Waking (The Walking Dead)

12| Expire

12| Expire

Claire wakes up in immense pain on her right eye, so strong that it causes her to immediately cry out. She tries to open both her eyes but can only see out of one, and bringing her hand up to her sore eye she feels a patch covering it.

She wants to cry but she knows the tears will only make her hurt even more. Sucking in a sharp breath through her teeth, she pulls herself into a sitting position.

She lets out a scream in fright when a small body pops up from beneath the bed, slamming their tiny hands over the blanket. She immediately relaxes when she notices it's just her little sister, who is now climbing over her lap while giggling.

"Did I scare you?" Quinn asks playfully, and if she wasn't in so much pain already, Claire would of laughed it off. But she was in a terrible mood and couldn't even bring herself to smile at her sister, and instead holds her bloody hand against her eye.

"Quinn, how long have you been under there for?"

"Since morning!" She replies gleefully. Claire realizes that she must not understand how much pain Claire would be in.

"Where is everyone?"

"Downstairs!" Quinn bounces on the bed, making Claire wobble.

She uses as much strength as she can to get out of bed, her knees feeling weak. Her head pounding, she continues downstairs with Quinn on her tail. Claire nearly collapses at the bottom of the stairs but she manages to grab the wooden railing in time, hoisting herself up again. She didn't notice Quinn's hand on her side, trying to keep her upright as well.

Claire takes a sharp breath in before continuing to walk. She pokes her head around the corner to see everyone gathered around in the kitchen. A part of her wanted to know what was going on, but another part of her didn't want them to see her. Not when they were all crowded together. Beyond the many heads, she saw the familiar blonde that had ruined her life.

Lila stood with her hand on her hip, watching as Harrison and Jason rummage through the cabinets of food, reading the label on every package.

"Fuck! These are all expiring this month!" Jason exclaims, dropping the packet of crisps on the ground before proceeding to stomp on it, his anger problems getting the best of him.

"Not all of them, that can't be." Layla snatches another bag off him, shooting him a glare before proceeding to read the back of it herself.

"Oh."

Buck speaks up. "Well, there are some foods that don't expire, or at least can last us a few more years." Claire realizes she hasn't seen him in a while. He didn't look as broken as she thought he would. In fact, he looked the same as before Johanna died.

"Like?" Jason asks aggressively.

"Like rice. Dried beans. Powdered milk."

"Canned tuna goes pretty well too." Bentley adds, and the rest of them nod in agreement.

"And we can get our protein from dried meat." Jason says, an imaginary lightbulb flashing over his head.

"Okay, so this means we will have to raid a supermarket. Any idea where the closest one might be?" Harrison questions.

"There's one back the way we came from." Claire says, and simultaneously everyone turns their attention to her. She can feel the tension in the air as they stare at her beaten face, the worst part being that they didn't know who did it or how it happened. "I remember seeing it. It's pretty massive and didn't look too broken into."