MADISON'S POV.
"So, what did you want to ask me in private?" I ask, nervously.
"Well, you knew what to give Yumiko when she was in pain yesterday."
I shrug, doesn't seem like a big deal, just some painkillers.
"And you have a medical background." Siddiq backs up his point.
I start to shake my head and back away, already hating where this conversation is going.
"Medical background? That's a bit far fetched."
"You worked in a hospital, Madison."
"Yeah, for like a few days."
"A few months, you mean?"
"Uh yeah, time I used to kill numerous people, crash the ambulance into smithereens and set the place on fire, so I think it's completely fair to say that my sole purpose there was not to pursue a career in medicine."
"I already know where you're going with this and before you ask it the answer is no." I say sternly.
"These people need you Madison. And between here and the Hilltop I can't keep going back and forth to care for people who need constant care."
I shake my head.
I start nervously shaking my hands. It's supposed to look like I'm saying
'Stop right there'
But really I just look like an idiot.
"Hey, not fair! Don't try to guilt trip me into this shit."
"Mads-"
"No! I already have a job."
"But you have medical knowledge."
"No, I've just picked things up over the years."
"Yes. You've had pancreatitis, so you know how sensitive and vital those surrounding organs are, you know the procedure to help it. You're daughter has asthma, so you know about the lungs and inhalers. You can care for pregnant woman because you've been in their position, in the worst state too. You know how to stitch, you know how to tend to wounds, you know the names of the medications in the cabinet. We can't get much better than that Madison."
"Uh, yeah we can. How about we just find, hm, I don't know, AN ACTUAL DOCTOR???"
He chuckles.
"Just because I got knocked up and my daughter has shitty lungs, doesn't mean I'm a certified doctor!"
"Look, I know it's scary. But I've taught Enid over at the hilltop. I can teach you too."
"If Enid is already there then why do you have to leave? Stay." I plead.
He shakes his head. "She's not that advanced."
"You'd be helping a lot of people, Madison."
"Or making the situation worse."
"For some people, their health can't get much worse."
I turn for the door, this is too much and I've already had one hell of a morning.
"Just think about it Mads. Promise me you will."
I look at him in defeat, he's pushing all these valid points and the only thing making me push right back is fear.
"I like it out there. Outside the walls. That's where I belong, not stuck in here."
"You can balance it Madison. Make scheduled appointments for less serious cases."
"And for serious cases?"
"We haven't had one here in years. The infirmary is practically always empty."
I spin around again and this time I open the door.
"Promise me." He repeats which such confidence and sincerity that I sigh.
"Fine, I'll consider it but that doesn't mean yes."
He smiles widely. "I can work with that."
His confidence makes me groan because I know I'm roped into this now, I couldn't back out. It'd be way too selfish.
"Just so you know, your well thought out points and sense of morality is really annoying."
He laughs loudly as I shut the door behind me.
I mutter angrily to myself the whole way over to Kai's house. I don't even knock, I just barge right in. I'm so angry about everything that's happened in the past 24 hours. I finally understand why Carl laced the umbrella stand down the hall. I want to hit something, someone, but ironically I've been trying to teach my daughter that that's wrong.
"Life is a fucking bitch." I grumble as I make my way into kitchen.
Tara, Daryl, Eugene and Kai all look up at me. They sit around the table with bowls of cereal, making my sudden outburst slightly more awkward than I intended it to be.
Nevertheless, I grab a chair, dragging it noisily to the table and sit down in a huff.
"Well, good morning to you too, Sunshine." Tara remarks.
"What's got you in a stink?" Eugene asks.
"Nothin"
"What breakfast?" Kai asks, changing the subject.
"No, not hungry." I look up and see all faces still staring at me.
I need to clean up my attitude.
I sit up properly on the chair and plaster a smile onto my face.
"I mean, no, thank you." I correct.
Daryl snorts.
"What?"
"That's the fakest smile I've ever seen." He laughs as he gets up from the table.
"But lucky for you, I'm already busy today so I'm not gonna ask." He adds, putting his bowl in the sink.
"Busy? Where are you going?"
"Eugene found a satellite dish and he wants to set it up near one of those satellite tower things."
"For what?" I ask curiously.
"For radio transmittions." Eugene answers.
"Really? Woah."
Kai nods.
"I'm free today, I can give a hand?" I say.
"I thought you just done a night shift? Shouldn't you get some sleep?" Kai gently persuades.
"I'm not even that tired." I lie.
I'm just more curious than I am tired.
Kai sighs and rolls his eyes.
"Yeah, sure. You can come." Tara amends.
"Okay, I'll get ready and let Rick know... Kai, can I ..."
He stands to his feet already knowing that I wanted to speak.
Or maybe he was just as curious to find out what happened last night.
We walk together into his sitting room and I sit on the couch next to him.
"Last night?"
"Was a complete disaster."
"How?"
I heave a deep breath out of me before speaking. "To summarize, you can see Kara whenever you want, Carl is a complete jackass, Kara has been punished, her bow was taken off her, Carl admitted he loved me and then wished he never met me, the night shift was boring as hell and dinner will be at six tonight."
I turn quickly for the door. Daryl, Tara and Eugene will be leaving soon. I need to get ready.
"Woah, woah, woah! Que demonios?? What did you just say?"
"About dinner?"
He glares.
"Okay fine." I sigh and look to the ground.
"You were right when you said he loved me. I didn't believe you and I definitely didn't expect him to say it. When I told him it didn't change anything, he..."
"He what?" Kai encourages. His voice is an odd combination between harsh and soft, angry and comforting. He's torn.
"...he said he wished he never met me. That it would be easier to just wipe me out of his life, out of his mind, like nothing ever happened." I hear my voice betray me as it breaks towards the end.
I shake my head. There's no need to get upset over this.
He's not worth the tears, Madison!
"Are you angry?"
"No, contigo." He whispers.
Not with you!
What's that supposed to mean? What is he gonna do?
I finally look up and although I can see a hint of anger in his eyes, I know it's not for me.
I stand to my feet. "It's fine, it doesn't even matter. Look, it's still pretty early, we should be back before school finishes. If not, Can you collect Kara and Judith. I think Carl is working today."
"No problem."
"You sure you're okay?"
I nod.
"Not just that, you look kinda sick."
"Just migraines. I'm fine."
I fix my bow onto my back and head for the door. Kai follows on my heels.
"Be careful out there."
I smile. "Always am."
I reach up to kiss him and he bends to meet me halfway.
"I'll be back in ten." I call to the others.
"Hey Mads?" Daryl calls me back.
"An extra set of hands could be helpful if you can find someone?"
"No problem."
I take the long way home, hoping to find someone who might be willing to come along. In the distance, standing near the armory I see Marnie but when I walk towards her I spot Jenna with her. I steer clear of that train wreck. If she comes along, there's an inevitable awkward conversation to be discussed but I think I'll leave that until never.
I pass by the church and wave at Siddiq who sits on the steps outside with Magna, Connie, Yumiko, Kelly and Luke. I almost ask them to come along but that's probably testing the trust further than the community would like.
I also run into Malia who sits on her porch swing, sharpening her knife.
"Hey, Malia, do you want to-"
"No!" She casually cuts me off.
I continue to walk back to my house. It was a long shot, I know. We work well together but let's face it, we'll never be best buds, and that's perfectly fine by me.
I sigh as I finally reach the house. I don't have anymore time to find someone. I bet they're already waiting for me at the gate. I go upstairs and collect my usual bag of essentials that I leave beside the rocking chair and explain quickly to Rick where I'm going and that Kai will bring the kids here after school.
The conversation is short and sweet with no follow up questions. The awkwardness is still fresh from last night events that Rick got a front row seat to.
"I'm bringing Fangs!" I call behind me as I shut the door.
Fangs zooms out past me with his tail swaying side to side. His excitement is obvious as he bounces towards the gate.
I try to keep up with him as I move swiftly along the evergreen trees where I bump into Jayden. Literally.
He stumbles back and something falls to the ground with a soft thud. The sound of pages ruffling draws my eyes to the ground and I spot a comic. One that read once, many years ago.
'Arkham Asylum.'
Although I was once infatuated with it now the thought of an asylum gives me shivers. I'm shocked that Jayden would even consider opening the comic considering everything he went through in the asylum.
I pick it up off the ground for him.
"Still into comics, huh?" I tease as I hand it back to him.
He shocks me when his face starts to turn red. He's usually so confident and cheeky.
"Me too." I whisper with a smile, to soften the blow.
"You look like you're going somewhere." He composed himself.
"I am."
"Without me?" He smirks his cheeky smile and I roll my eyes.
"Well, it just so happens that I am in need of a partner in crime."
"Sounds like my kinda job."
"Great. We're leaving now but we're bringing a few guns so you get to pick."
"Cool." He beams as he rolls up the comic and shoves it awkwardly under his arm as he follows next to me.
"Here." I open my bag and place the comic inside for him.
Jayden and I always have always been good friends but he knows how to wind me up with his flirty banter to the point where we argue like cats and dogs and then five minutes later we've forgotten how the fight even started.
When we reach the gate the others are already in the car waiting. Fangs bounces excitedly at the car, waiting for us to hurry.
"Took you long enough." Daryl comments from the front seat.
I shrug and hop in the back with Eugene and Jayden, Fangs somehow manages to plant himself between Jayden and I and rest his small head on my shoulder. I rub behind his ears for the duration of the journey.
It's mostly quiet on the journey up and Eugene decided to break what he thought was an awkward silence by explaining in excruciating detail of what exactly he has to do to wire up the signal of the transmitter.
"C'mon man, my ears have gone numb." Tara finally groans.
"I'm almost finished." Eugene defends himself and then continues.
I chuckle to myself when I see Daryl impatiently inch his foot down on the gas pedal. If someone doesn't shut Eugene up, Daryl might actually kill him.
After what feels like ages, we finally pull into a wide field. The grass is long and over grown and it's color is obnoxiously green. Eugene points upwards and my eyes follow his gesture to find a tall tower made up of many metal bars placed here and there. It looks complicated.
"And that, is the transmission tower." He finalizes his story.
I open the car door and step outside, Fangs leaps out and begins to sniff around him, picking up on different scents.
"Well, up you go." Tara urges to Eugene.
I wrap a knife onto my leg for easy access as I throw my bag on my back as well as my arrows that fit perfectly inside, sticking out of it. I grab my bow, shut the door and walk closer to the tower with Daryl, to get a better look.
It's tall, really tall. One wrong move from Eugene and he's dead.
How is he gonna get all his stuff up there?
"Do you need help up there?" I offer an empty gesture and Daryl snorts at the regretful tone in my voice, even I could hear it.
"I already volenteered these bad boys to help up there." Jayden kisses his biceps confidently.
"But feel free to come along, I won't stop you."
I roll my eyes and turn back around to Daryl and Tara.
"We'll keep watch, we're in an open space so let's just get this done as quick as we can." Daryl notes.
We both nod.
When I turn I'm surprised by a drop of water hitting my cheek. I look up at the sky in confusion, only for two more drops to hit my face. Squinting up at the sky, I notice how dark it's gotten. The clouds have covered the sky and turned a dark gray.
"We should hurry. That doesn't make me feel too confident." Tara notes as she looks up a the sky too.
Just then a loud rumble erupts around us.
Thunder.
Fangs' head shoots up and he begins to howl and bark alongside the thunder, as if competing to see who's the loudest.
"I'm gonna make a quick suggestion to hurry your ass up because if lightning comes I won't be sticking around to peel your sizzled ass of that metal death trap." I shout up to Eugene and Jayden.
They hurry to the top where Eugene scrambles to fix his satellite shit onto the tower. Another loud rumble erupts around us and I cover my ears.
"Maybe we should go home, it isn't safe. We can do this tomorrow." I yell to Daryl at the same time another boom bellows and drowns our my voice. The rain begins to tumble down, soaking our hair and clothes in seconds. It's not the nice kind of sunshine, drizzle rain. It's the cold, damp, harsh rain that beats down on your skin, making you tremble.
"WHAT?" Daryl shouts.
"WE NEED TO GO! WE CAN COME BACK TOMORROW!"
He nods and turns to start up the car while Tara and I yell up to the guys. After a few moments of yelling we give up, it's no use, they'll never hear us.
"We got a problem." Daryl warns us and we both turn around to find the car wheels spinning mercilessly in the now muddy grass but the car doesn't budge an inch.
"Cars stuck." Daryl grumbles as another clatter of thunder surrounds us. It's getting louder, closer.
I sigh as I jog to the tower, avoiding slipping on the muddy surface of the field. I pull myself up onto the ladder and carefully climb each step higher up the tower. I squint up, trying to protect my eyes from the rain as I search for their two figures.
"EUGENE! JAY!!"
Still, nothing.
"Deaf little shits." I murmur angrily under my breath as I continue to climb.
I feel my fingers start to go numb from the cold but I force myself up further until I'm at a height that if I fell I'd be dead in seconds. Yet, somehow it doesn't bother me. I've always loved climbing trees and feeling like I was on top of the world, getting a birds eye view of everything around me. Except this time thunder booms every few minutes and the threat of lightening following after and frying us to a crisp is quite high.
"MADISON! MADISON GET DOWN!!" I can vaguely hear Tara screaming from the bottom. I don't catch what she yells next but when she points her hand to the back of the field my eyes follow, only to find the biggest herd I've ever seen coming straight for us.
"JAYDEN! EUGENE!" I roar, panic controlling my voice and my body.
Finally I'm high enough for them to hear me and they look down in concern.
"WALKERS!" I point across the field and they react within seconds. They duck under the bars and cling to the ladder.
"LETS GO!" I begin to climb down again and the guys are quick to catch up with me. I glance down to see the walkers coming from the other side of the field too. They start towards Daryl and Tara, not yet noticing us, despite our yelling. Our voices get lost in the now continuous bellows of thunder.
What the hell? Where did all these walkers come from?
Daryl and Tara try once more to start the car, muck flies out from under the car as it refuses to move. They quickly give up when the walkers get too close for comfort. Fangs barking is uncontrollable as his vicious side breaks loose and I pray he doesn't dart towards the herd.
"HURRY UP!" They yell frantically as the walkers close in on them.
"GO! RUN! We'll catch up to you later!" I plead as I near the ground.
"No!" Daryl insists, even as they back up further away. The herd is dangerously close now.
"GO! There's no other way! Take Fangs!" I yell but I loose sight of them behind the herd. I caught a glimpse of Tara turning to run and I can only hope Daryl and Fangs did the same. Panic sets in thick and heavy on my chest and I force myself to breath, to THINK!!
I focus on Eugene and Jayden as my feet finally touch the ground. They're both speeding down the ladder in a hurry and I crouch low in an attempt to stay hidden from the herd. I quietly warn them to slow down but before I could finish I watch in horror as Eugene's foot slips and his whole body crashes towards the ground. It's not a far fall but he lands awkwardly on his leg and when he curls up into a ball and screams in pain, I know he's injured himself badly.
I rush over to his side as Jayden steps off the ladder and helps me lift Eugene to his feet. His leg bends at an unnatural angle and I look away quickly. He won't be able to walk. The sound of his scream makes the walkers turn their attention to us, a group they never realized were here in the first place. They begin to move towards us at a pace that's far too quick compared to normal.
That's odd.
"Let's go!" Jayden pulls one of Eugene's arms over his shoulders and I do the same with his other arm as we both struggle to drag him along with us. He grunts in pain and Jayden and I exchange worried looks when the herd gets dangerously close. We head towards the forest at a rate that's too slow compared to the walkers.
"Leave me. Just leave me and get out of here." Eugene begs.
"Quit talking shit." Jay snaps at him.
"Eugene just prop yourself up with your good leg and hop. It'll hurry us along." I instruct. He does just that but I can tell my the pain in his voice that his body can't take much more before it gives out.
It helps us move faster at least, allowing us to get some distance between us and the walkers. My shoulders and neck ache from the weight of carrying Eugene and Jay is the same as a frustrated and desperate frown sets on his face and he grits his teeth, driving the most strength to haul him forward.
Eugene is getting tired as we get nearer to the forest line and his good leg gives out a few times, making it harder to pull him along. The rain is making our grip on him weaken and our own limbs become numb with the cold, it's unbearable.
We still have a yard or two between us and the walkers so we use this to our advantage.
"There's a shack somewhere up ahead." Jay tells me through chattering teeth.
"I've been around here b,b,before. Maybe we could hide in there, wait for them to p,p,pass us." He suggests.
I nod in agreement and help Jayden drag Eugene further despite his many pleas to leave him behind.
Just as we get to the forest line Jay slips and falls to the wet ground, the mud splashing up and soaking him. Eugene slumps forward with the lack of support, taking me with him. I feel the rain and cold seep through my jeans and a shiver shoots up my body.
"I'm too tired. I can't..." Jayden groans as his body slouches further onto the ground.
I have to admit, even I want to give out. My shoulders and neck hurt so bad I feel tears prickle at my eyes. But I have a daughter to get home to and I'm not dying today.
"I don't care how tired you are. Get your ass up off that ground and help me, or so help me god I'll leave you here to be torn apart by those things." Only the last part is a lie. I could never leave him behind, I'm the one who dragged him into this mess in the first place.
"Mads-"
"Don't you wanna know what happens at the end of the comic? You'll never know if your dead" I entice him.
"Really? That's your motivation to get me back up?" He snaps.
I glance behind me as I pull myself to my feet and panic sets in and twists in my stomach as I watch the herd get closer. They're closer than I thought they were and we only have minutes to spare before it's too late.
I turn back around and glare at him.
"Okay, how about this, if you don't get up and help me I'll shove that comic so far up your ass you'll be choking it out of a week!!" I scream. I scream like a lunatic but I don't care, I'm desperate.
He struggles to get to his feet and I hold out my hand to help him. He grabs it and pulls himself up with a groan, we then pick Eugene off the ground and hurry into the forest.
The further we get through the trees the more space we manage to gain between us and death, and sure enough Jayden was right. There stood the little shack, old and worn, the wood that holds it together already falling apart. It's not much but it'll do, it's all we've got.
We drag Eugene up two short steps and open the frail door and stuff ourselves inside. We place Eugene against the wall as we look around for something to help him and to protect ourselves with. It's small with barely anything inside. Stray and hay cover the ground and all the windows have been smashed in, leaving glass shattered across the floor.
My legs scream at me to sit down and rest but I know if I give in I won't be able to get back up again. Directly across from the door we walked through is another doorframe, to our horror there is a lack of an actual door present.
"If they've seen us come in here then were screwed. We can't fight them off and the door isn't strong enough to keep them all out. What do we do?" I struggle with myself to find a solution.
Thankfully Jayden beats me to it.
"Hide."
We look around but all we have to work with is four walls, some broken glass and a shit ton of hay.
"Where?" I whisper.
"Guys!" Eugene speaks for the first time since we got in here. His voice is tired and riddled with pain.
He knocks twice on the wooden floor.
"You hear that?" He knocks again and we stare at him in confusion.
I shake my head.
"I heard it when you sat me down here."
He knocks once more. "It's hollow."
Jayden and I rush forward and pull Eugene away from where he's sitting. Using my foot to brush away the hay and glass we find a door that opens upwards.
"Now thats luck." Jayden laughs in relief
"We deserve it."
It's filled with loads of useless tools, pitchforks, shovels, gardening tools, nothing that could help us. We can't fight off that many. We both pull out the tools and throw them behind us before helping Eugene inside the door. It's wide but I worry maybe it won't fit us all inside.
"Mads." Jay calls my name with a worrying tone and I look up to find him pointing out the window. Sure enough the herd was heading straight for us.
"Shit."
Jay immediately hops down into the bunker style trap door before offering me his hand and helping to lower me down into it.
I crouch down and reach for the inside handle, pulling down the door, but not before I use my other hand to reach up and spread the hay back over the door again before closing it.
We're all suddenly plunged into complete darkness as we're all squashed uncomfortably against each other.
I struggle to remove my bag from my back to make more room but we're squashed so tight I can barely move, I can barely breath.
We all freeze as we hear a loud bang on the door above us. I don't move, I don't breath and after a few seconds another bang is heard, followed by another.
Jay quickly helps me remove the bag and I kick it to our feet. It didn't make any more room it just made the pain of Jay and my rib cage being crushed together a little less painful.
Another bang stops us from moving at all. It's so loud that I can't hear anything else. The sound rattled in my ears, louder than the thunder had.
"Bet you're loving being this close to me right now, huh, Mads." Jayden teases to lighten the awkward mood.
"I know you're not choosing now to flirt with me." I warn him.
"Not much you can do about it. We're both stuck here."
I open my mouth to argue back before Eugene snaps at us.
"Shut up!" He interrupts my threat before a final blow completely knocks the door off its hinges. I flinch in fear as the door hits the ground. And then suddenly the sound of hundreds of feet shuffling above us erupts and it's all I can hear.