Not the Walking Dead

Rick Grimes

 Opening my eyes again in an unfamiliar place was just as jarring. Instead of millions of books, this time the first thing to catch my eyes was the body in the hospital bed. I look down at myself. I'm in a tank, and with a red flannel overtop. The jeans I'm wearing are dark blue, no rips or holes, and I'm wearing brown military boots. A purple backpack in my lap and a sleek compound bow leaning against the wall next to my feet. I'm sitting in one of those ridiculously uncomfortable hospital room chairs for visitors.I feel my hair, and it's braided back against my head, not tightly, but I know it won't fall out.

I'm in my actual body now, right? Pinching myself didn't work last time but this should be my real body with actual nerve endings now. I pinched the back of my hand hard, and yelped.

Yeah, I'm stupid. But now I know this is real.

I look back up and survey the room. Looking at the hospital bed, it's not a body, It's a thirty year old man with stubble on his face and his light brown hair greasy as hell. It's Rick.

I'm actually looking at Rick motherfucking Grimes. Holy Shit. Wait, are his eyes open?

His eyes were open and his head was turned and looking at the dead flowers at his bedside that Shane had left God only knows how long ago. I pat my sides and feel a gun holster on my left side, with a gun strapped in it. On my right side is a sheath clearly long enough to be the machete I had asked for. The handle was simple black leather. I wrenched open the bag and found half a dozen protein bars, four water bottles, two packages of gauze, a bottle of antibiotics, and a knife with a holster that had to be over ten inches.

Holy shit. This is the actual apocalypse and I'm absolutely strapped. I put on the backpack and looped my arm around my new bow. I looked around the room one more time in amazement, barely registering my lack jaw, before my eyes landed on Rick. I walked quickly to his bedside.

"Rick, are you awake?"

That's a dumb question, idiot. His eyes are open and looking directly at you.

"Are you the nurse?" His voice was raspy and honestly sounded painful.

How the hell do I even begin to start explaining this to the poor guy?

"Rick I need you to listen to me carefully, you've been in a coma, and while you've been out the world has gotten all kinds of fucked. I'm not your doctor or your nurse. There are no doctors or nurses here, we're the only two people in the building." I said quickly, but clearly. I reached into the bag and pulled out one of the bottles of water and a protein bar, handing them to Rick. He didn't say a word as he chugged the water. I waited patiently beside him until the bar and water were gone. Taking the bottle back I walked to the sink and filled it back up.

"If you're not a nurse or doctor how do you know my name?" He asked after a moment.

"I'll explain everything when we're somewhere safer but for now you need to trust me and get on your feet." I said and wrenched the hospital sheet off of his body. I took the IV out of his arm, and he gasped in pain.

"Sorry," I said gently, being more mindful of the other wires attached to him. "Probably could have been gentler about that but we need to move."

"Why? Is something coming?" He asked, looking up at me with more fear than I was familiar with in Rick's eyes from the show.

"Not that I'm aware of but I'm not taking any chances. Up and at 'em." I said and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He grunted and his other arm went to his ribs.

"What the hell happened to me?" He asked.

"You were shot on the job a while ago. Close call. Scared Shane to death. You've been in a coma ever since." I replied and we got to the door. "Be very very quiet do you understand me?" I asked as seriously as I could manage. He nodded at me, looking me right in the eyes. Can't imagine the future Rick putting this much trust in anyone. I opened the door and got the machete out from its sheath with the hand that wasn't supporting Rick. The bed Shane had used to barricade the door was still pressed against the wall, but it was easy enough to move with one hand. The place looks like bomb after bomb had gone off, and maybe some had. The ceiling barely had any panels, wires and debris hanging just above our heads. Bodies lined the hallways, walkers and half eaten humans alike. Some looked like the ones put down by the government. I took a second to remember I had never seen a dead body before, not even my own, and swallowed hard. But this is crunch time.