CHAPTER NINE:
DECISIONS!
Daryl couldn't help the stupid grin that kept spreading across his face, or the feeling in his gut that had everything to do with the image of big, green eyes and a cocky grin.
What's with you?"
He glanced to his left to see Shane sitting on the floor, drinking deeply from a bottle. He tensed at the sight of him but kept walking.
"It won't last," Shane's voice called. "She won't stay."
Daryl's legs stopped on their own, and despite himself, he turned around. "I don't know what you're talkin' about," he said without thinking.
Shane struggled to his feet. He screwed the cap back on the bottle, shuffling toward him. "Yeah, she's hot. Enjoy it while it lasts."
Daryl bit down on his tongue trying to keep his hands at his side.
Shane snorted. "You think she'd have looked at you twice if she had more options?"
"Man, mind your own business," he spat. His whole body burned with the effort of holding back a punch.
"Just lettin' you know." Shane backed off, grinning. "Girls like her don't belong with guys like you."
"Well, that leaves us in the same boat, don'it?" He stepped into Shane's space, inches from his face. Rage boiled in his stomach. "Now that Rick came an' took his wife back."
The cop's eyes darkened, and he grabbed Daryl's collar. Daryl shoved him back.
"Come on, then, lady killer," Daryl yelled. "Watcha got to say now?"
"You don't wanna play this game, Dixon."
Daryl scoffed. "You ain't nothin' but a bitch."
Shane swung, missing the tip of Daryl's nose by millimeters. Daryl threw himself at the cop and knew nothing else until someone had him under the arms, dragging him back.
Alex rose slowly from the cot, rubbing her eyes. She was intensely aware of the soreness between her legs that was not unpleasant. She let her mind wander back to the night before, feeling her insides squirm with reignited desire.
Shaking her head, smiling, she glanced around the empty room. T-Dog must've taken Jake to eat breakfast to let her sleep. She rubbed her head and stepped out into the hall, finding it too empty. Her stomach growled, but she grabbed her clothes and headed toward the showers, hoping to find them empty.
She was in luck. It seemed that everyone was in the dining hall already, and she set her clothes on a bench and turned on the water as hot as she could stand it. Stripping, she ran her fingers tenderly over the small bruises on her hips and thighs, shuddering at the memory of how she'd gotten them. Shoving that thought away, she quickly washed herself and stepped out, grabbing a white towel that smelled of fabric softener and a hint of bleach. She pressed it to her face and inhaled, not realizing how much she'd missed the smell of clean.
Just as she pulled the last of her clothes on, the door swung open to reveal Andrea, who looked like shit. She nodded, frowning, unsure of what to say. "There's a fresh bar of soap in the last stall," she said, falling quiet, then nodding again. She hurried out. Shaking her head at herself, she traipsed down to the dining room, hair still damp, but only just.
"Morning!" T-Dog called from down the table between Jake and Glen. "Decided to sleep in, huh?"
Alex shrugged and looked for Daryl, who sat at the end of the table between Rick and Dale. He didn't look up, only ate low over his plate, tuning everyone out.
She took her seat beside Jake and pulled an empty plate toward her, suddenly ravenous.
"Hung over?" he asked with a grin, offering her a bowl of scrambled eggs.
"What do you know about being hungover?" she said to the boy, taking the bowl and scooping some onto her plate.
Jake chuckled. "Not much, but all the grownups keep saying they're hungover. I thought you might be, too."
"Smart kid," she grumbled, grabbing a slice of toast and some orange juice.
"After breakfast," Jake said slowly, wringing his hands, "will you show me some stuff?"
Alex looked down at him and snorted. "Didn't I say I would?" She took a long drink of the sweet and tangy liquid.
"Can I sit in on that?" T piped up, breaking away from his own conversation with Glen.
"I guess…"
"Me too?" Glen said at once. "No telling how long it'll be until we gotta go back out on supply runs, and I don't wanna get kidnapped again."
"Do I look like some kind of self defense instructor, or something?" Alex said, a grin chasing the bite off her words. "Fine, but I'm gonna start charging for my services."
"That's the spirit," Rick said from the end of the table.
"You want some lessons, too?" she smirked and leaned back in her chair, biting a chunk out of her toast. She turned her eyes to the man beside him, meeting Daryl's wary gaze and smiled.
"Not me," said Rick, grinning. He glanced over at his family. "But I'd feel a lot better if Lori and Carl could defend themselves."
Alex blinked, careful not to let the smile slip from her features or roll her eyes. She glanced at Lori, who seemed to be considering this. The woman's eyes swept over Shane for the briefest of moments, before she met Alex's stare.
"I would really appreciate it," she said quietly, squeezing Rick's hand.
Alex shrugged. She didn't like Lori, but she recognized the look in her eys when she'd looked at Shane and realized she liked him even less. That scumbag. Her eyes fell onto the scratches on the side of his neck that he'd supposedly "done in his sleep."
"Anybody else?" She couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice no matter how hard she tried.
"Want some help?" Daryl asked quietly, surprising everyone.
Alex's gaze softened on him and she smiled. "Sure thing."
Alex stepped through the doorway of the large, powered down gym, and frowned. She hadn't realized that she'd agreed to help so many people. She glanced up at T-Dog beside her, who seemed to read the agitation in her face. He grinned, pat her shoulder, and joined the small group facing her.
Glen stood at the front, Jake at his side with Carl and Sophia. Carol and Lori were standing a bit further back, whispering softly to themselves, and Dale and Jacque were perched further away, obviously content to just watch the lesson.
Alex sagged at all the attention on her, and nearly turned and walked out, when Daryl stepped in, blocking her retreat.
"You look like you're gonna bolt," he drawled.
She grimaced and turned back to the waiting group. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.
"Okay," she said, somewhat lamely. "The most important things to winning a fight is calm and space. You gotta keep your head and not panic. For that, you'll really need to ask yourself what the point of standing up for yourself is." She cleared her throat and shifted her weight onto her other foot, crossing her arms. "Having a reason to fight-A real reason-Will keep you from freezing up and leaving yourself vulnerable. The second one was psace…obviously, you have a better chance at keeping yourself safe by putting distance between you and your attacker. They can't hit you if they can't reach you."
She turned to Daryl. "Daryl's gonna try and rush me-Try and subdue me, and I'm going to avoid him. It's as simple as it sounds if you keep a clear head." She gestured for him to go, and he lunged for her. Alex simply pushed his arm inward and stepped around his body, then pressed her hand against his exposed ribs.
"Want me to stay like this?" he asked.
"Just for a minute." She turned back to the group. "Just get out of the way. If you gotta push his arms, or sweep his legs, or even drop to the ground and roll away, then do it. See here, how he lunged, missed, and left himself open to attack? The ribs are sensitive, one of the best places to hit anybody." She tapped Daryl's ribs again and smiled when he quivered.
He regained his balance and turned back toward her. She nodded, and he charged her again, his long arms sweeping out to capture her. She retreated a step, then crouched and rolled to the left, just avoiding his grasp.
"If you have to step back," she said. "Then do it. Once you're behind him, run. Lead him somewhere more to your advantage. If he's bigger, lead him into an alley or a hallway, somewhere he can't extend his full reach. This slows him and cuts off the advantage. If he's smaller, lead him to a more open space, somewhere you can move freely and that doesn't keep you blocked in."
She turned back to the group and motioned for Daryl to get behind her.
"The places you always go for on an attacker are the toes." She pretended to stomp on Daryl's foot. "Groin," she mimed backhanding him in the crotch. "Solar plexus," she jabbed her elbow back just where his ribs opened up. "Throat, nose, and eyes." She glanced back at Daryl, nearly feeling him behind her. "At least, on a living person. On a walker, go for the head. Always. If you need to hobble him, take out his knees, but always destroy the brain. It's not so hard to do, their skulls are soft and decayed, so it's almost like smashing a pumpkin. You just have to mean it. Don't baby tap him in the mouth then be surprised that he's still moving. Right. Everybody, pair up. Take turns being the attacker and the defender. I'll walk around and see how you're doing."
During the shuffle of people pairing up, Alex turned to Daryl and let out a breath.
"Truthfully," she said. "How bad am I doing?"
He grinned. "Not bad at all, teach." He chuckled and lowered his voice to a soft whisper. "Think you can show me some things later on?"
She shuddered, meeting his mischievous glare. She couldn't help the grin, even as she rolled her eyes.
"Come on, you volunteered for this," she said huskily. "Go check on that side, I'll head this way."
"You're really getting good at this," Alex said to Carol as she stepped around Lori. "With a little work, you could be a real badass."
The woman smiled. "No, I couldn't. It's just, I always wanted to learn this stuff. I wish I would've known something…"
The lights flickered twice, then went down completely. The room grew silent.
"I think that's our cue to wrap this up," T said from nearby.
Alex ran toward the doors of the lab, sliding to a stop as they swung open. Jenner marched out, paused to look up at them, then kept going without a word.
"Hey, doc?" T-Dog called.
"What's his problem?" Andrea said, watching him go.
The door swung open and Rick and Shane marched out looking slightly harassed.
"I don't like the way Jenner clammed up," Shane said, following Rick toward the stairs. "The way he just wandered off like that."
Alex and T exchanged a glance then hurried after them.
"What's wrong with him?" T asked. "Seriously, man, is he nuts? Medicated? What?"
"In there," Rick said, pulling open a pair of doors leading to a metal, spiraling staircase. He rushed down, followed by Shane, T-Dog, Alex, and Glen, while the others went back to their rooms to wait for answers. They came to another set of doors at the bottom that lead into the basement.
"Check that way," Rick said to Glen, and T-Dog. "Alex, Shane."
Alex jogged after the men, her mind whirring.
"What's going on, Rick? What'd we miss?"
The generators are almost out of fuel," Shane answered, peeking around a row of metal shelving units.
"So?" Alex could feel the agitation from both men.
Rick grabbed the drum of fuel attached to the generator and heaved it.
"It's empty," he said, nearly breathless with panic.
"When the generator runs out," Shane continued, checking another drum. "Fuck! Facility wide decontamination."
Alex, helping to check the drums, frowned. "What the hell does that mean?"
"We don't…"
The lights shut off. Weak, blue lights flickered on in spots around the room.
"Hey," Glen called, running to meet them around the corner. "You guys kill the lights?"
"Nah," Shane said, looking up at the lights. "It just went out."
Rick turned to face them as T-Dog caught up with them. "Anything?" he asked, almost desperate.
"Yeah," said T. "A lot of dead generators and more empty fuel drums than I can count."
"It can't be down to just that one," Shane said, pacing.
"We gotta go," Alex said, grabbing T and Glen by the arms and tugging them back toward the stairs. "We gotta get some answers." Rick and Shane were close behind them.
Rick!" cried Lori, as soon as the group from the basement entered the lab.
Jake left Dale's side and sprinted toward Alex, hugging her around the hips.
"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked, hurrying toward the man.
"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power." Jenner tapped the screen of his computer, pulling up a large clock that counted down by the second. "It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark." He took a swig of brown liquor, then handed it to Daryl. "Right on schedule."
Alex untangled Jake's arms from around her, holding his hand, and strode forward, studying the clock.
"It was the French," Jenner said, watching her.
"What?" Lori stood nearby, clutching her son to her.
"They were the last ones to hold out, as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the end." Jenner let out a shaky laugh, running his hands through his hair. "They thought they were close to a solution."
"What happened?" Jacque asked.
Jenner shook his head. "The same thing that's happening here. No power grids. They ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?"
"Let me tell you-"Shane pointed at the scientist.
"To hell with it, Shane," Rick yelled. "I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff." He looked around at the others. "We're getting out of here. Now!"
Alex tightened her grip on Jake's hand and turned toward their office room. Before they could take two steps, an alarm blared loudly, drowning out everyone's cries.
"What is it?" Jake whimpered, his face drained of color.
"What's that!" Daryl yelled, just feet from them.
The robotic voice echoed over the P.A. "30 minutes to decontamination."
"Doc," Daryl snarled, rounding on the man who punched in a code to shut off the alarm. "What's going on here?"
"Everybody, ya'all heard Rick," Shane hollered. "Get your stuff and let's go. Now!"
T-Dog ran back into the office carrying three backpacks. "Let's go!"
"Come one!" Glen yelled.
The sound of gears grinding filled the room, then the clank of metal as the doors slid shut.
"No," Alex gasped.
"Did you just lock us in?" Glen cried. "He just locked us in!"
Jenner sat down at his computer, turning his back on everyone.
"Alex," Jake whispered, his hand like a vise on her own.
"You son of a bitch!" Shane roared, leaping toward Jenner.
"Shane!" Rick grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back.
"You let us out of here!" Daryl snarled, pacing the catwalk like a caged animal, before ducking around Rick to hit the doctor with his crossbow.
"No!" T-Dog yelled, grabbing him from behind. "Stop! Don't!"
Daryl raged, nearly getting free of T's arms. "You lying…" Fury burned in his eyes.
Jenner," Rick said as calmly as he could manage. "Open that door now."
"There's no point," he said. "Everything top side is locked down." He looked Rick in the eye. "The emergency exits are sealed."
"Well, open the damn things!" Daryl yelled, still being restrained by T.
Jenner shook his head. "That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way."
"What is?" asked Rick, fighting down his hysteria. "What happens in…" he looked at the clock…"28 minutes?" Jenner didn't answer. "What happens in 28 minutes?!"
"Come on!" T finally released Daryl but stood blocking his path to the doctor. He prowled back and forth, trying to think.
"You know what this place is?!" Jenner yelled, rising to his feet and gesturing to the room around them. "We protected people from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country-stuff you don't ever want getting out! Ever!" He took a deep breath, calming himself. "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."
"H.I.T.s?" said Rick.
"High-impulse thermobaric fuel," Alex said softly, a shadow falling over her eyes. "It sets the air on fire…the only thing more powerful is a nuclear blast. It…" She swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head.
"No pain," said Jenner. "An end to sorrow, grief…regret." His eyes met Alex's, imploring her to understand. "Everything."
"Open the damn door!" Daryl screamed.
"Out of my way," Shane said, racing toward the door with a fire axe.
"Daryl!" called T-Dog, tossing him another axe.
The three of them swung with everything they had, over and over.
"You should've left well enough alone," Jenner sighed, physically sagging in his seat. "It would've been so much easier."
Easier for who?" said Lori, sliding onto the floor with Carl in her lap.
"All of you." He shook his head. "You know what's out there…a short, brutal life and an agonizing death."
Alex sat on the floor against the desk, watching the guys hack at the door. Jake curled up in her lap, hiding his face in her shoulder, her hair draping over his head as she hugged him.
"Your…your sister," she could hear Jenner say. "What was her name?"
"Amy." Andrea's voice shook.
"Amy." Jenner let out a heavy sigh. "You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that really what you want for your wife and son?"
"I don't want this," Rick cried.
"Can't make a dent!" Shane yelled.
"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," Jenner said.
"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl snarled, hefting the axe back and stepping toward the doctor.
T-Dog grabbed his shoulder. "Whoa! Whoa!"
Rick was on his feet, holding a hand out toward Daryl.
Daryl!" He glanced back at Alex for help, but she stared back lifelessly. "Daryl! Just back up-Back up!"
"You do want this," Jenner's voice said soothingly. Alex blinked, her eyes feeling hot and dry. "Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."
"What?" Shane said, dropping the axe and stalking toward Rick with his head cocked. "What? You really said that? After all your big talk?"
Rick gestured for Shane to stay calm. "I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?"
"There is no hope," said Jenner. "There never was."
"There's always hope," Rick said. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere…"
"What part of 'everything's gone' do you not understand?" Andrea spat.
"Listen to your friend, she gets it." Jenner huffed. "This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."
A gun cocked from somewhere nearby, and Alex glanced up to see Shane with a shotgun to Jenner's face.
"Shane, no!" Rick cried.
"Out of the way, Rick!" Shane yelled, staring down murderously at Jenner. "Stay out of my way! Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!"
"Brother," Rick said in a soft voice, at Shane's side. "Brother, this is not the way you do this." Shane shrugged him off. "We will never get out of here."
"Shane," Lori sobbed. "You listen to him."
"It's too late," said Jenner, staring back up at Shane.
Rick interrupted the man. "He dies, we all…" Shane let out a dangerous, guttural yell. "We all die! Shane!" Rick sounded panicked. "SHANE!"
The roar of the shotgun pierced Alex's ears. She vaguely felt wood splinter beside her head. Jake screamed, and she dropped to the floor, shielding him with her own body, squeezing him to her chest. Round after round, Shane kept squeezing the trigger, decimating the desk Alex had been leaning against. Jake sobbed beneath her.
Rick punched Shane and ripped the weapon from his hands, and the madman dropped onto his back beside Alex. Rick hesitated on bringing the gun down on him.
"Are you done now?" Rick yelled. Are you done?"
"Yeah, I guess we all are," Shane spat, letting his head hit the floor.
"Are you fucking insane?" T-Dog yelled at Shane as both he and Daryl moved toward him.
Rick headed them off. "Just stop, okay? No more."
"He almost killed them," Daryl growled. "He could have blown both their heads off…she was right there!"
Alex raised her head from the floor.
"Daryl," she mumbled, rocking back on her heels and pulling Jake up with her. She pushed his hair back, looking him over for any sign of injury. "Rick's right. We have to focus on getting out of here." She looked up at him with terror. Not for herself, but for Jake, who was still crying in her arms.
Daryl turned and went back to work on the door. Alex climbed to her feet and went to sit closer to him.
"I'm getting you out of here," he said without looking at her. "I'm getting us out of here."
"Mm," she said, stroking Jake's hair.
"I think you're lying," said Rick.
"What?" Jenner looked up at him.
"You're lying," Rick said again, "about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"
"Not because I wanted to," Jenner scoffed. "I made a promise to her…" he pointed to the screen that showed TS-19." "My wife."
"She was your wife?" Lori gasped.
"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no?"
The axe falls reverberated through Alex's spine and skull.
"She was dying." Jenner's voice broke. "It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place, I just worked here." He hit the table. "In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just Edwin Jenner. She could have done something about this. Not me."
"Your wife didn't have a choice," Rick said gently. "You do. That's…that's all we want. A choice. A chance."
"Let us keep trying as long as we can," Lori whispered.
Jenner stood. "I told you, topside's locked. I can't open those." He moved toward a side table and input a code on a keypad. The doors slid open.
"Come on!" Daryl called, grabbing Alex around the waist and hoisting her onto her feet. He grabbed her hand and pulled her after him, racing for the stairs to get up top. "We're getting out of here," he promised, squeezing her hand. They got to the front doors, and he released her, bringing the axe back up.
Alex stepped back, cradling Jake, who was quiet, but nearly crushing her neck with his grip. She turned to see the others run past.
"Daryl, look out!" T-Dog called, sweeping up a chair and smashing it into the door. It splintered all over both of them.
"Dog, get down!" Shane yelled, levelling his shotgun at the doors. "Get down!"
Daryl and T both got out of the way as Shane fired the rest of his shells.
"The glass won't break?" Sophia whimpered.
"Rick," said Carol. "I have something that might help."
Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna help," Shane grumbled.
She ignored him, looking up at Rick. "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform," she pulled a grenade out of her bag. "I found this in your pocket."
Rick's eyes went wide as he took it.
"Look out!" Shane yelled as Rick pulled the pin and set it beside the doors.
"Oh shit!" Rick yelled as he ran.
Daryl swept Alex and Jake into his arms and pulled them down behind a stone wall as far back as they could get, covering their heads.
The grenade exploded, shattering the glass. Alex hugged Jake and pressed herself into Daryl's chest.
"C'mon," she could vaguely hear Shane yell.
Daryl pulled her up, leading her through the hole that used to be the front doors. Walkers were already converging on them. Shane blasted one, Rick another.
"Get to the truck and close the door," Daryl said in her ear. "I won't let anything get near you. Go!"
Alex squeezed his hand, then tightened her hold on Jake, before sprinting as fast as she could toward her truck. She opened the passenger door, climbed in, and slammed the door behind her. She peered out the window, relieved to see Daryl had made it to his truck as well.
The last thing she heard was T-Dog climbing into the driver's seat, before everything went black.