The Walking Dead Season 1: The Start of Something New

Chapter 13: Wildfire (Part 1)

My POV(last night)
"Morales! Work your way up here!" Shane yelled after taking a shot at another walker.
The Morales family were near the RV with Dale and Jacqui fending off walkers the same way we did.
I can only hear cries, gunshots, yelling, and growling. People I knew got torn apart by the dead, feasting on them.
"Stay close baby!" I told Angie, putting her behind me before I killed two walkers.
We need help now! Where are they? I hope they brought that bag.
I saw Amy got munched by a walker on her shoulder and cried out in pain.
The walker's head blew up before I aimed my gun at it. Dark red blood spilled everywhere.
I cannot believe who had just came to the rescue. Shotgun in hand, Lee shot a couple more as I stood amazed. They're here!
"You made it." I said.
After he killed a walker, he turned to me and gave me a grin. "Nice to see you again."
Before us, others came out of the woods clearing out walkers.
Rick used his revolver to get through to his family. Daryl took out a walker with the butt of his rifle. Glenn, Kenny, and T killed off the rest.
Carl break free from his mom's grasp and ran for his dad. "Dad!"
Rick lifted him up and carried him over to his wife, Lori. They embraced in each other's arms, crying.
I noticed that the screaming and growling had stopped. They're all dead? I searched for any more walkers, but there's none. Everything is quiet and still.
Angie was still hugging my leg, whining. I rubbed her back. "It's ok. They're gone now."
I looked around and our camp was a mess. Bodies, people and walkers everywhere. The moonlight reflected off of the blood of the dead.
Jim came around with a bat, looking exhausted. Morales comfort his family. Carol held Sophia. And Glenn was frantically looking around.
I picked up my sister and walked over to him. "Hey, hey. Glenn, calm down. It's over."
He became less tense, then collapsed onto a chair and putting his gun down. "S***."
I looked at everyone's faces but somebody's missing. "Where's Seline?"
"She went to the other side of camp to clear out any walkers." Glenn told me.
I head back to my tent and I froze in place from what I saw. Angie buried her face in my shirt, not wanting to see it.
Xavier was on his knees, Yazmin in his arms. Blood stained her white blouse to a dark red on her shoulder.
Seline stood up and I met her eyes filled with tears. She instantly raced to us and hugged us.
F***! How did this happen? And why? Wtf!? Most of the people here died, but Yazmin is one of our closest friends. I can't imagine what Xavier must have felt.
Will this f****** nightmare end?
(Now)
I woke up and it was finally morning. I didn't get enough sleep last night. Who couldn't? All those bodies out there and the rotting smell from them.
I left the tent and found Xavier on the ground with his girlfriend. Has he been there all night?
I kneeled down beside him. "Hey, um I'm sorry this happen to you but um she's gone. And she'll come back as one of them." I was afraid to tell him this, because I don't know what he'll do. "So... you have to take care of this or someone else will."
Wtf? He's still vigil over Yazmin. I sighed and got up. I'm really worried about him. What if he can't kill her? She's a threat now and he's putting himself in danger. I need help.
I left him and began to look for Seline. Everyone who is still alive were too busy cleaning up the place: removing dead bodies, and then burning them. I don't like the thought of burning people but that's what we decided to do. Because to get rid of this virus for good.
I found Lori talking to Andrea. Her too? The last time I saw her, she was crying over Amy, and now she's still there. F***! I shook my head.
"Morning Gabe." Lee greeted. He was dragging a dead walker by its leg.
"Morning. Do you know where Seline went?" I asked.
"She went down the road with Dale and Kenny. Picking up the rest of our group. Getting a radiator hose from our RV. Why you ask?" He told me.
"Our friend ain't doing so good. He'd stayed up over night with her." I told him, cocking my head to Xavier's direction. "And I can't get him to move so maybe she can help."
He sighed and nodded. "Well I hope things will turn out alright. You could help us out until she comes back." Lee said.
I nodded. "Yeah sure." I said before finding another body. I picked it up and followed Lee to the pile of burning corpses a few feet away.
Rick was behind us, doing the same thing until he stopped when Lori came.
"She still won't move?" He asked her.
"She won't even talk to us. She's been there all night. What do we do?" Lori asked, arms folded.
"It's the same with Xavier. He haven't moved a muscle since last night's attack." I told them.
Maybe he can help me. After all, he is a cop. Cops help people who have lost someone.
From the other side of the fire pit, Shane threw another body in. "Can't just leave Amy and Yazmin like that. They need to deal with it, same as the others."
Lee looked at Shane. "You can't be serious. They had lost someone very close. We can't expect them to get over it. Give them some time."
"I'm with Lee." I said.
"You see, we don't have time. These girls are gonna turn and will kill everything in its way. I say we should prevent that from happening." Shane declared.
I was thinking about what to say but Rick left. "I'll tell her how it is."
He heads over to Andrea and instantly she drew her gun at him. "I know how the safety works." She threatened.
D***. What's wrong with her?
Rick has his hands out in front of him and backs away slowly. "All right. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
(TWD theme plays)
Seline's POV
Down the road, I was standing on the roof of Kenny's RV keeping watch, with a rifle in hand. Below, Dale and Kenny were working on that hose thingy and Katja and the other kids were inside, waiting.
Earlier I woke up and found Xavier at the same spot with his girlfriend. It's so depressing to see him like that. Poor him."Seline?" Clementine's voice called me.
I loomed over the roof's edge and there she is. She's still wears that baseball cap. "Yeah?"
"When are we gonna play with the new kids up there?" She asked.
"I don't know sweetie. Go ask Dale. He'll know." I told her, grinning. She's so adorable.
"Don't worry kid, just one screw left... and done." Dale said, popping his head out of the hood.
"Great, let's get a move on." Kenny said.
I put the rifle over my shoulder and climbed down the back ladder. We all got in Carol's station wagon and head back up to camp.
"Is everyone alright? I heard many screams when we got here?" Katja asked from the backseat.
I shook my head and sighed. "We have less people now."
"I'm so sorry." She said. I put the wagon in drive before taking a deep breath. On the rearview mirror I saw Katja holding her son. Was he that pale before?
My POV
We were discussing on what to do with these dead girls. Daryl paced around with a pickaxe over his shoulder. "Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl and that loverboy hamstring us. These dead girls are a time bomb."
"What do you suggest?" Rick asked.
"Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance." Daryl said.
"No, they're in pain. Let them be." I said.
Daryl scoffed and kicked Morales at the bottom of his boot. "Wake up jimbo, we got work to do."
Morales slowly exhausted got up and began following Daryl. He's tired because he was on guard duty a few hours ago late at night. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest man. I got it."
"Thank you." He said before leaving for his family.
I helped the redneck drag the dead camper to the fire pit. He was one of us, a survivor. Instead of burying our dead, we burn them with the walkers if they're bitten.
We were inches away from the pit until Glenn stopped us. "What are you guys doing? This is for walkers. Our people go over there." He said, pointing at the row of dead bodies behind him. All of their heads been penetrated with some kind of knife.
"What's the difference? They're all infected." Daryl retorted rudely.
"Our people go over there." He pointed again. He began to tear up. "We don't burn them! We bury them. Understand?"
Since when they change their minds? Daryl spit on the ground before he said. "You reap what you sow."
"You know what man? Just don't say anything, Daryl." I told him.
He scoffed and dragged the body to where Glenn wanted it to be.
"Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming!" Daryl shouted, then stormed off to fetch another body. I sighed.
A station wagon pulled up next to the RV after Daryl and I threw another dead walker into the fire. Seline, Dale, Clementine, Kenny and his family got out of the car. Clementine ran towards Lee as soon as she saw him. "Lee! You're okay." She said happily, before hugging.
"Hey, sweet pea. I'm fine." Lee said. Very glad to see her. "Is everything turn out okay?" He asked.
"Hmm hmm." She nodded.
"That looks familiar." Kenny said, looking at the pile of burning corpses. It does. The last time I was with them, we were doing the same thing at the Inn in Macon.
Seline's POV
I was trying to move this overweight walker, but it won't budge.
"Need help?" Jim asked.
"Heck yeah I need help." I said. When he got closer I noticed a red stain on his shirt. Is that blood? A small breeze moved his flanel shirt a little and it's enough to reveal a cut or something on his chest. Yep, that's blood.
"Are you bleeding?" I asked, concerned. What if its a bite?
"I just got some on me from the bodies." He said.
"I can see part of your wound and the blood is fresh. Why are you lying?" I asked.
Jim didn't answer, frozen. "Were you bit?"
"No. I got scratched during the attack." He changed his story. He got bit.
"You got bit."
"I'm fine." He lied again.
"Then show me." I challenged him, as I got up.
He got up with me and lean in closer. "Don't tell please." He whispered.
He asked to keep this a secret? Hell no! I stomped over to the middle of the camp where everybody can see me. "A walker got him! A walker bit Jim!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing and gather around him like he's a walker already. He looked at me with that face saying why?
I just took a step back away from him, feeling guilty now. I hope I did the right thing.
Jim has his hands up in the air. "I'm okay. I'm okay."
"No you ain't. You got blood on you." Kenny pointed out. Daryl came pacing towards him, holding a pickaxe over his shoulder. Jim was intimidated by Daryl's stature and everyone staring at him. Oh god. Are they gonna kill him?
"Show it to us?" Daryl demanded.
Jim felt threatened as Shane stepped forward when he grabbed a shovel off the ground.
Shane put his hand out. "Easy Jim."
"We're not gonna hurt you." Gabe told him.
I saw Carol, Lori, and Katja hold on to their kids.
Shane carefully moved a inch closer. "Jim. Put it down. Put it down."
"I'm okay guys. I'm not a..." Jim tried to talk to us but T grabbed him from behind and Daryl pulled up his shirt. A bloody bite mark was revealed to everyone. All were shocked to see him. Daryl let's go of his shirt and T let's go of Jim.
He sounds delirious. "I'm ok, I'm ok. I'm ok."
(Later)
The children left and Jim sat by the RV while the rest of us discuss on what to do with them.
"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girls' and be done with it." Daryl suggested.
"Is that what'd you want if it were you?" Shane asked him.
"Yeah and I'd thank you while you do it." He said.
"I hate to say it.... I never thought I would but maybe Daryl's right." Dale said, Daryl smirked.
"No one wants to be a walker." Gabe said.
"I can tell it's new to you taking down one of your own people, but it's what we gotta do. He'll be a threat soon. I.... we felt bad after taking care of Larry. We all know he's gonna turn so we did it. We need to make a quick decision about this. So, I'm telling you, this is the right call." Kenny told Rick.
Shane glanced at Lee and Kenny. "I'm sorry about that man."
I was shocked to hear about Larry. Oh my god.
"I'm sorry for that too. Rick I'm sorry but they're right." Dale said.
"Jim's not a monster, or some rabid dog." Rick said, shifting his footing.
"Not yet." Gabe said. I glared at him and he nodded. I thought he was sentimental.
Rick looked at him then back to Dale. "I'm not suggesting."
Rick rubbed his eyes. "He's sick. A sick man people. When we start to go down that road, where do we draw the line?" I asked everybody. I can't deal with more death right now. My dog, then my parents, Yazmin, so many people dying.
"The line's pretty clear little girl. Zero tolerance for walkers. Or them to be." He said coldly. Where had the world gone?
"What if we can get him help? I heard the CDC were working on a cure." Rick proclaimed.
"We heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell." Shane said, disapproving his suggestion.
"What if the CDC is still up and running." Rick tried to convince him and everyone.
"Man, that is a stretch right there." Kenny agreed with Shane. Really Ken?
"The man's right. The CDC is a hunch alright." Shane told him.
"Why is it? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the CDC at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection, rescue..." Rick convinced his partner but he cut him off.
"Okay Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too. Okay? If they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning." Shane declared.
"That's a hundred miles in the opposite direction." Lori think it through.
"That's 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." He explained.
Rick rebutted. "The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance."
Daryl shook his head. "You go looking for aspirin: do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this d*** problem." He said before he ran for Jim wielding a pickaxe.
"S*** Daryl! No!" I shouted but he won't stop.
Rick caught up quickly to Daryl before the stupid redneck could kill Jim. He stopped suddenly when Rick has his revolver up to the back of his head. He cocks it. "We don't kill the living." Rick said, eyes narrowed down at Daryl.
He lowered the pickaxe as Shane got between him and the sick man. Daryl confronted Rick. "That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."
"The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The CDC is our best choice and Jim's only chance."." Shane ordered.
Daryl gave one last glare at the two cops in charge before he sticks the pickaxe in the ground and walked away.
Rick grabbed Jim by the arm. "Come with me."
"Where are you taking me?" Jim asked, worried. Oh no please don't kill him.
"Somewhere safe." He said as he led Jim in the RV.
Daryl passed by me. What the f is wrong with him?
My POV
Great, now we got three gonna-be walkers to worry about. I hope that what Rick said was true. If it's true, then there's a chance for Jim. On the other hand fort benning does sound nice but it's too far. I kept on thinking about this dilemma while smashing heads with my bat.
Nearby, Daryl does the same thing with his pickaxe. He was about to hit Ed until Carol stopped him. "I'll do it. He's my husband." She sniffed. She had been crying a lot last night.
Daryl handed her pickaxe. With both hands she swung it and penetrate Ed's skull with everything she got. Blood splattered everywhere.
She sobbed heavily for a moment. I came forward to give her a hug but she continued to beat Ed. She doesn't have to but she swung three more times. Grunting and crying. Daryl and I stood there, letting her do this. He had been treating her like c*** so she wanted to get back at him but at the same time she still loves him.
I left for another body, stunned by everything that had happened so far. I stared down at the corpse when I get there. He's a walker. Pieces of flesh had been ripped apart on the neck and two bites on his arm. He's tall and dark, around 20 years of age. I remembered what Rick said back in Atlanta when we killed a walker and he insist to know his name. I forgot what it is, start with a d I think.
I was about to pick him up until the corner of my eye I saw Yazmin moved, her arm twitch a little.
Xavier was still by her side, holding her hand. I took out my pistol from the back of my pants. Keep it hidden from him. Just a precaution.
Her eyes slowly opened, revealing her cloudy gray dilated pupils. I can hear her boyfriend sobbing as he placed his hand on her forehead to the cheek. "Baby?"
She didn't respond, distracted by everything around her.
"Oh s***." Lee said surprised. Now everyone noticed Yazmin's resurrection and all took arm.
She rose to Xavier and grab hold of his hair, moaning trying to take a bite out of him. Xavier held her back with his left hand. His lips quivered as he reached for his gun.
He sniffed and pressed his black block pistol up to the side of her head. "I'm so sorry. I could've.... I could've done something." Yazmin continued to moan then growl. Trying to force Xavier to her. "I'm so sorry baby. I love you." He closed his eyes and kissed her on the forehead before he squeezed the trigger.
The shot echoed as the bullet bursts out of her head behind the ear. Her body was motionless in his arms again.
Not a moment too soon, another gun went off. I turned and saw Andrea with her sister. She's gone too. Her body was still lifeless but I know what happened when blood dripped from a hole in her head.
I can't describe what I felt. It's like I've been put into hell or a nightmare, more like a different world.
Later
After I finished loading Daryl's pickup full of bodies, I collapsed onto a chair with a sigh. F******. "Not coming Gabe?" Daryl asked from the cab. I really don't feel like working with the dead. It's just I'm tired of it.
"Nah. I'll just take a break for a while." I told him.
He left without saying a word. Was he effected by this at all. I know he's a tough guy but come on. Nothing?
I turned to my tent and picture Xavier inside. He went in after Yazmin pass away. He's been sobbing for hours. Yazmin and Xavier are really close that they can't keep their hands off each other. They're inseparable. Just yesterday I caught them in the backseat of my car kissing. And now she's gone. That fast?
I looked up ahead and spot Angie playing with the other kids, kicking a soccer ball around. Clem brought it. I smiled as Angie tried to keep up with the older kids. But her huge smile on her face tells me she's having fun. I felt fine like relaxed.
Then it hit me. What happened to Yazmin could happen to any one. I tried to shake off the thought of my baby sister turning into one of those things.
I kept telling myself in my head I won't let that happen. I'll do what Jim said to me earlier. Never let her out of my sight.
"Hey." Seline's smooth calm voice broke out of my thoughts.
She sat on a log next to me and sighs. "Are you okay?" She asked.
I looked down and shook my head. "No. You?"
"Same here. Poor Xavier. I really thought we're safe here."
"Me too. Rick and Shane were talking about all of us leaving this place."
"I'm worried about that too. You know out on the road with walkers everywhere. I think it's better to follow Rick's plan to go to the CDC."
"Yeah, I really want to know what's going on."
Kenny and Lee joined us, sitting on a log in front of us. "Rick and Shane were still talking about it before we walked down here." Lee told us.
"Both made some good points but I don't know which is best." Ken sighed.
"What are you thinking Lee?" Seline asked.
Lee watched Clem play, then turned back to us. "I don't know either."

"Where's Duck? Ain't he supposed to be playing with the kids?" I asked Kenny.
"Oh uh he's with my wife in our tent. He wasn't feeling to good." Ken explained to us.
"Is it ok if we go see him?" Seline asked, getting up on her feet.
Ken unusually raised his voice as he stood up with her. "Uh no. It's fine he's just not feeling well..... I'll go check on him."
That's weird. Is he hiding something?
(Later)
All of us were up on the hill giving our respects to the fallen. But Amy wasn't buried yet, so we have to wait for Andrea to do it.
She was dragging Amy's corpse, wrapped in a sheet, to her grave. She has Amy by the feet as she climbed down the grave. Dale saw Andrea's struggle to drag the heavy body, so he offered a helping hand.
Andrea shook her head before wiping a sweat off her forehead. "I can do it. I can do it."
After she set her down, she climbed out and Lee and I stepped forward, shovels in our hands.
When we're done burying here, the funeral begins.
Each one of us, said a few words. It's weird that since the whole thing started we were all strangers, until we were forced to rely on each other. That's when we became more than strangers.
At my right, Xavier was quiet. Still heartbroken. I placed my hand on his shoulder. After that he left. Walked over to a cross where his girl was and gaved his respects. Dale stopped talking when he left.
Seline and I exchanged glances and then we followed him.
We caught up to him at the bottom of the hill. "Xavier, wait up!" I shouted.
"Leave me alone!" He shouted back.
"We just want to help you." Seline told him.
He stopped and turned to us. "You can't help me. Please just leave me alone!"
His face was red and his eyes watery, made us stopped following him.
"What are we going to do? He needs our help." Seline said.
"I don't know. Give him some space for now."