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The Hunter Within

Four Walls and a Roof

Sweat began to run down the contours of Sophie’s face, the sun beating down on her unmercifully and continuously as it neared its peak. She had been running laps all morning, silently getting to know her new squad, becoming acquainted with their gait, their reaction times to the world around them. Reserve team bravo, a four-man team that would train in conjunction with reserve team alpha, two teams of the four lots of reservists, those that didn’t score high enough to make the proper teams. They had been segregated immediately after breakfast, Vincent remaining behind as she was called off to the others that had scored a measly one out of two. He scored high enough to be approved for fieldwork, his failed medical the only thing keeping him from being accepted into the elitists.
Sophie eyed off the corporal as they passed him once more, his scowl following her with dangerous, almost knowing eyes. The man looked as if he had stepped right out of a cliché army movie and his starring role as the asshole in command, his thick arms crossed over his chest in a way that she was sure meant to intimidate them. His general demeanor was stern and uninviting, his beady eyes moving over them as they moved around the field more times than Sophie had the energy to count anymore. His brown hair was greying beneath the cap he wore and watching him carefully as she ran, Sophie had come to decide that he would probably be one of the remaining, original occupants of Fort Hill, residing there long before the dead had begun to roam. Before the world fell apart, the fragments scattered across the entire country.
And these are the broken pieces, she scanned the field with an internal snort, forced together by glue and fear. Glancing over all the different squads littering the large training grounds, Sophie couldn’t help but feel as if she were back at high school, running laps for gym class. Her eyes brushed over a familiar head of red hair in her quick scan, her gaze darting back to find Allison standing beside Chloe and Vincent, his own eyes trailing her as she ran passed. The taller of the two men in her squad glanced back over his shoulder at them as Vincent raised a questioning eyebrow, his silent voice still too unfamiliar for her to understand what he was asking. Turning her attention to the way the man before her slowly began to drop back, Sophie worked at keeping her eyes forward once again, listening out for the other two members of her squad as they moved a little less smoothly close behind.
Of the four of them, Alice was the smallest and youngest, her brown hair wound up into a tight bun, large enough to almost match her head in size. She looked like an Alice, her features the kind of petite that Sophie had imagined the storybook character had, her eyes wide and curious as she seemed to soak in the world around her with intense concentration. The two of them had almost met the night before, Sophie having had made a move for the empty seat beside the young girl before being called in for her psychological evaluation. Before you failed and ruined everything…
The men were both the same, but entirely different all at once. While the taller of the two had skin that resembled smooth coffee and the other with a complexion that resembled milk, they were both dark of hair, the latter's jet-black curls falling down to rest on his wide shoulders, while the taller, leaner man looked as if he had only recently outgrown his buzz cut. Evan, the paler of the two, came across quieter, much more contemplating than his confident friend. The pair seemed to be just that, chatting comfortably together while both Alice and Sophie had stood by awkwardly in the moments before they had been given laps to do. No one had spoken since, and for that, Sophie was thankful.
“Where did they pick you up from?” Ben, the tanner of the two men, put a sudden stop to the silent nature of their run, his words strained under shallow breaths. Sophie concentrated on her own as her eyes involuntarily acknowledged his question.
“Georgia.”
“I’m a New Yorker, myself.” He flashed her a smile, eyes brushing over her sweaty figure briefly as he worked at keeping with her. His strides were much longer than Sophie’s were, almost as if she were running next to Daryl. “You’re new here?”
“Third day.”
“I’ve been here just under a year, but this is only my second time through the selection process.” Ben continued, seemingly un-phased by her dismissive tone, pausing only to glance back over his shoulder to routinely check on the others. “I was in recovery with Evan for a bit. Dislocated my shoulder and broke my other arm before they picked me up, bones set all wrong. Evan shattered his calf during the raids in Washington at the start of it all, been here ever since. This is his fourth try.”
Mimicking his movements, Sophie glanced back over her own shoulder to take in the way the dark haired man limped along behind them, his breath short and sharp enough to tell her that he was in pain. Moving her gaze back to the track before her, she caught sight of the covered fence, almost completely hidden by the mess hall and medical centre. Chewing at her lip, Sophie attempted to fight of the curiousity that begun to settle in her weary joints. “What’s with the restricted area?”
“Not sure, never been back there,” Ben spoke after a moment of silence, the pair catching their breath as he followed her gaze to the back fence. “They take the field approved soldiers back there before sending them out on the road. That’s where the trucks leave from, last minute medicals are done, supplies rationed out, all that shit. Some people reckon they fit the team with trackers. Best not to worry about it, thought, we’re not going to ever see the inside of that fence.”
Sophie frowned beneath deep breaths, her eyes flickering from the track to the man beside her, curiousity continuing to nag at her. “Why?”
“We’re stuck together now. All four of us need to be field approved before we can go, means we all need to be of age and score a two out of three before the next time testing comes around. Who knows how far off eighteen Alice is and I saw the score sheet corporal Williams had, there’s no way you’re coming back from a failed psychological, and no way Evan is coming back from that broken leg.”
“You don’t think I’m fit for the field?”
Ben laughed at her mocking tone, shaking his head with a sense of amusement. “You just came from the field, my bet is your fitter than any of us. They’ll fail you for anything in there, it was probably not a great move to tell them you killed someone. That never sits well with people like them.”
“What makes you think I’ve killed someone?”
“You were out there since the beginning, right?” He paused long enough for Sophie to dip her head once, eyes not meeting his. “Then I would be surprised if you hadn’t. I know what it’s like out there. I’ve been there, I just didn’t tell them about it.”
“I’ll work on my pushups, and I’ll get the two out of three.” She hugged, glancing back over her shoulder once again. Sophie’s gaze brushed over Alice before touching on Evan’s struggling figure before daring to slow her pace a little more, giving him a chance to catch up. “And we’ll get Evan there.”
“Even then, passing this and moving out onto the field isn’t something someone like Evan will survive. Something any of us will, for that matter.” Ben continued in a much lower voice, his hazel eyes locking with hers for a moment. “They only send the two out of three-er’s out there because they rarely come back. They don’t risk the perfect scorers, and if they are sending them out, you know they’re desperate.”
“If they never come back, why not send us?”
“We’re the potential,” he almost laughed as they passed by the starting point once again, the pair falling completely silent under the corporal’s watchful eyes. Sophie took a moment to gather her breath and her thoughts, frowning at the information Ben was giving her. “If we work hard enough, we move up and replace the middle ground his place loses. We get paired up with the permanent recruiters, the ones that always seem to make it back with the new batch of survivors, and sent out to meet our maker.”
Sophie worked at keeping her breathing natural, concentrating on her paces as she considered the grave notion, eyes darting across the field almost desperately for Vincent’s large frame. “It’s not that bad out there.”
“Then why aren’t they coming back?”
“They brought us back here fine, we didn’t even run into any –”
“Guys,” a soft voice pulled them from their conversation and back onto the track, both their heads snapping around to look at Alice, only for the small girl to direct them to where Evan had begun to fall further behind, threatening to stop altogether.
“I’ve got him.” Sophie glanced across the field to where the corporal was standing, arms crossed and forever studying them. Trying to keep her pace even, she worked at dropping back to fall in beside the limping man with a soft smile. “Which leg is it?”
“Left.” He wheezed, much to Sophie’s relief as she worked at switching sides to slip in beneath him, propping his armpit up onto her unscarred, left shoulder. Evan was heavier than he looked, and though he seemed to be working at keeping her weight from falling onto her shoulder completely, it was still almost enough to unbalance her much smaller frame.
Rounding the entirety of the field, moving passed the corporal once again, Sophie refused to look at him, refusing to let him see the pain that no doubt reflected in her eyes, or the way her chest heaved unevenly under the weight of the man beside her. She worked through the way her legs shook and Evan’s never ending apologies until Ben began to drop back as they neared where Alice had called them back. The small girl moved in to support his right side as best she could as the Sophie and Ben swapped out, the taller man swooping down awkwardly. Keeping with them, Sophie worked at rolling her left shoulder, the ache in the joints usually familiar to her right.
The small group continued like that for more laps than Sophie cared to count, her face reddening and the muscles tight as she concentrated on studying the compound around her rather than the ache in each and every one of her joints. The outer fences weren’t something Sophie had given up thought to, a prospect that surprised her now that she was actually considering it. They were much like the one separating the restricted area from the rest of the compound, expect that they had been standing much longer, the poles were driven and no doubt cemented into the ground below, just as they had been at the prison. Lookouts lined the fence, dotted with uniformed soldiers – those that had scored perfectly on their test – in a way that told Sophie she wouldn’t have a chance of sneaking out of there unseen, day or night.
The tents consumed nearly half of the base, the deep green decorating the dry, brown grass to the right side of the central medical unit. Unable to help herself, Sophie’s eyes once again darted to the fence at the back of the base, wondering just how much of the compound it consumed. As she worked at taking in deep breaths, she found herself reminded of when she was eight years old and her father had told her she wasn’t allowed in his work shed alone. She had spent the afternoon working on a plan to sneak into the shed without him seeing, so sure that he was trying to keep something from her. If you stop being ridiculous, she scolded herself, you’d remember that he was only trying to keep you safe.
As Ben worked at switching with her once again, Sophie realized that while she had felt many things since arriving at Fort Hill, she was yet to feel entirely safe. She was yet to believe that anyone here had her best interests at heart, that anyone really cared whether she was here or what she had been through. Except for Vincent, you can’t deny him that, she considered knowingly, thinking back to the way he had squeezed at her hand earlier when her name had been called, to the way he had only wanted to comfort her and in her moment of anger, she had denied him that.
Rolling her shoulder, she continued mindlessly around the circle with the others, the four of them entirely silent, their exhaustion making no room for any further conversation between her and Ben. Sweat drenched the fabric of Sophie’s uncomfortable clothes, the thick material clinging to her skin in a manner that only made them less desirable. Her boots had proved to be her saving grace, the thought of doing this in her old ones enough to make her cringe, remembering the times she had peeled her socks off after a supply run to find her feet littered with painful blisters. A soft slime slipped onto her red face as she remembered the way Daryl would take them in his rough hands, bandaging the bubbly wounds with a forever concerned frown, his eyes unreadable, as if it were somehow his fault.
“That’ll do, team bravo.” Corporal Williams boomed as they passed, all eight feet coming to a sudden stop. Sophie eyed him off almost cautiously, as if their premature halt would earn them laps for the rest of the day, as if her heavy legs could handle another one. “We’ll break for lunch, switch over with reserve team alpha afterwards, so if you couldn’t handle this morning, I’d suggest you put your name up for lunch clean up. I’m talking to you, Clarke.”
Evan laughed under strained breath as the corporal lifted a single eyebrow, studying his tiny squad as they moved off the running track, other groups filling the empty spaces around them. “I’d rather stay here with you, sir.”
“Be back in half an hour. We’re going to be doing some strength building exercises. God knows you all need it.” Corporal Williams dismissed them after a moment of contemplating silence, his eyes brushing over Sophie with a sense of deep interest as she passed by. “Lewis, hold up.”
She wasn’t sure if she groaned in her head or out loud, but she pressed her lips together tightly and forced a polite smile onto her face as she turned back to the intimidating man, her escape put to an abrupt halt. The two men seemed to hang back, eyeing her off curiously as Alice continued towards the mess hall. “What’s up?”
“I saw what you did out there, and I know you know what it means,” he spoke in a low voice, eyes going over her shoulder to where Evan and Ben still waited. “If he had of stopped, he would have been taken off the team and you would have had a better chance of getting out onto the field. I read your psych evaluation, Lewis, and I know how loyal you can be. It’s one of the good things he noted about you in the report. He said that you would kill for your family. Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Are they your family, Lewis? Would you be willing to kill for three failed physicals, two failed medicals and one under-aged recruit if you needed too, if it came to that?” He paused, eyes boring down into hers with a sense of genuine intent. “Are you capable of protecting these people, as if they were your own?”
Sophie resisted the urge to chew at her lip, regarding him with hard eyes and an unwavering stare, refusing to let him believe that she feared him. “You have no idea what I’m capable of, sir.”
“Oh, but I do. I can see it in your eyes, in the way you look at them, in the way you look at me. You’re determined, I can see that, and it’s not completely bad.” He counteracted, studying her with intense eyes before taking a step back to glance up at where the other must have still been waiting. Sophie’s heart thumped too loudly in her chest as she begun to back away without dismissal. “But, your determination will kill them all. I’ve seen it all before and I will see it again, and again.”
Her eyebrows furrowed together as she turned for the mess hall, her breathing shallow as she worked at considering the older man’s words with a sense of refusal. His words echoed through her mind, bouncing off the walls of her skull as she moved towards where they other two were waiting with curious eyes, Alice long gone. Evan was the first to speak as she reached them at the top of the rise, earning himself a dismissive wave and a feigned, indifferent smile as the trio moved towards the crowd that had already begun forming around the big, open building, the smell of food wafting out towards them in a way that only made Sophie sick. Knowing what was to come that afternoon, having seen the strength building exercises her companion team – reserve team alpha – were doing while they ran laps.
“Soph!” A familiar voice called out from within the crowd as she pushed through, wedged between Evan and Ben, deciding on some water and a snack while the others ate their lunch. Scanning the tables around her, eyes brushing over Vincent’s figure as he moved towards her from the counter. “I owe you half a sandwich.”
His face was as red as hers felt, his hair wet with what very well could have been sweat as he came to stand before them. Though Ben was the taller of the two men in her squad, Vincent was taller than him, beaming down on all three of them as he studied them with a sense of excitement. “Uh, guys, this is Vincent… He’s my…. Um…”
“Baby daddy,” he smirked with a wink, extending his large hand just as he had done when he met her. Unlike then, Ben and Evan took it comfortably, introducing themselves before Vincent turned back to her with a smile, eyes burning with something unreadable. “Can I speak to you?”
“I’ll catch up with you guys later,” she smiled at the other two men before letting Vincent led her back out onto the grass, taking the bottle of water he offered her eagerly. Sophie worked at keeping up with his quick pace as they moved away from the mess hall and out into the open. “Where are we going?”
“The tent, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Talk here.”
Vincent paused, frowning as he scanned the world around them, taking in a shaky breath in a way that made Sophie anxious. “Okay, well, they’ve fast tracked my squad to field work, we’re actually leaving tonight.”
“That’s great!” Sophie laughed, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly, the prospect of home suddenly a whole lot closer. “How many people are going? I’m sure it won’t be too hard to sneak me into the back of one of the empty trucks they take for the people they bring ba –”
“We’re not going back to Georgia, just passing through. They don’t do the same state twice in a row.” Vincent cut her off, his voice low and hands coming to rest on her shoulders, forcing her to be still beneath them as she went to tell him that she could just be dropped off. “Besides, I think you should stay, I don’t want to leave Teddy here all alone.”
“He’ll be fine.” Sophie frowned, taking a step back. “You said he likes his minder, and I’m sure there are kids who have stayed with her while their single parent is out on the road. This is the safest place he could be.”
“And he will be safer with you here.”
“I’m not staying.” She crossed her arms stubbornly, a sense of realization threatening upon her. “This might be the only chance I get for a long time.”
“I’ll bring them back. Allison is in my group, she will take me to the prison and we will look from there. She knows what they look like.” Vincent paused for a moment, stepping forward as Sophie tried to retreat to their tent. “And you can give me your picture, I’ll show it to anyone I find, maybe they’ve seen him.”
She paused mid-step, eyes snapping to the tall man with a sense of shock. “How do you know about the picture?”
Vincent just shrugged, grabbing at her hand to anchor her to where they stood. “I share a room with you, Sophie, and you fall asleep with it in your hands. I haven’t gone through your stuff, I’m not plotting against you, stop taking everything I say and do as a personal attack. I’m trying to help you.”
“Then let me come!”
“No!” He spat back at her hissed words, grip tightening around her wrist as she made a move to walk away once more. “I really think we could be good friends, I really like you, but I love Teddy and with you constantly shutting me out and Thomas still too far away, he is all I have left in this world right now.”
“So you stay, and I go.”
“It doesn’t work like that!” He groaned, running a hand through his light hair almost impatiently. “You can’t just make rules for yourself and expect everyone to be okay with that. You miss Daryl, you miss the others, I get that, but you have to sit tight and trust that I am going to bring them home for you!”
“Allison won’t help you!” Sophie almost cried, hating the tears that begun to well in her eyes as she refused to let herself see the truth in what Vincent was saying. “She hates Rick, she hates all of us, and she would rather see them dead!”
“Chloe is in the other group coming, she will help me, she likes you, I can tell.” His tone was somewhat pleading as he let go of her hand somewhat hesitantly, trusting that she would stay to hear him out, features softening as he studied her face. “I trust you to take care of Teddy, to keep him safe, so trust me. Please.”
“Ben, from my group, he seems like a good guy,” Sophie spoke frantically after a moment of silence, her desperation weighing heavy on her weary shoulders. “I’ll see if he can take Teddy while we go. Drop me off in Georgia and I’ll find a car, come back as soon as I find them. Three days tops.”
“You’d off hand the most important thing in my life to a stranger?”
“That’s what you’re asking me to do.”
Vincent physically recoiled from her whispered words, his eyebrows furrowing together as he considered what she was implying, his face scrunched up as if it were in pain, enough so to fill Sophie with a deep-rooted sense of guilt. “You’re pushing me away because you want to find your family, I get that, but what you’ve failed to think about is what if you never find them. You’re pushing the only person who cares if you do or not away. I understand. I want to find Thomas, but I know that’s going to be a lot easier with you by my side. Something that won’t happen if I push you away.”
“I promise I’ll help you find him, if you let me come with you.”
“Call it an insurance policy. I bring them back for you, and you help me find my brother, no chance to back out.” He spoke slowly, making no attempt to make her stay as she stepped back, eyes brushing over where people were beginning to reform their groups, lunch coming to an end despite her empty stomach. “Let me take the picture, and I’ll find them.”
Sophie studied the taller man for a moment, her eyes locked in on his pleading, grey ones with a sense of uncertainty. Sighing to herself, she dug into her back pocket, fingers curling around the photo as she admitted defeat. For now. A little angrier than necessary, she pushed the photo into Vincent’s awaiting hand, eyes lingering on the tiny, familiar face it held before moving away altogether. She chewed at her lip, trying not to think about what Ben had claimed earlier, that no one ever came back, as she rushed to where her own squad waited by the edge of the field. Vincent might have said something else, but she didn’t pause to listen, not willing to let him see how both her fear and anger for him welled in her eyes.
“Lovers quarrel?” Evan raised a thick, black eyebrow as she approached the group, wiping the tears that threatened to spill with the back of her sleeve. She dismissed the man with an indifferent shake of the head, thankful that corporal Williams followed close enough behind for any other questions to be silenced.
The older man gave his orders as soon as he was within earshot of the small group, Sophie only half listening as she glanced back up the rise to find Vincent still standing where she had left him, eyes meeting hers before she dropped them. She was thankful to find the strength training would begin with core exercises, thankful that she didn’t have to do pushups just yet. They would come, though, she had caught sight of reserve team alpha doing them that morning, and her shoulder already ached at just the thought of it. You need to do them, she worked at convincing herself as she sunk to the ground beside Alice, working at getting herself into position for crunches, something she hadn’t done in as long as she could remember. Them and the exercises Amanda gave you, if you ever want a shot at finding your own people.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Vincent to try and find them, it was that she trusted Daryl’s ability to remain untraceable, it was that she was familiar with his cold nature, with the way he avoided crowds, especially when those crowds were made up of complete strangers. Not completely, Sophie considered, Allison’s bright hair plaguing her thoughts as she worked at pulling herself up to her knees with little effort, her core strength not something she was concerned about. Lowering back towards the ground, a sense of dread settled in over her as she realized that there was no way Allison would take Vincent anywhere near the prison, would let him stop in Georgia, not if she knew why he wanted to go there. Not if it included bringing the others back.
For the first time since Allison told her how little this place needed someone like Rick, Sophie considered what it would be like to have them here, to have them living in a situation where they had little control after living on their own terms for so long. She wondered how their leader would be, surrounded by so many strangers, his holster empty. She wondered how Carol would fit in, what Beth would do. She wondered how someone like Sasha would take orders from strangers, how Tyreese and Glenn would mesh with Vincent, if Carl would be sidelined with the rest of the children his age. She wondered if she would get to work alongside Maggie and Michonne, if they would be as suspicious of this place and it's restricted area as she was.
Most of all, she wondered how long it would take Daryl to settle in, knowing just how long it had taken him to spend any length of time within the fences when they first began filling them with strangers. She wondered how many fights he would get in, trying to sneak out for a hunt, how many times he would have to tell them that they can’t keep him locked away before he begun to believe them. She wondered how many nights he would go without sleep, perched on the edge of his bed, eyes on the door. She wondered if they would let him keep his crossbow, if they really had a choice in the matter, anyway. She wondered what it would be like to love him, actually knowing that she did. She wondered if he would love her back.
Moving through the different exercises, Sophie realized that she was scared. Not just of what Ben had told her and Vincent going out there, but of what would happen if he did bring them back. For the first time ever, she was truly scared of Daryl. Her mind raced through possibilities, through what if’s and maybe’s, as if any of them mattered. None of them did, not until he stood before her, well and truly alive. It would only be then that she could afford to worry about what would become of her discovered love. She had kissed him, only days before the prison had fallen and he had pushed her away, why would now be any different? Why would her knowing change his mind? He was a difficult man, to say the least, his mind not something that was easily changed.
Sophie argued with herself through more crunches, planks, squats and lunges than she cared to count, moving back and forth between whether or not she would tell Daryl or not, as if he were already here, as if she were going to see him at dinner that night. You’re not, you might never see him again, she considered before she could stop herself, Vincent’s own what if dancing in her mind, taunting her. She hadn’t stopped to consider never seeing Daryl or the others again, it felt so impossible, even now, even after the lifetime that had passed between the prison falling and now. They were slipping out of her reach, as if they never really existed in the first place.
At the conclusion of the lunges, Sophie made a move to grab at the picture in her back pocket, remembering too late that it was no longer there. Instead, she closed her eyes, trying to picture the contours of his face as they were ordered to push up’s, the sun almost brushing the tops of the trees. Pain radiated through her right shoulder as she took up position, the thought of Daryl being consumed by the dull ache that it projected through the rest of her body. Sophie thought of nothing as she grit her teeth, lowering her body down towards the ground, holding it there until they were ordered back up onto outstretched arms.
The sun was growing less intense as it lowered, preparing to hand them over to the all-consuming darkness. When it came, she would be forced to acknowledge that Vincent was really going, and that she was really staying. That she would stay behind on babysitting duty while he looked for her family, just because some man in an office didn’t think she was reliable enough to be on the outside, as if she would hurt her own people. Your determination is going to kill them, corporal Williams echoed through her mind as she glanced up at him after struggle through another set, the man’s own eyes brushing over the entirety of their tiny group. Sophie considered the notion, considered whether or not she could stand by and watch people die just so she could be with her own. No, she decided sternly, refusing for Allison to be right.
Glancing across at the other three alongside of her, their bodies just as strained and broken as her own was, Sophie considered Vincent’s words once again and though she refused for them to be right, she realized that they didn’t have to be the only people that she cared for. Allison, on the other hand, was right. For a long time she had only truly cared for those she had believed had been with her from the start, but Michonne, Sasha, Tyreese and even Judith had only become her own after finding the prison. The Greene’s joined them after the farm fell, and if Sophie wanted to get technical, she and Rick were only welcomed to the quarry just before it too fell. Taking in a deep, realizing breath, Sophie worked at pushing herself up with aching arms, knowing that the people beside her, that Vincent and Teddy, were now hers to protect as well.
“Hold it there.” Corporal Williams finally boomed, each of the four weary bodies before him dropping to rest on the dry grass below. Sophie’s shoulder ached without mercy, her once torn flesh feeling as if it was once again. “Malek can take stretches, and I’ll see the four of you at zero six hundred tomorrow.”
“Just say the real time.” Sophie groaned under her breath as Ben gave them a moment to recover before stretching out. None of them spoke as they went through the motions, the only noise being the occasional moan or whimper as a sore muscle stretched a little too tightly.
“I know it’s really not any of our business,” Alice spoke softly as they worked at stretching out their weary legs, her wide eyes locked in on Sophie. “But you look like you got something on your mind.”
“It’s nothing.” She smiled across at the young girl, the forced movement not fooling any of them, Ben’s snort proving that. “Okay, maybe it is. Vincent and his team have been scheduled for a trip tomorrow.”
“And you’re worried about what Ben told you earlier? That no one comes back.” Evan piped up, raising a single eyebrow before catching his friend’s almost mortified look, shooting him his own of disbelief. “C’mon, you really don’t think I heard that? Give me some credit, I wasn’t that far behind.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Sophie felt Ben’s gaze narrow in on her as they swapped legs, leaning forward to grab at their booted toes as she tried to piece together some kind of excuse, silence threatening upon them. “She wants to go, too.”
“Yes.” She huffed, pausing to wince at the way the muscles along the length of her leg pulled tight. “But no. Teddy, my son is here, and someone has to look after him.”
“One of the women I came here with has a boy, about five, and he just stays with Jordan, the lady who runs the daycare, when she is away.” Alice piped up, copying Ben as he stood to stretch out their upper bodies. “I’m sure she would do the same for you, too.”
“Williams would be so pissed.”
“Count me in.” Evan spoke after the silence that followed Ben’s observation, the other man’s head snapping to regard his friend with a sense of uncertainty. “I haven’t seen the outside of this fence in a very long time. There will be two other groups there, if I’m ever going to survive a run, this will be it.”
“Me too.” A calculating smile crept onto the small girl’s features as she spoke, her usually wide eyes narrowing in on Evan for a moment. “I’ve got, at least, a year until I can qualify for a field approved position, maybe if I prove myself out on the road, they’ll make an exception.”
“No one is going to be making expectations.” Ben groaned, abandoning the stretches all together, eyes brushing over the trio with a sense of contemplation. “We’re going to be in a shit load of trouble when we get back.”
“We?”
“You think I’m going to stay behind and face a pissed off corporal?” Ben questioned his friend before he turned back to regard Sophie with a sense of acceptance. She shifted almost anxiously, knowing that she had just been roped into her own plan, whether she liked it or not. Forget Williams, Vincent is going to kill you. “Besides, the more the merrier, and the more likely everyone is going to come home.”
“How are we going to do it?”
“During dinner, everyone will be busy.”
“We’ll sneak through the fence, behind the daycare.” Evan continued on from Alice and Ben’s plans, Sophie still fighting against herself. Vincent trusts you with Teddy, something nagged at her, fighting against the excitement that welled in her chest. “It’s dark there, we’re less likely to be caught.”
“We can’t take anything, it will be too suspicious.”
“I’ll stop by the mess hall,” Alice decided, her voice growing lower and lower. “Pick up some of those takeaway containers, we don’t know how long we’ll be sitting in the back of those trucks for.”
“Dinner is in fifteen minutes.” Ben checked his watch, eyes only meeting with Sophie’s for a moment, misplacing the worry that he found there. “Gives you enough time to check on your kid, which come to think of it, gives us an excuse to be near the daycare.”
“Wait…” Evan spoke a little louder, the group falling silence for a brief second, Sophie still trying to collect her scattered thoughts. Your staff, the excited part of her piped up, you’ll need your staff. “What happens if we get caught?”
“If we get caught, I doubt we’ll ever be allowed out of these fences again.”
“We better make sure we don’t, then,” Alice spoke just as softly as Ben did before looking up at the darkening sky ever so briefly. “I’ve gotta run, take care of a few things before I collect dinner. I’ll lay some bread crumbs, tell the cook that we’ve got a team bonding session planned, that’s why we need the food to go.”
“I’ve got some painkillers for my leg that I’m definitely going to need come tomorrow morning.” Evan’s voice drifted away as he rushed off to follow Alice, moving with her towards the tents, leaving Ben and Sophie to follow behind. She stayed rooted in her spot for a moment, heart slamming against her chest.
“You coming?” Ben whistled, raising an eyebrow. Sophie knew that he didn’t mean tonight, that he just meant now, but she couldn’t help but feel as if she hadn't been given a choice either way.
“Yeah,” she spoke with a strained voice, keeping her feet unnecessarily light as she made a move to follow the others towards the tents in search of her staff, dreading the possibility of running into Vincent. He is going to kill you.
Despite knowing this, Sophie found herself moving into the tent they shared with a sense of excitement, the idea of being reunited with the others once again closer than when she had woken up that morning. Bending down to scoop up her staff from under her bed, Sophie worked at shoving some of her belongings into a bag before abandoning it all together, knowing that it would only be more suspicious if she got caught, the large, wooden stick already pushing it. Most of Vincent’s stuff was already missing, enough so that Sophie found herself relaxing a little more.
Perched up on the end of her bed, Sophie waited anxiously for the sun to set, working at gathering her scattered thoughts, gathering her confidence for the night ahead as the minutes dragged by. She found herself nervous of the unknown, not sure what would happen if they were caught, not sure what would happen out on the road. Your determination will kill them all, corporal Williams words echoed through her mind, bouncing off the walls of her skull, taunting her without end. It’s not you that got them into this mess, she worked at trying to calm herself as her breathing spiked, they decided it for you.
Abandoning her thoughts, Sophie peeked out through the opening of her tent cautiously before slipping into the darkness that had settled in over it. Sneaking around the back of the medical centre, just as she had done the night before, it still didn’t feel real, as if she would pick Teddy up, go and get them dinner before disappearing back into the suddenly empty tent. Maybe you still will, she considered, working at keeping out of sight, which wasn’t difficult with the recent nightfall. Rounding the sidewall, Sophie couldn’t help but eye off the restricted section before her as she scaled the back one, relieved to find it still. The silent nature of the looming fence gave way to chatter as she reached the side closest to the mess, abandoning her staff to step out of the shadows and move towards the daycare centre, her feet too quick and maybe a little too suspicious.
“Hi!” A sweet, unfamiliar voice greeted her as she stepped into the lightened room, a much more familiar, excited squeal calling out from the cluttered floor. Teddy wasn’t the only one left, another kid a little older than him was playing with a puzzle in the corner.
Sophie turned to smile at the approaching girl, her dark, curly hair sticking out in every which way and dark skin the kind of smooth she had once dreamed of having. “You must be Jordan? Vincent talks about you a lot.”
“Oh! You’re Sophie!?” Jordan beamed, glancing back over her shoulder at the way Teddy squealed a little more confidently, pulling himself across the floor towards them with all the strength his chubby arms could offer. “It’s so great to finally meet you! I don’t know if Vincent told you, but he did so much better this morning, only cried for a little after he left.”
Sophie’s entire being filled with guilt as she bent down to scoop up the tiny boy, not being able to help but giggle as he cooed, trying to wrap his arms around her. “Did he tell you that he was moving out in the morning?”
“Yeah, he stopped by to say goodbye to Teddy.”
“Okay, good…” Sophie shifted her weight, tearing her eyes away from the sky blue of the toddler in her arms to study the girl once more. She was about her age, and kind looking, her general nature quite welcoming. Almost laughing to herself, Sophie found herself understanding why Vincent liked her so much, especially after putting up with her coldness all the time. “I’m going to go with him.”
“Oh?” Jordan’s eyes widened, darting to study Teddy ever so briefly. “I’ve already got Charlie here staying with me, so Teddy will be no problem, really.”
Following the other girl’s gaze, studying the other kid almost nervously, a sense of fear welling in her stomach, arms tightening around Teddy’s soft frame. He is going to kill you. “We shouldn’t be too long. Are you sure it’s no trouble?”
“None at all, really.” Jordan smiled, her happy nature unwavering as Sophie almost unwillingly gave up the little boy after planting a soft kiss on his forehead, brushing the red hair from his eyes. “He is a wonderful kid.”
“All his stuff is back in the tent, I’ll be five min –”
“Don’t worry about it, honestly.” She dismissed Sophie’s moment of panic with a casual wave, bouncing Teddy as she smiled. “I have baby stuff coming out of my ears.”
“Okay, well…” Sophie hesitated, taking a small step away, Teddy’s eyes snapping to hers as she took another one, a sense of understanding beginning to well in his wide, trusting eyes. “Thank you so much, we really shouldn’t be that long.”
“No, you’re fine.” The other girl smiled a little sadder, this time, her eyes going to rest on Teddy as he began to reach out, chubby fingers opening and closing as he began to whine for Sophie. “We’ll see you soon.”
“Okay,” Sophie whispered, turning away from the tiny boy quickly, eyebrows furrowing together as desperate cries called out from behind. Closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath, she paused for only a moment, gathering herself before backtracking in order to collect her staff.
Slipping into the darkness behind the building, Teddy’s cries muffled through the thin walls, Sophie worked at navigating towards the fences, hands gripping at the familiar wood of her staff in a natural, readied way. Evan didn’t say a word as she slipped in behind him, her eyes brushing over the trio that had already grouped behind the last truck and the fence line, still not believing that they were actually doing this. He is going to kill you, she repeated, taking in a deep breath. Her nostrils were flooded with the mouth-watering smell of chicken, real chicken, her stomach growling too loudly as her mouth watered. You need to concentrate, she worked at scolding herself as Ben cut the wires nearest to the pole, this isn’t a picnic.
“I still can’t believe you have a kid,” Evan hissed through the darkness as Ben worked at pulling the two sheets of thick material back to peak inside, Sophie shifting her weight anxiously as he threatened to disappear.
“Neither do I.”
“You two need to be quiet.” Ben hissed from the other side, slipping the rest of his body through the tight opening. “If I’m signing myself up to all the trouble that will meet us back here, I want to actually see the outside before I accept my fate.”
Neither Evan nor Sophie spoke another word, Alice’s wide eyes darting back to brush over them before she too disappeared through the opening, clutching at the throwaway containers holding their dinner. Sophie didn’t have time to worry if the smell would give them away before Evan too slipped through the opening, leaving her with no choice but to follow. The inside of the compound was as still as it had appeared, most personnel at dinner or in the midst of changing shifts for the night. Thankfully, the line up of trucks were nearby, parked by the gate, ready to go.
The group of four navigated the fence in favour of the further side of the vehicles, relying on the cover to keep them hidden as they rushed towards the back of the convoy. Sophie pulled them all up with a low whistle before they could reach the end one, opting for the better protection of the one before it. She stood guard as the others followed her direction, pulling back the flap of material to pile into the back compartment with little noise. Not being able to help herself, Sophie worked at scanning the empty world around them before climbing up into the darkness, her staff in tow to find Alice already handing out the meals. As if this were actually a picnic.
The silence that ensued while they ate remained with them long after, Sophie’s eyes threatening to close as the day began to catch up with her. With Evan already asleep, and Alice looking as if she wasn’t close behind, she knew that giving in to her heavy eyelids would be a bad idea. Ben sat closest to the opening, his face brushed up against the thick, heavy-duty material as he worked at watching the compound around them with limited vision. He was tired too, she could see it in the way his blinks became longer, his eyes lingered closed for seconds on end. As hours dragged by, Sophie’s body began to stiffen, her joints aching with stillness as she dared to shift her position.
“Someone’s coming.” Ben hissed during the early hours of the morning, sinking back into the darkness a little more as Sophie sat upright, leaning forward to watch the way his eyes followed whoever he had seen. “Two of them. They are going to the truck behind us.” Sophie almost smiled smugly, a sense of relief settling in over her weary joints as she dared to shift her weight a little more, holding her breath as she waited for another update. Ben frowned as his eyes moved back the way they had come, lingering in the distance before coming to rest on her awaiting figure. “They dropped something off into the last truck. Looked heavy, in some black bag.”
“Are they gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you right to keep watching or do you want to switch over?”
“I’m okay.”
Sophie hesitated at the weary nature of his voice for a moment before choosing to trust his judgment, settling back into the hard wooden bench as the moment of excitement wore off, giving them back over to silence and a low lying sense of impatience. As time began to drag on once more, Sophie found herself regretting not choosing to visit the bathroom before she had climbed through the fence. Working at ignoring it, she wasn’t sure how much longer had passed by when Ben stirred once more, a single hand moving to tap on her leg in a manner that had her flinching for her staff, abruptly pulling her from internally mapping out her plan to find Daryl and the others once they were on the road.
“They’re coming back. This way now.”
“Are you sure?” She hissed back, slipping forward to peak out of the opening below him, cursing under her breath as she realized that he was right. Her eyes narrowed in on the bag they were holding, a sickness settling in her stomach as she realized why it was so big and bulky, and why the two men gripped at the ends almost awkwardly. “Get down, don’t move.”
Before they had a chance to wake the other two, the opening behind them was thrown open, just as Ben and Sophie managed to flatten themselves out on the floor below, the bag being tossed over the back to land on them both with a heavy thud. The two men were chatting with each other, their conversation coming to an immediate pause as Evan hissed under the impact of the body bag, grunting in an irritated tone as he and Alice regained consciousness. Outside, the world remained deadly quiet as Sophie dared to shift her weight out from under the body, fingers searching for the zipper to pull it back carefully, her heart pounding in her chest.
She wasn’t oblivious to the footsteps that crunched along the pebbled ground around them, or the sound of a weapon being loaded as she pulled the zip back a little quicker, light flooding the small space around them as he threw back the flap, breath caught in her throat, threatening to suffocate her. It’s too small to be him, she realized, blinking against the light as Ben was pulled from their hiding space by his feet, Alice complaining as they grabbed roughly at her arm. Evan went next, Sophie’s eyes brushing over a familiar head of blonde hair, the peaceful contours of Chloe’s face and the deep crimson that trickled from the neat hole in the centre of her forehead as a hand wrapped around her ankle.
She kicked against his hold, fingers reaching blindly for her staff with no luck as they pulled her out from the vehicle, her body dropping to the ground with a heavy thump, a groan escaping from the impact. The others were calling out as they were dragged towards the building, Sophie thrashing against the hands that forced her along with them. Don't be scared, she tried to tell herself, despite the way the building loomed ahead filled her with nothing but fear. It's just four walls and a roof. The pale nature of Chloe’s face and the blood that contrasted against it plagued her mind as they carried her towards the only building within the restricted area, the desperate calls of the others becoming muffled as they slipped inside the building. Your determination will kill them all.
Moving through the first set of doors, Sophie managed to wiggle free, making a break for it, unsure of what she was actually going to do before a pair of thick arms wrapped around her abdomen. The man tossed her over his unfamiliar shoulder with little effort as he continued on towards the second set of glass doors, a high pitched beep letting them through. Sophie was calling out for help, for anyone that could hear her, despite knowing that it was completely pointless. These people back here, they ran the base, she knew that. Ben knew that, Evan and Alice too, they all knew that now.
Sophie continued to fight against the hold her capture had on her upper legs, constricting her thighs as she worked desperately to make an escape, pounding her clenched fists against his wide back. As they were moved through what appeared to be a waiting room, the others already being forced through the third and final set of doors ahead of her, Sophie’s frantic eyes brushed over a tall, familiar figure, his grey eyes wide as he stood to take in the surrounding commotion with an obvious sense of confusion.
“Vincent!” She screamed, forgetting that she wasn’t supposed to be there, forgetting the trouble that she would be in when he would come to realize why she was, only caring that he was there. “Vince!”
“Hey! What the fuck?! What are you doing with her!” He moved forward at the sound of his name, voice filled with nothing but concern as she was moved towards the still-open third set of doors, his pace quickening as he too realized that she was quickly slipping out of his reach. As it clicked shut behind her, his large fists thumped against the glass window of the third door, his voice becoming muffled and eyes panicked as he continued to call out, gaze following her down the too-white corridor. “Sophie!”





Notes

As usual, a massive, never ending thank you to forgotten, Thanya and Anxious_Geek for taking the time out of your days to talk about my story, nothing makes me happier than reading them. Thank you to Caroll for leaving me updates on her journey so far, and a huuuuuuge, welcoming thank you to amberryvonnee, who deserves a round of applause for reading all fifty-four chapters in a single day. I still can’t get over it. Also, to the new subscribers and whoever voted, I see you guys there and I thank you!

So, nine days and eleven chapters since separation and I’m sure some of you are starting to tap your foot. Don’t worry, it won’t be forever. Until then, why don’t we talk about it? Let me know your theories, when do you think they will find each other? I can’t wait to read your thoughts (:
Day one: After (S), Inmates (D)
Day two: Claimed (S), Still (D)
Day four: Alone (S)
Day five: Alone (S)
Day six: The Grove (D)
Day seven: Us (S)
Day eight: A (D), No Sanctuary (S), Strangers (D)
Day nine: Four Walls and a Roof (S)

Comments

Who's here on 2020 for a re-read? :D

Tee- Tee-
4/17/20

@QueenUchi

New readers make my heart sing, especially when they start this journey ten months after I ended it (abit abruptly but we won’t get into that because it’ll make me sad again).

Thank you you so much for leaving a comment. Nothing is more motivating for the unmotivated than a little bit of love. Whenever I get a comment from someone new all I find myself wanting to sit down and grill them with a million different questions.

If youre chasing updates about any eventual stories I write, please follow me on instagram @ sophyl_

Thanks a million again!! xx

aryaaa aryaaa
11/28/18

thank you @sanders151 for recomending me this fanfic

Your fanfic has been in the center of my life for the whole month November. Let me just tell you that im in love with everything about this story. Im even at loss of words about how amazing this journey has been.

There have been moments when i actually had to get up and calm down from all the feelings may they be joy sadness or just extreme suffering. Ive been cheering, i've been crying to the point of ugly sobbing, ive been screaming while reading this all.

I dont even know how to tell you how i feel about this fanfic there arent any words for it so ima just AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH about it cause thats the closets that i can think off "insert all the feelings i cant express here"

I am just so thank full for all your time and effort and everything youve put into this story. Cause WOW youre an amazing writer and when you do make your original story please do know that I WOULD LOVE TO READ THAT TOO.

This journey has ended but it will forever be in my heart.

QueenUchi QueenUchi
11/27/18

@Sanders151

I was so surprised to see a new notification on this story after all these months. Thank you so much for taking the time
to comment, I hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read since. Please feel free to leave me updated on your thoughts xx

aryaaa aryaaa
11/25/18

Hello,

It's been a looong time since i've read this story. Life got busy and i totally forgot to finish it.

SO i decided to reread everything and lemme tell you...I STILL LOVE IT AS MUCH AS THE FIRST TIME.
Im currently at chapter 62 (right after fort hill) and i can't wait for what is to come.


Sanders151 Sanders151
11/15/18