The guy was big and dopey looking. Wheezing and panting heavily as he ran. "Hey, you move, shithead come on, get us there!" Shane hollers to the man as the four of you sprint to the house he was leading you guys to. The man was moving slowly running as if it pained him to do so. "How far!? How far!?" Rick yells at the man with Carl bleeding out in his arms. "Another half mile that way. Talk to Hershal. He'll help your boy" the chubby man says before falling to the ground with a thud.
You and Shane rush to help him up "Get the fuck up, now" you state yanking him to his feet. Rick seemed to have already made it to the house the man spoke of causing you and Shane to move quicker. It felt as if the three of you had been running for years when you made it to the house. It wasn't small nor was it big. It seemed homey. Too homey for an apocalypse. Rick suddenly comes out of the house covered in blood. The blank expression he held terrified you. "He alive? He's still alive?" the man asks voice quivering. Rick doesn't respond.
Shane glances at you as you glance at him. "Rick?" his tear-filled eyes flick to yours. Rick grabs your hand and pulls you inside the house. With Shane and the man who shot Carl following Rick leads you past the old timely living room and into a bedroom where Carl lay, passed out with an old man standing over him. The old man presses a piece of cloth against Carl's wound. He glances at the four of you before gazing back at Carl's pale face "You know his blood type?" he questions. You open your mouth to respond as if you knew but quickly shut it "A-positive, same as mine" Rick replies his voice quivering. "That's my blood type too" you add "That's extremely fortunate" The old man states. Rick sniffles as his eyes move to you.
"I couldn't have you do that, Y/n". You shake your head at his words "Shut up, Rick". He lets out a light chuckle before nodding "T-thank you". The old man pours alcohol on the blooded piece of cloth before pressing it on Carl's wound again "You two don't wander far. I'll need you" The old man says "Are you Hershal?" Shane questions. The old man nods before turning to the man who shot Carl "What happened, Otis?". Otis fumbles over his words for a moment before calming himself down "I-I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it. Went clean through" he answers. Hershal sighs "The deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out... And I'm counting six..." he trails off.
Rick places his hands on his head "Lori doesn't know" he mutters to himself "My wife doesn't know". Tears begin to well up in his eyes, Shane reacts like a best friend would and pulls him into a tight hug. You place your hands on your hip "We should give Hershal some space". Shane nods softly pulling Rick out of the room. The four of you move into the living room, taking time to calm down from the nerve-racking situation. The wooden rocking chairs and flower wallpaper made it obvious an old couple lived here but you had yet to see a woman. Rick takes a seat on their beige couch beside Otis, placing his head in his hands.
Shane huffs "Well ain't this a bitch" he stands by the front door with his arms crossed. "Could be worse" you say "I am so so sorry" Otis states, he speaks as if he's pleading for you guys to forgive him. "We know" Shane responds blandly before looking back to you "I was thinking we could-" "Who the hell are y'all?". All four of you look towards a woman, a young woman. She gazes at you, Rick, and Shane with confusion as she steps down the stairs slowly. Otis stands up "This is Rick, Shane, and Y/n. They... I made a mistake" He shakes his head, disappointed with himself.
"What kind of mistake?" she questions her country accent thick "he shot a little boy" You answer somewhat harshly. The woman's eyes widen "What?" "it was an accident I was tryna catch a buck" Otis explains quickly. "Who are you?" Shane asks with narrowed eyes "Maggie, Hersahls daughter". Hershal suddenly exits the room, closing the door behind himself. Rick immediately stands "Well?". Hershal cleans his bloody hands with a rag "he's out of danger for the moment. But I need to remove the remaining fragments" he explains "How? You say how he was-" "I know and that was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others " Hershal interrupts. You cross your arms "Oh man" "there's more" Hershal says his eyes flicking from Rick to Shane to you. "Okay..." you state urging him to continue.
"His belly distended, his pressure is dropping, which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must have nicked one of his blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder, and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there- I mean, at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in seconds" Hershal pauses for a moment as Rick sits back down rubbing his face. Hershal clears his throat "To even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own. Same bad results" he explains. Though you could barely understand what he was saying you nod "So, what do we do?" "We'll need a respirator" Otis states causing you and Shane to glance at him. You look back to Hershal "Is that it?" you ask and he shakes his head in response.
"The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures." "If you had all that you could save him?" Rick questions his tone filled with a ping of hope. "If I had all that I could try" Hershal replies "The nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago. The high school" Otis states his eyes moving from Rick to you to Shane nervously. Hershal nods in agreement "That's what I was thinkin' they set up a FEMA shelter there. They would have everything we need". "So, who goes and who stays?" you ask.
The decision was made quickly. You and Rick had to stay to make sure Carl didn't die from blood loss, Otis and Shane went out to give the hospital a shot, and Maggie left to find Lori and the others.
Now, you sat in a wooden chair that made your butt hurt. Rick sat beside you, his leg bouncing anxiously as he zoned out staring into nothing. You watched Carl's chest rise and fall with a bit of worry. You haven't seen many die, especially not kids and you didn't want Carl to be your first. You glance at Rick with the same amount of worry. He seemed like he was letting his mind run through all the bad possibilities of the situation. "How you feelin'?" you ask him "...Terrified..." he says after a few seconds "Loris gonna kill me" he mumbles. "I would too" you joke he lets out a soft snicker before shaking his head "Thanks for the reassurance". "Ay, I'm just being real" you state with a smile that causes Rick to smile. He clears his throat before speaking "Thank you so much for doin' what you're doin'" he says with a sniffle. "It's all good, you're lucky you're my friend or I'd make you pay me" you state and Rick chuckles. The sudden sound of galloping outside caused Rick's smile to drop. Lori was here. Nothing for you to be worrying about but Rick looked like he was about to shit himself.
You sat in the kitchen trying not to listen to Lori shout insults at Rick in the next room. Some of the things she said hurt your feelings and they weren't even directed towards you. A creak in the floorboards behind you causes you to look back. You see Hershal with a cup of orange juice. He sets the cup in front of you and you grimace "Really?". Hershal opens one of the cabinets and pulls out a can of Raviolis "It'll help with the blood loss, you won't feel as dizzy". You shake your head "I'd rather pass out" Hershal chuckles softly as he pours the Raviolis into a bowl "Drink it" he orders in a delinquent tone. He places the bowl in front of you and you sigh before taking a sip from the orange juice. Hershal sits across from you as you begin eating the Ravioli with quickness. He gestures towards the room Rick and Lori were in "She always talk to him like that?" he says his country accent noticeable.
It took you a moment to answer cause you were too busy gobbling down your food. You wipe your mouth with the back of your hand before shaking your head "She's pretty sweet actually". Hershal glances away from you "Hard to tell". You gaze at him as you chew on your food "You wouldn't wanna slap the dog shit outta Rick if you were her?" you question with a raised brow. Hershal crosses his arms "Violence will not fix the problem". Yes, the fuck it does. Is what you felt like saying but you were speaking to an old white farmer. Who wants to argue with an old white farmer? You nod slowly "I completely agree" you lie just as Lori walks into the room seemingly calm with Rick following her.
Lori places her hands on her hips "...Okay, so I understand when Shane gets back with this other man-" "Otis" Hershal corrects. Lori glares at him for half a second "Otis... the idiot who shot my son" she spits out. "Ma'am it was an accident," Hershal says "I'll take that under advisement later. For now, he's the idiot who shot our son" "They're doin' everything they can to make it right" Rick says his voice low. Lori rolls her eyes "Okay, as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?" she inquires. Hershal sighs "I'll certainly do my best" he replies and as the conversation continues he admits to having only worked on animals before. He explains he was a vet before the world ended and has no experience with working on humans.
You had no words. Lori had many.
"His pressure is dropping again... we can't wait too much longer," Hershal says as he checks Carl. "You sure about that?" you question his reasonability. "Take some more blood. Whatever he needs. Then I'm gonna go" Rick says before Hershal could speak. Lori's eyes snap to him "Go? Go where?" she asks a bit harshly. "He said five miles. They should be long back by now. Somethings wrong" Rick says weakly. The amount of blood the two of you had given was large. Your skin was pale and Rick looked as if he could pass out if he moved too much. "Are you insane? You're not going after them" Lori says "Rick, listen to your wife" Hershal advises.
Rick shakes his head "If they got into trouble-" "I'll go". Everyone turns to look at you "Rick continues to give blood I go and bring them back" you add. Hershal immediately shakes his head at your words "You've lost too much blood, you won't make it". You grab your revolver and machete "Y'all got a better plan?" "We wait" Lori says as she stands. "Wait for who? If they're not dead, they're hurt. They won't make it back in time. I'm going".
A cold breeze glides past you as you step outside and you knew you weren't alone. You take a deep breath walking off the porch but you're suddenly stopped by a hand on your shoulder. You turn and are instantly pulled into a hug by Rick "Be careful. You better come back alive" he states the genuine concern in his tone brings a smile to your face. "I'll make it" you reply reassuringly as the two of you pull apart. As you continue walking you gaze up at the blue sky and a sudden dizziness hits you like an ass beating.
"Only five miles. Five fucking miles"