The Cure Within

The Wall

The next morning John woke first,he was used to waking up early from his years in the military, he waited till the sun had been up for a little while when he woke Donnie up to head outside. The idea was to let the kids sleep as long as they could while the two men worked on building the walls. John hadn't noticed that Sam wasn't in her chair asleep. She had gotten up sometime last night. She was restless so she got up and went to sit by the door. She cracked it open just a little so she could see the night sky and watch the stars. She imagined her parents and Jane were stars up there somewhere watching over her and the rest of their little group. She used to watch stars with her mom and dad every year on her birthday. The year her grandpa died they told her he was a star and would always be watching over her even if she couldn't see him. She never intended to leave the garage but once the sun had just barely risen, she could see enough that she thought it would be ok to go outside and get out of the garage. She felt cooped up and she wanted to go outside for a walk and to get some fresh air. She hadn't told anyone she was leaving,she didn't feel the need to. She figured if she saw a muerto she could just run back to the garage as fast as she could and warn the others.  She was wrong. After John got Donnie up they looked over to check on the kids once before they went outside. That was when they realized there was a kid missing. Sam wasn’t in her chair. They glanced around the shop and realized that she wasn't anywhere in the shop. They were heading outside to look for her when she screamed. She thought she would see a muerto before it could get her but she didn't think about what might be lurking around corners. She had gone to walk around a truck not knowing there was a muerto on the other side of the truck and was grabbed by it. The muerto knocked her to the ground and she was fighting to keep the thing from biting into her. She was using all her strength to keep the thing off of her, screaming as loud as she could, hoping one of the fellow survivors would hear her and come help. As soon as the adults heard the screaming they were outside running to the source. Sam was losing strength and her arms were about to give in and let the muerto get her. John arrived just as Sam's arms gave to the weight of the monster, just in time to save Sam. He killed the thing as quickly as possible and then turned to Sam. Sam did not like yelling. There wasn't really a reason for it; she just hated yelling, it scared her. John knew this but he couldn't stop himself when he started yelling at Sam , he was worried about her and angry at her and scared all at the same time and the first thing he knew to do was yell. “Are ya’ stupid or something!!? Ya coulda been killed! What the hell were ya’ thinking comin’ outside by yourself, without telling anyone!” A mixture of John yelling at her and the bite that was now on her arm, she instantly started crying.  “I'm-im sorry. I -i just wanted to -to go outside. I was just-i- I don't know. I'm sorry.” “ Sorry ain't gonna cut it! You could have died damnit! If we hadn't been awake you would have!” “I'm sorry.” “Dammit Sam-” “ John! Chill out. She doesn't know any better.” “She should damnit. She's seen what these things can do!” “ I'm sorry! I didn't mean for anything to happen. I just wanted to get away from everything. It's all I could think of to stop thinking about it all. I'm sorry. I thought if I could go outside and take a walk maybe everything would go back to normal. Maybe I could see my mom and my dad and Jane. Maybe I would just wake up and it was huge nightmare! I'm sorry.” “Sam. Shit Sam, your arm! I'm sorry. Umm. It's-its ok. It's alright. Let me see your arm. Ok. I dont think it's too bad we can clean it later. I think it'll be alright. You just gotta be more careful. It's not safe anymore and I don't want you to get hurt or worse. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled.” “Since you're already up Sam you wanna come help me start getting some stuff ready for the wall after we clean up your arm, while John checks the place real quick?” She sniffled. “Wait a wall?” “Yeah we’re gonna build a wall for protection.” “Oh. Yeah I'll help.” Donnie didn't really need help from a little kid and John wasn't really planning to check the place out but Donnie figured the two could use a short break from each other and then they could all get to work on the wall together. That they did.After John walked back over to the pair they started to move the trailers to where they needed them. Donnie drove and positioned the trailers while John helped to back him into the right spot and Sam would start putting tires under the trailers. Soon the other children woke up and began to help Sam with the tires.With all of them working together all day they would have the beginning of their wall almost finished today. At Least they would have, but after about the fourth trailer they ran out of tires, so they finished setting up the trailers and then called it a day. The two adults also realized that they were gonna need some more trailers. The seven that they had only went around three of the four walls to the shop and the idea was to cover the shop and the house so they would have a decent amount of space. “We are going to have to make a run to go get more supplies.” Yeah, I know, but what about the kids? We can't just leave 'em here. What if something happens? They can't defend themselves, not yet.” "John, we don't really have a choice here. Sam and Tom can hold down the fort while we are gone. We don't have to be gone all day. We can just go on multiple trips. Be gone half the day, work on the wall the other half.” “what if a group of those thi- those muertos show up? They may be strong, but they could not handle that.” “I think you underestimate ‘em, John. Those kids are tough and they feel responsible for those younger ones. They will keep the place safe while we are gone.” “I guess it's the only option, huh? Damit! Sam, Tom, come here for a second.” John told the two the plan and told them not to leave the garage for any reason and to always be alert. The two children were scared but knew they had to do it, that they could do it. They would be able to because they needed that wall to be finished. So they could be safe. So their family could be safe. After the talk, John gave each of the kids an MRE and they all ate sitting in a circle. They talked about how things used to be and how things would be once the wall was finished. “Once we get it finished, can we get a cat? It can keep all the mice and stuff away!” “ Levi you really think thats a good idea. Then we have to feed it and keep it clean. And we would have to clean its poop and pee. Cat pee stinks, bud.” “ Come oooon. Sam it would not be that bad. It would be fun and we would have a pet.” “ I think we should get a dog. They are more fun and nicer.” “ So it could bark and attract the muertos?” “ Ya know what i think? I think we should get an old lady who swallowed a fly and then get a spider for her to swallow, then a bird, then the cat, and then the dog then we could get an old lady and a cat and dog! It'd be a win-win for everyone!” They all started laughing at Tom's joke. The boy was just glad he could still bring some laughter to the people he cared about. Especially Sam. She was his best friend and they needed each other. John sat worried about tomorrow. Worried about all the things that could happen. Something could happen to him and Donnie and the kids would be alone. Something could happen to the kids and no one would be there to help them. He was worried but he couldn't resist enjoying the moment with everyone else not knowing when they would get a moment like this again.They all went their separate ways after a while and went to sleep. Even Sam actually slept all night. It had been a long day and a lot of work so they were all exhausted.