Wilted

o n e

Beth Greene was dead,  in order to remember her in a way, the group headed to Virginia for Noah. She wanted to find his family with him. So we went. 

That's how we lost Tyreese. He was bit, they cut off his arm but it wasn't enough. It was too late. He lost too much blood. 

We buried him while we were on the road. Had a funeral and everything. It hurt, loosing another one of our own in such a short time span. Sasha was in shock. She was angry. I think we all were, how many of us would die out here? 

We didn't have a place to call home. Hell, we hardly knew what our next move was going to be. 

I don't know how long we'd been on the road at this point. Maybe a couple weeks.  The cars we found ran out of gas a couple days ago.  We were forced to cram into one and now even it was running on fumes. .With our energy wearing thinner by the day and our losses still fresh in our minds. It was hard. Maybe harder than anything I'd ever experienced before. 

Along with that, we'd run out of our food. We were down to maybe 3 bottles of water for a large group and growing baby. It'd been a day and a half since all of us last ate. 

I don't even know where my dad went. I don't remember the last time he ate something that he didn't force me to take some. I hated that he did that. I wish he'd eat the entirety of his portion. 

The group had scattered in the woods, looking for food, water and anything else that was of value. Rick had Carl and I stay back. I laid down in the trunk of a van that was abandoned on the side of the road and we'd been using for a while. It crawled to a stop. 

"We're out," Abraham said disappointed. "Just like the other one." 

"So we walk." Rick told him. I knew he was trying to keep a brave face, but things were getting harder. 

With the sun glaring down at us it was hard. A lot of things were hard. We had a pack of walkers following us as we walked slowly. 

"We're not at our strongest." I overheard Rick say to my dad as he looked at the herd. "We'll get them when it's best. Highground, something like that. They're not going anywhere. It's been three weeks since Atlanta. I know you lost something back there."

"She's hungry."  Dad deflects his statement turning his attention to Judith. 

"She's okay." Rick says. "She's gonna be okay."

"We need to find water, food." Dad says before turning back and looking towards my tired eyes. "You doing okay?" 

I shake my head as I continue to walk on. I begin to sway until Carl grabs my arm to keep me up right. 

"We'll hit something in the road." Rick says but I highly doubt our chances of that at this point. "It's gonna rain sooner or later." 

"I'm gonna head out." Dad says. "See what I can find." 

"I'm coming with." I say. 

"Cherokee-" He says but I cut him off. 

"Please?" I plead and reluctantly he nods. Giving Carl's hand a squeeze I follow my dad into the woods. Carol follows along also. 

"Anything?" She asks after we've been walking for a while. 

"No, it's too dry." Dad rasps. "There ain't nothing here."

"We should start back." She states looking towards dad. I know she's worried about him. We all are. 

"You go." He tells her. 

"I think she saved my life." There's no need for her to elaborate on who 'she' is. It's obvious she means Beth. "She saved your life too, right?"

Dad remains quiet and Carol walks closer to him. She hands him Beth's knife. "It's hers." She tells him. "We're not dead. That's what you said. You're not dead. I know you. We're different, I can't let myself... But you, I know you. You have to let yourself feel it. "

She places a kiss on his forehead before walking back towards the group. I contemplate going with her, but ultimately I wind up staying. 

We're silent for the most part. It reminds me of when we'd go hunting together when I was little. Most of the time, we wouldn't come back with any game because of my loud footsteps. But I cherished those moments. We both did.

"When's the last time you ate?" He asks. 

"I don't know, maybe a day or two." I admit.

"I'll find ya something." He says looking at me. My blonde hair clings to my face with dirt and grime. 

"You need to eat too daddy." I remind him. "You're not invincible, you'll starve."

"I'd starve myself to death if it meant you had food in your stomach." He tells me. 

"You've always been like that." I say knowing I won't win. 

"and I always will." he tells me patting my shoulder. 

"We're gonna be okay you and me." He says pulling me into a hug. 

"I know." I say into his chest. "We've always been okay." 

With that, we head back towards the group empty handed. When we get there, they're taking care of the pack of walkers that was on our trail. Dad breaks through the tree line with enough time to pull one off of Sasha. 

When the walkers are all good and dead we continue walking.  After a bit Carl points up ahead. 

"Dad, look." He says pointing towards three cars abandoned on the road. 

"I'm gonna head in the woods." Dad says eyeing the cars. "Circle back."

"May I come with?" Carols voice says. 

"No." Dad replies gruffly. "Just me."

Slowly, we make our ways towards the cars. Unfortunately, they're empty. All three of them. Out of frustration, I kick the tire, getting a strange look from Carl in return. So, once again we walk. We stop down the road a little bit, coming across a nice shaded area and we sit. 

Immediately, my body goes numb and my vision blurs and I sway visibly. 

"Cherokee?" Elisa asks. "hey, honey are you okay?"

"No." I croak grabbing on to Carl's arm. 

My vision blurs more and I feel myself black out before hitting the ground. 

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Word Count: 1055

First chapter of WILTED!!!!! I hope you enjoyed!! Feedback is appreciated