It was just another day for the group as they were sat around the camp, talking and eating. Hershell was up at his house with his family, Lori, Shane and Glen. They were supposed to be going out for gun training later that day but they had changed their minds as the weather had changed from warm to cold.
Rick was sitting near his son Carl as he ate a piece of food and he was laughing at what the group were talking about as he took another bite of his apple. Rick shouldn't have laughed as the piece of apple got stuck in his throat and he began coughing. Andrea looked at him worriedly as he coughed violently trying to bring the piece of food up.
"Rick, are you okay?" Andrea asked.
Rick didn't reply as he couldn't if he wanted too. He swallowed hoping to dislodge the piece of apple, but that only made it worse. As Rick tried to cough again, he realised he couldn't as he couldn't breathe and he grabbed his throat with his hands. His eyes were wide and he was starting to panic as he realised he was choking.
"Rick!" Daryl said.
At that moment though Daryl jumped up from where he was sitting and rushed over to Rick's side. Rick was getting dizzy, as he saw his friend running over to him and Daryl pulled him up to his feet by his shirt from the chair he was sitting in. Daryl knew Rick was choking and he had been taught what to do in that situation.
He stood behind him, put one fist under his rib cage and put the other hand on top of it. He quickly thrusted inwards and upwards, using the Heimlich manoeuvre, hoping to dislodge the food from Rick's windpipe.
Andrea was beside Rick now as she tried to keep Carl calm from trying to help his dad and she waited, praying he would cough up the piece of food. The food was still stuck in Rick's throat and it showed no sign of being dislodged. Rick was starting to feel light headed from the lack of oxygen. His face was red, his vision was turning grey and a ringing noise in his ears blocked out the sounds of panicked voices around him.
Rick's hands at his throat became lose and they dropped to his sides as he gave in to the blackness that tried to take him away from the world. He sagged in Daryl's grasp but Daryl still tried to get Rick to expel the food. After a few more thrusts, the piece of apple flew out of Rick's mouth and Daryl set him down on the ground with Andrea's help.
"Rick?" Daryl asked.
"Dad?" Carl asked, afraid.
Daryl dropped to his knees beside Rick, and he brought up his hand to tap his face lightly, but then harder when he didn't respond. Carl was beside his father, with the rest of the group who were watching.
"Rick, can you hear me?" Andrea asked.
With no response Daryl held his ear above his mouth and nose, checking to see if Rick was breathing. After a few seconds he didn't feel or hear anything and he blanched.
"He's not breathing," Daryl told them.
"Move," Andrea said.
"Go get Hershell," Daryl ordered.
Andrea instantly leapt in to action as she dropped to her knees on the other side of Rick. She looked at T-Dog who was running up towards the house and she moved closer to Rick's face. As Andrea hunched over Rick's face, she lifted his neck, levered back his forehead and pinched his nose closed with her thumb and forefinger. Andrea took a deep breath and parted Rick's lips, before sealing his lips with her own. One, two breaths were blown in to his mouth and Rick's cheeks puffed out.
"Come on Rick," Andrea urged.
"Dad?" Carl sobbed.
At that moment though Hershell and Lori were running down to the group and what Lori saw at that moment made her heart stop, she saw Andrea hunched over her husbands lifeless form giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation. Hershell instantly rushed over to where Rick lay, falling to his knees beside the man.
"What happened?" Hershell asked.
"Rick!" Lori said as she took his right hand in hers.
"He started choking... I gave him the Heimlich... then he passed out and stopped breathing... but he spat the food out," Daryl stated.
"Move back," Hershell told them all.
Andrea continued trying to save Rick's life then when Hershell put a hand on her arm she took the hint and moved aside. Hershell took her place beside Rick then continued the life saving procedure and after a minute he was rewarded with a small gasp from the younger man before Rick started coughing. Hershell sat back on his knees and then looked over at Lori. Lori smiled as she moved closer to her husband and placed a soft kiss on his lips as he opened his eyes.
Thanks for reading guys. I know this is short, random and kind of crap but I hope you enjoyed it. I wrote this last night after watching the new episode of The Walking Dead. Anyway please review :)
