Shane paced back and forth. He cursed himself for being so stupid. What if the group had killed Lilli? No one was giving him any information. Even Sara had disappeared. That worried Shane more than anything else. The little girl hadn't been injured or bitten. No one else in Shane's group had been taken away.
He hadn't overheard the conversation between the three. All he saw was Sara clinging to Dr. Bennett's jacket and Lilli on the ground. Rick had told him later that Dr. Bennett was Sara's grandfather, which meant that he was Lilli's father. But that didn't mean that the man could keep Lilli safe.
It was only last night that they had arrived at Haven. That's what the little town was called. It was a unique and amazing little town. There were only three buildings, two apartment buildings and another set aside for the scientists. There was another area set aside for farming. No one in Rick's group had been able to enter the area. But it was clear that everyone had a job to do in the town. No one was idol.
Shane stopped pacing and clenched his fists. He had had enough of standing around and doing nothing. He needed answers. He started to head toward the front door when Rick grabbed his arm. Angrily, Shane pulled away.
"Just give them a little more time," Rick said, trying to calm his friend down.
"It's been almost a day and I've heard nothing," Shane snapped back. "I need to know if she's dead or…"
"Shane!" Sara let out a shout as she pushed the door open. She quickly hugged him and he gladly returned her hug. "Grandpa!" she said as she turned and looked at Alex. "This is Shane."
The older man casually walked into the room and nodded his head.
"Sir," Shane said with a courteous nod. For some unknown reason he was suddenly nervous. He felt like a teen meeting the parents of his girlfriend.
Dr. Alex Bennett was a sexy man for his age. He was clearly fit and had a commanding presence about him. He wore normal civilian clothes, but had a gun holstered on his belt. The man assessed Shane with his eyes, before he reached out his hand. "Pleasure," he said in a deep voice.
Shane accepted his hand and let out a small smile. Alex turned to Rick and shook his hand as well.
"Mr. Grimes," Sara said as she looked at Rick. "Where is Carl?"
Rick smiled and let out a chuckle. "He's with Sophia and the couple of other children at the little school."
Sara looked at her grandfather who nodded his head. "Down the hall and second door to your right," he said.
Sara smiled as she raced to join the other children, leaving Alex, Rick and Shane behind.
"How is she?" Shane asked, getting straight to the point.
"Follow me," he said with a deep sigh. The two followed him as he walked outside. He went to the building that they had taken Lilli inside. Two military soldiers stood guard inside and nodded to Alex as they walked by.
Shane found it strange that the soldiers were armed inside of the building. Alex opened the door to the stairway and they began walking upstairs.
"We converted this building as a mini hospital," he said. He was quite for the next five flights and finally opened the door to the top floor. "They aren't smart," he said as they started to walk down the hall.
One of the doors open and a woman in a bloody lab coat walked out. She had a mask over her face and nodded to Alex before giving the other two a questioning look. She held her gloved hands up that were red with blood.
Alex ignored the woman as another doctor opened another door for the woman.
"What was that?" Rick couldn't help but ask. Alex ignored his question as he finally opened a door. For Shane, the all too familiar sound of hospital machinery invaded his mind.
Lilli lay on a hospital bed. Glass seemed to be between them and her. It was quite clear that the only way into her room was from another door that was in the back.
"Plexiglass," Alex admitted as he tapped the glass in front of them.
"How did you get it?" Rick asked.
"It was not easy," Alex tried to make light of it, but his voice fell flat.
"Lilli," Shane whispered as he touched the glass. He flattened his palm against it and lightly banged his forehead as he closed his eyes. It reminded of him of when he first saw Rick after the man had been shot. Only, at least then he didn't have a glass wall in-between him and his friend. He could still touch him.
"Is… is she one of them?" Shane finally asked. His voice cracked as he tensed in anticipation of the answer that he believed was coming.
"No," Alex said, surprising both men. They looked at him with a frown.
"But she was bit." Rick couldn't stop himself and looked slightly horrified by what he had said.
Alex nodded his head.
"So you have the cure," Shane said in excitement.
Alex shook his head. "No," he said.
"I don't understand," Shane growled.
Alex looked at his daughter then sighed. "It was because of the message. We did have a vaccine. As long as you weren't fully turned then it would fight the virus and win. Unfortunately, about a month ago, another group came here looking for it. We weren't as… selective, then. We let them inside. There were only a few. We would have given them some of the vials if they had asked. Instead, they chose to fight."
The two men looked at him in surprise.
Alex shrugged. "Maybe they thought that we wouldn't give them any. Or make them pay a high price. Either way, they were killed. But we didn't realize that they had the vials on them. Everything was destroyed."
Shane's face contorted with anger. "So she's as good as dead?" he snarled.
Alex shook his head. "I put her in a coma. She has a few days before the virus kills her. You are her only hope now," he said. "We have the ability to make more of the cure, but we need the purest source. You have to get Eve."
The two men looked at him in surprise. Neither had heard Lilli's revelation to her father.
"Who is Eve?" Rick asked.
Alex was confused as he looked at each man. "Didn't she tell you?" he asked.
They shook their head.
Alex sighed as he sat in a chair. He rubbed his chin and exhaled before he continued. "Eve Bennett was my wife."
"But she died giving birth to Lilli and her siblings," Shane quickly interjected. "How can she still be around?" It didn't make sense to him. She should have been dead for almost thirty years. Were the dead really rising from that long ago? There was no way. She would have been severely decomposed if not basically a skeleton.
Alex looked at him then nodded. "She did die then," he said. "But… It shouldn't have worked, but I had her body frozen. I figured that I could bring her back from the dead. I was right, but I didn't think of what I would bring back."
He took in a deep breath before he continued. "My lab in Minnesota was being shut down. I decided to have her flown to Georgia. But before I did, I tested her with a new virus. It didn't work, or at least, I didn't think it did. I knew something was wrong when we didn't reach the pilots. I had Michael check in on my daughter. I was afraid that if Eve came back to life then she would head straight home. It was the home that I had lived with her when we were married. I was right. I didn't know the destruction that she could cause. By the time I could get any sort of plan ready it was too late. The virus spread quickly through bites and no one knew what was happening until it was too late."
"So you caused this?" Shane asked.
Alex narrowed his eyes. "Have you ever been so in love with someone that you would do anything for them? Even break the laws of God by bringing back the dead?"
Shane didn't answer. He didn't know.
Rick shook his head. "It's still wrong," he said.
Alex nodded. "And I've had to live with the consequences of my actions. Two of my three children are dead and millions of people across the world. But… you have a chance to save many. I need Eve in my possession, alive."
Shane snorted.
"We've tried to come up with an effect cure with every other test subject," Alex quickly added. He eyed Shane and it was clear that he knew both men didn't believe him. "None of them work very well or for very long. We need the purest form and it is her. Do you think I would mess around when my daughter's life is hanging in the balance?" he snarled.
Both men shook their heads.
Alex sighed as he stood up and looked at his daughter. "From what I hear, you know where she last was. I will send six of my soldiers with you and whoever in your group who wants to go with you. Do what you have to to keep her restrained so she doesn't bite you, but I need her as alive as possible." Alex looked at Rick then at Shane. "Will you do this?"
"Of course," Shane responded, not looking back at Alex or Rick.
Rick nodded his head.
"We have wasted enough time," Alex said. "My men are ready. We cannot let another hour pass by. You must leave to the area that she was last seen."
Shane didn't bother to look at Rick or Alex as he pushed away from the plexiglass and headed out of the building. He was ready to leave, but he needed a favor.
It seemed to take less time to get back to the site then it did to get to Haven. Along with the six military soldiers were Rick, Shane and Daryl. Shane had gone to Daryl as soon as he finished talking with Alex. Although he would never admit it out loud, he knew he needed Daryl's expertise. Out of everyone Shane knew Daryl was the best huntsman. Even though the others were military, Shane could not trust them with finding this creature.
Daryl motioned for Shane and the other military personal to follow him. The group had split up into teams of two except for one group of three. Shane had to go along with Daryl. There was one thing that Shane was thankful for. They each had military grade weapons and gear. Daryl didn't wear the military uniform that he was offered. He was used to running around in his clothes and knew that the added material would hamper his movement.
The female soldier held her machete ready to attack anything that came at them. They also had guns, but those were to be used as a last resort.
There was one thing that had bothered Shane when they reached the spot that Eve had attacked them. Jess's body was nowhere to be found. Daryl had shown were there were drag marks, but then they just disappeared at the edge of the road. Had Jess been able to get up and leave? Shane had caught a quick glimpse of the sister when Lilli was fighting him. There was no doubt in his mind that she was truly dead. Her skull had been smashed in and part of her brain was on the road. Did this virus make her impervious to that kind of wound?
Daryl stopped in his tracks and crouched as he motioned ahead. Shane and the soldier took out their weapons and looked through the scope to get a better look. There was a person sitting a chair beside a dead campfire. Shane knew who it was. He recognized her clothing, even though her hoodie covered her face. It was Jess. Her body was slumped on the chair and flies buzzed around her. She didn't move.
The military woman picked up a rock and threw it at the body. She hit it on the side of the head, and Jess fell to the ground.
"I think she's dead," the woman said.
The two men nodded in agreement as they slowly approached the dead body. How did she get over there?
Shane crouched next to the body and lifted the hoodie. It was now difficult to see the facial similarities between the two sisters due to the decomposition. "I think Alex will want us to bring her back," Shane stated.
"Why?" the woman asked, a bit skeptical.
"She's his daughter," Shane replied.
"Aww hell," the woman said in an annoyed voice as she called one of her teams to their location.
"Huh," Daryl said as he started to wander down a trail.
Shane opened his mouth to call out to Daryl when chills ran down his spine. He quickly turned and froze. She was just inches away from his body. How had she snuck up on them so easily? He had seen her strength and speed. He had to play his cards right in order not to get bit.
He saw now the resemblance that Lilli and Eve had. Although Eve had blonde hair, her mouth was the same as Lilli's.
She cocked her head to one side as she looked at Shane.
"Hello Eve," Shane heard himself saying. He wanted to smack his head with his palm. Why did he say that?
She looked at him curiously. Was she not attacking because he was showing no fear? There were too many questions running through his head. It was difficult for him to think. Suddenly, the creature screamed in anger and she covered her ears with her hands. Shane started to hear it, too. There was a high pitch noise, but it didn't bother him.
"Move!" the soldier shouted.
Shane didn't have to be told twice as he jumped back.
Eve let out ghoulish screams and moans as she tried to stop the noise.
Suddenly, a rope wrapped around her body and pulled tight. She grew angry and snapped at the air as she charged for Shane. The female soldier threw another rope around Eve and moved to another side as another rope dropped on her.
"Careful!" Shane shouted as the three wrestled with the creature.
She lunged and pulled, trying to get away from the things that confined her. But the soldiers were fast and, apparently, ready for her movements. She tried to bite them as one soldier neared her. He pulled out a roll of duct tape and quickly began to wrap it around her face. Shane would have found it comical if he wasn't so tense.
It took them more than an hour to get back to the cars. She fought them the entire way through. She was strong and the three people pulling her had to constantly switch. She seemed to quickly realize that they were going to take her to an area that she didn't want to go to. Even so, it was quite apparent that she didn't possess the faculties to get herself out of the mess she was in.
Shane's body was tired by the time they reached the cars. He had refused to switch for most of the journey. It was for Lilli that they were undertaking such a dangerous path. And he felt that he had to do his part if not more.
They secured Eve in the back of a hummer. It was clear that the hummer itself had been converted to hold walkers. Shane got into the passenger seat of the hummer while another soldier took the driver's seat.
Shane looked back at Eve as she struggled, trying to get out of her bindings. It was nearly impossible. She was wrapped up as tightly as a spider wrapping their food. His body was still tense, despite being safe. There was only one thing that he could hope for now, that they would make it on time to save Lilli.