Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter twenty-three | the new friend
LAUREL GLANCED AROUND the corner, relieved that Rick and Glenn were okay before approaching them. Hershel was occupied trying to shoot the walkers that began eating the man he shot earlier.
"Hershel, we need to go," Laurel warned, "He's dead already."
Hershel stayed put, his eyes locked on the scene in front of him before Laurel grabbed his forearm and tugged, pulling him out of his trance. Hershel followed Laurel and caught up with Glenn down the alley. "The gunfire must have attracted the walkers. Where's Rick?"
"He ran across," Glenn answered.
Hershel jogged around their car, "well, hell, we can't go without him."
The three of them ran towards Rick across the street, who was standing on one side of the fence with one of the guys on the other side, the sharp metal from the fence separating them was currently sticking out his shin.
Laurel cringed, that had to hurt. The kid kept screaming in agony. The gunshots attracted the walkers to their side of town but his screams were loud enough to bring the walkers right to them.
"We have to go now," Hershel urged.
"No!" The kid yelled and Rick shushed him.
"I'm sorry son, but we have to go," Hershel spoke with regret to him and the kid began to beg for us to stay and help him.
"We can't," Rick claimed, gesturing to Hershel's idea of leaving the kid.
"He was just shooting at us!" Glenn argued.
Laurel stepped up, "Rick, we have to get back to our families, we can't take him in, especially since he was just rolling with those bastards." She spoke calmly, knowing Rick would understand her better. But even when her words were clear, the tension was cutting into the four of them as walkers began to surround them from every direction.
"He's a kid! We can't leave him!" Rick shouted.
Hershel explained to Rick the situation with the kid's leg, the fence went clean through but there was no way they could get the leg off in one piece. He could bleed out even if he could run and he suggested that they should put him down.
Laurel ran her free hand through her hair while the other held the gun in a tight grip. Laurel had blood on her face from Dave and covered her upper half. She was sweating profusely even when the nighttime was cooling the heat from the day. Her skin was sticky as she tried to figure out what to do as well as the others.
"The kid is not gonna survive this world if he can't even run, you guys," Laurel pointed back at his leg.
Hershel stood in front of Rick, "I don't wanna see any more killing but this is cruel."
"Can't we just take the leg off?" Glenn suggested and the kid's face went blank before what Glenn just said registered in his head so he began to cry and beg for them not to chop off his leg.
