Chapter 16: Buttercup

"You guys ready?" Brooke asked. They were still sitting in the truck in the parking lot of the high school.

"Ready." They said.

"Let's go." Brooke said. They lit the flares that Brooke had found and threw them all over the parking lot to distract the parking lot. The door was cleared in a very short amount of time. They grabbed their things and ran inside the medical trailer.

"Good job baby girl!" Shane said and patted her on the back.

"Thanks! Now these are the things we need. Otis you grab those two things on the table to your left and Shane and I will load up on this table." They did as instructed and filled up their back packs. They opened the door of the trailer and saw the walkers waiting for them. "Oh shit! What do we do now?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"Um, uh…" Shane stuttered and looked at the high school. "There's only one thing we can do, make a run towards the high school. Once we get in there we can figure out an escape plan. Ready… GO!" Shane ordered and they ran inside the high school. They closed the door behind them and sighed.

"We made it." Otis said they looked behind them. A horde of dozens were in the hall way.

"Over here!" Brooke yelled and ran up some stairs. She shot some of the walkers on the stairs and pushed forward. She saw a closed door at the top of the stairs in the hallway. She heard Shane scream in the hallway and ran back. "Shane!" she yelled. Three walkers were about to munch on him but Otis came with his gun and shot them. "Come on we don't have time! Help me break down the door!" The men ran up and Shane rammed shoulder first into the door. Shane took his shot gun and shot two walkers down. Brooke and Otis ran into the room and slammed the door behind them.

"Is everyone okay?" Otis asked.

"Yeah I am. Are you Shane?" Brooke answered.

"Yeah." He panted. The room was still under construction and the walkers that Shane had killed were wearing their work clothes. "Alright, we need to find a way to get back to the truck." He said as he looked out the window. They could hear the scratches at the door and the slumping of walkers against the door. There were so many it shook the door.

"Oh God! It's not going to hold." Brooke realized. She thought for a moment while she bit her bottom lip and ran a hand through her hair. "We could wait it out."

"No we can't. Carl needs the stuff now! We can't wait it out we have to leave soon if not now." Shane said.

"We could jump out the window." Otis suggested. "We jump out, climb over the wall, and run to the car."

"It's risky but it might just work." Brooke said.

"Let's do it!" Shane said. "Everyone get ready. We need to leave soon, it's about to get dark."

"We need to wait for the rotting freaks down there to move." Brooke said. "We just need to stay quiet until they leave." They waited for an hour and they knew they had to leave. Otis went first and jumped down successfully. He hopped over the wall and stood guard for Shane. The walkers started to get attracted and began to come over to the jumping zone. "Go Shane!" she motioned. He crawled out the window and fell awkwardly on his leg, injuring it. He stood on the wall in front of it.

"Come on Brooke!" Shane yelled but the walkers were already where she needed to jump.

"I can't!" she screamed in horror. She knew what she needed to do. "Take this!" she threw them her back pack and Shane caught it. "Go!"

"No I'm not leaving you here!" Shane yelled back.

"You have to! Go save Carl! I love you Shane!" she cried.

"I love you too!" he yelled.

"Tell Daryl I love him!" she cried and went back inside. The boys ran through the parking lot. Brooke could hear the gun shots and heard Otis scream in pain. "I'm not going to die! Not today!" she told herself. She knew her bow and arrow wouldn't work against this many walkers. She looked around desperately and saw some duct tape. She looked behind her and saw two electric chainsaws. She smirked to herself and looked above the window. She put her feet on the edge of the window and put her hands on the curtain rod. She pulled all of her weight on it and pulled down with all of her might. She heard a crack in the wall and she fell on her back. She winced in pain but soon got up. She pulled the curtain rod apart to the length she preferred. She got one chainsaw and duct taped it to one end and did the same to the other end. The things ran on huge batteries that she saw on one of the work tables. She grabbed a large drawstring bag and filled it with the batteries. She could hear the walkers outside of the door. She took a deep breath. "I really hope that video game wasn't lying about this weapon." She whispered. She said a quick prayer and started both chainsaws after she changed the batteries. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Arms immediately came over to grab her but she cut them off. She started to make her way out in the hallway. She heard her chainsaws as they cut through necks, heads, and other body parts. Blood splashed on her face, arms, and her entire body. She fought with all her might not to throw up. She spun in a circle and took down as many walkers as she could. The crunching and squishing of the chaos she was creating was enough to make her keep going. As long as she knew she was causing damage, her adrenaline would keep pumping through her body and keep her alive. She screamed and ran down the stairs. She could hear them as some fell down after her. She went to the front door and kicked it back shut with her foot. She was surrounded on the outside. She twirled her weapon like a baton with both hands, making a huge gap for her to escape through. She ran quickly and saw Otis being fed on by multiple walkers. His back pack was no longer on his body but she saw his leg that had been untouched. She saw blood oozing out of a wound. A bullet whole.

"That crazy bastard shot him." Brooke cursed. She ran forward to try and see if maybe the truck was still forward and the walkers weren't too far behind her. "Damn it!" she yelled. She turned around and the walkers were only a few feet in front of her. She knew the chainsaws weren't going to take that much more. She gave one more final scream of frustration and went forward towards them. She swung at them and saw the decapitation of many. Two tried to grab her head so she ducked and cut off their legs. She continued her violence until she was finally done. She could hear more trying to break down the door of the school and she freaked. She quickly changed the batteries in her weapon, turned it off, and ran on the road. She looked around to see if she could remember anything but couldn't stop due to the road blocks of walkers. She was about to give up hope when she saw a bulldozer on the side of the road. "The house isn't much farther from here!" she looked behind her and most of the walkers lost interest but some were still chasing after her. She saw some more things she took notice to on the way to the high school and saw a mailbox. "Greene Family Farm." She laughed hysterically. She killed the three walkers that were following her by smashing their head with the curtain rod. She ran up the dirt road but could feel her body about to give out. She slowed down to a walk and saw hope. She saw the lights of the house that were blurred. She walked up to see Daryl, Rick, and Shane in front of the steps weeping. The rest were on the porch trying to console one another, including the Greene family. She was out of breath and her voice was raspy. "I could use some help here." She said in a frail voice. The men turned and looked at her. She looked down at herself. Her clothes were brown and her arms were covered in chunks of guts.

"Brooke?" Daryl asked in disbelief and like the first time he saw her at the quarry, he began to jog to her but it soon turned to a full on sprint. He threw his arms around her and he could feel her body shudder in sobs. "Oh God! I thought you were dead! Are you bit?" he wept.

"No." she felt her knees give out but he caught her. "You will not believe what I've been through tonight." She sighed and felt her body collapse and he gently went to the ground so she could relax. "I'm so tired, I just want to go home." She said. Shane and Rick hurried over and saw her. She closed her eyes and passed out. She woke up the next morning in a cute bedroom. She looked down and saw she was completely clean of the gore on her body. Her hair was washed and brushed out. She saw a set of her clean clothes on the floor. She scooted up so the head board would support her back and held the sheets against her chest. Like the time Daryl admitted her into the hospital he was asleep and waiting for her to wake up. Her eyes got wide. "Carl." She said.

"Don't worry about him, he's just fine." Herschel said walking in.

"Dr. Greene I'm so sorry about Otis!" she wept. He patted her back.

"It's okay. Shane told us that Otis sacrificed himself so Carl would live." Herschel said. "He died a hero." Brooke knew that Shane had lied and he was so going to get it later.

"So, Carl's okay?" she asked.

"The surgery was a success and he's healing." He answered.

"Thank you so much." She said wiping her tears away. Herschel nodded and said she was good to go. He gave her some water to drink and she thanked him once again. She heard a yawn and saw Daryl waking up.

"Brooke!" he cried and crashed into her. "I was so worried!"

"I was too." She said. He gave her a kiss.

"I love you so much Brooke." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you too." She replied. She moved her arms and winced. "Damn, their so sore!" she cursed.

"I'll help you get dressed." Daryl said. Once she was dressed she walked into Carl's room. She wore a black t-shirt with some jeans and a new pair of combat boots. Her others squished with blood every time she walked.

"Hey handsome." She cooed.

"Aunt Brooke?" he asked.

"Yeah it's me." She said. "How do you feel?"

"Tired." He said. She kissed his fore head and let him go back to resting. Shane was waiting down stairs with his new hair cut. More like scalped. He had shaven his entire head. He looked over and saw her. He stood straight up and hugged her.

"I should've never left you there." He cursed himself. "I made you go through all that." He started to cry and she comforted him. She saw him in the state he was and decided to talk with him about Otis another day. She was glad that her brother was able to survive and save Carl. Brooke and Shane walked outside and she was immediately bombarded with the survivors. Everyone question how she got out of there alive.

"I used this." She said. "Daryl, where's my weapon?" he pointed to the side of the house. She picked it up and gripped it. It had been recently cleaned. Even though her arms were sore she didn't mind to demonstrate. She would just try and refrain from using heavy objects for a while. Jimmy the farmhand put two hay bales out in front of her. She turned them both on and cringed from the dreaded sound. She used some of the techniques from the other night and cut up the hay bales. She cut them up into pieces.

"Thanks." Jimmy said. "Now I can feed the cows." Brooke smiled and laid it on the ground. Maggie checked on her and walked away. She could see Glenn looking at Maggie and chuckled. Rick came running up and hugged her. He gave her a friendly peck on the lips.

"Oh thank God!" he said. The rest helped out around the farm for the day. Brooke helped Maggie take care of the horses. They talked about the horses they've owned. Brooke had one on her grandfather's farm. A Clydesdale named Buttercup from the Princess Bride. Dinner was called and Brooke ate a peach. She knew she wouldn't be able to eat a full meal for a long time. She was still worn out from her adventure the other night and went into her and Daryl's tent. She couldn't go to sleep and she just sat there on the ground. Daryl walked in and zipped up the tent for the night.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm just a little shocked I guess." She replied. "I can't go to sleep without thinking about it. The sounds, the images, the feeling. It doesn't go away." She buried her face in her hands. "I can't even close my eyes without thinking about it."

"Hey, hey it's okay." Daryl said as he put his arm around her. "It's over and you're alive. You made it out of there. You will not believe how miserable I was when Shane told me you were dead. I kicked myself for not telling you I loved you that morning." His eyes got wide and pulled her bracelet out of his pocket. He put it on her arm and she looked up at him. "I don't ever want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either Daryl." She said. He kissed her and they soon made love. They fell asleep for a little while but Brooke soon had a nightmare. It was going to be rough trying to get over it.