Chapter 5: Welcome to EastHaven
Denise had told me that Daryl could be up and walking as soon as he wakes up, which was yet to happen. I told Daryl about CJ and Angel, and even how I was separated from them. Preston let River in, and I hugged both of them. It was great to see my dog after so long, and my best friend, but Res had to leave since he had something to do. Eventually I ran out of things to say to Daryl, so I just sat there quietly in my chair, and somewhere in that time frame, I dozed off.
Something brushed my hand, waking me up. Stretching I tried to get over the stiffness of falling asleep in the chair for how long, I had no idea. I looked over to see Daryl had shifted, he was moving his hand over, that's what woke me up. Slowly his eyes opened, and I had to hold back my smile as he took in the room.
"Mornin princess." Daryl rubbed his eyes with a single hand, the other rested on his stomach.
"Sunshine, what'd I tell ya bout waken-" Daryl stopped mid-sentence, his eyes growing wide. Then he looked over at me. "Is Mer-"
I took a hold of the hand that he had let fall back to his side. "This is real. Daryl. Your back with the living, though you were never really gone." I stroked River's fur as I told him, before my big brother pulled me into a hug after sitting up. "You ready to get up?" Daryl nodded, and we slowly walked out. He had an arm around my shoulder, but not for support. He was telling me about the dream he had with me and Merle in it, but I was about thirteen in it. Merle was teasing me, and threw me over his shoulder. I wasn't taking his shit, and Daryl tried to warn him, but I caused Merle to fall flat on his ass. I laughed along with my brother as we walked away from the clinic. While I still let out a light chuckle I looked over in the direction of where Glenn, Maggie, and Rick were. There was another person standing there with them. My smile dropped as my eyes widened. Daryl patted my back when he saw him to, saying one word.
"Go."
And so I did, I broke into a dead run, and ran right into Carl's arms. I clung onto him tightly and he lifted me up and spun us around once after catching me. My forehead rested at the base of his neck.
"I thought I lost you... I thought I had lost you." Carl whispered.
"A...all I thought about was coming back... You and Alexandria was on my mind every second." Carl lifted my chin with a single finger while I explained. "You never left my mi-" Carl cut me off by pressing his lips to mine. His index finger still rested under my chin. He shut me up and took my breath away all in one, as silent tears rolled down my cheeks. I didn't even realize I was crying, until Carl pulled back an eternity later. He used his thumbs to brush the tears away, before pulling my lips back to his. I kissed back before we both pulled back. There was so much I wanted to tell him, but I needed to start with one of the most important. Tears started to roll down my face once more.
"Sunny, what's wrong?" Carl asked as put my hand over his that held my face tenderly.
"Carl..." I looked down, before meeting his eye again. Taking a deep breath, I tried again. "Carl you're a fathe-"
"Mom!" I froze at the voice, but my head, along with everyone else's turned to the voice.
"Mom?" Rick and Carl questioned. Preston was next to Angel and CJ as they started running to me. My hand left Carl's only to cover my mouth.
"Oh my..." I trailed off before running to my kids.
I dropped to my knees, and wrapped my arms around the two. I started swaying us from side to side. "Shhhhh. It's okay. Mommy's here." I kissed them both on the forehead, having to move the hat that rested on CJ's head. He pulled away, but Angel absolutely refused to let go. I picked her up so she wouldn't have to. That was when CJ pulled on the end of my shirt, and he motioned to behind me. Carl put a hand on my back and stood behind me before I got the chance to look behind me. He peaked over my shoulder, and Angel looked up at him. Carl smiled, before kneeling down to his son. I slowly set Angel down and Carl tipped CJ's hat back.
"You got quite the hat there... Son." Carl glanced at me, and I nodded in conformation. CJ and Angel both looked at me.
"Angel Elizabeth, and Carl Luca Grimes." I set a hand on Carl's shoulder. "This, is your father." They both started at me for a second, before they jumped into their father's arms. Angel did mostly, but CJ took a few seconds before he went over. After they pulled back, Carl messed with CJ's hat, with the same one on his head, but I didn't notice right away. "Angel, CJ, do you want to meet your uncle Daryl and your grandpa?" They both enthusiastically nodded. Not Carl and I stood, that's when it came more clear to me that both Carl's had the same exact hat on, and by the same time I turned around to look at everyone else, everything was gone.
I kept spinning around, but everything was just blank... White everywhere... My hair was in a ponytail like I use to have it all the time. What was happening?
The white was starting to blind me, as my heart rate increased, and it felt like the walls - if there were any - were closing in. I felt trapped, imprisoned.
I heard a whistle. "Damn, you look a lil' nicer grown up baby sister." A familiar voice sounded, I turned for my eyes to meet Merle's. "Calm down Sunshine." He snapped. I find Merle with his hands in his pockets. Both hands. With all ten fingers. "It's rude to stare baby sister." My eyes snapped from Merle's right hand to his face. I had no words. "How's ol' Darlina?"
I found my words. "What?"
Now Merle was getting impatient. "Don't be startin this with me again sunshine."
"Daryl was fine last I saw him." I mumbled absentmindedly, thinking of what Merle meant by 'again' and trying to wrap my mind about what was happening now. The only thing I could think of was after I had led a herd of walkers out of death trap and almost drowned in that pond before River and Luke found me. "Aren't.. Aren't you-"
"Dead? You betcha baby sister." Merle chuckled a little, but then stopped, taking his hands from his pockets. "And last I checked, yer on yer way there too."
"What?" I demanded.
"You goin deaf?"
"No no no no no no on on on on no no no. Oh no. No no no." I put my hand on my head, pacing, before sitting on an old wooden chest that had appeared.
"Was yer problem?" Merle asked, leaning on the wall next to me. I took my head out of my hands.
"I have two kids who need me! That's why!" I screamed.
"Wait... So ol' Merle's an uncle?"
"Yes!" Merle's smile faded.
"Wait, who'd ya have em with? Was it officer friendly's b- oh I'd kill that kid if I wasn't dead already!" Merle yelled, stomping away from the wall angrily. I paused my flip out to raise an eyebrow at Merle's. My eldest brother huffed. Sitting down next to me. "Was their names?"
"Angel and Carl." Merle threw a hand out.
"Of course you name the boy after 'im." He mumbled under his breath. The whiteness of the room wasn't so bright anymore, as the floor became the blue jean color carpet of a living room. The walls were starting to take on a light wood color. "So what happened?" Merle finally broke the silence.
"I was bit. Had to cut my leg off. Saved my little girl in the process." The walls had almost completely turned to wood for a small cabin.
Merle started slapping his leg in a for of laughter. "I had lost ma hand, you lost yet leg. Now all we need is Darlina to lose a finger or two. Then we'd be a hell of a bunch!" I just started at my brother out of the corner of my eye as he calmed down and the place was draped in silence as he thought of a question.
There were two windows on either side of the door, and a frame that led into the kitchen area. This was the cabin I always dreamed of having built. The only piece of furniture in the living room was the chest, but, clear in my mind I could see a couch sitting in the middle of the room, and a bookshelf in the corner. The brightness that lay behind the Windows softened into a field of flowing green and dotted with trees. For a second I forgot about everything. Forgot about my leg being cut off, being bit, or even the fact I was dying. My heart thudded with pure joy as I could see the figures of Angel and CJ chasing each other around in the front yard. Then all the sudden, they just disappeared. I shot up, my eyes wide, before the fact that my very world was quite literally ending, I plopped back down with a thud. Instantly I put my head in my hands. There was a small creek and shift from the chest as Merle stood.
"Ya should go sit in the kitchen for a while." I looked up to find my eldest brother standing in the doorway, headed out. His Dixon blue's stared deep into my own. "There's a window in there already open. Can't get these damn ones to budge. You could use the fresh air." He turned, taking a step before looking at his feet. "And do yerself a favor. Yer kids too, and... Carl. Don't walk out the door." With that he walked out, and disappeared into what lay beyond the door frame.
"What the hell does that mean?" I jumped to my feet. "Merle? Merle!" I ran up to the still open door. "What the hell do you mean?" I yelled, taking a step. The toe of my boot just hardly was outside the door, as the bright white suddenly came back, but much worse than the first time. I screamed, jumping back, and falling down. Just as quickly as the area around me turned white, it faded back to the structure and look of the cabin. The only difference, I was in the kitchen this time. I had been sitting on the floor, only to be raised into a forming wooden chair, as a burst of cold breeze hit my face, and my heart didn't seem like it was about to burst out of my chest. My wide eyes stared out the open window as I slowly calmed down.
"Merle was right, sweetheart you did need some fresh air." I didn't have anytime to turn, before I found my mother in front of me. My back pressed against the table, and my elbow bumped the back of my chair. But this wasn't Sierra who was in front of me. It was who my mother truly was. She brushed some loose copper strands from my face, before her hand rested on my cheek. "Look how you've grown. You've come up good and strong." A deep caring nature flowed through her every action.
"Mom." I whispered, wrapping my hand around her wrist.
"Shhhhh." She shushed me gently, combing back my loose hair once again, this time with both hands. "My oh my, Aahana Hope, you raised those two well."
"Have I?" I questioned. "They weren't even able to get a real childhood."
"You worked with what you had. But, my dear Aahana, you've done far more for them than I ever done for either of you three." I was about to protest further when she kissed my forehead. My mother looked me in the eye. "What your brother said. For those two grand kids of mine. Don't go out the door." Then she walked under the threshold, into the living room, and walked out the door she told me not to go through.
I huffed a sigh, before turning in my chair so I sat at the table correctly, even though it didn't matter. It was right after I rested my head on my hand, another person spoke.
"So her name's Angel Elizabeth?" The soft voice caused my eyes to dart up, as my head did the same. I sat at the end of the table, but Kylie sat to my right. She chuckled a little, looking at her hands. "So you named her after three people. Angel, Beth... and me." Her smiling eyes met back with my own. "Elizabeth. It's a more suiting middle name for little miss Angel than it ever was for me." Kylie smoothed back her golden brown hair, before she sighed, almost happily, followed by a small giggle. "I see Preston has moved on. He, seems almost closer to that girl - Enid, I think her name is - then he ever was with me. But this isn't about Res." She gave me a half smile, knowing not to reminisce on our friends too long, knowing there was a much more important matter at hand. Her eyes told me to ask the questions I've been holding back. As much as I'd love to talk to my best friend, I had too many questions that needed answers.
"The door. Everyone so far has told me not to go through it. What will happen?"
"There's no other way to say it, other than just. Everything ends. And, you'll never wake up again." I was wordless as I sat there, soaking up Kylie's words. "Several of us have been watching you and the group when we can. And I know you're in bad shape. And like your brother told you earlier, you are dying. And honestly Aahana, it's a matter of time before you stop breathing. I think you've been in this little place for so long so you come to accept your fate. But Aahana Dixon, I think I know you much better than fate does." Suddenly Kylie stood, pointing at me. "And it ain't got nothin on you." She pushed in her chair. "You fight, and you fight like hell. I know for a fact that will happen. But right now," I turned in my chair so I could face her, "I have to leave. My time is up. But damn it, I don't want to go, because I know what'll happen." I stood as Kylie wrapped her arms around me, and I did the same. Even though Kylie looked like she probably would now if she was still alive, I still was taller than she was. Some things never changed. "Sunny." It had been a long time since someone had really called me that. "Tell Preston I said hi for me?" I nodded. Kylie pulled me into another, much shorter hug. She walked over to the door like Merle and my mother before her. She paused, the door opened just a crack. "I'll tell Beth that you named Angel after her. And I'll tell your dad hi for you. But Sunny..." Kylie shook her head. "Aahana Hope Dixon. You keep fighting. And you fight like hell." There was a seriousness that made Kylie's order even more real to me, before she disappeared behind the door.
I hadn't even been standing there for three seconds, before what felt like a strong wind, was pulling my through the door. The very door three people important to me told me not to go through. My nails dug into the wooden frame, before I was pulled to the other side of it. Almost everything disappeared in the blinding white. From the door frame I could see the cabin was fading, being swallowed by the white. The wind was hitting me head on, pushing me away from the fading cabin. It was so intense tears were being pulled from my eyes as I thought of CJ and Angel. Of Carl, Daryl, Carol, Rick, Judith. Everyone from Alexandria. That was when I threw my head down, and with all I could, started pushing against the force that caused me to get further from my life. The intensity of the struggle grew as the force trying to keep me from going back through the already half faded door increased. But I kept moving forward as the possibility of me never opening my eyes, and hearing my kids' laugh, or see them grow up, was at its greatest. The door was swallowed by white as I reached it, and so was the room that use to lay behind it. But there was only one thing left of the cabin, and that was the chest. Slowly, it was blending into the white, but I still reached out or it, still this force tried to pull me back. Then, there was a blast as my hand connected to the wood of the chest. I was lifted into the air for a second, but my hand was glued to the wooden surface in front of me as the pulling stopped. All at once I hit my knees, as the blinding white, engulfed in black... I lived...
***
I was breathing, and everything that was black, was coming back to reality. My heart was still beating... I was still alive. My senses were coming back, as I could hear a voice. But, soon I figured out, the person was reading.
"That was when I figured it out. This person standing before me was a complete stranger. But one who helped, saved the life of someone she'd never seen before. I didn't know her name, but I didn't need to. I had a name for her right then and there, as she disappeared before my eyes. She was someone who held on to something and rode out the storm. A hero in her own right. She was a person who had the great power to inspire people. To give them just enough to hold on. She, was Hope."
I stirred a little at the last line, causing him to stop, as my eyes fluttered open.
"Well welcome back to the living." Bow set down the book he was reading from, and handed me some water, helping me sit up in the process.
After a couple sips, I looked at the older man. "What book is that?"
"Survivor by Misty Steel." I nodded.
"I think I started reading it, but wasn't able to finish." I say softly before there was a short silence. I lifted up my left leg to find it ended just below my knee. Closing my eyes tightly, I leaned my head back on the pillow.
"I know it's a lot to take in. And before you ask, your kids are with Kiera. They normally go with her during the day, stay with me at night. It's been that way ever since you first went out." Bow told me, sitting calmly in his chair next to the bed I was in.
"And how long has that been?"
"A little over a month. You were in a coma. And damn it. You stopped breathing." Bow's eyes burned into mine with seriousness. "You were dead for almost five minutes. We thought you had turned. But." Bow shook his head. I have something to show you." He handed me a prosthetic leg. "I think you're ready."
It took me several minutes before I could walk, but I still had to lean on Bow. But we eventually got there. To the middle of the town. I watched in awe as people went about their day. It was beautiful. Bow told me that the character in Survivor seemed much like me, thus why he called me Hope.
"Hope. Welcome to EastHaven."
A/N
So sunny died for 5 minutes and was in a coma for over a month. And all that happened when she "woke" up the first time last chapter was all part of a coma dream.
And she wakes up in a community called EastHaven.
What will this mean for Sunny and the kids?
Will Sunny find a position here that helps her fit in?
Can becoming part of this new place help her in finding her real family?
- I have published my Behind The Scenes Of: The Mile Series book, on wattpad with my account Ty1R1Bluent, so please if you have anything you'd like to know about the series anything related about or in it, please send me as many questions as you like. I won't use usernames unless you ask me to. and when you're done reading this, go check it out! -
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