Lone Survivors

Almost everyone was busy fixing a tear in the outside fence, so I headed back into the cells. Fortunately, Maggie was still there, so I approached her and caught her eye.

“Um, I was wondering if I could have one of those tests…” I mumbled. She gave a small smile of recognition before going into her backpack and bringing one out.

“I hope it’s what you want it to be,” Maggie said as she held out the package.

“Yeah, me too,” I breathed nervously, taking the pregnancy test and staring at it. It was so scary to think that I could be pregnant.

“Mandy?”

“Yeah?” I looked up.

“I think… I think you and I should look out for each other, ya know?” she suggested as she sat down on her bed, making me a bit confused. Why was she saying this?

“We already do,” I replied, referring to the fact it was a zombie apocalypse.

“I mean, we could be some of the last fertile women on the planet… I just think it’s important to preserve that, especially now that Lori’s gone and…” Maggie begun. She trailed off into a sigh, her stressed face giving away her sadness. “Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I do,” I nodded before looking down at the test. She was right. It was so important. The survival of the human race could be resting on our shoulders. “Sure, we can look out for each other. I mean, Glenn and Daryl do a good enough job, but some extra protection won’t hurt.” Maggie’s face lit up at the mention of her boyfriend.

“Thanks,” she said before looking down at my hands. “You should go and take the test.”

“Oh, right,” I chuckled, rubbing a hand across my face. I backed out of the cell and went into a vacant one a few doors down. There I unwrapped the package and pulled out the stick. Once I had peed on it, I anxiously paced in the room. I had to wait two minutes before the lines would show up, and time didn’t seem to pass quick enough. Please be negative, please be negative… Finally I reached my one hundred and twentieth step, and I rushed back to the test. I held it up and saw one line. Just one. I breathed a sigh of relief. Just what I had wanted: a negative result. As I packed the stick and pamphlet of instructions back into the small box, I realised my stomach was sinking. I felt disappointed and concerned about telling Daryl, even though there was no reasoning for those feelings. We didn’t want a baby, especially with Lori’s baby needing so much attention already, so why the heck did the negative result not seem so good anymore?

I sat down on the bed and stared at the ground. My mind tried to wrap itself around everything, and eventually I came to a conclusion. It was because of Maggie’s little talk. That had made me want to give a new life in this horrid world before I died, and Daryl… Well, he was so good with the new-born, he was a great protector, he cared for me, and he had a good heart. But it was stupid to want to have a baby. Completely unjustified.