“Immune 8
Democracy Under the Dead”
The CDC has
been destroyed and Jenner and Jacqui are dead. The surgery to extract brain
tissue from Vanessa has failed and now the group is on the road again with more
questions than answers. Are they now a target or will they be able to find
shelter and safety?
Rick told me
what happened at the CDC and I had a long talk with Lizzy. She knew she done
something wrong but she was glad that I was alive, for how long, I’m not too
sure. Rick told me about Jenner’s last ditch effort to get someone to complete
his work, I would have to be careful of other survivors now, there’s no telling
who was watching that desperate plea. “I’m glad you understand, Lizzy. Next time you
can’t do what you did.” Lizzy looked at me. “There’s going to be a next time?”
She asked. I couldn’t answer her question directly, “Just stay in the camper
with Sophia and Carl.” I walked outside. The group had stopped on the highway
that was blocked by hundreds of abandoned cars and the adults were discussing
strategy.
“We need to
double back and take Exit 290.” Shane spoke. “There’s not enough gas in the
camper for that, we’d probably break down way before we reached the exit.”
“Then we need to spread out and search for supplies. Anything we can find and
we’ll try to siphon as much gas from these cars as we can. T-Dog and Glen,
you’re on gas duty. Shane, Daryl and I will search for supplies. Dale you work
on the camper. Andrea, stand watch for any walkers.” Rick directed everyone.
“What should
I do?” I asked and the group looked my way. They were silent, they have been
for a while after the destruction of the CDC.
“I thought that you needed to rest.” Rick said.
“I feel much
better. I want to help.” I needed to help actually. I needed to do something
besides think. “Okay, help Andrea keep watch then.” I looked over at her, she
was despondent after the CDC exploded, she had wanted to stay and die along
with the others, but Dale forced her hand, at least that’s what I gathered from
Lori. Andrea took her weapon and climbed up on the camper, I followed suit.
I watched as
the others spread out to follow Rick’s orders.
I wasn’t sure that Rick falling into the role of leader would be for the
best; all I did know is that I didn’t want the job. Being the leader means
being responsible for others in the choices you make. I already had a
responsibility to save what’s left of the human race; I don’t think I needed
any more on my plate.
“How do you
feel?” Andrea surprised me by speaking. “Okay, I guess. You know, considering…”
I paused. “Considering that you should be dead? Look, I never got a chance to
actually thank you for that, I don’t think anyone has. You were willing to give
your life to save ours, that’s noble. I just have…regrets.”
“Regrets that
I’m not dead?” I took slight offense. “No, that’s not what I mean, I meant
that, if there does turn out to be a cure for all of this, that Amy won’t
benefit from it. I shot her. I shot my sister.”
“I don’t think
you had a choice, Andrea. I’m sorry.” I could hear the kids pop out of the
camper. “Vanessa? Can we come out now, it’s boring in there.” Lizzy asked. “I
guess so, but stay close and no making noise.”
“I’ll watch them.” Carol spoke up and they sat on the trunk of a nearby
car talking softly. I felt bad for the children having to grow up in a world
like this. They deserved some place safe.
After a while
the men returned with very little in the way of supplies. Dale climbed to the
top of the camper and I could see he wanted to talk to Andrea, I left without a
word. We were all milling about the unusable cars and parts until Rick caught
sight of something down the highway. I could see him tense and knew something
was wrong. He hurried over to us and whispered to get under the cars. I glanced
beyond the camper and caught sight of what put fear into his eyes, a walker
horde shambled its way towards us. There were too many of them to fight off and
we had nowhere to go. The horde may move slower than us but we would soon tire
and the horde could overwhelm us, the best thing now would be to hide and let
them go by.
I shimmied
under a Honda, I could see Lizzy and Sophia under a car 10 feet away. All was
quite except for the shuffle of dead feet. I assume they couldn’t smell us
because of the highway being full of cars and the pungent smell of leaking gas
or oil. That’s one thing in our favor but if anyone made a sound, the horde
would be on them in moments. Then my
worse fear was realized. The main bulk of the horde had past but a few
remaining stragglers took longer to move through. Lizzy or Sophia must have
made a noise a two walkers were on them trying to claw at them under the car.
They screamed. There were still enough walkers between them and me and once I
was out I had to put them down first to get there. I saw Rick out of the corner
of my eye doing the same. Shane and Daryl kept a few at bay but the girls ran
along the embankment out of fear. None of us could yell at them to stop as the
main horde would hear and return.
I fought as
fast as I could to get to the girls but lost sight of them going into the
woods. Rick was closer and set off after them while I handle the rest. I could
hear Carol’s muffled cries under the car, I could feel her pain, even though
Lizzy was not my daughter, I couldn’t bear it if I had to put her down because
she had been bitten.
It seemed to
take longer than I thought to clear the rest of the horde that remained. By
then, Shane, Daryl, Glenn and I took off for the woods to try and find Rick and
the girls. I prayed to which every God was still listening to prayers, that
they were safe. We found Rick and he was alone, my heart sank.
“Did you find
them?” I yelled out to him. “I told them to hide while I drew the walkers away,
I told them to run back to the highway, keep the sun on their left shoulder.
They’re not back?” Rick asked.
“Oh God, oh
God.” I couldn’t feel my legs. “They didn’t come past us.” Shane spoke. “Shit!”
Rick exclaimed. “We need to spread out,
but be careful, there are still a few walkers out. Glenn, head back to the camp
and keep watch there if the girls come back.” “Wh..what do I tell them? Tell
Carol?” Rick knew Glenn returning with that news would be awful but hiding the
truth may be worse. “Tell her we’ll find the girls.” Glenn nodded and left. The
four of us split into pairs and searched opposite directions.
Hours passed
and the sun slowly fading from the dying day. The girls were still missing but
at least we didn’t find them as walkers. I hated to have to return to the
camper without them. I barely spoke on the way back. The look on Carol’s face
when we returned empty handed was one of disbelief and horror. “You can’t just
stop. They’ll be out there in the dark and cold. Please, my baby.” She sobbed.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t see anything at night and we’ll end up losing more
people.” “Rick’s right, we’ll start again first light.” Daryl said.
This night
was colder than the last; only because I didn’t know where Lizzy would lay her
head. Was she safe? Was she and Sophia
warm enough? Were walkers near them? I felt so helpless trying to get to them,
walkers surrounded me but all I could think about was getting to Lizzy and
Sophia. I failed them. What was the use of fighting if you couldn’t save those
you care about? I knew then, I was slipping in the same dark place Andrea fell
into when she lost Amy. A place of no hope and no future. At first light, I had knew resolve. I was
tired of losing people, I was not going to lose Lizzy. The group set out in a
more coordinated effort. Only Dale and T-Dog stayed behind, T-Dog had hurt his
arm when the horde appeared, luckily Daryl had antibiotics in his bag, thanks
to his big brother. We split up and I keep my focus on finding Lizzy alive. I
just hoped I didn’t run into her, dead and then not so dead.
“Look this is
the safest bet, more than likely, they would stay close to the creek.” Daryl
spoke as he pointed north. “I still think they would have come back to the
highway only further down, perhaps they got turned around and followed it the
wrong way.” Shane said. “They’d run the risk if running into that horde on the
highway, I vote the creek.” Daryl countered.
“Look, this
isn’t a democracy anymore. We need to be open to all possibilities but with the
least amount of risk of losing other people. I think one group should follow
the creek, the other the highway.” Rick ordered. He was right. Democracy and
giving everyone a vote may not get us far in this new world. In the end,
someone had to make the tough choice even if that meant hurting someone.
After hours
of searching, we came up with nothing and made our way back to the camper.
Rick’s group was still out and the sun was dipping below the horizon. “I can’t,
I can’t wait around another night.” I said, more to myself and less to those
around me. “I’m going back out.”
“Rick said to
stay put once we got back to the camper.” Glenn spoke in a meek voice. He
didn’t want to take charge but I could tell he had the potential if it came to
that. “We shouldn’t separate, that’s all I’m saying.”
“I
understand, but…I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I can take care of
myself, if I’m not back by morning and you move out, just leave me. Don’t
worry, I’ll find you.” I gathered my backpack and threw in a couple bottles of
water and some food. “Please, bring my little girl back.” Carol whispered with
tears in her eyes. “I will.” Without another word, I set off on my own. Daryl
was able to track the girls for a couple of miles before hitting a dead end at
the side of a road. My guess is that they could have been picked up by someone
which would mean they were getting further and further away each moment.
To be
continued…
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