Collision

Chapter Seven

~ Chapter Seven ~

Ellie's P.O.V.

"Ellie, wake up. The group's already packing to leave," Joel informed me. He shook me awake, knowing well that I was a heavy sleeper. I hesitated, but decided to wake up wiping the drool off the corners of my mouth.

"Are we heading to the lake?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes and standing up. The rest had given my arm a lot more power. Well, more power than before.

"Yeah, Michonne knows how to track where the water is. We'll find the lake, and when we get there, we're heading to the abandoned supermarket." I nodded, and grabbed my backpack.

We walked to the others, already outside and ready. Michonne and Rick were already out and about trying to find the lake whilst Harvey and the guys took care of everyone. I decided to take a break from trying to be a leader, and just follow them.

My wound healed up, but not enough. It felt as if the stitches came loose, but I didn't want to tell anyone, I didn't want people to worry about me. There were already enough things and people to worry about.

"Over here!" Rick called out, they were crouched beside an over grown tree.

"I don't see no lake here," Joel commented, stating the obvious.

"For now you don't see it. You feel the soil here? It's moist, and I know for sure that it hasn't rained in this area. Which means, this tree is drawing moisture from a water source nearby," Michonne informed. Although it should have been common sense to every survivor, I still learned it from them. Maybe they truly were helpful after all.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go!" Aaron excitedly shouted. His vibes strongly started to make its way to me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We found the lake shortly after and decided to take a break. It was already mid-day and the sun was burning hot. A few of us decided to take a swim in the lake, but I didn't - I wasn't much of a swimmer.

After eating half of our food stock, we prepared to leave. We took as much water in our jugs as could hold, having the stronger people carry more of a load. We then proceeded into the forest, and as quiet as we were, managed to draw in a few infected, but nothing too major.

"Are you holding up well?" Carl asked, decreasing his pace to fall and walk beside me. 

"Yeah, it stings just a little bit, but I'll be fine," I replied, keeping my eyes ahead.

"Again, I'm sorry for shooting you by accident." I nodded and he continued to talk. "You know, Joel was crazy mad when that happened. You guys really are like two peas in a pod, huh?"

"Yeah... It happened to his daughter before, she got shot during first night and then she died from blood loss. Anyways, what happened to you during first night?" I questioned, keeping the conversation going.

Carl was hesitant about something, as if telling me about his past would be dangerous for him. "For me, it was all a rush. Me and my mom were watching the news and then we heard what was happening, about people turning crazy and all. My mom thought it was probably just bath salts that made people turn into cannibals, but of course, it was more than that. My dad was in the hospital during that time, so Shane took us and we kind of reunited afterwards," He explained, lifting his leg over a fallen tree.

"Who's Shane? And why was your dad in the hospital?" I asked.

"Shane... He was a friend and a co-worker of my dad's - that's all there is to it. My dad was there because he got shot during work. He was the sheriff, you know, that's where I got this," Carl said, pointing to the brown hat on his head. "Enough about my family, what about yours?"

I pondered about my past, "Never knew my parents; I'm just an orphan. Like I said before, a woman named Marlene took care of me."

"Oh, uh... Sorry," Carl politely said, I nodded in thanks, as if there was really anything to say thank you to.

We walked nearly five miles until we found the abandoned superstore. It looked as if it wasn't overrun by the infected, so that was a good sign. The windows were smashed down, and blood was dry on the walls.

"Over here," Rick pointed out, "there're a few walkers near the door, but we can take them out easily."

Joel nodded and the rest of them scattered to make sure the place was accessible, while Carl, Aaron and I made sure the people were safe. We waited in the same place, keeping the old couple and the children entertained. Half an hour had passed, and we started to get worried. It would never take this long for them to clear out a building.

"You take care of them, I'm going in to make sure they're alright," Carl told me.

I furrowed my brows together, "No! I'm not staying here while you get to do everything. I've already been held back enough with this stupid arm, now I actually want to do something."

"Fine, we'll bring them with us," we decided together. Aaron stayed behind, not wanting to get in between our little confrontation.

Staying low, I held the old couple's hand while Carl held the two kids. As crazy as it sounded, he looked cute when he was taking care of the children. The way their small soft hands fit in his big rugged ones. I shook my head, not believing my thoughts. You like someone else! I reminded myself. Besides, I was still clueless as to who Carl really was. As far as I knew, he was still a stranger to me.

"Carl! We told you to stay out there!" A voice screamed. That scared the life out of me.

The seven of us turned around and faced Michonne. She looked concerned, never a good sign.

"We were worried, where are the rest of you? Where's dad?" Carl asked hurriedly.

"The woman got bit on the foot. They're in the pharmacy right now trying to figure out what to do. I can clean up a bullet wound, but I'm not an expert on how to treat a bite." She informed.

"Oh my goodness, Quinn got bit? Where's the pharmacy?!" It was my turn to ask questions.

"Yes, and I'm sorry we couldn't prevent it. Come on, let's head on over there and see what they're planning to do. Rick says he might perform the same thing he did with Hershel."

I didn't know who Hershel was or what Rick did, but I could fit the puzzles together perfectly. An amputation would have to happen to Quinn. The mother of Kenzie, the little toddler. The wife of Finn. I couldn't imagine what he was thinking right now, the love of his life bitten by a walker. If Quinn would die, then the only person he'd have left was his little girl.