BLACK

by TheSarcasticKnight

The world ended, and she had questions upon questions. Where was she? Who was she? It didn't matter anymore. Where she was or who she used to be was useless information. The dead now ruled the world and they craved flesh regardless of who it belonged to or where they came from. The real question now, the only one that mattered anymore, was this: Who was she going to become?

4. Episode 04

A/N: Thanks to those who are leaving comments y'all rock! I was gonna wait until the weekend to post this, but I have the self-control of a 3 year old who skipped their afternoon nap so…

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Episode #04:

What's In a Name?

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"Integrity: A name is the blueprint of the thing we call character. You ask, what's in a name? I answer, just about everything you do." –Morris Mandel

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Where the fuck was I?

Sunlight filled the space around me making every speck of dust visible. All I could hear was my slow breaths and the occasional muted murmur from outside the space I occupied. Pain radiated up from my right foot and something hard and plastic was digging into my left side.

I was lying across a dark, leather seat with a thin flap of roof above me.

This was a car. I was in the backseat of a car.

Slowly, I pushed myself up with an involuntary grunt and things began to make sense. Outside the car window right in front of me were trees and an empty dirt road. Out the front windshield was the dark green hood of the jeep I currently sat in and further out was the camp I had entered into just yesterday. The memory of everything that had happened last night hit me hard. After Amy had died in her sister's arms, I walked to the cars parked behind the RV in a line and chose to crawl into the back seat of the jeep, which was furthest from camp. The plan had been to clean up my foot, but all I remembered was passing out the moment my head hit the cloth seat.

I reached down to the floorboard with my right hand, to pull the first aid kit out of my book bag, but the door by my feet suddenly swung open. My left hand shot up from my side with the hunting knife clutched tightly in it. Rick stood in the open doorway with an apologetic look, "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

He had on his uniform pants from yesterday, but he had pulled off his button up shirt and left on only his white under t-shirt. In his hand was an old, black walkie-talkie. I glanced at the knife in my hand and let it fall to my lap, "No, it's ok. You're fine." Had I slept with that knife in my hand? "What's up?"

Rick cracked a small smile, "Just thought I'd check in on you. Saw you were awake." He reached forward with his free hand, "Need a hand?"

I took his hand and let him pull me to the edge of the car's seat then reached down to drag my book bag with me. Rather than getting out, I spoke, "What happened last night? After…you know."

"Most of us passed out like you." Rick sighed, with where he stood and where I sat, I was only a few inches below eye level with him. He glanced over his shoulder to the camp, "We're dealing with the aftermath now."

"Guess I woke up just in time then." I replied and moved to get out. The moment I put weight on my right foot pain went shooting up my leg. I cried out and started to fall to the side only for Rick's arms to shoot out and catch me.

"Victoria!"

I gritted my teeth, "Ah- Damn it." Rick set his hands on my hips with a nod and I pushed off my left foot to help as he lifted me back into the raised back seat. "That hurt."

Rick's face was scrunched in worry, "Your foot?" I nodded and he handed me the walkie-talkie then lifted my right foot to hold in his hands. He shot me a questioning look, asking for permission, and I nodded with a grimace. I already knew my foot wasn't going to look very pretty right now. Rick unzipped the side of my boot and carefully slid it off my foot before handing it to me to shove into my bag. My sock was stained with dried blood and crusted to my skin. "This is gonna hurt some more."

"Just pull it off. Bandages and all." I said and tightened my hand around the walkie-talkie. Rick pulled the sock off and with the sock came the bandages and the scabbed over portions of my wounds that had fused with the crusty bandages. I cried out in pain and Rick flinched, either at my hiss or at the sight of my atrocious foot.

"This doesn't look good, Victoria."

"Yeah, it doesn't feel good either."

Rick made eye contact with me, "I think you should probably wash it out before anything else."

I pulled my foot away from him and rested it against my left knee so I could examine the torn flesh. All of the wounds I had cared for yesterday were inflamed and swollen. The spots that weren't cut and swollen were bruised and sore. I could see spots where bits of the bandage were still stuck to my skin.

"You're right." I nodded, "I probably need to wash it out at the quarry."

"You also need to stay the hell off it today."

"Rick, you guys need my help—"

"No." He shook his head, "I let you come to help us yesterday, but I'm serious now. You're no good to us with a bum foot. I want you off it all day today."

I groaned, but didn't bother arguing. He wasn't wrong. If my foot got any worse than this I was seriously screwed. It'd be a hassle trying to stay off it all day, but it'd be a bigger hassle to lose my foot or life over something this stupid.

"You got it, boss man." I mumbled and pulled my book bag on. "You have any bright ideas about how I get around with one foot, Rick?"

I pushed out of the jeep, landing with all my weight on my left foot. My body shook at the sudden pressure and I began to wobble in place. Rick reached forward and slipped his arm around my right side so my bum leg was between us, "With the help of friends."

"That's a feel-good theory, but…" My words were put on pause as Rick helped me limp away from the side of the jeep towards the middle of the dirt road that led up to camp. "I can't be a burden, Rick. Not today."

At the end of the dirt road was the main portion of the campsite. Off to the left I could see Lori, Carol, Dale, and Shane. The women were sitting on a log further back with Dale standing beside them, a rifle slung over his shoulder, while Shane sat in front of a campfire that was heating a kettle. Away from them, in the center of the clearing, T-Dog brought a pick axe down into the head of a dead body before him and Glenn picked it up by the shoulders and feet and threw the body into a larger fire on the other side of the RV. Right in front of the RV though was Andrea and Amy. Andrea still sat over her dead sister's body in mourning.

Rick and I made our way to the clearing, but it was a slow process that frustrated me to no end. I didn't want to be the camp's cripple. I wanted to help, to do my share. There were bodies to be buried, bodies to be burned, and it felt wrong to sit aside and do nothing while everyone else worked. As we got close to where the women were sitting, eyes began to look in our direction. Dale gave me a worried look that I waved off with a forced smile.

"She still won't move?" Rick asked softly. He readjusted his hold on me, taking more of my weight, but his eyes were glued to Andrea.

"She won't even talk to us." Lori sighed. My eyes drifted from Carol, who didn't look up from watching Andrea, to Lori whose gaze darted from her husband and me skeptically. The look faded back to grief quickly though, "She's been there all night. What do we do?"

Shane rose from his seat so he now stood on my other side, "Can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it." His voice was low and gruff, it was filled with as much grief as the others, but he hid the sadness better. "Same as the others."

"I'll tell her how it is." Rick bobbed his head. He gave my arm a slight squeeze before pulling his arm away slowly. I hoped the forced smile I gave him was reassuring enough that I'd be fine standing on my own for now. I was surprised when Shane stepped closer and offered his arm to me. It took a moment to recover before I gratefully leaned against his arm for support.

We all watched with baited breath as Rick crossed the space to speak to the heart broken sister. He begun to kneel down beside her, her name half off his tongue, when she whirled around to cock and aim a silver pistol at Rick's head. I jumped in surprise, Lori snapped up, letting out a soft gasp, but Rick just slowly stood back up. Andrea's glare looked more broken than angry, but her words didn't quiver or shake, "I know how the safety works."

The words didn't make all that much sense to me overall. Was she just emphasizing that she knew how the handgun worked? Rick nodded without hesitation though and backed away with a hand raised in surrender, "Alright. Ok. I'm sorry."

Rick turned around and came back to our little circle of people. He stood across from Shane and I now, and his gaze went to his right. I followed it in time to see Daryl rush over to the campfire. His eyes were narrowed in a glare and he looked ready for a fight. I only wondered if it'd be a physical one or not.

"Y'all can't be serious." Daryl's crossbow was gone, and he now had a pickaxe resting on his shoulder. With his other hand he motioned toward Andrea and Amy's body, "Gonna let that girl hamstring us?" He scoffed, but kept his voice lowered, "The dead girl's a time bomb."

As much as I didn't like Daryl's wording, I knew he wasn't wrong. Soon enough, Amy's body would rise again, but it wouldn't be the friendly girl that greeted me and offered her own boots for me to wear. It'd be one of them.

"What do you suggest?" Rick asked. There was slight annoyance in his tone, but his eyes led me to believe he was actually hoping Daryl would have some sort of usable plan.

Daryl stepped closer to Rick, "Take the shot." He shook his head like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He pointed to his own temple with two fingers, "Clean, in the brain, from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."

There was no malice in Daryl's tone as he spoke his plan. He was simply stating the obvious, and Rick seemed to be considering it. I didn't blame him. The thought of a possible walker being only a couple feet away from us was terrifying. It made sense to want to get rid of the threat before the threat even happened. However, as much sense as the plan made, it was also callous.

"No." Lori said firmly. She slowly sat back down on the log, rubbing her face in exhaustion.

I nodded quickly, "Lori is right." Eyes shot to me, but I didn't back down. "That plan makes sense and it wouldwork, but think of Andrea. You can't do that to her… not while she's sitting over her sister's body like this. I get that it's dangerous but…" I sighed and looked to Daryl, "What if it was Merle? Would you want someone else to put him down from a distance as you mourned?"

Daryl's features hardened slightly before he scoffed and turned away. Rick and Shane shared a look before nodding in agreement. It seemed like the threat was going to be ignored for now. I just prayed that Andrea knew what the hell she was doing.

"What are you guys doing?"

My eyes went past Rick at Glenn's raised voice. He wore a black t-shirt and the same red ball cap I had seen him in before. Morales, the Hispanic man with two children, and Daryl were dragging a body toward the large fire. I didn't recognize the dead body, but I knew it had to have been someone from camp. The corpse was too fresh.

"This is for geeks. Our people go over there." Glenn motioned to a line of dead bodies off to the side with a gloved hand. Daryl and Morales didn't slow down.

"What's the difference? They're all infected." Daryl argued.

Glenn cut them off, forcing them to stop dragging and rise to their full height; "Our people go in that row over there." I could see the pain on his features from here. "We don't burn them!" Glenn's voice shook slightly as he yelled, but he regained his composure quickly, "We bury them. Understand?"

"Tori, you're bleeding."

My attention snapped back to the people around me. Dale had spoken and he pointed down to my foot. I followed his attention and saw blood begin to drip from my wounds and into the dirt below.

As if this ground needed anymore spilt blood.

The wounds hurt, they still ached, but they weren't the center of my attention. I lifted my gaze to Rick, giving him a pleading look, but he shook his head firmly, "No. You're not helping here. You need rest." Rick glanced over his shoulder before stepping around the fire, "I'll take you down to the quarry then—"

"We need you here, Rick." Lori argued firmly, "What if Amy…?"

Shane's arm tensed suddenly and I glanced up at his features to see they had hardened in Lori's direction. It passed quickly though and he looked to Rick, "I got her, brother. I'll leave her with Miranda down there. She's watching the kids."

Miranda was Morales' wife. She was one of the few people I remembered from Glenn's impromptu introductions yesterday. I sighed in defeat as Rick nodded his thanks. There was no way I could argue my way out of this like I did yesterday.

Partly, because I knew they were right.

"If you stand on my right, I can limp without—" As I began to explain the best way for me to get down to the quarry, Shane scoffed and scooped me up into his arms. I bit back a startled cry and my arms involuntarily wrapped around his neck. Shane began to walk down the sloping path that led through the campsite to the quarry, "Or this. This works too, I suppose."

"Don't wanna spend all day watching you drag your feet to the water."

"Technically, I can't drag my feet. One of them is bloody and bruised, remember?"

Shane snorted and it was quiet for a moment as my eyes traced over the abandoned tents. It was a stark difference to how it looked last time I took this path, and the sight of a few ripped and blood stained tents made me avert my eyes.

"How many…How many did we lose?"

"A lot." Shane replied bluntly. "We lost a lot."

I bit my lower lip, "I'm sorry."

The words didn't do shit, but it was all I knew how to say right now. Shane didn't reply and the rest of the trip was silent. It was clear to see that Shane was pissed about something. I wanted nothing to do with his anger though.

We broke through the forest line and he stepped onto the rocky shore. A dark-haired woman was standing by the water watching as four kids hung out in the knee-deep water. She turned at the sound of our approach, her shoulders tense. Shane spoke up first, "You and the kids doing ok?"

"We're fine." Miranda replied with a small nod.

Shane set me down beside Miranda and I gave him my sincere thanks before he turned and stalked back into the woods. I gave Miranda a small smile, "Hi, sorry if we startled you."

"No, don't worry about it. Are you ok?"

I pulled the boot and sock off my left foot, rolled my jeans up as much as I could, then shifted so both feet could sit in the shallow water. The cold liquid burned any wound it touched, but I left my foot in.

"I'm fine. My foot's just a little banged up."

Miranda motioned toward me, "Your shoulder too."

I glanced back to see the crusty blood stain and groaned. To be honest, I had forgotten all about that one. The same could be said of my head, as in the busted eyebrow I had cracked open again against Glenn's knee and my very sore chin. My face was still tender, I could feel it when I talked and moved my eyebrows, but it was nothing compared the hot pain from my foot.

"I'll live." I smiled and swished my foot through the water slowly, "Are you ok? You and your family, did…?"

I didn't know how to finish that question, but Miranda understood. She sighed, "My family is ok. They're all safe. I just can't believe we lost so many people, and poor Andrea."

"Yeah." I mumbled.

It was silent for a moment before she spoke up again, obviously trying to ease the tension, "So where are you from, Tori?"

I forced a chuckle, "Uh, good question." Her face fell in confusion and I shrugged, "I was in a car accident when Rick found me."

"I heard about that."

"Yeah, well, I hit my head pretty hard apparently. I can't remember anything."

"Nothing?"

"Nope." I sighed, "I mean, I have a rough idea. My ID card has an Alabama address and I know I went to Birmingham's med school."

Miranda's eyes widened, "UASOM?"

"Yeah, that's it." I nodded recognizing the acronym.

"My family is originally from Mobile, but we have family in Birmingham." She replied, "I have a niece who's a business major at UAB."

I smiled, "Wow, small world, huh?"

Miranda was easy to talk to and she told me a little bit more about her family. How they had moved up to Atlanta about six months ago for her husband's work. During a lull in the conversation, she rose from her seat, "Can you keep an eye on the kids for me?"

The question seemed to come out of nowhere. My head turned to stare at her in surprise. Miranda shrugged, "I need to speak to my husband. I won't be long."

"Um, ok." I replied. Miranda looked out at the kids one last time before turning and leaving.

I shrugged and turned my attention to the kids. This was the first time I was really seeing Miranda's kids up close. They had two, a little boy and a little girl, they're names were Louis and Eliza if I remembered correctly. The boy was the older of the two it seemed. He had shaggy black hair and a tan complexion that looked further tanned by the hot Georgia sun. His dark brown eyes were big and round. His sister looked a lot like him, but her features were more petite and her hair was lighter and braided down her back.

Standing beside them were two kids I had seen and spoke to before. Sophia and Carl were standing side by side talking to the other two. Sophia's face was red though and her eyes were puffy from crying. Had she lost someone? I just saw Carol this morning, but I hadn't seen her father around anywhere.

"Hi, Tori." Carl chirped as he began to jog over. Water splashed onto my jeans from his large steps, but I couldn't care less. The other kids followed behind. "Are you ok?"

"I'm just peachy." I gave him a bright grin, "How about you guys?" My eyes focused on Sophia whose bottom lip began to quiver. Sophia sat down on the rocks a foot or so away from me with her knees tucked up to her chest. No tears left her eyes at this point, but she seemed close to it. "Sophia?"

"She lost her daddy." Eliza whispered to me sadly.

My suspicions were confirmed and dread filled me. I sighed, "Sweetie, I'm— I'm so sorry."

"He was mean." Sophia said softly, "He hit mommy and he… but…"

I had no idea what to say to that, or how to comfort the girl who saw me as a stranger, so I changed the subject in hopes of lifting her spirits. It seemed to work for the most part. The kids sat around me talking and slowly their spirits seemed to lift. Sophia didn't look quite so broken on the outside and I even got them laughing once. Louis spotted something moving in the water though, and him, his sister, and Carl rushed out to try and catch the water animal. I didn't tell them catching a fish with their bare hands was near impossible though. Instead, I nudged Sophia who had come closer to me, "Why don't you go help them?"

She cracked me a small smile before joining the others in the water. I barely knew these kids, yet it did my heart good to see them so carefree. I could sit and watch them play all day, but that wasn't what I came down here for. With a sigh, I pulled my bag off and dumped the contents out onto the smooth pebbles around me.

The expected right boot, first aid kit, canister of salt, and my knife fell out along with a black bag I had seen in there before, but what surprised me was the chunk of rock that fell out with a thud. It was about the size of my palm and was dark gray in color. Curiously, I picked it up and held it in my hand. The edges looked broken, like it was part of a bigger whole, and when I flipped it over I realized it was covered in strange symbols etched in a dark red color. The symbols were nothing like I had seen before. They looked even more foreign than the ones on my knife. I traced a finger over the dark red markings, the sunlight bounced off it making it flare red briefly, before the light was gone.

"The hell…?" I mumbled and rotated it a few more times in my hand before setting it down. Rather than going for the first aid kit, which was going to run out of supplies real damn fast at this rate, I grabbed the black bag in hopes that more medical supplies were hidden within. It was tied at the top, double knotted, but my long nails undid it quickly.

Inside the bag was at least twenty laminated identification cards. My eyes narrowed in confusion. Why the hell would I have this many ID cards on me? Did I steal them from people? I pulled out a handful and my face paled at the sight of a familiar face on each one.

These were all mine.

My face was on every single card in my hand. I reached in for the rest and found that the theme followed. Every damn ID card was my own, but they weren't all the same.

FBI Agent, State Trooper for California, Arkansas, and Florida, Mortician, Park Ranger for Montana and Oregon, Health Inspector for Ohio, and on and on it went. Every card was a new job, in a new area.

Even the names didn't match up.

Victoria Smith, Janice Birch, Taylee Jones, Taylor Williams, Sara Lee, Jessica Adams, Pauline Hasting, and fourteen others. All different. All matching to my face.

My hands were shaking to the point where I couldn't even keep the fake ID cards in my grip.

Who the fuck was I?

Nobody had this many ID cards, this many fake identities, except criminals. Was I a criminal? It made no sense. My memory was shot, that was the truth, but there were things I did know. I knew at one point in my life I was planning to be a doctor. I had the training, the knowledge, buzzing around in my brain. My mind identified with the tag of 'hunter', whether that meant I enjoyed going after Bambi or not who the hell knew. I was protective. I could feel that in my bones, toward the people I had just met and the kids. I wanted to do my damn best for them. I wanted to protect them. It felt like it was my responsibility. Was that a trait of who I was to my core or was it just me feeling guilty, like I owed Rick and company for saving me?

The kids laughing snapped me back to where I was and I quickly began to shove the ID cards back into the black bag, to remain hidden from the world. According to this new information, I might not be Victoria 'Tori' Smith. Maybe it was my real name or maybe that driver's license I found with Rick was just another fake. Maybe I wasn't from Alabama and there was no one waiting for me.

Maybe I should've left in Atlanta on my own rather than coming back because it was possible that I was a criminal and the last thing these people needed was me around. I was nice and tame now, but what if my memory came back full swing and suddenly I wasn't the same anymore? What if I was dangerous? The cult looking knife was definitely potential evidence of that.

"Look what I found, Tori!" Sophia rushed up with her hands cupped together. She leaned forward to show off the snail she had sitting there.

I forced a bright smile and tried to compose myself, "That's wonderful, Sophia. Good job."

Sophia beamed at my words. She seemed so proud to get my simple words of approval. What if I hurt this little girl? What if my secrets caused her pain or worse? I watched as she ran back to the other kids. No. No. I wouldn't hurt her. I wouldn't hurt any of them. Regardless of who I used to be; I knew that I wouldn't— I couldn't ever hurt any of these kids. I'd die first. That was another truth. It was seared to my soul.

I began to shove the items back into my bag. The last thing I needed was someone in camp stumbling across this secret of mine. Especially if that someone was Shane. With a steadying breath, I grabbed my first aid kit and got back to my initial goal. It didn't take me long to clean my foot out and re-wrap it up. However, it did take Miranda another twenty minutes or so before she came back. Not that I minded. The kids were angels. Loud angels who were giving any fish in the area a huge scare, but angels nonetheless.

"I'm so sorry it took so long." She sighed with a shake of her head. There was worry in her eyes, it was clear to see, but I didn't feel comfortable prying. Besides, who wasn't worried about something or another these days. Miranda sat down on the rocky shore beside me, her eyes focused on the kids. I followed her gaze and watched as Carl and Louis began to splash Sophia and Eliza. Both girls had no qualms with splashing back. "She's smiling."

"Hmm?" I questioned.

"Sophia." Miranda nodded her head toward them, "I was always worried for her. For her and her mother. Ed was…" She stopped herself from saying whatever it is she planned to say about Carol's apparently abusive husband before continuing, "This is just too much for any child to go through. All of this… And now with Jim—"

"Jim?" I recognized the name. An image of the kind, lanky man wearing a navy coverall came to mind.

Miranda's eyebrows furrowed together and she sighed, "He was bitten last night. When I walked back into the main part of camp they were all fighting about what to do. Daryl tried to kill him on the spot."

Shit. Jim was bit?

I couldn't say I was overly surprised with the reaction though. My eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at myself. Everyone was up there dealing with this, dealing with the problems, and poor cripple me was down here tanning.

"I need to be there." I mumbled and began to pull a fresh sock over my newly bandaged foot.

"Tori?" Miranda tentatively spoke, but I didn't look up at her. I focused on getting my boot on without cringing, "I don't think that's a good idea. It's an uphill walk and I— I have to stay here to watch the kids… you'd have to go alone."

I smiled at her, "That's fine. Don't worry about me. My foot looks worse than it feels."

What would one small white lie hurt? I pulled my book bag on and stood up with a steadying breath. Miranda watched as I tested the waters by lightly pressing my injured foot against the ground. Since I used all I had left of the bandages, my foot was well cushioned. I should be ok to limp. I just had to resist the urge to sprint, which wouldn't be too hard.

"Be careful."

"You too." I replied and began to walk away. My pace was slow and for someone like me, who had next to no patience, it was God-awful. About halfway up the path I began to take larger steps in hopes to get there faster, but it just made my gait look that much stranger. I probably looked like a walker.

The sound of voices greeted me before the sight of the others did. It sounded like an argument, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. By time I could understand the words, I was at the edge of the clearing. Rick, Shane, Daryl, Lori, Morales, Dale, T-Dog, and Carol stood off to the side in a circle while Jim sat with his head hanging down to the left of the RV. Andrea was still off to the side, cradling her dead sister, but I couldn't look at her long. It hurt to see her like that.

"He's sick. A sick man." Rick spat in frustration as Lori rubbed his arm, "We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

I tried to be as quiet as possible as I walked across the clearing toward where Jim sat. They didn't need another voice in the argument, but Jim could use some company. Daryl scoffed, "The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers or them to be."

"What if we could get him help? I heard the CDC was working on a cure." Rick again. Jim was staring at me now in confusion. I glanced over my shoulder to catch some eyes, but most looked away in nonchalance at my presence.

"I heard that too." Shane readjusted the cap on his head. Rick glanced at me and narrowed his eyes, but I just offered him a quick tight-lipped smile. Shane continued and pulled Rick's attention away, "Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"What if the CDC is still up and running?"

"Man, is that a stretch right there."

I ignored Shane and Rick's voices to focus on Jim. I offered him a smile and knelt down beside him, "Hey, Jim. How you feeling?"

"Not so hot." Jim shook his head. His skin seemed pale and the sweat from the Georgia sun made him only look worse. Without hesitation, I felt his forehead and realized all that sweat might not be caused by the hot sun alone. Jim was burning up. His skin felt like fire. "You shouldn't be so close."

His voice was shaky and low. I shook my head at him, "Hey, I'm supposed to be this camp's doctor, right? What kind of doctor would I be if I left you hanging?"

"A smart one." Jim mumbled and closed his eyes. His shoulders slunk in exhaustion and I let my smile fall away in worry. My eyes drifted down to his shirt where one wet bloodstain could be seen.

"You go lookin' for aspirin, do what you need to do." Daryl's voice made me glance over my shoulder again. I had gotten used to hearing Shane and Rick's voice go back and forth. His stance had changed, he was on the balls of his feet and his hand was tightening around the pickaxe he held. I swallowed the lump in my throat as he began to back pedal towards us, "Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem." He spun around, eyes locked on mine and pickaxe raised, "Move, girl!"

I did move.

I couldn't get up to my full height in time, but I threw myself forward, so I was on my knees in front of Jim, arms outstretched protectively. Rick was a hell of a lot faster than me though. He had his handgun out again, with the barrel pressed against the back of Daryl's head.

"Hey!" Rick barked and Daryl froze, his face twisted in annoyance, "We don't kill the living."

Shane walked over and he offered me his hand with a nod. I took it and he pulled me up quickly. He turned so he now stood between Daryl and Jim and I. He had both hands on his shotgun, but it was held in front of him.

Daryl turned around and lowered the pickaxe. Rick's weapon was still eye level with him, "Funny, comin' from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things", Shane spoke and Daryl glanced back at him, "Not on this. You put it down. Go on."

Daryl threw the pickaxe aside and stalked off. Shane and Rick shared a nod before Shane turned around and helped Jim up. He began to lead him around the RV by the arm.

"You come too, Victoria." Rick said, offering his arm. I took it and he helped me limp behind Shane and Jim who were entering the RV. "You should be by the water. Resting."

"I'm not good at sitting idle, Rick." I replied. "Besides, I can help. I want to help."

Rick gave me a look, but didn't argue. He helped me into the RV and we went to the back where Jim was sitting on the edge of the bed. Shane held up a first aid kit in my direction. I smiled and took it from him with a quick thanks before sitting down beside Jim, "Do you need help taking your shirt off, Jim?"

Jim shook his head and slowly began to take off his hat and shirt. His movements were slow and pained, I could see it on his face. My eyes darted over to Rick and Shane who stood a few feet away quietly continuing their argument from earlier.

"Say it." Rick snapped.

"Okay." Shane replied. He glanced down at his feet and shifted his hands on his weapon before nodding and looking back up at his friend, "I'm thinking if you'd of stayed here, if you'd have looked after your own—Instead you took off, you took half our manpower with you." He paused briefly, "I'm thinking maybe our losses wouldn't have been so bad."

"If we hadn't gone off and brought those guns back when we did, I think our losses would've been a whole lot worse." Rick scoffed and motioned toward outside the RV with his arm, "Maybe the entire camp."

I tore my gaze away and focused back on Jim who had gotten his shirt off. For two best friends who had been reunited after a tragedy, they sure fought a lot. The air always seemed tense between the two.

"This is going to sting." I mumbled and went about cleaning Jim's wound. In my eyes, what they were arguing about now was pointless. What was done was done. Nothing could change what happened so why try and push blame somewhere?

"Victoria." I paused in my actions as Rick came over. Shane was gone now. "Shane and I are going out to finish with the…with the graves. The funeral—"

"I'm going to stick with Jim." I interrupted. Jim began to argue, but I shook my head, "Someone should and I… Like you said, I shouldn't be walking around."

Rick didn't buy my words, but he nodded regardless. His eyes shifted to Jim, "We're gonna fix this."

Those were the words left hanging in the air as Rick left. Based on the look on Jim's face, I wasn't the only one who didn't agree. I strongly felt we shouldn't put a pick axe in Jim's head right now, but there wasn't much I could do for the man. I had no medicine, and even if I did have some form of antibiotic what would it really do? Obviously, this illness had bested the human race's medical advancements.

"Thank you." Jim whispered as I finished wrapping gauze around his room. He shifted back to lean against the RV's wall. I stayed where I was, packing up Dale's first aid kit. "You can go, if you want. To the funeral. I'll just stay here."

I gave him a small smile that he paid little attention to, "It's ok. I'm…I'm not a big fan of funerals."

---

'Let us go with you. I know you don't want to do this alone, you—'

'I have to do this alone.'

'You hate funerals. You hate good-byes, just let us—'

'I need to do this alone. I have no choice.'

The sound of moaning made my eyes snap open. The unfamiliar voices from a fading dream slowly disappeared. Disoriented, I sat up and glanced around. Jim was leaning against the RV wall with his eyes shut and he was moaning to himself in distress. I must have dozed off.

"Jim." I cleared my throat and got closer to him. "Jim—"

"No, no, not this. Not this." His eyes opened, but he wasn't fully there. His glazed over gaze darted around in fear, "Please, no. Not this."

I put my hand against his hot forehead and tried to calm him down, "Jim, you're safe. You're here and you're safe."

"They're dying. They're dying again." His voice broke and he began to roughly cough. I couldn't help but flinch back a bit. "It's eating her. It's eating them and—and— and I'm running." He shook his head and moaned, "I deserve this. I deserve this."

I tried to calm him back down, "Jim—"

His eyes snapped to mine, "My family. They ate my family and I just ran. I left them."

"Try to get some rest." I replied. The sound of movement made me snap around, but it was just Carol stepping into the RV with a large pot. She walked over with a smile that looked more like a grimace. "Hey, Carol."

"I brought some water. I thought it would help."

"Thank you so much." I stood up and she came over. Carol sat close to Jim and used a cup to gather some of the water for him to drink. Then she began to use a rag to dip into the water and clean him up. Jim closed his eyes, mumbling thanks, as she continued. I cleared my throat, "Are the— Is the funeral over?"

"Yes. It ended a few minutes ago."

Now that she mentioned it, I could hear the sound of voices faintly outside the RV. I nodded once, to myself, and sighed, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about…about your husband."

"Thank you." She replied, it was silently awkward for a few minutes before she spoke again, "You can go and take a break if you'd like."

I nodded again, "Yeah, thanks. Just…Let me know if he gets worse. If you need me."

She didn't reply and I left the RV. The clearing was slowly filling again. My eyes drifted over to where Andrea was curled up in a camping chair by the fire. She was curled up and asleep. I tried not to look over to where Amy's body used to be, where only blood in the dirt remained. They must have taken care of it; she must have been buried. I joined her and the others who began to gather around the fire.

"Hey!" I stopped and looked over my shoulder to see Glenn jog up. His eyes darted to my feet before he offered his arm, "Need some help?"

"Thanks, Glenn." I smiled and he helped me limp over to a vacant seat. He took the seat next to me with a sigh. I nudged his leg with my own, "That was good of you this morning. Brave. To stand up to the others…about burying our own, I mean."

Glenn returned the smile, but it was short lived, "They deserved that much."

The two of us talked quietly to each other as more people began to gather around the small fire pit. Glenn told me about his life before, about his family in Michigan. He was the middle child with two sisters, but moved to Atlanta a few years back. Glenn had talked to them one last time before communication went down, but he didn't know what happened to them since. He asked if there was anything I could remember about my family, but all I had to give was blanks. I couldn't remember my parents, if I had siblings… I wondered which was worse. To not remember anything and constantly wonder or to remember but not know their fate.

Time passed and eventually it seemed what remained of the camp was gathered around the pit, all except Jim. Miranda caught my eye, she sat across from me with her family, and offered me a smile that I returned.

Shane grabbed everyone's attention coming over. He put his foot up on a log and leaned against his knee, "I've been thinking about Rick's plan. There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time", Shane stopped looking around at everyone and focused his eyes on Rick who was sitting across from him, "I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So…those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay?"

There were some small nods, but no one spoke up. Shane nodded once more and walked away. The group began to slowly disperse as well.

"You're not still thinking of leaving are you?" Glenn asked quietly.

I glanced over at him to see worry on his features. With a smile, I reached over and clapped him on the shoulder, "I think you're stuck with me now, Glenn."

He chuckled and stood up, "Good. Need help going anywhere?"

"I think I might just chill out here a while longer." I shrugged, "My foot's starting to throb."

Glenn nodded and walked away to help some others start to pack things up. Most of the tents and stuff would have to be packed tomorrow morning, but a good bit could be put away now.

The light of the day disappeared quickly and soon a light dinner of random canned foods was being passed around. I had finished what was given to me, and planned to head to the jeep to sleep again. There was no point in trying to set up a spare tent now considering we were leaving soon.

"Tori?" My eyes widened at Morales' voice. He stood to my left. This was the first time I was actually having a conversation with him.

"Um, hi. What's up?"

Morales offered me his hand and helped me up, "Miranda and I were hoping to talk to you. Do you mind?"

"Not at all." I shook my head, "Lead the way."

He led me to a family sized tent, which wasn't to far from the clearing. As we arrived, Miranda stepped out quietly. She nodded at her husband, "They just fell asleep."

"Good."

I cleared my throat, "So, is everything alright? Everyone?"

"Yes, it isn't anything like that." Miranda replied, "You said you remember going to school in Birmingham so you must have friends or family there, right?"

"I guess, yeah. That'd make sense."

Miranda shared a look with her husband before focusing back on me, "We're not going to the CDC." My eyes widened, but she continued, "We're going to travel down to Birmingham. It's only two and a half hours from here and we want to see if our family is ok. You're welcome to join us."

"Really?"

Morales nodded, "Of course."

I bit my lip in thought. It was a logical choice. If I wanted answers about myself then going to Birmingham made the most sense. Without a doubt, I had spent time there. I had an address there, potentially. I cleared my throat, "Do you mind if I take the night to think it over?"

"Of course not. Just let us know in the morning." Miranda replied with a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I gave them one last nod before limping away. Birmingham had potential answers, but with all the IDs I found in my bag today I questioned the validity of the one I had in my wallet. It made me wonder if there were actual answers for me in Birmingham, but the doubt faded fast.

There had to be.

Unlike the other random identities, this one had pictures to go with it. There was a physical photo of me in front of a UAB sign alongside Marie and some other dude. Plus, though I remembered next to nothing, I obviously had medical knowledge bouncing around my brain. I had been a UASOM student, a graduate no less.

If I went with them though, would I like the answers I found? Didn't I owe myself that much, regardless? The other choice, going to the CDC, was tempting too. If Rick's instinct was right and there were people there, it meant there could be big answers. Answers not about who I used to be, but answers about what the hell was going on in the world. That was information I wanted to know. Plus, even though it had only been a day and a half, I had made friends. There were people here, good people, that I didn't want to depart from.

I heaved a sigh and prayed that a night of sleep would make the decision easier. As I reached the jeep, I realized Shane was there digging around in the trunk. He noticed me and nodded, "Can I help you?"

"Oh." I rubbed the back of my neck, "I was gonna— I was gonna sleep in the jeep. Like I did last night. Is it yours? I should've asked, sorry."

Shane went back to what he was doing with a shake of his head, "You ain't sleeping in the jeep." I narrowed my eyes in a glare. I slept here last night and it was no big deal, why— "The entire back's open. No protection if a walker stumbles into camp and you're knocked out."

I blinked in surprise, "Oh. That— That makes sense."

"Shouldn't have done it last night either."

"Last night I just sort of… passed out. Wasn't really thinking."

"Come on." He finished what he was doing and led me back towards camp. He stopped at the bright red Camaro and opened the back seat door, "Here."

I tossed my bag in then sat down, "Thanks, Shane."

He grunted in response then left. I watched him go for a moment before scooting in and shutting the door. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

The camp was buzzing with activity the next morning as everyone packed up the tents and the rest of the belongings. Jim was doing worse than before, which was to be expected, but it still sucked. I knew wrapping up his wound wasn't going to magically make things better, but it still hurt to see him so broken and sick. Unlike his wound, mine had gotten a bit better. My foot didn't hurt as much today and the wounds had begun to heal over again. As long as I didn't go sprinting through the woods, I should be fine. The lack of pain from my foot through reminded me that there was an open wound on my shoulder. It stung, and was sore, but considering I didn't look like Jim I figured that meant it was caused from something that wasn't a walker. I had that to be thankful for.

"Miranda!" I called out as I finally spotted her next to Carol packing away some clothes. She met me halfway and I shook my head, "Thank you. Thank you so much for the offer, but…but I think I'm going to stay with the group."

"I understand." She nodded, "But can I ask why?"

I paused and tried to find my words. It had been clear to me when I woke up this morning and saw everyone packing things up. It just…clicked. I shrugged, "I trust Rick's instinct. I want to see what the CDC has for us. Maybe find some answers there. I think…I think those answers are more important to me than the ones about my past."

"Fair enough." She stepped forward and pulled me into a hug, "Be careful."

I chuckled at the familiar words, "Yeah, you guys too."

Everything had been packed about thirty minutes later. The group had gathered by the cars for one last meeting of sorts. Rick and Shane took lead, announcing what radio frequency they'd be talking on and what to do in case of an emergency. After they said their piece Morales broke their own news. Rick glanced my way when Miranda talked about family in Birmingham, but focused on talking to Morales and Miranda. Making sure they were positive about their decision. The family couldn't be swayed and the ex-police officers gave Morales a gun and box of bullets.

Goodbyes were being said and I glanced away when Sophia and Eliza began to cry and hug each other. Rick, in his light brown police uniform, walked over to me with a nod.

"Hey, Rick. Morning." I greeted.

"Morning." He replied. "Morales talked to me earlier. Mentioned he was planning this. Said him and his wife asked you along."

My eyes widened, "You knew? About them and about me?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I steered clear of you this morning because of it." Rick chuckled, "I didn't want to sway your decision like I did when we left for Atlanta. I wanted you to choose."

"Well I did." I smiled, "I want to know what the CDC knows. If they know anything." I crossed my arms, "I guess that means you're stuck with me a while longer."

Rick chuckled, "I guess so."

"Let's head out." Shane called and people began to move.

"Need a ride?"

I pointed toward Dale who stood outside the RV with Glenn, "I was gonna keep an eye on Jim. Why? What'd you have in mind?"

"Shane's got a spare seat." Rick nodded toward the jeep Shane was walking towards. I appreciated Rick looking after me, but I didn't want to ride with Shane. He seemed all right enough in my book, but boy did I not want to play twenty questions with him. Not while I had a big, sketchy secret in my book bag.

"Thanks, but no thanks." I replied, "Later, Rick."

I walked off and began to head toward the RV, but paused at the truck Daryl was standing by. He was throwing gear into the single bench pick up, but my attention was focused on the older styled motorcycle strapped down into the bed. I drifted from my path to get a closer look. Curiously, I lifted my hand to brush off a leaf that was lying on the black leather, but a different hand beat me to it.

"Hands off." Daryl snapped and beat my hand away.

I crossed my arms with a grin, "Sorry. It's a nice motorcycle."

"It was Merle's." Daryl replied and stepped away to set his crossbow in the passenger seat. He glanced back over and I watched as he shifted his weight awkwardly. He nodded once, "You ride?"

"Not that I remember." I joked with a chuckle.

Daryl shook his head and scoffed, entirely unamused with my reply, "Don't know why you joke so much 'bout not bein' able to remember anythin'. It ain't funny."

"No, I guess not." I shrugged. "But it's really all I can do. I'd rather joke at my own expense than break down and cry." Daryl's annoyance had slightly lessened. I let my smile return, "I can't remember my past and that's really depressing when I sit and think about it, but I'm not gonna walk around and mope. It's not my style."

The words had just poured out of me, but it felt good to say them aloud. It was the truth after all. Not knowing anything about my family or past really was just awful. Seeing clues that just added up to a potentially sketchy past was even worse, but there was no point in whining about it. Everyone had it rough right now. Besides, it felt natural to laugh it off. I figured that was a better coping method than anything else I could pick up at the moment.

"Guess I get that." Daryl replied.

I smirked, "So you're gonna give me a ride on that bad boy, right?" Daryl let out a scoff and walked around the truck to get in. I chuckled, "I'll take that as a maybe!"

Dale gave me a smile as I stepped into the RV. It was a bit crowded, but I made my way back to Jim who was obviously suffering. I sighed to myself. This was going to be a long trip.

---

Unfortunately, I had been wrong.

The trip hadn't been long at all. After about ten minutes of driving we were forced to stop because the RV was having issues. Car knowledge wasn't my forte, and I didn't understand what Dale was talking about but apparently this was a problem the RV struggled with often.

T-Dog and Shane had left to gather supplies from a gas station we had passed, but by time they got back and fixed the RV Jim was significantly worse. Jacqui, the kind African American woman I had only spoken to once before, sat beside me with a worried frown as she offered him some more water. I stood up and left the RV in hopes to find a familiar looking ex-officer. Rick was off to the side talking to his wife.

"Rick." I called out and everyone in the vicinity seemed to look over at me. I sighed, "Jim is… it's gotten worse. His fever has spiked and… I'm not sure how longer he's gonna last."

Rick sighed and covered his eyes with his hands in an exhausted motion. He nodded once, "I'll talk to him."

I watched him walk past me to the RV's door, but before I could follow him in Lori set her hand on my shoulder and pulled me back. My eyes narrowed at her in question, but she just clicked her tongue sadly, "Honey, you should let my husband talk to him alone. Give them some time."

With a nod, she stepped away and I just continued to stare at the back of her head. There was so much to argue against with her, but I was too tired to do so. Watching Jim deteriorate right before my eyes had really taken its toll on me. Obviously, Jim had the short end of that stick, but not being able to do anything for him except console and offer water had truly been awful.

A couple more minutes passed, but it seemed Rick had no luck with his conversation. Jim had decided to throw in the towel. He was done with riding in the back of the RV in pain waiting for relief that wasn't going to come. Rick and Shane helped him out of the RV and they leaned him against a tree out by the side of the road. One by one, people stepped up to say their heartfelt goodbyes. I didn't know Jim very well or for very long and I wasn't entirely sure what to say when it came to be my turn. With a sigh, I reached out to squeeze his hand and I offered him a few more consoling words before walking away with a heavy heart.

It wasn't my fault.

I knew it wasn't.

Jim wasn't dying because of me, yet I still felt guilt at seeing him sitting against that tree on his own. It just felt wrong that I couldn't do anything more for him. People began to move about, getting back into cars, so we could get back on the road to Atlanta. I glanced once at the RV before whipping around and jogging after Daryl who was walking toward the end of the line where his truck was.

"Daryl!" I called and he turned around skeptically. He didn't speak, but instead stared at me expectantly. I cleared my throat, "Hey, uh, can I ride with you the rest of the way?"

His eyes widened slightly in alarm, "What? No."

"Oh, come on. Please?"

Daryl scoffed, "Ain't you cozy in the RV?"

"It's way too crowded in there and you have a spare seat." I replied. Rather than let him turn me down again, I continued, "Please, Daryl? I'll be quiet and you won't even know I'm there."

He hesitated for another moment before letting out a quick sigh, "Fine."

Daryl turned and continued toward his truck. I bounced in place once before speaking up, "Let me just tell Dale and them that I'm going with you! Don't leave without me!"

He threw his hand up in acknowledgement without even glancing back at me. I grinned and jogged back to the RV where Glenn was standing outside the door. He forced a smile in my direction. Glenn was obviously still distressed about the Jim thing, "Hey, you ready?"

"Actually, I'm gonna ride with Daryl. Can you tell Dale?"

Glenn's eyes widened, "Wait, Daryl? Like, Daryl Dixon?"

"No, the other Daryl." I joked.

Glenn remained wary, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" I clapped him on the shoulder with a small smile before turning back the way I came.

On my way to the truck, I had to pass the car Rick was driving. He had been leaning against the front talking to Lori, but at my approach he glanced over with a small smile.

"Everything alright?" Rick questioned.

"Yeah, I'm just riding with Daryl the rest of the way."

Rick looked equally as surprised as Glenn and just as skeptical. He glanced back towards the truck before looking at me again, "Alright, any particular reason?"

"The RV is too crowded. Besides, Daryl is riding alone. Everyone needs a little company."

Rick nodded once then shrugged before offering the same line he did back at camp, "Shane's got a spare seat too."

"Thanks, but Daryl's my new BFF, didn't you know?" I teased. Luckily, I was far enough away where Daryl wouldn't hear the comment and give me shit for it. I knew the last thing the redneck would consider me was a best friend. Or even a friend.

Lori wrapped her arm around Rick's waist, "I think it's a good idea."

I nodded once, still a little peeved at her for a reason I couldn't fully fathom and gave them both a quick wave before walking away. Daryl was sitting on the driver's side with a cigarette hanging from his lips and his left arm hanging out the window. As I got to the door I could see he cleared out the passenger seat for me.

"Thanks again, Daryl."

"Uh huh."

I settled into the seat after putting my seat belt on, and slowly the line of cars began to move. The urge to look out my window at Jim one last time hit me hard, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Rather, I closed my eyes tightly and took a steadying breath.

"So why are you ridin' with me?"

My eyes snapped open and I glanced over at Daryl who didn't look at me in return. He kept his own gaze focused on the road. His shoulders didn't seem very tense, but he had a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel.

I liked Daryl. I didn't think he was all that bad. Maybe a little rough around the edges, but he had done me no harm. In fact, he saved me. Multiple times now. Hopefully, my presence in his truck wasn't bothering him that much. Not only did I want to avoid the full RV, but I really did just want to keep him company.

"Why not?" I replied with the friendliest smile I could muster, "Like I told Rick, you were all alone and everyone could use some company."

"I don't." He argued gruffly.

I let out a small chuckle, "Sure, Daryl. Whatever you say." He shot me a light glare out of the corner of his eye. Without missing a beat, I continued, "You know, I never thanked you for the whole Atlanta retirement home slash kidnapping ploy thing."

"Thank me for what?"

"For coming back for Glenn and I with Rick and T-Dog." I answered with a shrug, "I appreciate it. Really."

Daryl scoffed, "I would've left the two of y'all if it were up to me."

"Sure." I replied in a doubtful tone. Maybe I would've believed his comment after that first encounter with him in the woods, but now? Not so much. I saw the look in his eyes when Glenn got yanked away and when I was being used as a human shield.

Daryl glanced over again and repeated his words with emphasis, "I would've."

"Yeah, ok."

"Woman."

I chuckled again with a grin as Daryl glanced at me warily. The cab grew quiet again as we continued down the road to Atlanta. The silence wasn't awkward, it was comfortable. My eyes glanced at Daryl's hand around the steering wheel to see it had relaxed to some degree. I silently cheered the small victory and turned to stare out the window at the Georgia woods.

Due to some road blocks, detours, and a number of more RV breakdowns, it took longer than initially planned to get to the CDC. By time we got in vicinity, the sun was low in the sky. Maybe thirty minutes or so from sundown. The woods outside my window had long ago disappeared and now I was stuck staring at the dead buildings and streets of Atlanta. The sight of the abandoned, dead city made me feel sick and there was an eerie vibe that seemed to radiate off the city itself.

The area around the large, multi story CDC building was a wasteland. There were sand bag barriers scattered around, no longer serving a purpose, with debris and trash all over. Worse than the garbage, were the dead bodies lying about in various degrees of decay. They were everywhere, nearing the hundreds in number at least.

The convoy of cars came to a stop and Daryl threw the truck into park just as my eyes landed on a tan tank, much like the one in the city I had seen with Rick. Closer to the actual building were military trucks and jeeps.

"Come on." Daryl said.

He jumped out of the truck and I followed suite. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, the smell of death hit me like truck. I coughed, trying to get the stench of decay out from my lungs, to no avail. I wasn't the only one doing so either. The smell of the dead was everywhere these days, but it was especially potent here.

The entire group was now making our way across the deserted wasteland toward the CDC. Daryl walked beside me, his crossbow raised, and I had enough common sense to pull out my knife just in case.

Rick and Shane were leading the group, and we followed them toward the front of the building where it looked like the doors were located. However, each section of the wall where a door should be was replaced with a metal shutter and above each metal shutter was a camera.

Shane rushed forward to try and lift the shutters using his back for support while Rick toyed with a control panel off to the side with no luck.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog said, worry dripped from his words as panic began to rise up in the group around me. I glanced around trying to look for some kind of solution.

Rick spun around, "Then why are these shutters down?"

My eyes caught movement, and when I looked in that direction a walker greeted me. It was about ten yards away, dressed in a military uniform, and it was heading straight for us.

"Walkers!" Daryl barked and I glanced around to see more of the same. The kids began to let out cries of fear. Daryl stormed forward to Rick, "You led us into a graveyard!"

Shane sidestepped between the two men, "He made a call."

"It was the wrong damn call!"

"Just shut up. You hear me?" Shane pointed at him threatingly, "Shut up!"

Someone was messing with the shutters again, I could hear it, and Daryl fired his crossbow toward a walker. I couldn't turn to watch what was happening though because my eyes were glued out in the distance across the concrete courtyard that sat in front of the CDC. About a hundred yards away was a figure. At first, I thought it was a walker, but this figure was different.

It didn't limp or stumble, but walked confidently.

It had no disfigurements because it was made of solid darkness.

It looked like a shadow.

The sound of arguments and panicked cries around me began to fade away. I knew the group was still there, but all I could hear was a ringing in my ears. The figure was coming closer and I felt like I was in a trance of some sort. Did anybody else see it? Did anybody else feel the buzz I could feel vibrating in my chest?

'Snap out of it. You need to focus. Do you hear me? Focus.'

The involuntary thought filled my head with clarity as sound returned with a snap. Shane was shouting now, "Everybody get to the cars!"

I had missed something. I had missed an entire chunk of something. The walkers had grown in number and were closer than before. Everyone was yelling now. Shane wrapped his hand around my wrist and forced me forward with the rest of the group that was slowly pulling away from the building.

Rick didn't budge though.

"It moved." Rick declared. "The camera, it moved."

Everyone paused at his words, eyes shot to the camera in hopes to see the same. All I could see though was the same, still white camera.

Dale shook his head, "You imagined it."

"It moved." Rick argued loudly, "It moved!"

Shane passed me to head back to Rick, "Rick, it's dead, man. It's an automated device."

The group continued to slowly inch toward the cars, but I was frozen in place. Was it too much to hope that someone was in there like Rick said? Did we even still have time to try and find out? The walkers were getting closer, the sun was almost gone. We were out of time. Shane made the decision himself as he grabbed Rick roughly and tried to drag him back, but Rick broke free and began to pound on the shutter again.

"I know you're in there! I know you can hear me! Please, we're desperate!" Rick cried. Shane motioned everyone to head to the cars again, but I remained rooted. "We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left!"

Lori stepped in front of her husband and tried to push him back, "Rick, there's nobody here."

"If you don't let us in you're killing us!" Rick roared in desperation as Shane came back over and successfully began to pull him away from the doors, "You're killing us!"

My sight of Rick was blocked when Daryl stepped in front of me and began to push me back as well. The steps I took weren't forced though, and I slowly began to allow him to pull me away.

Suddenly, the metal shutter in front of Rick and Shane lifted open releasing a bright light across the area. It was blinding and I was forced to briefly cover my eyes in response. Everyone was frozen in shock and nobody moved for a few seconds. I half expected the light to fade away. For it to have been just some hopeful hallucination.

The light did begin to die down, but the open door remained. The sight of the open door seemed to snap everyone to their senses and the group began to move forward. Everyone cautiously stepped through the into a lobby like area. It was dimly lit inside, but the fact that there were electric lights at all seemed incredible. The ceiling was high, creating an open floor plan, with linoleum floors and a modern feel. More than the architectural design, the area was clean. No trash or broken debris littered the floor. There were no dead bodies lying about. There was no destruction in here. It was untouched.

"Hello?" Rick called out. The reply to his greeting was the sound of a gun being cocked back, which resulted in everyone holding a gun to spin and aim towards the noise.

"Anybody infected!?"

The man asking was partly hidden by the shadows, but I could make out his plain white shirt, sweatpants, and the large rifle in his hands.

Rick spoke up, "One of our group was. He didn't make it."

"Why are you here? What do you want?"

Rick glanced back at all of us. His eyes darted about before he glanced forward again, "A chance."

"That's asking a lot these days." The man stepped out into a ray of the dim lighting. He looked to be in his late forties, with short blond hair and dark, tired blue eyes.

"I know." Rick nodded.

There was an awkward, tense pause as the man gazed over each face of our makeshift group. He gave a slight nod of his head, "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick agreed quickly and with ease. It seemed like an easy price to pay for protection and safety.

The man lowered his weapon and briskly walked forward, "You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes it stays closed."

Rick, Shane, Daryl, and Glenn ran out to the cars without hesitation to grab the needed supplies while Dale and T-Dog held open the doors and kept watch. I slowly walked toward the open doors, next to where T-Dog stood, and peeked out. It was darker now and the figure I had seen earlier was no longer there. What the hell had that thing been? Had I actually seen it at all?

I shook my head lightly and rubbed at my eyes. It must have been some trick of the eyes. A side effect of too little food and too much exertion on top of the still lingering consequences of blood loss.

"Watch out, Tori." T-Dog warned as he set a hand on my shoulder to pull me back. I gave him a smile and backpedaled back into the lobby as the four men ran back in with various bags. Daryl not only had his own bag, but he had grabbed mine as well.

"Vi, seal the main entrance and kill the power up here." The man said. I glanced over my shoulder to see him speaking into a comm system against the wall. The shutters closed slowly, and I couldn't help but stare at a walker that stumbled towards the moving metal door. The moment the shutter was fully sealed I let out a breath and I hadn't realized I had been holding.

I turned back around just in time to see Rick walk to the man and hold out a hand, "Rick Grimes."

The man glanced at the hand once before quickly shaking it, "Dr. Edwin Jenner." He glanced at the group, "All of you can follow me."

The group followed Jenner off to the side and where an elevator sat. I waited until Daryl was beside me and he didn't hesitate to hand me my bag.

"Thanks." I grinned in appreciation and he let out a grunt in response.

Everyone stepped into the elevator, which was large enough to hold the group, but was too small for anyone to have an adequate amount of personal space. My back was pressed against Glenn's side and I had to pull my arm back some so it wasn't in Sophia's face. The elevators doors closed and it began to move.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl broke the silence and motioned to Jenner's weapon.

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself." Jenner's eyes glanced over the group, taking everyone in, "But you look harmless enough." Jenner's eyes darted down to Carl who stood next to him, "Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you."

Carl's lips twitched upwards in a smile and I couldn't help but smile in response too. We were safe right now. We were safe enough to crack jokes and not worry about walkers jumping out from behind any corners. Hell, we were in a working elevator. I thought I was going to have to say goodbye to those in this new world.

The rest of the elevator ride was silent and the doors opened up to a dim hallway with white walls. As we all stepped out my eyes took in the sight of the plain, gray doors about ten feet apart going all down the hall.

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

Jenner led us down the hall into a large room that was both tall ceiling wise and wide width wise. There was a circle of lights above a platform in the middle of the room. On said platform were machines with computer monitors and the wall off to the right was a large computer screen itself.

"Welcome to Zone 5."

The room apart from us was empty and quiet. There were no walkers shambling around, but the building seemed dead in its own unique way. Rick glanced around, "Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it." Jenner stepped onto the platform, "It's just me here."

"What about the person you were talking to?" I asked curiously.

Andrea nodded, "Yeah. Vi?"

Jenner shrugged, "Vi. Say hello to our guests. Tell them, welcome."

Seconds passed before a robotic female voice echoed through a sort of overhead speaker system, "Hello guests. Welcome."

Jenner's apologetic gaze drifted over the group as he let out a soft sigh, "I'm all that's left. I'm sorry."

After finding out about Jenner being the only reaming staff member, he led us back down the same hallway, but turned in a different direction. We were now in a small classroom that had stadium styled desks and a chalkboard at the front of the room against the wall behind a larger tabletop desk.

Jenner had left briefly to grab a kit of some sort, and as soon as he came back he began to take vials of everyone's blood. The process itself wasn't long, and it was nice to just sit there in the air-conditioned room talking with ease. Glenn and I had been sitting beside each other, conversing, when it finally became my turn for the blood taking. It was only by chance that I had ended up being last.

I moved to the front where he was waiting. As he began to prep my left arm, I spoke up, "I'm grateful that you let us is, we all are I'm sure, but… why this? Why the blood samples? From what I've seen the infection hits fast. If any of us had it we'd be showing symptoms and signs."

Jenner cleared his throat before sticking my arm with the needle, "I've already broken every rule in the book just letting you in here. It's nice to at least be thorough." The answer satisfied my curiosity enough that I didn't press further. Maybe he was just a man of habit. He filled one vial, pulled out the needle, then pressed a Band-Aid against the puncture. "All done."

"Thanks." I replied with a small smile. I stood up from my seat and the world suddenly began to start spinning. Everything began to tilt and I didn't even realize I was falling over until Glenn had me in his arms.

Jenner stepped forward, "You alright?"

The world started to come back into focus and it was then that I realized all eyes seemed to be on me. My face burned and I shook my head, "I'm fine. Sorry."

"She lost a lot of blood over the past couple days." Rick spoke up.

Andrea added, "Plus, none of us have had much to eat or drink either."

Jenner paused before speaking again, "I think I can fix that. Follow me."

I sat back down in the seat I had been in and Glenn hovered by me. His eyebrows furrowed in worry, "Are you sure you're ok?"

The rest of the group was slowly leaving to follow Jenner. I nodded, "I'm seriously fine. Go on ahead, I'll catch up."

Glenn seemed hesitant to go, but he noticed Rick lingering behind as well. He gave us both a nod before scooping up his bag, plus my own, and walking out. I closed my eyes with a sigh.

I could hear Rick come closer and I spoke up before he could ask me about my health, "I'm just dizzy, Rick. I think I'll survive."

"How's your foot?"

I opened my eyes to see his worried light blue eyes focused on me. My own eyes darted to my boot, "It's ok. Sore still, obviously, but I had no problem walking on it earlier. Well, limping, but still."

"Alright. Come on." Rick offered his hand to help me up and I didn't hesitate to take it, "Let's get you some food, huh?"

"Don't have to tell me twice, Officer Grimes." I replied.

The two of us left the room to go in the direction Jenner had gone in. It wasn't hard to figure out where they went. All we had to do was listen for the group's loud, excited voices. My limping pace was slow, but Rick stayed by my side rather than walking ahead.

We entered into a cafeteria looking room and to the left was a full kitchen with counters and appliances. Jenner was quietly leaning against one of the counters watching as our group moved around the kitchen laughing and preparing food. As we stepped closer the smell of something delicious and familiar hit me.

"Is that spaghetti?" I asked with a grin.

Glenn laughed and lifted his hands to show a large, empty bottle of brand name marinara sauce. Rick ushered me toward a close table where Carl and Sophia sat along with Dale, Shane, T-Dog, and Daryl.

I tried to stand back up, "I can help."

"Just rest." Rick chuckled, "I think we can handle dinner preparation without you."

Rick walked into the kitchen and I watched him go with a smile. My eyes glanced over the scene and content settled in my chest. Everything felt warm and fuzzy right now. It was like I didn't even have to worry about the world crumbling outside. I would happily spend the rest of my life in this single moment with people I barely knew, yet cared so much about already.

Coming to the CDC had been the right choice.

---

Sam stared out the window as Georgia scenery flew by. Dean was behind the wheel of the black Impala, and he was talking about something but Sam's mind was a million miles away. His life had always felt like one train wreck after another. That was almost expected though. His mother had been murdered by a demon and he had been raised by a vengeful father who was determined to hunt down demons and every other kind of monster that went bump in the night. With that kind of upbringing, the kind where vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and other supernatural beings made normal appearances, saying his life was one train wreck after another was almost an understatement.

Now though, his life didn't feel like some sort of carnal wreckage. It felt like he had reached the end of the tracks. There was no monster to kill or civilian to save because a new monster had taken over the world. Of all the ways the world could've ended… Him and his brother had saved the world from the devil himself years ago. Neither of them would've guessed that the world would've crapped out to a curse of all things. One stupid curse from one stupid ancient tablet. The world was gone now, and he didn't really know what to do with that.

What battle was there to fight anymore?

They had technically lost.

Sam felt the car rolling to a stop and it was only then he realized his older brother had stopped talking altogether. He turned his head, to glance over at Dean, but his eyes fell on a car accident a few yards ahead of the dirty, black hood.

Off to the right side of the road was an overturned, familiar red car. Sam felt like someone had dumped ice into his veins.

"Dean." He breathed, "Dean, that's her—"

Dean threw the driver's door open and jumped out of the car. Sam did the same and jogged after his brother who sprinted straight to the broken car. Dean didn't hesitate to start digging through the wreckage while Sam took in the scene.

There was no sight of his missing friend, only her rental car. In the middle of the road was a corpse. Someone had shot it through the head. His eyes grazed over the glass and metal and landed back on his brother who was done digging through the car.

Dean had a brown boot in his hand, "It was under the seat."

"Dean."

"She was in a wreck." Dean said between clenched teeth. He suddenly threw the boot down the road before burying his fingers into his short, light brown hair, "She was in a fucking wreck!"

Sam shook his head, motioning to the corpse, "She isn't here, and someone had to shoot the lurker."

Dean's jaw clenched, "Even if she walked away from this, Sammy, where would she go? Into the woods? Back into Atlanta?" He rubbed his lower face with his hand, "We need to find her. She could be hurt."

"Is her bag gone?" Sam asked and Dean nodded. Sam walked over to the trunk and knelt down. He pulled his lock picking kit out from his jacket pocket and began to toy with the lock on the car's trunk. After a few moments he got it open, and the trunk's contents spilled out onto the road.

An array of guns and knives hit the asphalt along with a carton of salt and a jug of holy water that was now leaking onto the road. Sam glanced over at Dean, "She left her weapons."

No hunter worth their salt would leave behind their weapons.

"She probably needed to travel light." Dean argued and Sam bobbed his head in agreement, but his mind went elsewhere. A thief would know to take the supplies from the easily accessible body of the car, but they wouldn't know about the goldmine hidden in the trunk. Anyone deciding to walk away from a car accident like this would've probably picked up his or her shoe before leaving. It just made sense. Beside that, all the guns that his long time friend owned were now on the asphalt by his feet. None were missing. If they had all been tucked away in the trunk, how would she have shot the corpse? "Don't do that."

"Dean, what?"

"I see the look on your face." Dean stepped toward his brother, "She isn't dead. She walked away from this."

Sam felt a lump form in his throat, "The dead can walk away now too, Dean. If she…if she died in this wreck… her body would've walked away. She—"

"She's not dead."

"She would've known to grab her guns. She would've picked up her shoe! Dean—"

"Madison is not dead!" Dean roared.

The silence around them was interrupted by the sound of large, flapping wings. It was a sound Sam recognized too easily. In the supernatural world they were forced to live through, angels were just as real as demons. Unfortunately, depending on the day, angels were either allies or a hindrance.

Dean and Sam both reached for their guns and turned to aim at the newcomer. Bullets wouldn't do much against a full-blown angel, but having a weapon in hand always made them feel better.

"Please, keep yelling you two. I don't think the dead jackasses two miles away quite heard you."

Sam's eyes widened at the sight of the angel before him and he was sure his brother was just as surprised. Mostly because this wasn't just some run of the mill angel. This was an archangel. More than that, he was an archangel they long believed to be dead.

"Gabriel?" Sam questioned with confused, narrowed eyes. Gabriel's brown, slightly wavy hair was pushed back and ended at the nape of his neck. His caramel brownish-green eyes glanced over the scene briefly, but snapped back to him and his brother with a knowing look. He wore a dark blue button up shirt with a brown jacket over it.

"The one and only." Gabriel replied. Confidence oozed from the archangel as he waltzed toward them.

"How the fuck are you even alive?" Dean questioned. The last time they saw Gabriel was three years ago when Satan himself stabbed him through the chest with an angel blade. Which was the angels' weapon of choice and one of the only things that could really kill them. Yet, here he was, alive and as smug as ever. "Didn't Lucifer shiv your ass?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "You're welcome for that, by the way. I'm the entire reason you chuckleheads stopped the apocalypse three years ago." He motioned around them with his hands, "Not that that really matters anymore."

"How did you survive?" Sam asked.

The archangel shrugged, "Not the question you should be asking right now, moose."

Sam held back a groan of annoyance. He didn't miss dealing with Gabriel, "What's going on right now? We know a curse caused this but how—"

"You're getting closer with the questions, but still not what I'm looking for."

Dean motioned toward him with his gun, "What the hell do you want?"

"Bingo!" Gabriel cheered. "That's what I'm looking for. I have a job for you two to do while I figure out what the hell you morons did to the world."

"We didn't unleash the curse, that wasn't—" Sam began.

Gabriel scoffed, "Oh please, you Winchesters are a curse in and of itself. Now if you focus on the mission I have for you, I'll tell you all about our little Madison."

Dean rushed forward, "What do you mean? Is she alive?"

"Oh, she's alive alright."

"Where is she?" Sam pressed.

Gabriel shrugged, "How the hell would I know that? I just figured you two would want to know that she's still out there somewhere breathing."

"How do you know she's alive?"

"I've been in the area. Ish." Gabriel shrugged again. Sam and Dean both glared at him and he sighed in annoyance, "Long story short, I saw her grab a ride from some sheriff in a cowboy's hat. You happy?"

"Not really." Dean snapped angrily.

Gabriel ignored Dean and continued, "Now, back to the task at hand—"

"That's it?" Dean snapped again and Sam watched as the archangel's jaw clenched in frustration. He lifted his hand towards his brother in a warning gesture. The Winchesters and Gabriel were on friendly terms before he died, but that didn't make him any less dangerous. Dean ignored Sam entirely and ranted on, "That's all you're going to give us? That's she's safe and that you just magically came back to life in time for some apocalyptic curse!?"

Gabriel stepped toward the two of them with a glare settled on his features. The archangel's body, his vessel, was significantly shorter than both him and Dean. Despite that, Sam felt worry settle in his gut at the anger in Gabriel's eyes, "All I'm going to give you? I'm down here trying to clean up your mess!"

"It wasn't our fault. Crowley—" Sam began, but he didn't get far.

Gabriel scoffed, "Yeah, sure. Blame the King of Hell. How convenient." He shook his head, "You two are the dumbasses that let him steal the tablet from right under your noses." The Winchesters flinched at Gabriel's words, but he didn't relent, "And thank you very much, I got saved, rather miraculously I might add, by daddy dearest a few months after Lucifer got thrown back into hell. I just decided to steer clear of you two because death follows you like a shadow and I didn't really feel like dying again."

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds before Sam sighed, "We want to help you, Gabriel. Especially if it has anything to do with the mess we're in now. We just…We need more information on what's happening."

Dean nodded in agreement, "What the hell is this curse doing exactly?"

"How did you find out it was a curse?"

Sam and Dean shared a glance before Sam spoke up, "The little information we found on the tablet mentioned that it was locked by a curse. A couple hours after Crowley stole the tablet, we got a call from Madison. She said that Crowley and Castiel disappeared and that the tablet got activated so we put two and two together and assumed all of this", Sam motioned around him with his hand, "Had something to do with said curse."

"Good assumption." Gabriel retorted.

"Do you know what happened to Cas?" Dean pressed. Madison had said that Castiel showed up when the tablet was being activated but vanished without a trace. Sam and Dean hadn't heard from or about their angel friend since.

Gabriel smirked, "Funny you should ask. He's in the area."

"He is?" Sam's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, I was able to locate him, to a degree, but before I could get an exact location Heaven's gates sealed shut."

Dean blinked in shock, "Wait a minute, Heaven's gates are sealed?"

"Hell too." Gabriel answered, "You see, that curse was an ancient 'sealing' curse, for lack of a better term. The moment the tablet was activated, that curse shut and locked both Heaven and Hell's gates. Now the angels are stuck in heaven, the demons are stuck in hell, and any unlucky son of a bitch who was on Earth at the time of this are now stuck here with no source of power. Like me." Gabriel emphasized. He scoffed, "You two are just lucky I'm an archangel and a little of my power got saved. Otherwise, I would've slaughtered you both."

"Well, hooray for us." Dean replied in a dry tone.

Sam shook his head, "If the curse sealed heaven and hell, then why are the dead rising? What do the gates have to do with humans?"

Gabriel gave Sam a look that made him feel like he had asked the dumbest question on earth. Sam glared back at the archangel impatiently. "It sealed up the reapers as well, they're stuck in whatever limbo world they live in. Without reapers…"

"There's no one to take the souls to the other side." Sam mumbled in realization.

"Even worse than a bunch of souls stuck on Earth becoming ghosts and vengeful spirits, is the fact that these souls are sealed up in their dead bodies."

Dean paled at the thought, "Are they aware? In their bodies after death?"

"Doubt it." Gabriel replied and both Sam and Dean let out a breath of relief, "If they were they'd act more human. I think it's a very carnal, angry portion of their soul that remains. Imagine a vengeful spirit inside a body… but with the sudden cravings for living, human flesh." Gabriel's face had softened for a minute, but his gaze hardened again, "And they're gonna stay that way until we unlock the gates."

"So is that what you're trying to do? Fix the world by unsealing the gates?"

"Maybe we can just go ahead and leave Hell's gates locked." Dean mumbled.

Gabriel nodded, "Sure, that's step one, but unsealing the world is still the least of our problems."

"People are dying and then coming back as monsters hungry for people." Dean scoffed, "What the fuck is worse than that?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows at him, "There is a reason why that tablet wasn't written in the language of men, angels, or even demons. That tablet", He spat out the word, "Wasn't ever supposed to be found and it wasn't eversupposed to be opened like it was. This curse? It's the opening act." Gabriel shook his head, "When Crowley activated the tablet, he released something worse than any monster you've ever had to come face to face with."

"What did it release?" Sam questioned. Gabriel replied in Enochian, the language of angels.

Dean shrugged, "Can we get a translation here?"

"It doesn't translate." Gabriel snapped. "There is no man made word for it, and there is barely an Enochian term for it." He sighed, "All you need to know is that the chances of me fixing this thing are slim to none and we're probably all going to die."

"That's just great." Dean threw his hands up.

Sam rubbed his forehead in frustration. Just when he thought he had reached the end of the tracks, the train just kept pushing forward into a bigger fucking mess. He nodded toward Gabriel, "So what do you need from us?"

"I need to find Castiel and Crowley." He replied, "And I need you to give me a ride to Atlanta."

Dean narrowed his eyes, "A ride? You need us to give you a ride?"

"I'm sorry, did I stutter?"

"Why don't you just fly your feathery ass to the city?" Dean asked.

Gabriel slapped Dean on the shoulder in a way that looked friendly, but Sam saw Dean flinch at the force behind the hit, "Because the gates are closed and my grace is running on fumes. It's probably best I don't waste it on arbitrary things. Especially when the Winchester taxi service is right here." He walked toward the Impala without another word.

"We're heading to Atlanta anyways to find Madison." Sam shrugged.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, alright."

"I call shotgun!" Gabriel shouted from the side of the car. The brothers shared one last look before heading toward their black muscle car. Sam glanced over his shoulder at the car wreck one last time.