Disarm ⋙ Shane Walsh ⋙ The Walking Dead

Down In a Hole ⋙ t w e n t y t h r e e

Katherine was jarred from her sleep when she heard Lori's voice. "Katherine. We're almost there. Time to get up." Kat groaned and rubbed her eyes. She didn't realize just how exhausted that she had been. She looked out of the car window to see carnage everywhere. Walker bodies littered the sidewalks and streets. Tanks and police cars were everywhere that they could possibly fit. She didn't realize that Atlanta had been such a battleground. The cars slowed down outside of a huge building, the CDC, and everyone parked and began to get out of their respective cars. There were flies everywhere, the buzzing was almost deafening. And the smell, the smell made Katherine want to vomit. 

Everyone began to walk towards the building, Katherine went over to Shane and grabbed onto his hand. She wanted to be close to him and Shane felt the same way. He needed her by his side, he needed her safe. Shane and Katherine picked up the pace, falling in next to Lori, Carl, and Rick. Rick noticed Shane holding Katherine's hand, but he held his tongue. Shane was the first to speak. "All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go. Okay, keep moving. Stay together." Rick reiterated, "Keep moving. Come on." Katherine pulled her hand over her mouth, ready to vomit at any second. 

Shane let go of Katherine's hand, pushing her in front of him. She glanced back at him and he just nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I got you, Baby Girl. Nothing is gonna hurt you." He kissed her ear and stood back up, continuing to lead her and the rest of the group. The group finally reached the building, but the sight was not welcoming. The shutters were down. There was no way in. Shane let go of Kat and began to pound on the door. A large booming noise rang out and Katherine looked on in horror. What a fucking idiot. 

T-Dog was the first one with the courage to speak. "There's nobody here!" Rick whipped his head around, a mixture of fury and desperation in his eyes. "Then why are these shutters down?" What everyone saw as a barrier, Rick saw as some form of hope. Before anyone else could react to the situation, Daryl alerted the group to approaching walkers. Katherine felt Shane jerk her back into him as Daryl shot the walker. Daryl turned to look at her father, rage burning in his eyes. "You led us into a graveyard!" Shane was the first to defend his best friend. "He made a call!" Shane's grip on Katherine's arm was tight, he was pissed. "It was the wrong damn call!" Katherine pulled herself from Shane's grasp and began to walk over to the youngest Dixon. "What the fuck was he supposed to do? Let us sit at that camp and wait for the next hoard?"

Katherine's fury was evident all over her face. Daryl stared down at her, in slight shock that she said something. "Who the fuck asked you, Prom Queen?" Kat began to walk closer to the man and he began walking closer to her. They were both ready to fight, when Shane shoved himself in-between the two, pushing Daryl back. "Take one more fucking step." Daryl weighed his options, not wanting to be brought down by the former cop again. "Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end." Daryl sneered at Shane and backed off from the situation. Katherine grabbed the back of Shane's shirt, trying to stay close to him. Rick saw this and it did not help with his anxiety. 

Shane turned and grabbed Katherine's hand and walked over to Rick. Jacqui was in panic mode as well. "What are we going to do?" Shane was now in Rick's face. "Do you hear me? No blame." Lori pulled Carl close to her, trying to protect her youngest. "She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark." "Fort Benning, Rick. Still an option." Andrea jumped into the argument, much to Katherine's chagrin. She just wanted her to be quiet. "On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles." Glenn looked around nervously. "It 125. I checked on the map." Lori walked closer to Rick, Shane, and Katherine. "Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now. My children are not going to die like this." Katherine looked down at Carl. Fear was painted all over his face. 

Rick turned to Lori, a pleading look on his face. "We'll think of something, I promise." Shane wrapped his arm around Katherine's shoulders, pulling her closer to him. He was getting bold. "Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please." Katherine was starting to agree with him. They just needed to get out. She watched her father's head turn, he was staring at a security camera. "All right, everybody back to the cars. Let's go. Move." He was pulling Katherine along with him, terrified to have her out of his sight. Katherine looked back at her father, who was still standing there, just staring at a security camera. "It moved." Shane and her stopped in their tracks. Both were very skeptical of this statement. "Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on!" 

Shane and Katherine both walked back to Rick, Lori and Carl were close behind. "Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick." Rick began to pound on the shutters, making a huge amount of noise. "Dad, please, come on! There's nobody in there!" Rick was adamant, and began to yell at the camera. "I know you're in there. I know you can hear me!" Lori shoved Carl over to Katherine and she wrapped her arms around her younger brother. Shane was trying to pull Rick away with Lori's help, but it wasn't working. He wasn't going to budge. 

Shane turned away from his friend and so did Lori. Lori grabbed Carl's hand and Shane once again grabbed Katherine's. "Everybody get back to the cars now!" Katherine was still staring at her father, praying that he would come to his senses. But no, he was still speaking at the camera. "Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left." Lori had tears in her eyes as she held Carl close to her. "Rick. There's nobody here." "We have nowhere else to go!" He began to pound on the door again. "Keep your eyes open. If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!"

Katherine was tearing up, walkers were getting closer and she was terrified. Kat wrapped her arms around Shane's midsection. She just wanted to be close to him, in this moment he was her safety. Shane pulled her closer, putting his hand on her head and pushing it into his chest. "Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go." But Rick wouldn't listen. "Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" The walkers were beyond close at this point. Rick heard their horrible groans and began to walk away. But then there was a blinding light.