NICOLETTE
It was crazy how fast the night had come as soon as Glenn started the car to bring the three of them to Maggie's farm. For as much as she had wished for that day to end, Nicolette couldn't help but feel anxiety rising inside herself to finally see it happen.
"Where did ya say Shane had gone?" T-Dog asked with a tired voice.
Nicki looked away from outside her window to turn towards the man.
"I don't know exactly where," Nicki said. "But he went with the man who shot Carl to take some medical stuff." It was some school if she remembered correctly. Apparently, when the hospital was overrun, something like a medical center was set up in the school, where people could be taken care of. But it had been overrun, too.
"Medical stuff, as in?" asked T-Dog again.
"Shouldn't you be resting?" asked Nicki with a frown.
"Too painful," he almost chuckled, making the girl shake her head.
"The doctor. At least I hope he is a doctor," said Nicki. "He needs to operate Carl."
"Operate as in surgeon?" asked Glenn panicked.
"Focus on the road," said Nicki, pointing ahead of her before leaning her back against the seat. "But yeah. Bullet exploded. There are still five fragments, too deep to get just removed."
"Well, shit," said T-Dog after a moment of silence.
"Yeah..." Nicki nodded her head "Shit".
The rest of the ride was silent. Once they finally saw the shape of Greens' farm, the sun was completely gone. Everything was dark; only the lights coming from the house could be seen. As they arrived next to the fence, Glenn got out of the car to open the gate so that they could get through.
"They've got fences," T-Dog said with wide eyes, making Nicki nod her head.
"All around," she said.
"This could be the safest place we've encountered so far." Since the CDC turned out to be a timing bomb, what T-Dog had said was probably right.
They drove inside, following the path towards the house. Glenn stopped the car just a few feet from the wooden steps.
"So, do we ring the bell?" asked Glenn as they walked towards the entrance, making Nicki frown looking up at him.
"What?" she asked.
"We're past this kind of stuff, aren't we?" T-Dog added, making Glenn look at them shyly.
"Having to be considerate."
Being polite seemed so strange now. Having to deal with people who were still civil made her feel uneasy. It was like she was forgetting how to behave properly, what her parents had taught her.
"Maybe... we can knock," she muttered as Glenn nodded his head, a bit unsure.
"Did you close the gate up the road when you drove in?" The three of them turned to their right, a bit startled, to see Maggie coming out from the shadow with a little smile.
"Uh, hi," started Glenn with a bit of blush, trying to act confident. "Yes, we closed it. Did the latch and everything," Nicki looked at Glenn with a frown as he continued talking to Maggie. "HeIIo. Nice to see you again," he said. "We met before briefly."
"Look, we came to heIp. There's anything we can do?" T-Dog asked tiredly.
"Can I get in, Maggie?" asked Nicolette. The girl looked at her and nodded with a small smile.
Nicki opened the door and entered the house again. She looked around and spotted Maggie's sister, the blond girl, and the other boy turning to her.
"You're back," Beth said with a little smile, walking towards her. "Have you brought your friends here?"
"Not all of them," Nicki said, keeping looking around. "Where's Shane? Is he back?"
Beth bit her lips and shook her head.
"Otis, too," she said.
Nicki took a breath and turned towards the room where Carl was. It was dark now. Hours had passed. Shane should have been back by now.
Nicki walked towards the room and looked inside. Everyone was silent, observing Carl, who was still sleeping. At least he was still breathing. As she stepped inside, she saw Rick look up towards her, who nodded her head.
He was so pale and tired, and Lori had red eyes from the tears she had been shedding.
"Hey," Rick said as Glenn and T-Dog entered the room, too.
"Um, we're here, okay?" said Glenn as his eyes moved from Carl to his parents.
"Thank you," Lori said.
"Whatever you need," added T-Dog.
Rick held his face in his hands, trying to keep it together. There was nothing they could do; they could just wait.
"Nicolette," said Lori, just before the girl could leave the room, following Maggie, Glenn, and T-Dog. The woman extended her hand for Nicki to take. Nicolette walked closer to her, taking it.
"Thank you," she said with glossy eyes. "You've put yourself in danger to get me, thank you."
"It made more sense for you to be here," Nicki answered as the woman squeezed her hand a little.
"How is he?" Nicolette asked, turning to the boy.
"If they don't get back soon," said Hershel, checking Carl's wound, "We're gonna have a decision to make."
Nicki observed him doing it. He uncovered Carl's abdomen, and she frowned, seeing it swollen and pale.
"And that is?" asked Rick with a weak voice.
"Whether to operate on your boy without the respirator." At Hershel's words, Nicki frowned. Shane and Otis were on a run because they needed that stuff.
"You said that wouldn't work," Lori said with wide eyes.
"It's extremely unlikely," Hershel said. "But we can't wait much longer."
As the man stopped talking, Lori got up and quickly left the room. Rick looked between his wife and his son before turning to Nicolette.
"Can you stay here with him?" Nicki's eyes widened.
"Me?" she asked.
"It'll only take a minute," Rick said before leaving the room, not giving Nicki much of a choice. Nicolette took a breath before sitting on the chair next to Carl. It wasn't like she could do anything but observe the boy, trying to ignore the needle in his right arm, the one right under her gaze.
"What is your name?" asked Hershel as he checked Carl's blood pressure.
"Nicolette," she said with a little frown. "Are you trying to make conversation?"
"No," the man answered. "It's just that I didn't know your name." Nicolette found herself chuckling a bit as the man glanced up at her.
"He's not going to make it, is he?" she asked leaning her back against the chair.
"You don't have to think about it."
"It's true, though," she answered to the man. "There's no point in hiding it. I suppose that's how the world works now." Hershel observed her silently for a moment before shaking his head.
"The world is the same," he said, making Nicki frown.
"Doubt it," she said, bending forward to put her head between her hands as she watched Carl. If everything was the same, they could have brought him to the hospital.
"You're not from Georgia, right?" the man asked as he was checking Carl's bandage.
"No, sir," she answered, "I'm from San Francisco."
Hershel frowned a little.
"How did you meet these people?" he asked. Nicki looked up at the man.
"By chance."
Suddenly, Carl coughed, making her and Hershel get up.
"Carl?" Nicki asked with wide eyes as the door opened, and she saw Lori and Rick enter the room. Nicki moved aside to let Carl's parents get closer to their son, and she put herself at the end of the bed.
"Where are we?" he asked, looking around confused, as Lori smiled and stroked his hair.
"Hey, little man," said Rick in a sweet voice. "That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident. All right?"
Nicki observed the scene before her with a little smile. They stood next to him, trying to calm him and make him feel safe. At that moment, she realized that she had lost that. She was far away from her family, and if something were to happen to her, her parents wouldn't even know.
"It hurts a lot," Carl said, trying to see what was causing that pain.
"Oh, baby, I know," said Lori sweetly, trying to stop him from moving. "I know," Rick said, taking a breath, trying not to cry in front of his son and keeping him calm.
Carl then looked around him once more before his gaze landed on Nicolette.
"Nicki?" she nodded as she saw the boy smile a little towards her before turning to his mother.
"You should have seen it," he said weakly.
"What?" Lori asked.
"The deer," he answered with a dreamy smile. "It was so pretty, Mom. It was so close." Nicki and Rick shared a quick look before the girl could see him almost chuckle happily. "I've never been..." Nicolette frowned when Carl stopped talking. His eyes were open, but he wasn't moving at all. She wasn't even sure he was still breathing.
That wasn't normal...
"Carl?" as Lori called her son's name, he started to make erratic and uncontrolled movements. He was shaking badly, making the whole bed shake, too.
"What the hell?" Nicki exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands as Rick tried to stop Carl from moving, but Hershel put himself in between.
"Don't. It's a seizure," he said as Nicki observed the boy with wide eyes and her hands on her hair. "lf you held him down, you couId hurt him."
That was almost terrifying. She had never seen someone having a seizure. It seemed like he was in pain, and it was clear that he had no control over his own body.
"You can't stop it?" asked Lori in panic.
"He has to just go through it," explained Hershel, pushing Carl on his side so that he could not hurt himself. Rick held Lori close as she sobbed and cried. As for Nicki, she had stepped back until her back was against the wall. She couldn't stop looking at Carl as she felt her legs give in to make her sit on the ground.
After infinite moments, Carl finally stopped, and Lori and Rick ran immediately to his side. But the boy was passed out once again.
"His brain isn't getting enough blood," explained Hershel as Nicki pushed herself up once again. "His pressure is bottoming. He needs another transfusion".
He needed Shane to come back. Where the hell was he? Carl couldn't hold on anymore. He couldn't wait anymore.
Nicki took a breath before she walked out of the room, running outside feeling suddenly sick. She ran down the stairs and threw up on the ground. Her knees were bent, and her hands were on her thighs as she tried to let it all out. She hadn't eaten anything, and she felt so tired.
"Nicolette?" Glenn rushed to her, rubbing her back as she finished, "You need to eat something."
"I don't know what I need," she said with a groan, hating even the idea of opening her mouth to eat something. She didn't want to eat, or drink, or sleep. She was tired, but she could do nothing but being awake.
"Someone should go look for them," Nicki muttered as Glenn brought her closer to him.
"What?" he asked as he rubbed one of her arms, sitting on the dirt.
"Shane and Otis," she said, exhausted. "He's going to die if they don't make it back."
"We can't, Nicki," Glenn said, shaking his head.
"Why not?" she asked with closed eyes, feeling a sudden headache.
"We're just gonna make it worse," Glenn said. "More people are gonna get hurt."
Nicki shook her head tiredly.
"Carl's gonna die," she muttered.
"Don't talk like this. Come on," said Glenn, trying to help her up. "Let's get you inside."
"Is she alright?" she heard Maggie's voice.
"I think she's exhausted," Glenn explained as he supported Nicki's body. "She needs rest and food." Maggie nodded her head, leading them inside so that Nicolette could lie on the couch.
"What a fucking day," Nicolette muttered as Glenn sat next to her, rubbing her arm.
"Yeah," he said. "You're right."
After that, Nicolette slipped into the darkness. She slept with no dreams, and she felt like her slumber had lasted centuries. When she woke up, she widened her eyes and immediately set up.
"Hey," said Maggie, who was just entering. "Calm down; it's okay," she said, kneeling next to Nicolette.
"How long have I been out?" Nicki asked.
"Not that much, actually," Maggie said. "Maybe an hour or so. Glenn just got outside." Nicki nodded her head, feeling it be a lot lighter than before. She needed that sleep, but she couldn't be knocked out for too long. She wanted to know what was happening.
"Is Shane back?" she asked, looking around, but Maggie shook her head, making Nicki groan a little.
"I know you don't get distracted," Maggie said, turning to the table. "But I've made you a sandwich. You should eat it."
"Thank you," Nicki said, turning her body towards the coffee table and taking the bread in her hand. She smelled it, not even sure if it was real or a dream. It felt like ages that she had last eaten something like that. As she bit down, she swore she had never eaten something so good. It was like living again.
"Look who's back with us," T-Dog said, sitting on the couch next to Nicki, who smiled as she chewed.
"I could say the same thing," she said with a full mouth, noticing the man being healthier than a few hours before.
Suddenly, they heard the noise of a car getting closer. Nicki, T-Dog, and Maggie shared a look before getting up. Immediately, Nicolette saw Rick, Lori, and Hershel run out of the room to go outside. They all followed them, and a rush of relief hit her as she spotted Shane getting out of the car.
"Carl?" Shane asked as Rick and Hershel ran to him. He seemed exhausted, shaken up, terrified, and limping.
"There's still a chance," said Rick as Hershel took the big bag Shane had on his shoulder. Then he started to look behind the man's back, making Nicki do the same.
"Otis?" Hershel asked. At the question, Shane's eyes got wider as he looked down, shaking his head.
God, Otis was dead...
"We say nothing to Patricia," exclaimed Hershel. "Not till after. I need her," and he ran inside. Nicki looked up at Maggie, who was crying and sobbing next to her.
"Was he Patricia's husband?" Nicki asked making the other girl nod her head with closed eyes.
They didn't want this. It wasn't supposed to go this way.
Nicolette turned again towards Shane, who was now hugging Rick. His eyes were always wide and in shock. Nicki wondered what had happened, what he had seen, and how Otis had died.
"They kept blocking us at every turn," Shane said with a trembling voice. We had nothing left. We were down to 10 rounds. Then he said—" he stopped and took a shaky breath. Nicki had never seen him like that, not even after the attack at the camp.
"He said he'd cover me and that l should keep going. So that's what l did. l just... l kept going," Shane kept saying, "But l-- l looked back, and he-- l tried. He wanted to make it right." Rick put a hand on his shoulder, trying to reassure his friend. To make him calm down. Nicolette observed Shane, wondering how bad it must have all been. The man had always been strong and reliable. Something terrible must have happened if even someone like him was that broken.