Lucas comes home from a run and puts his arms over his head. He walks up to his front porch when he sees Carl walk out of the Grimes' house.
"Hey little dude!" Lucas greets the kid.
"Lucas!" Carl runs over to Lucas and they give each other a high-five. "You back from a run?" The kid asks.
Lucas wipes the sweat from his face. "What do you think?" He waves to Lori who is just exited the house. "Morning!"
"Carl, if you wanted time to talk with Lucas you should have gotten ready faster, we gotta get you to school" She tells her son. "Hi Lucas, you getting ready to get to work?"
Lucas walks over with Carl next to him. "Yeah" He looks down at Carl. "And are you ready for your first day of 7th grade?"
"Yep! I got a new backpack this year too!" He excitedly states. "When are you gonna be back today Lucas?"
"Carl, it's not his job to hang out with you" Lori grabs Carl's hand.
Lucas smiles. "It's not a problem. I like having some guy time with Carl" He whispers to Lori loudly. "He's much more fun than Rick and Shane" He points at Carl. "Because we hold the high score on Guitar Hero!"
"Yeah!" Carl gives a thumbs up.
Lucas drops his arm. "Ok, have fun at school Carl, alright?"
"See you Lucas!" Carl waves goodbye.
Lori smiles as she shakes her head, she waves goodbye to Lucas as she takes Carl to school. She's happy that Carl gets out of her hair for a few hours. Lucas was a lifesaver this summer, especially so since he leaves his front door open for when he has Carl over. It makes her feel better that she can stop in and doesn't have to worry about Carl getting abducted. It also helps since her relationship with Rick has been a bit bumpy. It's like Rick is so distant and doesn't seem to love her or Carl like he used to anymore. It wasn't good before summer. But over the summer it's gotten worse and worse. She can yell at Rick but he barely responds at all.
Lucas watches the mother and son leave before he goes back to his house. He jumps in the shower and cleans himself up for the day. It's already been a over a year since he moved to King County and he's gotten the hang of things. But he hasn't gotten used to anything.
He gets out of the shower and dries himself off and gets dressed for work. Right now it's just a pair of shorts and a white tshirt. His coveralls and steel toed boots are in his truck with his safety glasses and other small tools he uses once he's on the clock.
Lucas looks at his dresser and sees his dog tags. He took them off after his first run around the neighborhood. He didn't want people to keep asking him about his past, it kept causing more problems for him so it's just sat on the dresser ever since.
His body looks even more muscular since he's moved to the town. It may not be healthy, but he works out whenever his mind starts to wander through his time in the military. It's not healthy, but it's not not healthy. He ends up working out many times a day, but his body doesn't seem to care. It increases the amount of food he eats, but that's not a problem for him. Cooking also help take his mind off the nightmares he has. And Lori has shared a few recipes with him along with some of the other neighbors.
He's met a lot of people in town. But he hasn't been able to get close with anyone. He's closest with Shane and Rick, partially because Rick is his neighbor and partially since they were the first people he met in town. He talks with Lori about things. He listens to her concerns about Carl and Rick. And about her mom. He doesn't talk much about his 6 years of service but he talks about his high school life and what he's done after. But he mostly listens.
He's gotten close with the Linmans. George is close to his age, only 5 years younger. Lucas being 25 now and George being 20.
George kinda sees Lucas as an older brother. They spend most of their time together in the shop but hang out after sometimes. But it's hard for Lucas. Not just George, but Samuel too. When Lucas looks at them he sees Damian and it brings some things to the surface he'd rather keep buried. But he's gotten good at pushing that stuff down when it pops up. But sometimes it sticks around.
He knows other people have noticed it. The way he states into space. The way he is sometimes hyper vigilant or super anxious about certain things. Rick and Shane have seen it the most. Samuel also notices it and helps him calm down when he's at work.
Lucas has had trouble sleeping in his bed. He needs to take sleeping medication just to get the bare minimum sleep. And when he does sleep his dreams are just nightmares. This only makes his other problems worse.
But he's able to feel better when he works out, cooks, or has small talk with people. Heavy or long talks are kinda draining to him. This made dates extremely unpalatable to him. He hasn't been on many after the third month since coming to town. There weren't many women that caught his eye either.
Lucas gets in his car after having breakfast and goes to the mechanic shop. The radio turns on and the news starts playing.
"There have been a few studies in a disease that acts like the flu. Scientists encourage everyone to wash your hands regularly and be sa-" Lucas changes the station. It's just another round of a sickness and he's rather not listen to something about sick people.
Lucas has done a great job at the mechanic shop. He didn't waste the militaries education he was given. Sure he specialized in combat. But they also let him choose other fields. He chose mechanics training along with a few others to get the basics. Medical was his second favorite. That's also where he met Damien and was told about Samuel and the family mechanic shop.
Lucas, George, and Samuel are busy. They each have their own projects they have. Lots of cars needed to be checked up on and fixed. Lucas gets into the groove and time flies as he does his jobs until it's the end of his work hours.
"Lucas!" Samuel calls out.
Lucas himself was in his own world. "What is it?" He says as he finishes what he's working on and closes the hood of the car.
"Time for you to go home, good work today" Samuel pats his shoulder.
Lucas wipes his hands on a dirty rag. "Already?" He looks out the garage door and sees the sun. "Dang, time flies I guess. Thanks Sam, I'll see you tomorrow"
Samuel waves Lucas off. "Make sure you stay healthy, there's something going around lately"
"Thanks for the heads up" Lucas waves to Sam and George and goes back to his truck. He takes his coverall off and changes his boots out for his normal shoes.
He drives back to his house and makes himself some dinner. He works out and then takes another shower before trying to go to bed.
——————
About a month later Lucas comes home from the shop and sees Carl sitting on the front porch. He can see the front door is open and Lori is on the phone with someone and she's crying and looking at Carl.
Lucas gets out of his car after parking it and walks over to Carl. "What's going on? Everything alright?"
Carl looks up with tears in his eyes. "I-it's my dad. He was shot"
Lucas pauses mid stride and freezes. A chill goes down his spine and continues to his feet before coming back up to his brain. He snaps out of it a second later and kneels in front of Carl. "How bad?" He quietly asks.
Carl looks down at his hands. "Me and mom just got back from the hospital. Dad was hooked to some machines and there was this beeping sound. Everyone keeps telling me how strong my dad is and that he will be fine"
Lucas pats Carl's shoulder. "You're very brave, you know that? And just stay positive. Just wait and your dad might be back before you know it. Who is your mom calling?"
Carl looks behind him. "She's calling grandma, and Shane is sitting in there too. I just wanted some fresh air"
"I'll stay out here with you then" Lucas sits down next to Carl. He was gonna hang out with Shane after he was done with work but he doesn't feel like doing that anymore.
They sit there in silence for some time. Once Lucas hears Lori crying he gets up and looks inside. He sees Shane standing with Lori crying on his shoulder.
Shane looks over and gives a small wave. Lucas returns it and points at Carl then over towards his house. Shane nods and gives a thumbs up.
"Hey Carl, let's go over to my place and watch some tv or something" Lucas takes a step towards his house.
"Ok…." Carl slowly gets up and follows Lucas over to his house.
——————
The next day Lucas is in Ricks hospital room. He sits down in one of the uncomfortable hosptial chairs and looks at Rick. The guy just looks like he is sleeping in a blue hospital gown with his chest being bandaged. The monitor beeps every few seconds.
Lucas stares at the bed as Rick's face morphs into the people that used to be in his unit. Damian with his face barely hanging on by threads of skin. Jamie, Lancer, Steve, Holly, Sandra, Zack, Sandra, and Julius.
"Excuse me sir" a feminine voice calls out to Lucas.
"Huh?" He wakes from his nightmare daydream and looks at a female nurse.
"I'm going to be changing his bandages, I'm just letting you know. You can stay if you wish" She says as she moves a cart into the room with various medical supplies on it. She tucks a strand of her red hair behind her ear.
Lucas imagines all the bullet would as he's seen. Even the ones he had himself. He runs a hand over the left side of his abdomen as he stands up. "I-I'll step out while you do that"
The nurse moves the cart next to Rick. "How did you know the him?" She asks.
Lucas stands in the doorway. "He's my neighbor and a friend" He then walks out into the hallway.
People are moving through the halls. Some people are being rolled down the hall on beds. One guy is being carried by two people on a stretcher.
Lucas' mind goes hazy as he sees the various injuries. He doesn't know what was worse. Watching his friends dead body hit the ground. Or watching his friends bleed out and slowly die or get sent home without the same pieces they left home with.
The stench of iron from blood stings his nose. It's a smell he never was able to ignore, but he gets used to it.
Lucas grabs the side of the doorframe and uses it to keep him standing.
He looks down the hall and sees a man coughing and then collapse to the ground as blood trickles from his mouth.
The nurse squeezes past him and joins the fray.
Lucas heard her, or he thinks he did. But his ears were ringing yet muting the noise around him. It was like that one time Zack jumped on a grenade to protect the rest of the unit. Lucas was next to the guy but was pushed away. And when Lucas opened his eyes next Zack wasn't gone. He was everywhere. His clothes and bulletproof vest took the brunt of the explosion and shrapnel. But the wave of energy rattled Lucas and caused this indescribable sound to be heard in his ears. And that is similar to what he is experiencing now.
Lucas has managed to avoid going into or even near the hospital over the year. And now he knows why.
Lucas stumbles back into the room until his back is pressed against the wall next to the only window in the room. He looks to Rick and sees the bandages were cut and his wound was opened up. The stitches peeled open to show parts of his rib and inner organs.
"Excuse me sir!"
——————
Lucas feels somebody shake him and he wakes up in the chair. "Gah!" He takes quick breaths and looks around the room in a frenzy.
He sees a female nurse with blond hair and a male nurse with short black hair. The female nurse quickly takes her hand away from Lucas.
Lucas looks at Rick and sees that he has new bandages around his wound and his facial hair is barely a centimeter long. The machine beeps continuously. And the iv drips fluid. Rocks face looks so peaceful like he's only taking a nap.
"Are you ok? I didn't mean ta spook ya" The blond nurse says as she takes a step back and holds her clipboard to her chest.
"Is he ok?" The black haired nurse incredulously asks. "You just scared the shit outta him Sandra"
Lucas slowly turns to look at the female nurse after he recognizes the name. But when he looks at her he sees the long blond hair and blue eyes. Not the long red hair that the Sandra in his unit had.
She kicks the guys shin. "You look like you've seen a ghost, are you alright?"
Lucas slows his breathing. "Y-yeah. Just….. thought I saw a ghost" He stands up.
The woman brushes some of her hair that was near her face behind her ear. "We finished changing his bandages while you weee asleep. It looked like you needed it so we didn't wake you. But once we finished it seemed like you were having a nightmare, an extremely bad one at that" She then starts speaking faster and faster. "I know you aren't supposed to wake someone up from a nightmare unless it's important or their nightmare is really bad. I-I, we didn't know how bad it was but it kept getting worse and-"
Lucas holds his hand up. "It's fine, and thanks" he rubs his face. "Had some trouble getting some sleep lately….. and I guess I nodded off here" He puts his hands to his side and smiles. "Thanks for waking me up"
The female nurse blushes as she looks at Lucas. "N-no problem…"
Lucas goes over to Ricks side and puts a hand on his shoulder. "We're waiting for you. So don't keep us waiting for too long alright? You know where we will be"
Lucas takes his hand away from Rick and grabs his sunglasses from his shirts collar and begins walking out of the room. "Bye" He gives a three finger wave with his thumb, index, and middle finger to the nurses.
The hall is calm. Just a few nurses, doctors, and families coming and going. But he sees a man collapse to the ground as he coughs with blood trickling from his mouth.
Lucas hastily exits the hospital and gets to his truck and sits inside. He starts it and the radio turns on.
"Scientists at the CDC have reported that a new virus is rapidly spreading throughout the world. Not much news is known about this virus but we will keep you updated here at 98-"
Lucas turns it off. "What the hell?" He wonders what type of virus is spreading this time. And if it's that bad then he will get an alert on his phone or something.
Lucas gets home and feels immensely tired. So he just goes straight to bed after locking his front door.
——————
*ring* *ring* *ring*
Colton wakes up and quickly grabs his phone. He looks at who's calling him and sees that it's Shane. "What's going on?"
"Lucas? Listen to me" Shane hastily says in a crazed tone.
"Shane? What's going on?" Lucas sits up.
"Where are you right now Lucas!?" Shane demands.
Lucas puts his feet on the ground and rubs his eyes. "I'm at home, why? You gonna come over or something?" He jokes.
"This isn't the time Lucas! People are acting crazy! I just shot a person so they didn't attack Leon! Go over to Lori and Carl! It's better for us to group up right now!" Shane shouts.
Lucas stands up and throws his blanket to the side. "What?! Y-yeah! I'll go over there as soon as I can. What's going on?"
Lucas can hear Shane driving with his sirens on. "What have you been doing Lucas? There are soldiers in town and they're….. FUCK! Look, just get over to Lori's. I'm going there as soon as I can but we've got people out in the streets! It's fuckin crazy man!"
"Ok. Stay safe Shane! I'll see you when you get here!" Lucas shouts but is met by the sound of the phone call ending.
He runs around his room packing his shit into a bag. He grabs his things and puts his shoes on and runs across the lawn to the Grimes residence. He bangs on the door. "Lori! Carl! It's me Lucas!"
The door opens and Lori stands there with a phone in her hand and Carl behind her.
Lucas sighs. "You two safe? I just got a call from Shane. What's going on?"
Lucas turns around and sees that the sun is high in the sky and that he had slept in today. This hasn't happened before, normally he has a nightmare and wakes up early in the morning.
——————
It's been nearly two weeks since Lucas and Shane started staying at the Grimes' house. Shane and Lucas took turns going home and bringing back food and their own shit.
Lucas brought his gun but left it in his man backpack. He could barely hold it without shaking violently. But he grabbed his knifes and other things.
Lori couldn't contact her mom, and Lucas had the same problem contacting his own family. He wishes he had bothered calling them at some point over the last year. But every time he was close to calling them he would cave in and not do it.
Shane is currently going to the hospital. Lucas was asked if he would come along, but he denied and said that he would rather stay at the house.
Lucas doesn't want to imagine how hectic the hospitals are and how badly it would set him off. So he stayed with Lori and Carl.
Shane comes back some hours later and quickly shuts the door behind him.
Lucas steps forward. "And Rick?"
Shane looks at Lucas and then at Lori. He motions out the door. "I-I…. they….." He looks down at the ground. "Rick is…. dead"
Lucas can feel his world shift a bit. He looks around the front hall and sees the pictures of the happy Grimes family. Then he feels something wrap around his waist. He looks down and sees Carl's messy hair. Lucas looks over at Shane and sees Lori backing away from Shane, he then sees Lori drop her phone and hug Shane.
Lucas drops down to his knees and hug Carl. He hates these moments. He always has no idea how he is supposed to react and how to comfort others in these situations. But this is the second time he has had to talk with the family of somebody who died that was close to him. The first being the linmans.
Shane speaks up a few minutes later.
"We've gotta leave this place today"