WHEN THINGS FIRST WENT DOWN, Gracelynn Smith marked every single day that passed on the calendar, she was so afraid she'd lose track of time. Although since arriving at the Greene's farm a few weeks prior, she'd stopped, she'd stopped worrying, she'd stopped crying, she'd stopped.
When she first arrived at the farm, all she remembered was being exhausted, it was a three-mile bike ride, which doesn't sound like a lot but really did Its fair share on the eleven-year-old girl's exhausted, dehydrated body. She remembered being pulled into Maggie Greene's arm as she said a lot of stuff she didn't comprehend, and she remembered eating something before passing out in bed.
She'd been grateful for them, for taking her in, and for the fact they were alive in general. She ended up staying in one of the old bedrooms in the house and quickly started pulling her weight when it came to the farm itself. She didn't have a long-term plan at all, I mean, she didn't even know for sure her parents were dead, but she had an assumption.
She just assumed she'd stay with the Greenes until her parents magnificently showed up on her doorstep or until one of those things got their serving on her. It didn't matter though, she was okay. She was safe. She'd be fine, worrying about the future was something Gracelynn never did, she wasn't going to start now.
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"GRACE, TIME TO WAKE UP.", Possibly the best part of the farm was waking up to the soothing voice of Maggie Greene as she as gently as ever brushed the hair out of the young girl's face.
"Five more minutes.." The young girl groaned, tossing over to her left. "Nope, it's already two o'clock. Come on, I'll fix up your hair and we'll fix up some breakfast, okay?" The promise of Maggie doing her hair and breakfast? Grace couldn't turn down such an offer.
"What I thought," The woman chuckled watching as the younger girl pull the sheet off off her as she placed her bare feet on the carpet, "Let's go, darling." She patted her back, further motivating Grace out of the room and into the bathroom.
Maggie then brushed the girl's hair out as she brushed her own teeth, sometimes she'd do braids, or pigtails, or even ponytails, but Grace could hardly keep her eyes open, nonetheless keep her head straight as the woman practically tugged on it.
"Ah, you're awake!" The voice of a young girl exclaimed from inside the kitchen. It was Beth. Grace loved Beth. "It took some convincing but I got her." Maggie smiled, the palm of her hands placed on graces shoulders.
"Is it okay if I just eat later, Maggie?" Grace looked up at the woman who stood behind her, it was unusual for Grace, who was one of those people who never dared to skip breakfast no matter where they had to be or what they had to do in the morning.
"I mean, yeah. Yeah of course." Maggie stammered, a bit taken aback by the girl's request,
"Can I play outside for a bit?" The girl's face lit up. "Go ahead." Maggie rolled her eyes, taking her hands off her shoulders as the girl ran from her embrace out the front door. Since Grace's arrival, they realized how difficult it was to satisfy and entertain an eleven-year-old girl living in the end of the world.
The best that could be done was installing a tire swing, which was possibly the most exciting thing in Grace's life.
As the breeze hit the young girl's face, she ran down the steps and straight onto the tire swing, swinging back and forth after positioning herself properly inside the tire. It sounds boring, but it was really the only fun left in the dull world.
Despite how fun it could be, you could only swing up and down for so long before you got sick. It only took Grace five minutes. As she stepped out of the tire, she hesitated. Her tire swing wasn't her favorite thing to do, but she knew what surely was, climbing trees of course.
The only thing to stop her? Hershel and Maggie, who both scolded her every time they even sensed the slightest urge in Grace to start climbing, they'd always say 'You'll break a leg!' or 'Do you know how hurt you could get?!' But Grace had been doing it her entire life, she wasn't gonna stop now.
The young girl swung her head left, then right, then behind, there was no trace of anyone outside, Maggie and Beth were probably inside the kitchen still, Hershel usually did work in the back of the farm and if he wasn't there, he was probably inside doing stuff, the coast was clear.
Within seconds, Grace had positioned her right food on a tiny hole she carved out in the tree, it was just there to get her up 'n going, and within seconds she was atop the tree, Grace loved it up there, you could see from miles away, you could even see atop of the house.
When things got too much for the young girl to handle, her favorite thing was to just climb up there when nobody was looking and just sit and take in the view, so she did.
Since it became her 'spot' she'd left binoculars, comic books, and other tiny things to further the experience, she stayed up there for some time, switching from reading a few pages of her comic books to testing out the binoculars.
The girl looked closely at the house, at the barn, and the chicken's den, it was crazy how much you could see. As she moved her head towards the forest, it was just bland land. She didn't really get why they never made use of it.
"Huh?" Grace mumbled as she looked into the distance, she spotted a figure, her heart instantly began racing.
What if it was one of those things? As she cranked up the lens, it became clear. It was a man, a man with what was seemingly blood drenched all over his clothes, and in his arms, a boy, with what was seemingly blood drenched all over his clothes.
She cranked up the lenses even more as she spotted the man seemingly struggling to carry the boy, he looked as if he was asleep.
Grace's first instinct came into place, "Maggie! Maggie!" she shouted, placing down the binoculars as she quickly fled down the tree, once her feet met the ground, Maggie was already on the front porch.
"Grace-- Were you up in the tree again?"
"Maggie, there's- There's a man, and he was a boy in his arms! Look!"
Grace stumbled on her words, turning her body and pointing in the distance where the man and the boy were getting closer and closer to the farm. "Oh god- Dad! Dad!" Maggie covered her mouth, rushing inside as she called out to Hershel, Grace couldn't move though, it felt as if her feet were glued to the ground.
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SOON ENOUGH, As the man and boy got closer and closer, everyone had come outside due to all the commotion, "Hershel! You have to help them!" Grace cried out, running up the porch steps to face the man, extending her arm out to point to the two who were just a few feet away from the farm at most.
"Was he bit?" Hershel called out, standing his ground on the porch. "Shot. By your man." The man weakly replied, Grace realized he must have been talking about Otis, after all, he was the only one around here who knew his way around a gun, but what had he been doing shooting a kid?
"He said to find Hershel, is that you?" The man and boy got closer, desperation in his voice. "Help me. Help my boy" The man pleaded, Grace felt terrible, she felt as if she could feel the pain he was feeling.
As Hershel descended down to steps, ordering the man to get him inside, Grace stayed glued to the front step as the group ran inside, all she could hear was orders being set out by Hershel.
Once everyone was inside, doing their fair share in order to atleast a chance to save the boy, Grace made her way inside.
The place was crazy, with everyone running around, grabbing things, etcetera. Grace stayed standing at the front door, scared if she stepped a foot in the place she'd possibly bump into someone or mess something up.
Once everyone had gotten their things and made it into the spare room, Grace inched in the direction of the room, just peaking her eye in the doorframe to see what was happening.
The boy laid limp on the bed, it may be morbid but it looked like he was dead. His shirt covered in blood and skin pale as ever, what Grace assumed to be his father, hovered over the boy anxiously.
As everyone around unboxed things and passed them to Hershel. Grace felt relief in hearing Hershel heard a heartbeat, a faint one, but a heartbeat nonetheless. "We need some space," Maggie's voice spoke to the man, slightly squeezing in between him and Hershel, the man looked out of it, like he was delusional.
"Your name?" Hershel asked, "Rick-- Rick Grimes." the man replied, if you weren't listening closely, you wouldn't have heard it. "Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay?"
Grace sure hoped Hershel was right, and sure hoped this kid didn't die on them, she didn't know him, or his father, but she felt empathy. "You need to give us some room, now." Hershel spoke calmly and directly, glancing up to meet the man eye-to-eye.
As the man began walking to the door frame, Grace flinched, instantly dashing over to the living room couch, pretending as if she hadn't been spying.
"You're son's gonna be okay. I know it." Grace mumbled to the man who didn't fully look convinced.
"What?" the man's head turned to look at the girl.
"Hershel, he's a really good doctor, your son's in good hands." She smiled at the man. The two's interaction was brief as the sound of shouting outside filled the room.
"Otis?" Grace positioned her knee's on the couch as she glanced out the window. "Otis!" the young girl sprung up as Otis and another unfamiler man got closer to the front steps, Rick following behind the girl. "Otis! You shot a kid?!" Grace bluttered out, she needed answers.
"It-- It's not like that, Grace." Otis brushed her off, patting her head as he walked up the steps.
"Is he- Is he still alive?" His eyes focused on the distraught father, all Grace could focus on was how much of a mess he looked like, blood was just everywhere, it almost made her a bit sick.
"Otis. Come on in." Grace noticed the tears forming in the man's eyes and made the decision it was probably better if the two were just inside. Out of their hair so they could talk it out or something.
Shortly following behind them though was the two men, "How's it looking?" Grace looked up to Maggie, the young woman who was fixing the young boy's IV,.
"You know Hershel's doing everything he can, Grace." the woman replied, it wasn't an answer really. Soon enough Rick and the unfamiliar man came in, Grace spotted Otis sitting in the living room, he looked sad, is all she could think.
"You know his blood type?" Hershel asked, still applying pressure to the boy's wound. "It's A-Positive." The man mumbled.
"And yours?" Hershel's eyes didn't leave the cloth that was used to stop the bleeding, "Mine's- Uh- It's O-Negative." Grace observed the defeated look on the man's face as if his blood-type was something he could've changed.
"That's unfortunate. Considering how much blood he's lost, a blood transfusion is nearly nessacary to unsure your son has a chance at waking up." Tears filled in the man's eyes, it was something Grace had never seen, a grown man cry.
"I'll do it." Grace mumbled, "What?" maggie paused, "I'll do it, I'll give him blood." Grace explained. The room went silent, not the awkward kind, but the I-don't-know-what-to-say kind.
"I can't let you do that. No way, Gracelynn." Maggie refused, shaking her head at the same time.
"He'll die, Maggie! I'm A-Postive, I have to do it!"
"No, Gracelynn!" Maggie raised her voice, something she never did unless she was real serious. "He'll die!" Grace shouted back.
"Gracelynn is right. His chances of survival are slim if he doesn't get blood now." Hershel spoke firmly.
"Daddy- We can't-"
"Don't wander far, Gracelynn. I'm gonna need you." Hershel made the final decision, very much to Maggie's dismay and it said it all over her face.
"Now, where's Otis?" Hershel asked, looking at the unfamiliar man, although he didn't get the chance to respond as Otis quickly came in the room. "I- I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it, went clean through" Otis stuttered, his voice trailing off as he finished his sentence.
"The deer slowed the bullet down." Hershel claimed, slightly lifting the cloth off the wound.
"Which certainly saved his life, but it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces." Grace imagined how much that would've hurt, I mean, she'd never been shot but she'd seen bullets, and they just looked like they'd hurt if they pierced inside you.
"If I can get the bullet fragments out.. And I'm counting six." Hershel concluded, lifting up the cloth once more.
Alot happened in that room, Grace observed Otis trying to explain himself to Patricia and Rick nearly crying again.She also observed Maggie's clear discomfort with the choice Grace and Hershel made, she realized it'd probably be best if she just left.
"Grace," Maggie's hand held her from exiting the room, "I'm sorry for raising my voice, darling. I just-- He's gonna need a lot of blood, and that's a lot to ask for." Maggie explained, sadness in her voice and face, but Grace wasn't upset, she wasn't even angry.
"I know, but I have to do it, Maggie, you know that." She smiled holding the girl's hand that laid on her shoulder before walking out the room.
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"GRACELYNN, RIGHT?" The voice of a man filled the quiet home as Grace sat on the couch, reading a comic book.
"Mhm, but you can call me Grace." Grace raised her head, it was Rick.
"I wanna say thank you. I can never, ever, repay you for what your doing for my son here. Thank you, Grace." He spoke, extending his hand out, Grace held back a laugh almost, who shakes hands anymore?
"Thank me when he's up and running again." Grace smiled, shaking the man's hand before letting go and picking up her pile of comic books as she stood up, "Oh-- You don't have to-" The other man spoke, "I have a bedroom I can go too, you don't." The young girl smiled, walking up the stairs.
Gracelynn hadn't even found the page she was on before getting called back down, "Grace!" The voice of Maggie rang. "Grace, get down here!"
For a second time, Grace wasn't sure why she was calling for her, but she tossed her comic book down on the bed and ran downstairs anyways.
"Grace, he needs blood now," Maggie's hand caressed the young girl's back and she held the door open for her, the sight was gruesome, the young boy, who was once knocked out, was now crying, groaning and having to be held down.
"You're still sure you wanna do this, right?" Maggie asked at the same time that Rick and the other man ran inside the room.
"Of-- Of course." Grace stammered, It wasn't that she was hesitating, or regretting her choice, she just felt terrible. She couldn't imagine the amount of pain he was in.
"You, hold him down." Hershel called out to the Rick who stood horrified at the door, within seconds he was at the rim of the bed, holding his son down as he cried out. Grace watched in horror as Hershel pulled what she assumed were tiny pieces of the bullet out of his wound, with Patricia cleaning her upper arm.
"Stop! You're killing him!" Riick raised his head, facing Hershel who was stood in front of him, pleading with the man. "Rick, do you want him to live?" Hershel replied, the question stunned the man, she could see it in his eyes.
Grace was to focused on the crying boy that she didn't even realize the woman had already put the needle inside her arm. "Wait-- Wa-- Wait" The other man stammered, running to the bedside, the boy who once laid there, screaming, crying, groaning and overall fighting back, just laid there limp.
"Is he-" Grace used her free hand to cover her mouth, just barely uttering the words. "He just passed out." Grace felt a breath of relief.
If that boy right there had died cause Grace didn't get her blood in him fast enough, she would've never forgiven herself.
"One down, five to go." Hershel stated, placing the singular bullet piece on a tray.
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"PRESSURE'S STABLE." Hershel remarked, Gracelynn had only been giving him blood for twenty minutes at most, yet she already felt exhausted. Of course, she'd never admit that though.
The girl sat there peacefully and quiet, a comic book placed in her free arm. "Lori needs to be here." Rick spoke, sitting in a chair beside Hershel on the other side of the bed, Grace slightly lifting her eyes up, she didn't want it to be awkward, or for them to think she was listening in.
She was there for one job, and one job only.
"She doesn't even know what's going on. I've gotta find her, bring her back." The man stuttered, Grace could only assume Lori was his wife.
"You can't do that," Hershel put forth, "She's his mother!" Rick shouted back, Grace could only think about how her assumption was right.
"She needs to know what's happened, her son's lying here shot." Rick's voice tone lowered, he sounded desperation, hopeless, all of the above.
"If something happens to your son, you'll never forgive yourself."
"Come on," The unfamiliar man who Grace still hadn't learned the name of spoke, walking his way over to rick as he patted his back, the two shortly exiting the room, an awkward silence filled the room as the two walked out.
Grace felt at peace. It was silent, she could read her comic, in silence. "Are you doing alright, gracelynn?" Hershel asked after a few moments, silently glancing up at the girl.
"Mhm" She nodded her head before returning to her book. "You know, you didn't have to do that, you don't even know this boy." Hershel mumbled.
"I know his name is Carl and I know I wasn't gonna let him die if I could do something about it." Hershel always thought Grace was an adult trapped in a kid's body.
"Okay." He nodded his head, standing up as he walked out the door, finally leaving grace to read her book in silence.
"You know, we have enough blood, Grace. You can go if you want." Patricia's warm and comforting tone spoke, a slight smile creaking on her face.
"I know. I'd feel better if I just stayed here though, if that's okay." Grace asked.
"Of course." Patricia smiled, kissing the top of the young girl's head before walking out the door herself. Grace overheard some of the conversations, something about a highschool, overrun, etcetera, etcetera.
She heard about Otis and the other man going together, she wanted to say goodbye, but her headache was to massive to even think about raising her voice or standing up.
For once, Grace had silence, nearly everyone was out of the house, just her and the boy. Grace was neck-deep in a comic book panel as she heard footsteps.
It was rick and a woman, a woman who she presumed was Lori based on the way she sobbed at the sight of Carl. Grace sat there in silence as the woman laid on the bed beside her son and whispered comforting remarks to him.
She tried to keep her eyes off them, it hurt too much to see two parents comfort their child. It was clearly a personal moment that Grace would've gotten up and left for but she felt that if she even placed her foot on the ground, she'd fall over.
"Oh-- You must be Grace.." After a moment the woman stood up and locked eye's with Grace, and within seconds the woman's arms were wrapped around grace's neck, "Thank you so much. Oh my god. You're saving my boy, thank you."
She sobbed into Grace's shoulder, she didn't what to do but to hug the woman back and tell her "It's nothing.".
Soon enough, the two parents had themselves set up in the room as well. The woman, Lori, sat on top of the bed, beside her son's legs while the man sat in a chair on the other side of the bed.
They spoke kindly to grace, and had even given her a cup of water and asked if she needed anything else, grace thought it was weird, she wasn't doing anything heroic, she was doing something anyone else would do if they could.
Grace was left with just her and her comic books for some time with Patricia coming in and out a few times to either stick the needle back in or take it out, no matter what, whether the needle was in her arm and she was confined to that chair or if it was out and she could go wherever she wanted, she didn't leave that room. She could hear the three of them briefly talk in the kitchen, the walls had always been thin, but soon enough the three adults had come back.
"His pressures dropping." The hissing of the air pump filled the room, with Hershel remarking. "We can't wait much longer." She wasn't a medical expert, but to be fair, the sun was going down, and the two guys still weren't back, she prayed they were okay, but worried for the boy's safety if they weren't, or took any longer.
"Take more. If he needs more, take it." At this point, Grace wasn't hooked up to the needle and hadn't been for an hour or so.
"You've given enough blood, Gracelynn. I can see the paleness in your skin. I won't let you give anymore, not right now."
Before grace could even think of fighting with him, Rick interrupted. "I'm gonna go." The man spoke, pacing back and forth in the room, "Go? Go where?" Lori questioned her husband.
"He said five miles, they should be long back by now, something's gone wrong." Rick replied,
"Are you insane?" Lori raised her eyebrow, a harsh tone coming from her words. "You're not going after them." Lori insisted, "Rick, listen to your wife." Hershel put forth,
"If something happened, I have to go." Rick's focused laid in the eye's of his wifes. "No, your place is here. If shane said he'll be back, he'll be back. He's like you that way." The woman's tone turned direct and cold.
"I can't just sit here--"
"That's exactly what you do!"
The woman snapped, Grace slightly raising her eye's off the comic book panel. "If you need to pray or cry or tell god he's cruel, you go right ahead, but you're not leaving, Rick."
The man stood there, stunned. "Carl needs you-- Here. I can't do this by myself, not this one." the woman's tone turned soft as she locked eyes with her husband.
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