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I hope you enjoy and please, please, please review.
I want to know if I'm doing this right or wrong, or in the middle or whatever!
Chapter 4:
Jennifer sat with Lori, Carol, and Dale as the men of the group cleared the walkers from the camp, carrying them to a burn pile a little ways off. Last night had been rough and just by looking at everyone's face Jennifer could tell no one had gotten any sleep. No one spoke, or rather, no one knew what to say.
Jennifer watched as Lori got up from her place and walked over to Andrea, who was still on the ground mourning her dead sister. The blond didn't even look at Lori when the brunette spoke; she only stared into her sister's pale and bloody face.
Lori walked back to their little area, a wet crunching sound following her as Daryl's pickax landed in the head of a walker. Once he was sure it was dead, Daryl walked off to another one as Glenn and T-Dog carried the corpse to the burn pile. Jennifer watched Daryl; he was sweating and looked worn out. She decided to give him a chance to take a break.
"I'll take over from here," Jennifer said as she approached the man after he smashed another walker's head in. He had the pickax resting on his shoulder and was breathing very heavily as he viewed the woman with her small hands outstretched to him.
"I'm good," he grunted beginning to walk to another walker.
"No you're not. You're tired and you're going to get overheated," Jennifer told him. He thought she genuinely looked a little concerned about his health.
"Whatever," he said forcefully handing her the pickax, disregarding the concern she was showing him.
Jennifer paid no attention to his pissy mood and got to work.
After destroying her eleventh walker brain, Jennifer had to take a moment to catch her breath. The pickax wasn't that heavy, but combined with the heat it made the job a bit difficult. As Jennifer gazed around the camp her eyes stopped wondering when they met Shane's. He was staring at her with an odd look in his brown eyes and Jennifer just couldn't stop staring at him. That was until she heard a whistling sound and turned to see Daryl right by her.
She jumped when she saw him not realizing he had snuck up on her. He extended his hand and she placed the pickax in it walking back to where the others were shaking her head. How did he sneak up on me like that? Jennifer thought.
Just as Jennifer made it back to the small group she was at before, Rick approached Andrea. The blond woman didn't hesitate; she pulled out her pistol and aimed it at the defenseless man. Rick stood from his crouching place and backed away with his hands up whispering, "Sorry."
"Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us?" Daryl said with his pickax on his shoulder, "The dead girl's a time bomb."
"What do you suggest?" Rick asked tiredness weaved into his voice.
Daryl stepped closer to Rick, "Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here," Daryl said making his fingers into a gun and aiming it at the side of his head, "Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance."
"No, for God's sakes, let her be," Lori said sitting back down on a crate.
"I say we let her be. When the time comes, if she isn't strong enough to put her down and she's bitten, we kill them both," Jennifer said. She was sitting in a chair with her head leaning back and her eyes closed to block out the sun, but when she was done she lifted her head to see everyone's reaction to her rather brutal method. Jennifer didn't care that it was brutal though because in the world they lived in now, brutality could save one's life.
Shane looked to Rick and shrugged his shoulders. He would do whatever his friend thought was best.
Daryl wasn't as on board. He looked to the group and scoffed as he walked away to help Morales drag Ed's mangled, dead body to the burn pile.
"Wh-What are you guys doing?" Glenn asked. The men only continued dragging the large man, ignoring Glenn's question, "This is for geeks. Our people go over there." Glenn pointed to the row of once alive camp members.
"What's the difference? They're all infected," Daryl said.
"Our people go in that row over there," Glenn pleaded. Daryl and Morales let go of the body eyeing the boy as he spoke, "We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand?"
The two heavily breathing men stared at Glenn, taking in his desperate expression before Glenn spoke again, and "Our people go in that row over there."
The men picked up the body once again and drug it over to the row. Jennifer heard Daryl yell, "You reap what you sow.".
"You know what? Shut up, man," Morales said as the two men let go of the lifeless body.
"Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming." Daryl roared as he pointed to the dead bodies. He walked somewhere out of Jennifer's view to do and she soon forgot about the loud, mouthy, short-tempered redneck.
Jennifer began cleaning her boots when she heard Jacqui yell, "A walker got him. A walker bit Jim."
She was backing away from the man as, Rick and Shane drew closer. Just as suddenly as Daryl disappeared, he reappeared next to Jennifer. He walked past her at a brisk pace with his bloody pickax.
"I'm okay. I'm okay," Jim whispered backing up.
"Show it to us," Daryl said. He moved the pickax as if he were waiting to strike Jim with it if something went wrong.
Jim turned around and picked up a shovel, readying himself to attack if it were necessary.
"Easy, Jim." Shane said motioning for Jim to put down the shovel before he did anything.
"Grab him," Daryl said to T-Dog who was lingering behind Jim.
"Jim, put it down. Put it down," Shane continued, trying to solve this in a peaceful way. Unfortunately Shane's calm ways didn't work because T-Dog hurried up and grabbed Jim's arms holding him in place. Daryl jumped to the man and lifted up his shirt. Sure enough, there was a bite mark on his side. Daryl let the go of the man's shirt and T-Dog did the same backing away from the infected man. All the while, Jim continued to chant, "I'm okay. I'm okay."
Everyone stood around eyeing the man not sure what to do. They didn't know whether to kill him or let him live and risk getting everyone else infected. Jennifer thought they should kill him right there. It would stop him from facing the misery to come and, more importantly, would protect them from the infectious.
They ordered for Jim to sit near the RV as the group discussed what to do with him.
"I say we put a pickax in his head," Daryl said to the group in a low voice, "And the dead girl's and be done with it."
"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked looking up at the redneck.
"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it," he responded
"I have to partially agree with Daryl," Jennifer said looking at the group.
"Jesus," Lori said looking at her with a 'I can't believe you just said that' look, "How could you say that? Jim's not a monster or some rabid dog. He's a sick man. As for Andrea, she needs time to mourn her dead sister. Wouldn't you want the same if it were your sister?"
"Hold up, I'm just trying to look out for the group. I'm sure you wouldn't want Carl getting infected because you decided to keep a walker to be alive. We would only be preventing him from future misery that comes with the infection," Jennifer said. Lori opened her mouth about to say something about Jennifer bringing Carl into this but she was cut off, "And if you would have let me finish I would have told you that I think we should let Andrea deal with Amy herself."
Jennifer got closer to Lori with a cold, hateful stare in her eyes; obviously something Lori said had struck a nerve in Jennifer, "You have no right to bring my sister into this. I know how Andrea feels I can relate, I know it's hard and it should be left up to her whether she has the strength to pull the trigger."
"I don't need some smart mouthed bitch criticizing me," Jennifer spat at her, turning to walk away into the forest. Lori just stood there staring off at the younger woman who had just told her, too stunned for words.
When Jennifer was sure no one could see her she broke out into a sprint through the woods. She ran as fast as she could, wanting to get as far away from the camp as she could. She had been running for what felt like hours when she finally stopped. She stood leaning against a tree catching her breathe.
There was a sudden rush of anger that consumed Jennifer with a fiery passion. She reared back and began punching the tree she had been leaning on before, trying to get rid of her pent up anger. When she was finished she withdrew her bloodied fists from the tree leaving blood smeared down the broken bark.
She soon realized that she had no idea where she was. She looked around trying to find something familiar to lead her out of the woods. She just decided to pick a way and hope that her instincts would lead her in the right direction.
Jennifer began running hoping that the smell of her blood wouldn't attract any walkers. She jumped over fallen trees and ducked under low branches as she ran. Unfortunately, Jennifer's foot got caught on a loose root and she tumbled down a steep incline.
She felt the sharp pain in different parts of her body every time she rolled over a rock on her way down. When she finally reached the bottom, she slammed into a tree. She hit the tree with so much force it felt like she was going to puke and she knew the bruise was already starting to form.
She tried to pick herself up off of the ground, and at first, succeeded but quickly collapsed when she tried to walk. She flipped herself over onto her back and just laid on the ground trying to catch her breath.
She listened to the sounds of the forest as her breathe slowed to its normal pace. She could hear a bird in the distance, the wind blowing through the trees speaking something no one could understand, and something else, a crunching sound.
The sound was getting louder and Jennifer realized it was footsteps. Scrambling for her gun, Jennifer realized she had dropped it when she fell down the slope. She searched the ground around her and spotted it a few feet away. She crawled desperately reaching for her weapon. The footsteps were growing louder and louder making Jennifer panic more and more.
The girl finally made it to her gun and immediately turned ready to fire at the walker. Jennifer was surprised when she saw Daryl walking to the edge of the slope. He had his crossbow in hand as he searched the area.
When he spotted Jennifer laying on the ground, he descended the hill as fast as he could without falling. He kept his eyes on the woman below. Her long, dark hair was spread out across the ground with leaves stuck in it, her tan legs had various cuts on them, and her knuckles were bleeding heavily. She looked so different from the girl he had spoken to earlier.
Jennifer lowered her gun to her side and watched as the man descended. He had a look of concern in his eye and Jennifer felt that this concern was genuine.
"What the hell are you doing down there?" Daryl said squinting his eyes at her and like that the concern was gone.
"I," Jennifer began not really knowing what to say, "I had to take care of something."
With the help of Daryl, Jennifer was able to sit up. The pain in her stomach didn't go away but it was now more of a dull, aching throb. When she was sitting up against a tree, Daryl grabbed her hand and began examining her knuckles.
"Now, why did you go and do that?" He said inspecting the other hand. Jennifer had thought that he was just talking to the air, but when he lifted his head she realized he wanted a legitimate answer. An answer she didn't want to give.
"Why did you come?" She asked evading the question.
" 'Cause I couldn't let you go into the woods yourself, princess," he said smirking at her. He had other reasons for coming but he would never admit to them.
Daryl pulled a red cloth from his pocket and quickly tore it in half. He used one half to cover Jennifer's right knuckles and the other to cover her left.
"We should be headin' back," Daryl said picking up his crossbow as he stood up. He helped Jennifer to her feet and when he asked if she needed help walking she said no. Jennifer took one step and would have fallen to the ground if Daryl wouldn't have caught her.
"Thanks," she said to him as he helped her walk back to the camp. He had asked if she wanted him to carry her but she refused that too.
On the way there, the two heard a gunshot coming from the direction they were headed. Jennifer didn't have to ask she knew what it was. "She must have done it."
"Huh?" Daryl asked looking at her confused.
"Andrea must have killed her sister," Jennifer said staring at the ground.
"How do ya know it was her?"
"Honestly, Rick isn't a killer. He may be a cop but he doesn't have it in him to kill another person, with the exception of walkers. He could never break Andrea's heart like that. And if Andrea didn't kill Amy and got bit there would be two shots."
"Oh," he said as they continued on.
After a while of walking in silence Daryl finally asked the question that was on his mind, "Jennifer, what did ya mean when you said somethin' bout your sister?"
Jennifer looked at the ground as the painful memories began flowing through her mind, "I don't want to talk about it."
With that, the two continued in silence. Daryl was worried that he had hurt his relationship with Jennifer but then he realized they didn't have any kind of relationship they just knew each other and helped the group survive. That was it.
The two emerged from the woods and into the camp where they were greeted by a concerned Carol who whisked Jennifer away before Daryl could blink.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Carol asked as she cleaned Jennifer's dirty face with a wet dishcloth.
"I'm sure," Jennifer said smiling to the older woman, "You really don't have to do this Carol"
"Oh please, I have nothing else to do," she said as she began to remove the makeshift bandages Daryl put on her.
"Well, I'm glad I can occupy you," Jennifer teased.
Just as quickly as it appeared, Jennifer's smile vanished when Lori came and sat down beside her. Lori was the first to speak saying, "Look, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I had no right to bring your sister into it."
Jennifer eyes the other brunette woman. She didn't particularly like Lori and she in no way found that she was an asset to the group, but she was Rick's wife and she didn't want to be on bad terms with him. After a moment of consideration Jennifer spoke, "I accept your apology and I am sorry I barked at you."
Lori smiled to her, patted her leg, and got up to walk away. Carol and Jennifer soon followed with the others. They were going to bury the other members of the group in the graves Jim had dug while they were in the city.
"These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are," The group heard Daryl talking as they approached Shane, Rick, and him.
"There are no rules," Rick said looking to the redneck.
"Well, that's a problem," Lori said in a dry, hoarse voice, "We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do."
Andrea unloaded the tarp that held her sister's body within it, all the others had been buried already. She dragged the body to the grave, not quite strong enough to carry it. Dale lagged behind trying to help Andrea but every time he tried she would reject him. Jennifer knew that this was a matter of love on Andrea's part. She wanted to be the one to bury her sister just like she wanted to be the one to kill her.
Dale bent down to pick up one end but Andrea cried, "I can do it. I can do it."
Just then, Jennifer felt something wrap around her leg and when she looked down Sam had her arms wrapped around the upper part of Jen's leg. She had her face pressed on her thigh as she let loose a few tears. Jennifer would have picked the girl up, but the pain in her stomach didn't allow her to so she just patted the girl's back trying to comfort her.
Andrea was in the grave and was trying to pull her in. She allowed Dale to pick up one end so that they could gently lower her into the bottom. Jennifer heard as some of the women around her started crying a little. Jennifer didn't know these people so she couldn't mourn their deaths like the others but even if she did she wouldn't cry.
She found crying to be a weakness and she refused to ever show anyone weakness.
Dale helped Andrea out of the grave and they proceeded to shovel the dirt into the grave. When it was all in the group headed back to the camp. Jennifer had trouble getting Sam off of her leg but when she did the girl looked up at her with red, watery eyes. She grabbed Jennifer's hand and followed the others leading her back to camp.
Jennifer watched as everyone went to go do their own thing leaving Jennifer to figure out something to do. She couldn't do much because of her stomach and when she was about sit down in the camp, Carol motioned for her to come to the RV. She insisted that she put the disinfectant spray Dale had on her knuckles, she also wanted to see what she could do about Jennifer's bruised stomach. When Jennifer saw it she realized her stomach wasn't as bad as she thought but it still hurt like a bitch.
She trudged into the group that was around the fire pit and sat in a chair. She watched as Shane and Rick approached, both armed with shot guns.
"I've been, uh-," Shane began, walking to the left of Jennifer, "I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no- there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together."
Jennifer had been filled in on what they had talked about during her time in the woods. She agreed with Rick on going to the C.D.C., mostly because the last contact she was able to get from Fort Benning they were being overrun by walkers.
"So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning," Shane said looking to the group. Lori looked at her husband, who in turn raised his head to look at his best friend, "Okay?"
"Everybody listen up," Shane said beginning his instructions, "Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal, anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"
They had gotten a good night's rest and were now about to set out for the C.D.C. Jennifer didn't know what to expect and she didn't like it, but at least they could be more prepared for a herd if they were at a strong building.
"We're, uh… We're not going," Morales said to Shane. The group just looked to them awaiting an explanation.
"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people," his wife said wrapping her arms around her children.
"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane said sternly to the man.
"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family," Morales said. Jennifer personally thought that what would be best for his family was staying with the group where they had people to help them survive, but whatever it was his call. Plus, it just lessened the mouths to feed.
"You sure?" Rick asked putting his hand on his hip.
"We talked about it. We're sure."
"All right," Rick said looking his best friend, "Shane."
"Yeah, all right," Shane responded as they began to pull out a pistol and a box of ammo from the police bag.
Rick handed it to the man and Shane gave him the ammo saying, "The box is half full."
Daryl scoffed as he turned his back to the group. Lori got up from her place and went to hug Morale's wife as she said, "Thank you all… for everything". People started crying as Shane shook Morales's hand and wished him good luck.
Sophia and Morales's daughter hugged as they began to cry. The girl then turned to Sam and hugged her, passing her doll off to the young girl. Soon everyone was hugging and Jennifer just rolled her eyes. We don't have time for all this bullshit. We have a dying man who needs to get to the CDC, she thought to herself.
"What makes you think our odds are any better?" Shane asked Rick after the family headed for their car, "Come on. Let's go. Let's move out."
Jennifer slung her backpack over her shoulder, grabbed her rifle and walked over to the car she was to be riding in.
When she got in Shane gave her an odd look and jokingly said, "First, you take my tent, and now you want to take my car?"
"Oh, you know you love my company," she said smirking at him.
They followed the long line of cars, led by the RV, onto the main road and began their journey.
As they drove, they passed little houses that had long since been abandoned, tall electrical wires that had ceased to be used a week into this epidemic, and open grasslands that were one of the few things that could retained its beauty, even when the world had gone to hell.
Shane had the top off of his Jeep as they drove. This caused Jennifer's hair to whip at her face but she didn't mind.
They had been driving for a while, when all of a sudden the caravan came to a halt. Jennifer and Shane hopped out of the Jeep to see what the problem was. Apparently the hose in the Winnebago was shot and without any duct tape to repair it, they were stranded.
"I see something up ahead," Shane said putting down his binoculars, "A gas station if we're lucky."
"Y'all, Jim-" Jacqui said as she rushed out of the RV, "It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore."
"Hey, Rick, you wanna hold down the fort?" Shane asked, "I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back."
"Yeah, I'll come along too," T-Dog said holding the binoculars up, "And I'll back you up."
"Y'all keep your eyes open now," Shane said, "We'll be right back."
As Shane and T-Dog left, Rick walked towards the RV. He stood outside of the door, took a breath, and entered.
Jennifer leaned against the RV, letting the hot sun hit her tan flesh. As she heard the muffled voices of two men talking inside of the RV.
"It's what he said he wants," Rick said looking to the group. He had just informed them of Jim's death wish and Jennifer couldn't blame him, it was better than being a flesh eating monster.
"And he's lucid?" Carol asked.
"He seems to be," Rick said focusing on his hat, "I would say yes."
"Back in the camp when I said Daryl and Jennifer might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer," Dale said looking to the group. Jennifer had stormed away before that part of their discussion, but it's not like their opinion mattered. Jennifer knew that the group would do whatever Shane and Rick said no matter how idiotic their decision may be.
"We just leave him here? We take off?" Shane, who had come back from scouting ahead with T-Dog, didn't come back with much just a few cans of food and some duct tape for the RV's hose, "Man, I'm not sure I could live with that."
"It's not your call, either one of you," Lori said.
Rick took a moment to thin k before him and Shane brought Jim out. They leaned him against a tree in the shade.
"Hey, another damn tree," Jim said as the group began surrounding him. He chuckled and looked at them.
"Hey Jim- I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this," Shane said.
"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice," Jim responded closing his eyes and leaning his head against the tree.
"Okay. All right," Shane said patting his leg and stepping back.
Jacqui was the next to step up to the man as she bent down to his level, "Just close your eyes sweetie. Don't fight," She said in a soft voice as she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"Jim, do you want this?" Rick approached him. He had a revolver in his hand trying to get Jim to take it.
"No. You'll need it. I'm okay."
Dale was the replaced Rick in front of Jim saying, "Thanks for, uh, for fighting for us."
"Okay," Jim said breathing loudly. Dale got up and walked back towards the RV and Glenn nodded to the man before walking away. The two left standing were the two people who wanted to kill Jim at the camp, Daryl and Jen.
Daryl lifted his eyes from the ground to the dying man who offered him a smile and the slightest of nods. Daryl walked closer and nodded before moving away. When Jennifer was about to walk away she heard Jim whisper her name.
She looked over her shoulder before fully turning and walking to the man. She kneeled before him and waited for him to speak.
"Jennifer," She could tell it was getting harder and harder for him to speak but alas, he continued, "Make sure you keep a close eye on those two. Protect them and let them protect you, they really care about you."
"What are you talking about Jim?" Jennifer asked thinking the man was suffering from a hallucination or something.
"Shane and Daryl," he whispered confusing Jennifer.
"What are you talking about? Daryl doesn't want anything to do with."
"No, you should see the way he looks at you when you're not looking. And the jealousy in his eyes when you're around Shane," he said trying to open his eyes to focus on her face.
"Okay, I will. Thanks," she said as she got up and walked to the others.
He must be delusional, Jennifer thought, there's no way Shane or Daryl would care for me like that. They barely know me. But Daryl did come after me when I was in the woods. Someone could have sent him though, that someone could have been Shane. No, stop thinking about it, they don't like you that way!
Jennifer was headed back to Shane's Jeep, staring at the ground as she walked. She looked up and immediately caught the gaze of Daryl, who was sitting inside of his truck ready to go. They stared into each other's eyes as Jennifer recalled what Jim had said. She shook her head and continued on to the Jeep.
The hours they spent travelling finally paid off when they reached the CDC at sunset. They parked their vehicles and everyone began getting out of their automobiles. The site that awaited them was not a pretty one, dead bodies scoured the ground with the loud buzz of flies as they flew around the bodies. A military base had tried to set up here but were soon infected and killed off. The smell of decomposing flesh was sure off ward off walkers.
Jennifer looked at the bodies realizing that this could have been her fate if she hadn't of come home when she did.
"All right, everybody, keep moving. Go on," Shane whispered, "Stay quiet. Let's go."
Everyone was gagging at the terrible smell as they walked past countless bodies. Jennifer feared that one of the dead might suddenly come alive again and attack without them realizing it, but it seemed that all covering the ground had a bullet hole somewhere in the head.
Rick banged on the door and T-Dog said, "There's nobody here."
"Then why are the shutters down?" Jennifer asked as she walked closer to the metal door.
"Walkers!" Daryl yelled. So much for the smell keeping them away, Jennifer thought getting ready to kill some walkers.
"Baby, come on," Lori said as her and Carol pulled their children behind the men.
"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl yelled killing a walker then walking to Rick.
"He made a call!" Shane yelled also making his way to Rick.
"It was the wrong damn call!"
"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut. Shut up!" Shane yelled pushing Daryl back.
Jennifer blocked out their conversation as she searched the door for some kind of way to get in. She ran her hands along the door and then gazed upwards. Above the doorway was a white camera. As Jennifer stared at it, the thing moved slightly to the left.
"The camera. It moved," She whispered still staring at it. The others were still fighting amongst themselves and were beginning to retreat, but Jennifer and Rick remained still.
Shane tried to get his friend to leave but Rick refused. The more time that passed the more restless the group got and the more panicked Rick got. He began yelling at the thing as Shane tried to pull him back.
Jennifer stood there staring at the camera blocking out all of the chaos and only focusing on the camera. The last thread of hope they had was beginning to slip away. Shane threw back Rick and Jennifer began to turn away when the door behind them opened and white light came streaming from it.
Sorry it's a day late :( But still, hope you enjoy and please make sure to review :)