𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎 || 𝘞𝘏𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘙 𝘐𝘛 𝘛𝘈𝘒𝘌𝘚
°✾°
═════════════
[ ʜᴏʟᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ, ᴀʏᴇ
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴘʀɪᴅᴇ ᴏʀ ɢʟᴏʀʏ?
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴄᴀʀꜱ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ? ]

    PEACE AND QUIET was a godsend for Roland. He'd become so used to the occasional chatter from the ones around him or even the sound of the engine humming. But when there was nothing bothering him and he had a free space of mind to think, he took advantage of it. Recalling the good days before the world fell apart in front of him and how much he'd lost already. All his friends that died right in front of him while he did what he was good at. He ran.

All he ever wanted since this entire thing started was a place he could settle down in and rest. In the first camp they had, he was able to do that, but would still sleep with one eye open just in case. But he wanted to be able to sleep in a warm bed and not have nightmares of what could be waiting for him the next time he left camp. And Roland could be thinking a bit too eagerly, but the thought of staying on Hershel's farm did cross his mind. In fact, it was a constant thought that liked to linger in his mind whenever it could.

And it's not like Roland thought about the possibilities of their being some other type of safe haven for him and the group he was with. Judging by how cautious Hershel seemed when he and his dad showed up with Carl dying in his arms, it was in Roland's right to say to guess Hershel only wanted his family here. Hell, if Roland had a farm this big, having a place as protected like this, he'd only want his family there. Having more people on the property was too much and would draw any walkers into the area. But that didn't stop him from hoping that the older man could show mercy on them and allow them to stay. It was the right thing to do in Roland's mind at least.

Screaming cut through the air, making the hair on the back of Roland's neck stand up. Hearing it from inside, he rushed to his feet and swung the front door open. Entering the bedroom where Carl was being treated and taking in the scene in front of him. Carl laying on the bed screaming his lungs out with Shane holding him down. Hershel doing the surgery and taking the pieces of the bullet shrapnel out while Otis's wife got Rick ready to transfer blood.

"Stop! You're killing him!" Rick yelled as Roland rushed over, taking Carl's hand and letting the boy squeeze it as hard as possible. "Rick, do you want him to live?" Hershel fired back, not removing his eyes from the task at hand which was Carl. Roland caught his brother's eyes and Sam leaned forward. "It's going to be alright, Carl. Just hold on, buddy. Do you hear me? It's going to be alright." He comforted as the boy groaned in pain. Soon a scream escaping making Roland physically feel pain in his chest at the sound as he clamped his eyes shut and let his head rest against Carl's.

"He needs blood," Patricia, Otis's wife, told them and Shane turned to the woman. "Do it now!" He ordered, not liking to see Carl in pain just as Roland and Rick. The tension was building with each second that passed and it was making Roland sick to his stomach seeing his brother like this. If he could he would put himself in Carl's place instead. At least he wouldn't have to see his brother in this position.

As Patricia was inserting the IV Carl's cries came to a halt as he went limp. Panic shot through  "Wait. Wait. Hey." Shane muttered, looking to someone for an answer as Roland stared at his brother.

"He just passed out," Hershel reassured them both.

"Is- Is he going to be okay?" Roland asked and Hershel sighed.

"It's gonna be alright, son." The old man reassured.

Pulling the piece of metal out of Carl's wound, Hershel held it between the tip of the tweezers. "One down..." He placed it in the metal tray. "Five to go." He announced.

Sitting in a chair outside the room, Roland's leg bounced repeatedly. Full of anxiety about what could happen to his brother. Call him crazy, but Roland trusted Hershel. They only met a few hours ago and Roland trusted him, which spoke volumes in his opinion.

The door to the bedroom opened catching Roland's attention as well as Maggie's and Otis'. "He's stable for now," Shane told them as he leaned against the wall by the door and Rick took a seat beside it. "Lori has to be here Shane, she has to know," Rick told his friend who nodded. "Okay, I get that. I'm gonna handle it. But you've got to handle your end."

Rick looked up at the man with a frown. "My- My end?" He asked and Shane nodded. "Your end is being here for your son." He explained, crouching down beside him. "Even if he didn't need your blood to survive, there is no way I'd ever let you walk out that door. Man, I'd break your legs if you tried. I mean, you know that, right?"

Roland had to agree with Shane on that. "He's right, dad. You can't leave Carl when he needs you or me the most." Roland spoke up and Shane nodded. "If something happened to him and you weren't here... If- If he slipped away while you were gone, you would never forgive yourself for that. And neither would Roland or Lori, man."

Shane's words struck something deep in Roland that stung. He never truly considered that maybe there was a possibility of his brother dying. It wasn't something he truly felt like thinking about because he had hope, but he had to be ready if it came to that. It would be best if he was here, but then again, he needed to be out there helping the others and finding any way to help his little brother.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Rick sat up and nodded. "You're right." He admitted and a sly smile pulled at the corner of Shane's lips. "When was I ever wrong?" Roland raised a brow at the joke. "Do you want me to answer that because I can?" Roland quipped and the two men chuckled softly. The tension slightly easing but was still very much there.

"You know, when- when you were in that hospital, the one you were never supposed to leave, man, you should have seen Lori." Shane began, Rick looking up at the mention of his wife. "She was like...the strength of that woman...you can't imagine it." He said with a tiny chuckle as he moved closer to his friend. "See- see that's what you've got to have now. I mean, Carl- he needs that from you. Roland has the guts and badassery from both you and Lori. So wire yourself tight, my friend. You hear?" Rick nodded. "You got the hard part. Just leave the rest to me, okay?"

The door by the pair opened and Hershel stepped out and everyone rose to their feet. "He's out of danger for the moment." He started. "But I need to remove those remaining fragments," Hershel explained to them and Roland stepped forward biting his nails. "He was screaming his lungs out. How are you going to do it without him doing so?" He asked and Hershel nodded. "I know, and that was was the shallowest one. I need to go deeper to get the others." Hershel replied and Roland crossed his arms. "Fuck." He muttered quietly as he ran a hand through his hair.

"There's more," Hershel added, looking to Rick. "Tell me," Rick ordered, ready for the worst possible news that could come. "His belly's distended, his pressure is dropping, which means there's internal bleeding. A fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels." Hershel explained and Roland saw how his dad nodded with pursed lips. Holding back the emotions wanting to seep through. "I have to open him up, find the bleeder and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there- I mean, at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in minutes."

Roland bit his bottom lip as he placed his hands on his hips. "To even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own. Same bad results." Hershel explained as Roland ran a hand through his hair again as he sat down on the chair.

"What'll it take?" Rick questioned, ready to drop everything and go on a search. "You need a respirator. What else?" Otis pointed out as he stepped forward. "The tube that goes with it, extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures." Hershel listed off. "If you have all of that, could you save my little brother?" Roland asked from the chair, his hands clasped together as he looked down at the wooden floor. "If I had all that, I could try," Hershel corrected as the boy nodded.

"The nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago," Otis told them before he realized. "The high school." He muttered and Hershel nodded. "That's what I was thinking," Hershel admitted as he looked at Rick. "They set up a FEMA shelter there. They would have everything we need." Hershel explained to them. "The place was overrun last time I saw it. You couldn't get near it. Maybe it's better now." Otis guessed.

Shane nodded as he sighed. "I said, leave the rest to me. Is it too late to take that back?" He tried to joke, but Roland could sense that Shane was apprehensive about the whole thing. If the place was as overrun as Otis said, it could cause problems with getting it, but not only that but getting out as well. "I hate you going alone."

Roland stood up from his spot and sighed with a nod. "You're going to need all the help you need, right? Well, sign me up, Captain." He did a mock salute earning a smirk from Shane while Rick shook his head turning to his oldest son. "No. You ain't going." Rick protested and Roland didn't back down as he stepped towards his dad. "Well, I'm not going to sit here with my thumb up my ass waiting for a saviour to help Carl. I need to do this. Shane can vouch for me that I'm good with a gun."

With that information, Rick looked to Shane who nodded. "He is. Probably better than me." Shane admitted, both Roland and Shane sharing a glance with nods. "Fine." Rick sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

"Doc, why don't you do us a list and draw a map?" Shane asked, but before Hershel could respond, Otis butted in. "You won't need a map. I'll take you there. Ain't but five miles." He told them and Roland nodded in thanks. "Otis, no." Patricia protested. "Honey, we don't have time for guesswork and I'm responsible. I ain't gonna sit here and let these two take it on alone." Otis defended, Patricia growing silent.

"I'll be alright." He reassured. "Are you sure about this?" Shane asked. "Do you even know what any of this stuff he's talking about looks like?" Otis questioned as Shane shook his head. "Come to think, no..." He admitted. "I've been a volunteer E.M.T. I do. We can talk about this till next Sunday or we could just go do it real quick."

"I'll take right quick." Shane agreed and Roland nodded. "Same here." He added, already feeling the itch to get going. Every second wasted was another second Carl could be closer to dying. And Roland made a promise to himself that he would die before Carl ever did.

"I should thank you," Rick said looking to Otis. "Wait till that boy of yours is up and around. Then we'll talk." Rick nodded as Otis looked to Roland and Shane. "I'll gather some things." He told them and Roland nodded. "I gotta check the ammo in my gun," Roland told them as he exited out of the house and stood on the front porch. Soaking in the warm sun as long as he could before nightfall would lay across the earth.

Reaching into the back waistline of his pants, he pulled out the Beretta M9 that he'd been given by Shane the moment the outbreak happened. He ejected the clip and sat at one of the benches outside near the windows. Pushing each bullet out of the clip and counting. 12. Those were 12 dead walkers waiting to be put down and Roland was ready to do so.

As he was about to start placing the bullets into the clip, the front door opened and Roland looked to see it was the same blonde from before. Her name was still unknown to him and he didn't really think about it. "Hi." She greeted shyly, and Roland gave a tight lip smile back as he began inserting the bullets into the clip. "Hey."

If Roland was being honest, he hadn't communicated with a girl his age in what felt like forever. It felt like every 17-year-old girl on the earth was either eradicated from the earth or in hiding. Amy was the last girl he knew, but he tried his best to not think about it since that was also his last relationship. And not to mention that the first time he sorta interacted with one since then was when he punched a counter. A horrible first impression.

"My names Beth." She introduced herself, making Roland stop for a second and looked up at her. She held her hand out and Roland stared at it for a moment before taking it. "Roland Grimes. Nice to meet you." He greeted as he shook her hand before letting go. Roland was unsure as to why Beth decided on introducing herself. At first glance, most girls in the past took Roland as a cold-hearted asshole. In some ways, he was but only did it to not let that many people close. It wasn't his mission to make a lot of friends and especially in the new world like this. Shane taught him to not trust no one but himself since if anyone could save him, it was only himself. Only to make friends with ones he thought would make him a better person and keep him sane.

Maybe just staring at Beth and how innocent she looked gave him the impression she seemed like a good person. From her deep ocean eyes, he could get lost in them, but he knew better than to let people in so soon. But at the same time, he wouldn't mind doing so. It had been awhile since he had an actual friend besides his little brother and Amy.

An awkward silence fell over them as Roland continued to load in the 6th bullet before Beth spoke. "How's your brother? Is he gonna be alright?" She asked and Roland nodded without a slip of a beat. "Yeah, he's goin' to be all right. Otis, Shane, and I are going on a run to pick up some supplies." He told her briefly and she nodded.

The continuation of their conversation was cut short when Otis followed by Shane, Rick, Patricia, and Hershel came out the front door with everything they needed. Roland placed the last bullet into the clip and injected it into the gun. Cocking it back and placing it into the back of his pants and looking to Beth. Making a quick decision to redeem himself from their earlier interaction and to give her something that was true to himself. "May we meet again, my lady." He quipped, doing a mock bow that made the girl giggle.

Even if he just met these people, he wanted them to understand how he acted. Because if they didn't understand now, it was going to suck later on when he could change up drastically from being a jokester to a kid on a mission and ready to kill anything in his way.

Following the four men and woman, Roland caught the sound of the conversation between his father and Shane. "Just get what you need and get out of there." He explained to Shane who nodded. Rick turned to his son and grabbed the back of his neck. "You remember what I told you at the firing range on your birthday?" He muttered quietly as Roland felt his lips slightly flicker to a smile then turned thin as he held a serious look.

The memory was as clear as day for Roland. It felt like it had just happened yesterday so how could Roland forget about it. That birthday was the day his father called him a man.

Roland nodded. "Keep a clear head and stay hot on your toes." He recited. "Be the one standing, not dead." He finished and Rick nodded with a proud smile. Kissing his son's forehead and patting his shoulder before going over to Otis.

"Okay, fuck stick. You get bitch." Shane quipped and Roland chuckled. "I don't know, man. I feel like I could lay you out on your ass if I wanted to." Roland fired back and Shane laughed and let the boy get inside. "You most certainly could."

Once Otis and Shane were in the truck, the trio set off. Roland always letting his father's advice play in the back of his head to get him ready for the inevitable.