The Purification (From the Ashes We Will Rise: Book One)

Chapter 15

"How's your brother doing?" Maggie asked as we prepared lunch for the others. They all argued and said I should be in bed, but I felt useless doing nothing. So I've been helping Lori and Maggie around the house while Lincoln and Carl were off doing their schoolwork.

"He's okay. But I mean, he saw me get shot, Maggie. It freaked him out. Things were pretty bad out there," I grunted as I cut the boiled chicken in front of me.

"He's not the same," she sighed. "He says he froze and blamed me for it. Says I got inside his head."

"He came back for you," I smiled at her, "that's what matters. He cares about you a lot. And I can honestly say I've never seen him like this."

"Things were good. I think I freaked him out by telling him—"

"Glenn's a big boy. He makes his own choices," I laughed. "Do you have anything to apologize for?"

"No," she sighed with a smile.

"Then tell him to grow up. Or I can if you want," I laughed as Maggie continued to chop the vegetables. She shook her head and shooed me off as I hobbled to bring Beth her lunch. I balanced the tray on my forearm as I opened her bedroom door.

"Knock, knock," I huffed. She turned over and sat up as I shot her a small smile.

"How about this—you, uh—you eat up all your food, and we'll get out of here and go for a walk. What do you say?" I proposed. "It'll do you some good to be outside."

"You have a kid, and you went out there all recklessly," Beth spoke in a monotone. "How could you do that?"

"It didn't feel like I had a choice," I sighed. "I had to be there to protect my brother. I knew there would be people here to protect my son. So you eat up, okay?"

I left her alone for a while to sit on the porch. I figured Carl and Lincoln had given up homework, and I was right. The boys ran all over the place with Tuck on their tails. It was so beautiful today. But, for all its beauty, it's also the reason we're all still here today. It provides food, water, and shelter—everything we need to survive. After a while, I walked back inside to check on Beth. I knocked on her bedroom door and sighed as I looked down at the untouched tray of food that sat exactly where I had left it.

"Couldn't eat a thing, huh?" I asked gently, and that's when I heard the soft cries escape her lips. I knelt slowly, hissing at the shock wave of pain that flew through my body as my knee hit the ground. "I know how hard it is. When I lost my mom, it felt like nothing would ever be right again. I can only assume—"

"It's just so pointless," she cried.

"No, Beth," I spoke softly. "You have Maggie, your father, Patricia, and Jimmy. You have to stay strong for them. I wish I could promise you it would be okay, but I can't. What I do know is that we can make things better now. We have to so we can keep on surviving."

"Thank you," she smiled softly as her tears ceased to flow.

"I'll be right back, and we'll go take that walk," I smiled, trying not to grimace as I got back to my feet. I took the tray out with me, and as I pulled the dishes off, I noticed the knife was missing. Oh shit. Not caring how my body screamed as I forced myself to run into the younger girl's room to find her curled back up in her bed.

"Give me the knife, Beth. You don't want to do this," I spoke gently. Wordlessly, she pulled her hand out from under the blanket and handed the knife over. I rushed back outside, and there was no one around. I took off running towards our camp to find Andrea on the RV.

"Andrea!" I shouted, catching the older woman's attention. "Andrea, have you seen Maggie or Hershel?"

"Liam, you're bleeding. You're not even supposed to be moving around," the woman pestered.

"I'm fine, but have you seen them?"

"I haven't seen Hershel, but I saw Glenn and Maggie walk by maybe twenty minutes ago."

"Could you find them, please? I have to get back to the house," I begged.

"Of course," she agreed, sensing the urgency. Covering the wound, I whimpered as I sprinted back to the house. Once I got back inside, I pulled up a chair to the side of her bed and didn't leave her side until Maggie and Glenn showed up at the house. After explaining everything that had happened, Maggie rushed to Beth's room while Patricia patched up my wound. It didn't look as pretty as when Hershel sewed it up, but it'll do.

"Are you crazy? What if Dad finds out?" I heard Maggie shout from down the hallway. That can't possibly be helping anything. Once I reached the girl's room, I leaned against the doorway. She looked up at me with a look of betrayal. She wasn't wrong too. It's probably how it felt. But I'd rather have her pissed off and alive than plain dead.

"What's he going to do? Kill me for committing suicide?" Beth laughed darkly.

"Stop being a brat," Maggie snapped, "he'd die. So would I. This isn't just about you. We all lost Mom."

"We'll lose each other, and I couldn't stand that," Beth sighed.

"So you give up?" Maggie snapped. Glenn touched my shoulder and guided me away to give them some privacy. As we walked into the kitchen, I saw Lori and Andrea waiting.