Heterochromia Iridum

Thanks to Steph, addicted2memories, YaoiLovinKitsune, Jean, Bactrian Camel and JenTen for reviewing! And everyone else that had added this to their alerts and favourites. It means a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of the characters associated with the franchise. I own the plot to this story and any original characters you may see, like Katty or Calum.

Chapter 13: Blame

How was it that the world was dark and spinning at the same time? She couldn't open her eyes – or maybe she could and the room was just that dark. Different noises faded in and out, but the only constant was the ringing.

"The gate's open, they're out!"

Blood rushed through her ears once more, and the muffled voices turned to background noise once again. Katty could feel her eyes rolling in their sockets, trying to force themselves open. It was like when she tried to force her body to wake up from a nightmare, and they just wouldn't cooperate.

"Eugene! Are they breathing?"

Only this time, she was trying to wake herself into a real nightmare.

"Katty's waking up and – and I can't see if Tara is from here."

What happened? Why did they sound so frantic? What happened to Tara?

Katty thought her eyes opened briefly, but they couldn't have actually. The world hadn't been so dark and thick with dust and debris before. The ringing was settling itself, and Katty tried to resist scrunching her eyes together. Her head was throbbing. Her lungs felt coated and webbed with dust, and she tried to cough. Her reflexes wouldn't cooperate, and Katty took a quick count of her body. All her parts seemed to still be attached. Nothing felt to be broken. Something warm and sticky was running down the back of her neck.

Right.

Glenn yelling at Aiden to stop, the explosion. She hit her head. Katty realized dully that she was bleeding and decided it was time to get the fuck up.

"Eugene, this one's yours."

As if the realization was enough, her body finally cooperated and her eyes blinked open. Eugene was standing between her awkward spread and positioned legs, his gun drawn. She blinked a few times, the room was still an incoherent mix of spinning and blurry. Slowly, she shoved herself to an upright position, her body still feeling like a ragdoll.

Eugene was focussed, he didn't notice her movement. Katty realized that he had his gun fixated on the looming figure of a Biter, and that he was shaking. So much so that the other one, silently slumping towards him on his right, didn't pass the threshold of senses for Eugene to acknowledge.

Katty tried to say something, but her tongue felt thick. Like her mouth was full of gauze and wool.

Her fingers twitched, and she grabbed the handle of a knife that was still within her reach, wrapped around her thigh. The world blurred slightly, and Katty grimaced. Hopefully she wouldn't nail Eugene.

She threw it, and from her awkward position on the floor, it was a miracle that it missed Eugene and barely stuck in the front of the Biter's forehead. In front of the undead, Eugene visibly jumped and turned to meet it.

Katty soon grasped that the luck had not been all that fortunate, for the body of the Biter slumped forward and fell on top of Eugene, who collapsed on top of the majority of her lower body and midsection with a startled yell.

The force of impact made an involuntary cough leave her, and Katty was just glad she didn't vomit on poor Eugene.

The world spun again and Katty couldn't resist scrunching her eyes. The pain made her grit her teeth and the noise of crunching skulls barely registered in her mind. Right, there had been another Biter.

She opened her eyes in time to see Glenn heave himself over a wall of fallen boxes, and turn to shoot a Biter on the other side. Glenn helped shove the body of the decayed person off of Eugene, and Eugene scrambled to move from his position on top of Katty.

"Katty," he gasped out, "You have my thanks for gettin' that one."

Katty snorted, "Just glad I didn't cut your pretty hair," No one laughed, and she didn't blame them.

Glenn and Noah were suddenly on either side of her, and they both clasped their hands under each of her shoulders, pulling her up like she didn't weigh anything. Her vision went black for a second at the change in altitude, and Katty forced her legs to plant under her, steady for when either Glenn or Noah let go. Her head throbbed even harder. Katty hoped with a grit of her teeth that she wasn't concussed.

"Eugene," Glenn grunted at him. He immediately sprung to Katty's side and took the place of Glenn in holding her up.

"You two get Katty to the office," Glenn instructed quickly. "I'll get Tara. Go!"

With that, he jumped back over the fallen boxes and away from them. Katty's heart lurched at the disappearance of her friend. If she had been able to, she definitely would have followed him.

"I got her," Eugene grunted, and Katty let out an embarrassing squeak as Eugene practically threw her over his shoulder. If the world hadn't stopped spinning, she was sure she would have chundered down the back of his shirt.

"I'll get the door," Noah stated hurriedly, and Katty assumed by his footsteps that he went ahead of them to clear the way. From her standpoint over Eugene's meaty shoulder, she wasn't entirely sure.

"Nicholas, over here!" she heard Noah call out to the Alexandrian. They were still moving, and another set of footsteps joined them briefly before she heard a door swing open. They were missing someone, Katty thought blearily. Who was it again?

All Katty could rely on in those brief moments were noises, and she strained her ears. It had been almost quiet, the only sounds emanating around them being the panting breaths of their own and growling from nearby Biters.

She grunted in surprised as her body was reoriented and Eugene set her on a metal surface.

"You're alright to run if we have to?" Noah asked her quickly. He turned around to look her over briefly before he faced the window once again, on the lookout for Glenn with Tara.

"Yeah, just bumped my head," Katty blew it off. She had no idea if her legs worked yet, but she'd be damned if anyone died trying to carry her body out of there. She flexed and swung her legs as a test, thankful that everything seemed to be in order and nothing stung with pain.

"What about Aiden? What happened?" she asked once she realized the other missing face.

No one said anything for a while, and Katty turned to Nicholas. He didn't meet her gaze right away, and she felt her blood run cold.

"No," she said firmly, disbelieving the somber air that answered her. Evidently, Katty didn't like Aiden. That hadn't changed in the span of a few hours that he actually demonstrated that he wasn't completely idiotic. Losing another life, however, was always sad. Especially considering the people that he was leaving behind.

Nicholas met her eyes with an angry look, one that she knew wasn't directed at her. Anger that he had lost a friend.

They were interrupted by Noah's loud hiss of, "Fuck." Katty turned towards him and attempted to look around his body to see what he had cursed at.

"Clear a spot, Tara doesn't look good," he called at them, his hand on the door handle.

Katty decided to test her luck and slid hurriedly off of the metal desk top. It worked, and her legs caught her. She stumbled out of the way as Noah ripped open the door and Glenn stumbled in with Tara. Noah slammed the door behind him and effectively stopped the undead snapping at his heels from getting in. The glass squeaked gratingly as the Biters clawed at the windows, falling over each other to see the group between the gaps in the blinds. Katty's stomach churned.

Her attention turned back to Glenn, who laid Tara on the countertop as gently as possible with the help of the other men. Tara was supine now, and Katty wasn't happy to see the stains of new blood on her face.

Katty unapologetically pushed past Aiden and Noah and shoved herself closer to Tara. The four men surrounding the table briefly looked panicked as to what to do for their friend, and Katty decided to take initiative.

"Secure the door," she snapped, "Me and Eugene got this."

The other three jumped, and moved towards the door and windows. Katty glanced at Eugene, who looked horrified at the amount of blood that was pooling around Tara's head.

"Make sure she's breathing, then find a pulse," Katty instructed, shoving her jacket off in a rushed manor. She pulled it off, the arms now inside-out, but she didn't bother to fix it.

"It's weak, it's there but it's weak," Eugene confirmed, his index and middle placed lightly on the underside of Tara's jaw. Katty nodded and carefully tucked her jacket around Tara's head.

"Helps with the bleeding and stops her head from jostling around," she muttered, more to herself. Katty couldn't stand the silence and felt the need to uselessly explain herself to someone that already likely knew what she was doing.

"How is she?" Glenn asked breathlessly. He was back beside them the instant that they had finished securing the office.

The blinds were now all turned down on all the windows, with a few larger objects in places where the blinds were bent. There were still Biters clamoring along the windows, snapping irritably and hungrily.

"She has serious head trauma, she's losing blood fast," Eugene stated grimly, his eyes flickering from in between the unconscious girl and Glenn. His hand didn't move from Tara's pulse point, keeping track of her condition best he could.

"How do we stop it?" Noah asked calmly and directly.

Katty scanned the room quickly, looking for anything to use. This was a warehouse, there had to be some form of First Aid Kit somewhere in here. She bounced around the room promptly. Nothing. Many drawers were pulled out or overturned, and the side tables were bare of anything useful. There was fuck all in here.

"Who has the First Aid kit we brought?" she asked after she had exhausted all the possible hiding places in the office.

"Med kit is in Aiden's pack. Blown to shit by now," Nicholas answered her. Katty resisted asking what happened. It wasn't what was important right now, she reminded herself. Aiden most likely got killed in the explosion. She felt heartless thinking that, but they'd lose another if they stalled to grieve.

"There's another in the back of the van," Glenn added, flicking his gaze between Eugene and Katty. Katty tried to remember where the van was parked, her brows furrowing. She wished there was a way to move Tara without throwing her body around and possibly causing more damage.

"She's on her way out," Eugene retorted, sweat now running down his face and his eyes panicked. "We need to get her there now."

"Alright, we'll get her there," Glenn firmly said, his eyes grazing over Tara's face once more. Katty believed his tone. Her blood surged and she moved back over to the crowd of them. They were going to make sure Tara got out.

Before they had time to discuss a plan to get Tara to the van, a disturbing noise filled their ears. A pain-filled, guttural groan sounded over the growling and snapping of the Biters, and Katty felt a chill run up her spine. It sounded unbelievably human, and not in the way that the Biters were late humans. Someone was alive.

Noah dashed to the window and peered around the blinds. "Fuck," he breathed for the second time that afternoon.

Nicholas and Glenn were beside him in an instant, with Katty looking around Glenn's other side. Their expression's turned grim, and she squinted, trying to see what it was.

Her stomach lurched and bile rose into her throat when her gaze finally fixed on what had caused the noise. Aiden, pinned to the wall, impaled twice. Once through his left shoulder and the second, larger one, through the middle of his abdomen. Katty felt her breath hitch, scanning the area around him. The Biters hadn't noticed him yet. If he continued to make noise, that wouldn't last long.

She chewed her lower lip, her eyes scanning over his battered body and Katty tried to run the numbers in her mind. Calculate Aiden's chances for survival. Not good, she thought grimly. Even if they were to somehow manage to pull him off. Poor son of a bitch would have been better off killed during the explosion, rather than ripped apart by Biters or living his last few moments in excruciating pain.

"He's alive?" Glenn asked, incredulous, and directed his attention towards Nicholas. Katty ripped her eyes away from Aiden to stare at Nicholas as well.

Nicholas' face was stark white as he stared out the window with wide eyes. "I checked him," he stuttered out, disbelief written clearly on his face. "I thought –"

"They haven't noticed him yet," Katty interrupted. There was no use in blaming Nicholas or anyone else. "We have to decide now if we're going to try to get to him." Katty was unsure where she stood on the issue.

"It's going to take three of us," Glenn said immediately, and Katty glanced towards him, slightly ashamed. Glenn didn't hesitate to decide that they should try. If there was the slimmest, fighting chance, it was worth it to Glenn. Even for someone that wasn't their family.

Katty flinched when she realized that she had referred to the group as her family, and then turned back to Glenn. Only one thing to do.

"I'll go with you," she volunteered. Katty had to make sure that Glenn made it out and didn't go down as a martyr. For both his and Maggie's benefit.

"No," Noah immediately disagreed. Katty turned to him, confused. "You barely regained consciousness five minutes ago. You help Eugene get Tara out to the van."

Katty opened her mouth to argue. She was more than confident that Eugene could manage Tara on his own. He had a look in his eye that stated that. Tara wasn't going to die on his watch.

"Noah's right," Eugene stated from behind her. "You could have a concussion or a subdural hematoma. They won't be able to get Aiden and you out if shit goes down."

She couldn't find any words to argue with them. Katty hated it, but she knew it was for the best that she didn't go. It killed her, knowing that she couldn't go with them to make sure they got out.

"If we pull him off, we'll kill him," Nicholas interjected, and Katty bristled at his words. It was his friend, and he was the one suggesting that they left him. She could see the fear in his eyes at the prospect of going into the thick of the Biters again.

Noah snapped his attention towards Nicholas. "What, you're saying we leave him?" he asked, his tone irritated and accusatory. Nicholas didn't say anything in response immediately, just scanned Noah's face quickly. Yes.

Eugene let out a rough, frustrated breath of air from his mouth. "Go," he urged. "Save him." His eyes flickered down to Tara's ashen face. "She'd do it. I know she would. I'll stay with her, I'll keep her safe, I assure you." Eugene looked around the room and his gaze landed on Katty once more.

"We will." He added as if he could read her mind.

Glenn only momentarily paused before addressing the two other men that would accompany him. "Alright, we'll knock 'em back." He said and then jutted a hand out at Nicholas. "You still have that flare?" Nicholas nodded. "Chuck it over the shelves, it'll draw some of them over." They made their way to the locked door, and Katty felt the guttural urge to follow them. "We hit the rest hand to hand. Ready?" He looked at Noah and Nicholas briefly for confirmation. They both nodded. "Alright, go!"

The door was ripped open, and Nicholas shot a bright red flare off, away from them and into the shelves on the far side. Katty watched as the three men moved through the thin but still dangerous crowd of Biters. They allowed the majority of them to get distracted by the red flare gun, and knocked others down, as planned.

"They're going to fucking make it," Katty could feel the panic in her chest, the constriction and pain rising in her chest at the prospect that some of her friends may not make it back. So she talked to herself.

"Glenn still has to grow old and die happy with Maggie. She's got to get knocked up the duff, they have to have their little army of ass kicking babies that I get to play with. I'll give 'em back when they shit though, I'm not down for that." she muttered to herself, uncaring if Eugene was listening or not.

"Noah has to grow old and turn Alexandria into a fucking castle like I know he will. He's going to sit on his rocking chair one day with a beer and just watch the community that he helped build and change and watch all the lives that he forever altered for the better."

"They're going to make it," Katty whispered, staring at them now that they had finally reached Aiden. It was difficult to see, between random bodies of Biters and the remnants of the explosion floating through the air.

It was almost scary, how attached she was already. She went from literally having no one to having people that referred to her as family. Katty hadn't truly seen either male in action, so she just had to hope that they were competent and could take care of themselves without her.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that Eugene's muttering words almost made her jump.

"I take no responsibility for this," he spoke softy to Tara, but even without turning around, Katty could tell he was beyond upset. "I told you what I was. You should've listened." She wondered what he meant by that, what had happened previously between himself and the rest of them. Katty hadn't thought much of Eugene not wanting to come to the warehouse today, she chalked it up to the fact that of course he didn't want to go back outside after finally finding a safe house. Maybe something else had happened.

"All of you, you should've listened." He muttered, and Katty turned to see him in a mix between fighting off tears and holding back anger.

Katty looked over Tara once more and immediately had the urge to slap herself. What the fuck was she doing, worrying about two able bodied people when Tara was laying on the table dying?

Her and Eugene seemed to realize this at the same time, and both locked eyes with determination shining through.

Like a beacon on a foggy night, Eugene's attention snapped to something behind Katty, and she turned. Through the window was the exit sign, and beyond that, the door was cracked open and illuminated by the leftover sunlight of the day.

Katty pulled her machete from her hip and swung it around in a short test. She quickly reached the doorknob and looked over at Eugene.

"Ready to roll, mullet boy?"

Eugene just nodded stiffly and firmly and carefully pulled Tara over his shoulder, much like how Katty had been earlier.

As soon as Eugene looked settled with their patient, Katty carefully opened the door. It was pretty quiet on their front, a few Biters that were straggling behind in an attempt to either get to the dimming flare or to where the four other people were. Katty quickly disposed of them, swinging her machete with all of her weight. She felt the splatter against her skin that she had become so familiar with before Alexandria. The telltale that she was becoming covered with the smell of decay.

Two pops sounded beside her, and she jumped to look at Eugene. Seemingly without hesitation, he had taken out two undead, one after the other. Katty didn't let herself take time to be surprised, she just hurried along, clearing the path for him to safely cross the warehouse to the exit door.

The light that flooded their senses momentarily blinded them both. Eugene stumbled behind her, and Katty circled back to steady him while he tried to balance the extra weight over his shoulder.

"Move, I got her!" he yelled gruffly at her, and Katty nodded in return. She stepped behind him, slashing apart and decapitating a few more Biters. Katty could feel the muscles in her left arm screaming, and switched arms. Her right arm wasn't as agile, but it would do.

Sidestepped Eugene, Katty ran ahead to the van after clearing the surrounding environment. She flung the doors open and cleared an appropriate space for Tara. Climbing in, Katty helped Eugene lay her supine on the metal floor of the van. There were extra blankets, and Katty immediately worked to tuck them around her.

Eugene shut the back of the van and then appeared in the driver's seat.

"I don't seem them," he observed anxiously, and Katty looked up briefly at the door while she ripped the Medical Kit open.

"Maybe they decided to chance the front entrance?" she mused, just as anxious for the other members of their group. "What do we do?" Katty asked him, grabbing the entire wad of gauze and towels and carefully applying firm pressure to Tara's scalp.

Eugene didn't hesitate, he turned the engine and started to drive around the large building. Katty didn't question him when he scanned through the playlist CD for the first song they had listened to. It was the most obnoxious, and would cause the most distraction for any Biters nearby.

"Eugene, you're a fuckin' genius."

It didn't take long before they reached the other side of the building. Glancing up from Tara, she saw that it was just as inhabited as previously, though for some reason, the Biters seemed to be crowding around the front revolving door.

"Fuck," Eugene swore loudly. "They're in trouble."

Katty could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She felt like she was going to throw up, and she wasn't sure if it was because she was concussed or from sheer nerves.

"Stop out front, I'm getting out." She said solidly.

"There's too many." Eugene denied her request immediately, still driving towards the front door.

"I'm covered in guts, Eugene, they won't even notice me," she snapped. "I've tucked Tara in enough that if you don't drive like a maniac, she'll be alright. Lead them off when I'm out and I'll catch up with everyone else after. Circle again if you have trouble losing them."

There was no changing her mind now. Katty had been denied earlier, but she wouldn't be now. They had gotten Tara to the van and started First Aid. It was time to get everyone else out.

"Fuck!" Eugene snapped. "You best not get yourself eaten," he growled as he pulled to a stop in front of the door. "Go now!"

Katty glanced around quickly, grabbed the semi-automatic shotgun that they still had in the van. It must have been extra, she mused. She didn't say a word as she jumped out of the back of the van and slammed the back, just stumbled away as Eugene whistled a few times and revved the van at the crowd of undead and drove off.

They were trapped.

Behind her friends, there was a large crowd of Biters, pulling at and ramming their decrepit bodies into the revolving door. It was horrifying, seeing the three terrified face imprisoned in a rotating door. Glenn and Noah were stuck in one section, while Nicholas was in the opposite opening, across from them.

Her stomach lurched as she took in the scene. There wasn't a way for either of them to push and get out without sacrificing the other. They'd have to find a way to break the door.

The snapping and snarling pulled her out of her frantic thoughts. There were still a few loitering around, ones that hadn't followed Eugene. They were ignoring her completely, so she decided to keep it that way. Quietly, Katty shouldered the shotgun and worked to get rid of the last straggling Biters. She noticed grimly that Aiden wasn't with them.

"Katty, what the hell are you doing?" She heard Glenn yell at her through the glass.

Katty sent him an incredulous look. "Saving your sorry arses. Duh."

She paused in front of the door, scanning the integrity of it, hoping she would miraculously find a weak point in the structure.

"Nicholas, I'm going to try to break it again," Glenn called over to the man on the other side, who looked terrified. He held the butt of the gun in his hands, and started smashing the window with it.

The glass bowed slightly, and Katty could see the scratch marks it was leaving. However, the noise made the violent herd trying to get at them more excitable, and they pulled at the doors harder.

The banging also dislodged the door slightly, moving it so a few inches on Nicholas' side was exposed and open to the herd. Nicholas let out a panicked yell and scrambled to push his side of the door closed.

"You're trying to kill me!"

"Shut the fuck up, he's doing the best he can," Katty snapped irritably at Nicholas. This was taking too long. She took a few paces back and pulled the shotgun from her shoulder. "Duck, I'm going to try to shoot it!"

"This was the plan all along!" Nicholas shouted. "You're going to leave me to distract them."

Katty felt time slow down as she stared at Nicholas. He started pushing on his side of the door. The only noise that filtered through her ears was white noise as she watched the faces of Glenn and Noah scream at Nicholas.

She raised the shotgun and positioned it like she had seen Calum do all those times, shoving the butt firmly into her shoulder.

The thought struck her briefly that she should just aim for Nicholas. Kill him to save her own. Would anyone blame her? Would she blame herself?

Tara's face flashed into her mind, and Eugene's voice echoed in her ears. "Save him. She'd do it. I know she would." And she couldn't. Katty aimed higher than his head and pulled the trigger, hoping that she wouldn't flinch hard enough to kill anyone.

Luckily, they all had the insight to duck and cover their heads, and Katty didn't hit anyone. The glass shattered in front of Nicholas, and he staggered back from the impact. It had distracted him enough that he stopped forcing his half of the door open, but it caused him to fall backwards and into the door.

Katty quickly turned her sights to Glenn and Noah, who were still hunched to the ground, and fired a round above them. It shattered, and Katty felt her heart lift slightly. Everyone was going to be okay.

Nicholas let out another strangled yell, and Katty jerked her attention back to the other male. He had fallen into the door behind him, which forced his section of the revolving door open more, and Biters were reaching in for him.

Faster than she could react, Nicholas scrambled away, and fell forward into the frame that had held the glass and was still very much attached to the rest of the door. Panicking, he shoved it forward in his attempts to escape and shoved past everything.

"NO!"

Glenn and Noah's side mirrored Nicholas' section and had opened. There were multiple sets of hands gripping Noah and attempting to pull him back into the confines of the warehouse lobby. Glenn was gripping Noah as tight as he could, but Katty could see his revolve and his time slipping away.

She started to run. Noah wasn't going to make it. Katty had to interfere. Even if it meant her secret would be compromised. She wouldn't be sticking around for much longer anyways.

Glenn's hands slipped from Noah, and he was pulled back. Glenn, horrified, scooted back and away from where he and his friend had been bargaining for life, his eyes locked on Noah.

She felt like her heart was about to explode as she ran for someone else's life. "Glenn! Move your fuckin' arse!"

Glenn didn't move. He was frozen. Katty grunted as she gripped the back of his jacket, pulled and swung him as fast as she could away from the door. His shocked form skidded and rolled away a few feet, but Katty didn't stop to check on him. She threw herself into the revolving door and pushed her way past.

Noah was screaming, she could tell from his wide open mouth. But she couldn't hear him over the horrifying, snapping and snarling noises of the mob. Katty felt arms and hands and everything awful on her, but she didn't stop to think. Noah's eyes were locked, glued to hers, and all she could see was him.

Katty grabbed a knife from her leg, swinging and smashing it into anything that appeared in her peripheral. She felt something sharp and grating pull it way down her upper arm. It was unmistakably hot and seared her, making her yelp.

She was running out of time. Stabbing another one looming over Nicholas shoulder, she wrapped her arms around his middle and jumped backwards as hard as she could. They both fell backwards, Katty's back landing hard in the pile of glass that had accumulated on the floor.

Noah landed on top of her with a grunt, and two Biters on top of him. Katty tried to swing her arm out, impale the Biter with her knife. Her arms were stuck around Noah's back, under the Biters.

Time seemed to slow down again. She watched in horror as the closest one opened it jaw. A disgusting combination of saliva, blood, old guts and skin dripped out of its unlatched mouth. The Biter clamped its mouth on Noah's shoulder, and he let out a gut wrenching scream. It jerked it's face away, effectively ripping away a portion of flesh from Noah's shoulder.

Katty could only stare in horror. She would never be able to describe that feeling to anyone. Watching as a person, who's close enough that you can feel their breath on your face, being ripped into. She was a failure. Useless. Numb. Hopeless.

She had failed her family.

Suddenly, her ears were ringing and she was, again, being splattered with blood and guts. Why were the Biters above them both dead?

Glenn appeared in her peripheral, but she didn't turn her head. Noah encompassed her entire visual field, his wide, scared eyes staring into hers. The pressure decreased as Glenn shoved the bodies off of them both. He even had to pull Noah off of Katty; neither of them were able to move.

"Move! Move! They're not going to hold for long!"

Katty sat up and looked at the reason why the mob hadn't started ripping them apart yet. When Noah and herself had fallen, the remaining panels of the door had swung around as well, creating a new barrier. The Biters that had slipped threw were now piled and half caught under the revolving door.

"Katty! Get the fuck up!"

She was being lurched up again by the back of her shirt and shoulders, and thrown to her feet. Katty couldn't see who did it, or who shoved her to run forward. But they were running. The three of them.

But it may as well have been two.

The van ride had been awful.

Glenn beat the absolute shit out of Nicholas when they reached Eugene at the van. Watching Nicholas' face get beaten in, the only thought that Katty could cohesively interpret in her cluttered mind was that she should have shot him.

Nicholas had tried to get Eugene to leave them, told him that all his friends were dead and that they had to leave.

So now they were left, Glenn driving and Eugene in the back, with a battered, dying, smaller version of the team that they had left with. Two unconscious people. One with a gun trained on him in case he woke up and tried anything. Another with a serious head trauma, that through it all, Katty was trying to do the best she could with the limited medical knowledge that she had. And another person that was wrapped in blankets, cradling his bitten shoulder, in shock. And finally, they were left with the thick, tense, morose air that the death of Aiden had left behind.

She wanted to cry. Wanted to fucking scream. Throw things. Hurt Nicholas for his cowardice. She was angry; at the world and at herself, especially.

No one spoke. Katty couldn't bring herself to even look at the young man that she had failed. The words 'I'm sorry' repeated over and over again in her head, but she was too cowardly to say them just yet.

She was just as bad as Nicholas.

Katty glanced down at her arm. The bleeding had slowed down, but the scratch was very much visible, angry and red. She licked her lips and thought over how she was going to proceed with the linear, clean mark down her arm. Her jacket had been left behind in the office; she had used it to apply pressure to Tara's head and forgotten the bloodied fabric. In hindsight, it was probably for the better. The Biters would have paid a great deal more attention to her had she been covered with a jacket soaked in blood.

She shifted in her seat and winced. There was definitely glass in her back, and it would need to be dug out by someone. The only positive was that she could conceal the scratch as being another injury from the broken glass, and not what it was really from.

Nonetheless, she didn't want questions. She had seen Glenn glance at it briefly before while they were running, but he didn't say anything. Probably from either fear of the possible answer, or being distracted by all the injury and death that had happened that day.

So Katty looked around quickly before she folded an extra piece of gauze and taped it to her arm. It wasn't perfect, but it would do until she had a chance to take care of it better. Looking up, her heart leaped into her throat when she found Noah's eyes glued to her. He remained silent, but Katty knew he had been watching her for a while.

She attempted to keep her face blank as she peered back at him, and then moved as casually as she could back to Tara, checking her over.

"How's she doing?" Glenn asked from the driver's seat. His voice cracked a bit on the first word, the distress of the day evident.

"As good as she can," Katty answered. "We can't do much else 'til we're back."

She felt the van accelerate some after her response. "Almost there," Glenn replied grimly. "Couple minutes."

True to his word, it was a few minutes before Glenn slowed the van while whoever was manning the gate rolled it open. The van didn't stop in the usual place at the side wall near the gate, Glenn drove and stopped as close to the infirmary as he could.

Glenn threw open his door.

"HELP! I need help out here!" he yelled.

The rest of them waited in the back of the car, all in various degrees of injured. Concerned voices greeted Glenn within moments, and Katty recognized one as Deanna's. The back of the van was thrown open, and Pete was at the ready, eyes flickering between them all before landing on the two unconscious people.

"Rosita!" he yelled over his shoulder.

"Stretcher," she responded breathlessly as she approached with the aforementioned transportation device. Katty held her head steady with Tara's body as they carefully slid her towards the edge of the van. Pete maneuvered her the rest of the way, and before Katty knew it, Tara had disappeared inside with Rosita and Pete.

Eugene jumped out next, and worked with another Alexandrian woman – Katty couldn't remember her name for the life of her – to get Nicholas on a matching stretcher and followed them into the infirmary. He wouldn't need much more than rest and possibly some wound care for glass lacerations, so they took their time moving him.

Noah hadn't moved, he sat frozen in the back of the van with Katty, and she looked over at him. Now, more than ever, he resemebled a young, scared boy. It hurt her heart to look at him, and she pinched herself to distract from the tears that would surely come when she was alone. His face was already losing color, Noah's skin ashen. The wound on his shoulder was still bleeding freely, and the skin around it had turned an angry shade of red. There was a yellowish discharge within the bite itself, and Katty resisted frowning at it. It was fucking awful, how fast an infection set in.

He flinched away slightly when Katty reached over and pulled a blanket snugly around his shoulders.

"We don't need everyone staring," she murmured at him, and he nodded quickly. Katty then moved away from him, wincing herself at the shooting pain in her back, and slid carefully out of the van. Standing, she held her hand out to Noah.

Slowly, he followed her and took her hand when his feet hit the ground. Katty turned around with him and looked at the scene before her. Glenn was speaking with Deanna, Maggie close by beside him. Both woman had looks of horror on their faces, and Katty looked away. She didn't want to memorize the look on Deanna's face when she found out she had lost a child.

There were quite a few people around, and Katty scanned the faces for people that belonged to Rick's group. Rick was quickly walking down with Jessie in tow behind him. Carol was approaching from a different side. There were also quite a few residents in the mix of people. She didn't know what to do with the young man beside her.

Katty turned to him and squeezed his hand lightly to get Noah's attention. "Do you want to stick around and wait for Glenn and Maggie or do you want to go home?" she asked, looking him in the eyes.

He blinked a few times and glanced to where Glenn and Maggie still were. Maggie looked over briefly, said a couple words to excuse herself, and started to make her way over.

"I'm not sure what I want," he mumbled back offhandedly, and Katty scanned his face, wondering if his words were alluding to a deeper meaning.

"Thank god you two are okay," Maggie greeted once she got closer. Katty felt Noah stiffen beside her, and she cast a worried glance at him. Maggie seemed to sense immediately that something was wrong, and bounced her eyes between them both, looking for any visible injuries.

Katty let Noah make the decision. She kept quiet and calm, and waited. Noah shifted beside her and moved the blanket a bit, exposing a portion of his shoulder for Maggie.

She was surprised when Maggie resisted reacting. The other woman held her composure, reached over and squeezed Noah's arm meaningfully.

"C'mon," she said, "Let's get you home."

Taking a step, Katty winced and Maggie's eyes widened, her breath hitching. Katty shook her head solidly at her worried friend.

"I'm not – " she couldn't say the words. "I just fell in glass and there's some in my back," she explained quickly, and could feel Noah's gaze burning into the side of her face.

Maggie nodded, and then looked over to Carol, who was standing within a group of other women, waiting for news.

"Carol," she called. The older woman immediately walked over, her eyes looking over the exhausted forms of Noah and Katty. "Katty's going to need help dressing some wounds," she explained quickly.

Carol nodded, looked over Noah again briefly and then settled back on Katty. "I'm just going to grab some supplies. Wait for me in their kitchen," she instructed, gesturing to Maggie and Noah, "we'll have more space to work there," Carol explained. Katty nodded numbly. The last thing she cared about was her back right now, incidentally.

They ran into Michonne and another woman with a deeper skin tone and hair pulled back in a ponytail. Katty hadn't been introduced to her before, but she had seen her a few times, headed up in the watch tower or manning the front gate. Now wasn't the time for introductions, though.

Both woman seemed to sense that something wasn't right with their friend. It wasn't difficult, considering what Noah now looked like in comparison to when he left. Michonne sent a couple hand signals to Rick, who nodded in response from his place next to Deanna and Glenn. Spencer and Reg had now joined them as well, and the Monroe family looked devastated. Katty refused to stay long enough to catch the eye of any of them, and continued walking with the small group.

Her hand was still clutched in Noah's.

Katty was sitting facing backward on a chair with her shirt off. 'Uncomfortable' would barely describe how she felt. Katty sat at the table as Carol dug ground glass out of her back. She had already looking over the scrape on the back of her head, and cleaned that one up. That felt like nothing compared to tweezers in her back.

It was into the evening now, and Noah had been put up in his downstairs bedroom. The rest of Rick's group had been assembled, and were all congregated in various places around the living room, dining room, and kitchen.

Glenn was talking to Rick outside, as the officer had wanted a retelling of what had happened today. She could tell how drained Glenn was, how miserable and tired he was from their day as well as from retelling the horrific tale multiple times. He mentioned that Deanna had wanted to interview him about the entire ordeal, and had even filmed it. That made Katty's stomach twist in rage, but she decided to put it aside. The woman had lost a child, examining details was probably her way of dealing with it.

She let out a hash gasp as Carol dug particularly hard in one spot on her shoulder. Carol didn't mutter so much as a sorry, which Katty appreciated. She didn't want to continuously reassure the woman that 'it's okay', and they stuck to the unexpressed words. They had been working on her back for over an hour now. Her shirt had ridden up when they had fallen; there were shards in her shoulder and upper back along with the lower third of her back.

"Almost done," Carol said calmly from behind her. Katty hissed as Carol swiped something over the entirety of her upper and lower back that stung.

"Fucking shit, Carol," Katty bit out while Carol covered the deeper lacerations with a mix of plasters and gauze.

Carol ignored her complaint and motioned towards her arm which was still roughly wrapped from before. "Take that off I'll clean and redress it," her tone was no-nonsense, and Katty did her best to act nonsuspicious.

"It's fine," she quickly answered and shook her head. So much for inconspicuous. "I did the majority of it in the van. I'll change it before I go to bed." Katty had forgotten about the scratch on her arm. It throbbed painfully, now that it was brought to her attention.

Carol quirked an eyebrow at Katty's dismissal, and glanced back down at her arm. It really did look bad. Trying to wrap an arm one handed while someone was driving was not an easy task.

"It's just another cut from glass?" Carol asked, her eyes fixed on Katty's. Katty had been there when Glenn had recounted the tale to the rest of the group. He had, in fact, told them that Katty had practically thrown herself into the crowd of Biters to get Noah out. They had been shocked that she had been fortunate enough not to receive a bite, even a scratch.

Katty cringed. If only they knew.

"Yeah, we fell pretty hard," she supplied. "I took most of it."

Eugene and Abraham appeared from the hallway, both without smiles or bright eyes.

The group had been going in individually or in pairs on and off to have words with Noah. The fever had set in and he was having difficulty concentrating on more than a couple people at a time. He had steadily gone downhill in the past few hours, and he would probably pass before the sun rose again.

There was almost a constant string of wet eyes and sniffling sounds as people left Noah's room. Katty decided that she wouldn't cry when she said goodbye to Noah. After everyone else, that was probably the last thing that he wanted to see.

Rick and Glenn reappeared shortly after Eugene and Abraham, and now everyone was collected in the house together. Daryl would be upset when he got back, Katty mused. She looked up to see Abraham watching her.

"He wanted me to make sure that you were goin' to head in and talk to him after you were done gettin' patched up," Abraham said softly, and Katty nodded.

"Yeah, I'll go in now if he wants," she replied, and Eugene nodded.

"He does."

"Katty," Rick interrupted. "I'd like some words with you too, when you're done."

She shivered slightly, wondering what that entailed exactly. He probably just wanted more details, Katty hoped.

Carol helped her put a clean shirt on. Her back felt incredibly sore and throbbed uncomfortably as every movement, so she was appreciative. Katty thanked her again for cleaning and dressing her wounds and headed towards Noah.

The walk down that hallway had never felt so long. Every step she took felt like it echoed and reverberated up her spine and through the halls. Everything was crisp and clear, and Katty knew that this was another moment in her life that she would never forget.

She knocked softly, but it sounded like a gunshot in a way.

A cough answered. "Come on in, join the party." Noah replied sarcastically.

Maybe this would be peaceful and she and Noah both would leave filled with closure.

Opening the door silently and walking in, Katty changed her mind. She already wanted to cry. Maybe everyone else had the same thoughts as she did. That they wouldn't cry, but ended up anyways.

Noah was propped up in bed, with a copious number of pillows around him. Michonne and Sasha had done their best to make him comfortable, and Noah also had a white sheet draped around his middle.

His usually rich skintone was ashen and sickly looking, with sweat running down his face. Noah smiled at her, but it looked more like a grimace. His eyes were bloodshot and had defines bags under them. Looking at her, Noah seemed to have trouble focussing on Katty; his eyes were slipping in and out of focus.

The bite on his shoulder was covered, which Katty was glad for. She wanted to focus on him, not a condition or an infection. Remember Noah for who he was.

She walked over to him and slid a hand over his forehead, wiping some of the sweat away.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured at him, already feeling the tears prick her eyes as he looked up at her, "This is all my fault."

He shook his head slightly at her, not breaking eye contact. "It's not. I get to say goodbye instead of being ripped apart, Katty. You gave me that."

She sat gingerly beside him on the bed, careful not to disturb his pillows. Her hand slid from his face but Noah caught hers in his own clammy one.

Katty didn't know what to say to that. So she just sent him a watery smile.

"I don't want to talk about blame," he rasped out. She did. There was so much of it to go around. Herself and Nicholas especially. "I wanted to ask you some questions."

Her brows pinched together. "About what?"

Noah's eyes scanned over her face, never leaving it, as if he'd miss something.

"The scratch on your arm."

A/N: Hello, you! Thanks for finishing another one. Sorry to everyone that wanted me to save Noah. I debated over it for a while, and rewrote this chapter a time or two. This was another one that was hard to write, and the next one will be too. Some More Daryl in the next one as well!

Don't forget to review!

-Submechanophobia

Next Time: "You have to promise me," – "Anything," – "Promise that you'll tell them someday."