When Hunters Become the Hunted

Chapter 11

On the Road Again

Daryl wasn't sure when it had happened exactly, the warmth of another soothing his tired mind. It must have been sometime during the night when her arms had found their way around him, her face buried against his chest in peaceful respite. Her hair had been splayed out around her, a light snore escaping her and reverberating around the room due to her still broken nose.

He had remembered stumbling into the hall the previous night, finding her sitting against one of the walls as a sob tore through her body. She had been shaking, body frantic for an outlet. He had been confused, but he had made his way toward her. Curiosity had gotten the better of him. The moment he had knelt down in front of her though, a strange wave of emotions had run through him. It had confused him, while at the same time angering him. She had been hurt. She had been crying. She had been scared. All he could do was hold her.

Groaning, the man rubbed at his eyes, squinting as he stared down at the woman beside him in the darkness. Her hand was curled around a portion of his shirt as she slept, another small snore leaving her. As his eyes adjusted, he could see that she held no trace of pain in her face. If anything else, it made him feel better, but he could still make out the split in her lower lip. The spot was slightly swollen from the night before, her neck looking like it might get infected from what looked like teeth marks. He'd have to take a better look when she was awake.

Shaking his head, he pushed himself up slightly, propping himself up with the pillow that he'd slept on. Celeste was still fast asleep in dream land though and he found himself counting his blessing when he had sent Kenzie off to stay the night with Carol and Sophia. He hadn't wanted to explain things to the little girl and he was sure that Celeste didn't either.

"Damn," he groaned, nearly letting himself plop back down after staring at her.

He still found it hard to believe that she was laying there with him, her delicate fingers wrapped around his front. He had drawn the blanket around them in the night, nestling it around her shoulders slightly. Regardless, she had still turned to him for warmth. It was something that he wasn't used to experiencing, least of all a woman wanting to curl up next to him and stay there. The only thing that had ever been an option to him were one night stands and in the end, Daryl would always wake up in bed alone.

"The hell do I do now?" he said, his voice low as he talked to himself, debating what to do next.

He needed to get up and take a piss as he would normally put it, but she was laying on him. Biting his lip, he lifted the sheet off of himself, slowly sliding his legs off of the cot. Next, he took hold of her hand and gently began trying to pry it from his front. When that didn't work though, he let out a groan, rolling his eyes as he wondered why he even bothered to be so quiet. He was a rough riding redneck and yet he was worrying about waking some woman from her sleep. He could practically hear his brother laughing at him for it.

"Damn it," he hissed quietly, bringing his hand up to his shirt.

Getting frustrated with himself, he popped the buttons loose from their holes, and rolled away from his shirt. Standing, he was left bare-chested with Celeste still clinging to his shirt.

T

She didn't know how long it had been since she had fallen asleep, groaning as she pressed her face in the pillow. She winced as she felt the pressure in her nose and pulled away, blinking a few times before rubbing a hand through her hair. To her surprise, it didn't feel like a giant mess.

"Daryl?" she groaned out, attempting to look around the room.

She got no response and it was too dark to really see much of anything. Shaking her head she yawned and rolled over onto her back. She was confused though when her hand tightened around a piece of fabric, glancing over at what she was holding.

"What the."

As she drew the material closer she squinted her eyes. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, she finally realized that it was one of Daryl's shirts, a fire slowly rising beneath her skin. How had she ended up with it? She looked around her, but found nothing else to add to the shirt where she had fallen asleep. Daryl had just up and left from what she could tell. It actually left her wondering if he was currently running around without a shirt on.

Before long, Celeste heard the door open, light flooding into the room. She squeezed her eyes shut and groan, a light chuckle sounding as the light switch was flicked on without warning.

"Freaking bugger," she grunted, hand still shielding her face as she tried blocking out the light.

"Well, good morning to you too sunshine," Daryl laughed, closing the door behind him.

After he stepped into the room though, the pleasantries seemed to end, a frown forming on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked carefully, raising a brow in question.

For a moment, it seemed like there was something weighing on his nerves, standing and weighing his options on how he wanted to respond. This is what made Celeste push herself forward, pulling the sheet back from her body.

"Daryl?"

It was quiet for a moment between them. Turning, Daryl glanced down at her, moving over to sit on the couch. She watched as he chewed at his thumb nail, tearing away at the very tip of it. She had noticed him doing the same thing a couple of other times, making her wonder if it was a nervous tick of his. Continuing to bite down on his thumb nail, Daryl tried putting everything together in his head. He was trying to make sense of what he had seen.

According to Jenner, there wasn't much in the way of hope. He had a bright red counter up on the wall in the main room, the time counting away as they sat around staring at one another. There had been something about facility wide decontamination. He wasn't completely sure what it was, but he knew that he didn't like the sound of it. Strangely, the other thing that was bothering him was the fact that the Doc had shot his own patient in the head, after watching the person die. It was slightly disturbing even for someone like him.

Facility wide decontamination. There it was again, resting at the back of his mind.

"What's facility wide decontamination mean?" he asked suddenly, lifting his eyes to look at the woman in front of him.

"What?"

Her brows rose, pushing themselves together as she stared at him, confusion written clearly across her face.

"Daryl, what are you talking about?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her arms on her knees.

"Somethin' Jenner said," he told her. "Don't make no sense."

"When was this?"

"Happened while you were sleepin," he said. "Didn't wanna wake ya after last night."

Frowning, Celeste rubbed at her arm, biting down on her lower lip. The previous night was still clear in her mind. She tried to push it away, the memory of hands gliding across her body almost seeming to be burned into her skin. She had felt sick when his lips had attacked her in an attempt for domination.

Quickly, she pushed herself up from the cot on the floor and walked into the bathroom. She turned on the sink and splashed water against her face, cringing at the biting chill of the water as it splashed against her skin. As she stood there she thought back to what Daryl had said. Decontamination. To contaminate meant to dirty or infect something. Decontaminate was to cleanse a particular spot or make clean, but facility wide decontamination? That would mean that the whole place would in essence enter a state of decontamination. The 'facility' would not be able to accommodate human life. That's when realization hit, eyes widening as she stared at her reflection.

"Daryl?" Celeste choked out, rushing back into the room.

"Yeah?"

"You're sure that he said facility wide?" she asked, swallowing heavily.

If it really was facility wide, then that meant that they had to leave immediately.

"That's what I said."

His voice held a hint of confusion as he spoke, carefully pushing himself up from the couch.

"Why?"

Celeste felt a shiver run down her spine suddenly.

"We need to leave."

T

It didn't take long for Celeste's fears to become a reality, a small part of her hoping that she was wrong. As the air went off and the lights began to flicker, Celeste found her throat starting to tighten and her heart begin to race. She wasn't an idiot and she had paid attention in school. As they stepped into the hallway, they were met with Lori and Carl, Jenner coming around and taking the bottle of Southern Comfort from Daryl's hand. The redneck was in shock, quickly following after the doctor just as the rest of the group was.

"What's going on?" Daryl demanded, trying to figure out why the air had gone off and the lights began to flicker.

"The building, zone 5, is shutting itself down," Jenner explained.

"How can a buildin' do anything?" Daryl ground out.

"You'd be surprised," Celeste muttered, walking along as she caught sight of Kenzie.

As they made it into the main room, Jenner began spouting things off, explaining why the building was losing power. He tried to explain to them about the French and the rest. At one point, Rick had finally had enough, telling everyone to start moving back to get their things together and leave. When an alarm of sorts went off, the group found themselves turning in fear, panic rising. They tried asking what was going on, Daryl yelling for an explanation right along side Rick. Finding no answer, he turned to the group again, order for them to flee as quickly as possible. It wasn't until a steel door slid into place that she finally felt her heart drop into her stomach though. The moment it closed, everyone seemed to freak out, snapping as their fight or flight instincts kicked in.

"He locked us in!" Glenn cried out.

"Carl!" Lori called out, scrambling for her son.

"Mom!" he cried, tears forming in his eyes.

Carol had turned to her daughter, pulling her close, Celeste managing to do the same. Kenzie had run toward her, wrapping her little arms around Celeste's leg in fright.

"What's going on?" Kenzie cried, looking around in an attempt to find some sort of answer.

As Daryl's anger got the best of him, he marched forward, steps turning into a run.

"You son of a bitch!" he spat out.

At the same time, Rick was calling for Shane, hand pointing toward Daryl.

"You locked us in here!" Daryl yelled, hand raising above his head as he readied the bottle to crack against Jenner's skull.

Shane and T-Dog had to hold him off as he continued to yell, heart racing, pulse pounding in his ears. It was like a rush of adrenaline running through his body and urging him forward.

"Jenner, open that door now," Rick ordered, voice as even as it could be.

The doctor merely glanced up at him, shaking his head.

"There's no point," he tried to explain, raising his hands at he spoke. "Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things," Dale called out, stepping up beside Andrea as he placed a careful hand on her shoulder.

"That's not something I control. The computers do," Jenner said, trying to explain himself. "I told you," his finger rose, pointing at Rick. "Once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that."

It was silent for a moment as everyone stood there, trying to process what had been told to them. It was true, Jenner had warned them the moment they arrived that once the door closed, it would become sealed. The problem was, they didn't think that he meant it the way that he was putting it now. They were stuck.

"It's better this way," Jenner spoke up, Rick turning to look at him in confusion.

"What is?" Rick asked, swallowing the lump in his throat before advancing on the doctor. "What happens in 28 minutes?"

Seeming to ignore him, Jenner turned away, typing furiously at the keyboard in front of him. Rick gave Shane a look, before the deputy pushed Jenner away from the computer in frustration.

"What happens in 28 minutes!?" Rick yelled, followed by a yell from Daryl.

"You know what this place is!?" Jenner finally snapped, pushing himself of from his seat.

The man's face was red and angry, lips twitching as he stared Rick down along with everyone else. The sheer volume of his voice made Kenzie gasp, clinging tighter to Celeste.

"We protected the public from very nasty stuff!" Jenner had gone from Rick to Shane, spit nearly flying as he yelled. "Weaponized smallpox!"

Celeste drew back slightly, her breath catching in the back of her throat. Without realizing it, Daryl had come to stand beside her, his hand reaching out and resting on top of the child's head.

"Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country!"

Carl stood beside his mother as Jenner continued to yell, this hand gripping tightly at her own.

"Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!"

It was a few moments later that Jenner seemed to calm down, fixing his lab coat as he sat back down in his seat and ran a hand over his face. If his plan was to scare everyone, then he had done his job.

"In the event of a catastrophic power failure—In a terrorist attack, for example—H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out," Jenner explained, more calmly than he initially had.

"H.I.T.s?" Rick questioned, tone sharp indicating that he wanted a better explanation.

For a moment, Jenner sat there, unable to meet Rick's gaze. After a moment, he finally spoke, calling up the computer program.

"Vi, define."

"H.I.T.s," the computerized voice broke through, echoing through the room. "High-impulsive thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear."

Carol began crying as she pulled Sophia to her chest. At the same time, Celeste could feel her eyes begin to well up as she stood motionless.

"The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees," the computerized voice continued to speak as Rick pulled Lori and Carl into his arms, carefully kissing his wife's forehead. "And is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."

"It sets the air on fire," Jenner summarized quietly.

Slowly, Rick turned toward him, brows furrowing slightly as the man opened his mouth again.

"No pain."

Carol continued to cry as her daughter followed, the young girl shaking as she wrapped her arms around her mother.

"An end to sorrow and grief," Jenner whispered to himself. "Regret."

Celeste could feel her heart pounding in her chest, a tear slowly rolling down her face and shattering against the floor at her feet.

"Everything," Jenner spoke with finality.

From there, everything went quiet.

T

It wasn't long, before Shane's voice was echoing through the room, axe in hand as he ran toward the door. The heavy blade came down, nearly flinging him back as it barely made more than a scratch on the glossy surface. Sparks flew as it caught the side of the axe a second time, Daryl joining in along side of the hot headed deputy. The sound of the axes banging against metal seemed to vibrate through the very air itself, but nothing seemed to work.

"Should have left well enough alone," Jenner spoke up, eyes traveling to those around him. "It would have been so much easier."

"Easier for who?" Lori nearly spat out.

Carol was beside her holding Sophia in her arms. The poor girl had her head down, knees pulled to her chest as she cried. Like everyone else, the young girl felt trapped. Carl wasn't must better and neither was Kenzie. The later of the two was held in Celeste's arms, her own little arms wrapped around the woman's neck as she cried. She didn't fully understand what was going on, but she knew that it wasn't good. Celeste herself was quiet as she stroked the little blond's hair, thoughts of all sorts flying through her head.

"All of you. You know what's out there," Jenner started, answering Lori's question. "A short, brutal life and an agonizing death," he breathed out.

Celeste screwed her eyes shut at Jenner's words. She didn't want to believe what he was saying. There had to be a chance out there.

"Your sister," he started, turning to Andrea this time. "What was her name?"

"Amy," she replied softly.

"Amy," Jenner nodded his head. "You know what this does. You've seen it."

He turned toward Rick this time, staring up at him from his seat.

"Is that really what you want for your wife and son?" Jenner questioned.

Rick was quick to respond, stepping down a bit to Jenner's level in order to look him in the face.

"I don't want this," he said, emphasizing the end of his sentence, before walking away.

Shane was standing near him, head down as he heaved a heavy breath. He was sweating, a shiver running down his spine for a moment.

"Can't make a dent," he grunted.

At the same time, Daryl began making his way over, frustration running through him as he passed by Celeste sitting off to the side in a chair. He was headed for Jenner.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," he explained, speaking as though it were the most obvious thing on earth.

Before he knew it, Daryl was stalking forward in anger, axe raised above his head.

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled, making to swing as Rick and Dale grabbed a hold of him, pulling him back.

"Whoa! Daryl!" Rick yelled, gripping hold of the man as he tried to grab hold of the axe.

T-Dog ran forward as Rick grabbed at Daryl's elbow, trying to hold it off. T-Dog grabbed hold of the handle below the blade, gripping it tightly in an attempt to lower it. At the same time, Jenner was in shock, backing himself up in his seat as she pushed away from the crazed man.

"Just back up!" Rick yelled as T-Dog pulled the axe away. "Back up!"

As Daryl walked away, Jenner finally spoke up, standing from his chair. He watched for a moment, eyeing Daryl, before turning to Rick.

"You do want this," he said. "Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everyone you loved was dead."

Rick stood silently, eyes wide as he turned toward his wife, Lori's eyes staring with disbelief.

"What?" she gaped.

"What? You really said that?" Shane asked, looking up at his friend as his face slowly began to harden. "After all your big talk?"

Rick was quick to turn to his wife and defend himself, trying to push away Shane's words.

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?"

"There is no hope," Jenner reminded him. "There never was."

"There's always hope," Rick fought, walking forward. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere."

Rick was cut off as Andrea spoke up, snapping at him.

"What part of 'Everything is gone', don't you understand?"

"Listen to your friend. She gets it," Jenner said. "This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

Everyone remained quiet for a few moments as they took in Jenner's words once more, having nothing else to do. Carol was still crying with her daughter as she tried to take everything in. She had finally been freed from her husband and now she was facing a deadly disaster.

"This isn't right," Carol choked out. "You can't just keep us here."

Rolling forward in his chair, Jenner came to face Carol, clasping his hands together as he looked at the woman.

"One tiny moment," he began. "A millisecond. No pain."

Celeste had her hands over Kenzie's ears as she cried, her arms shaking as she kept the child in her arms. She looked toward Daryl, tears building. She couldn't believe that this was happening, that they were stuck with no place to go. No hope.

Daryl caught her eyes as he stood there, his hands shaking as they curled at his side. His temper was flaring, boiling over from the heat of the situation around him once more.

"You can't do this to us!" Celeste cried, continuing to cradle Kenzie against her. "She doesn't deserve this! None of them do!"

"But wouldn't it be more humane?" Jenner asked, turning toward her and Kenzie.

"More humane?" Celeste gapped, the corner of her mouth twitching. "More humane?!"

Quickly, Celeste got up from her chair, leaving Kenzie to Carol. Her eyes were on fire as she glared at Jenner, making to strike, but Daryl grabbed her before she got the chance.

"Let go of me! Let go!" she screamed, struggling as Daryl pulled her to him, his arms wrapped tightly around her middle as she tried to kick.

"Please, I wish you would just try to understand," Jenner said gently, brows furrowed slightly at Celeste's new found rage.

"Understand? What's to understand!?" she yelled. "I've been on my own since I could walk, that's what I understand! Yet you want me to try to understand how you want us to just sit here and die?"

Her struggles grew worse as she shook and Daryl had to try even harder to hold onto her. The rest of them merely watched as Daryl tried to contain her having never seen her like that.

"Calm down," Daryl ground out, quickly dropping his weight and there for, them, onto the ground when it had become too much.

Daryl had always been a strong man, but there was only so much that even he could do to hold her back.

"You're killing her!" Celeste cried out, tears falling freely now as she began to shake even more. "You're killing her!" she sobbed, slowly curling up in Daryl's hold as they sat there on the floor, her legs quaking.

Daryl couldn't help, but glare at Jenner as he held onto the woman in his arms, her entire body shaking like a leaf in his hold as she sobbed. He knew full well that she wasn't the type to cry, but even this had proved to be too much for her.

"Wouldn't it be kinder? More compassionate?" Jenner asked. "Just holding your loved ones as you wait for the clock to run down?"

Rick and Dale looked at him as though he had lost his mind, Rick's gaze turning toward Daryl and Celeste for a moment. The woman had given up fighting against the redneck and was now sobbing in his arms, head bowed as though in defeat.

A moment later, the sound of a gun being cocked was heard. Rick ran forward as everyone's eyes went wide with fear.

"Shane, no!" Rick yelled, throwing his hands up.

"Out of the way, Rick!" Shane growled, raising his gun. "Out of my way!"

As he drew closer, T-Dog backed out, hands behind his head. They watched as Shane shoved the gun in Jenner's face, mind clouded over by rage. The second the gun was raised, Dale rushed forward, grabbing hold of Carl and Sophia as Lori pushed her son toward him. Carol had pulled back, holding tightly to the five year old in her arms as she huddled in a corner off to the side away from Shane.

"Open that door or I'll blow your head off. Do you hear me!?" Shane yelled.

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this," Rick said, trying to knock some sense into Shane. "We will never get out of here," he reminded him.

"Shane, you listen to him," Lori shook out, swallowing the lump in her throat as she fought the fear that was creeping up inside of her.

"It's too late," Shane grunted out.

"He dies, we all-," Rick was cut off by Shane crying out, the gun shifting. "We all die!"

A second later, Shane was firing shots into the computer consuls, and Daryl was pulling Celeste further against him as glass was sent flying. Everyone had drawn back as the man let loose round after round into the consuls, Jenner ducking and covering his ears. Rick was the only one to move.

"Momma!" Sophia cried out, curling against her mother.

"Shane!" Rick shouted, trying to draw his attention as he grabbed for the gun.

His words fell on deft ears though and he was left gripping the gun as he tried to pull it from his hands, another shot firing and ringing in his ears.

"Shane!" he yelled, finally pulling it away, before hauling it back and using the butt end to knock the man on the floor.

Shane seemed to have a look of shock on his face as he lay on his back staring up at Rick with wide eyes.

"Are you done now?" Rick asked, gun raised in warning as he fought back the urge to hit him again. "Are you done?" he asked, repeating his question once more as his breath came out in pants.

"Yeah, I guess we all are," he grunted.

It was silent for a few moments as Rick handed the gun off to T-Dog, his eyes scanning his group. Andrea had hidden herself off to the side the moment the gun was brought out. Lori was still somewhat hidden behind another set of consuls with Carol and the children. At the same time, Celeste was still sat on the floor in Daryl's arms, a look of shock plastered across her face. The poor woman looked absolutely terrified, leaving him feeling guilty for not taking the gun away sooner than he had. His eyes connected with Daryl's then, blue on blue. As he stared at the man, he knew what he had to do, slowly turning away from the two on the floor as he turned back toward Jenner.

"I think you're lying," he stated, deciding to switch tactics this time.

"What?"

"You're lying about no hope," Rick said once more. "If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easier way out," he pointed out. "You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter," Jenner said, shaking his head.

"It does matter. It always matters," Rick told him, wiping the sweat from his face. "You stayed when others ran. Why?"

Jenner turned to him as he got closer, their faces merely a foot apart. His eyes were sad almost.

"Not because I wanted to," he ground out. "I made a promise…"

Jenner pointed outward, away from him and toward one of the larger screens. It was the screen he had shown to the group earlier when they had watched the vigil.

"To her. My wife," he finally spoke.

Realization seemed to hit Andrea in a heartbeat as her baby blues widened. It seemed to hit Lori just as quickly as her lips parted, her voice reaching out with a hint of shock laced in her words.

"Test subject 19 was your wife?" she asked, thought it was more of a statement than anything.

Shaking his head, Daryl grabbed for Glenn's attention, drawing the young man toward him. He didn't want to leave Celeste sitting there by herself.

"Take her," he told him, handing her off as he stood up.

She reached out to him, but he held her hands down, gripping them lightly.

"We're gonna get outta here," he promised, before letting go and grabbing for the axe from early.

As he made his way up to the walk way, Jenner continued to speak, saying how his wife had begged him to keep going for as long as possible. She didn't want him to give up in hopes that there was some sort of cure to be found.

"How could I say no?" Jenner asked, before the sound of Daryl's axe hitting the metal door met their ears. "She was dying. It should have been me on that table."

"Hey," Glenn whispered, trying to draw Celeste's attention.

The woman slowly looked up at him, her eyes clouded over as the time on the clock grew shorter and shorter. They had less than ten minutes left.

"Hey," Glenn tried again, flashing her a wary smile. "It's okay."

Celeste felt her lip begin to quiver again as she covered her eyes with her hand. Daryl's banging continued to echo, the sound of him grunting being just as hard as the axe he wielded.

"All we want is a chance," Celeste finally heard Rick said, before Lori spoke up as well.

"Let us keep trying as long as we can," she begged, holding Carl close to her.

Jenner paused for a moment before speaking, biting his lip slightly.

"I told you that topside is locked down. I can't open those," he said, before walking around Rick.

Again, Celeste hung her head as Jenner seemed to flee from the group. They really were going to die there and there was nothing that they could do about it. Slowly, she turned her eyes toward Glenn, tears forming. Her arms found their way around him in an embrace as he sat there, arms carefully wrapping around her. Celeste had never felt so helpless in her life as she sat there. All of the years spent in foster care being bounced around, yet she'd never truly given up. She had known that eventually she would age out and then she'd have a life of her own. For nearly seven years she had been fending for herself; it had been the moment she'd turned 18. Now, she sat there with tears in her eyes and no where to go. Someone else had given up and now she was going to pay the ultimate price for it.

Celeste was so buried in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear the sound of the door sliding back open or the sound of Daryl's voice shouting as he usher people forward and out.

"Come on! Let's go!" Daryl yelled, running back down the ramp as he took Celeste in his arm. "Come on!" he pressed, pushing her forward as he grabbed Kenzie from Carol and lifted the small girl into his arms.

As they hurried out, Celeste glanced back at the clock. They had four and a half minutes left.

"We gotta hurry," Daryl told her. "Grab your shit and quick!"

Celeste spent no time daudling as she ran forward, running down the hall and to their room. Quickly, she pushed the door open, tripping as she scooped up her bag along with Kenzie's. She had grabbed Daryl's pack as well, before tossing him his crossbow.

"Come on," he told her, grabbing his pack from her and swinging it over his shoulder as he pulled her from the room.

From there, they flew up the steps as fast as they could, panting from the thinness of the air. It was dark and they could barely see, trying their best to keep from tripping on the stairs. As they made it to the top, light covered them, rushing toward the doors. As T-Dog banged on them, he found them locked, Daryl looking from side to side trying to put together a plan of action.

"Get them doors opened!" Shane called out, rushing forward with the two duffle bags that he was hauling.

"It doesn't work!" Glenn cried out, frantic as he shoved on the doors.

As T-Dog tried to punch in the button on an access pad, Rick and Daryl ran to the windows, leaving Kenzie with Celeste.

"Daryl!" Rick called out, nodding to the axe in the man's hand.

Daryl nodded his head in understanding, running up beside the sheriff and raising the axe above his head. He let it fall against the window, before being joined by Rick. As they continued, they found no progress. T-Dog was next as he came running forward with a chair in hand, throwing it against the window in a fit of rage.

"Dog, get down! Get down!" Shane yelled, drawing the gun from earlier as he raised it and leveled the sites.

T-Dog was quick to move as Shane fired, the bullet ricocheting after leaving a spray of spots upon the glass. He hissed in anger as he readied another round. Carol came running forward after that, rifling through her bag as she called Rick's attention.

"Rick, I think I have something that might help," she said hurriedly. "Your first morning at camp. When I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket," she said, pulling a grenade from her bag, her hand shaking as she held it.

Rick stood there for a moment, looking up at Carol and then back down at the grenade in her hands. Slowly, he nodded before taking it, running over to the window.

"Get down!" Daryl yelled, running back away as far as he could.

He made a grab for Celeste and Kenzie, pulling the two down the stairs as quickly as possible. That was all that it took as Rick came running back, a curse on the tip of his tongue as he jumped down the stairs. He had barely gotten it out before the thing had exploded, shattering the glass along with everyone's eardrums.

"Come on," Daryl grunted, carefully pulling Celeste from the ground.

The woman wobbled for a moment, gripping the redneck's arm. The explosion had set her off balance, but she shook that off as he pushed her forward, urging her toward the window.

"Ain't got no time, so stay close," he told her, helping her through with the others.

Once Celeste was through, they started running, rushing toward the cars. Rick and Shane led at the front as they fired off shots, shooting several walkers in the head. Daryl had taken his axe as he ran, decapitating one of them. Even T-Dog fired a round as they went, making their way around the barrack fence near the front.

"Everyone, in the cars!" Rick called out.

They were almost in the truck when they heard Lori calling out to Dale and Andrea, the horn of the RV crying out.

"Daryl!" Celeste cried, eyes going wide as flames slowly began licking at the inside of the CDC, rising up toward the massive ceiling.

Time seemed to slow down as Daryl's hand grabbed for her arm, his fingers curling around the muscle, the fire of the building reflecting in his eyes as he pulled her to the truck. Her body met his moments later, the heat of their bodies mingling as he threw them in the cab of the truck, shielding the girls' bodies. He was sure that the words get down never truly made it to her ears before the building exploded, the shockwave blasting through the area like an earthquake, leaving their ears ringing with a painful pull.

Alright everyone, that was chapter 11. I apologize for taking so long, but I got hung up on the dialogue for a bit due to school. Now that it's finally out, I can start on chapter 12. Please, let me know if you have ANY IDEAS? I'd LOVE to hear them no matter what they are! Please, MESSAGE AND REVIEW! Thanks everyone!