[Currently Under Rewrite]
She was lost. She was alone. She was scared. She was surrounded by the dead.
Ashley Grant was thrown into the terrifying world of the dead walking the streets. All she wanted was to go to the grocery store but she ran into...
I bolt awake on a bed table thing and I gasp for breath. I feel something in my mouth and I try to pull it out but my arms won't move. I panic and a heart monitor beside me, I think, starts going crazy. My eyes are open but I can't see. I try to speak or call for someone but the tube thing in my mouth prevents me from speaking.
Tears roll down my face as I realize I'm alone. I'm scared and alone. What am I going to do? I can't breath. Where's Rick? Where's Daryl? I start hyperventilating and the machine goes haywire.
Suddenly the doors are slammed open which scares me so bad I scream as my eyes go everywhere. "What's happening?" I think I hear Rick?
"She's awake. I don't know how but she's awake." The same voice from earlier says. Jenner I think.
"Ash, it's okay. Can you hear me?" He asks and I nod my head but the tube hurts my throat and makes me groan in pain.
"Get that thing outta her mouth!" I hear Daryl scream.
I feel hands touching my mouth and I flinch back, not expecting it, and they slowly pull the tube out of my mouth. Once it's fully out, I start coughing. "R-Rick...D-Daryl..?" I ask for confirmation.
"Yeah, we're here." I hear Rick say.
"I'm right here lil sister. How you feeling?" He asks.
"Dead." I mumble as I try to sit up but I can't. I groan softly in defeat as I lay flat on the bed.
"Does anything hurt?" Jenner asks.
"My throat." I say.
"I'll get you some water." Daryl says and I hear him walk out of the room and then come back. He hands me the water and I take a drink of it. It takes me a moment to drink it because it wouldn't go down.
"How did you wake up? You weren't supposed to wake up this early." I hear Jenner ask me, confusion clear in his voice.
"I-I don't know. I felt alone...and scared. Everyone I knew was there...but they were all dead...they were blaming me for killing them...even my sister. But then, I was in a white room. It was like...I finally found light for the first time in my entire life. And my sister was there...she told me you guys saved me but..." I think back to what she said. Rick...
"Rick, is it true?" I ask suddenly and everything around me goes quiet.
"Is what true?" He asks.
"That...nevermind, it doesn't matter. She told me to protect you guys and then I woke up. That's all I remember." I say.
"It's strange...you shouldn't have woken up so soon. Do you feel lightheaded?" Jenner says.
"No."
"Do you itch anywhere?"
"Uh...no..?"
"Does your chest feel tight?"
"A little but..isn't that normal?"
"Was it hard for to drink the water?"
I stop for a moment. "Yeah, kinda."
"These are some of the side effects from the injection. We'll keep an eye on you for a while to make sure you're still okay. You can sleep in here for the night."
"But...can't I stay with someone? Please? I don't want to be here alone. Especially since I can't move or see..." I say pleadingly.
"You're gonna sleep with me, lil sis." Daryl says and I smile.
"Like old times?" I ask.
"Like old times." He confirms and my smile only grew.
"What happened in the old times?" Rick asks hesitantly.
I giggle. "It's okay, Rick. It's gonna be fine. And it'll be safer since I can't walk." I say with a grin.
"Now I'm even more worried." Rick says and I laugh and I hear Jenner and Daryl snicker. Daryl picks me up bridal style and carries me out of the room.
"'Night Sheriff!" I call to him
"Goodnight Ash!" I hear him call back. I smile, remembering what Grace told me.
Me and Daryl walk down a hallway in silence until he asks me the question I've been begging to hear. "Need a shower?"
"Yes." Is my immediate answer.
He chuckles and carries me to a room. "Need help?" He asks as he sets me down.
"Yeah, I mean, I can't exactly move on my own." I say. I don't really mind Daryl seeing me without clothes as he and Merle had to bandage and bath me before when my dad would beat me to the point of immobility for a few days.
He takes off my clothes and turns on the water. It's cold at first, which I expect, but then it turn warm and I start laughing. "It's warm!" I giggle and he chuckles at me.
He baths me and then when I'm done, he dresses me in new clothes.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
(This is what she is wearing although she can't see it.)
"Thanks." I say and he grunts and then picks me up again and carries me to his room I guess?
So, just so it's clear, me and Daryl aren't going to be doing anything but sleeping. I just wanted to see how Rick would react knowing what I know. Oh my gosh, that was so funny.
He lays me down on the bed and then pulls the blanket over me and then walks over to the other bed? I don't know but I hear him settle in on the other bed. I hate being blind. I can hear everything. I close my blind eyes and try to fall asleep but it feels weird being in a bed. The last time I was in a bed like this, I was at home, reading an amazing book. That was the day everything fell into the bottomless pit of darkness.
I finally find it in me to sleep but it is yet again plagued with nightmares.
I run through some kind of field. I am running as fast as I can. I can see. I can run. But I can't run fast enough. The flames are coming at me from behind and walkers are coming at me from in front. I can't pick which death would be the worst. Which side could I have a stronger chance of surviving?
I run forward into the herd of walkers. I push and run as fast as I can, trying to make it to the end. I see a gap ahead of me and I push with all my might and make it to the gap. Once I reach it, I throw myself forward into the light and I breathe. I breathe heavily like I have never breathed in my life.
