when i look at you | TWD

chapter nine. pain

4 MONTHS AGO.

Eleanor felt strong hands on her shoulder as she was being shook harshly. She groaned and opened her eyes slowly, seeing the face of her distressed father. "Dad? I thought you were at work." She sighed, going to sit up.

"C'mon. Get up. We need to get outta here." He spoke, panting slightly. The teenager got up reluctantly, her mind still in its sleeping state.

"What's goin' on?" She asked him, her southern accent coming out.

"Did anyone come to the door?" Shane asked, checking his gun for any bullets.

Ellie shook her head. "No. Dad what's-" Her voice was cut off by somebody suddenly coming towards the door, groaning loudly. She recognized it as their next door neighbor, Ivy. The two had become acquaintances for the two weeks she's been here.

"Get behind me." He ordered, grabbing her arm and pushing her away.

"No, that's Ivy, she's-" Ellie started, but stopped once he held up his gun and she banged harder, growling loudly.

The girl, or what was once a girl, crashed the glass sliding door in and Ellie shrieked, the sound startling her.

"Ivy, get back!" Shane warned. The girl just growled and charged at him, the man having no choice but to shoot her dead.

The teenager gasped and widened her eyes, shaking slightly. Shane turned around and grabbed her face, looking at her in the eyes as they were just darted to the floor where Ivy's body was. "You- you killed her..." Her voice cracked, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"No, baby. That wasn't her." He assured his daughter, grabbing her hand and pulling her outside to the car where Lori, Jax, and Carl were in.

Present.

Ellie fell to the floor in pain, the bullet hitting her right above her hip. She shrieked and moved her hand over it, her father running towards her body on the floor in panic as Rick pulled his son aside with fear in wide blue eyes.

"Oh, my god. It's okay. You're okay." Shane told her as tears sprung in her eyes from the pain. His hands shook as he pressed them against her wound, panting shakily. Ellie whimpers, looking straight into her dads eyes.

There was sudden ruckus from the bushes and the two men looked up, seeing a distraught looking man with a rifle in his hand. "Is she-"

Shane got up and pointed his gun at him, panting heavily. With his finger on the trigger, he squeezed gently. Rick acted quickly and pushed him back, Shane scoffing in response. "Calm down, Shane." As Rick speaks, his voice shakes, worried about Ellie, kneeling down to help her up off the ground. She groans loudly in pain and tumbles down, Rick going down with her.

"There's a farm. I have someone who could help." The man told him, his hands up in surrender.

Shane just looked to him with a glare, his finger still on the trigger. "Shane!" Rick yelled to him, pressing his hands against Ellie's wound as her eyes felt heavy, more and more blood pouring out slow. "It hurts so bad." She cries. Ellie's never felt such agonizing pain, not even when she broke her neck.

"I know. We're gonna get you help." Rick told her as Shane came to his senses, lifting her up off the floor, she whimpers loudly, sobbing loudly as the pain increased.

"I'm sorry, baby. You're gonna be okay." Shane told her, running towards the farm.

The two had been running for what felt like hours before Shane finally turned around, seeing Rick far behind. "Which way?!"

"Keep going!" The man yelled, his vision blurry with sweat.

El opens her eyes to a blurry image of her father, chest vibrating as he talked, his voice sounding far away. An echo almost. "Dad..." She croaks out, swallowing to moisten her dry throat. "D-don't let me die..."

Shane shakes his head at his daughters words, holder her even tighter in his arms, if that was even possible. "I-I won't, El. You're not gonna die." He reassures her, approaching a gate. He grunts loudly as he kicks it open with his foot, Ellie completely knocked out in his arms, vision going in and out.

Moments later, Shane walked up on a porch, another older looking man walking out with furrowed eyebrows. "What happened?" He says, voice loud and sharp as he inspected the injured girl in his arms.

"Your man shot her." Shane spoke,  lip quivering as he looked to her pale skin with blood all over her face. Her whole body was covered in blood.

"Get her inside." The man spoke. Shane nodded and quickly ran inside, setting her on the bed that was in the middle of the room.

Rick ran in with Carl next to him, along with the man who shot Ellie. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't see her and-" The man started, but was interrupted by Shane punching him right in the face, the man staggering back as he held it in pain.

He walked outside as they worked on her, hands shaking immensely as he saw the blood on them. Ellie's blood. Tears started to leak out from his eyes once it finally hit that his daughter had gotten shot. Shane covered his mouth, trying to muffle his sobs so they're not so loud, he didn't want anything bothering him.

Rick came out there, the springs on the screen making a loud noise. His eyes softened once he saw Shane, face wet in tears. "Hey look-look at me." He stammered, the man turning to him with red eyes.

"She's gonna be okay." Rick assured him, grabbing his head and placing it onto his, Shane crying even louder. "She's okay."

"I don't..." Shane trailed off, shaking his head. "She was so scared, man." He choked out a sob and Rick instantly pulled him into a hug, the father crying into his shoulder.

"Dad? Dad!" They heard from the next room and Shane pulled back from hearing her voice. He quickly made his way inside and saw Eleanor, eyes darting around frantically searching for her dad. Once she saw her fathers face, she visibly relaxed, the man widening his eyes at all the blood on the bed. "I-I don't like this..." She whimpered, the pain on her side increasing. She began to thrash around, pushing their hands away from her wound.

"I'm gonna need you to hold her down." Hershel Greene spoke, eyes staring right at Shane, him swallowing nervously as he walked to the other side of the bed, holding down her arms gently.

Hershel didn't give any warning as he dug the tweezers into her side, the girl screaming loudly. "Make it stop!" She cried, her arms thrashing around. Shane cried for her, in fear and in sadness. This was the most scared he's seen her. Ever. It scared him, too.

"Enough! You're killing her!" Rick yelled out, everyone looking at him with puzzling looks. The teenager stopped screaming, her eyes fluttering shut, Shane panicking. "Wha-what happened?"

"She just passed out." Patrica, a woman who was along side Hershel, said.

"One down... two more to go." Hershel sighed, setting down the bullet fragment into the tray. "She'll die if we don't get that medicine soon."

"Where is it? I'll go." Shane volunteered. Anything for his little girl.

"It-it's a high school. I'll bring you there." Otis spoke up, wanting to do a good deed for all the bad he's done this passed day.

Shane was reluctant at first, but he eventually agreed, not wanting to waste anymore time. "Alright."