"A sickness has broken out, and it's already taken the lives of many." Hershel spoke to the entirety of the prison from the cafeteria. Everybody sat at tables, stood by the walls as the old man explained everything that had taken place this morning.
Patrick was the first, he choked on his on blood and turned, he then made his way into D block and killed so many others.
"The rest of the council is trying to find the cause as we speak. We're going to move the children to the wardens office, and clear out block A as a quarantine ward." As Hershel began to walk away the room erupted in voices.
Rowen sat quietly at a metal table, Patrick was fine yesterday, they talked, he had served her breakfast, they weren't by any means friends but she liked the boy. The room began to clear, the hushed whispers of almost every member of their rather large community could be heard.
Rowen stood, preparing to leave the cafeteria along with the others, her walk to the cell block was interrupted when Rick stepped in front of her, Carl trailing behind him.
"Hershel wants the two of you to clear out the wardens office. It's a mess in there so clean it up and get it set up, they want all the children in there by sundown." And with that, Rick walked away, leaving the two teenagers to walk to the wardens office alone.
☆
As Rowen shoved old discarded papers into a large trash bag, she fought the urge to talk with the boy. She told herself she would never speak to him again, but it was quiet in that room.
"I like your cowboy hat." Rowen mumbled as she grabbed another handful of papers.
"It's a sheriff's hat." The boy sneered as he shoved the chairs into a line against the wall.
"Looks like a cowboy hat to me" she shrugged, every other sheriff's hat she'd seen, has a big gold star on it. Cowboy hats do not, so by her definition, it is a cowboy hat.
"Well it's not." He snapped, he stomped off into the room next to them, beginning to clean up papers in there. She remembered them having this conversation before, one exactly like this, and it ended the same way, him leaving, and her staying.
By the time he left, the floor in the main room was void of any paper, so she joined him in the second room. She handed him the half full trash bag she had been using previously, and helped him clean out the small room.
The worked in silence for what felt like hours, and by the time they had finished the sun was nearly down.
The council led every child into the small area, every one of them holding blankets and pillows. Some had books, or stuffed animals. Most had tear stained cheeks and tissues.
After awhile the crying and sniffling stopped, Carl and Rowen sat outside of the main office. They were silent at first, Rowen watched the stars, naming all she could in her head.
"I'm sorry what for what I said." Carl whispered, almost like it pained him to do so.
"What do you mean?" Rowen knew what he meant, his words had been stuck in her head since they came out of his mouth over a month ago. She didn't know why his words effected her so greatly.
"I don't wish you died with your dad," Rowen looked at the boy, but the boy was already looking at her.
"It's okay." Rowen's eyes drifted back too the stars, she didn't like serious conversations, especially when they were about her dad.
"It's not." She felt Carl stand, and she heard his footsteps as he left, the girl sat alone in the enclosed veranda of the office building on an old bus seat.
She didn't realize she had fallen asleep on that old bus seat until she was awoken by the morning chill, gone was the calm warmth of the night, and in its place was freezing temperatures that caused a puff of condensation every time the girl released a breath.
She shuffled back inside the office which held little warmth, and found herself falling back asleep on the ground near the main office.
☆
Two more people had died, and four more had gotten sick by the time Rowen woke up, wrapped in a blanket against the hard concrete wall.
The girl would have to move seven children from the office to A block in just under an hour, this sickness that plagued their the group was out of hand.
And at this rate, everybody would be dead within the month. Carl and Rowen worked the entire day making sure that every child that was urgently shoved into the office building more comfortable.
And by nightfall, the number of children in the office had dropped from 36 to 19. They were losing people fast. In twenty-four hours 27 people died.
He was fine yesterday.
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[EDITED]
-Sadie⭐️
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