Chapter 008

It felt like it had been years since I last stood next to the Dixon brothers on a cliffside near the highway that led us into the huge city of Atlanta, as the only thing that had separated us that night was a field full of dying grass and trees. We had been surrounded by strangers as we watched the horror unfold in front of us, as the ground shook violently and the heat from the disaster suffocated our skins. Our eyes had been glued to the skyscrapers that lined the city, watching as helicopters flew overhead - dropping bombs on the building and trapping innocent people within the city limits to die. I watched as the buildings crumbled to the ground, causing debris and smoke to feel the already humid air. The fear that had radiated throughout my body had been enough to put me in flight or fight, as I watched the one place that was meant to be a refugee center crumble into nothing but a ghost town.

The walkers came next, stumbling from the darkness of the trees once they heard the explosions and the panicked screams of the living. It didn't take long for them to catch their next meal, as they sunk their teeth into the flesh of those crying out for help. I had watched in horror as people lost their lives, as they tried to fight the dead only to fail and be greeted by death himself. That night I fought like hell with Daryl Dixon by my side as Merle took the rear, as he wanted to make sure his baby brother and I made it out alive; oh, how I miss the eldest brother. He would laugh at us now as we coward at the face of death, as he would sit there and taunt it as if it was another fling of his.

It had been that night I promised to myself that I wouldn't leave this world without kicking and screaming, that I would not leave this world unless I was covered in someone else's blood - just like I entered it. My body felt like it had been hit by a truck going full speed down a back road as I had woken from the attack, my limbs tired and my skin covered in sweat. Millie had been the first thing I had seen as her fur-covered head rested on my chest, as her blue eyes stayed glued to my face. She had quickly alerted the others once she noticed I had been waking up, as she leaped up and began to bark. Daryl had been the first to come to my side rather quickly, as he tossed an ax to the floor next to me before he lifted my head from what seemed to be a makeshift pillow.

It had been silent after everyone made sure that I had been okay after Daryl explained to me what would happen the second the clock hit zero. My hazel eyes occasionally snap to the timer that sits high on the metal walls, the seconds passing in a blur as the minutes lower, as it slowly but surely begins to reach the last remaining minutes of our lives. Millie stays by my side as Daryl once again tied her leash to my belt loop to ensure that she and I are stuck together during this time, which allows me to run my fingers through her fur to keep myself calm. I sat next to Lori and Carol as they tried to comfort their children who cried in their chest, which sent an aching pain through my chest. Carl and Sophia did not deserve to go through all of this pain and fear - they did not deserve any of this. Looking away from the timer, I glance over toward my best friend who continues to bash an ax against the metal doors that have us trapped in this room.

"Can't make a dent." Daryl heaves out, as he finally backs away from the door. his blue eyes snapping in my direction. I can see the fear that has settled within his blue orbs, as well as the panic that he tries so desperately to hide. He looks defeated, worn down almost as he looks at me, almost as if he is beginning to blame himself for the situation that we are in. Forcing myself to look away from my best friend, unable to handle the fact that he too is scared, I look toward Doctor Jenner. The man sits in a desk chair not too far from Andrea, who seems to be deep in thought about whatever is going on in her own mind.

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Edwin states tiredly, as he motions toward the doors that Daryl and T-Dog had been hacking away at for the past thirty or so minutes. Feeling the tension rising in the room, I gently shove Millie's head off my lap as I begin to stand to my feet, eyeing my surroundings closely. "Yeah, well, your head ain't!" Daryl Dixon shouts, the veins in his head popping slightly as he spins on his heels to face the man. He grips the ax tightly in his hand before raising it above his head, as he charges in the direction of Doctor Jenner - wanting to kill him. Rick had been quick to jump in the way, as he grabs the youngest Dixon to try and prevent a murder from happening in front of the kids.

Feeling rather panicked at the situation at hand, I rush forward despite everything in me telling me to stay put. Pushing past Rick, I embedded myself between the two as they continue to struggle against each other - both trying to do some good. Ignoring the feeling of Millie trying to jump on my leg in an attempt to get me out of this situation, I place my hands on either side of Daryl's face, forcing him to look down at me. His stormy blue eyes are full of rage as he tries to look elsewhere but me, but despite his attempts, his eyes lock with mine almost instantly. Rubbing my thumbs across his stubbled cheeks, I look up at him with stern eyes, almost daring him to try anything that could get either one of us hurt.

Daryl's eyes grow soft at the sight of mine, all of the anger seeming to disappear the second his blue orbs met my hazel ones. His body seems to relax at my touch, his muscles loosening just enough for Rick to take the ax from his hands. I can tell he feels defeated from all that has happened today alone, but even I know that he knows better than to stoop to this level of low. "Don't do this, Daryl," I sign after a moment once I take my hands from his cheeks, my eyes never leaving his as he looks down at my hands. He nods at my words slowly, unsure if he will actually listen to me or not. "He isn't worth it, none of this is worth it."

Once I know that my words got to the man in front of me, I tilt my head to look over toward Rick who looks wearily at my best friend. Nodding in his direction in a way of telling him I have it under control, we both turn to look toward Edwin who shifts in his chair in content. Narrowing my eyes at the man, feeling nothing but disgust, I allow myself to interlock my fingers with Daryl's. "You do want this," Jenner finally says once things seem to calm down, his blue eyes shifting from Daryl's frame toward the floor. He then looks over toward Rick before motioning toward the man. "Last night you said you knew it was a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."

My face falls at the words that escaped the man's mouth, my eyes darting toward the direction of our leader. He looks taken back by the words the doctor spoke, almost shocked that he would share something like that with the rest of us. Did he really mean what he had told the Doctor last night in his drunken haze, or was that just the boost talking? Does he really think it was a matter of time before Lori and Carl died? But really, how much time do we all have left in this world?

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Lori questions, her eyes wide with shock as she looks up toward her husband. The woman continues to hold Carl close, as he begins to sob in his mother's chest once more. Squeezing Daryl's hand in a form of comfort, I look back toward our leader - unsure if I should be angry at him or not. "I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick proclaims in defense, as he looks around toward the rest of us. It had been clear in that moment that even Rick himself has to try and hold on to hope, something that doesn't seem to exist in a world like this.

"There is no hope. There never was." Edwin comments, which causes everyone to look in his direction with sad eyes. It had been clear from the moment I had taken notice of the man that he had lost a lot in his lifetime, but I never chalked him up to be someone who didn't believe in hope or as someone who would trap innocent people in a room to die. Rolling my eyes at the man's comment, I shift uncomfortably as Daryl lets go of my hand. "There's always hope," Rick implies, as he stares down at the doctor in disbelief. It was like he had put blind faith into the hands of a man in a white lab coat. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere...."

"What part of, 'everything is gone', don't you understand?" Andrea finally cuts in, completely cutting Rick off from whatever was about to flow from his parted lips. Her pale skin glistens with sweat as her blue eyes look up toward our leader, a look of defeat and disgust lingering on her features. She had taken her sister's death hard, which is understandably so, but even I know that she needs to come out of whatever rut she had dug herself into. "Listen to your friend. She gets it," Jenner states after a moment, allowing all of us to take in her words. Heaving a sigh from my lips, I fold my arms loosely across my chest. "This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."

"This isn't right. You can't just keep us here." Carol suddenly cries out, her pale cheeks covered in tears as she cuddles her daughter close. My chest tightens at the sight of Sophia crying in her mother's chest, her tiny hands clasping tightly around the fabric that clings to her mother's body. These children do not deserve to feel this fear that has been embedded into them by this man, or by anyone or anything. "One tiny moment.... a millisecond. No pain." He implies as he looks away from the woman and toward the children.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this."

"Wouldn't it be kinder?" Jenner questions, as he looks away from Carol and toward the rest of us. His blue eyes scanned our faces for any sign of us giving in to whatever he was thinking about. "More compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?"

Before I could react to the words that left Jenner's mouth, a pair of strong arms wrap around my frame before they shove me to the tiled floors. My lips part at the sudden movement as my heart feels as if it stopped for a second, while vibration tears through my throat like pins and needles. Looking up frantically, I notice that Daryl hovers over my body as he shields my head while holding Millie next to me. Beginning to look around frantically, in search of the threat that had caused Daryl to protect Millie and me, I notice that Shane had stormed toward the man with a loaded gun. A few of the computers seem as if they had been shot in the process of the former officer trying to end Jenner's life himself.

"Stay out of my way!" Shane shouts as he cocks his gun once more in a threatening manner, his brown eyes growing more wild as the second's pass. He stomps in the direction of the man, as he tries to get past Rick and T-Dog who try and defuse the situation. "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?" Daryl continues to hold me close as he too watches the scene unfold, his arms never leaving my body in fear that I would get hurt as well. Lifting my hands to hold his arm tightly, I can feel our hearts beating rapidly in our chest. "Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this," Rick says calmly, as he tries to get through to the man he considers a brother. "We will never get out of here."

"Shane, you listen to him." Lori finally cuts in, as she had left her sons' side to try and help her husband defuse the situation. Looking away from the husband and wife, I look toward Carl to see that he was holding Sophia's hand in an attempt to comfort the young girl. He brings his finger to his lips to signal for her to remain silent, as he rubs circles into her hand with his other fingers. Feeling my heart-shattering at the sight, I look back toward what is happening to see that Shane is still in a fit of rage. "It's too late." Jenner murmurs, unfazed by the outburst of the former officer.

"He dies, we all...." Rick begins, only to be cut off by Shane who stomps toward the doctor once more. He cocks the gun in his hand as he prepares to shoot the man's brains out, only for Rick to step in front of him full of rage. "We all die! Shane!" Just as Shane begins to open fire toward more computers, I quickly hide my face in Daryl's chest in fear that I would see brain matter on one of them. Clutching Daryl's arms in my own, I clamp my eyes shut as my heart continues to pound in my chest. I have already seen a lot of death in my lifetime, so I don't exactly want to see more.

A soft, wet nose then begins to hit my hands that begin to shake which causes me to open my eyes. Feeling tears beginning to cloud my vision, I notice that Millie is in front of me as she tries to gain my attention. Letting go of Daryl's arms, I reach out for my dog as I begin to run my fingers through her fur in an attempt to calm myself down so I don't get thrown into another attack for the second time today. Millie nuzzles closer to me as she allows my fingers to pull through the knots of her fur, as I begin to work through them in an attempt to get the dirt and grime out. Occasionally she'll lick my hands, before resting her head on the floor in front of my face to keep my focus on her.

Once I feel myself beginning to calm down enough to stray away from a pending attack, I look away from Millie just as Daryl's arms loosen from around me. He then stands up to his full height, which causes me to finally look around the room. Shane had finally stopped shooting up the place, leaving a few computers remaining from his outburst and thankfully the doctor too. He stares angrily at Rick who seems to be just as angry about the situation now, but neither one of them seem to know what to do to get us out of it. "I think you're lying." Rick finally states after a moment, before he turns to look at the doctor.

"What?"

"You're lying about no hope," Rick repeats as he continues to stare at the man, almost as if he had finally figured him out. Pushing myself back to my feet, I tug on Millie's leash to keep her close to me in case anything else were to happen. "If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest of them or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path, why?" Raising a brow at Rick's words, I glance toward Jenner who looks away from the man and toward the computer in front of him. It was like he, himself, didn't even know the answer to that question. "It doesn't matter." Jenner replies after a moment, as he leans back in his chair.

"It does matter. It always matters," Rick counters, as he moves to stand closer to the man who remains seated. It was like he is pushing to find the answers to these questions, almost as if he wanted to know the story as to why this man is still here. "You stayed when others ran. Why?" Shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another, my hazel eyes dart between the two men as they both stared at one another. Hurt flashed through the eyes of Edwin Jenner, as he looks back toward the computer next to him. Who did he lose?

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise.... to her. My wife." The man finally admits as he looks toward the huge screen that we'd seen yesterday, tears brimming in his blue eyes. Even from where I stood, I can tell he is still grieving the loss of the woman who had meant the world to him. "Test subject 19 was your wife?" Lori questions after a moment of silence, her eyes growing wide at the realization. Glancing over toward the screen that had shown the woman's last moments, I couldn't help but tear up a bit.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no?" Jenner explains as a tear slowly makes itself known on his cheek, the pain evident on his features as he continues to talk about the woman he loved. Noticing Daryl leaving my side, I watch as he picks up the ax once more as he and T-Dog walk back toward the doors to hack away at it. "She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody," My heart clenches at his words, as I know his death would have mattered to someone, whether it was his wife or someone else. But by the way, he looks distant, I can tell he truly believes that nobody would have cared if he died. "She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just... I'm just Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."

"Your wife didn't have a choice," I sign after gaining the attention of the man, hoping that he would understand the words that were formed on my hands. His eyes stay glued to my fingers, pain flashing through his eyes as if he understood. "You do. You have that choice. That's all we want, a choice, a chance. Let us keep trying for as long as we can, let us fight for a better world for ourselves and those children." Stepping forward, I crouch down in front of him as I grabbed his hands into my own. My hazel eyes pleading for him to understand, pleading for him to open those doors so we can continue to fight. He looks away from me and toward the children who are still huddled together, a sigh leaving his lips as he begins to type numbers into a keypad.

"I told you the topside's locked down. I can't open those." He states as he motions toward the doors that Daryl and T-Dog were still hitting with objects. Tilting my head toward the door, I watch as the two men stop just as it begins to open after being locked shut. Relief washes over me for a split second, before I push myself to my feet and rush over toward Carl and Sophia who still stayed seated on the tiled floors. Reaching my hand out for the kids to take, I quickly pull them to their feet as the four of us start running toward the door. I didn't care if their parents were following or not, as their safety is now my main priority.

Once we had exited the room where Doctor Edwin Jenner stayed, I quickly take my knife from my sheath before slicing Millie's leash off my belt loop which allows her to take off running ahead of us. Grabbing the hands of Carl and Sophia once more, I dismiss the others running toward the rooms, as I begin to run in the opposite direction - my mind focused on getting the kids out of here. My chest tightens and my lungs begin to ache as the four of us run down many different corridors, making many twists and turns to try and get ourselves out of this mess. Sweat coats every inch of my skin as the air around us grows more humid by the second, but I refuse to stop until I get these kids to safety. Finally reaching a flight of stairs that lead up, I am quick to push open the double doors before pushing the kids forward for them to run.

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, I continue to push us forward as we begin to get closer to the lobby that we entered yesterday. My body begs me to stop, but I refuse to listen knowing that I needed to get these kids out of this building before it completely explodes. Feeling tiny hands leave mine in a quick motion, I slide to a stop which causes me to lose my balance. Nearly falling, I am quick to regain my balance as I look back behind me frantically in search of the child. Noticing that Sophia had tripped over her own feet and had fallen, I am quick to let go of Carl's hand before running toward the young girl who still cried.

Kneeling down in front of the small girl, I grab her arms and wrap them around my shoulders before I pick her up and hold her close. Using one arm to hug her body close to mine, I use my free hand to grab Carl's before we start running again. Sophia hugs me close as she wrapped her legs around my torso, burying her head in the crook of my neck. My heart pounds rapidly in my chest knowing that carrying Sophia slows us down by a lot, but I refuse to put her back to her feet. Once we reach the lobby, I rush to the wall furthest from the windows before placing Sophia back to her own feet next to Carl.

"Please, please don't leave us Kat." Sophia suddenly begs as she grabs at my arms frantically. Her doe-like brown eyes are wide and full of fear she she stares up at me, her nails digging into my arm. Nodding toward the young girl, I wrap my arms around her frame as I run my fingers through her hair. Using my free arm, I pull Carl closer to me as I tilt my head to look in the direction that we had come from - catching the glimpse of the others finally catching up to us. Daryl rushes toward me as he hands me my bow and arrow, causing me to let go of the kids long enough to get all of my weapons in their correct places.

Lori and Carol are quick to catch sight of me, as they had noticed that I took their children in order to protect them. Their frantic eyes seem to have calmed at the sight of their children unharmed, as they rush toward us with open arms. Letting go of Carl and Sophia, I urge them to run toward their mothers as I pull my gun from my holster. Running to join the men as they try to break the glass, I aim my gun before clicking off the safety. Pulling the trigger twice, I watch as the two bullets do nothing but bounce off the glass.

"Rick, I have something that might help." Carol offers while she digs into her purse, as she walks toward the former sheriff. Glancing toward Daryl with a confused stare, he moves to stand closer to me as he taps his leg to signal for Millie to stand close. "Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane comments bitterly, as he continues to hold a rather large gun in his grasp. Rolling my eyes at the man's comeback, I watch as Carol pulls a round object from the purse and hands it to Rick. "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket." She informs us as the former sheriff takes it from her grasp.

Rick looks down at the object for a moment, before he looks toward the wall of glass that kept us locked in this building. Knowing what he was thinking about, I grab Millie by her collar before I run away from the windows with Daryl following closely behind. Jumping down a small flight of stairs, I am quick to fall to the floor as I hover over my dog as Daryl throws himself over me protectively. Hiding my face in Millie's fur, the entire ground shakes violently as a gust of heat engulfs us almost immediately which lets me know that Rick Grimes had blown up the windows. Daryl was the first to stand to his feet before he pulls me to mine and shoves me in the direction of the now broken windows.

He jumps down from the small ledge before turning around and holding his arms out, causing me to pick up Millie with a bit of struggle before I carefully hand the dog toward my best friend. Once I knew that she was safely in his grasp, I let go and allow him to place her on the ground away from the glass. Daryl then turns back and holds his arms out so I could jump into them, which I do without a second thought. His hands stayed firmly on my sides until my feet touched the ground before he grabs my hand tightly. Slapping my hand against my thigh to gain Millie's attention, I motion for her to follow after us as we all start running toward our vehicles.

After running the short distance from the CDC and the vehicles, jumping over a few dead bodies and a pile of sandbags we finally reach the old blue pickup truck that still has Merle's motorcycle in the bed. Daryl lets go of my hand as he tosses our bags next to the bike before he opens the door of the truck and tosses Millie inside before he forces me in after her. Grabbing my dog, despite her size, I place her on the floorboard carefully before I place my own body over hers. Daryl then gets into the driver's side before he throws himself over Millie and me protectively, just as the entire world seems to shake violently. My entire body tenses as the temperatures rise dramatically, letting me know that the CDC had blown up.

Our safe place is gone.

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Word Count: 4,690

Welcome back!

I'm so glad that I am finally able to publish chapter eight of this book! This chapter finishes up episode six of season one TS-19, which now leads up to the second season! Which is the season I have been wanting to write for a while now, as it gets more in-depth with the relationships that form between Katherine and the others. I am so sorry if this chapter is short and seems rushed, I just really wanted to end season one and I didn't know how to really word the last scenes of TS-19. I also want to sorry sorry for taking forever to upload.

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

[ I personally think I could have done better. ]

What are your thoughts of Katherine Johnson in this chapter?

Remember to stay safe, socially distant, and wear a mask!

Lots of Love,Crimson Rose