I do not any parts of The Walking Dead :(

Chapter 8

It turned out that Bob had been right when he mentioned that nobody was every really lucky in this current world. The sickness spread quickly with Karen, Tyreese's girlfriend, and David becoming ill and showing symptoms within the same day as the attack on D Block. Both people were quarantined in A Block which the council had decided would become the designated sick bay.

Things went from bad to worse soon after. Kerri was working in the prison's tiny medical office a few days after the quarantine had been initiated. Rick walked through the door shortly after lunch time with a busted lip, bruised eye, and a bloody hand.

"Oh my gosh," Kerri said, jumping from her seat where she had been sorting through scavenged prescription bottles, "What the hell happened to you?!"

Rick didn't speak at first; he just grabbed an extra chair from a corner of the room and dragged it to the desk with his good hand.

While she waited for him to answer, Kerri began shuffling through the cabinets reaching for gauze, rubbing alcohol, and medical tape.

"Someone murdered Karen and David," Rick sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"What?!" Kerri gasped, almost dropping the roll of gauze in her hand.

"Someone killed them in their bed then dragged 'em outside and 'em on fire," he continued.

Rick sighed again. He looked defeated and Kerri instantly felt sorry for him. She couldn't imagine carrying the amount of stress he had on his shoulders each day. She also felt sick to her stomach at the thought of one of their own murdering two other group members so callously.

"That still doesn't explain how you ended up like this," Kerri prompted, opening all her supplies and laying them on the desk.

"Tyreese is a wreck about the whole thing," Rick continued, "He got violent when I tried to calm him down so I hit 'em back."

He looked so distraught and lost in that moment, Kerri didn't think she had ever seen him that way.

"People act all different types of ways when their grieving," Kerri offered, taking his injured hand in her own so she could begin cleaning his wounds.

Rick didn't respond to her statement, he just continued to look off into space with glassy eyes.

"Looks like this is just a sprain," Kerri began after cleaning Rick's bloody knuckles, "You'll be probably be out of commission with this wrist for about a week. But the good news is that none of these cuts are goin' to need any stitches."

Rick still didn't answer so Kerri stopped her attempts to start a conversation. She had only known the man a month and rarely interacted with him so she figured she better not push it. She finished wrapping his wrist for support in a thick, awkward silence.

The next morning Kerri stood in her cell, braiding her blonde hair behind her head. She was just about finished when she heard footsteps stop in her doorway.

"Kerri, ya awake?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, you can come on in if you want," she answered, tying of the end of her braid with a hair-tie.

"Just got done with a council meetin', things around here ain't lookin' good. Sasha got sick yesterday afternoon and Dr. S. is comin' down with it too plus everybody tha' was in cell block D. Shit's spreadin' like wildfire," Daryl explained.

Kerri sighed, "I knew that was probably goin' happen. I was really hoping that it wouldn't though."

Daryl nodded, "Hershel says we're gonna need meds to treat the symptoms so we don't lose more people, antibiotics and stuff like tha'. He said there's a vet college 'round that might have the stuff and it's probably not been cleaned out like most of tha' places 'round here."

"He's got a point. Most drugs they use for animals are pretty close to the same stuff we use for people." Kerri said, agreeing with Hershel's plan.

"Only thing is tha' it's fifty miles from here, gonna be a long trip…an' with Sasha bein' sick I was wonderin' how your ankle's been?" he looked embarrassed to be even asking.

"It's still a little stiff," she answered honestly, "But a million times better than last week. I can put my full weight on it and move pretty easy now."

"I hate ta' even be askin' ya, but with Sasha out there's not too many people I trust to go with me, plus you know about meds so you'll know what ta' take with us," Daryl said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"I'm fine," Kerri said, trying to ease some of his nerves about asking her, "I'm actually excited to be able to get outta these walls. I'm goin' crazy sitting here all day, every day just sorting pills and band-aids in that office."

Daryl snorted at her lame attempt at a joke, "A'right then. I wanna try to head out in tha' next hour. Think ya can get your shit ready by then?"

Kerri nodded, "Yeah, definitely. Meet out by the cars?"

"Yeah," Daryl said, turning and leaving her cell.

Once he was gone Kerri practically jumped for joy. She was excited to finally be able to escape the confines of the prison for a little while, even if the circumstances were far from ideal. Plus, Daryl had said she was one of the few people he trusted to take on runs with him and for some reason that one statement had Kerri's stomach erupting in butterflies.

She paused, that was a new feeling. Butterflies and Daryl Dixon weren't two things that she associated with one another. Kerri shook her head; Daryl would probably never feel that way about anyone, let alone some newbie who had only been a part of their group for a little over a month. She might as well ditch those feelings now before she let them distract her and ruin any trust Daryl had put in her abilities.

Kerri moved on to pack her book-bag. She began stuffing it with an extra shirt, another pair of jeans, two pairs of socks, and her second knife. But while she was packing she suddenly was freezing, almost as if there was a draft in her room. The chills were so strong that Kerri's teeth began to chatter and she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm her body.

Searching through her pile of clean clothes that she had folded neatly on a shelf, Kerri pulled off a large gray hoodie. Pulling over her head she felt a moment of relief as the extra fabric warmed her arms and torso. With her body now cocooned in the sweatshirt, she finished pack her bag and moved outside to meet Daryl by the cars.

Daryl was underneath the hood of one of the black SUV checking its oil when Kerri walked outside. He straightened when he heard her footsteps approaching, but suddenly looked confused as she walked closer.

"Why tha' hell do ya have a sweatshirt on?" he asked, "It's prob'ly damn near ninety degrees out here."

"I was cold," Kerri answered simply, moving to put her bag in the front seat of the car.

"Hold up," Daryl said, stepping in front of her and blocking the path to the car, "Ya look like you're sweatin' an' you're pale as hell."

Kerri reached her hand up to touch her face. He was right, her forehead was dripping with sweat and yet she still felt chilled. Deep down she knew what was wrong, but her mind was choosing to deny the facts.

"I'm fine," she snapped, taking another step forward.

Daryl stepped at the same moment she did, continuing to block her way, "Ya ain't fine and ya know it."

"Daryl, I said I'm fine, now drop it," she hissed through her teeth, fighting to hold back a cough that had suddenly risen in her throat.

Daryl's brow furrowed and he took a step closer towards Kerri, raising his hand hesitantly to put it on her forehead. He made contact with the skin before she had a chance to jerk away from his touch.

"Dammit, Kerri! You're fuckin' burnin' up. You need ta' get your ass ta' A Block so Dr. S. can help ya," he said through gritted teeth.

Kerri's shoulders sank; there was no use in trying to fight him. She knew she was sick and she knew she had an extreme fever. There was no way she would be going on this run, she would be useless to them in her condition, not to mention she would infect everyone who rode in the car with them.

"C'mon, lemme get ya to Dr. S. so ya can lay down," Daryl whispered, noticing her change in demeanor. Kerri just nodded, letting him link his arm in hers and lead her back into the prison towards cell block A.

As they approached the quarantined area they noticed Glenn shuffling his way down the hall, nearly gripping the walls to keep himself standing.

"Shit Glenn, c'mere," Daryl said, wrapping Glenn's arm around his shoulder and carrying most of his weight the rest of the way down the hall.

When they finally reached the door to A Block, Daryl released Glenn's arm and unlinked himself from Kerri. With his hands free he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue bandana which he tied around his nose and mouth before opening the door to the block. He guided Glenn and Kerri inside before stepping back and closing the door. Kerri noticed something different in his eyes, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. It was a look she had never, ever seen on Daryl's usually stoic and unreadable face.

Her train of thought was interrupted by Daryl closing the heavy metal door with a clang. And with that rough-sounding clang, Kerri's heart sank. It hadn't felt real until that noise reached her ears. She was sick, very sick; with an illness that was already claiming lives left and right. It was almost ironic in a way, that in a world full of walkers ready to take a bite out of her that a silly flu might actually be the thing to take her life.

A/N: Once again, thanks for reading! I just wanted to say, that after rewatching Season 4/Ep. 3 I noticed something and it's kinda a pet peeve...so they say that the illness that everyone has is some type of flu but then Hershel suggests going to the vet college for antibiotics. That doesn't make much sense to me because viruses (like the flu) cannot be cured with antibiotics. Antibiotics can only be used to treat bacterial infections. I'm sure most people wouldn't notice something small like that, but as someone who's about to graduate nursing school in the next couple months that statement stuck out to me like a sore thumb. Anyway, I left it the same in my story just because most people are more familiar with antibiotic medications than any other kind, and using antibiotics to cure the illness in upcoming chapters will go faster than just having all the characters wait it out like usually happens with viruses. Sorry for the little rant, I just didn't want anyone else to pick up on that and point out that Kerri should know better since she's a nurse :) Thanks for reading! And please review!