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Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back

Chapter 2

Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory - Dr. Seuss

Chapter 2

Ryan turned on his side to look at me, I smiled at him.

“Do you think that we ever would have met before this shit happened?” he asked, looking down at me.

I pulled the blanket over my bare chest, “Honestly? Probably not.”

He smirked and laid down on his back, “That’s what I thought too,” he turned his head to look at me, “You know I’ll do anything to protect you, right?”

I put my head on his chest and listened to his heart beat, “Of course. I’ll do the same for you.”

--

I woke with a start, breathing heavily and sweating. I looked around the room but had no recollection of where I was.

“Calm down, Miss. You’re alright,” a man said to me. I hadn’t noticed him standing up and rinsing his hands off in a china bowl.

“Where am I?” I asked hoarsely, I realized at the moment how insanely thirsty I actually was.

He turned to face me, he had white hair, and...I don’t know how to describe it, a calm face, I think. He reminded me of my grandfather.

“You’re at my farm, my name is Hershel. Here you go,” he said handing me a glass of water, “easy does it,” he said when I sat up.

I took a long sip; I put the glass down on the table next to me, “Is Ryan here?” I asked after a moment silence.

He looked down and shook his head, “No, he’s not. When you were out you said his name quite a few times.”

“How long have I been out?” I asked.

He looked solemn, “About twelve hours now. You woke every little bit, but not longer than a few seconds, then you went back to sleep.”

I sat up straighter so that my back was against the headboard, I felt a pull on my left leg and let out a yelp of pain, and pulled the blankets away from my leg.

I had a long gash up my leg, but it was closed and had at least fifteen stitches, “What happened?” I asked.

He knelt down beside the bed and looked at my leg, “Well, when you were brought here, you had a bad gash on your leg; I stitched it up for you.”

“Are you a doctor?” I asked, putting the blanket on me, gently.

He laughed quietly, “No, I’m a Vet. I’m just going to get Rick, he asked that I get him when you woke up,” he said before turning to leave the room.

“Who’s Rick?” I asked quickly.

He turned from the open door to face me, “Well, there’s a little group here on the farm with me and my family, and Rick is kind of the leader for that group,” he smiled at me, “Don’t worry, he’s a good person.”

I smiled sadly at him before he turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind him.

I took in my surroundings; there was a dresser to my left, and a vanity to my right. There was another door to my right, that I assumed was the closet, the window was set right in front of the bed.
How could Ryan not be here? I wondered. He said he would find me, not matter what.

The door creaked open and a man wearing what looked like a Sheriffs hat, a brown shirt and black pants. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days, and he was incredibly pale.

He gave me a small smile as he stepped in, “Hello, Emerson, right?” he asked with a southern drawl.

I couldn’t help but smile at the accent, “Yeah, Emerson,” I confirmed.

He sat on the edge of the bed and took his hat off, “Well, Emerson, I’m Rick Grimes. I was a sheriff’s deputy before all of this,” he explained.

“That explains the hat, then,” I said without thinking. I smiled slightly and looked at my lap.

He laughed a little, “Exactly. How are you feeling?”

I looked back at him, “I’m okay. Just confused, I guess,” and my stomach growled, of course, “and hungry, apparently,” I said laughing a little.

He smiled at me, “Well, my wife is just finishing dinner outside. You’re more than welcome to join us, Emerson.”

I smiled at him in gratitude, “But first,” he started, “I wanna know your story. How did you end up where Andrea found you? Where were you before?”

I shifted uncomfortably in the spot, “Listen, Emerson. I’m not here to judge you. We’ve all had to do things to survive this world. I just need to know about you, before exposing you to the group. We’re considering letting you stay here, but we need to make sure you won’t be a threat. We have woman and children here, you understand?” he said never taking his eyes off me.

Of course I understood. But when I would tell him...everything was going to become real for me.

But I told him. I told him everything from the bus up until the point Andrea found me. Keeping out Ryan and me sleeping together, obviously. I told him how we were overrun, and how Ryan told me to run, and save myself.

He didn’t interrupt; his face never gave anything away about what he was thinking. He just let me talk, and even when I would ramble on, he just let me go.

“And then I woke up here,” I finished lamely.

He nodded but was silent for a minute, “Well. I’m really sorry for everything you’ve gone through. But you’re safe now. I have to talk to the group, but I think you would be a great addition,” he smiled at me.

I smiled back, “Thank-you.”

He stood up, “Hershel’s daughter, Maggie, left some clothes for you in the drawer. The bathroom is just down the hall on the left, if you wanted to shower. When you’re done, if you want to come down and join us for dinner, by all means you’re welcome to.”

He walked over to the door and turned to face me again, “Emerson,” he said causing me to look back at him, “everything is going to be okay. I think the group will be happy if you stay, but you don’t have to, if you don’t want to. However, I don’t want to send you out in that. I understand that you had Ryan,” he paused and gave me a little knowing look and at that point I knew that he knew Ryan and I had been more than what I was letting on, “but it’s not worth sacrificing yourself.”

I nodded at him, “Thank-you.”

He gave me a nod in return, “Come down whenever you feel like it,” he turned and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

I sat there by myself for a moment. I thought over what Rick had said. I mean, obviously he was right; I couldn’t go back out there by myself. I would die, and that’s the end of it. I had run for five day, blacking out was the nest sleep I had had since the outbreak.

I got out of the bed as gentle as possible; I stood up and tested the weight on my left leg where the stitches were. I didn’t even remember cutting it. It could have been cut for days while I was on the run, and I don’t think I would have noticed.

It didn’t feel as bad as I was anticipating. It stung, but it was bearable. I limped over to the dresser and opened the first drawer, and sure enough, there were clothes in there. I pulled out undergarments, shorts, and a red tank top.

I left the room and made my way to the washroom. I closed and locked the door behind me, put the new clothes on the vanity stripped down and turned on the shower. I got in once the temperature was right, and for the first few minutes, I just stood there. Not thinking just standing.

I finally grabbed the body wash and started scrubbing the grime off of me. I watched as the dirty water went down the drain, I didn't stop scrubbing until the water ran down the drain clean. I rinsed myself and started on my hair.

I should stay with this group; I couldn’t go back there, back there with he zombies. I didn’t want to fight every day anymore. And Hershel seemed like a nice guy, and Rick seemed like he was a good guy. Like I could trust him, like I trusted Ryan. I don’t know, I just got this...vibe from Rick. Like, if you were on his side, he would try and do anything to protect you.

I rinsed out the conditioner and turned the shower off. I stepped out and wrapped the towel around myself. I wiped the steam off the mirror and, just like in the movies, I started at myself. My dark brown hair had grown long; I had a cut above my right eyebrow. My green eyes looked a bit sunken in. I didn’t look like myself. But, I guess that’s what happens in the apocalypse.

I used my fingers to get the tangles out of my hair; I did what I could and tied my hair into a ponytail with an elastic from the vanity. I threw the towel in the hamper where other towels and dirty towels were. I got dressed and looked at myself once more.

I felt genuinely alone. At the very beginning, obviously I had Ryan and the rest of our group. But...I ran. And yeah, Hershel and Rick seemed nice, but I didn’t know them. I didn’t know the group. For the moment I was genuinely alone in this zombie infested world. And it was terrifying.

I left the room and headed down the stairs and went to the front door. I could see them from where I was standing. I saw a little boy sitting beside Rick and another woman that I assumed was his wife. I was sure I saw Andrea, the woman that saved me, sitting on the other side of Rick’s wife.

I breathed deep and opened the door. Everyone looked up and the sound of the door closing again behind me. Rick gave me a small smile before standing up and walking over to me.

“I’m happy you came out,” Rick said when he was in front of me.

I smiled a little, “Thanks for inviting me out. And you know, saving my life,” I finished awkwardly.

He put his head down and laughed a little, “Not a problem. Everyone is happy to have you,” he told me with a smile that I returned, “Ready to meet everyone?”

My heart beat fast. I nodded to him. I was nervous about this. But I followed behind him.

“Everyone, this is Emerson.”

Comments

@walkerbait

Thanks!!!!
drasticfantastic drasticfantastic
10/10/13
Yay! Glad you're back :)
walkerbait walkerbait
10/10/13
I hope your going to continue, this story is great :)
walkerbait walkerbait
8/19/13
I like it a lot! keep it up
rusty13 rusty13
6/14/13
@ElleB
Thank-you so much for the comment! I'm so happy you like the character!