My Hunter || D. Dixon (On Hold)

Twenty-Two - Nine Years Old

Hours pass and by now the sun's set and Jess' just got worse and worse. "I know it's been a while since I've done this. Since I've come to you for answers. It's been since the beginning of all of this but. I'm asking you to please, for me, don't let her die." I pray under my breath, on my third transfusion. Caleb sits next to me, holding his daughter's hand.

Herschel's on the other side of the bed, checking her blood pressure. "Hey." Glenn's voice calls, making me look up at him and T as they stand in the doorway. "We're here, okay?" Glenn says softly and I nod my head.

Caleb looks at the pair with a smile. "Thank you," Caleb says as Patricia takes the needle out of my arm. Glenn nods at him before the pair walk away to get T's arm looked at. I lean back in the chair, taking a bite of the sandwich that Maggie had brought me.

I set the plate aside, looking up to meet Rick and Carl, who are dead silent. "There was this time when I was little, the first time I fired a gun," I say, Caleb, shaking his head with a small laugh. Carl looks up from Jess and to me. I elbow Caleb lightly, "Shut up. Anyway, I was maybe nine at the time, a short kid like you." I smirk at Carl.

Carl lets out a small laugh, Rick smiling at the sound. "Hey!" Carl calls to me and I laugh.

I meet Rick's eyes for a moment before leaning back in my chair a bit. "I got a hold of one of my father's guns, went out in the woods. Started messin' around. I knew how to shoot my bow, how to handle a knife, track 'nd all that. I'd never shot, neither did Caleb, the coward was too shit scared to come with me."

Caleb hits my shoulder with a laugh. Rick lets out a small laugh at our actions. "I was not." He says and I raise an eyebrow. "I was the lookout." He points out.

I shake my head, looking at Carl. "Some lookout you were, couldn't hear you with how far in I went, might as well have been asleep. Either way there I am, walking out in the woods pistol in my hands, pointing at trees and shit-sorry stuff." I say, laughing to Carl. "And I come to this spot by the creek and there was this squirrel, sittin' there, and I thought this it's now or never. I raise my gun and shoot. I missed the squirrel and got knocked on my ass."

Carl laughs out loud at my story, making me smile. Caleb and Rick follow him and I glare at the two of them. "She came home that night, covered in mud and the gun was in her pocket. Our father was somthin' fierce, 'specially when he found out that she had taken a gun." Caleb says and I roll my eyes at him. "Next day he goes on about 'you wanna shoot, fine' and drags both of us out there. I get punished along with her for her stupidity." I hit Caleb on the shoulder.

With the story finished, Herschel talks about needing to get the surgery over with or she won't make it. Rick takes Carl out of the room and I look at Herschel, holding out my scared arm to him. "You need blood take more." He shakes his head at me.

I meet Herschel's eyes as Rick walks back into the room. "I take any more and you could slip into a coma, go into cardiac arrest." He tries to reason and I shake my head, shocked when Rick steps forward.

The look on his face matches mine. "Take it from me, I'm A-Positive." He says and I stumble to sit back down, Caleb catching me. Herschel hooks Rick up to the bag.

Caleb puts his hand over Rick's. "Thank you." He says and Rick nods as I drop my head in my hands. Rick gives the blood and we move Jess onto a table, ready for the surgery. Outside the house another car pulls up, headlights showing through the window.

I stand up, following the rest as they leave the house, standing in the doorway as they go out to greet Shane and Otis. The only thing is that Shane came back alone with Otis' gear, his gun. They take the gear and rush in, I lock eyes with Shane for a moment, nodding to him before turning and walking back into the house with Caleb.