Vanessa Taylor, a sassy blue haired, tattooed cosmetologist with a mouth of a sailor was born and raised in Ohio. One summer while she was visiting her sick father, her connecting flight ends in the city getting shut down, leaving her stranded in th...
I stalk through the hospital, finding her room. The machines have been cleared out, while she lays unmoving. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here... I'm sorry I failed you." I grab her hand, sobbing. "I wish I told you how much I loved you more."
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"Vanessa, wake up. You've been out for hours." I stir, seeing Hershel next to me. I groan as he hands over some tea. "Here. this'll help elevate some of the symptoms until they get back with the medicine." I sit up, Taking it graciously. My face puckering at the taste.
"Thank you." I rasp. "You're stupid, old man."
"I need to help where I can." He places his wrist against my forehead, shaking his head. "I hope they make it back soon. A lot of these people aren't going to make it through the night."
"I've accepted this is the end for me." I admit. I roll over, hacking up the blood that starts to fill my lungs. I gasp, trying to find a pocket of air
"Glenn, get the bag!" Hershel shoves me against the bed. A moment passes before I hear Glenn rushing in.
I put my hand up, stopping the older man. "I'm okay." I hungrily suck in the air around me. The force I was shoved might've knocked loose the blood, stopping it from filling up. I'm able to breathe.
Hershel's eyes watch me for a second, before taking his leave. Glenn crawls into bed next to me. I rest my head on his shoulder. Thankful for someone I care about has come to me for some sort of comfort. He was one of four who saved me.
"Are you taking care of my sister?" I tease the Koran to my right.
He chuckles, nodding. After a moment of silence, "I don't want to be here if you die, and Daryl finds out."
"Why? He's a big softie, though he'd never admit it out loud. He'll be fine."
"Yeah, with you." He hesitates, "I've never seen him like that with anyone else. Maybe little ass kicker. I've been with him since the beginning. You're good for him. I'm pretty that man loves you. I'm glad you joined us. I never got to tell you that."
"You know, I had moments of questioning if I made the right call. Especially after walker in the well. I swore you guys were trying to get rid of the stranger." Wincing at the memory. "I was the odd one out. I wasn't saving Carl. Just there, another mouth to feed."
"No, I liked you. You brought something I don't think we knew we needed. You're a bad ass. Daryl was pissed when he came back. Said he found you losing it in the woods and told him to fuck off." He runs his hand through his black hair, bringing his arm around me. "No one was brave enough to tell him that or get close to him when he was angry. I admired you for that."
I shake my head, "he didn't scare me because I knew I could be scarier."
"You got that right." We both laugh. I miss the simpler times.
Another moment of silence descends on us. I hear Glenn's breathing become even. I owe a lot to the man next to me. He's family, after all.
After going down memory lane with Glenn, I begin to wonder what it's like to die. What's waiting for me on the other side when my soul crosses over. Will I see my Luna? Mom? Dad? Apart of me wants to stop fighting and join them. Everyday has been a fight to live just one more day. I'm exhausted.
