Author's Note: *Warning* This chapter deals with quite traumatic scenes.

FIVE
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The explosion wiped the CDC off the map.

The survivors all ran for their lives and took cover, protecting themselves from the onslaught of debris soaring past their heads. The heat was unrelenting as the flames ripped through the air, licking menacingly at them. Each and every one of them had accepted death as the clock ticked down when neither one of them were truly prepared to take their last breath. They all waited it out behind their choice of shield, their minds racing.

Emily looked around her and at the faces of the people who were taking cover. Rick was holding Lori and Carl close to him, with both of them turned into his body as fear rattled against their chests. Carol and Sophia were huddled together beneath a large army truck. Shane was watching as the CDC burned ferociously to the ground, his attention being drawn away momentarily by Rick and his family. Andrea, Dale and Glenn were cowering behind the RV. T-Dog was sitting on the ground, his back leaning against the road block, his attention elsewhere. And that was when she realised that Jacqui was missing. Emily closed her eyes in sadness.

She opened them after a moment, her eyes flicking to the person next to her. Daryl was by her side, his body acting as a guard and protecting her from the onslaught of debris ricocheting through the air. She was petrified and her body felt as though it was being electrocuted, her thoughts travelling back to them all being locked and condemned within the room and all of them accepting that death was their only answer. Emily understood that all of them were thinking back to being in that room, the clock counting down to the mere seconds before death. She knew it was their last hope, and it had been their only hope for Jenner to change his mind and accept that the decision was not their own. It had been his.

The little kick had been their ticket out of the fate that would have been. She turned her attention towards the building, and watched as the flames showed no end. The entire devastation of the building was profound, and Emily felt a small loss. It had been her home for a week, but it had kept her and her baby safe which she would be eternally grateful for.

Her eyes met Daryl's and he narrowed his eyes at her. His eyes flicked down to her bump, and flicked back to her eyes after a moment. Emily nodded and Daryl offered a small nod.

After a couple of minutes and once the first initial explosion had passed, the group all gathered and discussed their next move. Shane was adamant that Fort Benning was their only option, except Rick refused the idea of travelling thousands of miles without a true idea of what state it was going to be in once they got there. The CDC had been promised to be a refuge for survivors, and it was now off the grid for good. He couldn't risk that.

As the two men discussed where to go, Emily found herself moving away from them. She heard Carol interject.

"Why don't we get away from here?" she suggested. "The noise of the explosion no doubt captured the attention of the dead around here. I don't think we need that kind of trouble, especially now."

"Carol's right," Rick said. "Let's drive for a while. Get out of the city, and then discuss our next move."

It was agreed that they would leave the city in their respected vehicles, and once they made sure they were far away from the explosion and the dead, they would all discuss their worries and suggestions for a location. Carol ushered Emily into the RV alongside Sophia, and they were all soon on their way. The city was soon in their rear-view mirror, and whilst they were all glad they were alive, the atmosphere was a solemn affair with each one of them lost in their thoughts once more. It was a huge thing for them to experience, and it was not going to be easily forgotten. They were all grateful for Emily, for if she had not what she had done, they would not have another chance. They all felt it within them, the fight to survive. Their story was not over yet.

It was sometime later when the vehicles came to a stop on the highway. Daryl had driven ahead on his motorcycle and had soon realised that there was a huge pile up of vehicles up ahead. He rode back to let the group know.

"Ain't gonna get this hefty thing through all that," he said. "We're gonna have to clear the road."

It was decided that the vehicles would be moved bit by bit for the RV to be able to pass through the graveyard of vehicles that blocked the highway. They were all out in the open, and danger always seemed to find them. The women and children would remain in the RV, along with Dale as Rick, Shane, Glenn, T-Dog and Daryl moved the vehicles enough for the RV to pass through. As the men decided on the best way to sort through the vehicles, the women moved towards the abandoned vehicles.

Most of their belongings had been left behind at the CDC in the mad rush. Lori was the first to open the boot of a vehicle, and searched through the suitcases for clothes. Carol and Andrea followed suit. Sophia moved to where her mother was, and Carl went over to where the men were.

Emily remained where she had been stood, panic rising within her as waves of dizziness hit her. She had a hand on her bump, her fingers pressing down on her stomach. She thought back to when she first began to feel movement with little kicks scattering her bump and how there was never a moment where she didn't feel her baby move. Her baby, since the explosion, had not moved, and she had tried not to work herself up about it on the drive away from the city, but the drive had taken a while, and she still had not felt her baby move.

She moved to lean against the RV, her mind reassuring her that everything was fine and that it was purely shock. But something didn't feel right, and when she moved her hand down to her crotch and saw blood on her fingers, her worry was confirmed.

Daryl was watching Emily from afar. As the voices of Rick and Shane trailed off into the distance, he kept his eyes upon her as she moved towards the RV. She had paled, and as he watched her bring her hand up to her face, he understood the severity of the situation. Blood was on her hand, and as he looked her over, he was able to see the amount of blood coming from her crotch and soaking the khaki jeans she wore.

"Emily's bleeding," Daryl said.

His words caused the group of men to turn their attention towards the lone woman who was now doubling over in pain, just as a cry escaped her small frame. The cry was enough to capture the attention of the women, and Carol was the first one to rush over to her. As Carol ushered Emily into the RV, taking control of the situation, Daryl and the men decided the best plan for Emily.

"Grady Memorial Hospital is twenty minutes from here," Dale interjected. "We get her there. There has to be doctors still there."

"And what if there ain't?" Shane asked.

"It's a long shot, that's for sure," Rick commented.

"We need to find somewhere fast," Daryl said.

"Grady Memorial?" Rick asked the group, to which they all nodded.

The group bundled into the vehicles, and the drivers all reversed away from the graveyard of abandoned vehicles and drove back the way they came. The RV was quiet except for the small conversation between Carol and Emily.

"I haven't felt the baby kick since," Emily whispered, her voice filled with panic. "What if…"

"Ssh," Carol whispered. "We're going to get you checked over hopefully."

"The blood," Emily brought up.

"It might be nothing," Carol reassured. "I bled with Sophia, and sometimes it's normal. It happens when the body is in shock after something, and the explosion was enough to shock you to your very core, so the bleeding may be from that."

"What if it isn't?" Emily asked. "What if I lose my baby?"

"I want to promise you that everything will be okay," Carol said, squeezing Emily's hand. "But we're all doing our best to help you, okay? We'll get you help."

Emily nodded and felt the sadness begin to creep into her heart. This baby was her lifeline, the only good thing to come out of a situation as bad as the world ending. This could not be the end. It couldn't be.