Collision

Chapter Four

~ Chapter Four ~

Carl's P.O.V.

"I didn't know it was her, I swear!" I screamed, telling the truth. I threw the gun away from me, disgusted with my own actions. "I thought she was a walker! There were a bunch of them coming in the corner a-and I panicked!"

"They'll be coming soon. I'll take her body and you better do a great job explaining what happened," dad warned sternly. He picked Ellie off the ground, her shoulder bright red from the blood spilling out of the bullet wound.

Joel came running to us, "I fucking told you no gunshots! There are infected already trying to knock down fences! Who the hell -"

I saw his face drop from anger to sadness in a matter of seconds. He saw dad holding Ellie. "No, no, no. Give her to me!" He took her in his arms. "Did you do this?"

Dad stood there, not able to talk. Joel pulled out a gun and aimed it at his head. I stepped in, standing between my dad and the gun.

"Stop! Don't shoot him! I shot her by accident okay? I thought she was a walker and I didn't see clearly because the corner was dark!" I yelled. Joel turned around. His eyes staring me down. He didn't even make a move towards me; he just spat on the ground, disgusted. "Look, I shot her by the shoulder, I think she can manage it."

"You better get your damn family out of here before I shoot them dead," Joel warned, running into the school with Ellie in his arms.

"Let's go, Carl."

"Where's Michonne?" I asked, hurriedly while trembling to put my gun back in its holster.

"She's already waiting for us at the fence," he answered. We ran at the front of the school and looked around for her. Soon enough, we found her sitting on the steps, looking out as if she was deep in thought. "Let's go," dad said, his voice in a hushed tone. He must've been exhausted from all the walkers we had to kill.

She didn't move. "There are hundreds of walkers out there Rick. Hundreds. Those two gunshots let them know where we are, and now they do. If we leave, we'll let these people kill hundreds of walkers by themselves."

"You've never had a problem with that, why now?" dad questioned, leaning on one leg and hooking a thumb through his belt.

"They've got people, Rick. Old ones, young ones. They can't take care of those people and defend themselves at the same time. One of them is already shot," She looked at me, and I lowered my eyes to the ground, guilty. "I saw them, the whole of their group. They're not as prepared as you think they are. They might have guns and weapons, but they'll run out of ammo." Michonne whispered. "We can't leave them to die. That's not right."

That surprised me. Michonne never took me as the sympathetic type - although I knew everyone had humanity in them, at least. I guess Hershel's death really changed her. Yet again, it changed everyone.

Dad nodded and we stayed outside of the school, but inside the fence, knowing that we weren't welcome.

Moments later, a few of their group came out - a man and a woman. The man had a full grown beard and short brown hair. He was holding an assault rifle in both hands. The woman looked to be his sister, except she had blonde hair instead.

"What are you folks still doing here?" The woman asked, her machete in hand.

"We're trying to help. There are hundreds of walkers out there and it wouldn't be right for us to leave you stranded. Not after the way we've been treated," dad informed. They took a while to respond.

"Joel's not going to be happy to hear this. Just make sure you don't piss him off anymore. The most important person in his world has just been shot, and he has no idea how to help her. The name's Harvey, and this is Quinn, my cousin." We shook hands and told them our names.

Michonne spoke up, "I know how to bandage up a wound. I took medical studies for two months before the outbreak, but I know how to take a bullet out of an arm at least. I might be able to help."

Michonne never ceased to surprise me.

Quinn nodded and gestured for us to come inside. I just hoped Michonne could save Ellie. Many lives had already been in my hands, innocent lives even, but this felt different. This made me feel as if I would be forever in regret if she died because of me. And with all the emotional absence we had been going through, that was a first.

Joel's P.O.V.

"Ellie, you can't give up on me. No, not now. Please, baby girl, wake up," I cried. It felt like what happened two years ago, except that was the time when she was on drugs, ready for surgery. This time, I didn't know if she had fainted because she was drastically losing blood, or if something happened to her head. Neither option seemed to be the better of the two.

The door behind me opened. "Michonne said she could bandage up El's wound."

"Who the hell is Michonne?" I demanded, laying Ellie on the teacher's desk carefully.

The African woman came in behind Quinn, followed by the man and the boy.

"No! The last thing I need is another one of your people to mess her up! Get them out of here Quinn!" I yelled, pulling my attention back to the wound in her arm. The bullet was a centimetre deep beneath her skin, probably touching the bone.

"Joel, you've got to let her take care of El, there's no one else in this entire building who knows what to do! Just let her try," suggested Harvey. I took one last look at Ellie's arm, and nodded. I rolled up her sleeve for Michonne to look at.

"I'm going to need alcohol, a sharp pair of scissors, gauze bandages, lit candles, and tongs small enough for me to grab that bullet," she instructed. "Anything close enough is fine."

I ran like hell to find those supplies, I ran like hell to save my baby girl.