When Hunters Become the Hunted
Chapter 10
Deception of Safety
It wasn't until the caravan stopped the next time that the people truly realized where they were at, each one stepping out of the safe hold and security of their vehicles. All around them, dead bodies littered the ground, flies swarming and buzzing around the area. What overwhelmed them the most though was the smell, the pungent stench wafting up their noses and making them gag. It was almost toxic, the smell.
As they gathered around, they looked at one another, Shane motioning for them to start moving forward. He warned them to be quiet, keeping the children close. Lori had Carl at her side, her arm wrapped around her boy as she tried to shield him from the gruesome images around them. Carol was doing the same with Sophia, telling her to keep her head down and cover her nose. Celeste brought up the rear, picking Kenzie up in her arms and nestling the little girl against her bosom in order to keep her from looking around. Daryl followed along side her as he looked around, his steps wary and alert. He had a bad feeling about the place.
"Make sure you don't put her down," Daryl told her, keeping her close as he guided her around the dead bodies.
She didn't say anything though as she tried to keep up, trying her best not to throw up. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time that she had smelled something so horrible. The stench itself nearly overwhelmed her entirely.
"Keep moving," she heard Shane say, Rick by his side. "Come on."
Celeste coughed as she kept her hold on Kenzie, unable to cover her nose. She could feel her eyes water as they began to burn from the smell.
"Come on," Daryl said quietly, gently pushing her along.
"I can't breathe," she coughed out, swallowing heavily.
"Trust me, I ain't much better than you right now," he admitted.
After a moment, T-Dog looked back, slowing his pace with Andrea. He placed a hand on Celeste's back for a moment.
"You guys need ta be up there," T-Dog told her. "We'll cover the back," he said, not wanting to have a child at the back where they could end up unprotected and vulnerable.
With a nod of her head, Celeste quickened her pace just a bit, grateful that she'd have someone covering her back. As they passed around the side of a tank, Celeste frowned. The shutters had been drawn at the front and she tensed up, turning her eyes toward Daryl.
"Daryl," she called out quietly, gesturing to where the doors should have been.
"Yeah, I know. I see it too," he said gruffly, drawing a bit closer to her side now as she crept closer to the front.
As Rick and Shane made it to the shutters, she watched as Rick giggled something. It proved fruitless, Shane pushing his back against the metal in hopes of pushing it up. Out of frustration, Shane beat his hand against the metal harshly. Unfortunately for them, by doing so, he had just rung the dinner bell.
"Walkers!" Daryl cried out, pulling Celeste behind him as he aimed his bow.
He flicked the switch and the bolt soared forward, embedding itself into the skull. He turned back to the group, a scowl on his face as he sneered at Rick.
"You led us into a graveyard!"
"He made a call," Shane defended, moving quickly to get in front of Rick.
"It was the wrong damn call!"
Celeste winced as she looked around, slowly backing up toward the ground. She felt Kenzie move in her arms and soon the little girl began crying in fear. As the little blond looked around, she could see the walker approaching, just as they had not too long ago at the camp.
"Daryl," Celeste choked out, trying to get his attention.
"Just shut up," Shane growled, pushing at Daryl. "Shut up you heard me? Shut up!"
"Daryl," Celeste tried again, her legs shaking as she saw one of the parasites crawling toward them.
She could hear them beginning to panic, talking among themselves until Celeste had managed to back up into Daryl, the redneck turning around and gripping her shoulders lightly. Furrowing his brows, he looked out at the surrounding area and things kicked in. While everyone was talking and fighting, Walkers were pulling themselves from the ground and shuffling toward him.
"No matter what, you stay close to me," he told her, squeezing her shoulder. "Ya got that?"
Nodding her head frantically, Celeste reached out and gripped his arm, taking in a large breath of air. She didn't want to admit it, but she was scared. It was already growing dark and they had walkers at their feet.
"Come on," he said, pulling her with him as he notched another bolt and leveling it out in front of himself.
They'd only managed a few feet when Rick's voice had stopped them. He'd shouted something about the cameras moving. It had stopped everyone for a moment as he stepped forward, speaking up at the cameras. At the same time, Shane drew forward, grabbing Rick by the shoulder. He was trying to get him to start moving, but Rick was hell bent that there was someone behind there, banging loudly on the shutters.
"Kenzie, baby, calm down," Celeste said, patting the girl's head as she continued to cry. "Rick, please!" Celeste called out.
She didn't want this for Kenzie. She didn't want to die here, being torn apart and eaten alive by walkers.
"Please! Open up!"
"Everybody, get back to the cars! Go!" Shane shouted, pushing everyone back.
"Come on, we're out of here," Daryl said, pulling Celeste with him as he kept the crossbow up with his other hand.
She stayed close, watching her step as she looked around her. She was scared. She knew that Daryl was on edge too, frantic to get back to the car and to safety. Right as they were about to step over the walk way, the metallic sound of shutters were heard, and they were enveloped in a bright white light.
"Daryl," Shane called out, grabbing the man's attention. "You cover the back."
Slowly, Daryl nodded his head. He swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing for a moment, before ushering Celeste toward the doors. She walked quickly, patting Kenzie's back as she went.
"Would you shut that kid up?" Shane hissed.
Narrowing her eyes, Celeste grumbled, but tried to do her best. There was only so much that she could do though as Kenzie choked out a sob, the sound echoing around the large building.
"I said shut her up," Shane growled out.
"Fuck off!" Celeste snapped.
"All of you, shut up," Daryl grumbled, shoving Celeste forward slightly, making sure that the doors were closed behind them.
"Keep an eye out for walkers," Rick said quietly.
Before they knew it, the safety of a gun was being clicked off, a voice echoing around the room.
"Hello?"
T
Next thing anyone knew, they were all being stuff in an elevator. 15 people jammed into one small space. Celeste wasn't claustrophobic, but as she stood pressed against Daryl in the corner of the elevator, she felt like she might very well end up getting sick. Everyone else seemed to be doing fine though. Granted, Carol seemed a bit off kilter with it all.
"So, doctors always go around packin' heat like that?" she heard Daryl asked from beside her, the rumble of his voice vibrating off of his chest.
"There were plenty left laying around," the man known as Jenner explained, turning around to face them. "I familiarized myself."
As the conversation was passed around, Celeste caught Shane leaning forward, his eyes glaring at Daryl for opening his mouth. The look in his eyes made her uncomfortable, shifting slightly as she moved Kenzie around in her arms.
"But you look harmless enough," Jenner shrugged, looking around the cramped compartment, eyeing each individual.
He stopped though as his eyes landed on Carl, a faint smile pulling at his lips.
"Except for you," he said. "I'll have to keep an eye on you."
The young boy found the gest funny, smiling slightly as he went and leaned back against his mother.
Once they were all out of the elevator, Celesete let out a sigh in relief. Her feet were shaky as she exited with Daryl beside her, closing her eyes for a moment. Noticing that something was ailing her, Daryl pulled her off to the side slightly, looking her over.
"Ya doing okay?" he whispered.
She nodded her head, before shifting Kenzie once more, the littling girl having dozed off and there for becoming dead weight. Daryl noticed this and gestured for her to hand her over, swinging his crossbow over his back.
"I'll take her for a bit," he offered, stepping closer and carefully pulling the little girl into his arms.
Kenzie stirred for a moment, but merely wrapped her little arms around Daryl's strong neck and fell back asleep. Celeste let a small smile form on her lips as she looked at the little girl in Daryl's arms. She couldn't understand how she had taken to the man so easily upon finding the camp, instantly warming up to Daryl and his brother. Maybe it was because she knew that they were strong, knowing that they had the capacity to protect her like her father had. Celeste couldn't be sure, but she did know one thing. Celeste knew that despite all the walls that Daryl seemed to put up around everyone, the redneck had taken a true fondness to the little blond that he held in his arms.
Running a hand through her hair, Celeste followed the group into a much larger room, Jenner's voice booming for a moment.
"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room."
There was a hum of electricity that seemed to vibrate in the air a moment later as things were powered up, followed by beeping as it went. The whole place was lit up in bright florescent lights, highlighting the computer consoles around the room.
"Welcome to zone 5," Jenner announced.
T
Once things were explained a little bit, the group was taken into another room. Everyone had agreed to a blood submission as per the price of admission. Andrea had gone first, wanting to get things out of the way, slowly moving back over to one of the many chairs in the room after she was finished. Jacqui had taken her place afterward, sitting down so that Jenner could draw some blood.
As they sat there, Kenzie remained in Daryl's arms, the girl picking at the back of his sweat ridden shirt. She didn't seem to care though, so Celeste didn't bother to say anything. She knew that the child was trying to avoid thinking about getting her blood drawn. Much like her mother Karen, she had never really liked going to the doctors. She feared being stuck with a needle so much, she would nearly pass out from crying sometimes.
"Next," Jenner called out, motioning to the now empty seat in front of him.
Celeste stood up at his call, making her way over and sitting down. She watched as he cleaned her arm, his eyes hesitating as he scanned her face.
"When was that done?" he asked, gesturing to her nose as he tied the rubber band around her arm.
"Happened a few days ago," she told him, drawing in a slow breath of air through her nose.
It still hurt to breathe, causing her face to twitch every time that she did so.
"I'd like to take a look at if after we're done if you don't mind," he said, before sticking her with a needle.
He watched as her face twitched from the pain, but didn't pay much attention to it as he let the blood accumulate in the vile. Like everyone else's, her blood was a dark crimson color, slowly filtering in through the needle. It didn't take long to fill up though, carefully removing the needle after he was done. He was about ready to call the next person up when she waved her hand.
"Daryl," she called out, gesturing for him to bring Kenzie over.
The moment he stepped forward though, the little girl began to whine and whimper, tears slowly welling up in her eyes.
"No," she cried. "No, no, no!"
Celeste pulled the struggling girl from Daryl's arms, watching as she tried to reach back out to him. She didn't want to get stuck with a needle.
"No!" she cried again, wrestling around in Celeste's arms as she tried to get her to sit still.
"Kenzie, the sooner you stop this, the sooner it will be over with," Celeste told her.
She merely continued to cry though, shaking her head as she tried to get out of Celeste's arms.
"Hey," Daryl said, moving back over and kneeling down in front of the two.
He sat there for a moment as he took in Kenzie's tears, biting down lightly on his lower lip.
"What I tell you 'bout cryin'?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in question.
He waited for a moment as she gave him a sour look.
"Well?" he asked, looking at her expectantly, watching as she mumbled something. "I can't hear ya."
"You saids not to," she said quietly, hanging her head.
"Then why ya cryin' so much?" he asked. "Ain't no worse than scrappin' ya knee up or getting' stung by a bee," he told her. "Andrea's already done it. Jacqui's done it. Even Celeste's done it. So why not you too?"
She looked at him for a moment, biting at her lip as she looked out at the other two women that he'd mentioned. Both women gave her smile and a nod of the head. She then looked up at Celeste, then back at Daryl, before swallowing the lump in her throat.
"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll be a big girl," she told him.
"Good."
With that, Jenner proceeded to clean the little girl's arm. Celeste gave Daryl a grateful look as Kenzie sat there quietly. When Jenner finally pulled the needle out, Kenzie let her eyes stray.
"Nuh uh," Daryl said, snapping his fingers to get her attention. "You look at me, ya got it?" he said firmly, keeping the girl's attention on him as Jenner stuck her with the needle.
It took everything that she had not to pull away, but Daryl kept her attention surprisingly enough, keeping her in her seat. Everyone else remained quiet as they watched, slightly shocked at how the man had handled the child. As per usual, Shane was a bit sour about it, but he hadn't voiced his opinion on it much to Celeste's relief.
"There, all done," Jenner smiled, gently placing a band-aid on the spot.
After that, Kenzie hopped off of Celeste lap, quickly moving away to wrap her little arms around Daryl's leg. This allowed Celeste finally stand, but she found herself wavering slightly. Her head was swimming and she felt like she was going to fall, until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?" Jenner asked, watching as Daryl gripped her shoulders to steady her.
Having already had her blood drawn, Jacqui stepped forward to get a hold of the woman, leading her over to a chair. She had explained to Jenner that none of them had eaten in days and that it was more than likely finally catching up to the poor girl.
T
Laughter and light conversation echoed through the air. It filled everyone's ears as they sat around a large table, food on their plates, and drinks in their hands. Dale was passing around a bottle of red wine, filling everyone's glass as he went. Personally, she didn't care for wine, enjoying other things instead. Not that she couldn't appreciate a good drink every now and then, but she still preferred not to.
"You know, in Italy, children have a bit of wine with dinner," Dale said, passing Lori her glass.
The woman made a face as she took it from him.
"And in France," he pointed out.
"Yes, well, when Carl is in France of Italy, then he can have some then," she said, placing a hand over his glass as she took a drink from her own.
Carl pouted upon hearing this and Rick soon argued his case until Lori finally through her hands up in defeat. With a small cheer from Carl, Dale poured a bit of wine into the boy's glass. Kenzie turned toward Celeste as she watched this, a question on the tip of her tongue.
"Can I try some?" Kenzie asked. "Please?"
Celeste blinked for a moment, lips parting as she looked down at the little girl sitting on her lap. Kenzie hadn't wanted to sit in her own chair, instead taking up residency in Celeste's lap.
"You've got to be kidding me?" Celeste gapped, looking around the table.
She looked to Lori for help, unsure of what to do. Lori merely shrugged her shoulders not really having much to say on the matter.
"Please?" Kenzie asked.
Groaning, Celeste shook her head, holding a small glass out toward Dale.
"Fine," she huffed, handing the glass to Kenzie.
Both children looked toward one another as they nodded their heads. They uprooted their glasses together and downed a small bit of the dark liquid. Their faces both scrunched up, before complaining about the taste.
"And this is why I don't drink wine," Celeste laughed, the rest of the group following her lead.
Carl merely shook his head, tongue sticking out as he did so. Kenzie was about the same, narrowing her eyes at the offending liquid.
"Mommy said it was like grape juice," she whined, pushing the glass away with her tiny hands.
Again, the group laughed heartily, smiles on their faces.
"I think she meant that it was made from grapes, sweetie," Celeste laughed.
Kenzie merely glared at her, while Shane suggested that the two of them stick to soda pop as he put it. Celeste nodded her head in agreement. After all, there was no point in the children drink anything else other than what they were used to.
"No you though Glenn," Daryl laughed, walking up to the table as Glenn gave him a look of confusion. "Keep drinkin'. I wanna see how red yer face can get little man."
The men laughed as Glenn was given the challenge, Daryl grinning all the while. Seeing him loosen up like that put a smile on Celeste's face, enjoying the sound of his laughter. At the same time, he looked her way, before giving her a wink. As he did this, she could feel her face heat up slightly, before looking in the other direction. It was interrupted though as Rick clinked his glass, rising from his seat.
"It seems to me that we haven't properly thanked our host," he pointed out, raising his glass.
"He is more than just our host," T-Dog said in agreement, lifting his glass as well.
"Hear, hear!" everyone said together, the thanks continuing around the table with bright smiles.
"Here's to you doc," Daryl announced, lifting his bottle of Southern Comfort in the air. "Booyah!"
Celeste snorted in laughter as she heard this, watching as the redneck continued. Apparently, all it took was a bit of alcohol to loosen the old boy up. Jenner merely nodded his head at the thanks, raising his own glass and taking a drink. It wasn't until Shane opened his mouth though that things went sour.
"So, when ya gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" he asked, raising a brow in question. "All the uh, other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened. Where are they?"
"Shut up, Shane," Celeste grumbled, stuffing a piece of food in her mouth.
He glared at her in return, before Rick spoke up in her sted.
"We're celebrating Shane," Rick pointed out. "We don't need to get into this now."
"Whoa, wait a second," Shane said, raising his hand slightly. "This is why we're here, right? This was your move," he reminded him. "Supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we uh…we found him," he pointed out, pointing a finger toward Jenner.
It was a low blow and everyone in the group knew that, but they stayed quiet. They didn't seem to want to speak against him and it bothered Celeste to no end.
"Found one man. Why?" he asked.
"Well," Jenner started, deciding to speak up. "When things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted," he explained.
"Every last one?" Shane asked skeptically.
"No," Jenner responded. "Many couldn't face walking out the door. They…opted out."
The group was silent as he said this, a few turning back to their drinks as they continued to listen. The whole thing had put a damper on their moods thanks to Shane.
"There was a rash of suicides," Jenner paused again, looking down at his drink. "That was a bad time."
"You didn't leave," Andrea pointed out, catching the man's attention. "Why?"
"I just kept working," he answered simply. "Hoping to do some good."
Quiet enveloped the group once more. Glenn was the first to speak back though, a frown on his face as he looked toward Shane.
"Dude, you are such a buzz kill, man."
T
Celeste followed the rest of the group as Jenner lead them down a hallway toward where they would be staying, explaining things as he went.
"Most of the facility is powered down. Including housing, so you'll have to make do here," Jenner explained. "The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like."
They continued to follow after one another, Kenzie walking along side Daryl as they went, the man's hand resting on top of her head.
"There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy," he offered. "Just, don't plug in the video games, okay?" he asked. "Or anything that draws power. The same applies—if you shower, go easy on the hot water."
The moment the words hot water left Jenner's mouth, eyes widened, Glenn turning back to the group to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating.
"Did he say…hot water?"
"I think he did," T-Dog grinned, quickly running off ahead of the group to shower.
Everyone else soon followed, eager smiles on their faces as they all hurried along. Just the mere mention of hot water sent their souls soaring for joy. In fact, as Celeste stood there with Kenzie, she smiled. She couldn't remember the last time that she had gotten to take a hot shower. Sponge baths had been her only refuge.
T
As each person took their showers, they felt their spirits lift, each scrubbing away the dirt and grime on their bodies. Celeste felt the same way as she held Kenzie close, kneeling down in the steaming shower as she rubbed shampoo into the little girl's hair. What had been dirty blond turned bright and beautiful, the dirt rolling off and down the drain. What had been left of the dried blood had followed suit with ease and soon the child found herself squeaky clean. After Celeste finished with Kenzie, she turned to washing her own body, allowing the girl to step out of the shower to run a towel over herself.
"If you want, you can go find Carol and Sophia," Celeste told her, smiling when she heard the child squeak with joy before running out of the room.
It made her laughed as she squirted shampoo into her hands, gently rubbing it into her scalp. Her nails drug against the skin, working loose all the dirt that she could. It had been so long since she had been able to properly clean her hair. Ducking under the faucet, she let the shampoo run free, closing her eyes as she let the hot water run down her body.
"Feels so good," she whispered, pressing her hands against the wall of the shower as she lowered her head, the spray of the water running over her lips and dribbling down.
She could feel the water roll down her back and thighs, moaning slightly as the warmth soaked into her skin and eased the tension in her muscles. For a moment, she thought that she heard something, but brushed it off as she lifted her head back up. She brought her hands to her face, wiping away the water that had collected at her lashes.
"I'm gonna sleep good tonight," she told her, lightly running a hand through her hair, before turning off the water.
As she stepped out of the shower, she grabbed her towel, patting her face as she looked over at the mirror. It was fogged over with steam as she reached her hand out to wipe it away. She let out a startled yelp though when she found Shane's reflection staring back at her, whirling around quickly as she pulled the towel against her body.
"What the hell are you doing here!" she yelled, glaring at him as she made to grab her clothes.
He stepped in front of her though before she could grab them, backing up as he grinned at her.
"Come on now, no need to be like that," he told her, slowly making his way closer until he had backed her into a corner, hands on either side of her head. "I'm sure we can be civil for once."
"I suggest you back off Shane," she said pointedly, quickly ducking under his arm and grabbing her clothes.
The moment she made it to the door though, he'd shoved her forward, pressing her against the wood as he trailed his lips along the skin of her shoulder. She could feel a tremor run through her body as he pressed himself up against her, groaning in her ear.
"Damn you feel good," he breathed out, grinding against her.
"Shane," she choked out, fingers shaking.
"Smell good too," he whispered, his breath hot against her neck as he brushed his lips against it.
Before she knew it, she could feel him biting down lightly on the flesh of her skin, his hand traveling up her thighs as he grabbed at her. She felt her eyes water as he pushed himself against her again, a yelp escaping her when he bit down too hard.
"Get the hell o-," she started, but was cut off as he turned her around, shoving her hard against the door as he crushed his lips against hers.
She could taste the alcohol on his tongue as he attempted to shove it down her throat, his hand on her crotch. He bit down on her lip and she gasped, the taste of copper filling her mouth.
"Celeste, you okay in there?" she heard Carol call out.
That distraction was all that it took before she through her knee up into Shane's crotch, watching as the man fell away from her. Without even sparing a second glance, she quickly snatched her clothes from the floor and ran from the bathroom, leaving him wallowing in pain on the floor.
T
Swallowing the lump in her throat, Celeste pushed herself against one of the walls down the hallway. Her body shook as she felt the tears starting to well up again, lip quivering as she gripped at her hair. She couldn't believe that she had allowed Shane to get that close. The bastard had pretty much walked straight into the bathroom and assaulted her.
"Damn it!" she hissed, slamming the back of her head against the wall.
She was better than that and she knew it. She had never let her guard down like that. Never. The whole thing made her sick to her stomach and she felt like throwing up, the taste of bile sitting at the back of her throat just waiting to be let loose.
"Celeste?"
She practically jumped out of her skin, snapping her head to the left as she looked at the intruder. Once she locked onto their blue gaze, she felt herself quiet slightly. It didn't quiet everything though as she bit the edge of her lip, wincing slightly at the cut that she had sustained.
"Daryl?" she choked out, swallowing the lump in her throat.
"The hell happened?" he asked, frowning as he stepped closer until he was kneeling down in front of her.
Unlike before, he actually reached his hand forward to examine it, taking in the sight of her slightly bleeding lip. A look of confusion washed over his face, his sliding down to the side of her neck. A bit mark.
"When the hell you get this?" he hissed, narrowing his easy.
"It's not from a walker," she cried out, tears rolling down her cheeks.
She shook as they fell, trying her best to hold them in. She wrapped her arms around herself, head bowed in embarrassment.
"Then what the hell?" he asked, checking her over further, before taking her face in his calloused hands. "Celeste, what happened?" he asked, lowering his tone.
"He was drunk," she choked out. "He's fucking drunk!"
She choked on a sob as she let herself fall forward, her head coming to rest against his chest. He'd changed his shirt and showered, the smell of sweat gone. He smelled of alcohol though, but he didn't smell as bad as Shane had. This thought left her sobbing again as she crumbled, feeling his arms wrap around her and pull her close.
Alright everyone! That was chapter 10. I hope you all enjoyed it? Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter and what you would like to see happen next. I'd LOVE FEEDBACK! MESSAGE AND REVIEW PEOPLE! Thanks again!