42 S2E42 - We're All Infected

"We're all infected."

For a few seconds, everyone around goes quiet. Some look horrified, some confused, some look like they're ready to refuse. Amy is the first one to speak up,

"Uh… What do you mean?"

I sigh and look down at the carpet for a second before looking back up at her,

"When you die, it doesn't matter how, you come back as a walker. So long as your brain isn't destroyed, you come back."

Dale is the one to speak up after this,

"And… You've witnessed this personally?"

I nod my head,

"Yes. I walked into a house where a family had all committed suicide. The father shot the members of his family, and I guess ran out of ammo or something and ended up hanging himself. No bite marks on him at all, yet he was still trying to grab me."

Then I look towards Glen and say,

"You remember when we went back to the house I was attacked at? One of the guys' bodies was missing, right?"

Glen blinks for a second in realization before nodding his head,

"Y-yeah! I remember that! We assumed a walker took it off with them!"

I nod my head,

"Yeah, last I checked, walkers don't really take their meals to go. One guy, I shot in the head. But one of 'em I only got his neck and chest."

I decide to embellish a little, mainly in an attempt to shake Hershel's belief that walkers are still alive,

"Y'know, I've come across fully decapitated heads that are still biting at peoples ankles? That's why I said you'd have to shoot me. I woulda turned."

I feel Clem tighten her grip on me and wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her into a hug. Hershel and Shane go to speak at the same time, but Shane motions for Hershel to continue. Good. It seems his lessons with Andrea and Glen are keeping him calm. Hershel asks me in a pretty serious tone,

"Now… You mentioned that… You shot people before?"

Ah. Yeah, that'd be pretty off-putting for someone so early into the show. I nod my head and put on a slightly sad expression,

"Haaaah… Unfortunately, yes. I had a run in with two guys who wanted to… Do bad things to me… If you'd ask me if I feel bad for killing them, it'd be a firm no. They'd mentioned before that they had done it before to another girl. I'm just sorry to her that I didn't get rid of 'em before they got to her."

Hershel nods his head and says,

"Some people are above savin'. You sent them to be judged. I'm sorry you had to go through something like that."

I shake my head,

"I kinda gotta thank them. If they hadn't done that, I wouldn't have met this group, or found little Clem here."

The rest of the conversation continues on with me telling them the story of how I was Clem's babysitter when she was younger, and talking about how we met up with each other. Otis eventually comes to apologize for shooting me but I shake my head and tell him it's alright. Everyone makes mistakes. Some people's mistakes are bigger than others… But anyways.

Hershel's family asks us a few questions about Atlanta. Shane tells them about the bombing the military did, and we talk about the CDC a little. Hershel asks,

"You mentioned somethin' about the CDC earlier, Rick?"

He nods his head and says,

"After our camp was attacked we decided to try out the CDC. Figured if anything was still protected by the government, it'd be the place that could possibly create the cure."

Rick looks over to Shane who purses his lips and says,

"We were let in by a researcher… A guy named Jenner. We were pretty drunk on the safety that night. We all had hot showers, comfortable beds, and enough food to split our sides. A little to drink as well."

Rick nods his head and continues on,

"It was too good to be true… the next day, Penny sensed something was wrong. She already didn't like the look of the place, and it turns out her suspicions were right."

Rick motions for me to continue. I see the group looking at me and continue on while adjusting in the seat,

"Well, I noticed there weren't any solar panels outside the building. Meaning that they were getting their power from backup generators. The CDC has the deadliest diseases in the world locked away for study and to create cures. What happens to a place that has the deadliest diseases in the world and could potentially release said diseases should they get out? You decontaminate it. And what's the best way to decontaminate something?"

I pause for a second and say,

"Fire. Jenner, the doctor that let us in, was gonna attempt to lock us inside and burn us along with him. I guess not wanting to die by himself. I shot his hand before he could, but the group distracted me afterwards long enough for him to put in the code."

I pause for a breathe and then continue,

"Luckily, I thought that doorway looked suspicious, so I put an oxygen tank in it beforehand. I did some action hero stuff and used a grenade we had picked up from one of the dead soldiers outside to blow up the tank, causing the door to give way."

I continue on,

"After that, we used another grenade to get through the bullet resistant windows and got to our cars with about half an hour to spare. It was a pretty sizeable explosion. You guys probably heard it. It happened a few days ago early in the morning."

Maggie nods her head,

"I think I did actually hear that. A few days ago when I was taking care of the horses in the morning I thought I had heard a gunshot. I figured it was Otis getting a deer, but I guess I was wrong."

I chuckle and say,

"Yeah, he's a pretty good shot. If he'd taken a shot, he'd probably've brought one home."

Everyone slightly chuckles at this, save for Otis who blushes with slight embarrassment. After that, the conversation goes towards more random things, with everyone getting to know each other. I smile as I see the group joking with each other and smiling. A far cry from this time in the TV show. Amy, Jaqui, and even Jim are all alive. Jim seems to be the type to stay to himself. Morales and his family are still here as well. So far, Ed's been the only major death for the group. I don't really count him as a loss anyway. He was just a drain. We even have a few extras still alive. Maybe I should try speaking with them some more, and get them some roles.

I'd say we're doing pretty good… Which is usually a bad sign in worlds like this…

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