Anything - Carl Grimes

xxxiv. Chances of survival

.

The situation at the prison was getting heated. More people were dying, and the others were getting worse. Dorothy was still somehow holding it together, maybe better than others. She helped Hershel, checked up on Boris and Matt, and informed Maggie about the situation when she came by. It was scary having to be around this many sick people and watching them die. It's not like when you're on the field, and maybe you can even prevent someone from dying or you're just surrounded by the walkers you're not afraid to kill. But now, no one can stop the sick from dying, and she couldn't bear killing the ones she knows and keeps close to her heart once they are gone.

Her lungs were on fire due to coughing every few seconds. She stumbled down the hall, going to check up on Boris and Matt. Because Matt couldn't be alone during this time, they all took watch to be around him. It was Glenn's turn now.
Dizziness and pain in her chest prevented her from being able to walk without stumbling. She grabbed the pole of Boris' cell, leaning her forehead against them. "Boris," She called out for him, her voice raspy and barely audible.

"Yeah?" His voice sounded even worse than hers.

"Are you alive?" Dorothy asked.

"No, I'm just a ghost hunting you," She scoffed and rolled her eyes before closing them and just standing there. They both started coughing simultaneously before Boris spoke up. "I heard Hershel and Doctor S talking earlier."

"And?" She sighed.

"Doctor S is in his final phase..." Boris turned to lie on his side, coughing again. "And so am I." Dorothy internally winced at his words, coughing once more. The fact that someone can be so calmly self-aware of their death creeped her out. It gave her chills.

"Bullshit," She told him, shaking her head. "Daryl will return from the run soon and you'll get better. You have to tough it out until he gets back."

"Did you see anyone else tough it out and stay alive?" He asked.

"No, but they were fighting to stay alive. They were spitting out the blood and doing everything they could to keep breathing, and, I swear, Boris, if you go into all that 'I'm giving up because the chances of survival are small' I'll choke you myself." Her tone wasn't harsh, but it was stern yet caring. Boris coughed loudly again. "Drink some tea." Dorothy turned around once she heard gurgling and someone falling on the lower floor. She looked over the metal fence and saw one of the men dying and Hershel trying to help him. The blood left the man's mouth, going all over the floor and his face. After a few seconds, the gurgling stopped and the man's squirming did too, leaving the man relaxed on the floor.

Dorothy looked back at Boris whose eyes were bloodshot and his face pale. Boris' eyes told her he didn't believe he would survive and the red eyebags made him look like a zombie. She shook her head before slowly walking down the stairs. Sasha helped Hershel put the man on the bed and he told her to go rest. Dorothy grabbed the other side of the medical bed and Hershel was about to order her to return to her cell but she shook her head and helped him carry the man outside.

Once they were outside the cellblock, Hershel took out his Bible and Dorothy waited until he was finished to put the knife through the man's head.

"Hershel." Dorothy and Hershel turned to see Rick behind the glass in the room next to them.

"Third one we've lost," Hershel told Rick. Dorothy coughed loudly and held onto the bed. She noticed Rick's eyes softening but his brows furrowing in the concern. "We're burning them behind the block. Burning them. That's what it's come to."

Rick stayed quiet for a moment before nodding at Dorothy. "Go to bed, Dori." She nodded and coughed again, making her way back to the cellblock. She went to Matt's cell and changed shifts with Glenn. Dorothy sat by Matt on the floor, and the sleepiness got the best of her, making her pass out, her head and arms leaning on his bed.