After the Last Dawn - TWD

Chapter 17

POV Maggie

The whole thing was crazy. Ever since I came to this hospital to help my stepmom, I've had the epiphany that the zombies, as Dean calls them, are really dead, with no possibility of a cure, and I realized how crazy Dean's plan was.

I trusted him with my life. I've only known him for a short time, but that time was enough to show that he could be someone you could trust. From his courage to his strength, which wasn't exactly ordinary.

I and some of my family had already noticed, but we chose to ignore it for the time being.

However, despite everything, the plan he made was risky, to say the least. And, if I'm honest, I wasn't entirely confident. That is until I saw him attracting a huge group of zombies as he sang. He looked at me and winked, before continuing to draw them in.

"Okay, you rotten brains! Follow me! I'm quite tasty!" He shouted, making me roll my eyes. Before long, the last zombie was through the door, and that was where my part of the job began. I just had to close and lock the door with bolts, a bar, chains, and padlocks.

It wasn't a big deal. It was definitely less dangerous than Dean's job. But, even so, my job was the most important, since if I messed up, the whole plan would go to hell.

I cautiously ran to the door so as not to make a sound. I saw the zombies at the end of the horde turning towards me, but I was focused on Dean. When he looked at me, I nodded in his direction, just as a way of wishing him luck. He didn't need it, though. I didn't wait for an answer and started to close the door.

Luckily, it didn't take any time at all. So I thought. Just as I finished locking the door, I heard a knock behind me. I turned around slowly, wondering what had caused it.

"Dean?" I called out, hoping it was him. I hoped he'd somehow managed to escape from there in 30 seconds and make it to my location. But that hope died when I heard footsteps. More than one. I was thrown off by the door slamming behind me.

"Ahh!" I shouted involuntarily. I covered my mouth with my hand as soon as I realised what I had done. If the owners of these steps hadn't known I was here before, they did now.

I picked up the baseball bat I had brought for this mission. I remembered that I still had the gun Dean had lent me on my belt, but using it would attract more zombies. I'll only use it if I have to.

The grunting of the zombies increases, both behind me, where the trapped zombies are, and in front of me, where I can finally see the source of the footsteps.

Three zombies. Limping more than usual. They seem to have broken legs. A normal person would never be able to move in this state. Which removes my hesitation to kill them. They're not human. They're not human.

Since they took a long time to get close, I decided to go to them myself. Since they were slower than usual, I could do what Dean had explained. Stun them, knock them down, move away and then kill them.

I cautiously approached them, and without hesitating any longer, I hit the zombie leading the group with a blow to the top of the head, causing it to fall to the ground.

I took a few steps back and waited for the second zombie to come closer. Now that I was closer, I realized it was a woman, but that didn't really matter. I moved to the zombie's side and hit her already hurt leg, making her fall.

The third zombie ended up tripping over the second, making them stand on top of each other. Now I get why Dean said this method was easy. I went up to them and hit their heads as hard as I could, which made them stop moving.

I let out a big sigh, exhausted. I didn't have time to realize what I had done when I heard a growl behind me. I turned around at the same time, ready to swing my staff. The stick hit the side of the zombie, which didn't even move. Instead, it advanced towards me, and we fell, with it on top of me.

"Ahh!" I shouted as I pushed away the zombie that was trying to bite me. I was holding its neck to keep its teeth away from me. I looked around, trying to find the stick that I had dropped. I let go of one hand to reach it, but it rolled out of my reach, and the zombie got closer. So, I quickly grabbed it again with both hands.

As time went on, I was running out of strength, and the zombie was getting closer. Then I remembered the gun Dean had given me.

I pushed him back as hard as I could and grabbed the gun at my waist. I didn't have much time, as the zombie realized that I wasn't applying as much force as before and became more aggressive. I could feel his cold breath on my neck as I reached for the gun, brought it up to his head, and fired.

I felt his blood splatter on my face, but I didn't care because he was already dead. I rolled to the side, yanking the corpse off me. I got up quickly and looked around, noticing that there were only the three original zombies.

In other words, this zombie was the first one I thought I had killed. I was pretty annoyed to realize that everything that had happened was my fault. I almost died because of a slip-up.

While I was giving myself a hard time, I saw the stick I used on the zombies, and I got really mad. I went over to it, picked it up, and looked at the three dead zombies.

I picked up the bat and hit the zombie I had just killed on the head. I only stopped when I remembered the other two. Then I went to the next one and did the same. I hit its head again and again. But this time, I just couldn't stop.

All the frustration, fear of losing my mom, guilt for not telling my dad before, and constant fear of something happening? I took it all out on the blows I threw. I was so focused on my own world that I didn't even notice what was going on around me.

"Maggie..." I heard my name called quietly. I stopped hitting the zombie, turned around, and got ready to attack. It was more of a reflex than anything else.

But when I looked closer, I saw that the person in front of me wasn't an enemy, it was Dean. I immediately relaxed and lowered my staff, knowing he was no threat. With him there, I knew everything was under control.

"Dean." I whispered his name, feeling exhausted. I took a deep breath, finally getting more air into my lungs, but at the same moment, a strong smell of blood and something else unknown hit me, making me grimace. I looked down and saw blood on myself and on the zombie whose brain I'd smashed into the ground. It was the brain I had smashed.

I immediately felt dizzy and nauseous. I took two steps back, almost falling over my feet. I let go of the stick, suddenly feeling weak. I felt like puking, like everything was going to come out of my body. I put my hand over my mouth and walk away to a wall, where I puke everything I've eaten up.

I feel hands, probably Dean's, gently rubbing my back, trying to ease the moment. After a while, I manage to stop vomiting.

But I still feel weak and dizzy. My body's shaking a bit, but I'm not sure if it's from the weakness or the fear. After a few seconds, I feel Dean's hand gently rubbing my back, and I remember that he's still here.

"I'm sorry." I spoke, but it came out more like a hoarse whisper.

"Shhh... It's all right. The same thing happened to me. Don't worry." He hugged me again, and I hugged him back with all my might. He took me somewhere away from all the commotion, and we sat on the floor, still hugging. We stayed like that for a while, neither of us saying a word.

I was lost in thought. Today's events and everything. This new world is more dangerous than my family and I had imagined.

"How are you feeling now?"

......…

POV Dean

"How are you feeling now?" I asked her, after all that time without saying anything. While we were like this, I was checking her to see if she had been bitten. Luckily, there were no injuries.

When she heard me, she pulled away from the hug, sat up straight, took a deep breath, and sighed. I waited in silence while she did all this.

"I'll be fine. We should finish what we came to do." She stood up and started making her way to the stairs. I shrugged and followed her. Sometimes, to forget something, it's better to do something productive.

When we got to the stairs, I put my hand on Maggie's shoulder and stopped her from going up them. She looked at me dubiously. "I'd better go ahead. Just in case."

"Right." She replied, and I stepped in front of her, knife in one hand and gun in the other. I started climbing the stairs, making sure no zombies were left behind. Luckily, it seems like the plan worked completely, and no zombies were left out of the trap.

Thankfully, there weren't any zombies left in the stairwells. There might've been some of them on the second floor who couldn't get out of their rooms or couldn't move. It doesn't matter. Just kill them.

When we got to the second-floor door, I looked at Maggie and asked, "Ready?" She nodded, so I turned on the flashlight that was attached to the revolver. As I went through the door, I checked every dark corner of the place, making sure there were no zombies.

The atmosphere was heavy and tense, perhaps because of the darkness. We started making our way to the room where the equipment was supposed to be. On the way, I finally understood why it was so dark. Turns out, all the windows were boarded up.

We decided to just roll with it and keep going. Maggie and I didn't say much. The only sound we could hear was our footsteps, which we took carefully.

I checked the rooms to make sure everything was cool, just in case. It was easy, since all the doors of the rooms we passed were open.

We soon arrived at the room we wanted to be in, but the door was locked. I went to it and knocked twice to get his attention and check if there was anything there.

Bam!

Maggie and I moved away from the door after hearing something slam. I look at Maggie, who's got one hand over her mouth and the other on her chest. I let out a deep breath, trying to compose myself.

"I think I've just had a mini heart attack." I joked as I went to the door. I couldn't tell exactly how many zombies were behind it, so I put my ear to it, which was still being banged on, and started listening.

The constant sound of knocks made it hard to tell exactly how many zombies there were, but I could count three distinct growls.

"How many are there?" Maggie asked in a low tone, showing some concern.

"Three. There could be more." I replied as I moved away from the door and looked at her.

"What should we do?" Maggie asked, and I started thinking. We've gotta get into the room somehow, and it looks like we're going to have to kill the zombies. Suddenly, I remembered: "We're in a hospital."

I start heading back the way we came, keeping my eyes peeled for anything I missed. I pointed the flashlight into the rooms and soon found what I was looking for.

"Dean! What are you doing?"

Maggie asked again, but she soon saw where the flashlight was pointed. "Oh. Brilliant."

"I know, honey. Let's do it." I start to enter the room and go over to the stretcher I had been watching. Another light comes on next to me, and I see Maggie with the flashlight from the gun I'd borrowed.

"I'll cover you while you take this." She spoke confidently as she left the room, looked sideways down the corridor, and called out to me. I almost snorted at her attitude, but I liked her confidence. It's a bit like what she'll be like in a few years.

"I'm counting on you then." I replied with a light tone as I started to move the stretcher out of the room. Maggie led the way, lighting the way and protecting us from any possible surprises. I started carrying the stretcher to the front of the room where the zombies were being held.

When we got there, the banging on the door had stopped, but we could still hear their growls.

The plan was simple. We'd use the stretcher to block the zombies, and then I'd take them out. That way, even if there were more than three zombies, there'd be time to kill them or run if we had to.

I put the stretcher in front of the door, locked it in place, and propped my foot on the corner to keep it from moving.

With all the force I put into it, not even 20 zombies together could push an inch of this barrier.

"Here's the plan: You open the door and I'll take care of the zombies." I told her, and without question, she approached the door and grabbed the handle.

"Ready?" Maggie asked, looking at me, still holding the gun pointed at the door. I readied the knife and nodded. "Good. On the count of 3. 3... 2... 1... Open."

As soon as Maggie turned the handle and pushed on the door, a zombie put its hand on the edge and opened it wide to see if it could get out. Key word: try.

They tried to get out together, but the stretcher wouldn't let them. And there weren't just three zombies, but five. So I took advantage of the situation and stabbed each one in the head, making them fall on top of each other.

It was pretty peaceful. Apart from a bit of blood splattered on my mask, everything's fine. It's always good to be prepared, right?

I told Maggie to light up the rest of the room. She did as I asked and went over to the gurney to light up the whole room. It was quite big. It was bigger than a normal hospital room and full of bookshelves. "Hey, is anyone here a meat eater?"

"Is this really serious?" Maggie asked, amused.

"What? It's a great way to find out if there are any zombies around." At that moment, the sound of growling comes from inside the room. Maggie flips the light switch and sees a zombie coming up. "Didn't I say?" She rolls her eyes, but nods, accepting the logic. I wait for the zombie to get close and strike it in the middle of the forehead.

"Is it safe now?" She asks, shining a light on the farthest parts of the place.

"We're never really safe." I say as I start to move the stretcher and the dead zombies away from the front door and put them to one side. I didn't look at her, but her silence showed that she was uncomfortable. "Sorry. Bad timing."

"It's all right. It's the truth." She says, her voice a little strained. I sigh as I run my hand through my hair.

"One day, I'm going to create a safe place. A place to rest. Who knows, right?" I smiled over my shoulder, but soon returned to the task at hand. I grabbed my gun and turned on the flashlight as I walked past the small pile of corpses next to the door.

As we walked between the shelves, keeping an eye out for zombies and the stuff we'd come for, I noticed a bunch of stuff lying on the floor. I figured it was stuff that had fallen off the shelves or that the zombies themselves had knocked over when they bumped into it.

"There aren't any zombies around here." Maggie said quietly, sounding relieved.

"Let's find the things your dad needs." I got organized, and we started searching the room. I quickly found the respirator and the tube that comes with it. I put everything neatly into my bag.

"Dean! I found the air tanks." I turned to her and saw that she was holding some small cylinders. I nodded, and she put them in her bag.

"Did you find the X-ray machine?" I asked, as I looked around and saw some bottles of medicine and vaccines. It could be useful.

"Yeah, it's a bit big." She says, biting her lip, a little frustrated. She led me to a corner of the room where there was a mobile X-ray machine, but it was a bit big.

"That's all right. We just need to know if it works." I say as I look at the machine.

"We don't have a choice. It's the only one we have." Maggie gives me a sideways look. I nod in agreement. Now, we just have to wait for luck.

"Let's get some more things. They might be useful." She nods, and we start picking up medicines, vaccines, bandages, and so on. In the end, the bag was totally packed.

Maggie tried to help carry it, but it was too heavy for her.

"Can you take the X-ray machine?" I ask her, and she nods yes.

"It's got wheels, so it's easy to move on flat surfaces. On the stairs..." I nod and lift the easy bag.

"I'll be there to help you when you get to that part. Let's go." I let Maggie lead the way with the machine while I light the way this time. It wasn't long before we reached the staircase.

It took a while to get down with it. It wasn't heavy, but I had to be careful not to break anything. Because of the extra caution, everything went smoothly and without a hitch.

When we got to the entrance hall, there was a visitor waiting for us. Turned out he was a zombie, but he was dressed like a farmer. I was surprised because he had suddenly appeared.

Then I remembered that Maggie had fired her gun, making a loud noise.

"We need to hurry." I said seriously as I went over to the zombie and killed it quickly.

"What's going on?" Maggie asked, as she followed me pushing the machine. I didn't have to answer because as soon as we passed the front door, we saw some zombies coming our way.

"We don't have time for questions. You can ask them later. Let's go!" I said, walking to the car, which was luckily closer to us than the zombies.

I put the bag in the back of the truck, and then it was time for the X-ray machine. I lifted the machine easily and put it next to the bag. I looked at Maggie, who simply nodded, and we got into the car.

As soon as I got into the driver's seat, I tried to start the car, but all I heard was the sound of the engine choking. I tried again, but it wouldn't start.

"Are you kidding me? We're not in a fucking horror movie!" I grimaced and tried to call again, but it didn't work.

"Try direct dialing!" Maggie said quickly.

"I seem to know how to do that?!" I exclaimed as I tried to start the car again.

"Let me try!" Maggie plopped down on my lap and started fiddling with something under the steering wheel. She pulled some wires out of the car and started messing with them. "I need your knife." She asked, gesturing with her hand.

"Then you have to teach me how to do it." I said as I handed her the knife. She made a soft grunting noise and kept going with what she was doing.

Even though I was enjoying the beautiful view, I had something more important to do. Glancing around, I noticed that a few zombies had been drawn to the sound of the car.

I pulled out my revolver and started shooting at the zombies closest to me. I had to reload three times, but I ran out of extra bullets for this gun pretty quickly, so I switched to the AR-15. Come to think of it, I hadn't used it to kill zombies yet.

"Dean!" Maggie shouted from below.

"Yeah?!" I shouted back after taking out another zombie.

"Put the brakes on!" she said. I did as she asked and, at the same moment, the car started. I didn't even wait for her to respond and started speeding away. Luckily, there weren't any zombies on the road.

"Good job." I said, as I took off my mask, and she sat back in her seat, a little flushed.

"Next time, let me know if you're speeding." Maggie grumbled, annoyed.

"If there's a next time, I'll let you know." I smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes, but she still had a smile at the corner of her lips. "Mission accomplished." I offered her my hand for a high five, and she accepted.

So much for day 13 of the apocalypse.