Future Ghosts • TWD

18. Scars.

At the sight of Daryl, Rosie's heart slowed down again and she took deep breaths. Her eyes began fluttering shut again and her head started to tip to the side. "I can't..." she breathed out.

"Hey, stay awake, a'right?" Daryl said, making the girl's eyes open again. He gently pried the knife from her hands and stuck it into the sheath on her belt.

"I couldn't find," Rosie tried to speak again, but wasn't able to finish her whole sentence. She felt like she was going to puke.

Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and leaned forward. He wrapped one arm around Rosie's back, and the other beneath her knees. When he lifted her up, her face scrunched up and she hissed in pain.

"What's wrong?" Rick asked, stepping closer to the two.

"Leg," Rosie whimpered.

Daryl looked down to her leg and saw the gray fabric of her crocodile t-shirt tied tightly around her thigh. It was stained red. He adjusted his grip, trying to keep away from the wound, but Rosie's face still remained scrunched up in pain.

"Yeah," he said sympathetically. "Sorry, kid," he mumbled as he stood up, carrying the girl bridal style.

"Rick, what's the plan?" Shane asked quickly as he walked closer to the three. The others were all gathered at the door of the church, their eyes wide with shock, relief, and fear at the sight of Rosie. Carol began crying again, thinking of Sophia possibly being in the same state as Rosie was.

"Is she ok?" Carl asked, trying to see past his mother, who was holding him back.

"Think I'm dyin'," Rosie murmured, squeezing her eyes shut. Everything hurt and she felt like she was spinning.

"You're not dying," Rick said, giving the girl a reassuring nod. "We're gonna patch you up and you're gonna be just fine."

Rosie still didn't feel very reassured. Part of her wondered if they were even really there. What if they were just another illusion, like Fraser and her dad?

"Daryl, you and the others bring Rosie back to the RV. Shane and I will hang back, search the area more thoroughly, see if we can find Sophia," Rick said.

"Splittin' us up? You sure?" Daryl said, looking between Rosie and the rest of the group.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you," Shane replied, giving a curt nod.

When Daryl carried Rosie outside, the sun burned her eyes and she quickly turned her head to bury her face into Daryl's shoulder. Not even a second later, Carl was by their side and, as always, asking a million questions.

"Are you ok? What happened?" he asked, standing on his toes to try and see Rosie's face. "Did you see Sophia anywhere?"

"Carl, give her some space please," Lori said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder and pulling him away.

It was quiet for awhile while they walked, everyone too nervous to ask the girl any questions. They didn't want to overwhelm her, especially when she was actively bleeding out. Daryl kept looking down at her face to make sure she was still awake. She was blinking slowly, showing that she was very close to falling asleep, but she tried hard not to. It wasn't working well. Her eyelids just felt so heavy.

She was just seconds away from drifting back off into sleep when they all heard a gunshot. Their heads snapped in the direction of the sound and Rosie flinched in Daryl's arms.

"What was that?" Carl asked, standing a little closer to Lori than before.

"That was a gunshot," Carol replied in a shaky voice, her hand to her heart.