Chapter 46
"Do you think the herbs will work?" Patricia asked Herschel with concern.
“Maybe I should try to look for it,” Herschel said to her through the door. “Pat, I…” He wanted to go to Area A; this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thought, he had been thinking about it for a while.
“No, Herschel,” Patricia knew what he was thinking, “I will go. You have to stay. You are the only doctor left. You can’t afford to have anything happen to you.”
“No, Pat, it’s too dangerous in there,” Herschel said worriedly.
“I’m used to it. I’m a nurse, Herschel. It’s been so long that I’ve almost forgotten those days. It’s finally my turn to step up.” Patricia wasn’t very strong in combat. Most of the time, she was the one providing logistical support and being protected.
But now that she can be of use, she won't back down.
“You can’t possibly cooperate with the doctor better than I can,” Patricia smiled and left the administration building.
Herschel watched her retreating figure in silence. He had to do something, at least to gather elderberry leaves.
Having made her plans, Patricia didn't delay and went straight to find Andrea.
She's now the one who calls the shots in the prison.
Rick, Daryl, Michonne, Tyrsey, and Bob had already hurriedly left to find the medicine.
"Hey, Pat, what's wrong?" Andrea was on a weary patrol, needing to keep an eye on each area for hidden patients and also to calm everyone down, as the unknown always brings great fear.
“I’m going into Area A,” Patricia said.
“Pat?” Andrea lowered her voice and pulled her to a corner. “You know what’s going on in there,”
“I know, so I’m going. Dr. S needs help, and I’m good at this,” Patricia said methodically. “I’ll go check out the isolation area in a bit, maybe… I’ll take them in with me.”
Andrea sighed. "I really don't know what to say, Pat. You must, you must take precautions." Andrea took out two new masks and handed them to Patricia. "We'll be waiting for you outside."
Patricia took the mask and hugged Andrea. "Don't worry, they'll bring the medicine back."
After informing Andrea, Patricia arrived at the quarantine area as planned. As soon as she stepped inside, she heard a lot of coughing. Patricia sighed, put on her mask and gloves, and opened the door following the sound. It was Lina.
"Hey, Pat, how did you get in here? I know the way to Area A, you should leave now," Lina said in a muffled voice, covering her bleeding mouth.
“I’m here to take you to Area A. Let’s go.” Patricia stepped forward and helped Lina up. Lina, who was too weak to break free, could only let Patricia pull her up.
“You’re really… insane…” Lina said painfully, “Do you know how dangerous this is?”
“I’m a nurse, Lina, of course I know that, but I also have my professional ethics,” Patricia said in a relaxed tone. She then opened the other wards one by one, leading the four people, including Lina and Sasha, into Section A.
“Patricia?” Dr. S looked at her with some surprise; she didn’t look sick at all.
“I’ll help,” Patricia said.
Dr. S had mixed feelings. He was too busy and needed help, but... sigh.
“Take them inside, one room per person. I need you to help me with my IV drip. The infirmary sent some medicine, but not enough for everyone,” Dr. S said.
“Okay,” Patricia helped Lina into the innermost room. The others were in better condition than Lina and could walk into their rooms on their own. After putting Lina down, Patricia quickly went upstairs to help prepare the IV drip. She had learned this from Herschel and had done it many times, so she was quite skilled at it.
“Karen and David need medication, and Lena, she looks quite serious,” Dr. S said. “How’s it outside?”
“There might be more tomorrow. Most of them just have a fever right now; the ones coughing are all here,” Patricia said with difficulty.
"...Why did you come? I...this is something I don't want to say, but we might all die here." Dr. S lowered his voice; he was also afraid. The simple flu wasn't scary; what was scary was that they had no medicine to treat it.
“No!” Patricia was startled and quickly put down what she was holding. She took Dr. S’s hand and looked into his eyes. “Don’t be afraid. As long as we persevere, they will bring the medicine back. Don’t give up.”
“I’m sorry, but,” Dr. S pursed her lips, “I just…”
"Shh—" Patricia shook her head, indicating that he didn't need to say anything more. "Let's just do our best with what's in front of us, okay?"
The room returned to quiet, and the two quickly rallied and continued making the IV drip.
Lina was so dazed that she had lost all sense of time. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Glenn sitting on the ground next to her. Glenn laughed when he saw Lina open her eyes, "I thought you were fast asleep."
“This is definitely the best sleep I’ve had in a while, without you and Daryl lecturing me in my dreams,” Lina said, and the two of them laughed.
"How did you get in?" Lina asked.
“Carol brought us in, and the entire quarantine zone was wiped out,” Glenn coughed twice. “Lina, are we going to die?”
“Come here,” Lina beckoned to Glenn, who moved closer to her. Lina sat up and leaned against him. “You won’t die, but the fortune teller Lina is going to do a divination for you.”
"Okay? MBTI or Bazi?" Glenn couldn't help but laugh.
“Be serious,” Lina patted Glenn weakly, then covered her mouth and coughed. Glenn patted her back to help her catch her breath.
Lina covered her mouth and mumbled, "Remember, stay away from men with baseball bats. Those kinds of people are your nemesis, and most of them are perverts."
“Wow, that’s pretty targeted,” Glenn said, raising an eyebrow.
“You better remember this,” Lina coughed, leaning listlessly against Glenn, “If I die, well, my dagger will go to Daryl. He can’t use the longsword. Sorry, I can’t leave the longsword to you either. Give it to Amy for me; she’ll need it. But you can inherit my big backpack, though I can’t even remember where it is, haha.”
“…Don’t say that.” Glenn’s voice choked with emotion. “You just said I wouldn’t die.”
“I can’t guarantee myself,” Lina said wearily, closing her eyes.
“Carol, she, she’s still downstairs. Do you want to say something to her?” Glenn asked, trying to find a topic to talk about.
"No, do you want me to climb down and scare them to death?" Lina coughed up blood; she was probably the one with the most severe symptoms here.
Oh, I forgot about Karen and David.
“...David is dead,” Glenn said. “Herschel and I pushed him into a corner, and then…”
“I almost forgot, you can still move. Go and close every cell door,” Lina said, trying to sit up, but her trembling arms caused her to fall down. Glenn quickly caught her.
“I understand. You get some rest,” Glenn gently laid her flat on the bed. “Lina, don’t die.”
“Let me talk to Death,” Lina paused, “Well, he said I’m a foreigner and it’s none of his business.” Lina said, feigning nonchalance.
Glenn smiled helplessly and walked out.
“Wait a minute,” Lina called to him, “close my door too.”
Glenn silently closed the door and turned to walk into another room.
Lina touched her eyes, thinking she had cried from fright, but it turned out she was just bleeding from all seven orifices.
She must look horribly ugly now. I'll have to tell Glenn later that if she dies, he should cremate her immediately, and make sure Daryl doesn't see her.
Let's preserve a positive image for young girls!
Lina stared dazedly at the bed, her mind a jumble of thoughts. She seemed to hear many strange sounds: the screech of brakes, the sound of impacts, the barking of dogs, the warm beating of a heart... and then all was quiet.
"Lina, we love you, baby."
"baby……"
Carol watched Liz walk into Area A, then sadly turned her head away. Sophia and Carl were still in the administration building, and the other children were relatively safe. Carol wiped away her tears and looked at Area A, secretly making up her mind.
She had to do something to save them.
Carol gripped the knife tightly, remained silent for a moment, and then left.
"Cough cough—" Lina felt suffocated. She opened her mouth wide and gasped for breath. The air passed through her mouth, circled once, and then went out. The intense pain in her lungs felt like it was about to explode.
“Glenn, go get the airbags,” Herschel called out.
"……for you,"
"Press her down and lay her flat, Lina? Can you hear me? Calm down..."
"Lina, Lina!"
Her consciousness seemed to be constantly falling. Lina's vision went completely black. She couldn't remember anything, didn't know where she was, or where she was going.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Hah—" Lina suddenly opened her eyes. Glenn kept squeezing the air bladder, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Lina wake up.
Herschel, somewhat exhausted, sat down on the ground. Sasha looked at Lina and smiled with lingering fear, "You scared me to death."
Lina couldn't speak at all, and she was still breathing through an air bladder. She shakily raised her hand and gave a thumbs up.
The three smiled helplessly. Sasha stayed behind to continue looking after Lina, while Herschel and Glenn went to check on the others to see if they needed help.
*
“I know what you’re going to do. Take me with you.” Amy stood in front of the car, her voice firm. “I have to go. I can’t hide here and just pray.”
Amy was tired of waiting, tired of being protected. She was now capable of protecting herself, and she should do the right thing, even if Andrea got angry later, it wouldn't stop her.
"Get in the car."
“I know there’s a hospital not far away; maybe we can find something there.” Amy remembered what Lina had mentioned about her experience in that small town, and she still remembered the approximate location.
*
"...Get out of the way!"
"Aaaaaahh ...
"Get back to your cell!"
Lina groggily got up, while Sasha beside her passed out. Chaos reigned outside. Lina crawled to the door and forced herself to close the cell door, which almost made her gasp for breath again.
Lina pinched the airbag, paused for a moment, then picked up the scattered airbags from the ground, opened Sasha's mouth, and stuffed them inside.
Lina kept squeezing the airbag, and Sasha opened her eyes after a while. What they saw was each other's disheveled state.
Herschel's voice came from outside. Lina and Sasha, supporting each other, walked to the cell door, but were startled and fell down by the zombies that pounced on them.
Fortunately, she closed the door. Lina coughed incessantly, looking at Karen in front of her; Karen had already turned into a zombie.
Maybe I'll be next.
Sasha cried as she watched Karen screaming. She didn't know if she would ever see Tyrese return.
A loud noise came from downstairs, as if someone had shattered a window, followed by a series of gunshots.
"Damn! I just went out to find some supplies, and you almost killed yourself?" Moore looked at Lina in horror; she looked even more terrifying than a zombie.
Lina only had time to glare at him before she fainted again.
Moore grabbed Herschel and took out a few bottles of medicine. "These are all I have," he said. They were antibiotics, which he had seen when he went out, along with some that Amy and Carol had given him. In total, there were only three and a half bottles.
"Maggie, you need to help me get an IV drip," Herschel said breathlessly.
Maggie nodded with tears in her eyes. Herschel looked at Moore and said, "Don't loosen Glenn's airbag." Moore pursed his lips, picked Glenn up, and carried him to Lina's cell. After putting him down, Moore pressed on Glenn's airbag, while Sasha pressed on her own airbag and squeezed Lina's airbag at the same time.
"What the hell happened?" Moore muttered. It wasn't like this when he went out yesterday.
But no one could answer his question.
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