UNIT 15: CHAPTER 10
A/N: So, in the reviews I have seen some expressed interest in what the other members of the group are up to. So, this will be a tame chapter, focusing on our original members of TWD during their first day at the UNIT. Michonne will not be in this chapter, as she supposed to be in Kentwood, Washington on a supply run with Troop 4. We will find out what happens with Michonne and Judith in the next chapter. So, I hope you like it. PLEASE PLEASE Review, let me know how you're feeling about UNIT 15, and its occupants. If you have any ideas, let me know and I will definitely consider them. You're views, follows and reviews are what keep me writing this. Thanks guys! :)
Glenn stretched out in the bed, pulling his arm from underneath Maggies head. She grumbled in her sleep and turned over, clutching her pillow to her chest. He hated having to wake her. The nightmares were finally starting to subside, and she was just beginning to get the rest she needed.
Glenn sat up and leaned back against the head board, looking around their small room. He wasn't too sure what to think about this Unit thing. Just all kind of seemed unreal to him, too good to be true. But President Malone seemed nice, and once he talked it over with Maggie, he knew that they would give it a chance here. If the shit started to hit the fan, they'd just bail out. They'd survive, because it's what they did.
He looked up at the clock, and noticed that it was 7 a.m. They checked their assignments in the elevator on the way up last night like Stephanie suggested. Today, at 8 a.m, they all started their new jobs.
Time, he laughed to himself. Here, time mattered. That had to mean something good, right? They had gone through so many days, not knowing which day was Sunday, or Wednesday. Whether it was July or August. But the Unit never lost track, and on the desk in each room was a calendar. It was September. A Wednesday. And it was 7 a.m.
"Hey," he whispered softly, bringing his hand to trail the length of Maggie's arms. "We told the others we would meet them in the cafeteria for breakfast before work." Maggie grumbled.
"I don't wanna go to work," she sighed as she wrapped her arms around Glenns stomach and buried her head in his side. "I jus' wanna stay here in bed with you. All day." She playfully bit his side. Glenn laughed and slunk down the headboard until he was nose to nose with her.
"I wish we could," he said as he kissed her gently. "But I already feel bad enough for blowing off that supply run," Glenn admitted. "I have to find some way to be useful." Maggie nodded and kissed him again.
"But we can be a few minutes late, right?," she asked grinning up at him with a seductive smile. Her hand ran over him under the sheets and he laughed, reaching back and grabbing her ass to pull her closer to him.
"Oh yeah," he said smiling at her. "We can be a few minutes late."
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Daryl was having that dream again. Although, he supposed it would be considered more of a nightmare. Every time he had the dream it went the same way.
He would see a young, beautiful woman running through the trees, looking back at him and laughing, fallen strands of golden hair from her loose braid floating around her face. So full of courage, and love and trust. She'd reach back for him, and he would hold out his hand, but then the wind would blow and she would be pulled back, the look on her beautiful face, paralyzing fear, made his heart shatter every time. BETH, his inner voice would scream to her, but she was being pulled away, further and further until she was no longer in sight. And then that voice, always one more time before he finally woke up. You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone.
The knock on the door startled Daryl's eyes open. He ran his calloused fingers over his face and tried to calm the hammering in his heart that always accompanied his nightmare. The knock sounded louder.
"Gimme a God damned minute," he screamed roughly as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He walked toward the door and swung it open, rolling his eyes when he saw Carol smiling at him brightly and holding a cup of steaming tea.
"Should've known," he said grumpily as he left the door open and stumbled over to the dresser and grabbed his new t-shirt and pulled it over his head.
"Oh, Pookie," she said jokingly. "Don't be such a grouch," she said as she sat on the chair. "Tea?," she asked with a smile, holding the cup out to him. He just ignored her, grumbling to himself, as he put on his boots. It had taken Daryl a long time to forgive Carol for what she did back at the prison, and for what she did to Lizzie. But people did some things they weren't proud of now, especially if they thought it meant the survival of those around them. He grabbed his bow off the dresser and slung it over his back.
"You ready or what?," he asked standing in front of her, like he was waiting for her the whole time. She shrugged and stood up, glancing over at the bed with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"We got some time, ya know?" Daryl blushed and turned around, knowing that was exactly what she was trying to do. Carol just laughed and walked toward the door.
"Git along, woman," he said with a small grin as he nudged her out of the door and closed it behind them.
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"Carl," Rick said urgently, banging on the bathroom door. "Carl. Hurry up. We got to meet the others for breakfast." Carl threw open the door and glared up at his father. He couldn't believe that after every thing he had been through that he had to go to school. Why couldn't he be placed in a troop like they were? "You gonna pout all day? Face like that might make all the girls run scared." Carl rolled his eyes and slid on his shoes. He shoved his knife at his side and turned toward Rick. Rick smiled at him and held open the door, gesturing him through it, just as Daryl and Carol were closing the door behind them.
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Eugene and Abraham were already in the cafeteria, arguing about something that Rick couldn't pick up on before they got to the table with their trays.
"Something wrong, gentleman?," Rick asked as he sat across from them. They didn't answer, just lowered their head to the table and continued eating. "Anyone see Maggie and Glenn?," Rick asked right as the two of them stumbled into the cafeteria, laughing like a couple of teenagers. Glenn raised his hand in greeting as they walked toward the food line.
"This is something, ain't it?," Carol asked as she scooped up a bite of scrambled eggs. "Feels like I'm back in school or something," she said smiling. Daryl grumbled next to her, shoving the eggs in his mouth as if he would never eat again.
"Speakin' of school," Daryl said pointing his fork at Carl. "You ready boy?" Carl shrugged his shoulders and Daryl chuckled at him. Glenn and Maggie sat down quickly.
"I can't believe we'll get to eat breakfast like this every day," Glenn said smiling as he picked up a piece of toast. The small talk continued until there was a loud bell, indicating it was time to get to work. Carol laughed.
"Really is like school, huh?," she said standing up with her tray. "C'mon Carl. We'll walk up together." Carl sighed and Carol put a hand on his shoulder. Everyone else grabbed their trays and promised to meet in the lobby on their floor when the work day was done.
"Guess we should head up to," Rick said to Daryl. Daryl nodded, still unsure as all hell why they would put him in Troop 3, the policing unit, with Rick. Not that he didn't want to work with Rick, he just thought he'd probably be more useful somewhere else. Never saw himself as much as the law enforcement type.
Rick and Daryl stepped off onto the 2cd floor into a large lobby, much like the ones they encountered on the other levels. There was a large flat screen tv on the wall, and a sign on each hallway. One sign said "Cells" and pointed to the left, the other said "Office" and pointed to the right. They walked toward the office.
Gordon Lovitz stepped from his office as they approached, holding two bags. He smiled at them in greeting and handed them each one.
"My names TL Gordon Lovitz and I'll be your commanding officer here in Troop 3," he said shaking both of their hands. Rick noticed that he was young, probably only mid-20's, and wondered what he had done that made him a TL so quick. "Those bags hold your uniforms, gentlemen. Let's the others know where you belong and to come to you if they need help."
"Ain't wearing no uniform," Daryl said quickly, eyeing the navy blue outfit and gold badge that Gordon was wearing. Rick shot his eyes toward Daryl, in his own way telling him to just shut up. Daryl shrugged, but Gordon laughed.
"You don't have to if you don't want to. But in order to be out there, doing the grunt work, you're going to wear a uniform. I can have you in here pushing papers, too, and then you can wear whatever you want." Daryl grumbled and Rick smiled, knowing already that he liked this kid. "Follow me," he said as he walked down the hallway and opened another door. It was a large conference room, holding two tables for twenty, where all seats but 6 seats were occupied.
"Ladies and Gents," Gordon began while standing in front of them. "This is Rick and Daryl. They're going to be joining us." They got a few nods. "Have a seat boys," he said nodding toward two of the empty chairs. They sat down and looked around. "Roll call," Gordon announced. One by one each member of Troop 3 stood up and introduced themselves. Rick was sure he would remember a few names, but Daryl was barely even listening.
"Nice to meet ya'll," Rick said to them. Daryl grunted.
"Thank you everyone, you may continue on with your daily duties." The chairs pushed back as the people filed out. "So, before you get changed and I give you a tour of our level, let me explain a little bit about what we do here in Troop 3..."
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Carl sat at his desk nervously. His teacher was a young and pretty, and Carl couldn't help but stare at her, even though he wasn't listening to a word she was saying. She had made him introduce himself to the class, which consisted of a variety of age groups. She had just handed out a math worksheet on multiplication and division, and Carl leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, thinking the whole damn thing was a waste of time.
"Hey," he heard someone whisper. "Hey!," they said louder when he didn't look up. He opened his eyes and looked behind him, into the prettiest, greenest eyes he had ever seen.
"Uh, hey?" he responded. The girl smiled at him.
"I'm Casey," she whispered. "If you need some help, you know, catching up with us, I can tutor you after school." Carl wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded and turned back around. He smiled to himself as he looked at the sheet of paper and pencil in front of him. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad after all.
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"You must be Carol," Valerie said extending her hand. "We met briefly yesterday, if you remember. I'm TL Valerie Malone, and I'll be getting you settled in today. Welcome to Troop 5. Stephanie has informed me that you're to be placed in the schooling division. We need someone for weapons and survival training. Think you'd do okay with that?" Carol thought about her time at the prison teaching the children and nodded. They walked into her office and Valerie handed her a pamphlet about their schooling system, a blank notebook and a pen. "I'll show you to your class room," she said then, walking Carol down the hallway.
"You'll be dealing mostly with the older kids, 13 and up, only if they have written consent from their guardians. I personally believe that all of the children require survival training, but some parents would rather their little ones not be exposed to the harsh realities of the world." Valerie frowned briefly before shrugging it off and smiling at her again. Valerie walked toward a room and pushed the door open, revealing a large, empty space. There were no desks, except for the teachers desk in front of the dry-erase board. Instead, there were mats placed on the ground.
"Who was teaching in here before me?," Carol asked as she walked toward her desk and set the information and supplies she had been given down. Valerie lowered her eyes.
"Max passed away last night after the ambush." Carol frowned.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," she said sincerely. Valerie smiled softly.
"Please, read your material now while you're awaiting the children. You will have three classes, starting at 11. Each class is approximately one and a half hours long. You are expected to give homework daily. All of Max's information about the children are on the desk. All information regarding the students is to stay in this room at all times. Please come find me if you have any questions or concerns." Carol nodded and watched Valerie walk from the room. She turned back once and waved. Carol sat at the desk and let out an overwhelmed sigh. This was definitely going to be interesting.
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"Excuse me, Sir?," Maggie said to a blonde haired man with glasses who sat scribbling something at his desk. " ?" The man sighed dramatically and slammed down his pen, causing Maggie to jump. He looked at her, eyed her up and down, and rolled his eyes disapprovingly.
"You the new one?" Maggie nodded, finding him extremely unpleasant. "President Malone has decided you're to be in with the horses and livestock. You familiar with animals and farming?" Maggie nodded again. "Good," he said throwing her a set of keys and pushing a pack of papers toward her. "There's coveralls in the shed. Return the keys when you're changed. Read the papers. Follow the signs toward the livestock and someone there will place you where you're needed," he said lowering his eyes back to whatever it was he was working on. "And oh," he said grabbing her attention and turning her eyes back toward him. "Have a nice fucking day."
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The day had drug on slowly for most of them. They had gathered in the lobby on their level, talking about the different things they had seen and done within the unit. Eugene had come up from the lab and mentioned working into the night, and left quickly after. Abraham had taken on the nightly watch and was napping to prepare for it. Carol, Maggie, Glenn and Carl waited for Rick and Daryl to return.
"The kids are amazing," Carol said smiling at them, happy she was placed somewhere that she could see bright, vibrant, laughing faces. She had gone into a bit of a depression after terminus. Losing Tyreese and Judith, what she had to do to Lizzie, it was all a lot to take in. This place, though, seemed to be pulling her out of it just fine, as did Daryl and Rick's forgiveness. "You should've seen Carl," she said as she put a hand on his head affectionately. "The girls in there were just all over him. Gonna be a big man on campus." Carl blushed and pulled away, but not before smiling up at Carol.
"Since the others were on the run, I was cataloging and sorting through the stuff they brought back from their last one. You're eyes would've popped out of your head if you would've seen how many rooms they have filled with things we would've given our right arms for out there." Glenn contributed.
"My boss is a complete asshole," Maggie said grumpily. The rest of them laughed. "What's so funny?," she exclaimed with a slight grin.
"Just sounds so normal is all, you complaining about your boss," Carol replied. They heard the elevator ding and turned their heads, watching Daryl and Rick walk into the lobby in matching uniforms. Glenn started laughing immediately, pointing at Daryl. The others chuckled slightly at the sight of Daryl standing in a navy blue colored button up and matching slacks, cuffs hanging from his side and a badge over his chest, but at least they tried to cover it up.
"Don't none of ya saying a fuckin' word," Daryl said pointing his arrow at them. The girls covered their mouths, stifling back their laughter and Glenn just continued to laugh hysterically. "Shut yer pie hole, Rhee," Daryl said walking over to Glenn and punching him hard in the arm. Glenn laughed still, but it lightened up.
"Ow," he exclaimed rubbing his shoulder.
"You kind of asked for it," said Maggie with a grin.
"Everyone have a good day?," Rick asked looking mostly at Carl as he sat beside him on the couch. It was almost supper time, and after a brief description of their days they all went their separate ways to wash up for dinner.
Carl was in the bathroom and Rick was changing his shirt when there was a loud knock at the door. Rick walked over to it.
"Can I help you?," he asked the young Soldier who stood there.
"Rick Grimes?"
"Yes, sir." Carl came from the bathroom and stood beside his father.
"I'm going to need you to come with me." Rick walked over and slid his shoes back on his feet.
"Everythin' okay?," he asked the young man.
"I don't possess specifics, Sir. Just told me to collect you and bring you down to B." Rick nodded.
"Carl, go next door with Carol, and tell her where I'm heading. I'll meet you guys in the caf."
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The soldier stood inside the elevator as it opened on level B. This was nothing like a basement. It was full of chrome and glass with arrows pointing to the labs on one side, the infirmary on the other, and a treatment center straight ahead. It smelled very clean, sterile, and it looked that way, too.
"Ya comin'?," Rick asked the young Soldier.
"No, Sir. I don't have the clearance. Wait here and someone will be with you shortly." The elevator closed behind him and Rick looked around, wondering what the hell was going on.
A/N: So, I hope I didn't bore you too much. I know I didn't really talk about Eugene and Abraham. They're just not favorite characters of mine yet. I hoped to capture the essence of the Unit, the fact that it is, indeed, a safe, working community of people. Please leave reviews and let me know where you would like to see this go, or where you're thinking it will go. Good or bad, doesn't matter. Look forward to hearing from you all. Thanks for reading. :)