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𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑬𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐘𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄,
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒅 ❜
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────

₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟ. | ❝...𝑵𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒂 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒅𝒐.❞ | ₊ﾟ.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

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ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ
𝒫𝓸𝓁𝓉𝓮𝓇𝓰𝓮𝒾𝓈𝓉

TWO YEARS BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE

The loud music from the karaoke singers on stage made Eiylan's ears pop and her skull rattle as she poured a generous shot of whiskey into her sister's glass and giggled quietly, seeing Danica, her best friend, smirk at the choice of liquor.

"I'm not drinkin' that!" Lori yelled over the noise. Eiylan smiled widely with a nod, sliding the glass across the bar to her. Screwing the lid back on the whiskey, she placed it on the shelf behind her.

"Yes, you are!" She yelled back. "C'mon, Lor. Live a little!"

Lori rolled her eyes playfully, still shaking her head.

"I told you she wouldn't drink it!" Rick laughed, sliding the glass towards Shane.

Lori turned to face him, her lips parted with a look of surprise and offense. She closed her mouth and raised a challenging eyebrow, taking the shot glass from Shane's hand and looked at Danica and then Eiylan smugly.

"Take it away, Dannie!" Eiylan exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Alright... one, two, three!" With each count, the girls tapped their own glass to the bar, but on three, they threw the shot back into their mouths, slamming the glass back down on the wood surface.

"Yes! That's my sister." Eiylan drummed her hands on the bar in excitement, watching the men shake their heads with laughter.

"Haven't you learned by now, Rick? You never tell a Carter what she can't do!" Danica laughed.

"Because we'll sure as shit show you we can." Eiylan finished with a smug smile.

Lori laughed and high-fived her sister over the bar. "What'd you bet this time?" she asked with a small smile.

"You'll see." Eiylan replied with a wink.

The music from the untrained karaoke entertainers came to a stop as the announcer picked the next singer. "Next up, we got our very own Eiylan Carter and, a big surprise,.... Sheriff Rick Grimes singin' for us tonight!"

Lori watched her younger sister turn with her hands on the bar, using her butt to scoot across the surface and land on the other side, a triumphant smile now placed on her face. She grabbed Rick's hand, yanking him off of the bar stool to follow behind her.

Lori couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out upon seeing her husband's face turn tomato red as he looked back at the three of them. Danica threw her head back laughing, while Shane smiled in amusement watching the two step onto the makeshift stage. The crowd around them hooped and hollered for the local sheriff, all excited to see the man have some fun, but inevitably make a fool of himself.

The intro of the song began to play while Eiylan grabbed both of the mics, forcefully wrapping Rick's hand around one of them.

"C'mon, you lost, you know you gotta." Eiylan laughed as her foot tapped to the beat.

"Picture perfect memories, scattered all around the floor," Eiylan began. "Reaching for the phone cause, I can't fight it anymore."

Eiylan looked expectantly at Rick as she sang the next line, knowing he knew the song perfectly well, as she made them listen to it all the time when it had first come out.

"And I wonder if I ever cross your mind?
For me it happens all the time.
It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control, and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now!"

Eiylan nodded enthusiastically as Rick began to sing along, clearly embarrassed. She looked across the room to see her sister, Danica and Shane cheering for the both of them, smiles plastered on their faces.

"Another shot of whiskey, can't stop lookin' at the door.
Wishin' you'd come sweeping in the way you did before." Rick sang, a bit more relaxed now. Eiylan dramatically grabbed Rick's shoulder as they began circling back to the chorus.

"And I wonder if I ever cross your mind?
For me it happens all the time."

Rick was now smiling widely, watching his best friend twirl around the stage as she sang terribly with him, both of them gripping the mics tightly while they sang at each other.

"It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control, and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now!"

"Whoa, Whoa!" Rick sang, his hands mimicking an air guitar during the gap of the lyrics. Eiylan laughed loudly, watching his fingers wriggle rhythmically in the air.

"Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all.." The two of them sang together, eyes shut dramatically, their harmonies clashing every which way, but somehow it didn't sound too awful.

"It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now!" She pointed to Lori and Danica in the crowd of drunks, seeing all three of them singing along, all pointing back at her.

"And I said I wouldn't call
But I'm a little drunk and I need you now." Rick sang, staring dramatically into the crowd.

"And I don't know how I can do without,
I just need you now.....!" The two of them continued to sing the remainder of the song, jumping around the stage.

"I just need you now... Oh baby I need you now..."

At the final lyric, Rick twirled Eiylan once more, dipping and catching her at the last minute. The piano continued to play the last few notes as the two stared at each other, breathless. Eiylan's smile was so wide her cheeks hurt, while Rick's grin made her weak in the knees.

The crowd yelling and clapping seemed to shake them out of whatever moment they were sharing, and Rick stood Eiylan upright, both of them smiling awkwardly into the crowd.

"Give it up for Sheriff Grimes, your small town hero!" Eiylan said breathlessly into the mic, lifting Rick's hand into the air with her own. She swallowed hard, returning the mic to the stand, and quickly climbed off stage, making her way back to her family.

A FEW HOURS passed since Shane had gone off with Otis in search of the necessary supplies for Eiylan's surgery. As each minute went by, the tension in the house only thickened. Rick and Lori sat close together in the spare bedroom, adjacent to their son. Eiylan remained next to the young boy, her breathing rapid and congested. Lori's hand was tightly wrapped around her husband's, seeking the comfort she needed to get through the idea of losing her baby sister. She kept her head resting on Rick's shoulder, having finally drifted off.

On the other side of the bed, Daryl was glued to the chair closest to the unconscious woman, his arm lying palm up, ready for another blood transfusion if needed. He had already been poked and prodded with that needle a handful of times, but was still waiting there just in case. The bags under his eyes reflected purple, and all other color had seeped out of his face from the loss of blood. Although his body felt undeniably sluggish and his eyes begged to be closed, he forced himself to stay awake. He kept this up for about an hour, but when he felt he couldn't fight it anymore, his eyelids fluttered closed.

They were only closed for a few minutes when he jolted upright from his seat, his eyes refocusing on Eiylan. He rubbed the sleep from his face, and noticed a line pulled between the woman's eyebrows. He leaned over slowly to get a closer look, watching her intently.

A flash of green startled him, his body instinctively jerking backwards when her eyes connected with his.

"Carl?" She rasped out in a panic, eyes wide.

Daryl gave a short nod towards the boy lying next to her. Her head immediately turned to the left, seeing her nephew. She lifted her hand to brush the few strands that lingered over his face, but hissed in pain when she stretched too far.

"Ow." She whispered. She settled back into the pillow, her eyes focused on the ceiling. "Something's wrong."

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at her, dumbfounded. "No shit, ya took a bullet to the stomach." he whispered back to her.

The snarkiness Eiylan Carter regularly possessed was not evident, and this worried the archer. Before he had time to contemplate further, Eiylan's eyes rolled to the back of her head, and her body began to convulse.

"Hey... hey! Doc!" Daryl yelled, his eyes wide with fear. "Something's happening!"

Both Lori and Rick jumped up, their hands outstretched in front of them trying to reach for her, all clueless what to do.

"She's having a seizure; Turn her on her side!" Hershel demanded when he ran into the room. Daryl stood completely frozen in shock, never having seen anyone suffer from a seizure.

Rick reached over and helped Hershel bring the girl to her side.

"What do we do?" Lori cried.

"There's nothing we can do. She just has to go through it." Hershel replied.

Daryl's mind continued to reel while he watched Eiylan shake– he knew this would be an image burned into his mind forever. It was a terrifying sight, watching as the rapid trembles that racked over her body nearly mimicked the possession scene in Poltergeist Daryl had once seen with his brother when they were teenagers—the way the whites of her eyes peaked between her eyelids, the color having completely drained from her face, allowing her normally flush freckles to stand out more prominently, daring him to count each individual one just because they were no longer camouflaged.

Once she stopped shaking, Hershel gently placed his hand on Eiylan's wrist, counting on his watch as he calculated her blood pressure.

"She's still losing blood faster than we can replace it. And with the swelling in her abdomen, we can't wait any longer, or she's just going to slip away." Hershel stated to the woman's older sister. "Now I need to know right now if you want me to do this, because I think your sister is out of time." Hershel's patience was waning thin as the couple stared at Eiylan in contemplation. "You have to make a choice."

There was a pause before Lori spoke, her eyes rimmed with red, her cheeks streaked with never ending tears. "Do it."

Hershel didn't waste a second longer, grabbing a metal cart and telling the men to help lift Eiylan from the bed to prepare for the surgery. Daryl, on the other hand, remained hesitant to touch her in fear of bringing on another attack on her body.

"Daryl," Rick pleaded quietly, his eyebrow raising. "On three. One, two..."

As gently as he could, Daryl reached his palms under her back, lifting her body with Rick to the cold metal. Patricia quickly stripped a table lamp of its shade and turned it on over the metal cart. She then placed a container of medical utensils in front of Hershel, prepping the rest of the materials.

"You three may want to step out." Hershel said, quickly setting his equipment up around the cart.

After a gentle nudge from Patricia, everyone filed out of the room. Lori continued to cry softly on the other side of the living room with Rick, while Daryl began pacing in front of the now closed door that the boy and his aunt were left in.

It was then that they heard tires screeching outside. Daryl immediately strode out the front door, eyeing the truck Shane occupied, Lori and Rick following close behind.

"Sure as shit took ya long enough!" Daryl yelled from the porch. When he noticed the heavier man was not with Shane, he closed his mouth, realizing there must've been a reason. He turned on his heel to see the farmer standing in the doorway, scanning the yard for Otis.

"Eiye?" Shane panted, an obvious limp in his step as he approached the porch.

"There's still a chance." Rick replied, watching as Hershel ripped the bag away from Shane

"Otis?" Hershel asked. Shane whispered a soft 'No', and shook his head. After pausing to try and process the loss of his friend in such a brief amount of time, he looked around. "We say nothing to Patricia. Not till after. I need her."

And with that, Hershel quickly took the steps back up to the house, slamming the door behind him.

ꫛ

DARYL REMAINED on the porch while he watched the caravan of the others begin to pull onto the farm, his eyes roaming over each vehicle in curiosity of the off-chance they found the girl while he'd been pulled away. When he didn't see the short bob of hair come out of any of the vehicles, he pulled his eyebrows together in annoyance and returned to fidgeting with his arrows.

"How is she?" Glenn walked up the long dirt driveway to Daryl, receiving a short grunt and shoulder shrug in response. "We brought your bike." The archer's eyes flicked back up, scanning over the vehicles again in search for his brother's motorcycle. "It's behind the RV."

"Thanks." Daryl replied, giving him a short nod. Glenn returned the gesture, turning and helping the others unload their things.

"She's stable, and her fever's gone down significantly." Daryl overheard Hershel telling Lori and Rick through the screen door, turning his head slightly to listen. He turned to look through the screen, seeing the two follow Hershel into the room where the two gun victims were bed ridden. Shane followed quickly behind, never straying too far from the bedroom, and staying inside the room, right beside her, as long as the doctor would allow him.

About an hour later, the archer returned from scouting over the nearby fields, looking for any signs of Sophia. The camp was quiet, and noticed Lori, Rick and Shane talking amongst themselves near the RV. He took this opportunity to quietly enter the house. He opened the screen door slowly, taking a short look into the room to see the girl for himself. He strangely felt relieved as he looked at her, seeing her pale cheeks slowly start to return to its once rosy pink.

He didn't stay for long, as he heard heavy footsteps approaching. He could only guess it would be Shane coming to visit her. He turned and made his way back outside, stepping down the porch steps, pushing past Shane without a word.

ꫛ

You know how they say when someone's in a coma, it's like time never passed? Well, I say that's bullshit.

I know I wasn't in a coma, but still-Laying in a strange bed, in a strange room, while not being able to talk or move, is really frightening. Of course, I knew I was unconscious for most of it, but if I'm being honest, it felt like I'd been asleep for a week, not a few days, as everyone claimed. My body felt weak and frail like I'd somehow aged two decades, and the pain in my side from the bullet was nothing compared to the pressure on my hip bone being popped out.

And yet, still, here I was, laying in a quiet room with a tear-jerked Shane, listening to him mumble and whisper while his hand squeezed mine tightly. It took everything in me to pry my eyes open and peer over at him, squeezing his hand gently to let him know I was awake.

It was a rare thing, seeing this man cry. I'd seen it maybe twice before in the past twenty-something years, but seeing it now felt foreign.

"I'd be crying too, if someone shaved my head. " I rasped, a small smile playing on my lips. His head snapped up, his grip on my hand tightening, elbows placed near my hip, his other hand wrapping around it desperately, bringing it up to his chin, partially hiding his growing smirk. His eyes squeezed shut, his lips pressing to my hand quickly, endearingly.

"Eiye, I'm...." Shane began shaking his head slowly, his eyes still closed. "I can't tell you how sorry I am."

I used my thumb to brush the back of his hand, offering him a reassuring smile. "You didn't shoot me, did you?"

Shane's deep brown eyes pierced mine when he looked at me, his face serious.

"May as well have. Should've told you to go with Lor and the others."

I rolled my eyes. "Like I would've listened?"

"You only went to try and get me to talk to you." He said, resting his forehead on our hands, looking down at the bed.

"You give yourself way too much credit," I scoffed. "I went because Carl went. I would've gone regardless." He looked back up at me, his eyes welling with tears again as he stared at me. "Why are you beating yourself up about this?" I whispered after a moment.

Shane pursed his lips as he attempted to collect himself, using his shoulder to wipe the tears that continued to fall onto his cheeks. When they kept falling, I used my thumb to brush away the remaining droplets. "It's my fault. I should've protected you... both of you."

"We're both breathing, aren't we?" I smiled softly. "Besides, it's been too long since something bad happened to one of us. We reset the odds for another week or so– I'd say that's cause for celebration."

"This shouldn't be a joke to you, Eiye. It isn't funny, what happened." Shane retorted.

"How do you want me to react, Shane? Do you want me to be angry with you? Blame you for us getting shot?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I deserve it!" Shane angrily stood up, letting my hand go.

I sighed, letting my eyes flutter close. "Shane,-"

"You don't understand... you.. I- I was so scared, Eiye." He said softly, running his hand down his mouth. He looked at me again, exhaling while sitting back down near my bed. "I've never been so scared. I thought you were... and I just... I couldn't bear the thought of losing you, I.. I couldn't recognize myself without you."

I sat up slowly and carefully, wincing slightly at the pain in my side as I reached for his hand again. "You didn't lose me... and you won't."

"But I would've if..." Shane swallowed hard, shaking his head.

"If what...?" My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, leaning closer.

His tears didn't stop this time, and the sobs that escaped his mouth echoed in my head, making my chest tighten in fear. I gently cupped under his chin, tilting his head upwards. "If what, Shane?" I whispered.

"I had to get back to you, I had to..." he cried, his breathing at a rapid pace. "I'm sorry, I'm just so sorry."

I shook my head in confusion, using my thumb to gently caress his cheek. "It's okay, Shane. I'm okay, Carl's okay... we're okay."

Shane nodded quickly, sniffling and wiping his eyes aggressively. I wrapped my fingers around his, placing a kiss to the back of his hand with a small smile. I gestured for him to come closer, wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug.

"I shouldn't have pushed you away, and I'm sorry for that." He murmured into my hair. "I didn't know how to deal with telling you how I felt before, but I shouldn't have ignored you."

I rubbed his back reassuringly, nodding into his shoulder. "It's okay. We're good, I promise."

Shane slowly released me, clearing his throat. "I'm uh, gonna let Lor and the others know you're awake." he said, placing a chaste kiss on my forehead.

I only nodded in response, watching him walk out of the room. I exhaled, trying to sink back into the bed slowly, my eyes catching sight of a pearly white flower sitting in a clear beer bottle on the nightstand next to me, glistening in the golden afternoon sun from the open window.

I smiled softly to myself, my fingers reaching behind my ear to gently touch the ink that stained my skin with the same flower– a cherokee rose.

The sound of footsteps made my eyes flick to the door, seeing a sweaty Glenn rush in. "I just passed Shane, he said you were awake." He smiled, making me smile too. He quickly looped around to my side of the bed, wrapping his arms around my shoulders gently.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you... we've all missed you around the camp." He said.

"I've missed you guys too. I'm so glad you're here," I laughed, gesturing for him to sit down on the side of my bed. "Where the hell are we?"

Glenn chuckled and began filling me in on the farmer who saved me, Hershel, and his two daughters, Beth and Maggie. He also informed me of my blood buddy, Daryl, and keeping himself nearby in case Hershel needed more blood for me. I was plenty surprised when he told me this, knowing the only times we've ever interacted were not always civil.

"So...Maggie, huh?" I smiled, teasing him.

He blushed, his smile bashful while he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "She's just... I don't know. She's amazing, but at the same time... she's kinda scary."

I laughed loudly, immediately covering my mouth as I remembered my sleeping nephew beside me. "That's the best kinda girl right there, Glenn," I smiled amusedly, patting his hand. "If she doesn't make you wanna piss your pants just a little whenever you're around her.... She's not the one." I winked.

Glenn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing. Go on."

"I just can't tell if she actually likes me too... I mean, one day she's all over me, and the next, she's giving me the cold shoulder."

"Ah," I nodded. "Yeah, that can be a bit confusing. However, the game usually means she's into you. You've just gotta keep up. Keep pursuing her, I promise she'll let you know."

He scratched his head slowly, his eyebrows still furrowed, eyes squinted as he stared at me, nodding slowly after a few moments of silence.

I smiled and patted his leg. "Don't worry, you got this." I took another glance at the flower sitting beside my bed, and looked back at Glenn curiously, pointing towards the makeshift vase. "Hey, any idea who brought this in?"

Glenn turned and looked at the flower, his lips turning upward in a smirk. "Yeah."

I blinked slowly while I patiently waited for him to continue, but when he didn't, I rolled my eyes. "Well...?"

"Oh, I'm not going to tell you." He said playfully with a purse of his lips.

My jaw fell open. "What? Why not?"

Glenn shrugged. "It'll be fun seeing you figure it out." With that, he gave me one last smile and stood up, walking out of the room quickly.

I huffed in irritation, rolling my eyes. I finally sunk back into the bed, turning to look at my nephew. He had small beads of sweat lining his eyebrow, making his chestnut hair stick to his forehead. I gently brushed the hairs off of his forehead, pushing them to the side and away from his eyes.

"Love you until the cows come home, buddy." I whispered, settling in the bed on my side.

collage made by  edmundhasmyheart
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AUTHOR'S NOTE

word count: 3,893

hello, after almost two months!
thank you so much to those of you who have read this far. your votes & comments are much appreciated, and make this book even better to write!

♪ the song Eiye and Rick sing in this chapter is called Need You Now by Lady (A)ntebellum ♪
** check out the eiye on fire playlist on spotify for more featured songs!

i'm so excited to finally be getting into
more interaction with the characters!

until next time! (which will hopefully be pretty soon!)

PS- follow me at @eiylan on tiktok to see cute eof edits of all of the characters! ♡̆̈

-ry <3

published 7/17/22