Anything - Carl Grimes

xxxiii. Alcoholic

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Throughout everything they had been through, with everything they had to do, Dottie concluded she deals with stressful things by doing reckless stuff. She has ignored Hershel telling her it's not healthy to deal with things that way, but she doesn't exactly call it being reckless. Dottie would say she yearns for the feeling of that high and adrenaline. But when she left to go on the run for medication with Daryl, Michonne, Bob, and Tyreese, she could defend herself from anyone saying she was reckless, even though Matt was dying back at the prison. But she didn't leave because she didn't care about him, she left because she needed to help the other to find the medication. "This is Turner Creek, so Barnesbille must be a few miles downstream," Michonne explained.

"Sounds like our best chance at findin' a new ride," Bob said.

"Yo, Ty," Daryl called out. Dottie was leaning against a wooden fence and turned her head to look at Tyreese, who was cleaning his shirt from blood in the river. "C'mon, let's go. Vámonos."

Michonne and Daryl walked away, but Bob and Dottie kept waiting for Tyreese. "Ty. Ty! There should be a town a few miles south," Bob told him.

"Lost a whole night. My sister, everybody else-- they're probably dead." Maybe it was just hope that kept Dottie believing Matt was still alive, or perhaps it was a maternal instinct to know if your child is still breathing or not-- but, it was a bold claim to say that in front of a mother.

"Well, it helps to keep moving," Bob positively suggested. Dottie found it impressive how Bob could stay positive even in the darkest times.

"No, it doesn't," Tyreese began walking back up, and Bob followed Michonne and Daryl. The look Dottie held on her face was unreadable but noticeable by Tyreese. The man sighed as the two went after Daryl, Michonne, and Bob.

"I know I ain't the most positive person. Hell, I think I'm the biggest pessimist in the group, but here's a piece of advice," Dottie began. "Hold onto the hope. It keeps ya goin'. I don't know if Matt's alive, but I don't need anyone spreadin' negative predictions that he might be dead."

Tyreese observed her, but Dottie kept looking straight forward. "That flu killed others in just one night."

"Yeah, when we didn't know they were sick. Non-infected ones are keepin' their symptoms down as best as they can. It's not the sickness itself killin' 'em, it's the symptoms," Dottie answered.

...

The silence between the five kept Dottie's thoughts running. She didn't know what was happening back at the prison, but she felt the weird feeling that something happened. And it wasn't something good. They found another car, but it was covered in leaves and a tree. "We gotta find us a new battery," Daryl left the vehicle. Where are they supposed to find a new battery? Dottie can't tell, but it's a real pain in the ass being stuck in nowhere again. Daryl spits on his hand and tries to wipe the window to see inside the building, but flinches back once Walker's hands slam against the window on the inside.

Dottie scoffed and mumbled so only he'd hear. "Yeah, that's whatcha get for bein' gross." Daryl's eyes wandered up and down her body in a judgemental way, before he nudged her with his elbow. The look Daryl gave Dottie wasn't actually judgmental, it was him showing amusement... in his own, special way.

"Come on," They went to the other side to move away the leaves and branches that were blocking the door. "Let's clear a path, and see how many we got," Dottie began slicing through the leaves with her machete, glancing at Tyreese, who was aggressively hitting the branches. "Hey, man, go easy. We don't know what we're dealing with," Daryl tried to calm him down. They all knew Tyreese was in a bad position, but they calmed him down for his own good. Dottie wanted to stop Tyreese, but they all turned to Daryl once a walker grabbed him.