RICK GRIMES || "Courageous"

Chapter 1: Lucid Dreams

     I remember Shane's voice... I heard the shot, but I didn't thought it would hit me; it did...

     Before I knew, Shane—my partner and best friend— was screaming my name repeatedly. I could hear his fear through my ears through the shivering of his voice as he called me again and again, but I couldn't move.

     He kneeled beside me as I felt how my entire body lost strength and pain gained control. I could barely breathe. The wound was chocking me.

     "Leon, you get that ambulance, and do you do it now, you hear me?!" he yelled as he pressured my bleeding and open wound near my chest. I whimpered as I felt my brown Sherriff shirt was filled with my own blood.

     I heard another gunshot. I heard the last man standing fall down thanks to the friendly fire. Shane ignored them and focused on my state.

     He knew I was dying, but they couldn't do much... It was only a matter of time before I would lose my consciousness...

"Shh-shh-shhh-sshhh, stay with me—I'm right here, stay with me, Rick... Shhh, shh, shhh... Hold on, man..." Shane kept imploring until I lost my consciousness.

*******

     I heard a constant, yet distant beeping sound as I tried to open my eyes. I felt lighter clothes on placed around my body; my chest being exposed with different electric gear and cables while a respirator remained connected to me.

     I saw the blurry image of a white ceiling. I instantly recognized where I was... The hospital.

     As I tried to get a grip of my lucid dreams around me I managed to look up as a silhouette approached me.

     I was laying down on a bed when the blurry silhouette morphed into a familiar face. I had a foggy image of my best friend, Shane looking at me and holding a jar with flowers on his right hand. He seemed dejected.

"Hey bud...(he said as he leaned closer to me) We're still here, we're still hanging there...(sighs) I'm sorry, man (looks to his side). It's always the same crap every time I come in here (sighs heavily and he looks down to the jar of flowers on his hands). Everyone picked these with the hopes you come back real soon..."

     He faked a smile as he looked to the side.

"I'm just gonna' set this on the table beside you, okay?"

     Before I could even try to utter any word and answer him back, everything went black again.

*******

"That jar makes you look funny. Was it bought from the grandma's special collection? — I joked as I noticed Shane was no longer there. There was no beeping of the monitor and the room's temperature was different.

     I coughed twice as I realized the sepulchral silence not only on the room I was, but on the outside.

"Shane... Shane?" I called him out just to not get an answer back; my gut feeling was telling me something wasn't okay about this whole situation.

     I looked beside me—to my right— and saw the same jar with flowers and barely distinguished on my lucid dreams when Shane was there. The flowers were dead.

     I decided to stand up, not fully aware of what was happening.

     My body was shivering, and I was all sweaty.

     I sat up at the edge of the hospital bed as I held with my right hand my serum holder.

     I stood up just to lose the faint strength I had on my knees and fall. With me, the serum holder fell.