WARNING: This story contains heavy foul language, detailed death, implied sexual content, and an extreme amount of feels. I DO NOT own The Walking Dead, any of the mentioned characters in this story, or "You" (because apparently it's illegal to kidnap people and keep them in your basement).

Chapter Twenty-Six

Secrets

Your P.O.V.

The place was dead. And you weren't referring to the awful sight of the dead trees, the littered streets, the damaged buildings, or the horrible stench. No, you meant that the place was literally dead.

Walkers were the only things that had filled the streets of Crawford, and it had taken everyone by surprise. After discovering that a Crawford security guard was really a walking corpse, and then noticing walkers bolting out of the shadows and running near your group, Ryan had yelled to run, and everyone followed him into the main Crawford building. The inside had the walls and floors splattered with blood in different areas, but there wasn't many walkers.

The ones that were inside the building had been taken care of if they had gotten in your group's way. Eventually, your group had passed through a couple glass doors. As you did, Marzia and Felix roughly shut them and pressed their weight against it, just in case any walkers had followed the group inside. Everyone looked surprised. Beside you, Kenny panted and swore over and over.

"Fuck... fuck! Do you think they saw us?!"

"I have no idea!" Ryan chimed in from your other side.

You looked to Clementine and crouched down, beginning to examine her for any wounds. You looked up to her and asked if she was okay, and she said she was. You cracked a small smile and pat her head, giving her a light praise before standing up again.

"What the hell happened here?" Christa asked. "I thought this place was supposed to be secure!" Her eyes had been scanning the room. You hadn't taken the time to do that, so... you did so.

Like you had mentioned before... there was blood everywhere, but no bodies accompanied it. A couple boxes of paper had been knocked over. Dirt and mold covered the walls. Doors were open, or lay broken on the ground. A couple lockers were opened, plants were seeping in through the ceiling, and there were small holes in different parts of the roof. Christa was right. What the fuck happened?

"What always happens, I guess..." Molly answered Christa's question with a casual tone, and a sigh. "In the end, the dead always win."

That freaked you out a little... and it freaked Clementine out, too. She moved closer to you, and you gently pat her head as you continued to look around. Ben continued to pace around, fisting his hair with his hands as he gave nervous breaths and mumbles.

"This is good." Vernon suddenly chimed in, voice soft. You looked to the old man, and then to Ryan, who had decided to speak up again.

"You know, the old man is right." He said. "We can deal with walkers easier than armed guards."

"I agree!" Kenny nodded. "As long as we don't let them box us in, we can do this. The plan hasn't changed."

Ben stopped in his pace and turned to Kenny, lightly scoffed. "The plan hasn't changed?!" He whispered. "Every time walkers show up, the plan changes. Do you even have any idea how many of them are out there?!"

"No." Christa suddenly came to Ben's side. She glared. "Do you wanna do a headcount? Or do you want to get what we need and get the hell out of here?!"

Ben blinked... and then quickly looked away, having nothing more to say. You felt a pang of pity for the teenager... but said nothing.

"Fuck you, Ben."

You heard Ryan mumble, his voice very, very soft. No one else seemed to hear it, but you had. You looked up to Ryan, and his eyes went wide when he realized you'd heard him. You rose a brow as if to say Dude-What-Was-That-For?, and he didn't respond.

"Come on, this way." Vernon mumbled. You turned and watched as he began descending a hallway. "I know which way to go."

The group began to walk, but before he did, Ben stared into the hallway and gave a small sigh.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

OoOoOo

You hadn't realized that the building your group had entered was a school, until everyone stepped inside a classroom. The classroom, which was dark and gloomy, looked like it used to be fun and colorful. There was a chalk-board, a globe, several inspiring posters, desks, shelves full of school supplies, colorful rugs, and large, boarded-up windows. The chalk-board had Crawford information written all over it. Beside the board, there was a door labeled Armory. Kenny and Ben had taken immediate notice to it and trotted over, trying to undo the lock that was apparently set. Everyone moved to different areas of the room as they made to get comfortable. You watched as Clementine moved to a desk and sat down in a chair, folding her hands together on the surface of the table. You smiled at that.

"It looks like they were using this class-room as some kind of command center," Ryan mumbled as he moved over to the chalk-board. Christa made his way to Ryan's side and looked up to it, giving nods of agreement as she traced her finger over an area on the board.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Felix piped up from one side of the room. "We're in the building. Now what?"

"Here." Vernon's voice suddenly piped up. Your group looked over the old man, watching as he looked over a small map that was placed next to the classroom door. He was tracing his finger over one spot of the map as he closely looked at it. You curiously trotted over to Vernon's side.

"Where would be the best place to look for Medicine?" You asked, your thoughts falling onto Omid. While getting fuel and a battery was important, Omid's health was even higher on the list. No man would be left behind when it came to health.

"Right here!" Marzia gasped, pointing to an area on the map. "The nurse's station. They were using it as a medical facility!"

Christa blinked. "How do you know that?" She asked, voice slightly suspicious. Marzia looked a little nervous... which definitely grabbed your attention, but Molly spoke for her.

"Just... makes sense, doesn't it?" The blonde asked.

"How about fuel?" Ryan chimed in. "For the boat?"

"There's a maintenance shed across from the playground," Vernon mumbled. He reached up and pointed to the map. "here. If they were storing fuel, that's probably where it'd be."

"So, then..." You reached up to the map with your index finger. "All we need is a battery. There's an auto-shop right there. Do you think they'd put the battery there?"

"Yep." Vernon replied. "It's called 'Hermon's'. You can't miss it."

"Okay." Kenny spoke up. He'd moved away from the Armory (as Ben had also done) and made his way toward the map with the rest of the group. "I'll head over to the maintenance shed for the fuel."

"It'll be faster if I go with you," Vernon piped up. "I can take you right to it."

"I'll come too!" Ben suggested. Kenny turned to the teenager suddenly, and shook his head.

"No." He told the kid. "Two people's enough. You stay here and see if you can use any of those tools we brought to get that Armory door open." He paused. "We might need to shoot our way out of here."

Ben looked disappointed, but he didn't argue. He turned and made his way back over to the Armory, taking the red tool-box with him.

"I'll go for the medicine." Christa decided.

Marzia looked to her and smiled. "I'll come with you. I'll know what to take."

"Good," Felix mumbled. "I'll join the two of you, then."

"Okay, I guess that leaves [Your Name] and I to go find a battery," Ryan chimed in. "Shouldn't be too hard. I think we can handle it."

"I'll go with you both," Molly suddenly piped up. "You can never have too many people."

You slowly nodded at the offer, and smiled. "Thanks Molly."

"And you," Molly turned to Felix. "You keep an eye on Marzia. I don't want a scratch on her."

Felix chuckled. "Not a scratch," He promised.

"Okay, we've got a plan." Ryan continued. "Everyone be careful, and stay close to each other. We'll all meet back here when we're ready. Good luck."

OoOoOoO

"Can you get it open?"

"I don't know."

"Well, try!"

"But-"

"Come on, Ryan. You're always bragging about how strong you are. Lift the door!"

You watched with amusement as Ryan gave you a sympathetic, puppy-dog look. The two of you were outside, trying to get into the maintenance-shed. The entrance was blocked by a heavy metal door... the kind you can open from the bottom. However, they were usually really heavy and controlled by a remote... something the two of you didn't have.

And Molly had vanished, so the two of you were left to figure out how to get it open yourselves. Now, Ryan had attempted twice to open the door with his bare hands, and both times, he had failed, proving that the door was too heavy for him. You'd broken out into a fit of laughter, which he had shushed with a kiss. And now, the two of you were standing side by side, his arms crossed and your hands on your hips as you tried to figure out exactly how to open the door.

Suddenly, a body fell from... you were hoping the roof of another building, and slammed onto the ground. It was a corpse, but... a dead one. You gave a short scream as it fell only several feet away, and Ryan pulled you into his arms. He pulled his gun from his belt, but he had no need for it. Molly's slender figure suddenly jumped to the ground beside the corpse.

"LEAVE HIM!" She snarled. Your eyes widened, and you edged closer to Ryan as you saw the pure rage on her face. She stalked toward the corpse, her yellow weapon thing in her hand. She growled as she approached the walker.

"He's MINE." She informed. You watched with wide eyes as she began to angrily kick the corpse. She kicked it over and over again... even though it lay limp and lifeless. Then, she bent over and began to hack her weapon into it like no tomorrow.

You continued to stare with wide eyes, which was the same expression Ryan had on his face. The two of you stared, and when you realized Molly wasn't going to stop, Ryan finally called out to her. She spun around and glared.

"What?!" She snarled.

Ryan nervously swallowed... before gesturing to the corpse. "I think you got him."

Molly panted and snarled. "ONE MORE." She demanded, before throwing her blade into the corpse's skull. You tensed, unsure of what to think. Ryan moved away from your side and toward Molly, his steps slow, and cautious.

"He's wearing medical scrubs." The brunette stated. "Some kind of doctor, maybe?"

"Yeah, well..." Molly snarled and kicked the corpse again. "He ain't shit now!" She sighed, and after she was done getting over her rage with the walker, she looked up to you and Ryan. You'd made your way over to Ryan's side to examine the corpse yourself.

"Did you find us a way in?" Molly asked.

Ryan slowly nodded. "Yeah, but the garage door is jammed. I can't raise it."

"Oh!" Molly laughed. She reached into her bag and suddenly pulled out a small crank before handing it to your boyfriend. "Not a problem. Look what I found."

Ryan's eyes lit up. "Oh, sweet! It's a... a thing!"

You gave a nod of approval, and your own small laugh. "That'll work!" You announced.

Ryan made his way over to the garage door, but the sudden sounds of groans stopped his walk. The three of you turned to look at the broken fence, watching as walkers, who realized you were there, began to try to get through. You watched the fence move. It wouldn't be long before the whole thing came down. You flashed Ryan a panicked look.

"Cry!" You snapped.

Ryan quickly nodded and dove to the bottom of the garage door, and after partially lifting it up, slid the crank thing underneath. Molly crouched beside Ryan, and the two began to deal with the door. Molly gave hurried remarks or grunts as the two tried to get the door opened. You stood and watched, feeling a little helpless.

You then turned to the fence and watched as it came down. The front row of walkers fell with it, but the ones behind them stumbled past, and began to make their way toward your small group. Your eyes widened further.

"C-Cry..." You mumbled. "Hurry...!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Ryan replied to you. There was a pause. "Okay! Get in!"

The door was opened enough for three bodies to slide through. Molly was the first to go in, and then you, and then Ryan.

When the three of you were in, you got to your feet and looked toward the door. The feet of walkers passed by, but now, they weren't exactly trying to get in. You gave a sigh of relief and gave Ryan a smile, before walking up to him and giving him a hug.

"You did it!" You laughed.

Ryan chuckled and gently rubbed your back with his hand, and planted a kiss on your forehead. "Of 'course I did. I can do anything!"

"Take a look around." Molly ordered to you both as she made her way toward the garage door. "I'm gonna make sure no stragglers get under this door."

"Sounds good."

Cry's P.O.V.

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK

"Oh, FUCK!"

I screamed as I watched the car hit the ground, and initiate the loud, never-ending chorus of honking. My whole body tensed with fear, my hand using a particularly tough grip on Hilda (t'was the name the sharp weapon received from Molly). I looked over to Molly, as the hooded female got to her feet and turned to me.

"That's probably not good..." She started.

"No shit, it's not good!" [Your Name] spoke up from the middle of the room, eyes looking to the bottom of the garage door. Her eyes were wide with surprise and fear. She looked to me with a helpless expression, unsure of what to do. I gave her a shrug and looked to Molly, who had run up to me and grabbed her weapon from my hands.

"I'll try to hold them off!" She announced, before bolting back toward the garage door. "Hurry!"

I gave a quick nod and looked back to the loud-beeping car, and hurried as I took the battery from it's hood. Once I had it in my hands, I looked to Molly.

"I got it!"

"Good!" Molly replied. "But we've still got a problem here!"

[Your Name] had joined Molly, throwing her feet forward to kick the heads of walkers that were trying to crawl in. She looked fearful, but at the same time, determined. She had no weapon in her hand, though I noticed that she kept her arms a little closer to her gun than usual... just in case.

I ran over to the two of them, and at Molly's command, I slipped the battery into her back-pack. Once I did, she sprung up from where she crouched and moved toward the van. [Your Name] and I followed her as she ran, now having to avoid the walkers that were slipping inside.

"Move your ass!" Molly commanded as she climbed up the latter of the truck. We bolted after her, and after she'd made it to the top, I let [Your Name] go next. She was about half-way up before I hoisted myself onto the latter. I got up in just enough time to avoid the walker's hands that had moved to grab at my arm. We were quick to get to the top, and once we did, we looked around.

"What now?!" [Your Name] asked.

Walkers slammed themselves against the van, and pushed it back and fourth as they tried to get to us. I frantically looked around, and at the same time as Molly did, I found myself looking up toward the glass ceiling.

"Skylight!" Molly announced.

"Got it!" I replied. I grabbed the gun from my pocket and pointed it toward the ceiling, and pulled the trigger. A single shot flew through the air and pierced the glass, causing one of the large panes to shatter. After they did, I watched as Molly unhooked Hilda and jumped up, hooking the blade onto the edge of the skylight.

She hoisted herself over the edge, and then turned and leaned down. Before she could protest, I took [Your Name] by the waist and hoisted her up. Molly grabbed her arms and pulled her up over the edge. They then turned and leaned down, and each one took my hand. They both hoisted me over the edge... and as soon as my foot left the van, the whole vehicle knocked over, causing a loud crash to sound. I looked over the edge and watched the walkers swarm the van. My eyes widened, and I looked to the two girls.

"You two okay?" I asked.

[Your Name] slowly nodded. "I'm fine."

"I am, too." Molly replied. "We've got the battery. Let's go."

Your P.O.V.

The two of you walked through the hallway together, fingers intertwined as you held hands. ...It wasn't the perfect scene to be having romantic feelings in... but hell, was there ever a romantic scene during the Zombie Apocalypse? You thought not. So the two of you walked together, hand in hand, looking around the hallway as you observed the condition of the building.

Molly had helped you guys back into the hall, but she'd kept the battery, promising she'd return with it later, and ran off, leaving you and Ryan confused, and a little annoyed. However, you somehow trusted that Molly would return, so you didn't fret too much over the fact that she'd run off with the battery. Now, all you had to do was get back to the classroom, and wait for everyone else to show up-

"A LITTLE HELP HERE?!"

You gasped, giving a small, startled scream as the glass double-doors swung open, revealing Kenny and Vernon. They set the gallons of fuel on the ground before spinning around and bracing themselves against the door, trying to prevent the crowd of walkers that were trying to break through. Realizing what the issue was, you and Ryan dove in to help, bracing yourselves against the door.

Soon enough, the doors shut, and you watched as Kenny pulled a small axe from his belt and jammed it between the door handles. The four of you backed away and watched as the walkers tried to get through... but failed. You gave a relieved sigh and turned to Kenny, and then looked down to the fuel.

"You got the fuel!" You grinned. "Good job!"

Kenny, after recovering from the slight scare that happened a couple moments before, gave you a curt nod and took two gallons of fuel into his hands.

"Let's not start high-fiving each other just yet," Kenny replied, trying to speak over the loud groans of the walkers. Let's get the hell back to the classroom." He gestured to Vernon, who was holding about five gallons of fuel (HOW DID HE DO IT?!). "Give us a hand with these fuel cans. They weigh a God-damned ton."

OoOoOoO

When you walked into the classroom, Clementine was the first one to greet you. Her eyes were lit up, and her face was beaming. She gave a delighted smile as her eyes fell upon you.

"You're back!" She exclaimed. You smiled at her, but it was Kenny who spoke next.

"Yeah, and we made out pretty good, too."

Ben looked over his shoulder, his body hunched over by the Armory door. "Great work, Kenny!" The teenager praised.

Kenny smiled, and set down the fuel cans he held. "How are you doing on that door?"
You followed suit and set down the heavy cans you held... and so did Ryan and Vernon. Ben looked up from where he crouched and lightly shook his head.

"Not so good." He admitted.

Kenny gave a huff and made his way to Ben's side. "Here, let me give you a hand." He said softly. He crouched down beside the teenager and began to fiddle with the door, and as he did, he looked over his shoulder to you and Ryan. "Get that battery yet?" He asked.

"Yeah... Molly has it." Ryan replied. "She should be back here, soon."

Kenny gave a slightly irritated frown and put his attention back toward the door. "She'd better be." He mumbled.

"What do we need?" Ben piped up again. You took a few steps toward the middle of the classroom.

"We've already got the fuel and the battery," You replied. You watched Ben stand up and walk toward you. "Once we find the medicine, we'll be good to go."

"So," Kenny looked over his shoulder. "Where's this battery you found?"

Seriously? Had Kenny not been listening like, five seconds ago?

"Molly has it." You reminded the short-term-memory-loss redneck. "She went to go do something."

"Well, she'd better bring it back here." Kenny growled, as he had said before. "I don't know why you trusted that girl with it. We hardly know her."

You lightly frowned at the comment. "She saved your life, didn't she?" You asked.

"Hmph. Yeah," Kenny replied. "But what has she done for me lately?"

"Wait..."

Ben lowered his voice into a whisper. You felt Ryan at your side. Ben took a step closer to both of you... his body only inches away. He looked down at his feet.

"Um, there is something you can help me with, after all." He told you two. "Something that has been on my mind. I could use your opinion."

Ryan hummed. "What is it?"

"It's Kenny." Ben whispered. "Since I've been working with him on the boat, I've gotten to know him a little better. He's a good guy, you know?" He looked back up to you two and crossed his arms. "And it's eating me up... knowing what I know."

You tensed. You didn't like this subject. At all.

"I've been thinking about telling him the truth," Ben finished.

"Ben, come on." Ryan mumbled. "This again?"

"It's my fault Duck and Katjaa got killed." Ben whispered. "If I hadn't screwed up back at the motor-inn, they'd still be alive. How am I supposed to just carry something like that around? I have to tell him."

There was silence between you, Ryan, and Ben as the three of you thought about the situation. Telling Kenny in this moment wasn't a good idea. But not telling Kenny at all was bad. Something had to be done.

"I agree," You finally started, your voice a whisper. "You should tell him. Just... not right now."

"You don't get it, [Your Name]!" Ben snapped in a hushed tone. "What am I supposed to do whenever he talks about Katjaa and Duck? Just nod, and pretend it wasn't my fault?" He sighed. "I can't do it anymore."

"Ben, listen." Ryan chimed in. "Kenny seems like he's gotten his shit back together, because right now, he's got a purpose. But he's still in a really bad place. If you tell him now, he's going to flip shit. ...And then we're all screwed." He looked Ben in the eyes. "There will come a time when he's ready to hear it... but not now. Not yet."

Ben frowned, obviously pissed. He turned and walked away, not saying another word. You gave a look of sympathy as you watched the teenager go. You knew how he felt, but... you also knew that now wasn't the time to resolve things. That should come later. You looked up to Ryan and put a hand on his shoulder, and mouthed "Thank You".

OoOoOoO

The two of you had gone back to walking through the halls together, after you finished checking on Clementine. Ben was angry at you, Kenny was determined to get inside the Armory, Vernon had busied himself with striking up a conversation with Clementine, and there wasn't anyone else to socialize with.

You and Ryan had suddenly grown concerned with Felix, Marzia, and Christa's absence. You wanted to make sure the three of them were okay. So the two of you ventured back into the hallway, hoping you might see Molly as you did so. And as you both turned the corner, your eyes fell upon a small crowd of walkers trying to get into a door.

You suddenly had a guess on where your three friends were.

You and Ryan, sharing the same thoughts, rose your guns and began to soot at the walkers. A couple of them turned to you as you shot, but they soon went down with the rest of their rotton-faced buddies. It wasn't long before they were all dead, and the door was at peace once more. You sighed and put your gun into your belt, and after checking to make sure Ryan was okay (why wouldn't he be?), the two of you opened the door and ventured inside.

It was a nurses room, as you expected. Felix, Marzia, and Christa had been hiding behind pieces of furniture with their guns ready and pointed at the door. However, when they realized who had taken care of the walkers, they gave small sighs of relief and took you both out of their lines of fire. They emerged from their hiding spots and made their way toward you both.

"What the hell happened?" Ryan asked, quirking a brow.

Christa mumbled nervously. "They had wandered into the hallway after we got inside," She informed. "I think they must of heard us rooting around in here. The whole place is infested! They're everywhere!"

"Calm down!" You told her as politely as you could. "We took care of them. What about the medicine? Did we find what we need?"

Felix had made his way toward a locked cabinet in the corner of the room while Christa and you had spoken, and sighed when you asked the question. He gestured to the cabinet.

"That's our other problem." He informed. "It seems like they'd been keeping all the important medicine in this safe... and it's locked up tight."

"Hey, no worries, friend." Ryan moved forward and made his way next to the blonde Swede. "Perhaps we can bust this open?"

"Maybe with enough time," Marzia chimed in. "But we don't have much of that right now. It'd be quicker if we knew the four-digit combination."

"Well, I doubt they just wrote it down in here for us to find." Christa grumbled as she walked around the room. "We should just try busting it open... we don't have any other choice."

"Okay, let's get started, then." Ryan spoke again. "[Your Name] and I will look around outside and see if we can find anything useful. Maybe the code is in one of the lockers in the hallways."

Marzia, Christa, and Felix seemed fine with this, and went to try to bust the cabinet open. Ryan left their side and walked toward you, flashing you a small smile as he approached.

"Wanna go take a look around outside?"

You hesitated... looking to the group of three in the corner as they tried their useless attempts to get the cabinet open. You then looked back to Ryan, and nodded.

"Sure."

Cry's P.O.V.

It fucking took forever, but [Your Name] and I had finally found the code... kind of. [Your Name] and I had gone hunting around for the code, and finally, we wound up outside. We'd come across the walker that Molly had kicked the shit out of, and discovered a video tape inside his jacket.

After that, through the hallway, we'd stumbled upon an open locker, that revealed another video tape. We'd played the tape we found on the desk in the nursery, and then the second one. The second one gave the combination, but after that, everyone beside [Your Name] and I didn't care about the third.

Felix, Marzia, and Christa went back to the classroom, leaving me and [Your Name] about our business. We decided to play the third tape, and...

"Molly..." [Your Name] had gasped.

"Listen, as fun as this was, I have to put a stop to this little arrangement. This is the last I can give you." A doctor inside the medical room zipped up the zipper of his pants and turned to face a young woman sitting on the bed.

"Why?!" The young woman, a cleaner, saner-looking version of Molly demanded an explanation as she got to her feet.

"Oberson had someone in here yesterday, taking inventory. They're really cracking down. I just can't risk it." The doctor replied. He pulled a small bag of medication from his cabinet and handed it to her.

Molly looked enraged. "We had a deal!"

"Yes. We HAD a deal." The doctor crossed his arms. "We don't anymore."

"My sister NEEDS this medicine! Without it, she'll die, or... she'll start showing symptoms and they'll take her away!" Molly pointed out. She snatched the bag from her doctor's hands. "I can't let that happen."

"I'm sorry, Molly, I've done all I can, but I have to look out for myself here." The doctor sighed and turned away. Molly, incredibly pissed, roughly shouldered him with her own shoulder before storming out of the room.

"Yeah... 'cause that's the Crawford way, isn't it?"