October 25th, 2010

Winter hadn't gotten any sleep that night. She couldn't sleep. She had lost someone that she had become friends with. Sure, they had only know each other for two months, but that was a long time in this new world. Winter wasn't the only one feeling like this. Sam or Michael got any sleep. The three all laid in their tents with their eyes open. However, Andrea was in the worst shape. She hadn't moved from his spot since last night. Lori went up to her, in attempt to get her to move so they could take care of Amy. Amy hadn't been put down yet. She would still turn at this rate

Daryl was carrying a pickaxe as he made sure the dead, stayed dead. T-Dog and Glenn were carrying bodies to the fire. Michael and Sam were helping bury those who were apart of this small camp. Winter was on look out as she stood on the top of the R.V. Rick went to approach Amy but got a gun in his face instead

"I know how the safety works" Andrea said. Rick slowly backed up as he nodded

"All right. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry" Rick said he backed up with his hand up. Andrea lowered her gun and went back to looking at Amy. The small group had then went to discuss what they were going to do with Amy. Winter kept looking around to make sure no walkers were approaching. Then as Daryl went to help burn the bodies, Glenn got on to him

"What are you guys doing? This is for geeks. Our people go over there" Glenn said as he pointed towards Michael and Sam

"What's the difference? They're all infected" Daryl said

"Our people go in that row over there. We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand. Our people go in that row over there" Glenn said. Daryl and Morales dragged Matthew's dead body towards Michael and Sam

"You reap what you sow" Daryl said

"You know what? Shut up, man" Morales said

"Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming" Daryl said. Michael dropped his shovel

"Are you fucking kidding me? You really wanna say that kind of shit? Your brother was racist, misogynistic piece of inbred shit! I get that you can't choose your family, but you can't act like he didn't fucking deserve it" Michael said

"You know, you always got something to say" Daryl said

"That's 'cuz no one else will say it" Michael said. Daryl flipped him off as he walked away

"A walker got him. A walker bit Jim" Jacqui announced. Everybody turned to Jim. They began to surround him

"Im okay. I'm okay" Jim said

"Show it to us. Show it to us" Daryl said. Jim picked up a shovel

"Easy, Jim" Shane said

"Grab him" Daryl said

"Jim, put it down. Put it down" Shane said. T-Dog grabbed Jim from behind making him drop the shovel

"I'm okay. I'm okay" Jim said before Daryl lifted up his shirt. Everyone had seen the bite mark. They all then backed away. Jim just kept repeating that he was okay. Now, they had to decide what to do with Jim

"Winter, come on down here" Dale said. Winter did as told. Everyone who was an adult and still alive, with the exceptions of Jim and Andrea had gathered together

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it" Daryl said

"Is that what you'd want if it were you?" Shane asked

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it" Daryl said. Winter could see his point. She would hope if she got bit and couldn't kill herself, that someone would kill her before she turned. She would never want to become one of those things

"I hate to say it- I never thought I would- but maybe Daryl's right" Dale said

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to turn into one of those things if it was me" Winter spoke up

"Jim's not a monster, you guys, or some rabid dog" Rick said

"I'm not suggesting-" Dale was cut off

"He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?" Rick asked

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or then to be" Daryl said

"What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure" Rick said

"Yeah, that was before the government collapsed" Michael said

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Rick asked

"Man, that is a stretch right there" Shane said

"Why? If there's an government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-" Rick was cut off

"Even if that were true and the C.D.C. was still up and running, what makes you think they'd let us in. We'd be liabilities to their research" Sam said

"I think we should head to an army base. Fort Benning" Shane said

That's 100 miles in the opposite direction" Lori said

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there" Shane said. Winter wasn't sure she agreed. There was military at the refugee camp and look how that turned out

"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that" Rick said

"Yeah, look at what happened to the refugee camp" Winter said

"And that's why the C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance" Rick said

"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl yelled as he went to take care of Jim. Rick rushed over and cocked his gun at Daryl causing him to freeze

"Hey, hey, hey! We don't kill the living" Rick said as Shane got between Daryl and Jim. Daryl turned to look at Rick

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head" Daryl said

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on" Shane told Daryl. Daryl dropped the pickaxe and Rick uncocked his gun. Everyone had dispersed after that. Sam and Winter looked to Michael

"What do you want to do?" Sam asked

"I love that you guys look up to me even though I'm a fucking dumbass" Michael said with a grin

"You're not wrong" Winter said

"You may be the biggest dumbass I've ever met, but your instincts are something else" Sam said with a small smile

"We're still alive because of you. So, we'll follow you whichever way you want to go" Winter said. Michael thought about it for a moment

"The C.D.C." Michael said. Sam didn't seem to like that decision but he wasn't going to argue

"If that's what you think will keep us alive, I'm okay with it" Sam said

"Me too" Winter said

"You think if we actually get there.. we'll have showers?" Michael asked. Winter smiled at the idea. She hadn't taken a shower in God knows how long

"God, wouldn't that be perfect?" Winter asked

"Oh, my God" Michael said. Winter turned to see Andrea holding the now reanimated Amy. Shane and Rick approached with their guns but Andrea shot Amy in the head first. She then caressed Amy's face as she stared at her younger sister. Maybe an hour later, everyone had gathered for Amy's funeral. Andrea insisted on put Amy's body in the grave herself. She wouldn't let Dale help her. Once Andrea put her in the hole, she looked at the covered body. Lori began to cry. Both Winter and Sam couldn't help but tear up. Michael put his arms around the both of them to try and give them some comfort. Dale helped Andrea out of the hole. Then they watched Amy be buried. Then, they all went back to camp. Winter had gone into her tent. She really just wanted to be by herself. Then, she broke down

Sam was with the rest of the group. Rick, Michael, and Shane had come back from checking the perimeter. Winter was still in her tent, and though Sam was worried about her, he knew she needed space. The three men approached the group

"I've been, uh- I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no- there are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning" Shane said

October 26th, 2010

Morning had come and everyone was ready to go. Shane gathered everyone's around

"Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?" Shane asked

"We're, uh.. we're- we're not going" Morales spoke up. Everyone just looked at them

"We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people" Miranda said

"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back" Shane said

"We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family" Morales said

"You sure?" Rick asked

"We talked about it. We're sure" Morales said. Rick nodded

"All right. Yeah, all right" Rick said before handing Morales a gun. Shane gave him some ammo

"Thank you all.. for everything" Miranda said before she and Lori hugged. Morales and Shane shook hands. Everyone said their goodbyes, and it was sad. Then, it was time to go. Michael had the keys to one of the cars. Sam and Winter got into that car. Then, they left the Quarry with everyone else. They were on their way to the C.D.C.. The car ride was silent. It was so silent that Michael had enough of it

"This silence is killing me, let's see what CDs we got here" Michael said as he took his eyes off the road to look

"Oh, look, an album of the top country hits for the 2000s" Michael said

"Oh, God.. please no" Sam said as Michael took the CD and inserted it into the CD player. Music began to play. Sam sighed as Winter rolled her eyes and smiled

"You know I like my chicken fried!
A cold beer on a Friday night!
A pair of jeans that fit just right!
And the radio u-up!" Michael began to sing, but it wasn't really singing, more of just yelling. This had continued

"Somebody kill me" Sam said. By the the tenth song, Sam was ready to cry at how horrible his brother sounded

"It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now!
Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now!
And I don't know how I can do without!
I just need you now!" Michael yelled the lyrics to the Lady Antebellum song

"Please, make it stop" Sam said

"Oh, it's fun" Winter said. Then, Michael stopped all of a sudden. He turned off the radio

"Hey, what's going on?" Sam asked

"The caravan stopped" Michael said before he parked the car. He got out. Sam and Winter did the same

"Hey, what's going on?" Michael asked

"The R.V. broke down" T-Dog said as the three made it over

"So now what?" Winter asked

"I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky" Shane said. Jacqui suddenly rushed out of the R.V.

"Y'all, Jim- it's bad. I don't think he can take anymore" Jacqui said

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back" Shane said

"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up" T-Dog said

"Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back" Shane said before he and T-Dog left. Rick entered the R.V. to see Jim. A couple minutes later, Shane and T-Dog had returned and they managed to fix the R.V. Rick had come out of the R.V. and admitted that Jim wanted out

"It's what he says he wants" Rick said

"And he's lucid?" Carol asked

"He seems to be. I would say yes" Rick said

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer" Dale said

"We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that" Shane said

"So that's where you draw the line?" Michael commented. Shane clicked his tongue before staring at Michael

"Alright, you son of a bitch. I've about had enou-" Shane was cut off as he tried to approach Michael. Lori got in the way

"We are not doing this right now. Besides, it's not any of our calls. It's what Jim wants" Lori said. So, Shane and Rick carried Jim out of the R.V. and they rested him against a tree. Jim looked terrible. Everyone approached him. Jim looked up at the tree

"Hey, another damn tree" Jim chuckled weakly

"Hey, Jim- I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this" Shane said

"No. It's good. The breeze feels nice" Jim said

"Okay. All right" Shane said before backing away. Jacqui went up to Jim and kneeled beside him

"Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight" Jacqui said before giving the man a kiss on the cheek. She teared up as she got up and walked back. Rick then approached Jim and kneeled

"Jim, do you want this?" Rick asked as he held a revolver in his hand

"No. You'll need it. I'm okay. I'm okay" Jim said. Rick sighed before getting up and walking back. Winter approached Jim and kneeled beside him. She grabbed his hand as she began to cry. Jim looked at her

"Don't cry.. I'm going somewhere better" Jim said. Winter nodded before getting up and walking off. Then, Dale approached and kneeled beside him

"Thanks for, uh, for fighting for us" Dale said

"Okay" Jim said. Dale then left and the rest followed, including Sam. Everyone got back in there vehicles and left. Sam looked at Winter who was struggling to stop crying. Michael looked like he was perfectly fine, but you could see the sadness in his eyes. Sam just didn't have any tears left at this point. Then soon enough, they arrived at the C.D.C., however what they were met with were tons of decomposing bodies with flies swarming them. The smell was atrocious, Sam was ready to vomit. It was like a massacre took place there. As the entire group continued to the C.D.C., they all began coughing

"All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go" Shane whispered. Sam put his shirt over his nose and mouth in an attempt to block out the smell, however his actions proved pointless. Then, eventually they made it to the front door however it was closed. Shane began pounding on the door

"There's nobody here" T-Dog said

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick asked

"Walkers!" Daryl yelled

"Baby, come on" Lori said as everyone turned with their weapons raised. Carl began crying. Daryl shot one of his arrows into a walker

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl yelled

"He made a call" Dale said

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl yelled

"You chose to follow" Michael said

"Rick, this is a dead end" Shane said. Sam looked to Michael who didn't know what to do. Winter was in her own head

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol asked as Rick was still trying to get in

"Do you hear me? No blame" Shane said

"She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark" Lori said

"Fort Benning, Rick- still an option" Shane said

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles" Andrea said

"125. I checked the map" Glenn said

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now" Lori said

"We'll, think of something" Rick said

"For now we should leave" Michael said. Everyone began to leave but Rick stopped

"The camera- it moved" Rick said

"You imagined it" Dale said

"It moved" Rick said as he approached the camera

"Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on. Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick" Shane said as he struggled to bring Rick back. Rick began slamming his hand against the shutters

"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori yelled

"Jesus Christ" Michael said

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me. Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left" Rick said to the camera as Shane yelled at everyone to get back to the cars. Lori rushed over to Rick to get him to leave

"We have nowhere else to go. If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!" Rick begged as Shane dragged him away. Everyone began shouting

"You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" Rick yelled and suddenly the shutters opened and a bright light blinded them all

(2983 words)
11/25/22