Curative
By Kaimaler
Shit, Laura's in a tough spot... But that's gonna be fun!
Originally I felt as though Laura would be stuck with someone so having one of the group with her was a plan, but I thought it would be Carl or Sophia; being that they're usually the ones in need of help most.
But the Voice had started to take control of Laura and eventually I'll need someone capable of... uh... things that I can't spoil. So I'm sure you readers can see where Laura would've taken the chance to run before and have taken Sophia or Carl with her. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very viable option. With Sophia in bad shape after the Voice was about ready to kill her and Carl had Rick to watch over him, I couldn't actually put those people together.
Instead, I remembered that Carol was near where Rick had passed by, only no one was able to see her at night. Andrea was behind them now and it always seemed like a crazy lucky occurrence that Daryl decided to sit by and watch the barn burn. So yes, if Laura was too slow and, while helping Carol, would've run into Daryl and had to tell him she was leaving. Or at least, deny any help he would offer.
For now we will explore a relationship, almost familial bond between Laura and Carol as they both try to survive.
Hey! Share your favorite Walking Dead stories with me! I'd love to find some more inspiration and know what my readers like! And share your ideas about "Curative", what you like, what you dislike. How do you interpret the story? What about Laura and the group?
I love to hear what my readers think about the story! :D
Short chapter! Transition to the real stuff ;3
When he heard the engines it was almost hard to believe.
There, through the sea of dead cars, was a leading biker, an SUV, and a pickup truck all making their way to the same spot. Rick did not want to fool himself, it was torture waiting to see who stepped out of those cars.
As he approached, Daryl had parked his bike near him. Rick greeted him first, shaking his hand as both a "Glad you're alive." and "Thank you, for bringing them back."
When the truck stopped, Lori came running out of it to see Carl with Rick. "Oh thank god!" She latched onto Carl the same way Carol held onto Sophia when Laura brought her out of the barn. Rick was quickly there with her, worried that she had not made it off the farm. They held each other close and Lori cried over her son.
Out of the other cars came Beth and Maggie, who both raced to Hershel, embracing him as the last they saw of him he had been fighting off the walkers. Lori was unable to get him to go with them, they were sure they had lost him for good. Somehow though, Rick managed to force him off the farm so that he could see his daughters again.
T-Dog was leaning against the door of the truck, disbelief etched on his face as he was greeted by Glenn. The group was together again, after the herd ran through their home. It was a test of their ability and planning, but they had made it this far.
Rick pulled away from Lori and Carl, turning to Daryl. "Where'd you find everyone?" He had been in front, from what Rick could tell he was directing the others.
"Well he got his tail lights zigzaggin' all over the road, figured he gotta be Asian drivin' like that." Daryl leaned against the wagon behind them as Glenn gave him a look.
"Good one." He rolled his eyes at the hunter, he was not expecting a joke so quickly in the aftermath. Leave it to Daryl to make light at a time like this.
"Where's the rest of us?" He was counting them. So far he only saw ten people, as Sophia was hiding near Glenn and T-Dog. There were some people missing though.
"We're the only ones who made it so far." Rick answered, he already knew there would be people who did not make it out. It was a bad situation and they were not prepared for it.
Lori stood up, looking to Rick. "Shane?" Rick only shook his head, he was not ready to explain it.
"Andrea?" Glenn asked, hoping someone had an idea. The group looked between themselves, but only T-Dog answered. "We saw her go down." T-Dog had a very distant look in his eyes.
"Patricia?" Hershel spoke worriedly, but his daughter replied first. "They got her too... Took her right from me." She broke into tears, "I was holdin' right onto her, daddy." Hershel only pulled her close, knowing his daughter just suffered quite the ordeal. "What about you, did you see Jimmy?"
"He was in the RV... It got overrun." Jimmy helped them escape the burning barn and paid with his life. Rick owed a lot to the young man, but was unable to ever make good on it.
Lori looked around, "Carol? She was with me, Beth, and Maggie but... we got separated. Anyone see her?"
The group shared a moment trying to listen for hope that someone found her, caught her. Instead, no one spoke up and they knew they lost another. Lori gave Sophia a sad look, "Come here baby."
Sophia was quick to respond, she came up and hugged Lori. No one knew what to say to the little girl.
"What about Laura? I saw her up in the house." Daryl asked, he cared about the group for certain, but Laura was his girl. He knew she was alive now, when he was in the farmhouse he saw her but was not able to take time to talk to her.
Rick paused and gave Daryl a sorrowful look. He shook his head, but that only seemed to inflame an argument.
"But... Walkers don't go for her, how'd she... not make it?" T-Dog asked, surprised by Rick's answer. Daryl was ready to ask the same until Rick let out a long sigh.
"She was with us for a while, found us when we were running from the barn fire." He looked down to Lori and Carl. "She told me to tell you that she kept her promise."
Lori's only reply was to frown and hold Carl even closer.
"What the hell does that mean? Don't matter if she gets bit, she don't turn. Why ain't she here if she was with you?" Daryl could understand if something happened or they lost sight of her, it happened to a lot of people back there. If she was with Rick, it did not make sense that she was not here now.
Hershel was the first to come forward, "She got in the car with us, but when we were leaving the farm... she got out. Said that Rick would understand."
Daryl gave Rick a livid look. "She did it on her own... she told me something that I don't have time to explain here."
"I'm goin' back for her and the others." Daryl was about to get on his bike when Rick stepped forward to stop him. "No, we can't."
Everyone looked at Rick incredulously, "We can't just leave 'em there." Lori sighed, "We don't even know if they're there..."
"They aren't there. There's no way they'd stay. They're either somewhere else or dead, but there's no way to find them." Rick already knew trying to go anywhere near that farm was a mistake. The others knew it too, even the highway was a dangerous place.
"So we're not even going to look?" Glenn didn't want to lose anyone else, if there was a chance they were alive.
"We gotta keep moving. There have been walkers crawlin' all over here." Regardless of the possibility, Rick could not risk more lives on the off chance the others survived.
"I say we head East." T-Dog volunteered the idea, he was planning on it earlier until Lori convinced him to turn around.
"Stay off the main roads. The bigger the roads the more assholes like this one." Daryl got his crossbow off his bike and stepped around the group to aim at the walker stumbling up behind them. "I got him."
After the walker was down, the group agreed it was time to leave. Daryl was fighting to decide if he could go back, but he knew Laura could make it without him. He knew she could survive.
He just didn't want her to out there without him to watch her back. It was a loss, he felt it as real as he did when they told him Merle was cuffed to the roof in Atlanta.
Only this time he knew he could not go back, Atlanta was safe if they stayed quiet. The farm was not, it was covered in walkers and no amount of sneaking would get them through it.
Laura was on her own for now, Carol and Andrea too. As far as they knew. The could only hope they were all together so that they stood a better chance of survival.
Laura was sitting in a small consignment store with Carol, sleeping on a makeshift bed of clothes from around the shop. Carol was so exhausted from running she had begun to trip once they neared the town. She knew she could not force Carol to go any further. Thankfully the store had a small backroom that could be locked and a chair that she had Carol pop up against the doorknob.
The room was clear of walkers, there was not even a bloodstain in there. So instead of staying in the room with Carol, Laura kept in the store's main area to watch the road. They were still worried about Randall's gang; they had no idea how far or how close they were. Since Rick said they ran into his group in town, Laura was very uncomfortable staying here.
She had no idea what was out there and Carol... she was not incapable of defending herself, but Laura was capable of so much worse.
Carol would never survive on her own, it was not an insult against the woman. So few people could live alone in this new world. Walkers, other survivors; they were all threats of their own nature. Laura could not keep Carol with her forever, she would have to find the group somehow.
Only problem was that Laura had no idea where they were at this point and they would not know where to find them. It was too dangerous to come into town, there were walkers everywhere and the only reason they were safe was Laura's ability to go unnoticed through them. Carol was a good pretend walker though, it was easy getting away from the herd once Laura told Carol what to do.
She was a fast learner, she did not want to be eaten alive. Laura mused that there were so many ways to die, yet only one way to survive. She would have to find some way to teach Carol how to defend herself properly. The woman could fire a gun, but maybe she failed to see beyond that singular defense.
Laura had a gun and plenty of ammo with her. It was only to be used in an emergency though; it could put Carol's life at risk if Laura dared to use it without a worthy reason. There were too many walkers around for Laura to warrant any emergency worth using the gun now. They had no idea which direction the herd would be moving in. Laura's best guess is that they would follow the others, who made a lot of noise in their escape.
She had to find a way to keep Carol alive and bring her back to the group where she would be safer. Laura was not stupid, she knew that even with the group it was dangerous. No matter where they went, something would always be around the next corner waiting for them to let their guard down.
I'm here now and I'm waiting. Laura groaned, the Voice had been particularly nasty since Carol had joined her. It was constantly trying to evoke the hunger again. She could feel it and it was painful, but it was dulled as Laura ate an old, dry piece of granola she had picked up in the store over. She only had a small bite of it, knowing that Carol would need it more than her.
Carol could not make it without food very long as they might have to do some more running. Laura could make it unnaturally long without food or water; she would save whatever sustenance she found at this point for Carol.
You need to eat too, it would feel so good to satisfy yourself. I promise you'll feel better for it. The hunger stung even worse, Laura grabbed at her stomach, the stabbing feeling was no longer as tolerable as it had been. She felt the blade of hunger twisting in her gut and it made Laura gasp at the shock of it. She can't fight you back, together, we are too much for any one person.
"You seem to think that I've been listening to you." Laura felt unsure as to how much control she actually had, but with this gun at her side, even the Voice within her knew it could not press its luck. She was prepared to use it and the only thing between this hunger inside of her and Carol was Laura's own self-control.
The Voice backed down for now, it was waiting for a moment to make itself known. For now, Laura could deal with the pain so long as it meant Carol would make it back to her daughter.
She had no idea how Daryl was taking her missing. She wanted so badly to tell him why she was not there with him, what was happening to her. The danger she posed was not something that could just be stopped it had to be treated with isolation. Laura's own punishment for her hunger was to starve it out and the Voice was not pleased with her approach.
Laura snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the door behind her open and out stepped Carol, looking like she had slept rather well. She stood up and came over to Carol, giving her a once over as she assessed Carol's readiness to move on.
"Do we need to go? I can't imagine this place is safe." Carol offered the idea ahead of Laura who looked almost incapable of speaking to the woman.
Perhaps it was because last night Laura was made to unwillingly choke Sophia until the girl ran away from her. Laura felt a more powerful guilt than the night Carol brought her food and thanked her for searching for Sophia. She had failed everyday until they discovered she was in the barn, but bringing her back felt like a great guilt was lifted.
It returned with force though, Laura could barely manage to utter a word to the unknowing mother.
"Laura, are you okay?" Carol came forward and placed a gentle hand on Laura's arm, who flinched at the contact. It was as if the closer Carol was to Laura, the harder it was to deny her hunger.
Laura nodded, she did not trust her voice. It was already later in the afternoon and it was time to leave the town, Laura assumed that if there was anywhere to meet up it would be at the highway with the supplies that was left for Sophia. It was the only landmark outside of the farm that they all knew about.
She could not speak to Carol yet, not until she knew how to explain herself.
Before they left the store, Laura grabbed coats and extra clothes as she knew it was going to get cold fast. Carol would need a lot of excess clothing to keep warm enough in the winter months. Laura had no idea how long it would take to find the others. It was a very real and disturbing possibility that they never found them. It could be that too many died at the farm or die out on the road; there was no sure answer.
Carol got the idea quickly and grabbed some more herself, folding and tying them up in a thin blanket that was hanging on the racks. Laura followed suit and tied hers in a blanket to carry easier. This was insurance for the future, though they had not a clue what it would mean for them as the days went by.
Carol kept close to Laura, but she was confused as to why the woman was not speaking. Once they exited the store, Carol knew she could not ask anything while there were walkers around. The town did not have many in it right now though Carol was still careful enough to try and be cautious of all surroundings.
She would ask why Laura was not speaking later.
Right now, Laura began to look for the signs for the road to take. It was not long before Laura recognized the pharmacy she and Glenn had gone into before and knew the direction they needed to go in.
Following the road, Laura had Carol remain at her side at all times. Walkers would be up and down the road, but with Laura it would not matter. So long as Carol did not get too far from her or make any non-walker sounds. Carol had been smart so far, but that did not mean she was impervious to mistakes. There was no way to account for everything.
It took quite some time before they reached the highway and even longer before they could see the dead cars. The little yellow car with the windshield painted as a sign for Sophia not far ahead.
From what they could both see there was no signs of walkers nearby. It was mostly clear though they would take their time just to be sure. As they passed the abandoned cars, Laura could see the area up ahead. The car was an older model and the paint on the windshield was almost completely worn off now.
"They were here!" Carol pointed to the blue truck, it had been at the farm house and was the truck T-Dog had been driving during the escape. Laura nodded to the woman as she tried to look around for any sign of them. As she expected, they were not here. Even if they stayed hours earlier they would still be too late to catch up with the others.
Approaching the truck, Laura felt the hood. "It's cold, they're long gone."
Carol opened the door and saw the keys still in the ignition. "Maybe we can take the truck to find them?"
Laura nodded as Carol tried to start the truck. It sparked and died before it ever started. Carol tried again, trying to gas it until the truck finally just stopped all together. "They must of siphoned the rest of the fuel in the truck... Not like there was much before." Laura patted the hood, they had all been low on fuel ever since they found the Greene farm.
"We're going to have to walk, aren't we?" Carol stepped out of the truck, it was useless to them now.
"Looks like it, I can't see another way." Laura saw that all the supplies on the hood of the yellow car left for Sophia was gone too. They were in a bad spot now. Carol couldn't go more than two days without food or water; she'd exhaust herself before they ever made it to the group. Where ever they were by now.
"They'll have made it miles from here by now, it'll take a long time to catch up." Carol pulled her shawl and crossed her arms, "How are we going to cover that much distance... There's so many walkers coming this way. They'll have followed the sounds they heard from the gunfire and the cars."
"Which will lead them directly to us on this highway..." Laura looked around, one way was the town and the other was unknown, "They had to have followed the road that way by now; it's the only way that we have not gone. It would be their only chance to get away from the herd."
Carol nodded and came up to Laura, "Should we start? It'll be a long time for just us to be out here as it is."
Laura stepped back from Carol, her voice hitched as she realized how close Carol was. Her stomach sharpened against her again, "Yeah... yeah, we should go now. We'll have to keep an eye out for a place to stay at night, we'll move whenever you're able."
"I won't keep us down for too long, only when I need to rest. It's going to be a long walk... I hope we do find them, someday."
Laura looked up to Carol, a sad look in her eyes. Carol was wondering if they would ever catch up with the group, to find her daughter. As fast as the realization came to Laura, she felt a deep sadness for Carol. It was a painful thought, to be unable to find them in this huge, walker-infested world. Laura had no idea how to actually find them.
She was no skilled tracker, she barely had any idea how to follow a trail. For the time being, Laura would have to try and use what skills she had to reunite Carol with Sophia.
It was a terrible fright they experienced when the walkers flooded the farm; Laura wanted to ask Carol if she ever thought she would even survive at that point. Maybe she did, but when she screamed, running from the walkers, Laura seriously doubted it. The assuredness of death would never be an easy topic.
"We should go, it's not safe here." Carol spoke first, she was keen on finding her daughter though. She would not give up so easily, not after everything she had suffered so far.
Laura turned to the road they were about to take, the large expanse of clear road before them. She looked down for a moment and saw a walker, dead on the road. It had been killed, probably by the group when they were here. Daryl would have dealt with it, the small shot in the head told her she was right. They would not risk a gunshot, the crossbow was the only weapon quiet enough to kill a walker at a range.
She wanted to smile at the thought, it meant Daryl had made it off the farm and was safe with the group. He was capable enough to survive alone, yet she was still relieved to know he be alright.
It was a foolish thing to worry about the hunter in Laura's mind. She knew he could make it, with or without the group. She just felt like being worried sometimes, even if it was pointless.
With a deep and pained sigh, Laura moved on with Carol on her heels. It would not be easy to make it out here, through all the struggles they had faced. This would be hard, Carol would most likely spend many nights hungry. Laura wished there was a way to make it easier, to just know where the others had gone so that they at least had an end destination.
There was no promise that they would ever find them or that, even if they did, that the group would be alive. So many things could go wrong when they around out in the open.
FtDLulz: I can see that! x3
Just a Wonderland: Yeah, I've been gone too long. Sorry about that! :x
I'm pleased to know you like it so much, I hope the rest of the story is worth the love! And yeah... things are... "coming together" for Laura nicely. xD