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<br/>
By the time the burly Australian had made it back into the woods, Maggie was long gone. She'd seen him begin to head back but she hadn't waited to see him make it and had hurried out of the area with Arion.<br/>
<br/>
She knew it was only a matter of time before more walkers showed up, drawn by the commotion outside of the encampment, and her first priority was to get herself her horse to a safe location without going too far from Havenshire. It didn't take long to find a large tree that she could climb up into, and although she didn't like to split ways with her horse she knew Arion could find a place to hide himself better on his own.<br/>
<br/>
She'd taught him the command "Hide", and though it had taken them a while to figure it out, Areion knew when he heard her say "hide" that he had to leave and find himself a safe place to hunker down. When it was time for him to come back Maggie would whistle for him -- the call sounded like a bird whistle and blended right in to most settings, only it wasn't an actual bird's song. Someone familiar with whatever birds lived in the area might notice the fake whistle, but usually it went unnoticed.<br/>
<br/>
By the time night had fully fallen, Areion had gone off and found a place to hide and Maggie was safely perched in an oak tree, armed with her bastard sword, both pistols, a survival knife in her boot, and the shotgun from the back of the saddle, along with some jerky and her water canteen.<br/>
<br/>
Not long after the sun had set she'd heard the first of the walkers, grunting and hacking as it trudged through the woods, no doubt drawn by the gunfire earlier that day. What they usually lacked in speed they made up for in hearing, which she'd learned the hard way. You might think you were safe because the walkers didn't immediately show up after a loud noise, but they'd be there soon enough.<br/>
<br/>
Maggie spent the night wide awake, aside from an occasional couple minutes or two where her exhaustion briefly caught up with her. She was too alert to sleep properly -- not to mention that she no longer found it possible to sleep on her own after everything she'd been through the past few years. Otherwise, she stayed hidden in her tree, shotgun clasped tightly in her hands as her blue eyes stared into the dark, listening with baited breath as the night wore on.<br/>
<br/>
A few times she heard walkers pass; she counted five during the time she was awake, but there might have been another one or two she missed that didn't come near enough to her hiding spot to be heard.<br/>
<br/>
At last sunrise came.<br/>
<br/>
Maggie could see the sky lightening through the foliage, turning peachy shades of pink and orange before gradually cooling to pale blue. She watched for a little while, shifting a bit where she sat and trying to stretch her stiff limbs as she listened to the birds starting to sing.<br/>
<br/>
That was a good sign -- if there were walkers in the immediate vicinity, the birds were usually quiet.<br/>
<br/>
Carefully the cowgirl turned and climbed down, dropping out of the tree. Her boots hit the forest floor and she let out a soft huff of discomfort. Sleep and comfort were things she'd grown unaccustomed to over time, but that didn't mean it got any easier to deal with.<br/>
<br/>
A glance around with a trained eye showed the path of at least one walker; the leaves were scuffed up in a wobbly line, heading right under the tree and back towards Havenshire. Maggie eyed the path for a moment, taking a deep sip from her water as she considered her next course of action.<br/>
<br/>
Making up her mind, she screwed the lid back on the canteen and turned to whistle, the bird-like call echoing through the trees like the rest of the songbird melodies trilling to life. But her equine companion was smart, and Maggie's whistles led him right to her.<br/>
<br/>
Some of the tension left her shoulders at the sight of the black and white gelding pushing his way through the underbrush, and Ari whickered softly when he spotted her up ahead.<br/>
<br/>
"There you are," Maggie murmured as they reunited, brushing a hand over his neck and planting a quick kiss on his soft muzzle. Ari tossed his head slightly in response and she grinned, moving to strap the shotgun onto his saddle once more as she added, "Didja get some sleep, bud? We've got some walkers out here, so you'll need your energy."<br/>
<br/>
After checking the saddle and its straps she tightened up the girth and put the bridle and reins back on; climbing up and settling onto Ari's back, she gave him another affectionate pat before gently urging him forward. The gelding seemed to know what they were doing already, steps falling in line with the walker trail Maggie had spotted a moment ago.<br/>
<br/>
They were almost back to the edge of Havenshire's property when Areion's ears perked up and his steps faltered, a hesitant snort escaping him. Maggie reached for the sword on her back, pulling it free as she pushed her horse onward. The sounds of the woods had quieted down ominously and she knew there was at least one walker nearby; she also knew the edge of the trees wasn't too far ahead, and that made her uneasy for the people currently in Havenshire.<br/>
<br/>
She'd taken a good look at the walls and they seemed sturdy, but she didn't know if the gate was as fortified -- then again, the place had been around and occupied for a while, so surely it was walker-proof to some extent.<br/>
<br/>
An eerie grunting, huffing, and wheezing became audible up ahead. Maggie frowned, adjusting her grip on the sword in her right hand as she and Ari neared. The sword was by far her favorite means of dealing with the zombies; it wasn't quite as close and personal as a knife and it wasn't as loud as a gun, and it made decapitation rather simple.<br/>
<br/>
A moment later and she spotted it, a gaunt figure shuffling around in the bushes. Without hesitation she spurred Ari forward, and in a few swift steps they were right on top of it. A downward stroke of her blade and the walker's head was in two halves, the body thudding to the ground as Ari's steps slowed.<br/>
<br/>
But they didn't slow for long, because the next moment Maggie was suddenly struck with the realization that the walker hadn't been alone.<br/>
<br/>
Areion startled, whinnying shortly as he pivoted on his front legs, finding himself faced with an undead husk on nearly every side. Maggie counted four; together that made five, and she assumed the ones she'd heard passing separately in the night had found each other and joined forces to make a small herd.<br/>
<br/>
The edge of the forest was right there -- she could see Havenshire's walls. "C'mon," she exclaimed shortly, tugging on Ari's reins with one hand, trying to turn him in the farm's direction. If they could just get to the gate...<br/>
<br/>
The gelding heaved, pushing off his powerful hind legs to spur himself forward; he made to shove past the nearest walker, all four of which had been immediately alerted to their presence and were already lumbering towards them. The zombie was on Areion's left side and Maggie was holding her sword on the right, the movement and her position keeping her from cutting them down.<br/>
<br/>
Normally this wouldn't be too much of a problem. Ari was incredibly swift and was already leaping past, leaving the little herd in the dust -- only not everyone was left behind.<br/>
<br/>
In the second the gelding was shoving past the walker in his path, the inhuman being's rotting hand caught hold of Maggie's leg. <br/>
<br/>
Ari took several long strides before realizing what was wrong, breaking out of the trees and starting towards Havenshire's gates before he abruptly heard his rider shout. Not a second later her weight in the saddle disappeared as she toppled from her horse's back, dragged down by the grip on her leg.<br/>
<br/>
Both she and the walker hit the ground and she rolled a little ways, breaking the latter's grip on her leg as the air was briefly knocked from her lungs. Ari whinnied in surprise and distress, stumbling and skidding to a halt as Maggie rolled over, pushing herself up as she struggled to get her breath back.<br/>
<br/>
The walker was hacking and wheezing nearby, flailing to get up. The sword had been knocked from its wielder's hand and laid discarded nearby, yet just out of Maggie's reach; the walker had zeroed in on her again like a starving hound, body figure scrabbling at her across the ground.<br/>
<br/>
The cowgirl threw herself back -- and just in time, because all at once Areion was there, dark hooves furiously striking the zombie flat. Proceeding to stomp the walker into a mushy mess, the gelding let out an enraged shrill as Maggie stumbled to her feet and snatched up her sword again. <br/>
<br/>
"Ari!" she exclaimed hastily, casting a wary glance up at the three walkers stumbling after them. "You got him bud, come on--"<br/>
<br/>
One of the walkers was almost on them again but it was oddly small; Maggie had lifted her sword in preparation to swing but hesitated.<br/>
<br/>
It was a child. Or, <i>had been</i> a child. Someone's baby, someone's little sibling... now a mindless husk of their former selves, driven by insatiable hunger. <br/>
<br/>
Memories flashed in the back of the cowgirl's mind. Her little sisters grabbing her hands during a thunderstorm, all three of them making mudpies in the back yard. Then came the horrors -- the bones in the ash, the children she couldn't save even as they screamed at her for help.<br/>
<br/>
The little walker stumbled nearer, hissing and gnashing its rotten teeth as Maggie's sword slowly lowered. <br/>
<br/>
Child. <i>Monster</i>. Child. <i>Monster</i>. <br/>
<br/>
She couldn't do it. It came nearer, like the two behind it, and she stepped slightly back but couldn't take a swing at it. <br/>
<br/>
"I'm sorry," she rasped, staring at the little walker uselessly. "I'm sorry..."<br/>
<br/>
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