Hopeless

Chapter 23

Shane's POV

I run as fast as I humanly can, every muscle in my body aching. I cling to Katie's limp body. Her warm blood soaking into my shirt. I take a quick look behind me at the big man that shot her, struggling to keep up. He falls to the ground out of breath, but I don't stop to help him up. I just keep running. I grunt, pushing myself to go faster as a big white farm house comes into view. I glance at Rick, who is panting beside me.

"We're almost there brother just hold on." I say to him, breathlessly. As we make it closer I see a young woman with shoulder length brown hair come out onto the porch.

"Daddy!" She yells into the house.

"Please, help us!" I beg as an older man with a clean shaven face steps onto the porch beside her.

"Were they bit?" He asks.

"Shot. By your man." I pant.

"Otis, He said to talk to Hershel is that you?" Rick ask the old man. The man nods.

"Otis did this?" A middle aged women aks from the doorway.

"Help us please, please save them." Rick begs.

"Come on get them inside! Everyone inside!" Hershel yells. We follow them into the house. Hershel starts barking orders as he leads us into a room at the side of the house. "Patricia I need my full kit!" He tells the middle aged women. "Maggie!"

"Yes Daddy?" The young women with brown hair answers.

"Painkillers, coagulates, grab everything. Clean towels, sheets, alcohol." She nods and takes off into another part of the house. "Here lay them here." He says indicating the two twin size beds laying a few feet apart in the center of the room. I gently place Katie down on one of the beds as Rick does the same with Carl. Hershel sees that carl is much worse of than Katie and rushes to him first.

"Get a pillow case." Hershel tells Rick. Rick stares at him blankly his eyes glassy and red.

"Is he alive?" He whispers.

"Get a pillow case quick!" Hershel says sternly. Rick snaps into action and pulls a pillow case from one of the pillows.

"Is he alive?" Rick repeats. Hershel ignores his question.

"Good now fold it. Make it into a pad. Put pressure on the wound." Rick does as he's told and holds pressure on the hole in Carl's stomach. "Now you do the same." He says to me. I quickly do the same as Rick did. Hershel holds his fingers up to Carl's throat. "I've got a pulse. It's faint but it's there."

"There's so much blood...." I mumble my mind floating in a million different directions. Patricia comes back into the room and takes over for Rick. Hershel comes to my side. He places my hands on the pillow case around mine.

"I got it..I got it. Step back." I pull my hands away and stumble back a few steps. This isn't happening it can't be. "Maggie Iv's!" Hershel calls to her. She rushses to his side with a bag of IV fluid in each hand.

"We need some space." Hershel yells. I stand there frozen.

"What's your name?" Maggie asks me gently.

"S-Shane. That's...that's Rick."

"Alright Shane..Rick we're gonna do everything we can ok?" I nod. "But you're gonna need to give us some room....Now" Hershel says frantically. Maggies takes my arm and leads me into the living room, with Rick right behind me. Rick wipes his hand across his forehead, smearing blood all over his face.

"Y-You got blood, man" I say pointing weakly at his face.

"O-Okay." He shifts, seemingly in shock.

"I'll get it...i'll get it." I take a rag from my back pocket and wipe the blood and sweat from his face.

"What happened?" Patricia asks Otis quietly from across the room,

"I was tracking a buck..I'd followed it for miles..I-I..the bullet went right through it,,clean through. I-I never saw them. Not until it was too late. Not until they were in the ground." He stops choking back tears. Patricia comforts him, but I just want to punch him square in his big gut. I take a deep breath and tear my gaze away from him. After a while Hershel walks into the room, gaining everyone's full attention.

"H-how are they?" I manage.

"Do you know the boy's blood type?" He asks us.

"A-positive s-same as mine." Rick answers.

"That's fortunate. Don't wander far...I'm gonna need you."

"How are they?" I repeat.

"The girl was lucky. The bullet went right through her upper thigh. She lost a lot of blood and she'll be in some pain for awhile, but she'll be just fine."

"S-she's pregnant..." I whisper.

"How far along?" He asks rubbing his chin.

"A little over three months..."

"I'll check for a heartbeat. I'll let you know when I know anything. You guys stay put."

"Carl?" Rick asks weakly.

"The bullet was slowed down by the girl and the deer, which certainly saved his life, but it didn't go through clean. It broke up into pieces." He hangs his head. "If I can get the bullet fragments out...and I'm counting six..he should be able to pull through." We thank him and he heads back into the room. I lead Rick out onto the front porch to get some fresh air. He paces back and forth until finally he stops.

"Oh god, Lori...Lori doesn't know. My wife doesn't know." He cries. I pull him into me, partially to comfort him but mostly to calm my shattering heart. I love him like he was my brother. Him and Katie are my family. Ever since we were kids. Their parents were more like parents to me than mine ever were. Katie is the love of my life, my best friend and seeing her and Carl like this is killing me. I sigh and pull myself together for his sake. I know it's hurting him just as much if not more than it is me.

"I never should've let him come with us." Rick cries, pulling away. "I should've sent him with Lori.

"Stop. You know you start that and you'll never get that monkey off your back."

"Y-you told me not to let him come...you told me to send him with Lori..."

"Doesn't matter what I said."

"Carl got shot because I wouldn't cut bait. That should be me in there not him." I let out a small chuckle. He furrows his eyebrows.

"You've been there partner, right? And you pulled through..and so will he."

"Is that why I got outta that hospital? Found my family, for it to end here, like this? Like some kind of sick joke?" He cries.

"Stop it. Just stop." I say sadly. Suddenly the large front door flies open.

"Rick. He needs blood." Patricia says frantically. We all rush to Carl's side. Patricia fumbles with the transfusion equipment while Hershel tries to retrieve the first bullet fragment from Carl's abdomen. Carl wiggles and screams in pain.  Tears stream down his pale clammy cheeks as Hershel  digs the tweezers into his torn flesh in apprehension of the fragment.

"You! Hold him down!" He yells to me.

"Dad!" Carl screams in pain. Rick lunges for him.

"I got him." He let's Patricia prepare to take his blood. I place my hands on Carl's fragile shoulders. I hold him down with all my strength. He grunts and screams under my grip.

"Hold him still!" Hershel yells.

"You're killing him!" Rick screams as Carl's cries intensify. He fights against Patricia who is trying to take his blood.

"Rick do you want him to live?" Hershel asks calmly without looking away from Carl. "He needs blood Rick."

"Do it! Do it now!" I yell to Rick. Suddenly the room is quiet. Carl stops screaming and his body falls limply under my hands.