I sit against the wall, tossing the keys back and forth. Carl gave them to me after he locked the door, and he sits nearby, talking to Beth. Carol and Lori sit on the steps, chatting.
"OPEN THE DOOR! IT'S HERSHEL!" Rick screams.
I jump up, grabbing a key and unlocking the door. The rest of our group rushes in. Hershel lays on a rolling cart, passed out. There's just a bloody stump where his left leg once was. I toss Carl the keys and he locks the door.
"Get him in here!" I say.
Rick and Glenn roll the cart into the cell and lift him onto the bed.
"Carol, get bandages!" I order. Lori hands me a towel, and I try to soak up the blood coming from Hershel's leg.
"We used them all," she answers.
"Get anything! ANYTHING!" I yell. "If you want me to save him, I'll need people to cooperate."
"Carl, go get more towels," Lori says.
"Is he gonna die?" Beth asks.
Lori hugs her, comforting her.
"Hope, can you stabilize him?" Rick asks desperately.
"I need to keep his leg elevated. Grab pillows," I order. I am in emergency mode, nothing can phase me. "Carol, I'll need your help."
She nods and sits down beside me. Although we bicker sometimes, we both work well together during medical situations. Hershel and I play doctor, and Carol is the back up, in case anything happens to either Hershel or me.
"He's bled through the sheets," Maggie gasps.
"We can cauterize the wound," Glenn suggests. "I could start a fire."
"No! The shock could kill him!" I warn.
Carl returns with towels and Carol grabs them, holding them against Hershel's stump.
The sound of arguing fills the air.
"What is that?" Beth asks.
"Survivors. Prisoners here," Rick answers. "I'll take care of it."
He leaves. I get up and pull Carl aside.
"I need you to find the infirmary. Find someone to go with you, and find it. I've seen jails like this. It should be that way." I point. "You hear me?"
"Got it, Hope," Carl says, running down the stairs.
I go back into the cell, kneeling back down beside Hershel.
"Carol? Any change?" I ask.
"The bleeding has slowed down, but that's it," she answers.
We continue working, and I keep track of the symptoms in my mind.
"We're back!" T-dog yells. "And we got food!"
"What've you got?" Lori asks from outside.
"Canned beef, canned corn...canned cans," T-dog answers. I laugh.
Rick is carrying two sacks while T-dog holds boxes. They bring the food to another cell and set it down.
"Any change?" Rick asks as he walks back to us.
"The bleeding is under control and there's no fever, but his breath is laboured and his pulse is way down, and he hasn't opened his eyes yet," I report.
"Take my cuffs and put them on him. I'm not taking any chances," he says.
Glenn takes his cuffs and goes into the cell.
YOU ARE READING
Daryl's Angel (Book One in the Apocalypse Angel Trilogy)
Fanfiction"Why're you bein' so nice to me?" "I would want the same if I were you." Hope Starling was alone when the dead started rising. She had always been alone, with parents that had disowned her and no friends to help her. Inside the department store in...
