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"Come on, Rori. I just need to check your wound," Rosita sighed.
"No! I don't want you to. You make it hurt," I whined.
"That's because I have to make sure it's not infected," Rosita said.
"But Tara checked it earlier," I said.
"Come on, it's getting dark and I need to be able to see your wound," Rosita said.
"Rori, just let her check it," Dad sighed.
"But-"
"No buts. Just do it," Dad said.
"Fine," I groaned and let Rosita lift my bloody shirt. She gently touched my hip and I winced.
"Sorry. It looks infected now. She needs antibiotics and a bandage," Rosita sighed, letting my shirt fall back into place.
"We'll get her some," Dad said. He sounded like he was stressed and I felt bad. He was stressed because of me.
"She needs them soon. And I mean in the next few days," Rosita said.
"And I said we'll get her some," Dad snapped.
"Hey, she's helping you. You should be thankful," Abraham defended, stepping in between Dad and Rosita.
"Guys stop. This isn't helping. Glenn, she'll be alright. Rosita, thank you," Mom said. Rosita nodded and walked away from the burning fire and into the darkness. Abraham huffed and walked away, too. Carl came over and sat next to me.
"Hey," I smiled.
"How are you doing?" Carl asked, his eyes held worry.
"I'm fine. Besides the fact I'm dying," I chuckled dryly.
"Don't talk like that," Carl said.
"I was joking," I said looking up at Carl. My smile dropped from my face.
"It's not a joke when it's true," Carl snapped.
"Sorry," I muttered and returned my gaze to the ground. It became quiet. And not the peaceful quiet. The awkward quiet.
"May you kids should get some rest," Rick suggested, interrupting the awkward moment.
"Yeah, that sounds good to me," I nodded and shifted so I was laying down, wincing in pain. Carl laid down next to me. He turned so his back was facing me. I looked at his back sadly before closing my eyes. Slowly, I drifted off into a deep sleep full of nightmares.
"Carl, hurry!" I yelled over my shoulder. We were back on the farm and it was overrun.
"I am hurrying," Carl replied, rushing towards me. This was different than before. We were alone. No Rick. No Grandpa. No anybody.
"Come on! We've got to find everybody," I said, turning around to face Carl. Suddenly, he wasn't Carl. He was a walker with no face. I turned on my heel and began to run the opposite way.
"Dad, Mom, Rick! Somebody," I screamed, flailing my arms.
"Rori, I'm here!" I heard Rick's voice behind me. I was scared to turn around. Scared he'd become a walker but I didn't have I choice. I turned and saw Rick. He wasn't a walker. I blinked once, and suddenly he was snapping his jaw at me.
"No, stop! Please," I begged and ran past him, towards the woods. I looked over my shoulder to check if he was there only to bump into someone. I landed on my butt. When I looked up I let out a sigh of relief. "Dad."
"Hey, baby," Dad said, leaning down and hugging. I hugged him back tightly. I started to pull away from him and just barely caught a glimpse of his face.
"No! Dad!" I struggled against him as his mouth neared my shoulder. Without a second thought, he bit into my shoulder. I screamed loudly.
"Rori! Wake up!" I shot awake and found myself on the ground with Dad supporting my back.
"No!" I cried, trying to shuffle away from them.
"Hey, hey. It's us, princess," Dad's arms tightened around me. I looked up at him and realized he had a face.
"Snap!" Everybody hoped to their feet when a twig snapped. It was Daryl.
"We surrender," Daryl raised his hands momentarily before adding, Ya alright. Could hear screaming from a mile away." Rick motioned for Daryl to follow him and so he did. Mom and Dad returned to trying to comfort me.
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"Want me to take her for a little bit? Give you a break?" Rick asked Dad. Dad shook his head.
"Come on, Dad. You can't carry me all the time. You'll become exhausted quickly," I tried to reason with Dad. I felt bad that I was weighing everyone down but it wasn't like I could do anything about it. Dad hesitated to answer.
"Alright," he eventually gave in.
"Guys, hold up!" Rick called out to the rest of the group. They stopped, turning to look at us. I clung to Dad as Mom untied the rope. Slowly, I was lowered towards the ground. It felt nice to be on my feet but at the same time, it hurt. Dad turned around and lifted me onto Rick's back. Rick tucked his hands under my thighs and allowed Mom to tie a rope around us. We began to walk again. I laid my head on Rick's shoulder.
"You tired again?" Rick asked me.
"Kind of. My hip is hurting me and sleeping makes the pain go away momentarily," I replied.
"How bad is the pain?" Rick questioned.
"Not awful," I said.
"How bad?"
"What is this, 21 questions," I joked.
"How bad is the pain," Rick asked once more.
"I told you, it's not awful," I said.
"Rate it on a scale 1-10."
"Uh," I thought for a moment. My hip did really hurt. "seven and a half."
"That bad? Why didn't you say anything?" Rick asked.
"There's nothing you could do. And anyway, I'm tired of sitting around all the time. I enjoy moving. I get to see more trees," I chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, that's a great site," Rick agreed.
"Help!" Our heads snapped towards the voice. Nobody moved as Rick held up a hand.
"Dad, come on. Come on!" Carl practically begged.
"Anyone, help!" The person screamed again. Rick nodded and everyone broke off in a sprint. We ran through the forest until we found the source of the voice. There was a man laying on the rocks with walkers grabbing at his feet.
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