Chapter 33
"Go back! Go back!" Rick shouted to Lowry and Herschel, and they hurriedly hid in the iron cage in front of the cell.
Rick pulled out his gun and pointed it at Axel. "What did you do?"
Axel and Oscar frantically raised their hands, "We don't know what happened, it has nothing to do with us..."
Lena felt very uneasy thinking about Glenn and the others going to the restaurant. "Moore!"
Rick gave Moore a look and nodded, and Lina and Moore rushed towards another building.
“Rick! Lori looks like she’s about to give birth!” Beth shouted through the iron fence.
Rick was a little flustered. Carol had been helping Herschel and Patricia, but she wasn't here...
“Beth, tell Herschel,” Rick said, his voice trembling, “please ask him.”
Accompanied by the piercing sirens, Beth grew increasingly panicked, "Aren't you coming?"
“No, no, I have to deal with this sound,” Rick said, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
“Go ahead, Dad, I’ll stay with Mom,” Carl said as he stepped out.
“I’ll go with you,” Andrea said, checking her gun and pushing open the iron gate. Everyone was busy with other things, and she couldn’t let Rick risk his life with these two prisoners alone.
Rick glanced at Andrea, then at the two prisoners, and nodded helplessly.
“Let’s go.” Rick pointed to the two prisoners and told them to lead the way.
“Oh no,” Lina was stunned by the horrific scene in the corridor.
"Don't stand there," Moore stabbed T-boy in the head with a knife, dealt with the two zombies around him, and pulled Lina forward.
Lina followed Moore forward in a daze, then turned her head to look at T-boy's corpse.
“Listen, kid, this isn’t the time for you to daydream,” Moore slammed Lina against the wall, pressing his arm against her neck and forcing her to look up into his eyes. “If you want to save the rest, you’d better pull yourself together.”
Lina nodded blankly.
Moll released Lina, who tried to regain her composure. The two silently killed the walkers until they reached the restaurant entrance.
The door was wide open, and there were fresh bloodstains. Lina took a deep breath. There were scattered cans in the kitchen, and Jimmy was surrounded in the corner.
His screams were almost inaudible as Lina and Moore dealt with the zombies.
Jimmy looked at the two of them in agony, blood gushing from his mouth, and pleaded with them.
Lina pulled out her gun and saw Jimmy off.
Having not encountered Glenn and Carol on the way here, Lina assumed they had gone deeper into the area. Lina loaded her gun and rushed out.
Mo'er followed him, annoyed. She shouldn't have let her come.
Lena pulled out her gun and shattered the loudspeaker in the hallway. The sirens kept blaring, endlessly, driving her almost insane.
“This way,” Moore looked around, grabbed Lina who was running forward, led her to a corner, and gently knocked on the door.
“Glen? Carol?” Lina called softly.
Footsteps approached from around the corner. Lina and Mole exchanged a glance and grabbed their weapons.
The door opened the next moment, and the two of them were pulled inside.
"Are you alright?" Glenn asked anxiously, pulling Lina around and looking her over.
"It's alright, where's Carol?" Lina asked, looking at him.
“We were separated by the flood, and she ran further in,” Glenn said sadly. The deeper they went, the more dangerous it became. They hadn’t had time to clear the inside, and Carol was probably…
"I'm going to find her," Lina said, taking the knife and heading out.
“No, that’s too much,” Moore grabbed her arm. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
"What do we do then? Aren't we going to abandon Carol? What about Sophia?" Lina shouted, shaking off Moore. "She must be hiding somewhere safe and waiting for us."
“I’ll go with you,” Glenn said, feeling bad that he hadn’t been able to stop Carol. T had blocked the walkers with his body so they could escape, and Jimmy had been captured, yelling for him to take Carol with him, but he still couldn’t catch Carol.
"You two are crazy," Moore spat, and as the noise outside the door faded away, he angrily opened the door.
Lina pulled out her longsword and gave it to Glenn, whose machete was nowhere to be found, and whose gun was out of bullets.
The three of them carefully dodged and searched, but the deeper they went, the more zombies they encountered, and their hearts sank heavier and heavier.
How could Carol survive? She didn't even have a gun.
“Her knife,” Glenn said, pointing to a small knife in the chin of a fallen zombie.
"Is this all she has?" Moore asked, glancing at it.
“Perhaps,” Glenn wasn’t sure either.
“Great,” Moore glanced at Lina, wondering if they should knock her out and carry her out.
A fallen zombie, a door blocked by its edge—Lina searched her memory. She remembered that Carol had run far away and hidden for a very long time; she was alright.
But that was in another passage; now, in this one, Lina has no idea what will happen.
“The sound stopped,” Glenn said, looking at the radio.
“Rick must have done something,” Moore said, crept up behind Lina. Glenn glanced at Moore hesitantly, Moore glared at him, and Glenn nodded helplessly.
Just as Moore was about to knock Lina unconscious, footsteps came from around the corner. Moore lowered his hand. They had nowhere to hide, so they could only deal with the situation while retreating.
Lina retreated unwillingly; there were too many zombies, and the three of them couldn't possibly handle them all.
They retreated into a room, panting heavily. "We have to go back; the three of us can't manage alone," Glenn said breathlessly.
"..." Lina didn't speak, but she knew this was not the time to force things. She didn't want Glenn and Moore to die here as well.
Hearing the commotion at the door, Moore gestured to them, and the three of them quietly returned the way they came.
She hoped Carol could hold on a little longer, just a little longer, and they would definitely come and bring her back.
The three of them returned to their cell in a disheveled state, and Rick and the others followed closely behind.
"What's going on?" Glenn asked. Why were there sirens suddenly going off?
“When that prisoner ran off, he brought the walkers to the generator room, and he died,” Rick said wearily, just a bizarre accident. He looked at Glenn, “They…”
Glenn lowered his head in silence.
"Oh no..." Rick pursed his lips and helplessly covered his face.
“Carol is still waiting for us inside,” Lina said. “Let’s get ready and go find her.”
“No,” Maggie glanced at Lina with difficulty, “Lorrae is giving birth.”
Lina paused for a moment. This time, there were no relentless zombies chasing after her. Perhaps Lori wouldn't have a difficult childbirth?
She slumped to the ground in unease. She thought she had saved these people, but now they were all going to die.
This is the end times; you can't save anyone.
Maggie sat down next to Lina with concern and took her hand; she could tell that something was wrong with Lina.
“My dad will help Lowry have a safe delivery,” Maggie said in a trembling voice; she had to believe it.
A moment later, there was a noise at the door, and Daryl ran back.
He looked at everyone, panting. The atmosphere in the cell was tense; something must have happened.
"What's wrong?" he asked. Lina sat blankly on the edge of the stairs, not reacting at all. Suddenly, a scream came from upstairs, startling Daryl.
“I heard sirens, and upstairs…” Daryl looked at Moore.
Moore sighed.
“An accident, sirens, we… T-boy and Jimmy, Carol too…” Rick said in a daze. Sophia, who had been sobbing, finally couldn’t hold back and cried out. Amy hugged her and kissed her hair comfortingly.
“Carol is just missing,” Lina said. “She’s waiting for us in a safe place!”
No one said anything, even though they didn't think so.
“I’m going to find her,” Daryl said, picking up his crossbow and heading out.
“No, there are too many walkers in there!” Moore grabbed Daryl. “Are you crazy?”
Glenn looked at Daryl with a conflicted expression. "Let's all go together after Lori gives birth," he said, "that would be safer. Even if it's Carol, we'd still have to see it with our own eyes."
“We’ll go together later,” Rick patted Daryl on the shoulder, walked past him, and headed outside. He needed to catch his breath.
The cries of pain from upstairs grew louder and louder.
A moment later, Patricia came running down in a panic, "Where's Rick?"
“I’ll go get him,” Daryl ran out the door. Fortunately, Rick was already at the door and hadn’t gone far. As soon as he saw Daryl, Rick panicked and rushed into his cell.
Everyone followed Patricia upstairs, where they heard the sound of a baby crying.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Lina's heart skipped a beat when she saw Patricia's serious expression.
Herschel handed the baby to Rick, while Lowry lay dying on the bed.
There was so much blood that Lina took a step back in fear.
Daryl put his arm around her and patted her shoulder reassuringly.
“Rick,” Herschel looked at him with some reluctance, unsure of what to say. Rick knew from her eyes that things were not going well.
He handed the child to Patricia and looked at Lowry with red eyes.
Lori smiled weakly and waved to Karl, "Baby, don't be afraid, okay?"
Carl's smile froze. He looked at Lori in horror. "Why? What's wrong? Didn't you already give birth?" he asked anxiously, pulling at Rick and Herschel. "Do something!"
“Come here, Carl,” Lowry called weakly. Carl walked feebly to Lowry’s bedside, and Lowry struggled to grasp his hand. “Take care of your father and your sister for me.”
Carl sobbed, unable to speak. Lori smiled gently and reached out to stroke Carl's face. "You'll be alright. You can survive in this world. I know you can. You're strong, smart, and very brave. I love you," she said firmly.
“I love you too,” Carl sobbed, burying his face in Lowry’s body.
“Sometimes you have to do the right thing. Promise me you’ll always do the right thing,” Lori said, gently stroking Carl’s hair.
"In this world, it's easy to do bad things, so if it doesn't feel right, don't do good, okay? Don't choose the easy path, don't let this world corrupt you..."
Rick crouched down, almost curling into a ball, and Lowry's dying words felt like needles piercing his heart.
Lori looked at Rick, paused for a moment, then looked at the others, "Wait until I... please, don't let him come..."
"No!" Rick cried out.
Lowry couldn't help but cry too.
Herschel placed the child next to Lori, kissed Lori's forehead, and went outside.
Everyone said goodbye to Lowry one by one. When it was Lina's turn, she took Lowry's hand and said, "I will help you."
Lori looked at Lina helplessly and shook her head. "No, child," she gently touched Lina's cheek, "thank you." She looked at Daryl, who nodded and took Lina's hand, leading her outside.
“Rick,” Lori called softly.
Rick wiped his face, walked to the bedside, and took Lowry's hand. Lowry was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.
“I’m so sorry,” Rick said, his voice choked with emotion. “I don’t blame you, I never have. You’re the best mom, the best wife, the person I love most…” Rick continued, his voice choked with emotion.
“I’m so sorry,” Lori said, feeling colder and colder and her mind growing sluggish. She looked at the people around her, the people she loved most in her life.
“Be strong, Rick,” Lowry almost murmured to herself, “Take care of Carl and his sister. I love you.”
Lowry's hand slipped from Rick's grasp, and Rick, clutching at the air, trembled, unwilling to open his eyes.
Carl sobbed as he looked up, giving Lowry one last look before picking up his gun.
"No!" Rick stared blankly at everything before him. Carl silently put away his gun, picked up the child, and walked out.
Upon hearing the gunshot, Lina looked up in shock at the second floor, only to see Karl, with tears streaming down his face, carrying a sobbing Judith as they came down.
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