Infection ; carl grimes

11 [lights in the distance]

That night Vivian dreamed she was back at the prison, reading to Rosie, laughing with Mary, hanging out with Beth, playing soccer with Carl. She thought of where they could have ended up, if they were even alive. There was no doubt in Vivians mind that the Grimes family was surviving, if not thriving, somewhere. Probably forming their own group of survivors and forgetting she ever existed. She never saw Beth leave the prison, she could only hope that she did. Was she with Maggie? Was she alone? But she knew where Rosie was. Lying in a field overrun with walkers, another name faded away into time, another voice to be forgotten by the people she once held dear.

A cold tear slipped down her expressionless face as she flipped through the pages of the comic book placed in her lap. Though she couldn't say she was paying attention to the comic, she couldn't get the events of the previous night out of her head. Why did Michonne squirm away from her like she was contagious? Was Vivian overestimating how much the older woman truly cared about her? Was she simply a burden?

Suddenly a knock on the door tore her away from her thoughts. The loud bang on the door reminded her eerily of a gunshot, which brought her right back to the fall of the prison. Gunshots could be heard everywhere, either to kill or to put people out of their misery as they died slowly. Rosie couldn't get that luxery. She probably felt all of it. Why did Vivian survive but not her? There had to be a reason such an innocent soul didn't get to survive in this cruel world but Vivian got to keep going.

She shook her head, trying to get the thoughts out as she headed towards the door. Multiple steps of faint footsteps were heard below her which made her freeze in her place. She suddenly wondered if this was really Michonne or if it was one of the Governors people who tracked them down.

"Vivian?" A voice that was unmistakably Michonnes whispered through the door, her voice slightly trembling which immediately made Vivian think the worst. She carefully creaked open the door which Michonne immediately rushed through. The sounds of moans and groans below them played much more clear in her ears. The door shut behind her as Vivian looks up to Michonne, fear and disappointment swirling together in her big brown eyes.

"Pack your things." Michonne tells the girl simply, Vivian only nods in response. She now knew that nothing in this world lasts forever, especially not the people. She walked over to the bed where she laid her tote bag on the bottom. She began packing the little belongings she had unpacked and left on the shelfs and the things she decided she wanted to keep like the comic books and the toothpaste.

Vivian stands in place for a moment, wondering how they could get out of this situation. She eyed the window on their left. Though maybe Vivian could fit through it, Michonne definitely couldn't. She listened closely to the footsteps downstairs, she noticed they were directly blocking the front door.

What about the back door? Vivian thought to herself, she noticed a back door when she was clearing the house. She walked a few steps towards the direction she saw the back door, listening closely to the walkers beneath her. Clear.

Without a word, Vivian headed towards the door, carefully twisting the doorknob as she ignored the confused stare from Michonne.
Vivian glanced back to her, nodding her head towards the stairs so she older woman follows her. The two creep through the halls, peeking over the banister as they walk slowly down the stairs. A small group of walkers come into view as they get closer, thankfully they haven't seen them yet.

Vivian sucks in a breath, suddenly back at the fall of the prison. She's seen thousands of walkers before, she wasn't sure why they were just now bothering her so much. Tears prickled in her eyes as she continued as if nothing was wrong.

She keeps her attention focused on the sliding door in front of her. She spotted Michonnes katana on the ground in front of her, in the same spot it was left last night, the dried blood still staining the wood beneath their feet though it seems Michonne got rid of the body and head. She was thankful she did, she didn't know if she could hold herself together if she saw it again.