Chapter 4 - The Scientist
My knees was digging into the hard gravel on the ground. The sharp pain that would shoot through my kneecap if I moved it just a little. I tucked the last bit of my and Glenn's tent into the back before the sound of shuffling feet behind me caught my attention. I turned to see who was standing there and was met with Jacqui's tired and scared face. Jacqui didn't have to say anything before I was quickly on my feet and heading towards the RV.
As I walked to the RV, Rick shot me a confused glance as he put down the tent he was folding up. I shook my head slightly at him putting my hand out a bit telling him to stay put. Jim wasn't a walker yet but he had the fever and most people left in camp hadn't seen the fever take a life before. I climbed into the RV passing the kitchenette where dirty plates and other utensils were sitting haphazardly in the sink. I passed by the bathroom door before finding myself in the back of the RV where Jim was laying in the bed.
His chest was exposed showing the white bandage wrapped around the bite wound. There were spots of blood coming through the pristine white of the bandage. Around the bandage his skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat, not from the heat but from his body trying its hardest to fight off the infection. I put the inside of my wrist to his forehead feeling out just how warm he had gotten. I pulled my wrist back a layer of Jim's sweat on my wrist. I closed my eyes briefly before Jim's eyes snapped open and he grabbed my wrist.
Jacqui let out a scream as I jumped in shock at him grabbing my arm. I was breathing quickly as I watched Jim's eyes closely noticing they were still Jim just a little hazed over like he had just woken from a nightmare. Letting him keep his firm hold on my wrist I moved my other hand up to his face pushing some of his soaked hair off his forehead.
"Jim?" I asked softly as a loud bang echoed through the RV as the door to the RV was thrown open.
"Don't kill it," Jim shook his head as his body shuddered. "D-don't k-kill it."
"Don't kill what, Jim?" I asked bringing my face a little closer to his.
"Melody!" I heard Rick call out from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder noticing Rick in front his revolver poised in front of him, then Shane, then Daryl. Rick was the only one with his weapon drawn though. I shook my head at them quickly causing Rick to lower his gun. I looked back at Jim noticing his lips were moving but I couldn't hear what he was saying. I slowly leaned forward bringing my ear close to his lips.
"Baby," he whispered causing me to pull back quickly.
I managed to pry Jim's finger's from my wrist before I turned to face Jacqui. "I need some water and some new bandages." The woman nodded before pushing past the three men who were crowding up the RV looking for the supplies.
"You okay?" Shane asked first looking from me to Jim.
"We're fine. He just startled us is all."
"Y'all and your goddamn screaming," Daryl muttered before exiting the RV shaking his head. Shane followed shortly after leaving a few minutes of silence between me, Jacqui, and Rick. Jacqui handed me some fresh bandages and the water before I slowly began peeling off the soiled bandages. As I set the bloody ones to the side I looked over at Rick who cringed before quickly exiting the RV leaving me and Jacqui alone with Jim once more.
I sighed before looking back down at the bite mark. Since the last time I had wrapped his wound, the flesh around the bite mark had become a blackish color more specifically the veins that I could see were turning dark like a black poison was moving through them. Jim shuddered his body tensing up before he released the tension, his body resorting to twitching every so often. I looked over at Jacqui her eyes were closed while her hand was covering her mouth. Using the bowl of water she had gotten me I dipped the rag into the water before carefully cleaning the blood up around the wound before drying it the best I could without pushing more blood out of the wound. I put the white bandage over the wound before wrapping the gauze around his torso to hold it in place.
I put a hand on Jacqui's shoulder before moving past her and through the RV. I put my hand to my stomach as I stepped out of the cool RV into the humid heat of Georgia air. The sun beating down on my tanned face and exposed arms and shoulders. The tank I was wear clung to my sweaty skin before I opened my eyes to see what was going on around camp. To my surprise most of the tents had been taken down and were packed up the bags loaded into cars. I noticed they were all standing near their cars as Shane talked about how they were travelling and what the distress signal was. I slowly walked over to the group not to attract any attention before coming to a stop next to Daryl. He glanced down at my scoffing before looking back up at Rick and Shane.
"Yeah," Morales stepped forward. "We're not going," he gestured to his wife and two young kids. The group was silent trying to process the idea of losing four more people. I watched the family closely.
"What'd y'all mean you ain't going?" I blurted breaking the silence. The Morales family looked at me. "Where would you go?"
"We have family in Birmingham," his wife stated nodding her head as her hand went to her two kids' shoulder. "We want to be with our people."
"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane stated his face stern as he addressed the family.
"We'll take the chance," Morales nodded to Rick and Shane. "I gotta do what's best for my family."
"You sure?" Rick asked his hands on his hips.
"We talked about it. We're sure."
I watched as Rick knelt down next to his bag and pulled out a gun as he and Shane talked quietly. He pulled out a .357 while Shane pulled out some bullets that would go with the gun before the two walked over to where Morales was standing with his family. He and Shane handed the gun and ammo over causing a scoff to come from Daryl. I glanced over at the man and noticed he had turned his back to the group shaking his head.
"Thank you, for everything," Morale's wife nodded as Lori pulled the woman into a hug. I waited my turned before hugging his wife getting a tight hug in response.
"You take care, ya hear?" I told her as I pulled away.
"You too. And thank you...you were always so good with the kids," she smiled through tears.
"They're good kids," I smiled down at her son before she quickly ushered both towards the car.
I sighed looking down as Morales and his family climbed into their car. Morales sent me a nod of appreciation which I gladly returned before he ducked into his car turning on the engine. They were walking off to their deaths. We all needed to stay together, but who was I to stop them from going to their family. I had my family here. I understood the need for wanting to do what they thought was right, but it felt like they were walking to their dooms. Shane called out that we were leaving making everyone move towards their respected vehicles. I stood there watching the movement around me glancing up at the ridge where our dead were buried.
"Mel, let's go!" Shane's voice dragged my attention to where he was standing next to his jeep.
I glanced at the caravan we had created noticing that Daryl's truck was sitting in front of Shane's jeep. In the back of the truck was Merle's motorcycle. Daryl climbed into the truck without sending any kind of look in my direction before I headed over to Shane. I climbed into the passenger seat before he turned on the vehicle. The distance to Atlanta wasn't very far, but I could tell it was going to be a long drive.
My eyes scanned the passing scenery as the wind blew through my hair. After a while I pulled the hair tie off my wrist and threw my hair into a ponytail before focusing on the outside world once more. My head leaned against the headrest as the trees flew by, the rolling hills desolate of any life both human and animal. Desolate, it was such a harsh word. The truth was always a harsh reality wasn't it?
My gaze turned so it was now focused on Shane as he drove the jeep. His dark curly hair was tucked under the baseball hat he was wearing while his eyes stared hard at the road in front of us. His grip on the wheel was tense as his eyes would dart to the mirrors every now and then since we were bringing up the rear of the convoy. I watched as he adjusted his head in a quick jerky motion before both hands were on the wheel again.
"Shane," I spoke up drawing his attention to me for the first time.
"Yeah?"
"How are you doing?" I asked watched as an amused look crossed his face.
"How'm I doin'?" The amusement suddenly left his eyes when he noticed I wasn't smiling or grinning at all. "Why?"
I shrugged looking away. "A lot's happened. Rick's alive, half our camp's dead, Merle's gone. Let's think about the shit hole we have dug ourselves into..."
"Mel, now is not the time to be playing Dr. Phil," Shane snapped not even bothering to look over at me.
"Why? Because you're harboring feelings for Lori that you can't act on cause her husband's alive? Is that why you told us Rick was dead." My blurted response was going to cause a dangerous reaction. I just knew it.
Shane suddenly slammed his hand against the steering wheel causing me to jump in surprise. "Goddamn it, Melody I said to leave it alone!"
"Don't you dare yell at me!" I growled. "It's not my fault you couldn't keep it in your pants. And with Lori? Lowering your standards a bit aren't yah?"
What happened next was the least thing I was expecting. A loud smack echoed loudly before it disappeared with the sound of the wind. I felt the sting in my cheek as my head snapped to the right at the force of the blow. My hand immediately went to my cheek before I turned my shocked gaze to him. His eyes were wide as he put on hand to his mouth before looking back towards the road. I shook my head biting my lip keeping the tears at bay.
"Guess it isn't that far of a stretch to say that you tried to shoot Rick then is it?" I choked softly not looking at him.
"Mel-" Shane's response was cut off by the sound of the RV's horn. The cars all suddenly coming to a halt.
Without a second thought I quickly hopped out of the jeep trying to get as far away from Shane as possible. I walked past Daryl's truck as he climbed out, I instantly dropped my hand back to my side. No one needed to know what had happened. That was between me and Shane and that was how it was going to stay. I walked to the side of the road before pulling out my 9mm and slipping into the tree line falling out of sight for a moment.
I pressed my back into one of the trees before digging into my pocket. I felt the packaging in my jeans before pulling it out. I popped the second pill out of the package before tossing the package to the side. With my cheek still stinging I quickly took the second pill. I put one hand to the bark of the tree before placing the other hand at my cheek. I felt nothing, but the numbness running through my body. I closed my eyes trying to hold back the tears before the sound of twigs snapping caught my attention. I whipped around gun raised ready to bring down hell on whatever had caught me alone.
"The hell are you doing out here?" he snapped lowering his crossbow.
"Little more warnin' next time you approach someone like that, Daryl," I stated lowering my gun as he lowered his.
"Warnin'? You fucking run off into the woods and I'm the one who should be warnin' y'all?" he snapped. "I didn't have to come out here to get your skinny ass." I shook my head turning away from him letting my hand drop to my side. "What happened to you?"
"What?" I looked up confused noticing Daryl's gaze was glue to my face. He walked forward a determined stride until he came to a stop in front of me. He raised his hand his brushing my cheek causing me to flinch back.
"That's a handprint," Daryl growled. "Who hit you?"
"Daryl, don't," I shook my head my eyes wide.
"Was it Shane?" his eyes narrowed dangerously.
I shook my head my lips forming a thin line, "I can't..."
"Why the fuck not?!"
"Because I can't Daryl!" I shouted. I watched as he took a step back something flashing in his eyes that I couldn't catch. "I can't..." I trailed off as the first few tears made their way down my face. My eyes went towards the ground before a pair of arms wrapped around me and my face was pressed up against his chest. I wrapped my arms around his waist as we stood there.
"I got you," he whispered with his chin resting on the top of my head. "I won't let anything happen to you." I nodded as Daryl pulled back slightly. "You stick with me, got it?"
"Don't do anything stupid," I muttered.
"Who me?" he smirked as he slung his arm over my shoulder forcing us to walk back towards the highway. I smiled slightly before pushing him away as we came up to the highway. The smile was immediately gone. Shane was standing there talking to Rick before his eyes were drawn to my face. I noticed he immediately looked at the red cheek before looking back at Rick.
"You two alright?" Dale asked watching as Daryl and I moved past the cars.
"Yeah got a little sick is all," I told him. "Heat's really getting to me."
"I can tell. Your cheeks are real red," Dale nodded to my cheek.
"What's with all the questions?" Daryl cut in his tone defensive. Daryl had taken a step in front of me and towards Dale. The threatening step forward had gotten Rick's and Shane's attention as they stepped forward as well.
"What's going on?" Rick looked between the three of us. Daryl was still seething, Dale was confused, and I just looked like hell. Shane stood off to the side his eyes never meeting mine despite the empty stare I was giving him.
"Nothing," I spoke up first reaching out and grabbing Daryl's arm as he scrutinized Rick. "Right?"
"Yeah, whatever," Daryl muttered pulling back before looking over at Shane whose head was bowed not meeting any of our gazes. "Sorry pricks," Daryl muttered as he passed me walking towards the edge of the road his eyes began roaming the trees for any sign of movement. Even though he was playing lookout, when his eyes weren't glued to the road they were on me watching as I interacted with people.
I wasn't paying attention to what was being said before I noticed Shane stomping off towards his jeep, T-Dog right behind him. He hopped in and immediately set off down the road. I watched him go before I turned back to Carol who was saying something about hating that they had to wait around. I listened as Carol talked to her daughter, but my eyes were drawn to Daryl who was watching the retreating jeep. There was a strange look on his face before he looked over at me setting his crossbow up on his shoulder.
"Melody," Rick called out from the door of the RV. My gaze was immediately on Rick as he nodded for me to come to the RV. I apologized to Carol and Sophia before moving towards Rick trying to keep my head held high.
As I reached the RV I looked up at Rick, "What's up?"
Rick opened his mouth to say something, but his eyes were looking at something over my shoulder. I turned my head so I could see what he was looking at and noticed Daryl was watching us a scrutinizing look on his face. I shook my head at Daryl before drawing my eyes back to Rick a look of realization crossing his face.
"You need something, Rick?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest this time.
This seemed to snap him into gear. His eyes immediately met mine before he nodded for me to follow him. I glanced back at Daryl who was watching us closely as we climbed into the RV, I closed the door firmly behind me. I could hear Jim's groans in the back as I followed Rick through the tight quarters and to the back.
"I need help getting him outside," Rick spoke up as the sound of the Jeep coming back met my ears.
"Outside?" I asked looking between them. It dawned on me. "Jim?"
"I have to do-" he grunted as he moved. "What's best."
I nodded holding back the tears that wanted to fall. I looked up at Rick and noticed he had the same torn look on his face that I did. Rick glanced back at the RV door as it creaked open and Shane stuck his head in.
"RV's fixed!" he called out before closing the door. Rick closed his eyes realizing what that mean.
"You have to tell them," I whispered softly looking back at Jim who's eyes were closed but I knew he was listening. "I'll get him up."
"Mel-"
"Just go, Rick," I turned away from him as I said that looking down at Jim.
From the lack of response and the sounds of his boots walking through the RV, I was glad he didn't offer any resistance. Jim's eyes opened slightly as he nodded to me before slowly pushing back the covers. His hands were shaking and he cried out in pain as he tried to sit up on his own. I flinched hearing his cries before I helped him sit up and turn to the side of the bed his feet hitting the floor. I sat down on the bed next to him before putting his arm over my shoulders as my own arm wrapped around his waist.
Jim was a much taller man than me, but it didn't mean I couldn't hold my own. On the count of three I pulled us both to our feet Jim crying out in pain trying to hold his own weight but he was struggling. I moved us as fast as I could feeling my own strength failing as Jim relied heavily on me to keep him up. We made it to the RV door when it was pulled open revealing a somber looking Shane and Rick. Both men saw our labored breath and immediately jumped in to help. They carried Jim up the side of the hill a ways before stopping and resting him against a tree. My legs felt like noodles as I tried keep pace up the hill with everyone else. I fell behind a bit putting me at the back of the group where Daryl was standing.
"Hey," Jim said looking up his voice tired. "Another damn tree." He chuckled, but no one else did.
"Hey, Jim," Shane spoke up as he knelt in front of the dying man. "I mean, you know it doesn't have to be this-"
"No," Jim cut him off immediately shaking his head as he pressed against the tree. "It's good. The breeze feels nice."
I watched from my spot as Shane nodded before patting Jim on the leg. He stood up moving away where he was immediately replaced by Jacqui. She was being hit the hardest by all of this. Her and Jim had been close. She spoke softly to him before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Rick then strode up to Jim offering him a weapon which he refused to take. Next it was Dale. He thanked Jim for fighting for as long as he did. No one else stepped forward though. Carol took Sophia by the shoulders and pulled her away from the sight while Lori did the same with Carl. Rick and Shane made their way down the hill, Glenn following shortly after. T-Dog went down with Glenn leaving me and Daryl standing there watching Jim closely. Daryl had a somber look on his face even thought he tried to keep it void of any emotion. Jim nodded to us causing me to smile weakly back before I made my move down the hill. I could hear Daryl making his way down the hill shortly after me.
I came to a stop next to the RV hearing Jacqui softly sobbing. Looking back up the hill I noticed Jim was watching me and Jacqui before he turned his gaze up to the trees. I felt a hand on my shoulder turning to see Daryl standing there his bow in his hand. He nodded towards his truck and I followed slowly reaching the passenger's side. I looked back to where Shane's jeep was sitting and noticed he was already in the vehicle and he was watching me and Daryl real close. Shaking my head I climbed into the truck slamming the door shut behind me. Daryl climbed in setting the crossbow down between us before he turned on the ignition.
"You ready?" he asked. I looked back up the hill to where Jim was sitting his eyes closed.
"Yeah," my whisper barely reaching him. "Let's go."
I could see Atlanta through the windshield. The hollowing feeling in the pit of my stomach grew the closer we got to the city. Every mile closer I could feel the churning in my gut. Every now and then there was a sharp pain that would rip through my abdomen. Some were so bad I would flinch causing Daryl to look over at me a suspicious look on his face. I'd shake it off until he finally asked what in the hell was wrong with me. I simply retorted cramps and he didn't say another word about it. My heart twisted painfully lying to him about it, but if he knew his baby was dying...who knew what would happen.
The clouds had covered the sky by the time we reached the CDC building in Atlanta. The day growing darker sooner than it normally would have, but it didn't matter. Darkness was darkness and it was dangerous especially this close to the city with this many people. As Daryl pulled the truck to a stop I pushed open the passenger side door stumbling out of the truck. I gasped clutching at my lower abdomen as another sharp cramp ripped through. I took a deep breath before the sound of flies met my ears. It was a loud buzzing noise that drowns out the sound of anything else. The little black bugs were hovering over the decaying bodies that were laying outside the CDC. There were tons of bodies all in different states of decay some had flesh ripped from their bones while others' flesh was sunken in natural decay.
I felt a shotgun being pressed into my hands looking up to see Daryl standing there. I took the gun carefully before nodding and tightening my grip on the weapon. I moved along with Daryl as Shane and Rick took the lead. Daryl and I pulled up the rear of the group, but I could hear Shane and Rick telling the group to be quiet but to keep moving. That's not what my focus was on. The putrid smell of rotting flesh smelled like a mixture of every vegetable and fruit that had decayed and was baking in the fading sunlight.
The amount of bodies that were laying dead outside the CDC was horrifying. Not only was there military personnel rotting away, but tons of civilians. I put my arm over my nose and mouth hoping to keep some of the smell from reaching my nostril, but nothing seemed to work. I could hear several members of our group coughing from the smell. I stepped over body after body each one looking worse than the last as flies feasted on the rotting flesh. Rick and Shane kept telling everyone to be quiet but keep moving. The CDC building kept getting closer and closer as the light faded from the sky the world around us growing darker and darker by the second.
Quickly stepping over more bodies we finally reached the sealed entrance to the CDC. Where the doors would be there was a sturdy roll down door protecting the entrance. While Rick and Shane banged on the metal doors I turned back out to where all the bodies were scattered keeping a sharp eye out for any signs of walkers. T-Dog was doing the same as me before turning around in response to Shane slamming his hand against the doors.
"There's nobody here, Shane!" I called out over his banging. He turned and glanced at me.
"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick asked for Shane glancing back at me.
"Walkers!" Daryl called out cutting off any response I could have had. I whipped around cocking my gun as I did. As I turned another cramp ripped through my abdomen nearly crippling me. Lori grabbed onto my arm keeping me up as Daryl shot the walker with one of his arrows. "You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl yelled.
"Mel?" Lori asked looking down at me worry crossing her face. "Mel, what's wrong?" I shook my head at Lori not wanting her to know as her grip on my arm tightened. My face contorted in pain as another cramp ripped through my abdomen. It was happening. Right now it was happening.
"It was the wrong DAMN call!" I could hear Daryl shouting as Lori kept me up on my feet. I moved my hand so it was holding tightly onto Lori's arm while the shotgun was held limply in my other hand.
"Shut up!" Shane advanced on Daryl who was shouting. "You hear me shut up!" Shane then whipped around to face Rick. "This is a dead end!"
"Where are we gonna go?!" Carol cried out.
"Do you hear me?!" Shane snapped at Rick. "No blame."
"Carol's right," Lori cut in as she supported me. "We can't be here, this close to the city after dark!"
"Fort Benning, Rick, still an option!" Shane spoke up as the group began growing more and more restless. I bit my lip trying not to cry out as another pain cut through my body.
"On what?" Andrea cried out. "No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles."
"125. I checked the map," Glenn corrected her.
I bit into my lip so hard to keep from crying out I began to taste blood in my mouth. I had broken skin. I looked over at Lori who was watching my hand placement as I struggled with the contraction like symptoms. I grasped tightly onto Lori who was supporting me and holding onto Carl at the same time.
"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight. NOW!" She yelled at Rick.
"We'll think of something!" Rick responded trying to remain calm as Carl let out a whine.
I finally let out a small cry which immediately caught Daryl's attention. He was immediately at my side as everyone began shouting that we needed to leave. Daryl wrapped his hand around my arm pulling me close to him as he began pulling me away from the doors where Rick was still standing. My legs were starting to feel like jelly once more as we continued moving away from the building.
"The camera - it moved!" Rick called out halting everyone.
"You imagined it," Dale spoke first.
"It moved!"
Daryl kept a firm hand on me as we both turned to watch the drama unfold between Rick and Shane. Shane had a hold of Rick's shirt trying to pull him away from the door but Rick gave him a good fight as Shane growled for Rick to let it go. Rick pulled away slamming his fists against the doors shouting up at the camera as Lori screamed for her husband. I looked around noticing a few walkers were being drawn to all the noise we were making. My grip on Daryl's shirt tightened as another pain went through my abdomen nearly crippling me. Thankfully Daryl's hand was around my arm holding me up as he kept his crossbow up and trained on the approaching walkers.
Shane was yelling at us to go back to the cars while Rick continued to bang on the gates and screaming at the camera. The walkers were coming and this yelling wasn't helping any. If Rick continued screaming like this we'd all be dead. I looked back to see Lori was pushing Rick away from the camera as he shouted that whoever was in there was killing us. Shane finally got a grip on Rick and yanked him away from the door. Daryl let go of me as the walkers got closer and closer. I raised my gun knowing I'd have to stand on my own if we had to fight. I had to fight through the pain.
My finger tightened on the trigger as a blinding white light ripped through the night. The ground at my feet were instantly lit with light as it flooded from the newly open door. The door shuddered as it opened completely. I stood there my eyes wide as I stared at the door that seemed to open on its own. My heart jumped. There were people in there!
The lights suddenly went out revealing just where the door was. Rick's gun was immediately up as he called out for Daryl to cover the back of the group. We filtered into the CDC not knowing what to expect. My hand was planted firmly on my stomach as the pain continued to ripple through. I kept up on my feet though as I looked around at the building we were in. Everything had a shiny smooth surface that some form of light would reflect off of. Every tiny sound made an echo, but the sound of a shotgun cocking caught everyone's attention. Anyone who had a weapon had their up and trained on the source of the noise.
Standing near a far wall half shrouded in darkness was a single man with a weapon in his hands. "Anybody infected?!" he called out the question echoing.
"One of our group was," Rick answered honestly. "He didn't make it."
"Why are you here? What do you want?" The man rattled off stepping forward.
"A chance."
"That's asking an awful lot these days," the man stated as he came fully into the light. He was a man of medium build with sandy blond hair. Look like he might have worked out at some point, but not so much anymore.
"I know." Rick nodded. I gasped in pain my hand immediately at my stomach drawing the attention of the blonde haired man.
"What's wrong with her?" he asked quickly his gun trained on me. Daryl was instantly at my side pulling the shotgun from my hands and pointing it at the man. Shouting ensued from Rick and Shane as they raised their guns to the man as well not liking that he was threatening me and ultimately the group.
"Cramps," Lori called out as she appeared immediately at my side. "They've been getting worse with the malnutrition."
I tried not to cry out in pain as another ripped through my body. It came out as a soft whimper causing Rick to look back at me a pained look on his face. The sandy haired man looked at me with a similar look before he slowly lowered the gun. The fact I was in so much pain I didn't comment on the fact that Lori just announced to everyone I had cramps. Once his gun was lowered he looked from me and Lori to where Rick was.
"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." He then looked at me. "Starting with her."
"We can do that," Rick responded immediately. He then looked back at me. "Mel?"
I nodded which was followed by the man saying "You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."
Rick, Glenn, Shane, and Daryl all ran out to get the bags leaving the rest of us with the man. His eyes were locked on me in a suspicious way as we stood there in silence. Lori and I were off to the side as she grilled me about the cramps. I tried skirting over the truth the best I could. She asked when did it start, what the pain level was, could I move okay. The gesture was sweet, but I knew exactly what was happening. Every time a cramp ripped through I could feel my heart breaking more and more. Just then the guys came barreling through the door each carry a few bags.
The sandy haired man ran a card through a keypad before saying, "Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here." After the doors closed Rick introduced himself and the man responded, "Dr. Edwin Jenner."
The men nodded to each other before moving slowly towards what looked like an elevator. I moved along with the group my hand gripping the bottom of my abdomen as we all squeezed in the elevator. I pushed myself to the back where Daryl was feeling a sense of comfort when I was near him. As the elevator moved there was nothing but the sound of everyone's breathing and the humming of the elevator.
"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl broke the silence.
"There were plenty left lying around," he responded looking back at Daryl. "I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough." Jenner then looked down at Carl. "Except for you...I'll have to keep my eye on you."
It was all in pure fun. Jenner chuckled as a small smile appeared on Carl's face at the joke. It was nice to see him smiling even if it was for a brief moment. I grimaced as the elevator came to a stop before the doors opened and Jenner took us through some halls.
"Are we underground?" Carol asked.
"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked in response.
"A little."
"Try not to think about it." We walked a little further down the hall before we came to a stop in a large circular room. In the room there were tons of computer stations. "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room!" Jenner called out.
There was a loud whirring noise as the lights suddenly came up lighting the room up. Loud beeps echoed through the room as Jenner said, "Welcome to Zone 5."
"Where is everybody?" Rick asked as we all walked down the pedway to the main circle of computers in the center of the room. "The other doctors, the staff?"
Jenner came to a complete stop in the center of the room before gesturing to the empty space. "I'm it. It's just me here."
I closed my eyes as I leaned against the railing of walkway we were on. My insides felt like they were being torn apart as another cramp moved through my body. I gripped tightly onto the railing as the computerized voice above us said hello. I clenched my teeth trying my hardest to keep silent as they continued on their conversation. I did this to myself and to my baby. I was going to suffer for it.
"As informative as this conversation is," I snapped opening my eyes looking over at Jenner. "I'm in a lot of pain. Let's get this goddamn blood test done with so I can go fucking lay down."
The group stared at me with wide eyed looks on their faces while a smirk tugged at the corner of Daryl's lips. Jenner nodded before motioning for us to follow. I was the first to move after the doctor wanting to lay down. I was hungry, hormonal, and armed. Lord have mercy on anyone who pissed me off. Jenner kept sending glances back at me and the group before he led us into a room that looked like a classroom in a very fancy high school. The seats were set up stadium style on one half of the room while a white board stood at the front of the room.
I watched as Jenner walked over to a cabinet that was sitting in the corner and began pulling supplies out such as needles and small test tubes. He pulled two chairs up to the very front and motioned for me to sit down as he pulled a sterile needle out of its package. I looked back at Rick with a nervous look as I took a seat in the front. As I sat down a pain shot through my lower abdomen causing my hand to immediately go to my stomach. I looked back at Jenner to see he was staring down at my and placement before looking up at me his eyes narrowed.
"Arm please," he stated holding his hand out. I reluctantly held my arm out watched as he tied an elastic band around my arm before rubbing some alcohol wipes along the protruding vein in the crevice of elbow. He quickly inserted the needle into the vein as I closed my eyes at the pinch. It was a quick pinch, but the feeling of something being stuck in me made me nervous. I could feel my other hand begin to tap rapidly against my other leg before I quickly stopped feeling him take the needle out. He pressed a small sterile pad to my arm before nodding to the door.
"Down the hall, third door on the left," his voice came out soft.
I nodded quickly before I was up and out of my seat racing down the hall. I could hear Rick calling my name from the room, but it faded as I entered the room Jenner had directed me to. I slammed the door closed behind me and flipped on the light switch before turning around. It was some kind of supply closet, but it had everything I needed to hide the blood. Fresh clothes too. I walked forward slowly my fingers reaching out for the fabrics. As they met the cool pieces of cloth my legs gave out beneath me sending me to a heap on the floor as the tears began streaming down my face, the constant pang of pain forcing its way through my body. This was all my fault.
They were all gathered around the table laughing with food in front of them and some alcohol. Except for Sophia and Carl who had either water or soda in front of them. Dale was pouring some more wine into a glass as several people laughed loudly. Lori had a huge smile on her face refusing to let Carl have any wine until Rick convinced her a little wouldn't hurt, Laughing she finally gave in causing the table to cheer as Dale poured some of the wine into a cup.
Daryl watched on as he drank from his own class full of alcohol. His eyes roamed the table as it became quiet when Carl took the sip. The boy cried out in disgust pushing the glass away causing the table to laugh.
"Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud," Shane spoke up but his voice didn't seem as happy as the rest of the table. Daryl pushed away from the table he was leaning against as he grabbed a wine bottle and walked towards the table.
"Not you Glenn," Daryl called out grabbing the Korean kid's attention.
"What?"
"Keep drinking, little man. I wanna see how red your face can get."
Laughter immediately took over the table as Daryl set another bottle in front of Glenn who had a toothy grin on his face. Rick however was drawn out of the excitement. Mel wasn't there, her smile was missing from the table of happy survivors. After her blood had been drawn he tried to go after her but Jenner stopped him, saying she just needed a moment. It wasn't like Mel to walk off like that, she had never been one of those girls that turned away when things were bad. She would be right out here with the rest of them drinking wine, her favorite, not hiding away because of some...cramps. If that's even what was going on. Hell when they were in high school he saw Mel take a baseball to the arm then just get back up and kept playing the game. It had shattered the bone in her arm, but she kept playing. She didn't back away from pain.
Daryl's grin slowly faded when he noticed Rick's gaze was searching the table, but there was no smile on his face. Daryl's eyes then fell to the bottle in his hands. He knew exactly who Rick was looking for. Mel wasn't at the table eating and drinking with the rest of them. After the blood test she had disappeared, Jenner said to lay down, but he didn't trust the man any farther than he could throw him. Mel wouldn't pass up the opportunity for good food, especially when food was this scarce.
He set the bottle down before his gaze went around the table taking each person in. They were laughing and grinning completely oblivious to the fact that there was a member of their group that was missing. Andrea didn't have a complete smile on her face, but there was happiness in her eyes. But Shane...he looked like someone had just run his dog over with a truck on purpose. Daryl tilted his head ever so slightly as he watched Shane closely. His hands were pressed together rubbing against each other slowly. A nervous tick. Daryl's eyes narrowed at the harrowing look on the other man's face. He had a similar look on his face after he and Mel had come out of the woods on the highway...He knew exactly what Shane had done.
"Seems to me we haven't properly thanked our host properly," Rick called out silencing the group. Daryl's gaze was pulled from Shane to Rick.
"He is more than just our host," T-Dog stated raising his glass. Everyone raised their glasses calling out agreements.
"Here's to you doc," Daryl raised the bottle of wine off the table. "Booyah!"
The group laughed at Daryl's statement as they raised their glasses repeating booyah before taking sips of their wine before the laughter continued. Jenner looked around at the group before slowly taking a sip of his own wine his thoughts also drawn to the missing member of the group. She never reappeared and that made Jenner nervous. She was exhibiting behavior similar to the start of the fever that usually turned people. She was in obvious pain, she was shaking sporadically, she was nervous, and when he was near her earlier she smelt like blood. It could have been what Lori had said and been menstrual related, but there was a nagging feeling in the back of Jenner's mind. It kept saying she was infected. He had VI running the blood samples, but that took time.
"So when you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane's voice cut through Jenner's thoughts.
He looked over at the younger man noticing subtle similarities to Melody, the girl who had run off earlier. They were clearly related. They had the same empty look in their eyes when they spoke to him. The same cold empty talk, vulgar language use. Jenner noticed Shane's hand would twitch every now and then. Another similarity.
"All the other doctors..." Shane continued, "that were supposed to be figuring out what happened. Where are they?"
"We're celebrating, Shane," Rick's tone was severe as he stared over at his best friend slightly shaking his head.
"If we're celebrating, then why we doing it without Mel?" Shane responded. "I don't see her here celebrating." Shane sat up leaning forward over the table. "How do we know there ain't anyone else here? She's been missing for a while."
"She's a grown woman," Lori cut in. "She can make her own decisions about whether she wants to join or not."
"How do we know he ain't running tests on her right now," Shane snapped at Lori. "He seemed awfully interested in her earlier-"
"We do not need to do this right now," Rick cut Shane off.
Shane scoffed staring at his friend. "Whoa, wait a second. The man who doesn't let anyone leave his sights isn't worried about the girl he helped protect for most of his life?"
"This isn't a question of whether or not I would protect her. I'd die to protect her, just like I would for Carl and Lori and you, Shane. But we are safe in here. She's fine."
"You don't know that," Shane spat before shaking his head. "Maybe she's roaming around getting the answers we actually came here to find out. This was your move. Supposed to find all the answers. Instead we-" Shane turned his head chuckling this time. "We find him and lose Mel." He pointed over to Jenner. "We found one man, who just so happens to be interested in the one member of our group that's currently missing. Why?"
Daryl listened as the man explained what had happened. Some left, some killed themselves. Sounded like an average day out in the real world while this guy sat in here all comfy and cozy the rest of the world fighting to survive. Daryl found his gaze once more on Shane as the guy was ridiculed by Glenn for being a "buzz kill." But he had a point. Jenner was interested in Mel, but this was the first time Shane had even spoken about his sister since she refused to get in the car with him. The first time he had expressed any concern for her and that's what bothered him. Daryl knew better than to think it was just brotherly love. That was guilt written all over his face when he talked about her. There was no doubt in his mind that Shane left that mark on his sister's cheek. His fist clenched at his side as he took a drink of the wine bottle in his other hand his gaze not leaving Shane.
The group fell into an awkward, somber silence. The questions had been raised. What was going on? And where in the hell was Melody Walsh?
A shout out to HistoryNerd, McFassy, Dean's Dirty Little Secret (i love your name btw), Isis04, and of course Auburn And Green! Y'all are seriously the greatest! A HUGE thank you to all the favorites and follows I got it really makes my day!
I also wanted to make a brief statement about what exactly is going on in this story. The topic of abortion is a very heavy discussion. This story does not reflect my opinion on the topic. If it offends you I apologize, but this is a story. It's not real. *GASP* I know crazy right? Creative integrity is all my own and I appreciate those of you who are not letting this completely ruin your idea of the story! There's plenty of awesomeness to come!