Night was falling fast, and the only sound Hope could hear was that of the horse's hooves against the pavement. She urged Bailey forward with her heels, desperate to keep pushing forward. The sun had set fifteen minutes ago, and the last vestiges of it still remained on the horizon, glowing feebly against the dark sky looming above.
Behind Hope, Manuel held onto her with all the strength he could muster. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his cheek pressed against her back. She couldn't hear much over the sound of rushing blood coursing through her head, she knew he was breathing heavily. As an extra precaution, she had used some rope to tie him to her in case his grip wavered.
They had been pelting down the road for well over an hour. Tall pines lined the road, dark against the starry night sky, watching over them like giants. She checked her watch and saw that it was 7:30 pm.
"Only a few ways to go, okay?" she said over her shoulder, trying her best to sound calm and failing spectacularly. "Don't worry; I'll get you to your mom in no time."
"I'm not worried," Manuel whispered, hugging her tighter for balance. "I trust you."
Somehow, the fact that he had said that made it all worse, and Hope could do nothing more than nod curtly and keep looking ahead. To Hope's surprise, Dawn had kept up with them on their left, keeping a small distance from them. The horses neighed back to one another every now and then, seemingly having a totally different conversation that had nothing to do with Manuel's injury.
They had entered the path into the forest. The ground beneath the horses' hooves was uneven and the tops of the trees were much too thick to let much moonlight seep through their branches. In other words, she would have to trust Bailey's instincts as they traversed the treacherous trail.
They were walking for the better part of an hour, during which Hope had to keep adjusting Manuel on his seat behind her. He had been going in and out of consciousness, which definitely wasn't a good sign.
"Come on, Manuel," she said once they had passed the thick of the trees. "Homestretch, okay?"
She got no response.
Urging Bailey forward, they walked into more familiar territory. Finally, she thought triumphantly, though her mind was not at ease quite yet. The walls of the school loomed over them, night completely upon them by now.
"AJ!" she yelled to the man at the watchtower. "Open the gate!"
"Hope?" AJ said back, keeping his voice much lower. "What happened? You should have been back an hour ago."
"Just open it, okay?" she commanded irritably, stopping by the gate as someone pulled it open. She guided Bailey and Dawn through the makeshift door. They walked in to gasps and stares. As they got to the middle of the courtyard, a shout coming from the admin building startled her.
"Manuel!" Aasim was running towards them, Clem and Ruby at his heels. When he got to Bailey's side, he put a hand on Hope's waist to help her down.
"No, wait," she said, shaking him off. She was doing her best to keep Manuel from falling off, so it was that much more difficult to undo the knot tying her to her boyfriend.
"What the fuck happened?" Clem said from Aasim's side, helping Manuel down. "You're covered in blood!"
"We ran into a crazy guy in an abandoned building," Hope said, shivering. As soon as her feet hit the ground, her legs gave way. She kneeled beside her mother, whose hand went to Hope's shoulder. More people
She covered her eyes with her hands, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed.
"Louis!" Aasim yelled over the crowd that had formed. Almost at once, Louis emerged from the admin building, looking around. "Come help me with Manuel!"
"Coming," Louis said, nodding. He made his way through the courtyard and took hold of Manuel's legs. "On the count of three, okay?"
"One, two, three!" Aasim said as they picked his son up, who grunted in pain. "We're here, son. You're gonna be okay. Ruby, c'mere."
"It's okay, hun," Ruby said, placing a hand over the boy's forehead. "He's very hot," she told him.
As they went into the building, Hope was left in the middle of the courtyard with Clem, whose hand was still clutching the girl's shoulder. Hope's eyes followed the two men carrying the boy, her vision blurring as a fresh batch of tears filled her eyes. The people that had gathered around them, after making sure everything had gone back to normal, went back to their evening tasks. Unfortunately, it wasn't unusual for someone to come back in bad shape after something went wrong.
Hope looked up at her mother, who returned her look with a soft sympathetic smile. The girl stumbled up to her feet, using Clem for support, and steadied herself. Hope was painfully aware of the stares she was being subject to, yet they meant little to her as Manuel's life hung in the balance. Her hands shook with adrenaline and anticipation, as though she were trying to reach out to him through the space between them.
Somehow, she didn't hear when Clem asked her to follow her, but she didn't need to. Clem's hand on the small of her back guided her toward the admin building. Clementine was saying something to her left, but the words would not penetrate the ringing in Hope's ears as they neared the stairwell. She looked down at her feet, doing her best to focus on walking rather than the world around her.
The afternoon's events flew through Hope's mind in a blur. She tried to pinpoint the point everything had gone to shit, where a simple supply run had turned into a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She even tried pinching herself, but even that couldn't make it stop.
Clem and her daughter walked into the admin building, where Manuel's scream could be heard from the infirmary. After a moment, it died down, an eerie silence falling over them. Hope dared not speak and break it, but Clementine did.
"He's gonna be okay, honey," she said, leading her away from the music room and up the stairwell. "Ruby'll have him fixed up in no time. You'll see, he'll be back on his feet before you know it."
"But what if she can't?" Hope sobbed as they reached the final landing. "What if the knife got one of his organs and she can't reach it? Or what if he goes into shock? Or what if-?"
"Okay, Hope. Look at me and slow down," Clem cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulders. She led her through the main office door and toward the couch, where Hope all but collapsed. "Manuel will be just fine. That wound didn't look so bad, alright? Remember dad's encounter with those Whisperers a few years back?"
Hope sniffled and nodded her head slightly. Louis had come back in the middle of the night, covered with walker guts from head to toe, and with a broken leg to seal the deal. "But that was different."
"Hope, listen to me," Clem said, kneeling in front of her. "Once Ruby has him patched up, she's gonna want to know what exactly happened out there. And honestly, so do I. So, I'm going to need you to try and remember as much as you can, okay?"
"I… I'll try," Hope said, her voice small. Clem reached out and placed a hand on her daughter's cheek.
"Hey, you're not in trouble, alright?" she said, nodding. "We just wanna know so we can help Manuel and you."
"Okay," Hope replied. Clem brought up a chair and sat beside Hope as the girl fidgeted with her hands. The room was dark at this hour. The moon bathing the floorboards through the window in a pearly white sheen was the only source of light. They waited for what seemed to Hope like an eternity, the minutes stretching to decades as the grandfather clock on the far side of the room struck nine.
Mother and daughter sat in silence, looking into each other's eyes, both the same shade of hazel. A few times, one of them would open their mouth to speak, but they would close it seconds later, unable to find words to fill the silence. The window that led to the balcony looking over the courtyard was wide open, letting in a gentle breeze.
About twenty minutes later, the double doors to the office burst open. Aasim and Louis walked in, their eyes adjusting to the dim light as they searched the room. When Louis found Hope, he rushed to the couch. He knelt beside her and held her in his arms, pressing her to him.
"You're okay," he said, out of breath. "You're okay, right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Hope said, trying to push her father off her. She didn't try too hard, however. She had to admit it felt nice. "What about Manuel? How is he?"
"He'll be fine," Aasim cut in, leaning against the doorframe. Clementine got up and walked over to the desk, which was filled to the brim with papers and maps from the outskirts of the safe zone. She brushed some of the debris from it and picked up a small candlestick, which had been stuck to a plate.
Using a match from a matchbox she kept in her back pocket, she lit it and let the warm, orange light fill up the room around them. The gray, gloomy atmosphere seemed to be kept at bay as the candlelight bathed the small group in a golden hue.
"Ruby says he'll have to take it easy for a few days," Aasim continued as the candlelight hit his face, shrouding the right side of it in darkness. "But other than that, he'll live. Thank god."
"Alright, Hope," Clem said softly, sitting back down on the chair beside her daughter. "Remember, you're not in trouble. Just take a breath and try to recall what happened. Okay, sweetie?"
"Yes, mom," Hope said, nodding slowly. "Okay, I'll try."
"Where exactly did you guys go?" Louis asked gently, in the same voice he used whenever he read stories to them as children; soft and mellow, almost a whisper.
"Aasim told me there was some city you found," Hope said calmly, keeping her breathing steady. If she was being honest, that was easier said than done, but she did her best to clear her thoughts. "We got into the central avenue and it looked abandoned. We split up to look for supplies and I went into this store."
"I was in there for a few minutes, and I ran into this… guy," she continued. She took a deep breath and looked up at her father, who nodded. "I was stupid and reckless and didn't call for Manuel right away. He had a knife on me and Manuel came in and saved me… and now…"
She trailed off, her hazel eyes blurring with fresh tears. Clementine leaned closer and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders, pulling her toward her. The two men looked at each other and shared a concerned look. Aasim took a step forward and kneeled beside Clementine, placing a hand on Hope's knee.
"I know this is hard, Hope," he said, glancing over to her mother, "but do you remember anything else? Did the guy say where he was from? Was he part of a group or something?"
The girl sniffled again and shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "The place looked too small to have more than one person living there. He did mention something about someone getting into his business."
"He did?" Louis said, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't see him when I found that place."
"He looked pretty crazy, dad," Hope said. "I don't think he was right in the head."
"You'd be surprised," said Louis bitterly.
"Wait a minute," Clem cut in, speaking for the first time. "Is this guy… still with us?"
"No," Hope said simply. A harsh breeze blew through the window and she shivered. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I– I stabbed him, and I think he's… dead."
"Okay, good," said Louis. Neither he nor Hope wanted to dwell on the fact that it had been the first human she'd ever killed. She was thankful for that. "I guess he won't be bothering us when we go there next week."
"Why next week?" Aasim said, puzzled. "We should go tomorrow, in case he did have some friends."
"I trust my daughter," Louis said, more to Hope than to Aasim. "If she says he was alone, he was alone. This town can wait until Manuel is back in one piece."
Aasim seemed to consider this for a moment, scratching his chin. Apparently, he also trusted Hope, because he dropped it and nodded. He mumbled something about Manuel and stitches and wandered out of the room without a backward glance.
The room fell silent for a moment. Clementine and Louis shared a glance that Hope assumed was laced with a silent conversation. Much like she and Manuel, her parents had mastered the art of speaking without saying a single word. Hope simply looked at the door where Aasim had disappeared just seconds ago.
"Don't worry about Manuel," Louis said, catching her eye. "He's a tough kid. He'll recover in no time."
"I hope so," Hope said, suddenly very interested in the laces of her boots. Again, the silence was palpable. She was painfully aware that her parents were trying to look for words of comfort, but they could only squeeze her hand or her shoulder. She didn't mind, though. There was nothing they could say to make her feel better about this…
"It's my fault."
She didn't mean to say it out loud. She didn't even mean to think it. But it was the truth, and she knew it. Louis shook his head and kneeled in front of Clem and Hope, placing a hand on hers. Over the years, whenever Hope got upset about some meaningless thing, Louis would just sit beside her and wrap his large hands around her small ones. Even now, when she was nearly a grown woman, her hands were barely half the size of Louis's.
"Why do you think that?" he asked calmly, looking ever so slightly in Clem's direction and then again at Hope.
"He came to my aid when I got myself grabbed," Hope said, doing her best to steady her breathing. "I was cocky and thought I could take that place myself. I didn't follow protocol like you taught us."
"Hope," Louis said, and to Hope's surprise, he wore a smile. "I can't tell you how many times we got ourselves into situations we could have avoided if we'd been together at the time. Especially your mother."
Clementine hit him playfully on the shoulder but didn't correct him. She was a kind of daredevil when adventure was involved. A cold breeze blew through the window, making the drapes billow and the candlelight flicker.
"You take after your mom, Sunshine," he continued. "Neither of you can sit still for long. Even when she was pregnant with you, she still wanted to go to baseball practice with AJ and uncle Javi."
"Did not!" Clem exclaimed, crossing her arms. The smile that crept on her face betrayed her façade, however. They stared at her for a few seconds before she rolled her eyes. "Ok, maybe I did. You guys just seemed to be having a lot of fun."
"See what I mean?" said Louis. "It's not your fault, it just happened. Don't beat yourself up over things you can't control. Just try to be careful, and we know you'll be doing your very best."
Hope's eyes stayed on her shoes, though her brows knitted together in thought. She wanted to believe her father, she really did. There was just something nagging at her subconscious that couldn't seem to let her produce that smile Louis loved so much. Nevertheless, she made the effort to lift her head and look into her dad's eyes and nod slightly.
"I just… I need to see him," she said. Her voice was hoarse, as though she hadn't spoken for a week. Louis and Clementine shared another meaningful look and Clem pursed her lips.
"I think you should get some rest, honey," she said gently, knowing full well how combative Hope could get when she set her mind to something. "And Manuel needs to sleep as well. You guys had a very rough day."
To her surprise, Hope just sighed and closed her eyes dejectedly. She was tired. The grandfather clock in the corner struck nine-thirty, but for all she knew, it could have been three in the morning. Her legs still trembling, partly because of the cold and partly from exhaustion, Hope got up. Louis and Clem led her down the staircase and through the door that led to the courtyard.
The three of them walked to Hope's room in silence, Hope's mind still in the admin building and her boyfriend, now probably fast asleep after Ruby cleaned him up. Her father's words were still jumping around the jumble that was her thoughts. "It's not your fault." She was starting to come to grips with the validity of his claim, but she dreaded what Manuel would think tomorrow once he woke up.
Would he be mad? Would he break up with her for letting him get hurt while she cried? Her mom had taught them all those defensive techniques as kids, but why had they suddenly failed her when they would have been most useful?
Somewhere along the way, Clem had left Louis and Hope alone, probably to go back and check on Aasim. Once outside Hope's door, Louis knelt in front of his daughter. Even on his knees, he was still almost level with her head. She truly had inherited her mom's height…
"Listen to me, Sunshine," he said. He took her hand in his and slowly drew small circles on it with his thumbs. She smiled. "I want you to get a good night's rest, okay? You had a rough day, but tomorrow is a new day. In a few days, Manuel will be up and at 'em playing ball with AJ, you just wait."
"I guess," she muttered, rubbing the side of her head covered in dreads. "Thanks, daddy."
"You got it, honey." He got up and kissed her forehead. Before he pulled away, she wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him in a bear hug.
"I love you too, Sunshine. Now go to bed, kiddo."
With that, he bounded off down the hallway, whistling a tune. Hope looked out the window in the hallway before opening the door to her room. The sky, so filled with bright stars, was clear as could be. Her room, which had once belonged to Clem when she'd first arrived at the school, was filled with an assortment of drawings she'd made with AJ or plants Manuel had told her looked pretty.
To her left was a moldy-looking bookcase. On one of the top shelves, she had haphazardly framed a drawing AJ had made of Clem, Louis, and herself about ten years ago. They stood in front of the swing Willy had concocted for her as a one-year birthday gift. It was her most prized possession. Her second most prized possession, as of that moment, was her bed. It was an assortment of sheets and blankets lay un-made over a rather thin mattress, yet it had never looked so enticing.
She plopped herself on it and sighed, feeling her eyelids growing heavier by the second. Even though her thoughts were mostly clouded by Manuel's fate, her exhaustion got the better of her, and, without having a chance to change her clothes, she drifted peacefully into a dreamless sleep.
The following morning – the following afternoon, rather – Hope made her way straight through the courtyard to the admin building without a second glance at the people milling about. The door to the main hall was wide open, as it usually was during the day. She ran past Violet as she was walking down the corridor that led from the music room, almost knocking her to her feet.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, Vi," Hope said, stopping in her tracks and extending a hand. "I didn't see you there."
"Don't worry about it," Violet said, her voice raspy. She had bags under her eyes, much like Hope though she herself had, and her blonde hair was matted with fresh dirt.
"What happened to you?" said the girl, momentarily forgetting why she was in such a hurry.
"You mean before you almost tackled me?" said Violet, her face inscrutable. Sometimes, Hope thought Violet liked making people feeling uncomfortable with her stone-cold stare. If she was being honest, it was probably true. "I'm kidding," the blonde said, betraying her stern visage with a smile.
"Oh, right," Hope chuckled awkwardly.
"I spent the morning digging up weeds with Ruby," Violet explained, sighing. "Ruby's fun to be around, but she's always one interesting plant away from going into a full rant about proper vegetable care."
"Yeah, Manuel's always going on about–." Suddenly, she stopped and remembered why she was running in the first place. "Manuel!" she exclaimed and bolted off up the wooden staircase.
"I'll see you around, then," Violet called out after her, the faintest hint of a smile on her face as she turned back to the door.
Once outside the infirmary's door, she stopped and knocked softly. She waited. Five seconds. Ten seconds. Time stretched forever as though being woven on a loom. After what seemed like an eternity, a woman of about fifty named Sofía stood in the doorway.
Sofía had offered her services as a nurse to Ruby as soon as she'd arrived at the school five years ago. Originally from Argentina, she had gotten caught in this whole mess when she'd come to the US for school. She had pale, long blonde hair, which was now pulled back in a ponytail. Her kind, almond-shaped eyes landed on Hope and softened.
"Oh, there you are," she said in a sweet tone. She stepped back to let Hope through, giving her a full view of the small room, which had once been an office for administrative work for the school. Now, it was equipped with two beds they'd dragged from one of the unused rooms, one of which was occupied by–
"MANUEL!" Hope practically shrieked, rushing to his side and kneeling beside his bed. His eyes lit up the second they landed on her and he let out a chuckle.
"There she is!" he said playfully. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."
"Never," Hope said, taking hold of his hand. "I thought you were gonna die, Manuel."
The boy grimaced, looking down at the spot where his injury was, now covered in heavy bandages.
"For a moment there, I thought so, too," he admitted. "But mom patched me up real nice and Sofía nursed me back to life with her magic."
"Don't be so dramatic, che," Sofía huffed, though her face showed a candid smile. "Just try to stay still and you'll heal in no time."
The teens smiled gratefully at the woman, who busied herself with a box of medical supplies. Hope looked back at the boy, whose face looked much better than it had last night when his skin had been nearly white due to blood loss.
The room itself had no windows, though it did have a few drawings of some of the kids living at the school, mostly for sick or injured patients as a sort of "Get well soon" card. The bed on the other side of the room was currently empty; the sheets neatly tucked on the underside, a stark contrast from the upturned sheets that barely covered Manuel's legs up to his waist.
Hope and Manuel stared at each other awkwardly. The initial joy of seeing the other had magically turned to an uncomfortable silence while both tried to search for words. Manuel opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Hope had always enjoyed the way his brow furrowed when he was in deep thought, but this time it was nothing short of painful.
How could she express how sorry she was? Even though her dad had somewhat convinced her she wasn't to blame, she still felt responsible. It felt as though a huge boulder was lodged on her shoulders, and the only way she could see to remove it was to speak.
"So," she started. Amazing start, idiot, she chastised herself. "Does… does it hurt?"
"Not anymore," he said, glancing down. His whole midriff was covered in bandages, which Hope thought maybe a little overkill, but she didn't voice it. "Now it's just more annoying than anything, but Sofía says I'll be out of here by tomorrow night."
She pursed her lips, trying to get the words out. They'd run through her mind all night, but the boulder on her shoulders was as much motivation as it was a hindrance.
"Manuel," she said but was cut off.
"Hope, don't," Manuel muttered. "Don't apologize, this was my decision. I chose to confront that maniac."
"But you were saving me."
"That's an added bonus," Manuel said, trying his best at delivering a Louis-approved smile. "If you wanna blame anyone, blame the crazy dude who was living off what I can only assume were rats and other small animals."
"I guess you're right," she said dejectedly, not really wanting to upset him but still pondering the whole situation. "I'm just glad you're okay."
"I'm glad to be okay," he said lamely.
"Good, 'cause you did promise," she said, raising her pinky finger and smiling, "that you'd never leave me."
He produced a smile of his own, which was the easiest task he'd done all day, considering he had Hope to keep him company now. He lifted his right hand and intertwined his pinky with hers.
"And I intend to keep that promise, Everett."
"You better."