~51~

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

~~Willow's POV~~

After finding the pile of bodies next to the train tracks, I started following the foot prints in hopes it was somebody from the prison. They kept following the tracks, passing the signs for Terminus. I remember back in the car when we all heard it on the radio, that's as good a place as any to try and find the remainders of the group. The prints could't be more then a few hours old, so if I kept up a fast pace and into the night I should catch up quick.

The hours went by, at least I think it's been hours looking at what angle the suns was at. Up ahead, there was a walker stuck in the tracks. Stepping in front of it, the part of the tracks had caved in, half burying its legs. I pulled out my knife, ready to kill it when a gun shot went off. I jumped as a second one sounded off and took a step back, looking into the trees from where it came from. Not paying attention, the walker shifted and grabbed my ankle and pulled. I fell, landing hard against my shoulder on the wooden track. I heard and felt it pop, letting out a grunt of pain as I kicked the walker in the face with my other foot and scooted myself to a safe distance.

Struggling to sit up, I flinched grasping my shoulder. It was definitely dislocated... Leaving the stupid walker to rot under the tracks, I picked up my bow and swung it over my other shoulder, cradling the injured one. Well this is just perfect! The foot prints had gone off the trail, meaning those gun shots were probably who ever it was. I followed them to an open field, a wire fence surrounding a cute little house with what looked like pecan trees all over the place. I headed around back, wanting to peek inside first before showing myself. For all I know, it was nobody I knew at all.

From the back window, I watched as they moved about, but there was a set of white curtains that looked like they covered all of the windows in the house. I could see their figures, but not enough to recognize them. It wasn't until a heard a faint babies cry that I knew... I'd heard that baby cry enough times that the sound was embedded into my head forever. I made it to the front door and knocked a couple times, I didn't want to go in a scare anybody. The house went quiet as I waited impatiently. Maybe if Judith was here, Rick and Carl were to... maybe even Daryl. The curtain moved slightly, before the door pulled open. Carol stood in front, Tyreese behind her with Judith in his arms, and then Lizzie and Mica behind him. They all had the same expression, as if they were seeing a ghost. Carol, stepped forward first, a hand touching my arm just to make sure I was really there, and then she smiled and tried to hug me. I groaned, still clutching my bad shoulder as she looked me over concerned.

"Come in, we have some catching up to do," Carol smiled, taking my bag off my shoulder. Ty patted my other arm on my way in as I sat down gently at the kitchen table.

"I can't believe I found you guys. Is there anybody else?" I asked them. They frowned, shaking their head no. I sighed, the others were still out there somewhere.

"Willow, when the governor came, he told everyone that he'd killed you..." Tyreese said, Judith still in his arms. I wondered if Rick knew she was safe... he must be worried to death.

"No. I was there, he wanted me watch. It was an accident that I escaped," I told them.

"Let's look at this arm," Carol said. I shook my head, explaining what had happened down by the tracks. She moved it around a little bit, making me curse a couple times before she confirmed that it was dislocated pretty good.

"Alright, Tyreese come hold my other arm. I don't wanna hit anything," I explained. This wasn't my first dislocated shoulder, my dad had pulled it out once before, and sure enough when the school nurse put it back in I gave her a black eye. She belied me when I said I'd just tripped and fell in the hallway, but she hated me after I hit her.

Ty put Judith down in a crib that was in the living room and then came back to help Carol. She cleared the table and had me lay down, my shoulder over the edge. I nodded my head to Ty, as he held my other arm down to the table tightly. Carol put a heavy backpack in my other hand, pulling on the socket as it flamed in pain. I let out a muffled yell, trying not to be loud as she guided my arm out. My shoulder screamed, as it loudly popped it's way back into place. With one final pop it slid back into the socket, making me yelp as I rolled over and sat up from all the adrenaline, taking a few heavy breaths. I rolled my shoulder around a bit, feeling better then before.

"Here, it's gonna be sore a few days," Carol said, putting a black shirt over my head and somehow turning it into a sling. She slid my arm through it, reminding me not to use it for at least a day. I frowned, it was my left shoulder, the one I used to hold my bow up. I was out of the game for now, but I'll take a day over a month any time.

The sky had grown dark, all of us sitting together next to the lit fire place cracking open pecans and eating them. Ty was talking about how it'd been so long since he'd been in a real house, how it felt nice to have real furniture and real beds. We smiled at him as he leaned back into the recliner chair and stared into the fireplace. Mica was playing with a rag doll with red yarn hair, calling it some ridiculous name while Lizzie was helping with the pecans. It was the first time since the prison I believed everything was gonna be okay...

~~~~

The next morning I'd slept in later than I normally do, I guess I really needed it. I met Carol in the kitchen, boiling water in a kettle on the gas stove that still had a little left in the tank.

"Carol... did you see anybody else make it out?" I asked her. She hesitated a moment, not looking at me.

"No. I was out on a run with Rick, we found another car and I stayed behind. When I got back, it was to late but I managed to run into the girls and Tyreese," she told me. I studied her, feeling like there was something else she wasn't telling me. I remember Hershel telling Daryl he needed to speak to Rick about her but I never got to find out why. She looked out the kitchen window, dropping whatever was in her hand and running for the door. I followed her out, watching as Lizzie was 'playing' with a walker, letting it chase her around the yard as she giggled.

"You get away from it!" Carol yelled, pulling her knife out. Lizzie stepped in front of it protectively, putting her hands out to stop Carol.

"No! No! No!" the little girl screamed, the walker coming up close behind her. Even I had pulled my knife out, ready to run over. But there wasn't much I could with only one arm.

"Lizzie! Now!" Carol screamed, shoving her to the side and pouncing on the walker. She shoved her knife into it's head, Lizzie screaming in protest. I watched in shock as she yelled at Carol for saving her, saying that the walker was her friend and she murdered her. She ran past me and into the house, her sister frowning and following after her. I looked at Carol with a horrified look, one she returned back to me.

"She doesn't see them as monsters," Carol frowned.

We were sitting inside the house, the girls had gone into their room. Carol and Ty both explained to me how they used to give the ones outside the prison names, as a game. But to Lizzie it wasn't, she was feeding them, keeping them safe. Tyreese even said they'd found a board with a dissected rabbit pinned on it, that it was her way of having fun. I just couldn't wrap my head around it all, how did she think those things were people? Her own dad was killed by one!?

There was screaming outside, making all of us jump to our feet. From the kitchen window we could Lizzie and Mica running towards the house, six or seven walkers behind them. When did they go outside?! I grabbed my knife, it being the only thing I could carry and ran out door. Mica had tripped over the wire fence, a walker grabbing her leg and trying to pull her towards its mouth. Carol was fast to kill it, pulling the girl up to her feet as she scurried away.

"Girls get behind us!" she yelled pulling the trigger of her hand gun.

I picked a walker on the side, kicking it down with my boot and plunging my knife in it. I was feeling pretty useless as I stood back, watching over everyone shoot their guns. Even Lizzie had pulled her gun out, shooting the walkers down hesitantly with every other shot. Maybe this was the day she realized that they're just monsters, not people anymore. Once all the walkers were dead, we turned to look at the older sister.

"I had to help stop them..." Lizzie muttered, looking over the dead corpses.

"Do you understand what they are now?" Carol asked her. She nodded her head.

"Yes, I understand what I have to do now," she said in a sad voice. We watched her go back up to the house, her sister following.

Later that day, things seemed to get back to normal. I was sitting outside on the porch twirling my knife, the girls were having a make shift tea party on top of a blanket on the lawn. Judith was giggling besides them joyfully. I pulled the sling over my head, rolling my shoulder around sorely. I wondered how long we were gonna stay here... the others were still out there hopefully. I think Terminus was a good place to start, and if it didn't work out we could always come back here. There's plenty of pecans, Carol and Tyreese were out looking for deer they'd spotted earlier. The girls were happy, but I wasn't.

I have a good poker face but I was miserable. My emotions have been all over the place since the prison, my father, Daryl, I was just hiding them away and pretending they didn't exist. I was having nightmares again, making sleep impossible. They were mostly about my dad, but I'm used to that. The ones that got to me were about Daryl, how I let somebody get so close to me was unbelievable but sure enough the redneck left a big impression. In the dream I'd find him dead, turned inside the prison as I'm looking for him. He'd come out of the dark hallway, eyes completely white and skin turned gray. But I could never do it, never put him down. He'd sink his teeth into my neck and then I'd wake up.

"Willow?" I jumped, coming out of my thoughts as the girls looked up at me. I tucked my hair out of my face and straightened up.

"Ya, whats wrong?" I asked them. They looked at me strangely a moment.

"Nothing, could you bring us the other basket of pecans from inside?" Lizzie asked politely.

I looked down at the tray they'd brought out, it was still half full. Lizzie was staring at me, her sister not paying any attention while she played with Judith. I didn't bother questioning it, and walked into the house looking for the basket. I searched for a minute or two, I had no idea where it was? Walking back outside, I searched on the deck of the porch.

"Hey Lizzie where'd you put it?" I asked her. Looking across the field, Carol and Tyreese were on their way back, no deer in hand.

I met them towards the bottom of the steps, turning around to look back at the girls. When I looked down at them, they weren't how I'd left them, playing peacefully. Lizzie had her knife in her hands, both covered in blood. Then Mica... she was dead, blooding staining her shirt. Baby Judith started to cry on the blanket right next Mica who could turn at any moment. I reached for my knife but Lizzie was fast to point her gun at me.

"No! No! We have to wait. I didn't hurt her brain don't worry. She'll come back and I'll show you. We have to wait," the girl said frantically. She's insane!?

"Lizzie put the gun down," Carol said sternly, fighting the tears in her eyes.

"I just want to wait!" the young girl screamed in distress. Both of her hands were shaking as she pointed the gun around. I looked back and forth between her and Carol, looking for a sign of what we should do. If we didn't get Judith out of the there Mica could turn and kill her.

"We can wait. We can wait, I swear. Just give me the gun. You and Tyreese should take Judith inside, it's not safe for her," Carol forced a smile, holding her hand out for the gun.

"Judith can change to! I was just about to-"

"She can't even walk yet," Carol shook her head. Lizzie nodded her head, agreeing that they should probably wait for her to get bigger. I was biting the inside of lip, tasting the blood from it.

"Lets go inside for lunch. I'll tie Mica up out here, so she doesn't wonder off," Carol assured her.

Lizzie nodded her head again, a smile on her face as she believed we finally were going to understand. Ty had picked up Judith, cradling her safely in his arms as he took Lizzie's hand and went inside. As soon as they did Carol let out a quick sob. I ran a hand over my face, regret seeping in.

"I only walked away for a minute- I didn't think she'd..." I stuttered, blaming myself. Lizzie played me, luring me away for just long enough.

"It's not your fault..." Carol assured me. She pulled her knife out, taking a deep breath as she piked Mica and wrapped her in the blanket.

I helped her carry the lifeless body around back before going inside the house. We sat quietly around the table, still trying to decide if what just happened was actually real or not. Tyreese told us he sent Lizzie to her room with some food, made sure she didn't have any other weapons. Then he started going off about how maybe it was her who killed Karen back in the prison.

"No, she would of let them turn," Carol shook her head.

"Ya, it doesn't make any sense... So now what," I said, looking up at them.

"She can't be around other people, not around Judith. I should take her and just leave, you two go find Terminus," Carol said, a frown dragging on her face.

"You two wouldn't last out there on your own," Tyreese told her shaking his head.

We all knew what had to happen, what needed to be done. I offered to do it myself, but Carol said it had to be her. Ty and I watched as Carol took Lizzie out into the flower patch away from the house. Ty ended up having to walk away, going towards Judith who was crying in the background. Lizzie stood in front of Carol, she looked like she was crying over something. Carol raised her gun, Lizzie totally unaware as Carol painfully pulled the trigger on the young corrupted girl. Her body hit the floor as I looked at the ground, thinking maybe there was something we could've done. But she was to far gone...

Later that night, we all sat around the table. Judith sleeping in the crib, but the absence of the two girls playing in front of the fireplace was sorrowful. We'd dug a single grave for them, in hopes that maybe they were somewhere better, but I wasn't much of a believer of that stuff. I think once it was over, it was just over.

"I killed Karen and David... I had to stop the illness from spreading," Carol suddenly spoke.

I sat up in my chair, looking over to Tyreese who was wide eyed. I waited for him to blow up, to get angry, or even attack her. But he didn't, he just sat there and asked if she knew or felt anything. Carol hesitantly shook her head no, telling him to do whatever he needed to do. I looked back and forth between the two, just watching. I'd been so caught off guard I was lost for words.

"I forgive you, I can never forget... but I forgive you," Tyreese nodded his head slowly.

Carol oddly thanked him, and they both got up and went separate ways leaving me alone at the table. How could Carol do that? I'm not sure if I could really blamed her more than I was surprised. It was logical at the time, though it was unavoidable. That must've been what Rick told Daryl about, he must've found out. She lied to me about being on a run before loosing the prison, Rick had left her behind. I sighed running my hands roughly over my face, tomorrow we kept on to Terminus. I sank down into the recliner in front of the dimly lit fireplace, closing my eyes hoping for a full nights sleep.

>>>don't be a silent reader!<<<
VOTE,
COMMENT,
FOLLOW!

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net