Impregnable {A Walking Dead Fanfiction}

Fifteen

    We stayed with Carol until Ed was able to walk, and then we all returned to camp. We'd silently decided that the less we spoke about what had happened, the better. Shane kept his hands in his pockets to hide his bloody knuckles, apologizing repeatedly for hurting me. I'd assured him that it was okay, he did what needed to be done. The fight had stopped our progress on our washing and most of us were covered in dirt from the tussle. Thankfully, everyone had gathered by the fire and no one was paying close attention. Carol ushered Ed into their tent and zipped it closed behind them. I dug through my bag for any clean clothes, finding one of Cameron's oversized shirts and a part of sleep shorts before joining the rest for dinner. Dale explained that Daryl, Merle, and a few others were going to try heading into Ellijay the next day. They felt like enough time had passed for the horde to disperse. I decided I probably didn't need to volunteer for anything dangerous for a while. 

    "You never told me exactly how you broke your ribs," Shane said as we returned to the Wrangler after dinner, Mable on his hip. "I didn't?" "Well...you told me something happened while y'all were escaping, but I don't see how you managed to break ribs running from walkers." I put Mable to bed before telling him everything, abandoning the cars, being stranded on the roof, Merle barely making it up, and how close I was to slipping before someone grabbed me. He stared at me in disbelief. "Well, Hollie, I sure have underestimated you. Are you sure you're okay?" He said, looking at the bruises on my legs that hadn't been there this morning. "I'm okay, I'm more worried about all the questions people are going to ask when they see Ed's face," I replied. "Do you think I went too far?" He asked. "I don't think so, I don't know how the others will see it, though," I said, looking at him, it looked like Ed barely had the chance to fight back. The only wounds I could see were four deep scratches on his arms where he had dug his nails into his skin. "You'll probably want to get that cleaned up," I said, pointing at his arm. He shrugged, "Eh, he barely broke the skin." 

    I opened the back seat and Mable stirred as I climbed in next to her. Shane entered the passenger seat, closing the door softly behind him. Mable whined for a moment before laying her head on my chest, her breath becoming soft and rhythmic. "You're so good with her," Shane said quietly from the front seat. "I never even wanted kids, honestly.  I couldn't imagine life without her now." "I never saw myself being a dad either. I guess it's all for the best, considering how everything turned out." He replied as I brushed a lock of hair from Mable's face, kissing her forehead. 

    "Does that hurt?" I awoke to the feeling of toddler hands pushing into the large bruise on my side. "Yes, please stop," I said, wincing and turning to see Mable sitting cross-legged in front of me. "Boo-boo, remember?" "I sowwy." She replied, innocently. I was almost ready to start my day when the passenger door swung open, jolting Shane awake. Dale stood there, looking unhappy. "What on earth happened yesterday, and why am I just finding out about it?" "Ed stepped out of line and put hands on Carol. In front of all of us. Was I supposed to stand there and watch?" Shane replied, rubbing his eyes. Dale sighed, "You can't solve everything with violence...I need you to be a team player here. We have enough problems already. I can't have you brawling, especially while the group is splitting up." Dale said, rubbing the top of his head. "Sorry, Dale. I can't promise anything, but I'll try." 

    The group left for Ellijay at first light, long before we'd woken up. A few others had set out into the woods to hunt, we needed a plan for dinner if the group came back empty-handed. Shane's arm looked red and angry the next morning; I coaxed him to Winnebago while he complained that I was overreacting. I knocked on the door and waited a moment before entering. Lori, Rick, and Carl were piled together on the bed. Rick raised his head and looked at us for a moment before turning and wrapping his arm around his son and wife. I grabbed the first aid kit and a large bottle of vodka before backing out and quietly closing the door. "Don't you think it's a bit early for that?" Shane joked, putting Mable down as I approached him. "Hah, funny," I said sarcastically. I took a piece of gauze and drenched it in vodka before wiping the blood and dirt from his wound. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut. "Son of a bitch got you good," I said, looking at the deep cuts on his arm. "It's nothing," He grunted, still wincing. I took another strip of gauze and wrapped his arm with some of the last antibiotic ointment we had left. "Well shit, you're doing all this for me when you're in worse shape than I am." He said, turning to me. "Not much you can do for a bruise. I can uh....try to kiss it and make it better?" He said, I looked at him, knitting my brow. "That was so corny, I'm sorry." He said, laughing. Before I could respond, we heard a woman screaming in the woods.