Chapter 3

Three days later, the walkers began to overrun their camp. Luckily they had planned on leaving that day, so they had their belongings packed up and ready to go. They made their way cautiously down to the main road and began to search the vehicles stopped on the road for a few that would run, have gas in it and would take them to the CDC far quicker than walking would do. They found a couple of trucks and an SUV-Rick, Laurie, Carl and Shane were in one. Dale and Andrea and Amy were in his RV, Carol and Sophia and Ed were in their truck. TDog and Jim and Glen were in another truck. Merle rode in the lead on his bike and Daryl and Isabeau brought up the rear in an old truck. Merle had insisted that Isabeau ride with Daryl –needling Daryl until he nearly exploded in frustration. Isabeau sat on her side of the truck silently, feeling guilty that she was the cause of his bad mood. She realized Merle had done this to keep her with them in case of separation from the others-he had spent quite a while talking to her the last few days, questioning her about her medical skills, her hunting skills, her thoughts regarding where would be a safe place to hunker down and set up before winter set in. He had sought her opinion about what exactly the virus was and how long all this would go on. Daryl had sat or stood and listened silently, absorbing their talk. He had not once offered an opinion or question of his own. Isabeau had made a point of including him in any discussion, but she could see he was still uncomfortable around her and the others.

They drove in silence toward the CDC, Daryl nervously biting at his nails and thumb and frequently stealing glances her way. Isabeau kept her head turned to the window, noting the devastation and ruin they passed in silence. She was worried that they would find no one at the CDC, or worse yet find someone who would tell them something awful-more awful than what they all already had seen. She sighed and leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. She hadn't slept well, she didn't feel comfortable around most of the people in the group yet. She woke up often and sometimes just sat up awake most of the night. She wondered what had happened to her father and brothers, her other relatives up there in Michigan. Her friends. Even for that matter her husband. She didn't love him, didn't miss him, but she still wondered what had happened to him.

She didn't realize she was crying until a tear splashed her hand. She hastily wiped her hands over her face and rubbed them off on her shorts.

"Ya okay?" Daryl mumbled. He winced at how incredibly stupid that was. Of course she wasn't okay, none of them were okay. Probably never would be okay again.

Isabeau smiled weakly at him. "Just thinking about stuff. Where my family is, what happened to everyone. I mean, how will any of us ever find out? No phones, no internet, no way to contact anyone now." She shook her head and sighed again.

Daryl glanced at her hands, noting no rings there. "Ya gotta husband? Boyfriend? Kids?" he mumbled again. He didn't realize it but his hands had tightened on the steering wheel, anticipating her description of a happy marriage to a wonderful man and a bunch of sweet kids.

To his great relief she shook her head. "No, I actually had an appointment with a lawyer the week everything went to shit," she paused and he frowned. "A divorce lawyer," she explained. "I was married five years and decided that was long enough to be married to a habitual liar and someone who couldn't keep his dick in his pants." She barked a short, bitter laugh. Daryl snorted in surprise at her answer.

"Mmmm," he said, "guess this shit saved you some money then," he said quietly with a small smirk.

Isabeau laughed aloud, a genuinely happy laugh. "Thank you!" she exclaimed. "That is a much better way of looking at it than I have been. You are absolutely right," and she laughed some more. Daryl gave a small smile and shrugged in embarrassment.

They pulled up to the CDC later that day, shortly before dusk. Isabeau walked up to the door with Rick and Shane and pressed the intercom, hoping someone would answer. She identified herself as Dr. Isabeau Hussein, recently of Emory Hospital, and identified Rick and Shane as sheriff's deputies. When no one answered, she repeated the message in Spanish. Merle looked at Daryl and raised his eyebrows in surprise. When there was still no response, Isabeau tried punching in different codes into the keypad-number combinations of month/year, etc. Still nothing.

"Let's see if there's some other entrance," Shane suggested, smirking at their lack of success. Merle and Daryl took off to walk around the building to see if there was some other way of entering.

Isabeau punched the intercom again and started yelling. "Dammit, I know someone is in there. All we want is a place to stay the night and to get some information. We aren't here to take over the place or anything like that. If you're that worried, just let one or two of us in so you can see for yourselves." She kicked the wall in frustration, then repeated the message in Spanish. They heard a crackle from the intercom.

"Step back so I can see you more clearly in the camera," echoed from the intercom. Looking up to see the camera high on the wall, Isabeau stepped back with Rick and Shane and waited. "Okay, I'm going to open the door and just two of you can come in," said the voice again. "You, Dr. Hussein, and one other person. Choose quickly, because I'll be opening the door in one minute." Rick nodded to Isabeau.

"Shane stay with our group, I'll go with Isabeau and see what's going on," Rick told Shane. Shane started to protest, but the door opened and Rick and Isabeau entered quickly and the door slammed shut.

Chapter 4

Inside, it took a minute for their eyes to adjust. Although the facility's electricity seemed to still be operational, the lighting was dim. As their eyes adjusted, they saw a man in his forties standing in front of them wearing a white lab coat. Isabeau rolled her eyes at this-the end of the world and no one else probably in this facility and this idiot was still observing the dress rules. She stuck her hand out to shake the stranger's. "Thank you for letting us in. I'm Dr. Hussein, and this is Rick Grimes. How many staff are still here on site?" She wanted to get her bearings before they got down to the important questions.

"I'm Dr. Jennings. Um, most of the staff left to go home to their families once we realized how bad this actually was. There's just me and two others here now-one other doctor and a member of our cleaning staff who was staying here because she had no other place to go." Rick and Isabeau nodded.

"Is there room for my group to settle in here for the night?" Rick asked. "We won't trouble you for more than a day or two. We need to rest up and figure out where to head out to." Isabeau crossed her arms and glared at Dr. Jennings. There was something about this man she didn't like. He wasn't asking anything about what was going on outside, he didn't show the slightest curiosity.

Isabeau tapped her foot in exasperation at his continued silence. "Look," she spat out, "I don't know what's going on here but there are folks outside that need a place to shelter. I don't know about you, but I took an oath to protect folks and do my best to ensure their continued health. This is definitely a situation in which you should be helping out, not hiding in some building ignoring folks." Rick glanced at her in surprise. He could tell she was angry and wanted to tell her to calm down but when he glanced at Dr. Jennings and saw his uncertain look he decided to keep his mouth shut and see where this went.

"Dr. Jennings, how long have you and these two other people been here-since the shit hit the fan? Three weeks?" He nodded. "Well, you have no idea what the hell is going on out there then, right? I'm telling you that we are going to open the door and let our folks in and then you and I and Rick here are going to have a talk-I want to know what you know about how all this virus crap started, what safeguards the CDC had in place, what protocols the government set in case of a disaster like this and where the safety zones are. Do you understand me?" Her voice had gotten very quiet and she had a look on her face that Rick hoped not to ever see directed at him.

Without waiting for a reply from Dr. Jennings, Isabeau turned back to the door and opened it. "C'mon guys, hurry up and come in," she called to the group. She scanned the faces quickly for Merle and Daryl and saw them head up the back. She held the door open for everyone and after they were all in she shut it and secured it so no one else could get in. "Now then, where can all of us find a place to sleep and clean up," she asked Dr. Jennings. He seemed to just stare at all of them in stunned silence for a minute and then cleared his throat.

"There are dorm areas and showers and a kitchen-we have plenty of food. This place was designed for emergencies in case staff had to stay on site. It's all this way," he murmured and they all followed him down a long corridor.