After the Last Dawn - TWD

POV Maggie

I kissed him. Well, we kissed, but I initiated it. It wasn't bad, on the contrary, it was very good. I don't regret it at all. He may be underage, but he'll be 18 in a year or so. Besides, the age difference is only five or six years.

After the kiss, which lasted longer than I'd like to admit, we left the roof and went to our respective rooms. At least he did. I went to my mother's room to check on her.

When I opened the door, I saw that she was in bed reading a book. She noticed me coming in and gave me her classic welcoming smile as she closed the book.

"Hello, little one. What are you doing here?" There she goes with the nickname I was given as a child. I ignored the nickname and sat down on the bed next to her.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see how you were doing." I replied and she nodded, but then looked me up and down.

"What happened?" she asked after looking at me. I know what she was talking about, but I should always deny any accusations, shouldn't I?

"Nothing happened. Except for your foot, of course. How is it?" I started to take the cloth off her foot, but she stopped me. I raised an eyebrow in confusion. It was as if she was trying to hide something.

"The same. Tomorrow will probably be much better." She answered me, but I know when she's lying.

"So why don't you let me take a look?" I encouraged her and she smiled wryly.

"Why don't you tell me what happened? You look just like you did when you came here after kissing the neighbor's son when you were 13." She told me and I blushed a little. She knows me very well, too. Especially about things I couldn't talk to Dad about. She's always been there for me. I sighed, trying to decide what to do about this little impasse between the two of us.

"So here's what we're going to do. I'll tell you what happened and you show me the foot, okay?" I ask, and she sticks out her little finger, just like she did when I was little. I wrap my finger around hers and we shake hands.

"I swear. Now tell me the news." She says, very excited. I sigh a little to prepare myself for the following conversation.

"Dean and I kissed." I say right away and see her look very surprised. Once she got over the news, her surprise was replaced by curiosity.

"And how was it? Was it good? How did it happen? Tell me all about it!" She asked excitedly, sitting up in bed and taking my hands.

"It was good." She raised an eyebrow as if to ask, "Is that right? I rolled my eyes. Sometimes I think she's got teenage brakes. "It was very good. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Yes, it was, actually. Go on." She encouraged me.

"We were just talking on the roof. I thanked him and told him about Shawn." I saw a hint of sadness flash across her face. I squeezed her hand, conveying my sadness over the subject as much as she did. She shook her head and looked at me, silently telling me to go on. "Then he started encouraging me, telling me how I could protect you, and one thing led to another, and suddenly the atmosphere got hotter, and we kissed. For a good 15 minutes." I explained briefly with a small smile. I could see that she was thrilled with the story. Her eyes were full of curiosity and excitement.

"Do you like him?" Mom asked me, and my smile faded with the surprise of her question.

"What? Of course not! We met two days ago! We were just two people who found each other attractive and enjoyed the moment. No regrets or extra thoughts on the subject." I explained, but she rolled her eyes.

"Young people today are so detached when it comes to relationships." She complains and I just smile.

"You sound like an old woman when you talk like that." I say and she pretends to choke.

"How dare you? You may have grown up, but I can still ground you, huh?" She jokes, and I smile.

"Of course. You can do that later. But first you're going to show me what you're so desperate to hide." She sighs when she hears what I say.

"It's not as bad as it sounds." My mother tells me, before I see her foot, that it's a nasty shade of purple and swollen. I make a sound of surprise when I see this.

"Oh my God! It's so swollen. I'm going to call Daddy!" She pulled me back onto the bed before I could get up.

"No, you don't have to. I know it looks bad, but it's not that bad. It doesn't hurt that much. I'm fine, right?" She asks me, but I'm not convinced. She has a history of not telling me when she's in pain.

"It's better to be safe, Mom. It could be dangerous." I warn her, but she shakes her head in a negative way.

"Let's not get carried away. This is temporary. I'll be much better in the morning." My mother pulled me to lie down beside her. She massaged my hair to distract me from my worries. I sighed, feeling calmer.

"All right, but I'm spending the night here. And that's not negotiable." I said, snuggling closer to her and straightening up in bed. It took me a while to fall asleep. How could I not? I was still a little worried about her. But I'll do as she asks.

I'll probably regret it.

......…

POV Dean

After last night's events on the roof, I went straight to bed. It took me a while to fall asleep, but the night was peaceful for me.

Now, the next morning, I woke up to the movement of the house, which had suddenly become hectic. I got out of bed and went to the door. As soon as I opened it, I noticed a lot of movement in the room where Annette had gone to rest.

Expecting the worst, I quickly made my way to the bedroom where Hershel, Beth and Maggie were and the rest were watching from the doorway. As I approached, I saw the three of them very worried in the room and Hershel checking on his wife's condition.

"What's going on?" I asked Jimmy, who also looked worried and even nervous.

"It seems Annette's condition worsened during the night. She's very unwell." He informed me and I nodded, also a little worried. Had she been bitten or had the blood of yesterday's zombie gotten into her bloodstream through a cut?

Even if that wasn't the case, if she died, she would come back as a zombie and end up killing everyone here. Unless I stopped her. Before I could think of any more options, Hershel started to leave the room.

"How is she?" Patricia asked worriedly, being comforted by her husband. Hershel sighed, showing fatigue and sadness.

"She's not well at all, but she's stable for now. It looks like it wasn't just a sprained foot; the blood is pooling and the foot is very purple. Without an x-ray, I can't tell what's wrong with her. We don't have any anti-inflammatories to relieve the symptoms. He says helplessly, almost losing hope. Before we could say anything, Beth ran out of the room without speaking to anyone.

Jimmy ran after her to offer support. They hugged for a few seconds before he led her downstairs. I looked into the living room where Maggie was quietly talking to her mother. I could listen in if I wanted to, but that's up to them. Besides, we have more important things to do.

"What's the plan?" I ask after a few seconds of silence. Hershel looks at me and I can see a little hope in his eyes.

"Patricia, Otis, can I talk to Dean alone?" He asks the two friends who immediately agree and go up to the second floor.

"Go ahead." I say seriously and he takes a deep breath to overcome his pride.

"Maggie offered to go to the hospital nearby. There must be an x-ray machine, and of course the medicine, a respirator and the tube that goes with it." He says, naming every single thing they need. What strikes me is how calm he is, even though it's his wife. I nod in agreement.

"Anything else?" I ask. He shakes his head negatively.

"I stayed safe and protected her. I really don't want her to go alone because she thinks it's her fault since she found out about the situation last night, but Annette told her not to say anything. Now she's blaming herself. I'm afraid she won't listen." Hershel said, hesitating to finish the sentence, but I understood him. Without caring, I shrugged. I need to get supplies somewhere.

"Of course. When is she leaving?" As soon as I asked, Maggie walked through the door and down the stairs.

"I think now," Hershel replied resignedly. That girl...! I quickly ran to the bedroom, put my holsters on, checked my guns, and finally grabbed one of the AR-15s. I almost ran down to the second floor.

"Dean!" I heard Beth yell my name. I turned to her and saw her holding the jacket. She threw the jacket to me and I caught it.

"Take care of her." She asked and I nodded. I ran out to the old pickup truck where Maggie was already putting a large backpack in it.

"Did you come to stop me?" She asked me without turning around.

"More like: tag along." I replied and she turned around, a little surprised.

"Are you sure?" Maggie asked.

"Of course. I have to stop you from doing something stupid." I smiled and she smiled back.

"Then get in, big guy." She says handing me the keys. I get in the driver's side and start the car. Not a moment later, Maggie emerges with a baseball bat in her hand.

Without meaning to, I laugh at the ironic and somewhat tragic sight before me. She looks at me and wonders if I'm crazy.

"Sorry. I just remembered something." I said as I drove away. Maggie pointed in the direction of the hospital every few minutes. The roads were deserted, no cars or zombies. Like Hershel had said, it wasn't that far from the farm. In fact, we were there in about 20 minutes.

She and I got out of the car and started cautiously approaching the hospital. I had a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. I took one of the guns I had borrowed from the military and offered it to Maggie. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"I'm not going to use that." She whispered and I rolled my eyes.

"It's just for prevention. Only use it if it's absolutely necessary." I forced the gun into her hands and watched as she took it hesitantly. "You know how to use it, don't you? "

"Of course I do. Dad taught us." She says as she takes out the clip and checks the bullets.

"I'll tell you what: I'll take the lead, and you stay close to me. If any zombies come near, I'll take care of them." I explain and see her nod. I count on my fingers from five to zero for her to see, and on the last number we walk through the door.

Despite the fact that the apocalypse began barely two weeks ago, the place was completely overturned, papers strewn across the floor, stretchers and wheelchairs tossed into random corners.

Not even the bedroom doors had been spared. I went to the reception desk and looked over. There were no zombies. I jumped over as normally as I could. I couldn't forget that I was accompanied now.

I waved for Maggie to do the same, and she did, with a little more difficulty.

"Find a map of the place. I don't want to go blind or get separated." Maggie nodded, and we started looking for the plans of the hospital. There were a lot of patients' papers and documents, so it was harder to find anything in the mess.

"I found it." Maggie said and I looked at her. In her hands was a large piece of paper, clearly folded into several pieces.

"Okay." She placed the map on the floor and we began to analyze the layout of the hospital. The building had two floors, and the rooms were divided by colors or numbers to make them easier to find.

"Here. Most of what we need is probably here." She said, pointing to a particular part of the paper that indicated the operating room. It was on the second and top floor. Before Maggie could say anything else, I heard footsteps and growls approaching.

I asked her to be quiet, but received a doubtful look in return. She remains silent. I look discreetly over the counter, searching for the source of the sound. Soon a zombie crawls into my field of vision.

I ducked back over the counter before he could see me. But maybe he could still track us by smell. I looked at Maggie, who must have realized what the problem was.

I looked down at the knife in my hand and sighed. It was a little far away, but that was okay. I stood up quickly and after analyzing where the zombie was, I threw the knife at its head.

The zombie fell "dead". I jumped over the counter and approached the corpse to pick up the knife. I wiped the bloody knife on his lab coat. Now, looking closely at the victim, I finally realized that it was a doctor.

"A doctor?" asked Maggie as she approached. I nodded.

"Do you know what that means?" She shook her head negatively. "It means there are more of these cases around here. Stay close and be ready to go into any room when I tell you." I ordered and she nodded. I started walking towards one of the corridors and asked her to follow me.

"Don't you want to look at the map to make sure you know where you're going?" Maggie asked me in a whisper. As we passed a room, I took a quick look to make sure we wouldn't be attacked from behind or surrounded in case there was a zombie there.

"No. I remember the way. Two rights, one left, two flights of stairs, another left and a right." I described the route as I looked into a room, my heart pounding.

I quickly closed the bedroom door before Maggie could see. The place was covered in dried blood. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling were stained. There were a few bullet holes around, but no bodies.

"How do you remember all this?" She asked, analyzing whether I was right and checking the map.

"I have a very good memory." I replied with a smile. She rolled her eyes and we continued walking. We reached the door to the stairwell without any problems. It seemed that all the zombies on this floor had left the hospital or were very well hidden. In other words, we should be more careful on the next floors.

I sigh and open the door, but a creak echoes through the stairwell.

"Fuck!" I curse for having alerted the zombies who were within range of the noise. I can already hear some zombies approaching the stairs. It's hard to tell how many because of the echo.

"All right. Maybe none of them heard it." Then we both hear something fall down the stairs. Since the building only had two floors, even Maggie could easily hear when it happened.

"Do you still want to keep your statement?" I asked, looking at her. Maggie didn't answer, she just sighed.

"What do we do now?" She asks me and I just shrug my shoulders. It's not like we can do much while I'm with her.

"Let's go upstairs." I say as I enter the stairwell and see a zombie coming down. I climb up with him and meet him halfway. I grab its head and slam it hard against the railing, enough to crush the skull and deform the metal. I hear a surprised gasp from Maggie and turn slightly towards her.

"Stay back a bit." I tell her and she just nods. I keep climbing and soon come across two zombies. This time I decided to use the knife. I stabbed one and then the other.

I looked up at the rest of the stairs and saw five more zombies coming together. It would be problematic to kill them without exposing my strength. So I grabbed one of the corpses and started dragging it up.

"What are you going to do with that?" She asks me, after watching me all this time.

"I need a distraction." I replied as I continued dragging the corpse. Soon the group of zombies came into view. "Go down a few steps." She obeyed and I waited until she wasn't looking to throw the dead zombie right at the feet of the group, causing the three in front to stumble and fall towards me. I duck and let them run over me.

I hear the unpleasant sound of a cracked skull and concentrate on the two zombies in front of me, who were luckily further back in the group. I reach the first one and kill it by cutting off its head. The second dies with a blow to the center of the forehead.

I look back and see Maggie looking at the head of the zombie that rolled over to where she is. Since it hit the zombie in the neck, it didn't die and is staring at Maggie, still trying to bite her even though it has no body.

She can see zombies being killed or even corpses, but a "sick person" who should be dead, moving without a body, is too much for her. It goes against everything she and her family believe in.

Even though it's a little dark, I can see Maggie go a little pale at the sight of the severed head still functioning. I rush over to her and grab her shoulders, trying to get her to look at me instead of the head. Not that it works.

"Hey, hey! Look at me, don't look at him. Maggie! Look at me." I tell her gently, making her look away from me. "All right. Let's go upstairs." I take her hand and lead her past the bodies. I look up and see that there are no more zombies on the stairs. I sigh and look at Maggie who is still a little dazed. "Let's rest here for a while." She nods, still looking a little out of it. This is going to be difficult. It's even going to be problematic.