by Crist, J. D.
"Could you help him to Doc's to get stitched up and then get him back to work?" Emily asked as casually as she could.
"Yes, ma'am." Shawn pulled Derick to his feet and began to walk him to the clinic. Emily looked down and could still see some of Derick's blood on Marley's face. Just then, Sarah came out of the communication building with a glass of water, laughing.
"I'll get Marley cleaned up, and if it's okay, I think I would like to donate a steak to his dinner tonight." Marley began to wag his tail but sat as Sarah ran the cool water over his face.
"I didn't understand everything that was going on, but I know Derick deserved what he just got," Sarah continued. "Thank you so much for allowing me to see it happen." Sarah had finished washing Marley's face and turned to face Emily.
"I was afraid you might be upset that Marley bit him or that I punched him afterward." Emily had a hard time believing that Sarah would find this funny.
"Marley warned him that day we all agreed to stay, and Derick chose to push him. That is all Derick's fault as far as I'm concerned. And the punch, he didn't learn from the bite, he deserved that too. So, you were just driving the lesson home." With that, Sarah headed back inside the building.
Emily could see that Shawn had Derick in the clinic and couldn't help but smile when Sam and Howard began to clap and cheer. She walked back up the street with Marley and went back into the store. She explained to Jessica that the situation was handled, and Jessica helped Hope back into her riding position.
When she headed back out, she saw Shawn leaning against the clinic, having a cigarette. Seeing her walking towards him, Shawn knocked the cherry off and slid the remaining part into his pocket.
"Doc said it wouldn't take him long to stitch Derick up. He did want me to ask if Marley got a rabies shot before the flash."
"Yeah, I think it was a two-year dose." Emily tried hard to remember.
"Damn, well, I guess Derick won't need that treatment."
"Is he still going to be able to work?"
"Oh yeah. Derick told Doc what happened and was trying to get some painkillers. Don't worry." Shawn saw the look of concern on her face. "Doc told him no." Emily breathed a sigh of relief.
"I think Derick's more upset by the nose than the bite," Shawn laughed.
"What happened to his nose?" Emily asked.
"You broke it!" Shawn laughed even harder.
"Didn't see it until I got him halfway here that it was bent and bleeding like hell. I don't think he will take another swing at you anytime soon."
Chapter 2
The next day, everyone heard about what happened to Derick, and Emily didn't want to defend her or Marley's actions. It is Saturday, so the school will be closed. Terra and Bobby usually took Marley to the farm to play. Emily did not know how he would react if they were afraid of him. Emily found her courage and opened the front door. A smile spread across her face as she saw Terra and Bobby waiting in front of the house. Marley rushed out the door to join them, and Emily watched as they ran towards the farm together.
Emily closed the front door and headed to the main street. Jessica waved at her from the store window, and Sarah was waiting for her by the wall. Emily allowed herself to relax as she waved back at Jessica and made her way to Sarah.
"Hey there, slugger," Sarah teased as she approached.
"Hey there yourself," Emily replied. Sarah smiled and then handed a walkie to Emily.
"I got them all working last night," she explained. I've got everyone on channel three. They are solar-powered, so they should charge while you are outside but just come to me if you have a problem. I have batteries if needed."
"Wow, no more running or yelling to get each other's attention," Emily mused.
"It will be extra important if we find new people," Sarah continued. "I got the radio working in the COM room, so I'll always be reachable, and I put one in the control room for whoever's on wall duty. I also have one for Doc, Sam, Shawn, and Jacob."
"Sounds efficient," Emily remarked as she attached the walkie to her waist.
"I also have four that we can put on the stations once they are ready. I better get the rest of these delivered."
"Don't let me stop you." Emily motioned for Sarah to go on her way as she headed up to the wall. Shawn would be on duty again, but she stood and watched the town from above until he arrived.
"You're not going to throw me off the wall, are you?" Shawn called out when he saw her.
"Why would I do that?" Emily smiled back at him.
"According to Derick, your act of violence last night showed that you are willing to kill us all for no reason." Shawn continued to walk towards her with a big grin on his face.
"Oh, well, if Derick says it's true, you better watch out." Emily had expected Derick to try to say both her and Marley were crazy and maybe even bloodthirsty.
"I'll take my chances," Shawn replied as he walked up beside her. "Did you get your walkie?"
"Sure did," Emily patted the walkie on her waist.
"Sarah said we're all on channel three, and the one's outside will be on channel two. I figure that you and I could use channel one just in case of a security issue."
"Sounds like a plan," Emily replied.
Emily did not know what kind of security issue they could have. However, knowing she had a way to reach Shawn was comforting.
"Um, Emily, it's Doc." Doc's voice erupted from both of their walkies at once. Emily grabbed her walkie from her hip and pressed the button.
"Go ahead, Doc," Emily said in her most official voice.
"I need you to come by the clinic as soon as you can…. over." Emily could not help but laugh and could hear Shawn doing the same.
"I'm on my way." Emily thought about saying over as well but feared Doc would hear her laugh. "Duty calls." Emily looked at Shawn as she spoke.
"You better hurry, over." Shawn laughed back at her.
Emily made her way down the stairs and back up the road to the clinic. Doc had not changed much in here since he arrived. The only noticeable difference was the playpen set up in the corner. On occasion, Doc would babysit Hope while Emily was on a run. Emily scanned the office but found that Doc was not there.
"Doc!" she called out.
The irony of her saying they would no longer have to scream for each other was not lost on her. Within moments Doc came into the room with a smile on his face.
"I thought you would be upset about the stitches and broken nose yesterday?" Emily asked.
"Oh, my no," Doc replied. "It was a pleasure to patch Derick up, deny him pain meds, and send him back to work."
"Glad to hear it," Emily smiled. "You needed to see me for something?"
"Yes, I was wondering if I could get a blood sample from both you and Hope?"
"Any particular reason?" Emily asked.
"I guess I should explain," Doc began. "I want to see if I can identify the marker in you that makes you immune. Then I can check to see if Hope has it as well."
"That would be amazing." Emily had wondered if there was a way to tell if Hope was immune. The only test she knew of was if Hope got bitten, not something Emily was willing to do. Emily began to remove Hope from her back. This process usually took two people, but Emily had mastered doing it alone.
"I think it's only logical that I explain everything before taking your blood," Doc spoke.
"There's more?" Emily asked as she held Hope.
"Yes, see, after I identify the marker, I want to try to use it to make an antidote or vaccine that could help those without it."
"Do you think that's possible?" Emily couldn't hide the excitement in her voice. If Doc could do what he said, that would be a big step in getting the world back on track.
"I believe so. I worked a little with experimental medicine, so it will take a while, but eventually, I think I can do it. I will be asking everyone in Sanctuary for a blood sample to test."
"You can tell them all I approve," Emily smiled at him. She expected Doc
to take them to a room to do the blood draw, but he stood still. "Is there more?" Emily asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. To do the proper tests and experiments, I will also need the blood of the dead ones," Doc explained. "I will need to study it to find out how it works and mix it with live blood to see if my trials may reverse it."
"I don't think we have any of that in here," Emily replied. Doc looked down at the ground as if he was ashamed of his request. "Shawn and I are heading out on a run Monday. We are sure to find a dead one while we are out. Do you just want us to bring the whole body back?" Emily felt like someone else was talking as she casually suggested they bring a corpse home with them.
"Yes, that would give me plenty of subject matter to work with" Doc could not hide his excitement.
"I do have a question, Doc."
"Of course," Doc replied as he waited.
"Why all the secrecy? It seemed like you only wanted me to know what you're working on."
"I don't care who knows I'm working on a cure, but I feel it would be safer if they didn't know I was using your blood to do it," Doc explained. "I fear that if certain people find out, they will do something stupid. Like kill you and drink your blood to become immune."
"Would it work," Emily asked.
"Of course not, but then they may turn to Hope to do the same thing. People can be stupid when driven by fear."
"I understand and agree with you," Emily replied. "I will have to tell Shawn at least part of it. How else will I explain wanting to bring a corpse back to town?"
"Good point," Doc smiled. "Why don't you guys come back to the exam room? It's time for Hope's next round of vaccines anyway."
Emily followed Doc back to the exam room. She held Hope as Doc inserted the needle into her arm and took a few vials of blood. Once he was done, it was Hope's turn. Emily held Hope on her lap, and Doc started with the blood sample. He probably feared that Emily would change her mind on the blood sample if Hope threw a fit during the vaccinations.
Emily braced herself to hear Hope cry and scream as the needle entered her arm. However, Hope sat silent as Doc continued and took a vial of blood. Doc bandaged Hope's arm and proceeded with the vaccinations. Again, Hope remained quiet and still for each one.
"She is the bravest baby I have ever seen," Doc remarked as he finished.
"She is a trooper." Emily tickled Hope and watched as the baby laughed.
"I will get started on these samples and let you know the results as soon as I can."
"I appreciate it, Doc," Emily replied. With that, Emily left the exam room and headed back into the lobby. Within a few minutes, she had Hope strapped to her back and was headed outside. As she opened the door, she could see Shawn leaning against the wall.
"Everything good," he asked as soon as he saw her.
"Yeah, Hope just needed some more shots, and Doc needed a blood sample from us."
"Blood sample? What for?" Shawn looked concerned, like something may be wrong with them.
"He's trying to find the marker in my blood that makes me immune and is going to check Hope for it as well," Emily explained.
"Oh, that makes sense." Emily could see the relief on Shawn's face.
"He also asked a favor, and I need your help with it," Emily began. Shawn raised an eyebrow as he looked at her. "He wants to try to develop a vaccine to either cure someone who is bitten or make everyone immune. But to do it, he needs a zombie's blood for the trials."
"You want me to go grab a jar from the store?" Shawn teased, motioning at the grocery store.
"Of course not," Emily laughed. "When we go out, we always find a few dead ones. If you could help me bring one of the corpses back, that would be all he needs."
"Bring it back brain-dead, right?" Shawn raised his eyebrow once more.
"Yes, brain dead," Emily laughed.
"I see no problem with it. Everyone will be glad to know that we may have a shot at a cure."
Emily bit her lip as he spoke. "I'd rather keep this quiet for now."
"Why?" Shawn asked. "You are always looking for ways to show them that the living stand a chance in this world. This would go a long way to doing that."
"Doc is going to use my blood to make the vaccine," Emily explained. "People can do crazy things when they are afraid. If they find out that my blood may hold the cure, they may kill me to take it or even Hope." Emily felt her tears welling as she explained this. Though she had heard Doc say it, it made it more real when she said it herself.
"Oh shit, I didn't think of that," Shawn remarked. "Top secret then," he reassured her.
"He did say he would need a sample from everyone. Maybe you could head in and give yours now?"
"But I'm afraid of needles," Shawn tried his best to look scared.
"Get in there, you big baby. Hope did it and didn't even flinch!"
"Well," Shawn straightened himself, "I refuse to be shown up by someone so small." With that, Shawn headed inside to give his blood sample. Emily shook her head, laughing as she walked back into the street.
"Emily, could you come to the COM building?" Sarah's voice rang out.
"I'm on my way," Emily replied.
She returned the walkie to her hip once more. She had only had this thing a few hours, and already people were blowing her up. She laughed, remembering the day Chad repeatedly called her cell phone. These calls she wouldn't ignore because they were from people who needed and cared about her. In a few minutes, Emily reached the COM room and was surprised to see wooden structures leaning against it. Emily headed inside to find Sarah and Derick waiting in silence.
"I wanted your approval before I took off work to heal." Derick motioned to his arm, but Emily could not help but stare at the bruise on his face. "They are exactly what she asked for."
Emily looked at Sarah, who nodded in agreement.
"If Sarah says they are what she needs, that is good enough for me. Please take the rest of the weekend to rest."
"I can't risk wasting any more lumber until I have more," Derick grumbled.
"We will have your delivery on Monday," Emily reassured him. She expected Derick to leave, but he stood there staring at her. "Is there something else?" Emily asked.
"I hurt like hell, and Doc says I can't have pain killers. I need something to dull the pain. May I please have one bottle due to my condition?"
Emily was shocked to hear him say please. She knew that Doc denied him painkillers for the same reason she had cut him off from alcohol.
"I'm sorry, but no," Emily responded.
"However, you can take some ibuprofen to help dull the pain." Emily could tell he was angry at this response. However, he simply pushed past her and left.
"Oh," Sarah complained. "I was hoping for round two."
"Stop it," Emily jokingly scolded her.
"Fine," Sarah agreed. "So, I will just need your approval with Jessica to make the food and water packs for the stations. I should be able to get everything ready by Monday if you guys want to take them with you."
Emily suddenly felt like all of the air was sucked out of the room. With everything that had to be done, she thought it would take longer to set up things to bring in new people. She was beginning to panic as Hope squirmed on her back. Emily had gotten lucky with the first group, only one bad apple. But he could be kept in line. Emily could not guarantee she would be that lucky again. The world was full of bad people before there were no laws.
"Are you okay," Sarah asked, pulling Emily back from her thoughts.
"Are you sure this is a good idea," Emily asked.
"Of course, the radios will work fine."
"Not the radios. Do you think it's a good idea to let more people in?" Emily hated herself as soon as she said it, and the look on Sarah's face made her feel worse. They had been talking about this for months, but now that it was time, Emily could not help but be scared.
"We have to try," Sarah said in an almost pleading tone.
"I know," Emily replied. "I'm just…sc
ared."
Emily felt like she was going to choke on the last word. She hated admitting she was scared these days.
"We all are," Sarah comforted her. "But if you would have let that fear control you, we wouldn't be here. Hope wouldn't be here."
"You're right," Emily replied. "I'll let Jessica know you have my okay to make the supply packs." Emily could still hear the uncertainty in her voice as she spoke.