Chapter 9: Breaking Camp
The group was having a meeting on where to go from here, whether to risk the CDC or to risk the 100 mile journey to Fort Benning. Truthfully I couldn't care less where we go. The military base I could at least stop by my house and restock, but I've still got plenty of ammo. Besides traveling with a whole caravan of people into the city sounds like a fun time.
Walking away from the group, I enter into the RV where our bit friend Jim is sitting there listening while Jackie hold a damp cloth to his head. I'm not sure what urged me to come in here, maybe the morbid curiosity of what a bitten is like? Jackie jumps slightly when she finally sees me sit next to her.
"Jesus, Will! Hasn't anyone ever told you not to sneak up on people?" I give a sheepish smile as I rub the back of my head.
"Heh, sorry there Jackie. But your right people have told me that, I'll try to be more noticeable next time." She sighs before shaking her head and looking back to Jim.
"As long as you know." Jim now looks to me and eyes me closely.
"Will can you do me a favor?" I raise an eyebrow and Jackie looks from Jim to me.
"Depends on the favor." I say and Jim's gaze doesn't waver.
"Can you kill me?"
"Jim! Don't say that!" Jackie exclaims and stands between me and Jim when I drew my pistol. I just looked around her at Jim and nodded.
"I can do that. Though are you sure?" Jim grabs Jackie's hand and pats it to calm her down, but it didn't seem very effective.
"The pain just keeps getting worse and I can feel the fever messing with me. This heat ain't helping things either. I just want to be with my family." He says and Jackie's strength seemed to leave her as she sat back down in her seat looking at Jim tearfully.
Jim and Jackie look at each other and the tears are already dripping down her face as Jim looks to me.
"This is my choice. Not a lot of people get the choice in how they die in this new world, so if you don't mind Will I would like for you to pass me on to the other side." I nod and hold up the pistol to his head while Jackie wraps both her hands around Jim's and begins praying.
"Good luck on the other side, Jim." I say and as Jim's eyes close I pull the trigger. The soft silenced shot was still enough to make Jackie jump and her cries to renew. Despite common misconceptions a silencer doesn't completely silence a gunshot and that was proven when Rick and Shane stormed into the RV.
When they came in all they saw was me with my gun to Jim's head and Jackie crying over his body.
"Will, what did you do?" Rick asked with a face of pure horror as he looks at me, and it sent a tingle through my body seeing that raw emotion on his face. A bit like the adrenaline rush I get whenever we're fighting lots of walkers, so much so I had to fight the smile that threatened to cross my face.
"It's obvious! He killed Jim!" Now more people heard outside the RV what's happened and the conversations grow louder. Jackie's wail didn't help when he said that because now there assumptions are just getting more fuel towards the wrong direction. Both of them have their hands on their pistols but they haven't drawn them yet.
"Rick I don't particularly care when people jump to conclusions." I say as I face them and watch as their bodies tense in anticipation. I bring my pistol up and I may or may not have basked in the fear in their eyes as I brought my other hand to it. Popping out the mag and ejecting the bullet from the chamber before quickly depositing it back in the mag. Gun now empty I toss it to Rick who fumbles with it briefly due to the suddenness of the action.
Jackie finally calms down enough to speak up.
"Jim asked him to do it." Rick and Shane looked past me to look at her.
"It's not Will's choice whether Jim lived or died." Rick said and Jackie whipped her head to glare at him.
"And it's yours? No, Rick. Jim chose how he wanted to go, and he doesn't need yours or anyone else's permission. Will did the right thing." Shane just shakes his head and exits the RV while Rick just looks at me with a complex expression. He hands me my pistol back and then leaves the RV himself, enabling Darryl to walk in to look way what's going on. Guess he really is nosy hah.
"Want to help me get him to the graves?" He looks to Jim and then to me and just snorts.
"Sure."
.
.
.
Few minutes later we have Jim buried and a few people came by to pay their respects to his grave. Seems that Rick and them finally decided on CDC, so I decide to start start preparing.
"First thing tomorrow morning we'll be heading to the CDC. Everyone pack and prepare your stuff." Shane says to the group, though his face doesn't seem to pleased with the idea. I also see Dale giving him a strange look the entire time. Did something happen on their little perimeter check?
Walking up to Rick I call out.
"Hey, Rick." He turns toward me.
"Ya?"
"I'm gonna head back into King's County and check in on Morgan and Duane. Have you been able to catch them on the walkie?" He shakes his head, but then looks at me confused.
"You aren't coming with us to the CDC?" I give a wry smile.
"C'mon Rick, you know I wouldn't miss out on the chance to go strolling the streets of Atlanta with you again. No, I just figured I ride and check up on them today, and then come back with them before tomorrow morning." Rick nods, but looks a little worried.
"You don't think anything happened to them, do you?" I shake my head.
"Nah, I'm sure they're fine. Those walkies are just shit haha. I'll be back before you know it Double D and if I'm not just go ahead and head to the CDC, I'll meet you there." He nods.
"Be safe." I smirk back at him.
"Aw don't go getting all sappy on me Double D." He smiles and shakes his head.
"That nickname is never going away, huh?" I turn and throw a wave over my shoulder and laugh.
"Haha, not likely."
Packing my hammock back into my humvee, I'm met by an angry Amy standing beside it. I cock an eyebrow and look past her to see Rick and a few others smirking at me. I grin wryly internally as I face the angry blonde.
"You were going to leave without saying anything?" She interrogated and I just let a little smile spread across my face.
"Indeed." Her mouth dropped before it turned to fury as she glared at me.
"Why?!" I go back to getting my things ready and she stomps after me.
"Hmmm, I figured it would be fine." She huffed as she followed me to the passenger side of the humvee.
"Just leaving without saying anything, is not fine." I turn my head towards and raise an eyebrow.
"We're talking now aren't we?" Her mouth gapes again, and using my free hand I close it.
"Don't want to catch any bugs, no telling what kind of diseases they may carry." I smirk at her and she seemed momentarily stunned until the slamming of the door brought her out and she was fuming once more.
"This doesn't count! We're only talking now because I came over here before you could leave." This girl is definitely persistent if nothing else. I was about to open the trunk of the humvee but she placed her hand on it so I turned to face her.
"Do you not wish for me to go?" She pauses briefly before shaking her head.
"It's too dangerous." I grin again and face her completely.
"I'm quite hard to kill, I think you should be worrying more about yourself." She slumped her head slightly, looking at the ground as she picked at her nails on her fingers.
"I know." She mumbled and I used this moment to open the trunk and throw my sleeping bag in there, looking back I find her staring at me. Hmmm, how to get her to stop. It seems nothing I say appeases her.
"I'll be back before you know it. I'm just going to pick up some people me and Rick met before your group and I'll be back by morning." She seemed to be thinking about what I said, but I was beginning to tire of this conversation. In a quick motion I lifted her up and sat her on the edge of the open trunk with me directly in front of her and in between her spread legs. Our faces only inches away and my arms planted firmly on either side of her legs. Her face blushed deeply as she stared into my eyes, and I continued to lean ever so closely.
I was right in front of her lips with my own when I could hear her breathing quicken and she closed her eyes, seizing the opportunity I leaned around next to her ear.
"My, how troublesome." My voice whispered and I saw her body shudder from my breath hitting her ear. I leaned back to see her now staring at me with a longing evident in her body language. I picked her back up and placed her on the ground, shutting the trunk right after as she stood there in a slight daze.
"I'll be back by morning. Wait for me." I said and my words seemed to embarrass her more as her cheeks reddened. She nodded, then proceeded to hug me like she did earlier. I didn't freeze up like I did before and immediately wrapped my arms around her. Though she didn't release like she did the previous time, and just continued to hold on.
"I'll never be able to come back if you don't let me go." I teased, and she let out a soft muffled whine before finally pulling back.
"You better come come back." I grinned and then chuckled.
"Hahah, you don't have to worry about me. I'll always come back." She smiled bashfully before gesturing for me to lean down. Me being 6 foot 3 I towered over her and her mere 5 foot 6 height, so I leaned down. Quickly rising to her tiptoes she gave me a peck on the cheek and began to hurry away.
"There's more where that came from if you come back." She said in a fluster over her shoulder as I just smirked at her retreating figure.
"I'll hold you to that." I saw her body jump slightly at my words causing me to chuckle to myself before hopping into my humvee. A few people sent waves my way as I pulled out back down the trail out of the quarry and began my road trip back to King's County.
(AN: Not much happened this chapter, but we did get to see a little peek of the romance building between Will and Amy. Next chapter we will be in King's County meeting Morgan and Duane before heading back to the camp to follow the rest of the group to the CDC.
I haven't decided how I'm going to approach the Morgan and Duane scene, but I look forward to it. Hopefully I'll pop out a few chapters today and tomorrow each, so you'll have that to look forward to.
Ah well, on to the next one)
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