WHITE FLAG

chapter thirty-seven : newborn in the tombs
{ season three - episode four }

"JAYCE!" KLOE WHISPERED, her bow slightly raised as her and Isabelle passed a corner. "Jayce Bryant! We know you're here. Your buddies told us," she continued, peeping inside random rooms that were sided off in the hallway.

"We've been searching for an hour. Maybe he's..." Isabelle stopped herself, gulping as she thought of another person who was possibly innocent, dead. She gripped her machete tighter as the pair turned another corner.

"We have to keep looking until we find something," Kloe muttered to the teen beside her, peering inside a room that was slightly open. "Hey, let's check in here." She pushed the heavy metal door open, a loud screech filling the silent air. "Jayce, we're here to help you," Kloe whispered out as Isabelle quietly shut the metal door so no walkers could get in while they examined the room.

It was partially empty, a few boxes and trays laying around that were covered with paper files that belonged to the officers that worked there. Isabelle aimed her flashlight at a few documents on the ground, noticing a familiar name. "Hey, check this out."

Kloe whipped her head over to where the teenager was pointing, narrowing her eyes down at it. She carefully crouched down, picking up the singular paper that was left untouched on the ground. Her eyes scanned the paper and her eyes widened as she checked the name.

It was Jayce's document file. There was a picture of him facing the front and the side - it was his mugshot photos. Her eyes dragged down to the reason he was sent to prison, and her eyes went even more wide than before.

It originally said, 'Crime Records: Robbery & Murder.' But it was scribbled out with a black pen with the words, 'I am not a murderer or a thief! - Jay' on top of it. "He's been here," Kloe whispered to her friend, folding the paper in quarters and shoved it inside her jeans pocket. "He's gotta be close. The paper hasn't been out for long."

"When do you think he did that?" Isabelle questioned, eyeing the room suspiciously. "It doesn't look like the paper's dirty or anything."

"Yeah. He was here today, I can tell you that because when we went down here yesterday, that door wasn't open," Kloe gestured to the door that Isabelle had closed. "He's alive." She slowly turned around, growing wary at the uncomfortable silence.

"He's twenty-four..." Isabelle whispered to herself, remembering his birth date on the paper. "Jayce!" She then shouted in a loud tone, making Kloe's eyes widen and glare at the teenager.

"Isabelle!" She yelled in a hushed tone, causing the teen to turn to the older girl and send apologetic eyes. Kloe blinked and stepped away, pulling out a box to check for the man. "Jayce. Or Jay. Whatever you wanna be called," Kloe started, scanning the room, "we don't want to hurt you. We want to help you."

The pair stayed in silence as they waited for an answer, but the only sound they got back was nothing but silence. "He must be somewhere else, Klo," Isabelle stated, wrapping her hand around Kloe's upper arm. "Let's just go."

Kloe took one final look at the dead room, letting out a huff as she agreed with the younger girl. The pair stepped out of the room, but immediately stopped dead in their tracks as they began to hear numerous gunshots above them.

Kloe and Isabelle both snapped their heads up at the ceiling, their stomachs dropping as more gunshots pierced through the air. "Wh- what's happening up there?" Isabelle began to stutter, a pit large in her stomach.

"I- I don't know. C'mon!" Kloe clutched onto Isabelle's wrist, leading her back the way they came from, but they got stopped by a group of walkers that were heading their way, cutting them off. "Shit!"

They both spun on their heels, sprinting down the hallway that would only lead them deeper into the tombs unless they found another way out. Isabelle let out a shriek when there was another group of walkers, blocking them off.

Now they were in deep shit. They slowly backed away from the walkers, frantically checking behind them as the walkers from the opposite way stumbled closer to them. Without warning, a hand gripped onto Kloe's upper arm, pulling her inside the room they were once in.

Kloe's heart thumped as hard as it possibly could out of her chest as she got pulled inside, Isabelle's wrist still in her hand. The door slammed shut as the walkers outside began to press their bodies against it.

Their heads shot up to the person who had dragged them inside the room, saving them, and their eyes widened at the person. "Holy shit. It's you," Kloe said while trying to catch her breath. "Jayce."

"Yeah... And you're the girl that was there when that man's leg got chopped off," the man, Jayce, replied, his strong Australian accent spilling perfectly out of his mouth. "Why were you two looking for me when you know this place is filled with them... things?"

"Because we're all looking for you. Your pals mentioned you a few hours ago," Kloe explained, referring to Axel and Oscar. After catching her breath, Kloe immediately snapped back to reality and raised her bow at Jayce. "How do we get out of here?"

"Woah, easy," Jayce's hands raised in the air, showing that he was harmless, but Kloe wasn't taking any risks. "Please, uh, don't shoot me with your badass looking bow. I might not wanna get killed by being a brunch, but I don't wanna get an arrow through my head either."

"Then do as I say and you'll be okay," Kloe said, making sure her bow was trained on the man. More gunshots were to be heard from the ground above them, making Kloe and Isabelle's stress levels raise. "Is there any way to get out of here apart from the door?"

"Yes, yes, there is," Jayce answered almost instantly, still not wanting to get killed by the woman. "Can you, uh, maybe lower the bow a bit so I can show you where it is?"

Kloe hesitated, but she soon realized that they didn't have much time. She nodded. "Yes, but go slowly." The man did as he was told and slowly approached a hidden, secret door that was behind one of the boxes that Kloe didn't check. The only box she didn't check. He pulled it open, a small, closured space that had a door at the other end.

He turned to face the two girls, who both had hesitant faces. "Please, trust me. I'm not a bad guy like that paper you read says," he silently groaned, wanting to get out of the place himself before they all got eaten to death. "I may be a bit insane, but can you blame me? I was locked up with those pricks for ten months, I have every right to be insane."

"I'll go in," Isabelle offered, knowing they had no time to stay still. Something seriously wrong had gone wrong above them, and they needed to find out quickly before someone got hurt. Kloe reluctantly nodded, allowing Isabelle to crawl through the impacted hallway.

Once she got to the other side, she pushed open the squeaky heavy metal door that was unlocked and stood up. She gave Kloe a thumbs up, who watched from the other end. Kloe returned the thumbs up, climbing into the hallway herself. "Jeez, this is one small hallway," she muttered to herself and she crawled her way through.

She reached the other end, turning around to see Jayce making his way through. Something caught Kloe's eyes on the man. He wasn't wearing prison clothes, he was wearing casual clothes. He climbed out of the hallway, patting himself down as he stood up straight. "Right, where to go."

Kloe raised a brow. "You don't know where to go?" She questioned, her head spinning around to check the area around them, seeing that there were no walkers. Although, she could hear some walkers that were soon to be approaching them.

Before Jayce could answer, three new figures ran into their sight, making them snap their heads over to them. They were three silhouettes, and Kloe could make out who they were. It was Maggie, Lori and Carl.

"Kloe?" Maggie called out, recognizing her best friend as she got closer. "We gotta go now. There are walkers everywhere!" She exclaimed, completely ignoring the fact that a guy she had never seen before stood right beside Kloe.

Kloe, Isabelle and Jayce stood confusedly for a moment, before seeing the group of walkers that were soon following them behind. Without hesitation, the six of them began to sprint down the corridor.

Startling everyone, loud alarms screeched down the corridors, upping all of their stress levels. They sprinted as fast as they all could, only until Lori stopped and grunted with discomfort. She leaned herself against the wall.

Maggie was quick to place her hands on Lori's waist. "Can you keep up?" She asked, a look of worry across her expression.

"Something's not right," Lori breathed, panic straining her voice. Kloe watched them all with concern, she had a gut feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong.

"Are you bit?" Carl questioned, his gun tight in his grip.

"No, no, no..." Lori shook her head, turning to face the group as she rested her back against the wall, her eyes turning wide. "I think the baby's coming." Kloe's eyes instantly went as wide as they had ever been before, panic filling the pit in her stomach.

"Oh, shit, shit, shit," Kloe cursed repeatedly, her free hand resting on her forehead as Lori let out more groans with pain and discomfort. Their attention got brought to the new herd of walkers that had gone a different direction to follow them, quickly catching them up. "We haven't got time. Go back!"

The small group did as she said and Maggie wrapped one of Lori's arms while Kloe held the other one over their shoulders. They rushed down the hallway that they had gone down just a few seconds prior, only to be blocked off by another herd of walkers.

Lori let out more cries of pain as Carl and Isabelle took the lead. They headed down another corner that was linked to the corridor they were just in, and before they could enter yet another hallway, Carl stopped and his eyes locked onto a metal door. "In here!"

He pulled open the door, holding it open for everyone. When everyone piled inside, he pulled the door shut, taking a few attempts to properly shut. The group hurried down a few steps, Lori letting go of Maggie and Kloe to rest herself against a small chain linked fence.

She panted heavily as she pushed herself off, stepping down the remaining steps. The group of six traveled deeper into the room, stopping and staying quiet momentarily as they waited for the group of walkers to pass the door. Lori, Maggie, Isabelle and Carl all turned to Kloe, waiting for confirmation that they were in the clear.

While Kloe waited patiently to nod her head, before the walkers could finish passing by, Lori groaned with pain and gripped tighter onto some chains. She breathed heavily steadying herself.

"What are those alarms?" Lori questioned with frustration.

"Don't worry about it," Maggie reassured, placing her hand on Lori's lower back and leading her deeper into the room. Kloe, Isabelle and Carl followed swiftly, while Jayce stood by the door, knowing that none of this was his business.

"What if it attracts them?" Carl asked.

"Come on, let's lay you down," Kloe comfortingly said, her arm placed on the pregnant woman's shoulder.

"No, the baby's coming now," she shook her head, swaying her hips side to side as she exhaled a shaky breath. Kloe chewed the inside of her cheek anxiously. They had no time to get back up without getting chased by walkers, or, get blocked by them.

"We have to get back to our cell block and have Hershel help-"

"We can't risk getting caught out there," Maggie interrupted the young boy. "You're gonna need to give birth to this baby here. We have Isabelle. My dad trained her for this."

"Great," Lori panted, her breath beginning to speed up. Kloe placed her hand on Lori's right hip, attempting to comfort her, but to no surprise, it didn't work.

"What is she doing? Can't she breathe?" Carl asked with panic, worried for his mother.

"She's fine. Come here, let's get your pants off," Maggie said, beginning to remove Lori's pants. Isabelle stayed close to their side, knowing that she would have to try to deliver the baby. Kloe delivered a baby just a year younger than Isabelle, but there was a slight difference. That time wasn't in an apocalypse, this time it was.

And it wasn't like she could remember anything, it happened six years, almost seven, before when she was still going through bad times when she was still grieving her father. Maggie laid the woman on the ground, pulling off the rest of Lori's pants.

Isabelle knelt down beside them, eager to check if the woman had dilated at all. Kloe crouched down beside Lori's head, stroking her hair to soothe her. Maggie looked up at the young boy that was watching his mother carefully. "You're gonna need to help deliver your brother or sister. You up for it?"

Carl hesitantly nodded, still unsure of what to do. Once Lori's pants were fully off, Isabelle gently pulled Lori's legs apart to examine her. "Do you know how to check if she's dilated or not?" Kloe questioned the two other females that were checking the pregnant woman.

"I do, my dad taught me. I remember him teaching Isabelle too," Maggie answered. She leaned closer to check what the dilation was, but she couldn't see anything. "I can't tell."

"I can," Isabelle quickly jumped in, but her face dropped when she realized the dilation was no where close to active labor. "She's not anywhere near to labor."

"I need to push. I gotta push," Lori sat upright, still panting heavily. Maggie and Kloe helped the woman to stand, letting her hold onto a bar as she began to push. Kloe could tell by Lori's body language that she was using all the strength in her body, straining herself. "Somebody!" She yelled as her legs began to weaken.

Kloe was quick to grab onto Lori's hand, helping her up. "It's okay, Lori. It's okay. You're doing great," she assured her, sharing a glance with Isabelle who was watching carefully to check if her cervix dilates.

"You're doing amazing, Lori. Just keep doing it. Let your body do the work," Isabelle started with a soft tone. Lori did as the teenage girl said, pushing as hard as she could. She squeezed Kloe's hand as she pushed. "That's it. You're doing great."

Lori stopped to catch her breath before pushing harder than she had before, a loud ripping, squelchy sound erupting from her. Maggie and Kloe's heads shot down to Isabelle, whose face had fallen.

"Lori, stop pushing. Stop!" Isabelle yelled, but Lori ignored her and began to scream at the top of her lungs. "No.. no, Lori, stop!" Isabelle begged, noticing the pool of blood that was spilling out of her.

This time, Lori listened to the teenager and stopped, her entire skin losing its color and sweat coating her head. "Lay her on the ground," Maggie instructed to Kloe, who instantly implied and wrapped Lori's limp arm around her.

She carefully laid her out on the floor, brushing her hair out of her face. Her eyes were shut, and she looked like she was on the brink of passing out. "Mom?" Carl called out, noticing her facial expression. "Mom, look at me, look at me. Keep your eyes open."

Lori's eyes slowly opened, watching her son. Isabelle grabbed Lori's hand. "Hershel taught me how to deliver a baby through the cervix, but it hasn't dilated at all. He taught Carol more things about birth. I barely know anything," Isabelle trembled, growing scared for the pregnant woman. "We're gonna have to take you back to Hershel."

Lori released a shaky breath. "I'm not gonna make it," she stated, barely above a whisper as her eyes slowly and weakly moved over to her son again.

"Lori, you're not dilated enough to give birth, we have to get you back-"

"I know what it means," Lori stopped the teen, her eyes barely open, "and I'm not losing my baby." Kloe's face dropped, knowing exactly what the woman meant. She wanted to do cesarean. "Maggie, I want you to cut me open."

Maggie frowned, herself starting to sweat. Hell, all of them were sweating. They hadn't been so worried or scared before. None of them knew how to deliver a baby via cesarean, but yet here they were, having to do it. "No. I can't."

"You don't have a choice," Lori returned, her hand covering her baby bump that was soon to be gone. Maggie and Kloe shared a worried glance, not having a clue on anything. Isabelle was lost in thought, trying to figure out a way where they don't kill the woman.

"I'll go for help-"

"No!" Lori stopped her son as he stood up, making him turn to his mother who had pleading eyes. Maggie turned away from the young boy, facing the pregnant woman.

"Look, Carol's the one that practiced that. Dad only taught me the steps, Lori. If I-"

"Please," Lori begged barely above a whisper.

Isabelle shook her head at the woman. "We can't, Lori. We have no anesthetic, no equipment."

"Carl has a knife," Lori basically answered, making everyone's heart drop into the pit of their stomachs. Even Jayce, who was around the corner, was listening in. He felt pity for the group, judging by the way they were talking and acting, they seemed they had known the woman for some time.

Kloe shook her head furiously, knowing that if they were to use Carl's knife, there would be no way she'd survive. "No, Lori. You won't survive that. We have to find a way to keep both you and the baby alive."

"No... My baby has to survive," Lori corrected, beginning to breathe heavily. Kloe felt hot tears spring to her eyes. She had known the woman since the camp outside of Atlanta. They may not have been close, but they still cared for one another. Everyone did. "Please. My baby... for all of us. Please, girls! Please! Kloe," Lori glanced up at the woman who was stroking her hair, "you're the one that can look after babies. You told me that. Please, please always be there for my baby."

Kloe's bottom lips began to quiver, but she instantly nodded. "Yes, Lori. I promise," her voice shook with sadness. Lori was always there for her, it wasn't easy to say goodbye in this situation.

Carl joined Kloe's side, his mind completely lost. He was going to watch his mother die, and hot tears were spilling out of his eyes. Maggie, who only wanted to do as the pregnant woman wanted, lifted Lori's shirt up, noticing a long scar across her abdomen.

"You see my old C-section scar?" Lori asked softly as Maggie's face contorted into nothing but sadness. She would never forgive herself if she was the one to cut the woman open.

She shook her head, a single tear escaping her eye socket. "I can't."

"You can," Lori whispered as her eyes fell shut. Kloe gulped, turning to Maggie, who was giving her a look as if she wanted Kloe to help her. "You have to."

Kloe stroked Lori's head one last time, standing up to join Maggie's side. She crouched down beside her, placing her hand on Maggie's shoulder.

"Carl," Lori called out her son's name in a whisper. "Baby, I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right," Lori took Carl's hand in hers, rubbing in comfortingly as he let out a shaky breath. "Now you- you take care of your daddy for me, alright? And your little brother or sister, you take care-"

"You don't have to do this," Carl choked out, his bottom lip quivering with sadness.

"You're gonna be fine," Lori shook her head with a smile. "You are gonna beat this world. I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave, and I love you." At this point, Kloe could feel her own tears running down her face, but she never bothered to wipe them away.

"I love you too," Carl sobbed, a warm smile on his lips as he stared at his mother with glossy eyes.

"You gotta do what's right, baby," Lori whispered, her heart clenching at the sight of her broken son. "You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world," Lori stated, her words struggling to come out from her own sadness. "So don't... so if it feels wrong, don't do it, alright. If it feels easy, don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you," Lori cried, tears filling up her now glassy eyes. She wiped away the tears on her son's cheeks. "You're so good. You're my sweet boy. You're the best thing that I ever did. And I love you."

The mother and son wrapped their arms around one another, crying loudly. "I love you," Lori cried as Carl cried into her neck. The three girls that were at the other end of the pregnant woman watched the two with pity and emotion. They all had their own tears falling out of their eyes.

"You're my sweet, sweet boy. I love you," Lori continued, sobbing noisily. Kloe pressed her palm against her mouth to stifle a sob, but it managed to get out anyway. She sealed her eyes shut, more tears escaping before she could.

Lori pressed two kisses against Carl's temple. "Okay, okay, now," Lori muttered, making Carl pull away from the embrace. "Okay," she grunted, turning her eyes to the two women that were in front of her. Isabelle stood up, kneeling down beside Carl to comfort him. "Maggie, Kloe, when this is over, one of you are gonna have to-"

Maggie instantly cut the woman off by shushing her, not wanting to hear what Lori was going to have to say. Both young women knew what they would have to do, but they didn't want to be told. "You have to do it! It can't be Rick," Lori reasoned, watching sadly as Maggie took deep breaths.

Kloe wiped away her tears, sniffing as she let out one final sob. She placed her hand on Maggie's shoulder again, rubbing it comfortingly for both Maggie and herself. "Alright... alright," Lori whispered to herself before grabbing Carl's hand. "It's alright. It's alright."

Carl took the knife in his belt out, hesitatingly handing it over to Kloe. She reluctantly took it, taking one glance at it before handing it over to Maggie. She took it, still taking deep breaths to prepare herself. "Hey," Kloe whispered to the Greene, catching her attention. "If you do it, but then you feel like you can't, then let me do it.

"Girls," Lori called, making them face her, "Maggie, I want you to cut me open... until you see my baby's body or head. Kloe, I want you to get them out, okay?" Both young women shared a glance before nodding, knowing what they had to do. "Okay..." Lori muttered, exhaling heavily as she stared up at the ceiling. "Goodnight, love."

Maggie leaned forward, pressing the blade against the start of Lori's c-section scar. "I'm sorry, Lori. We both are," she whispered before slicing Lori's skin open, blood flowing down her. Lori screamed with pain, tears falling down the side of her face.

"Stop. Stop! You're killing her!" Carl cried, eyeing Maggie and Kloe as Maggie cut deeper into Lori's abdomen. Kloe let out a shaky breath before placing her trembling hands in front of her, ready to pull the baby out of the woman.

Lori stopped screaming, falling unconscious. Maggie threw the knife beside her on the ground, nodding to Kloe who bit her bottom lip as she placed her hands inside of Lori's abdomen. She frowned as she moved her hands around, searching for the baby. "Oh, God..." she whispered to herself as her bottom lip quivered.

Maggie picked up the knife again once Kloe separated Lori's cut open skin, seeing her uterus clearly. "Okay, keep it pulled apart. I cut too deep, I'm gonna cut the baby," Maggie instructed, causing Kloe to nod and pull Lori's skin far apart.

The Greene woman threw the knife onto the floor again as Kloe went back in with her bloodied up hands. She leaned in closer, attempting to see any part of the baby. "You can do this, you can do this..." she muttered to herself as she searched deeper for the baby. "I- I see the ears," she said, moving the baby around to pull it out at the correct angle.

With more squelches and shuffling around, Kloe managed to get a grip on the baby, slowly and carefully pulling it out of the unconscious woman. She looked down at the baby, a scared look cowering over her as the baby showed no signs of consciousness.

"No, no, no," Kloe whispered as she moved the baby's limp legs. She pressed her hand against the baby's chest, patting it. Kloe's eyes lightened up and her heart was no longer in the pit of her stomach when the baby let out infant cries.

It wasn't even a few seconds before the baby began to wail. The baby, that Kloe quickly checked the gender to see she was a girl, reached her small hands up at Kloe, touching her cheek. Carl shuffled out of his flannel, passing it over to Kloe who took it and wrapped the baby up so she wouldn't get cold.

"We have to go," Maggie stated as she stood to her feet. Kloe nodded as she held the baby in her arms, moving carefully as she rose to her feet. Isabelle joined Kloe's side, examining the baby, but she wasn't a baby expert. So they needed to get to Hershel asap.

"We can't just leave her here," Carl motioned toward his unconscious mother, who had blood pouring out of her as they spoke. "She'll turn." The baby stopped wailing, starting to make noises that most babies make.

Maggie reached into her belt, going to grab her gun, but Carl was quick to stop her. "Carl," Maggie frowned, quickly glancing over at the baby that was in Kloe's arms.

"No," he shook his head, holding his own gun in his hand tightly. "She's my mom." His chin quivered as a hot tear spilled out of his eye. Maggie turned around, accepting what Carl wanted and led Kloe away.

"Wait," Kloe stopped, turning around and catching the attention of everyone in the room. "What about Jayce?" The man who heard his name appeared around the corner, who had glossy eyes from Lori and Carl's emotional conversation.

"Don't worry about me, I know what you all are going through. I'll come out later so your leader doesn't shoot me dead," Jayce explained, pointing toward the door they had entered previously. He was going to go back to where he was.

Knowing that he didn't have a choice, Kloe nodded. Kloe, Maggie and Isabelle all turned back around, stepping up the steps. They held their breath as they waited for the single gunshot to ring through the air where Carl shoots his mother.

Maggie, who was at the front, pushed open the door, carefully watching the group of walkers that were walking away from them. She closed the door shut, knowing that once Carl pulled the trigger, all of the walkers would come piling back toward them.

Just as Maggie closed the door, a loud gunshot that was louder than normal pierced through the air. Goosebumps appeared on Kloe's skin as she held the baby closer to her. The baby was the last thing they had of Lori left.

Lori was gone.

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words: 4623
11th august 2022
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LONG CHAPTER I KNOW BUT MY EYES WERE TEARING UP AT LORI'S DEATH. it's so sad man :(
also new character! jayce bryant is played by bob morley!