My Hope

Chapter 3

Sarah's POV
A man named Jenner opened the doors, letting us all come inside. He asked Rick a few questions before shutting the gate and locking them. The price for us to stay was for us to give him some blood samples from each of us and Rick agreed.

We all crowed into a small elevator. I had to squeeze between Daryl and Shane in the back of the elevator, who were both to close for comfort. I was a little claustrophobic, and the fact that we were heading underground made it a little worse.

I closed my eyes, trying not to think about it. I felt a hand rub against mine and quickly grabbed it, squeezing with all I had. The door to the elevator opened and everyone exited.

"Ow..." a very stoic voice said to me. I opened my eyes and saw that I had grabbed Daryl's hand. I let go and he rubbed his now red hand, a smile slowly appearing on his face. We both walked out into a very large room filled with computers. There was a giant screen in the front of the room.

"Vi, say "welcome" to our guests." Jenner said.

"Hello guest. Welcome." a mechanical female voice said, making me jump.

Jenner led us to a room with tables and chairs spread around the room. "This is where I will be taking your blood samples." he said, grabbing his supplies and sitting down. We all went one after the other. Rick, Lori, Carl, Shane, T-Dog, Dale, Carol, and Sophia finished and Jacqui was next in line.

I crossed my arms and took a deep breathe knowing I was next. I never liked needles and I had never had blood drawn before, so I was a little nervous. I felt something rub against my arm. I looked to see Daryl, who had moved across the room and stood next to me.

He turned and looked down, towering over me a little. I was mesmerized, looking into his crisp blue eyes. He smirked and nodded his head towards the now open chair in front of Jenner. "Next." Jenner said, looking at me. I looked up and Daryl, who still had a childish smirk on his face. I rolled my eyes and walked over to Jenner. I sat down and took a deep breathe.

I closed my eyes and felt a pinch in my arm. I sat there for a minute or two while Jenner drew my blood.

"All done, next." Jenner said, handing me a band-aid. I got up and started walking back to where I stood before. It was Daryl's turn, so he started walking towards me. He bumped my shoulder with his, giving me a smirk as he passed me. I rolled my eyes and leaned against the wall next to Dale.

Dale gave a little chuckle and looked at me. "What?" I asked him sarcastically. "Nothing." he said back with a giant smile on his face.

Andrea was the last to get her blood drawn. She stood up from the chair only to start and tip over.

"Whoa," she said, being caught by Jacqui. "She hasn't eaten in days, none of us have." Jacqui said, helping Andrea to stand.

"I think I can help with that." Jenner said, signaling for us to follow him down the hall. He led us into a kitchen filled with food. I hadn't eaten since the day before I found Rick's group. There was enough food to feed an army for a few weeks.

We all sat down at a giant table and enjoyed the food that Jenner willing shared with us. I sat next to Carol and Sophia near the end of the table. Jenner had brought out a few bottles of wine for everyone to have.

I had never had alcohol before. I was old enough to drink it but never really had an interest in it or a need for it. I drank some fruit punch along with Carl and Sophia. We all laughed and talked for what seemed like hours. For the first time in about a week I was smiling and laughing, enjoying myself and the company of the group.

"I would like to give a toast to our wonderful host. It seems that we haven't thanked him properly." Rick said raising a glass. We all raised out glasses to him.

"He's more than a host." said T-Dog.

"He saved our lives." I said, raising my glass a little higher.

Everyone gave a 'hear, hear' and took a sip of their drinks. Daryl gave a "booyah" and finished a bottle of wine in one giant gulp.

I wasn't one to talk, so I just sat and listened to everyone talk about their pasts and laugh.

"So are you gonna tells us what happened here doc?" Shane said, killing all the laughter in the room. "We're celebrating here Shane." Rick said with his arm around Lori.

"Isn't this the reason we came here Rick? To find answers?" Shane said, anger in his voice as he played with a butter knife that was on the table.

The room stayed quiet for a minute, everyone turning their heads to look at Jenner. "When things got bad, everyone left to go and be with their families. When things got worse, and the military station outside got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner said, looking down at his feet.

"All of them?" Rick said with worry in his voice.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They...opted out. There was a rash of suicides. Now it is just me." Jenner said, staring Shane in the eyes.

"Why didn't you leave?" I asked.

"I wanted to keep working. Try and do some good, I guess." he said, taking a sip of wine from the bottle in his hand.

"Buzzkill." said Glenn, staring at Shane. Glenn was already drunk, his face bright red.

"Let's try and eat the rest of our meal's in peace?" said Lori. Everyone agreed, going back to eating.

This was going to be one interesting night.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to a very special person. My freshman religion teacher Mr. Dodson passed away two days ago and I would like to dedicate this to him. Without him, I would not be the person I am today. He was an amazing teacher who cared for each and every one of his students.

He made me feel seen when I felt invisible. There were so many times when I would be walking down the hall and he would walk up to me and say, "You make the school a better place" or "You are a great person".He did this for everyone and he made each student feel special.

He made learning easy and fun to do. He helped me to understand God and to become closer to Him. I will forever be grateful to him for that.

I will never forget the lessons he taught in and outside the classroom. He will never be forgotten. Sending prayers to his wife and baby son. Forever in our hearts.

Goodbye Mr. Dodson, thee Top Theologian. R.I.P.