CHAPTER 10

SARAH

Sarah had silently cried during the ride before falling asleep. She dreamt of being with Nicki and her parents again, eating at her grandparents' house, like they did during Christmas. Her father had kissed her on her forehead and her mother had embraced her tight. It seemed so real, she felt like they were really there. But even inside her dream Sarah knew that they were not really there and when Daryl had made a strange movement that made her woke up, she wasn't surprised to find herself so far away from home.

"Are we not there yet?" Daryl didn't answer, not that she couldn't see it by herself that they hadn't yet arrived at their destination, even if she started to spot first buildings. And with those, the first bodies...

She bit her lips looking away from the road, remembering that night at the camp. The last night she had laughed with Amy, the last time she heard Andrea speak and Jacqui making jokes...

She shivered remembering those walkers so close to her, and her desperation as she hit one of them with the broken glass. It was the first time she had ever killed a walker and she had held that only weapon that she had found so tightly to hurt herself. Sarah looked down at her hand, moving the red rag, dirty with her blood, that now seemed to have stopped though.

"Thank you" she said softly leaning her head on the glass of the window "I've never told you back there, you saved my life that night" as she looked towards Daryl, she spotted him turning for a moment in her direction chewing his bottom lip. He didn't say anything but she just nodded before turning again her gaze on the rag around her hand.

It was almost sunset when the CDC finally came into their view and with that many bodies spread out all around. They were so many...

"It's not that you have a weapon for me, haven't you?" she asked at Daryl as they both shared an unsure look.

"Don' wander 'round" he grunted before opening the door of the car.

As she did the same, the corpses' stench hit her nose as from her lips escape a nauseate sound.

"Stay close to your sister, alright?" she heard Shane's voice as he and Nicki got closer from the back of the group. Sarah saw her sister nod her head before she speeded up until she was next to the older girl. Sarah smiled a little at Nick trying to be encouraging and soon her sister did the same.

As they walked Sarah saw Rick and Glenn leading the group with their weapons in hand, the left side was covered by T-Dog and Dale as Daryl was walking a bit ahead of Sarah on the right, with his crossbow in hand. Shane stood in the back covering that side.

The more they got closer to the CDC the more corpses they saw. The stench was getting even worse and the buzzing of the flies flying around made everything even more creepy and unsafe.

"It's a graveyard" said Nicki looking around getting a little pale. Sarah could feel her fear, and she felt it too.

"Stay together" she heard Rick say trying to be not too loud.

"Keep moving" said Shane too.

When they arrived at the gate she almost groaned in frustration when she noticed that they were closed, locked. Her eyes met with Glenn's as T-Dog, Shane and Rick tried to opened them, but those gates didn't seem like ones that a strong man could open.

"There's nobody here" T-Dog said. Those gates could surely be opened just by humans, but that meant that there was a mechanical system. And that meant that could be tampered it.

"Maybe there's a way to force them to open" she said walking towards the gate when someone grabbed her by the arm pulling her again towards the group, where Nicki perverted her from falling.

"Told ya notta wander 'round!" Daryl growled.

"Maybe there's a way!" she argued back "Let me take a look" Daryl suddenly looked over her shoulder before yelling.

"Walkers!"

Sarah heard the other gasp in fear as she pulled Nicki behind her back. Daryl then took a step forward with his crossbow raised and after a second, he had shot an arrow right through one of walkers' head, making it fell on the ground. But there were more coming. There was no way out behind their backs and to get to the cars they had to run past all the walkers, but there were too many people in their group without a weapon. They had to find a way to stay alive. They had to find a way to get to a safer place.

"You led us into a graveyard!" exclaimed Daryl heading aggressively towards Rick.

"He made a call" said Dale.

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl exclaimed again as he was almost at Rick before Shane was on him pushing him away from his friend.

"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up, shut up!" he screamed at Daryl's face pushing him on the chest with his forearm

"That's enough, both of you!" Sarah found herself saying as she pushed herself between the two men looking from one to the other "It's not time for arguing, what do we do?!" she said with more strength than she thought she had.

"Rick, this is a dead end" Shane said as Rick was still looking at the gates.

"Where are we gonna go?" asked Carol almost crying as she held Sophia.

"Do you hear me? No blame" Shane tried again.

"She's right" exclaimed Lori looking at her husband "We can't be here, this close to the city after dark" she was right, it was almost dark, it was ten thousand times dangerous than during the day. She felt Nicki grabbing her hand, squeezing it tightly as more walkers got closer.

"Fort Benning, Rick..." said Shane desperately "Still an option"

"On what?" exclaimed Andrea "No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles"

"125. I checked the map." Glenn corrected her out of panic.

"Forget Fort Benning" said Lori "We need answers tonight, now"

It was getting out of hand; they were all panicking and seeing those monsters getting closer wasn't helping at all.

"Well, think of something" said Rick before Sarah noticed him turning to her

"You said we can force them open" her eyes went wide.

"Rick!" said Shane

"You said we can do it, how can we?" he asked getting closer.

"I was just trying" she said in slightly panic.

"Sarah" he almost pleaded.

"This is a building built by the government!" she exclaimed "There is a way to open it? It's highly impossible and even more so with walkers coming at us!"

She was just trying, the CDC had probably the highest defence system, there was no way that someone like her could make it open.

"Let's go!" said Shane grabbing Lori as Glenn grabbed Nicki.

"Come on, let's go" he exclaimed.

"Com'on!" Daryl said pushing Sarah slightly making her move, they were all starting to run away when Rick yelled:

"The camera! It moved"

"You imagined it" said Dale as they all stopped. Sarah looked where Rick was pointing with a frown.

"It moved" Rick said. He seemed so sure. But desperation could drive anyone crazy.

"Rick, it is dead, man" said Shane walking closer to Rick "It's an automated device. It's gears, okay?"

"Not on its own" Sarah whispered before she could stop herself, making Shane glared at her.

"They're just winding down" Shane insisted trying to push Rick away from the door "Now come on" but Rick managed to get free from Shane's hold to go smashing his fist against the metal gate.

"Noise attracts them" said Nicki that was now behind Glenn, back-to-back with Carl who was hugging his mother.

"You need to let it go, Rick!" exclaimed Lori.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me" Rick started to talk at the camera as Lori and Shane tried to convince him to go away.

"Oh, my god" Sarah muttered as more walkers got closer.

"Get back to the cars now!" Shane yelled to all of them.

"Please, we're desperate" Rick kept shouting "Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left"

"Watch Carl" Lori said to Nicki before running to her husband putting herself between him and the gate trying to push him away.

"Rick" she said "There's nobody here"

Sarah turned towards the walkers, they were getting closer and closer. If they didn't move now, they would have all died. It didn't take long as Shane went to Rick, grabbing him to pull him along with him.

"You're killing us!" Rick yelled desperately "You're killing us!"

"What do we do?" Sarah asked next to Daryl that had his riffle in hand ready to shoot at the first walker that got closer.

Suddenly a metallic noise made them all turn to see the gate opened. Sarah eyes went wide. There was really someone in there. Before she knew it, she grabbed her sister's arm and followed Rick inside the building. Only when she stepped inside, she noticed that Nicki had brought along Carl, pulling him by the back of his shirt.

"Come on" said Glenn to Jacqui as Shane turn to the back of the group.

"Daryl, you cover the back" he said as Daryl walked backwords with the rifle still ready to fire.

"Hello?" Rick's voice echoed in the empty building. Outside it was dark now and the few light didn't help to make that place welcoming, even if they were behind four walls, so that could do.

Suddenly the clicking sound of a loaded weapon made them all gasp as who was armed trying to aim at whoever was threatening them.

It took just few second, but it felt like forever as Sarah pushed Nicki and Carl behind herself before a man slowly walked out from the shadow.

"Anybody infected?" he asked still pointing the rifle at them.

"One of our group was" said Rick with a hint of sadness thinking about Jim "He didn't make it"

The man nodded weakly "Why are you here? What do you want?" he asked.

"A chance" answered Rick giving voice to what they all wanted.

"That's asking an awful lot these days" he said making Sarah really think that he would kick them out. They couldn't go back on the street; they needed a safe place.

"You all submit to a blood test" Sarah's eyes lit up as she looked over Lori that gave out a relieved breath "That's the price of admission"

"We can do that." assured Rick.

The man told them to go take the last few things that they had left in the cars before closing the gates. Glenn, Shane, T-Dog and Daryl decided that they would have gone. Sarah observed anxiously them running out avoiding walkers; her thumb and index at her lips as she tapped her feet.

"What is it?" she heard Carl say.

"What?" asked Nicki nervously.

"You're pale" he said "And you are stiffer than usual"

"Stiffer?" she said as Sophia got closer to them hugging her doll close to her chest.

"Come on, what is it?" asked Carl again.

Nicki scoffed before biting her lips.

"I'm afraid of needles" she said with closed eyes. Sarah couldn't help but to turn when she heard Carl snort, followed by Sophia.

"Shut up" said Nicki blushing slightly "Both of you"

"Sorry, Nicki" said Sophia sweetly, but Carl chuckled again.

"I said shut up!" Nicki whisper-yelled.

Sarah couldn't help but smile at the scene. Those four walls were already helping them.

"They're back" said Andrea opening the doors to let Glenn, Shane, T-Dog and Daryl running back in. As Glenn walked closer, Sarah hugged quickly.

"Vi, seal the main entrance." they could hear the man say, before another metallic sound could be heard. They were inside, they were truly safe now.

"You ok?" she asked to her friend "All of you?"

"We're good" Glenn said nodding his head "I'm just glad we're inside. Oh..." he said handing Sarah her bag.

"Daryl gave it to me" he said gesturing to the man that was standing on the other side of the room eyeing the stranger.

"Come on" said Rick to everyone as the unknown man started to lead them inside. They follow him through the dark corridor until they arrived in front of a lift. When the doors opened, they all started to squeeze inside. Sarah had her back against the wall of the lift, standing between Glenn and Daryl. In front of her there was Nicki standing next to Sophia that was gripping the other girl's shirt.

"Kill the power up here" the man, that they now knew that was called Edwin Jenner, said. As the doors of the lift were closing Sarah noticed the few lights in the corridor switch off.

They all stood in silence, eyeing each other and when Daryl talked, Sarah thanked him mentally, since it was getting really uncomfortable there.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" he made a fair good point, but since the apocalypse everyone was seeing more weapons than before. Sarah had never seen a real gun in her life. The closest she had been next to a weapon was her sister's bow, but that was off limits too.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself" explained Jenner eyeing every single one of them.

"But you look harmless enough. Except you" Jenner kept saying looking at Carl making him smile a little "I'll have to keep my eye on you."

"Please do" Nicki said coolly before glaring at him "I need a break".

Sarah slapped her lightly behind the head before smiling apologetically to Lori and Rick.

"I need a break too" answered Carl glaring back at Nicki.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked as they walked through another corridor.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked making Carol nod her head.

"A little"

"Try to not think about it"

Sarah tried to do the same. She had to admit that if she focused on being underground, she felt a bit uneasy, so she took a breath keeping following the group.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room" Jenner said.

They arrived in a big room full of computers, but she couldn't help but feel disappointed when she noticed that there was no one else there. No one at all.
"Welcome to zone 5"

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked looking around "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it. It's just me here" Jenner's answer made her heart stop for a moment. That really didn't was what they wanted to find.

"What about the person you were speaking with?" asked hopefully Lori "Vi?" Jenner just observed her before speaking again.

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them... Welcome"

"Hello, guests. Welcome" repeated a robotic female voice.

It had all been an illusion.

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry" Jenner said sadly.

"At least we got walls around us" said Glenn making Sarah look up at him, with a small smile. Indeed, those walls were surely impossible for walkers to cross. They might not have a cure, but they were surely safe in there.

Rick had been the first to submit to the blood test and one by one they all did the same. Nicki was so pale, even after ten minutes from her blood sample. She had to sit down and drink some water to not pass out. Carol was next to her rubbing her back, making sure she was ok. Nicki was a very collected girl, but she had always hated needles, she never could do anything about it really.

"Feel better?" asked Carl with a little chuckle.

"You better be out of my way when I'll feel better" Nicki growled with closed eyes.

"Are you hurt?" Jenner asked as he was taking some of Sarah's blood. Her gaze travelled to her wrapped up hand.

"It's not a bite" she said afraid that the doctor could get scared and through her away "It was a piece of glass" the man started to unwrap the red rag.

"We need to close it" he said turning to open a drawer to take out a needle to apply stitches.

"Are we going to do this?" Sarah asked fighting the urge to pull back her hand "At least offer me a drink first" she forced a laugh.

The doctor took her hand to start working on it, making her hiss as the needle pierced her skin.

"Nicki, where are you going?" Carol asked as Nicki got up staggering a little.

"My sister needs me" she said and before Sarah could warn her against it, Nicki's gaze went on her had making her go even paler.

"Nope" she said turning "Pretend I'm there. With the heart I am" Nicki said sitting down once again with her eyes closed.

Sarah smiled even though she kept hissing at every stitch that got applied. She could feel a hand rubbing her arm to see Glenn smiling encouragingly at her. She couldn't help but look at all of her group realizing how much safe she felt with all of them. She and her sister had been very lucky to find those people.

Once Jenner had done, her hand hurt so much she could barely move it. She sat silently as Andrea got up for her blood sample.

"What's the point?" asked Andrea at some point "If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever"

"I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough" Jenner explained pulling out the needle from Andrea's arm "All done".

Andrea got up slowly, but she seemed ready to pass out. Jacqui was next to her immediately to prevent her from falling.

"Are you okay?" the doctor asked.

"She hasn't eaten in days" Jacqui explained "None of us have"

Jenner had observed them, before leading them to a dining room. They were in a kitchen, a real kitchen. Sarah had never been one to be into cooking, but she couldn't help but wanting to eat and make real baked food.

She didn't really remember how, but at some point, they were all around the table eating and drinking fresh water and wine. Sarah couldn't help but wanting some of it, after all of that she deserved a bit of wine.

"You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner" said Dale pouring some wine in Lori's glass "And in France" Sarah laughed as Lori put a hand over Carl's glass.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then" she said making Rick laugh.

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on" the woman glared amused at her husband "Come on"

Carl was looking at his mother with big pleading blue eyes, before Lori gave up smiling. The boy took his glass and took a sip of the red wine, disgusted sound making all of them laugh loudly.

"That's my boy" said Lori.

"It tastes nasty!" Carl complained.

"Wanna try?" asked Rick turning to Nicki.

"No, thank you" Sarah nodded at her sister's answer "I prefer beer"

"You what?!" exclaimed Sarah, making Nicki laugh.

"Just kidding" they all laugh again as Sarah glared at her sister, that kept laughing. It was since so long that she hadn't seen her sister so radiant. She was so glad that she was feeling better.

"You both better to sour pop there" Shane said.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl's voice made Sarah turn to the man.

"What?" asked Glenn chuckling in confusion.

"Keep drinking, little man" Daryl said "I want to see how red your face can get" they all laughed again and Sarah turned to Glenn rubbing his shoulder with one hand.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly" Rick said turning to Jenner, making all of them do the same.

"He is more than just our host" exclaimed T-Dog raising his glass.

"Here's to you, doc" said Daryl with the wine bottle in hand "Booyah!"

"Booyah!" repeated Sarah raising her glass with a big smile. It seemed Christmas, it felt like family. It was so peaceful.

"So, when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" asked Shane suddenly with a serious tone "All the...the other doctors that were supposed to be
figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We are celebrating, Shane" Rick said.

"It can wait until tomorrow" Sarah suggested, trying to keep the mood up. The air was already getting tense and that made her frown. It was the first time in so long that they could relax, she understood that they needed answers, but now was not the right moment.

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right?" Shane replied before looking directly at Rick "This was your move. Supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we... We found him" he said gesturing in a mocking way towards the doctor. Sarah couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Found one man. Why?" Shane kept say.

"Well, when things got bad" Jenner started to explain "A lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted"
"Every last one?" Shane said with a chuckle.

Sarah really couldn't understand what the hell was wrong with that man right now. For one night, one single night, after everything they have been through, couldn't they just relax and have fun?
"No, many couldn't face walking out the door" Jenner answered "They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time"

Sarah eyes searched for Glenn that seemed pissed as much as she was. He looked at her shaking his head with no words.

"You didn't leave" said Andrea "Why?"

"I just kept working. Hoping to do some good" said Jenner making all of them gone silent. Some looked at each other as other looked down trying to gather their thoughts.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man" said Glenn glaring at Shane that just kept quiet avoiding their gazes.

After the mood had been killed, they finished dine and started to follow the doctor to another side of the building. He told them that there were many rooms and that they could use them.

"The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like" Jenner was explaining as they walked "There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay?" he asked making the children nod their heads.

"Or anything that draws power" he said turning to them adults "The same applies... If you shower, go easy on the hot water" at those words her eyes grown wide and a huge smile appeared on her face as she turned to the others who had her same expression.

"Hot water?" asked Glenn in disbelief making her chuckle.

"That's what the man said" said T-Dog ready to run in one of the rooms.

"I run to the bathroom" said Glenn looking at Sarah.

"Same here" she said "See you later" she said as Nicki stopped next to her. She had found their room and as they were walking there Sarah noticed Daryl eyeing one of the rooms with the wine bottle in his hand. She looked at him for a moment when she noticed that she still had his rag.

"Go ahead, Nicki" she said.

"Where you going?" Nicki asked.

"I'll be right back" she answered.

"Ok, see ya in twenty minutes" Nicki said before disappearing in their room.

"Go easy on hot water!" Sarah exclaimed rolling her eyes, before taking a breath to walk to Daryl.

"Daryl" she said as he turned to look at her with a little glare.

"What?"

"I just..." she said biting her lip "Just... I'll wash the rag and give it back to you" he looked the piece of cloth in her hands before studying her with his blue eyes. She had never noticed how crystal blue they were. The man suddenly scoffed, before entering in the room closing the door in her face.

He had seemed so relaxed at dinner; she had never seen him that happy... his mood must have been killed like all of them.

Sarah looked at the door for a moment before turning to walk in her room. She really needed a hot shower.