An Old Friend...
AT THE TOP OF the lobby stairs, Lauren Lewis stood frozen in shock. Her brown eyes widened when she saw the familiar black-haired girl enter the CDC. She was the last person Lauren expected to walk through those doors. When the girl's blue eyes locked on Lauren, both of them immediately lowered their shotguns. "Kenzi?" Lauren muttered, her eyes never leaving the black haired girl just a few feet away from her.
"Lauren?" the name escaped Kenzi's lips in a barely audible whisper. The shotgun felt heavy in her hands, and she kept blinking to make sure she wasn't hallucinating or something. The woman who resembled her old doctor friend was moving closer to her, taking the steps two at a time. Before Kenzi could comprehend that her own legs were moving, she was pulled into an embrace. Kenzi hugged Lauren back, closing her eyes and sighing in relief.
The two pulled back, both smiling at the small reunion. Lauren brushed Kenzi's hair behind her ear, her hands cupping the young girl's face. The doctor's eyes were welling with tears as she checked over Kenzi, taking note of the absence of makeup that she always wore, that her form was skinnier than it was the last time she saw her, and that her once fair skin now had a slight tan to it. Lauren pulled Kenzi close again, laying her cheek on top of her head, rubbing the younger girl's shoulder.
"Anybody infected?" the second doctor, Edwin Jenner, asked, getting everyone's attention.
Rick stepped forward, "One of our group was." he answered, the rest of his group focused on him. "He didn't make it."
Jenner approached Rick, standing on the first step in the lobby entrance. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
Rick took another step forward, exhaling. "A chance."
"That's asking an awful lot these days." Jenner muttered, earning an agreeing nod from Rick. Jenner exchanged a glance with Lauren before looking out at the group of survivors in the lobby, "You all submit to a blood test." he informed. "That's the price of admission."
Kenzi leaned into Lauren, resting her head on her shoulder, but her eyes never left Rick, who agreed to the terms. The men of the group ran out to the vehicles and grabbed everyone's bags, rushing back into the building just as quickly. Daryl handed Kenzi her backpack, their hands brushing against one another's during the exchange. "Thanks." she gave him a smile as she slung the strap over her shoulder, he returned it with a small nod before following the group up the stairs.
Everyone piled into one elevator, packed together. Kenzi leaned against the right side, standing between Lauren and Daryl, her shotgun held by her side. "Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl questioned, his eyes focused on the two shotguns held by Edwin and Lauren. Kenzi rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Lauren let out a chuckle, "There were plenty left lying around." she answered. "We familiarized ourselves, just in case."
This time Kenzi chuckled, "Nice to know you didn't lose your sense of humor." she glanced at her old friend.
The elevators stopped and Edwin and Lauren led the group down a hallway that was a bit narrow, making a couple members of the group uncomfortable. The group walked down a steel ramp that led into a large laboratory with about a dozen computers and a large screen on the back wall. The lights came on, blinding everyone for a short moment.
"Where is everybody?" Kenzi asked, her eyes adjusted to the lighting. She looked to Lauren for her answer, "The other doctors and the staff?"
"We're it." Lauren answered, leaning against one of the computer monitors. "It's just me and Edwin here." she glanced back at her colleague. "We're all that's left."
The group split up into two smaller ones to have their blood taken by Lauren and Jenner. Kenzi sat opposite Lauren with her left arm outstretched, her sleeve rolled up past her elbow, Lauren inserted a needle into the visible vein, drawing blood which earned a small wince from the younger girl. "Just like old times, huh Kenzi?" Lauren chuckled, meeting her friend's eyes.
"Oh yeah, right." Kenzi sarcastically replied, her lips curling into a smile. Lauren placed a small gauze pad over the insertion site and wrapped a small layer of ace wrap over it. Kenzi took Lauren's hand and gave it a small squeeze before she stood up, bracing herself on the side of the table, "Whoa, dizzy spell." she shook her head, sluggishly moving to take the next chair over so she could provide some support for Sophia and Carl, who were the next two in line to get blood drawn.
After everyone was drawn from, Jenner took the samples to the lab while Lauren led them to the cafeteria for a much needed meal, complete with wine and liquor, and much to Kenzi's delight, vodka. Jenner returned from the lab and sat at the end of the bar, observing the group.
"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner." Dale informed as he poured a glass, giving the two young children a smile. "Same goes for France."
"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." Lori stated.
"What's it gonna hurt?" Rick questioned, looking over at his wife. "Come on."
"Yeah, Lori." Kenzi agreed from her place on top of the box freezer. Her legs were crossed and she took a large swig from the vodka bottle. "One sip ain't gonna kill him."
Lori finally gave in and let Carl have a sip from her glass. The moment after he swallowed, his face contorted in disgust, and everyone started laughing.
"Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane suggested.
At the end of the table, Glenn was starting to get a little tipsy and went to set the wine bottle down, "Not you, Glenn." Daryl warned. "Keep drinking, little man, I want to see how red your face can get."
Kenzi nearly choked on her last swig of vodka and was the first to burst out laughing. She gently kicked Daryl's behind with the toes of her boots, his name a slur on her lips.
"Gettin' a little tipsy there K?" T-Dog chuckled.
"Not on yer life." Kenzi chuckled with a southern accent. "I have a very decent tolerance for a girl my size, thank ya very much." she took another swig, tilting her head back. When she sat the bottle beside her, it was half-empty.
"Mackenzie, how long have you been drinking?" Dale asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction.
Kenzi tapped her nails on the side of the bottle, sitting up straight. "Since I was thirteen Grandpappy Dale." she answered honestly, grinning like a school girl, her cheeks red from her alcohol intake.
In the chair to her left, Lauren rolled her eyes, "Glad to see you haven't changed Kenzi." she patted the girl's leg. "Still the same as I remember."
"I just got a better southern drawl now." Kenzi giggled, taking another large swig from the bottle.
Rick stood up and cleared his throat, "It seems to me we haven't thanked our hosts properly." he noted, raising his glass of wine.
"They are more than just our host." T-Dog added.
"Hear hear!" Glenn and Dale cheered.
"Here's to you, docs." Rick toasted to Edwin and Lauren.
"Booyah!" Daryl yelled, raising an entire liquor bottle.
"Booyah!" Kenzi echoed, raising her vodka bottle. She clinked it with Daryl's and they both took a swig. She looked over at Lauren and smiled, tipping her head and clinking her bottle with Lauren's glass, both girls taking a drink.
"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here?" Shane asked, everyone falling silent. "All the the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"
"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick reminded, looking at his friend across from him. "Don't need to do this now."
"This is why we're here, right?" Shane questioned. "This was your move. We were supposed to find all the answers. Instead we found them, just two. Why?"
Lauren set her wine on the bar beside her, folding her hands in her lap. Edwin sighed, "Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families." he informed. "And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."
"Every last one?" Shane looked between the two doctors.
Kenzi looked to Lauren, who bit her lip. "No." she stated. "Many couldn't face walking out the door, so they opted out." she took a shuddering breath. "There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time."
Kenzi reached down and took her friend's hand, squeezing it gently. Lauren squeezed back, smiling up at her. "Neither one of you left." Andrea noted. "Why?"
"We just kept working." Edwin answered for both him and Lauren. "Hoping to do some good."
Kenzi rolled her eyes, "Way to ruin the mood Shane." she scoffed, taking another drink of vodka. The comment earned her a glare from the officer in question.
After the meal, Lauren led the survivors to a corridor where they could stay for the night. "Most of the facility is powered down, including housing." she informed. "So you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like." she pointed down the hallway, "There's a rec room down that way that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Same applies if you shower, go easy on the hot water."
"Hot water?" Glenn repeated. Lauren nodded.
Kenzi followed Lauren, who said she was more than welcome to bunk with her for the night, which would give the girls time to catch up. But first thing, she went straight for the shower.
The warm water streamed down and Kenzi sighed, her body visibly relaxing against the back wall. She grabbed the body wash and lathered it all over herself, washing away the dirt that had collected on her skin. Kenzi looked down, taking notice of the tan lines that have started to form. She lathered berry scented shampoo and conditioner, running her fingers through her hair that had definitely grown over the months, rinsing it out, inhaling the sweet scent.
Kenzi stepped out of the bathroom wearing a pair of black and red flannel shorts and a grey tank top with a cat face on it, towel drying her hair. She plopped down on the cot Lauren had made up for her. "Damn, that felt so good." Kenzi sighed.
"Glad to hear it." Lauren replied from the couch. She marked her place in the book she was reading and moved to sit next to Kenzi, "Now, tell me, how'd you end up with those others?" she asked, "I thought you were in Spain."
Kenzi bit her lip, tossing her towl over on a chair. "That was the plan." she nodded, "My connecting flight was through Atlanta, but all flights were grounded by the time I arrived here, something about something, they didn't tell us much. It was quiet for a week, then the walkers tore the fences down and all hell broke loose." Kenzi swallowed. "I shoved what I could from my suitcase into my carry on and ran like hell, taking food and water on my way out. I stole a car, found a gun, and got the hell out of the city. That night, they bombed it with Napalm, and I knew shit got real."
"Is that when you met the rest of your group?" Lauren asked.
Kenzi shook her head, "A few weeks later." she answered. "I was on my own in some cabins, but when more and more walkers showed up, I ran. I tripped and sprained my ankle, that was when Daryl found me." Kenzi pulled her legs up and criss-crossed them. "He took me back to the camp and I've been with them ever since."
Lauren smiled, "They seem like good people." she noted.
Kenzi nodded in agreement, "So," she cleared her throat, "why are you here? I mean, I'm happy to see you, but I guess I'm confused."
"Understandable." Lauren commented. She sighed, "Trick sent me here."
Kenzi's eyes widened, "Does Trick think something Fae caused this?" she asked in a low whisper. "Some under-Fae maybe is behind it?"
Lauren shrugged, "I'm still not entirely sure." she admitted. "I've been here since the viral outbreak and I don't think I'm any closer. Since all communications are down, I can't call Trick for information." Lauren ran her hands over her hair, sighing in frustration.
Kenzi placed her hand on Lauren's arm, "Okay, don't beat yourself up." she licked her lips, "I'm sure you'll figure it out. Of course, after working with the Fae for a long while, I'm sure working with the staff here seemed so mundane." she chuckled, twisting her damp hair around her fingers.
"One would think." Lauren muttered.
Kenzi smiled and laid down on her side, her head a bit fuzzy from the drinking. "I'm gonna wake up with a headache tomorrow." she noted, rubbing her temples.
"Pretty sure you all will." Lauren agreed. She patted Kenzi's knee, "Get some rest Kenz, you look like you need it."
Kenzi nodded in agreement, "Yeah, no joke." she sighed, pulling the blanket up to her chest. She watched as Lauren got situated on the couch, reaching for the table lamp. "Look, I know we've had our differences in the past but," Kenzi muttered, twisting the corner of her blanket. "I really am glad to see you."
Lauren smiled, "Same here Kenzi. It wasn't the same at the Dal without you." she turned off the lamp. "Goodnight."
"Night." Kenzi closed her eyes and let sleep come. She shifted to a more comfortable position, drifting off into the deepest sleep she's had since the world ended.