After the Last Day on Earth (TWD Fanfiction)

Reunion

Carter's P.O.V.

Coming from the Infirmary, where Rick and his group were processing everything that's happened in the last week or so, I saw the gate open down the street in front of me. Through tears, Rick told us the bad news when they had arrived back here yesterday. King Ezekiel, Morgan, Benjamin, and Richard stood and watched a few feet from me.

Riley had her arms around Carl's and Colton's necks for support, and the three of them were struggling, barely awake, to get inside.

They walked the entire way. It took them all night.

Just as they crossed the threshold of the gates, her knee buckled and she was practically limping to the Infirmary. Realizing I wasn't doing anything to help, that I was standing there in shock, I dropped the bag I was holding and ran as fast as I could to them.

I grabbed hold of Carl's free arm and helped him to Infirmary.

"Rick and his group got back yesterday. We were so worried. What happened out there?" I asked urgently, just to be answered with an annoying silence from the trio. "Tell me!"

We burst through the Infirmary doors and ran down the hall until we came across an unoccupied room, where we gently laid down Riley on the bed. She groaned and tried to sit up, obviously in pain. Colton and Carl collapsed right next to  her, catching their breaths.

Riley's P.O.V.

Colton took hold of my hand next to me. I looked at him with glassy eyes, and soon let my tears fall. Crying just hurt even more.

"What did they do to you?" he whispered.

"I don't want to talk about -"

"Don't do that. Tell me what they did. Please," he begged.

"Later," I whispered, closing my eyes.

*****

It only felt like a few minutes, but when I woke up, everyone was gone and there wasn't a hint of light trying to break through the window from outside.

I tried sitting up, but my muscles were still sore. I groaned and gave up, finding myself in worse pain than when we had arrived the previous day.

How am I still here?

"Hey, you're awake," a voice came out from the dark abyss, one I soon recognized to be that of Colton. He walked over to the side of the bed and looked down at me.

"I wish I wasn't," I mumbled, trying to avoid his eyes, knowing they would make me cave.

"What?" he asked, although I'm pretty that, from his tone, he knew what I had said.

"Nothing," I answered, looking back at him for a quick second.

A few moments of silence passed between us before he spoke up again. "We helped Carl into another room. He's with Rick, sleeping."

"Good. He deserves it. I should thank him in the morning."

"Then he's gonna have to come here because you're not leaving this bed," he ordered strictly, earning a groan from me. He laid down next to me. I heard a sharp intake of breath before he calmly asked, "What did they do to you?"

"Terrible things," I tried getting those mere words out.

"Like what?"

"Why do you need to know?" I scoffed, finally looking into his eyes.

"Because I care about you, you know that. You need to tell somebody. You have to get it out," he explained. He breathed out before continuing, "They tortured you. Didn't they?"