Poison [Rick Grimes]

0.7

" The most dangerous thing, I believe, is a woman. Even more fatal is a woman with nothing to lose."

                   - C. G.

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      Jim didn't make it. He said his bones felt like shattering glass with every movement. They laid him against a tree in the middle of nowhere and left his body to rot away. Gonzalez probably would have been scared a few days ago, but something inside her decided against it.

      It had been just over a week since she's been bitten. Jim started to make the transition in less than 24 hours. Her wound wasn't healing at all. In fact, it was slowly getting worse.  The skin around the bite was starting to turn an unsettling shade of purple. It had already been eight days since she was bitten, but for some reason the universe was allowing her to live.

         And now they had reached the CDC. Everyone was huddled together speaking in hushed whispers about what to do next. The doors to the facility were closed. Gonzalez stood far away from the group. She leaned against the RV and watched. The dead kept moving towards the group in hopes to get a quick meal. Gonzalez went ignored. Even the dead soldier that sprung into action right by her feet paid her no mind.

     She watched as Rick desperately screamed at no one to let them in. "You're killing us!" He yelled. His voice sounded torn and utterly hopeless. "You're killing us!" The doors opened.

        Gonzalez picked up her backpack and made sure that it was secure against her body. While everyone scrambled to get the rest of their stuff and quickly make it back to the facility she took her time. She had come to the realization that she doesn't care about being grabbed by any of the flesh eating monsters. She no longer feared the dead.

       The doors closed behind her. Above them was a middle aged man with graying blond hair and a very large gun in his hands. He looked wary and almost scared to be letting strangers in to his sanctuary. "Follow me," he said.

       "Do doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked sarcastically.

       "There were plenty laying around. I familiarized myself."

       Gonzalez decided that she like this doctor guy. He seemed like he had a dark sense of humor. She could appreciate that. She had all but tuned the entire introductory conversation out until she saw the needles. "What the hell?" She asked confused.

      "We agreed to blood samples," Shane explained. "Maybe you would've heard if you weren't outside lollygagging and trying to get yourself killed."

    Daryl laughed. "Damn. He got you good."

      Gonzalez raised an amused eyebrow. "I can tell you right now that none of those dead guys will ever take me down. But, if we wanna talk, how about we talk about you? I've got something I'm just dying to discuss!"

      Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog struggled to contain their laughter. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was referring to the affair between Shane and Lori. The comeback seemed pretty affective, though, because Shane managed to keep his mouth shut.

       Gonzalez was the last one to get her blood drawn. Everyone had already started to vacate the room in search of a spot to get get situated. Doctor Jenner eyed her warily. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.

       She looked up and the two met eyes. "Yeah," she whispered. "It's just that I'm scared of needles."

      That was a lie. Gonzalez found herself lying way more than she'd like to nowadays. Then again, it wouldn't matter. Jenner would take her blood and he would see the disease roaming about her body. He would alert the others and they would turn on her. She was going to die by morning.