a graveyard. I don't know how I feel about this." Lori spoke up.

I bit my tongue trying not to comment on how stupid her comment was. Everything is a graveyard nowadays. If we don't use that to our advantage, we'll become part of it.

"Come on, y'all. Just look around. Find what you can." Shane said.

Abby went with Sophia while Ryan stuck with Glenn. A sigh left my lips as I wandered off on my own searching through cars. Most of the stuff inside was useless. Old magazines, empty bags of chips and dead bodies.

From a few feet in front of me, I could see Daryl struggling to open one of the car doors. He grunted in frustration before getting his crossbow. It was clear he intended to use it to break the glass. I bit my lip before going towards him.

"Hey, dumbass. Let me have a go at it before you attract every walker nearby."

Daryl lowered his crossbow as I crouched down in front of the car. I took out a bobby pin and fiddled with the lock.

All it took was a few right angles before I was able to unlock it. Daryl opened the door and we saw a few cans of food on the car floor.

"Not bad. Where'd you learn how to do that?" Daryl asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip as I pinned the bobby pin under my hair once again. A part of me wanted to snap at Daryl for even asking me a question. But I can't pretend that he didn't save my life multiple times.

"Well, my dad was a great thief. He taught me a few handy tricks before his job killed him. A man with a heart of gold, but he could never resist a good heist." I explained.

He was caught robbing a house and the cops were on him within minutes. In a futile attempt to avoid prison, he shot at the cops and started an accidental fire. The fire killed them all in the end.

"He couldn't have been that great if it got him killed." Daryl pointed out.

I bit the inside of my cheek as I realized how uncomfortable talking to him should've been. Yet I didn't find myself wanting to stab him to death. It was actually nice to be able to talk about my father.

"Perhaps not." I replied.

He had his flaws, but he always tried to keep me safe. I was the reason he and my mother fought. She took out her marriage frustrations on me and my father only agitated her even more by trying to protect me.

I shook those thoughts out of my head as I realized that I had been standing next to Daryl in silence. He didn't seem to mind it as his eyes observed me. I don't know if he noticed that I was in my own thoughts, but he didn't comment on it.

"Call if you're incapable of doing anything else." I sassed.

I walked past him as he scoffed. A small smirk formed on my face. I went inside another car and rummaged through it. My attention was caught by a knife in the backseat. I furrowed my eyebrows and reached for it.

It was a bit bloody so I cleaned it on the seat. My fingers went over the smooth wood until I saw an initial. It was a small A carved into the wood. I could give it to Abby as a gift. She needs to learn how to defend herself.

I tucked it into my belt and got out. Only to immediately duck. Dozens of walkers were coming my way. It was unlike anything that I had seen before. Panic rose inside of me as I quickly got under the car.

I lost count of how many of them passed by me until I couldn't see them anymore. I released a sigh of relief right before hearing a scream. I tensed thinking it was Abby. I crawled out immediately only to see Rick running off into the woods.

-----

"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked Rick.

I looked around seeing no sign of Sophia being here at all. After catching up with the group, I was relieved to find Abby alive and well. She wasn't with Sophia when the walkers came, but with Ryan instead.

"I left her right here. I drew off the walkers in that direction, up the creek. She was gone by the time I got here. I figured she just took off and ran back to the group. I told her, go that way, and keep the sun on her left shoulder." Rick explained.

If we're being honest, he did more than most of us. Nobody else ran after her and killed the walkers that were chasing her.

The only reason that I'm here searching for her is because she's Carol's daughter. If it was Abby out there, I'd be losing my mind too.

"Hey, short round. Why don't you step off one side? You're mucking up the trail." Daryl told Glenn.

He moved awkwardly from where he stood as a smirk tugged on my lips. It's not like he was a tracker like Daryl, none of us were. The only person who knew what to do was Dixon himself.

"Assuming she knows her left from her right." Shane said.

"She understood me, Shane. She understood me fine." Rick snapped.

"Kid's tired and scared, man. She had a close call with two walkers today. Gotta wonder how much of what you said stuck." Shane explained.

It's not like she had to learn nuclear physics or anything. The instructions were simple enough for a kid to follow.

Ranger Rick did the right thing, though I hate to actually admit it. Sophia would be dead already if it wasn't for him.

"Got clear prints right here. She did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let's spread out." Daryl suggested.

Shane held out his hand to help me up from the creek. Making physical contact with him wasn't exactly what I wanted. Though I still accepted the help and he pulled me up making our eyes meet.

He looked away and I realized that this was the first time we made eye contact since his confession about liking me. That could be the reason for him being slightly awkward. I shook away those thoughts from my head.

"We're gonna find her. She's probably hiding in a bush somewhere." Shane said.

I followed Daryl as he crouched down in front of something. All I saw was dirt and leaves. Daryl may be an asshole most of the time, but he knows what he's doing. That's more than most of us can say.

"She was doing fine until right here. All she had to do is keep going, swerved off that way." He explained.

"Why would she go in the opposite direction?" I asked.

"Maybe she saw something. Spooked her, made her run off." Shane suggested.

It makes sense for there to be more walkers around here. The highway cars are empty which means all those walkers had to go somewhere. It's possible they're simply lurking in the woods.

"Walker?" Glenn asked.

"I don't see any other footprints. Just hers." Daryl replied.

"Now what? We all look for her?" I asked.

We'd cover more ground that way and it would take less to find her. The sooner she's reunited with Carol, the better. Carol is the only person that I could truly call a friend. Not that I would ever tell her that.

"No. Better if you, Glenn and Shane get back up on the highway. People are gonna start panicking. Let them know we're on her trail and that we're doing everything we can. But most importantly, keep everyone calm." Rick explained.

He acts like he's never met me. I do the opposite of keeping people calm. Though I suppose he could've been referring to Glenn and Shane keeping people from panicking.

"I can have them scavenging cars, dig up another few chores. Keep them occupied." Shane agreed.

----

Abby searched a car with Glenn. He took out some comics and excitedly showed them to her. It was like watching children interact. Ryan and I were observing the area in case of other walkers. We can't afford another sneak attack.

"Why is Shane so keen on distracting us? It's not like we'll be able to forget that Sophia's missing." Ryan commented.

"That's not why he's doing it, only trying to keep the peace until Sophia is found." I replied.

"What if they don't find her? Do you think Carol will wish that she stayed with her at the CDC?" Ryan asked.

I whipped my head towards him as he flinched at his own words. It was easy to pretend like the CDC didn't happen, like Ryan didn't almost commit suicide. I never wanted to think about it.

"Do you still wish that you stayed?" I asked.

He didn't want to share Amy's fate, to die in such a brutal way and to have his sisters put him down. It's not like I wanted that either but I don't think him dying would have spared us any pain. Losing a sibling is going to hurt no matter what.

"I think it'd be easier, but no. Like you said, family comes first. I lost sight of that and I don't plan on doing it again." He said.

I smiled at him despite the fear I still felt inside my heart. His fight has only begun and I don't intend on forcing him to talk about it. He was trying and that's all I needed to know. I went to reply to him when Abby came up to us.

"Abby, I was just about to go find you. I have something for you." I said.

She looked up with sadness swirling in her eyes. Sophia and her were friends since this whole thing started. I'm afraid that she grows more anxious with every passing moment that Sophia's not found.

I took out the knife that I had found in one of the cars. She held on to it and looked at the initial with her curiosity being piqued. If she has to have a weapon, at least it can be one that means something.

"A as in Abby. But I don't know how to use it." Abby protested.

"We'll teach you. For now, just get used to its weight and the way it feels in your hand." Ryan replied.

She carefully turned it in her hands to have a better look. This family has always had to know how to protect itself. It's about time that we teach Abby some basics of survival, at least the ones that she doesn't know yet.

"Oh God. They're back." I heard Glenn say.

I went up there to see what was happening. To my disappointment, I only saw Daryl and Rick. There was no trace of Sophia. I glanced back to see Ryan leading Abby into the RV away from the fuss.

"You didn't find her?" Carol questioned.

Her voice came out desperate and almost like a plea. Everyone had hope that we'd find Sophia within hours. The more time passes, the bigger the chances are that she's dead. I didn't want to tell Carol that though.

"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again first light." Rick said.

"We can't leave with my daughter out there on her own. Just spend the night alone in the woods." Carol cried.

"Trackin in the dark is no good. We'd just be trippin over ourselves. More people get lost." Daryl explained.

His voice was softer than usual. It was a sound that I never thought I'd hear. For a moment, Daryl was like a completely different person. It distracted me from Sophia. Even if only for a second.

"She's twelve. She can't be out there on her own. You didn't find anything?" Carol sobbed.

"This is hard but I'm asking you not to panic. We know she was out there." Rick comforted.

"So we tracked her for a while." Daryl added.

And yet the trail stopped at some point. That didn't sound good in my opinion. If she was alive, then they would have caught up with her fairly quickly. This is the one time that I don't like how pessimistic I am.

"We need to make this an organized effort. Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this." Rick explained.

I raised my eyebrow impressed at the sudden team up. Usually it was Shane and Ranger Rick who did all the duo work. Somehow that only makes me more wary. If there's bad blood between them, the whole group could suffer.

"Is-Is that blood?" Carol asked.

She was pointing at Daryl's pants. A bit of blood was staining the knee part of his pants. It could be from anything. If it was Sophia's, they would have told us about it. At least I hope they would.

"We took down a walker." Rick said.

"A walker. Oh God." Carol whispered.

It was clear that she was starting to panic. I put my hand on the lower part of her back and she glanced at me with desperation in her eyes. Sophia was her rock through all this. It wouldn't be fair to take her away from Carol.

"There was no sign of him ever being anywhere near Sophia." Rick stated.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked.

"We cut the son of a bitch open. Made sure." Daryl explained.

Well, consider me impressed. They were definitely thorough. Carol sighed and leaned against the fence. She was breathing heavily as all of this was too much for her.

"How could you-just leave her out there to begin with? How could you just leave her?" Carol accused Rick.

"There were two walkers on us. I-I had to draw them off, it was her best chance." He replied.

He felt guilty for leaving her behind, that much was clear. All you had to do was look at his face and you could see it slowly eating him alive. He did what he thought was best and I, for once, don't blame him for it.

"Rick did what was best for her, Carol. He wouldn't just leave her if there was a better option." I retorted.

Surprise crossed everyone's face at my sudden praise of Ranger Rick. It even made me stop for a moment. I never thought I'd verbally agree with him.

Though the look of gratitude on his face was enough for me not to regret it. Carol was still inconsolable crying about how she's just a child and that she couldn't possibly know her way back.

Rick told her it was the only choice he could make and Shane agreed with him. Despite their good intentions, Carol still uttered words that'll haunt me at night.

"My little girl got left in the woods."