August 25th 2010
Of all the places Kari Scott wanted to be when the world ended, work was at the bottom of the list. Only a handful of staff had turned up at the hospital that morning, and it had been all hands on deck since seven that morning. More and more people were rushing through the doors, with bullet wounds and bites covering their bodies. It was like a bloody warzone. That was why Kari had volunteered to roll out the vaccination clinic to the staff and soldiers. Hell, at least she'd get to sit down for a couple of hours, she had thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see a rifle gripped tightly by the soldier looming over her, causing her to instantly regret her decision. With the way the man was haphazardly waving the weapon around it looked like she was more likely to die from an accidental bullet wound than whatever virus the news reporters had warned the world about that morning.
"You know, I'd probably work a lot more efficiently if I didn't have a gun to my back" Kari pointed out, staring up defiantly at the soldier.
"Trust me, if things go south here like Atlanta, you're gonna' feel lucky to have my gun around" The soldier muttered.
"I thought your lot said you've only had radio silence from Atlanta" Kari retorted, as the soldier pursed his lips.
"Focus on pricking people with those damn needles, alright?" The soldier stated, before storming over to the clinic room door and swinging it open.
"Yes, sir" Kari huffed, her tone full of sarcasm.
Swinging around in her chair, she pulled the fridge door open beside her legs and brought out the next syringe onto the metal table. She ran her fingers over the cold syringe, noting for the first time that there wasn't even an expiry date, let alone a batch number. It didn't seem like any flu shot she had administered in the past, the substance inside the syringe was far too cloudy.
"Goddamnit, is this all of you? Where's the staff?" The soldier complained, speaking to someone just outside the doors.
"They're snowed under, Sarge. Said they can't get a break, let alone come down to the basement to have a flu shot—" A soldier outside the door began, as the Sergeant lunged forward and grabbed him by his collar.
"It ain't a request! Bring as many as you can down here. Now. That's an order" The Sergeant all but growled, before pushing the younger man away from him.
Not thinking he needed to repeat his request, the Sergeant slammed the door shut, placing his hands against the doorframe. Taking off his cap, the older man ran a hand over his sweaty head, looking as if he was seconds from either hitting the wall or the nearest person to him.
Yeah, Kari was definitely regretting volunteering for this shit.
"Well, seeing as there's no one for me to jab right now, I might as well head up and..." Kari trailed off, as she pushed herself to her feet, when the Sergeant twisted around, his fingers tapping his rifle.
"Actually, there is someone you can jab. Go on" The Sergeant leered, ushering to the syringe on the table.
"I'm good, thanks" Kari mumbled, her eyes widening when the Sergeant raised his rifle up in the air.
"And I wasn't asking" The Sergeant told her, as Kari stumbled back a step.
"The fuck is wrong with you? Put that thing down!" Kari gaped, terror clawing away at her.
"Got strict orders to jab as many people as possible...whether they're willing or not" The Sergeant explained, as a sudden realisation hit Kari.
"It's not a flu vaccine, is it? It's some experimental shit that someone just cooked up in a lab?" Kari accused.
"I ain't asking again" The Sergeant told her, raising his rifle to aim for her head.
"Alright, alright! Jesus...guy's fucking crazy" Kari muttered to herself, pulling the cap off the syringe in front of her.
Her hand shook as she rolled up her sleeve, stretching the skin above her deltoid muscle. She glanced in the Sergeant's direction, finding his finger on the trigger of his rifle, no hint of bluffing in his eyes. Lining up the needle to her muscle, she took a deep breath before doing as she had been told. The substance in the syringe burnt as it was injected into her muscle, causing her to grimace as she pulled out the needle, shoving it into the sharp bin nearby. With a groan, she reached out for a ball of cotton wool, sticking it over the injection site.
"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" The Sergeant mocked, as he finally lowered his weapon.
"Prick" Kari huffed, under her breath.
She lowered herself to her chair, as a wave of dizziness threatened to overwhelm her. Kari's forehead wrinkled, as she felt her arm beginning to burn, wondering if she was having some sort of anaphylactic reaction.
"What the hell was in that stuff?" Kari questioned, looking up to find the Sergeant's hand back on his rifle.
"You feeling alright?" He asked as Kari gave a quick nod.
From the way he was tapping his fingers against his rifle, she had a feeling she would end up with a bullet wound if she had answered any differently. The guy knew more than he was letting on, that was for sure.
"Alright, Jameson. You're up next" The Sergeant called out, swinging the door open.
"What about you?" Kari pointed out.
"Anti-vaxxer" The Sergeant smirked, as Kari rolled her eyes, thinking it best not to comment.
A soldier was strolling into the room soon after, looking to be only in his early twenties, with a handgun attached to his hip. He sat in the chair opposite Kari, and rolled the sleeve up of his tactical jacket, without a second thought. He didn't even ask what she would be injecting him with.
"Name and date of birth?" Kari questioned, as the man went to open his mouth.
"It don't matter. Just give him the shot" The Sergeant insisted, as Kari gave him a look of disbelief.
"He could be allergic to the jab for all I know! I can't just—" Kari started, as the Sergeant shuffled around the rifle in his arms.
"You really gonna' make me repeat myself, kid?" He mocked.
"I'm not allergic to anything, Ma'am. The name's Daniel Jameson. Date of birth, 28th September 1988" The soldier informed her, as she gave him a grateful smile.
"Thank you. I'll make this quick, you'll just feel a sharp scratch, 'kay?" Kari suggested, donning sterile gloves and grabbing an alcohol wipe.
In less than a minute, she had administered the shot, and the soldier was making his way out of the door. Her own arm was beginning to ache worse now, the burning sensation from before having spread up to her shoulder. Kari wiped at her brow with the back of her arm, surprised to find how sweaty her skin was.
"Next. C'mon, we ain't got all day" The Sergeant exclaimed, all but pulling the next soldier in.
"I'm, uh...not really great with needles" The soldier confessed, but made his way to his seat, nonetheless.
"Just keep your eyes on the bin over there. It'll be done in two seconds. Name and date of birth?" Kari inquired, her eyes scanning over the man who looked even younger than the soldier before.
"Robert Holmes. 17th April 1991" He murmured, as Kari grabbed her sterile gloves.
"Your young. Always wanted to join the army?" Kari asked, conversationally.
"Jesus Christ, you want Holmes to recite his whole goddamn life story?" The Sergeant complained, as she shot him a glare.
"I was trying to ease his nerves. You know, act like a decent human being and all" Kari huffed, as she cleaned the soldier's arm.
"My daddy expected me to sign up on my eighteenth and if you knew him, you'd know better...goddamn that's sharp..." Holmes trailed off, as Kari inserted the needle into his arm.
"And we're all done. Pain should ease of now" Kari stated, as she placed the syringe in the sharp's bin.
"Up you get. Tell the next one to hurry on in" The Sergeant commanded, shaking Holmes' arm.
"I'm...I'm the only one out there, sir. I..." Holmes choked, his hand reaching up to clutch at his throat.
"Holmes? Hey, you okay?" Kari questioned, crouching down in front of him, noticing how dilated his pupils had become.
She jumped back in shock as the young man suddenly lurched forward, coughing up blood onto his tactical trousers, staining the fabric a bright red. A second later, his whole body went limp as he all but fell on top of Kari, who grabbed his shoulders and helped to lower him to the floor.
"Holmes? Holmes?" Kari cried, shaking his shoulders.
"The fuck did you do?" The Sergeant gaped, as she gave him a look of disbelief.
"Me?! What was in that shot? Tell me!" Kari insisted, as she grabbed Holmes' legs to elevate them up on the chair above them.
"I...I don't know...they just said it was...it was some inoculation..." The Sergeant trailed off, watching in horror as Holmes' lips turned blue.
"Inoculation? You mean there's some of that fucking virus in those shots? You didn't think to tell me that before I injected myself with it?" Kari shouted, as guilt flashed over the Sergeant's face.
With a shake of her head, she looked back down to Holmes, feeling for his pulse, gladdened when she found he still had one, albeit it thready and weak. She was jumping to her feet a second later, grabbing the crash trolley and pulling the drawers open. She was quick to find the adrenaline she had been searching for and filled half the vial into a syringe. Cutting open the man's trousers, she then administered the adrenaline into his thigh and prayed it would take effect quickly.
"Is he gonna' be alright?" The Sergeant questioned.
"I don't know, it depends if...shit. No, no...don't do this" Kari cried, watching as the man's chest stopped rising and falling.
She was jumping into action immediately, beginning chest compressions as she began shouting orders at the Sergeant. They needed help if Holmes was going to live. Urgently.
"Help me get the defib on and then grab some of the doctors from upstairs, okay?" Kari commanded as the Sergeant opened up the defibrillator with shaking hands.
"I'll...I'll get help now..." The Sergeant mumbled, starting to back away.
"What? No, come back! I need you to...Sergeant!" Kari called out but the man was already racing through the door.
Without anyone else in the room, all she could do was continue chest compressions and hope it would be enough. Her arms were starting to kill her, as her chest grew painfully tight, likely from the amount of strain she was putting on her body. All of a sudden, she began coughing violently, still pumping her hands down on the man's chest, regardless. Kari's eyes grew wide when she saw specks of blood now stained the back of her hands, looking up into the mirror to find the same red substance was now staining her lips.
What the hell had she injected herself with?
Kari all but jumped out of her skin when Holmes's eyes suddenly shot open, but they weren't the same brown shade they had been minutes earlier. Now, they were a milky white, and red-rimmed. The man began to wheeze, his teeth knocking together as he seemingly tried to catch his breath.
"Holmes? Hey, can you hear me?" Kari asked, taping the man's shoulder.
She let out a cry when the man suddenly snapped at her hand, almost biting into her skin as she jumped back at the last second. He was pulling himself up onto his knees then, hands raised out and trying to grab her. Kari crawled backwards toward the door, her fight or flight reaction kicking in as she scrambled for the exit. She came to a halt when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end, as she looked up, feeling something dribble down onto her forehead. She let out a blood-curdling scream as she saw Jameson standing above her, blood dripping from his chin. She lurched forward, desperately trying to crawl away from him as the man grabbed her hair, tugging her back toward him and his bleeding mouth. Kicking back with her leg, she managed to set the soldier off balance and crawled further into the room, almost colliding with Holmes who tried clawing at her arm. Kari jumped to her feet, pressing her back up against the wall, tears welling in her eyes as the soldiers closed in. She pressed her palms up against the cold wall behind her, scrunching her eyes shut, expecting the worst when she realised it wasn't brick underneath her hands. Twisting around she realised she had pressed herself up against a tall mirror, an idea instantly forming in her head. She sent her elbow slamming back into the glass, causing parts of it to shatter to the ground. The next second, Jameson was grabbing her shoulders, his teeth clacking together as he tried to bite her neck. In the blink of an eye, Kari had grabbed a shard of the mirror and plunged it deep into the man's neck, as blood spurted onto her hands. Her face morphed into horror as the soldier kept coming, his mouth now only inches from her neck as she tugged the mirror back out of his skin. Grabbing the man by his hair with one hand, she plunged the mirror deep into his eye with her other hand, causing the soldier to finally go still. He was flopping to the ground a moment later, as Kari's gaze snapped over to where Holmes was crawling over to her. Jumping over the corpse by her feet, she raced over to the door, slamming it shut behind her.
"What...the fuck?" Kari panted, looking down at her bloody hands.
She heard clawing coming from the other side of the door and set off running down the corridor, wanting to find help. She sprinted up the basement stairs and threw open the doors to the ground floor, the scene before her causing her heart to come to a grinding halt.
It was chaos.
The screaming was deafening, seeming to be coming from every direction. Bodies littered the floor, as blood oozed out of the corpses, staining the dozens of bullet shells lying beside them. Kari's mouth went slack as she watched a woman dressed in hospital scrubs crawl on top of one of the corpses and begin biting into the motionless body's neck. Blood spurt over the woman's face as she bit through muscle and tendons, swallowing it all whole. Kari stumbled backwards toward the door she had just come from when she spotted a young girl on the other side of the corridor, her cheeks stained with tears. She wasn't moving, her eyes scrunched shut as she appeared to mumble to herself.
"Hey, kid! Get over here! Run!" Kari called over to the young girl, whose eyes shot open.
She waved over to the child who could be no older than six, realising she had attracted some unwanted attention. A group of people began stumbling toward her, blood covering their mouths as they snarled at her, their arms outstretched.
"Run!" Kari insisted, as the girl finally started moving.
She grabbed the girl's shoulder as soon as she was close enough and all but threw the child through the door, as the group of infected followed close behind. Kari managed to slam the door shut just in time, as the group started pounding their fists on the doors. Kari gripped onto the door handle, her eyes growing wide when she saw one of the group hitting the doorknob with his hand on the other side.
"Break that glass!" Kari ordered, pointing over to where a drench hose was on the stairwell.
"I...I can't..." The little girl sobbed, holding her hands over her face.
"Look, take...take my shoe, use it to smash the glass. Now!" Kari cried, slipping her shoe off and chucking it toward the girl.
Reluctantly, the child grabbed the shoe and began to hit the glass with the heel. Kari let out a scream as the doorknob turned in her hands and the door pushed open a few inches. She desperately tried to push it back up, but the group on the other side were too strong. The sound of glass shattering to the ground had her head snapping up, as she gestured for the little girl to bring the hose over. Kari immediately got to work with tying the hose around the doorknob, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw it would hold. At least for long enough for them to get away. Grabbing the child's hand, she started dragging them down the stairs back into the basement, when her vision started to blur again.
"Keep...keep going. There's a door at the end. Fire exit" Kari mumbled, leaning against the wall as her head pounded.
The little girl simply shook her head, reaching out for Kari's hand, and giving a small tug. Forcing her legs to start moving again, the pair walked down the dim corridor, spotting the large metal door only a few metres away. Kari suddenly hunched over, hacking coughs leaving her lips as blood splattered over the floor. Her legs were giving out a moment later, as she struggled to catch her breath, feeling how her lungs burnt. She blinked as she watched the little girl loom over her, noticing for the first time the blood that stained the girl's trouser leg.
"T-the door...get the door..." Kari stuttered, sucking in a deep breath.
Black circles started to invade her vision, as her wheezing got worse until she felt she couldn't breathe at all. The last thing she saw was the girl crouching down to her as her eyes fluttered shut.
Kari felt her body lurch to the side as she slowly woke up, finding pain radiating through her chest. She winced as she tried to open her eyes, finding the light above her was flickering. Memories of what had happened whizzed through her mind as she tried to sit upright. Suddenly she felt her body being tugged to the side again and looked down, a scream leaving her lips as soon as she had. The little girl she had saved was on top of her, ripping away pieces of her flesh with her teeth, bits of skin hanging off her lips as their eyes connected and—
Kari awoke with a gasp, her eyes shooting open as she looked around her surroundings in a panic. Her hands flew to her mouth as she realised, she was far away from the hospital, far away from all of it. Still, she needed to be quiet.
"Bloody nightmares" Kari huffed, running a hand down her face as she stretched her aching neck.
Pulling herself into a sitting position, she listened for a moment, waiting to hear a twig snap in the distance or an all-too-familiar snarl. But there was nothing. Jumping down onto the ground below, the tree branches swayed above her head, the wind blowing through her sweaty hair. She placed her spear through the loop her makeshift belt wrapped around her waist, knowing better than to go anywhere without it. Grabbing an empty bottle of water from her backpack she began the short walk to the stream close by, coming to a sudden halt when in the distance she heard...hooves?
"Wow. I've finally lost it" She murmured, watching as a horse went sprinting past her.
A shout from nearby had Kari grabbing a sharp dagger from her belt, eyes darting around the forest, readying herself for an attack that never came. Instead, she could the sound of rocks falling in the distance and cautiously continued her walk toward the stream. Peering down the steep hill that connected to the stream, her eyes went wide when she found a man at the bottom, seemingly unconscious and bleeding. She crouched down to hide in the undergrowth, trying to get a better look at the man. Her forehead wrinkled as she found he had an arrow through his side, a recent wound by the looks of the blood slowly seeping out onto the sand beneath him. He was mumbling to himself, eyes fluttering and closing every so often. With a shake of her head, Kari pushed herself back up to her feet, ready to leave the man to his fate.
She was done helping people.
The sound of footsteps had her heart rate speeding up, watching as an infected stumbled toward the injured man. She clenched her jaw, urging the man to wake up and deal with his approaching attackers. If he didn't, he'd be like them soon enough.
"Not my problem. Really not my problem" Kari mumbled to herself.
She winced as she watched the nearest infected drop to his knees and grab the man's leg, beginning to chew on his shoe. Muttering a curse under her breath, Kari reached into her pack for the rope she knew would be inside and made quick work of tying it around a nearby tree. By the time she had started to abseil down the steep hill, the man had finally woken up, letting out a cry when he saw the creature inches from biting him. The man had no weapons and no defences. With a sigh, Kari reached into her belt with the hand that wasn't hanging onto the rope and threw it toward the infected. It was too far away for her to hit its head, but that wasn't what she had been aiming for. Instead, her dagger pierced into the back of the creature's leg, forcing it to the ground and allowing the man to crawl away. The moment she reached the sand, she grabbed her other dagger and sent it hurtling through the air, hitting the infected in the head, as the sharp blade pierced its skull. It wasn't enough the kill it, but it certainly slowed it down. Racing over, Kari grabbed the infected shoulder, throwing it onto its back as she ripped her dagger free from its scalp. With the creature still snapping at her hands, she then plunged it into the infected's eye, killing it instantly.
She glanced up at the injured man, half having expected him to pass out again, to find he was ripping the arrow out of his side. She gaped as he gave one last tug, and the arrow came free, as his blood dripped down onto the sand. In a flash, he grabbed his crossbow and mounted the arrow, aiming for something above Kari's head. She flinched as he released the arrow, which went whizzing through the air and into the skull of an infected that had been creeping up behind her.
The pair stayed where they were, never taking their eyes off each other, trying to catch their breath. Kari gripped the dagger she still held in her hand, eyes surveying the man for any other weapons she hadn't considered. Even injured, she doubted she could overpower him. His muscular arms were dripping with sweat, as she figured he could probably knock her out with one blow.
"You're welcome" She exclaimed, as the man blinked, seemingly taken aback.
"I don't remember asking for no help" He scoffed, clutching at his side which was still bleeding.
"You're right, I should have just let you get eaten alive, huh?" Kari retorted, pushing herself to her feet.
"Somethin' like that" He muttered, as he stumbled forward to retrieve his arrow from the infected's head.
"So, you got a death wish or something?" Kari suggested, noting how blood was quickly staining the man's shirt.
"What?" He frowned, in a gruff tone.
"Ripping that arrow out like that...you realise you could have nicked an artery or God knows what else, right?" Kari pointed out.
"M'fine" He huffed, ripping the arrow out of the corpse's skull.
"Yeah, you look fine. Alright, well have fun dying out here" Kari murmured, tone full of sarcasm, turning her back on the man.
She had only managed a few steps before a loud thud from behind caught her attention. She pursed her lips as she twisted around to find the man had fallen down, his knees buckling underneath him, looking as if he was about to pass out again.
"I'm a nurse...or I was, at least. Look, I can either patch you up or you can leave a nice little blood trail for one of these assholes to follow. Which is it gonna' be?" Kari suggested, taking a step toward him.
"You got bandages and shit?" He inquired.
"Yep. Your lucky day, huh?" Kari mocked, earning a huff of laughter from the older man.
He gave a slight nod of his head, as she figured that was all she was going to get from the gruff man. She debated helping him to stand up but she doubted that would end well. He didn't seem the type to want or accept help.
"Take off your shirt" She exclaimed, as the man gave her a threatening look.
"You should use it to stem the bleeding till' we get to my camp" Kari explained, as the man reluctantly did as she suggested, peeling off his muddy shirt and tied it around his abdomen.
Despite the dirt covering most of his face, and the way his sweaty hair was plastered against his cheeks, Kari figured in the right light the man could be considered handsome. For such a gruff man, his blue eyes didn't seem to be hiding any cruel intentions. They almost seemed kind.
"So, who shot you?" Kari asked, beginning to lead him toward her rope.
"...Fell on the damn bolt" He confessed, in an irritated tone.
"Okay, definitely not your lucky day then" Kari stated, grabbing onto the fraying rope.
She was able to climb the rope with ease, having picked the skill up quickly over the past month. The injured man didn't fare so well, short, pained pants leaving his lips every so often as he struggled to pull himself up. Once he reached the top, he attempted to grasp the soil, but he couldn't get a good enough grip. He was startled when Kari suddenly thrust her hand out toward him, flinching away from her extended palm as if he thought she was going to strike him.
"C'mon, I ain't got all day" Kari insisted, gesturing for him to take her hand.
Cursing under his breath, he reached for her hand and allowed her to help haul him over the edge, finding the girl appeared stronger than she looked. They were then walking through the forest side by side, both on edge, still unsure of the other's intentions.
"Home sweet home" Kari announced, causing the man's brow to furrow.
"The hell you talkin' bout? We're in the middle of nowhere" He complained, as she simply pointed upwards.
His eyes widened as he saw a wooden deck above their heads, hidden by the branches of the trees, a rope hanging halfway down. His frown only deepened as he watched the girl grab onto the bark and begin hauling herself up until she managed to reach the rope hanging down from the decking.
"C'mon, all that huffing and puffing you've been doing is bound to attract attention soon. Get up here" Kari told him, as she tugged onto the rope and started pulling herself up.
With a groan, he followed suit, feeling how his abdomen burnt with every movement. He flopped out onto the wooden decking once he made it to the top, scrunching his eyes shut in pain. He found the decking was covered by some blue tarp higher in the trees, and some food and medical supplies littered out around them.
"Let's see the damage then" Kari exclaimed, ushering him to lift up his shirt.
"You try anythin' and you're dead, you hear me?" He warned as she held her hands up in mock defence.
"Loud and clear" She murmured, watching as he tugged up his dirty undershirt.
"Brilliant. That's a good amount of mud you've managed to mix into the wound. Love that" Kari scoffed, grabbing a wad of gauze and some peroxide.
"You always talk this much?" He muttered, as she placed the gauze against his wound, none too softly.
"You're the first person...alive person I've seen in weeks. Can't help it if I'm chatty" Kari retorted, stemming the blood.
"You're not from round' here" Daryl said, in an almost accusatory tone.
"Came over from England as soon as I passed my nursing degree. Gotta' say I'm regretting that decision now" Kari pouted.
Kari began setting up her other supplies, planning to bandage the man's abdomen after thoroughly cleaning the wound. Still, he'd be damn lucky if he didn't end up with an infection.
"So, you got a name?" She asked, earning nothing more than a grunt in reply.
"Interesting name. Your mom chose it?" Kari joked, causing the man to send her a warning look.
"Turn around. I need to clean the exit wound too—" Kari suggested, as the man suddenly backed up, almost falling off the decking.
"No. Just do the front" He replied.
"You're just gonna' keep bleeding if I don't do both" Kari pointed out.
"Then let me do the back, alright? Just...just hurry up with it" He insisted, as Kari slowly put two and two together.
Without saying another word, she drenched two gauze pads with more peroxide and handed them to the mysterious stranger who pressed them against the wound on his back, wincing as he did so. She didn't want to think too much about why he didn't want her to see his back. From the cigarette burns she could see on his shoulder; she could guess though.
"Daryl" He murmured, causing her forehead to wrinkle.
"What?" She questioned.
"My name" He clarified, in a quiet voice.
"Well, I'd say it's nice to meet ya' but in these circumstances, that'd be a pretty big lie. I'm Kari" She told him, as he gave a curt nod, placing the bloody gauze pads back to her.
"Thanks. Really appreciate that" Kari huffed, missing the way the man's lips twitched into a smile for a split second.
Author's Notes: Hey everyone! I watched The Walking Dead from the first day it aired all the way back in 2010 but never got around to writing a fic for the show. I've started re-watching the past month and this story just started writing itself. Please leave a comment and let me know if you want to see more of this fic!