Complicated ✔

Ch. 9 - The CDC

KATHRYN’S POV

Seems like millions of things happened so fast in so little time after the attack. No one spoke to me other than Glenn but he only kept asking me if I was alright. I think to everyone I seemed to be in some kind of shock after almost getting bit but that wasn’t it. I just lost one of my two best friends since the apocalypse started and Daryl Dixon, the man I threatened hours before, saved my life. He could’ve let the thing bite me and that be the end of it but he didn’t and it confused the hell out of me. When everyone else went to bury our dead, I stayed up by the RV, not moving even when Dad tried to get me to. I just wanted to be left alone to deal with the crazy thoughts inside my head. But I couldn’t be left alone for too long, and I couldn’t stay locked in my head for long either, not in this world.

In the span of just a day after the attack, we lost Amy, found out Jim was bit and so Dad made it his priority to keep him from getting a bullet to the brain until we could get him to the CDC to see if there was some magical cure that’d make everything better for him. When we finally left for the CDC the morning after that, Dad wasn’t too happy about me riding in the RV with Glenn, Dale, Jacqui, and Jim. But I told him that he had a car full already with him, Lori, Carol, Carl, and Sophia and I wasn’t about to ride with Shane. Dad didn’t have to worry for too long about me riding in the same vehicle as an infected man. When the RV broke down because of the hose, Dad ended up talking with Jim while we stayed put and waited for Shane and T-Dog to get back from looking for something to fix the hose with.

Turns out, Jim wanted to be left there on the side of the road instead of try and make it to the CDC. He felt he wouldn’t make it there in time even if there was some cure for this shit. After they carried him out, before they made it up the hill to the tree line, I said my goodbyes to him because I was just going to wait in the RV until we started moving again. I was sitting in the little booth, facing the front as I waited for them to come back, my head resting on my arms that were crossed on the table top. When I felt a hand gently rubbing my back, I looked up to see Glenn’s face looking down at me. “You okay,” he asked while I just shrugged. “We lost Amy and a bunch of others the other night,” I whispered as I laid my head sideways so that I could look at him, “now we’re losing Jim too. How many more are we going to have to lose to this world Glenn?” “I don’t know Kathryn,” he whispered as he shook his head, “I don’t know.”

GLENN’S POV

I didn’t like seeing Kathryn upset like this. I couldn’t do a thing to cheer her up and that hurt me. She was close to Amy, and now Amy’s gone like so many others from our group. Every time I’d ask if she was okay, she would say she was or would shrug but I knew for a fact she wasn’t. Rick still wanted her to ride with him, Lori, Carl, Carol, and Sophia but she wanted to stay in the RV. “I’m going to lay down,” she whispered as she motioned for me to move out of the booth where I sat down beside her so she could get up and got to the back. Once she made it to the back where the beds were, Jacqui and Dale walked into the RV. “We’re heading on,” Dale said and I nodded, taking my seat beside him as I grabbed the map so we could head on to the CDC. “How she doing,” Dale asked after a few minutes. “About the same as the rest of us I guess,” I said as I looked down at the map.

KATHRYN’S POV

I stayed in the back, laying on one of the beds while we continued on our way to wherever they had decided to go now that we weren’t trying to get Jim to help. I just laid there, book in hand trying to read even though I couldn’t seem to focus on it, when suddenly the movement of the RV stopped and the engine cut off. I sat up just as Glenn was walking back to me. “We’re here,” he said nodding for me to follow him. Getting to my feet, I followed him cautiously out of the RV and looked around, instantly overwhelmed by the smell of rotting corpses. Placing my hand over my mouth and nose to try and keep from breathing as much of the smell as possible, I felt Glenn grab one of my hands and gently begin pulling me along behind him as our group made our way up to the building.

“Stay close,” Glenn whispered to me as he gave my hand a squeeze before letting it go so I could pull out my own gun and follow behind, keeping my other hand over my nose and mouth. I glanced around at my surroundings as I followed my dad and the others, taking in the sights of what had happened here. To me it looked like this was a dead end, like the place had been overrun by these things. As I continued to look around, my blue eyes locked with another pair belonging to Daryl. Staring at him for just a second, I tore my eyes away when I heard someone behind me cough, reminding me where I was and that I could just stop and stare at the man. I ignored everything being said around me as my dad and Shane began beating on the doors, trying to get them to open when Daryl’s voice shouted out. “Walkers,” he said causing most of the now smaller group to panic while he took care of one with his crossbow and Dad began shouting.

Everyone was panicking, placing the blame on Dad for leading us into a death trap, and just trying to get away from the threat of the approaching walkers. I felt someone grab my hand again, pulling me away from the building as everyone decided to leave, deeming the place unsafe to be around as the sun was setting and it was getting dark. My attention stayed on Dad, as he continued to beat on the metal doors that were blocking our entrance into safety while I was being tugged away. “Kathryn c’mon,” I heard Glenn’s voice from beside my head as I felt his arm wrap around my stomach as he began pulling me away from there where I was watching my dad after stopping. I tore my eyes away from my dad to look back at Glenn after watching Shane grab him and began pulling him away as he kept repeating one phrase over and over again to some camera that moved. I looked up at Glenn as I felt tears prickling my eyes before Glenn wrapped his arm tighter around me. “C’mon,” he whispered as he tried to lead me away again.

I allowed him to lead me away, trying to block out my dad’s pleads to the camera when suddenly there was a loud noise causing us all to stop in our tracks. Looking over my shoulder just as Glenn did, a blinding light filled out of the building just as one of the shutters opened up and the sound of creaking metal filled the air. “What the hell,” I heard Glenn mutter from behind me as everyone in the group was stunned into silence and Dad’s pleas had stopped. “Kathryn,” Dad whispered as he glanced back over at me. I pulled out of Glenn’s arms and ran over to his outstretched hand and basically curled into his side as his arm wrapped around my shoulders. “Dad,” I whispered out as I looked up at him while everyone seemed to be focused ahead of us. “It’s alright,” he whispered as he tighten his grip around my shoulders before we slowly started to make our way into the building, guns out just in case.

I had my gun in hand as I looked around the room once we entered into the building. Glenn placed him by my side but out of habit from these past few weeks, I looked around until I spotted Daryl standing in the back, glancing around every few seconds before hit attention went back to the door we came through. Clearing my head by shaking it, I turned back in front of me as I felt Glenn place a hand on my upper back as he continued to look around just like the rest of us. “Hello,” I heard my dad call out again just as we heard a gun cock from in front of us. Those who had guns instantly jumped and faced the same direction with our guns pointed at the new possible threat. “There anybody who’s infected,” a guy holding a gun said in front of us as I spared a glance to Glenn to see he was nervous. “One of our group was but he didn’t make it,” Dad said as I moved to stand on his other side.

“Why are you here,” the man asked looking around at all of us before his eyes landed on me and giving me the creeps, “what do you want?” “A chance,” Dad said as my gun lowered slightly but was still aimed at this guy. “Asking for an awful lot these days,” he said as he once again looked around at us all. “I know,” Dad said as his gun lowered and he wrapped one arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him and causing this guy to look at me once again. We waited while he decided our fate before he finally spoke up. “You all will submit to a blood test,” he said glancing around, “that’s the price of admission.” “Great,” I mumbled, “I hate needles.” “We can do that,” Dad said ignoring the comment I made about the needles. “You got stuff to bring in you do it now,” this man said, “once those doors close they won’t open again.” Dad nodded before he looked to me. “Kathryn you stay in here okay,” he whispered as I nodded before he turned and ran out with Daryl, Shane, and Glenn. I walked over to Carl and wrapped my arms around his as I turned to see that man once again staring and giving me the creeps.