Sneaky

Chapter 17

Possible trigger warning; nothing worse than what's in the actual episode where this takes place.

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"'ey, you okay?"

I looked at Daryl, who was staring at me.

I realized then, I was almost hyperventilating. My palms were sweating, and my mouth was bone dry.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked the disembodied computer.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." It may have just been my imagination but her tone when she said that sounded like someone talking down to an idiot.

Rick looked around at everyone before he motioned to me, "Eve, Glenn, T-Dog, Shane you come with me. Everyone else, go back to your rooms."

"What're you doing?" Lori asked as I moved around her.

"We're gonna find out what's going on" Rick answered as we went past them, towards the door with a 'stairwell' sign above it.

I pushed the door open and slid down the railing, while they all took the steps, until I reached the bottom flight and waited for them to catch up.

"Decontamination. What does that mean?" Glenn's question echoed off the walls with everyone's footsteps as they reached me.

"I don't like the way Jenner clammed up. The way he just wandered off like that" Shane walked past me to look at the map on the wall with Rick.

"What's wrong with him? Seriously. Is he nuts, medicated, what?" T-Dog glanced between me and Glenn.

I'mma go with mentally unstable. He should be medicated.

Depression is a serious thing, and if Jenner's not depressed I don't know what could qualify.

"In there" Rick pointed behind me and I turned as he walked past me, to open a door I hadn't seen.

I followed behind Glenn into what looks like a giant boiler room, but I'm gonna take a leap here and assume they're generators.

"Check that way" Rick instructed. He and Shane went to the left and I motioned for Glenn and T to go right, while I took the center aisle.

I know this place is "safe" I have this nagging feeling something's gonna jump out at me.

I hope -for their own sake- the others don't get too close at the moment.

I went down my section, checking every drum I went past and after the first 6 were empty my stomach dropped. The further I went, the faster I went. Not even bothering to stop anymore, I just pushed the drums as I went passed and every single one of them gave little to no resistance.

There's an alarming number of flammable warnings in here.

I jumped out of my skin when the lights suddenly turned off.

I don't like this. Underground in the dark.

I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and leaned against a fuel drum; Trying to steady my breathing. I don't like this, I can't— calm down, just breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. These buildings are designed to withstand tanks, not even a jumbo-jet crashing into the roof could bring this building down. I gripped the fuel drum tighter, focusing on the pressure in my fingers.

"Eve?!" Glenn's voice startled me and I whacked my wrist on the drum, making a loud echo. Pain spiked through my nerves, all the way up to my elbow as if I'd hit my funny bone.