In The Bird Song | TWD

chapter 21 - Annette

Harlow pov

It has been 5 days since posy pulled me out of the stream and I haven't left the area since. Me and posy quickly slipped into a daily routine and we have managed built a semblance of a camp. Every morning I get up before dawn to watch the sun rise whilst posy sleeps curled next to me. Then I go hunting for breakfast with a reluctant posy trailing behind me, I've come to learn that posy is not in fact a morning dog and it takes 5 minutes of me shaking her to get her up in the mornings. it honestly reminds me of trying to get carl up back at the prison.

After I hunt breakfast, I meticulously wash in the stream to reduce the chances of my wounds becoming infected whilst posy stands guard. Washing is a painful affair but afterwards posy is always there to lick my tears away which is kind of disgusting but I let her do it anyway because taking care of me seems to make her happy.

Once I am clean I spend the afternoon resting in an attempt to get my strength back as my body is still healing from the dehydration, exhaustion and physical injuries all caused by the whole buried alive fiasco. In the evenings I hunt dinner and play fetch with posy who seems to have the most energy in the evenings.

I'm tempted to just stay by the stream forever but now that I have rested its time to move on and start looking for a real home while also keeping an eye out for my family. the wound on my hip has become swollen and tender around the edges and it leaks an excessive amount of puss which means it's probably infected I'll have to try find something to treat it with at some point.

With a heavy heart I fill up the one water bottle I have and I put the dead rabbit I caught this morning in my bag for later. Posy is sitting by the fire pit watching me pack up her big black eyes never leaving me, I walk over to her and crouch down so were eye level. "You ready to go girl? Its time to leave this place for bigger and better things." I sigh and give her a kiss on the head before walking away knowing she will follow behind me.

***

We been walking for 2 days without coming across anything and the wood seems to go on forever. It rained the first night so me and posy have been drinking out of random puddles as we travel but I know there bound to dry up soon and I'm beginning to get worried.

Luckily there has been hardly any walkers to deal with and there's plenty of game so finding food hasn't been an issue, however actually eating the food has been. My jaw is aching so badly that opining my mouth is almost unbearable, and on top of that I developed a high temperature last night and I haven't stopped sweating since.

My legs are stiff and my knees feel swollen so decide to take a rest. It must be around mid-day and the sun is at its hottest making my sweating ten times worse. I feel something wet on my uninjured arm and I look down to see posy gently grooming we. "Hey girl" I mumble and posy whines pathetically laying her head on my lap. "I'm sorry girl I know your tired, I promise were going to find some place soon."

Eventually Posy's breathing slows as she falls asleep and I lean my head back against the tree. I wonder what carl is doing right now if he's alive, if he isn't dead I hope he's having an easier time that I am and he's safe.

Another heat flash spreads over my body and I shift uncomfortably wishing there was at least a cool breeze to cool me down. Honestly I'm far too exhausted to give a shit about my dignity anymore so I peel of my sweat soaked top and put it into my bag leaving me in nothing but a dirty bra.

I suppose the perk of only having a dog for company is that modesty can take a back seat as there's nobody around to judge me or try and touch me. I wish I could rest for a while longer but every minute I sit here I'm sweating out what little liquid I have managed to drink and I don't have time to waste in the search for more water.