Sweet and Salty ~ Carl Grimes

The CDC - 013

For the trigger warnings summary, go to the bottom of the chapter!!

Andrea hadn't said a word since Amy was ripped apart by walkers. Who could blame her? Everyone was still in shock over what had happened. They all thought that they were safe there, just like with Atlanta. That was their mistake. All of the survivors were starting to realise just how unsafe the world they lived in is. They were in a secure little bubble in the Atlanta camp, but then Jim and everyone else died, then they thought the estate was safe, that cost Amy her life.

They finally arrived at the CDC when the sun was starting to set the same day Amy had died. Once they got to the CDC, it wasn't what they expected... Or was it?... They weren't really sure what to expect anymore. There were sand bag piles all over the place along with dead walkers scattered. Brooks stayed close to both of her brothers as she felt very uneasy. Being with her brothers had never brought her a sense of comfort in the past, but they could handle walkers. She couldn't.

Daryl had given her his red cloth to hold over her mouth so that she couldn't smell the death. The smell was rancid, almost as bad as the sight of walkers themselves. The way that a lot of their insides had turned into their outsides was a petrifying sight for most, Brooks didn't want to become numb to it, but she knew that she'd have to be. Walkers also came with flies and other bugs which were attracted to the death that they walked around with, so that just added insult to injury.

"Keep moving, stay together." Rick ordered everyone, holding a shot gun high.

"Keep moving." Shane copied, also armed and ready. Daryl held his crossbow up, Merle held up his shot gun, along with Shane, Rick, Glenn, T-dog and Dale. Andrea would've but she was walking through the death on the CDC's lawn without a care in the world. She didn't even cover her face. Watching Amy get ripped apart had broken her.

The shutters were down over the doors and windows. Rick tried pulling at it, but it didn't budge. "Damn." He let out, stepping back.

"Nothing?" Shane asked, attempting to lift the shutter to no avail. Shane then banged on the shutter to try and get somebody's attention. Anyone alive would work. Anyone.

"There's nobody here." T-dog pointed out.

Rick looked back to T-dog. "Then why are the shutters down?" His voice, raised.

Unlike everyone else, Merle and Daryl were focused on their surroundings to make sure nothing could get the drop on them. "Walkers!" Merle shouted when he noticed the dead coming their way like lions hunting deer. Lori held Carl closer as he cried into his mother's chest, Carol wrapped her arms tightly around terrified Sophia and Chris... Brooks had nobody to hold her. Cam and Glenn had gone to help Daryl and Merle, so, she was standing there. Just terrified and alone. It's little things like that which sticks with a kid.

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl shouted at Rick.

"He made a call!" Dale defended.

Daryl scoffed going towards Rick. "It was the wrong damn call!"

Shane shoved Daryl's chest back. "Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up!"

Brooks had to cover her ears, she hated all the yelling. And, she didn't want to be apart of the people yelling. She didn't want to join the problem, so she avoided the problem. Brooks stared at Rick who was trying to figure out an option to get them all out of there, but she couldn't hear a word of it. She didn't want too, either.

She didn't hear everyone ushering them to move, so she just stood there, still looking at Rick. Merle noticed Brooks not paying attention, so he wrapped his arm around her stomach and lifted her under his arm easily. Brooks didn't like being carried sideways, but she didn't fight Merle on it, he wouldn't care. She was gonna stay alive, that was his priority.