When we finally arrive at the farm, it's already pitch black outside. I can barely see the farm but from what the car headlights show, it's beautiful. There are acres and acres of green grass. (Well, at least I think it's green.) Horses and cows, beautiful trees. Flowers everywhere that I can't quite see the colors of. And right in the middle of it all is a white farm house. It's the cutest house I've ever seen. White shutters, a porch that wraps around, two stories, cute rocking chairs on the porch. This whole property is gorgeous.
Glenn pulls the car up and stops it, letting all four of us out. Alyssa immediately begins to try to run to the house but T-dog grabs her with his un-injured arm.
"Alyssa!" I whisper-yell. "I wanna see Carl!" She whisper-yells back. "We ain't know these people. We have to be careful." I whisper. She groans and stomps to a stop, waiting for Glenn and I to group with T-Dog and her.
Glenn is carrying a massive shotgun and T-Dog is wrapped in a blanket. "Must you carry that thing?" Alyssa asks Glenn.
"Uh...yeah. Just in case." Alyssa nods in response.
We approach the steps to front porch of the old, white, farm house and we all stop and stare at the door.
"So do we...ring the bell? I mean it looks like people live here." Glenn asks, looking at all of us.
I scoff, "No shit." I say, under my breath.
"We're past this kind of stuff aren't we? Having to be considerate." T-Dog says as he walks up the steps to the door. We all follow him.
"Did you close the gate up the road when you drove in?" The same girl from before asks, sitting in a rocking chair. Alyssa jumps at her words.
"Uh...hi. Yes, we closed it. Did the...latch and everything." Glenn answers, somewhat awkwardly.
The girl leans forwards and rests her elbows on her knees.
"Hello. Nice to see you again." Glenn says. "We-uh-met before...briefly." "Look, we came to help. There anything we can do?" T-Dog asks, wincing loudly at his arm wound.
The girl gets up and walks over to him, eyeing down his forearm.
"It's not a bite. I cut myself pretty bad though."
"We'll have it looked at. I'll tell them you're here." The girl begins walking to the front door.
"We have some painkillers and antibiotics." Glenn rummages through his backpack. "I already gave him some. If Carl needs any."
"Come on inside. I'll make you something to eat." She says, opening the door.
She leads us into the room where Carl is. He's laying in the middle of a white bed and Lori and Rick are on his left side. There's another lady who I don't know sitting against the wall across from the foot of the bed.
Alyssa gasps. "Carl..." She whispers. That makes Lori and Rick look up.
"Hey." Glenn says, taking his hat off. "Hey." Rick responds. "Um, we're here, okay?"
Jesus Glenn is quite possibly the most awkward person I've ever met.
Lori thanks him and looks at Alyssa. "You wanna come see him?" She asks her.
Alyssa looks at me for an answer. I motion for her to go and she nods and walks next to Lori, not able to take her eyes off of Carl. Lori holds Alyssa's hand as a comforting gesture.
"Whatever you need." T-Dog says, Rick nods. Both T-Dog and Glenn turn and walk out. I don't immediately follow. I just stand there, staring at Carl.
Do I...care? I thought I hated him. Maybe I just care for Alyssa's sake.
A thought hits my mind. "Wait." I look at Lori and Rick. "Where's my dad?"
"He went to go get medical supplies." Rick answers. "And you're sure he's coming back?" Rick looks at Lori, confused. "Yes?" "How long has he been gone?" "Maybe a few hours." Rick responds.
I nod, looking at the door and back at Carl. "'Lyss, I'll be waiting outside." Alyssa nods and I walk out of the room, my fists clenched.
I walk up to the same girl who was on the porch and ask where the bathroom is. She points in the direction, I upstairs and take a left, and I sit on the bathroom floor, trying to figure out if my dad is actually going to go through with his plan of leaving.
I swear to fuck if he leaves Alyssa. If he leaves me. I'm gonna fucking gut him.
About an hour goes by and Carl coughs, Rick and Lori don't waste a second to get up and run.
"Wait!" Alyssa jogs after them "Can I see him?" Lori smiles a close-mouthed smile and says, "Of course." Alyssa smiles and goes with them inside the room.
A about two minutes go by and I hear Lori whimper and Alyssa squeal. I immediately jump up and look in the room and see Rick and Lori hugging Alyssa while Carl is having a seizure in the bed.
"What's happening to him?!" Alyssa sobs. "It's a seizure, honey." The man who is standing next to the bed answers, I assume he is the doctor.
I contemplate on going in there, but I figure they want alone time, plus Alyssa so I just go and sit back down.
T-Dog has been in the kitchen with the woman from the room and the woman from the porch, getting his cut treated. Glenn gets up and goes into that room and I'm left alone in the living room.
I decide that to pass the time I'm going to go outside and smoke. So, I grab my backpack and walk outside onto the porch. I light my cigarette and take a long puff, throwing my head back and blowing out the smoke.
I hear the door open behind me and I see Glenn step outside, him and I make eye contact as he steps onto the porch.
"Hey." He says. "Hey." I respond, putting out my cigarette.
"Oh, don't worry. I'm not gonna judge you for that." "Didn't think you would." He nods and stands in front of me, awkwardly rocking back and forth on his heels.
"How's T-Dog?" I finally ask.
"In pain. But they said he'd be alright." I nod. Glenn points to the rocking chairs to signal that he's going to sit down, and I follow, sitting on the ledge of the porch.
We sit in silence for a few seconds before I ask, "Did we ever find out that girls name?" He shakes his head. "All we know is that her last name is Greene." I nod again. I look out into the pitch-black yard and say, "I'm gonna go on a walk, you comin'?" Glenn shakes his head.
"Are you sure you want to? It's pitch-black out there." As he's speaking, I'm rummaging through my backpack, and I pull out a flashlight. "I'll be fine."
"Okay." And with that, I stand up and begin walking down the porch steps. "Uh-Adrian?" I turn back to look at Glenn.
"Be careful." I nod, "I will." And I turn and continue walking to the point where I'm out of view.
After about two minutes of walking, I find a tree stump and sit down, pulling out my pack of cigarettes again and lighting one.
A while goes by and I begin to walk back to camp when I see a blue pickup truck driving down the gravel road.
Dad.
I grab my backpack and book it down to the house, making it just barely before the pickup truck does.
My dad parks the truck quickly and climbs out, grabbing multiple bags in the motion.
Lori, Rick, the doctor, the girl from the porch, and Glenn all run out of the house. T-Dog stands in the doorway.
"Carl?" He pants. He limps as he walks to where Lori, Rick, the doctor, and Glenn are.
"There's still a chance." My dad hands the bags to Glenn who runs them to the house. The doctor looks around, "Otis?"
"No." My dad whispers. The girl from the porch and the doctor both look like they're about to cry. "We say nothing to Patricia." The doctor says. "Not till after, I need her." And with that, he runs up to the house and enters it.
Rick hugs my dad, I'm still standing behind him, out of his line of sight.
"They kept blocking us at every turn. We had nothing left-we were down to ten rounds. Then he said-he said he'd cover me. And that I should keep going so that's what I did. I just...I kept going but I-I looked back and he-I tried." My dad sounds so distraught it doesn't even sound like him at all.
"He wanted to make it right." Rick comforts, putting a hand on Shane's shoulder.
Before anyone says anything, I grab my dad's shoulder, turn him around, and hug him, catching him off guard. He takes a second to hug me back but when he does, he hugs me tight.
Everybody goes back into the house, leaving my dad and I. Lori and Rick sit on the porch steps.
"I thought you weren't going to come back." I whisper into my dad's shoulder.
"At first I thought I was only coming back to save Carl but-when we got surrounded-all I could think about was you and Alyssa." He whispers.
"So you're not leaving?" "Never." I smile, a real, genuine smile and sigh.
"Good because you wouldn't have made it very far before I found you and ripped you to shreds." I say, breaking the hug and dropping my smile so that he didn't see me smiling.
"Dad!" Alyssa yells, bolting from the front door to my dad, jumping into his arms. "Hey, 'Lyss." He whispers, hugging her tight.
He hugs her for a little bit before I can tell his ankle or foot begins to hurt.
"Dude, dad, sit." "I was planning on it." He says, breaking the hug from Alyssa and sitting on the ground in front of the pickup truck.
After what feels like an eternity of waiting, the doctor comes out and says, "He seems to have stabilized." Glenn, T-Dog, and the girl from the porch stand in the doorway. Everybody sighs a sigh of relief and Alyssa smiles. Rick hugs the doctor and Lori says through her happy tears, "I don't have words." "I don't either." The doctor responds. "I wish I did. How do I tell Patricia about Otis?"
Rick looks at Lori, "You go to Carl, I'll go with Hershel."
Hershel.
Alyssa, my dad, and I all walk up to the house and enter, the sound of Patricia's sobs filling the air.
All three of us enter the room, Alyssa immediately running up to the right side of the bed and kneeling next to Carl, tears falling. Lori eyes Shane and kisses Carl's hand.
"Stay." She croaks.
My dad takes a second but then walks out of the room, leaving me and Alyssa in there with Lori and Carl.