CHEROKEE ROSE (D. DIXON)

10.

I step in front of Jenner, effectively stopping Daryl. "Move!" He screams, eyes filled with fire. Rick holds Daryl back for the second time that day, shoving him back with Dale and T-Dog's help.

"You do want this." Jenner pleads, eyebrows furrowed. "Last night you said you knew t was just a matter of time, before everyone you loved was dead."

Lori narrows her eyes at Rick, betrayed, and even I raise an eyebrow at him. He was so positive before...

Shane scoffs. "You really said that after all that big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick defends.

"There is no hope!" Jenner cries. "There never was!"

I drop both Daryl and I's bag. "There's always hope." I argue. "Even if you hit rock bottom, the only direction you can go is up."

"What part of everything is gone don't you understand?" Andrea snaps in the whining, negative tone I have already grown to dislike.

"Listen to your friend. She gets it." Jenner nods.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol blubbers.

"One tiny moment, a millisecond. No pain--" Jenner begins.

"No!" I scream at them, finally understanding the gravity of the situation. Andrea flinches. "No. That's not how it works." I glance from Jenner to Daryl, pointing at myself. "I'm not the one that dies." I look around the room. "We're not the ones who die."

Daryl runs at the door once more, hitting it with the ax over and over.

I turn back to Jenner. "Give us a chance."

Jenner looks into my eyes with sorrow, shaking his head. "I told you, the topside doors are locked, I can't open those." He goes back to the computer and types a code into the keyboard. The simplest six digit code. The door slides open instantly.

"C'mon!" Daryl calls. The others sprint for the door.

"There's you're chance, take it." Jenner says to me dejectedly. I nod once at him before sprinting for the door.

Rick stays behind, and I slow when I see Jenner whisper something in his ear.

"Four minutes left, come on!" Glenn screams.

I turn and sprint for the door, following the others to the front lobby.

Shane and Daryl are already at the big, glass windows, hacking at them with the axes. T-Dog slams the glass with a chair. I helplessly kick a side door, throwing my body against it with all my might.

"Rick, I have something that might help."

"Carol, I don't think a nail file is going to do the trick." Shane utters.

Carol dogs through her purse, revealing a hand grenade.

The rest of us don't hesitate, diving behind the stares and taking cover. Daryl slides in next to me, covering his head with one arm, his other on his crossbow. I peek up over the step when I hear Rick curse, but Daryl shoves my head back down, throwing a protective arm over my head as the shattering of glass and an ear-splitting explosion overwhelms my senses.