Out of the Woods (The Walking Dead) PART 2

Chapter 2

Out of the Woods (The Walking Dead)

Unexpected Reunion:

"Holy shit..." Martinez gasped at the sight of who he saw on the other side of the lake. He didn't have to see her face to know.

"What, Martinez?" Pete asked with curiosity, "Hey-What are you doing?"

Martinez dropped the binoculars and leaped down from the RV. Pete called out for him to stop, saying it wasn't safe to go out running into the water. Luckily, the lake wasn't at all deep at this part. It only came up to Martinez's ankles, Pete and Mitch right behind him. There were lots of rocks with a strong current, threatening to pull her body away with it again.

"Martinez!" Mitch shouted as he caught up, "She's dead, Martinez! Leave it! She's dead!"

Martinez didn't acknowledge what he just said. No, she wasn't dead. She couldn't be. He got to the other side of the lake to Suzy's body. This side of the lake was all woods and overgrown grass by the shore. Suzy was just barely washed up in the dirt, most of her body still floating in the water. Since she was face down, Martinez turned her over to check if she was breathing. When he didn't hear anything, he wasted no more time and began doing compressions on her chest then blowing air into her mouth.

"She's gonna turn, Martinez!" Mitch continued once he and Pete reached the other side, "I'm tellin' you, man, she's dead-"

"Mitch-" Pete said sternly to make him be quiet. He went on to tell him Martinez clearly knew this girl and they should let him try saving her. Mitch only rolled his eyes at his brother saying that.

"I'm just being realistic," Mitch groaned.

Martinez continued with performing the CPR, growing more and more anxious. She wasn't responding. He kept going, desperate to revive her. After another round of chest compressions, Suzy began coughing up all the water she had in her lungs. Martinez moved her over so she could get it all out and not risk choking on it. He rubbed her back and gave her light pats to aid her. As soon as she caught her breath, she passed out back onto the ground from the exhaustion her body could no longer ignore. Mitch groaned again when he saw Martinez picking her up to bring her back to the camp.

"No way, Martinez-" Mitch said, "We have too many mouths to feed as it is. You saved her life, now let her be on her way."

"Pete," Martinez ignored Mitch's complaining, "Go get Miranda and have her come to my RV with some dry clothes and a first aid kit."

When Martinez said first aid kit, Mitch examined Suzy's body for any signs of injury. Underneath her sleeve, he could've sworn he saw marks. He grabbed Suzy's arm, making Martinez stop so he could lift her sleeve.

"She has scratches, Martinez!" Mitch shouted, showing her arm covered in scratch wounds, "She's gonna turn. It's too dangerous to have her here!"

"We don't know they're from biters," Pete commented, "If she has no fever, she should be fine."

Martinez shook his head, "They're not from biters."

"How could you possibly know that?" Mitch asked.

Martinez didn't answer. He brought Suzy to his RV and laid her on his bed. Pretty soon, Miranda showed up with a gray T-shirt and white shorts to change Suzy into. Then her and Martinez shared the first aid kit to clean the scratches on Suzy's arms and legs to ensure they wouldn't get infected. Martinez thanked Miranda for her help and sent her on her way. He gazed at Suzy's sleeping form and pet her head softly. She looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. She was skinnier than when he had last seen her. Despite having been in the lake, he could still see dry patches of dirt staining her skin in various places, especially her neck and hands. He knew right away she must've been through hell. He held her hand and caressed his thumb on her skin.