So, I was GOING to write this story and it was going to go like this:
Introduce character, be outcast, become friends with Daryl, go through story, add drama, get reviews.
But I write my stories at night, that way my fingers move and type the story without me thinking it through in depth. That way, suddenly I look down and BAM! Relationship a growing. So…guess it's just gonna happen. Let's see how the rest of it turns out!
"Alright, powdered eggs, instant coffee, and toast. Hear it's great for hangovers." I smirked and placed the skillet gently down on the table, keeping my voice low.
"Ya got any drugs?" Daryl groaned, his head pressed to the counter top.
"Yeah." I laughed and shook my head. "But next time, don't chug three bottles of wine."
"It was only two." He responded, lifting his head and pressing his chin into hand.
"Oh, much better." I shook my head and pulled the bottle of pills out of a drawer and opened it, shaking two pills into hand and passing them over. He took them and popped them back dry. "Everybody else want some?"
"Yes." Was the unison groan. I laughed again and moved around the table, passing the pills to everyone but Carl, Sophia, and Carol. Glenn was the last, and he groaned loudly, refusing to lift his head.
"I will never drink again."
"Yeah, that'd probably be your best idea." I placed three pills on his plate, knowing he'd need them the most, and crouched next to him. "You were wasted."
He turned his head and rested it on the table, looking at me and lowering his voice so no one was likely to over hear unless they were trying to. "Did I really say those things I think I said?"
"Yup, Romeo. Ya did." I patted his back and stood. "This is why I don't drink." I gestured to the rest of the group. "Y'all should try staying sober sometime."
Moving over to the counter, I shrugged and tossed the pills into my pack and tugged it onto my back, pulled a piece of toast off the plate and bit into it, not that hungry.
My dad slipped into the room and opened his mouth, squinted at the beaten group, and shut his mouth, looking at me.
Smiling weakly, I shook my head and made a "y" with my hand and placed thumb to mouth, tilting it back to symbolize drinking. He nodded and rolled his eyes slightly. "Once everyone's done, I've got something to show you in the control room."
They all forced about two mouthfuls down, half a cup of coffee, then stood and sluggishly followed my father. I took up the rear with Glenn, who kept his head down, cap over his eyes, and followed me much like an infected would.
By the time the two of us made it into the control room, everyone was sitting in the chairs. I led Glenn towards them and sat next to him on the ground, our backs pressed against the table. He groaned and I patted his leg, laughing slightly. Poor guy.
"Vi, show TS-19." I swallowed and leaned my head back, slipped my pack off, and pulled my knees to my chest.
The screen came to life and the image of an MRI filled it. "This is our test subject 19, the best representation we have of the disease. Vi, fast forward to first event." The person in the image began to shutter, then froze, light leaving the body.
"They died." Andrea mumbled from her chair.
"Yes, they did. They were bit in the thigh, and took the after two hours they finally passed. We don't know if it was due to blood loss, infection, the disease, or what, but they died. Vi, second event." He called out, and I let my eyes fall to the ground.
"As you can see, the brain doesn't come all the way back. Before, you saw the lights, the memories, the piece of us that makes us…us. Makes us human and alive. They don't come back. Only the brain stem comes back, allowing them to get up and move around."
There was a gasp and I clenched my jaw. "What was that?" Lori gasped. I was beginning to learn their names, and their voices varied between each person, and easy to tell apart.
"He shot the patient." T-Dog muttered, and I hugged my knees tighter to my chest.
"They had turned. They weren't who they used to be, the moment they change they aren't human. They're…dead."
TWD
"He neither wept nor prayed; he cursed and defied: execrated God and man, and gave himself up to reckless dissipation."
The lights shut off and I squinted, folding down the corner of the page I was reading and looked over at Glenn, who was sprawled next to me. His head was at the foot, one leg bent as he listened to me read. "Uh…"
"What's going on?" It's been a few hours, and he's sobered up, thankfully. I've been reading to him for a while, and he's a much more pleasant audience when not moaning and groaning.
"Wanna go find out?" I raised a brow and pulled my pack onto my bed and shoved the book into it. Then it was on my back and I was on my feet. "If ya can keep up."
He chuckled and pulled his cap back onto his head. "Come on."
We moved into the hall and were met by the rest of the group, all grumbling and confused by the sudden loss of power. "My dad is probably in the control room. Follow me." I tilted my head in the direction and took the lead, for they had yet to learn the way.
"Dad, what in the world is going on?" We all piled into the room and surrounded the computers.
"It's almost time." He smiled and ran his thumb over the picture of our family, which he kept proudly in his pocket.
"Dad? Time for what?" I walked towards him, and saw a light in his eyes, a type of emotion I'd never seen before. He was loosing his mind.
"The generators are almost out." He pointed over his shoulder and I spotted a digital clock ticking down.
"Oh god." My heart stopped and I turned to the group. "Get out, now!"
They didn't know what to do, and hesitated, faltering in step and as a result, the doors slammed down and locked us in. "Lillian? Jenner? What's going on?" Rick asked, walking towards us.
"The generators shut down…" I shook my head in disbelief.
"What?" Daryl yelled at me.
"Guys, think this through! This is the CDC!" I threw my hands up and looked them over. "Do you understand what goes on in these labs? Poisons are tested, new ones are created. Diseases are altered and made stronger instead of curing them. If the power goes out, there has to be safety measures to keep them from leaking out into the world."
"What does that mean?" Glenn mumbled, utterly shocked and feared.
"Everything is cleaned." My father smiled and twisted slightly in his chair.
Slapping my hands over my eyes I sighed. "The air catches on fire. Only sure way to kill everything that's lurking in here."
"What?" They roared. Shane grabbed an axe and tossed it to Daryl, who stormed over and began to hash at the door.
"Daryl, they're created to withstand rocket launchers!" I turned to my father. "Dad, come on. We can't stay here. If we get outside, we can find someplace else. Some place…safe. You know we can."
He shook his head. "No. This is what we're looking for. One second and it's all over. No pain. Just…peace." A smile broke out on his face and a shiver ripped through me. He was serious, he intended kill us…all of us.
"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol yelled from the ground, where her and Sophia had collapsed and were sobbing.
"We need to leave." I grabbed my father's shoulders and shook slightly, trying to get some sense into him.
"I told you all, once those outer doors lock, they're locked. I can't open them."
Daryl stormed up the stairs. "I'll kill ya!" He lifted the axe but I stood up, standing in front of my dad and closing my eyes.
"Don't you dare!" I yelled, but feared he might that I didn't open my eyes.
Then I got it. Opening my eyes I saw Shane was wrestling the axe away from Daryl. "Hold my dad down!" I ordered and hurried over to the counter.
My father struggled against Daryl's hold, but he was no match. Daryl was younger and clearly stronger.
Picking up the discarded card, I ran it through the machine and let out a sigh. 30-17-04. First guess I had, and quickly typed the numbers into the pad, and the doors slid open. His birthday, my mother's birthday, and then mine.
"Everyone, hurry! Get your supplies and we need to get out!" I pulled my pack up and most ran through the doors, leaving Glenn, my father, Jacquie, Andrea, Dale and I. Dale ordered the rest out and they followed.
"Lillian, come on." Glenn pulled at my arms.
"Dad, you can't do this. I'm leaving, no matter what. You can't stay here. You can't just quit on me!"
"You want to go out there? Go out there where you die and come back as those things? Live in constant fear that you'll be next and that today will be your last day? Why die that excruciating death when you can have this peace?"
"Pick me or suicide." I hissed. He didn't move and my mouth fell open, eyes filling with tears.
"I pick your mother." He finally whispered and I turned my head. But his hand reached up and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me to him. His lips brushed my ear and he whispered. Once he released me, I stood and was frozen, horrified by what he just told me.
Glenn wrapped his arm around my waist and we ran off. I didn't pay attention to the rest of the group, for they had their own decisions to make.
By the time we made it to the group, the main window was somehow gone and they were all running through it. There had to be something powerful that broke the window, for it was pullet proof to keep all of us safe. That was why I thought this would be the perfect place to be during the apocalypse. Glenn helped me through and we ran through the yard, unmoving bodies at our feet.
He pulled the door open to an RV and we piled in. "Get down!" Rick yelled from the front and Glenn and I hit the ground, Glenn covering my head with his arms.
The explosion shook the Winnebago and we slowly sat up, unsure how to react now. Sitting up, I leaned my head against the couch and pulled my knees to my chest, mouth open slightly, unable to force words out.
"Lillian?" Glenn looked me over and held his hand out to place on my leg, but didn't. Unable to find a way to comfort me in my state.
"We're all going to die." The words tumbled out easier than I thought, but I felt like I wasn't in my body. My mouth continued to hang open and my eyes were on the wall across from me, and I couldn't move. "We're going to die."
"We've been out here for a while, Lillian. We can survive." Rick called from the front and began to drive off.
"No! You don't understand!" My limbs began to work once more and I stood up, pacing angrily and forced my fingers into my hair, feeling sick.
"Lillian?" Glenn's voice changed from confusion to concern. People go crazy when family members kill themselves. Some do, it's just a fact. Take that, add a few infected flesh eating people and being in an RV with people you've known for a day, and you get the perfect crazy shit storm.
I looked down at the man and locked eyes with him. "We're infected. All of us. That's why he took the blood. If we die, no matter how we die…we become those things." I collapsed onto the couch. "We're all dead."
Glenn moved next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his side. His eyes turned towards Rick, who was still driving, but with a white knuckled grip. This changed the rest of our lives, however long that may be.
