Y/N jumps up immediately. "You got T?" She asks Daryl. He nods and that's all the confirmation she needs.
She takes off in the direction of the scream and spots Lori holding onto Carol. Carl is standing near Shane. Glenn is climbing to the top of the RV to help Dale. Andrea walks out of the RV looking frightened.
Her gaze softens when she notices Carl but he looks nervous. He points in the direction of the woods and she looks over to see Rick chasing after three walkers who are following Sophia.
Before anyone can stop her, she jumps the railing on the side of the road and follows after Rick.
She quickly catches up to Rick who found Sophia.
He turns around to see Y/N. "What are you doing?"
She waves her arm. "Doesn't matter. Are you okay sweetie?" Y/N asks Sophia.
She's clutching her doll and she has tears in her eyes. "Shoot them!"
Rick shakes his head. "We can't. The walkers on the road will hear it. Then it wouldn't be just three, it'd be hundreds."
Y/N notices a small stream and a little overhang of roots. "Here. This way." She leads Sophia down into it and hides her in the darkness. "Stay here."
Rick nods. "We'll draw them away from you."
Sophia shakes her head. "No. No. Don't leave me here."
"Sophia, they don't get winded. We do. Okay? We need to take care of them." Y/N says. Sophia nods and hugs her tight.
Rick touches Sophia's shoulder. "If we don't make it back, run back to the highway, back to the others straight the way we came. Keep the sun on your left shoulder."
Rick walks into the stream first, catching the attention of one of the walkers. "Cmon. Cmon you ugly son of a b*tch."
Y/N waits till the first walker follows him and then climbs out. "Hey. Psst." She whispers loud enough for a second walker to see her.
She leads it away from the stream towards a clearing. She glances around for something to kill it with. She spots a medium-sized rock and hides behind a tree.
Once the walker passes her, she smacks it against its head, knocking it to the ground. She kneels on top of it and smashes the rock onto its head three more times until it stops moving.
She wipes a bead of sweat off her forehead and heads back towards the stream. The third walker must've followed after Rick. He isn't back yet.
She hops back into the stream and climbs to the overhang. "Sophia, honey, i'm back."
No answer. "Sophia?"
No answer. "Sophia!"
She feels around the inside of the space and realizes that she's gone. "F*ck." She whispers.
She climbs out and gets back into solid ground. "Sophia!" She calls.
Still no answer. A branch snaps and she whips her head around but drops her shoulders at the sight of Rick.
"Where's-"
"She's gone. I led one of the walkers away and killed it but by the time I got back..." She trails off.
"Let's go get the others." He says.
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Rick and Y/N lead Glenn, Shane and Daryl to the stream where they last saw Sophia.
Daryl moves aside some roots. "Sure this is the spot?"
Y/N nods. "We left her right there."
"I drew two of the walkers way off in that direction up the creek." Rick says.
"And I led one off towards a clearing not too far from here. By the time I got back she was gone." Y/N says.
Rick sighs. "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."
Shane scoffs. "Assuming she knows her left from right."
"Shane, she understood me fine." Rick says.
Shane shrugs. "Kid's tired and scared, man. She had her a close call with three walkers. Got to wonder how much of what you said stuck."
Daryl points at the ground. "Got clear prints right here. She did like you said, headed back to the highway. Let's spread out, make our way back."
Y/N shakes her head. "She couldn't have gone far."
Daryl looks at her. "Hey, we're gonna find her. Okay?"
She nods slowly.
Rick sighs. "Let's split up. Y/N, Glenn, and Shane, head back to the highway. Let 'em know what's going on. People are gonna start panicking."
"I'll keep them busy, scavenging." Y/N says.
Daryl and Rick continue to follow Sophia's trail and the other three head back to the road where the others wait anxiously.
Shane explains the situation and Y/N hugs Carol. "We will find her."
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Y/N is searching through one of the abandoned cars when she hears Carl shout.
She climbs out of the car, hitting her head in the process. "Carl! You okay?"
He nods and walks up with a folded mat. "Look what I found." He opens it up to reveal several melee weapons. "It's an arsenal."
She sighs, still shaken up from Sophia going missing. "That's cool, bud. Bring it to Dale."
"Check this one out. Whoa, it's a hatchet." He pulls it out and Y/N gently takes it from his hand. "Be careful."
"Can I keep one?" She huffs out a laugh. "You'll need to ask your mom or dad about that. For now bring them to Dale."
He nods and trots off with the collection.
She sighs and rubs her head where she bumped it on the car.
Just a few weeks ago, she was ready to leave this group behind. Now she's chasing after walkers without a second thought.
When she was younger, she always wanted to have a child. Her own mother was not a very good person. She wanted to break the cycle.
Even though Sophia and Carl aren't hers, she feels like it's her job to protect them.
She's willing to die for them.
Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
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YOU ARE READING
Sheriff's lover ||| Rick Grimes x Reader (TWD x Reader)
Fanfiction32 year-old Y/N was all alone on the streets of Atlanta when a man in a sheriffs uniform trots down the road on top of a horse. She decides to join him on his journey to find his family because she doesn't want to be left behind. The two run into a...
