The Mistake [Norman Reedus] Book One {{COMPLETED}}

Chapter 42

The night was hard, cold, cold, cold, and cold.  Me, Sean and Norman all slept separately, but Sean somehow managed to roll over to me in his sleep, making us back-to-back.  His body heat kept me a bit warmer in my small bandage on the frosty ground, but not much.  

"Grace?  Are you awake?" Sean's voice was groggy and hoarse, but he had waken up.

"I am now." I groaned, rolling over to face him.

I quickly backed up, though, due to how close our faces are once he'd turned around.  Sean smiled, a faint chuckle escaping his frozen lips.

"So, what's been going on with you and Norman?  I mean, did he find out anything, er, I mean, why are you two fighting?" He asked, fighting to push the words out of his mouth.

I shook my head, having trouble myself to pull the explanation out of me.  "We're just having trouble I guess, with the world falling and everything crumbling around us.  He might not want me and him to be forcibly separated, and is trying to do it on his own." I managed a slight shrug before over-thinking the hideous lie that just came out of my mouth.  

With the world shattering to pieces around me, I've been letting myself get dragged down with it.  And I was not happy.

Sean stayed silent and tried his best to process that.

"Goodnight." I finally said, rolling over and shutting my eyes.

When the chilly morning air awoke me with a whip to the face, I shot up and my hand went to my head.  I was getting a brain-freeze.  From frost on my hair.

Quickly shaking it off, I looked around and saw that Norman and Sean were already awake and gathering their things for the day.  (What things? Ha, just the weapons)  

The fire had dies down at some point last night, and the pit was covered in a thick layer of frost, as well.

"Good morning." Sean mumbled, standing up and slinging his rifle over his shoulder.

"How's ammo?" I asked, getting up weakly as well.

Once again, pain shot through my side and up my leg.  I was glad that the people had stitched me up when they did, because if that group had shot at us before stitching me, I couldv'e been a lot more hurt.

"Dangerously low.  I got like ten rounds left, and you have like five." Sean shrugs, and points to his gun and mine that's laying on the ground -- also white with frost.

Sean gripped hands with Norman and yanked him to his foot, letting me remember that Norman was wounded as well.

A chill ran through me, and I seriously needed to get more clothing on.  Even though it was almost spring, it was extremely cold to be walking around with half a shirt on. 

I tried to start shivering so I could warm up even slightly, and in the process, I wiped the ice off the rifle.  The frost crystals bit my fingers and stung as they slowly went numb.  I managed to bar the pain, and sling the gun over my shoulder, wincing as the cold metal pressed against the bare parts of my back.

Before hobbling over to near Sean and Norman, I quickly snatched up the necklace Norman had handed me back last night, and slipped it into my jean's pocket.

And again, we were off.  Headed to the bus to gather all the supplies that we'd left there.  And then, to head off on a new journey to who knows where.

With me and Norman both a limper, and Sean the stronger man, we were more vulnerable than ever.  We should've just put on flashing lights and bells and started yelling "Dinner!" for all the nearing Walkers.

Norman's leg was badly wounded, and he very well could've broken his ankle.  He couldn't put one ounce of weight on it without shutting his eyes and trying to swallow the pain.

My ankle was still swollen from the fall, but I could limp on it.  My side was doing a bit better as well.  The cold, however, was helping both of them severely.  It was like an ice-pack.  Every once and a while, we'd stop, and me and Norman would put snow on our wounds.

During one of these breaks, when Sean was getting more snow, I asked Norman what had happened back at Akin when I thought he'd gotten shot.

"Well, when I walked out into the hall, I saw a man dressed in black at the end of the hall with a gun pointed at me.  I didn't know what else to do but duck.  And I ducked right when he shot, so I guess it could have looked like he shot me from someone's angle." He explained, taking a handful of snow from Sean and pushing it onto his ankle. 

"Oh." I whispered, standing back to my feet and rubbing my wet hands together to get them to warm up.

"I'm starving." Norman said while Sean help him up.

"Same." I groaned, looking at Sean in anticipation.

"Yes, here's your turkey sandwich and your extra large chocolate milkshake!  Would you like fries with that?" Sean joked, mocking the tone of a drive-through worker.

I groaned, holding my stomach as we began to walk the side of the road again.  "You're making it worse." I complained.

Sean chuckled, "Sorry.  And I know, I'm famished.  But we don't have enough bullets to hunt.  I think the bus is only a mile up the road.  We'll get the food that we left in there."

My stomach ate my spine as we continued trudging on, holding each other up, and clenching our stomachs with each loud grumble.

We ran into two Walkers, and Sean took them out with a knife and a rock.

"How.  Much.  Longer?!" I complained, hanging my head and watching my weak limp.

Sean sighed, "I think I see the bus ahead."

Those words were music to my ears.  In all the pain and agony that we'd been through the past three or four days, I couldn't wait any longer for food.  I wanted to run and dance straight to the bus, but reality tore down my dreams.  

We got there eventually, and when we did, our stomachs were probably the size of a raisin.  Well, that's what it felt like.

But to our surprise, when we cleared the pile of Walkers from the door and stepped inside, all we heard were echoes.  Nothing blocking or absorbing the sound.  

Because our food, our water, our blankets, our clothes and weapons, were all gone.

(A/N: Hey readers, I know it's a short chapter, but I'm hungry!  Just like Norman and Grace and Sean :P Haha, so please comment, vote, and share!  Thanks guys and thanks for 9k!!!!) -Writingslayer