𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒, the walking dead (rewrite)

05. sick sick sick

Genesis.

[season 4—episode 5]
intermitent

This was it. Things weren't getting any better for the sick in Cell Block A—and Melissa knew it. Glenn knew it. Sasha knew it. The only two who still clung to hope were Ben and Hershel. They worked around the clock, drenched in sweat, fueled by stubbornness and no sleep, fighting to keep people breathing. But the air was thick with coughs and moans, the sickness bleeding into the silence like a death sentence.

Still, the sick tried to survive.

"Henry, I need you to calm down," Ben urged, leaning over the man gasping for air. "We're trying to help you."

Melissa moved in beside him, holding Henry's flailing arms down while Ben carefully inserted the tube into his throat and hooked up the bag. Sasha sat across from them, slumped against the wall, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

Ben began squeezing the bag, slow and steady. Henry's chest rose and fell in jerky rhythm while Melissa wiped blood from his lips, her hands shaking.

When Sasha doubled over with a fit of coughs, Ben looked up sharply. "Drink something," he said, nodding toward the tea box. "Both of you. Now."

Sasha gulped down a cup, almost gagging on the bitter heat, and handed another to Melissa. She accepted it with a small sigh, the warmth soothing the razor-edge pain in her throat. As she leaned back against the wall, Ben pushed the bag toward Sasha.