When I opened my eyes, I swore I was dreaming. I was in a hospital room! But how? My head hurt something awful. I felt a bandage where the pain was. Where did that come from?

I looked around frantically. How did I get here? Where's Daryl?

I hopped out of bed and looked out the window. It was light outside. Above me was a clock. It's still early.

I heard footsteps outside my room that were coming closer.

Oh fuck! Oh shit!

I quickly looked for something I could use as a weapon. Both my gun and knife were missing. Along with my clothes. I was in a hospital gown.

I picked up the tray that was on the bed side table just in time as the door opened. Two guys dressed as cops and a doctor were there. "Who are you?" I yelled. "Where the fuck am I?"

"Put it down!" They yelled with their guns up.

I guess I must have hit my head really hard because I took a step closer.

"You don't want to do this." The doctor said calmly. "Just put it down."

I sighed and threw the tray behind me.

Suddenly, both cops were coming at me, and trying to pin me down. "What the fuck? Get off me!" I screamed.

"You better settle down, little girl." One of them said. "There's a lot of bad that can happen to you."

"Enough you two!"

I looked up and saw a female cop standing in the doorway.

"Get out both of you." She said. They gave me a dirty look then left the room. What the hell is going on? "I'm Dawn." The lady said. "Can you tell me your name?"

I thought for a minute. What could it hurt? And I need answers. "Abby." I replied.

She sighed. "Abby, you were in an accident and hit your head, my officers brought you in late the other night—"

"Like shit I was!" I spat. "Your officers knocked me out, and kidnapped me!"

She looked taken aback. "If they wouldn't have brought you here, you would have died." She stated. "They put their lives on the line to save you. So, you owe us."

Is she delusional? I was about to say something, but decided otherwise.

"Here take these." The doctor finally spoke. He handed me two Tylenol, then went to check my head. I backed away at first but then I just let him. "Looks to be all right." He said. Then, he handed me a pair of scrubs. "Put these on. Come out when you're ready." He said. "I'm Dr. Steve Edwards, by the way." With that, they both left.

What the hell is this place?

I walked down the hall, and saw a black kid around my age mopping the floor. He was also in scrubs. He looked up when he saw me. "Hey, you're the new girl?" He said. I didn't know what to say. "Sorry, my names' Noah."

"Abby." Was all I said. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but for some reason it was like I couldn't form words.

"Have you met Dawn yet?"

I nodded.

"She's not exactly a charmer, but…she's better than some of the other authorities here."

I shook my head. "Cool." I replied. What is wrong with you? Speak!

"So, I could, uh…show you around if you'd like?" He asked. I looked passed him as I heard screaming somewhere. It sounded like a woman. I was lost in thought for a moment. That's when I finally found my voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Look, you seem nice, but I need to get the hell out of here!" I said to Noah. "I'm not supposed to be here!"

He gave me a sad look. "Neither am I." He went back to his mopping. I looked around and walked down the hall, I heard machines beeping and stopped by a doorway. That doctor from earlier was in there, he noticed me.

"Ah, Abby. Just the person I wanted to see."

I gave him a weird look.

"I need your help. Come on in." He beckoned me. I hesitated then walked in. "Couple of them out there were on a run about a week ago." Dr. Edwards said. "They found two boxes of Bisquick and a Merle Haggard tape at a truck stop, and then this gentleman under a bridge."

I stared at the man laying on the bed before me. "What happened to him?"

"Well, I'm not sure but right now he's in Cardiac arrest and has extreme dehydration." He switched off the machines and everything stopped. "I tried to do what I could."

"Wait, that's it?" I said angrily. "He was still alive."

"If patients don't show any signs of improvement…well, Dawn calls it." He stabbed the man in the head so he wouldn't turn. This place is messed up. He claimed he tried but I feel like he could have done more. He began wheeling the man out of the room. "Follow me."

We walked down a long hallway until we got to an elevator, which was a dead end. "Here we go." Dr. Edwards stopped right by it.

"Wait, you're not really going to throw him down there, are you?"

He just stared me.

"I mean…can't we bury him at least?"

"No, we only go out when we need to." He said. "It may not be the most dignified disposal system, but we work with what we have. We've managed to secure and guard the stairwells, but the windows are blown out on the ground floor. Rotters find their way into the basement when they hear a noise. And if the bodies are warm or warm enough, they clean up some of the mess. Use everything you can use.

Plus it's the fastest way down." He dumped the body down the elevator shaft. I heard it hit the bottom then walkers snarling. I kind of grimaced and stepped back.

Dr. Edwards stepped back and sighed while looking at me. "You're probably hungry. Why don't you go down to the cafeteria for some lunch?"

My stomach seemed to growl on cue when he mentioned food. I didn't even know when the last time I ate was. I just nodded.

As I was putting food on my tray one of those cops started talking to me. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone, though. "You're looking better and better." He said. When I didn't say anything he continued. "We had a lead on some guns, so me and my partner were pretty far out. That's when we saw you, wriggling in the road." What? "You don't remember me, huh?"

"I remember you from this morning." I said smartly.

"That's not what I meant." He laughed.

I hesitated. "…I killed a walker…then everything went black. I remember the pain I felt in my head before, though. You hit me right? Knocked me out." I nodded.

He just stared at me and smiled evilly. "If that's what you think." That's what I know! "I'm Gorman. When someone does you a favor, it's a courtesy to show some appreciation." I glared at him and went back to getting my food. "Unless you want me to write down everything you're taking." I stopped and looked back up at him giving him a questioning look. "Everything costs something, right?"

I gave him a smile that was meant as sarcasm and left.

"We'll find Joan." I heard Dawn say as I walked passed her office. Noah was in there with her. "Until then, you've got laundry duty and I want my uniform washed separately and pressed." They said the last part together.

"I know." Noah said.

"Smart-ass." Dawn replied.

I suddenly heard music playing and followed it. It was coming from Dr. Edward's room. "Abby." He greeted when he saw me. "Come, sit." I really didn't want to but he was the only one I kind of liked so far. I sat down in front of him. "I used to feel like I was drowning in research." He said. "Now the oceans are dry and I'm suffocating in boredom."

"How could you be bored when there's so much to do?" I let out a small laugh.

He smirked. "That's Junior Kimbrough." He said referring to the song playing. "Do you like it?"

I shrugged. "Guess it's better than silence. Still it's not really my style."

He laughed. "It's one of the few perks I get for being the only doctor here."

"That and whatever this is?" I put my tray of food in front of me.

"Guinea pig." He replied. "Where's your food?"

"The more I take, the more I owe, right?" I said sarcastically. I was about to leave but he stopped me.

"Hey. Have you ever tried guinea pig?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't think so. You wouldn't call it a perk. Sit down. Dawn doesn't have to know. Come on." He handed me a small piece and I tried it. It tasted like nothing.

"Well?"

"It's not horrible. But I'd only eat it if I was starving."

"It's good enough for Peru." He laughed.

Later on, I was sort of roaming the halls when Dr. Edwards called me. "Abby! Gonna need your help!" He caught me kind of off guard so I just stood there. "Quickly!" He shouted. I ran and followed him into a hospital room. Two of the male cops plus Dawn had wheeled a man in. He looked pretty bad.

"We got a new one." One of them said. "Found his wallet. His name is Gavin Trevitt."

"Fell from a first floor apartment trying to get away from some." Dawn said.

The doctor quickly looked him over. "He's lost a lot of blood and his vitals are dropping. I don't think he's gonna make it."

"You said you wanted to save people, so save him." Dawn snapped.

"I don't even know the extent of his injuries." Dr. Edwards explained. "Look, this one's a loser. You said you didn't want me wasting resources."

"Well, today I want you to try." Dawn said.

Dr. Edwards hesitated then turned to me. "Okay, plug the EKG and the ultrasound into that battery pack. Go." He said. I struggled a bit because I have never messed with this kind of stuff before, but I tried as quickly as I could. "Good. Good, good, good." He said. "Now attach it to the patient." I did. I heard the monitor beeping. After a moment, it started beeping rapidly. "Tension pneumothorax." The doctor said. "Punctured lung."

"Abby, I need a large hollow needle in that cabinet."

I went for it but Dawn beat me to it and handed it to the doctor. He stabbed the man in the chest and blood started coming out the top. The beeping slowed down.

"Is he gonna make it?" Dawn asked.

"He fell from a building, Dawn."

"Is he going to make it?" She asked more forcefully this time.

"You see these bruises? He has internal bleeding, but I need a CAT scan to know how bad. And even if I could determine that, I don't have the tools to save him. I told you, this was a waste of resources."

I felt kind of bad for the guy, they're not even going to try? Suddenly, Dawn spun around and slapped me hard in the face. I didn't even see it coming. She was out of the room before I could even react. "What the hell was that?" I yelled.

"Sorry." Edwards apologized. "She likes to take her anger out on others."

I glared at him. "Yeah, I'm guessing a lot of the people here do that."

"Not all of them." He sighed. "Some, yeah."

I calmed down a little. "Is she always like that?"

"Only on her bad days. It's unfortunate for us…that's the only kind she has." He said. I rolled my eyes. "Noah left you a new shirt."

I looked down at my clothes. It wasn't even dirty. "What's wrong with this one?"

"She likes things neat."

"Dawn needs you, now." One of the cops poked his head in the door.

He glanced at me. "Come on."

"She's lucky we found her." Dawn said referring to the woman they are bringing in. She was trying to get away and they are holding her down. They wheeled her in a room.

"Whatever you were thinking, it wasn't worth it." Gorman told her. "Okay, you have two choices. Either we cut off your arm or you do."

"Screw you and your little bitch!" The woman yelled.

"Smart-ass whore." Gorman yelled. He was about to slap her.

"Gorman, get out of here!" Dawn yelled and shoved him out of the room.

Edwards tried to give her something but she pushed him away. "It's anesthetic. You need it."

"Go to hell." She yelled back.

"She made her choice." Dawn said. "Do it. Do it."

"No, no, no! I said leave me alone!" The woman yelled.

"We're not going to let you die." Dawn said. "We are not going to let you turn."

The woman began crying. I tried to leave the room because I did not want to be part of this or even watch it.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dawn caught me.

"I'm not participating in this." I shook my head. "I can't help you."

"Do you want her to die?" Dawn asked me. She didn't give me time to answer. "Abby, I need you to hold her down. Do it now! Now!"

I sighed. "Shit." I went over and held her legs down. The woman was still sobbing.

"It's okay." Dawn tried to tell her. "It's okay. Come on."

"Keep your hands off me! I'm not going back to him!" She yelled.

"You don't have to."

I had no idea what was going on right now.

"You can't control them!" The woman yelled back.

"I will." Dawn said.

"Abby, you ready?" Dr. Edwards asked me. I sighed then nodded. I was having a hard time holding the woman's legs down as she kicked and screamed, they were cutting her arm off. I had to just stand there and listen to her horrible screaming.

I was in the laundry room after everything because I needed another change of clothes…really this time. I had blood sprayed all over me.

"You okay?" I looked up and saw Noah.

I sighed. "I don't know."

"Here, this should fit." He handed me a new uniform. I took it then there was a brief pause.

"You know what happened with Joan?" I asked Noah. I found out that was the woman's name, the one they had to cut the arm off of. "If she'd have stayed, worked for a while, couldn't she have just left?"

Noah chuckled. "I haven't seen it work like that yet."

I gave him a weird look. "How long have you been here?"

"I guess about a year." He said sadly. I gasped. "Dad and I were both pretty messed up when they found us. They said that they could only save one. For the longest time, I actually believed them. Now I get it. Dad was bigger, stronger. Would have fought back. Would have been a threat."

"They left him behind on purpose." It was more of a statement than a question.

"And Dawn just looked the other way." Noah confirmed my answer without saying so. "See, she's in charge, but just barely. And it's getting worse. It's why I'm out of here when the time is right. I came looking for my uncle. Gotta get back to my mom."

"Where you from?"

"Richmond, Virginia." He replied. "We had walls. See, they think I'm scrawny. They think I'm weak. But they don't know shit about me. About what I am. About what you are."

I glared. "You don't have to tell me. I don't belong here. I KNOW I'm strong, they made a huge mistake by bringing me here. And they're gonna find out."

Dawn came into my room a little later carrying a tray of food. "I know you didn't have breakfast. Peace treaty?" She sat the tray down.

"I don't need much." I said without looking at her. "I won't be staying much longer."

"You know, you shouldn't see this as a sentence." She said. "I'm giving you food, clothes, protection. When have those things ever been free?"

"I never asked for your help." I snapped.

"But you needed it. Try to look at the good we're doing. Hard as it was, we saved Joan's life. Trevitt's life. We saved your life. I'm keeping all of us going here. That is not a small thing. It's taken a lot to get us here, Abby. And I believe that what we had before all of this isn't over. And when we're finally rescued, when this nightmare ends, we're gonna need to rebuild."

What the hell is she talking about? "You don't really think someone's coming for us?" I gave her the dumbest look.

"There's still people like us, Abby. People trying to keep the world alive, to fix it. Until then, we all have to contribute. To compromise. If we take, we give back. It's only fair. So keep working off what you owe and you'll be out of here in no time. If that's what you want."

"It is." I replied immediately.

"Well, then you have to eat. Otherwise, you'll get weak. You won't heal, you'll require more treatment, and you won't be able to do your job. I know you didn't ask for this. I didn't either."

I thought about what she said. I was fuming. "I don't need to eat. I ain't hungry." I glared.

"Well, suit yourself. But you'll see soon enough that I'm right." She left after that. I hate her.

I was in Joan's room mopping the blood up off the floor. "Hmm." Joan stirred in her sleep.

"I'll get Dr. Edwards." I said.

"No, please. Not yet."

I looked at her injury and sighed. "I'm sorry…I didn't want to."

"She can control them." Joan said. "But she doesn't because it's easier. Because she's a coward."

"What did he do to you?" I was referring to Gorman.

"It doesn't matter. I guess it's easy to make a deal with the devil when you're not the one paying the price."

I looked down sadly. Then, I became angry. I hate this place and these people so much. How do they think that they can just keep people here? I'm gonna get out…