NOT DEAD YET // the Walking Dead ( Carl x Reader)

12 Blood

     "I was tracking a buck. Bullet went through it. When clean through." Otis stumbled.

    "The deer slowed the bullet down, which certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces." Hershel explained, "If I can get the bullet fragments out... and I'm counting six."

    "I never saw him, not until he was on the ground." Otis told the old lady.

    "Lori doesn't know? My Wife doesn't know. My Wife doesn't know." Rick wept.

I found a chair in the corner of the room and sat down in it. I didn't leave the room, even when Rick and Shane left, I just sat there watching his cold pale face. He was the reason I was alive still, if we weren't friends I wouldn't have gone to his house, Shane wouldn't have got me out, I would have just died in my house.
I wasn't sure which I hated more, Carl not making a sound or him crying and groaning in pain.
I watched as Maggie went to the door.

    "Rick..." Maggie called. "He needs blood."

Rick quickly came in walking to Carl's side.

    "You, hold him down." Hershel instructed Shane as he came in.

    "DAD!" Carl cried out.

    "I got him." Shane confirmed.

    The screams grew louder.

    "STOP! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!" Rick yelled.

    "Rick, do you want him to live?" Hershel asked.

    "He needs blood." The old lady, Patricia said.

     "DO IT NOW!" Shane shouted.

It made me more scared when the crying and screaming did stop.
    "Wait. Wait. Hey." Shane said worried.

    "He just passed out." Hershel said, I looked away as Hershel removed a shard of the bullet. "One down... five to go."

—————

I never left the room, I had nowhere else to be and no reason to be anywhere else so I just stayed in the chair.

    "Pressure's stable." Hershel said.

    "Lori needs to be here. She doesn't even know what's going on. I- I've got to go find her. Bring her back." Rick insisted.

    "You can't do that." Hershel said.

    "She's his Mother." Rick told him. "She needs to know what's happened. Her son's lying here shot."

    "And he's going to need more blood. He can't go more than 50 feet from this bed." Hershel explained.

I watched as Rick left, Shane following him.

Last Hershel stepped out to fill the others in.

———

Otis and Shane were gonna leave to go to the high school to get some things that are needed to save Carl's life, Maggie went to get Lori and notify the others.
I- I didn't want to leave the room Carl was in, he was my only friend, now that Sophia's missing, yes I hope we will find her but there's no guarantee and the longer she's gone the slimmer the chances of her getting found alive.

———

The sun was setting when Lori and Rick walked in. She rushed to the bed, gently touching his face as she cried laying beside him.

    "My boy. My baby boy. Baby boy. It's okay. Mama's here. Mama's here. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay." Lori cried.

I decided to step out and go to the bathroom give them their time before I went back to my chair.

————

    "Slow. Slow." Lori told Rick as he stood up after giving more blood. "How many transfusions?"

    "Two. Only two." Rick answered.

    "He wanted to do the same for you when you were in the hospital. I had to talk him out of it." Lori said.

———————Night———————————

     "Pressure's dropping again. We can't wait much longer."  Hershel said.

     "Take some more. Whatever he needs." Rick urged. "Then I'm gonna go."

    "Go? Go where?" Lori asked.

    "He said five miles. They should be long back by now. Somethings gone wrong." Rick said.

     "Are you insane? You're not going after them." Lori told him.

    "Rick, listen to your Wife." Hershel said.

    "If they got into trouble—" Rick started.

     "You're in no condition to do anything about it. You've given too much blood. You're barely on your feet. You wouldn't make it across the yard." Hershel explained.

    "If something happened, I have to go." Rick insisted.

   "No, your place is here. If Shane said he'll be back, he'll be back he's like you that way." Lori said.

    "I can't just sit here."

    "That's exactly what you do. If you need to pray or cry or tell God he's cruel, you go right ahead, but you're not leaving, Rick." Lori shouted. "Carl needs you— here. And I can't do this by myself. Not this one. I can't. I can't."

————

I tried to stay awake but it was difficult and soon I nodded off.

     "You can't stop it?" I heard Lori's voice waking me up.

    "He has to just go through it." Hershel said.

I looked over to see Carl's body shaking violently on the bed as Lori sobbed into Rick.
Soon he stopped and fell limp.

    "His brain isn't getting enough blood. His pressure is bottoming. He needs another transfusion." Hershel said.

    "Okay, I'm ready." Rick agreed.

    "If I take any more out of you your body could shut down. You could go into a coma." Hershel told him. "Or cardiac arrest."

    "You're wasting time." Rick refuses.

   "Wait-" I walked over drawing the attention in the room to me for the first time. "Take my blood."

    "Oh, (Y/n)—" Lori started.

      "I don't want to just spectate in the corner of the room while my best friend dies. I may be twelve but I am old enough to understand that if Rick gives to much he'll be no use if he's needed again, and he'll be needed, not just for Carl now but for everyone. I want to help." I say.

    "That's real sweet, but if your blood type's don't match up we'll be putting your friend's life at a lot more risk." Hershel told me.

    "They should, I'm A-Positive as well." I honestly don't remember how I know that the information just popped into my mind.

Hershel looked to Lori and Rick to check if it was all right. The two looked at each other before looking at me. "Are you sure about this? Your only Twelve." Lori asked.

    "I want to help Carl. Even if it's just this one time I'm aloud to give blood." I say.

    "Okay." Lori nodded.

I watched as Hershel walked over to me. "Just— just one more thing. It won't hurt to much will it?"

    "I promise you'll be safe." Hershel said. "I can't take as much from you as I can from Rick but it's best he has a longer break before transferring more."

I sat down and closed my eyes clenching my opposite fist and trying to relax the one that would be used. There was a slight pain that felt worse in my mind as he stuck it in my arm.

    "The hard part's over." Hershel told me as I opened my eyes.