sinful | s. walsh

XI.

"Sometimes things happen and we can't do anything about it."

XI.

"Jade... she's having a panic attack." I don't know who said it but someone falls in front of me and puts their hands on my shoulders. I look up to see Glenn.

"Hey, Jade. It's going to be fine. Breath with me, watch me breath." He calmly speaks and I do as he says, I watch his chest rise and even though I can't concentrate entirely on his breathing I finally let mine slip back into regular inhales after a few minutes.

"There you go." He nods and I swallow hard as the world starts to come back to me or rather I come back to the world. I stand up with help from him and Daryl.

"We need to get back to the highway already so we can go to the farm." Daryl says. I don't realize what farm he's talking about until they explain that was where the woman had taken my mom. I didn't even realize she had given them this information.

When we get back Daryl decides it's best if some people stay back in case Sophia comes back. Me, Glenn, and T-dog hop into Carol's car to go to the farm. T-dog had cut himself pretty badly earlier when we were looking for things so he needed to get help. Glenn drives us according to whatever directions he has heard from the woman.

My mind starts to race, how could he have gotten shot? He had the best protection with him, how is it that he got shot? He's just a little boy, he doesn't deserve this. He doesn't deserve to die this way. He needs to experience growing up and I want to watch it happen. I feel like I've only had so little time with him, he's my baby brother, he needs to be okay.

We pull up the house and I quickly hop out and run up the steps. I stop myself because I don't know if I should knock or walk in, I don't know how the world works in this kind of way anymore. Glenn and T catch up and stand right behind me.

"Do we knock or?" Glenn asks.

"You guys close the gate on your way in?" We turn to see a woman sitting on the porch chair, she then stands up, I notice that she was the one who was on the horse.

"Yes, we did." Glenn states.

"Is my brother okay?" I ask her. She sighs.

"Let's go in." She steps in first and holds the door open for us. She motions toward the open door to our left and I walk in. Tears spring to my eyes seeing Carl lying there.

"Jade." My mom stands up from the chair next to the bed and pulls me in for a hug. I cry into her shoulder as she strokes my hair.

"What happened?" I ask through sobs. She pulls away and wipes under my eyes.

"One of their people were hunting and shot at a deer, bullet went straight through it and hit Carl." My dad says from his seat. I see a cotton ball on his inner elbow which I can only assume that means he drew blood.

"You his sister?" The man who was just checking Carl's heartbeat asks me. He was an older man with white hair and he was dressed in a button up with suspenders. I nod.

"What's your blood type?"

"O Neg." I say.

"Perfect, we shouldn't be drawing any more blood from your dad." He states.

He has me sit in a chair, another lady comes in and swipes my arm with alcohol to stick the needle in.

"We're going to need a lot more." He says almost warning me to what I'm about to get into.