Hushed ➳ Daryl Dixon

Chapter 13

         The next morning loud groans woke me, turning on my side I eyed Daryl for a second who was rubbing his eyes. "What are you looking at?" He snapped making me laugh.

He was definitely hung over, making him a little cranky. Thankfully I was not, I never really got hang overs either. Getting up I stepped around Daryl and grabbed some cleaner clothes and decided to take a shower again.

After showering I changed into my jeans and a tank top. The A/C felt amazing against my skin, didn't know I would ever be able to feel A/C ever again.

When I stepped out of the bathroom Daryl was gone. Sighing I brushed through my hair and walked out of the room being met with Rick. "Mornin" he moaned squinting his eyes to look at me.

I snorted, earning a glare from the man. He was hung over too. I can't imagine how Glenn feels right now.

Walking together we made it to the kitchen area again. Dale, Andrea, Glenn, Lori and Carl sat at the table eating eggs. T was in the kitchen areas cooking.

"Are you hung over?" Carl asked with a playful smile. "Mom said you would be" he chuckled.

"Mom, is right" Rick smiled sheepishly and sat down.

"Mom has that annoying habit" Lori mumbled smiling over at her husband. I smiled at her, I could help but be happy that Lori had found her family.

I took a seat next to Carl as T brought over a pan. "Eggs! Powdered, but I do em good" he smiled scooping some onto my plate. I nodded up at him before diving in.

"You always eat like you're starving" Carl commented from next to me. I chuckled and pulled a fake hurt face making him chuckle as well.

The others had started to join, laughing at Glenn as they walked by. His head was in his hands and he just looked like shit.

The passed around the bottle of Advil, everyone taking a couple and turning back to their food.

"Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again" Glenn complain looking up at me. Clearly he remembers the race between him and I, who can finish and entire glass of wine first. I won of course and I seemed to be the only one not hung over.

"Hey" Shane said walking into the room. "Feel as bad as I do?" Rick joked to his best friend. "Worse" Shane mumbled in return.

I scanned my eyes across everyone, my eyes landing on Daryl for a second who stayed focused on his eggs. As if he could feel my gaze he looked up at me, giving me a soft smile. I returned it before turning back to the rest of the group who were all staring at Shane.

"I must have done it in my sleep." Shane said sitting down. I knitted my eyebrows together, I really need to start paying attention so I don't miss things.

"I've never seen you do that before" Rick commented, almost as if Rick didn't believe him. Judging by the look on Loris face I was starting to not believe him either.

"Me neither" Shane said bluntly. I looked from Shane to Lori. "Not like me at all" he added. Lori avoided his eyes, looking down at her plate of food.

"Morning" Jenner said coming into the room and pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-" Dale said "but you will anyways" Jenner commented in a monotone voice.

"We didn't come here for the eggs" Andrea added making me chuckle to myself. Jenner turned around to look at us.

He started to walk away so everyone got up to follow, following him into the large room with computers. "Give me a playback of TA-19"

I furrowed my eyebrows as I stood next to Lori and Carl watching the picture come up on the screen.

"Few people ever got the chance to see this, very few" Jenner started, the screen was showing different scans of a brain.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked from next to me looking up at Jenner. "An extraordinary one" Jenner smiled lightly. "Not that is matters in the end"

I rolled my eyes at the man, he doesn't realize he was just talking to a child right?

"Enhanced internal view" the screen started to run and the brain got closer. We all stared silently, watching the screen. It continue to zoom in, showing off the light of veins inside.

"What are those lights?" Shane questioned, looking from the screen to Jenner. I glanced around looking at everyone. "It's a persons life- experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those rippled of light is you. The thing that makes you unique and human" Jenner explained looking at each of us.

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl said staring at the screen. I nearly snorted, he didn't make much sense saying that either.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does or things from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick asked stepping forward. "Yes"

"Or rather the playback of the vigil."

"This person died?" Andrea asked stepping forward as well. "Who?"

"Test subjects 19. Someone who was bitten and infected. They volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event."

The screen switched and a brain popped up again, the brain stem was dark. Darker than it had been before.

"What is that?" Glenn asked wide eyed at the screen, looking over at Jenner.

Everyone stared at the screen in shock, I wasn't even sure what to think.

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down, then the major organs. Then death"

It was dead silent between all of us, I was starting to breath so heavy I held my breath so no one else could hear me.

"Everything you ever were or ever will be. Gone."

"Is that was happened to Jim?" Sophia asked looking up at her mom. I peered around them smiling sadly at the girl. She was too pure for this world.

"Yes" Carol hesitated slightly. I understood why too, this world is going to strip the innocents out of children and there's no way to stop it.

~A/N~

Woah...

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~Mads