Losing Hope *EDITING*

Chapter 23; Claire Curvel

"Claire," someone cooed in my ear. "Claire, baby wake up."

My eyes fluttered open, squinting as I adjusted to the light on my face. I frowned sitting up and noticing the trunk of the car was opened. I looked to Glenn, seeing him smile at me as I climbed out, resisting the urge to rub my tired eyes. I really needed a shower.

"Why'd we stop?" I asked, my voice groggily from just waking up. I didn't even remember falling asleep.

"Rick's outta gas," he answered.

He grabbed my hand, not caring at the dry blood that caked it. I shivered slightly, the cold winter air hitting me. I didn't have a jacket and this flannel I was in was not warm at all.

"You cold?" Glenn asked.

I shook my head, biting on my tongue to stop my chattering teeth. "Where is everybody else?" I asked confused.

"Over there," Glenn answered, walking over to the group that was in a circle.

"We're all infected," I heard Rick say as me and Glenn made it to them.

I froze. Infected. We're all infected. It was too easy to catch onto what Rick was talking about. That's why Randall turned even though he wasn't bit. I stared wide eyed at Rick, already catching onto what he was saying. There was no escape from this. Either way you become one of them things.

Look at yourself Claire. You tried to act like everything was fine once again after all that happened last night. Now look. Now you learn you're infected anyway. Ha. What a sick world this is.

"What?" Daryl asked confused.

I could feel my walls building up again. I could feel myself shut down again as reality caved in. There was no way out of this.

"At the C.D.C., Jenner told me," Rick explained. "Whatever it is, we all carry it.'

"And you never said anything?" Carol asked angrily. Everyone was on edge now.

"Would it have made a difference?"

"You knew this whole time?" Glenn accused.

"How could I know for sure," Rick defended. "You saw how crazy that moth-"

"This is not your call," Glenn hissed. "Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told. For the good of everyone."

"Well I thought it best that people didn't know."

Rick looked to everyone in the group, daring them to say something before he walked off. I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself as I shivered; from fear and the cold. I looked up with no emotion as Maggie placed her hand on my shoulder softly.

"There's a creek down there where we're staying," Maggie told me. "Go ahead and wash up and I'll bring you some clothes I can find."

I didn't say anything, just walked away from the group. I could see the looks they were giving me, only angering me. They all looked at me like they were afraid I would do something stupid. Maybe they could sense how fast my mood changed. Maybe I was just really scaring them. 

I stripped my bloody clothes off of me once I got to the small little creak with a little waterfall. I was thankful that there was a stone wall behind me that covered me while I stood here naked, except for my bra and underwear. I braced myself as I got under the little waterfall, my teeth instantly chattering as my body felt like it was being placed into a ice machine. I tensed up, rubbing my hands over my body as I washed the blood off of me.