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“On the road again. I just can't wait to get on the road again. The life I love is makin' music with my friends. And I can't wait to get on the road again-”“Lucille, if you don’t shut the hell up right now, I promise you I won’t miss when I throw my this rock at your skull.”“You throw like a girl anyways, so I’m not too worried, cus.”Bobby groaned quietly and readjusted his backpack. Sometimes he hated going on runs with Lucille, but other times, there was no other person he’d rather be with. Other than his parents, of course. Lucille tossed a snarky look over her shoulder if only Bobby’s face could wrinkle into that perfect sneer without a smile breaking its way through.“Com’on slow poke! We gotta be able to find some more pain meds somewhere in this Grandpa forsaken city. It’s so hot,” Lucille moaned, rubbing her hand across her face melodramatically. Bobby patted her on the shoulder.“Don’t worry, Lu. We’ll get what we need, make it out of this insane Georgian heat and back to the air conditioned bliss that is the Impala,” Bobby reassured her. Lucille sighed and squeezed her cousin's hand in thanks. They continued walking in silence, passing by abandoned cars (which they took some clothes and forgotten canned food from) and made good progress from their temporary base camp to around a department store. They passed by the occasional Croat or two, but they quickly and quietly incapacitated them with their angel blades. Lucille groaned in disgust at the foul-smelling blood that now stained her favorite pair of jeans.“You know, I might just jinx us by saying this-”“Please don’t then.”“-but I’m very surprised by the fact that there are very little Croats around-” her sentence cut short when they saw the mass of Croats in their path. Bobby smacked Lucille upside the head.“I told you not to say anything! And look what you did!”“Oh, I’m sorry, let me just knock on some wood to make it all better!” They tried to turn around to go back to base camp, which was in one of the abandoned houses outside the city but saw the way back was crawling with Croats. The wet growling of the Croats revoked whatever retort Bobby had as they mad dashed back to the alleyway a few blocks down. On their way, they turn a corner and see a thin kid wearing a baseball cap running away from them, carrying a bag full of guns. Bobby and Lucille shoot a quick look to the other and follow him.They jumped over the flour sack barricade and see the kid sneak back into a different alleyway. They hear terrified shouting and sounds of a scuffle, and try using their grace to make them move faster. A car drives up the entrance of the alley. Two Hispanic guys climb out and run into the alley. ‘Bobby, you follow them and I’ll help out here,’ Lucille prayed that her dark haired cousin understood her look. Ever since Angel Radio went down, it had been getting harder and harder to sort out even the simplest tasks of the apocalypse. He nods to her before sneaking and hiding in the backseat of their car. More screaming ricochettes through the air before they see the kid from before being dragged away from the alley by the guys and thrown into the back of the car.Lucille stopped in front of the alleyway to watch them drive off, confident that Bobby will make good choices. She hurriedly enters the alley, pushing past the metal gate there and sees four men. One is dressed as a sheriff and is holding back the one with the crossbow while the big black man is keeping a thin Hispanic boy from fleeing. The man with the crossbow is yelling at a thin Hispanic teenager.“I'm gonna kick your nuts up in your throat!”“Chill out!” Sheriff tries to placate. “Let me go!” The teenager tries to escape but the black man keeps him in place.“Woah woah woah! What the hell is going on?” Lucille holds her hands up as a sign of peace.“Who are you?” Sheriff guy deflected. He didn’t immediately trust her, which was good, don’t get her wrong, it just made the job more tedious.“I was with my cousin when we saw that kid get kidnapped. We split up, him with those vatos and me to help you get there,” Crossbow guy sneered rudely.“And who’s to say that you’re not with them?” Lucille gestured to the teenager.“Cause he would know me, Country Jake.” The black guy snorted softly.“Back to the topic at hand, though, how about we get acquainted and you all tell me what happened? I’ll go first. My name is Lucille and my cousin who is tailing your guy? His name is Bobby. We really are only trying to help.” Sheriff nodded and gestured to the back of the alley.“I’m Rick Grimes. We’d best make our time useful and continue this on the way to a safer place to plan,” Lucille nodded and followed them.
~~~
The black guy and the one with the crossbow were named T-Dog and Daryl, respectively, and the little Asian kid from before was named Glenn. The teen refused to cooperate and was just making everything harder than it needed to be. Something about Daryl’s name rung a few bells, but Lucille put it to the back of her mind for now.“Those men you were with, we need to know where they went,” Rick told the teen. The teen shrugged.“I ain't telling you nothing.”“Jesus, man. What the hell happened back there?” Lucille could tell that T-Dog was tired of the “Holier than thou” type mentality that this kid was failing to portray. “I told you, this little turd and his douchebag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me!” Daryl was also becoming pretty aggravated.“You're the one who jumped me, puto, screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault,” Lucille’s face screwed up, bemused.“No need to bring out the offensive language, broha,” when the teen flipped her off Lucille returned it with a smug look.“They took Glenn. Could have taken Merle, too!” Another ping went off in Lucille’s head but again she pushed it away.“Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle.” Daryl went to kick the kid in the face but Rick forced him back.“Damn it, Daryl. Back off!” Daryl stomped over to the pile of backpacks along the wall and pulled out something wrapped in a handkerchief.“Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?” Daryl unwrapped the handkerchief and waved a sawed-off hand in the kid's face before dropping it into his lap. The kid screamed and scooted away from the hand, falling on his ass in the process. Lucille looked at the bloody appendage in disgust and grunted in distress. Daryl leaned over the kid threateningly.“Start with the feet this time!” He leered. Rick once again pushed him away from the traumatized kid.“The men you were with took our friend. All we want to do is talk to them, see if we can work something out.” The kid looked at Rick before giving a hesitant nod. Rick nodded back at him.“Let’s go, then,” Rick stood up and walked out the door, nodding at Daryl, T-Dog, and Lucille. Daryl grabbed the kid by the arm to ensure that he wouldn’t try to book it.Lucille thought back on the times that she felt that hint of remembrance. Daryl and Merle. Merle and Daryl. Well, her daddy and uncle knew two people named Merle and Daryl, but they hadn’t heard from them in years. And it may seem like too much as a coincident, but what were the chances of this being the Daryl that her family knew? Highly unlikely. However… “Hey, Daryl?” Lucille bounded up behind him. He looked back at her, almost irritated.“Your last name. I never caught it before.” She wanted to make sure he was…“That’s cause I never gave it, shorty,” Because he could be trusted if he was… “Don’t call me shorty. It wouldn’t happen to be Dixon by chance, would it?”He looked back at her in suspicion as she wandered next to him, but she already had her answer. It was in his body language. His footing slipped as if shocked, his eyes shifted, he was tense.“So what if it is?”“Because then I’d know I can trust you like my Daddy did. Probably still would if he knew for sure you were alive,” her smile turned more genuine as she said this, and he gave her a disbelieving look.“Yeah? And who might yer daddy be?” Lucille continued to smile up at Daryl.“Sam Winchester.” His stop was sudden enough to pull the hostage back a little and he whined in protest.“Little Sammy Winchester is your daddy? Who’d’ve known…” Daryl laughed and shook his head in amazement. He started walking again, chuckling to himself. Lucille followed after him, smiling pleasantly to herself.
~~~
They stood outside the compound that the kid lead them to, hidden by the outer walls. Rick checked the rounds he was putting into his guns and turned to the three people he trusted.“You sure you're up for this?”“Yeah,” T-Dog said. Rick received an affirmative nod from Lucille.“Okay.”“One wrong move, you get an arrow in the ass. Just so you know,” Daryl glared at the kid.“G's gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours. Just so you know,” Lucille’s breathy laugh caused Daryl to give her a look. In response, Lucille shot him a wide shit eating grin.Rick looked at the both of them like a disgruntled parent before turning to the kid, “G?”The kid shrugged, “Guillermo. He's the man here.”“Okay then,” Rick cocked his gun, “Let's go see Guillermo.”Rick, Daryl, and Lucille escorted the kid through a broken window and made their way to the front entrance. Rick stayed on the kids left holding a shotgun, Daryl on his right with his crossbow, and Lucille walked a few steps back, holding her Angel Blade in her left hand. The doors opened, squeaking horribly. Another thin man (who they assumed was Guillermo) walked out, while several beefy ones stayed surrounding the doorway. Guillermo looked the kid up and down, checking if he was alright.“You okay, little man?”“They're gonna cut off my feet, carnal,” the kid sounded resigned but was truly afraid that Rick’s group would carry out that threat.“Cops do that?”“Not him,” the kid defended Rick, “This redneck puto here. He cut off some dude's hand, man. He showed it to me.”“Shut up,” Daryl sounded truly done at this point. Then one of the guys that took Glenn walked out of the building waving around a handgun.“Hey, that's that vato right there, homes. He shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up, homes, huh?”“He’s so aggro,” Lucille commented.“Chill, ese, chill. Chill. You would be too if you got an arrow in the ass,” Guillermo retorted. Lucille shrugged. Guillermo turned back to Rick and Daryl.“This true? He wants Miguelito's feet? That's pretty sick, man.”“We were hoping more for a calm discussion,” Rick said.“That hillbilly jumps Felipe's little cousin, beats on him, threatens to cut off his feet, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass and you want a calm discussion? You fascinate me,” Guillermo’s growing anger simmered beneath his calm exterior.“Heat of the moment. Mistakes were made on both sides.”“Who's that dude and the little girl to you anyway? You don't look related,” Lucille huffed and crossed her arms.“I’m not little,” Rick held up a calming hand to her and she nodded, uncrossing her arms.“They’re of our group, more or less. I'm sure you have a few like them.”“You got my brother in there?” Daryl asked. Guillermo shrugged tauntingly.“Sorry, we only have one white boy and he looks nothing like you. He’s too pretty. But I've also got Asian. You interested?” Lucille kept her mouth shut. Bobby can hold his own if the need arises, no need to out him to them.“I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Sounds like an even trade,” Rick replied.“Don't sound even to me.”“G,” The kid got really nervous, “Come on, man.”“My people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering? More to the point, where's my bag of guns?”“Guns?” Lucille was confused now.“The bag Miguel saw in the street. The bag Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag of guns.”“You're mistaken,” Rick said coolly.“I don't think so,” Guillermo’s response held just as much ice.“About it being yours. It's my bag of guns.”“The bag was in the street. Anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word? What's to stop my people from unloading on you right here and now and I take what's mine?” Felipe cocked his gun at Daryl, the guy to the right of Guillermo aimed his at Rick. Lucille just held her hands up in surrender, her face void of emotions.“You could do that. Or not,” Rick gestured up to the tops of the buildings, where T-Dog was stationed with a sniper aimed at Guillermo.Guillermo chuckled, “Oye.”They looked at the roof and saw three guys, one of them was tied up and had a sack on his head. When they pulled it off, it was Glenn. He had duct tape over his mouth and looked thoroughly freaked. “I see two options. You come back with Miguel and my bag of guns, everybody walks. Or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood.” Rick clenched his jaw tight. Guillermo smirked at his small victory and walked back inside.
~~~
When they got back to the department store, Rick went straight to the bag of guns and dropped them on the table.“Them guns are worth more than gold. Gold won't protect your family or put food on the table. You're gonna give that up for that kid?” Daryl asked. Rick looked at him and sighed softly.“If I knew we'd get Glenn back, I might agree. But you think that vato across the way is just gonna hand him over?” T-Dog spoke up.“Way to brighten up the mood, T,” Lucille said from her corner.“You calling G a liar?” Miguel shot at T-Dog. Daryl shot forward in his face and smacked him upside the head.“Are you a part of this? You want to hold onto your teeth?!”“Question is, do you trust that man's word?” T-Dog asked softly.“No, question is what are you willing to bet on it? Could be more than them guns. Could be your life. Glenn worth that to you?” Daryl was asking tough questions, but, Lucille thought, they were necessary.“What life I have I owe to him. I was nobody to Glenn, just some idiot stuck in a tank. He could have walked away, but he didn't. Neither will I.” Sounded like a solid answer.“So you're gonna hand the guns over?”Rick looked back up at Daryl and shook his head. “I didn't say that. There's nothing keeping you two here. You should get out, head back to camp.” T-Dog rubbed his head in exasperation.“And tell your family what?” He and Daryl give Rick looks of agreement. They were sticking with him. Rick turned to Lucille.“Well, you should go back to where you came from. You don’t have a reason to stick with us.”Lucille shook her head, “I do have a reason. My cousin is in the Vatos den. He’s the pretty white boy, and I’m 110% sure that he has been keeping Glenn safe this whole time.”The four men looked surprised at that revelation. Daryl’s sudden chuckle broke the silence.“He’s got Dean’s looks, having bein' called pretty, huh?” Lucille laughed.“Yeah, he does. It’s pretty funny.”T-Dog looked at the both of them in confusion, “Do you two know each other or something?”“My dad and uncle went hunting with him and Merle a few times some years ago. I’ve been told some stories over the years, and just found out that this is who my dad saved from a squirrel trap.”Daryl lightly pushed her. “Don’t go telling people that!”Rick smiled and held up his gun, “Well, that brings some confidence that this will go better than anticipated.” He, Daryl and T-Dog started loading up the guns. Miguel stood up as if to stop them.“Come on, this is nuts!” Daryl nudged him back and pointed for him to sit back down. “Just do like G says.”They ignore him and continue loading round after round into the guns.~~~They had tied up Miguel and put a gag in his mouth. Daryl held a rifle to his back to keep him moving forward. When Guillermo’s goons opened the doors, Daryl pushed Miguel in first and entered after, followed by Rick, Lucille, and T-Dog. Guillermo rushed forward and seemed affronted at the guns.“I see my guns but they're not all in the bag.”“That's because they're not yours. I thought I mentioned that,” Ricks tone was cold“Let's just shoot these fools right now, ese. All right? Unload on their asses, ese,” Felipe hissed.“I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation.”“No, I'm pretty clear,” Rick pulled out a pocket knife and cut Miguel loose. He pushed him towards Miguel.“You have your man. I want mine.”“I'm gonna chop up your boy,” Guillermo spat, “I'm gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale,” Lucille’s eyebrows furrowed at the mention of her estranged uncle, “I told you how it has to be. Are you woefully deaf?”“No, my hearing's fine. You said come locked and loaded,” Rick cocked his gun, as did everyone else in the room, and Lucille pulled out her own ivory-handled pistol, “Okay then, we're here.” The whole room was a silent unnerving stand-off.“Felipe! Felipe!” An old woman came walking through the crowd. Lucille lowered her gun slightly before holding it back up again.“Abuela, go back with the others. Now!” Felipe shouted at his grandmother.“Get that old lady out of the line of fire!” Daryl shouted.“Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? This is the not the place for you right now,” Guillermo tried to direct her away.“Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing! He needs his asthma stuff. Carlitos didn't find it. He needs his medicine.”Rick and Lucille lowered their guns and exchanged a look with Guillermo.“Felipe, go take care of it, okay? And take your grandmother with you!”“Abuela! Ven conmigo por favor,” Felipe tried to gently lead her away but she stood her ground.“Who are those men? And that girl?”“Por favor, ven conmigo.” Abuela walked up to Rick with an angry look.“Don't you take him!”“Ma'am?” Lucille held her hand out and Abuela grasped it tightly.“Felipe's a good boy. He have his trouble but he pull himself together. We need him here,” she pleaded.“Ma'am, I'm not here to arrest your grandson,” Rick softly said to her.“Then what do you want him for?”“He's…” Lucille tried but Rick took over when she couldn’t think fast enough.“Helping us find a missing person. Fella named Glenn.”“The Asian boy? He's with Mr.Gilbert! With the other handsome one! Come. Come, I show you. He needs his medicine.” Abuela kept hold of Lucille and Ricks hands as she lead them back through the building. Lucille looked at Guillermo in apology.“Let 'em pass,” Guillermo sighed.They walked all the way around a different building and saw that is was a nursing home. They passed by the guard who nodded as they passed. When they entered the nursing home, they saw a lot of elderly people. They passed by a room and saw an elderly woman being helped drink some water by an attendee. Rick stopped to take it in, while Felipe took his grandmother.“Abuela, por favor. Take me to him.”They passed people sitting in the hallway, others in their rooms being read to. Rick took off his hat and followed Felipe and his abuela. They were lead to what used to be the cafeteria and saw an old man clutching his chest in pain. Felipe was holding an inhaler and helping bring Mr. Gilbert out of his attack.Lucille saw Bobby and fast walked to him. When he saw her he engulfed her in a hug, which wasn’t too difficult given their height difference.“All right. All right. Nice and easy. Just breathe. Just breathe. Just let it out. Just breathe. Just relax.”“What the hell is this?” Rick asked.“An asthma attack. Couldn't get his breath all of a sudden,” Glenn replied.“I thought you were being eaten by dogs, man,” T-Dog exclaimed. Glenn and Bobby looked back at a small dog bed that had three tiny chihuahuas in it. The long-haired one started barking loudly while the other two leaned away from it. Lucille let out an adoring coo when she saw them. Rick leaned over to Guillermo.“Could I have a word with you? You're the dumbest son of a bitch I ever met. We walked in there ready to kill every last one of you!” He hissed at the other man.“Well, I'm glad it didn't go down that way,” Guillermo replied calmly.“If it had, that blood would be on my hands!”“Mine too. We'd have fought back. Wouldn't be the first time we've had to. Protect the food, the medicine what's left of it. These people, the old ones the staff took off, just left 'em here to die!” Rick sighed and looked at all the seniors. “Me and Felipe were the only ones who stayed.”“What are you? Doctors?” Lucille asked quietly.“Felipe's a nurse a special care provider. Me, I'm the custodian.” Guillermo replied. He looked around before gesturing for Rick’s group, along with Lucille and Bobby, to follow him.“Come on, let’s continue this conversation somewhere else.” Bobby nodded in agreement. They followed Guillermo to one of the rec rooms in the nursing home. Lucille stuck next to Daryl and Bobby stuck next to Lucille. T-Dog came up next to them and started the conversation.“So, how do you know these guys’ parents, Daryl?” Bobby looked confused.“He’s Daryl Dixon, Bobby. You know, the one that stuck his neck out for Uncle Dean in Pembroke?” Lucille supplied. Daryl scoffed and T-Dog gave Daryl a look.“I didn’t do nothin’ fancy,” He mumbled.“You saved my father's life that day, Daryl. He told me that he feels in debt to you since my siblings and I most likely wouldn’t be around if you weren’t on that hunt,” Daryl blushed lightly and rubbed his neck in embarrassment. T-Dog looked at Daryl in shock and Rick looked back at them in pleasant surprise.“What? Why you looking at me like that for?” T-Dog held his hands in surrender and Rick shook his head. Bobby and Lucille looked at each other and smiled.They made it to the rec room and Guillermo sat on the arm of the couch“What about the rest of your crew? Where'd they come from?” Rick asked“The vatos trickle in to check on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too. We need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind plunderers, the kind that take by force.”“That's not who we are.”“How was I to know? My people got attacked and you show up with Miguel hostage. Appearances.” Guillermo shrugged.“Guess the world changed,”T-Dog sighed from his seat.“No,” Guillermo disagreed, “It's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. The vatos work on those cars, talk about getting the old people out of the city. But most can't even get to the bathroom by themselves, so that's just a dream. Still, it keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something. So we barred all the windows, welded all the doors shut except for one entrance. The vatos, they go out, scavenge what they can to keep us going. We watch the perimeter night and day and we wait. The people here, they all look to me now. I don't even know why.”“Because they can,” Rick simply said and gave him his gun. Guillermo took it and Rick pulled out a sniper, checked the scope and put it on the table behind Guillermo. He also laid out some packs of ammo as well as two handguns. Guillermo looked at the guns and ammo in wonder and nodded thanks to Rick.As the left the nursing home, Rick turned to Bobby and Lucille.“I guess this is where we part ways?” Lucille smiled sadly and went to answer but Bobby cut her off.“We don’t have a way of making it back to our family.” Lucille looked at him in confused horror.“What do you mean?” He sighed.“I mean, when I was in the nursing home, I asked that I was able to scout and see if we had a chance of getting home after this whole fiasco. Guillermo agreed, of course, but only if I had an escort, so one of his guys and I went to our temp. base camp. It was surrounded by Croats, no way to get in or out.”“Do you know if your family did or not?” Rick asked. Bobby nodded his head.“Yeah. We saw the electrical lines and used rubber gloves to climb on them and onto the house we were staying in. The house also had a skylight so we got in that way and looked around. In the living room was a note spray painted on the wall. 39, 77.”“Coordinates,” Daryl said. Lucille nodded.“Yeah, our grandpa taught them all the Military crap form the Corp. and they taught us as result.”“Right. So we need to find a map and figure out where they were going. But until then, our safest bet is to stick with you,” Bobby turned to Rick.“Then follow us. We have a camp just outside of Atlanta in a Quarry.”
~~~
“Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat,” Glenn snarked half-heartedly as they walked under the bridge to where their truck was.“Don't tell anybody,” Rick replied. Lucille giggled at his quick admission.“You've given away half our guns and ammo,” Daryl complained.“Not nearly half,” Rick countered.“For what? Bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long you think they got?” Daryl inquired.“How long do any of us?” Bobby asked.“Oh my God,” Glenn groaned.“Where the hell's our van?” Daryl’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.“Dude, where’s my car?” Lucille muttered to Bobby in a stoner voice.“Shut up, Lu.”“We left it right there. Who would take it?” Glenn freaked. Rick’s face hardened.“Merle.”T-Dog, Glenn, and Daryl looked shocked, terrified and resigned respectively.“He's gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp,” Daryl said.“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not about to wait for that to happen,” Lucille said as she took off running, Bobby following right behind her. The rest followed behind them, hoping that they weren’t too late and that Merle had some sort of mercy.
~~~
They ran as fast as they could on the dirt trail, the Cousins Winchester falling behind Rick and Glenn since they didn’t know the way. They finally made it close enough to the Quarry for giant greenery to be able to grow when they heard the screaming. Lucille saw some Croats as they ran past.“Croats! They must be at your camp!”“Shit!” Daryl yells as he pushes to run faster.They push past the shrubbery and Rick fires his gun at the first Croat he sees.“Come on, make your way to the Winnebago!” They hear a southern voice yell out.It was chaos.Everywhere there were Croats, screaming, shouts for help that never came, gunfire, blood splattering left and right. Utterly disorientating if you didn't focus on “Shoot the dead. Get to the living.”“Baby! Carl! Baby!” Rick called out as many of the Croats were dealt with. A little boy came running to him, tears running down his face.“Dad!” The boy screamed, embracing Rick tightly and crying into his neck.“Carl!” Rick picked up the boy and walked over to engulf his trembling wife. Lucille out her hands on her knees, trying to calm her nerves and Bobby rubbed her upper arm. Everyone else looked equally as shaken and kept looking around for anymore Croats.They all turned to look at a distraught blonde woman kneeling over a younger blonde.“Amy. I don't know what to do, Amy.” Amy lifted her had and weakly stroked the other woman’s face before closing her eyes and falling limp.“Oh, Amy. Oh no no. Amy! Amy! Amy!” The blonde woman wailed and tried to shake the girl awake. Lucille looked away and cringed. Rick hugged his son close and his wife looked on in shock.“Fuck…” Bobby muttered dismayed.“I remember my dream now,” Lucille and Bobby looked at the shaken man, “why I dug the holes.”“Lord…” Lucille whimpered. They looked on at the bodies that littered the ground, familiar and the undead.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lucille and Bobby kept to themselves as they helped the others arrange the bodies. Croats in a pile, people in a line. Lucille kept sneaking worried glances towards the people she'd met in Atlanta, she couldn't help it. She knew that they'd be okay eventually, or some equivalent of it, but that didn't stop the unease rolling around in her stomach. She and Bobby continued through the night, even when others in their new group tried to get them to stop. They didn't need sleep, at least, not as much. Instead, Bobby told them that they needed the sleep after everything that happened, and to let them handle it until they were ready to help.It wasn't until dawn that most, if not everyone, was around and about, dragging all of the bodies to and from. Rick had gone up to the top of the Quarry with a walkie a few minutes before. Daryl once came up and patted Lucille on the back and told her to go up and help Morales and Glenn arrange the Croat bodies for the fire. T-Dog was using a pickaxe to make sure all the Croats were doornails. All the while, the blonde woman, Andrea, never moved from her spot on her sisters' side."Do you think she's going to be okay?" Glenn whispered to Lucille. She looked at him and back at Andrea and Amy and sighed."I don't know for sure. We just have to be there for her when she needs us." Glenn nodded stiffly and went to pick up the Croat in front of him. Lucille helps him out."How are you doing, though? You were freaking out pretty hard last night," Glenn's face blanched. "You aren't going to throw up, are you, bud?"He shook his head."I may see a crap ton of Walkers on a semi-daily basis when I go out to the city, but I've never seen something like this... It was a massacre." Lucille was silent for a moment."Do you need a hug?"Glenn gave her a shaky smile, "Can we rain check? There's still work to be done even if you and your cousin went beast-mode it last night." Lucille smiled back and they lifted the Walker into the burn pile."Hey, you stay here and I'll bring over a Jerry can of gasoline that I have to kick start this mother."Glenn nodded his head and started helping Morales, Bobby, and Daryl lining up the people they lost in a row.As she walked to where her and Bobby's tent was, she could feel someone's stare on the back of her neck. She looked around and saw that Rick's little boy, Carl, and Carols daughter, Sophia, were giving her curious looks. She smiled and waved at them as she picked up her small plastic Jerry can. Carl returned her smile and waved back half-heartedly, and Sophia smiled back at her. She made her way back to the Walker Pile, flicked Bobby on the ear as she passed. He swatted at her hand and scowled as she giggled. Daryl had switched out with T-Dog and was now shiving Walkers in the head with it.She poured the gas on top of the stacked bodies and lit a match. The moment it hit the fuel soaked pile it ignited, giving off a rancid burned flesh smell. Lucille groaned and turned her head away. Even during a salt and burn, it didn't smell this bad. She held a hand against her nose and turned to the others hauling bodies and gagged. Bobby nodded in agreement and made his way to help her continue hefting Walker bodies into the fire."Hey, Bobby," Lucille started, "You see Andrea and Amy?"Bobby grunted yes."Did you notice their souls before Amy died?""I did. They were connected. Soulmates." Lucille nodded grimly. They lifted the once pretty woman into the fire and continued. They saw Rick's wife, Lori, crouch down next to the blonde and try to convince her to let them move her body. It didn't work, so Lori gave her condolences and walked away. T-Dog and Glenn made their way with more Walkers to throw into the burn pile."How do you think she's gonna cope? Revenge driven like Tall Man when Dean first died, or reclusive like Dean when Tall Man jumped in the cage?" Lucille continued under her breath.Bobby shrugged, "It's hard to tell, Lu. Every human is different and their grieving patterns vary. It's like what you said to Glenn, we just have to be there for her if or when she needs us.""Very true," she said. "Look who's coming back."Rick was walking back down the hill and head over to Lori. He nodded a greeting to Bobby and Lucille, which they returned. He turned to talk to Lori and she looked like she was pissed about something. Lucille looked at Bobby."Wanna eavesdrop on their convo?"Bobby shrugged and lifted the front end of a Walker. "Sure. Why not?"Being part Angel had its ups and downs. This was an up; having advanced hearing that helped when listening to other people talk shit about you and then later can be called out on it. A downside would be listening to everything else in high definition, which could get distracting."-ust don't think we should trust them, is all. We don't know them, they could be the ones that drew the Walkers into our camp!" Lori hissed."They didn't, cause they didn't even know us until yesterday in Atlanta, and were with us the entire time. If you want to know where they're heads are, you can ask them or Daryl, they actually know each other." Rick replied."That's another thing! They know Daryl. Who's to say they aren't just as hot-headed and trigger happy as he is? I don't trust them, and if they turn out to be dangerous and hurt someone here in camp-""That's on me, I know that. But I highly doubt they shouldn't be trusted. Try to get to know them, while they're here. They're good people. Now, what about Andrea? She still hasn't moved?" Lori sighed and shook her head."No. She won't even talk to us. She's been there all night. What do we do?""We can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it. Same as the others," The curly haired guy, Shane, said, nodding towards where T-Dog, Glenn, Bobby, and Lucille were burning corpses. Rick nodded."I'll tell her how it is," He said and made his way towards Andrea. Lucille looked up suddenly and saw Rick walking towards the silent blonde."Uh, I wouldn't do that just yet, Ranger Rick," She nervously supplied. He held his hand up in response. Lucille stared for a minute before turning to Bobby."He gets it from you." Bobby gave her a withering look."What do I have to do with this?" She shrugged. Lucille looked back at Rick and Andrea, concerned.Rick went to crouch down next to her, "Andrea-" he was cut off by her pulling a gun on him."I know how the safety works," She said coldly. Rick held up his hands in surrender and started backing away slowly. Lori and Shane had stood up, ready to help Rick if he needed it."Alright. Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Andrea slowly put down her gun and turned back to her sister, steely blue eyes turning a watery grey.Daryl walked up to the circle with Lucille and Bobby in tow. Daryl looked at them in frustrated awe."Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb!""What do you suggest we do?" Rick asked him. Daryl leaned in close."Take the shot.""Daryl!" Lucille said aghast."It'll be clean, through the brain, from here! Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance," Bobby held his hand up."We aren't doing that, Daryl. It wouldn't be fair to Amy nor Andrea." Daryl looked between him, Lucille, and the others before scoffing and walking away, dust and dirt being kicked up in his wake. Rick turned to Lucille and Bobby and gestured for them to sit on the big log."You two should sit down and rest, let the others take over," He said not unkindly. Bobby and Lucille looked at each other. He shrugged and sat down, letting out a groan as his back and knees popped. Lucille followed his lead and sat down as well.Daryl had walked up to Jim, who was looking off into the distance with what one would call a 1000 yard stare."Wake up, Jimbo! We got work to do," it knocked Jim out of his haze, and Daryl patted Morales on the back and helped him heave one of their passed camp members into the fire. T-Dog was shoveling dirt into the fire to keep the flames low enough to where they wouldn't burn anything else down. Glenn saw what they were doing and spoke up."What are you doing? This is for Geeks. Our people go over there," He pointed to the row Bobby and Lucille had started."What's the difference, they're all infected," Daryl shrugged. Glenn walked closer to Daryl and hissed in his ear."Our people go in the row over there," His voice cracked with emotion, "We don't BURN them! We bury them. Understand?"Daryl took a look at the kid and sighed in defeat before nodding. He nudged Morales to head toward the row of people they lost."You reap what you sow," He muttered indifferently. Morales finally snapped and told him to shut up. Daryl walked away from them anger spelled clearly on his face."Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this comin'!" He stalked off into the woods to cool down. Lucille watched him leave and breathed through her nose. She thought back to the way things were before the undead apocalypse. She remembered going on simple hunts with her Poppy and the Tall Man, sometimes Dean and Cas. She had even recently been going on hunts with Bobby in tow! That was also the reason that they were in Atlanta to begin with.There had been a hunt in the northern part of Atlanta, and they got caught up in the panic. The city, while others said it would be the safest bet, was out of the question in her parents' minds. For good reason, too, because it wasn't too long before the city was bombed. Her parents, siblings, and Dean and Cas' family unit had found that abandoned house and stayed there for those few weeks, scavenging what they could, conjuring up what they couldn't find. Surviving.And up until she suggested that she and Bobby scavenge the city, it was a pretty good gig. The adults were against it, of course, since they were so young, but she'd somehow persuaded them to allow it. Now, she and her younger cousin were separated from their family, were unsure if they were still on their way to those coordinates if they weren't there already. It was ultimately her fault that they were lost, and they didn't have a map of the U.S. to even try to begin looking for a way to get to the coordinates. Dear Granddad, this whole situation was a mess in a burrito of fucked up."Lucille?" Rick's voice broke her from her musings. She looked up at him, eyes wide."Yeah, what's up?" He had a troubled look on his face, and Dale looked worried."Penny for your thoughts, kiddo?" Dale asked. Lucille smiled sadly and looked at him."You sound like my Poppy. He calls everybody 'kiddo'. I'm just thinking about how everything was before... this," She waved her hand around. Bobby laid a hand on her shoulder and she patted it gently."So, you're cousins?" Lori asked. Bobby nodded his head."Why don't you look alike, then?" Shane demanded. Rick looked at him and pursed his lips."Shane," He warned. Lucille smiled."Cousins don't really look like each other too often, Shane. The only cousin I have that looks similar to me is Bobby's older sister, Mary, and even then it's a stretch," She dug around in the lining of her jacket, "I do have some photos of my family, though, if you want to look through those."She pulled out about 10 pictures. The first one she held up was of a tall man with shoulder length hair the same color as Lucille, standing next to a slightly shorter man with light brown hair and green eyes. They were posing in fighting stances, the tall man making a funny face and wielding a knife that looked too small for him and the shorter one had a determined look and held a curved blade and his legs were stretched out too wide. On the back, it said 'Sam and Dean, 34 + 39' in curly handwriting. Rick said what was on the back, smiled and passed it around to Shane, Lori, Carol, and Dale."Sam, the tall one, is my dad. I call him "Tall Man". Dean is Bobby's dad," Lucille said as Dale and Carol laughed and smiled at the photo. Carol handed the photo to Bobby."What do you call Dean, Bobby?" Carol asked. He looked her in the eyes."Bourbon.""Why 'Bourbon'?""He likes bourbon.""You make it seem like Dean's an alcoholic," Lucille laughed and Bobby grinned at her."Have you not met my dad?" Rick looked at Lori and grinned, she gave a weak smile in return.The next photo was of a little girl with blonde hair holding a baby with black tufts of hair in her arms and a little boy with blonde hair leaning in close with his mouth and eyes open wide. The back said 'Mary Ellen and Henry Johnathan meet Robert Ashton, 4, 3 + 2 days' in quick swishes. Rick has taken up the role of reading the back out loud and passing them around when Lucille hands them to him."Mary Ellen? Your sister?" Rick asks Bobby. He smiles and nods his head, "What about Henry?""My younger brother," Lucille says, "Jessica is the youngest for my side of the family.""You were such a cute baby," Carol announces. Bobby blushes and murmurs a "Thank you, ma'am" as Lucille gives him a once over."I know, what happened?" Bobby glared at her and pushed her off the log. Lucille laughed loudly and quickly sat back up. She handed Rick one more photo, it was a group photo.Lucille and Bobby were in it and they didn't look too different from now, so it must be recent. Sam and Dean were at the back with a slightly shorter, dark-haired man and a man with golden blond hair that stood barely above Sam's shoulder. Lucille stood at the end in front of the blond man with her arm around a younger blonde girls shoulders. The blond boy, Henry, stood almost as tall as Sam and had his arm around his father's shoulder. Mary stood next to her father in a half hug, a girl of about 12 with black hair and blue eyes stood between Dean and the dark haired man and Bobby stood next to him. In the middle were a red-haired woman and an Asian boy. On the back it said 'Family Photo; Dean (39) + Cas (∞) - Mary (20), Pamela (10) and Bobby (15), Charlie (28) + Kevin (22), Sam (34) + Gabe (∞) - Henry (15), Jessica (13), Lucille (17) - Home." in loopy script. Daryl was walking back from the woods, having cooled down enough to continue working."You're teenagers?" Asked a shocked Lori. Lucille and Bobby nodded."Why are Cas and Gabe's ages the infinity sign?" Shane asked. Lucille simply shrugged. Daryl stopped and looked at them in confusion. He stood between Lucille and Bobby and looked at the pictures Lucille handed him.He whistled, "Damn, Sammy got tall. And that? That ain't fair," He said pointing at Dean accusingly. Lucille and Bobby laughed and Carol chuckled. Rick smiled and took the photo again."It's a beautiful family, guys. Why were you in Atlanta, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked."The only time we had been in Georgia was to get into a different state, so we thought why not vacation there for a bit? And then, the dead started coming back, we got separated, now we're here," Lucille shrugged."A Walker got him! A Walker bit Jim!" Jacquie yelled. Everybody stood up and made their way towards her and Jim. Lucille took the photographs from Bobby and Daryl and put them back in her secret jacket pocket. Daryl picked up the pickaxe he dropped a few minutes before. Within almost a minute, they had Jim surrounded."Show it to us. Show it to us," Daryl demanded.Jim looked like a cornered animal. He looked around wildly, trying to see a way out, but found none. He picked up a shovel and started waving it around."Jim put it down! Put it down!" Shane yelled."Grab him!""Calm down, Jim!"T-Dog walked up behind Jim and grabbed him. Jim dropped the shovel and started shaking."I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay," Jim kept muttering, but he seemed to be trying to reassure himself rather than everyone else. Daryl ran forward and lifted Jim's shirt, revealing his bite. Lucille grabbed Bobby's arm and he returned the gesture. Everyone looked horrified at this turn of events.
~~~
Dale told Jim to sit down behind the R.V. as everyone else conversed on their next move. Daryl looked back at Jim and swung his pickaxe to his shoulder."I say we put a pickaxe in his head, and the dead girl's, and be done with it," He says forcefully."Is that what you'd want? If it were you?" Shane questioned, pulling on his sheriff's hat."Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it," Daryl nodded.I hate to say it I never thought I would but maybe Daryl's right," Dale put in."What the fuck, Dale?" Lucille blandly spat."Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog," Rick ground out."I'm not suggesting-" Rick cut him off."He's sick. A sick man! We start down that road, where do we draw the line?""The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers," Daryl looked back at Jim "or them to be."What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure," Rick brought up. Shane adjusted his cap."I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane acknowledged. "What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?""Man, that is a stretch right there.""Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-""Okay, Rick, you want those things, all right? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning.""That's 100 miles in the opposite direction," Lori sassed."That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there.""Not necessarily, Mr. Policeman," Lucille shook her head."The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance," Rick stressed. Daryl and T-Dog look back at Jim. Daryl looked back at everyone in frustration and started walking towards Jim."You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care - of this damn problem!" Daryl lifted his pickaxe to hit Jim."Hey hey hey!""Daryl, wait!""Stop it, man!" Rick pulled out his gun and aimed it at Daryl's head."We don't kill the living." Shane walked between him and Jim."That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head.""We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on." Daryl gave Shane a hard look before shoving the pickaxe into the ground"Come with me," Rick gently lead Jim."Where too?""Somewhere safe."
~~~
Bobby and Dale walked up to Andrea and sat on either side of her."Just here to pay our respects," Dale told Andrea.Bobby sat in silence when Dale told Andrea about his late wife, and how he felt when she was diagnosed with cancer, the treatments the went to, the doctors they saw. And how he felt when she finally passed. Andrea gave him a look of gratitude and pulled out something wrapped in pink tissue paper."Her birthday," Dale stated. Andrea nodded."Her birthday was always like like a week-long affair. But I somehow always missed it. I was away at college or too busy for kids parties. She'd call all excited. I always said that I'd make it home and I really always meant to, but I never made it past that phone call," Andrea said bitterly. Bobby rested a soothing hand on her shoulder."I know things are hard enough for you without adding guilt into the mix, huh?" Andrea smiled at him and Bobby before opening the wrapping paper and clipping the mermaid necklace on Amy. Dale looked at Bobby and stood up."She would love it," Bobby told her before squeezing her shoulder and standing. He went off a few feet away, staring into the distance. And for a while, that's all he did.Shallow breathing.Bobby's head whipped around to look at Andrea and Amy and saw the dead girl shifting. He saw Andrea lower her head to listen to Amy breath again."Andrea," He gasped a warning. Amy opened her eyes, but they weren't her normal blue. They were bloodshot and a glossy grey. Walker eyes."Andrea." His voice was stronger, he shifted closer to the girls."Hold on, Bobby," Andrea whispered. Bobby grasped the back of her shirt for an emergency measure, and Andrea didn't stop him."Amy. Amy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being there. I thought there'd be more time," the Walker sat up and tried to bite Andrea but she held it back. Bobby tugged at Andrea's shirt."Andrea. Andrea, stop. Let me do it, just get up and leave." Bobby was painfully aware of the stares that this scene was warenting, but he ignored them. Andrea was ignoring him, too, and the Walker was getting more ferocious."I'm here now, Amy. I'm here," Andrea grabbed her gun and the Walker snarled dangerously close to her face."Andrea!" Bobby shouted."I love you."
BANG!
Andrea leaned over the Walker in sorrow, and Bobby leaned against Andrea's back, wrapping her in a loose hug."She's... She's in a better place now..." Bobby huffed.
~~~
Daryl was walking to the flatbed truck when Lucille ran to him."Daryl! Wait! Can I ride with you?" Daryl looked around before nodding."Sure, kid," Lucille bounced into the passenger seat and they took off driving backwards to the top of the hill where Jim was apparently digging holes the day before. Rick and Shane were there finishing up the graves. Daryl turned to Lucille."It's stupid, not burning the bodies. They could come back, or something can come back looking like them," he grumbled."But you also have to understand why they want to bury them. I'm against it, too, but they don't know what's out there. What's really out there," she soothed."These people are stubborn as a boar. If we really wanted them to know, we could always tell them the truth. How you really met the Tall Man and Dean," Daryl shook his head."Like you said, they're stubborn. They'd call us nutcases, like the usual business. Say it's all a load of shit-""People thought the zombie apocalypse was a load of shit and look where we are now," Lucille interrupted. Daryl gave her a once over."You kiss your mother with that mouth?""Whoever said I had a mother?" Lucille smirked at Daryl's confusion and hopped out of the car. Daryl followed, giving the door a forceful slam."I still think it's a mistake not burning these bodies. It's what we said we'd do, right? Burn 'em all, wasn't that the idea?" Daryl was still trying to get them to burn the bodies. Everyone else walked up the hill and made their way into the clearing."At first," Shane sighed."The Chinaman gets all emotional, says it's not the thing to do, we just follow him along? These people need to know who the hell's in charge here, what the rules are," Daryl scoffed."There are no rules." Rick forced out."Well, that's a problem. We haven't had one minute to hold onto anything of our old selves. We need time to mourn and we need to bury our dead. It's what people do," Lori voiced. Daryl sighed and looked like he wanted to protest, and Lucille gave him a look asking if he was going to speak up. He sighed and walked to the side, away from everyone else for the time being.Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Morales moved most of the bodies into the grave holes. Andrea protested when they tried to move Army's body, saying she wants to do it."She was my sister. My responsibility." Rick and T-Dog backed off respectfully.Bobby and Lucille both made their way to where Daryl was standing, knowing that they wouldn't be interrupted in their conversation."I still don't like it. It just ain't right logically," Daryl grunted."In the minds of Hunters, maybe. But they are the type of people we'd protect from the truth. We shouldn't drag them under so quickly when they're just learning how to swim," Bobby placed his input. Daryl sighed and began helping Rick and Shane shovel dirt back into the graves. Dale was helping Andrea move Amy's body to her grave and they set her down gently."I can do it. I can do it. I can do it! I can do it," Andrea struggled to get footing while making sure Amy didn't get jostled too much. Dale guided Amy's legs to fall into the grave smoothly, and Andrea rested her body into the grave. She then got her own shovel and started filling it on her own.They stayed there for almost an hour, mourning the dead until slowly, people in the group started making their way back to the campgrounds."Burying other people is bad enough, but the thought of one of us-""Shh." Lori cut off Rick, looking down at a distraught Carl."Are we safe now, dad? Now that we're together?" The boy asked."I won't leave again. I promise you that. Not for anything. Now give me a chance to discuss some things with your mom, okay?""Yeah. All right,""All right," Lucille walked past them at that moment and turned to Rick and Lori."Come on, bub, we can toss rocks down in that little pond where you get your clothes cleaned. If that's okay?" Rick nodded in thanks. Lucille gave a smile and held out her hand for Carl to take, and made their journey down into the Quarry. Lucille saw Bobby sitting near the firepit lost in thought."Hey, Bobby!" He turned to her. "You wanna come play in the Quarry with my new friend, Carl and I? We'll be skipping stoooonnes!~" She sang and let loose a tiny dance. Carl giggled beside her and she smiled happily at him. Bobby huffed a small laugh before nodding. Lucille looked at Carol and Morales."Carol? Morales? You don't mind if I also steal your children and teach them how to throw stones at a lake, do you?" Morales looked at his wife, Miranda, who shrugged in compliance, and Carol hummed in thought."I don't see the harm in letting Sophia play. Go have fun, dear," Carol sniffed her reply, smiling at her daughter."I guess it's okay," Morales shrugged. The children thanked their parents and rushed toward the two Nephilims. Lucille let them run into her and she toppled over in their combined weight."Oh nooooo!~ Please!~ Have mercy on my soul, you heathens!~" Lucille pleaded weakly. Morales, Miranda, and Carol laughed good-naturedly as their kids momentarily forgot the heartache of their lost people."Bobby, please. You must save me, your precious, delicate older cousin!" Bobby looked at her blankly before walking away. Lucille gasped and Carl, Sophia, Eliza, and Louis looked between them."Bobby!""What?""You were supposed to say 'No man left behind' and pick me up and run away from these little devils!" Lucille pet Eliza and Sophia's hair. Bobby shrugged."But you're not a man." Lucille's jaw dropped and she turned to Eliza and Sophia."Take him out, girls," they nodded before tackling Bobby to the ground as well, Eliza across his calves and Sophia across his stomach and arms."Who's the girl, now?" Lucille sneered."Okay, I'm sorry! Can I get up now?" He turned to look down at the little girls that trapped him. They giggled and helped him up. Lucille stood up as well and made her way down the path to the little watering hole.
~~~

PLOP!
"I can't get it," Carl pouted. Louis patted his shoulder as Lucille picked up a rock."Okay, so what you want is a nice, flat stone to toss. Then you just set your arm, flick your wrist like so, and-"The stone skipped about six or seven times before falling into the lake. Louis and Carl looked in awe and Lucille clapped them on the shoulders."Kersploosh! Your turns, boys!"They searched vigorously for a flat rock to toss. Lucille looked down a few feet and saw Bobby coaching the girls. He was kneeling between them twirling a flat rock and glancing back and forth at them. Lucille smiled and walked over to them."-then you just angle your arm horizontally and when your arm is extended, release your rock." He demonstrated, and his, too, went six or seven feet before joining his cousins' rock in the lake. Sophia and Eliza are amazed, just like Louis and Carl were a minute ago."Of course, you do need to practice to get better at it, but stone skipping is a fairly engaging past time now that TV, computers, internet and the works are no longer accessible." Eliza suddenly turned to Bobby and gently poked his face. He turned to her and smiled softly."Yes, Eliza?""You have a pretty face." Bobby was taken aback."Um, thank you, but you shouldn't discredit yourself in the looks department. You are very pretty yourself." Lucille had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing."You also have a pretty voice," Sophia said. Bobby turned and gave her narrowed eyes. She and Eliza started giggling. Lucille couldn't help but snort a laugh at Bobby's face."Is this flirting? Are you two flirting with me?" He pointed a finger at Eliza and Sophia accusingly."They are. They like to tag team. And they're ruthless," Carl sighed. Lucille laughed incredulously at his resigned response. Bobby sulked lightly before standing and looking up at the sky."I think we should head back. It's getting dark." Lucille nodded. The sounds of childish groans filled the air, but Lucille put her hand up"Hey. Almost dinner time, gotta feed the black holes that are children stomachs," she poked Louis in the stomach and he swatted her hand away.As they made their way back to the campsite, they saw everyone but Rick, Dale, and Shane sitting by the firepit. They did, however, see them walking from the wooded area surrounding the camp, so that was reassuring. Though, Dale looked troubled.'I wonder why...' Lucille pondered. Carl, Louis, Eliza, and Sophia all ran back to their respective parents with big smiles on their faces."I see you lot had a fun time with the young Winchesters?" Lori looked at all of the smiling children. She looked happy with the results. They were all settling down when Shane made his announcement."I've been, uh I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look, there are no There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay?"Some people looked dazed at the fact that they were leaving tomorrow morning, but they accepted the fact that they couldn't stay there anymore. It just wasn't safe. So after a little dinner of squirrels that Daryl had caught that afternoon and canned beans and canned corn, they went to their individual tents for the night. Lucille and Bobby, being half-celestial cosmic energy, didn't need to sleep very often, but they knew that since they hadn't shown any signs of sleeping the night before, they needed to play the part. That didn't mean, however, that they couldn't swap watch shifts with Dale every so often.So with that plan in mind, as Lucille was going to pretend to be asleep, Bobby went over to where Dale was stationed on top of his RV and climbed the ladder. Dale turned around and smiled at the boy."Hey, Bobby. What are you doing here? You should be sleeping, 'cause I know you didn't get any zee's last night," he raised his eyebrows. Bobby ducked his head and smiled."I mean, I'm not tired at the moment so I thought maybe I could take the watch right now, and wake you up later?" Dale looked at him incredulously."Boy, how the hell are you not tired? You've been up for two days straight! You should be dead on your feet." Bobby laughed lightly. He sat beside the lawn chair Dale sat in and strapped to the RV."I'll tell you what, Dale. How about you stay out here to make sure I don't fall asleep for half the shift, and after you leave and I'll get my cousin for the rest of the time," Dale gave him a look like he wanted to disagree, but he knew that he was going to lose."Alright, kid. But the minute I see you dozing, you're kicked off and into your tent." Dale teased."You got a deal, sir," Bobby shook Dale's hand and kept a steady eye on the camp and surrounding woods.Another thing about Nephilim is that they can see better in the dark than normal humans and surprisingly angels. It couldn't be explained exactly, but Sam believed that since they were a different species from humans and angels entirely, that there were some things that weren't touched upon when there were more of them around. Along with the fact that they were hunted down immediately after they were born, but that's besides the point. The point is, a Nephilims eyesight is much like a cat, except the pupil still dilated like a normal humans'."You see anything, Bobby?""Not yet."Dale nodded stiffly."Good."
~~~
The night went like Bobby said. He went and "woke up" Lucille after Dale went to bed, and they both sat on top of the RV and talked about what came next for them."Do you think everyone is alright?"Lucille knew Bobby was talking about their family. "We can only hope. Besides, its Sam and Dean Winchester in this world. They can't be beaten by it, as well as everyone associated with them."Bobby sighed deeply."We need to figure out those coordinates, Lu. That's where our family is, and we need to catch up to them as soon as possible.""And how do you think we can do that, Bobby? We can't take one of their cars, if it were up to Shane, these people would be walking straight into a Croat nest, and we still owe it to Rick for risking letting us into his camp when he knew it could've backfired in his face!""Okay, the CDC is a better option, I can see that, but it's not where we need to go.""No, but it's where Jim needs to go.""Are you sure we can't heal him?""I don't know, Bobby. The fever set in, and I still don't think it's a good idea to out ourselves at this moment.""Can we at least try?"Lucille sighed."In the morning, we will try."And so, before dawn broke, Bobby went down to their tent to get everything packed up and ready to go while Lucille stayed on watch. Glenn woke up not long afterward and offered to take over, and Lucille let him. She walked over to him as he finished up."Is Dale up yet?" Bobby shrugged."I don't know, but when he is, we can go see Jim."It was at that time Dale came out of his RV and walked urgently towards the cousins."Hey, you two," he said in a quiet voice, though he was still kind to them."What's up?""I heard you two talking on top of the RV last night. Now, before you freak out, let me ask you," he looked at them seriously, "can you heal Jim?"Lucille swallowed back her nerves, "We don't know for sure. We can only hope and try our damnedest."Dale nodded his head and motioned for them to follow. They walk into the RV and see Jim in a restless sleep, tossing and turning, the bed sheets drenched with sweat, he muttered every so often. They could tell he was getting much, much worse."Dale, you can't freak out about what you're about to see, and you can't tell anybody else." Lucille looked Dale in the eye. He looked confused."Why not?""You, Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog? We trust you guys to not ostracized us or try to use us. It's everyone else we're worried about," Bobby relented quietly. Dale nodded in understanding."You also may want to sit down, if you're planning on watching," Lucille added her warning. Dale, luckily, complied.Lucille gingerly sat on the edge of Jim's bed and held her hands over Jim's wrapped bite. Her hands began emitting a soft, pale blue, and her face scrunched up in concentration. Bobby looked over at Dale in concern and saw that he was looking at Lucille in astonishment. The glow grew brighter and looked more white than blue as Lucille pressed her lips together firmly."Bobby, I may need some help." Bobby leaped forward and hovered his hands above hers, and his, too, started emitting the heavenly light. Jim groaned in discomfort, and Lucille consoled him periodically.After what seemed to be an hour to the young Winchesters, they had to stop. They panted softly, and Lucille pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and checked his temperature. She frowned before unwrapping his bandage carefully. It wasn't healed at all."Son of a bitch," Bobby whimpered. He wiped his eyes and nose, sniffled a little, before storming out of the RV. Lucille closed her eyes to stop the defeated, frustrated tears from escaping."I'm sorry," she gasped. Dale looked at her and to the door to the RV."What are you two? Angels?" He asked. Lucille gave a wet laugh."Close. Bobby and I are Nephilims. Half-Angel, Half-Human Hybrids. There are some things we can do, like angels, and there are some things that we can't. I'm so sorry, Dale, we-""Tried every way you could, like you planned to," He said generously. Lucille smiled at him gratefully, before snapping Jim a new bandage and running after her cousin."Remember your promise," she jokingly threat. Dale nodded and turned back to Jim. She walked out and saw Carol looking worried."Do you know where Bobby went, Carol?" She pointed into the woods."He went in there and Daryl chased after him. He looked upset and wouldn't answer to anyone," Lucille placed a hand on her shoulder."He'll be okay, I'm gonna go try to get them to not kill each other," she joked. Carol smiled weakly back and Lucille stalked into the woodland area."Alright kid, what's got your panties in a twist?" Daryl's voice was quiet, Lucille stepped carefully through the thick trees."It's none of your business," Bobby grumbled. They were getting louder, so she must be getting closer."The hell it isn't. As long as you two are a part of this group, you are my responsibility by association. Now, what the fuck's the matter with you." They got quieter. Nope, wrong turn, go back."It's always been our job to protect people, to save them from day one. We are not supposed to fail and let them suffer and die!" There they are!"What do you want me to say, man? We can't save everyone. You know this life, know how bad it can get. I know it, too, but you can't let it drag you down like this, Bobby." Lucille finally emerged from the trees and came closer to them."He's right. I hate this just as much as you do, Bobby, believe me. But this is how a Hunter's life." Daryl rested his hand on Bobby's shoulder."I know that, but knowing it happens and seeing it are two different things." Bobby and Lucille leaned into their friend, asking for a hug. Daryl froze for a second before wrapping his arms around the two kids."I know," he murmured.They stayed like that for some time until Daryl coughed gruffly and told them they needed to get back to camp, help finish all the packing and what-not. They talked about the CDC and if it really was all it's cracked out to be. They decided that it was better than Fort Benning when Bobby and Lucille said that it was a Red Herring. They had passed it on the way to Atlanta with the rest of the Winchesters and there were people fighting to get out. It appeared that one of the injured civilians they let in was bitten and it was overrun. After everything was packed up and ready to go, Shane gathered everyone into a circle."Everybody listen up. Those of you with CB's, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a CB, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?""We're, uh... We're we're not going," Moralez announced.Everyone looked at them with either a sneer (Andrea), concern, or questioningly."We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people," Miranda explained, pulling Eliza closer to her."You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back," Shane warned."We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family." Moralez said, determined."You sure?" Rick asked."We talked about it. We're sure," he nodded."All right. Shane.""Yeah, all right."Rick and Shane dug around in their weapons bags.".357?""Yeah."Rick pulls out a handgun and gives it to Morales. Shane gives them a box of ammunition."The box is half full."Thank you all. For everything," Miranda chokes out. Lori hugs her and kisses Eliza and Louis on top of their heads. Eliza and Louis hug Sophia and they start crying. Lucille helps Carl get down from on top of the Jeep's hood and he runs and joins them."Good luck, man," Rick shakes Morales' hand."Appreciate it."Eliza gave Sophia her doll, to remember her. "Thank you. Bye."Eliza and Louis walk up to Lucille and Bobby and give them both teary-eyed hugs. Lucille squeezes Eliza and Louis and Bobby tucks their heads under his chin."Channel 40 if you change your minds. All right?" Rick tells them."Yeah. I know," Morales leads his family to their car. Bobby willed more jugs of water into existence in the back of their truck along with more food."What makes you think our odds are any better?" Shane asked Rick. Rick gave him a look."Come on. Let's go. Let's move out." They all climb into the cars, Lucille and Bobby went with Daryl in the pickup. Lucille sat in the passenger seat and Bobby rode in the back with the motorcycle.They made it a rather far before Dale had to stop the RV. Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, Andrea, the teens, and Shane went out to look at Dale's RV engine."I told you we'd never get far on that hose. I said I needed the one from the cube van," Dale told Rick. he sighed and rubbed his forehead."Can you jury-rig it?""That's all it's been so far. It's more duct tape than hose. And I'm out of duct tape.""I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky," Shane turned to them after looking through his binoculars. Jacquie ran out of the RV in a hurry."Y'all, Jim- It's bad. I don't think he can take anymore," Rick and Lucille made their way to the RV. Daryl made his way back to his pick up."Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead, see what I can bring back," Shane asked him."Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up," T-Dog told him, looking through the binoculars."Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back."Rick and Lucille make their way to Jim's bed in the RV. He's looking out the window in his long stare. Lucille sat on the bed across from Jim."We'll be back on the road soon," Rick tells him gently."Oh no. Christ. My bones My bones are like glass. Every little bump God, this ride is killing me. Leave me here. I'm done. Just leave me. I want to be with my family," Jim pleaded with Rick. Rick crouches in front of Jim."They're all dead. I don't think you know what you're asking. The fever, you've been delirious more often than not," Rick tried to talk some sort of sense into him."I know. Don't you think I know? I'm clear now. In five minutes I may not be. Rick, I know what I'm asking. I want this. Leave me here. Now that's on me. Okay? My decision. Not your failure," Jim reassured Rick.Rick nodded his head in a daze and he walked down the small hallway, out the RV. Lucille goes to follow him when Jim grabs her hand. She stops and looks at him in confusion."Yeah? Do you need anything?" Jim shakes his head."I just wanted to say thanks. For trying to help me. I don't care if it didn't work, you tried to help and that means you and that boy you're with. You're good people. This group needs you," he lets go of her hand and groans as he shifts into a better sitting position. Lucille paused outside the doorway and turned back to look at him."I can make it painless," Jim looks at her."When they put me outside, tell me more." Lucille nodded her head stiffly. When she made it outside, she saw that everyone was talking about Jim's request. She stood in the doorway and listened to their conversation."It's what he says he wants," Rick said sadly."And he's lucid?"Carol asked."He seems to be. I would say yes," Rick rubbed his face. He's obviously stressed out about Jim's situation."Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer," Dale looked around."We just leave him here? We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that," Shane said morosely."It's not your call, either one of you," Lori told Rick and Shane. Bobby looked at Lori in masked confusion. He gave Lucille a look that they needed to talk later.
~~~
Rick and Shane carefully sat Jim down at the base of a big oak tree. Jim looked around after he was situated."Hey, another damn tree," he laughed."Hey, Jim I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this," Shane told him hopefully."No. It's good. The breeze feels nice," Jim sighed gratefully. Shane nodded regretfully."Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight," Jacquie whispered sweetly. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and began to cry softly."Jim, do you want this?" Rick held up a small revolver. Jim shook his head."No. You'll need it. But you," he nodded towards Lucille, "you said you could make it painless?""Yes, but in the process, I would need to kill you myself," she said regretfully. Everyone around her gave her a look of shock, which she ignored."Oh," Jim said. Lucille nodded."Do you still want it?" She asked him."Yes. It would be easier.""Not for her, or us!" Jacquie cried, aghast."It'll never be easier, Jacquie. Besides, this isn't the first time I've had to do this," Lucille told the older woman."Won't be the last time, either," Bobby said remorsefully."Okay," Rick nodded. Lori looked affronted."Rick-""It's not my call. It's theirs."Lucille knelt down next to Jim and let her Angel Blade slip out of her sleeve."What I'm going to do, Jim, is I'll call off the sensations of your nerves, and put you to sleep. You won't feel anything, and you'll go peacefully," She brought her blade into his line of sight, "Then, I'll make it immediate. You won't feel it. It'll feel like you're dreaming, and then you'll be in your Heaven, happy, and with your loved ones."Jim nods his head, and Lucille places her hand against his forehead. She bowed her head and closed her eyes. Dale stepped forward and kneeled in front of Jim."Thanks for, uh, for fighting for us," Dale told him. Jim nodded."Okay.""Ta a noco adagita a Amayo, ol lava ar elasa dalagare oi coredazodizoda page ta ascha ta a sapah teloah quooiape en zol," Jim gasps, as if he's breathing clearly after a bad allergy season and moves around as if he never got bit."Beregida," Jim's eyes close and his breathing goes deep and steady."What the hell kinda Satanist shit is that?" T-Dog asked angrily."It's not Satanic, it's Enochian. She said a prayer to God," Bobby replied heatedly."You may want to take the kids back to the cars," Lucille spoke up, not opening her eyes."Alright," Rick turned to Lori and Carol to steer Carl and Sophia back to the road, out of view of the tree line."Why can't you just keep his nerves... turned off indefinitely and have him travel to the CDC? He's got a chance now!" Shane challenged. Lucille sighed."Because he'd still turn. Even in this state, there's a chance he's going to wake up at any time and try to naw our faces off," she shot back at him. She turned to Rick."Can you help me sit him up?" He nodded his head and lifted Jim's torso.Lucille lifted her blade and swiftly jabbed it into the base of his skull. It gave a crunch sound that most of everyone flinched at, except Bobby, Daryl, and Lucille. She gently pulled out her blade and helped Rick lean Jim's body back against the tree. She walked past everyone and went back to sit in the bed of Daryl's truck. The rest soon went to their respective vehicles and started back down the road.Daryl gave Lucille a concerned look before getting back into the driver's seat, Bobby in the passengers, and followed the caravan to the CDC."Lord..." Lucille muttered, curling in on herself.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When they got to the CDC, it was a nightmare. Croats littered the grounds and flour sack barriers left behind. It reeked of decomposing, heated dead flesh and bodily organs. Everyone, even the hunters who have smelled some pretty rank things, were so nauseated tears weld in their eyes. Rick, Shane, and Daryl lead the way while T-Dog and Glenn stayed on the sides of the group and Bobby and Lucille kept the back of the group guarded.
 
“All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on! Stay quiet. Let's go.” Shane hissed at everyone. They quickly and quietly moved through hills of Walker bodies. Many in the group groaned and gagged at the combined odors wafting through the dry air.

“Okay, keep moving. Stay together! Keep moving. Come on!” Rick’s voice carried in the tense atmosphere.

“Shh!”

“Carol.” Lori urged her closer.

“Shh. Oh, God,” Rick and Shane looked around.

“Keep it together. Go.” Bobby urged everyone up front.

“We're almost there, baby. Almost there,” Carl clung to his mother fiercely. Rick and Shane tried banging on the door. It was starting to get dark, which made Bobby and Lucille uncomfortable.

“Nothing?”
 
“There's nobody here,” T-Dog said.

“Then why are these shutters down?” Rick snapped back.
 
“Walkers!” Daryl shouted. They all turned around and saw one making its way to them.
 
“Baby, come on!” Lori wailed, grasping Carl tightly. Daryl's crossbow snapped and shot an arrow into the Walkers' head. Daryl turned on his heal as it dropped, looking exceptionally pissed.

“You led us into a graveyard!”
 
“He made a call!” Dale defended him.

“It was the wrong damn call!” Shane walked up to Daryl.
 
“Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end.”

“Where are we gonna go?” Carol whimpered. Lucille rubbed her arm, trying to soothe her. She looked around at the exterior of the building and saw some cameras, but without power, they’re most likely dead.
 
“Do you hear me? No blame.” Shane pointed to Rick

“She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark.”
 
“Fort Benning, Rick Still an option.”

“On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles,” Andrea countered.
 
“125 I checked the map,” Glenn's voice shook as he spoke up.
 
“Forget Fort Benning. We need answers

tonight, now

.” Lori demanded.

“Well, think of something,” Rick stressed.

“Come on, let's go.” Shane and the others began to head back to the cars, but Lucille saw Rick pause. She looked back at the camera just in time to see it look away.

“The camera, it moved,” he said hopefully.

“You imagined it,” Dale dismissed.

“No, I saw it, too,” Lucille shook her head.
 
“It moved. It moved.” Rick moved towards the doors.

“Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on,” Shane started pulling Rick away from the building, Rick struggling the entire way. Lucille walked up to them to pull them apart. “Man, just listen to me. Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dea-”
 
“Not with a building like this! They’re manually operated and I seriously doubt that they were put on autopilot when the world shat itself,” Lucille shouted. Shane looked ready to fight her on that but stopped when Rick marched straight up the camera and screamed at it.
 
“Rick-”
 
“I know you're in there. I know you can hear me.”
 
“-there's nobody here!” Carol wailed.

“Everybody get back to the cars now!” Shane started trying to herd everyone away.
 
“Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, - no food, hardly any gas left.”

“Rick. There's nobody here-” Lori sternly told him, tears in her eyes.
 
“We have nowhere else to go.”
 
“If you were truly trying to help us before, you’ll let us in now! We

need HELP

!” Lucille screamed at the camera. She knew there had to be someone in there. Rick and Lucille pounded on the door.

“Keep your eyes open.” Shane told Dale. Daryl ran up and picked Lucille up off the ground and began trying to run back to the cars.
 
“Daryl, no!

Stop

, you

have

to believe us!” She kicked at the air and started hitting his back in retaliation, not truly trying to hurt him, though.

“If you don't let us in, you're killing us!” Lori tried to pull him away but Shane waved her off. “Please!”
 
“Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go.”
 
“Daryl, put me down!”
 
“Lu, calm down! Please!”

Lucille felt something in her break when she heard her little cousin not believe her, not trust that she knew how to keep them both safe. She stilled in Daryl's’ hold and stared helplessly at the door, something warm ran across her face. She continued to mutter her pleas, nonetheless.
 
“Please help us! You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!” And just like that, the shutter doors opened with resounding squeals and everyone stopped. The light coming from inside was blinding, it could’ve been Heaven. But then, the light gave out, and they were plunged back into darkness. Daryl gently placed Lucille on the ground. Bobby looked at her in apology, tears not falling from his green orbs and wipes at her face. When did she start crying?
 
“Daryl, you cover the back,” Shane said. He held up his gun and kept an eye out for any uglies that could try to sneak up on them. Bobby and Lucille dragged each other into the facility, both pulling out the ivory handled pistols their parents gave them.

“Hello? Hello?” Rick called out.
 
“Watch those doors. Watch for walkers.” Jacquie said.

“Hello?” Lucille asked. They heard a gun cock echo through the room. They all aimed their weapons towards the man holding an AR-15 below chest level.
 
“Anybody infected?” He asked nervously.
 
“One of our group was. He didn't make it,” Rick solemnly told him.

“Why are you here? What do you want?” The man demanded.
 
“A chance.”

“That's asking an awful lot these days.”

“I know,” Rick said ruefully. The man looked over everyone, and they all looked back hesitantly.

“You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission.” The man decided. Lucille swallowed nervously. She moved her eyes to look at Bobby beside her and saw his face give away nothing, but he rubbed his arm.

“We can do that,” Rick said after a beat. The man lowered his gun and walked towards the group.

“You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed.” He said, and everyone moved at once.
 
Rick, Daryl, Bobby, and Shane all went to get the bags while Dale and T-Dog made sure that they don’t become Zombie Chow. Lucille stuck with the rest of the women, kids, and Glenn, shifting nervously from side to side.
 
“Are you okay, Lucille?” Glenn asked. She gave him a  shaky smile.
 
“What? Yeah, why wouldn't I be?” She kept glancing at the door.
 
“They'll be fine. They're careful,” Glenn reassured her. She laughed humorlessly and turned back to him.
 
“It's not that I’m worried about.”
 
“Then what is it?”
 
“I don’t do needles,” Lucille lied. What she

was

worried about what would come up during the blood test, or rather, what

wouldn’t

.
 
“Neither does Bobby.” Andrea scoffed.
 
“You blow the brains out of a dozen Walkers, you don’t flinch when you kill an innocent man, and

needles

is what gets you squirming?” Lucille gave her a hard smile.
 
“Oh, hun, you don’t even know a

quarter

of what I’ve done.

Needles

just so happen to give me bad memories of those times.” While it was true that both Bobby and Lucille

had

used needles as a way of getting information, and unfortunately been held captive and asked to give away information, it still wasn’t the whole truth.
 
The boys ran in with the last of the bags and Dale and T-Dog shut the doors behind them. The man leaned in close to the automatic lock.

“Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here.” The shutters went back down and locked.

“Rick Grimes,” Rick said, holding out his hand.

“Dr. Edwin Jenner,” Jenner said back, taking his hand.
 
“Follow me.”
 
The adults and two teens picked up the supply bags and made their way to an elevator. They all crammed their way inside, not at all comfortable with splitting up, though Andrea, Lori, Carol, and Glenn were glancing at Lucille way too much for her taste. Her skin kept crawling, and she hated it.

“Doctors always go around packing heat like that?” Daryl broke the awkward silence.
 
“There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough. Except you,” Jenner looked at Carl, who fought to keep his smile off his face, “I'll have to keep my eye on you.”
 
They made their way out of the elevator and down a long hallway with Jenner in the lead. The place looked surprisingly clean and dust free, given only one man lived there.

“Are we underground?” Carol asked. Dr. Jenner looked back at her.
 
“Are you claustrophobic?”
 
“A little,” Carol sighed.

“Try not to think about it,” he turned back around as the hallway opened up to a large room full of computers and other gadgets. “Vi, bring up the lights in the big room.” The ring hanging above the room flickered on, lighting the entire room. “Welcome to zone 5,” Jenner said, walking to one of the computers. The group followed.

“Where is everybody? The other doctors, the staff?” Rick said, looking around the room.
 
“I'm it. It's just me here.”

“What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?” Lori asked, looking around the room. Jenner gave her a look.
 
“Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them, ‘Welcome’.” He said.

“
Hello, guests. Welcome,
” said the AI.

“I'm all that's left. I'm sorry,” Jenner said solemnly.
 
~~~
 
They were lead to a classroom type room, with numerous metal chairs and a whiteboard at the front. Almost everyone had given their blood except Lucille and Bobby. Andrea was having hers drawn at the moment.
 
“What's the point? If we were infected, we'd all be running a fever,” she complained.

“I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough. All done,” Jenner took out the syringe and closed the tube holding her blood. Andrea stood up too fast and Jacquie helped steady her.
 
“Ooh,” Andrea quietly groaned.

“Are you okay?” Jenner asked.
 
“Mmm.”
 
“She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have,” Jacquie told Jenner. Jenner waved up Bobby and had him sit in the chair. He drew his blood at the same pace as he did everyone else, but to the Winchesters, it lasted forever. Bobby clenched his hand tightly and roughly ug his elbow into the table.
 
He thought of times with his family, playing games with his sisters and cousins, his dad teaching him how to drive Baby with Father watching in the backseat, him and Lucille playing tricks on Sam and Henry, anything to keep the memories of hunts that went south from his mind. Finally, he was done with Bobby and moved on to Lucille.
 
“Don’t worry, it’s just a little pinch,” Jenner said kindly. Lucille nodded but winced hard at the feeling of cold metal piercing her skin. She stopped herself from ripping the accusing tool from her arm and throwing it at the wall.
 
Instead, she gripped the table hard, almost leaving dents, and began doing what Bobby did. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts. Poppy praising her for putting glitter in the Tall Man’s fancy shampoo, Dean giving her pointers on flirting with girls, her cousin Mary and her brother Henry taking turns reading The Lord of the Rings with Charlie and Kevin while Pamela, Jessica, and Bobby played Metal Jacks on the floor. Anything but the pain, the guilt, the torture…
 
“Done,” Jenner announced, withdrawing the needle.
 
“Thank the Lord,” she muttered, jumping from her seat.
 
“While Vi puts the blood through the tests, how about you all join me for dinner? And afterward, I take you to your rooms?” Jenner said, standing up. Rick and Shane looked around at the group, seeing their exhausted forms before nodding to each other.
 
“Alright.”
 
~~~
 
They were all sitting at the large table, Dale passing around glasses of wine, everyone joking around with each other, finally happy that they had some sense of normal in this crazy world.

“You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France,” Dale teased, passing Lori her glass.

“Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then,” She smiled back.

“What's it gonna hurt? Come on. Come on,” Rick egged Lori on, both trying not to laugh. She kept her ground until everyone else started to crack up. She giggled into her wine and let Dale pass Carl a tiny bit of wine.

“There you are, young lad.” The room was quiet with anticipation as Carl drank a sip of the alcoholic beverage. He must not have liked it since he grimaced immediately after swallowing.

“Eww!” They all laugh at the poor boy and Lori rubs his back.

“That's my boy. That's my boy,” she coos, “Good boy.”

“Yuck. That tastes nasty,” Carl groaned. Shane smiled at him.

“Well, just stick to sour pop there, bud.”

“Not you, Glenn,” Daryl told the Korean boy.
 
“What?”
 
“Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get,” Daryl sneered playfully. Glenn looked around in annoyance as the rest laughed.
 
“Is that how you flirt, Daryl? Cause I gotta say, pretty on the nose there, bud,” Lucille teased him. Daryl flipped her off in response. Lucille gave a hearty laugh in response.
 
“Hey, Dale. You mind passing Bobby and I a glass?” Lucille asked, giving Daryl a look. Dale gave her his own look.
 
“Aren’t you two a little young for alcohol?”
 
“Well, you see, Dale, in Casa la Winchester, there’s a tradition where once you turn 15, you can have any alcoholic drink, mixed or straight, at dinner once a week,” Lucille shrugged and turned to Bobby, her golden eyes dancing with amusement.
 
“Tell them what you wanted when you first turned 15, Bobby.” He looked down at his plate in embarrassment.
 
“I’d rather not.”
 
“Aw man, don’t tell me you asked for a lady drink,” T-Dog groaned. The group laughed at that but Bobby shook his head.
 
“No, it wasn’t that.”

“Then what was it?” Dale asked.
 
“An Aunt Roberta Cocktail,” he mumbled and Lucille gave an ugly snort.
 
“The fuck is that?” Daryl squinted his eyes at Bobby and nursed what would be his personal bottle of wine.
 
“It’s a cocktail combination of
gin, vodka, brandy, blackberry liqueur, and absinthe,” Lucille chortled.
 
“How the hell did your liver not die on the spot?” T-Dog was taken aback.
 
“It was a Medical Mystery,” Lucille chuckled, “Mine was scotch. Dean would have it sitting in the library of our home but all the younger kids know not to mess with it.”
 
“You mean you guys have never snuck a little sip when your parents weren't looking?” Rick asked. Lori gave him an irritated look to which he shrugged at.
 
“Nope, cause we know that in due time, we’ll be able to be classy or fulfill our alcoholic needs,” Lucille slapped Bobby on the back and he groaned into his glass. Rick stood up and tapped his fork against his glass a few times.

“It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly,” he said motioning to Dr. Jenner.

“He is more than just our host,” T-Dog praised, lifting his glass high.

“Hear hear!”
 
“Here's to you, doc. Booyah!” Daryl toasted.
 
“I can see why Dean liked him,” Lucille whispered to Bobby.
 
Everyone shouted their thanks and praise and laughed until Shane killed the mood.
 
“So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc? All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?”
 
“We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now,” Rick said, sitting back down next to his son.

“Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move, supposed to find all the answers. Instead we,” Shane scoffed, “we found him. Found one man. Why?”
 
“Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left. Went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted,” Jenner explained slowly.

“Every last one?” Shane sneered.
 
“No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out,” Bobby looked around at everyone and saw that they were all unhappy with the turn in the conversation. “There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time.” Jenner continued sadly.

“You didn't leave. Why?” Andrea asked.
 
“I just kept working. Hoping to do some good,”

“Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man,” Glenn glared at Shane, who had the decency to look guilty.
 
~~~
 
Jenner lead them down another hallway, but there were doors to rooms all along the walls.

“Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy,” he stopped and bent down to look at Bobby, Lucille, Carl, and Sophia, “Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies If you shower, go easy on the hot water.” Jenner walked further down and went somewhere else in the facility, leaving them to pick out their rooms.

“Hot water?” Glenn’s awed voice spoke up.
 
“That's what the man said,” T-Dog grinned widely at his friend. They both laughed giddily and they all made their ways to their rooms.
 
Lucille and Bobby rushed to their room, pushing each other out of the way and consequently getting stuck in the doorway. They started calling each other names but couldn’t get the other to let up. Jacquie passed by them and laughed before looking at Daryl for help. He made a face at the feuding Winchesters before nodding at the older woman. He pulled on Bobby’s bulging backpack hard enough to let Lucille wiggle through the small doorway. She whooped in victory before dropping her things on the floor and running into the bathroom.
 
“Daryl, I was about to get in

first

!” Bobby whined. Daryl huffed a small laugh and pushed the kid into his room and closed the door.
 
Bobby heard the shower running and sighed in defeat. He set up the task of laying Lucille’s cleanest set of clothes out on the edge of the bed. He shucked off his boots and leaned against the headboard of the bed and continued reading

The Da Vinci Code

. Langdon and Sophie had just exited the elevator of the Depository Bank of Zurich when Lucille walked out of the bathroom in a white fluffy towel, and a second one tied around her brown hair. Bobby pointed to her clothes pile before bookmarking his place and grabbing his own change of clothes.
 
“The temperature is heavenly, and the water pressure is phenomenal!” Lucille shouted after him.
 
“Yeah yeah!”
 
Lucille got dressed and snorted at the book Bobby was reading. She let her hair out of the twirled up towel and walked back into the bathroom. She pulled the door and Bobby gave a surprised shout.”
 
“Hey, I’m gonna-stop screaming it’s me. I’m gonna head on over to the rec room, look for some books or something,” she nonchalantly told her cousin.
 
“Lucille, I don’t care!

Get the hell out

!”
 
“Fine. Baby. Meet me there when you’re done,” she walked out and closed the door as she heard something hit it. She snickered and ran out the door with a skip in her step.
 
When Lucille got the rec room, she saw Carol sitting on the sofa reading a book while Carl and Sophia were playing chess on the coffee table.
 
“Hey guys,” she waved at Carl and Sophia.
 
“Hey, Lucille,” Carl says enthusiastically.
 
“Hi, Lucy!” Sophia grins. Lucille gives her an amused smile.
 
“She gets extra points for giving me a nickname,” Carl throws his hands into his face and groans about his misgivings. Lucille heard Carol giggle at their interaction and went back to her book. Lucille liked her way of thinking and got busy scouring the bookshelves for something decent.
 
She found something that looked interesting and sat down next to Carol to begin her written adventure. Apparently, the protagonist was a criminal about to be executed by burning at the stake. Ooo, by the Knights Templar? Oh man, they took over Jerusalem, again. So the guy is either Jewish, Islamic or Muslim, either way, this guy is gonna be screwed over by these Christians. He has now written a secret message for someone else to find… interesting. Oh shit, he’s dead now, along with three of his other buddies. Well, that didn’t last very long.

Fuck, they just became pig chow! What the fuck is this book?? The first chapter isn’t even halfway over!

“Any good books?” Lucille was knocked out of her inner dilemma of the book by Lori walking in, freshly bathed and wrapped in a fluffy robe.
 
“Uh-huh. Enough to keep us busy for years,” Carol said wistfully

“All right. Come on, kids, it's bedtime,” Carol said standing up and taking Sophia’s hand. Lucille lowered her book.
 
“Awww,” she pouted. Carol gave her a soft look, though Lucille could also see her hesitance to converse with her. She must still be shaken by Lucille’s admittance to doing some horrible things only a few short hours ago.
 
“Okay Lucille, you can stay up for a little bit longer,” Carol kid. Lucille whooped quietly and curled up further onto the couch, underneath the throw blanket.

“Baby, go say your prayers. I'm gonna browse a bit,” Lori said, walking to the bookshelf.
 
“This is the first night we might actually get some real sleep,” Carol mused and booped Sophia on the nose. “It's a miracle, isn't it?”
 
Lucille went back to her book and was sucked into the storyline, leaving Lori to browse. Her night vision once again came in handy, since the blanket she was under blocked out a lot of light. She sensed that someone else had entered the room, but didn’t pay much attention to it. As far as she knew, it was someone from the group, not Bobby, since Nephilim souls give off a stronger energy than human souls thanks to the Angel Grace. He was down the hall, thoug- the door slammed. Lucile didn’t move, didn’t breath.
 
“Jesus, you scared me,” Lori sounded irritated. So it wasn’t someone she liked, which could be a few people. Daryl, Shane, Bobby, or herself.

“I'm gonna tell you a few things and you're gonna listen to me.” Oh great, it was the angry cop himself.
 
“Now is not the time,” Lori growled out. Lucille heard them walk around the room.

“Come on. When is it ever the time? How can you treat me like this?” She heard Shane whimper. Oh no, she shouldn’t be listening to this, she should leave, but she had a feeling that she should stay.
 
“You're kidding, right?” Lori demanded.
 
“No. Huh-uh.”

“Because you told me my husband was dead.”

“Jesus, Lori. I didn't lie to you, all right? I didn't. Do you know what it was like there?” She listened to the stomping footsteps of both adults and heard another door slam shut. She felt Bobby’s presence through the door closest to her and knew that he was listening in on the conversation.

“Stop. Things were falling apart. They were slaughtering people in the hallways. It was a massacre. There were walkers everywhere,” Shane said hurriedly.

“So you left him?” Lori said more as a statement than a question.
 
“Everybody else ran. There were no doctors there. It was just me. He was hooked up to machines and I did not know what to do. I even took my ear and I put it on his chest and I listened for a heartbeat and I did not hear one. And I-I-I-I I don't know why. Maybe it was gunfire. I don't know what it was, but there was no way he could've survived that. No way.” Shane’s voice cracked with strong emotion and he banged the door again.

“He did,” Lori told him.

“Yeah, but then I had y'all to think about, didn't I? I had you and Carl, and I needed to think about-” Lori tried to interrupt but Shane talked over her. She heard more footsteps and heard someone sit on one of the tables.

“I had to get you guys safe to Atlanta. That's what I had to do. Just stop! If you thought for one second that he was still alive, would you have come? So I saved your life you and your little boy's. That's what I did. Right? Okay. And if I could've traded places with him, I would have. I would trade places with him right now because-”
 
“No no no. No.” She heard Lori try to stop the conversation, but Shane once again cut her off.
 
“No no no, you - I love you,” Shane confessed.

“No. No, you're drunk.” She heard Lori try to move off the table.

“I love you.”

“No, you're drunk.” She heard Lori say more forcefully but was unsuccessful at moving away from Shane. Lucille peaked out from her blanket and saw Shane pinning Lori against the table and her trying to push him off, but he was stronger than her. Oh man, she hoped that Bobby drew the conclusion that this was going to end badly, and soon.

“And I know there were some things that say that you love me too. Because there's no way that you could've been with me the way that you were.” Shane tried to kiss Lori but Lori kept moving away from his advances. Lucille decided that enough was enough and leaped up quietly from the couch.

“Shane. Shane. Shane!”
 
“Just Okay, stop.

Listen!

You love me.” Shane said
 
“Get your hands off me. Get your hands

off me!

” Lori squealed and squirmed away but Shane pulled her back. Lucille stealthy made her way to the pair, waving her hand at the door and letting Bobby in.
 
“I love you. There's nobody here.”

“Please! No!” Lucille rushed towards Shane and pulled him away from Lori. Shane shouted at the action.
 
“The hell

you think you’re doing?!

” Lucille shouted at Shane. It was apparent that Shane was too out of it at that moment to realize it was Lucille, and backhanded her in the face. Lori yelped and pulled Lucille back. At the same time, Bobby ran towards Shane pulled him away from both women, yelling at him.
 
“Calm the hell down, Shane! Take a walk!” Bobby shoved him towards the door next to the bar. Shane stopped and spun around, looking at an enraged Bobby, and a terrified Lori holding onto a bitter Lucille, who was holding her steadily darkening cheek. Shane looked down in humiliation before turning on his heal and stomping out the door.
 
“Are you okay, Lori?” Lucille looked at the shaken woman. Lori began sobbing and looked over Lucille’s bruised cheek in worry.
 
“Am

I

okay? What about

you?

” Lucille shook her head and brushed her off.
 
“I’m going to be fine. You on the other hand, almost had something really bad happen to you, and that shit is traumatizing, even to the strongest of people. Are you okay?” Lori nodded and gave Lucille a crushing hug. She gave the same kind of hug to Bobby. She pulled away, sniffed, wiped her mouth nervously and walked out of the rec room.
 
“What the hell was that?” Lucille questioned, shaking her head. Her light purple cheek slowly turned to a faded yellow-green.
 
When they made it back to their room, Bobby sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. Lucille closed the door behind her and leaned against it, arms crossed.
 
“Maybe we should get some sleep,” she offered. Bobby looked up at her and raised a dark eyebrow.
 
“We don’t really need to sleep very often,” he sighed out. Lucille uncrossed her arms and sat next to her younger cousin.
 
“No, but we

do

need sleep

every so

often,” she nudged him with her shoulder.
 
~~~
 
The next morning, Lucille woke up before Bobby and instead of following her Trickster father’s

evil

ways, she let him sleep in some more and wandered down to the dining room. She heard small conversation and the smell of a hearty breakfast. She walked in and saw several hungover adults and two energetic children. T-Dog was giving everyone a helping of eggs from his cooking pan.

“Eggs! Powdered, but-but I do 'em

good

,” Glenn groaned in response. Many chuckles and Jacquie rubbed his shoulders gently, “ I bet you can't tell! Protein helps the hangover.” He gave Glenn a serving, who somehow groaned more pathetically than before.

“Where'd all this come from?” Rick asked. Lucille sat herself down across from Lori, who gave her a double-take. Her bruise was completely gone. It had healed overnight. T-Dog came around to her and gave her some eggs, which she thanked the man for.
 
“Jenner,” Lori quickly drew her attention back to him and took the pill bottle Rick was handing her.

“Could you help me, please?” She opened it and gave it back to him.
 
“He thought we could use it.”

“Thank you.”

“Some of us, at least,” Lori grinned at a suffering Glenn.

“Don't ever, ever,

ever

let me drink again,” the poor guy grumbled. Lucille snorted before partaking in her eggs.
 
“Hey,” Shane walked into the dining room and went straight for the coffee machine.

“Hey. Feel as bad as I do?” Rick asked him.
 
“Worse,” he grunted. Yeah, Lucille bet he did. She looked over at Lori, but she was staring intensely down at her breakfast.

“The hell happened to you? Your neck?” T-Dog asked concerned. Shane sat down at the table and Lucille looked over at him in confusion. There were scratch marks on his neck and jaw.

Ooohh.

“I must have done it in my sleep,” Shane tried to sound off-handed, but it came out wrong.

“Never seen you do that before,” Rick mused.

“Me neither. Not like me at all.” Shane gave Lori and Lucille quick glances of resentment.

‘Yeah, and I’m sure you forcing women to let you have your way with them is unlike you, as well,’

Lucille spat out in her mind. Bobby chose that moment to stumble in, bleary-eyed, and plopped down in the chair next to Lucille. He started chowing down on the premade dish of eggs when the Good Doctor walked in.

“Morning,” Jenner said, making himself a cup of Joe.
 
“Hey, doc,” Rick said politely.

“Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-” Dale started but Jenner cut him off.
 
“But you will anyway,” he sighed.
 
“We didn't come here for the eggs,” Andrea said bitterly. Jenner looked around the dinner table.
 
“After breakfast.” He said. Andrea looked like she wanted to object, but was cut short when Bobby’s head slammed on the table. Lucille gave him a surprised look and pressed her ear to his face. She started laughing. He had fallen back asleep and was snoring.
 
~~~
 
After they woke Bobby up and finished their meal, they followed Jenner back into the control room.

“Give me playback of TS-19.” He demanded of Vi.

“
Playback of TS-19.
”
 
The wall in front of them suddenly lit up and started loading up different view shots of a human brain, as well as a 3D model of a female head, the image fading until just her brain was left presented.

“Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few,” Jenner told everyone.

“Is that a brain?” Carl asked Dr. Jenner.
 
“An extraordinary one,” he grinned at the boy, but it fell flat, “Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E. I. V.”

“
Enhanced internal view.
” Vi’s voice echoed off the large walls.

“What are those lights?” Shane asked from his seat.
 
“It's a person's life. Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light is you. The thing that makes you unique. And human.”

“You don't make sense, ever?” Daryl asked, his face screwed up in confusion. Jenner gave the older hunter a small smile.
 
“Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death.”

“Death? That's what this is, a vigil?” Rick asked, moving closer to the screen.
 
“Yes. Or rather the playback of the vigil,” Jenner’s voice held unspoken sorrow.

“This person died? Who?” Andrea asked, astonished.
 
“Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected… And volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event.”

“
Scanning to first event
.”
 
The screen loaded up and showed them the same brain, only this time, it had blackened, dead receivers growing from the brainstem. Lucille and Bobby looked away from the screen. They knew what happened to the souls of those bitten and turn, they grew dim and slowly faded away. Whoever that person was just, disappears from existence. No Heaven, no Hell, not Purgatory. It was heartbreaking, but watching it happen in such a human way was just as horrible.

“What is that?” Glenn asked in shock.
 
“It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage,” the body on screen began seizing as the mass grew bigger in the person’s brain, “the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs,” The person who volunteered to be tested went still and all the lights that were trying so hard to stay lit, simply went out. Jenner looked forlorn, “Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be… Gone.”

“Is that what happened to Jim?” Sophia asked her mother softly.
 
“Yes,” Carol nodded sadly. Everybody looked at the screen in grief. Andrea fought with herself, willing her tears not to fall. Jenner looked at her in concern.

“She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister,” Lori said gently.

“I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is,” he told Andrea comfortingly. He looked back up at the screen projection. “Scan to the second event.”

“
Scanning to second event.
”

“The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute… Seven seconds.”
 
They watched intently and saw little red lights float around the brain stem.

“It restarts the brain?” Lori asked incredulously.
 
“No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving,” Jenner corrected.

“But they're not alive?” Rick inquired.
 
“You tell me.” Jenner waved his hands at the screen.
 
“It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark,” Rick said.
 
“Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex. The human part? That doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct.”
 
They all looked back at the screen and saw something small shoot itself through the Walker’s head, killing it.

“God. What was that?” Carol asked.
 
“He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?” Andrea grilled the doctor.
 
“Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations.” Jenner made his way out of the room but stopped halfway there.

“
Powering down main screen and workstations.
”

“You have no idea what it is, do you?” Andrea accused.
 
“It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, - fungal,” Jenner offered.

“Or the wrath of God?” Jacquie asked venomously.
 
“There is that.”

“Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere.” Andrea rambled.
 
“There are others, right? Other facilities?” Carol asked hopefully. Jenner looked at both women and sighed.
 
“There may be some. People like me.”

“But you don't know? How can you not know?” Rick demanded. Jenner shrugged.
 
“Everything went down. Communications, directives all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month.”
 
“So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?” Andrea through questions at Jenner left and right, but he answered none of them.
 
“Jesus,” Jacquie whispered hopelessly.
 
“Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk. Again.” Daryl rubbed his eyes in frustration.

“Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but,” Dale walked closer to the giant clock mounted to the side of the wall. “That clock It's counting down. What happens at zero?”
 
“The basement generators, they run out of fuel,” Jenner said quickly, walking out of the room.
 
“And then?” Rick asked after him. Jenner refused to answer.
 
“Vi, what happens when the power runs out?” Rick demanded.
 
“
When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur.
”

Lucille went back to her room after that, to think about what will happen next for her group.
 
~~~
 
Bobby looked at Lori from his spot in front of Carl, who was doing his homework. She was waving her hand below the AC unit in confusion.
 
“Mom? Something wrong?” Carl asked.
 
“Nothing. It's just… The air conditioning stopped,” she gave her son a small smile. Carl looked at Bobby for an answer, but he just shrugged helplessly at the boy.
 
~~~
 
“Why is the air off? And the lights in our room?” Lucille leaned out of the doorway to her and Bobby’s room and saw Jenner dressed up in a button up shirt and his lab coat. The lights flickered repeatedly.
 
“What's going on? Why is everything turned off?” Daryl swung himself around his doorframe.
 
“Energy use is being prioritized,” Jenner walked past everyone and took Daryl's whiskey.

“Air isn't a priority? And lights?” Dale asked in disbelief.
 
“It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down.” Jenner took a swig of the whiskey as the lights went out completely. Everyone began following him as Daryl kept badgering the man for answers.

“Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean? Hey man, I'm talking to you. What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?” Rick, Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog came running from the basement level of the building.
 
“You'd be surprised.”

“Rick?” Lori asked. He held up his hand for her to know he was alright. The rest of the group walked down the stairs to join the others and made their way to the control room.
 
“Jenner, what's happening?”
 
“The system is dropping all the non-essential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark,” Jenner gestured to the countdown clock, “Right on schedule.”

“This is nuts,” Lucille rubbed her head, the stress of the situation mounting by the second. Jenner handed Daryl back his whiskey, and he snatched it back.
 
“It was the French,” Jenner suddenly said.

“What?” Andrea asked.
 
“They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the end. They thought they were close to a solution.” Jenner walked up the stairs of the elevated platform.
 
“What happened?” Jacquie asked.
 
“The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs of fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?” Jenner turned away from the group.
 
“Let me tell you-” Shane launched himself over the steps and made a move to fight with the doctor, but Rick held him back.
 
“To hell with it, Shane, I don't even care! Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here

NOW

!” Rick looked livid, and nobody wanted to fight him about their predicament.
 
“Oh, okay,” Jacquie tried to calm herself and followed the others with packing her belongings.
 
“Bobby, you go to our room and start packing. I have to get some things from the rec room,” Lucille told the ravenette. He nodded his head and made a start to head to the bedrooms, but stopped when the loud alarm started going off. The room flashed with red lights

“What's that?!” Shane exclaimed. Everyone was silent and frighteningly confused.
 
“What's that?” Carl looked up at his father, looking for his answer on Rick’s face. Rick, however, didn’t let his expression of calm slip.
 
“
30 minutes to decontamination.
” Jenner leaned over his desk and scanned his ID across the scanning device.

“Doc, what's going on here?” Daryl shouted at the doctor. Lucille grabbed his arm and had begun dragging him towards the door.
 
“Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!” Shane shouted, coercing everyone else into moving towards the door.
 
“Let's go,” T-Dog waved to everyone.
 
“Come on!” Glenn shrieked. They all stopped again when a heavy-duty steel door slid up and locked them in.

“Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!” Glenn shouted in a panic. Jenner ignored them all and turned on his computer.
 
“We've hit the 30-minute window. I am recording.”

Shit was hitting the ceiling

waayy

too fast for everyone. There was no longer a way to get out (without having everyone ask a lot of questions/having a gun pointed at their heads), Jenner wasn’t answering questions. Daryl leaped across the platform and made a beeline towards Jenner.
 
“You son of a bitch!”

“Shane!” Rick yelled and pointed to a fuming Daryl.
 
“You locked us in here!” Daryl ran into the doctor and would’ve pumbled him restlessly if T-Dog and Shane hadn’t wrestled him away.
 
“No, stop!”

“Don't!”
 
“You lying shi! You locked us in here!” Daryl wailed, he fought against the two men restraining him.
 
“No no no no! Wait, no! No, don't do it.” T-Dog and Shane pleaded with the irate hunter.

“Hey, Jenner, open that door now,” Rick demanded of the man.

“There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed,” Jenner sighed, fixing the collar of his shirt.

“Well, open the damn things.”

“That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that. It's better this way,” Jenner told Rick sadly.

“What is? What happens in 28 minutes?” Jenner ignored him and began working on his computer. Shane kicked the back of his chair.
 
“What happens in 28 minutes?!”
 
“You know what this place is?! We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!” Jenner screamed at everyone, his nerves shot. Lucille looked at Jenner in shock.
 
“In the event of a catastrophic power failure, in a terrorist attack, for example, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out,” Jenner calmed down slightly.
 
“You’re going to blow this place sky high,” Lucille gasped. Jenner shook his head.
 
“Not me, the facility is programmed to do it in the event of, again, a catastrophic power failure,” Jenner told her.
 
“What are H.I.T.s?” Rick turned Lucille to face him. She saw that everyone was tense, tears welled up in Carol's eyes as she hugged her daughter close. Lucille took a deep breath and looked back at Rick.

“It stands for high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives. When ignited, they send out a blast wave greater than any other explosive known to mankind, besides maybe nuclear. It’ll set the air on fire at the heat intensity of between 5,000° and 6,000°. It’ll destroy the entire building, as well as everything inside,” Lucille choked. She knew that she should just fly them all out right now, but she… couldn’t. She could feel Dale’s stare and she almost wished that he didn’t know the truth about her and Bobby.
 
“No pain. An end to sorrow, grief. Regret. Everything,” Jenner said wistfully. Daryl stormed over to the steel door and threw his bottle of alcohol at it. The glass shattered upon impact and glittered around on the floor.

“Open the damn door!”
 
“Out of my way!”Shane bellowed, running at the door holding an ax.
 
“Daryl!” T-Dog yelled, tossing him another ax. Both he and Shane began beating against the door with all their might, but it didn’t bend. Carol, Lori, Sophia, and Carl were curled up along the panel of the workstation. Jenner gave them a pitying look.
 
“You should've left well enough alone. It would've been so much easier,” he lamented.
 
“Easier for who?” Lori spat at him.
 
“All of you. You know what's out there. A short, brutal life and an agonizing death,” Jenner shot Andrea a look. “Your your sister what was her name?”
 
“Amy.”

“Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that really what you want for your wife and son?” Rick got in Dr. Doom’s face.
 
“I don't want

this

!”
 
“Can't make a dent,” Shane gulped.
 
“Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher,” Jenner said emotionlessly.

“Well, your head ain't!” Daryl stalked forward and prepared to swing the ax at Jenner’s head, but Dale, Rick, and T-Dog.
 
“Whoa!”
 
“Whoa! Daryl!”
 
“Daryl!”
 
“Just back up! Back up!”
 
“You

do

want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead,” Jenner looked at Rick.

“What the fuck?” Lucille muttered. Lori looked at Rick in horror.
 
“What? You really said that? After all your big talk?” Shane asked angrily.
 
“I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?” Carol wept into Sophia’s hair.
 
“There is no hope. There never was.” Jenner tried to convince everyone.

“There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere-“ Andrea cut off Rick’s argument.
 
“What part of "everything is gone" do you not understand?”
 
“What part of “there’s always hope” do

you

not understand?” Lucille spat at the older blonde.
 
“No. Listen to Andrea. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event.”
 
“This isn't right. You can't just keep us here!” Carol wailed. Jenner leaned forward.

“One tiny moment a millisecond. No pain,” he consoled.
 
“My daughter doesn't deserve to die like

this!

”

“Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?” Shane stalked off the platform and walked over to the gun he brought with him. Lucille knew trouble when she saw it and acted quickly.

“That’s a load of shit, Jenner,” Lucille snapped and walked towards the steel door. She saw Shane hesitate on his walk back onto the platform, but she continued her idiotic plan. “You said these doors can withstand everything but a rocket launcher?”
 
“Lu-” Bobby tried to interrupt, but she ignored him. She laughed humorlessly. She was so going to get shot at later.
 
“Well, you see. We just so happen to have one,” she said and snapped her fingers. And just like that, the door was ripped out from the floor and crumbled on the floor of the hallway. Bobby clenched his teeth nervously while everyone looked between Lucille and the broken door.
 
“Come on!” Bobby yelled and ran out the door. His outburst broke their group out of their stupor and they made their way out of the control room. Lucille waited by the door. Neither Winchester regarded the looks of apprehension and fear they were getting from their group.
 
“Come on, everyone! Let’s go!” Lucille ushered many of the group through the doorway.
 
She didn’t miss the terrified looks that the children and their mothers threw her, nor the nervous glances and hate-filled glares the rest gave her. Even if she had known these people less than a few days, they had grown to mean a lot to Lucille, and these reactions were the

exact reason

why she was against letting them know her and Bobby’s heritage.
 
“We're gonna get out of here, Sophia.” She heard Carol whisper as she ran past her, gripping her daughter's hand in a vice grip. Soon, the only people left in the control room were Rick, Dr. Jenner, T-Dog, Andrea, Dale, Jacquie, and herself.
 
“I think you're lying,”Rick said suddenly.

“What?” Jenner asked.
 
“You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?” Rick grilled him.
 
“It doesn't matter.”Jenner scoffed.
 
“It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?” Rick pressed on.
 
“Not because I wanted to. I made a promise To her. My wife.” Jenner pointed to the giant screen. It was silent for a long minute.

“Test subject 19 was your wife?” Jacquie whispered.
 
“She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place,” Jenner gestured to all of the workstations, “I just worked here. In our field, she was an

Einstein

. Me? I'm just Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me.”

“Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's that's all we want a choice, a chance. Let us keep trying as long as we can,” Rick pleaded with the doctor. Jenner was silent for a second before he sighed, long and hard.

“I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those doors,” he told the ex-sheriff. He held his hand out to Rick for him to shake and Rick obliged. But instead of shaking, Jenner pulled Rick close and began whispering something in his ear. Lucille’s eyes widened in disbelief at what she heard.

“Let's go!” T-Dog grabbed Jacquie’s hand and gently guided her to the door.
 
“Hey, we've got four minutes left! Come on! Let's go!” Glenn screamed from behind Lucille. She jumped in surprise. She didn’t expect them to stay by the door.

“Let's go.”

“No no, I'm staying. I'm staying, sweetie,” Jacquie moved away from the group.

“But that's insane!” T-Dog exclaimed. Jacquie shook her head.
 
“No, it's completely sane. For the first time in a long time. I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue and no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out.”

“Dog. Come on, man. Come on! Let's go! Let's go!” Shane grabbed T-Dog by the arm and pulled him out the door. Dale held his arms out in fearful questioning, but Jacquie shook her head and walked away. Lucille bit her lip and nodded her head to Bobby, telling him to get them all out. He nodded in return.
 
“I'm staying, too,” Andrea said. Dale shook his head.

“Andrea, no.” He pleaded. He saw the rest of the group was still waiting.

“Just go! Go!” He shouted at them.
 
“Come on.” Bobby guided everybody out and down the hallway. Dale knelt down in front of Andrea. Lucille moved towards the small group.

“Andrea, this isn't what Amy would want for you!” Dale hollered at Andrea.
 
“She's dead, and you need to leave.” She said emotionlessly. Dale gave her a hard look, but she didn’t meet his gaze.

***

The rest of the group ran towards the closed doors of the CDC. T-Dog got their first and tried the doors, but they wouldn’t budge.
 
“Get them doors open!” Daryl shouted
 
“Come on!” Shane growled.
 
“It doesn't work!”T-Dog yelled, dismayed.
 
“Wait a minute! Wait a minute!” T-Dog looked at Shane and Daryl, who were brandishing the axes yet again. “Try it! Try it! Try it now!” The axes bounced uselessly off the reinforced glass.
 
“Come on! Come on!”
 
“Stay close, sweetheart,” Carol told Sophia.

***

“Time's almost up,” Andrea said. Lucille looked at the clock and her insides twisted with anxiety.

***

“Daryl, look out!” T-Dog shouted and began hitting a chair against the glass. Shane grabbed his gun from his bag and walked towards the glass.
 
“Dog, get down! Get down!” Shane yelled at the other man. He aimed his gun at the glass and fired, but it was, once again, useless.
 
“Jesus,” he muttered angrily.
 
“The glass won’t break?” Sophia’s sweet voice asked, fearfully. Bobby swallowed down his fear and stepped forward.
 
“Everyone, step back. I can do it.” Daryl scoffed in disbelief.
 
“What, are you some kind of Magical Girl, too?” Bobby looked back at him dejectedly, before putting on his serious face.
 
“Get down.” He demanded. The group stared at him for a split second before they all jumped behind the small stairway. They all peaked over the raised flooring to watch him.
 
Bobby raised his open hand towards the thick glass window and forced the glass to break with his Grace. The glass shattered and the tiny shards blew outwards, into the open air and onto the sidewalk of the CDC.

***

Dale stroked Andreas face in defeat.
 
“Okay. You win,” he said, sitting down in the chair beside her. Lucille looked down, tears welled in her eyes and she, too, sat down next to Dale.

“What are you doing?” Andrea asked in ire.
 
“I said okay,” Dale shrugged. Lucille didn’t pay her any heed, she just stared at the wall in front of her.
 
“Don't pull this, Dale.” Andrea demanded.

“I'm not pulling anything. If you're staying, I stay too. He's right. We know what's waiting for us out there. I don't want to face it alone,” Dale managed to choke out

“Dale, get the hell out. I don't want you here,” Andrea’s voice rose.
 
“Too bad. See, you don't get to do that, to come into somebody's life, make them care and then just check out. I'm staying. The matter is settled.” Dale’s words sunk in for Andrea and Lucille waited for her change of heart.
 
“Fine, Dale,” she muttered bitterly. Lucille papped her thighs loudly and stood up.
 
“Alright, you two, up you get,” she said. Andrea gave her a confused look.
 
“What?”
 
“Blowing up shit isn’t the only thing I can do,” Lucille gave her an amused smile and held out her hand for the blonde woman to take. Andrea took it cautiously and Lucille pulled her up to stand. She held her hand out to Dale, who stood and took it as well. Lucille looked at Jacquie, sorrow marring her beautiful face.
 
“If you change your mind, too, this is the time, Jacquie,” she said. Jacquie shook her head, tears running down her face. Lucille smiled and felt tears fall from her eyes.
 
“This is what my Grandfather loves about humanity. Free will,” she shot a surprised Jacquie a wet smile. “This isn’t his doing, either. It’s something else. But, I can guarantee that you two will be happy in Heaven.”
 
And with a powerful beat of her wings, she flew Andrea and Dale out of the CDC.

***

The group exited the CDC and made their way back to the cars parked a ways back. Shane and Rick shot off round after round, killing the Croats that had wandered onto the grounds. Daryl chopped one of the Walkers head off and ran for his truck with Bobby in tow. Rick, Lori, Carl, and Glenn ran to Dale’s RV, Carol and Sophia ran for their car, T-Dog to his van, and Shane went for his jeep.
 
As they looked at the doomed building, they were surprised to see Lucille, Andrea, and Dale appeared out of thin air.

“Come on,” Lucille demanded the two. They ran around the flour sack barrier and head towards the RV, but Rick honked the horn at them.

“Dale, get down! Down! Get back!” Lucille pushed Andrea and Dale down behind the barrier and hid just in time for the building to explode.
 
The sound of it nearly made Lucille deaf and created a loud ringing in her ears. The blistering heat that blasted from it made Lucille’s face turn red and break into a sweat. Dirt and ash blew over the three of them and covered them lightly. The heatwave let up slowly, so Lucille and Dale peaked over the barrier and see the inflamed rubble that used to be the CDC. Dale helped Andrea up from the ground and hurried her over to the RV. Glenn opened the door and quickly ushered them inside.

“Come on! Come on!” Lucille made it to the door first and held it open wide for Andrea and Dale. once they were in, she climbed in herself and locked the door behind her. Andrea sat at the little table across from Dale and Lucille stood by the door, panting due to the adrenaline. Andrea glared at Dale, who looked away. Rick started the RV, turned the caravan away from the burning down CDC, and just drove.
 
Lucille sat down against the door and rubbed her face. She felt her eyes water and she couldn’t help but let a few saddened tears fall.
 
“Lord…” she muttered.