298 Days In

The shutter clattered on its tracks as Farley hefted it upward. The orange glow of sunset cast dim beams of light through the now open garage door, and dust particles flittered around in the air as the large garage's musty, aged air rushed past them. Behind him, Conner jumped through the opening with his M4 raised high, scanning for potential threats. With a soft click, the flashlight mounted on Conner's weapon sprung to life, illuminating even the farthest, darkest corners of the building. From behind him, a firm voice pierced the relatively silent area. "Did we hit the jackpot?"

Conner held his position just inside the garage doors while Farley turned to the voice's owner. Standing six feet tall in his dirt crusted plaid shirt and torn blue jeans, Tanner very much looked like a weary survivor. Of course he probably didn't look much better in his faded, wrinkled National Guard uniform complete with greasy beard. "Not yet, boss," he whispered. "You and me can stay out here and hold down the fort. Conner and Jennifer can search the joint. He'll know what to look for." Turning to his friend, and fellow former soldier, Farley gave Conner's rucksack a small, but noticeable, yank. "Get the lead out, Smiley," he joked. "I know you've just been waiting for a chance to relive the glorious life we once knew as members of the United States Armed Forces."

Conner merely grunted a subdued affirmative and took point. From the entrance to the empty garage, Farley called out to them. "Be back in twenty minutes, or we leave without you."

Jennifer snorted. "Alright mom, we won't cross the street either."

Farley extended his middle finger. "Fuck you too. Oh, and any white powder you see in there is probably highly explosive. I know you're nostalgic for your days of raiding the evidence locker back at the precinct, but I'm warning you for your own good."

"Thanks Farley. I'm so glad you care," she retorted sarcastically. And with that, Conner and Jennifer disappeared through a small, cracked door leading into the outfitting area. Striding up next to him, Tanner held his hunting rifle at his side in his right hand.

"You and Jen have really been going at it lately. 'Raiding the evidence locker'? That's new." He sighed and looked around, though he wasn't very concerned with any potential threats. Farley readied his M4 and began pacing a patrol pattern around what had once been a National Guard motor pool, now devoid of working vehicles. Hopefully, there was still ammo around here. He and Conner were running low.

"She's a bitch, Tanner. Just because she used to be a cop doesn't mean she can look down on us the way she does."

Before the outbreak, and even during the early weeks, Jennifer had been a police officer in the city of Athens, Georgia. As far as any of them knew she was the only member of her police unit to make it out of the city alive after it fell to the undead. She and Riley had encountered Beth, Alex, Bradley, and Melissa on their way to Atlanta, where they took in Conner and Farley. It had been a few months until Tanner had joined them, when they finally peaked in number. That was, until the incident with Bradley.

"She doesn't. You're just angry that she and Riley are using up the group's sarcasm before you can." Farley just shrugged, continuing his patrol pattern. "Hey, can I ask you something about Conner?" Tanner hesitantly ventured.

"Shoot. But I'm almost out of ammo, so it won't be a fair fight."

"Ha ha," his leader said flatly. "Anyway, was he always like this? Was he always so-"

"Happy? Optimistic? Outgoing?"

"Don't joke. He's your friend. You're the only one he ever really speaks to on the rare occasion he actually speaks."

"Check this out, man." Perturbed, Tanner paced over to Farley who was standing next to a massive cargo truck with a covered bed. The rear was empty, save for dust and an empty bird's next, but the driver still sat behind the wheel in the front seat. Blood was spattered all over the windshield from the inside, and the soldier was lying against the wheel with his sidearm still clutched in his skeletal hand. Tanner looked away. "Must have shot himself when everything went down," Farley mused. "Then there's this guy," he said, walking the perimeter of the truck to the other side.

Tanner was growing impatient. "Why did you want me to see this?"

"I dunno, to contemplate the moment with me? I feel it really speaks a lot about the world and our place in it, especially nowadays."

Under one of the gargantuan tires situated in the front of the truck was the remains of another soldier. Unlike the former driver of the vehicle, this one was very much mobile. The tire was crushing the creature's chest to the ground, leaving it unable to move from its spot as it thrashed around and reached for the two men just out of range of its clammy, bony fingers. "Gee, thanks for the image Farley. I really needed that boost today."

"It's what I'm here for. Wait a minute…"

Tanner almost at his limit. "What is it now? Is he a friend of yours?"

"Actually yes, he is." Farley poked at the collar of the beast's uniform, indicating two black bars side by side. "I can't believe it, but this guy used to be our CO."

"That's crap, Farley. What are the odds of running into him like this?"

"I have no idea," Farley admitted, almost at a loss for words. "This asshole used to be Captain Jonas, the commander of our company. He never liked me. He was always complaining about my cigarettes, saying that 'No man in this company is gonna give himself to cancer,' even when we got called up at the beginning of this whole mess. As if I have to worry about dying of that these days. Prick. Speaking of, you wouldn't happen to have any smokes, would you?"

"You still haven't answered my question," Tanner stated, avoiding Farley's own. He only had one left, his favorite brand, Red & Gold. Leading Farley back to the garage, Tanner crossed his arms with a look of consternation about his face.

Farley sighed. "It's a long story. You remember that I said we lost our squad in Macon during the first week?" Tanner nodded. "Beth and I never said anything, but when she found us outside Atlanta Conner was in the middle of a meltdown. A big one. He saw the city was overrun, and he just… snapped, I guess."

"Is he gonna be alright?"

"He used to be a normal guy, you know? He'd talk with people and joke around, and we even watched movies on the weekends together, when we weren't training with the Guard. Hell, I was going to marry his sister once we were discharged." Solemnly, Farley shook his head. "It changed him. I thought he'd move past it, but he hasn't. Now he just closes himself off to most people, except me and Beth. On some days, he won't even talk to us. If things get any worse, well… I think he might lose it if he doesn't manage to come back from this."

"Is it really that bad?"

Farley was silent for several seconds. "Maybe."

Now Tanner was concerned. "Does he have a history of...this? Should we do anyth-"

"We've hit pay dirt!" Jennifer shouted from the back of the garage. Triumphantly, she strode outside, blonde ponytail bouncing gently on the back of her head. Her expression of victory belied her stained and frayed dark blue hunting vest, and as always Farley spied the upper portion of a police badge sticking out of the coat's front pocket. Behind her, he saw Conner struggling to walk normally, despite being weighed down by his now enormous rucksack. "Mr. Comedian and I found an armory back there. Most of it was looted, but there were two entire cases of ammo for your M4s." Behind her, Conner was still attempting to stay upright. Conner waved Tanner away, but the group leader insisted on easing the soldier's burden and began shoving M4 Carbine magazines into his own pack. Farley cocked an eyebrow at Jennifer, but she shrugged. "He insisted on carrying it. Really."

"Uh huh."

"I'm serious. It was very chivalrous of him. You could learn a thing or-" She stopped suddenly, giving a mock gasp and putting her hand in front of her mouth in a show of false embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that you can't. My mistake."

"Guys, we're leaving." Sternly, Tanner pointed out toward the western edge of the fence where the four of them could see a growing mass of undead congregating. Around a dozen were pushing themselves up against the metal links in the distance and a few more could be seen faintly wandering in their direction from farther out. The walkers kept their milky white eyes trained on the survivors as they attempted, in vain, to topple the barrier and make their way inside. "Now."

Conner brushed between the two and jerked his head toward the gates of the abandoned National Guard outpost, motioning for them to get moving. Jennifer walked with him as he continued on, and the two were followed closely by Tanner, his own pack now full of much of Conner's ammunition. Clenching his fists, Farley glared at the woman. "Well, fuck you too!" he called, before running forward to join them again.

At the fence, the undead tracked their progress and began their slow shuffle to the forest. By the time they reached the tree line they had already forgotten what they were chasing. The sound of a bird chirping nearby drew their attention away from the forest and in search of the newest breach in the forest's quilt of solitude.