𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐑𝐀
she is both hellfire and holy water, and the flavor you taste depends on how you treat her

A SMALL GROUP that consists of Rick, Shane, Andrea, Daryl, T-Dog, and Nadia are once again gathered around the same car as yesterday, map spread out on the hood.

Rick points to a specific location on the map. "Alright, everyone's getting new search grids today," he informs them, eyes darting between each person. "If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far."

Beth's boyfriend approaches them. "I'd like to help," he says, offering a small smile. He shoves his hands into his front pockets when the attention turns to him. "I know the area pretty well and stuff."

Nadia raises a brow at the boy when he glances her way, and he instantly looks away again. Her lip twitches into a satisfied grin, liking how she scares people sometimes.

"Hershel's okay with this?" Rick inquires.

"Yeah, yeah," Jimmy replies all too quickly, and Nadia narrows her eyes at him. "Uh, he said I should ask you."

Rick nods. "Alright then. Thanks."

Nadia blinks and shakes her head; Rick is too gullible sometimes.

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me," Shane speaks, adjusting the shoe on his injured foot. "Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse."

"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea comments, shifting on her feet.

"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yea-high," Daryl says as he buttons up his shirt, pausing only to hover his hand above his hip.

"I'm with Daryl on this," Nadia states, licking her lips as she leans against the car. She sees Daryl look over at her in disbelief, but she doesn't acknowledge him. "It's a good lead."

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again," Rick suggests optimistically, nodding along.

"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse." Daryl leans forward, pressing his index finger to the map. "Head up this ridge right here, get a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."

Nadia raises a brow at him. "You know how to ride a horse?"

He narrows his eyes at her. "So what?"

She holds her hands up. "Just a question."

"Good idea." T-Dog nods, impressed. "Maybe you'll see your chupacabra up there too."

Nadia startles, turning to stare at Daryl with wide eyes.

"Chupacabra?" Rick queries, his eyebrows raising in confusion and amusement.

"You never heard this?" Dale suddenly says, placing a duffel bag full of guns on the hood. "The first night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time when he went squirrel hunting and saw a chupacabra." He hands a gun to Rick.

Unexpectedly, Jimmy lets out a small laugh.

"What are you braying at, jackass?" Daryl asks, narrowing his eyes at the boy.

"So you believe in a blood-sucking dog?" Jimmy asks.

Daryl becomes defensive; sticking out his chest and shoving his shoulders back. "Do you believe dead people walking around?"

Nadia purses her lips, surprised Daryl spotted a chupacabra and somehow lived to tell the tale. They usually don't let people get away.

Jimmy just shrugs, unsure of how to respond and reaches out for the gun Rick had placed down.

"Hey, hey." Rick stops him. "Ever fire one before?"

"Well, if I'm going out, I want one," Jimmy says, determined.

Daryl hauls his crossbow over his shoulder and scoffs. "Yeah, and people in Hell want Slurpees."

Nadia snorts and shakes her head at the older man. For being what? Forty? He's so sensitive and moody. She watches him as he walks away, something churning in her gut but she brushes it off as her pretty big breakfast.

Under the watchful gaze of Rick and Glenn, Nadia had eaten a piece of toast with butter on it, and a bowl of cereal, and had chugged a whole glass of orange juice.

The rest of the group starts talking about gun training—Nadia couldn't care less. She knows how to use any gun available, so she knows that she won't need the training. She's more hands-on anyway.

Instead, she strays from the car, making her way up to the farmhouse where she sees Glenn sitting on the porch with a guitar in his hands.

On the way there, Nadia briefly pauses to stare up at the beautiful sky. It's such a pretty blue with very few puffy clouds. She spots a few birds—wishing she could become one and fly away; be free and have no worries.

She sighs and continues walking, ears blessed by the sound of guitar strings strumming... Although she's not musically inclined, she can tell it's out of tune. She smiles at Glenn who hasn't spotted her yet. He looks so... serene, sitting there with a guitar in his lap.

Nadia stops on the second to last step, just staring at him—his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he concentrates on whatever song he thinks he's playing, the way his hair falls slightly over his forehead, and the way his fingers move over the strings—it just makes her feel like everything is normal.

As if he can finally feel her watching, Glenn looks up and jumps slightly in his seat at the sight of her so close. "Gosh, Nadia, why are you so sneaky?"

The Slayer chuckles slightly and takes the last step so she's fully on the porch now. "Sorry." She gives him a small smile and gestures to the guitar. "What do you have there?"

"Uh." He clears his throat. "Dale found it on the highway. Pretty cool," he answers, staring at the musical instrument.

Nadia smiles as she sits down on the seat by him. "I've never played guitar. I don't think I'd be any good."

Glenn shakes his head at her, scrunching up his nose cutely. "I think you can do anything you put your mind to."

The girl shrugs. "I guess..." She then gestures to the guitar. "It sounds like you don't know how to play it either."

Glenn chuckles, lowering his head. "Yeah... I never learned how to play either." He swallows and gazes up at her with big doe brown eyes. "Maybe we can try... to learn together...?" He means to say it as a statement, but his hesitation at the end makes it come out as a question.

Nadia bites her bottom lip and tilts her head slightly as she takes in the sight of Glenn with the guitar. "We should probably ask someone that has actual talent to help or else we might never actually learn anything."

He laughs and nods in agreement. "You're right." He taps the guitar with the palm of his hand and smiles to himself.

They sit for a few minutes in complete silence, glancing at each other when the other isn't looking.

Finally, Nadia starts tapping her knuckles on her thigh. "So..." She clears her throat. "I was... wondering..." She trails off, turning to face him with a sigh. "If you wanted to go with me into the woods to look for Sophia?" She fiddles with one of the rings on her finger as she waits for an answer.

Glenn raises his brows in surprise. "Me? You don't want someone like... Rick? O—or, uh, Shane, perhaps, to go with you?"

Nadia scoffs and rolls her eyes at the mention of Shane. "I don't like Shane enough to be in his presence for longer than a few minutes, let alone be alone with him out there." She shrugs. "Anyways, Shane and Rick are the ones teaming up, and Daryl went off on his own, so..."

Glenn licks his lips. "I'm your last resort, huh?"

"No, no." Nadia shakes her head furiously and slaps at his bicep when he simply laughs at her panic. "Besides Rick and maaaaybe Daryl, I don't like anyone else enough in this group to be alone with them for possibly hours, so..."

"Well." Glenn leans over to rest the guitar against the side of his chair. "I'm all yours then." His cheeks dust a light pink and he clears his throat, quickly getting to his feet. "After you, ma'lady."

Nadia snorts and stands up, bumping her shoulder against his. "Stop it."

Glenn laughs and bumps his shoulder back against hers. "So where are we starting?"

THE TWO HAVE BEEN in the woods for approximately thirty minutes by now, having nailed orange rags on trees to mark their trail. Rick and Shane have red, while Andrea's team has blue. It's their way of staying out of each other's range while searching for Sophia.

Nadia glances over at Glenn who is looking around for any footprints left by Sophia. She watches as he steps carefully over a fallen branch and still stumbles slightly. She chuckles and shakes her head, making his head snap up to her in surprise.

Glenn laughs awkwardly. "What?"

"Did you know Daryl can ride a horse?" She asks, grinning when he just looks perplexed by the change of topic.

"What?" He repeats, blinking at her.

Nadia snorts as she steps over a pile of sticks. "If you look at him, he doesn't seem like the type to know how to ride a horse."

Glenn laughs, shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah, I see what you mean. But... looks can be deceiving." He shrugs innocently when she stops to stare at him.

"And what about your looks are deceiving?" She raises a brow, biting her lip as he looks around with wide eyes.

"Uh... that I'm actually a cool guy," he stutters before chuckling and scratching the back of his neck. "No, but—"

"You are cool, Glenn," she interrupts, reaching over to slap his chest with the back of her hand before turning around to continue their trek. "I mean, maybe not nearly as cool as me, but—" She snorts at his dramatic gasp.

"Oh, how you wound me." Glenn presses his hand against his chest and acts like he was just shot. "Wait." He reaches out and grazes her arm with his fingertips to get her attention. "Don't you know how to ride a horse? Like, that's pretty much the first time I saw you—on the back of a horse."

"True." Nadia nods. "Yeah, I—" She pauses, mouth slightly open before she swallows audibly. "Well, I was once in a foster home that was on a farm. They taught me how to ride a horse."

She was nine at the time. The first two weeks were good, but by the third week, something had changed. The couple ended up fostering another child, much younger than her, and they seemed to have taken to her much more than Nadia.

Not long after, Nadia was booted out of the house and taken to another—one where worse things occurred than simply being unwanted.

Of course, there were a few good ones in between the bad, but they were few and very far in between to the point she doesn't count them as happy memories.

"Where did you go just now?" Glenn asks hesitantly, looking at her in concern. "You kinda just blanked out."

Nadia breathes in deeply and then exhales. "Nowhere."She clears her throat before picking up her speed.

"I will figure you out one of these days," Glenn says earnestly behind her, picking up speed to catch up.

She barks a laugh. "Good luck." She licks her lips and mutters, "I don't even know myself."

They soon find themselves at a small shed—run down, almost more like a porta-potty than anything else. It's caving in on one side and has overgrown vines throughout the structure.

Nadia holds out her hand and pushes Glenn back. "Sophia?" She calls softly. "It's Nadia and Glenn."

She tilts her head to listen. Nothing. It's dead silent. But she still wants to make sure, so she steps closer.

Glenn instantly reaches out and wraps his long fingers around her wrist. "Nad—"

She barely spares him a glance as she pulls her hand from his grip and moves closer. She pushes open the door, the hinges squeaking.

Something comes running out. Nadia jumps back and Glenn screeches like a little girl.

It's just a bunny. It hops out before running away as fast as it possibly can.

Glenn's clutching his chest, mouth agape, eyes wide, breathing deeply as he stares down at the ground. Nadia looks over at him and instantly starts laughing—she laughs so hard her stomach begins to hurt.

"Oh, haha," Glenn fake-laughs, rolling his eyes at her, but then he just stands there, taking her in.

There is a warmth her brown hair brings to her features, a simple frame for that smile and those eyes that hold more love than she will ever admit to. The hue alters as the strands curl and move, as free as autumn leaves playing in the sunshine.

Her eyes are the softest brown infused with green—as if she holds the new spring growth inside. And oh, her smile! The way her nose crinkles when she smiles, and the way she looks much younger than she seems.

And the way she looks right now, smiling, laughing, just so carefree—as if the wind could softly blow her away at a moment's notice. Glenn likes it when she's like this.

Nadia snorts and steps once more towards the crumbling structure, peaking inside. It's almost pitch black with many cobwebs and spider webs hanging throughout, along with broken down shelves and some old rusty tools just scattered about.

"She's not here." She closes the door and turns back to Glenn. "Shall we continue?"

Glenn gestures for her to go ahead first before moving to hammer in one of the orange rags to the shed. "Okay, now let's go."

Nadia nods and they continue their search.

WHEN THE DUO arrives back at the farm about two hours later, everyone else is already there. Nadia can see them hovering around the RV like Sims, waiting for something to happen. The only ones not standing about are the women doing chores. Well, except for Andrea, who is perched up on the RV in a chair, rifle beside her.

Suddenly, the blonde stands up and shouts, "Walker! Walker!"

Nadia and Glenn glance at one another before running closer to the group.

"Just the one?" Rick inquires as he moves closer, bringing his hand to his brow to cover the sun.

Andrea, who has binoculars up to her eyes, stares at the walker approaching the group. "I bet I can nail it from here." She places the binoculars down and picks up the rifle.

"No, no, Andrea." Rick shakes his head. "Put the gun down."

Glenn grips his axe tightly as T-Dog and Shane grab a weapon of their own and step towards them, glaring in the direction of the walker.

"If it's just one, it won't need all of you going after it," Nadia points out, raising a brow.

Shane scoffs. "And if there's more than one?" He huffs at her. "You'd best let us handle this," Shane says firmly, a pickaxe in his hand, his cap in the other. T-Dog is beside him with a metal baseball bat.

Rick shakes his head and raises a hand to his best friend. "Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with the walkers."

Nadia furrows her brows. What does Hershel plan on doing with the walkers?

"What for, man?" Shane brushes past him harshly. "We got it covered." He picks up his speed in the direction of the walker.

Nadia groans, rolling her eyes. "Men."

Dale climbs up the ladder connected to the back of the RV, getting a better view into the distance while Rick rushes into the RV and grabs his gun, muttering 'damn it' in the process as he sprints past Nadia.

Nadia hears the gun Andrea is holding click, meaning she is going to try and shoot at it. "How dumb—" She stops, tilting her head back to glare up at the older woman. "Don't," she says firmly.

Andrea scoffs. "I can do it."

"You're so dumb." Nadia huffs when the blonde moves onto her stomach and positions the rifle better.

"Andrea, listen to her, don't." Dale shakes his head, not taking his eyes off the walker.

"Back off, the both of you," the blonde snaps back.

Nadia rolls her eyes and turns to stare out into the field where the group of men find themselves in front of the supposed walker. They all lower their weapons.

"Wha—?" Nadia starts towards them, curious and confused.

As she gets closer, she notices that it's just Daryl. He's covered in dirt and grime and blood, breathing heavily as he holds loosely onto his crossbow.

Suddenly, there's a bang and a bullet flies across the field—right over Nadia's head and straight for Daryl.

"Shit!" Nadia shouts as the man is instantly knocked down by the bullet.

Rick yells frantically, "No! No! No!"

Andrea smiles proudly as she perks up on top of the RV. "See? I did it!"

"That was Daryl, you fucking idiot!" Nadia snarls over her shoulder at the blonde before booking it across the field, shouldering roughly past Shane just as Daryl groans from his position on the ground.

"Fuck," she hisses as she falls to her knees beside Daryl, grabbing his head and seeing that the bullet just grazed his temple, but it's still bleeding profusely.

"Rick!" Someone screams from the direction of the farmhouse—most likely Lori if Nadia has to guess—as Dale and Andrea sprint across the field to them.

"Oh, my God," Andrea pants. "Oh, my God, is he dead?"

"No, and you should be grateful you're a shitty shooter," Nadia spits, glancing over her shoulder to throw the woman a glare. She grips Daryl's arms and pulls him up, Rick quickly helping and wrapping his arm around Daryl's shoulder.

"Unconscious," Rick replies to Andrea as Nadia holds onto Daryl's other side, the both of them dragging him across the lengthy field. "You just grazed him."

"But look at him." Glenn points. "What the hell happened? What—" He breaks off in disgust. "He's wearing ears."

Rick hesitates for a second before ripping said ears from the archer's neck and stuffing them into his shirt pocket. "Let's keep that to ourselves."

"Guys," T-Dog says from behind, the group stopping in their tracks as they turn around to face T-Dog who is holding up a muddy doll. "Isn't this Sophia's?"

Nadia's heart aches at the sight of the doll. Sophia is still out there. Somewhere.

Daryl brought back the only evidence they needed—if anyone truly knew that little girl, they'd know she would never abandon her doll.

THEY NOW FIND themselves in a bedroom in the farmhouse, Rick and Nadia standing by the bed as Hershel tends to Daryl, the redneck on his side and holding an ice pack to the bullet graze on the side of his head.

"I found it washed up on the creek bed right there," Daryl says as he points to the creek on the map while Hershel stitches up the wound Daryl has on his side from one of his arrows. "She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere."

Rick, who is crouched down beside the bed, whips his head over to look at Shane. He's sitting on a chair, slouched over and silent.

Nadia chews on the bottom of her lip. She and Glenn had been looking in the complete opposite direction of what Daryl said.

"Cuts the grid almost in half," Rick says, nodding.

"Yeah, you're welcome," Daryl replies sarcastically, wincing as Hershel pushes a needle through his wound.

"How's he looking?" Rick inquires, noticing the pain in Daryl's expression.

"I had no idea we'd be going through the antibiotics so quickly," Hershel comments, stepping away from Daryl. "Any idea what happened to my horse?"

"Yeah, the one that almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country," Daryl practically growls, narrowing his eyes at Hershel.

Hershel rinses his hands in a tub of water. "We call that one Nelly, as in Nervous Nelly." He wipes his hands with a cloth. "I could have told you she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask. It's a wonder you people have survived this long."

Nadia snorts. "I think the same thing about this group every day."

Rick gives the teenager a look before gesturing with his head to the door. Shane grunts as he gets up, and the three of them walk out of the room. When Rick opens the door, Lori rises to her feet quickly and stares at him with wide eyes.

"He'll be alright," Rick says softly, briefly wrapping his arms around his wife's waist.

Nadia gives Lori a forced smile as she goes to walk away.

Shane shuts the door behind him and speaks, "I hate to say it, but I'm with Hershel on this one." He shakes his head, holding his police cap in his hands. "Can't keep going out there, not after this."

Nadia stops and slowly turns back around to the man. "What did you just say?"

Rick clears his throat loudly, scrunching up his face as he glares at his friend. "You'd quit now? Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we've had."

"That is one way to look at it." Shane rests against the wall, a look on his face that makes Nadia want to smash his face in with her fist. "The way I see it, Daryl almost died today for a doll."

"Yeah, I know how you see it." Rick glares at the man before storming off.

Nadia tilts her head up at the man with the stupid buzzcut. "You're weak for wanting to give up. And pathetic. Just a small dick man wanting to give up on finding a child." She turns quickly and follows after Rick, grabbing his arm when he goes to walk out the front door. "You know I'm on your side, right?"

Rick turns to her, sighing harshly, but a small smile plays on his lips. "Am I wrong fo—for wanting to—"

"No." Nadia shakes her head firmly. "Shane is in the wrong here. I understand wanting to give up, wanting to go the easy way, but there's a child out there, Rick. And if I was that child," she says, briefly thinking I was that child at some point before continuing, "I would want the ones I love to never give up on me. It's harsh enough to be a kid in the world, let alone in this world, especially alone. We need to find Sophia."

Rick nods, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You're a tough kid, Nadia."

She purses her lips and shrugs. "I've had no choice in that, Rick." She pats his hand still on her shoulder before moving around him to walk out the door.

Before Nadia can fully step over the threshold, Rick grabs her hand. "Hey..." He looks deep into her eyes when she turns to him. "If you were my daughter, I wouldn't stop looking."

Something breaks and heals simultaneously within Nadia at those words—her stomach clenches and her heart aches. She swallows and opens her mouth to say something, but only a croak leaves her lips. Tears gather in her eyes, and before she can even blink them away, she is pulled into Rick's arms.

Rick tightens his arms around Nadia and rests his chin atop her head while she silently cries into his chest. In return, Nadia wraps her arms around his waist and melts against him, feeling content as he kisses the top of her head.

NADIA FINDS HERSELF pacing outside in the dark after dinner and everyone else is already in bed. Something keeps eating at her, whether it be Rick's words, Sophia still missing, Daryl wounded, or just the Greene family in general. It isn't as if the Greenes are bad people, but she feels like they're hiding something.

She sighs and turns around, only to run straight into someone. She instantly side-swipes them with her foot, knocking them down. She quickly gets on top of them and pulls her fist back, ready to punch—only to stop as the moonlight shines over Glenn's face.

"Woah, woah, woah!" He exclaims, holding his hands up in front of his face, eyes wide. "It's me!"

"Glenn!" Nadia pushes herself off him, holding her hand out for him to grab. She pulls him up effortlessly, staring at him with her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"

"I saw you pacing and wanted to see if you were alright," Glenn pants out, holding a hand to his chest. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Nadia says way too fast, and she can tell by his unconvinced look. "I don't know." She sighs. "I just feel... restless."

"Okay." Glenn nods. "Well... mind if I join?"

The girl shrugs. "Sure."

Together, they start surveying the area, walking around the whole house, checking the fencing, and then slowly making their way over to the barn.

The barn is unknown territory; no one has entered or exited it since the group arrived. There's something rather eerie about it in Nadia's opinion.

"What do you think is in there?" Glenn asks as he sees her just staring up at the barn.

"Don't know," Nadia mutters. "But we're about to find out." She moves forward, only to stop as the doors are chained shut. "What the—" She reaches out and jiggles the chain, tugging at it, but without using her strength to actually break it off.

Suddenly, there's moaning and the doors start rattling loudly.

Nadia stands there, eyes narrowing as Glenn jumps back with a startled yelp.

"Well, fuck."