Come Morning Light

Renee blinked her eyes open in the early morning hour. Jacqui, who she had shared a tent with for the night was pulling her shoes on and smiled sweetly.
“Good mornin’. Gonna be movin on soon.”
“Did I oversleep?” She asked sitting up in her sleeping bag.
“No sweetheart, besides looks like you needed the rest.”
“Everyone needs the rest.” Renee responded as she grabbed her old Converse and pulled them on. “Do you think the CDC will be what Rick thinks it is?”
Jacqui’s body slumped slightly and she shook her head as she answered.
“I don’t know, I’d like to think so, but I just don’t know.”
Renee nodded, not surprised by the answer and watched as Jacqui unzipped the tent and disappeared out in the new morning sunlight.

No one knew how much Renee hoped Rick was right. Her family hadn’t been in Atlanta, the CDC was her last clue. After that, the trail went cold; the possibilities grew beyond her plans. A churning feeling nauseated her stomach and she clutched her own body as if she were hugging herself in comfort. Outside the tent she could hear the rest of camp stirring, some already packing up their gear. The heat was already beginning to rise and the tent was getting stuffy, making Renee crave fresh air. She unzipped the tent and stepped out into the early gleam of sunlight. Everyone was awake and moving about. Jacqui had just returned with a fresh bottle of water and a sweet smile.
“You go on and get something to drink and check in with Shane. I’ll pack up inside then we can tear down together.”
“Sounds good.” She responded before heading up towards a jeep where Shane was passing out bottles.
He smiled a friendly crooked smile and handed her one out of the back of the vehicle.
“We’re movin out in about a half hour.”
“What are we doing about driving arrangements? I don’t have enough gas in my car.”
“You’ll just have to leave it then.” He said shaking his head. “Can’t spare more.”
“I have some supplies in a suitcase in the back.” Shane raised an eyebrow in interest. “It’s not much by any means, but there are some canned goods, packaged food, clothes, and medical supplies.”
“Do you mind if we stash it in the RV?”
“Be my guest.” Renee smiled. She reached in her back pocket and pulled out her keys, taking a short moment to glance at the familiar set before handing them over to Shane.
“Thank you.” He said as he reached his free hand out and placed it over her shoulder.
Daryl brushed past her slightly as he made a beeline for the water. Her eyes followed his movements momentarily before glancing back at Shane’s patient face.
“So,” She began sighing deeply “carpool arrangements?”
“Y’ can ride with me.” Daryl spoke up as he unscrewed the lid of the water bottle. “S’long as you’re quiet.”
“Oh I don’t think you’ll have a problem with that Dixon.” Shane smirked. “That’s very generous of you.”
Daryl scoffed and shrugged his shoulders.
“S’ just a seat.”
Shane cast one more amused glanced at Renee and headed off towards her car. Trying not to think about leaving it behind, Renee busied herself in tearing down the tent with Jacqui. They worked together quietly and diligently until they rolled it up tight and stuffed it back into its bag. Just as they handed it off to Rick and everything was loaded into the different vehicles Shane called a safety briefing.

“Everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.s, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B. can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. - Any questions?”
There were no questions; his instructions were easy enough to understand. Somehow she couldn’t help but feel as if she was in 9th grade about to go on a field trip to the museum, still young enough to have to hear the same old bus safety procedures but old enough to not care.
“We're, uh. We're not going.” Morales spoke up.
“We have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people.” His wife—the same woman who helped Renee into the RV—explained. Their eyes locked, Renee understood her reasons for leaving even if no one else could.
“You go on your own; you won't have anyone to watch your back.” Shane stated, possibly trying to convince Morales not to leave. But his mind was already made.
“We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family.”
“You sure?” Rick inquired.
“We talked about it. We're sure.”
“All right.” Rick gave in. “Shane?”
With just one glance around at the people standing there Renee could see the uncertainty on their faces. One family on the road like that, with children? She tried not to think of the odds and shook it from her mind. Daryl shifted uneasily beside her, clearly ill at ease with the decisions being made. Rick and Shane approached Morales with a hand gun and a box of ammo.
“The box is half full.” Shane spoke with concern still in his voice. Daryl scoffed and turned away from the scene for a moment. Renee snuck a glance at his face, his eyebrows knitted together closely in agitation.
“Thank you all…for everything.” Morales’ wife spoke up, her voice quivering with emotion.
Lori was the first to break, hugging the woman closely as if she’d known her all her life. The children embraced and cried as did the rest of the women except Renee. All she could offer was a smile, a quick exchange of something to show her best wishes.
“Channel 40 if you change your minds.” Rick reminded Morales.
He nodded and began to load his family up into their car.
“Let's move out!” Shane called.

The group dissembled, everyone partnering up and climbing into the different vehicles. Renee followed Daryl to a small pickup loaded down with a motorcycle at the end of the line. She didn’t hesitate before climbing into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut after her. The interior smelled like old cigarettes and motor oil but there was something comfortingly familiar about it. She leaned her head against the side, stared out the open window, and felt the vibrations through her skull as Daryl revved the engine to life. The tires crunched gravel as the truck fell in line behind the other vehicles ahead of them.

Renee’s mind wandered back to the summers she spent growing up in the Georgia heat. Those annoyingly long car rides stuck in the family SUV traveling I 10 E with her earphones glued to her head. Her dad was always the navigator; he’d run his fingers through his stubble and scratch it when he’d get irritated with traffic. Mom always sat beside him, seat reclined back just slightly with a book of crossword puzzles in hand. As children, Renee and Daniel would watch the portable VHS player and then they listened to their own CDs before it matured to IPods.
Her eyes watched Morales’ jeep turn in the opposite direction. They followed for a distance until she could no longer see it anymore. At that moment she readjusted and propped her legs up on the dashboard while she folded her hands in her lap. Daryl glanced at her shortly with his eyes, but never turned to face her. Instead he kept his eyes fixed on the road, face frozen with a stern expression. Renee tilted her gaze just slightly to look at him and even if he felt her gaze, he never gave into it. A small smile softened her face and she chuckled slightly to herself at Daryl’s seriousness before turning away. Instantly the atmosphere thawed. They hadn’t driven for very long where the caravan began to slow down.

“Ah what the hell?” Daryl complained as he threw the gear in park. “Must be that damn RV.”

A couple people were already climbing out of their vehicles. Renee and Daryl both exited the pickup and worked their way up to the front of the line.

“Can you jury-rig it?” Rick asked Dale. The two men were standing at the front of the RV, a puff of smoke clouding around the small group. Rick had his hands on his hips, listening intently to Dale.
“That’s all it’s been so far.” He explained with an exasperated shrug. “It’s more duck tape than hose. And I’m out of duck tape.”
“I see something up ahead.” Shane called from behind a pair of binoculars. “Gas station if we’re lucky.” No one had much time to react before Jacqui rushed out of the RV.
“Y’all, Jim.” She said coming towards Rick. “It’s bad. I don’t think he can take anymore.”
Jacqui didn’t wait long for a response before going back inside.
Everyone glanced around at each other’s faces, knowing what it meant. Jim was ready to go. He wouldn’t make it to the CDC where there may or may not be hope. A couple people, Daryl being one of them shrugged it off and shook their heads, not agreeing with Jim’s decision. But the majority heavily accepted and understood it.
“Hey, Rick you want to hold down the fort?” Shane spoke up.
Rick turned away with just a nod and began making his way into the RV. T-Dog, who was looking up the road with the binoculars, then turned to Shane.
“Yeah, I’ll come along too and I’ll back you up.”

Renee sighed deeply and took a seat on the side of the road, folding her legs underneath her she absentmindedly ran her fingers through the tall grass, plucking at it occasionally. Daryl paced in front of her and her eyebrows knitted together in irritation, she always hated when people did that. Looking up at him his face was firm with annoyance, eyebrows drawn together in dissatisfaction. But there was softness in his eyes, some sympathy perhaps glowing a soft dim light from within.
“You don’t agree do you?”
The words fell from her mouth before she’d even made the conscious decision to speak them. It was the first thing she’d ever outright said to Daryl and it stopped him short. Daryl had heard Renee speak to others in the group but he seemed to be hearing her voice for the first time and he paused to notice the softness of it, the smooth melodic inflection of such an innocent question that his anxiety seemed to melt into acceptance.
“S’not my place to say.”
Renee picked a blade of grass as she listened to his answer and stripped it down the middle.
“Don’t matter if it’s your place or not. You still have an opinion.”
Daryl blinked at her response, somewhat surprised by it.
“I guess I just…”
Renee quit playing with the ground and looked up at him, her eyes large with anticipation for what he would say; she seemed genuinely interested which for some reason disturbed Daryl and made him uneasy.
“If he wanted to just be left to die, maybe we shoulda just left’em up at the camp.” And with that he turned his back sauntered over to the rest of the group.

Renee sighed deeply to herself and shrugged it off. Just as she glanced up again Rick exited the RV, his hat in his hands and a somber look on his face. Shane and T-Dog, who Renee never even saw return, were standing at the front of the RV with Dale watching as he fixed the hose. All three men immediately stopped what they were doing and made their way over to hear what Rick had to say.
“I couldn’t change his mind.”
“So we’re just supposed to leave him here.” Andrea spoke softly.
“It’s what he says he wants.”
“And he’s lucid?” Carol asked, doubt heavy on her face.
“He seems to be. I would say yes.”
“Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood.” Dale spoke up. “I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer.”
“We just leave him here?” Shane asked turning to Rick. “We take off? Man, I'm not sure I could live with that.”
“It's not your call.” Lori replied. “Either one of you.”
Shane starred at Rick and waited for a response. In fact, everyone stared at Rick, wondering if he was going to give in or not. Finally he nodded and just said: “Ok.”

Rick and Shane placed Jim carefully underneath the shade of a large tree not too far from the road. Everyone was gathered around as if for another funeral, only this time they all had an opportunity to say something to the fallen member of the group. Jim’s breathing was labored and sweat coated his skin in a thick sheen.
“Hey, another damn tree.” He joked.
“Hey, Jim,” Shane said softly as he kneeled in front of him “I mean, you know it doesn't need to be this.”
“No. It's good. The breeze feels nice.” Jim responded.
Shane hung his head. “Okay. All right.” And then have him a gently pat on the shoulder.
Jacqui was next; she kneeled next to him and smiled.
“Just close your eyes, sweetie. Don't fight.” She gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek and choked back a few tears.
Renee watched Rick beside her pull a small pistol out of his pocket and weigh it in his hands. Her heart sunk at the sight of it. Rick approached Jim and kneeled just like Shane and Jacqui.
“Jim, do you want this?”
“No.” He shook his head slightly. “You'll need it. I'm okay…I'm okay.”
Rick nodded and backed up to let Dale take his place. Renee could see the tears brimming the old man’s eyes.
“Hey. Thanks for, uh, for fighting for us.”
“Okay.” Was all Jim said to that but honestly, there wasn’t much more he could have said.
At that point, people took one last longing look at Jim and began to turn away. At first Renee’s feet couldn’t move at all but when they did, they didn’t turn her away. She walked a few steps towards the dying man and sat on her knees in front of him. They’d never spoken until then, and at first she wasn’t sure what she was even doing. He watched her with knowing eyes and drew in a deep breath.
“I know why you’re going.” He said, temporarily closing his eyes. “To the C.D.C. … Just remember...you will see them one day…one way or another…”
A single tear slid down Renee’s cheek at his words. The breeze in the trees tousled her hair and caused a few stands to stick to the moisture on her cheek; she reached up slowly and removed it.
Her words felt as though they were climbing over the lump in her throat. Finally she smiled as she felt them reach her mouth.
“Thank you.”
At that moment Jim closed his eyes and she watched him draw his last breath. She stared in shock for a moment, the gravity of what she just witnessed crashed into her like a speeding car. She had felt the sting of death many times before, but never witnessed it so closely until that very second. She felt death envelope her like a thick black sheet, covering her face and her body so that she was suffocating, choking on the reality of the new world. Renee felt paralyzed by it all. Her breathing became elevated, her heart pounding fiercely in panic, and fresh hot tears sprung forward burning her eyes on the way out. Her hand flew up to her mouth as she attempted to stifle herself. Silently gasps arose from her throat and she swallowed hard each time as if she was trying to take them back. Suddenly a hand touched her shoulder; the shadow of another human shielded her sensitive eyes from the late afternoon sunlight. She turned slowly and locked eyes.
“C’mon.” Daryl spoke softly. “S’done.”
Renee nodded and let Daryl help her to her feet. Her body felt heavy and weighted down by emotion. Up ahead, the last few members of the group were getting into their vehicles. Everyone was casting last glances at Jim before the caravan was set in motion again but Renee couldn’t. She chewed over Jim’s last words and tried to find solace in the fact that he wasn’t suffering any longer. Daryl opened the side of the truck to let her climb in and motioned for the front to go ahead and take off. Once Daryl was beside her again, she let her head fall back against the headrest and shut her eyes feeling the gentle kiss on her skin of the breeze drying her tears as the truck rolled forwards.

Dusk casted a cloudy sheen over their surroundings as the C.D.C grew closer. Its massive structure dwarfed everything around it. Renee sat up straight and held onto the door in anticipation. Could she be merely minutes away from being reunited with her family? The caravan slowed to a stop once again. Renee wasted no time in exiting the truck.
“Stay close.” Daryl warned with a low voice. “In case things go south.”
Swallowing hard, she nodded and got behind him. He was already armed with a crossbow and his body was stiff. Almost instantly a foul smell hit them both causing Renee to almost gag. It was worse than anything she’d smelled so far. Her heart began to sink at the sight laid out before her. There were barricades all set up around the perimeter, and hundreds of rotting corpses scattered all about. There was a dull drone of flies that didn’t cease at any point and they swarmed the area. Renee covered her nose and mouth with her shirt and stuck close to Daryl, who moved swiftly through the maze of neglected dead flesh. People coughed all around her, everyone gagging at the smell as they made their way up to the entrance. Rick and Shane whispered for everyone to keep moving and keep it together. Sophia, Carol’s daughter was burying her face in her mother’s body. Renee could hear her whimper at the atrocity they had found. All of the doors were locked down; Shane tried to pull one up as Rick knocked on another.
“There’s nobody here.” T-Dog stated shaking his head.
“Then why are these shutters down?” Rick asked anxiously glancing over his shoulder.
Daryl suddenly moved his arm to push Renee back behind him, startling her, and raised his crossbow.
“Walkers!”
Everyone cocked a gun and stood to attention.
Daryl fired an arrow and hit the corpse straight between the eyes.
“You led us into a graveyard!” He yelled in irritation.
“He made a call!” Dale shouted.
“It was the wrong damn call!” Daryl responded.
He was pacing again, holding the crossbow at attention. Renee stood, immobilized by her own fears. Shane marched up to Daryl, pointing a finger at him like he was scolding him.
“Just shut up. You hear? Shut up!” Then he whipped around, panic reaching his eyes. “Rick, this is a dead end.”
“Where are we gonna go?” Carol cried.
“She's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark.” Lori stated holding onto her son for dear life.
“Fort Benning, Rick, still an option.” Shane said.
“On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles.” Andrea blurted out.
“125 I checked the map.” Glenn added.
“Forget Fort Benning.” Lori responded. “We need answers tonight, now!”
“We’ll, think of something.” Rick said slowly, he was clearly trying hard to keep a level head amidst all the chaos.
“Come on, let's go.” People chattered to each other, trying to pull everyone away from the building.
“Can’t stay here.” Daryl told Renee tugging at her wrist.
She looked in between Daryl’s face and Rick, not knowing what to do.
“The camera it moved!” Rick said holding his hand up to stop everyone.
“You imagined it.” Dale stated.
“It moved.” Rick repeated stepping forward
Shane was at Rick’s side in no time at all, talking in a low voice but in a rush. Rick wouldn’t budge and something inside Renee began to anchor herself to the ground, hoping, almost knowing that Rick was right.
“Man, just listen to me.” Shane said louder. “Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead.”
Rick began to move towards the door but Shane tried to stop to no avail. “You need to let it go, Rick. Rick, there's nobody here!” Finally Rick pounded on the door.
“I know you're in there. I know you can hear me! Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, - no food, hardly any gas left.”
Shane was trying to get everyone to the cars, but neither Renee nor Rick would budge. Lori rushed back to her husband and tried to pull him away but he wouldn’t stop talking to the camera.
“We have nowhere else to go. If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please help us. You're killing us!” Shane finally was able to remove Rick but he kept yelling. “You're killing us! You're killing us!”
And just as Shane let go and Rick turned, tears streaming down his face, gears hissed and the doors opened wide, shining a blinding light on everyone’s surprised faces.