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THE DAYS HAD begun to blend together, the days drug on, and colette wasn't sure how much longer she could last. she wanted to give up, lay down somewhere and wait for the inevitable to happen to her, because she felt she was just wasting as much time she could before she ran out of time.
her body burned, legs feeling like jello. they felt like they'd give out with each step she took, wobbling and knees begging for a break. her stomach burned with hunger, and her throat and mouth felt like sand paper from the lack of water she has had.
she felt dizzy, eyes going through tunnel vision every so often. she wanted it all to be over, and she hated that she was thinking how she was. deep within her mind colette knew people were waiting for her to return, waiting for when she and sophia finally made an appearance after being gone for so long. yet she had found herself wishing she hadn't gotten out of the cdc more then she wished she would.
her mind plagued her with the idea of just giving up. sitting on the ground and letting nature run its course, but she couldn't. she knew she had to be strong, hold the brave face for as long as she could, not for herself; but for sophia. colette couldn't understand why the child didn't seem to be struggling as much as she was, it seemed like sophia couldn't feel the aching within her stomach, or feel the dehydration slowly seeping into her.
it was like the child felt nothing at all. colette believed the young girl was holding a better brave face then was. her eyes glanced down the the girl, her hands clutching tightly onto the stuffed toy she held, clutched to her chest like a lifeline.
they hadn't spoken in nearly a day, colette couldn't find what to say to the girl, and her mouth felt like it would dry out more then it had if she dared to speak. so they remained silent, trekking through the dense forest. ears listening for any sound of the dead, praying she wouldn't hear it, colette wasn't sure if she'd be able to fight one of the dead off, she was barley able to hold herself up as it was.
the two flinched, sounds of gun shots filling the air. sophia's arms wrapped tightly around the girls forearm, face pressed against the side of colette's ripped and dirty t shirt. her lip quivered in fear, eyes looking up to colette who had turned to face the direction the shots were coming from.
body going rigid, trying to decide weather they should go towards the noise or away from it. "where's it coming from?" sophia questioned softly, voice cracking. colette had almost forgotten what she sounded like, she hadn't heard the child's voice in days. colette stayed silent, eyes momentarily glancing down to the child beside her. with wobbly legs, she began towards the noise, in the direction they'd just walked from.
and sophia trailed quietly behind her, "what if their bad guys?" sophia questioned, eyes glancing to colette who shook her head. she couldn't bring herself to think that, she just had to get them to where the shots were coming from.
it wasn't for certain that these people would be good people, but they were people. that was enough for colette to make the move to walk in the direction. the shots weren't close, seemingly an echo and she wasn't sure if they were even going towards them. the noise could've bounced though the woods, off the different trees. she just had to hope they were.
twigs snapped beneath their weight, colette slowed, her ears ringing and body suddenly being engulfed in hot flashes. she swayed, back leaning against a tree as she forced herself to suck in deep slow breaths. sophia stared up at the girl, her face covered in worry, hand gently grasping the girls shirt.
cole rubbed her eyes, damning the black spots that tainted her vision away. slowly with a deep exhale she forced herself off the tree, nausea filling her senses, she felt on the verge of passing out. she had to force them to move quicker, yet her body that felt like a thousand pounds wasn't helping. each step felt like she was holding the world on her shoulders, the immense weight making her want to topple over.
she couldn't remember the last time she slept, and she was sure that wasn't helping the state she was already in. dark bags laid beneath her eyes, dark purple, skin a sickly pale, and she was sure she was covered in dirt.
yet they pushed forward, taking slow and painful steps; yet moving never less.
she wasn't sure how long it had been, nor how close they were. the sun was setting, and the air was becoming colder. putting one foot in front of the other was becoming more and more of a challenge. colette wasn't even sure if they were near where the shots had been coming from, and her hope had long run out.
now she was running off a dream, a dream to be back with the group, and not on the verge of falling over with each passing second.
her lips cracked into a small relived smile, the sight of a barbed wire fence came into view. a large pasture behind it, fence blocking off the dead along with any unwanted visitor's. slowly she knelt down, lifting the wire she groaned, sophia crawled through, colette hot on her trail. her hands released the sharp wire, it made a small rattling noise.
faith was running low, and she could only pray they were gonna be okay. she could faintly hear the sounds of yelling, eyes dotting with spots as blurry figures ran towards her, she felt her body behind to sway. the yells slowly becoming muffled, yet they were growing louder as they neared her, they almost sounded relieved.
colette felt her legs go weak, knees finally giving way, she braced herself for when she'd hit the ground. eyes squeezed shut tightly, yet the feeling of her head hitting the grassy pasture never came. rather two arms wrapping around her body did.
she forced her eyes open, it didn't feel like one of the dead. she was sure the dead wouldn't waste a second before tearing her flesh open. she was slowly lowered onto the ground, her head was rested on someone's lap, hands pushing the hair from her face. gentle calloused hands rested on the sides of her face, her eyes slowly opened, lids feeling heavier then ever.
and a faint smile formed on her lips, she was sure it looked more like a pained smile by the way his face fell even more. "cole, hey keep those eyes open for me okay?" he spoke softly, arms moving beneath her knees and under her neck, lee stood, holding the girl bridal style as he hurried back to the farm house.
her head rested against his chest, a soft sigh escaping her chapped lips. "just gonna close my eyes." she mumbled, voice horse and cracking. she wasn't sure what he had said, his voice being muffled as his pace quickened. he spoke words colette couldn't understand, she felt like her head was being forced under neath water again.
but she felt safe, so she let her eyes slowly flutter shut. listening to the rapid drumming of his heart within his rib cage.
so she slept, letting her body finally relax.
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AUTHORS NOTE — did i skip like 3 episodes? yes. do i feel bad about it? no. but in all seriousness i couldn't figure out what to do with the other episodes, nor could i find places to write lee in and colette was literally js wondering the forest for nearly a week, but hope u enjoyed!
