Guts
I sat on a log, after losing this deer I've been trying to heard closer to camp. No way am I dragging that thing miles through these woods without help. So if I can get it closer then it won't be a problem and we could all have venison for once.
He loves me; I couldn't stop thinking of what Glenn had said. It must've been a mistake, all my life I'd been told I was unlovable. So the fact that this, one kid, that I've pretty much treated like shit, unless we were alone that is, loved me seemed impossible. It had to be a trick. The more I thought about it the madder I got; it's these thoughts that made me loose the deer in the first place.
So, I was blaming Glenn for losing the deer, and my bad mood and then I convinced myself that he didn't really love me, he was just trying to make me drop my guard, he was trying to trick me. Which wasn't going to happen, Merle and I are going through with the plan once he gets back. We're going to take what we need and leave; I don't need anyone else but Merle.
With that decided I got up from the log, steadied my cross bow and headed off to find that deer, then get it back to camp.
"Hey, you alive in there?" I asked, after a few minutes from my last try, I waited for a response hoping I had the right frequency. I was relieved to hear his voice on the other end when he finally picked up.
"Hello? Hello?" He sounded breathy and panicked which is understandable considering what just happened. I was still watching the tank from my perch on the roof.
"There you are, you had me wondering." For a second before he'd answered I thought maybe I'd been wrong, he had been bit and was dead or something.
"Where are you, outside, can you see me right now?" The questions rattled off, I felt sorry for the guy, he was alone in a tank surrounded by walkers, and it was obvious he was clutching to my voice like a life line. Which is how I'd probably feel if I'd been in his situation.
"Yeah, I can see you." I wanted him to know that he wasn't alone; I was going to help him out of that tank and somewhere safer then where he was at that moment. "You're surrounded by walkers, that's the bad news."
"There's good news?" He asked me, I had wanted to give him hope but I couldn't lie to the guy, he needed to trust me if I was going to save his life.
"No." I hated saying that, I was technically telling him that he was screwed six ways from Sunday.
"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here." He didn't have to tell me I could hear it in his voice. But it wasn't any better on my side of things, watching hundreds of walkers go after that horse, it was a feeding frenzy and frankly that did not help the nausea that's been building since this morning.
"Oh man, you should see it from over here; you'd be having a major freak-out." Like I'm trying not to have. I left that part out.
"Got any advice for me?" Most advice these days is don't die, but I guess that's a moot point. So I told him the only thing that came to mind.
"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it." He had fifty-fifty odds here, so he might make it. With them going at the horse like they were it would give him a leg up.
"That's it? 'Make a run for it'?" I could hear the skepticism in his voice. I got a little closer to the edge of the roof; I was in front of the fire escape to the ally.
"My way's not as dumb as it sounds, you've got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still up on the tank but the others have climbed down, and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down. With me so far?" I quickly rattled off what I could see so he could make his escape.
"So far." The doubt has left his voice so it sounds like he's listening.
"Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now while they're distracted, you'd stand a chance." I informed him, I'd hate to see this guy end up as walker food so I hopped he was fast. "Got ammo?" I asked as an afterthought. Seeing as that would help in his escape.
"In that duffel bag I dropped out there, and guns. Can I get to it?" So that's what was sticking out of the bag I saw. Man that really sucks. It was surrounded by walkers.
"Forget the bag, okay? It's not an option, what do you have on you?"
"Hang on." Yeah, easier for me then you pal. I thought to myself, once those walkers are finished with that horse he'll never get away, he'd better hurry. I was slightly anxious which didn't help my stomach any as the need to throw up grew. I must have a bug or something, the last time I was sick from the walkers was when I first got attacked. I was in shock and threw up after throwing the guy onto a picketed fence and he still tried to eat him. I ran after that, just leaving him there, I've been fine ever since. Until now that is, his voice was back, bringing me out of my reverie.
"I've got a Beretta with one clip, 15 rounds." What could I say to that?
"Make 'em count." I hoped that the walkers would be too distracted with the horse to pay attention to any other sounds. "Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe 50 yards, be there."
"Hey, what's your name?" He wants my name; he needs to start running now.
"Have you been listening? You're running out of time." Maybe the shock of what's happened is getting to him and he's not able to pay attention, that the situation is bad.
"Right." Good I hope he's moving. I store the walkie in the tan pack on my back then I head down the fire escape to meet up with him, and then we'll head back to the store where the rest are waiting.
As I rush to meet him I hear gun shots being fired, that has to be a good sign. At least the guys alive and moving. I get to the fence and open it he aims his gun at me I start backing up as I shout out. "Whoa! Not Dead! Come on, come on." With my hands and body in a follow me jester as I head back the way I'd come, the guy who looks a little worse for wear right behind me.
"Back here!" I am scared out of my mind as I keep moving, a part of me just wants to run all out and not stop until I feel safe but I know I must stay calm and get this guy to the others so we can all get out of here. I keep waving and repeating him to follow me. I get to the escape ladder I'd used and head up. I'll have to remember to get this guy's name if we live through this.
One thought keeps going through my head as the adrenaline pushes me onward, is that I hope to live to see Daryl again, even though I know he may not want to see me or have anything to do with me after what happened but I just want to see him and let him know that I do love and care for him.
I heard him shoot again I look down real quick and ask/scream at him. "What are you doing?! Come on!" I can't believe he paused to shoot some more, at this point he might get the idea that that's just wasting bullets and precious time he doesn't have.
I get to the cat walk and turn to give him a hand, I take in his clothes and realize that at some point before all this he'd been a cop, a sheriff deputy by what's on the badge, or he stole a guy's clothes but I don't think so with the way he's wearing that badge.
Once up we take a breather I lean against the rail looking down thanking God once again that Geeks are too stupid to climb, trying to get out breath back, though I'm not as out of breath as I'd expect. As the adrenalin starts to come down I realize just how sick to my stomach I feel, it's even worse now that I'm closer to the smell, it takes a few seconds of swallowing to get it under control.
Then I look at him, I can't help myself. "Nice moves there Clint Eastwood, you the new sheriff come riding into clean up the town?" Ask anyone I'm a smart ass; I swear that's how it looked.
"It wasn't my intention." He tells me, I'm sure it wasn't, it was just a real stupid move.
"Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw, you're still a dumbass." I reaffirm my pack on my back for a moment.
"Rick, thanks." That's introduction, so the guy's name is Rick and he's thanking me, that, was unexpected, he holds his hand out there waiting.
Might as well, "Glenn, you're welcome." I shake his hand, then he puts his gun in my pack before going to the ladder, looks like their trying to figure out the whole climbing thing.
"Oh no." I see one starting to climb up. It's time to go, I grab onto the ladder and look up, it's a long way up, I turn to Rick. "The Brightside, it'll be the fall that kills us; I'm a glass half full kind of guy." I start heading up, Rick right behind me.
We go through a door once on the roof and across a small section put there to connect the buildings and up onto another roof. As he asks "Are you the one that barricaded the alley?"
"Somebody did—I guess when the city got overrun." Yeah that barricade was here when I arrived, I've wondered about it myself. "Whoever did it was thinking not many Geeks would get through." I run across the building to a hatch so we can go down without the fear of getting eaten.
"Back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for me?" Good question, I only had one answer for that.
"Call it foolish naïve hope, that if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me." Yep defiantly naïve, how many guys would be dumb enough to stick through necks out there for a complete stranger. Rick got lucky, I'm that dumb, and I tell him so. "Guess I'm an even bigger dumbass than you."
We head down, Rick shutting the hatch. I get on the ground and readjust my pack on my right shoulder after it started to slip off. Then head through the building, looks like an office type of some sort. I open the door and headed down the stairs that had been a fire escape.
I bring out my walkie and start talking to the guys waiting for me to return. "I'm back, got a guest plus four Geeks in the alley." We get down the stairs and there are the Geeks I mentioned, right in the way of where the door to where the others are. I stop short upon seeing them head our way.
We slowly back up, when the door opens and two of my friends come out wielding bats. And protective gear over the legs, arms, chests, and faces. I couldn't tell who it was, but it didn't really matter as long as the Geeks get taken out and we get inside.
As they pummeled the Geeks I shout to Rick, "Let's go!" As we ran past them into the building that was our safe haven at that time.
Heard one sounded like T-Dog say "Morales let's go!" Then followed us in closing the door behind them.
Andrea and Jacqui were waiting inside; once the door was closed Andrea pushed Rick against one of the shelves her gun pointed in his face. "You son of a bitch we ought to kill you." Andrea threated, she was pissed and probably scared just hiding it through her anger. That's okay I'm scared myself but killing the guy we just saved won't solve the problem.
Jacqui was leaning against more shelves as this room seemed to be where they stored stuff they were going to sell, Morales was taking off the protective gear, as T-dog secured the door, I dropped my pack once the door was locked.
"Just chill out, Andrea, back off." Morales said, trying to defuse the tense situation.
Jacqui was now next to her as well. "Come on, ease up." Jacqui's like that, she's nice and kind and tries to help everyone.
Andrea looked at her like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole."
Morales got right next to her, he must have noticed that at any moment she was liable to pull the trigger. "Andrea, I said back the hell off."
Rick surprisingly enough was calmer than most in his current position. I knew I'd be freaking out, though maybe he just had a good poker face. Morales finally said what she probably wanted to hear as we waited and she had yet to move. "Well, pull the trigger."
She finally dropped her arm and said what she'd been feeling; "We're dead, all of us, because of you."
Rick looked at us, as he was calming down from the adrenaline rush, we all were trying to get our bodies under control. "I don't understand." He told us.
Morales stepped up and grabbed Rick's arm heading out of the storage room. "Look, we came into the city to scavenge supplies." Morales started to explain on the way. "You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving." Morales pushed Rick in front as the rest of us followed him, I brought up the rear after Jacqui. Morales continued with his lecture to Rick. "You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral." Morales had a good point there.
We got to the front room where the windows were and it was easier to see outside, that was part of the problem with our fear at the moment, we could see them, as Rick looked out Morales said the part that was crucial to this whole situation. "Every Geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds."
Andrea spoke and it sank in for Rick. "You just rang the dinner bell." You could hear the Geeks, smell the decomposed flesh and it made my skin crawl, not to mention the nausea I'd felt earlier was coming back with a vengeance.
"Get the picture now?" Morales finished up, as realization dawned in Rick's eyes. The dead were trying to get in, breaking at the first set of glass doors that protected us from them with a rock and their fists and unlike them, we get tired, we have to sleep, they don't.
We started to back up as T-dog spoke the unspoken for us all. "Oh God." The glass is breaking and the fear from earlier was coming back as well, I realized I needed a bucket but swallowed compulsively which helped a little.
Andrea asked what I myself had been thinking. "What the hell were you doing out there anyway?"
"Trying to flag the helicopter." Was Rick's answer. I thought the man was nuts, later on I'd find out he wasn't, at that point there wasn't anyone, but there were men in helicopters looking for survivors, but that's later in our story.
"Helicopter? Man, that's crap, ain't no damn helicopter." T-Dog said in disbelief.
"You were chasing a hallucination, imagining things, it happens." Jacqui told him calmly.
"I saw it." He said, believing that what he'd seen had been real.
T-Dog must've found a C.B radio while I'd been out as Morales said. "Hey, T-Dog try that C.B, can you contact the others?"
Rick picked up on that. "Others? The refugee center?" He asked. I hated that all we were giving this guy was bad news.
"Yeah, the refugee center. They've got biscuits waiting at the oven for us." Jacqui said sarcastically, it appears her patients with Rick were starting to run thin. Did this guy know anything, all his actions tell of either naivety at the situation or stupidity.
"Got no signal, maybe the roof." T-Dog said, speaking about the C.B, it appeared that the radio can be rather finicky at times
Then a gun shot went off, that could only mean trouble, more importantly the sound came from above us, and there was only one other person that had tagged along and wasn't with us at the moment. Andrea said what we were all thinking. "Oh no, is that Dixon?"
"What is that maniac doing?" I asked, I can't stand that guy, even though I am completely in love with his brother.
"Come on, let's go." I heard someone say, a bunch of voices were speaking so I couldn't pin point it, at the time it didn't really matter as we all headed up to the roof.
Two more shots went off before we made it to the roof, we'd rushed up the stairs Morales getting there first with a shout at the man. "Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?!" Merle just laughed. Which might have answered Morales' question. He kept shooting, I knew bringing him along was a bad idea.
He finally turned with the gun, a riffle in his hand. "Hey! Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun!" He sounded just like any other loud mouthed red neck that treated me like shit; I should know my parents lived next to one for years
He got off the ledge of the building as he came towards us. All I wanted was for everyone to calm down, Dixon to put down the gun and to throw up, which now I was finding difficult to do, I was nauseous yes, but I didn't feel the need to go vomit. I just wished I did.
"Huh?" Dixon asked as he'd been waiting for a response. "Only common sense."
T-Dog made a mistake as he went over to him yelling at the man which never helps. "Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got!" Dixon just laughs, I hate his laugh. T-Dog continued. "And your bringing even more of them down on our ass! Man, just chill."
That started Merle's raciest remarks. "Bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day. Now I'm gonna take orders from you?" It was more of a rhetorical question. He answered it for us anyways. "I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day."
T-Dog should've let it go, but he had to fuel the flames some more. "'That'll be the day'? You got something you want to tell me?" He asked after quoting Merle.
Morales tried to stop it, "Hey, T-Dog man just leave it." He must've seen where this was headed too, nowhere good that's for sure.
"No." T-Dog told Morales.
"It ain't worth it." He told T-Dog, and Morales' was right, Merle isn't worth it. "Now Merle, just relax okay?" He continued.
I of course had to say something as well hoping it'd calm things down. "We've got enough trouble." Trying to remind them that the fights with the dead not with each other.
"You want to know the day?" Merle asked.
"Yeah." T-Dog answered, I wish T-Dog had just left it alone.
"I'll tell you the day, Mr. 'Yo'." Merle said mocking T-Dog. "It's the day I take orders from a nigger." Of course that pissed T-Dog off and he threw a right hook at Merle who easily countered it with the butt of the riffle he'd still been holding. Then Rick headed over telling them to knock it off as the girls were telling them to stop as well.
Merle hit Rick, knocking him down, then turned and kicked T-Dog in the stomach. I couldn't take it anymore, I turned then got on my knees and vomited, the fighting continued on behind me. I turned back just as Merle put a handgun in T-Dog's face who was now on the ground with Merle straddling him. Fear shot through me, as I stood, was he really going to do it, shoot T-Dog.
Andrea was begging him not to do it, T-Dog was whimpering in pain, I was feeling sick again and Merle just looked at us, as if daring us to say or do something.
Merle spat on him, and then slowly started to stand up as he said. "We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge." T-Dog started to roll over, Andrea, Jacqui and I grabbed him to help him up as Merle kept talking. "I vote me, anybody else? Huh? Democracy time, y'all." He just stood there with the gun waiting for anyone to go against him, give him a reason to pull that trigger.
He started to ask for votes, a show of hands who was in favor of him in charge, of course his hand went up, Morales shortly followed, I don't blame him, mine went up, then Jacqui's, Andreas. T-Dog was still on the ground supported by Jacqui as he held his side. "Yeah that's good. Now that means I'm the boss, right? Anybody else?"
During all this no one myself included seemed to have noticed Rick as he spoke up. "Yeah." He hit Merle in the mouth with the same gun that Merle had hit T-Dog with. Then he took out his cuffs after Merle had gone down and put it on his right wrist, then a small piece of pipe on the roof.
He pulled Merle up till his back was again the tube that had been on the roof and had the pipe connected to it. "Who the hell are you, man?!" Merle asked hastily.
"Officer friendly." He turned and grabbed the gun that had fallen from Merle's hand when he'd been hit. He took out the bullet in the chamber as he spoke. "Look here Merle, things are different now. There are no Niggers anymore, no dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meant and white meat, there's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."
Merle turned to him. "Screw you, man." Merles one of those that won't change his ways no matter how different the times become.
"I can see you make a habit of missing the point."
"Yeah? Well, screw you twice."
"Ought to be polite to a man with a gun." Rick threw Merle's words back at him as he cocked the gun and put it to Merle's temple. "Only common sense."
The rest of us were waiting for it to end, Jacqui was using T-Dog's bandana to stop the bleeding from his lip.
"You wouldn't, you're a cop." Merle said, not believing that Rick would pull the trigger.
"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son." Rick is capable of doing it, just like any of us are if it comes down to it to protect ourselves and loved ones. "Anybody that gets in the way of that is gonna lose, I'll give you a moment to think about that." He pats Merle down and pulls out a small vile with some white powder in it, might be cocaine. "Got some one your nose there." Rick tells him as he flicks his nose, then stands up.
"What are you gonna do? Arrest me." Merle says as he laughs. "Hey! What are you doing? Man that was my stuff!" Merle yelled as Rick threw it over the roof to the Walkers below, the rest of us just watched, Andrea was still taking care of T-Dog. In those moments I din't once regret risking my life to save Rick's, it's paid off.
As Rick walked away Merle started to threaten what he'd do to Rick if he gets free of the cuffs keeping him prisoner on the roof, he just kept tossing out insults and other things I've chosen to forget.
Rick had walked to the edge of the roof, Morales went to talk to him, I was too far away to hear what they were saying. But I did hear thunder rumbling, it would be raining soon.
Jacqui and Andrea were at one of the other ledges as I sat on some metal stairs that attach to the walkway over the pipes that Merle is currently cuffed to, it helped with the nausea to be off my feet. "God it's like times square down there." Andrea commented as she looked at the Geeks down below.
Rick and Morales walked back, I was trying to get my walkie to work, T-Dog is sitting against the ledge next to where Jacqui's standing and working on his walkie, I can hear static coming from it. "How's that signal?" Morales asked as he walked up to them.
"Like Dixon's brain, weak." T-Dog answered.
"Keep Trying." Morales told him.
"Why there's nothing they can do, not a damn thing." Andrea said.
Morales looked at Rick and explained. "Got some people outside the city is all, there's no refugee center that's a pipe dream."
"Then she's right we're on our own." Rick said. "It's up to use to find a way out."
"Good luck with that, these streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear." Merle put his two cents in. "Ain't that right sugar tits?" He asked Andrea, who had moved from the ledge to a red pack lying on the roof closer to Merle. I hated the way Merle talked to or treated Andrea. "Hey, honeybunch, what say you get me out of these cuffs, we go off somewhere and bump some uglies?" Andrea while trying to ignore him was cleaning her hands with a small handkerchief and then put it back in the bag. "Gonna die anyway."
Andrea finally spoke. "I'd rather." She got up and started to walk away.
"Rug muncher I figured as much." Merle disgusts me as I looked down at my walkie in my hands and just sat there.
"The streets ain't safe." Rick said.
Morales was still next to him. "Now there's an understatement." He said.
"What about under the streets? The sewers?"
"Oh man." Morales turned around then and spoke to me. "Hey Glenn check the alley. You see any manhole covers?" He asked as I stood up and looked over the edge to see, I saw a couple of walkers no manholes.
"No, must be all out in the streets where the Geeks are." I told 'em.
"Maybe not, old building like this built in the '20s, big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding down in the subbasements." Jacqui explained.
"How do you know that?" I asked.
"It's my job—was. I worked in the city zoning office."
So we all headed down to the basement, everyone following me, we'd gotten flashlights so we could see better in the darkness of the basement, except Merle or T-Dog, he was still hurting and decided to keep an eye on Merle.
We found a place that goes right down into the sewers. "This is it? Are you sure?" Rick asked me.
"I really scoped this place out the other times I was here, it's the only thing in the building that goes down." I explained. "But I've never gone down it, who'd want to right?" They looked at me, so maybe I was a little bit of a coward, the things I've seen it's reasonable. It was clear from the looks on their faces that it was time to head on down. "Oh, great."
"We'll be right behind you." Andrea told me.
"No you won't, not you." I informed her.
"Why not me? Think I can't?" This wasn't about her.
"I wasn't-" I paused.
Rick was next to me he put a reassuring hand on my arm and said. "Speak your mind."
"Look, until now I always came here by myself, in and out grab a few things no problem. The First time I bring a group everything goes to hell. No offense." I didn't say it to upset them but they needed to know how it was. I continued. "If you want me to go down this gnarly hole, fine, but only if we do it my way. It's tight down there, if I run into something and have to get out quick. I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed. I'll take one person." Rick started to move, I stopped him. "Not you either. You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were out in that store watching those doors covering our ass."
I pointed to Andrea then. "And you've got the only other gun so you should go with him." Pointing to Morales I said. "You be my wingman, Jacqui stays here. Something happens yell down to us get us back up here in a hurry."
Jacqui nodded with a quick. "Okay."
"Okay, everybody knows their jobs." Rick said after I told them what to do.
I put the end of the small black flashlight I'd been holding between my teeth, grabbed the top to the ladder after turning around and headed into the great dark unknown. My heart was hammering and for a second I felt dizzy and light headed as I slowly made my way stopping as my feet landed on the ground. I moved away then waited for Morales.
I looked down the tunnel flashlight back in hand, taking a deep calming breath, I looked back up and saw Andrea and Rick go off to do their parts. Morales turned to me and waited for me to take the lead and head into the tunnel. I could hear rats squeaking and as I walked water was splashing, the last thing I want is to run into a Geek down in these tunnels. But with no other choice we went on ahead to find us an exit.
I must have stepped on a rat's tail 'cause it screeched and I jumped slightly, I hate that, I hate rats and I hate walking into the dark. I kept moving forward. My nausea coming back full force, we kept moving.
After about ten maybe fifteen minutes walking we found a grate. "Yeah, we've got ourselves a sewer tunnel." Morales said. The problem would be that iron grate baring our access to the sewer. "Jacqui was right." Morales continued as we walked up closer to get a better look.
"Can we cut through it?" I asked.
"If we had a blowtorch and half a day, sure. Dale's hacksaw sure as hell won't do it." We shined our flashlights at the top and it was cemented into the walls. A noise caught are attention and we looked down and saw a Geek eating a Rat, I freaked as it reached through the bars, we backed away and started heading back, a few minutes everything caught up to me and my stomach revolted. I told him to wait as I went to one of the walls and threw up. Morales laid a hand on my back. "You did the same thing on the roof, are you okay Glenn?" he asked.
I just nodded as I spit a few times, then stood up. "It's probably just a bug, I'll be fine." I told him, then we headed back to the rest, let them know that this is not our way out. I thought sarcastically how they'd just love to hear that.
As we reached the ladder and climbed to the top we heard glass shatter upstairs. Jacqui, Morales and I all ran to the store front. We saw they'd broken through the first glass between us and them, then started working on banging on the only glass protecting us from them.
Rick turned slightly to Morales, while still keeping his eyes on the walkers. "What did you find down there?" He asked.
"Not a way out." Morales answered.
"We need to find a way." Andrea said, speaking what was on all our minds I'm sure. "And soon."
We went back up to the roof, after Rick grabbed a pair of binoculars he saw on display. I kept the walkie in hand, I'm not sure why I just felt safer with it then without. We watched the walkers below on the streets and Rick used the binoculars to find us a way out. He must've seen something as he moved it away from his eyes then spoke. "That construction site, those trucks they always keep keys on hand." Rick said as he passed the binoculars to Morales. Morales double checked the site that was a good ways down the road from our current location.
"You'll never make it past the walkers." Morales told him. I hoped he was wrong it was our last chance.
Rick looked to me then. "You got me out of that tank."
"Yeah, but they were feeding, they were distracted." I told him.
"Can we distract them again?" Rick asked. Jacqui and Morales were leaning against the edge and Rick was looking at me, Andrea standing next to him, Merle was still cuffed behind me and T-Dog was still sitting watching us discuss this.
Merle spoke up. "Right, listen to him he's onto something." He pointed to me as I looked at him. "A diversion like on 'Hogan's Heroes.'"
"God, give it a rest." Jacqui said looking disgustedly at Merle.
Rick got us back on topic. "They're drawn by sound, right?"
"Right, like dogs they hear a sound, they come." I answered his question.
"What else?" Rick asked.
Morales answered this time. "Aside from they hear you? They see you, smell you and if they catch you, they eat you."
Something in that caught Rick's attention. "They can tell us by smell?"
"Can't you?" I asked
"They smell dead we don't it's pretty distinct." Andrea informed him.
"Then let's smell dead." Rick said then headed downstairs, Jacqui, Morales, Andrea, T-Dog and I followed. Rick started to grab things he saw that would cover our skin, rubber gloves, tan coats.
Rick told us his plan on the way down and as he grabbed the stuff I had to say something, voice my emotions on this one. "If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold."
"He's right." Morales agreed. He walked over to Rick as he continued to gather things. "Just stop, okay? Take sometime to think this through." Morales tried to get Rick to calm down and think.
Rick turned to us as he said. "How much time? They already got through one set of doors that glass won't hold forever." Rick reminded us as he threw a coat at me.
We got back to the door that had gotten Rick and me into the building just a few hours ago. Rick and Morales once wearing the gloves and coats ran out to grab one of the bashed up walkers from earlier, while Andrea and I who was also wearing gloves and a coat watched their backs. I wasn't sure if my stomach would be able to handle this.
Once they passed us and Andrea was inside with them I closed the door securing it. Rick sighed as he put the visor down on his protective hat to keep his face safe from any blood spatter. Now after breaking the case with an axe in it he was ready to go to work on this very dead walker. I felt sick from the stench and we hadn't even done anything with it yet.
We were all now wearing gloves and coats to help protect our bodies. Rick raised the axe, but stopped before swinging down, he put the axe and protective hat on the ground. He kneeled down next to the guy and started riffling his pockets. I was confused at what he was doing. He pulled out the man's wallet and it started to click, he wanted to know who we were about to gut.
"Wayne Dunlap." Rick read the license. "Georgia license, born in 1979." He took it out and handed it to me; I looked at it feeling a sort of sadness. Rick continued. "He had $28 in his pocket when he died, and a picture of a pretty girl." He flipped the picture and read what was on the back. "With love from Rachel." Rick then looked at us. "He used to be like us, worrying about bills, or the rent, or the super bowl. If I ever find my family I'm gonna tell them about Wayne." He put the guy's wallet back in his pants and then grabbed the helmet putting it back on.
I spoke up then. "One more thing, he was an organ donor." I'd seen it on his license. It must've helped as Rick picked up the axe, raised it then brought it down on Wayne. Andrea couldn't look as she turned way. Morales prayed, while I tried to keep whatever was left in my stomach in there. But the smell had gone up from bad to almost unbearable. Rick continued to hack his legs, arms, and torso till he was open and cuts hanging out. I wanted to look away but was compelled to watch.
Rick stopped and passed the axe and visor to Morales telling him to keep chopping. I couldn't stop from groaning, I felt so sick. I even spoke at this point. "I am so gonna hurl." Rick told me later, I knew he was right, now wasn't the time.
After a few more chops from Morales Rick asked. "Everybody got gloves? Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes." He told us. We realized it was time to dig into the guy. So with grim determination we started. Rick started to cover himself with the guy's insides, I followed suit knowing I was the best for his back up.
I hated it, as intestines were being put on me. "Oh, jeeze. Oh, this is bad." I moaned.
Rick tried to help. "Think about something else, puppies and kittens."
What T-Dog said next broke my will to not let my stomach go. "Dead puppies and kittens." That was it; I bent over away from the body and vomited the worse yet.
I heard Andrea speak to T-Dog. "That is just evil, what is wrong with you?"
Jacqui spoke to, I think it was to Rick I was too busy with my head down throwing up to really see, but my ears still worked. "Next time let the cracker beat his ass."
I had finished and was starting to get up when T-Dog said. "I'm sorry, yo."
I told him what I thought of him in the moment of throwing up. "You suck." Andrea was finishing me up with the guts.
Rick asked. "Do we smell like them?"
Andrea answered with a look on her face that was a clear yes before she spoke. "Oh yeah. Glenn." I looked at her as she handed me her gun. "Just in case." She moved part of the coat and put the gun in my pants.
"If we make it back be ready." Rick told them. I hated that word, if. It's been slowly becoming my new most hated word in the English language.
"What about Merle Dixon?" T-Dog asked.
Rick took off his left glove, reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to the cuffs. I knew we couldn't leave him, I'm having enough trouble with Daryl with him around, and I'd hate to see what Daryl would do or say if we left his brother behind, dick or not he doesn't deserve to die like that. Rick tossed T-Dog the key; clearly it was now T-Dog's responsibility.
"Give me the axe." He put the glove back on; then took the axe from Morales. "We need…We need more guts." We all groaned as he started chopping again.
I sometimes wish I could forget what went down that day, just block out the sights and smells and sounds but I can't, and looking back now I realize that I really don't want to. If I'd known then what would be changing my life several months down the road I'd probably taken a different course of action. Anyways.
So after we were finished covering our bodies in walker guts it was time to leave the building and go out there putting this plan into action. Walking out the door, with feet, hands and ribs hanging from our necks, covered in dead blood we reeked and luckily my stomach had calmed down somewhat for the first time that day.
We started our slow trek to the construction site, I heard Morales close the door shortly after we headed down. The thing that kept repeating in my head as we walked was to not get eaten, to make it through this in one piece and for my heart to stop pounding in my chest.
Rick had taken the axe and I'd grabbed a crow bar just in case they realized we weren't one of them. But we soon found that it was working. We couldn't go fast that would tip them off for sure.
We slowly walked to the end of the ally where a bus was parked. Rick and I got down on our hands and knees, then further on our bellies and crawled to the other side. I wasn't sure if it was the adrenalin or I just worked the bug out of my system but the nausea was gone by then. Getting up I looked and saw the words Metro Local on the side of the bus, I think it was a tour bus we'd just crawled under.
Focus, I told myself as we started again to the construction site and the walkers around us, just kept going not paying any mind to us. The thunder from earlier was getting louder, I had a bad feeling about that.
We just continued to walk; I tried to keep my mind blank, to not think about me possibly getting eaten. My mind started to wonder back to Daryl and yesterday's activities. Again I wished I'd kept my big mouth shut, I just wanted to see him again, tell him that I'm sorry and that I can't take back what I feel for him.
About half way to the site I spoke with my teeth clinched. "It's gonna work I can't believe it."
"Don't draw attention." Rick told him. Yeah, like I'm a complete idiot.
I growled after one of the walkers got to close it drew it away from me. The thunder was getting closer and becoming a continues rolling sound. Then what I'd been praying wouldn't happen, happened. It started to rain, we didn't stop walking though.
The blood was starting to wash away, if too much goes and they smell we're not dead, we are so dead meat. A couple of walkers were looking at us, oh no, I thought it's not working any more. I looked around and saw more staring at us and making noises of interest I'm guessing.
"The smells washing off it's it?" I asked. "Is it washing off?"
"No, it's not." Rick said, I think he said that to keep me calm, I had heard panic in my voice I'm sure he defiantly did. A walker looked at him, followed him, like the ones behind us. "Well, maybe." He admitted. I didn't want to hear that. One of them finally opened it's mouth and started to attack Rick lifted the axe and brought it down on his head splitting it. Rick then shouted an order I was happy to follow. "Run!"
We ran the walkers behind and in front coming at us. While Rick took them out with his axe. I hit them in the head with the crow bar I'd had a firm grip on. We finally made it to the fence of the construction site.
I saw the axe fly over the fence as I grabbed the top of it and using my feet practically jumped over the fence. I was in impressed and amazed at myself with how easy that was. I turned and helped Rick over then. My heart was pounding and the adrenalin was pumping and my head was hurting as my eyes wouldn't focus when the world decided it wanted to spin in front of me. Rick helped steady me for a sec then we got back into action.
We took off the coats and gloves that were no longer helping, as we ran from the fence that was getting walkers piled up behind it. I heard Rick shoot but didn't dare look back. I went to the box that should have the keys and using my crow bar busted the lock. I opened it and grabbed one of the keys. "Rick!" I yelled to get his attention. When he looked at me I tossed him the key.
I couldn't help myself as I looked back and saw one of the walkers climb over the gate, oh this was bad, this was real bad. We got to the truck; I started to close the door as Rick got the engine going. The walker was right at the window as the door closed, I told Rick to go in a panicked voice.
He'd put it in reverse and was going backwards, the gate was starting to come down. Once they'd pushed it to the ground, they were that much closer to their next meal. Rick then turned it and headed away from the walkers and away from the store. He busted through the other gate and turned left, I wasn't sure where he was going but at the moment I didn't really care.
"Oh my God, they're all over that place." I said freaking out.
"You need to draw them away." Rick told me. "Those roll up doors at the front of the store…That area? That's what I need cleared." Rick informed me then continued telling me what I needed to do. "Raise your friends. Tell them to get down there and be ready."
I pulled my walkie out as I asked. "And I'm drawing the Geeks away how? I-I missed that part."
"Noise." Was his simple answer. He stopped at a parking lot, we got out he found an expensive car and taking the crow bar from me busted the window in. The alarm started, I put my hands over my ears. Well that should work.
He got in and using a screw driver started the car. We traded places then as he headed back to the truck; I revved the engine then and headed back to the store where the others were waiting. I followed behind Rick's delivery truck at first. I grabbed the walkie and told them what to do. "Those roll up doors at the front of the store, facing the street. Meet us there and be ready." Is where I told them to go. Then I went around Rick's truck to draw the walkers at the store away. Only someone who's deaf would miss the noise this car was making.
I looked and saw it was working the walkers were following, this would work. I drove passed then backed up and got in front of the store and stopped. Waiting for them to come towards the car, I yelled to myself. "Get closer, come on, come on." Then with it still in reverse headed back with the walkers following. Once I was sure they were all following I spun the car around and started to take off.
I continued to drive, at some point I lost the walkers. But you know it didn't matter because I was having a blast driving this awesome car at top speed without a care in the world. I did hope Rick and the others made it out, I started for the high way and headed to the mountains and the camp site, if they'd made it I'll see them there. I was shouting and screaming in pure adrenaline, this is so much fun. Is what I thought, the whole way there.
