"I'm sorry." She mumbled, her throat raw from screaming as she stepped towards him, nearly collapsing against him and he wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest.
"It's okay." He mumbled, rubbing her back as she wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay." he repeated. "Come on." He turned a little and led her towards the door, where Daryl and Shane hadn't even made a scratch.
"Give me the ax." She held her hand out to Shane and he looked over at her before handing it over and she raised it before slamming it against the door with a grunt. Then she did it again. And again. And again. And nothing happened. She panted as she leaned against the door, her forehead on the cold metal as Shane and Rick made their way towards the others.
"You okay, princess?" Daryl asked when it was just the two of them next to the door.
"Peachy." She mumbled, her eyes closed as she rolled her shoulders back – fighting against Mason and swinging an ax probably wasn't the best idea in her condition. "I don't wanna die like this." She shook her head. "I don't want any of us to die like this. Blood or not, this-this is my family." She breathed out, her eyes still closed but she knew he was there. "Even you."
"Come on." He nodded his head towards the others and she pushed herself off the door and followed him down the ramp, the ax dragging behind her.
"Can't make a dent." Shane huffed, leaning against the computers.
"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner stated.
"Well, your head ain't." Daryl raised his ax, headed straight for Jenner but Dale, T-Dog and Rick stepped in the way and pushed him back until he was next to Charlie again – she thought it best that she wasn't near the doctor when she had an ax.
"He's not worth it." Charlie put her hand on his bicep and he stopped, letting the ax fall to his side. She wasn't really holding him there but he stayed next to her. "Come on." She tugged on his arm a little, letting her ax clatter to the platform as she turned and he followed her to the small set of steps. She sat down and he sat next to her as she pulled her knees up to her chest. She could hear the conversation the others were having but she didn't really care all that much, even when Jenner had said that Rick told him that he had lost hope. She just sat and stared at the floor.
"You okay, princess?" Daryl asked, his voice low.
"Why do you call me that?" She asked as she turned her head to look at him. "Do I look like a princess to you?"
"Yes." He answered and she rolled her eyes. "At first, it was to bug you. But I think it suits you better than Robin Hood." Before either could say anything else, Shane made his way over and picked up a gun. He cocked it as he made his way towards Jenner and Daryl pushed himself up before pulling the girl up next to him.
"Shane, no!" Rick shouted as she rushed forward to stop him.
"Stay out of my way, Rick!" He shoved him to the side. "Stay outta my way." When he reached Jenner he aimed the gun right at his head as the others moved, Lori and Carol trying to keep the kids safe. "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me!" He shouted.
"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this." Rick tried to talk him down, but Shane had a crazy look in his eyes. Charlie was taken aback, she had never seen him so . . . deranged. She wondered if that's what she looked like when she jumped at Jenner with her knife. "We will never get out of here." Rick continued
"Shane, you listen to him." Lori told him
"It's too late." Shane mumbled
"If he dies, we all-" Shane screamed as he shoved the barrel of the gun into Jenner's cheek. "We all die! Shane!" Rick shouted and Shane turned, firing off a few shots and Daryl covered Charlie as they ducked. He took out a few computers before Rick tried to fight the gun from him, they took out a light. Then Rick got the gun and knocked him to the ground, standing over him. "You done now? Are you done?"
"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane told him as the other stood up, Daryl pulled Charlie to her feet as Rick handed the gun to T-Dog before looking around the room at everyone's scared faces.
"I think you're lying." He turned back to Jenner who sat at his computer.
"What?"
"You're lying." Rick panted slightly. "About no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the others or taken the easy way out. You didn't." Jenner leaned back in his chair a little. "You chose the hard path. Why?"
"It doesn't matter." The doctor shook his head.
"It does matter. It always matters." Rick bent down so he was a little closer to him. "You stayed when others ran. Why?"
"Not because I wanted to." Jenner gritted out as he stood up. "I made a promise. . . to her." He pointed at the screen. "My wife."
"Test subject 19 was your wife?" Lori asked.
"She begged me to keep going as long as I could." He told them and Daryl bent down to pick up the ax Charlie had dropped, he handed it to her and nodded towards the door. She gripped the handle before nodding and following him up the ramp. The ax clanged as he hit the door. "How could I say no? She was dying." Charlie threw the ax back over her shoulder before grunting as she threw it forward into the door. They took turns, he hit the door then she would. But the door didn't budge.
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