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Chapter 7

Kerri woke early the next morning; she hadn't really slept well anyway, between the occasional pain in her ankle and upset about how badly the run had gone she had tossed and turned most of the night. She decided to head downstairs for some coffee and breakfast before everyone else woke up for the day.

The entire cell block was quiet; the only other people downstairs were Rick and Judith. He gave her a quick nod before moving on to wake up Carl and passing Judith onto Beth for the day. That left Kerri alone, sipping on her coffee and eating her granola bar. She wondered what Hershel and Dr. S. had planned for her today.

Initially her shifts with them had included sorting through and organizing medical supplies that had been gathered on runs, but that was just about done. She really hoped they didn't stick her with training some of the others about basic first aid. Obviously it was vital to their group's survival, but Kerri never had felt comfortable teaching others, she just felt as though she lacked the patience required to be a good instructor.

Kerri's thoughts were interrupted by a steady trickle of people moving downstairs for their own breakfast. Most mumbled, "Good morning," before grabbing their own food and coffee, others just walked by still rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

The seemingly peaceful morning that Kerri was enjoying quickly ended when screams began echoing from the direction of D Block. Everyone looked up from their private conversations, terror evident on their faces.

Kerri quickly reached for her knife, pulling it from the sheath on her belt she had recently acquired on a run. Her pistol was back in her cell and she was cursing herself for not tucking in the waistband of her pants like she normally would. She made the split second decision to run back upstairs and grab it, unsure of the danger having the gun would definitely make her feel safer.

As she ran up the stairs two at a time, she passed Daryl who was sprinting full speed down the hall from the direction of his cell.

"Wha' the hell is goin' on down there?!" he hollered, slowing but not stopping.

"I don't know, all I hear is screaming, it sounds like it's coming from D Block. I'm going back for my gun."

"The hell you are! Ya still got a bad ankle," Daryl answered, stopping short and looking at her with his brows furrowed.

"My ankle is fine, just go! I'll meet you down there," Kerri retorted. Daryl looked like he wanted to argue but the continued screams from D Block urged him forward and down the stairs.

Once she had her pistol tucked safely in the waistband of her jeans and her hunting knife gripped in her fist, Kerri jogged out of C Block and towards the chaos of D Block. People were fleeing the area as she moved in. As she got closer amidst the screams and crying she heard the unmistakable sound of growling.

Kerri's blood ran cold. How did walkers manage to breech the safety of their own cell blocks? She couldn't stop to question how the situation came to be for long, as soon as she entered the cell block she was confronted by a large walker with hands outstretched. Despite recognizing the face as a fellow group member, Kerri's reflexes forced her knife up and into the temple of the walker, swiftly ending its assault.

She moved farther into the block, avoiding the people who were literally running for their lives. A few steps in front of her a young woman was on her back on the floor, struggling to push away a walker who was desperately gnawing and clawing, trying to reach her flesh. Kerri strode forward, grabbing the walker by its blood-stained collar, pulling it back and away from the woman's face and stabbing it through the skull. The woman leapt to her feet, still trembling with fear before running out of the cell block.

The assault probably only lasted about ten minutes, but those minutes felt like hours as she struggled to save people and watch her own back. Kerri watched Daryl too as he swept through the cell block, his crossbow saving several people from what would've been certain death otherwise.

By the time all the walkers had been taken down, the cell block was covered in bodies, blood, and various pieces of tissue. Kerri still couldn't believe that something this heinous had occurred in a place that had previously seemed so secure.

Hershel and Dr. S. came to the cell block once it had been deemed completely clear by Rick. Kerri followed them to one of the cells where they were assessing Charlie, one of the victims who had been locked in his cell and had no bites or scratches found on his body.

"Pleurisy aspiration," Dr. S. said, kneeling beside the body.

"Choked to death on his own blood. Caused those trails down his face," Hershel elaborated. Kerri shuddered at the thought, she didn't even want to imagine the fear that Charlie and Patrick had experienced in the minutes before their death.

"I've seen 'em before on a walker outside the fences," Rick admitted, turning to face everyone.

"I saw 'em on Patrick too," Daryl added.

"They're from the internal lung pressure building up, like if you shake a soda can and pop the top. Only imagine your eyes, ears, nose, and throat are the top," Dr. S. explained. Kerri could see the sense of worry in his eyes.

"It's a sickness from the walkers?" Bob asked.

"No, these things happened before they were around. Could be pneumococcal, most likely an aggressive flu strain," Dr. S. stated.

At the mention of the flu, Kerri's heart sunk. Even though the flu wasn't really such a big deal before the turn, she knew that now without proper medical technology it had every bit of potential to wipe out their entire group if they didn't get it under control quickly.

"Maybe we got lucky. Maybe these two cases are it," Dr. S. suggested, trying to give a little bit of hope in this grim conversation.

"Haven't seen anybody be lucky in a long time," Bob responded, his mouth set in a line thin and his tone grim, "Bugs like to run through close quarters. Doesn't get any closer than this."

"Well we've all been exposed," Kerri said, speaking up for the first time, "We're going to have to separate anyone who's been around the sick to keep it as confined as possible and then just hope for the best."

Rick nodded in agreement before standing to leave and find Carl.

"I'll call a meeting with the council," Hershel announced, "That way we can figure out the details and how we're goin' keep everyone separated."

As their little group dispersed Kerri couldn't help but notice the immense feeling of anxiety and dread that was beginning to fill her gut. Even though she had been a nurse on the maternity floor before the turn she still knew full well how terrible flu season could be. Her facility had even limited visitation during some of the more intense flu seasons in a desperate attempt to contain the sickness and even then it still found a way to run rampant. And none of those flu strains had even come close to the horror she had witnessed while assessing Charlie's dead body.

A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for reading! I know I used some direction dialogue from Season 4 Ep.2 and I usually try not to do that but I felt like it was the best way to move the chapter forward. Please review and I'll try to have another chapter up by the end of next week, maybe sooner!