Merle looked around when he noticed his daughter wasn't helping him unpack the car anymore. Their short expedition had been a success, finding plenty of vitamins and aspirin along with fresh water bottles. He saw her kneeling down beside the bike looking through the bags for something.
He dropped the bag filled with towels back into the trunk and walked towards his oblivious daughter. When he was about ten feet away began to speak.
"Don't come any closer, ah just realized somethin'." Hayden's voice had grown a tad bit more raspy than usual and her movement were slow.
"What's that?" Merle drawled trying to sound unconcerned over what was most likely a trivial matter.
"Ah thought ah was just exhausted from all the stress 'n exertion. But ten minutes ago ah noticed that my throat was scratchy. Ah've got it Daddy." Merle didn't respond merely staring at the back of his daughter's head.
"What are ya lookin' fer?" He asked a moment later when he was sure his voice wouldn't break.
"Tha blue stuff, tha stuff from tha ABQ." She hung her head slightly but kept rummaging through the bags.
"That ain't gonna 'elp ya git any betta darlin'-" He was interrupted by a loud series of hacking coughs from his sixteen year old daughter. "Ya alright?"
"Fine." She stood up and looked towards her father, wiping her eyes. It was the first time he had ever seen her truly terrified, her eyes wide and her hands shaking slightly.
"Yer gonna be fine Hayden."
"Three people 'ave died. Of this, what ah've got."
"Ya oughta talk ta tha ol' man, he'll know iffen ya got it."
And that was how the sixteen year old ended up standing in front of a sheet of glass looking in on an exhausted Hershel. Their interview had been cut short by a coughing attack.
"Hayden, I think you have it. You'll be a help to us though, you not being as sick as everyone else, most people are too sick at this point. Go around dear and we'll let you in." Hayden left the room shaking her head at her father, a few tears falling.
"Yer gonna be fine darlin' but while yer in there ah want ya ta read this." He pressed a thick book into her hand and she looked down at the well worn pages of The Prince.
"Really?" She asks her voice raspy.
"Ah read it at Woodbury, ah think ya'd like it." Hayden gave her father a curt nod and skirted around him walking to the main room her shoulders pulled back proudly, her Marines duffel bag on her shoulder. "Don't let them visit!"
Glenn opened the door, coughing slightly the whole way. There was a fresh sheen of sweat on his skin and his eyes were red.
"Sorry you got it Hayden."
"'S not ya fault, woulda happened eventually." She told him giving him a pointed look. He cleared his throat of mucus and led her upstairs, slowly. He showed her to her cell and she placed her things down looking at him expectantly.
"Herschel's probably doing rounds." Hayden nodded and left the cell walking down the stairs to find Herschel. If she was going to be there she wanted to help, to do something and not just lie there useless.
"Hayden, you sure? It might speed up your infection." Hayden didn't move so Herschel continued. "Just make sure everyone's got water and food."
Hayden nodded, realizing what he wasn't saying. Make sure no one is dead.
Hayden was squeezing the small sack of the air pump that was down the throat of the fifty year old Stacey Adams. She had began coughing up blood not too long before, Herschel only barely being able to get the tube into her throat before she died.
It had been about ten minutes ago and Hayden felt sweat dripping down her forehead at such a simple task. She groaned inwardly, the very idea that such a simple task of squeezing a plastic sack of air would be such hard work insulting.
She had heard Herschel closing most of the doors again after the incident with the suffocating man. She could hear him talking to a man a few cells over but an odd noise from the upper cells drew her attention.
"Herschel!" She called, her voice raspy. She was greeted by an identical cry from the upper block and as Hayden began to feel uneasy there was a loud cry from a few feet away. Hayden went to get up but her gaze dropped down to the tube in her hand and she reached with all her might to close the cell door. Her arm barely reached but she closed it successfully locking herself out from the rest of the block.
There was a gunshot followed by two screams, one feminine and the other masculine. There were two more loud falls and Hayden felt her adrenaline beginning to rush through her body and her hand itched to grab the knife that was strapped to her leg.
"HERSCHEL!" Hayden yelled as blood began to ooze towards her cell from an unknown body. If Herschel could get down here she could switch places with him, the weakened man could pump the air into Stacey's lungs and she could take out the potential problem. Gunshots ran out above her and she suddenly felt the quiet descend upon them like a blanket.
After a few seconds she heard someone trying to get in through the locked door and screams as a blonde woman raced past her. There were sounds of a struggle from above her and a shot rang out from somewhere to her left followed by glass shattering.
Maggie ran past her and stood off in the distance yelling at someone who hoarsely replied. Maggie lifted her gun and shot at something above them and silence.
Maggie ran up the stairs and for the first time Hayden felt the sweat that had soaked through her shirt and was wetting her hair. There was a quick succession of bullets from outside and Hayden listened closely for any screams but heard none.
Not for the first time she felt on the verge of tears but she wiped them away with a dirty hand, leaning her head back her hand automatically squeezing the air pump.
Once the bullets stopped Hayden noticed that Stacey's chest had stopped moving and attempting CPR, Hayden realized the woman had been dead for a bit and angirly stabbed the head.
Tyreese burst in not long later and she could hear Maggie talking to Glenn and other loved ones talking but no one came in at all for her and she didn't know if she should be happy or disappointed.
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