I ca back with the extra bags slung over my shoulder.
We went through everything. Crates, drawers, storage cases. Filled every bag with whatever looked useful. Guns, ammo, ds, gear. All of it.
The whole ti, Daryl was grinning like he'd hit the jackpot. He didn't even try to hide it.
After we finished packing, we dragged the bags to the entrance.
Jenner had been dropping gear off while we were gone. By the ti we added ours, the pile looked more like a barricade. There was no way we'd bring everything back to the cars in one trip.
We left the bags there and made our way back towards the group.
They were all awake now, moving around the main hall, panicking and scrambling.
Lori looked up, eyes locking onto mine.
"Itachi... what is it? What's going on?"
"The power's failing," I said.
Andrea's head snapped up.
"Wait—what? Since when?"
Jenner stepped out from the hallway, carrying another bag with him.
"The fuel's almost gone," he said. "When the generators shut down, the whole place goes up in flas. We have two hours left."
Shane spun around, voice sharp and rising.
"You knew this was coming, and you said nothing?! Are you outta your damn mind?"
Jenner didn't look at him. Just kept walking.
Glenn looked around, eyes darting.
"Okay, uh... so what now? We just pack up and bolt before this place goes nuclear?"
T-Dog slung his bag over his shoulder, voice low but sharp.
"Man, if you wanna stay here, be my guest. I sure as hell ain't."
Dale looked at Shane.
"Enough. Pointing fingers won't change a thing."
Amy clung to Andrea, scared and silent.
Carol crouched in front of Sophia. Her voice was barely more than a breath.
"We have to leave, okay? Just stay close to , okay?"
Jim sat near the far wall, arms on his knees, voice flat.
"Place gave us food and beds. Guess that's better than nothing."
Rick finally stepped forward, calm but firm.
"Everyone, pack everything you can find and bring it to the entrance."
Shane shouted over the noise.
"Co on, people! Get a move on!"
Everyone scattered, running, hauling supplies, doing whatever they could before ti ran out.
I walked up to the exit with two more bags slung over my shoulders.
Daryl t at the pile, gave a quick nod, and unzipped one of the heavier packs.
He pulled out one MP5 with a suppressor and handed it straight to Rick.
Rick took it, checked the mag, and then looked over at .
"Where'd this co from?"
"Storage wing," I said. "There's more in the bags."
Daryl handed the second MP5 to Shane.
Shane looked it over, smirking.
"Now we're talking."
Then Daryl reached into another bag and pulled out two pistols with suppressors.
He passed one to Glenn.
Glenn's eyes went wide.
"You're serious? These have silencers?"
Daryl gave him a look.
"You want it or not?"
Glenn shut up quickly and nodded.
T-Dog caught the second pistol, smiling to himself.
"Man… this just made my week."
Rick stepped forward, looking over the group who arrived carrying their bags to the exit.
"We're not getting everything out in one trip," he said. "There's too much."
People slowed down, listening.
He pointed to the growing pile.
"First, we grab what we can carry. Prioritize weapons, ammo, and ds. Then we fall back to the cars."
"That's not gonna cover it," Shane said. "What about the rest?"
Rick looked at , then Daryl.
"Itachi, Daryl, Glenn—you three go back in once we're out, and grab what you can. We'll cover your exit, but if anything goes sideways... don't hesitate to run back."
and Daryl nodded once, already shouldering rifle bags.
Glenn didn't argue. He just swallowed hard and started loading his pack.
Rick turned back to the others.
"The rest of you stay in the cars. Watch the kids. , Shane, and T-Dog will cover you until they co back."
He pointed to the weapons.
"If you've got a suppressor, you shoot only if you have to. Everyone else don't fire unless it's life or death."
Everyone nodded
Jacqui reached the doors first, pulling hard at the handle.
"It's not opening!"
Glenn ran over, grabbing the other side.
"It's locked, what the hell?"
He tried again. Nothing moved.
T-Dog stepped up beside them.
"You sure it's not stuck?"
Rick ran over.
"Jenner?"
Jenner looked at him.
"The system sealed the exit. I can't open it."
That stopped everything.
Shane stepped in, tense.
"So we're just trapped now?!"
Jenner didn't answer.
I glanced at Carol.
"You still have the grenade."
She looked surprised, then quickly took it out and handed it to Rick with a shaky hand.
"I found this in Rick's pocket when I did laundry," she said quietly, holding it out.
Rick blinked as he took it from her hand.
"...That'll do."
Shane looked at the grenade, then at the glass.
"Everyone take cover!" he yelled, waving them back.
People scattered fast, ducking behind benches, walls—whatever they could find.
Everyone but Rick hit the ground as he pulled the pin and placed the grenade gently on the window sill.
Then he turned and ran.
The explosion hit a few seconds later.
BOOM.
"Move! Move!" Shane shouted, motioning hard towards the exit.
The group surged forward.
They ran through the broken glass and out into the open.
Walkers were already on the move, growling and closing in.
Rick and Shane fired first, quick shots that dropped the closest ones ahead.
Daryl turned to the right.
"Walker, right side!"
He raised his crossbow and fired. The bolt hit clean through the head. The body dropped sideways into the dirt.
I moved to the left side as two more were approaching.
I threw a senbon into the first one's eye, killing it instantly.
The second kept coming.
I closed the gap, drew my kunai, and drove the blade into its skull.
"Keep moving!" Rick shouted, shooting a walker ahead of the group in the chest, then again in the head.
Glenn flinched as a walker brushed past the mirror of the RV.
"Shit!" He fired twice—the first shot hit the stomach, the second slamd into the skull and dropped it cold.
T-Dog spun as another ca from behind, dragging one leg. He fired a quick burst. It dropped fast, just a few feet away from Jacqui.
She stumbled back, breath caught in her throat.
"Thanks," she managed.
T-Dog nodded, already turning back.
"Don't stop. Keep movin'!"
The group pushed forward, boots slamming into the pavent, breath loud and uneven.
A walker staggered out from between two cars, close to Amy.
She froze.
"Move!" Andrea shouted, yanking her back by the arm.
I didn't hesitate. One senbon through the eye. It collapsed mid-step.
Amy looked at , eyes wide, breathing hard, but said nothing.
Rick reached the first car and threw the door open.
"Everyone in! Now!"
People rushed past him, hauling bags, shoving kids inside. Carol shoved Sophia through the door, then climbed in behind her. Glenn was breathing hard, eyes flicking back towards the CDC.
Amy stepped in close, grabbing my arm.
"Please don't go," she whispered. "There's too many of them out there…"
I lifted two fingers and tapped them gently to her forehead.
"Stay safe"
Before she could respond, Shane's voice cut through the tension.
"You've got ten minutes. After that, we're gone. With or without you."
Amy spun on him, furious.
"You son of a bitch!" she yelled. "They're risking their fucking lives for you! For all of us! And you're just counting the minutes!"
Shane didn't even flinch; he just ignored her like he hadn't even heard her.
She stood frozen, fists clenched, chest heaving.
No one said a word.
Rick looked at , then at Daryl and Glenn.
And gave us a brief nod.
"Be safe. If anything happens… just drop everything and run back. We'll be waiting."
Daryl stepped up beside , crossbow ready.
"Let's move."
Glenn was still by the car, shaking.
"This is insane…"
We broke off from the group and sprinted back towards the CDC.
Ten walkers were already closing in on the pile of bags near the shattered entrance.
Daryl raised his crossbow as we ran.
"Five each," he muttered.
"Deal," I said, already drawing my kunai.
Daryl fired. One down.
I moved left, threw a senbon through the first one's eye.
Another walker lunged from the right. Daryl stepped in, swung his knife in a clean arc, and buried it straight into the head.
One grabbed at from the left. I sidestepped and drove my kunai into the side of its skull.
Glenn panted behind us.
"Seriously?" he barked. "We're about to die and you two are having a damn kill contest? What is this—Mad Max: CDC Edition?"
We didn't answer. Another one ca. I threw a senbon mid-step, hitting it clean in the eye.
Daryl glanced sideways.
"That's three."
I turned, sensing movent behind Glenn, and threw another senbon without looking.
"Four," I said.
Glenn just looked behind him, seeing a dead walker a few feet away.
"You're both insane..."
We reached the bags, and everything was where we left it. Daryl slung three over his shoulder. I grabbed three as well, and Glenn took the last two.
"Let's move!" Daryl called.
Rick and Shane stood outside the cars, rifles raised. T-Dog crouched by the hood, firing short bursts, trying to keep the walkers from surrounding them.
"They're cutting us off!" Shane barked, pumping a fresh round into his MP5. "We've gotta move, Rick—now!"
Rick didn't budge.
"We wait," Rick said, calm but firm. "They're not far."
"Yeah? Well, they better damn well fly back, 'cause we're runnin' outta ti!" Shane fired again, dropping a walker dragging itself towards the RV. "You wanna get everyone killed?"
"We're not leaving them behind," Rick snapped, stepping forward. "That's not how we do this."
Amy shoved past the open door of the RV, planting herself between the two n.
"I'm not going anywhere without them."
Shane just shook his head, pacing back with his gun raised.
That's when Daryl's voice cut through the chaos.
"I got nine!" sprinting into view.
Itachi was right beside him, kunai in one hand, three bags slung over his shoulder.
"Nine, my ass. We said five each."
Daryl scoffed, not slowing down.
"Yeah, well, you stopped at five and let half of 'em wander past."
"I was carrying the bags," Itachi said flatly. "You dropped yours just to chase four more."
Daryl grunted.
"Still counts."
"You had one job," Itachi muttered. "Kill five. Not turn it into a damn sport."
"You're just mad I won," Daryl said, grinning.
Glenn stumbled up behind them, red in the face, dragging the last two bags and barely breathing.
"I'm never going anywhere with you two again. Ever. You're insane. Absolutely insane!"
They didn't even look back.
Shane turned towards them.
"That all of it?"
"Yeah," Daryl said, already slinging his bags into the nearest car. "Everything that matters."
Rick stepped forward.
"Let's move! We're running out of ti!"
Everyone piled into the vehicles fast.
No one wasted ti. As soon as the doors shut, they drove away.
And behind us, the CDC vanished from sight, swallowed by distance and silence.
Inside the RV, Amy sat close beside , her shoulder almost touching mine. She kept glancing at , worried.
"You okay?" she asked, her voice soft but tense.
I nodded as I wiped my gear.
"Tired… but alive."
Jenner looked up from one of the bags near the back.
"He hasn't slept. Woke soti after midnight, hasn't stopped since."
Amy turned sharply to ."You didn't sleep?"
I didn't answer.
She reached out without another word, gently taking the kunai from my hand and setting it aside. Then she guided my head down, resting it in her lap.
"Sleep," she whispered. "Just for a bit."
I didn't even have the strength to resist.
I just closed my eyes... and let it take .
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🧪 Author's Note:
Thank you all for the support — over 300 power stones already! Seriously, I appreciate every single one of you who's sticking with the story.
Let know what you thought about the chapter.Was the kill contest too much? Did the pacing work? Curious to hear your take.
Thanks again for reading!
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