Chapter 13

The convoy snaked along the roads, avoiding broken down cars and dead bodies as they travelled along highways.

"How long ya had it?" He nodded towards the dashboard.

"It was my Dads...he bought cheap, from the Army, used to be used to move ammo and food I think." She smiled fondly at the memory of reaching behind the seat and pulling out the documents, showing them to her dad like treasure.

"How'd he die?" He was looking at the window, searching the woods as they drove by.

"How'd you know?" She hadn't spoken about her Dad, and she was sure Glenn wouldn't have.

"I ain't that bad a judge of character."

"Shot" Daryl turned to her but didn't say anything "...he was a police officer, used to be anyways, we moved to Atlanta, 'cause he got a promotion...DEA, drugs enforcement. Though you probably know all 'bout them."

"Don't know why I asked, knew I'd get a smart answer." He said, shaking his head.

"He went on a routine drugs bust, nothin' special...but some methed up trigger happy douche bag thought differently."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks. Was a while ago now..."

"Don't stop it hurtin'."

"No it doesn't." Taking her eyes off the road she studied him, realising she probably more in common with him than she first thought.

It wasn't long before they were slowing up, Dales RV coming to a complete stop.

"Wha' now?"

"Do you think its Jim?"

"Shoulda done somethin' bout it at the camp...risk all our freakin' lives."

"Glenn..." Janis jumped out of the truck, ignoring Daryls calouse words as she ran to the RV, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw Glenn and Dale standing at the front of the smoking vehicle.

"Broken down."

"Again?"

"I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van."

"Can you jury-rig it?" Rick asked, coming up behind them

"That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose...And I'm out of duct tape." Dale said exasperated, throwing his arms in the air.

"I see something up ahead...A gas station if we're lucky." Shane was squinting into the distance, straining his eyes for some sign of hope.

"Y'all, Jim It's bad, I don't think he can take anymore." Jacqui was hanging out of the RV, tears streaming down her face as she looked around the group.

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back." Shane offered, nodding his head as T-Dog offered to come with him.

Janis watched as Rick entered the RV, cringing at the groaning coming from the back of it.

"How is he?" She asked Glenn, who was doing the same as her, a pained look on his face.

"He's bad Jay, I don't think he'll make it even if we get him all the way there."

"We should have asked him what he wants, he isn't a dog, we can't just put him down..."

"Not that easy is it..."

"Nothing is anymore." Daryl had finally got out of the truck, he stretched his arms as he squinted down the road and T-Dog and Shane.

"It's what he says he wants." Rick had spoken to Jim, the man had asked to be left, that the pain of travelling was too much and wasn't going to prevent the inevitable.

"And he's lucid?" Lori asked

"He seems to be, I would say yes."

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood.
I would never go along with callously killing a man." Janis looked at Daryl who rolled his eyes, already making his way towards the truck.

"Ain't got time to be hangin' round discussin' a dead man when Merle's out there alive." He said, kicking the wheel of the truck.

"Hey...no need to take it out on him, Jim ain't dead yet anyways."

"Might as well be, he's been bitten, ain't no one survin' that."

"You don't know that Daryl...if Jim made it, they coulda helped him."

"Ya sure you ain't been at Merle's stash? Ya spoutin' shit Janis. He's a dead man, we all wastin' our time, lookin' for a cure that ain't out there." He stomped off, swinging open the door of the truck and slamming it closed.

"Jeez...What'd you do?" She turned to Glenn who was hesitantly coming up behind her.

"Spoutin' shit apparently."

"Whats new?"

"Shut up Glenn..."

"They're leaving him a gun." He said, stopping Janis from arguing any further.

"Poor Jim." They stood and watched as Rick pressed a gun into Jim's hand, leaving him sat up against a tree, facing the highway.

"I hope to God the CDC is safe." Glenn shook his head, averting his eyes from the scene.

"We aren't going to get there till dark, if it isn't, where do we go? The City? With this many cars?"

"You gonna be okay driving with him?" He asked as Rick finally walked away from Jim, leaving him against the tree.

"Why...you wanna squeeze in the middle?"

"Not if you paid me." He laughed, retreating to the RV which Shane had just finished fixing. Shaking her head she made her way back to the truck, giving Daryl a wary look as she started it, he just stared out of the windows, chewing his nails.

Janis was right, it was almost dark by the time they got to the CDC, its blue sign practically hidden by dead bodies as they pulled up to the curb. Janis pulled her shirt over her mouth, shielding the smell. It was overpowering, as flies buzzed all around them, the sound was almost loud enough to attract walkers.

They walked, crouched toward it, ready for an attack as Janis grabbed the back of Glenn's shirt as they made their way nearer the huge building in unison.

Rick rattled the shutters, getting more desperate with each hit.

"Nothing?" He pounds on them again.

"There's nobody here." T-Dog turns to the group, a desperate look in his eyes as he surveys their surroundings.

"Then why are these shutters down?"

"Walkers!" Daryl calls, loosing one arrow into its head.

"Baby, come on." Lori pulls at Rick's shirt, attempting to lead him away from the building

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl screamed, pointing a gun at Ricks head, Janis rushed forward, grabbing his arm trying in vain to push it down as Shane rounded on him.

"He made a call." He shouted

"It was the wrong damn call!"

They continued to argue, Janis pulled her bat up, on guard at the noise the group was making. Sophia started to cry as Carol comforted her, turning away from the looming building, back to the cars.

"Daryl, come on, we gotta go. Glenn move your butt." Janis was already nearing the truck when the shutters started to lift, the blinding glow lighting up the survivors. She stopped dead in her tracks, turning to watch as it lifted all the way to the ceiling, squinting to try and glimpse some sign of movement inside.

She jogged back towards the building, dodging bodies as she ran. Coming up next to Glenn he looked at her, an uneasy smile resting on his face as the light shone across them.

As a group they filed into the CDC, its lobby becoming more than just a glowing beacon as they entered it. The building was huge, their voices echoed, magnifying them. The sound of a shotgun cocking echoed as well.

"Hello?" Rick called, the canevrous lobby throwing the words back to him

"Anybody infected?" A voice called, everyones heads shot up to the man standing ahead of them, walking out from the shadows.

"One of our group was..." Rick said uncertainly, his gun still aimed at the man now standing close to them "He didn't make it."

His hair blonde, his face pockmarked, he wore a grey t-shirt which, Janis marved, was unmarked, making their dirty, grimy clothes look more the dirtier.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" Has asked, his gun still raised.

"A chance." Rick started to lower his, the less threatening they appeared the better.

"That's asking an awful lot these days." he sounded wary, but Janis could tell by the way he was already losening the grip on his shot gun that their chances were improving.

"I know."

"You all submit to a blood test...That's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick nodded.

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now."

Daryl ran past her, Janis followed, keeping close to him as they ran through the graveyard of bodies, once again being careful not to get her boot lodged in someone's ribcage. Grabbing everything she could from Shane's Jeep, not caring who's it was or what it was. Laden with bags she ran back to the CDC, closely followed by Glenn and T-Dog.

"Vi, seal the main entrance." Sure that all the survivors had made it back, swiping a card in what looked like alarm system, speaking into it. "Kill the power up here."

"Rick Grimes." He introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner."