Safe haven | Rick Grimes

006. GIVE US THE CHOICE, THE CHANCE, TO SURVIVE

Chapter six

"Give us the choice, the chance, to survive."

A few weeks before the world completely ended, the horror began in the hospital corridors.

Shane had come by to visit Rick, and Scarlett had just guided him into the ICU room. They had only been standing by the bedside for a few minutes when the rhythmic hum of the life support machines was shattered by a wall of sound—panicked shouting, frantic footsteps, and the sharp overlapping crackle of military tactical radios.

They stepped to the door and cracked it open. The clean, quiet hallway was gone, replaced by a surge of heavily armed military personal pushing past fleeing nurses. Shane's survival instincts flared instantly. He locked his hand onto Scarlett's arm and violently yanked her out of the room, dragging her down the right corridor to find an exit.

Down the corridor, soldiers were systematically shooting patients in their beds and executing doctors against the wall. Anyone directly on the ground was shot in the head for good measure. Scarlett violently wretched her arm out of Shane's grip, turning on her heel to sprint back toward Rick's room.

Shane trailed right behind her as a fresh volley of automatic gunfire echoed down the concrete hallway. He burst through the door, finding Scarlett standing like a shield over Rick's unconscious form.

"Scar. Scarlett, I have to get you out of here right now!" He barked, his eyes darting to the window.

Scarlett turned to him, her face pale but set. "I'm not leaving him."

"What? No, no, Scar—" Shane stepped forward, reaching down to hoist Rick over his shoulder, but Scarlett threw her hands up, physically blocking him.

"You can't move him! If you take him off these machines rufht now, he will never wake up."

The heavy, deafening thrum of a military helicopter rattled the windowpanes as it passed low over the roof.

"Scarlett, if you stay here, they're going to kill the both of you!" Shane yelled over the noise.

"I know," Scarlett said, her voice dropping to a fierce whisper. "Which is why you need to go. Get Lori. Get Carl. And run."

She shoved him back toward the hallway. Shane hesitated for a fraction of a second, but Scarlett slammed the heavy wood door shut, cutting him off.

She spun around, sprinting to the blind spot behind Rick's bed. She ripped off her white lab coat and threw it under the gurney, leaving her just in her black long sleeve shirt and dark blue scrubs. She dropped flat onto the linoleum floor, her heart hammering against her ribs.

A second later, the door handle rattled and clicked. The door swung open, and from beneath the base of the bed, Scarlett saw a pair of polished black combat boots and camouflage military trousers step into the room.

The soldier stepped up to the bedside, raising his rifle to aim directly at Rick's head. Lying on the floor, Scarlett reacted on pure survival instinct. She lunged forward, gripped the heavy IV pole, and swung it with all her might, cracking the soldier across the helmet.

The blow sent him crashing to the floor, and his rifle went skidding across the floor. Scarlett scrambled over the bed, diving for the weapon, but the soldier lunged and caught her by the leg, dragging her down. He pinned her, throwing his weight over her as they both struggled for control.

Scarlett fought back, her hands finding the edges of his tactical gear. She managed to rip the helmet and mask from his face, then pulled him forward and delivered a sharp head butt. The impact dazed him, forcing him off her body.