Arrows and Scars
Hey everyone! I'd like to thank alice (Guest), CK (Guest), achiie, KioshiUshima, linx007 (even though you're finished with this fic for "turning Souta into a angsty little bitch"), wintermoon7,Spastic Freak, save the sharks, GreenHoneyTea, GiggleboxGirlie, Kuro no Saisei, DragonBlade00, MyHeartBeating,lifelovelaugh, Shiori Mayonaka no Yume, Nakomi, BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, Dev-Dev-251, Lovessweets, Vertigo Venom, Liantei, panther73110, vinyariel, beulah2013, KairaiGensou, white06rose, sirimus234, SilverSnowVixenAiko, YunaNeko, ashleemichelle, UH061992, Axtla3000, Fantomo, LadyChance, Deathstalker7777, Saricaykes, Snickering Fox, Kitsuna-lover, Arayer, Burianna, Sillvog, Yoventte, Diamondz-Love, Skywillow, and victoria cullen34
Disclaimer: *sees shooting star in the sky* I wish I owned Inuyasha and Walking Dead. *Waits for wish to come true* Darn it, didn't work. Still own nothing so no suing.
Chapter Six: Poor Lost Souls
The entire group felt relief from the first good night sleep they've had since the beginning of the dead walking the earth.
Kagome had stayed in Carol's room last night after she left Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog, who continued to have fun drinking. She took a relaxing hot shower once she got into the room. Even though the small luxury didn't last very long, Kagome enjoyed the few blissful moments of having hot water. It was definitely one of the things she missed since the world had changed. 'At least in the Feudal Era we could find a hot springs,' she sighed at the memory.
When Kagome finally awoke this morning, she got dressed in her usual boots and jeans and chose to wear white tank top and the shirt Daryl had given her, before she made her way into the kitchen. She was a little surprised to see T-Dog being the one cooking in the kitchen, with Jacqui helping him. "Wow," she said as she smelt the amazing breakfast food being cooked.
"What?" he playfully challenged, "You think you're the only one with good cooking skills?"
Kagome chuckled as she grabbed a plate to fill it with powdered eggs and bacon.
Later, Lori, Carol, and the children entreated the room with Andrea and Dale following close behind them.
The priestess glanced over at her brother, to see if his mood had changed since last night.
Souta couldn't even look at her, making Kagome lower her eyes in disappointment.
The moment her eyes left her brother's form, he looked up and recalled what he said to his friends last night.
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"It's her fault!" Souta snapped as he sat on the floor of one of the rooms of the CDC. Sophia and Carl were in the room with him, all in their pajamas. "She could have stopped it!"
"How? She only has a bow and arrow," Carl asked in confusion.
Souta shook his head, "You don't understand."
"Then help us," Sophia said, wanting to help her friend. .
"She's a priestess!" he stated in anger.
Carl blinked feeling even more muddled, "So?"
The young Higurashi exasperated heavily. He wished he could tell his friends why Kagome being a priestess meant all the difference, but he promised his family he'd never say a word. As angry as he was at his sister, he could never betray her that way. "She just...Kagome has a way of feeling when bad things happen."
Sophia gave a mild nod in understanding, "So, she could have felt when we would have been attacked by Walkers?"
"Yes," Souta said before remembering that Kagome couldn't sense Walkers. "No. I mean...She still could have helped!"
Carl did nod in full understanding, "I felt the same way about it at first...About my dad."
The young Higurashi snapped, "You don't get it! Kagome could have saved her! But she wasn't there!"
Sophia shook her head, "Them." Souta looked at her with a raised brow before she corrected. "You mean the people at the Quarry, right?...Or do you mean your mom?"
Souta's anger suddenly turned to sadness.
Sophia was right.
He wasn't talking about the people at the Quarry.
He was talking about his mother.
Kagome was there that night there mother died.
And yet, she couldn't save her...But she did protect him.
Souta broke down and cried openly in front of his two best friends, who comforted him for the rest of the night, telling him that it was okay to be sad about losing his mother.
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When Souta woke up this morning, he felt incredibly guilty. Kagome had been protecting him since everything had started and he repaid her by acting like an ungrateful brat in front of the group. Souta knew he needed to apologize, 'But what if she's upset with me now?' he thought, feeling so embarrassed that he couldn't even look Kagome in the eye.
So instead of sitting next to his sister, Souta sat next to Carl and Sophia at the far end of the table.
Carol and Lori brought breakfast for the kids, including Souta which made Kagome extremely grateful.
When Daryl finally came into the room he went straight for the rest of the wine that was left over from last night.
"Didn't you have that for dinner?" Kagome playfully scolded him from her seat.
Daryl snorted, "Heard of left overs?" he asked sitting down in the seat in front of her at the table. He couldn't help but notice that Kagome looked a little different today.
Carol looked up from her plate over to the priestess and noticed the same thing, "I don't think I've seen you wear your hair down before, Kagome."
The priestess sighed in slight annoyance and brushed her long hair back over her shoulder, "Yeah, my stupid hair tie broke last night."
"I think it looks cute down," Jacqui complimented the young Asian woman.
The priestess gave an embarrassed smile, not used to getting compliments like that anymore, "Th-thanks."
"Hey Kagome," Sophia said, walking up to the priestess, "Here," she said handing her a chain for a necklace. "I found this in my bag. You could use it since yours is broken."
The eldest Higurashi looked at the chain and smiled, "Oh Sophia, thank you," Kagome said while hugging the young blond gratefully. After she released Sophia, the priestess took the hollow Shikon Jewel from her pocket and slipped it on the chain before placing it around her neck.
Daryl looked at the necklace curiously, since he'd never seen Kagome act that way before, 'It's just a necklace. What's the big deal?'
The sound of groaning suddenly came from the hallway suddenly interrupted the hunter's thoughts. Everyone turned and saw Glenn walk into the kitchen, in obvious pain from a hangover.
Kagome shook her head at her friend, "Aww, the poor thing."
Jacqui snickered as she went to help the young Korean, "What did you learn, honey?" she asked sweetly.
Glenn groaned in obvious pain from his hangover, "Not so loooud."
The kids laughed at his actions, which made Glenn wince again.
A little while later, Rick entered the room.
"Are you hungover?" Carl asked his dad, "Mom said you'd be."
Rick smirked at his son, "And your mom's right."
Lori snickered as she ate, "Mom has that annoying habit," she teased.
"Here's some more eggs," T-Dog came to the table with a skillet of the second helping of eggs. "There powdered, but I do'em good. Bet you can't even tell."
"I know I can't," Kagome said gratefully, already done with her plate. She would have gone for more, but she knew the kids needed the food more than she did.
"And the protein will help the hangovers," T-Dog teased over to Glenn, who had his head down on the table.
Rick inspected the food and even the bottle of aspirin on the table. "Where'd all this come from?"
"Jenner," Lori replied, "He thought we could use them."
Glenn continued groaning as T-Dog poured some eggs on his plate. Jacqui was rubbing his shoulders soothingly. "Don't ever let me drink again," Glenn told anyone who was listening.
That's when Shane came into the room, heading straight for the food.
"Feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked his best friend.
"Worse," Shane answered before turning and exposing his front.
That's when Kagome saw the scratches on the former deputy's neck, 'What in the world?'
"The hell happen to you?" T-Dog asked, gesturing to Shane's neck.
Shane sat at the table and shrugged, "Must have done it in my sleep."
"Never seen you do that before," Rick stated to his best friend.
"Yah," Shane replied, glancing up at Lori, "It's not like me at all."
Lori gave him a small sinister stare, which didn't go unnoticed by Kagome.
The priestess turned to Shane and saw his eyes unable to stray from Lori. 'Oh no,' Kagome inwardly groaned since it was obvious that Shane wasn't over the married woman yet. 'I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid,' she thought before glancing at the scratches on Shane's neck. 'Or did he done something stupid already?'
That's when Jenner mad his entrance, "Morning."
Everyone greeted him a good morning.
"Hey Doc," Dale spoke up, "I don't mean to hammer you with questions in the morning."
Jenner sighed as he poured himself some juice, "But you will."
"Well," Dale began to say before he was interrupted by Andrea.
"We didn't come here for the eggs," she stated sternly.
Everyone paused in their meal.
And Jenner let out a loud sigh. He knew that the group had questions about what was going on. Jenner took the group to the control room and showed them a footage of a very special patient that showed exactly what this unique virus did to the brain of a human being.
The group was stunned by all of it.
The virus, or whatever it was, shuts the brain down and then re-starts it again, only making certain parts of the body function.
But the person who dies, who they were, doesn't come back.
Kagome had seen many things in the Feudal Era: A person being brought back by clay and graveyard soil, the Jewel keeping a dead person alive and their will controlled, she'd even seen the undead walk out of the gates of the Underworld. 'But this is the most unnatural thing I've ever seen,' she admitted to herself as she watched the video clip of the transformation.
When the video clip showed the patient being shot in the head, Jenner told VI to shut the station down.
"You have no idea what it is do you?" Andrea asked Jenner accusingly.
Jenner listed off the many possible reasons. Jacqui chimed in that this whole thing could be the 'wrath of God,' which the doctor agreed was a possibility.
Kagome couldn't help but snort under her breath, "The Kamis have a wicked sense of humor."
Andrea remained skeptical about the whole thing, "Somebody must know something...Somebody somewhere right?"
"There are other facilities?" Carol asked the doctor.
Jenner shrugged, "There may be some...People like me."
"But you don't know," stated Rick, "How could you not know?"
"Everything went down," Jenner explained, "Communications. Directives. All of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."
Souta got closer to his sister after hearing everything the doctor had to say. Kagome instinctively wrapped her arm around his shoulder. Even if they weren't on good terms, the priestess would always protect her brother.
"So it's not just here," Andrea continued, "There's nothing left...Anywhere, that's what you're saying, right?"
Jenner kept silent. His unspoken answer made everyone look down in defeat.
"Jesus," Jacqui said upset.
"Shit," Daryl said rubbing his forehead before heading out the door, "I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk. Again."
Dale shook his head before he looked up at the wall and noticed a big red timer that was counting down. "Hey Doc, I'd hate to ask another question, but that clock," he pointed, "It's counting down...What happens at zero?"
Jenner hesitated to answer, "Th-the basement generators run out of fuel."
Kagome could sense that he was hiding something more, "And then what?" she asked, squeezing her brother closer. Souta didn't even complain, since Jenner's behavior was scaring him too.
Instead of answering, Jenner walked out of the room.
Rick glared at the doctor before coming up with an idea, "VI," he asked the computer that ran the building, "What happens when the fuel runs out?"
"When the power runs out, facility wide decontamination will occur,"VI answered in its robotic voice.
Kagome's eyes widened, 'That doesn't sound good.'
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Kagome didn't hesitate to grab her brother and drag him to where they kept their stuff. She knew that Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn were headed to the basement for some answers, but she didn't want to wait around to find out.
"Pack," she ordered Souta.
"Wh-what's going on?" Souta asked her, "What does 'decontamination' mean?"
"I'm not completely sure," Kagome admitted, "But by the way Jenner is behaving, it can't be good. Especially since his," she paused, wondering if she should tell him.
Souta was hesitant to ask his question, "His what?"
Kagome sighed, "Its Jenner's soul," she said in Japanese just in case someone in the group could over hear them, "He's given up on living."
Souta glared at her, "You could sense stuff like that?" Kagome nodded yes. "And you didn't say anything?!" he snapped at her.
"We were desperate," she reminded him. "And what was I supposed to say? 'I don't think we should go in guys, my priestess powers tell me that this man soul says he's given up!'" she snapped making Souta wince at her. Kagome immediately regretted it, "I'm sorry Souta. But we have to get out of here."
The young Higurashi gave an obedient nod before he started packing their backpacks.
As soon as Kagome wrapped her bows and arrows around her back, the air conditioner to their room shut off. Moments later, the lights turned off before VI announced that the emergency lights were going to be switched on, which they did.
The Higurashi's looked at one another, before they went out into the hallway.
Daryl poked his head out of his room, bottle in hand. "What's going on? Why's everythin' trunin' off?"
The others came out of the rooms wondering the same thing.
"Ask him," Kagome gestured to Jenner, who was now dressed in nice work clothes and had his hair and face cleaner then it was not too long ago.
Jenner snatched the bottle from Daryl's hand and continued to walk, "Energy is being prioritized," he answered before taking a drink of the alcoholic beverage.
"Air isn't a priority?" Dale argued, "And lights?" he asked as Jenner passed his room.
Jenner kept walking, "It's not up to me."
Daryl was getting irritated by the doctor's vagueness, "Hey, the hell's that mean?" he demanded to know as he began to follow Jenner. Everyone followed his example and followed the vague doctor.
"Hey, I'm talkin' to you," Daryl began to snap at Jenner, "What do you mean shutin' down!? How can a buildin' do anything!?"
"You'd be surprised," Jenner finally spoke.
Rick and the others caught up to the group and began to follow.
"Jenner, what's going on?" Rick asked.
"The system is shutting off all the nonessential uses of power," Jenner finally explained, "It's designed to keep the computers going for as long as possible. It's supposed to happen on the half hour mark." Jenner entered the room where he showed the group the footage, "Right on time," he gestured to the clock that was now in the half hour mark.
"Kagome," Souta called for his sister starting to get a little anxious about the vague answers Jenner was providing.
"Souta stay here," Kagome ordered as she followed the others into the room with computers. The young Higurashi did as he was told.
Jenner took a large gulp of the wine he'd stolen form Daryl before handing it back to the hunter. Daryl snatched it back with a threatening scowl.
Everyone looked at Jenner desperate for answers.
"It was the French," Jenner said to Andrea, "They were the last ones to hold out, as far as I know. While our people were bolting the labs or committing suicide...They were the ones that stuck with it to the end...They thought they were close to a solution."
"What happened?" asked Jacqui.
"The same thing that's happening here," Jenner stated, "No power grid...It ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?
Shane stepped forward, ready to punch Jenner to get some real answers.
"Shane enough," Rick barked at his friend, before turning to his wife. "Lori get our things. Everyone get your stuff, let's go."
Kagome immediately started going for the door. An alarm suddenly went off, announcing that there were thirty minutes left. The alarm caused the others to stop but Kagome kept walking.
She saw Souta still standing there waiting for them with a frightened look on his face.
"What's going on?" her brother asked sounding completely scared.
"We got to get out of here," Kagome began to say before a noise interrupted her.
A door quickly rose from the ground between the room and the hallway.
"Kagome!" Souta yelled running towards the door.
"SOUTA!" Kagome screamed as she rushed to the door, only to have it close on her.
The group looked at the closed door completely shocked.
"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked Jenner in a panic. "HE JUST LOCKED US IN!" he yelled at the group.
Kagome banged on the door separating her from her brother. "Souta! Can you hear me?! Souta!"
"Kagome!" she could barely hear Souta's voice on the other side.
It was even harder to hear him when Daryl started screaming at Jenner. It sounded like the others were struggling to hold the hunter back from wailing on the doctor.
"I told you, once those entrance doors were closed they wouldn't open again," Jenner reminded them.
Rick glared at the doctor, "What happens in twenty eight minutes?" Jenner didn't answer. "WHAT HAPPENS!?" the sheriff asked more harshly
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS PLACE IS?!" Jenner yelled back at Rick and the rest of the group. "WE PROTECTED THE PUBLIC FROM VERY NASTY STUFF! WEAPONIZED SMALL POX! EBOLA STRAINS THAT COULD WIPE OUT HALF THE COUTRY! STUFF YOU DON'T WANT GETTING OUT! EVER!"
Everyone was speechless. Kagome couldn't help but wonder what the doctor was getting at by explaining all of this. 'Please don't be anything terrible,' she prayed.
Jenner collected himself from his outburst and sat down at one of the computers, "In the event of a catastrophic power failure, HIT's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."
"HIT's?" Rick asked confused.
"VI define," Jenner ordered the operating system.
"HIT is high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition which produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between five thousand and six thousand degrees, and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures as desired," VI answered automatically.
Everyone's eyes widened in complete terror.
"It sets the air on fire," Jenner stated simply.
'No,' Kagome whimpered as she looked at the door separating her and the only blood family she had left.
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Time began to pass by far too quickly for anyone's liking
Kagome, Daryl and Shane continued to bang on the door with anything they could find to try and force it open. Axe's, chairs, and even the wine bottle Daryl threw in frustration.
The priestess could hear her brother crying on the other side, desperately calling out her name.
She could hear Sophia and Carl clinging to their mothers.
She could hear Rick pleading with Jenner to open the door.
She could hear the frustration coming from the men of trying desperately to get out and curse whenever they failed.
But no matter who was crying, or making the sound, it all meant the same thing.
It was the sounds of desperation and fear.
"You should have left well enough alone," Jenner told the group, "It would have been a lot easier."
Lori glared at the doctor, "Easier for who?" she barked
"All of you," he answered, "You know what's out there. A short brutal life of agonizing death." Jenner looked to Andrea, who was sitting on the floor looking somewhat content, "Your sister, what was her name?"
"Amy," she quietly answered.
Jenner repeated the name, "You know what this does," he spoke directly to Andrea, "You've seen it...Is that really what you want?"
"I don't want this," Rick gritted through his teeth.
Shane swore under his breath as he went back to Rick, "We can't make a dent."
Kagome kept swinging the chair she had into the door until it finally broke in her hands.
"That door was designed to keep out a rocket launcher," Jenner informed, letting them know that there was no use in trying.
The priestess fell to her knees in anguish and softly began to cry.
The very moment Daryl saw tears fall down Kagome's face, he saw red. The hunter stormed back over to Jenner with the axe still in his hand, "But your head ain't," he threatened as he went to take a swing of the axe at the doctor.
Rick, Dale and T-Dog had to hold the hunter back, "Back off!" Rick warned, knowing if that there was a chance to get out of here, it was Jenner.
Meanwhile, Kagome banged her fist on the metal door a few more times before giving a frustrated huff. She quickly glanced over at the clock and saw that it was getting close to the ten minute mark. 'Damn it,' she cursed, knowing that there was only one thing left to do now.
"Souta!" she called over to the other side.
"Kagome!" he replied back to her.
"Souta, you have to get out of here!" she told him in Japanese, "This place is going to blow up soon! You have to go before that happens!"
"NO! I'm not leaving without you!" Souta argued back.
"You have to!" she stated, "We may not get out in time, but you still have a chance!"
She could hear Souta banging on the other side of the door and his loud sobbing, "Kagome...I don't know how to survive on my own! I'm not strong like you...I'm sorry! For everything I said! I didn't mean it! I swear!"
Kagome nodded, "I know you didn't, Souta! But listen to me! You're strong! And you'll learn to survive just like I had to!" she assured him with a sad smile as she tried to wipe the tears off her face, "You can do it!"
"Kagome," Souta cried.
"Souta go...Please go!" she said, trying her best to be strong for him.
It wasn't until the priestess sensed Souta's soul leave the door that she let out a sigh in relief. 'As long as Souta's alive...That's enough for me.'
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"This isn't right!" Carol yelled at Jenner, "You can't just keep us here!"
Jenner shook his head in confusion, "It's just one tiny moment, a mila-second. No pain."
"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol continued to cry.
"Wouldn't it be kinder?" Jenner asked, "More compassionate to hold on onto your loved ones and wait for the clock to run out."
"And what about her!" Daryl asked, pointing up to Kagome as she was kneeled to the ground, "Huh?! The only loved one she has left is on the other side of that door!"
The doctor looked at the Asian woman in regret, "I didn't mean for that to happen. But as I said, those doors will remain closed."
Shane slammed his head into one of the nearby desks before he grabbed a shot gun that he brought with him
"Shane no!" Rick urged his friend.
"Get out of my way, Rick," Shane ordered before he shoved his friend and aimed the gun at Jenner's head.
Most of the group backed away in fear of what the former deputy was threating to do.
"I'M GONNA BLOW YOUR HEAD OFF! YOU HEAR ME!" Shane told the doctor.
Rick stood next to his friend and steadily put his hand on his shoulder, "Shane if you do this, we'll never get out of here."
"Shane, listen to him," Lori urged.
Finally snapping form his rage, Shane turned the gun away from the doctor and began shooting at the random computer monitors around the room.
Everyone jumped as each shot was fired, including Kagome. Surprisingly, Daryl came to her side to make sure she was out of line of fire. It wasn't until Rick finally subdued Shane that everything started to come down.
Daryl looked down at the priestess, asking with his eyes if she was okay.
Kagome gave a slight nod in return before she looked back at the door. "I told Souta to run," she told Daryl in a soft voice, "He's safe."
The hunter slowly helped her off the ground and led her back to the others. Since her brother was gone, there was no reason for her to be at the door anymore.
"I think you're lying," Rick told Jenner. The doctor looked at the former sheriff in confusion. "About no hope...If that were true, you would have bolted with the rest and take the easy way out...You didn't. You choose the hard path. Why?"
It took a few moments for Jenner to speak, "It doesn't matter."
"Yes it does matter," Rick argued, "You stayed when others ran. Why?"
"Not because I wanted to," Jenner said standing up and getting in Rick's face, "I made a promise...to her," he explained pointing to the big screen. The screen where he had showed the group the footage of the TS-19.
Kagome's eyes widened in realization, "My Kami."
"Subject nineteen was your wife," Lori stated.
Jenner nodded, "She begged me to keep going as long as I could...How could I say no? She was dying...It should have been me on that table."
Kagome shook her head in disagreement, "I don't think that's what your wife meant."
Everyone, including Jenner turned to her.
"What?" the doctor asked in confusion.
"I don't think your wife meant she wanted you to keep going till you find the cure," Kagome explained, "Maybe a part of her did but...She told you to keep going because she wanted you to live."
"How can you know that?" Jenner questioned her, shaking his head in denial. "How can you possibly know that?"
Kagome took a deep breath before she explained her reasoning, "Because I've been where you are."
Everyone raised a brow in confusion at the priestess.
It took a moment before Kagome could explain what she meant. "The man I loved was murdered right in front of me...Because of his bravery, he saved me and our friends. When he died I became depressed. And didn't feel like I could move on...I even thought about joining him in the afterlife more times then I'd care to admit." The group stared at the priestess in bewilderment. Kagome had never really talked about herself or her past all that much when they were at the Quarry. They had no idea of how much she had suffered before the world went to hell. "If it wasn't for my family, I probably would have." Jenner looked to the ground, knowing where the priestess was coming from. "But one day I realized something...The man I loved didn't sacrifice his life just for me to give up living so easily. He did what he had to, because he wanted me to survive...I think your wife wanted the same for you."
Daryl couldn't help but look at Kagome in a new light. Here she was revealing something so personal about herself, that any other person wouldn't want to relive, but was still trying to help someone she barely knew. 'Like she always does,' he noted.
Jenner was chocked up by Kagome's confession. Maybe what she was saying was true. He wished he had her courage to move on like she had done.
Instead, he did the only thing he could do, "I told you the front doors were locked...I can't open those for you," he said in regret before he went over to the table and opened the door between this room and the hallway.
Everyone's eyes widened as the door sank into the floor.
"Come on," Daryl urged as he and the group ran to the hallway.
Kagome took a quick look at Jenner, "Thank you."
Jenner nodded towards her before he grabbed Rick to whisper something very important in his ear.
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"Everyone grab your stuff," Shane ordered as they ran down the hall towards the rooms they had been staying in, knowing they had very little time.
The group halted in surprise when they saw that almost everyone's stuff was already out in the hallway.
That's when Souta came out of T-Dog's and Glenn's room, carrying their bags in each arm.
Glenn couldn't help but smile at the young Higurashi, "Alright Souta," the Korean praised.
Kagome would have normally snapped at her brother for not doing what she had told him, but right now she was so grateful that he didn't.
Everyone, including Rick when he finally came back, grabbed their belongings and rushed to the front doors of the CDC.
T-Dog, Glenn, Daryl, Shane, and Rick banged and yanked on the doors trying to open them, but they didn't budge. Feeling desperate, they slammed the axes and other weapons they had to break the glass on the windows.
There efforts didn't even leave a scratch.
"Everyone get down," Shane ordered as she pointed his shot gun at the glass.
The group braced themselves, as the shots were fired.
"The glass won't break?" Sophia said in fear, once she saw that the gun shots didn't do anything.
Souta went over to her and grabbed her hand in comfort. Kagome stood behind the two children, with an arm on each of their shoulders.
"Rick," Carol called out for him as she began to go through one of her bags, "I have something that might help."
"I don't think a nail file is going to cut it," Shane remarked rudely.
Kagome rolled her eyes at his snarky comment.
Carol didn't listen, "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform," she said as she found what she was looking for and pulled it out of the bag. It was a grenade, "This was in the pocket."
Carol handed Rick the grenade.
Seeing the grenade everyone moved out of the way to duck and cover. Kagome dragged Souta and Sophia down to the ground and covered them with her body to protect them. Carol came over next to them and laid down to cover the rest of Sophia's body.
Rick set the grenade next to the window and pulled its pin before making a run for it to avoid the blast.
The grenade went off causing a fire explosion strong enough to break one of the glass windows.
"Oh thank Kami," Kagome said in relief as she grabbed her brother and practically dragged him outside. The rest of the group followed her example, heading to their vehicles.
A few Walkers were outside heading towards them but luckily Daryl, Shane and Rick shot them before they could come to close to them.
"Come on," Daryl urged Kagome and Souta to come to his truck, which they immediately followed. As soon as the made it, they through their belongings in the bed of the truck and quickly jumped inside the vehicle.
The hunter fumbled with his keys in a panic once he got in the truck, trying to get it started.
Kagome watched the others going into their cars when she noticed a few of them missing.
Dale, Andrea and Jacqui.
"Where are they?" Kagome questioned in a panic.
"There they are," Souta pointed out when he saw Andrea and Dale rushing out of the building.
"But where's?" Kagome began to ask, before they heard honking from the RV.
"Get down!" Lori yelled from out the RV window.
Kagome forced Souta down into the seat, as she put herself on top of him wanting to protect him from the explosion.
The priestess suddenly felt Daryl's body come on top of hers.
They heard the explosion that was only yards away from them. The ground vibrated from the blast and shook the truck vigorously. They could also hear the rubble from the building landing around them.
When the tremor from the blast was over, Daryl slowly lifted himself up to look at the damage that was done.
The CDC was up in flames.
"It's over," he told the Higurashi siblings.
Kagome and Souta slowly got up from their crouched positions.
"Did Jacqui get out?" the priestess couldn't help but ask.
The hunter shook his head no.
Kagome got teary eyed at the thought of never seeing the sweet woman again. They lost another good friend today. 'Thank Kami Andrea and Dale made it out,' the priestess thought briefly.
Suddenly, Souta started sobbing as he hugged his sister tightly. "I'm sorry, Kagome," he cried into her mid-section, "I'm sorry." His sister hugged him back as shushed him and told him everything was okay.
Daryl gave his own sigh of relief as he started his truck and began to follow the RV and the rest of the group. He looked over at Kagome, who was still holding her brother as he cried, glad that they were able to stay together.
Kagome felt the hunter's eyes on her and turned her head to look at him, and sent him a grateful smile. Daryl had tried so hard to break down that door so that she could get to her brother. He also did everything possible to protect them once they got out of that awful room. She wasn't going to forget that.
As they continued to follow their group down the road, only one thing was going through everyone's mind.
Where do they go from here?
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The next day, after they regrouped from the whole CDC experience, Rick and Shane talked and finally agreed that they should head to Fort Benning.
Everyone gathered up their supplies and began rationing the gas from the cars that they planned on leave behind. Mainly Shane's jeep, T-Dog's van, and Daryl's truck. Leaving only the RV, Carol's car, and Merle's motorcycle which Daryl refused to leave behind.
Before everyone loaded up into the cars Carl and Sophia walked up to Kagome with her brother in tow.
"Kagome, can Souta ride with us?" Carl asked the priestess, as his parents and Carol all got inside Carol's Cherokee car.
Kagome looked over at Souta, who was begging with his eyes for her to say yes, and shrugged, "If your parents don't mind, then its fine with me."
"They said it was okay already," Sophia said in delight.
Souta went over and hugged her sister, "Thanks Kagome."
The priestess couldn't help but smile. She just couldn't get over how amazing it was to hear Souta speak again. After she let her brother go off with his friends, she began to head towards the RV.
"Gonna ride with me, Chun-Li?" Daryl asked as she passed by, packing the rest of his stuff on Merle's bike.
Kagome halted and gave Daryl an amused raised brow, "Okay first off, no to that nick name. And second," she looked at the bike and considered going with him. "Well, maybe it's best if I go in the RV. I don't want you to mess up driving if we hit a tight spot on the road."
The hunter couldn't help but give a half smirk, "Not scared are ya?"
She gave him a mock glare, "No I'm not," Kagome assured, "But, thanks for the offer."
The hunter shrugged, before he noticed Kagome's hair. "Still no hair tie, huh?" he pointed out her long locks still being down.
Kagome sighed, and turned back around, "Nope. Hope I can find one somewhere though."
"Why bother? Jus' leave it down," Daryl suggested trying to act nonchalant.
The priestess raised a brow, "Why do you even care?"
Daryl didn't have a really good come back. Honestly it was because he thought her hair looked better that way. But the hunter didn't have the nerve to tell her that. "Just leave it down, will ya," he said in mild annoyance.
Kagome gave a look of confusion, "Umm okay," she promised before she stepped into the RV baffled by Daryl's behavior.
Once everyone was settled in their vehicles, Daryl rode his motorcycle up front, followed by the RV and Carol's Cherokee.
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The group had been on the road for hours.
Kagome sat next to Glenn as he read the map at the passenger seat of the RV. He had been navigating the best route to Fort Benning while giving Kagome a chance to read and study the map. 'Never know what might happen,' she thought.
"Was all that true?" Glenn suddenly asked Kagome, making her turn to look at him in confusion, "What you said the other day at the CDC?"
The priestess took a moment to answer before she nodded, "Yes. It was all true."
"Why didn't you ever tell us before?" Dale asked as he drove.
"It's not exactly something you want to bring up in pleasant conversation," she pointed out, "And I haven't really talked about it in a long time."
Dale nodded in understanding, "I'm sorry about your loss...I lost my wife to cancer. I know how much it hurts." Kagome gave him a sympathetic look when he referred to his deceased wife. "Was he the one that gave you that necklace?" he gestured to the Jewel around Kagome's neck.
"No," she told him as she played with the hollowed Shikon no Tama, "This has a completely different story to it...You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Glenn snorted, "Oh come on. You said the same thing in Atlanta," he whined, making Kagome chuckle.
Suddenly, Daryl began to slow down to a halt on his motorcycle as they came up to a huge traffic jam in the road. The priestess had never seen anything like it before. Cars were in all random directions, obviously abandoned by their owners. There as even an eighteen wheeler on its side.
Daryl turned his motorcycle around and pulled up to the driver side of the RV.
"Do you see a way through?" Dale asked him. The hunter made a gesture with his head for Dale to follow him as he turned his bike around again.
"Maybe we should go back," Glenn suggested, "There's an interstate we could take."
"We can't spare the fuel," Dale pointed out.
Kagome glanced over in the RV side mirror and saw Carol's Cherokee following them. 'I hope Souta's alright back there.'
With Daryl's careful maneuvering, Dale followed slowly with his RV through the traffic maze. Everything was going fine until the RV's engine overheated and smoke suddenly started coming out of the grill, causing Dale to curse.
Everyone stopped their vehicles and went to check the RV.
"I said it," Dale said in annoyance as he stormed out of the RV, with everyone coming out one by one. "Didn't I say it. A thousand times. 'Dead in the water.'"
"What's the problem Dale?" Shane asked, with a shot gun in hand just in case.
Dale looked at the deputy, "Just the small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of," he suddenly stopped and took a good look at his surroundings of the sea of unattended vehicles. "Okay that was dumb," he admitted, realizing that there had to be at least one car that had what they needed.
Shane smirked, "If you can't find a radiator hose here?" he gestured at all the cars.
Daryl lifted the back of a random car and began scavenging its contents, "There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," he pointed out.
"Siphon gas for starters," T-Dog suggested.
"Maybe some water," Carol pointed out. Kagome and Souta looked at one another and nodded in agreement.
Lori shook her head, "This is a graveyard," she informed making some people stop in their actions. "I don't know how I feel about this."
Kagome looked at Lori in understanding. In the Feudal Era, she had to go through multiple battle fields and sometimes slaughtered villages in the search for the Jewel Shards. All the dead bodies she had to see and bury almost made it unbearable. However, Kagome and her friends had to move forward in order to complete their quest. 'Just like we have to move forward to survive,' the priestess thought before mumbling a small prayer for those who had died on this highway.
Souta noticed his sister's actions and followed her example in respect for the dead.
"Come on y'all," Shane snapped them out of it, "Let's gather what we can."
"Let's go, Souta," Kagome said as she gestured her brother to follow her as she headed to look through some nearby cars. The young Higurashi came obediently to her. "Where's your knife?" she asked him.
Souta pulled the weapon out of his pocket and showed it to her.
The priestess nodded, "Good. But we should find you another weapon soon."
"Why?" he asked confused, "We have guns."
Kagome shook her head, "Guns make noise," she reminded him. "And they can run out of bullets. You don't need to worry about that with knives and blades."
Souta nodded at the logic as the got next to a car. "But doesn't your bow run out of arrows?"
"Well yeah," Kagome replied a little stumped, "But I'm awesome, so I can keep them," she teased making the young Higurashi rolled his eyes. "It's been awhile since I gave you any survival tips, so we need to catch you up," she said making her brother's eyes widen in excitement. "We want to get into a car. What do we do first?"
Souta raised a brow, "Umm, we open the door?" he said as a question.
"Nope," she scolded as she shook her head, "First, you make sure there's nothing around you. You don't want anything living or dead sneaking up on you."
The young Higurashi nodded, since that did make sense, "Oh okay." Kagome gestured for him to go ahead and look around. Souta looked on both sides and behind him, "It's clear."
Kagome raised a brow, "You forgot to look somewhere," she pointed out. Souta looked around him and shrugged, not seeing what he missed, "You didn't look."
"Under the car," Daryl harshly whispered suddenly in warning and gestured for the Higurashi children to get low, "Get under the car."
Before Kagome could ask why, Daryl put a finger to his lips to silence her, before he pointed to his left.
Kagome and Souta's eyes widened as they saw a large herd of Walkers coming towards them.
Too many for them for the group to handle.
The priestess yanked her brother to the ground and pushed him under the car, before sliding down next to him on her belly.
Daryl nodded when he saw both Kagome and Souta were safe and went to take cover.
Souta looked over at Kagome in a panic.
'Don't move,' she mouthed to him.
Very slowly, the sounds of Walkers were passing by the car that the Higurashi siblings were hiding under. It took all Kagome had not to gag at the sight and smell coming from the Walkers rotting flesh. Souta's body was shaking next to her, but he tried his best to remain quiet.
It took a few minutes for the entire Walker herd to pass by them.
But it looked like everything went by fine.
Suddenly, they heard it.
A terrified scream.
Kagome's eyes widened, 'Sophia.'
Well that's a good a place as any to stop. A terrifying cliffy. I know what most of you are thinking. Is Sophia going to live or die? My answer to that is...Keep reading in find out. *insert devil horns appearing on my head here* So, what do you think so far? Next time: Little girl lost and a little boy shot.
Till Then My Readers