She had no idea how long she rode that damned horse. Each second was an eternity and she was trapped in hell bleeding out all over the poor thing. Her perception of time was skewed, and she was so cold. It felt like she made it four hours, but she had finally collapsed. The ground didn't even hurt when she fell off the horse. It was almost comfortable now that she didn't have to hold herself up, she could finally relax. She heard Joel screaming yelling for her, but his voice sounded distorted. Like it was underwater. She wanted to apologize to him for scaring him, for being so useless this time around, and for slowing him down, but she couldn't even open her mouth. Everything was too cold and too heavy. Even laying on the dirt, she feared that she was going to fall into a void as the ground swayed beneath her. What a nightmare this day turned into.
She was excited to patrol with Joel again. Excited that he was finally in a good mood now, she was happy that he smiled at her in the backyard next to the fire. It was supposed to be a good day. Why did this have to happen to him? With everything that was already on his plate. Sorry, Joel. I've failed you.
She helplessly watched him break his back to try to pick her up from the ground. The expression on his face...he was scared. There was true fear in his eyes. His mouth was moving, he was talking to her, but she heard nothing. Her body was so cold that his hands burned her skin when he picked her up and started carrying her. He was yelling ahead, but she couldn't see who was there. Hell, she didn't even know where they were. At this point, she didn't care. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep, but Joel kept talking and moving her so her eyes never closed. A million regrets were running through her head, but her biggest one was not telling Joel how she felt about him in the backyard.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a group of people running up to them but she didn't know if they were hostile or friendly. Did it really matter? She was dead soon anyway. Forty years young and got done in by a gunshot in the apocalypse, how embarrassing. Judging Joel's expression, the people were friendly and he knew them. He was barking orders and they were listening. He always made that same face when he was ordering people around, she knew that face well. Wait, does that mean they were close to Jackson? Did they run into another patrol? Thank God! Maybe she would make it after all. She tried to look at them to see if she recognized them, but it hurt so much to even move her eyes around in her head.
Before she knew it, she was ripped from Joel's hands and was now being carried by four people. Just one pair of hands was hot enough, but four pairs? Her entire body was on fire. She would be screaming if she could, it felt like her skin was being blistered and burned. The people carrying her were teenagers. Ellie had her shoulders and was trying to talk to her, but she couldn't answer. Another female had her feet, but she couldn't make out her face, only her dark hair. Joel wasn't around anymore, presumably going back to get the horses. She saw the gates to Jackson open, and she was washed in relief. She could get medical help! She may just make it after all. That's it, she thought, if I make it, I have to tell him how I feel. I'm going to help fix his relationship with Ellie, and we can be a family.
Everyone was yelling and talking, and even though she couldn't understand it, she knew that it wasn't good. She hasn't looked at her wound again; she was too scared to, but their horrified faces told her everything she needed to know. Shit. This wasn't good. All she could do was watch everyone scramble to try to save her because she was careless. She apologized a million times in her mind, but of course, they couldn't hear her. They may never hear it, and for that, she was so sorry.
The infirmary tent in Jackson was in the heart of town, so it was easily accessible to the neighborhoods with kids and elderly, so that meant these poor kids had to carry her all the way in town to get help. It wasn't fair.
As they carried her into town, more and more people came outside to see what was going on. More people jumped in to help, and someone took her from Ellie and the other woman and started carrying her. Was that...Tommy? She could see Ellie's wide eyes as Beth was taken away, and she would never forget that expression. I'm so sorry, Ellie... Tommy carried her into the infirmary where doctors and nurses were on standby and she was immediately transferred over to their care. Her skin was on fire, her vision had been reduced to pinholes, and she was so heavy. It took all of her efforts to just blink. Damn, she went downhill fast. She was relieved that she was finally going to get help and finally allowed her eyes to close. She was in the best hands possible. She did her part and stayed awake, but now the sweet whispers of the void were calling her. It was coming down on her like a blanket, and it was warm. She decided to finally relax, and go to sleep.