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Daryl

I woke to the sound of the shower. It took me a minute to remember where I was. Being underground with no light was throwing me. Jo must have woke up earlier. I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I accidentally kicked the empty whiskey bottle, it rolled over and bumped into the nightstand. I rubbed at my eye, trying to wake up. I hadn't drank much in a while and I didn't remember us finishing off the bottle.

I remembered laying in bed and talking to Jo. I remember her looking sad and vulnerable, nothing like the woman I first met in the forest. I scrubbed at my other eye, trying to focus but all I wanted to do was sleep some more. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept through the night.

The bathroom door opened, spreading light through the room and my head started pounding. I glanced over at her and froze for a moment. She was wrapped in a towel and seemed shocked to find me awake.

"Sorry," she mumbled, moving over to her bed. "I didn't mean to wake you." She stooped down and scooped up her pack, tossing it on her bed. I tried hard not to notice the glimpses of skin and stared hard at the floor. She didn't seem embarrassed at all.

I shook my head. "It's fine," my voice came out rougher than I expected. I cleared my throat. "Ya done in there?"

"Yes, I'm just going to change and head down to the labs." She was digging around through her pack and pulling out clothes, not giving a damn that she was standing in front of me in nothing but a towel.

I stood, stretching my arms over my head. "Ya should get some breakfast first."

She kept her back to me and shook her head. "I need to check on Kate." She said determinedly.

I snorted, grabbing my clothes and heading towards the bathroom. "Ya ever eat anything?" I tossed over my shoulder. I don't know why I bothered, I didn't gave a shit if she ran herself to exhaustion. It wasn't my problem.

I glanced over my shoulder. She had already turned her back to me and was starting to get dressed. I quickly turned around and closed the bathroom door. I changed and brushed my teeth before going back into the bedroom. Jo was sitting on the bed, braiding her long dark hair. I moved to my bag and began shoving my stuff back into it.

"You packing up?" she asked. "I thought you guys were staying."

I arched a brow at her. "You guys?" I asked, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.

She licked her lips and nodded. "As soon as Kate is well enough to travel we have to keep moving."

I didn't bother hiding my frown. It was idiotic. They wouldn't last long out there by themselves. "You know Rick would let you stay."

She nodded but didn't say anything more.

I was pretty sure there were tears in her eyes again and I felt like an ass. "Let's go grab some breakfast." I said, turning towards the door. I didn't look back but I could hear her quiet tread as she followed me.

When we entered the cafeteria everyone was tense, but the scent of fresh eggs and coffee drew my attention away from the group.

"Not like me at all," Shane was saying. His words seemed to add to the tension.

I shook my head and ignored them, heading over to the stove where T-dog pointed out the leftover scrambled eggs. I couldn't say I much cared about whatever drama the group was worried about this morning. I scooped up two helpings, handing off the second plate to Jo. She nodded her thanks but instead of sitting down with the group she ate them standing at the counter next to me, shoveling them in as fast as possible. It was the first time I saw her eat anything since we picked them up.

"Morning," Dr. Jenner called coming into the kitchen area and filling his coffee cup.

"Hey doc," everyone chorused. Jo moved over to where he was and filled two cups of black coffee. I could see her speaking quietly with him, almost under her breath. Her forehead was creased with worry as she spoke in hushed tones.

"She's fine," he assured. "Still sleeping, but you are welcome to go check on her if you want. I gave her another massive dose of antibiotics this morning, once she wakes up I will pull the IV and she will need to continue twice a day for two weeks."

The smile Jo flashed him was brilliant and she threw her arms around Jenner. That seemed to embarrass her, as soon as she realized what she was doing. She quickly pulled back and apologized. She scooped up both cups of coffee and set one beside me as she walked by. I caught her eye and lifted my chin in thanks. Her green eyes softened and she gave me a small smile before she all but ran from the room.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing," Dale started. I turned back to face  Jenner as I lifted the warm cup of coffee, enjoying the way it warmed my hands.

"But you will anyway," Jenner replied wryly.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea said decisively.

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Jo

Kate was awake when I entered the lab. "Hey you!" I said. She looked better than she had in weeks. There was color to her cheeks and a light in her eyes that had been gone for so long.

"Is that coffee?" she asked eagerly.

I chuckled and handed over the half empty cup. "It's black." Kate wrinkled her nose but took a long drink anyway. "There's eggs up in the cafeteria."

"Seriously?!" she sat up and started moving to get off the bed. I reached out and stopped her.

"Hold on," I laughed. I hadn't felt this light in...I didn't know how long. I was almost giddy with relief. It wasn't until just this moment I realized how certain I had been that my sister was going to die. "Jenner gave you another dose of meds and we need to wait until they get into your system." I said motioning to her IV.

She glanced up at it and made a face but sat back down. She coughed at the motion, and maybe it was just the optimism I was feeling, but she already sounded better to me.

"So what did I miss?" she asked, leaning back against the narrow cot.

"Well," I said, "This place has food and hot showers. I got to spend the night in a real bed."

"Shut up!" she gasped. "Hot showers? I don't know if I have ever been so excited for anything since this all started."

I nodded. "Yeah, Jenner said we can move you out of here today. I'll speak to Daryl, I'm sure he won't mind switching rooms so we can stay together."

"Wait, you stayed with Daryl?" she asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "The asshole with the crossbow?" she clarified.

I shook my head at her. "He isn't all bad," I rubbed at my eye. "It was either him or Shane." I said in a voice that made it clear what my preference was. "He may be a little gruff, but he let me stay with him when I planned on sleeping in that chair down here with you."

Kate shook her head. "I'm glad you got a goodnight's sleep. You've been running yourself since T-" she cut herself off and looked at the ground. "Well, you've been pushing yourself too hard Jo."

I swallowed passed the lump in my throat. She had almost said his name.

I forced out a snort. "No choice baby sister. It's just us now. Once we get you up and on your feet we need to keep moving."

She nodded, though the smile on her face fell and she picked at the sheets of her bed.

"What?" I finally asked, unable to keep the impatience from my voice.

"What if we didn't?" she asked quietly. "What if we stayed with them?"

I opened my mouth to argue but she pushed on. She had been so compliant when she was sick, now she was already back to being a pain in my ass.

"I rode with Rick and his family," she reminded me. "They are good people. And Carl and Sophia are sweet kids. We could stay with this group and have a real chance."

I shook my head. "We can't trust them." I said decisively. "Remember what happened last time?"

Now Kate was getting angry. "Of course I do!" she snapped, her hazel eyes flashing as they met mine. "But these people aren't like that."

"We don't know that," I said in a quiet voice. "And we can't take the chance. You know that right? We agreed. Keep moving, trust no one, and we stay alive."

A single tear slid down Kate's cheek and I hated myself for having to be so harsh with her. But she didn't understand. How could she? She was still just a kid. I had to remind myself sometimes that she was only eighteen. She sniffled a few times and nodded. "I understand." she said in a broken voice that made me feel even worse.

The lights suddenly dropped and went out. Kate grabbed my hand in the dark. I was completely blind for a second before another set of emergency lights came on. I turned to Kate and saw fear slide behind her eyes.

Daryl appeared in the doorway. "Let's go," he rasped in a quiet but urgent voice.

I looked from him and back to Kate.

"Jo," he said in a serious voice. I met his sky blue eyes and could see his resolve. Something was very wrong. "It's time to go."

I may have had reservations about the group as a whole but so far Daryl hadn't given me a reason not to trust him. Without hesitation I grabbed Kate's arm. "Hold still," I commanded. I pulled off the tape, and gritting my teeth I slid the IV needle out of her arm.

She gasped quietly but did as I said. As soon as it was out she climbed to her feet.

"What's going on?" she asked in a small voice.

I looked back at Daryl for the answer. His voice was gruff but there was worry in his eyes. "Buildings runn'in outta juice. Something's going down. Let's not be sitt'in on our asses when it does."

I nodded, trusting his judgement. "Ya get her up to the main room, I'll grab our shit and meet ya." He turned to jog back the way he came but he stopped and turned and pointed at Kate. "Grab her some meds."

I didn't even hesitate. I jumped to my feet and ran to the fridge. I knew what bottles Jenner had used. I left the sedative and took the antibiotics. I pulled a grip of clean syringes from the work station and shoved them in my back pocket. Then I grabbed Kate's hand and ran down the hall, pulling her behind me.

We burst into the main computer room just in time to hear Jenner. "Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down, this is our extinction event."

Everyone was crying and holding onto one another. Rick was standing toe to toe with Jenner. Daryl was pacing along the back of the group. Even from here I could see his barely contained rage. He looked like a wild animal.

"This isn't right." Carol wailed. "You can't just keep us here."

"One tiny moment, a millisecond and no pain."

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol cried, tears and snot running down her face.

I felt my eyes widen. Behind me Kate gasped as she realized what was going on. Her hand tightened in mine as I turned towards the exit. A large steel door had closed us in.

"Wouldn't it be kinder? More compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Jenner asked in a dreamy voice.

Without realizing I was doing it, I started for the door. I could see where there were scratches in the otherwise perfect plane of stainless steel. Daryl held an ax, loosely gripped in his hand. And I knew then that we were trapped. Daryl wouldn't go down without a fight.

The cocking of a gun dragged my attention back to the group.

"Shane no!" Rick yelled. Throwing himself in front of his second in command. He shoved his shoulders, trying to keep the shot gun toting man at bay.

"Out of my way Rick!" Shane bellowed. "Stay out of my way." He commanded, raising the gun and pointing it at Rick. Rick took a step back, conceding to Shane's demands. I shook my head at the action. It only gave Shane more power. His eyes were wide and wild as he shoved the shot gun in Jenner's face. "Open that door." he growled. "Or Imma blow your head off. Do you hear me?"

The women and children all squeaked and cried in fear and darted away from the doctor. Leaving just Shane and Rick standing close. Rick stepped up beside his friend, pushing himself into his space. "Brother, brother, this is not the way we do this. We will never get out of here."

"Shane you listen to him." Lori's voice piped up from across the room and I found myself cutting my eyes to her. There were tears swimming in her eyes as she clasped her son to her chest.

"It's too late." Shane growled.

Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention as Daryl prowled around the group. He was easing up in Shane's blind spot, ready to step in if need be.

"If he dies we all die!" Rick screamed.

Shane yelled at the top of his lungs and swung the gun away from Jenner, firing shell after shell into a nearby computer. Sparks flew and everyone screamed. I pulled Kate behind me and when I looked back Daryl was ten feet in front of us, standing between us and Shane. He was working his grip on the ax and rocking on the balls of his feet.

"Shane!" Rick bellowed. He grabbed the shotgun as Shane was firing and wrestled it from his friends hands. He shoved it into his chest, then swung the butt up and caught Shane in the temple knocking him to the ground. I could see the muscle memory there as Rick hoisted it into the air, preparing to bring the stock down to further incapacitate his opponent. Rick pulled himself up at the last minute. Glaring down at his friend. "You done now? Are you done?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane ground back angrily.

Both were panting and Rick turned away from Shane to hand the shot gun to T-Dog. His eyes flitted over the group. Taking in their frightened expressions. His gaze rested on mine and I knew he didn't see fear. Only anger. Daryl glanced once of his shoulder and I could see how pissed he was as well. This was not how either one of us wanted to go out.

"I think you're lying," Rick said, turning back to Jenner once he had calmed down.

"What?" Jenner asked in disbelief.

"You're lying. About no hope. If that were true you would have bolted with the rest, or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?"

"It doesn't matter," Jenner said with finality as he leaned back in his chair.

"It does matter, it always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?"

"Not because I wanted to." Jenner ground out the words as though they were painful to say. "I made a promise to her." He pointed to the large computer screen behind me. I turned and saw the CT scan of a brain. "My wife." Tears were swimming in Jenner's eyes when I looked back at him.

"Test subject nineteen was your wife?" Lori asked, her voice breaking.

I had missed something. I turned back to the screen to study it. I hadn't studied human anatomy since my undergrad but I could clearly see at the moment the image had been frozen there was a hollowed out channel through the brain. It took me a second to realize it was the path of a bullet.

I closed my eyes for a moment and shook my head. I was trying not to understand this broken man. I wanted to wrap myself in my anger. I didn't want to be sad. I gained strength from being mad, but as a silent tear ran down his cheek I couldn't help reliving that moment with Thomas. That moment when I put the gun to my husbands head and pulled the trigger. Kate squeezed my hand beside me.

Stop, I thought carefully. Reset.

When I opened my eyes and looked back at her she gave me a sad encouraging smile. A cough shook her frame but she didn't let go of my hand. My sister was giving up. She was accepting what Jenner said.

That did make me mad. I pulled her away from the group, storming towards the door. Daryl was right behind us. I scooped up a second ax I found on the floor, only then letting go of Kate's hand.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could," I heard Jenner say right before I swung the ax as hard as I could at the door. It hurt, the pain ran up and down my arms but I relished it. The pain meant I was still alive. Daryl swung at the door in the time it took me to swing the ax back. We fell into a perfect rhythm, but it did no good. Our blows glanced off the door, sending showers of sparks as we both grunted with the effort it took to swing the axes. The clanging of metal against metal rang in my ears until I couldn't hear any more words from the sad, resigned group.

Daryl was in mid-swing when the door started to open. I reached out with my free hand and stopped him. As soon as my hand touched his sweaty skin he paused and turned to face me. Our eyes met for a moment and then he turned to the door which was now all the way open.

"Come on!" He yelled to the group. I spun around to grab Kate to drag her with me but she was already there.

"Let's go! Come on let's go!"

"Move it! Move it! Move it!"

Everyone was yelling and the pounding of feet matched the pounding in my chest as Kate and I ran down the hall. She started coughing from the effort but kept pace with me. I could hear people arguing behind me, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but getting Kate top side and clear of this building.

Daryl beat us to the lobby. Kate had slowed on the stairs, coughing and hacking so badly I resorted to dragging her by the arm once more. Daryl had both out packs and his crossbow. He dumped them at our feet and leaped onto the window ledge with the ax still in hand.

"Come on, come on!" Shane was yelling as he and Daryl began beating the windows with the axes. It didn't even scratch the glass. I reached my pack and pulled out my golf club and started beating one of the glass windows on the door we came in. I swung with all my might and all it did was rebound. I hefted the club and swung again and again.

I was not going to die like this. I was not going to let my baby sister die like this. The anger and rage burned through me, making my swings more and more powerful. It didn't help. I stopped, the golf club on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Daryl look out!" T-dog ran up and slammed a chair against the glass."Ah!!!!" he screamed as he slammed the metal legs against the window over and over again.

Shane jumped down and scooped up his shot gun, shoving shells into the magazine. "Dog get down! Get down!" he yelled.

Kate came up behind me and latched onto my forearm, her nails digging into the skin through the fabric. I could feel her start to shake.

Shane fired at the glass but nothing happened. "Jesus." he muttered in defeat.

"The glass won't break!?" Kate's voice was high with fear and tears.

"Rick, I have something that might help," Carol said digging through her purse.

"Carol, I don't think a nail file is going to do it." Shane snapped unkindly.

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." she pulled a grenade out of her bag.

"Look out!" Shane yelled.

I jerked Kate down a short flight of stairs and crouch down, covering her with my body. A second later I felt someone come up behind me, and do the same thing to me. I trembled in anticipation as I heard the pin drop. The arms tightened around me a second before the glass shattered. The explosion was disorienting and made my ears ring, but Daryl was already pulling me to my feet. He scooped up his pack and crossbow.

"Let's go," his voice was low and harsh.

I nodded to him and shoved my arms through my own pack, hefting my golf club. We ran towards the door. Shane was already outside firing his shot gun at the herd of Them that the explosion attracted. Daryl and I moved together, keeping Kate between us. He swung the ax at any that came close and I took out three coming from behind. Kate sobbed behind me, her hand on my pack.

"Let's go!" he yelled to be heard over the gun fire as everyone broke formation and started running for the vehicles. He led, Kate followed and I took up the rear. I took down two more that came too close. Once we reached the truck I threw my pack in back and jumped into the cab, sliding across the seat. Kate followed slamming the door behind us.

"Get down," Daryl commanded. Slamming his door. I shoved Kate's head down below the dash, I laid over the top of her. I felt Daryl do the same. His chest pressing against my back, his short, sharp pants blew warm breath against my neck. I shivered.

And then the blast came. It shook the truck, and even from here I could feel the heat. A single bead of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. I was trembling and hadn't noticed until now. Kate was shaking with fear beneath me, but Daryl was steady at my back. After a moment he sat up. He looked to the burning building and then back to me. I met his gaze but didn't know what to say.

We watched as Dale and Andrea ran for the RV. Once everyone was loaded up, the others started their cars, turned a U-turn to drive away.

As we drove off Kate gasped, slamming her palm against the window. "It's Shane!" she yelled.

I turned and sure enough, running through the sea of Them that had been attracted to the fire, was Shane, his ax still in his hand. He was running for the RV, yelling but the RV wasn't stopping. Daryl immediately began pounding on his horn. He rolled down his window and shouted as well until finally the RV's brake lights shone and it slowed long enough for Shane to leap in the door before they peeled out.

They were coming from every direction, shambling towards the flames and wreckage of the CDC. Daryl slammed his foot down and the truck jerked forward following the others and leaving the wreckage of the burning building and the dead behind us.

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