|| Miracles - I ||
"You're okay, sweetheart. You'll be okay."
"How long has she had this fever?"
"A few days."
"The rain?"
"Yeah."
"We have antibiotics. We can help."
"Don' need your help."
"You may not, but she does."
"Glarin' an' poutin' at my back ain' gonna change my mind." His voice was rough with a small hint of humor. Her laugh was melodious, yet soft.
"Morgan!" She couldn't help the giggle that slipped with his name.
"Don' you 'Morgan!' me, girl." The older man glanced over his shoulder at her, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "That place was hell an' you know it." They'd passed a small abandoned cabin not that long ago. There was a storm rolling in and while both of them preferred to be outdoors, the cabin would have been perfect to wait out the storm.
"Might get sick." She teased, folding her arms over her chest as they walked. He scoffed and stopped, allowing her to catch up to him. Once by her side, he pulled her jacket and beanie from her bag, tugging the beanie over her ears.
"Now you won't." He smirked, earning an eye roll from the young woman. They'd been together for a few weeks now. She didn't speak much, but he'd catch her humming every so often while she started up a fire or strung up their makeshift alarms. When she hunted she was dead silent, which made him uneasy at first. He was used to silence, sure, but silence with a companion as young as she was? It was strange. When he'd ask her who taught him, she would just shrug and stay silent.
A crack of thunder pulled their attention. Morgan's companion lifted her head to stare at the sky through the trees to watch as rain began to fall slowly. The older of the two sighed and shook his head, pulling his own beanie from his pack and pulling it over his head and patting the woman's shoulder, ushering her along. She complied but slipped her pack off, pulling on her jacket and wrapping it tightly around her before shouldering her pack again.
The pair moved for as long as they could. The rain was terrible by this point, pouring heavily upon them. It drowned out the sounds of the advancing herd behind them. As soon as Morgan caught sight of the leaders, he tugged the girl up from her shelter under a tree and pulled her along to a larger one further away. It had less protection from the rain, but it was either run and get drenched or climb a tree and get slightly less drenched.
They both clung to the tree tightly as the water fell through the branches above and the dead dragged their feet in the mud below. Morgan looked up periodically to make sure his companion was still there. She was still hanging on, but he could see her shivering and he couldn't ignore the droplets that fell from her beanie. She was going to get sick and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Her hood must have fallen back just enough to expose the blue wool. He reached over to pull her hood back up to try to shield from any further moisture, but feeling the material he knew it was far too late. The beanie had to come off.
By the time the walkers passed, it was dark out. The rain was still ravaging the trees around them. On a whim, he motioned her for to climb down with him and they headed back to that shit hole of a cabin. Morgan hoped that by drying her off would lessen the chances of her getting sick.
It didn't.
A week had passed. She was bundled up tightly in her jacket and a blanket they'd found in the cabin. It was sweltering hot out, and there she was bundled up like a newborn. Her fever was raging, her nose wouldn't stop running, and the coughing was incessant. She tried so hard to silence herself, but her lungs were begging for air and release from the mucus. Morgan could see just how difficult it was for her to breathe. He did his best to take care of her; giving her his water, feeding her anything he found, rinsing her sweat riddled face. Nothing seemed to be working.
He sat her down in their camp in the shade of a tree. He'd given her their last bit of aspirin already. There was nothing else to bring her fever down or stave off any infection she might experience. He cursed that damn wound he'd tried so desperately to keep clean, covered, and closed.
"You stay right here, okay?" Morgan said, pushing back a bit of blonde hair that fell from the confines of her dried beanie. "I gotta get some wood for a fire." She looked up at him with pain filled eyes as she wheezed and gave a weak smile. "Area's cleared, so you'll be safe. I won't be far." When she gave a small nod, he smiled slightly and touched her cheek with the back of his hand. He hated the idea of leaving her there, but he had to. He couldn't just let her freeze, even though it was incredibly hot out.
True to his word, he didn't go far, nor was he gone long. As he was setting up their fire, there was a crackle of sticks nearby. Morgan instantly went on alert and went to his companion's side to cover her. He couldn't hear the steps, but when the young woman placed a hand on his shoulder and murmured the word human to him, he knew he'd have to go down fighting to protect her. He was not, however, expecting a man to step out from the brush with his hands in the air and a smile on his face.
"Seems like a trend to have something pointed at me these days." He commented with a laugh. "My name is Aaron. I'm a friend." Morgan didn't trust him. Granted, he never trusted anyone. The girl behind him, however, gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze before allowing her hand to fall and withdraw into the blanket.
"Ain't got no friends." Morgan spat, eyes narrowed. He straightened his body out, moving closer to the man and examining him closely. He was clean. Far too clean.
"That's fine. I understand." Aaron shrugged and continued to smile, lowering his hands slowly as Morgan approached. "I have a camp. Well, a settlement, really. We don't normally take people in, but you two look like you could use it." He chuckled again, but silenced himself at the glare he was receiving. "You seem strong. We need strong people. You'll have a house, food, water, and safety."
"How do I know you ain't lyin' through your teeth?" Morgan was finally up in his face by this point.
"I have photos that I could-"
"Ain't no photos gonna help your case." Aaron flinched at Morgan's words. Just as he opened his mouth to speak again, Morgan's companion fell onto her side almost lifelessly, her eyes closed and her chest heaving up and down rapidly.
"Shit!" Morgan was at her side in an instant, lifting her into his arms. "C'mon now, stay strong for me. You're okay, sweetheart. You'll be okay." He brushed her hair from her face and made sure the beanie was over her ears. Aaron had rushed over as well, kneeling down and making a mental note of the color in her cheeks.
"How long has she had this fever?" He questioned, reaching out to touch her forehead. She was burning hotter than anyone he'd felt before.
"A few days." Morgan's hand rested softly on her cheek.
"The rain?" Her eyes peeked open briefly and she gave Morgan a smile that was barely there before she fell into unconsciousness.
"Yeah."
"We have antibiotics. We can help."
"Don' need your help."
"You may not, but she does." Aaron's eyes were sympathetic as he spoke. He didn't want to force Morgan, but if he didn't then he'd lose the girl.
"Dammit..." Morgan lifted her into his arms and jostled her so she was leaning into him. "Fine. But only 'til she's better, you got me?" His eyes grew hard once more as he stared at the other man.
"If that's what you want." Aaron nodded and lifted his hands in defeat. "Follow me. We aren't too far away."