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RUTH
WEBS OF CRACKS broke into the wall. Ruth examined them, asking herself what their story was, and how they came to be. Was it from the fist of a vexed inmate, or the withering of the cell she found herself in? Evidence of either cause lay in the cracks, their lines trailing down to the dusty floor.
Ruth ran the rag over the wall once more, attempting to rid the rocky surface of the crimson in its pores. The rubbing sound hurt her ears in the deafening silence. It dug into her skull and left her with the faintest idea of how the blood got there in the first place. Seeing as there was only a few prisoners left, there must have been some mass riot from what she could tell. The silence was somewhat relaxing, but Ruth still kept her ears to the ground to make sure nothing was wrong. She had left Maggie alone after Glenn went with Carol, and after trying to comfort the anguished woman to no avail.
The sun glared onto the walls, burning into the concrete and Ruth's eyes in a simultaneous manner. The sun shouldn't have shined as bright as it did, but with the peak of spring, it managed to overcome the sleep it submerged into from the winter. The light brightened her eyes, but the emotions inside them were still dark. She embraced the heat that absorbed into her skin. She used to love the winter, but it became a more brutal hellscape than the summer. With the chance of frostbite lurking around every corner, she only wished for the freeze to end.
The rag in her hands dropped to the ground when Beth's shouts filled the silent air. "Do something!" Beth demanded to someone downstairs. "Somebody help! Somebody! Please help!"
Ruth ran out of her cell and down the stairs, her boots loudly clanking on the metal steps. Lori beat her to Hershel's cell, but they both dashed inside. Lori quickly placed her hands over Hershel's chest and pushed down repeatedly to get his heart to start beating again. Ruth could only watch with the crying sisters, her hand tense over the knife in her pocket. She didn't want the man to die, but she had to be ready in case he came back in a more horrifying way.
"Come on." Ruth heard Lori mutter. The woman placed her lips to Hershel's, breathing into his mouth.
Suddenly, Hershel's hands wrapped around Lori's head, and Ruth jumped forward to pull Lori back. Ruth yanked on Lori's arm and pushed her behind her. She tried to ignore the screams of Maggie and Beth, and focused on the man in the bed in front of her. She raised her knife shakily, praying she wouldn't have to use it. She couldn't breathe, for the sight froze her in place. Her heart beat in her ears and an ache lit up her temples. She blinked hard, hoping to wash away the feeling, but it seemed to intensify the longer she stared.
Ruth didn't want to kill this man. She couldn't. He was the sole reason her leg only occasionally ached, and he was the father of the girl she had gotten so close to. Unfortunately, she knew she would have to be the one to end his life if it came to it. She stared intensely at the man's face, praying to see that his eyes were not the hazy shade of a walker. They finally opened, and Ruth saw the irises of an alive and well Hershel Greene. The tension ceased with a deep sigh of relief from the girl's lips.
