Dale Horvath @thevoiceofxreason - Tumblr Blog

”You’re lurking worse then a walker. You better have a damn good reason to do so.”

{ In all honesty, she was more then happy to see a survivor. It’s just that… you could never be careful anymore. And that’s — sad. }

thevoiceofxreason

"I've got plenty of good reasons." Dale remarked as he shifted his gaze toward the blonde. "Besides, we can keep a better look out for those walkers up on top of the RV."

thevoiceofxreason

More than a memory: Dale and Sophia

innocentescapee-deactivated2013

"Sophia, wake up!" the voice of her mother made it’s way through the overcrowded farmhouse. The pre-teen issued a loud groan in response and burrowed deeper under her collection of covers. After the little sleep she had gotten, it was way too early to be up but there were things that needed to be done around the farm. Hershel definitely deserved it after everything he’d done for them. By some miracle, he’d chosen to let them stay and sheltered them from the hardships of the road. No food, always having at least one member of their dysfunctional family always having to be on watch to prevent someone else from dying. Those were things they fortunately didn’t have to worry about for the time being. Here they had a chance to live, a chance at survival.

Life had gotten somewhat better, easier so to speak and Sophia couldn’t have been more thankful. The way they had been living before was no life for anyone, let alone a twelve year old. It was about time they all got a break especially Andrea. Andrea. A smile crept across her face at thought of the other blonde.

Andrea was the only person she would somewhat let in and know her, other than Carl. Unlike most people, Sophia saw something in the woman, an essence of goodness that set her apart from the others. When she had made the choice to stay to at the CDC back in Atlanta, Sophia’s heart had nearly broken. No one had seen past the terror to really grasp that something else was on the girl’s mind.

Thankfully, Dale had managed to talk her into coming with them but it was almost too late. The building had blown up just minutes after they’d gotten out. Sophia’s smile widened, the memories filling her mind. Her eyes had found Andrea’s frame the minute her mother signaled it was okay to raise her head, relief coursing through her veins at the sight of her. In the end everything had worked out with exception of losing Jacqui. She was in a better place though.

"Sophia, didn’t you hear me? You need to get up. Andrea’s going to continue with your shooting practice today after she and Dale search the fields."

Shooting out of bed lightening, Sophia began her morning routine with an enthusiasm. Washing her body came first, the water helping to clear away the remnants of sleep that were still clinging to her brain. Breakfast could wait since hunger had not yet made an appearance. All she had in mind was spending time with Andrea. Carol wouldn’t like that she had skipped a meal but they’d done it so much on the road that her body wouldn’t know the difference. If only the girl knew of what was to come.

Thirty minutes later…

Screaming. Someone was screaming and it was a woman. Had something happened? It must have. But what? Sophia made a dash for the door and stood on the porch, searching the property for any clues as to what caused the outburst. Her eyes found nothing and she began to get the feeling that something important was eluding her thoughts. The screams continued, followed by a gunshot and then silence. Andrea had been searching the fields with Dale. Panic filled her throat, the earlier excitement and joy she felt extinguished immediately. Maybe she was just overreacting, maybe it wasn’t what she thought it was. Andrea was strong and she could take care of herself. She always had before and Dale was with her, so she’d be okay. She had to be okay. She meant too much to her. There was always that risk when Andrea was out being a hero, but it was what she loved to do. She loved to help people, to save and protect them. She’d done that for her just by getting her to open up. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Dale and Andrea was not with her. The look on his face said it all. She was gone. Dead. His words confirmed it and they tore into like a knife, her knees buckling at the wave of such agony. Everyone else would blame a walker, but she blamed Dale. She didn’t know he hadn’t gone with her and if she had that would just make things worse for the old man. How could she be dead? She was one of the best fighters the group had and after all she’d been through, how could she not survive this? "No, you’re lying you son-of-a-bitch! You’re lying to me!" her voice was laced with pain as she moved from the porch, not even realizing she had punched Dale until her fist made contact with his chest. "You were supposed to look out of her, protect her, and now she’s dead?! You did this! It should have been you!" This was all way too much for one kid to handle. Maybe if she closed her eyes all of this would disappear and she would wake up back in bed. Yes, this was just another nightmare, that’s all, but as her fingers grasped the skin of her arm to prove that, she got a slap in the face. This was reality. She would never see Andrea again unless… her body. She needed to say goodbye. The run to the field seemed to take no time at all, like most things in the wake of tragedy. Daryl and Rick were still there but they were both too caught up in their own grief to notice that Sophia had joined them. Andrea was lying in a pool of blood, probably from the gunshot, and then she saw what had killed her. Her stomach was torn open. None of that mattered now. Dropping back to her knees, she caressed the side of Andrea’s cheek, her tears dripping onto the dead woman’s face. “Wake up, Andrea. Please, wake up.”

thevoiceofxreason

Sophia's words rang in his ears. The way she blamed him for lying to her, the way she'd said it, it made the sad truth of Andrea's death even more difficult to bear. It was bad enough that he beat himself up over the whole thing, but to have the little girl blame him for it? Well, he couldn't say that he exactly blamed her because if he were in her position, he'd blame him too. Nothing he could say would ever be able to erase the pain of losing the woman who had been like a daughter to him, but to have someone as young as Sophia go through it, it was unthinkable.

"It was an accident," Of course, that didn't mean she would necessarily believe it. The older man wouldn't blame her in the least bit if she didn't believe any of it for a second. He should have gone with her. He should have protected her. While it wasn't his fault that what had happened to Andrea had actually happened, it still didn't stop him from blaming himself. When he felt the girl's fist punch into his chest he stumbled back slightly, partly due to the fact that she'd taken him by surprise and partly due to the fact that he hadn't seen it coming.

"It should have been you." Those words still rang in his ears and she was absolutely right. About all of it. Watching the girl turn to run off toward the field, the feeling of dread welled up even more inside of him. That was exactly what he didn't want to have happen. "Sophia! Stop!"

Like that would do any good. Dale sighed heavily as he started running after the girl in the hopes of catching up to her before she could reach the field. He wasn't as young as he used to be, that was for damn sure and his body made sure to let him know it. Even so, it didn't stop him from running after the little girl. "Sophia! Don't go to the field!" He called after her. "Come back!"

Too late. By the time he'd finally managed to catch up to her, she had already made it to Andrea's lifeless corpse. Another round of fresh tears filled his eyes as he stared down at the body and Sophia. He knew exactly the kind of pain she had to be experiencing at the moment, though his pain from the ordeal was different than hers. "Sophia," The name was barely over a soft whisper as it slipped through his lips. "Come on, now.." He had to think of something to say even though he was at a complete loss for words. "She wouldn't want you to see her like that," Maybe that wasn't exactly the smartest thing to think of, but it was better than nothing. "She loved you as much as you loved her,"

More than a memory: Dale and Sophia

The minute Dale heard shuffling around just outside of the RV, he knew it was Andrea moving to gather up a few weapons. What on Earth had she gotten into this time? Standing on top of the RV was a pretty good way to keep watch for any walkers that might be in the area and so far, everyone in the group had gotten pretty lucky. Hershel's farm had provided them all a safe haven and they had actually been able to rest comfortably, which was something that nobody had been able to do in god only knows how long. Getting to his feet from his sitting position on top of the vehicle, the older man made his way to the edge and peered down over it.

"Andrea, what do you think you're doing?!" Concern immediately jumped into his voice as he stared down at her. The woman was like a daughter to him and here she was, getting ready to go out walking the grounds in the pasture from the looks of it. "It's not safe out there," Trying to talk her out of it was no use. When she had her mind made up there was no arguing with her.

"I've got to help make sure the farm stays safe."

Andrea's words didn't actually register in Dale's mind what exactly she meant at first. "Well, let me at least come with you." He'd already started to climb down the ladder of the vehicle so he could join her. If anything were to happen to her, he would never forgive himself. Also, he knew that not everyone would be too thrilled about it, particularly Sophia. It was kind of neat how Andrea and Sophia had managed to form some sort of female bond between the two of them and truthfully it was great to watch.

"No, Dale. You need to stay here. I'll be fine by myself."

She sounded so confident it was almost unreal. Opening his mouth, he started to protest before he sighed softly. Nodding his head softly in agreement, he knew as well as just about anyone that Andrea was fully capable of taking care of herself. The chances of something actually happening out there were slim to none, but it was still always better to be safe than sorry. While he wanted to go with her to help make sure she was alright, he knew he had an obligation to everyone at the ranch house and in the RV. He had to make sure they stayed out of harm's way up here while Andrea made sure the fields were safe.

For a few moments everything seemed to be going over just fine until he heard it-- a sound that made his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. It was Andrea's frantic screaming, followed unmistakably by a growling sound that was normally emitted from a walker. No. It couldn't be. Not Andrea. Immediately climbing down the ladder, he dropped to his feet and took off running as fast as he possibly could. The rifle he normally carried with him was strapped over his shoulder the way it normally was if he wasn't using it. He could only assume that everyone else, or almost everyone else, was right behind him.

Reaching the field, Dale's eyes widened as the sounds were drawing closer. "Andrea!" The name slipped through his lips in a concerned tone as he stopped briefly at the barbed wire before forcing his legs to start carrying him again as fast as he could possibly make them move. Shouts were heard from all around him, letting him know the others had followed after him but at the moment he didn't care. All he was concerned about right now was Andrea and if there was anything that could be done to save her, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Once he reached the young blonde, he grabbed the rifle and used the butt of the gun to knock it off and away from Andrea before he took aim and fired a shot into its head, killing it for good. Normally he would have preferred to keep the noise down to a minimum as much as possible, since noise seemed to attract these things, but he just didn't have a choice right now. Turning quickly, his heart sank into the pit of his stomach even more when he noticed the shape Andrea was in. "Andrea, no.." Walking over to her, he dropped to his knees right beside her, fresh tears already filling his eyes. "No," Shaking his head, he didn't want to believe that any of this was happening.

"T-Tell... S-Sophia... I-I... L-Love... H-Her..."

From the weakness in her voice, Dale knew Andrea's life was quickly coming to an end. She had to be in excruciating pain, something he couldn't relate to, at least not on that level. He knew he should have done something, anything, to keep her from coming out here alone. If only he hadn't listened to her, then none of this would be happening. "You're gonna be alright, just hang in there," Of course the words slipped through his lips and as much as he wanted to believe them, he knew there was nothing that could be done to save her. All that was left now was the task of finishing her off.

"S-Sorry... D-Dale... I-I... T-Tried..."

Shaking his head, he refused to give up hope. Even though he tried to hide the tears that threatened to fall, a few of them trickled down his cheeks without him noticing until he felt a little moisture on his skin. How the hell was he going to explain this to Sophia? The girl was going to be absolutely devastated over this and he couldn't say that he blamed her. He, himself, was devastated over this.

Hearing some movement beside him, he looked up to see Rick and Daryl standing there. Each of them looked surprised to see Andrea on the ground in the condition she was in, but there was nothing they could do about it. There was nothing anyone could do about it. It was one of the hardest things Dale had ever had to experience in his life, next to losing his wife and family due to the outbreak. This felt as though he was losing his daughter all over again and the pain didn't make things any easier.

Slowly, the older man got to his feet after giving Andrea's hand one last affectionate squeeze. It would be the last time anyone would see her alive. While Rick and Daryl discussed over who would do it, Dale had to think of a way he could break the news to Sophia as gently as he possibly could. How was that going to happen? It was already a well known fact that the girl was close to Andrea, how could he tell her that she was gone? Finally, it was Daryl who took the gun from Rick, aiming it at Andrea's head for a few moments before squeezing the trigger.

Immediately, Dale closed his eyes tightly, knowing Andrea was gone. There was no getting her back and there was no easy way to tell Sophia about it. "I've got to tell Sophia about this," The words were barely over a whisper as they slipped through his lips. "And I can't let her come down here," That was another thing he had to worry about. The minute he'd tell her that Andrea was dead, the girl might try to come running down here to the field to see for herself what had happened. He couldn't let it happen.

Dragging his feet through the field, he reached up and scratched at the back of his neck. "Sophia, I don't know how to tell you this but, Andrea's gone." He muttered under his breath. It might not be the best way to break the news to her, but it was better than nothing. She deserved to know the truth, no matter how much it might hurt.

He hadn't even realized he'd gotten back to the farmhouse until he nearly stumbled onto the front porch steps. Looking around for Sophia, he took a deep breath slowly letting it out. It was better to tell her now rather than wait for later. Finally, he spotted her and made his way over to her. When he was close enough, he sighed heavily. "Sophia," This was it, the moment he'd been dreading. "There's no easy way to say this but," He paused, swallowing back a few sobs as he fought to keep his voice from cracking. "Andrea's dead."

#innocentescapee

pawshapedheart

The Walking Dead: 30 day challenge [x]

➥ Day 27: worst mistake a character made ⇁Rick leaving Sophia behind

thevoiceofxreason

I couldn't agree more.

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Taking a deep breath slowly letting it out, Dale shook his head softly. It had been a long time since he'd seen any other survivors, aside from the people in the group that had been formed, and the older man knew it was best if they all stuck together. Shane had his way of running things and ever since Rick had joined up with them, it seemed that the two men did nothing but argue with each other. Honestly, if they were going to pull through this thing alive, then everyone was going to have to work together as a team.

Standing on top of the broken down RV, the man who often tried to be the voice of reason held the binoculars in his hands. Every so often he put them up to his face and looked through them to see if perhaps he could spot any walkers moving around nearby, but luckily he hadn't spotted any. It was only a matter of time before the walkers would find them and they would have no other choice but to fight them off the best they could. Hopefully, they had enough weapons to do it.

ROBOTS OR DINOSAURS?

How bout a nice good book?

Open Post.