IT FELT more like a miracle that they'd came across a replacement hose for the RV, one that got them to their destination at least. Not that their success did much to help Jim, who Mya found she couldn't stop thinking about after the group had left him. It was what he wanted it, she kept reminding herself and something about that brought her peace. Not everybody got to die on their own terms anymore, it was a luxury, in a morbid way.
The putrid smell of rotting flesh that hit her nostrils as she exited the RV was the first sign that perhaps the CDC wasn't all they'd hoped for. Holding back a gag, Mya placed a hand over her mouth and nose as her eyes began to water.
"This place is a graveyard" Mya stated, trying her hardest not to breathe through her nose.
Shane agreed, Mya could tell by the look on his face. Yet he was still trying to keep morale up, despite how grim things were shaping up to be, she couldn't blame him. "Try not to think about it, just keep going." He told her as he ushered the group towards the building's entrance.
It was all Mya could think about, but she nodded and clutched onto Sophia's shoulders as she guided her forward. The CDC stood as a beacon of hope before them, even though the light seemed to fade the closer they got. But she couldn't think about that, nor could she think about the decomposed bodies surrounding them, she had to get her family to safety.
Her younger sister wasn't blind, eyes darting back and forth in horror, unable to tear her gaze away from the sights before her, "They're all dead." Sophia surveyed fearfully.
There was nothing Mya could really say to ease her fear, as much as she wished she could. Instead, she gently tilted her sister's head away from the pain and suffering that surrounding them, pointing her towards the CDC, "Don't look, Soph, we're almost there."
If they were lucky, she'd never have to see a walker again.
The front entrance felt so far away, but Mya wasn't put at ease when they finally reached it, still trying to block out images of the corpses they'd walked past to get there. It seemed to be all for nothing though, the shutters were down and locked.
"Can we open them?" Mya asked, holding onto Sophia just a little tighter as she stared down the shutters, as if that would be enough for them to open. If only.
Rick and Shane were still adamant, both attempting to pull the shutters up to no avail. Mya could feel all the hope she'd had just this morning fading away by each second.
T-Dog let out a sigh as hopeless as how Mya was feeling, "There's nobody here."
It was hardly a surprise that Rick remained optimistic, if the circumstances had been different, she was sure she would've applauded him for it. Mya wasn't sure she had the strength to remain so hopeful, not right now. "Then why are these shutters down?" He questioned.
Her chest tightened as dread crept upon her, "That doesn't mean anything, Rick, we can't stay here." She informed him urgently, "There's nothing for us."
"Walkers!"
The group turned around the instant the words left Daryl's mouth in an attempt to alert them. It was the last thing anyone wanted to hear, yet their fears were confirmed by the dead shuffling out of their hiding places. The children of the group began to clamour for their parents, Sophia latching onto Mya's arm in a death grip.
Daryl was the first person to be armed, his arrow in between the eyes of the closet walker to him. Mya reached for her pistol, figuring there was no point in being quiet if the walkers had already found them, an action that Shane and Rick mimicked, assisting in fighting back.
"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl spat at Rick in an accusatory tone that Mya believed was unfair. Where else could they have gone?
Shane glared at Daryl, "He made a call." He added on, his calm composure seeming to fall apart more and more as the threat surrounding them increased.
His words didn't reassure Daryl, who continued to relentlessly pin the blame onto Rick, "It was the wrong damn call!" He shot back.
Mya reached out for Carol, her main priority being her mother and Sophia, yet she couldn't help but jump to Rick's defence. After all, she'd backed him up when he'd made that call back at the camp. "It was a risk we had to take!"
"Where are we gonna go?" Carol asked desperately, the fear in her voice enough to break Mya's heart. This wasn't fair, the CDC was supposed to be here.
"She's right. We can't be this close to the city after dark." Lori pointed out in agreement as a terrified Carl clung onto her leg.
Their options were scarce, Mya knew that, but she couldn't believe that this was how it would end of the group. She couldn't believe that this was how it would end for Sophia. "So we just keep driving till we're out the city." She suggested, "Fort Benning is still an option."
Andrea was scarily indifferent to everything taking place, the complete opposite of how distraught she'd been over Amy only hours ago, "On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles."
"125. I checked the map." Glenn added on, just another confirmation that they were backed into a corner with nowhere to go and nobody to help them.
Mya knew she was getting desperate - she didn't care. She didn't want to die here, she didn't want her family to die here either, "So we find fuel and food on the way there. We've scavenged in buildings before, we can do it again."
The children of the group began to cry, Lori made an attempt to comfort Carl, but there was nothing that could reassure anyone, given the circumstances. "Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now." Lori insisted.
Rick could hardly hide his own fear and the fact that he had no idea what they would do next was all too obvious, "We'll think of something."
Shane took this as a queue to start rushing people back to the vehicles, although Mya couldn't help but worry about how little fuel they had left to run on. But what else could they do? She urged Carol and Sophia to run ahead, turning just in time to see Rick staring down one of the security cameras at the front entrance.
"The camera! It moved." Rick claimed, holding his hand out to gesture for everyone to not leave.
"You imagined it." Dale responded shortly, shutting down the possibility that someone could be in there. Mya had to agree, they would've known by now if someone was still in there.
She was trying to keep an eye on her family at the same time, but Mya couldn't shake the fear that Rick was going to get himself killed by fretting over even a slither of a chance that there was someone still inside the CDC. "If someone was in there, they would've opened up by now. It doesn't matter!" She told him.
This was enough to gain Shane's attention, who seemingly believed he'd be able to talk Rick down as he approached his friend, "Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay?" He explained, "They're just winding down. Now come on."
It was no use, proved evident by Rick beginning to slam his fists down onto the shutters, more noise that drew in more walkers that stumbled along in a never ending parade.
"They're coming!" Sophia cried out in a fit of tears.
Mya was just as terrified, but she knew she couldn't let Sophia notice. She had to be brave for her family, she had to be brave for everyone no matter what. "I know, baby, stay close to me."
"Please, we're desperate! Please help us!" Rick tried to plead with the 'person' behind the camera, as Lori called out to him to stop and that there was nobody there, "We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left."
Shane and Lori both began to try and drag Rick away, insisting that there was nobody behind the door. He wouldn't listen, continuing to scream at the shutters, but allowing himself to be pulled back while stating that whoever was in there was killing them. But there was nobody there, there couldn't be. Nobody would leave children to die like this.
And then the shutters opened.
The light that came from inside the CDC was blinding compared to the darkness of the night sky behind them. Everyone just stood there for a moment, staring on in shock, before hesitantly heading inside, with their weapons still at the ready.
"Hello? Hello?" Rick called out, searching for a sign of life.
The sound of a gun cocking confirmed that they weren't alone. Mya swallowed, tensing up as a man revealed himself at the top of a staircase before them, shotgun in hand. "Anybody infected?" He asked immediately.
Rick's gaze lowered regretfully, "One of our group was. He didn't make it."
The man slowly made his way down the stairs, shotgun still pointed, despite the cowering children Mya knew he could see. "Why are you here? What do you want?" He questioned.
"We have nowhere else to go," Mya chimed in, hoping that somehow this man stood before them would feel some sort of sympathy for them. He had to, "we came here looking for shelter, food, water.. Maybe just a little hope."
"We want a chance." Rick added on, the perfect way to sum up Mya's own words.
He was still wary, evident by the gun that remained loaded in his hand, "That's asking an awful lot these days." He pointed out, to which Rick agreed quietly. The man paused, likely considering his decision, "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."
Rick nodded, "We can do that."
A burst of life seemed to spring the man into action as he pointed towards the door, "You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."
That was enough for the majority of the group to rush back out to the vehicles to get whatever they needed. Not that anyone really had much to begin with.
Mya glanced at the man, still unsure of him, but knowing that he was their saviour, "Thank you.. I'm Mya, this is Rick." She stated, gesturing to the officer next to her.
"Dr. Edwin Jenner." He returned the introduction awkwardly.
A doctor, Mya thought to herself in acknowledgment. That had to count for something, right? That had to mean there was a cure to all of this.