A Broken World

Fourteen

Everyone was working to help clean up the bodies. Any walkers were hit in the head with a pickaxe before being carried to the fire. Andrea still sat beside Amy in front of the RV. It was only a matter of time before Amy turned. Everyone was tired, dirty, and sweaty from the hot sun beating down on us as we worked. Lori was the only one not working as hard as the rest of us. She did try to talk to Andrea; to be gentle with her and explain that we needed to take her so we could bury her. But Andrea just sat there, staring at her dead sister.

Rick walked back to the fire pit where some of us stood. I had my hands on my hips looking at Andrea. "She still hasn't moved?" Rick asked. We shook our heads and he walked over to her. As soon as he went to bend down beside her, she pulled her gun and pointed it at him. "I know how the safety works," she said. Rick stood back up and backed away. "We have to do something," I said. Daryl walked over and stopped beside me. "Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb," he said.

"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 told him. I nodded in agreement. "He's right. Amy is going to turn eventually. Is Andrea even going to be able to put her down when she does? We need to do it now. Daryl can hit her with an arrow. Quick and clean." Lori sat down on a log and said, "No. For God's sakes, let her be." I raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"Fine. But when she turns and if Andrea can't put her down and gets bit or anyone else gets hurt, that blood will be on your hands. Which by the way, maybe you should use those hands and get off your ass and start helping around here." With that I walked away. "You left my brother for dead! You had this comin' to you!" Daryl said and went back to work. Everyone looked at him then went back to work. Glenn got upset when they tried to throw someone they didn't realize was from our group on the fire. Then Daryl let Carol use the pickaxe on Ed. Once she got one hit in she went for a few more, crying, and letting her frustrations out.

Eventually Amy did turn and luckily Andrea took care of it, but she continued to sit in the same spot. The only person that had been successful at going up to her was Dale. He had that kind of presence about him. He's the reasoning of the group when we have a decision to make and everyone has their own opinions on what to do. He talks sense into all of us, keeps us calm, and makes us think about what we are talking about. Just like now, while we argue about what to do with Jim. Turns out he was bitten while fighting off the walkers last night.

Daryl wanted to just put him out of his misery, as he put it. Shane and Rick were against that. For Jim's safety Rick led him into the RV where he stayed. We buried our people and continued our fight about the CDC. He was so sure there was someone there; that they were working on some kind of cure. "There is no one there, Rick. The people that were there left and are dead. The military could not protect it after the city was overrun!" I said sternly. "There has to be someone still there. They would do everything possible to protect that place!"

"Oh, my god! Were you not listening to me?! There are hundreds of bodies laying around that building. I have been in that city since before they bombed it. I lived in that city. There is nothing and no one there." Nothing I said convinced him that it was a waste of time. It was all said and done. We would be leaving for the CDC in the morning. I understood Rick wanted to save Jim, but there was no saving him. He was already feverish and coughing up blood. It would kill and he would turn. There was no cure and probably never will be.

Not if there weren't any scientists to make a cure. They probably didn't find out what caused all of this in the first place. It all happened so fast. People started getting sick, hospital emergency departments were flooded with people. Crimes started going up, calls from people saying they had been attacked. It just got worse and worse as the days went by. When the city was bombed they thought it was the best option, that it would kill all the dead. But it didn't…obviously.

That night I was in my tent making sure everything was packed up. I didn't have much so it didn't take too long. Packing light was the beat choice in these kinds of situations. The kind of situation where you always have to run. I also needed to figure out who I was riding with. After I had everything packed up and set by the tent door I laid down on the cot and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long damn day. We need to break all the tents down and pack the cars up, and a lot more.

The morning came and we started taking everything down. Andrea was sleeping in the chair though, which I didn't blame her. She sat beside Amy all night and all day until we had to bury her. There was nothing to eat so we just took a break before loading the cars. Once everyone ready, Dale woke up Andrea, loaded the cars, and then Rick and Shane handed out walkies. They explained the so called rules if someone needed to stop or was having trouble.

I still didn't know who I would be riding with. I had my pack on my back and a duffle in one hand. Morales and his family decided they were going to try and find family instead of going to the CDC. That was smart and not so smart at the same time. They would be alone that was the bad part, but they wouldn't have to be disappointed when we got to the CDC and nobody was there. Rick gave them a gun and some ammo, and we said our goodbyes.

"How about you ride with me," Shane said, coming up beside me. Before I could answer my duffle was being taken out of my hand. "Nah, she's riding with me. Let's go." I looked over at Daryl and then back at Shane. "Thanks for the offer," I told him and went over to Daryl's truck. Merle's chopper was in the bed, which Daryl set Mt duffle beside it with other stuff he had back there. It's been a long time since I have rode in this truck with him.