A/N: Ch 11 is up!

KelseyBl, thanks ^^, Juniper Haddis, Ehehe, thx ^^, Amaya Albarn, thanks ^^ TheTalkingWalking, Yerp xD thanks for the suggestion! Iahnirose, Thank you!I'm having lots of fun with writing Eden xD And I have plans for her in the future seasons xD

Last chapter of season one! Finally going onto season two! xD

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE WALKING DEAD

Enjoy~

Eden: Season One

Ch. 11: Trying

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"Open the damn door!" Daryl's throws his bottle at the door, and it smashes onto the ground in a million pieces.

That's what's going to happen to us. We're gonna combust. Explode.

BOOM.

I'm still standing, standing a little bit away from Lori and Carol as I stare at Jenner. Jenner, this man who I thought was a good person but was actually a bad guy. . .like my parents—

No. Can't think like that. Can't think like that. They're dead now. They got swarmed.

They deserved it.

And there's the clang, clang, clang of axes and anything that the adults can use to break down the door. Well, at least try to break down the door, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. That door won't open.

We're gonna die.

Isn't that right, Lorel?

"Eden, don't you dare let the world bring you down."

I know. I'm trying. But I'm tired. I'm really tired, and I wish I can just curl up someplace with the photograph of us and Cal, but that's not gonna happen. And despite everything, I've given up. I give up. And I just want to rest, but I can't. I just can't, and I don't know why but I feel scared right now instead of empty. Why can't I just feel empty? I've already given up, already had a slap of reality since the fish fry—so why do I feel scared? Why don't I feel calm. . .reassured? I feel really scared like everyone else. This is where we're gonna die. When the clock goes down to zero, it goes BOOM.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

And part of me doesn't want to leave. Because if we leave, I can't see you again, Lorel. Or Cal, if he—if he's gone up there somewhere between all the dying and infection. And then if we leave we'll have to face all the walkers, the moving. . .

The people. . .the good people in this group that just might—

No. Eden. Stop it.

But I just can't think about this. I can't feel reassured, and the knife in my boot just doesn't make me feel better anymore.

This is where we're gonna die. Unless some sort of bomb explodes in front of the doors, we're gonna die here. Everyone.

Everyone.

But that doesn't sound so bad, right?

If Heaven really does exist, then—

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol weeps, and I crane my head towards her.

"Baby girl, you can't expect everything to be okay anymore because I'm here. The world has gone to shit, and I need you to be strong. I need you to look at reality and live. I'm sure as hell not gonna let you die early just because the dead decided to go Thriller(1) on us. You got that, Baby girl? I know it's hard, and it's only gonna keep getting harder, but don't let the world spoil you. Please, don't let the world bring you down. Keep fighting—keep fighting until you can't stand. You're not a Williams if you can't at least do that much. Got that? We are gonna get through this."

I can't cry now. I can't cry. I can't.

And I almost broke it. I almost made Lorel's life mean nothing.

I'm sorry. I'm really sorry Lorel. I'll keep fighting. I'll keep fighting.

I won't let the world spoil me.

I snap out of my thoughts while Jenner's trying to explain to Carol. About how this is kinder. Much kinder that waiting for the clock to run down, and I agree.

But I can't die. I don't wanna die yet.

I don't.

And then there's the familiar click of a shotgun, and I turn my head to Daryl, but he's not doing anything. Huh? It's not Daryl this time? But then Shane shouts, and Rick's trying to stop him, and Shane has a gun in his hands and he's ready to shoot at Jenner.

Looks like he finally snapped too.

"Open that door, or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me!" Shane's sounds so scary, and it reminds of my parents when they yelled at me once for not winning my school spelling B.

Rick is muttering to Shane, and I only catch bits and pieces as I stand right in front of them, in the same spot as before. I can only stand and watch until Shane roars, and that's when I feel someone grab my arm and yank me away from them. Daryl. Daryl drags me to the other side. Away from the yelling, the fighting, the gunshots.

"Don't look." He says, and I can only crouch under one of the computers as he crouches down next to me as the roaring keeps going, and everyone's screaming. And I just feel so downright scared because this is just scary. Really scary. And there's a scuffle, and the gun fires off so many rounds at once and all I can see between the crack of the desk and Daryl is millions of glass shards from the computers and machines flying all over the place. And when it's finally over, I don't stop covering my head with my arms until Daryl lightly puts his hand on my head and tells me it's over. His hand is warm, and for a second, it reminds me of Cal until I crane my head to Shane who is lying on the ground, being asked by Rick: "You done now? You done?" and I look around at the mess.

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane sounds tired, like he's given up.

I can kinda relate.

We all just stand in silence until Rick tells Jenner he's lying. I stand next to Daryl.

How is Jenner lying? He locked the doors and won't let us out—

"About no hope." Rick finishes.

Oh.

"If that were true, you would've bolted with the rest. Or taken the easy way out." Rick says, and I look at Jenner.

He's tired.

He's really tired.

But he didn't pick dying. He didn't.

He didn't.

Ricks asks why. Why he chose the hard path instead, but Jenner says it doesn't matter.

But it does.

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when the others ran. Why?"

Why, Jenner. Why?

"Not because I wanted to." I don't move, and Jenner talks about how he made a promise. To her.

To TS-19.

His wife.

I look over next to me and find that Daryl's gone at working on the door again. I stand, watching as Jenner tells us that his wife wanted him to keep going as long as he can, that he should've been the one on the table, that his wife could've done something about this. That he was just Edwin Jenner.

Just.

But Jenner did so much for us. And he kept his promise.

I'm sorry I almost called you a—

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do." Rick sounds desperate, and I bite my lip because I'm not sure what Jenner's gonna do. Is he gonna open the door? But if he opens the door then. . .

What am I going to do?

Rick is talking about giving us a chance, a choice.

"Let us keep trying for as long as we can." Lori jumps in, and I could barely believe that it's Lori who says it, because she looks so frail—so scared.

So desperate.

Try.

"Don't you dare let the world beat you down."

And then Jenner's saying something—something about the top side being locked down and that he can't open those. He's pushing some buttons on this control and something flutters in my stomach, and I look at the clock as I hear the doors open.

Four minutes.

"We are gonna get through this."

Yeah, we are.

Four minutes to get our stuff and get the hell out of here.

"That's my girl."

Yeah, Lorel. Are you proud of me?

We are gonna get through this, and Jenner holds up to his word. The front doors are shut tight, and there's glass separating us from the outside word.

But they won't break. The glass won't break.

And I know it's selfish of me, but I kinda—just kinda wish that I stayed behind with Jaqui and Andrea.

And we try everything. We try the axes, the chairs. Shane shoots a bullet, but it doesn't work. The glass. . .it just—

"The glass won't break?" Sophia's frail and squeaky voice comes out, and it meshes into the millions of voices going through the room, just trying to get us out. And I'm just about to really give up until Carol hands Rick something.

A bomb.

"It's a grenade, sweetheart."

BOOM. And it's a good boom, and my stomach flutters again when we're told to get down.

We're getting out. We're getting out.

We're gonna be okay.

And then the bomb goes BOOM and Rick goes flying towards us. I look up at the shattered window, and we all run. We push each other to move faster to the cars, and I completely disregard the walkers here this time.

Because we're gonna be okay.

Lori drags me and Carl with her, and I'm practically smashed in between Carl and Rick as the door closes.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Lori cries out and points, and we all look in the same direction, and I want to cry.

It's Dale and Andrea, and they're coming. Yes—thank God, they're coming with us, and Jaqui—

Jaqui's not with them.

Why?

But I can't worry about that anymore when Rick tells us all to get down and we're pushed in the back.

And it all goes BOOM.

The sound hurts my ears and makes them ring, but I still force myself to look as the CDC crumbles to the ground in a big pile of fire and debris.

Goodbye Jaqui. Goodbye Jenner.

It's gone. They're gone.

And we ride out, and I stare at the CDC for a long time, the place where I thought was a good place to die. But we didn't die. We survived. We're survivors until we become one of them. One of them. And I don't wanna think about it, but this is the world now, and the me in the CDC is burning. Burning until I can't see it anymore.

And then I look ahead. Away from the burning CDC. Ahead of the burning, the walkers, and the dying. Goodbye, me. Goodbye Jenner. Goodbye Jaqui. I'll put this past me, and I'll survive. Survive until I can't anymore, and when I finally go down, I'll go to where you are, Lorel. But I can't imagine going to where you are somehow. I guess I don't wanna go to you yet. It's just that—I think I might feel comfortable with this group. With these people. These good people. So I'll look ahead, with our people and the picture of you that's in my pocket.

My head is focused on the road as we all ride in a dazed silence—with all of the things that happened so far. And slowly, I raise my head up and look at the sky. The pretty, blue sky.

And I smile.

Because for once, I think that this world looks beautiful.

A/N: Season one is finally finished XDXDXD

you know the music video of "Thriller" by Micheal Jackson, then u know where I'm coming from. (Or at least, that's what I remember from my memory xD)

You can expect season two to be up in a week or so ^^

Til next season~