22 ☞ s. walsh

23

CDC

Two Hours Later

Shane pulled up in front of the CDC after a couple more hours of awkward silence.

Natalie wanted to throw up when she saw what was in front of her.

Dead bodies were cast all over the ground.

Flies attacked the bodies relentlessly. Their buzzing drowned out all other sounds.

The smell was putrid enough to make everyone's eyes water.

Shane grabbed a t-shirt out of his bag and put it hand, raising it against Natalie's mouth and nose, trying to protect her nose from the smell.

She rolled her eyes, but still held it against her face. It helped to block out the smell.

"Stay close," Lori whispered to Carl.

"You stay close too, Aunt Nat," Carl said to Natalie, holding out his hand to her.

She smiled at him gently, grabbing his hand.

"Everyone stay close and stay quiet," Shane ordered quietly.

The group nodded at him.

They walked quickly through the maze of dead bodies towards the doors of the CDC.

The men stayed on the outside of the circle, protecting the women and children within.

When they got to the doors, they realized they were locked and covered by shutters.

Shane tried and failed to pry open the door.

Natalie started to lose hope. She wondered if it was still possible to get to Fort Benning.

"There's nobody in there," T-Dog sighed.

"Then why are these shutters down," Rick said quickly.

Natalie heard the snarls of walkers behind her.

"Walkers!" Daryl shouted, alerting the group.

The children started crying.

Shane stepped in front of Natalie.

Daryl put an arrow through the walker's head with his crossbow.