HeartBreak

~Chapter 7~

-Chandler's POV-

The sound of something crashing to the ground downstairs grabs my attention. As quietly as possible, I exit my room and stand at the banister. As I look down, the blonde haired man I saw earlier exits the house in a hurry. Something gleams on his gun as a drop of it falls to the floor. He slams the door shut behind him. Cautiously making my way down the stairs, I descend to the ground floor. I kneel down and observe the drop of metallic red liquid on the floor. I put some of it on my finger and take a quick sniff.

Blood. But whose?

I wipe my finger off against one of the moth eaten curtains that still hang in front of the windows in the foyer. Somebody has to be here because that certainly wasn't his own blood on his gun. I run back upstairs and grab my flashlight and hand gun before setting out to explore where that man came from.

I find myself standing in front of the broken basement door. This is the only place that I haven't checked yet on the entire ground floor. If somebody is in this house, then the only place they could be is down there. I sigh as I turn my flashlight on once again before descending down the steps.

Each of the boards creak as I make my way down the stairs. One hand holds the flashlight out in front of me while the other one brushes against my gun as it clutches the handle of my knife tightly. The farther down I get, the more I can smell the biters. About halfway down, I freeze. My ears pick up in very light breathing. 'What? That's impossible! Biters don't breathe! They can't do that!'

The grip around my knife grows tighter as I get closer to the bottom. A few steps away from the floor, my light illuminates long blonde hair. My heart leaps into my throat. 'Is that...Bella?...'

Walking down farther, the light further reveals her face and upper torso. The right side of her forehead has blood on it. Finally on the floor, my light manages to show her entire body. Her arms and calves are covered in bruises and cuts. I kneel down beside her and place my fingers against the side of her neck. Her pulse is kind of weak, showing that she's still alive but unconscious.

I sigh in relief. I was almost sure she'd be dead. I stay there for a moment, taking some time to look her over. Her body is just right, not too big and not too small, and she appears to be very athletic and toned. Holding my flashlight between my teeth, I scoop her up into my arms and carry her upstairs. As we go back to my room, I can't help but stare at her face. Her face was soft and refined but had this sort of regal beauty about it. Realizing that the flashlight is still in my mouth and that I'm probably shining it in her eyes, I force myself to look away from her face and open the door to the bedroom.

I set her down gently on the bed, making sure her pillow is soft enough. I sit down in the desk chair and stare at her laying there. Watching her chest rise and fall softly as she rests fills me with a sense of relief and calmness, something very rare in this world. I spin around in the chair for a bit before growing bored. I look around and spot the walkie talkie. I grab it and stand up. I sigh as I glance over at Bella before going out into the hallway. I leave the door open just enough that I can see her laying on the bed before switching the radio on.

"Hey Glenn! Are you there?"

A bit of static comes through for a moment. I glance back in the room at her.

"Yeah. I'm still here. None of the biters have gotten a bite out of me. For now... Anyways, what's up? What do you need?"

I look back down and focus on the walkie talkie.

"Um...you wouldn't happen to know where Rick is, would you?"

"I haven't seen him recently, but I bet he's around here somewhere...why?"

I sigh.

"I, uh, need to talk to him about something. Could you possibly find him for me?"

"Yeah sure. Just hold on a minute and I'll go find him for you."

There's nothing but static for a little bit. I lean back against the wall and watch Bella for a bit. She looks so peaceful resting there. 'She's too innocent for this world. She shouldn't have to go through this hell...'

"Hello?"

Rick's voice comes through the static, breaking my train of thought.

"Oh, um, hi Dad."

"Hi Chandler. It's...uh...it's been a while since we've...we've talked..."

The sound of him sighing is pretty obvious.

"Yeah...it has...listen Dad. I need to talk to you about something important."

"Sure. What is it son?"

I hesitate telling him about Bella for a moment. What if he doesn't like her? What if he thinks she's a threat? 'No. This is a risk you have to take.:

"I...I think I found another group of survivors..."

There's silence on the other end so I continue talking.

"...or at least I assume there's a group of them. I've only seen three of them so far..."

"Chandler, you know we can't take the risk of inviting a big group of strangers into ours, especially not with your mom being pregnant. They could be dangerous for all we know..."

I sigh again, only a bit louder I can feel my stress slowly rising.

"But Dad, one of them is injured. She's got a really big hole in her head and if she doesn't get treated, it could get infected and kill her!"

"How'd she get it? The hole in her head?"

I run my hand through my hair.

"One of her group members I guess, hit her over the head with his gun, shoved her down a flight of stairs, and left her for dead. At least that's what I think happened. I saw blood on the guy's gun as he ran away. She's unconscious right now so I'll have to ask her what happened when she comes around..."

"So one of her own group members assaulted her with a weapon?"

I can sense my dad's skepticism. He's always been protective of Mom and I. Even though I know he can't see me, I nod my head.

"Yes Dad. That's what I believe happened."

"This is exactly what I meant Chandler. We don't know how violent this guy really is, especially if he hurts his own group members. He could hurt me, your mom, or even you. I just can't take the risk of putting my family in more danger than we already are. And what about the rest of us? Shane and the Greenes? Daryl and his brother? Carol and Sophia? Think about what could happen to them?"

I groan in despair as I continuously run my hand through my hair. I slide my back down the wall as I sit down.

"Well can I at least bring Bella back so she can get her injuries taken care of?"

There's a period of never-ending static as he takes a moment to think about my request.

"Fine, but just the injured girl. She comes, she gets taken care of, and then she goes right back on her way. No exceptions. Understand?"

I smile to myself, glad that I can at least help Bella get the help she needs.

"Yes Dad. I'm on my way."