Pretty Much Dead Already

Six

Six weeks.

It had been a very long and agonizing six weeks, even though it felt like so much longer. Time seemed to be in a stand still, hours felt like days, days felt like weeks.

Week one had gone by semi fast, she had busied herself with scurrying about gathering any and everything she thought would be useful. She had started with the nearby rooms and began to slowly branch out farther and farther. She had stripped almost everything, holing it away in Rick's room.

It had become her home base.

Her small sanctuary in this new hell.

Week two had been demoralizing. No one had come for them. No police officers, no army. The sounds of gun fire had become far and in-between being overpowered by the sounds of the dead. Their groaning and shuffling echoed in the hallways of the hospital. It made sleep hard to come by, most nights she laid on the floor next to Rick and talked to him until she passed out.

Week three was when she decided to start pumping her healing powers into Rick, his wound was healing up nicely. Yet he still remained unconscious, even so she still pumped her powers into him. Hoping that he would wake, she felt so very alone.

Using her powers ate up her energy and her calories yet she was able to replenish them with the food she had stored away. Being sure to eat the bare minimum so that when Rick woke up he would have real food to eat and not have to rely on the IV's pumping nutrients and calories into him.

By week five she had lost so much weight that her pants became loose yet she still kept to her strict diet of the bare minimum. Never once giving up hope on Rick waking up, it was only a matter of time. Once he woke up they could leave this place and try to find their loved ones. She knew they were out there somewhere, they had to be.

She refused to believe otherwise.

So here she was in the middle of week six, her body tired and aching. Glancing at the dwindling supply of food she grit her teeth. She would have to venture out once more, probably have to go down the stairs to the floor below them. There was nothing left on this floor.

"Fuck." The curse word tumbled from her mouth as she made up her mind. She would have to risk it. If she wanted to keep pumping healing energy into Rick she needed more food. She refused to touch the pile of food she had set aside for Rick.

He would need it when he woke up.

Was it foolish?

Probably, there was no guarantee Rick would wake up no matter how much healing she pumped into him but she would not stop. She was stubborn to her very core. She wouldn't stop until Rick either opened his eyes or drew his last breath.

She knew she was borderline obsessive with her need to pump her healing energy into him. But she really didn't have much else left. It gave her a purpose, a goal to keep striving for.

Groaning she shifted and groaned as she forced herself to stand up, her body swaying as she shifted her feet to catch her balance. Glancing at Rick she gave him a small smile, patting his hand with her own. "I'll be back Rick, don't go anywhere." Giving his hand a small squeeze she pulled her away and slipped out of the room, careful shutting the door behind her.

Had she stayed behind a few more minutes she would have seen Rick's hand twitch as if searching for her hand to hold once more.

If she had stayed she would have seen glazed over eyes open and confused....but she didn't and when she got back the hospital room would be empty.