Chapter 9 - The CDC

Chapter 9 - The CDC

[Rebecca's POV]

I wake up to the arms wrapped around me. I open my eyes to be face to face with Daryl's sleeping face. I let out a sigh of content. I don't know why, but his presence puts me at ease. I glanced over and saw that Dillan wasn't there. I was worried at first till I saw a piece of paper sitting next to my hand. I picked it up and read it.

I woke up early, don't worry I will be with Dale. You guys look cute together.

-Dillan

I put the paper in pocket, blushing at the last comment. Geez, little brothers. I thought as I rolled my eyes. I tried to pull away from Daryl, but he tightened his arms around me. I managed to sit up and his arms were around my waist and his head on my leg. I stretched and sat there for a few minutes. I finally came to the conclusion that if I want up I need to wake Daryl up. I shook his shoulder gently and grunted and moved closer to me. "Geez, Daryl." I grumble. I try to pry his arms off me, but he is as strong as he looks. "Daryl Dixon get your ass up!" I yell at him in frustration. "Shut up Merle. Go back to sleep." he grunts as he nuzzles his face into my side. I laughed. It was funny to think, he thought I was his brother. Still I want to get up. "Only one option." I sigh. I reach over to my bag, well more like stretched, since I could barely move with his behemoth arms on me. I grab a bottle of water and screw the lid off. "Last chance." I say to Daryl, who is still asleep. Man is he going to be pissed. I thought.

I glance down at him. "3...." I say as I set the lid down. "2..." I tilt the bottle slightly. "1." I pour the entire bottle on Daryl's face. He jerks upright. "What the fuck!" he yells as wipes his face off. He glares at me once he finished. I smirked at his response. "I'm so sorry." I say in my mock-apologetic voice. He glares at me harder making me laugh. He smirked at me, causing me to get quiet. "What?" I ask, a little scared. He gets up all of a sudden and scoops me up in his arms bridal-style. "Daryl!" I squeal. Everyone gives us confused looks and some are even laughing. "Put me down!" I squeal as he walks to the lake. Everyone was behind us. "Okay." he says with a smirk. He drops me in the lake and I let out a squeal. I glare at him as he laughs. "Aren't you going to help me up?" I ask. After a few more seconds of laughing, he puts his hand out. I grab his hand and pull him down in the water. I laugh as I get up. Everyone behind us was laughing by now. I offered a hand to Daryl and he pulled me back into the water. Well I saw that coming. I thought as I laughed. "Enough guys." Rick said ending the fun. "Well you're no fun." I pouted. I raised my hand out for him to help me up. He was hesitant, but in the end he grabbed my hand. I got out of the water, still laughing, with Daryl behind me. "So how did this start exactly?" Dale asked still laughing. "Poured water on me to wake me up." Daryl says. I roll my eyes and cross my arms. "Well if someone would've let me get up." I started. I noticed everyone was looking at us questioningly. I blushed in embarrassment. "N-No, we didn't... It's not." I stammer. Everyone laughs at my embarrassment. "Well anyways," Rick starts. "We need to talk about what were are doing with traveling." I look at him confused. "We're leaving?" I ask. He nods his head. "Yeah, we are still discussing the details." he says. He turns and leaves with the majority of the group. "I'm going to change first." Daryl said. "Not my fault!" I yell to him. I roll my eyes and stand there. I didn't even notice Shane was still there. He was staring at me, well mainly my chest. My tank top was clinging to my body from the water. I cover my chest and walk off. I could still feel his lustful stares on me. "Pervert." I grumble to myself as I make my way back to the tent. I bump into Daryl on his way out, he changed into a sleeveless shirt and jeans, along with his vest. He grunts and smirks. "Enjoy the view?" I grumble. "Always." he retorts with a smile. I roll my eyes and head into the tent. I zip up all the windows and doors and look through my bag. I let out a sigh as I pulled my last clean tank top out. I pulled on a blue tank top and ripped jeans. Sadly my combat boots got wet during the lake incident, so I have to go barefoot while they dry. I pull my comb out and run it through my tangled hair. Next time I go out I need to get shampoo. I think, making a mental check list. I unzip the tent and walk out carrying my shoes. I walk over and set them on a rock in the sun.

I notice everyone in the group around the bodies from last night. Daryl was putting a pickaxe in everyone's head. My heart dropped at the sight. To think we were having fun just a few minutes ago. I thought. I look over and see Andrea crying over Amy's body. Sophia and Carol were grieving over Ed. I walked over and leaned against the RV. All these people died. Dillan appeared behind me from somewhere. I pull him closer to me. Ever since the incident I don't want to be separated from him. "Let's go in." I whisper to him, motioning towards the RV. We walk inside and sit at table. He sat across from me. "So what exactly happened here?" I ask him, avoiding his gaze. He was quiet a minute, I could see fear flash across his eyes before he looked away from my gaze. "Walkers... They came out of nowhere. Amy got bit... And I was surrounded by three of them and I was freaking out, but I remembered what you said. I went out and climbed a tree and waited." he explained. I nodded. "You came and found me, like you promised." he mumbled with a small smile. I smiled back at him and gripped his hand across the table. "I'd never leave you." I said reassuringly. I glanced out the window to see Rick, Lori, Dale, and Shane talking. "Wait in here. I will be right back." I say to Dillan. He nods and rests his head on the table. "What's going on?" I say as I step out of the RV. I look to Dale and he just shakes his head.

I walk over and sit by the put-out camp fire. I look over at Andrea laying over Amy, my heartaches at the sight of it. I don't know what I'd ever do if I lost Dillan. I look down at the ground a while. I look up at the sound of a gun cocking. Andrea is pointing a gun at Rick. Andrea says something to Rick and he just nods and backs up. "Y'all can't be serious." said a familiar southern accent. I look up and see Daryl walking over to Rick, Dale, Lori, and Shane. "That dead girl is a time bomb." he says as he shifts his weight. "What do you suggest?" Rick says, glancing over at Andrea. Daryl takes a step closer to Rick before saying, "Take the shot." Rick looks at him in disbelief. "Clean in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance. "No," I say standing up. I walk over to Daryl and look at him. "Leave her be. She just lost her sister for Christ sakes!" Daryl looks at me then Rick. Daryl scoffed and stormed off back over to Jim, Glenn, and Morales. Him and Morales started dragging a body to the fire to burn. "Hey, hey! This fire is for geeks." Glenn yelled from behind them. "Our people go over there." Daryl glanced back at him, still dragging the body. "What's the difference? They're all infected." he said. "Our people go in the row over there." Glenn says, getting slightly hysterical. "We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand?" They stood there a few seconds and surprisingly Daryl does what he said, though he looked like he was going to blow a fuse. I was now standing, watching him. "You reap what you sow!" he yells as they drop the body. That statement earned a shut up from Morales. "Y'all left ma' brother for dead. You had this coming!" he continues to yell as he walks off. I look over at Jim, he was staggering and out of breath. I walk over to him as he kneels down to pick up the body. "Are you okay?" I ask, concern in my voice and on my face. "Yeah, just a hot day and the fire isn't helping." he replies. I look down and notice blood on his shirt. "Are you bleeding?" I ask. "I got it from the bodies I was carrying." he replied. "That looks fresh." I say. Then it dawns on me. "Were you bit?" He looks down and starts to pick up the body before I grab his arm and he looks me in the eyes. "No. I got scratched during the fight." I stand up, fear forming in the pit of my stomach. "You got bit?" I ask again. He looks up at me. "No." he says. "Then show me." I say raising my voice. Everyone is looking at us now. He looks up at me, his eyes full of fear. He confirmed my suspicions. He starts breathing heavier. "D-Don't tell them, please." he pleaded. I looked at him in disbelief. "You expect me not to tell them when a walker got you?!" I yell. Everyone is giving Jim and I concerned looks. "A walker bit Jim." I say loudly. Jim backs away from me as everyone comes over, forming a circle around us. By now Dillan is out here, stuck to my side looking at Jim, not in fear, but in sadness.

Daryl approaches Jim slowly taking the pickaxe off his shoulder. "Show it to us." he repeats. Jim looks around frantically as he backs up. He grabs up a shovel and holds it defensively. "Easy Jim." Rick said. Everyone started yelling for him to drop it. T-dog quickly ran up behind him and restrained his arms. "I'm okay." Jim repeats as Daryl pulls his shirt up to reveal a giant bite mark. I hear Dillan whimper at the sight of it causing me to pull him closer. We stand there looking at each other. We look to the ground, all fully aware of what has to be done.

We have been standing around for a while. Dillan went into the RV to take a nap, it's amazing how that kid can sleep. Jim was sitting at the front of the RV away from us, Andrea was still with Amy, and the rest of us was standing in a group. "I say we put a pickaxe in his head and that dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl grumbles as he walks around holding the pickaxe. I let out a frustrated sigh and look at him. "Is that what you'd want done if it were you?" I snapped back at him. "Yeah and I'd thank ya' while ya' did it." he replied. Well that was counterproductive. I ran my hand through my hair. "I hate to say it and never thought I'd agree with this, but I think Daryl is right." Dale spoke. I looked up from my hands at him in disbelief. "Jim is not a rabid dog or an animal Dale." Rick started. Dale went to talk, but Rick cut him off. "He's just a sick, sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" I shifted my weight and glanced at Jim. "Line's pretty clear. No tolerance for walkers, or them to be." Daryl stated. "What if we can find a cure? I hear the CDC was working on a cure." Rick pleaded. "I heard that too. I heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." Shane agreed. "The CDC should be up and running." Rick continued. We all looked at each other. I know where this is going... I thought.

Rick and Shane continued talking, Rick trying to prove his case. "That's a stretch." Shane said. "Government left any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs wouldn't they. I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-" Rick started. "Look you want those things alright." Shane interrupted. "I do to okay, now if those exists they're at the army base, Fort Benning." I shook my head. "That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction." I protested. "That is right. And it is away from the hot zones." he started again. I took my attention off of the conversation and onto Daryl. He looked like he had something on his mind. He kept looking from us to Jim. I had a bad feeling about this. I rested my hand on my pocket where my gun was. He kept tightening his grip on the pickaxe. "You go lookin' for aspirin. Do what you need to do." he said as he charged towards Jim. "I'm gonna have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" He lifted his pickaxe to strike Jim. I cocked my gun back and pointed it at his head causing him to freeze. "We don't kill the living." I say as Shane walks in front of Jim, blocking Daryl from him. Daryl looks back at me angrily. He lowers his pickaxe. "S'Funny, coming from the person who put a loaded gun to ma' head." he retorted. He glared at me and I rolled my eyes, not lowering my gun even the slightest. "You may not agree with somethings, not on this. You put it down, go on." Shane said to him. Daryl slammed it down into the ground angrily, sent one last glare at me before storming off. I let out a sigh and uncocked my gun. I slid it in my waistband and helped Jim up. "You okay?" I asked. He simply nodded. Rick took him into the RV and I went to sit down at the empty campfire. I looked up when I heard the gasps. Amy was resurrecting. I stood up and took a step forward. Andrea leaned her head down on Amy, who was trying to bite at her. She pulled her pistol up and put it against Amy's head, pulling the trigger. I sat back down quietly on the chair and thought back to my mom.

"You're coming with us Mom." My voice rang through my head.

"I won't make it." said my mother. I could hear the sadness in her voice.

"I will just become like y-your father." she said.

I couldn't leave her, no, I didn't want to leave her.

"Go." her voice echoed in my head.

"Go!"

I snapped out of my thoughts at the sound of Andrea yelling. "I can do it myself!" I looked and saw her struggling to put Amy in a grave up by the trees. After they were finished Dale helped her out of the hole. I stood up out of the chair and walked into the woods, in need of some fresh air. I let out a sigh and leaned against the tree, taking a few calming deep breaths. I heard talking and twigs snap. I pulled my gun out and quietly snuck over to where I heard it. I looked and Shane and Rick talking. I lowered my gun and let out a sigh of relief. I watched them, Rick heard a branch snap and he turned to Shane, who nodded. Rick walked down towards it. I watched as Shane raised his gun. He had it trained on Rick's back. "What the hell." I said under my breath. I stepped back breaking a twig. Shane whipped around and looked. I ran I could hear him following behind me, but he wasn't close. I ducked behind a tree as I heard him get closer. "Who's out there?!" he said. I let out a sigh of relief. He didn't see me. I thought. I stayed quiet, breathing rarely. After a minutes I heard Rick yell and Shane's footsteps. Shane had always made me feel uncomfortable around him. This confirmed many suspicions. I quickly walked back to camp and took a seat silently by Glenn. He gave me a few questioning glances, but I shook them off. Just then Rick and Shane came back. I tensed up at the sight of him as he sat next to me. I shuffled away from him slightly, though no one seemed to notice. "So, I've thought about Rick's plan. No guarantees that it will go the right way... But, I trust this man with my life and I think we should go. All those who agree, we go in the morning." Shane said.

****

The rain poured down on us as we ran through the woods. "Come on Dillan!" I yelled at him. Tears were down his face, or was it rain, you couldn't really tell. I pushed the thoughts out of my head as we reached camp. "Rick! Shane?! Lori?!" I called. I repeatedly called their names, but saw no one. Growls and moans could be heard. "We have to go." I say looking down at Dillan. He wasn't there. My breath hitched as I heard his scream. "Dillan?!" I yelled. I ran, chasing after the sound of his voice. I stumbled upon the scene. He was pinned to the ground by a walker that was sinking its teeth in his neck. Tears were streaming down my face as I pulled my gun out. I pointed it at the walker and pulled the trigger. I fell to my knees crying as I scrambled towards Dillan. He was crying holding his neck. "Oh, Dillan." I murmured through tears. "Becca, why?" he sobbed. "Why did you not keep your promise?" The tears were coming heavier now as I sobbed into his small chest. "I-I'm s-sorry." I sobbed back to him. "You promised you'd always protect me." he said. His shallow breathing ceased and I looked at his still body. "Dillan?!" I yelled as I shook him. He didn't stir and I sobbed into the ground. "You got what was comin' to ya'." a southern accent sounded. I looked up and saw Daryl. "Ya' left my brother there to rot. Ya even let yer own parents die." he continued. I shook my head. "I didn't mean to!" I yelled at him. He shook his head. "You deserve to be alone." he said. He walked off leaving me alone in the darkness.

I bolted up out of my sleep. I was covered and sweat and breathing heavily. I looked down at Dillan, who was still sound of sleep. I glanced over and saw that Daryl was still asleep. I ran my hand through my hair trying to calm myself down. It was just a dream. I thought to myself. I laid back down by Dillan and tossed and turned the rest of the night.

****

We stood around a little while before Rick came bringing the last of the stuff. I had mine and Dillan's backpack, though if we get the time I will grab another one for us. "We're not going." Morales spoke up. "We have family in Bellingham." his wife, Miranda, said. "You know you're on your own and you won't have anyone to watch your back." Shane said. "We'll take the chance." Morales said. Rick and Shane handed him a gun and a box of bullets. "It's about half full." he said to Morales. Daryl scoffed and walked off. Everyone exchanged hugs and we walked over to the vehicles. "Dale, Jacqui, Glenn, and Jim will be in the RV. Shane, you will take the jeep. Lori, Carl, and I will take the police car. Carol and Sophia will take the caravan. T-dog and Andrea will take the car. And Becca, you, Dillan, and Daryl will be riding in the truck." Rick announced. Great... I thought. Dillan tugged at my sleeve and I looked down. "Can ride with Carl and them?" he asked, giving me his best puppy dog eyes. I let out a sigh of defeat and looked at Rick. "Is it okay?" I asked. He smile and nodded. "Be safe." I said to Dillan before he ran off with Carl. I'm glad he made a friend. I thought to myself, as a small smile tugged at my lips. I wiped it off and turned to Daryl, he was waiting impatiently by the truck. "Anyway I can take the motorcycle?" I ask pointing my thumb at the one in the back of the truck. He scoffed and looked at me like I lost my damn mind. "That's ma' brother. Touch and get an arrow in your ass." he stated. I rolled my eyes and hopped in the passenger side of the truck. "This is going to be a long trip." I said under my breath. I rested my head against the cool window and closed my eyes.

[Daryl's POV]

I glanced over at her sleeping body. I scoffed and looked back forwards. The thought of how beautiful she looked crossed my mind, but I quickly pushed it away and focused on driving. I don't know what it is about her that intrigues me, but she does. Every time I turn around she surprises me. I feel like I'm drawn to her.

After a while of driving the RV came to a stop in front of us. "What now?" I grumbled as I pulled the truck to a stop. Rebecca was starting to wake up as I shut my door. I walked up to the group. I could hear a hissing sound coming from the front of the RV. Great, just what we need. I thought frustrated. A few seconds later Rebecca came out. "What's up?" she asked as she made her way to the front. "The radiator hose is shot." Dale replied. She walked over and examined it before turning back to Dale. "Can you jerry-rig it?" she asked. Everyone, even me, looked at her in surprise. She is full of surprises. I could see a smirk forming on her, but she quickly washed it off. Dale snapped out of it. "That's all it's been till now. It's more duct tape than hose and I'm out of duct tape." he said. Just then Jacqui came running out of the RV. "Guys it's Jim. It's real bad, I don't think he will make it." she said frantically before disappearing back into the RV. "Hey Rick want to hold down the fort? I will drive up and see what I can get." Shane said.

Rick went into the RV and returned several minutes later. "He wants us to leave him." Rick said. "Is he lucid?" Carol asked. "Seems to be." Rick said rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Back at the camp, when I said Daryl was right and you shut me down. I didn't mean that. I never would go along with carelessly killing someone. I thought we should ask him what he wants." Dale says. "I don't think I could live with just leaving him here." Rick said. I rolled my eyes and ran my hand through my hair. Ya' don't have a choice in the matter. I thought to myself. "If this is what he wants, let him." Rebecca says. All eyes were on her now. "I don't think it is fair to take away the one right he has right now. Let him make this decision while he is still human. Let him be with his family." she mumbled the last part. Rick nodded, though I know it was hard for him to accept it. They went into the RV and came out carrying Jim. They set him down by a tree. They offered him a gun, but he turned it down. Everyone went up and said their goodbyes. Rebecca and me dragging behind. Rebecca went up before me. I couldn't really hear what they were saying, but I saw Rebecca's face turn red. She shook her head and Jim laughed. She kissed his forehead, gave him a slight nod and walked away, past me. I walked up next. He gave me a weak smile as I knelt down by him. "Sorry about earlier and tryin' to put a pickaxe in ya'." I said. He chuckled and nodded. "That girl," he started, nodding towards Rebecca who was holding Dillan, with tears in her eyes. "I can tell you have special feelings for her." I looked at him and scoffed. "No." was all I managed to say. "You keep her safe. Do the thing I couldn't do for my family." he said with a sad smile. I nodded and turned and left. Feelings? I thought. I doubt it. Me and Rebecca hopped back in the truck and we pulled off. Rebecca's eyes were glued on Jim as we drove past him. After we were out of eye distance she leaned back against the window and closed her eyes.

The rest of the ride to the CDC was quiet. The sound of a whimper disrupted the silence. I look over at Rebecca and see her whimpering in her sleep. Her fists clench and unclench and her face is scrunched up. I reached over and touched her shoulder. She bolted up with wide eyes. She was covered with sweat and breathing heavy. "Okay?" I asked. Her face turned red with embarrassment. "I'm fine." she said. "Ya' sure?" I pressed. "I'm fine!" she snapped before looking back at the window. "Whatever." I grumble as I look at the road.

[Rebecca's POV]

We came to a stop outside the CDC. The smell was rank. We stepped out and walked towards the building. I watched all the dead bodies to make sure they were dead. I pulled my shirt over my nose to somewhat cut the smell down, but it did little. "Stay quiet." Shane said to us. Rick and Shane were at the front while Daryl and I were at the back. As we got closer the more bodies were littered on the ground. "Stay close, keep moving." Rick said from in front of us. We all picked up the pace as we came to the doors. The shutters were down. Rick slammed on them. "There's nobody here." T-dog said. "Then why are the shutters down." Rick retorted. "Walkers!" I yell as they amble towards us. Daryl takes one down before turning to Rick. "You led us to a graveyard!" Daryl yells as he gets up in Rick's face. "Shut up!" Shane yells as he pushes Daryl back. "Rick it's a dead end." he now said towards Rick. Carl was whimpering and so was Sophia and Dillan now. "We can't be this close to the city after dark." I said as I shot down the walkers that were getting closer. "Fort Benning, Rick. It's still an option." Shane said. "On what? Little fuel and barely any food. That's a hundred miles!" she said. "One Twenty-five. I checked." Glenn corrected. "Come on Rick, we have to go!" I yelled as I shot down more walkers. There was more of them and they were coming fast. Dillan clung to the back of my shirt. "The camera moved!" Rick yelled. "It's broken, automatic." Shane reasoned. I looked at Daryl who shook his head. "Rick please." I pleaded. "You're killing us!" he repeatedly yelled at the camera. We started to head out when the doors open. I spun around to see a blinding white light. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.


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