Desperation, Salvation

The dead bodies that littered the roads were hard to try and manoeuver around, the stench rolling off of them making the occupants of the trucks gag and wish they could hold their breath. Many held cloths to their mouths and noses so that they could breathe a bit easier, but it didn't help much. The CDC stood before them, large and imposing, as night began to close in around them. The sky was already turning colours as the sun disappeared over the horizon, long ago hiding behind the buildings of the city.

Daryl and Jamie shared a look before opening the doors to Daryl's truck, sliding out into the street. Jamie picked up her rifle from the back truck bed, looking across the space to Daryl as he retrieved his crossbow as well. The others were making their way up the walk to where the path led to the CDC's front entrance, military trucks and soldiers lying about, mingling with the dead bodies of the citizens.

Jamie had that same gut wrenching feeling that she had gotten when she went into the last city with Rick.

Everyone stayed quiet as they made their way through the throngs of dead bodies, stepping over legs and torsos to try and get to the CDC faster. The weapon-less stood in the center of the group, pretty much just women and children, while the others all kept a circle of raised guns. Jamie was kept in front of Daryl, where he could always keep an eye on her, and she lingered close to Lori and Carl. She would do all she could to pay him back, and protecting his family was the top priority.

When they finally reached the front doors of the building, there were shutters down that blocked off the doors, heavy metal ones that looked like they could withstand a nuclear war. Jamie stood with her back to the building, looking out at the streets as Shane and Rick walked right up to the doors to check for a way to open them. Dark had already fallen and everyone was beginning to panic.

"We can't be on the streets at night," Jamie said softly, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"There's nobody here," T-Dog gasped out, looking over the building. There was no sign that the doors had been opened any time recently. Some of the shutters were covered in blood from people running at them or getting shot while attempting to get in.

"Then why are these shutters closed?" Rick asked challengingly.

"Automatic?" Jamie offered.

"Walkers," Daryl called out, turning everyone's attention toward the moving figure on the street. Jamie loaded the gun in her hands and lifted the scope, looking around the streets. There were several walkers in sight, with more beginning to come out of the woodwork every second. Her heart began to pound inside her chest as she tried to stay focused on what she needed to. Daryl took care of the walker that was closest, firing an arrow into its forehead so that a gunshot didn't draw out more.

"Led us into a graveyard!" he yelled as he turned to face Rick, marching in his direction. Shane blocked his advance, pushing him back.

"He made a call-"

"It was the wrong damn one!"

"Daryl!" Jamie yelled, stepping in between him and Shane. "Picking a fight won't change anything. We've got to stay calm and quiet," she hissed out, placing a hand on his chest. His breathing was fast and heavy, a gun in one hand and his crossbow in the other. He lowered them away so that they weren't pointed at her, looking down at her face. She could tell that he was furious, but it wasn't as though Rick could have known.

"Rick, this is a dead end," Shane said as he walked up to his friend, both men looking concerned as they tried to think of what to do. "Do you hear me?"

"Jamie's right," Lori added in, "We can't be this close to the city after dark."

Everyone began to talk at once, panicking and rushing about. Jamie was bumped from behind, hissing loudly when an elbow collided with her back. Daryl pulled her away from the warring group, his crossbow still up for any sign of a threat. He started to pull her in the direction that the others were rushing, back toward the vehicles.

"The camera!" Rick yelled, halting everyone in their tracks. "It moved!"

"You imagined it-"

"No, it moved," Rick interrupted, stepping up to the shutters and looking toward the cameras. Jamie looked around at the group members, all looking doubtful as they heard Rick and Shane argue in whispers about whether or not the camera had moved. Jamie truly wished that Rick was right and that there was someone still inside, that they could still get into the CDC and away from the deadly night.

Rick began to panic and slam against the shutters, yelling at the camera. Jamie looked over to Lori, hearing her desperately trying to call her husband back. Daryl's hand took hold of her arm and began to lead her away from the building, making his way toward his truck. Walkers stumbled their way toward them, everyone holding their guns at the ready. Daryl kept himself between her and the walkers at all time, aiming his crossbow up at them and preparing to fire.

With a loud scream of metal on metal, the shutters lifted and light flooded out, illuminating the front courtyard and all the people that stood upon it. They all were left in a moment of stunned silence, looking toward the brightness with surprise and unimaginable relief. They didn't hesitate a moment longer and advanced into the building slowly, never lowering their guns.

"Hello!"

The yell alerted everyone, turning toward the sound of the male voice. A man stood down a corridor that led further into the building, a semi-automatic machine gun in his hand as he watched them carefully. He looked unkempt, his hair dishevelled and his clothes that of someone that was just getting ready to stow away and go to sleep.

"Anybody infected?" he called over to them, his voice echoing off the walls.

"One of our group was," Rick started, "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here and what do you want?" the man demanded as he stepped forward to them, never lowering his gun. Jamie was unsettled by his behaviour, although she knew that it wasn't something that was unjustified. In the world that they lived in, everyone was cautious now.

"A chance," Rick answered honestly, his voice trembling. Jamie was concerned for a moment that he would send them back out, a fear that she was aware the others shared.

"That's asking an awful lot these days," the man said as he took more steps toward them, less cautious than before. He looked over their group slowly, seeing all their panting, fear filled faces, seeing black people, white people, city people and country people. They were a mismatched group, out of place in regular society. But in the world that they had been thrust into so suddenly, it wasn't so strange to see. "You all submit to a blood test, that's the price of admission."

"Fine by me," Jamie said loudly, looking around at everyone else. They nodded their heads in agreement, knowing that if all they needed to do was give some blood than they were fine with that. The man finally lowered the gun away from them and began to walk forward quickly.

"If you've got anything that you want to bring in you get it now, after this door closes it stays closed." They didn't take long to be sure that they had what they needed, their bags thrown over their shoulders as they quickly rushed back through the doors. They were closed quickly once more as soon as everyone was inside, the man locking it behind them with a key card, speaking into the system. "Seal the main entrance, cut off the power up here."

The shutters fell closed, locking them in.

The man, who they all came to know as Dr. Edwin Jenner, led them over to a large industrial elevator that would take them down below to the basement levels. Jamie was cluttered into the back of the elevator with her gun pulled back over her shoulders, Daryl nearly hiding her away in the corner. He still had his gun out, the butt resting on his hip as he looked toward the man doubtfully.

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" he finally asked, breaking the silence in the metal box, as he eyed the automatic that the man was holding.

"There were plenty left lying around, I familiarized myself," Jenner replied as he looked back toward Daryl. His eyes flicked back at where Jamie was left to peak over her boyfriend's shoulder, her bright hazel eyes looked luminous in the lights of the elevator. He turned back around before Daryl thought that he was staring and faced the doors again. "But you look harmless enough," he added on, looking around at them. He glanced down at where Carl was standing with Lori, looking up at him. "Except you," he said in mock seriousness, "I'll have to keep my eye on you."

They soon piled out of the elevator, following after Jenner as he led them down white hallways. Lights were along the tops of the walls, small but bright enough to allow them all to see where they were going. They were underground, unsettling some of the group, but others felt safer at the thought of being able to stay far away from the dead.

"Welcome to Zone 5," Jenner said as they all watched the lights come on in a circular area, illuminating desks and tables. Jamie looked about at the space, knowing that the room was still larger than that area alone, but wasn't able to see through the darkness.

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked, leading the group down the ramp after Jenner. "The other doctors, the staff?"

"I'm it," Jenner answered, "It's only me here." Jay couldn't help but to feel almost cheated at the thought of a single man being at a place as large as the CDC. How could one man find a cure in a dying world? How could they really place all of their hope into a single person? The saying used to go that one person could change the world, but she highly doubted that this was what they meant.

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori called out, her voice echoing in the room. "Vi?"

"Vi!" Jenner yelled out, starting Jamie slightly at the sudden rise in his tone. "Say hello to our guests!" A pause followed after his initial order, leaving some of the camp survivors to wonder if he had spent so long inside the lab that he had begun to lose his mind. "Tell them 'welcome'."

"Hello, guests," a computerized voice said throughout the room, seeming to come from all directions. "Welcome." The computer went silent again, leaving them all to think on the fact that, yes, Jenner was completely alone at the CDC.

"I'm all that's left."

They soon found themselves in yet another room, sitting around as they got their blood taken one by one. Jamie watched as Andrea got her blood test done and over with, knowing that she was next. Daryl was ripping at the cotton swab that he had been given, fidgeting. She lifted a hand to run it back through his hair, fixing the messed strands. He leaned into the touch but continued to rip at the swab.

"Who's next?" Jenner asked as Jacqui helped the lightheaded Andrea over to sit down. Jamie pulled herself to her feet, leaving her gun and bag with Daryl, and stepped over to the table and extended her left arm out to him; she had given blood before and already knowing the process perfectly. He cleaned the area with a new swab, shaking her arm to draw the vein up. Once the bright blue vein was visible, she looked away when he moved to prick her with the needle, making sure the keep herself relaxed.

"You seem to know the routine," Jenner said as he watched her blood begin to flood the test tube.

"She's an O- blood type," Daryl explained before Jamie had a chance to say anything. "Donated all the time before the world went to shit." The blonde looked over to where he was leaning against the wall, his hands having finally left the cotton swab but now he was chewing on his thumb nail again.

"Really?" Jenner asked, the question directed at her.

"Yea, both of my parents were as well. I grew up with the process," she explained, looking down at the nearly full tube. Jenner was as gentle as one could be as he pulled the needle from her arm, a small bead of blood left behind. He pressed another swab to the source of the small bleed, allowing her to take over and put pressure on the injury.

"Now that that's all done, would you like to eat?" Jenner asked, looking over the people before him. Not one person in the room didn't perk up at the question—even Andrea and Jamie who were the weakest of the group since the loss of blood was still strong with them.

Before long, they were all sitting around the tables in the lunch room of the building, only a few lights on to allow them to see without using too much power. After the wine and liquor started flowing, everyone was much mellower than they had been for a long time. Food was laid out for them, water for the kids, and the conversations were open and light hearted. They were laughing for the first time in what felt like forever, all of the pain and loss that they had been going through just melting away as they finally allowed themselves to just enjoy the time they had.

"And when Carl is in Italy or France he can have wine with dinner," Lori was saying as she placed her hand over Carl's empty water glass to stop Dale from giving him even just a little bit. Jamie was laughing softly as she watched them, knowing that with Rick encouraging her to let their son try some she would cave. And she did, allowing Dale to pour a small amount into the cup.

She took a gulp of her own wine, nearly finishing off the glass, before more suddenly poured into it. She looked over her shoulder to where Daryl was leaning on the counter behind her, drinking straight from one of the bottles, and let him continue to refill her cup. She smiled up to him in her fuzzy minded state, watching the smirk tug his lips in return.

She looked over to watch Carl's reaction when he took the cup from Dale and brought the glass to his lips, taking in a sip of the red wine. As soon as he had tasted the liquid, he slammed the cup down on the table and made a face, the remainder of the wine sloshing around in the glass. Everyone erupted into laughter again, Lori patting him on the back happily before pouring the small amount of the wine into her glass.

"Why don't you stick to soda pop there bud?" Shane teased, watching the many faces that Carl was making—his face was slightly pink from the sharp tang of alcohol in the drink.

"Not you, Glenn!" Daryl yelled from behind Jay, pointing at the Asian as Glenn read the label on the bottle that he was holding. Glenn looked up, surprised, and smiled as he asked 'what?' in confusion. "Keep drinkin' little man, I want to see how red your face can get," Daryl challenged, causing Jamie to burst into laughter as she threw her head back to rest briefly on Daryl's knee.

"Oh, don't start Daryl. I remember your reaction when I first made you take straight shots of tequila," she scolded, looking up to him daringly.

"Oh, don't get me started on first time drinking experiences, darlin'," Daryl countered, causing her to snort in laughter and look away. He did have more stories about her under his belt than she did of him, which would only serve to embarrass her in front of everyone. She knew when to back down, she wasn't a fool. The people around the table made a long 'oh' as she raised her hands in surrender, causing Daryl to grin and pat her on her shoulder.

The crowd of survivors had their attention drawn toward Rick as he used a knife to tap against his wine glass, standing up as he did so. "It seems to me that we haven't properly thanked our host," he said in a strong voice as he lifted his drink toward where Jenner was sitting quietly. The group began to say a round of cheers before Daryl jumped in, lifting the bottle that he was holding.

"Booya!" he yelled out, looking around at everyone. Jamie lifted her wine glass and repeated the word, a beaming smile lighting her face for the first time since everyone had met her. The people around the table began to cheer the word as well, laughing at the randomness of it. Jamie knew the story behind Daryl's 'booya' and couldn't stop herself from laughing and looking up to him with a knowing glance.

"So when are you going to tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane asked, sobering the mood right away. Many smiles fell away at the question, silence enveloping the group. Rick tried his best to get Shane to drop it, but the other cop was persistent. He wanted his answers and he wasn't going to step down until he had them, even if it ruined the light mood that had finally come to the group.

"Well, when things got bad, people just…left," Jenner began, looking to Shane as he spoke. The others were quiet as they listened, still holding their wine glasses in their hands with their eyes lingering on the tabletop. "They went off to be with their families. Then, when things got worse…the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked, getting a glare from some of the people at the table.

"No," Jenner answered, looking Shane directly in the eye. "Many couldn't face walking out the door. They…opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time." He trailed off as he spoke, looking away from Shane's eyes for the first time, down at the table top.

"But you stayed," Andrea pointed out, "Why?"

"I just kept working," Jenner answered honestly, "Hoping to do some good." There was a brief silence in the room, before Glenn stepped forward to sit at the table, looking to Shane with a depressed expression.

"Dude, you are such a buzz kill, man," he said softly. Jamie said a faint 'here, here' before she tipped back her glass and took down the rest of the wine. Many others did the same, draining down their wine until their glasses were empty. Shane was a very unappreciated man at the present moment, getting looks from the people around the table.

Not a very cheery way to end the chapter, I know, but the next one will make up for it, I assure you! I'm sorry that I'm not updating as much as I did before, but I'm making all of the chapters longer than in the beginning to make up for that! I tried to update sooner, but the site wasn't working when I tried to upload the document, so it's not entirely my fault!

Please review! I will love you for it!

Chapter 14 – Fan the Flames

"Sleep well?" Lori asked, getting a raised eyebrow from the blonde with a knowing smirk on her lips.

"It was…exhilarating," she finally answered, getting another round of high pitched laughs from the other woman around the table. Daryl stepped into the room at that moment, his own hair still slightly damp. The kids took no notice, but the adults didn't miss the fact that they wouldn't both have wet hair if they had showered separately; and Daryl had shorter hair. It was still strange to see the subtle difference in Daryl as he stepped right up to Jamie, wrapping an arm around her good side and greeting her with a kiss before he moved aside to get himself a coffee.

"How's the head Chinaman?" Daryl asked as he looked over to Glenn, getting a groan from the younger man that had everyone grinning in amusement.

"I'm Korean," Glenn moaned in pain, placing the cold glass of orange juice to his forehead to try and alleviate the pain faster. Jamie laughed softly and shot Glenn a sympathetic look before handing Daryl his plate and moving over to sit at one of the two empty seats at the table, snatching a glass and the orange juice as she walked past.

"No coffee?" Andrea asked as she looked up in surprise, thinking that with the amount of wine that the other woman had taken in the night before, she'd be dying for a coffee.

Just to give you all a hint, this part if from the end of the chapter ;)