Rick's Ruby

Chapter 18

Rick felt the sunshine before he opened his eyes. He was on his back, looking up at a brilliant blue sky through the branches of a massive tree. He blinked, pressing his eyes closed tightly before opening them again. A faintly warm breeze blew over his face, and he realized he felt light, like he could float away at any moment.

"Hey. You're awake."

It was Lori's voice, calm and steady, from somewhere near. Sitting up, he saw her in front of him, sitting on a checkered blanket in the pretty blue dress she wore when they first were married. Her hair was loose and blew softly around her face, and she was smiling.

"Where are we?" He asked, but his own mind answered the question as he spoke. It was a park not far from her mother and father's house. A place they had frequented on pretty summer days when they were young, and again after Carl had been born. They would take a picnic and push him on the swings, reveling in their child's bright laughter.

She didn't answer his question, instead smiling patiently at him. "Been waiting for you to wake up for a while."

"Sorry." He tilted his head to the side. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Hours. You must have needed it."

Something wasn't right. He felt like he was supposed to remember something but he just couldn't. Frowning a little, he tried to clear his mind. It was fuzzy, like he was still asleep. "Lori, what happened?"

"You'll remember, but enjoy now, Rick. It's important." She seemed sad.

He looked around them, suddenly feeling very uneasy. "Where's Carl?"

"Playing with Shane." She pointed behind him and he turned. Across a short distance, he could see Carl holding a baseball bat. He was looking off to the right and Rick followed his gaze. Shane was looking back at the boy, his back to Rick and baseball in his hand. He looked like he did years ago, laughing and smiling easily, before he went so very very wrong. He tossed the ball to Carl and the boy swung, the sound of the bat hitting the ball echoed back to he and Lori, followed by the sound of laughter.

Looking back at Lori, Rick shook his head. "This isn't right. Something's wrong."

She let out a low breath and shook her head. "I know. But it's the way things are now. You can't go back."

He was suddenly afraid, and whipped back around to find Carl again, but the boy was gone. Instead, Shane remained, but he was no longer the cheerful guy that had been tossing the ball. It was the way he looked after he'd turned, when Carl had shot him. Blood smeared his freshly broken nose and his bald head and face had turned a sickening gray. Stifling a cry of horror, Rick looked back to where Lori was sitting, but all that was left there was a large pool of blood marring the clean blanket she'd been sitting on. In her place, there was a wrapped, tiny bundle that lay motionless. The sky became dark, flashed with lightening and a sharp gust of wind hit him with a force that seemed to push him back a little. His stomach churned dangerously.

Rick woke with a start. It had been a dream. Thank god, just a dream, and he was... where was he? He didn't recognize the bed he found himself on, or the dim darkness enveloping him. His brain fought to become coherent, to get his memory back on board, but when it did he felt that overwhelming sickness in the dream wash over him again, and he retched audibly.

"Rick. It's ok, I'm here." He heard Ruby's voice, and her cool hands were on his face. "Breath, Rick. Just breath."

The memories came back to him all at once, and he very literally had to lay back again. The birth, Lori's turning and the gunshot, the screaming, T-Dog falling under the rotting body of the walker and Daryl running from the house.