Hello everyone and welcome back for another chapter! I want to say thank you to those who reviewed...
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And a really big thank you to those who favorite, are following, and everything else. It's been rather rough for me the last few months, my boyfriends of a year and a half broke up with me and school is starting soon. I'll try to keep updating but I don't know if I will be able too next month. I'm sorry about the wait guys. I also have to get my keyboard clean because the keys are sticking. Great.
Well, enjoy the read!
~oOo~
The horde came slow and agonizing at it's pace. I held Sophia close to me as walkers passed by us. I could see Rick put a finger to his lips and I nodded back to him. Of course I knew to be quiet but I figured he was saying that to Sophia or Carl. After a few minutes when the horde had passed, Rick gave the all clear signal to come out.
Maybe that was a little too soon...
Just as Sophia was coming out a straggler from the group we didn't see saw her, growling in hunger as he go on his stomach to get to her. Sophia started to cry, pressing up against me to get away from the walker. I put my hand out, blocking the hand trying to grab at her. "Stop!" I ordered but the walker didn't listen to me and Sophia began to cry harder, attracting more attention. More walkers came and something snapped inside of me.
More or less, I got pissed.
No one is dying...
"I ORDER YOU TO STOP!" The walkers all froze. "GO AWAY! IGNORE THE OTHERS AND KEEP WALKING!" I ordered, my voice loud and strong. The walkers did as they were told to do and left without little fuss. In my head I could hear their voices saying they were sorry for trying to hurt them and I knew they had no control over their actions so I wasn't really angry.
Just tired.
~oOo~
My head hurts.
After the walker did as he was told to do, and after it quiet down everyone came out of hiding. Sophia left but I stayed under the car, enjoying the cool ground of the shade under my face. People began to call me and when I called, Daryl's face was the first person I saw. It was laced with worry but I gave him a weak smile before coming out. The bright sunlight made my head hurt even worse than before, my knees buckling so that Daryl had to help me sit down, my face out of the sunlight.
"You alright?" He asked and I nodded.
"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy and a small headache. I'll be fine. Go check on the others." I told him, waving my hand with a smile. Carl and Sophia came over to me, asking if I was alright and I told them I was. Sophia thanked me for the walker; I told her it was no problem. We need to stick together and make sure everyone stayed safe.
I could hear talking so Carl and Sophia helped me up so we could see what was going on. T-Dog had managed to cut his arm open pretty badly. They were also trying to decide what to do with the huge traffic jam that sat in front of us. Glenn was looking on the map before he spotted a turn around.
"Let's get these cars turned around and moved so we can go back." Rick said as I crouched down to examine the wound on T-Dog's arm. "How does it look Hope?" Rick asked from behind me.
"Not good. A wound like this is bound to get infected and since we do not have the necessary equipment to treat such a wound, it looks grim." I told the truth and T-Dog grinned.
"Always bright and shinny you are." He said and I frowned.
"Sorry." I turned to Rick. "He needs something to slow the infection, antibiotics, surgical wire to sew it shut, and clean gauze, hot water and alcohol. We do not have any of those." I told him standing up.
"Is there anything you can do? The medicine you found back at camp..."
"Would not help him except ease the pain. We have pain killers, allergy medicine, sleeping aids, cold medicine. Nothing to treat this sort of wound." Rick sighed. "There is one thing I can do however."
"What's that?"
"There was a modern book in my room I used to read often. A plant and herbal book for natural remedies and wounds. In it was a list of plants native to this region that can slow the infection process. Natural pain killers and the like." I told him.
"Would they be around here?" Rick asked.
"Maybe. One grows near water and the others grow around trees like these. If you can give me a few hours or at least until Dale is done fixing the van I'm sure I can find them until we can find more supplies." I told him.
"I don't like the idea of you going out there alone." Rick said quietly, knowing full well if one said person in the group heard, I would be in deep trouble.
"I'm the safest person out there and you know it. I'll be fine, I promise. If I don't T-Dog could die from mere blood loss if that wound isn't closed properly." I explained to him. Rick was silent for a moment before he handed me the knife that sat on his hip.
"You have until Dale fixes the van. Don't stray too far so you can't hear us okay?" He said and I smiled.
"Got it." I told him before going to grab a bag for the herbs. I grabbed a bottle of water, a flashlight, and a spoon before sneaking out of camp when no one was looking. Just when I was inside the tree line I stopped real quick. The woods reminded me of the woods back at the old camp and it made me smile. It was the first time I decided to do something for someone and that made me friends. Merle and Daryl. I helped Merle with withdrawal and in the end I gained friends who kept me safe and feeling wanted.
I took a deep breathe, enjoying the feeling of the air in my lungs and not the metallic air that I kept breathing in while I was in the CDC before I moved in. I walked a ways from the group until I came to a small pond. I quickly found the plant I was looking for, picking all I could see.
"Ah! Walker!" I turned around quickly to see Sophia behind me with her back turned towards me. I got to my feet quickly, grabbing her and bringing her close to me, my hand covering her mouth. The walker heard and turned towards us.
"Turn around and walk the other way." My voice was steady and the walker did as it was hold to do but another growl made Sophia wiggle out of my arms to take off running. "Sophia!" I called and ran after her. She didn't stop and for a little girl she moved quickly. When I noticed she dropped to the ground I panicked. A walker was standing over her when I shouted him to back away. He did, slowly, his voice hungry for the meat that lay at his feet.
"What were you thinking?! What if I didn't get to you in time? You would be dead." I told her, holding her by her shoulders so she wouldn't run away again.
"I was scared it wouldn't listen to you." She said and I shook my head.
"They won't hurt you unless you stay close to me. Promise me you won't run away again no matter what okay?" She nodded and I looked around. I had no idea which direction we ran into. I wasn't really paying attention and now I believe we're lost.
"Where are we?" She asked and I sighed.
"I don't know. We better find somewhere or find the highway to get back to the others. It's not safe in the dark." I told her, taking her hand in mine. "Do not let go of my hand."
"I'm sorry." She said, clinging to her doll tightly to her chest.
"Don't be. Let's go and find the others." I told her and I picked a direction to go in. The sun started to set faster and faster until I was sure we would be walking in the dark in a little bit. I reached into my bag and got out the flashlight as we came across a white church. There were a few walkers inside, Sophia's grip tightening on my hand as we sat in the back pew after I closed the door shut.
"There are...blankets...and food...box in the front pew by Mr. Avers." The woman with something over her face said when she turned her head to look at us.
"I'll be right back. Don't move okay." She nodded her head and I left to get the few things that sat on the pew. When I returned I gave Sophia a blanket to wrap herself in before opening the cans of beans and fruit to eat. We ate in silence by the light of our flashlight until we ate our fill. I told Sophia to lay down and that everything was going to be alright. She did, closing her eyes. I turned off the flashlight and stared in the front for a while before I felt my eyes start to close.
"Sleep...we will watch over you two...no harm...sleep..." The voices said and I felt myself relax. I knew nothing would happen to us while we slept. They wouldn't hurt Sophia while I was around and I'm glad.
I really want to sleep and not stay awake all night long.
~oOo~
The following morning, early in the morning, we headed out. The walkers didn't want me to kill them, saying that they wish to stay here a while longer. I told them thank you for keeping watch over us before we left. We walked some ways, Sophia asking me questions and me answering them to pass the time away as we did. I knew we were going the wrong way when we broke free from the tree line to see a white farm house in the distance.
I didn't realize we reached the front porch when an elderly man asked me if he can help us. I told him that we got separated from our group when I was looking for herbs. Some...people who looked sick attacked us and we've been lost since yesterday. The elderly man and his family invited us in to rest and get something to eat while we come up with something to do. The elderly man, Hershel, gave me a map and I pointed to where I remember Glenn talking about on our map.
"We're on our way to Fort Bening? We came across this traffic jam on the highway when our R.V broke down. We started to scavenge the abandon cars for the replaceable parts when this...group of sick people came across us. We hid under cars until the left but one of our members got hurt pretty badly. My parents were scientists so I told our leader, Rick, that there are plants around here that can ease the infection process until we find more medicine supplies. While I was looking, Sophia here, got startles about one of the sick people that came up behind us. She ran off so I followed her. We got lost and picked a direction but it seems we're farther away from where we started off." I explained to Hershel.
"Well, if you go to the end of the drive then head left you should arrive at the place you and your group got stuck at. Stay for a while, catch your breath and leave when your ready." He said and smiled at me.
"Thank you. We won't stay long." I said and Hershel left us. It turns out the rest of the family consists of Hershel's family; Beth and Maggie (his daughters), Otis and Patricia (The ranch hand and his wife), and Jimmy (Beth's boyfriend). Beth and Maggie are nice, asking us simple questions as they gave Sophia something to eat. I declined, leaving more for Sophia.
We began talking, Maggie and I, out on the porch while Sophia took a nap in the living room before we would head out. Maggie seemed like a nice person to get along with and was surprised when I told her I was twenty-five years. "You look so young!" She said and I laughed.
"My mom had great skin." I told her, keeping my frown from slipping onto my face.
"Was?" Maggie asked.
"I lost her, some time ago along with my dad. The group I'm with has become more of like a second family to me. I hope we can get back to them safely." I told her and she wanted to say something but she didn't.
Then everything began to blur...
Maggie stopped talking to look out onto the field. I followed her gaze to see Rick, bloody, running towards us with Carl on his arms. I shouted Rick's name and ran towards him with everything I had. Hershel came out then, asking if he was bit but no, he was shot by Otis who I haven't met yet. We went inside, laying Carl on the bed as I rolled up my sleeves to help. Rick seemed in shock the way he kept repeating the same sentence over and over again. I helped apply pressure to the wound as Hershel started to give me orders. Rick left the room, looking out the window to see Shane and who I assume to be Otis. When the boys came back in Shane was surprised to see me but I didn't honestly care.
"You know his blood type?" Hershel asked.
"A positive, same as mine." Rick answered, his voice cracking.
"That's fortunate. Don't wander far. I'm gonna need you. What happened?" He turned his attention towards Otis. Otis explained to us what happened but it was fifty fifty that Carl is still alive, but thankfully, the deer slowed the bullet down but the problem is, is that the bullet broke up into smaller pieces.
After a while, Carl woke up while Hershel was pulling the pieces out. Watching Carl scream in pain hurt me and it hurt Sophia took as she looking on to see her friend in pain. Rick was getting hooked up while Shane and I held him down when Carl passed out on us. Shane and Rick gave us a worried look but I told them that he passed out from the pain. And it wasn't till later, listening to Hershel tell Rick that his son has internal bleeding that I knew I would have to step in soon.
"What will it take?" Rick asked.
"You need a respirator." Otis join in, approaching the old man. "What else?"
"He needs the tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures, disinfectants, antibiotics, and everything else." I join in too.
"If you had all that you could save him?" Rick asked.
"If I had all that I could try." Hershel answered him.
"Nearest hospital when up in flames a month ago." Otis said. Hershel gave him a look. "The high school."
"That's what I was thinking. They set up a fema shelter there. They would have everything we need." Hershel said.
"Place was overrun last time I saw it. You couldn't get near it. Maybe it's better now." Otis said.
"Then I'll go." They turned towards me. "Those...people don't bother me when I'm around them. I'm the safest one here to go and get what you need." I told him.
"I hate you going alone. I made that mistake once, and Daryl almost had my head. I can't let you do it again." Rick said.
"She won't. I'll go with her." Otis spoke up. "She won't need a map to get there 'cuz I'll take her there."
"Otis no." His wife spoke.
"Honey, we don't have time for guesswork and I'm responsible." He said. "I ain't gonna sit here while this girl take this on alone. I'll be alright."
"Wait, a minute, if he's going then I'm going too." Shane said. "You'll need an extra set of hand since hers are a bit skinny." I glared at him but he ignored it.
"You sure about this?" Rick asked all of us and we agreed. Otis then said that he needed to get a few things before he left. Rick thanked me with about ten minutes Otis, Shane and I were leaving the house. Rick and Otis were in the front because I volunteered to ride in the back. I enjoyed the wind in my hair as he drove to the high school. I smiled as he hit bumps, turned corners, and it made me feel free...
"You alright back there?" Shane asked and I actually smiled at him.
"This is fun." I told him and he chuckled. For being an ass, he may not be so bad.
It was near dark when we reached the school. When Otis said it would maybe be better was a complete lie. The sea of walkers moving almost made me motion sick by the way they moved around all together. Otis said we needed to get to the trailer over some ways and Shane looked oddly scared. I wasn't scared, not at all.
I was kind of excited.
Shane then decided to get a few flares from the cop cars to draw the walkers away to slip by them. Which seemed easy enough. We got in the trailer, grabbing the things we need but I grabbed a few more things I recognized. The pack was heavy and rattled when Shane opened the door. "Order them away." Shane said but I shook my head when all walker heads turned towards us.
"One or two, maybe. This large of a group? No way I can stop them from feeding." I told them and we began to run. Twists and turns we ran until we were corned behind a storm door of the school.
"Can't you do anything?" Shane yelled at me and I winced. There were too many voices, loudly shouting for food, begging me to let them eat and tears started to fall as I fell to my knees.
"I can't. I'm not strong enough. There's too many." I told him.
Just when I thought this would be the end of the people beside me, Shane managed to get the doors behind us open and we began to run down the hallways. Shane handed me the keys to the truck, telling me to book it to the truck with his bag. If they didn't show up in ten minutes then to go back to the farm with whatever is in the bag. I nodded and closed my eyes as the walkers bypassed me. Two stayed behind and I lifted one of the bag onto the walkers back and they followed me back to the truck. I loaded what I had up before running back to the trailer for more supplies while I waited for Shane and Otis. I waited pacing back and forth until I could see them running in the distance.
Then what I saw made the scream freeze in my throat.
Shane turned on Otis.
He shot Otis in the leg and took the bag off his back. The look he gave me made me get in the truck and sit quietly, starting the truck as he threw the bag in the back and getting in. I stared in horror as Otis's screams died down as they ate him alive.
The drive back seemed like forever but the truck did stop. I screamed as Shane placed a hand over my mouth and placed a gun against my head. I could feel it press into my skin as he stared at me with dead eyes. It got harder to breathe as his hand squeezed around my mouth.
"You don't tell a word. Got it? Or else you'll end up the same way." When I didn't say anything he pressed the gun harder, tears rolling down my face. "Got it?!" I nodded. We drove for another five minutes before we arrived at the house. Shane got out as Rick and everyone came out of the house. I slowly got out of the truck when Otis's name was mentioned. I passed everyone, looking straight ahead and went inside. I went into the living room and sat there. I don't know how long I sat before Lori was moving me to lay down on the couch. Shortly after my head hit the couch I must've passed out.
I know for one thing that is certain...
Shane is one to avoid...
And I will have nightmares this night...
~oOo~
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