Shambles- The Walking Dead [Alden x Maggie] [1/2]

52- Silent and still

"You were right to visit me. Her fever is pretty high." Siddiq said as he rummaged through the cabinet to find what he needed. "And you said she hadn't quite been acting like herself the past couple of days?"

"Yes." Alden nodded. "But we figured it was nothing because so much has happened these past few weeks."

"That's probably a large part of the reason." He nodded. "But weren't you and Maggie planning on going on that run to the military base tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, I was planning on it." He sighed. "But I'm not going if Hope's still sick. My family comes first, always."

"Don't they need you on that run to set up the pulley system?"

"They do. But, like I said, my daughter comes first. And besides, they could probably manage without me." He replied.

"Here." Syddiq handed him a small pouch with a couple of small vials and a piece of paper. "I wrote it all down. It's just a couple of herbs that'll help against the fever."

"Thanks." He said as he picked Hope backup and got her home.

—

Mika pulled another dead rabbit out one of the snares and stuffed it in her backpack before resetting the snare. "That was the last snare and we've only caught 4 rabbits and an opossum." She sighed. "That's not enough to feed everyone for even a day."

"No, but it's better than nothing." Carl insisted.

"They better find a shit ton of REM's at that military base." Rose shook her head.

"I just hope my dad comes back soon." Mika looked down at the ground, nudging the rotting leaves. "I'm afraid that he's going to make this journey his last stand. When he left I wasn't ready to say goodbye yet, but now I'm thinking maybe I should've."

"They'll make it back." Carl insisted as they began to walk towards the creak. "They all know what they're doing. Aside from Eugene maybe, but he can handle himself."

"I know." She sighed. "Still wish he was here. And mom's been great lately but she just hasn't been the same since Henry."

"She's trying." Rose squeezed her shoulder and smiled sadly.

"There." Carl pointed out a spot along the creek where a small tent was set up with an old tarp. " I left the spear here after I went fishing the last time. It's a lot of fun actually."

"Wouldn't know." She shrugged. "There aren't any places to fish near Hilltop."

"I never did it either." Mika added. "But I really want to learn how. I usually feel so useless because I can't fight like Henry could."

"Fighting isn't what makes you useful to the community. We have a militia. And, yeah, Carl and I are a part of it but it's not really what I want to do." Rose told her as she threw her bag down on the ground and sat down. "My job used to be to take care of the horses. We set most of them free before the whisperers came and overran us. It's not much of a job anymore, so I do whatever I can to help now."

Carl didn't know what to say because all he had been doing for years was fighting. And some days it felt like it was all he could do.

"Daryl taught me how to spear fish not long before my dad died." He explained after about ten seconds of silence in which he'd set his backpack down. He picked the spear up. In reality it was just a sharpened stick. "It's pretty easy, actually. You just have to get the hang of it." He handed the spear to Mika. "It's really as easy as keeping the spear and yourself as still as possible and then plunging the spear down on a fish. I usually aim for the head because that seems to work better for me."