Dead Love

Chapter Sixteen: Pain

Chapter Sixteen

Lizzie

Pain shoots through my body as I collapse to the ground. I hit my head on the wood. I moan and try to regain my strength to get myself on my feet. I walk, unbalanced, to the hallway. I glide my hands on both walls as I walk. I find myself in the living room. I walk to the kitchen and grab a cup of tea. I take a sip of the hot liquid and enjoy it as it burns my throat and tongue. I set the cup down and walk outside. The cold air blows me off balance. I see Carl standing on the other end of the grass field. The wind blows so hard it knocks his hat off and sends his brown hair flying. I walk as fast as I can to him. I try and run but I fall. He walks backwards into the woods behind him and disappears.

"Carl." I whimper.

I get up and follow him. I am now standing on sand. I hear ocean waves hit rocks. I look up and see the sun setting. The stars appear and so does Carl. He is now standing on a rock. A giant wave forms and is coming straight towards him.

"Carl!" I try to yell but my throat scratches.

I close my eyes and when I open them again, I'm in a bed. I look to my side and see Carl sitting in a rocking chair. He looks at me and smiles.

"Good morning." He says.

I jerk up from the dream. It was so real. The pain was horrendous. It was real. It had to be.

"Hi." I say.

I see Carol walk around the corner of the door. She shot me. She tried to kill me. She did kill me. I remember how it felt to be dead. I remember I was in a blinding white room. There were two doors on both sides of the room. They were both open and on one end, I saw Carl holding me and crying. On the other, I saw a Meadow. This Meadow had beautiful flowers and a flowing river. It was paradise. My feet started to move to the door with the Meadow even though I wanted to go with Carl. I fell to the floor. I dragged myself to Carl. I noticed that blood was spilling out of my chest. I finally got myself to the door with Carl and I behind it. I fell through some sort of hole when I went inside.

Then I woke up.

"Are you feeling alright?" Carol asks.

"I feel weird." I say.

"The meds." She says.

Carol leaves the room and it is just Carl and I. On Carol's way out, she shuts the door. Carl stands up and walks to the other side of the bed. He sits next to me on the mattress.

"I thought you were gone." He says.

"I was." I say as a matter-of-fact.

I look at him and he is looking at me.

"I watched you die. Your eyes faded, your breaths became slow, and your skin turned white." He tells me.

"It already is." I scoff.

"Mine is too. Don't worry." He laughs.

He places his hand on my cheek and leans into me. Our lips collide in a swift movement. The rim of his hat hits my forehead and it falls off. I grab ahold of his neck and pull him closer. I'm fifteen. This is what fifteen year-olds do, right? His left hand finds my waist and pulls me closer, if that is even possible. I pull away softly but my lips are still touching his.

"I love you." I whisper.

"More than you will ever know." He says.

I smile and collide our lips again.

***

"She needs a day to rest, Rick. If we don't stay, she'll pass out." Carol says.

"We have waited enough. I bet all of our people are there and they think we're dead." Rick says.

"I can make it." I tell them.

"Lizzie, your blood needs more time." Tyreese says.

What?

"I'm fine." I tell them.

They look at me concerned.

"I really am." I say.

"It's settled. Pack your things, we're leaving." Rick says and gets up from his chair.

Everyone leaves the kitchen and so do Carl and I. We go to our room and he shuts the door. He turns to me and grabs my waist. Our lips crash and I wrap my arms around his neck. His tongue explores my mouth as I think about my sister.

What was I thinking? I really was crazy . . .

There is a knock on the door and Rick steps in. I pull away from Carl but he keeps his hand on my waist.

"C'mon." He says.

He leaves the door and I smile at Carl. I grab my bag and he grabs his. We follow everyone outside. We find our way back to the railroad tracks and begin our journey to Terminus.

We walk about a mile and a half and decide to take a break. We all drink some water and get back to walking. This time, Carl and I are in the middle of the group, holding each other's hands. His thumb would rub against mine once in a while and that keeps me going.

Pain is everywhere in my body. My chest feels like it is on fire. My legs feel numb and my arms are stinging me. I don't say anything because I already feel like a burden to Rick.

We pass another Terminus sign and they show us where we are. By the looks of it, we are about ten miles away.

"We stop here for tonight." Rick orders.

I place my bag on the dirt inside the railroad tracks and take a seat on the metal lining. Carl sits next to me and asks me if I'm feeling okay. I nod yes so he won't ask his dad if we can stay for a day so I can rest.

"Lizzie, lest change your bandages." Carol says.

I stand up and we go behind everyone. I unbutton a new plaid shirt I found in the house. I hold it in my hands as Carol unwraps the old bandages. I stare at my chest. My hair flows down so it covers my bra. The black straps are leaving red lines on my shoulders.

"Okay." Carol says and pats my back.

I put back on my shirt and sit down next to Carl. Tyreese starts a fire by the time the sun is down. We all eat the one squirrel from about two days ago. When we sleep, I sleep in Carls arms. I watch the sky that night. Tyreese is taking the first watch and when ever he looks at me, I close my eyes.

I wonder about Beth. Daryl. Glenn, Maggie, Sasha, Michonne . . . She said she would come back. She hasn't . . . yet. I know she will. She is probably at Terminus right now. Everyone probably is. Waiting for us to arrive.

I open my eyes and see the white wood on the other side of the tracks. I sit up and see Carls hat on the track, about ten feet away. I stand up and grab it. I don't see anyone else. I walk into the woods and I see Michonnes sword stabbed into a tree, blood on the handle. I run deeper into the woods and find Rick lying on the floor, Judith crying. A bullet in his head. I look to my left and see Carol and Tyreese with the same injury. I run even deeper and find Carl and Mika. I panic as I see Mika pull out a gun and shoot Carl in The head.

"Lizzie, it's time to go." I hear Carls faded voice.

I sit up and see him standing in front of me. He helps me up and I grab my bag. We start walking. I'm still tired. I don't know why I have these dreams. Each one ends up with Carl dying. Is it a sign? Is it the future? No.