WHITE FLAG

chapter fifty-three : polaroid memories
{ season four - episode two }

WALKING BACK TO the cell her and Glenn shared, an abnormal large pit formed in her stomach as Kloe walked past Beth's cell - the girlfriend of Zach. Sorrow laced through her veins as she continued walking.

She stopped in front of the cell that Glenn was already in. He was laying on their bed, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the plain ceiling. Recognizing the figure he saw in the corner of his eye, he turned his head to the side.

She took a brief deep breath, her hand wrapping around the object that sat in her back pocket. She pulled it out, causing Glenn to sit up instantly. She set the pregnancy test down on the table in front of her.

"Negative," she said, grinning over her shoulder at her husband. "Both are negative." She hauled out the other test that she had from the pack, setting it down beside the other.

"Oh, thank God," Glenn murmured, holding onto each side of his wife's waist. He ducked his head down, sighing with relief. After what happened to the late wife of Rick Grimes six months prior, Glenn couldn't take the risk. He couldn't let anything happen to Kloe.

"Would it make me selfish if I said I'm glad that it's negative?" Kloe asked as Glenn's hands slid into hers. He lifted his head, watching her as she looked down at him.

He shook his head, "Then I guess we're both selfish. After everything... After Lori." Kloe dug her teeth into her bottom lip and nodded.

A grin returned to her lips, "I think I should stop stealing Zayn and Brianna's breakfasts all the time. It's really kicking me in the ass." Glenn snorted, swinging Kloe's hands side-to-side.

...

Glenn watched the walkers that pushed their bodies against the chain-link fence from the guard tower. He and Kloe decided to sleep away from the others the night before, and slept in the one guard tower that wasn't just ash from when the Governor had struck half a year before.

The group of walkers beyond the fence grew every single day. They just continued to increase without stopping - no matter how many workers they would put out there to kill them through the fence, it did nothing.

He averted his gaze away from the dead to his wife, who still laid asleep under her sleeping bag that covered the lower half of her body. Incapable to hold it back, a warm smile snuck its way onto his lips.

A thought suddenly came to his mind, his vision dropping down to the shoulder bag he brought up with him. He wrapped his hands around one of the first items he had put in - the polaroid camera.

He switched it on, a large smile plastering on his face as he carefully maneuvered his body over to sit beside his sleeping wife. He noiselessly shifted, getting into the right position.

He lifted the camera up to his eyes, pushing his finger on the button which formed a flash. The click jolted Kloe awake, a frown entering her expression as her eyes shot open. Her brows returned to normal as she spotted her husband with a sheepish smile.

Glenn peeped over the camera, instantly wheezing at the look Kloe was sending him. "Sorry." Glenn's contagious laugh managed to leave Kloe's lips as she rubbed her eyes with her palms.

"I thought you were getting that camera to take pictures of naturistic shit, not me," Kloe muttered, her voice raspy from just waking up. Glenn held the polaroid in his hand, waiting patiently for the colors to appear.

"You thought wrong," Glenn retorted, smiling up at her as the picture began to form. "Want me to bring you up breakfast?"

"No, it's okay. I'll go down with you," she said, leaning forward. She pecked her husband's lips, sneakily grabbing onto the photo that was in his hand. She leaned back down, bringing the photo into her sight as Glenn attempted to take it back.

Although, Kloe had already seen it. He pursed his lips as he watched her examine it. A look of disgust managed to etch onto her expression. "Absolutely not. Throw that away," she instructed, throwing the photo film onto the ground beside her.

He licked his lips, picking the photo up. He stared at it for a few moments, "Yeah..." he shot his eyes over to his wife who had raised brows, "not gonna happen." Kloe sheepishly smiled, shaking her head as the man rose to his feet. "It's mine."

"Hey, sit back down for a second," Kloe stated matter-of-factly, reaching forward for Glenn's camera. He looked down at her, raising a single brow. "It's your turn to get your picture taken," she answered, already recognizing the familiar look he was sending her.

Playfully rolling his eyes and unable to say no, he obliged and crouched down on the ground. Kloe hoisted the camera to her face, squinting one eye shut as she looked through the view-finder.

Once she got her husband into the frame, she smiled widely. He took one look at his hand, the picture of Kloe almost instantly making a loving and true smile assemble itself on his lips.

Right before the smile disappeared, Kloe snapped the moment - now forever stuck on a photograph that whirred and printed out of the camera. She thoughtfully placed the camera down beside her, holding onto the photo.

She stared deeply at the polaroid film as the colors began to become evident. Glenn peeked over her shoulder, watching his own face appear. He cringed, "Oh God."

Kloe's brows knitted together as she looked over at her husband. "Shut up. You look amazing," she observed, gently patting his cheek. He shook his head, pressing a quick kiss on her cheek.

He raised the trap door that led to the ground, scooting their bed covers out to the side as he started to climb down. Before he closed the door, he glanced up at his wife. "You coming down?"

"Oh, yeah." She grabbed onto the trap door, allowing Glenn to descend to the ground.

Once he was on the ground, Kloe hauled herself onto the ladder, carefully closing the trap door above her as she worked her way down. Her husband pushed open the door to the outside world, allowing the light to flow through the shady room.

She hopped off, jogging over to join Glenn's side. The couple made their way to the prison, sharing jokes as they walked. They pulled open the gate, stepping inside onto the concrete as the smell of food entered their senses.

Kloe's eyes snapped over toward Carol, who was on food duty, as she prepped up all the food. To none of Kloe's surprises, her eyes landed on her two siblings.

"I swear," she began, catching the attention of the two Schmidt siblings, "you both are always here." She stumbled over to them, her husband directly behind her.

"It runs through the genes, Klo," Zayn said while chewing his deer meat. "We never stop eating." Kloe sat herself beside her sister, who immediately moved her plate away from her.

Glenn settled down beside his brother-in-law, placing his machete on the ground beside him. "We have very important news to tell you guys," Glenn informed, a false serious expression on his face.

Zayn and Brianna watched Glenn, raising their brows before both simultaneously turning to their sister. Kloe nodded, agreeing with her husband. "That's right. We do."

"Oh yeah?" Brianna wondered, "And what's that?"

"Kloe will no longer be stealing your food," Glenn stated, revealing the news. "Because everytime she does, she ends up throwing up."

"Ha! Karma's a bitch, right Klo?" Zayn chuckled, eyeing his younger sister as he purposely shoved a large piece of meat into his mouth. "You're missing out."

Kloe groaned. "Asshat," she muttered, making Zayn's drastic chewing come to a short stop as he picked up a piece of lettuce, throwing it at Kloe's face. She moderately jumped back, glaring at her brother. "Hey! No wasting food-"

The woman was brutally cut short, loud but quiet gunshots went off in the building next to them, making the family of four whip their heads over to D-Block.

Within a matter of five seconds of hearing the gunfire erupt, two sisters - Lizzie and Mika - sprinted out of the building. "Help! Help!" Lizzie desperately yelled. "Please! Come quick!"

Glenn, Zayn and Kloe all shared a look before abruptly rising to their feet. Brianna stood up, hurrying over to the closed gate to allow Rick to come through.

The trio stopped in front of the two sisters. "There are walkers in there!" Mika panicked, looking up at the three.

As Rick sprinted through the now open gate, Glenn swerved his head around. "Walkers in D!" he shouted at the top of his lungs in hope the Grimes man had heard him.

"What about C?!" he yelled back, his head turning to the left side of him as numerous people raced out of it.

"Clear," Sasha answered. "We locked the gates to the tombs," she pointed to the people - Daryl, Tyreese and Vickie - behind her. Kloe watched Maggie and Jayce exit the building behind them, racing toward the furthest gate where Michonne was currently returning on her horse.

"Hershel and Isabelle are on guard. It ain't a breach," Daryl pointed out as the four hurried over to D-Block.

Kloe spun around to face her brother, "Stay here. Stay with Brianna and both of you help Maggie and Jayce, okay?"

He nodded, spinning on his heel as he immediately dashed toward Maggie and Jayce. Kloe turned back around to her husband, nodding to him. With that, the pair both darted to D-Block with the others.

Everyone's hearts bashed harshly against their rib cages. Many thoughts were clouding their minds. How were there walkers in the block? If there wasn't a breach, then it meant someone had died. Who had died?

Daryl pushed the metal steel door, being met by a various amount of screaming. Without hesitation, he sprinted inside, taking down any walker in sight.

Everyone joined him, rushing inside with their weapons raised high. Kloe sprinted over to underneath the staircase - where a voracious walker sat on its knees consuming the flesh of a woman.

A woman that Kloe knew. Kloe drove her knife into the walker's skull - the screaming around her making her want to cover her ears like she was a little kid again.

She panted and stared down at the woman in front of her, choking on her own blood. Kloe knelt down, carefully shoving her knife into the back of the woman's head with mercy.

Kloe felt everything within her drop when she realized that the two children she knew well weren't one of the people screaming for their lives while they watched their family and friends be gnawed onto.

Her breath got caught into her throat as she spun on her heel, darting for the metal staircase. She waited beside Rick as numerous individuals sprinted down it.

The Grimes continuously asked if anyone was bit, but they'd only reply with a single nod and continue rushing away from the hell-like room.

Once everyone had finished running down the steps, Kloe instantly jogged up it. With any walker she met eye-to-eye, she directly put an end to its misery. She had to get to the specific cell.

"No..." she whispered as she watched a walker drag its feet over to the cell. She bolted for it, pushing any other walker out of the way - not that there were many since the others were taking them down behind her.

Before the walker reached the cell, she wrapped her arm around its neck, refraining it from entering. She plunged her knife into its brain, releasing her tight grip as it fell to the ground.

She looked back up, pushing the curtain to the side in search of the two children. Her eyes set on the ground in front of her. Her ears began to ring. Her eyes began to blur.

In front of her sat the two children. Except, neither were alive. Nicole laid lifelessly across the ground, a tear dribbling down her cheek and her lips parted. Her cheeks were covered with blood - so were her hands, her legs, her neck; everywhere.

Her stomach was being eaten on. Her intestines in the mouth belonged to her younger brother, Jack. He was eating her. A large chunk of the four-year-old boy's shoulder was missing, blood pooling down his arm.

Kloe completely froze in place, her legs beginning to feel weak. The growls from below her came to end - meaning the group had successfully taken the walkers out.

She heard the footsteps of three people going up the steps, then the growls that came out from the cells beside her. She wanted to go help them - but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't.

Then, the growls came to an end. Just somehow, the boy that was eating his own sister hadn't heard any of the commotion. That's when her eyes landed on his ears. They were gone. Both of them.

He couldn't hear them. "Kloe?" she heard Rick say from a few meters away from her. He, Daryl and her husband watched her as not a muscle moved on her.

Although, she managed to twist her head around to face them - a single tear dropping out of her eye. Glenn's heart clenched and he immediately moved forward between the other two men.

Once he was close enough, he peeked round into the cell that Kloe could no longer look into. His heart sank as he laid his eyes on the two siblings. A few moments later, Rick and Daryl joined their side, their own sadness filling them up for the two children.

They were the only children that had died. The others that had died were only adults. Seeing their shadows, the four-year-old walker boy averted his gaze away from his deceased sister, his cold, bright white eyes setting on the group of four.

He weakly stood to his feet, dropping the intestine he was gnawing on as he unhurriedly stumbled over to them. Kloe dropped her eyes down to the boy in front of her, her arms extending outward as she gripped onto his shoulders.

He began to snarl at her as her chin began to tremble. She had been looking after the child as if he was her own for the entirety of the year - the same with his sister.

She looked over his shoulder, more tears forming as she watched Nicole's eyes open. With the knife in her right hand, she shakily positioned it behind Jack's head.

"I'm sorry," she choked out, before shoving the knife inside Jack's brain, his growls ending. He fell forward, making Kloe crouch down and catch him. Glenn walked into the room where Nicole watched him, snapping her teeth at him.

He knelt down, swallowing thickly before putting her to rest with his knife. With his index and middle finger, he slid her eyelids closed. He looked over his shoulder, watching his wife as she held the boy in her arms.

She stood to her feet, holding Jack bridal style as she stepped over to Nicole. Placing him on the ground, Kloe dried her cheek with the back of her long sleeved, fingerless black gloves covered hand.

Taking a few steps back with her husband behind her, she shook her hands and took a deep breath. She pulled herself together, not daring to look behind her where the two siblings laid lifeless.

She turned to face Rick, who was watching the ground with nothing but sorrow. "How did this happen?" she asked, a few tears still in her throat as the apparent lump stayed.

She veered over to Daryl, who gestured his head over to the cell a few cells away from her. Exhaling heavily out of her mouth, she brushed past the two men and strolled over to the cell where legs poked out.

The three men behind her followed her steps. It was the walker that had jumped out at Glenn, but before Rick and Daryl could examine who the walker was, Glenn pushed past them and went to Kloe.

"That's Patrick..." Daryl stated from beside the Rhee woman. She was shocked at most. She saw him only the day before when she was busy stealing food off her siblings and he politely waved at her.

"Let's check all the cells," Rick mentioned after staring at the teenage boy that had one of Daryl's arrows sticking out of the side of his head, "Make sure that there are no more threats."

...

Kloe fidgeted with her fingers as she sat at the table. She still couldn't get her head wrapped around the fact that Nicole and Jack were gone. She babysat them for half of a year, treating them as if they were her own.

The prison council sat around the very table, all except Zayn who stood outside of the door. He was advised not to go in - considering he was the only one that wasn't in D-Block.

A virus had killed Patrick, not a single bite mark on him. He had gotten sick overnight and died and turned. But he wasn't the only one. There was another: Charlie.

He had died from the exact same virus. Hershel and Caleb had said it was like an aggressive flu strain - mainly spread through pigs and birds. Rick had stated that he saw a walker outside of the fence with the exact same features; blood running out of its eyes.

The pig they had out on the field - that had baby pigs - had died the afternoon before. There was a flu running through the animals that people within the prison managed to pick up.

"Patrick was fine yesterday," Carol started, causing Kloe to shift her gaze away from her hands, "and he died overnight. Two people died that quick?" She drifted her eyes over the council, including Zayn who peaked his head around the door.

"I think we have to do what we're doing now: separate everyone that's been exposed to who hasn't," Zayn recommended, his arms crossed over his chest as he rubbed his chin.

"That's everyone in that cell block," reminded Daryl, sitting on his wooden chair backward. "That's more or less all of us. Maybe more."

"We know that this sickness can be lethal," Hershel, the head of the council, chimed in, "We don't know how easily it spreads. Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?"

"We can't just wait and see," Sasha pointed out, "There's children."

"It isn't just an illness. If people die, they become a threat," Carol added.

Hershel sighed, nodding his head. "We need a place for them to go. They can't stay in D. We can't risk going in there to clean it up."

"We can use cell block A?" she suggested.

"Death row?" Glenn inquired, rubbing his chin as he watched the gray haired woman. "I'm not sure that's much of an upgrade."

"It's clean. That's an upgrade," Daryl commented, looking back at the eldest man. "Think that'll work for Dr. S?" Isabelle had offered to help anyone that could possibly get sick if anyone got infected, but was without a doubt turned down since she was only eighteen - she was still very young.

"I'll help Caleb get it set up," Hershel resolved, sending the council a single nod. There was a three second silence before Zayn peaked his head around the door again.

They sat in complete silence - still in complete shock with what had happened in the last day or two. Kloe's head whipped over to the door when a particular sound entered her eardrums.

Coughing. Kloe rose to her feet, the wooden chair she was previously sitting on scraping across the ground beneath her shoes. "Zayn," she started, making her brother peek around the door again with a cocked brow, "Back up a bit."

His brows knitted together with confusion, only until the very woman who Kloe could hear turned the corner, entering the same hallway he was standing in. As the other members of the council began to hear the woman coughing, they all stood from their seats.

Kloe was first to make her way out of the room. Once she stepped out, she eyed her brother - who had already made his way down the hallway and out of the building.

She whipped over to the woman who was choking on her own breath, and when she did, her eyes widened. It was Karen with Tyreese helping her walk. "Hey, Karen, are you okay?" she questioned, a look of concern on her appearance.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Klo," Karen waved her off, sending her a soft, exhausted smile. "Don't worry about me."

Carol was second to leave the library, joining Kloe's side. "Are you sure?" The couple turned back around, their eyes staying on Carol, "You don't sound so good."

"We're just taking her back to my cell so she can rest," Tyreese replied, rubbing his girlfriend's shoulder supportively. Their eyes then shifted over to the head of the council, who was shaking his head.

"Tyreese, I don't think that's a good idea," Hershel said, his hands on his hips. Kloe leaned her back against the wall beside her as Glenn stood beside her, pursing his lips at the couple.

"Why?" Karen started, puzzled, "What's going on now?"

Glenn shared a glance with the other members of the council with anticipation, but once he figured that no one was going to say anything, he decided to, "We think it's a flu or something. That's how Patrick died."

Hershel took a few steps forward, "Judith is in that cell block. She's vulnerable. Anyone that may be sick or even exposed should stay away."

"It killed Patrick?" Karen queried, growing anxious with the news she was just informed. The virus that she possibly had killed Patrick overnight.

"She's gonna be okay," Tyreese commented. "Now that we know what Patrick died from, we can treat it, right?" Now the man was beginning to get worried, and he had every right to be.

"Don't panic," Hershel responded. "We're going to figure this out. But we should keep you separated in the meantime. We'll have Caleb take a look at you. I'll see what we have in the way of medications."

"David from the Decatur group he's been coughing too," Karen added, her arms folded over her chest as cold sweat snaked down her pale skin.

Glenn and Kloe subconsciously turned to each other, nodding before turning back to the rest of them. "We'll go get him."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

words: 3792
27th november 2022
--------------------
i do not know what to put here. :)