A New Home

Sparks

"Wait, 'the beginning'? What does that mean?"

"This group, this, whole family..." He pondered on his words.
"This all started from one man. 10 or whatever years ago when this shit all started he brought people together. Many of which aren't here right now. But he built the foundations, and sure enough here we are."

"Who was he?"

He chuckled, reminiscing.

"He was Rick Fucking Grimes."

That name... You'd actually physically SEEN that name before.  Where though? Where did you...

"The bridge! His name is on that bridge by the river. The old one that collapsed."

"Really? Well that's where old Ricky boy popped his clogs so one of them must have done it."
He gestured vaguely into the woods- meaning one of them from the group.

"Where was I? Ah, One-Arm- that's Aaron. Bit of a prick."

He continued reeling off a list of names, and it seemed to you he didn't really know a lot about the people he was talking about. He seemed to know more about people that were no longer here. You didn't mind. You were content with listening. His voice started trailing off, and you turned to him confused.

"What?"

You realised that while he was talking you had slipped half way down the tree, and your vision had gone foggy and dark.

"Shit you alright?"

That look again. His eyes scanned yours and then darted over your body, searching for a problem. You felt completely at his will, and took a sharp intake of breath. No, snap out of it. The hell is wrong with you?

"Jesus fucking Christ."

You looked down where his eyes were locked in utter shock, and took in the sight. Your blood had soaked through your shirt AND your jacket, and had spilled onto the thigh of your jeans, leaving intricate trails of crimson running down your leg.

"Oh."

You were suddenly very aware of the pain, your vision clouding further.

"Shit."

He leaned forward to catch you, and suddenly you were wrapped in his strong arms. You wanted to struggle, to put up a fight, but you found yourself letting him take you in his arms, your head resting on a broad shoulder encased in leather.

"Shit." He repeated in a whisper. "Why in the hell did you not say anything?"

He carefully unzipped your jacket, taking time to not snag the ravine in your side, letting each side fall gently to the floor. Slowly, he peeled back your shirt to reveal what would have been fresh bandages soaked in blood, leaving your whole stomach looking like a battle took place on it.

He winced in empathy for you, cursing himself for not realising sooner. Of course you didn't say anything, why would you? You would come across as weak and helpless in front of a total stranger. Again. You couldn't do it, but now you regretted not mentioning it. The pain was unbearable.

You moaned in pain, arching your back and accidentally pushing yourself further into him, but he let you, and allowed the curves of your body to rest easily in his. He brushed his long fingers gently over your cheek, tracing from your cheek bone to your temple and then your forehead, checking your temperature. Even you could feel it- you were ice cold.

"Damn, ok here's what we're gonna do." You could feel his panic radiating from deep within him, and you realised how serious this actually was.
"We're gonna have to sacrifice some of your jacket for this."
You could hear the methodical rips of your sleeves as he constructed yet another makeshift bandage that would be wrapped around your side. He leant into your ear, his stubble tickling your neck and making you want to giggle out loud. You were almost completely out of it at this point. The pain was insufferable and the icy chill that swept mercilessly over your body had you in it's cruel grasp, causing your brain to swirl and your thoughts to become unlatched.

He whispered, "Now this is gonna hurt like a motherfucker."

You felt his hand move from your jaw down to the bandage on your side. He slid his finger gently underneath, brushing against your smooth skin. You shivered, and this time, not from the cold.

"You ready?"

You must have nodded because within a second his hands were working at untangling the bloody mess around you. You screamed in pain when the last of it was being peeled off, and he drew you closer to him, breathing so gently it tickled your nose.

"Ok, ok, sshh, it's off it's off."

You could feel his hands trembling as he wrapped the fragments of your ruined jacket around your stomach and your side, pulling it tight to stop more blood loss.

You hissed through your teeth, and a large shiver took over your body, lean arms then wrapping around you, bringing you back down to Earth.

"Ok, we're all done now kid."

You didn't have the strength to correct him, instead you just went limp in his arms, exhausted and pain throbbing throughout your core. You could feel him moving and shuffling about behind you, causing you to go where his chest and shoulders went. He draped something dark and warm around you, the warmth hitting you like a heatwave in a desert. You grabbed the mystery material weekly in your hands to try and determine what it was, and the soft leather greeted your fingertips in surprise. You gasped silently under your breath as you realised what he had done. You tried to move your neck up so you could utter a 'thankyou', but no words were able to leave your mouth. You were utterly lost in his eyes, the golden embers reflecting in pools of hazel and honey, transfixing you and warming you throughout. Despite the pain, despite the cold, despite your complete and utter vulnerability, you felt safe. For once in the last 10 years or so, you felt safe. And it felt great. He seemed to realise what you were trying to say to him, and hushed you gently, instead whispering,

"I know, it's ok."

You gazed up at the stars and the sea of gold swimming right in front of them, and you no longer had to wonder what those gold flecks were feeling. You embraced the warmth and sunk into a deep, comfortable sleep.