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                 SICKNESS HAS PLAGUED THE world since it was even formed. It killed out animals from centuries ago, it made evolution happen. The world started to prepare themselves for all the illnesses that would strike them.

                       They tried with the apocalypse. There's only so much they could do before the world fought back.

                      With the world making everyone now even more fearful, they tend to forget the other illnesses that could plague it. Not just walkers. Not just the rotten teeth of them biting into your loved ones and killing them.

                      When Koa was eight she had a horrible cold that spiraled into much more. She threw up for days until Uncle Shane took her to the hospital. The beeps of the machines gave Koa a headache but Shane soothed her, Sadie brought her snacks and the Grimes family visited everyday.

                      Within a few days, she was back to causing havoc in the Walsh/Finch household.

                     All thanks to medicine.

                     A rarity in the new world.

                     An alarm clock Beth had found them blares from the small dresser they share, waking the two girls up. With a loud groan, Koa swings her legs over the bunk. Beth looks up at her, eyes even more tired from the news the day before.

                         Koa takes a deep breath, "You sleep?" She asks. Beth shrugs, fixing her blonde ponytail, "Did you?" Koa shrugs next, wiping her tired eyes. She hops down, socked feet hitting the cold floor. "Can I grab you food?" Koa gently asks. Beth sends her small smile, "I can grab it. Don't worry 'bout me, Koa."

                      Koa bites her lip, refraining from saying she'll always worry about her. Hope is a blessing and a curse. Beth had been blessed with it. Koa had been cursed with it. Both hoped for some of the same things, one saw it as a weakness while the other thrives on it. It frightens Koa to see Beth without such an abundance of her blessing of hope.

                She should've expected it, she knows that. You can only remain so hopeful for so long with the dead walking. The light is still bright in Beth's eyes though, easing Koa's mind as she contemplates whether to send her condolences again about her dead boyfriend.

                   Instead, she slips an oversized hoodie over her body, leaving her pajama pants on as she leaves her cell of a room.

                        A few cells down Nellie Hawthorne is death glaring at her mother as she packs her items. "So, you're going anyway?" Nellie bitterly asks. Michonne sighs, "Nells, I'll be okay. I gotta do this."

                    "You don't."

                    Michonne softly cups her daughter's face, "I do," She rests a kiss against her forehead, "I'll even look for a new knife for you." Even with the sweet deal, Nellie continues her glare. But, her mother is stubborn and there's no changing her mind. Especially about the safety of her child.

            Nellie gives in, wrapping her arms around her mother for a hug. Her mother hugs back, taking in the affection from her daughter. "You're gonna have to eat. I'm sure Sadie is waitin' for you. How's your leg?" Michonne points to the bandage that is less soaked in blood than before but still soaked.

                    Nellie winces as she steps on the leg, "I'll live. I'll change the bandage and then eat. I promise. Just—please, be careful, mom." Michonne has a sincere look in her eyes, one that comforts her scared daughter. "Always," She says and lands one more kiss on Nellie's temple before leaving the cell.

                          "Nellie must've woken up late, huh? She's usually out here by now," Carol comments as she and Sadie prepare breakfast for the prison. Sadie nods, chopping up some meat for the meal. She's quiet. The death of Zach is still heavy on her chest. She wasn't awfully close with the boy but it's still a death.

                        "She went through a lot yesterday. Let her sleep in," Sadie says with a slight mumble.

                        But, there will always be death in the apocalypse. A string of gunfire that shakes Sadie to her core makes sure of that.

                           "That's in the prison," Carol says, rushing alongside Sadie towards the building. Carl is with Rick but Koa, Nellie and Judith are in the prison. Sadie's heart drops, hands shaking when Mika and Lizzie emerge in a panic.

                   "Help! Help! Please, come quick!" Lizzie shouts, running towards Sadie. "Hey! What's wrong?" Sadie frantically asks the girls and now Glenn, "Where's Koa and Judith?"

                     "I didn't see them. Walkers in D!" Glenn yells as Rick speeds up to them. "I gotta find them!" Sadie says but Rick grabs her forearm. "No! I'll find them. Go to the watch tower with Maggie. Now, Sadie!" Rick sternly says. Sadie gulps, fighting the urge to just go right into the prison and find her sisters and Nellie.

                 "What about C?" Rick shouts the question. Sasha, Daryl and Nellie run out of the block. Sadie gasps with the smallest bit of relief at the sight of Nellie. "Clear! Hershel's on guard," Sasha explains. "It ain't a breach," Daryl adds. "Then what the hell is going on?" Sadie panics. "Get to safety! Now!" Rick yells at the girls before taking off. Nellie grabs Sadie's arm and forces her to run with her all the way to the watch tower with Maggie.

                            When they reach the tower, Michonne has turned around and is fighting off two walkers. "Mom!" Nellie yells and speeds up. Carl grabs a gun right as a walker pushes Michonne to the ground. A shot goes off, killing one of the creatures. Nellie grabs the walker on her mother by the back of its collar and angrily throws it into the makeshift spikes, bashing its head in with her boot. Michonne lets out a groan of pain, dragging Nellie's attention back to her.

                      Nellie helps her mother to her feet along with Maggie. When they turn to face the field, even more walkers are littering the area. "Shit! We gotta go!" Nellie yells and helps her mother back into the grounds of the prison.

                 The prison inside is a wreck. Bodies are laid out everywhere, screams are filling up the cell blocks. All the residents are fighting for their lives.

                  Walkers are everywhere Koa turns. Going to go get breakfast was quickly stopped by the flood of screams she heard from her neighboring cell block. She rushes children out, hoping their parents weren't victim to the massacre laid out in front of her.

                     She drives in pig gutter into the mushy heads of the walkers, shoving kids forward. Her eyes bounce everywhere, trying to get back to Judith and then maybe figure out what the hell happened. With crimson soaked clothes, Koa spots Glenn. "Koa? Go!" Glenn yells as he slices a walker's head. Koa swallows, "What's going on?"

                   "Don't know but you need to go. Sadie, Nellie and Carl are safe. C is clear. Judith is okay," He assures her amongst the chaos. He pushes her backwards. She hesitates for a moment, blood
splattered across her face and hands. She watches as the other members of her group shuffle survivors out and stab into the brains of walkers.

               Before Koa can even turn on her heel and run, something grips her by hair, spinning her around. She lets out a scream when she hears a snarl then the chatter of rotten teeth. "Fuck!" Koa curses, realizing it has a tight grip on her arm. She switches her knife to her left hand, driving the blade in an awkward angle into the walker's head.

                 It still has a grip on her though and the angle isn't letting her drive the weapon as deep as needed. It's teeth are dangerously close when it's other hand gains a grip on Koa's hair, giving it a wider surface area to bite into the flesh of her neck. Taken by surprise, Koa drops her knife, hearing it clatter to the floor as she gets ready to fight off the monster.

                 A whizz flies past her and then the snarling stops. Koa takes a few steps back, heart ringing in her ears as she stares at the arrow that belongs to Daryl in the walker's head. She bends down, dodging the running residents and finds her knife. She's quickly pulled up by her collar. "What the hell are you doin' in here? Go! This ain't the time to play hero!" Daryl exclaims.

                  "I wasn't trying to!" She defends herself. Her eyes drift from cell to cell and it seems like everyone of them has a dead body it in or blood smeared down the walls and floor. "Out! Leave, Koa!" Daryl gently shoves her back towards the exit.

               With a dry mouth, Koa listens and runs out of Block D. Her boots kick up dirt as she dashes towards her sister in the watch tower. Once she reaches them, Koa is engulfed in a hug by both Carl and Sadie. "Is anyone hurt?" Koa asks, holding into Carl's smaller hand.

                    "Just my mom but we're not bit," Nellie tells her. Koa's knees feel weak. The carnage is horrible. The death toll is large. She had to stab the faces of people she became familiar with in these five months, people she began to feel friendly with.

                   The people of Woodbury trusted them and now half of them are dead. "Koa, you look pale. Why don't you sit down?" Maggie says, helping Koa to the floor. Koa's clammy hands fall to her lap, mind replaying all the death she just saw.

               "It's bad It's fuckin' bad. Whatever happened—however it happened," Koa stutters, running her hands through her hair. The rest of the group share a concerned look and gulp, watching Koa fall apart by the second at way she saw.

                        AS SHITTY AS IT sounds, Koa thought she was used to death, she was used to losing people. Doesn't mean it didn't hurt. But, the death she saw in that cellblock, it's shaken her to her core and she feels so weak for it.

                       She can hear her Uncle's voice in her head telling her to get up and move on. That this is the way of life now and if she wants to survive, others have to die. Koa scoffs to herself, pondering if she would've survived if Shane hadn't lost his mind to the doom of the Walsh family.

                   Koa has been crying so much she might throw up. It feels like hours before the gunfire stopped. Only now are they leaving the watch tower. The Finch sisters drag their feet along, each of them having a grip on Carl. They turn the corner and see an alive Rick Grimes. Relief washes over like a gentle wave, lifting some of the heavy weight off their shoulders and bringing a soothing calm to the storm of fear within.

                     Before anyone can stop them, the three are rushing towards the man.

                 "You might wanna stay back—"

                          Carl slams into him with a hug, the other two girls joining in. "I'm sorry. I didn't see you come out," Carl cries as Rick rocks the three kids back and forth. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm fine but back away," Rick says. "I had to use one of the guns back by the gate, I swear I didn't want to," Carl sobs. Sadie wipes her eyes, "I–I–how many are dead?" Rick rolls his tired head to the side, "It's..." He trails off and Sadie lets out a choked cry, hand flying over to her mouth as the death toll weighs on her.

                            "I was coming back. I fell," Michonne says, "They came out and helped me." Nellie rests her head on her mom's shoulder, letting her heart finally settle from its rapid beat.     

                           "Are you alright?" Rick shakily asks. Michonne slowly nods a yes. Koa braces for the news, who's dead, who they've lost. "What happened in there?" Maggie asks. A woman walks out holding a bloody sheet sobbing her eyes out. "How did walkers get in?" Koa questions further. A sad, tired look falls across Rick's face.

                     They haven't seen him like this in months. Their quiet farm life has been uprooted. Safety has been misunderstood, they've been misinformed on how easy this could've been. Should've been. In another life maybe.

                      "Patrick got sick last night. It's some kind of flu. It moves fast. We think he died and attacked the cell block," Rick explains. A choked sob leaves Koa's mouth at the news of another friend's death. Sadie quickly holds her sister up, hiding her own tears to comfort her.

                      Rick swallows, "Look, I know he was your friend and I'm sorry. He was a good kid," Rick crouches down to his son's level, "We lost a lot of good people," He points towards Maggie, "Glenn and your dad are okay, but they were in there. Koa—so were you. You shouldn't get too close to anyone that might have been exposed, at least for a little while."

               Koa immediately separates from her sister, "I—I'm sick?" Sadie reaches out for her despite the new news. Koa just takes another big step back, swatting Sadie's protective hand away.

                "Hey, we don't know but we have to be safe. For your well being and everyone else—"

                     "She has to quarantine in there?" Sadie asks, keeping a close eye on Koa and her shaky frame. "Not there—we'll figure it out, okay?" Rick softly assures them. Koa runs a hand over her face, swears forming on her brow. "It's fine. Sadie, it's fine. It's gotta be," Koa says. The pit in her stomach only grows deeper and she can't tell if it's nerves or this flu that has claimed their people.

                  Sadie wants to yell, she wants to scream because yet again Koa has put herself in danger. She didn't know though. She didn't know a flu had infiltrated the prison, affecting everyone that had come into contact with cell block D.

                    Koa ran in there at the sounds of screams. That's all it took. A part of Sadie is proud while another part still wants to scold her little sister. Sadie inhales sharply, glancing over at Nellie and then back at Koa, "I trust you on that, Koa."

                    "We have to be okay. At least pretend to be. Fake it till you make it. And hope the bullshit will just work on its own at some point," Koa says with a loud sigh, ignoring that growing pit that is near to sucking her into its void.

                PANIC. THAT IS ALL the group has felt all day. From the very beginning of the day it was fucked. Now, because of the gunfire earlier, walkers have flooded the surrounding area, bending the barb wired fence to its limits.

                           Sadie would rather be keeping an eye on her possibly sick sister but instead she is watching the wired fence shake and bend, threatening their safety once again today.

                   Sadie drives her knife into the heads of walkers through the fence, watching them fall with a thud as more snarls echo in her ears. "Hey, you seein' this?" Sasha calls out.

                     Sadie steps to the side, staring at the dead corpses of eaten rats. Her brows furrow. Someone is feeding the walkers like pets. The first person that comes to mind; Lizzie.

                     But, there's no time to focus on that because the fence is on its last leg. Sadie stumbles back, trying to move forward but Rick pushes her back, away from the danger. She's tired of this, being treated so fragile.

                       She's learned how to use a gun in these five months. She's practiced combat with Glenn, Daryl and Michonne for hours. Sadie is pretty sure she can push a fence.

                              The walkers are insistent, even splitting their own heads open at the pressure in which they are pushing. "Everybody back! Back, now!" Daryl yells. The adults back up, huffing and puffing. Sadie gulps, having no idea what to do in this situation besides just push the fence. Their glossed over eyes, skin melting from the Georgia sun. They're stronger than they are in these groups.

                     "They keep pushing like this, they're gonna get over the fence!" Sasha exclaims. Sadie looks towards Rick, taking a sharp inhale at the man's stressed out face. He's being stretched too thin. That's what happens when you lead but Rick Grimes manages the impossible, that's just who he is. He survived a gunshot wound in the start of the apocalypse, made it back to his family and found her.

                    Sadie knows he can solve this equation as well.

                       "Daryl, get the truck. I got an idea," Rick says, then glancing over at Sadie, "You—inside. Away from Koa." Sadie huffs, "I wanna check on her."

                         "We'll figure out a way so that you can talk to her. For now, stay away and stop throwing yourself into danger," Rick shakes his head at her. The blonde puffs her cheeks up with anger, jaw clenched, "Could say the same for you," She says before turning on her heel and leaving to go into the prison, stuck feeling like Rapunzel.

       
                     AN OLD COMIC BOOK SITS on Koa's chest, eyes glued to the ceiling of her cell. She's tried to keep herself entertained as she is stuck in this cell until the others figure it out. Beth is gone to take care of Michonne and Judith. Though, she can hear the sweet pipes that belong to Beth Greene singing Judith a calming song.

       Koa isn't a baby, obviously, but there's been many a night where Beth's humming has lulled her to bed, dreaming of what could've been. 

          She groans, sitting there, waiting for her symptoms to hit her ike a brick. But, it hasn't and the teen has begun to convince herself she's in the clear.

The cries of Judith echo down the hall and then the frantic voice of Beth. Instinctively, Koa jumps from her bed and speeds over to where her baby cousin is crying only to run into Beth and Nellie who shush her.

         Koa sends an eyebrow raise towards them and quietly walks forward. Her heart leaps at the scene of a crying Michonne holding a calmed down Judith. Her eyes fall on Nellie who has a proud smile across her face, like this a big deal for her mother.

        Beth rubs Nellie's arm, guiding her away from the two. She turns to Koa, "Get some rest, Koa. I got Judy." The brunette sighs at the sweet smile given to her, watching her walk away with Nellie. Blush rises to her cheeks, burning her up even as Beth leaves her sight.

        "Koa!" Carl calls out. The older immediately jumps backwards, separating herself from the boy. "Carl, I can't be near you," She says with furrowed brows. The Grimes boy inhales sharply, taking four steps back from her, "Carol just talked to me. About the thing we saw yesterday. The training." Koa had completely forgotten about that. How could she remember?

      She saw a cell block stained with blood and learned it was caused by a friend who's now dead and she could also be sick, possibly leaving her to the same fate. "Okay, what'd she say?" Koa shrugs. "Not to lie but—not to tell him. Which feels lying," Carl says with a confused sigh, "I think they should be taught."

      "Carl—"

      "After today.......they need to know how, Koa," Carl tells her sternly, stuck in his beliefs. The girl closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. An argument with Carl is the last thing she needs. "I think Rick needs to know as well," Koa adds. Carl rolls his eyes, "I know. But I doubt he's gonna like the idea of children with knives."

         Koa laughs. He's serious. He likes the idea of children with knives? Especially unstable ones like Lizzie?

Every child is unstable at this point. They're growing up with the monsters Koa used to only see in her nightmares. Monsters that would disappear with a hug from Sadie and the occasional one from Shane if she bothered him with a nightmare.

             "Carl, I don't think many people like the idea of children with knives," Koa states deadpan. "I'm gonna tell him," Carl says but stands there for a moment. Koa throws her hands to her hips, "Okay, scamper off now," She waves her hand in the air at him. The Grimes boy huffs at her antics but listens nonetheless.

            "Children with knives. He's crazy," Koa mutters to herself in just pure and simple disbelief all the way back to her cell.

        As her sneakers reach the doorway, an ache stunts Koa, hand flying to her stomach. Her whole body freezes. Is it starting? The flu she thought she had beat? The aches climb to her head. It's stress. That's what she tells herself. It's what she has to tell herself to not freak out.

            She isn't eight anymore. There's not enough medicine to make this go away. Nothing that would let her bounce back in a few days. And that terrifies her. In this moment, as the pain and fear settles in her body, Koa wishes two people were alive to comfort her. One to tell her she'll be okay and the other to tell her to get her shit together.

         But neither Lori or Uncle Shane are here. Her body hits the mattress, praying to whatever entity, if there is one, that this isn't the last time she'll wake up without wanting to sink her teeth into her family and rip them to shreds.

———

lowkey koa being sick is such a fun storyline to write i can't wait for y'all to read it