𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 | 𝐭𝐰𝐝 ¹

34.

   Nicole was no stranger to loss, in any way. As far back as she could remember, she was always losing something. The first time she remembered losing something, it was the family cat -- Milo. Nicole loved that cat so much that she named him after her favorite movie -- Milo and Otis. Nicole was barely ten-years-old when her parents explained to her that Milo ran away. However, Nicole knew what happened. It was a morbid moment when she found her cat dead in a field, devoured by a coyote. She knew what happened.

   Milo wasn't the only thing she had lost. She lost her brother, then herself. She lost her friends -- Jacqui and Amy -- and she lost... she lost Sophia. Nicole knew that this world was hard and that death was inevitable. But, she never thought she'd lose the one person who acted like more of a father than her biological one did.

   Dale was a tough old, bastard. Nicole continuously thought as she recalled back to his final moments. His cries for help echoed throughout her mind; she could remember the grueling moment. She'd never forget his painful death.

   "What is that?" Nicole asked as she pulled away from the hug. She frantically looked around for the source. "Daryl," she pointed. Nicole could see something in the distance. She wasn't sure who it was though.

   "C' mon." Daryl wasted no time grabbing his lantern and running. Nicole told Cheyanne to stay before she darted off after the sound. The pain seared through her ankle as she ran as fast as she could.

   Nicole didn't think she could run any faster when she realized what was happening. Dale laid under a walker, screaming in pain and terror. "Dale!" Nikki cried as Daryl launched himself at the walker above him. She fell to the ground beside the old man and watched as blood seeped from the wide tear in his stomach. "No!"

   Dale coughed as Daryl started waving for help. "Help! Over here!" Daryl yelled as he crouched on the opposing side. "Help! Run!" Daryl leaned back down to their friend. "Hang in there, buddy."

   "Hang on, Dale," Nicole sobbed, gripping Dale's hand tightly. She couldn't lose him like this, not like this. He should have gone down fighting, not torn apart by some brainless monster. "You'll be okay." Nicole sobbed before flashing her head around. "Hurry your asses up!"

   Within seconds, pretty much everyone was beside their near and dear Dale. Rick bent down and cradled Dale's head. He attempted to soothe him. "Rick, we have to do something," Nicole cried. She could feel hot, salty tears slip down her face.

   "Okay, hold on." Rick stood back up turning to Glenn. "Get Hershel! He needs blood. We got to operate now." Nicole continued to cry as Andrea lowered herself to Nicole's side. Andrea's hand clasped over Dale and Nicole's.

   Dale began crying in pain. "He's suffering," Nicole whispered to herself. Nicole's vision was blurry through the tears but she could see the damage. There was no way they could do anything. Rick continued to cry out for Hershel and soothe Dale at the same time. Nicole couldn't tell if it was making it worse or not.

   Andrea and Rick both told the dying man to hold on. Nicole could feel the blood start to seep from his shirt. Her left hand was close to the wound; his blood began pulling itself into the cracks of her skin. Nicole heard Hershel run over and Rick try to get their dear friend help in every possible way. When Hershel told Rick that there was no way he'd survive, Rick cried out in heart-wrenched pain.

   "Ca-can you do anything?"Andrea sobbed from beside Nicole. Nicole glanced over to the older blonde with teary eyes and shook her head no. This caused Andrea to cry more. Rick slowly bent down next to Nicole. Their teary eyes met for a second; Nicole could have sworn that she saw one slip from their leader's left eye.