FEAR ⇾ THE WALKING DEAD

xlix. | we're too far gone

"YOU GOTTA STICK it in the skin then you're basically just looping it right after that." Hershel explained to her as he was teaching her how to do stitches. It seemed to be one of the very few things she could do medical wise, other than knowing what medicine to give someone when they have certain symptoms from a certain sickness. Ella did as he told her, sticking it in the skin then looping it through the skin after that. Up, down, up, down. She would repeat to herself. She tied the string after that, cutting off the excess string.

Ella really did like to learn new stitches. So far she had only learned two ways to stitch certain wounds. The way she was just being taught right now was acceptable for any wound if you haven't got the time, like if your bleeding really badly. The other way was going in a zig zag. Ella thought any stitch could go for any wound. Maybe she was wrong or Hershel was wrong. Who knew. Ella certainly didn't know for she was not a nurse or doctor of any sort.

Hershel smiled at her. "There you go. You got it."

Ella smiled back at him. "Did I? It doesn't feel like I did." pop

Hershel sighed, clapping her back. "You need to give yourself more credit. Believe. You do better than you think. You're probably the best student stitcher there ever was." he chuckled.

"Now that I don't believe."

"You should."

Ella chuckled.

Glenn came in the room. "Hey. You ready for our run?" he asked her.

Ella widened her eyes. "Oh, no. I almost forgot about that!" she gasped. "Let me just clean up."

"Okay, I'll wait outside."

Ella hurriedly cleaned up the needles and the thread. Her hands were shaking pretty bad. Hershel placed his hand on hers. "Don't worry about it. I can clean up."

"Are you sure? I mean-"

"Go."

"Hershel-"

"Ella, listen to me," he grabbed her by the shoulders. "You are fine to go without cleaning up just this once. You deserve to be able to get out even if you land yodel yourself in a dangerous situation. So go before I change my mind and have you clean this entire room." he pressed his lips into a straight line.

Ella smiled, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Okay, okay."

+

"No!" almost everyone screamed that word, along with cries and sobs. Everything around Ella blurred out, the voices growing distant, the movement of people didn't seem real at all. She watched as Hershel's body fell on the grass, blood coating him and Michonne. It took her a second to process it all before she aimed the Governor and his people down, she was the second person to pull the trigger after Rick had shot at the Governor, the bullet tearing through his shoulder. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she fired shots at the Governor, a sob trying to claw its way out of her throat, her vision blurring already from the tears.