Just as Sophia's legs finally gave out, she felt herself caught in a strong pair of arms.

"Hey, Sophia. Still remember me?"

A large hand swept gently over her head, brushing away the gristly bits and scraps of flesh.

Sophia blinked open dazed eyes. The glare of the sun made her squint, but quickly focused on the crew-cut Asian man in front of her. "Lin?"

"Ha, looks like you do. So — good timing?"

Finding a familiar face was all it took. Sophia locked both arms around Lin Feng and held on, small frame shaking as the sobs came. "Lin! I... I still remember you. I didn't forget..."

Warm breath kept puffing against his neck, and then the tears came, small and steady, soaking into his collar.

Lin Feng held Sophia up with one arm and patted her back with the other, voice low and even. "I know. I know. It's over. You're safe now. No more crying, okay?"

"Mm..."

A small sound. The sobs did quiet down a little, but the tears kept falling.

Lin Feng had absolutely no idea how to handle a crying kid. It made his head spin, but he didn't feel impatient. He just kept repeating the same soft words, one loop after another.

Merle and the others came crashing out of the tree line shortly after. They saw Lin Feng cradling a small child and stopped dead.

Two, three hundred meters of dense forest. A child's crying. And then he'd pulled her out from under a walker.

Was this guy even human?

Marcus looked at the familiar hairstyle and clothes, puzzled. "Is that... Sophia?"

"Huh?" Merle squinted. "Fuck! It really is. What, those sheriff boys can't even keep a kid safe? All they're good for is strutting around in their uniforms waving their pistols?"

"Heh." Daryl let out a short, flat sound. "That's how they've always been, isn't it?" Daryl hadn't forgotten what they'd done to his brother on that rooftop.

Andrew didn't know the history and said nothing. Something in Andrew's eyes settled into something firmer all the same.

Hard not to admire a leader like this.

Lin Feng carried Sophia over and spoke softly. "Sophia. Look who's here."

Sophia lifted her head and thought for a moment. "Uncle Merle, Uncle Daryl, Uncle Marcus?"

Merle rolled his eyes, a smirk pulling at his mouth. "Who's your uncle?"

Sophia paused. Thinking of Cathy. "...Grandpa Merle?"

"Pfft, hahahaha!"

Lin Feng lost it, laughing without a trace of guilt with Sophia still in his arms. Then he noticed Marcus and Daryl hadn't moved a muscle.

He figured it out fast enough. He looked at Sophia seriously. "From now on, no calling Merle grandpa. But you can call him big brother."

"But... Sophia doesn't have a brother that old..."

That one landed. Everyone cracked up, except Merle, who looked ready to walk over and make Lin Feng regret everything.

"Hey, man. There's a kid right here. You trying to corrupt her?"

Merle: "...Holy shit. Lin, you better sleep with one eye open tonight."

Another round of laughter. Sophia didn't quite follow, but laughed along anyway.

When it settled, Lin Feng asked quietly, "Sophia, do you know where Rick and Shane went? What about Carol?"

"Um. I don't know. We ran into a lot of walkers. Rick told me to hide under a car, but they spotted me, so I ran. Rick came after me and put me inside a hollow tree and told me to stay there while going to deal with them.

Then a really long time went by and Rick didn't come back. So I came out to look for him. But the walkers spotted me again. And now I can't find any of them."

As Sophia spoke, the small voice got smaller and smaller. "I lost my doll, too. I hope it finds somewhere safe. I hope it doesn't get eaten."

After Sophia finished, the group fell quiet. They'd pieced together what had happened, and none of them could do much except exhale.

The camp hadn't grown into its late-stage strength yet. Without firearms, their combat value was effectively zero.

The one person who could handle walkers up close, quietly, without a gun, Daryl, was standing right here with Lin Feng. No telling how the others were holding up.

"Lin. Should we go look for them?"

"No need. They'll find us. But we should leave something here so they know where we went."

Daryl nodded. "I've got it." Knife already out, Daryl walked to a nearby tree and started carving into the bark.

Lin Feng looked down at Sophia. "Come with us for now, okay? If Rick and the others haven't found us in a couple of days, I'll go look for them with you. Sound good?"

Sophia nodded. "I'll do whatever you say, Lin."

"Good girl. Let's move." A beat. "I'm pretty sure I picked up chocolate from that last town run. Biscuits too. And some sealed nuts. Want some?"

Sophia's head came up immediately. "Yes!"

Marcus hesitated. "...Lin. Right now you're basically indistinguishable from a child trafficker."

"...Want to take over?" The words were barely out before Lin Feng already regretted them.

Right. This guy had a five-year-old daughter at home. Wrangling a seven-year-old would be nothing.

Marcus glanced over. "Forget it. This kid's latched onto you. She was already frightened half out of her mind before you showed up."

They set off, talking and joking, Sophia tucked in among them.

The whole way back, Sophia held onto Lin Feng and didn't make a sound, no crying, no fussing. Just listened to the conversation, small head gradually drooping, until it finally came to rest against his shoulder and stayed there.

The second half of the trip was quiet. Nobody felt like breaking it. This was hard-won sleep, and Sophia was a little girl who never should have had to run for her life in the first place.

By the time Lin Feng and the others started the engine and headed home, Rick was stepping out of the tree line onto the highway, carrying the ragdoll Sophia had left behind.

Carol saw it. That lone doll dangling from Rick's hand. Both knees went weak, and Carol nearly hit the ground before the words came out, voice shaking: "Did you find her?"

Rick looked up at those desperate, searching eyes, and looked away. "I'm sorry. This is all I found."

Whatever was left holding Carol up gave out completely. Voice breaking: "How... how could you — how could you leave her alone in those woods — she's a child. She's just a child!"

"We did find a walker in the woods," Rick said. "But it hadn't touched Sophia."

T-Dog spoke up. "How do you know?"

Shane patted the knife at the hip. "I cut it open. Only thing inside was a woodchuck."

The sun kept sinking. The light across the fields kept thinning. Rick tried to find the words, stopping and starting.

"It's almost dark. Going back into the woods now, someone's going to get hurt. So... so let's look for her tomorrow. I promise I'll bring Sophia back. Safe, unharmed, right in front of you. Trust me. Carol. I promise."

The words didn't touch Carol. Nothing could, right now.

Carol stood there hating it, hating the helplessness, hating the weakness, hating that there wasn't a single thing to be done. That Carol couldn't even go looking for a own daughter.

Something shifted, quietly, somewhere deep inside.

The need to be stronger took root in Carol's chest like a seed pressing into cold soil, waiting for morning to crack it open.

➤ Next: This Time — Words Unspoken

Chapter 42 - This Time — Words Unspoken

After the group returned to the Farm Camp, Lin Feng carried Sophia to Hershel Greene's cabin and knocked on the door.

Beth opened it. Seeing Lin Feng at the entrance, Beth's eyes lit up, like starlight flickering to life.

"Lin?! Good afternoon. Is something the matter?"

"Good afternoon, Beth. I came about this child. Do you have hot water? Could you help give Sophia a bath?"

Realizing Lin Feng hadn't come for Beth, the light in those eyes dimmed a little. But Beth smiled anyway. "No problem. Leave it to me, I'll return a clean Sophia, I promise."

"Thank you. I really am imposing on you," Lin Feng said with a sincere smile.

"It's nothing, no trouble at all." And then, for no clear reason, Beth's face went pink.

He seems to like children so much. How many should be born for him someday? And what would they be named? Following the Eastern naming customs, what kind of Lin would they be?

Beth was still wandering through those daydreams when Hershel emerged from one of the back rooms. "Lin? And this child is...?"

"A companion's daughter from the old Quarry Camp. She got separated from her mother in the woods today. I found her."

"Oh, that's a sorrowful thing. Lucky for her she ran into you."

Sophia stirred groggily from sleep, rubbed both eyes, and found herself standing in front of a wooden cabin door.

"Lin, are we home?"

"We are, Sophia. Now you need to go with this big sister for a bath, and then I'll come pick you up. Alright?"

Sophia caught the smell, the rot that wasn't hers, and lowered her head with a shy flush. "Mm. I'll listen to you, Lin."

Lin Feng set Sophia down and handed Sophia over to Beth. He watched until Sophia disappeared through the cabin door, only then letting his waving arm fall.

"So. Did you run into any trouble today?"

Lin Feng let the smile leave his face. His expression turned grave.

"It's not great, Hershel. You might not believe me, but those things are a completely different species from walkers. Skin purplish-black, muscles dense and tight, fast, and vicious beyond measure. Their claws can tear an adult apart without effort. They are born killers of the dark."

Hershel's expression darkened. "Even you found them difficult?"

"Yes. We all nearly went down at their hands."

The old man's face shifted through several emotions before the reluctant question came. "Do you have any way to deal with them?"

Seeing his opening, Lin Feng said, "Plenty of ways. But not with the people we have."

Hershel thought of Sophia's sudden appearance, and the connection clicked. "You mean your former companions?"

"Yes. Every one of them is dependable. I lived with them for a while, I know them well enough, and I'm confident I can keep them in line."

"...Lin, I need to think on this. They are not you, after all."

Lin Feng nodded. "Completely understandable, Mr. Greene. But when the time comes, I hope you'll give them a chance, the same kind you gave us."

Hershel nodded slowly. "I'll consider it."

That was as far as the conversation was going to go. Lin Feng said a polite goodbye and turned and walked away from the cabin.

Hershel stood watching Lin Feng's figure grow smaller in the distance. Thoughts tangled and churned without settling.

Should they be trusted?

Lin Feng walked back to camp with a light step. Before he'd even had a chance to take off his gear, Nancy appeared in front of him, both hands full: a cooked plate of egg spaghetti and toasted bread.

"Lin, do you want to eat something first?"

"Thank you, Nancy. You're practically our angel."

And really, ever since Nancy arrived, their menu had finally broken free from the eternal rotation of canned goods with bacon, bacon with canned goods, and canned goods with canned goods.

Nancy's face went pink. After pressing the food into Lin Feng's hands, Nancy waved both arms and said, "It's fine, no, it's nothing — no — you're welcome! Right, this is all just — this is what I should be doing."

Then Nancy turned and fled straight back into the tent.

Lin Feng stared after the retreating, gesturing figure with complete bafflement. What was that about?

Marcus twirled spaghetti slowly on a fork, mouth slightly open, casting a sideways glance at Andrew, who was plowing through the food without a care.

Still eating? The cabbage you've been tending is about to get walked off with!

Merle watched Lin Feng with a teasing grin, shaking his head every now and then, like someone who'd just discovered a new source of entertainment.

"Merle. If you've twisted your neck, Marcus can take a look at it."

Merle's grin locked up. The utensils went down on the spot, and a middle finger went up. "Fuck you!"

"Pfft, cough, cough, cough, cough,"

Marcus clamped a hand over his mouth, coughing violently, face still caught mid-laugh.

Could it be that inside this guy's head there was honestly nothing besides killing walkers? How could he miss something that obvious?

That wasn't exactly the psychology of a single young man in his prime, was it?

Unless he...

The thought finished itself. Marcus's smile froze solid.

Lin Feng set down the plate and patted Marcus on the back. "Wait, Marcus, what's wrong with you now?"

Marcus stiffened for a beat, then got his breathing under control, stood up, and managed an awkward smile. "Nothing."

"Alright. Finish up and get some rest. Plenty to do tomorrow. And don't forget tonight's watch rotation, stay safe."

Something in Marcus's smile relaxed and became a little more genuine. Same-sex suspicion: minus one.

Because it really did seem like all that was in this guy's head was the actual work.

Daryl finished the last bite of noodles and nodded. "Got it."

Lin Feng made a sound of acknowledgment. When it came to Daryl, there was nothing to criticize, two words covered it: rock solid.

"Oh, right, Nancy, Emma, could I trouble you two to look after Sophia for the next couple of days? She got separated from her mother, but they should find their way over before long."

Emma set down the fork and nodded. "Okay, Lin."

It didn't sound like accepting a request. It sounded like receiving a solemn mission. Emma's face had taken on a look of full alert.

Lin Feng smiled. "No need to be so tense, Emma. I'm asking for your help, not giving an order."

"Mm-mm, understood, Lin." Emma nodded. The expression didn't shift one bit.

Lin Feng hesitated for a fraction of a second, glanced over at Marcus. Marcus gave a small shake of his head.

Alright. Probably overthinking it.

"Then I'll leave it with you. Hope everyone enjoys the meal."

A smile crossed Emma's face at that. Emma went back to eating the spaghetti in large, enthusiastic mouthfuls, like someone sitting down to a proper feast.

The quiet of it settled over Lin Feng, and a smile found its way onto his face too.

This time, all of you made it.

That was good.

➤ Next: Wasn't the Meaning Clear Enough?