Everything felt shaky as the brunette held the arms down of the redheaded man as he squirmed and kicked. Ivy could feel the man's warm, thick blood on her neck and cringed as he moaned out. She locked eyes with Glenn and Sasha who were doing their jobs at holding the man down as well. The fact that it took three of them to hold him down was enough.

Hershel struggled with the metal light and Ivy gripped tightly onto the man's jaw before pulling it open, allowing for Hershel to have clear access. "Henry, I need you to calm down." With that, Henry began to ease up only slightly but his coughing never stopped. "We're trying to help."

Ivy held tightly onto the bottom of his jaw and his chin as the light glazed against her skin before allowing her to see inside of his mouth. Herschel slowly inserted the tube into Henry's mouth and Ivy felt sick as she watched the plastic tube slip into his airway. He began to squirm once more but Ivy, Glenn, and Sasha held strong.

Hershel connected the plastic bag to the tube and began closing his fist, the bag hissed and Ivy let out a sigh of relief as she sat back. The cold bars against her clothed skin felt so good.

Glenn reached for the cup and took a swig from it, followed by Sasha, and then Ivy. The cocktail tasted too bitter for her liking but she sucked it up.

"I hereby declare we have spaghetti Tuesdays...every Wednesday." Sasha cocked her head at the man. "First we have to find some spaghetti."

"My mom used to make the noodles homemade. Like kneading the dough. It was the only thing she could cook." Ivy laughed a bit and everyone went quiet. That was the first time she had even spoken about her mother since the accident. Ivy licked her lips and leaned her head against the bars before letting out a sigh.

Sasha took over the air bag and Ivy stood up with the help of the bars. Glenn held his hand out but she refused.

"How long will that keep him alive?" Glenn asked Hershel through heavy breaths.

"Just as long as we're willing to do it. As long as it takes."

The three separated slightly to check on everyone from their cells individually. From what Ivy could see so far, everybody seemed as fine as they could be considering the situation.

A moan coming from ahead of her snapped her attention to elsewhere and she began to walk before peeking her head into the cell. A woman older than her but no older than Maggie called out. It was dark but Ivy slowly walked in.

"Are you Rick's daughter?" The woman asked with a towel covering her mouth. Ivy nodded her head as she leaned against the wall, confused as to what the woman was talking about. Maybe she was lonely, maybe she was scared. Ivy decided to be there for her.

"He's been nothing but good to my boy and I...he's kind too." Ivy nodded her head at the words of the woman. "You two look so much alike." The woman began to cough heavily and Ivy moved closer towards her, helping her to sit up. The woman leaned against her wall. "That's why it hurts everytime I look at him doing something so kind for me." The woman sighed.

"What do you mean?" Ivy asked.

"Every time he looks at me, all I can see is you thrashing around at the arena in Woodbury." Ivy's stomach dropped and she let out a choked cough. "I am so sorry for not trying to help you."

Ivy wanted to yell at the woman but she couldn't bring herself to even speak. She wanted to jump forward and strangle her but she couldn't. Ivy thought a lot about what she would do to the people that wronged her but she knew she could never go through with taking someone's life. It was different with a walker and even those she was still afraid of. She seemed to be afraid of everything now.

"At that moment, I looked around at all of the laughing faces and felt so sorry for you. I kept picturing myself running forward to help you but I just couldn't..." The woman coughed and Ivy felt tears begin to form in her eyes. "I'm gonna burn in hell for what I didn't do for you and for not attempting to help you but I know the governor will burn in hell too. You should be the one that gives him that opportunity."

Ivy felt the tear on her cheek and couldn't bring herself to say anything. "I was raped years ago. I was fourteen years old and I only wish someone would have been there for me the way that woman and that boy and those men were there for you. I wasn't dragged out into public where everyone could see me though. What happened to you was terrible and no human deserves that but you make that man burn. You make that man suffer for what he did to you."

Ivy nodded her head and felt the contact of the woman's hand wrapping around her arm. "I'll never be able to live with myself for not helping you but I promise, talking about it helps so much. I didn't say anything and once I did it helped me to cope with it a little bit better."

"Does the feeling of his hands on your skin ever leave?" Ivy whispered with tears rolling down her face.

"No." Ivy let out a loud gasp and a sob. "You'll hear and see him everywhere. Even when he dies, you'll still catch yourself looking over your shoulder. It does get easier to handle though."

Ivy nodded and with that, the woman began to cough tremendously. Blood poured from her mouth and eyes as she hacked up what Ivy thought was a lung. In her arms, the woman thrashed until eventually she stopped and laid there. "Hershel!" Ivy yelled.

"No!" Ivy cried out as the woman's limp body melted into her. "No!" Ivy held the lady tightly and examined her features trying to remember seeing her in the crowd but no memory ever came. She turned her head to see Glenn standing in the doorway and as his hand moved towards the knife in his belt, Ivy stood up, gently placing the woman against her bed. She felt exhaustion in a way she never had before.

"I got it." Glenn assured Ivy in a gentle tone. "I got it." Ivy moved back and stumbled off the bed before going towards the steps. She had no idea where she was going but she knew she just needed to be away

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Ivy awoke with a start to see Glenn pumping Henry's chest. His breathing was heavy and Henry's was nonexistent. "What happened?" Ivy jumped.

"I have no idea." Glenn began pumping and Ivy stood quickly before being knocked with a surge of dizziness which caused her to stumble forward. Her vision was blurry.

Glenn sat back with a panicked look on his face and Ivy felt panic in her chest. "Hersh!" Glenn called out followed immediately after by a cough. "Hershel!" Glenn called out and Ivy watched closely as he fell to the ground, unable to breathe.

"Oh my god?" Ivy yelled out roughly as she crawled towards the door. "I'm gonna grab Hershel!" Ivy yelled as she crawled out of the door. As she tried to move, she stumbled roughly and she tripped over, tumbling down the stairs, unable to help herself. "Hershel!" She yelled out. The sound of walkers groaning seemed all too familiar. She looked around only to be met with the face of someone she didn't recognize. The skin color was tinted gray and blood poured from the eyes of the monster and all Ivy could do was watch as it fell on top of her. Immediately, she threw her arms up and pinned them on each shoulder, using everything in her to hold the monster up.

Her thoughts went immediately to Glenn who she left alone with a dead Henry, soon to turn any minute. She needed to get back up to him. The walker on top of her thrashed violently while baring its teeth, the blood and drool mixture slowly dripping on her face. She had nothing to defend herself with.

Ivy thought quickly and pushed up with one hand, allowing her too slide out from underneath the thrashing beast before rolling away. She gripped tightly onto the stair railing and forced herself up quickly before pushing herself up the stairs. "Glenn!" She cried out. She saw a young, blonde girl who she knew by the name of Lizzy leading the walker away from the cell and part of her felt received, yet the other part of her felt obligated to help her.

Henry fell on to the net and Ivy pulled herself in the cell to see Glenn laying on the floor, blood slowly pouring from his mouth. "Oh my god...no!" Ivy yelled. "I got you, Glenn, please don't die."

"Here!" Hershel threw the plastic tube to Ivy and Ivy looked at the man in confusion. "What do you want me to do with this?" She asked.

"Help him!" Hershel answered. Ivy's eyes widened and almost as if it were instinct, she moved to do exactly what she was told to do. She reached to the side to grab the metal flashlight to use as a guide and just went for it.

"Keep his chin up and make sure you don't go too fast, be gentle but quick!" Hershel demanded as he ran out of the cell to help Lizzy.

With fear, Ivy placed Glenn's head gently on the ground and used the metal scope to force his mouth open. "It's gonna hurt but you gotta stay with me Glenn. Think about Maggie, you gotta fight for her!" Ivy cried out as she focused on her goal. She gazed into his mouth and focused everything on keeping her hands steady as she placed the plastic tube into his mouth before connecting the air bag and beginning to pump it.

"It's okay." Ivy whispered, out of breath. She continued to pump the air bag until Hershel's voice became prominent enough for her to stop.

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He ran through the dark as the groaning of the walkers pierced through his head. Nothing felt real to him, not after the day at Woodbury. He remembered pushing the wooden chair leg into the skin of the man and he remembered feeling good about it at the time. He didn't have regrets and he wasn't traumatized but he learned how bad people can be and he knew what happened to her. Not only was he a walking reminder of the governor, he killed two men, his brother was terribly sick, and Liam hadn't a clue as to what to do.

In the distance he spotted Rick and Carl who were trying to keep the fence up. "Rick!" Liam yelled as he began to get closer.

"Run!" Rick demanded as the wooden log broke. Liam picked up his pace and continued forward while meeting Rick and Carl to run along with them. With the knife in his hand, he used it to plunge into the head of a walker that decided to push against him. "Go!" Liam yelled.

Liam and Rick were still stuck behind a few walkers that were after Carl and if it was one thing Liam wouldn't allow, it was Carl's death. He grabbed the hair of one of the walkers before slamming it against the metal fence and plunging the knife into its head, using his foot to get it out of the skull.

"Dad! Come one! Liam, let's go!" Carl urged.

Rick pulled the door shut and turned around with his jaw dropped.

"Damn it!" Liam yelled. "Okay, out that door!" Liam breathed out as he opened the other door. The three fell outside and looked around, trying their best to catch whatever breath they could manage.

"Dad, what do we do?' Carl asked with worry in his voice.

"Maybe I can back the bus up against the fence." Rick declared but Liam couldn't infer if it was a question or not.

"Will it hold?" Carl asked. Liam looked to Rick for the answer but one never came

"Come on." Rick grabbed the both of them and pushed them forward which sent them into an adrenaline infused run.

The growling and the snarling could still be heard from the walkers as the three ran up to the bins where the guns and ammunition were kept. "Pockets." Rick immediately began hanging the ammo to both of the boys who each saved as much as they could fit into their pockets. "Here." He grabbed a large gun and handed it to Carl while Liam reached in and grabbed his own.

"Got it?" Rick asked the both of them. Carl answered yes and Liam nodded his head while the creaking of the fence rattled through Liam's head. He didn't know if it was adrenaline or the thought of keeping everyone else safe was what was keeping him going but he really didn't care.

"All right, listen to me." Rick began to walk and Liam followed. He had never shot a large gun before, only a pistol.

"All right." The two boys said in unison.

"Magazine

goes in here. Release is here." Rick pointed to each part of the gun and Liam paid close attention. In this situation, being a slow learner wasn't an option. "Make sure it latches." The older man cocked his gun and moved forward, read to go.

This was it.

"Pull back the operating rod and the rounds speed up." Rick's gun cocked, "Keep squeezing the trigger for rapid fire, okay." Rick's voice was rushed and obviously scared for his son and Liam understood.

"You shoot or you run." And that sentence rang in Liam's head, never escaping him. "Don't let 'em get close." With that, the three took off towards the crowd of walkers. Liam followed each thing Rick said to the very detail and aimed for his target. Taking a deep breath before his action, he moved his finger to the trigger and kept it there. The kickback of the gun hitting his shoulder until he got so used to the feeling of that and watching the bodies of the walkers dropped that the sound of the gunshots almost weren't there anymore. Carl seemed to be doing fine.

One by one the bodies of the dead dropped and Liam felt satisfied with what he was doing. They began to get close but he was good at keeping them back. Shot after shot kept the bodies dropping and everything felt slow.

A car began approaching as Liam drove a metal pole into a walker's head. It was the medicine they all needed.

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2456 words

Authors note
Soo....