[EDITING]
you took a polaroid of us,
then discovered,
the rest of the world was black and white,
but we were in screaming color,
and I remember thinking
are we out of the woods yet?
••••••••••••••••...
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season 4, episode 2 (part 2)
"No bites, no wounds... I think he just died." Rick sighed, his hand rubbing his forehead. The crease between his eyebrows deepened, showing the amount of stress he felt.
Hershel and I had moved upstairs with everyone else, we were all standing beside Charlie's limp body, his empty grey lifeless eyes staring right at the ceiling. I shivered at the sight, tightly wrapping my arms around myself.
"Horribly, too. Pleurisy aspiration." Dr. S replied sadly, shaking his head as he stared down at the boy. I perked up at his words, my mouth gaping open in shock as well as an anxious feeling stirring in my gut.
"He choked to death on his own blood..." I muttered, slowly lowering myself to the ground to take a longer look at the boy's pale face which had once been full of life.
"Caused those trails on his face," Hershel added a second later, pointing at the boy's face. Rick's head snapped toward me, then Hershel, then back at the young boy.
"I've seen them before, on a walker outside the fences," Rick said roughly, his brows furrowing in wonder. Daryl nodded along before replying in the same tone.
"I saw 'em on Patrick, too."
"They're from the internal lung pressure building up– like if you shake a soda can and pop the top. Only imagine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat are the top." Dr. S explained, his words painting a gruesome picture for all of us.
I inhaled sharply, sneaking a worried glance toward Rick, his eyes already on mine. He placed a comforting hand on my back, rubbing it affectionately. Though I appreciated his kind gesture, I couldn't help but fear the worst.
"It's a sickness from the walker's?" Bob asked from behind me, his body standing in the door frame. I tilted my ear in his direction, acknowledging his presence before turning back at Dr. S, his features uncertain.
"No, these things happened before they were around," The Doctor sighed, shaking his head. "Could be pneumococcal, most likely an aggressive flu strain," He listed off seemingly on the top of his head, I brought the tips of my fingers to rest over my mouth anxiously.
"How could somebody just die in a day from a cold?" Daryl scoffed out, pointing toward Charlie on the ground.
We all sat in silence, staring down at the lifeless teenager, no one knew the answer to Daryl's question– because it didn't make any sense. We had never dealt with anything like this, so we were not sure what to do or say.
"I had a sick pig, it died quick," Rick said slowly, "Saw a sick boar in the woods."
Hershel let out a sigh, his tongue clicking in realization. "Pigs and birds. That's how these things spread in the past. We need to do something about those hogs." He declared gently, his eyes staring right at Rick.
