The Warrior Within

Farewells

Chapter 7

~Charlotte~

I relax in the waters of the lake in the quarry. I continuously look at where I stood up to Ed, the place where I was doing laundry with the other women. Half of my head bobs out of the water. I take a deep breath, hold it and dive right into the water. I keep my eyes closed. The water is freezing, but I somehow really really like it. It cools down my anger that was heating in me.

I need to get air into my lungs so I swim back up and gasp in the air. I look back at were I done the laundry with the women. 

Ed is dead. I don't know if I should feel glad or sad. Amy is dead. Alicia is dead. Jim is going to die. Everyone is going to die in this world.

~

Everyone is at the funeral. Dale and Andrea are carrying Amy's body and are putting it into a grave. Amy turned into a walker, but Andrea put her down. I wasn't there as I was cooling off in the water. 

Dale and Andrea are having difficulty in putting her body in the grave.

"I can do it. I can do it. I can do it! I can do it." Andrea says over and over again to Dale who tries to help her put her dead sister in the grave.

~

When the funeral was over, I immediately go to the RV that Jim is resting in. I sit down near him. 

"How are you feeling?" I ask him, my voice trembling. 

"Considering the fact I got bit, I feel fine." he looks weak and pale. He tries to put on a brave face, but I see right through it.

Carol walks in. "How is he doing?" she asks me.

"He says he is doing just fine." I say as I put my hand on his forehead to feel his temperature. It's scorching hot. "Fever has gotten worse." I whisper to Carol, trying hard to not let Jim hear.

"I'm fine. I'm okay. Everything's okay. It'll be okay in the end." Jim is saying.

Lori and Rick enter the RV.

"Fever's worse." Carol tells them.

"You need anything?" Lori asks him.

"Uh...water. Could use some more water."

"I'll go get some."

"Okay."

"Carol, could you help me?" Lori asks her.

Carol nods and they both leave together. 

Rick sits next to Jim. "I'm gonna head over to my tent, Rick. Tell me if he needs anything." I tell him. Rick nods at what I say and I leave the RV.

~

"I've been, uh...I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no...there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing tomorrow morning."

~

"Everybody listen up. Those of you with CB's, we're gonna be on channel forty. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a CB, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

Everyone is gathered around by the cars, we are about to take off to the CDC. 

"We're, uh...not going." Morales tells us. 

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people." Miranda then says.

"I'm also going to go off." Daniel said. "I need to go to my parents-in-law and tell them about Alicia." I don't agree with anyone going. How do they now if anyone survived?