All of Us (The Walking Dead)

Chapter 23

The chairs that had once lined the town hall were now gone and were replaced with makeshift beds spaced out all over the floor. People laid on the beds, looking pale and sick. I was glad Daryl had told me to put on a mask because all I could hear was constant coughing. I spotted Siddiq in the corner with a mask on, helping a man. I headed to him.

"Siddiq," I said to him as I walked up.

"Sloane," he looked startled. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to help," I said. I could tell by the look on his face that he was about to protest me being in here, so I continued to speak before he could object. "And before you say anything, I'm already in here, so there's nothing you can do about it."

Siddiq sighed and ran his hand through this hair.

"Honestly, I hate that you're in here putting yourself at risk, but I'm also happy you're here to help," he said. I could tell he was tired. Siddiq had bags under his eyes and looked physically exhausted.

"Whatever I can do," I said. I looked around the room. "Siddiq, what happened?" I asked.

Siddiq surveyed the room. "It started the morning you left. People started coming to me with a cough and fever. More and more people started getting sick which was when I knew it wasn't an isolated incident. It was spreading fast. By yesterday morning, we had moved here and I started isolating everyone who may have been in contact. It's getting worse, though. People are coughing uncontrollably and are having trouble breathing. The fevers are getting worse for some people. And we can't treat it properly. All that I can do is treat the symptoms as much as possible. Keep people hydrated. Make sure they're resting. Things like that. That's what I'll need help with from you," he said. The man laying in front of him starts to cough loudly, so Siddiq sits him up to help him breathe better. A lady on the other side of the room starts to cough.

"Help," she croaks out as she struggles to breath and sit up. I run over to her and get down on my knees. I gently push her back forwards so her head is in between her knees as she coughs. I grab the glass of water on the ground beside her and bring it up for her. She takes a sip and starts to take some deep breaths.

"Thank you," she whispered to me, her voice hoarse.

"Of course," I said.

I was so glad Michonne and I had come back so that I could help. I realized how much Siddiq had been doing on his own. He couldn't have kept it up for much longer by himself.

The next couple hours, Siddiq and I worked together helping all the sick people. A few more came in with symptoms just beginning. They had small coughs and a slight fever. Then there were the people with worse symptoms. They had coughing attacks and trouble breathing, and a serious fever. We did our best to help everyone, but had such limited options.

I walked up and knelt down next to the older lady whose name was Florence. She had been having trouble breathing on and off all day.

I rubbed her back as she struggled to breath, and then handed her some water.

"Thank you, dear," she whispered once her attack calmed down.

"You let me know if there's anything I can do for you," I smiled at her and then walked away. I had been taking care of her all day, and she was such a sweet lady. I could tell that she was struggling more than some other people, though. It seemed the older people had a harder time fighting off the sickness, whatever it was.

I saw Siddiq sitting down on a chair drinking some water. I surveyed the room. No one looked like they currently needed help, so I went over and sat down by Siddiq.

"I just wish we knew how this happened," Siddiq said as he shook his head. "It came on so fast. I worry about some of the older people," he said.

"I was thinking the same thing," I nodded. "Who was the first one to show signs? Was it Florence?" I asked, since she seemed to be the worst off.

"No. It was actually Laura," he said, nodding to where she lay on the other side of the room. She didn't look too bad, and even seemed to be recovering slightly.

I had stopped by to check on Laura once, but she hadn't been my priority since there were others worse off who needed my help. Looking at her now, I remembered the day before I went to the Hilltop when I had checked on her sick pig Lucy. I felt bad that I had left right after that and hadn't been there in case Lucy's condition got worse. I wondered if the sickness had spread to other pigs or if she was all better now? Then it hit me...

"It spread from the pigs," I whispered.

"What?" Siddiq looked at me, confused.

I jumped up and walked quickly to where Laura was laying down. She sat up as she saw me approach.

"How's Lucy?" I asked. Laura's eyes widened, and then she looked down.

"She died," she said.

"Before she died, did her symptoms get worse? Did she have trouble breathing? Did any of the other pigs get sick?" I asked, trying to make sense of everything.

She thought for a moment. "Yah, she did have trouble breathing. And a few of the other pigs started showing the same signs, too, but then I got sick and came here so I don't know how they're doing now," she said. "Why?"

I started to think, adding up all the symptoms the pig had been showing. This must have been where the sickness started.

"Sloane?" Siddiq said as he walked up to me. "What's going on?" He asked.

I turned to face Siddiq and lowered my voice. "Remember before I left for the Hilltop, Laura asked me to come check on a sick pig? I asked him.

He nodded his head, and then his eyes went wide.

"Do you think it spread from the pig...?" He said in a low voice.

I nodded. "I think so. I got her to isolate the sick pig and make sure to wash her hands, but it could have been too late. It's not something we would have seen often before, but now, we don't have the same technology and safety practices. And we're all so close..." I trailed off.

He nodded his head. "I think you're right."

Just then, there was a knock on the front door of the town hall. Siddiq and I looked at each other and then he walked over. He went outside and then after a minute, he popped his head back in and motioned for me to come over. I walked outside and then saw Michonne and Daryl standing by each other a few meters away, and then Rick was standing right outside the door by Siddiq. 

"What's wrong?" I asked. Why was Rick so close to us and not standing back with Michonne and Daryl?

Michonne looked at me, her eyes wide. "We think Rick has it."