Bitten

No Thanks.

     "Don't avoid him, boys don't like that." Maggie said as she braided Charlie's hair.
     "I don't give a damn what he doesn't like." she retorted.
     "Hey! Just because the world has ended doesn't mean you can say ugly words." Maggie lectured.
    Charlie laughed as she pulled her braid to the front. She suddenly stopped laughing as Daryl barged in.
"Ricks called a meeting, says some girl shows up." He grumbled as he walked out leaving the girls there. Maggie got up and gave a hand to her sister who was on the floor. Charlie gladly took it and wiped off the dust her pants had collected from sitting on the floor.
     Walking to the kitchen where the meeting was held the two girls heard someone being interrogated, "Why are you here?!"
     "I stumbled across your prison looking for help, when I saw someone in the watch tower, I yelled." The girl replied cooly.
     "What about your leg? Are you bit?" Daryl spoke up as he came closer to her.
     The girl said nothing as she pulled the cloth off her leg revealing a large gash. Charlie gasped as Carol ran to the cabinet.
     "Did you cut yourself?" Maggie said she put her hands close to the wound.
     "Pftt, I didn't.. some man named the Governor did." She said as her face looked as it recalled some memories. "He's a horrible man, he does bad things. My friend, they took my friend. They said they were going to treat him but they didn't. They were going to do bad stuff to him." She faltered.
     "Who is this Governor man?" Glenn said as he put a hand on her shoulder.
     She shrugged his hand off, "Dunno, he has a place. With walls and houses, food, lots of it. And he has people, worshippers to be exact who call him the Governor."
     "Who is your friend?" Rick spoke up.
     "He said it was Shane, if I can remember clearly."
     At that moment everyone stopped, "Shane?" Lori said as she came to the front.
"Yes, I- it's kind of stupid but I found him in the woods running from a herd of rotters. He was sick and delirious, he kept screaming to go back for his son. I told him I couldn't. That his son is probably dead by now." Michonne said as she met Lori's eyes.
"What did he look like?" Rick interrupted.
     The woman looked up at him, "Tall, white, and kind of buff even though he's malnourished. And he had a shaved head."
     "Did he have a scar? On his head did he have one?" Rick asked as he made hand motions with his hands.
     "I think so, I saw it once when he was sleeping." She tried to remember.
     "Where is the place the governor lives?" Lori questioned.
     "South, it's about 2 hours south from here."
     "You traveled 3 hours with the wound on your leg?" Carol said she she cleaned the gash.
    ".. Yeah" Michonne said as she looked at the old lady with thankful eyes.

    "If she is telling the truth then that means Shane is still alive." Lori said.
     "It doesn't matter if Shane is out there- he's not good." Rick panted as he pointed his fingers to her then outside.
"This baby has the right to be raised by her actual father!!" Lori broke down.
     "I thought I killed Shane." Rick whispered, he had aged since the first time Charlie saw him.
     Lori looked at the man she once knew, "What?"
     "Before we left the farm he attacked me, I thought I killed him..." Rick looked her in the eyes.
     "I.." Lori started but then she walked towards him, "You are not the man I married." And with that she left.

    "Do you think what Rick did was right?" Charlie said as she sat on top of the watch tower.
     "I.. It's not my place to say. But I think that all couples fights it will pass." Beth explained as she sat next to her little sister.
Charlie smiled before she turned to the fence, "Walkers. You can try scoping them, if you can't I can take over."
Beth set up her gun as 3 walkers rattled the fence, "What's that?" She said as she backed away from the scope to get a better look at the walkers.
"What's, what?" Charlie looked into the scope.
She saw a herd of walkers forming that looked deranged. These weren't normal walkers, they had been led here. Suddenly the two girls heard a cranking sound. One they haven't heard in almost a month. They heard a car starting up. The sound caught the attention of the walkers and the girls.
     "What are they doing?" Beth asked as she stood up.
"Glenn? What are you guys doing?" Charlie came closer to see the group.
Rick lowered his voice, "If she's right about this place, we could find Shane. Lori's not going to forgive me if I don't try."
"I can draw you a map on how to get there," Michonne stumbled towards them.
"No, you're coming with us." Rick declared.
"She's injured," Carol stuck up for her.
"I'm not going in there blind, either she goes or we don't go at all" He asserted.
"Can I come?" Charlie asked Maggie.
Maggie brushed her sister hair behind her ears, "I'd feel better if you stayed here with Beth,"
Charlie heard Beth come behind her and rest her hands on her Charlie's shoulders.
"I'm coming dad." Carl declared as he ran to the group.
"Carl!" Lori screamed as she tried to waddle to him.
"I'm going mom," He yelled back.
"Let him go Lori," Rick stuck up for him.
"He's thirteen, what if he gets hurt?" She turned red as she held her bulging stomach.
"This would be a good learning experience for him,"
Charlie turned to look at Carl, "You're going? You can't-"
"Yes I can" He glared.
"What if you.. What if you don't come back?" She whispered. Everyone looked at her.
"Come on Charlie, let's go-" Beth beckoned.
"No!" Charlie fought against her sister but then she felt herself get lifted off the ground by Glenn. "I think you should go inside Charlie," Maggie said as Glenn put her down. Charlie abided and went inside with a huff.

"What's wrong?" Hershel asked her when he saw her face.
     "They don't know what they're getting themselves into! It's so frustrating, and guess what. Carl is going too!!" She screamed as tears threatened to pour.
"How come I can't even leave the prison by myself for supplies but Carl can go on missions?!" She shouted as she threw her pillows on the floor. "Please leave, I want to be alone right now." and with that Hershel left for her to figure it out on her own.

"Charlie, can we talk?" Carl said as he pulled up a chair to sit next to her.
"No thanks, I'm busy." She said not looking up from her word search.
"The words' right there, now can we talk? Please, it's important." Carl pleaded. "Since you're not saying anything, I'll say it anyway. I won't go if you don't want me to.." Carl said as he directed her chin so she would look at him. Without a word she swatted his hand away and left the table quietly.

"Charlie? They're about to leave, lets go say bye" Herschel said as he pried her book away.

"Carl's still going?
    "I guess so, he won't listen to me anymore.." Lori sighed as she leaned on the car. "I'll be back, okay?" Rick said as he hugged Lori, he tried to kiss her but she wasn't over the fight so she swerved.
     "Carl! Carl!" Charlie yelled for him as she came from the prison to where the group was standing. The group turned their heads to look at her and all the commotion she was making.
"Carl, I don't want you to go," Charlie said as she reached him and embraced him. "No thanks" Carl said as he shrugged her off and went into the car and closed the door with a slam.

Authors note: sosoo sorry i havent been posting, tbh i felt like no one was going to read it anymore. i just gave up on it for a while but then i realized that being a author has always been my dream and i need to pursue it. so here it is. :))