My Sunshine(discontinued)

7

There were walkers on every side. They were everywhere around me. I held my knife up defensively and froze when I saw who was leading them all. Lance McClain. With dead eyes and a limp, he came towards me. Slowly. I knew there was no way I could kill him. Even if he was dead. So I just watched as he stood in front of me and lunged to grab my arm. I didn't fight as he grabbed my forearm. I didn't scream as he bit me, tearing the flesh off my bones and swallowing before taking another bite. I just stood there... In shock as my husband ate me alive.

I sat up quickly, my breathing hard and ragged. I scanned my surroundings. I was in a bed. A real bed. Like with a mattress and sheets and a warm white blanket. There was a bottle of painkillers on the bedside table next to me. I grabbed it as a wave of pain shot up my back. I tried to open it, but my movements were sluggish and my vision blurred. I stopped and glared at the bottle of meds in my hand, waiting for my vision to return.

I heard the distant sound of my door opening, but ignored it to continue staring at the medicine. I heard a familiar sigh, and my head shot up.

"How are you, Keith?"Rick asked softly with a warm smile on his face. I gave him a half smile back.

"I could-" I was cut off by a coughing fit. My voice was hoarse like I hadn't used it in a long time. I flinched when Rick patted my back. His hand shot away. "I could be better..." I mumbled. He gave me a pained smile and sat on the bed with me.

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked, voice still low and soft. I shook my head and Rick's eyebrows furrowed together. He looked me up and down quickly and reached toward me slowly. I didn't move as he grabbed my left hand. I looked down at it as he examined the ring on my finger. Wait... "Where did-" I stopped and choked on my words as everything came back to me in a rush as I looked down at the ring Lance had given me just the night before. I covered my mouth, not letting the sob that was stuck in my throat out. It had to stay where it was. I couldn't let myself cry. I can't cry...

Ricks arms wrapped around me in a comforting embrace and I broke. I clutched onto his dirty police uniform and sobbed into his chest. I let it all out.

Rick POV

I rested Keith's head on the pillow and covered him with the blanket, pulling it up to his chin. I sighed and ran my head through his hair, leaning down to kiss his forehead like I did when tucking in my son in his bed. I watched him as he slept with a troubled expression on his face. With another sigh, I left the room and headed out of the house and to the camp we had set up. Shane followed me to the truck, getting up from where he was sitting in front of his tent.

"Alright, let's get to work guys." T-dog and Andrea joined me in front of the map on the truck. Daryl and Dale came up from the RV while Shane sat in the front seat with the door open. "Okay, everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far."

"I'd like to help." I turned around to see Jimmy. "I know the area pretty well and stuff." I raised an eyebrow.

"Is Hershel okay with this?"

"Yeah. Yeah, Um.. He said I should ask you."

"Alright, then. Thanks."

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me." I tilted my head and looked at Shane. To my disappointment, he kept talking. "I mean, anyone could have been in that farmhouse."

"Anyone would include her, right?" Andrea said with a small amount of bitterness in her voice.

"Whoever slept in that cupboard couldn't have been more than yay-high." Daryl held his hand up to around Sophia's height. Dale came over and handed out the guns. "I'm gonna borrow a horse. Head up to the ridge up here, take a bird's eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there I'll spot her." He grabbed his crossbow and turned to leave, but froze when Andrea asked me a question.