Disclaimer: I do not own the walking dead in any way shape or form. This is a non-profit fan work written for the sole purpose of entertainment.
Authors note: So, this will likely be a one-shot fic about an idea I had for a while. Have you ever noticed that in most zombie stories they either portray the military as useless, incompetent, evil, or simply not there. Well, this is my attempt to fix that.
Hope you enjoy!
Also, the flashback scene with Shane that showed the military executing people in the hospital didn't happen here. Here, they evacuated as many people as they could before the hospital fell. Shane couldn't find anyone to help him move Rick because everyone else was too busy evacuating civilians or fighting off the walkers.
Furthermore, Lori acts much better towards Shane. She understands that he did all he could and harbors no ill will towards him. Shane is also not crazy here.
This story takes place at the beginning of episode "TS-19" in season 1.
Not dead yet
Right as they were about to leave the group of survivors watched as the doors to the Center for Disease Control opened. This caused them to be momentarily shocked as they initially believed there was no one left inside the building. Shane ordered Daryl to watch out for walkers as rest of the group moved into the building. Rick took point as they looked around only to see no one inside. This confused the survivors as to how the door could open if there was no one on the other side to open it. As soon as everyone was inside, Daryl and Dale closed the doors shut while still watching for any incoming walkers.
"Hello?" Rick called out to anyone in the building. After a few attempts, he was beginning to doubt if anyone could hear him. Just as he was about to call out again, that's when they hear a series of voices filling up the building suddenly.
"DROP YOUR WEAPONS!"
"PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN! DO IT NOW!"
"HANDS! LET ME SEE YOUR HANDS!"
A series of orders filled the building which startled the group as a group of armed soldiers quickly surrounded the survivors. There were about a dozen of them equipped with M249 Squad Automatic Weapons, M4A1 carbines, and Colt M16A2 rifles. PVS-14 night vision goggles were mounted on their helmets with PEQ-2s equipped on their rifles as they emitted a red laser which they aimed at the group of survivors. They were outfitted in the Battle Dress Uniform in the woodland camouflage pattern with Interceptor Body Armor along with the Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops (PASGT) combat helmets and ballistic helmets. A few of them also equipped suppressors on their rifles along with vertical grips and ballistic goggles on their helmets. All of whom were staring at the group warily as they aimed their rifles at the group. They did not point them at anyone that was unarmed though, only the ones that were.
T-Dog, Rick, Shane, Dale, and Glenn all pointed their weapons at the soldiers while the others just stared at them nervously. While Rick was shocked by this development, he was also internally relieved. These men appeared to be military personnel, which gave him hope that there was still a military out there. Before Rick spoke up in an attempt to defuse the situation, a man with what looked to be an H symbol on his vest spoke up.
"Have any of you been bitten and don't you dare lie to us or else you'll be putting us all at risk!" the man asked the group with his M4A1 pointed directly at Rick. The red laser from his PEQ-2 appearing on the sheriff's chest.
"One of our group was. He didn't make it." Rick answered somberly, recalling Jim as they left him to die by a tree since he was bitten. While it was Jim's choice, Rick still felt guilt over leaving him.
"How many of you are there and why are you here?" The man further inquired.
"It's just us." Rick answered, lowering his shotgun a bit. "We're just looking for a chance."
He seemed to contemplate the response as he looked at Rick and the others. After a few seconds of tense silence, he told the group to hold on. He talked to someone on his radio while the rest of the soldiers continuing to monitor them. After almost a minute of communicating to whoever was speaking on the other end of that radio, he spoke up again to the group.
"All of you are to submit to a blood test. If you do that we'll let in," the man said.
"We can do that." Rick replied with a nod.
He deactivated his laser and quickly lowered his weapon and ordered the rest of the soldiers to do as well, which they did. Rick and the others almost sighed in relief but before they had the chance to do so the man spoke up again catching their attention.
"If you got stuff you want to bring in you do it now. You don't want to leave it out there after dark. Trombley, Wyatt, Hudson, on me!" the soldier ordered as he began to make his way forward. "Malcolm, O'Neil, you're on door security!"
While the soldiers began moving into the position, the one with the H symbol on his vest made his way to Rick. "Listen, you stay behind us. You understand?" He asked Rick who nodded his head. "Good, let's move!" He ordered as he and three other soldiers along with Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Shane opened the doors and went back outside.
The man in charge went ahead of the four survivors along with the soldier that was equipped with a Colt M16A2 while the remaining two soldiers took up security at the back. Activating and dropping down their PVS-14s as they exited the CDC, taking down a few walkers with precision shots from their rifles as they made their way towards the convoy of vehicles and created a perimeter to guard the group as they gather their supplies and gear.
As soon as they returned, the two soldiers stationed by the door closed it shut before the soldier in command turned off his PVS-14 and took out a keycard and swiped it through a nearby keypad. Entering in a password which caused the door to lock.
"Corporal Chavez! Close the shutters." He ordered a soldier near the main desk, which prompted him to type into the computer and seal the entrance shut. Once it was done, Rick walked up to the man to give his thanks as well as introduce himself.
"Rick Grimes," he said as he held out a hand which the soldier accepted.
"Captain James Kruger, 48th Brigade Combat Team, 121st Infantry." The man responded before speaking up to the whole group. "Alright folks, please follow me. Lieutenant Parker! You have command of floor security now."
"Yes sir!" A nearby soldier replied before he led the group of survivors further into the building. He led them to a fairly large elevator and watched him as he pressed the button to open it. Once everyone was in, he pressed a button that was labeled as Sub-level 24 and waited for the elevator doors to close. During the silence, Glenn took this time to ask a question as he felt the silence was awkward.
"So, were you here when Atlanta fell to the geeks?" Glenn asked Kruger as the elevator doors closed.
"Yeah, my unit was stationed here to form a garrison around the CDC when Atlanta was set up as a safe zone. Our mission was to secure it and ensure the safety of all personnel inside it. When the city fell, we retreated inside the building. Everyone else was relocated to reinforce other safe zones and areas." explained Kruger.
"Wait, other safe zones? Does that mean that there's still a government?" Dale asked the Captain with a hint of hope in his voice.
"As far as I can tell. From what I know we still got multiple safe zones and bases of operation located farther out west. Some FEMA centers last I heard were still up and running. Transporting supplies and refugees to places that have been declared safe. Refugee camps were sent up in cities such as Denver and Cedar Rapids, though I don't know how many more there are. Heard the federal governments is being restored up in Columbus, Ohio. Don't know why they chose there of all places but I'm not in those meetings. I believe that the former secretary of HHS is now the president. He was the one who managed to maintain supply lines and safe zones when the rest of the government fell. Up north, we still have a Forward Operating base for conducting operations in the state of Georgia, mainly search and rescue and salvage missions." He informed the group.
For the first time in a while, the group collectively felt hope that things might actually get better. If what this man is saying is true, then there was still hope that things could one day be safe again.
"If everyone else left, why are you guys still here?" Daryl questioned with a raised eyebrow.
The Captain shrugged. "When the city fell, there weren't enough helos to evacuate everyone and all the roads were packed with people trying to get out. Both civilian and military. Besides, we still have orders to protect the remaining doctors and scientists in this building and we weren't going to just abandon them. Colonel Hoffman thought it would be best to hold our position and wait for relief," Kruger said nonchalantly before the elevator slowed down and came to a stop "We're here."
As soon as the door opened and they entered the floor, the group saw soldiers carrying boxes, standing guard, and transporting supplies. Some gave them a quick glance but most didn't pay them any mind as they followed Kruger down the corridors. Doctors and scientists also roamed the halls as they talked to one another or walked to their destination. At one point, the survivors saw two men in blue hazmat suits transport a walker corpse in a sealed container down a corridor and into a room.
"Don't worry, it's already dead." Kruger said to group when he saw that some of them, mainly Carl and Sophia, were started at the sight of a walker, even if it was sealed inside a container.
Kruger led them into a room where they saw a man who seemed to be a doctor preparing needles and blood tubes as well as a soldier in the corner. The doctor greeted them with a friendly smile while the guard just remained where he was with no change on his face.
"Hello, I'm Dr. Edwin Jenner, I'll be taking your blood test." Edwin informed them as he prepared a needle and placed gloves on his hands.
Rick volunteered to do it first. He sat down and didn't even flinch as the blood was extracted from his arm. As this was happening, a voice came up on Kruger's radio.
" / Oscar-3-Kilo, this is Oscar-6-Hotel, come in, over. / " The voice on the radio said.
" / Standing by to copy, over. / " Kruger responded.
" / Oscar-3-Kilo you're needed in the TOC, over. / "
" / Copy that, out / ."
Kruger announced to the group he had to leave and that he'll be back soon. About ten minutes later, almost everyone had given their blood except for Andrea due to the fact she was the last one. While Edwin did his work, Andrea took the opportunity to ask about the purpose of this.
"What's the point? If we were infected, we would all be running a fever. And is the armed guard really necessary?" she asked the doctor as she gestured to the soldier standing guard in the corner.
"It's not my call, besides we already broke protocol by letting you in here. Let us be at least thorough. And you're lucky we're not confiscating your weapons." Edwin defended as he took the needle out of her arm.
"All done."
As Andrea got up, she almost fell down due to feeling lightheaded. Luckily, Jacqui caught her before she did.
"What's wrong," Edwin asked in concern.
"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have," Jacqui answered for everybody.
When Kruger returned, Edwin informed him of this. Soon, the captain got permission from the Colonel to supply them with food. Fortunately, the CDC's storage were filled with enough rations and supplies to last everyone in the building for almost a year if need be. The dining hall was deserted at this time so the group celebrated by drinking wine and eating more food than they had in days. Edwin and Kruger sat at a separate table to let the group enjoy themselves as they talked about something amongst themselves the rest of the group couldn't hear, until Rick proposed a toast Kruger and Edwin for letting them in. Later, Edwin went to go look over everyone's blood samples and meet up with his wife while Kruger stayed with the group. He allowed them to eat for a little while before speaking up.
"Just to let you know. We're going to be leaving in a few days so I wouldn't get too comfortable here if I were you," Kruger informed the group which caused all of them to look at him in confusion.
"What do you mean, Cap?" Shane asked.
"Transport is being organized to take us all back to the FOB up north. It's arriving in a few days. Once we're there you'll be escorted to the nearest safe zone, but for now just rest. You're safe now." Kruger answered.
Once everyone was finished eating and cleaned up after themselves, Kruger led them to their rooms.
"Most of housing is already full so I'm afraid you're going to have to make due here." The Army Captain said to the survivors as he led them to their dorms. " The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you want them. There's a rec room down the hall that you youngsters may like. Just one thing." He turned to face the kids at eye level. " Don't go into any restricted areas or bother any of my guys or staff in their work. Ok?" To which the two kids nodded in understanding.
"Same applies," the Captain said to the rest of the survivors as he stood up. "If you take a shower go easy on the hot water." Kruger finished as he walked away down a nearby hallway.
"Hot water?" Glenn asked in growing excitement to no one in particular.
"That's what the man said." T-Dog replied with a laugh as they headed inside their rooms.
While some members of the group still felt sadness over the people they lost, mainly Andrea who was still grieving her sister, they were still in much higher spirits than when they were a few hours ago. After dinner, Carol and Lori took the kids to go read some books in the Rec room. Dale stayed in Andreas room comforting her about her sister. Daryl, T-Dog, and Glenn had a drinking game which Daryl won in the end. Rick and Shane chatted with some soldiers over events that occurred within the past month. Things quickly became awkward for Rick and Shane when some of the soldiers mentioned that they still don't know what happened to some of their friends and family. How pretty much all they can do is hope that they're alright and that until then all they can do is do their jobs. This made Rick and Shane feel grateful since Rick was reunited with his family and Shane viewed Rick as the only family he ever had. The two former police officers quickly reassured them that they're alright before moving the topic to something else, hopefully something more pleasant.
Later that night, everyone went to bed with the best sleep they had in a long time. All with the belief that things from this point on were going to be all right.
