22 (TWD Fanfiction)

Chapter 10 - Shadowed Corners

  Sometimes I wonder if my parents did survive that night if we'd have made it much further than walking out the front door. So many are gone, most of the population was wiped out within weeks. If Shane hadn't found me when he did I'd be dead right now.

I wonder whether any of my friends lived, whether my Aunt and Uncle lived. It seems pointless to think about them. Like they were part of a distant far off world when it was really only a month ago that they would've been living life like normal.

Then I think about how I lived and they didn't. Why was it me and not my dad? Why was it me and not my Uncle? Out of everyone I used to know I wouldn't have guessed it'd be me who outlived them all.

Now as I walk down another hallway trailing after Dr. Jenner I think about how crazy this all is. I'm currently in the basement of some weird science lab in the middle of an apocalypse. The people who were supposed to be working on fixing this are all dead except for one man.

How did I outlive all of them? The ones who had an army of men protecting them outside died while I, a little girl who can barely hold a knife, survives.

I don't know why I lived and they didnt. I'll probably never figure out why. So I decide to stop thinking about it and focus on what's in front of me.

Dr. Jenner explains we can all sleep in the old worker's dorms, there aren't enough beds for all of us but there are cots we can pull out.

"There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power." Dr. Jenner explains.

Carl, Sophia, and I share a look of excitement.

"The same applies if you shower, go easy on the hot water." Jenner leaves us in the hallway after that.

"Hot water?" Glenn asks excitedly.

T-dog faces him. "That's what the man said."

Everyone starts heading into different rooms. Carl and Sophia follow after their own parents. Unsure of what to do I stand in the middle of th hallway. I could just follow Shane or Andrea, they'd definitely be okay with me sharing their rooms.

On second thought, maybe not Andrea, she still seems pretty sad about Amy.

I decide to just follow Shane and see if he kicks me out. Spinning around I see him heading into a room at the end of the hall so I hurry over and enter behind him. He seems to have noticed me running toward him since he doesn't start shutting the door until I'm inside.

"You can take the bed, Charlie."

"No, you take the bed. It's your room," I tell him. I didn't mean for him to give up the bed, I just didn't want to sleep out in the hall. "I'm fine with the cot."

"Cot seems more comfortable to me anyways." He waves me toward the bed. "Go on."

I toss my hat onto the pillows and jump onto the bed. It feels heavenly, I never knew a bed could feel so soft. Forcing myself to leave the comfy cloud from heaven I open my backpack and take out another shirt and pair of pajama shorts Glenn found on a run into Atlanta.

Not wanting to intrude any more than I already have I ask Shane if I can take a shower.

"Of course kid, go ahead."

I enter the bathroom and shut the door. It's a pretty large bathroom. A big sink sits in front of the door, to the left is the toilet, and across from it is a cabinet with towels hanging along the outside handles. Then there's the shower itself, it's covering the left wall completely, with a sliding door made of glass.