Spider Monkey

Chapter Twenty- Three - Breathless

Daryl went back to the window, asking Hershel to see Hedley.

Hershel shook his head, "He's resting."

Daryl bit his lip, blinking the water away, "How's he doin'?"

"Do you want me to tell you honestly?" When the archer nodded, he explained, "He won't survive without the meds."

"H-How long?"

"One, maybe two days."

All the air left Daryl's body, looking up at the ceiling with grief. "I should be with 'im. Open the door."

"Daryl, I don't think-"

"I said open the door!" He yelled but stopped, he was pleading with the other man, "Please. I need to be with 'im."

Hershel opened the door for him, and Daryl was taken to the cell where Hedley was sleeping. Sweat shined on the boy's body, every breath he took was a horrific wheeze and dried blood was peeling at the corners of his mouth.

Daryl went to him, running his fingers through Hedley's grease covered hair. "I'm 'ere. I've got ya."

"I'll go check on Glenn." Hershel said, leaving Daryl with his adoptive son.

"I'm 'ere." Daryl whispered, "Ya Uncle Merle should be home soon. We'll get ya all better in no time." Hedley just wheezed in response, chest struggling. "Ya one tough kid, Hedley. I knew it the moment I saw ya hiding in that damn tree." He chuckled to himself, tears falling silently, "You're my kid. Not by blood or anythin' else but- but ya mine. A-And I can't- I-" He buried his head in his hands. "Carl's been asking about ya. Sayin' how he misses you. He found some frogs down at the banks 'n' wanted ta show ya. He said he tried seein' you earlier today but were asleep. I guess you've slept most the day, huh. Hershel said ya need to rest. Oh-" Daryl took out Hedley's encyclopaedia of insects out his pocket, "I brought ya this. For when- for when ya recoverin'. Give you somethin' to do." He put the book next to where Hedley's crossbow was resting against the wall. "I flipped through it. I can barely read those weird names. Do you remember-"

Suddenly, Hedley stopped breathing. Chest still, mouth open.

"Hedley? Hedley?!" Daryl shook him, patting his face. No response. "Hedley! Hershel! Hershel! Help!"

Hershel came hopping in, crutches forgotten as he made his way to the limp child. Checking for a pulse. Then started doing chest compressions.

"He needs a respirator! Go to the bag on the table and get one and a tube!"

Daryl ran out and got the respirator bag, giving it to Hershel. The man took the tube and started inserting it into the boy's mouth and down his throat. Once all the way in, he attached the bag and gave it to Daryl, "Squeeze this and let go for five seconds then squeeze again."

Daryl nodded, swallowing thickly as he squeezed the bag of air into the boy's lungs. Hershel kept doing chest compressions, desperate for Hedley's heart to start up again.

"Come on, Hedley. Come on." Hershel panted.

Daryl let out a trembling breath, "Come on, kid. Come back to us."

That was when Hedley let out a breath, chest rising and falling, heart beating. The boy reached out with a hand, eyes blinking slowly.

"I've got a good pulse." Hershel said, "He's okay." The 'For now' was unsaid but known.

Daryl let out a sob, still squeezing the respirator, leaning his head onto Hedley's. "Good boy."

Hedley's hand reached up to Daryl's cheek and started wiping the tears away. Daryl chuckled wetly. But soon, Hedley got tired and went back to sleep.

"Come on, Merle." Daryl muttered, looking out to the barred windows, "Where the hell are ya?"

****

Merle and the others arrived at the prison when dawn was arising. Rick and Maggie greeted them, and they all gathered the medicine and bolted to death row.

"Hedley!" Merle yelled as soon as he was in.

"In 'ere!" Replied Daryl from inside the cell.

Merle ran in and his heart broke seeing the tears down his brother's face as he squeezed air into his nephew's lungs with a respirator.

"How's he doin'?"

"He stopped breathing, bro. He was- he was dead."

"We got the medicine and he's still here, so we've got a shot." Merle patted Daryl's shoulder; eyes fixed on the boy in the bed.

Hershel came in with a tray containing a needle and tubes and medicine. "He can't swallow at the moment so I'm gonna give him an IV on his arm so we can inject the antibiotics straight into his blood." He explained, putting the tray at the foot of the bed before getting to work. The Dixon brothers watched the man work and inject the antibiotic into the tube that went into Hedley's vein.

"What do we do now?" Daryl asked once he was done.

Hershel sighed, looking almost sad, "Now we wait."