Naomi was running as fast as Rick was, while Shane was left behind running with the man who had shot Carl.
"Dad!" a younger woman from the porch had yelled into the house as they were getting closer. The woman looked to be about Naomi's age. An older man, who Naomi assumed was the girl's father, had come running outside with two other people following close behind.
"Was he bit?" the man asked, keeping his distance.
"Shot." Rick choked out. "By your man."
"Otis?" a blonde haired woman asked from the porch.
"He said to find Hershel, is that you? Help me, help my boy!" Rick begged.
"Bring him inside!" Hershel said, retreating back to his house.
Rick followed quickly, with Naomi right on his tail.
"Patricia, I need my full kit." Hershel shouted as he lead the way. "Maggie, Pain killers, clean towels, sheets, alcohol."
"On it." the brunette answered.
"Is-Is he alive?" Rick asked, while lowering Carl gently onto the bed that Hershel had set up for him.
"Pillow sheet." Hershel demanded.
"Is he alive?" Rick asked again with a look of agony spread across his face.
"Fold it, put pressure on the wound." Hershel demanded again while taking out a pair of stethoscopes from his drawer next to the bed.
Rick obliged and did as Hershel said. Naomi stood in the doorway of the room they were in, unsure of what to do with herself.
"I've got a heartbeat, it's faint." Hershel stated.
Naomi released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and Rick looked like he could pass out at any moment.
"Maggie, IV." Hershel said as he prepared Carl.
"We need some space." Maggie said, giving her father the IV.
"Name?" Hershel asked, staring at Rick.
"R-Rick.. Rick. I'm Rick."
"Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay? You need to give us some room." Hershel said in a calm and caring tone.
Naomi turned and went to walk outside, she needed fresh air. Everything was happening so fast, she felt like she herself could pass out at any moment.
When Naomi walked out onto the porch she saw Shane and Otis walking towards her.
Rick had just followed her out on the porch, he had Carl's blood all over him.
"He's alive? He's still alive?" Otis asked looking back and forth between Naomi and Rick.
Shane pushed past Otis and went into his back pocket and took out the cloth they had been using to pin on the trees, "It's okay.." Shane whispered while cradling Rick's face with his hand. "It's okay, ya got blood." Shane wiped away at the blood that was all over Rick's face.
When he was done he gave the cloth to Rick to clean his hands with.
"Okay, okay, I'll take it from you. Where is he?" Shane asked in a gentle tone.
Naomi had never seen Shane act this way, it was a nice thing to see. She didn't know he could be so loving or caring.
Rick walked back into the house, and they all followed.
Once they entered the room, Rick looked like he was going to breakdown more than he already was.
"You know his blood type?" Hershel asked, still checking Carl's pulse and setting up his table with surgical supplies.
"A positive." Rick stated solemnly.
"What happened?" Patricia asked, walking over to Otis and grabbing ahold of his hand.
"I was tracking a buck.. bullet went through it." Otis answered miserably.
"Slowed the bullet down.. It certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke into pieces.." Hershel stated, looking at Carl's wound. "I'm counting six."
"Lori doesn't know.. My wife doesn't know. My wife doesn't know." Rick sobbed.
Shane and Naomi exchanged a look of awkwardness.
Lori had been gone for months now, Naomi was there when it happened.
Rick had taken the group out for a run, it was just after they had left Atlanta. Shane and Carl were catching frogs while all the girls were doing laundry.
A few walkers had got into camp. They got Amy, Andrea's sister. Dale, a nice old man who had the rv they used to get around in. Sophia and Ed, Carol's daughter and husband. And they got Lori.
Lori was pregnant, that was the worst part. Naomi had tried to save her, really she did. She just wasn't quick enough.
"Rick, he needs blood." Maggie shouted, bringing them all back to reality.
Hershel was digging into Carl's wound, trying to get the bullet fragments.
"Hold him down!" Hershel said to Shane.
"Dad!" Carl choked out, he was sobbing in agony.
Naomi felt like she was going to throw up.
"STOP YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Rick screamed at Hershel.
"He needs blood!" Hershel shouted back.
"DO IT NOW!" Shane yelled at Rick while holding Carl.
Rick held his arm out to Maggie, insanity flashing in his eyes.
Carl stopped yelling and went still, his eyes closed once more.
"Wait, wait, wait." Shane whispered, still holding Carl.
"He just passed out." Hershel said after checking his pulse. "One down.. Five to go." Hershel pulled out one bullet fragment.
They all retreated out of the room Carl lay in and sat in Hershel's living room.
Naomi sat in a recliner and put her head in her hands.
"Lori has to be here Shane, she has to know." Rick was sobbing again.
"Lori is gone man." Shane said sounding equally as upset.
Naomi felt bad just listening to it.
"You gotta handle your end." Shane said all of a sudden.
"My end?" Rick questioned
"Your end is being here for your son, even if he didn't need your blood to survive, there's no way I'd ever let you walk out that door man I, I'd break your legs if you tried, I mean you know that right? If something happened to him and you weren't here.. If he slipped away while you were gone you would never forgive yourself for that."
Shane was playing along with Rick, leading him to believe that Lori was out there somewhere. Naomi didn't know if it was brilliant or cruel.
"That's what you gotta have now, strength for Carl, he needs that from you man. You got the hard part, you just leave the rest to me okay?" Shane said while bringing his head close to Rick's.
"He's out of danger for the moment. But I need to remove those remaining fragments." Hershel said, coming into the room they were all sitting in.
Everyone stood at once.
"How? You saw how he was." Shane answered for Rick.
"I know, and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others." Hershel said and then looked at Rick, "There's more, his belly's distended, his pressures dropping which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there, I mean at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll server an artery and he'll be dead in minutes. To even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breath on his own, same bad results."
"You need a respirator, what else?" Otis said all of a sudden.
"The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes-" Hershel answered.
"If you had all that, you could save him?" Rick asked, looking like he could start crying again at any second.
"If I had all that, I could try." Hershel responded.
"Nearest hospital went up in flames months ago...The high school?" Otis questioned.
"That's what I was thinking. They set up a shelter they would have everything we need."
"Place was overrun last time I checked, maybe it's better now."
"Shit, I said leave the rest up to me, is it too late to take that back?" Shane asked, looking at Rick with a smile.
"I don't want you going alone." Rick stated, getting the authority back in his voice.
"C'mon give me a list, draw up a map." Shane said looking at Hershel.
"You won't need a map. Ill take you there. I'm responsible. Do you even know what the stuff he's talking about looks like?" Otis said looking back and forth from Shane to Hershel.
"Come to think of it, no." Shane said, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his head.
"I was a volunteer EMT.. We could talk about this until next Sunday or do it right quick." Otis said, getting ready to leave the room.
"I'll take right quick." Shane said, following his lead.
"I'm coming with you!" Naomi said, speaking for the first time since getting on the farm.
Shane have her a look of annoyance but nodded his head at her.
She didn't care what he thought, she was going to do what she could for Carl and no one was going to stop her.
"The others.. They don't know where we are." Naomi said all of a sudden.
"I can find them and bring them back, how far out were you guys?" Maggie asked, looking concerned.
"C'mon girl, we ain't losing a life today! Rick, you tell her where to find our people. Naomi, move!" Shane demanded, pretty much out the door already.
Naomi gave Maggie an apologetic look and followed Shane out the door.