AN: Happy Memorial Day weekend! Hope you guys have an awesome holiday ya'll be careful out there ;)
Reagan stared up at the ceiling of the strange bedroom she was in, her golden eyes tired and still fatigued. Her pain medication slowly dwindled and her chest wound throbbed violently against her skin as if trying to break open her stitches. Her mouth gaped open as she took a deep breath, hissing and clenching her eyes shut from her lungs expanding under the damaged muscle. The muscles of her entire arm twitched as she lifted her good arm up and rested her palm over the bandaged damage of her body. The held breath in her chest slowly let out and a sudden numbness overtook her, dulling the pain momentarily. But like a fire sparked by gasoline, it was back and bit at her harder and harder each time it pulsed.
The doorknob turned with a rebellious squeak and she looked over to see Lori, Hershel, and Maggie entering the room. Reagan immediately took notice to the bottle of pain meds and antibiotics in Lori's hand, her mouth watering upon the sight and her body not being able to wait to get her welcomed high. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of a long object in Hershel's hand as he pulled it out from behind him to present it to her. Her golden eyes glanced up into Hershel's, "Glenn found this in a closet down the hallway... thought you might be interest since you're a bit..." Hershel chose his words wisely as he knew she had a temper, especially when it came to dressing her wounds, "Injured in your foot."
"A cane?" Reagan studied the old cane; its fine finish glistened in the light of the lamp that illuminated the room. Reagan really preferred the sunlight of day, but with the windows boarded up the lamp would have to make due. She watched as Hershel set it down on the edge of the bed,
"How are you feeling today?" Lori asked as she sat down in a chair and Reagan looked over at her, staring into her blue doe eyes. With a soft nod, Reagan shrugged her shoulders and regretted it with a hiss of annoying pain,
"Better... definitely better."
"I'm havin' some food prepared for you." Reagan next turned to Maggie and noticed a few towels were stacked in her arms, "Maybe we can get you up and walkin' today."
"Thank God." Reagan breathed and stared up at the ceiling, "I hate being in this god damn room. All I can smell is blood and rubbing alcohol."
"That's going to change." Lori smiled at Reagan's annoyance as she looked over at her, "We're hoping you'll be well enough to take a shower."
"I am." Reagan was quick to say and looked to Hershel upon feeling him sit down next to her. His set of bright blue eyes stared at her a bit apprehensive under his thick white eyebrows,
"I'm goin' to need to take a look at those wounds of yours, if you don't mind."
"I do." Reagan pouted at him, but ultimately sighed, "But I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?"
"I'll make it real quick." Hershel nodded in reply, "I promise."
"Yeah... that's what you've said the last four times. It doesn't really help much with the pain." Reagan groaned and she watched Lori and Maggie man both sides of her bed. She didn't mean to be such a bitch to Hershel, he was incredibly nice and good at what he did, but with all the pain and agony she was experiencing, they didn't expect anything less from her.
Reagan took a deep breath as she felt Maggie and Lori tuck their hands under her back, Reagan clenching the muscles in her abdomen as she lifted herself up. With the help of her good arm, Reagan did her best to ignore the surging pain through her chest, her breath halting in her throat every few seconds at how staggering the soreness was. Finally, she felt herself upright and she kicked her legs over the side of the bed. She was utterly surprised that her ankle and shin weren't too badly injured; she thought for sure the serrated bear trap did a lot more damage by what she could see. But still, walking on it with her full weight was not an option at that time.
Lori undid the buttons on the front of Reagan's shirt and pulled away the flaps, exposing her dressed chest wound. Reagan's tangled blonde hair cradled her face as she turned, watching and feeling Hershel's fingers begin to pull away medical tape. Closing her eyes and taking another deep breath, she scrunched her nose and gritted her teeth as the heavily adhesive tape peeled away on her skin. Hershel yanked it and it tore off, Reagan letting out her held breath in one fell swoop, grunting in her throat.
Only seven more to go.
The medical tape was definitely the worst part of being medically undressed in every way. The soft peach fuzz of Reagan's skin had been pried away along with the tape, not to mention all the irritated skin around her wound had been even more disturbed. A few stray curses directed at Hershel escaped her lips angrily, but Hershel only ignored her as he knew it was the pain talking. Maggie's mouth drew into a thin line upon hearing the profanities tossed at her older father, but she did best to bite her tongue. Once Hershel was done with both the entry and exit points of her bullet wounds, she barely felt the soft cotton of the gauze being pulled off the stitching of her wound. Reagan flinched upon feeling the annoying twinges from the stiches being disturbed by Hershel's fingers, his hand grazing over the wound as softly as possible.
The entry and exit points were black and blue and closer to the wound sat angry, irritated red skin. Hershel sighed and leaned away from the wound, looking at Reagan as she tried to examine her own wound, "Looks like they're healin' up alright. I give you about a month's recovery and you should be just fine."
"Give me two weeks I'll be fully functional." Reagan was so sure of herself it caused Hershel's lips to tug into a smile under his growing beard,
"You keep tellin' yourself that."
"You did a good job, Hershel." Lori nodded while eyeing the wounds. Even though they looked good and healing to Hershel, they still looked ragged in her eyes.
"I'll leave you three be..." Hershel got to his feet slowly and moved past Maggie, eyeing his older daughter, "Glenn and T-Dog have prepared the generators with the rest of the fuel we have. I'll have them turned on so you can tend to your shower time." With that, Hershel disappeared behind the door quietly.
"Alright... let's get you out of these clothes." Lori moved the sheets off of Reagan and Maggie was quick by her side. Maggie helped Reagan extend the arm on the injured side of her chest, Reagan grunting from the damaged muscles being extended in pecks. Maggie pulled the shirt off her arm and Lori finished taking it off completely, tossing it on the bed. Reagan hooked her thumb in the waistband of her soft shorts, beginning to pull them off. Maggie and Lori helped Reagan to her feet, Reagan careful not to put too much pressure on her injured ankle. She felt her shorts slide down her long legs and she stepped out of them, now completely stripped to her undergarments.
Feeling a bit self-conscious under the eyes of the two women standing next to her, Reagan cleared her throat and looked at Lori. The pregnant woman smiled at her and Reagan looked down to her feet a bit shamefully, knowing exactly what the two were staring at. A few scars littered her body from the constant damage that had been inflicted on it over the past year, "Let's just say I'm known to get myself in trouble." Reagan finally broke through the uncomfortable silence, Maggie and Lori exchanging brief eye contact with each other in a bit of shame from staring so much.
Reagan hobbled to the bathroom with the help of Lori and Maggie, Lori opening the door for the three. Reagan leaned against Maggie as Lori stepped in, turning on the water and dipping her fingers under the faucet to gauge the temperature. The water ran cold for a couple minutes before finally the generators kicked on the water heater, Lori turning the knob to the water a couple notches down so that it wasn't too hot for Reagan. Lori wiped her hand on her pant leg as she stood up, "Alright... the water should be good."
"I can take it from here."
"I don't think that's a good idea." Maggie replied to the blonde leaning on her and Reagan stood upright,
"I don't have a problem taking clothes off... it's putting them on." Reagan looked into Maggie's green eyes, "I appreciate the hospitality... but I don't take too kindly to being pitied."
"We don't pity you." Lori shook her head and Reagan smiled,
"It'll help me better if I do things on my own. I can't always rely on everyone to do things for me. It'll make me lazy."
"Well... we'll be outside if you need anything." Lori nodded at Maggie and they both exited the bathroom, Maggie closing the door softly behind them.
Reagan felt the steam of the water rising into the room, warming her skin and somewhat calming her burning wounds. As she limped up to the sink, Reagan caught her reflection in the mirror and frowned upon seeing her demeanor. Dark rings formed around her eyes with tiredness and her skin was almost as pale as the snow outside. Dried blood, of whatever the girls didn't pick up with their rags, stained her neck and chest. But her dirty blonde hair was the worst of it all with all the blood causing it to clump together and knot up. Her lips parted as she let out a breath, wincing from a blunt swell of pain in her chest, almost knocking her off her feet. With a huff, she tried to regain her composure, her good leg tiring from bearing most of her weight on it. She sat down on the edge of the tub, hearing the darts of water from the shower slamming against the flooring in the tub. As quick as she could, she stripped out of her bra and underwear to enjoy the leisure of the warm water awaiting her.
.:o:.
Rick stood behind the black iron gate that protected the house in which he dwelled, noticing the colored figures slowly, slowly making their way towards him. His blue eyes stared hard and little soft snowflakes caught his eyelashes in the breeze careening through the air. He could feel their cold kisses managing to touch his skin through the growing scruff of his face, the melted wetness causing him to wipe whatever he could off. The swaying figures of the approaching Walkers fluctuated along with the limbs of the trees as the wind influenced them to dance along with it. But Rick, he was so sick of it, so tiredly sick of the ridiculous weather. It snowed nonstop for the past three days straight; it was relentless as it descended upon them ever since he returned.
Ever since he returned with the bloody and battered Reagan Blackwood.
Rick's hand slid over his chest as it stopped right above his heart, right exactly where Reagan had been shot in her body. He closed his eyes and sighed to himself, remembering the feel of his guns recoil after he shot down the militia man that attacked them. Reagan had been sleeping most of the days that had passed since her technical "surgery" Hershel had performed to suture her up. He didn't get his chance to thank her properly. The only people that managed to talk to her were Lori, Beth, and Maggie and that was mostly at night when she woke for her medications.
A low snarl managed to waft through the air and Rick's eyes darted to his left, seeing a Walker brushing up against the brick wall. He narrowed his eyes and his jaw tightened, watching it try to make its way awkwardly through the snow. Its fingers clung onto the bars of the heavy gate, rushing at the sight of Rick once it took in his sweet scent. The growls from its mouth became louder and more ravenous once it finally stood right in front of Rick, its arm reaching through the gate and grabbing at him. Rick watched its fingers claw at his face only inches away from him, his eyes glazing past them back to the Walker as it tried to squeeze its head through the thin gaps of the bar. Skin began to peel right off the bone as it wriggled its way through, Rick watching in disgust at the creature.
He grabbed the Walkers arm and rammed it backwards, snapping the bone and watching it slap back down against the Walkers body. The Walker let out a loud snarl in protest to Rick, its face seemingly turning into an irritated expression. Rick yanked out his knife and snapped it open, slowly stepping forward and staring the Walker in the eyes. The sharp click of its jaws snapping at him was the only thing he could hear at the moment, a few dry growls escaping its throat. Rick grinded his teeth while staring at the Walker, the blade of his knife tapping against his thick pants in anticipation. Finally, Rick reached his arm back and jabbed the sharp blade into the Walkers skull, hearing the protective brain bone break under the pressure. A low hiss rolled off its tongue for the last time and the Walkers body slowly slid down the rails of the gate in defeat, black blood seeping from its head.
Rick wiped his bloody blade on the back of his pants, his blue eyes continuing to stare at the dead Walker ruefully. "Rick!" He turned at the sound of his name, seeing Glenn waving for him from the depths of the garage. With one last look at the Walker he put out of its misery, he eyed the rest that were off in the distance and slowly turned back around to walk back to the house.
"What is it?" Rick finally took refuge from the lightly falling snow and stared at Glenn, who pointed at the Hyundai,
"We got everything ready."
"You got the guns and everything?" Rick asked and Glenn nodded,
"All the guns, extra food supplies, and blankets just in case we break down or something happens." T-Dog said as he tossed yet another bag into the back of the SUV. Rick nodded his head,
"Good. Where's Daryl?"
"Getting some of those Molotov's and bomb-things." Glenn looked over his shoulder as if trying to find Daryl trudging through the garage. Rick took a deep breath and placed a hand on his hip,
"Alright... as soon as Daryl gets done and we get whatever gas cans we have left loaded up we'll head out." His eyes went from Glenn to T-Dog, "If this snow wants to keep it up I wanna be back by dark. Don't wanna get caught in a storm." T-Dog and Glenn nodded in agreement and Rick pushed past them both as they made sure they had everything.
Rick opened the door and stepped in from the cold, eyeing the warm fire set in the open living room. It flickered tamely in the fireplace and watched as Rick moved across the room. He grabbed a backpack he had loaded a few hours prior, tossing the strap on his shoulder. Carl caught his eye and Rick stopped, seeing Carl walking up to him, "Dad..." Carl's voice was stern towards his father as he stopped. His equally blue eyes stared up at his father out from under the sheriffs hat propped on his head,
"What do you need?" Rick asked as he turned fully to face Carl. Carl stared at him a bit meek, but continued to eye Rick with determination,
"I want to go with you. You, Daryl, T-Dog, and Glenn." He nodded and Rick let out a sigh, his face in deep thought. But Rick already knew his answer as he shook his head,
"No. Not this time."
"But dad-"
"I said no." Rick said sternly, raising his eyebrows. Carl let out a disappointed sigh and Rick put his hand on Carl's shoulder, causing him to look back up at Rick, "I need you to stay here. Protect you mom and everyone else if something happens."
"I don't need to protect everyone. The walls around this place are strong enough."
"That's not the point. You never know what could happen." Rick shook his head and Carl stared at Rick solemnly. He knew that arguing with his father wasn't the best idea, seeing as he lost about 90 percent of the time. With a deep sigh, Carl nodded his head with annoying defeat,
"Fine... I'll stay."
"Good." Rick squeezed Carl's shoulder tightly with reassurance, "I'll be back by nightfall. Keep your eyes and ears open for us outside. Hershel will be takin' care of Reagan for quite a while, so I'm entrusting the houses protection with you."
"Alright."
"Rick." He turned to the sound of his name once again and Lori stepped forward, her hand placed softly over her lightly protruding belly. She stopped only a few inches away from him, eyeing the backpack planted on his shoulder,
"You headin' out now?"
"Shortly..." Rick nodded and Lori's lips parted as a silent sigh blew through them both,
"How long are you planning on being gone?"
"Not long." He replied dryly, "Depends on where we go."
"Okay... well you four be careful." Lori nodded and her eyes instantaneously looked to the bedroom door to their left, "Reagan's awake finally... I figured you like to know." Rick stared at her for a few moments, noticing a spark of dullness in her eyes as she spoke Reagan's name. Rick then looked to the closed door,
"I'll look in on her." Rick looked back at Lori, seeing a smile on her face,
"She's a bit wound up from being stuck in that room. Better be careful."
"I think I can handle it." Rick then turned and walked towards the door, Lori grabbing onto Carl's shoulder and pulling him along with her towards the kitchen.
Rick place his hand on the handle of the door and stopped for a moment, hearing a hum coming from the other side of the door. It was oddly familiar to his ears and he listened closer, noticing that it was the same lullaby that the teddy bear chimed down in the cellar of the bar. He knew it had to have been Reagan humming it. He finally turned the doorknob and the humming stopped as soon as the door squeaked open, Rick stepping in. Reagan's gold eyes stared him down as he entered, Rick noticing her newly wet hair clinging to her face. A halfcocked smile formed on her lips, "Well then... look at what the kitty cat dragged in." Reagan's arm was now in a makeshift sling that Hershel had rigged on her and she wore a dark grey t-shirt complete with a pair of dark grey sweat pants. Rick stepped further into the room and nodded at her,
"How you doin'?"
"Fine... just fine." Reagan tossed a sweatshirt over her shoulders with her good arm and fixed it over her body, "Sitting in this room for the past three days had made me just peachy."
"That's what Lori said." Rick mused and Reagan huffed, looking back up at him. Her eyes soon fell on the backpack hooked on his shoulder,
"Where you headed?" She nodded towards the backpack and Rick looked down at it, then back to her eyes,
"Out. Gotta go find some more diesel for the generators since we didn't exactly get the chance to do that."
"Well, good luck to you..." Reagan nodded at him and then smirked, "You better watch your back because God knows I ain't gonna be there to do it." Rick's eyes fell to the floor and Reagan took notice, her eyes narrowing at him, "Come on now... don't beat yourself up over it."
"I'm not." Rick lifted his gaze to face her smoldering eyes once again, "I came to thank you. For everything."
"No." Reagan sighed and grabbed the cane from the edge of her bed, grunting as she lifted herself to her feet. She leaned on the cane and turned to face him, "I should be the one thanking you. If not for your damned stubbornness... I'd be dead right now. So take my thanks... because I don't give them out too often." She hobbled over in front of him, stopping and staring at the scruffy survivor. She then extended her hand out to him and he looked at it questioningly for a moment before taking it in his. He was careful not to squeeze her hand too hard in the handshake, but weakly, she tried to squeeze his.
"You shouldn't be on your feet too long. You got a lot of healin' to do."
"Oh, stop worrying about me. I'll be just fine." She smiled and shoved the tip of the old cane back against the floor, "You better get going before it gets too dark." She saw a flicker in his blue eye and he turned around, walking to the door and stepping out. Reagan awkwardly hobbled after him, trying to get used to the cane under her hand. She finally synced it up with the step of her foot and trudged out of the room, her eyes picking up movement out of the living room.
"Oh! Welcome back to the real world!" She saw a grin come from T-Dog and she smiled back at the black man, hobbling towards everyone. A shrug came from her good shoulder,
"Can't say that I'm glad to be back."
"It's just surprising that you're still alive. I thought you were a gonner." Glenn pushed off from leaning on the counter and she stopped, leaning on the cane,
"Thanks for the support."
"Got all we need outta the storage room." Daryl came from around the corner and stopped, seeing Reagan standing in front of him. Reagan looked over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at the crossbow wielder,
"What were you doin' in my storage room? Better not be stealing all my shit that I worked hard on."
"Stole whatever the hell I wanted to steal. Not like you can do anything about it." A smirked tugged at the corner of Daryl's mouth and Regan narrowed her deadly eyes at his smart tone,
"Better watch your tone with me, boy, I know where you sleep. Start prayin' you don't wake up with no balls tomorrow morning."
"I'll hear you hobblin' from a mile away." He antagonized and walked past her, "I ain't scared of no cripple." Reagan growled in her throat as he passed, almost smacking him clear over the back of the head with her hardwood cane. She decided not to, though, as it might lead to a more intense confrontation with the woodsman. If Reagan wasn't too injured, she would have loved to take Daryl on. He seemed like a good match.
Daryl left out the door, T-Dog and Glenn in tow, and Rick looked at everyone else who strung themselves across the room, "We'll be back by dark. Keep your eyes and ears open. I left a couple rifles just in case somethin' happens."
"Be careful, hun." Lori walked up to Rick and planted a kiss on his cheek, Rick not returning the favor and only nodding at her with reassurance. Lori's hand slowly moved to her belly as Rick turned around, leaving through the door to the garage.
.:o:.
Reagan sat at the dining room table quietly, her fork hitting her plate in soft clings as she picked up her food. Powdered eggs, to her dismay, touched her tongue as she ate them in a bit of disgust, not being too fond of the food. She chewed on a few pieces of stale toast to try and wash down the eggs, but it didn't help too much. With the help of some water, the bitter food slid down her throat and into her hungry stomach, Reagan sliding her tongue over the roof on her mouth to try and get rid of the after taste. She salted and peppered the eggs more and more to give them some type of flavor, hoping that she could eat it all without another setback. She quickly ate away, trying to get all the food down as quickly as possible.
Her gold eyes stared across the table, seeing Carl sitting at the other end fumbling with knife. The bored expression on his face caused Reagan to sit upright in her chair and chew on her food carefully, studying Carl as he cut at some dirty rags. She narrowed her eyes and swallowed her food, setting the fork down on her plate while resting her chin on her hand, "What's up with you, Carl?" She saw his sharp blue eyes peek out from under his dipped sheriff's hat, staring at her intently. He shrugged his shoulder,
"Nothing... just being bored..." He mumbled and returned to whatever he was doing on the table. His knife ripped through the flaps of the rag violently, tearing it to complete pieces. Reagan tilted her head,
"How come you didn't go with your dad?"
"He wouldn't let me go." She could hear the twinge of annoyance in his voice and he looked up at her, "Said I should stay here and protect you guys."
"That's a big job to be entrusted on you, little man."
"It's stupid." He shook his head and got to his feet, staring at her as he was clearly beginning to become more angered, "I can barely even shot with this dumb pistol." He ripped his pistol from the holster gripped on his leg and tossed it onto the table, "What am I going to do with that thing if some people decide to show up here and take this place?"
"Kill someone, of course."
"I can't shoot moving targets. They're too hard."
"You can, you just need practice."
"Exactly. How am I supposed to practice if I can't go out and do anything?" Carl stared hard at Reagan and she nodded back towards him,
"Good point." She grabbed her cane and lifted herself with a sharp breath, steadying her body weight and walking towards the young teen. Carl watched her stop in front of him and leaned on the table, resting the cane against her leg before grabbing Carl's pistol from the table. She studied it admiringly, "I'll tell you what. I'll put a silencer on this for you and take you out to shoot."
"Wait, what?" Carl asked a bit dumbfounded, not knowing fully understanding what she said. With a smile, Reagan handed him the pistol,
"I'll take you out and teach you how to shoot." Reagan's voice was soft, careful not to alert anyone of their plans. But as no one was in the room, Reagan smiled and looked back down at him, "You want to learn, right? If you do... you might actually be taken seriously."
"But how are we going to do that? You can barely walk."
"I can walk just fine." Reagan grabbed her cane and reassured him. She quickly walked past him, flicking her head for him to follow after, "Come on now."
Carl was a bit hesitant to follow after Reagan; he didn't know her outside of her hospitality of being the house host. But the want of being needed in the group caused his feet to move and Reagan could hear her behind him. Reagan turned the corner past her recovery room and stopped at the storage room, frowning when she saw it wide open. 'Stupid redneck' Reagan scoffed in her mind, knowing that if something were to happen all her hard earned work would go to waste. She then stepped in, Carl stopping at the doorway while watching her curiously. The gun bag sat on a small bed and she rummaged around through it, pulling out a large silencer that she had rigged. "Come here, Carl."
Carl walked in slowly and Reagan extended her hand, Carl knowing that she wanted his pistol. He set the heavy gun in her hand and she sat down on the edge of the small bed, beginning to twist the silencer on his pistol, "Isn't that silencer a little... big?" Carl eyed the rather large silencer and Reagan smiled,
"This was my first silencer. I rigged it out of the top of a metal baseball bat." She looked up at him, seeing the curiosity on his childish face. She screwed the makeshift silencer in and tightened it, "And it's yours now. I have a different one."
Carl took the pistol and studied it, noticing that there wasn't too much more weight to it. Carl looked back into Reagan's eyes and a small smile crossed his lips, "Thanks."
"And I'll take this." Reagan pulled her own trusty pistol out of the bag, a silencer already set out on the tip of the barrel. Carl leaned down a grabbed a small bag off the floor, opening it and moving towards the bag, "What're you doing?"
"Gotta take more ammo." Carl looked up at her briefly as he stuffed a box of ammo in the backpack. Reagan smiled and nodded, standing to her feet and leaning on her cane,
"Grab some rope, too."
"For what?"
"You'll see..." Reagan smiled and moved past him to a set of shelves on the other side of the room. She pouted at her dwindling supply of Molotov's and homemade bombs, letting out an annoyed sigh as she took a couple. She called Carl over and he was quick to her side, watching in curiosity as she stuffed a few aerosol bombs into the bag.
"What're those for?"
"You want to have some fun, right?" Reagan rigged herself with some warm clothes, zipping up her jacket with her bum arm underneath. She kept her pistol tucked closely in her pocket, pushing herself along with her cane towards the back door. Carl manned the backpack on his back and the two snuck out through the back door, Reagan secretly popping a couple extra hydrocodone's in her mouth before leaving.
Reagan and Carl made their way behind the shed, Reagan having a harder time making it through the snow than usual. But pursuing on and not wanting to disappoint Carl, she pressed to the back gate and pulled her spare key out from her jacket pocket. Reagan then stopped and stared out behind the house, seeing a few figures scrambling through the snow in the distance. Carl then took notice to them as well and looked up at her, "This might not be a good idea. If we become overwhelmed you're not going to be able to defend yourself."
"Then I'll leave the defending to you." Reagan looked down at him and smiled, "My life is in your hands."
"But I... I won't be able to do that."
"Then I'll be the bait while you get away." Reagan pushed the door open and continued to look down at Carl, noticing a look in apprehension in his eyes. She stepped through the gate on her cane, looking back at him, "We'll be fine, Carl. Just trust me."
Carl hesitated, but followed through the gate. He heard the click of it shut and the key lock it behind him, knowing there was no turning back. He sucked in a deep breath and nodded his head to himself, gripping his hand tightly around the handle of his pistol. He wanted to make himself better and prove to his father that he was worth it. His gaze moved over his shoulder as he looked at Reagan out from under his hat, "I'll go first." He moved through the foot of snow, knocking down the wall of powder to make it easier for Reagan to walk through. Reagan followed closely behind him, keeping her eye out for any Walkers that were nearby. Tossing a glance over her shoulder, she continued her way through the path that Carl carved, noticing that they were getting further and further away from the house; just what they needed.
Carl halted when a Walker slinked out from behind a tree, both his hands raising the pistol up in front of him. He closed an eye and looked down the sights, keeping his hands steady in order to take it down all in one shot. With the pull of the trigger, the silenced bullet escaped the chamber and shot out, completely missing the Walker by inches. Carl let out a dry gasp and aimed once again, but Reagan gripped his shoulder tight, "Don't kill it." Carl looked up at her from over his shoulder and she met his gaze, "I have an idea... get that rope out of the backpack."
Carl gave her a questioning look, but ultimately swung the backpack off his shoulder and tore it open. The two backed away from the slow Walker that approached, Reagan tearing the rope from Carl's hands and marching forward with her limp, "What're you doing!?" He shouted as she approached the Walker, its nasty snarls echoing through the snowy forest around them.
Reagan shoved the tip of her cane against the Walkers chest, knocking it back a few steps. She took another step forward and repeated, slamming it back a few more feet. Finally, Reagan rammed the cane against the Walkers chest one last time, watching it knock back against a tree. Reagan quickly extended the rope out and wrapped it around the Walkers stomach, pulling both the sides of the rope with her good hand and securing the Walker to the tree. She quickly zipped open her jacket, and with the help of her bum hand, she tied a tight knot in the thick rope. Her legs hobbled back towards Carl and he stared at her curiously, his eyes flicking back to the Walker. It reached out towards them and its legs dug into the ground in attempts to get away from the thick rope.
"There. Now you have yourself a target." Reagan nodded and zipped her jacket back up as a cold breeze descended upon them, "You shouldn't have a problem with twenty feet. It's the perfect distance."
"It's kind of moving a lot..." Carl said as he watched the Walker thrash about in the snow. Reagan sighed,
"Well... if you can't hit it from this distance, as he's moving about like that, there's no way you'll be able to hit it at all." Reagan looked down at him and placed a hand on his shoulder for comfort, "We've got plenty of bullets and take your time... not like we have anywhere to be or anything."
"Alright..." Carl nodded his head and took a couple steps forward, the long silencer of his pistol tapped nervously on his leg. He finally lifted it and gripped it in both his hands, closing his eye to get a better aim. He saw the Walkers head in his sights and took a deep breath, pulling the trigger and feeling the recoil of the heavy gun kick in his hands. He frowned when the Walker continued to thrash about; the bullet had missed its target yet again.
"Take your time, I said." Reagan voiced behind him and Carl raised his pistol again, staring at the Walker. He left out and annoyed huff and closed his eye, the sights following the Walkers head every time it moved. With the pull of the trigger again, he watched a splatter of blood squirt across the trees trunk and drip onto the snow. A light smile crossed his face as he saw the bullets entry point in the Walkers neck, knowing he was close. "Good job. Now this time, try and get its head."
Carl had missed a few more times, his annoyance sky rocketing and making him more irritated by every second. He dropped his pistol to his side and let out a huff, Reagan hearing it and hobbling up next to him. He shook his head, "I hate this. I can't hit the damn thing."
"Yes you can. You're just giving up too easily."
"It's not as easy as it looks." Carl looked up at her, a clear pout strung up on his face. Reagan rested her cane on her body and slipped out her own silenced pistol, staring out at a Walker approaching them closer with each step. Carl watched her pull up her pistol while taking quick aim, her finger yanking back the trigger with utter quickness. The slide cocked in sync with the gun in her hand and he saw the Walker in the distance crash to the ground, a swell of snow bouncing upon its impact.
"It's not hard... you just have to practice." Reagan looked back down at him and slid her pistol back into her pocket casually. Carl dropped his eyes to the ground and eventually looked back at the Walker staring back at him ruefully, "Now do it again." He heard her soft voice say with patience, Carl letting out a calming sigh and turning to face the Walker fully.
The pistols barrel stared at the Walker with a determined eye of Carl's staring back down the sights. Taking a deep breath, the preteen let it out slowly and concentrated all his senses on one thing: taking out the restrained Walker. It yanked and shoved against the tight rope, sneering at Carl with antagonizing intent, its wet hair clingy to its face as it swayed. Reagan watched Carl's hand slowly moving along with the Walkers head, his eye keeping the kill-spot closely in his sights. The soft snipe of his silenced pistol clicked through the air and Reagan's eyes immediately fell on the Walker, seeing its head dip over its chest and its legs give out from under it. With a smile, Reagan laughed and nodded, tossing her hand on Carl's shoulder while shaking it, "Good job, kid. Good job!"
Reagan caught another couple of Walkers with Carl's help, tying them to the trees for live targets in Carl's shooting leisure. It took him a few times after the first, but finally he managed to take out the last two without a hinge. Reagan egged him on and smiled every time he took a Walker down, knowing that he was getting closer and closer to his goal of being able to protect the group. Carl was getting happier as he got the hang of it, also, he himself knowing full well that he was starting to get the hang of things. But after what Reagan had told him what his final challenge was, he was beginning to get a bit nervous.
Reagan had stepped behind Carl as a new Walker approached, Reagan taking no opportunity to tie it to a tree. She kept it loose and Carl would have to defend himself against an uncontrolled Walker, what he would have to face in the real world eventually. Carl lifted his pistol and took a couple steps as it inched closer, Reagan taking notice that Carl's hands were lightly shaking. She slid her pistol out and rested it against her side, ready to gun the Walker down just in case the young boy couldn't do it in time. A couple clicks came from his pistol as the bullets missed their mark, Reagan watching steadily as the corpse continued to carry on towards them.
Reagan yanked her pistol up and pointed, but just as she pulled the trigger, Carl sent the Walker to the ground and ended its misery. Carl huffed and finally took a much needed breath; staring at the Walker he had killed that only laid a few feet in front of him. He then looked over his shoulder, seeing the pistol in Reagan's hand, "What? Did you think I couldn't do it?"
"Just a precaution." She smiled and waved the pistol in her hand, "I knew you would do it. You did good."
"Thanks." Carl nodded and turned fully to face her, "I appreciate you helping me. My dad never has the time to do it and mom's pregnant... but she doesn't really shoot much anyways."
"No problem. I couldn't stay cooped up in that house anymore." She laughed and a soft breeze caused her freezing hair to smack against her cheeks, "And I'm glad I have a little bodyguard to protect an old cripple like me." Carl smiled and looked down to his feet sheepishly, kicking his boot lightly in the snow,
"Wasn't a problem."
"Well then, how about we have some fun now?" Reagan smiled and Carl matched hers as he knew exactly what she was talking about.
The two hooligans strategically placed the Molotov's and aerosol cans, complete with flares, about thirty feet away from their home spot. They didn't have anywhere to place them really, so they set them on a few snow covered logs and the ground around them. Finally, once the bombs were placed, the two rushed back to their designated site and the two raised their pistols, pointing them at them all out in the distance. Reagan stood next to Carl and Carl kept his eyes set on the prize, the two both waiting to pull the trigger as Carl counted down from three. It was as if it was in slow motion once Carl's lips voiced out the number one, the two pulling their triggers and letting the bullets fly.
The bottles exploded into lavish balls of fire, pieces of glass and metal shrapnel flying in all kinds of directions. Both Carl and Reagan jumped at the sound and sight of the impressive balls of fire, Carl jumping up and laughing from the ignition. Reagan nudged him once again and Carl calmed briefly, steadying his pistol as he let off another shot. Reagan wasn't far behind and the explosion echoed through the silent trees, Carl and Reagan letting out delighted laughs at the fun of blowing stuff up. One after another, expressive balls of fire lit up the air and the flames all danced with each other before extinguishing into the thin, cold air. Reagan and Carl grew giddier and giddier at the sight of each one, Reagan pointing out the different colors each of them all had before returning to her gun to ignite the next.
There was only one left and Reagan left it to Carl, Carl stepping in front of her and staring at the far off glass bottle of the fateful Molotov. It was a bit closer than the others and Carl smiled when he knew that he was going to be the one to ignite the last beautiful fireball of the day. Like and old western movie, Carl's fingers hovered over the holster of his gun and his eyes narrowed as they stared out at the shining bottle. His eyes noticed a few snowflakes beginning to fall from the grey sky above him, but soon ignored them as he deemed himself ready. Carl tore his pistol from its holster and pointed it with his hands, staring down the sights briefly and pulling the trigger. The bullet broke out of the gates of the cylinder and exploded out of the barrel, it's incredible speed striking the glass of the Molotov. It shattered into pieces and the ball of fire seemed more explosive than the rest, sending the flames up into the trees limbs.
Reagan watched Carl's head cock back and his body fall to the ground, her eyes widening in sheer shock. Gasping, she dropped to her knees by his side, seeing blood beginning to dribble down the side of his face and plague the innocent snow. "Carl!? Carl!?" She shouted, grabbing his shoulder and shaking it. Carl's blue eyes popped open and he took a breath, "Are you alright!?"
"That was fun!" He said as he lifted his body, a smile strung up on his face. Reagan grabbed his shoulder to keep him from standing,
"Woah there... you're bleeding. Let me take a look." His trusty sheriff's hat fell off in the disruption and Reagan placed her hand on his head, moving his hair out of the way. A sigh of relief blew through her lips and she smiled, "You just got hit by a piece of shrapnel... the cut doesn't look deep."
"It doesn't hurt at all." Carl placed his hand on his knee and pushed himself to his feet, "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine. I've been shot before."
"That makes two of us..."She smiled. Carl then elevated his hand to Reagan and she stared at it for a moment before placing her hand in his. Carl helped Reagan to her feet, hearing her grunt as she had to bear her weight on her injured ankle for only a few moments. Carl grabbed her cane from a small dip in the snow and gave it to her, Reagan nodding with thanks. Reagan then reached down and grabbed the sheriffs hat off the ground, dusting it off on her pants before placing it back on his small head.
The two gathered their things and walked back down the snowy path in which they came, the strong brick wall of their compound staring back at them. Carl wiped the blood off his cheek as the dribbles annoyed his skin and kept his eyes out for any Walkers that might threaten him. Reagan handed him the key to the back gate and Carl opened it for her, letting her hobble in before him. While locking it behind him, he turned and continued on with Reagan towards the house, helping her up the stairs just in case she needed it. He then pulled the back door open for her and she stepped in from the cold, shivering once the warmth licked her freezing face.
"There you two are!" She heard a frantic voice call and Reagan looked up to see Lori rushing towards them. Her eyes immediately went to Carl, "Where have you been!? You scared me out of my wits."
"I was out with Reagan." He shrugged it off like it was nothing, "We went out to go shooting. I need to practice and she tied some Walkers to some trees to give me something to-"
"You two were close to Walkers?" Lori's eyes widened and they finally moved back to Reagan, "Are you crazy? Taking him out with you in your condition!?"
"He was fine. I wouldn't have let anything happen to him." Reagan replied with the shake of her head. Lori was completely taken away,
"You could've gotten my son killed!"
"Calm down there, sweetheart." Reagan put her hand up to mediate and Lori shook her head, her eyes infuriated,
"Don't tell me to calm down! This is serious!"
"Mom!" Carl barked and Lori stopped, looking down at her son. She then noticed the blood on his face that slid down from the cut on his head,
"Is that blood?"
"Stop it mom! I'm fine!" Carl grew annoyed by his mother's overprotective nature, "Yeah, I got hit by a piece of glass while we were shooting at some bottles! It's nothing I can't handle!"
"You aren't to leave my sight again, do you hear?" She eyed Reagan with her burning blue eyes, Reagan knowing most of it was directed at her. "I don't want anything to happen to you again." Carl put his foot down,
"Stop treating me like a child! I hate it!" Lori looked down at him, her lips parting in shock at the tone he used towards her, "Reagan is doing what you and dad aren't! She's teaching me how to live in this world, how to fight for you and protect you all! I so sick of sitting around and doing nothing!" He then shoved past Lori and up the stairs towards the bedroom he inhabited, the two hearing the door slam violently.
"He's right, you know." Lori looked back at Reagan once her voice slithered back into her ears, "You shouldn't keep him cooped up in her like a dog. He needs to start learning how to do things like everyone else. It's not fair to him."
"Don't you tell me how to raise my child! What would you know about it!?" Lori hissed back, the clear infuriation still radiating off her face. Reagan let out an annoyed sigh and leaned on her cane, shaking her head and limping past Lori back to her recovery room.