Remember Me (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Immune

Why isn't she moving? I could feel myself slipping back into reality.

I think she's turning. I moved my fingers, trying to feel anything.

Get ready. I was aware of my surroundings.

Pull the trigger, Daryl. I was breathing again.

I jerked forward, gasping for the air filling the room. I still couldn't see. My vision was blurry and I didn't quite know what was happening. I placed my hand to my chest, calming myself as I took deep breaths. You're alive, Elizabeth. You're alive.
How was I alive? I slowly began remembering what had happened to me. When I remembered it, I was completely and utterly confused.

I died. I had gotten bit. I remember the waves crashing over me. I remembered Daryl. How was I still here, aware of what was happening? How did I not turn? This made no sense. I shouldn't be alive.

"What is going on?" A voice growled, stepping away from me. I coughed, trying to get rid of the roughness in my throat. My vision was coming back now. I could make out feet in front of me. Daryl. That's Daryl.

I slowly looked up at Daryl and Rick who were staring down at me. They both had conflicted looks on their faces. I understood why..I was just as confused as they were. This all made no sense.

"What happened to me? What's going on?" I demanded, putting my hand to my throat. I needed some water or something. I felt as if I had been eating nails. And on top of that, my entire body was stiff. It was hard to move. "This ain't possible," Daryl said, directing his attention to Rick. You're right. This isn't possible. This isn't real.

I continued watching Rick and Daryl, observing their expressions. "Yeah, it is," Rick replied after a moment. How? How was this possible? And how would he know? I watched as Lori and Carol entered the room, their jaws dropping at the sight of me. Lori was still pregnant, so I hadn't been out that long.

"And how's that, Rick?" Daryl demanded, attitude rising in his voice. While those two were duking it out, I was sitting there in complete shock. Not due to the fact that I was alive, I had gotten over that already. You admitted you loved Daryl. You told him you did. Oh, yikes.

"Jenner..he told me some things," Rick began, looking at Lori for a split second. "How some people...some people are immune to it. Some of them will go into a coma like state..and then they just wake up like nothing ever happened."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked, now able to get words out. Carol gasped when I spoke. It was like she thought I was a walker or something. I was alive. Speaking wasn't too shocking. "I'm saying you're immune, Elizabeth. You're immune to the virus," Rick confessed.

So, that's how I was alive. I was never dying, I was fighting it. My body was protecting me against the virus. Out of everyone, I was the one that was immune to it. "What does everyone think happened to me?" I asked, scared to hear the answer. Everyone tensed up when I asked that question. "We...we had to tell Beth you had been bitten. Everyone thinks you're dead, Elizabeth," Carol began.

"I can't wait to see the shock on their faces when you go out there," Lori added.

"How long was I out?" I asked as I stood up. Daryl and I kept exchanging eye contact, but I tried to ignore it. I knew he felt awkward about what I had confessed to him. Rick cleared his throat before speaking, "You were out for three days."

Three days? So much could happen in three days. I gazed at him for a moment before heading to the door. My dad. I didn't know what had become of my dad. I didn't know if he was alive or dead. I had already slipped away before anybody told me. But I was back now. I was given a second chance for a reason.