Well, here I am again with another chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed the last one, and hope you are enjoying the story so far. Obviously it's still gonna be slow but hopefully I can put the Atlanta part in here where the rest will come into this, the family! Anyways, let's get started! Disclaimer I don't own The Walking Dead just my ocs and plotlines.

Rick parks the car and I look at him in confusion.

"I need to do this. Wait here." He tells me before he leaves.

I take out the photo of my family and smile at it. "I hope you guys are in Atlanta. I'll be able to see you. But if not. I'll try to keep looking. Just... look after yourselves, while I look out for me so I can see you again." I put it back and grab my knife, playing with it while I wait for Rick.

Bang!

A gunshot is heard and I look out. He must have put down a walker that he had seen. Soon enough, Rick comes back into the car and we drive away, heading to Atlanta, where hopefully our families are.

After a while of driving, we leave King County and are now on an empty road. I have the emergency broadcast machine on my lap as I set it up, ready for Rick to talk into. He offered for me to take it but, I have no idea what to say or anything. It'll sound better coming from a cop anyway. Once I get it to work I hand the talking end to him and turn it on.

"Broadcasting on the emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond." He pauses, waiting for an answer and I frown. "Hello. Hello. Can anybody hear my voice? Anybody out there?" He pauses again but it is still silent. "Anybody hears me, please respond. Hello, can you hear my voice? Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear my voice?" He pauses once again, looking conflicted. There are bound to be other survivors out here. "Can you hear my voice? Anybody who reads, please respond." He takes another breath. "Broadcasting on emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond."

But it stays silent, nothing coming through. Not showing any signs that anyone is alive out there.

We come across a gas station with loads of vehicles. Some overturned.

"Must have been safe for a while." I comment and Rick hums in agreement.

Rick grabs a gas can and we head into the ruined gas station. We look into the vehicles, seeing dead bodies and flies going to them, like they are a beacon. We see a sign. No Gas. I let out a huff. Great. Soon we'll run out.

We hear a scuffle and get to the floor, looking under the cars to see the possible threat.

I see feet shuffling. A child's feet with pink slippers, picking up a teddy bear.

We watch the feet walk away and we get up.

"Little girl. I'm a policeman, this is my friend. We can help you. Little girl?" He questions after nothing.

The girl stops and when she turns around my eyes widen. Not human. A walker. Her mouth pulled up and her braces showing clearly and drool dripping fown her mouth. Her pale eyes lock on to us and she lets out a growl.

We take a few steps back and Rick takes out his gun and shoots the child walker in the head. The walker falls on the floor dead.

We stare at the walker in sadness. I honestly thought we found another survivor but nope. Dead.

We get back in the police car and drive away, leaving what just happened there and for once, I'm not commenting on it.

After driving for a while, the car makes some noises so Rick pulls over.

"We're out of gas, aren't we?" I question and he hums, answering my question. "God damn it." I murmur under my breath.

Rick lowers the visor down and pulls out a photograph and stuffs it in nis jacket pocket. We exit the vehicle, grabbing our bags and he grabs a gas can and we walk down the road, going to find some gasoline so we can continue on to Atlanta in the car and not on foot. We come across a house. It looks empty.

"Hello? Police officer out here and a friend." Rick shouts. "Can we borrow some gas? Hello? Hello? Anybody home?" He asks but there is no reply.

My hand goes to my gun, ready incase. We climb the porch steps and Rick looks through the last window after a long check. I see his face go pale before he looks away in disgust. Ah, dead people.

"They dead or... dead alive?" I question him and he gulps.

"Dead." He answers before walking past me and to a truck. I follow after him, but instead of going to the car I sit on a bench. He sits next to after searching the car.

Neigh!

We look to our left and see a chestnut horse looking at us, munching on some grass.

"Found our ride." I comment with a smirk, Rick shakes his head with a laugh.

Rick goes to coaxe it while I wait just outside the fenced off field. It's best that only one of us will go in there to not scare the horse When Rick opens the gate, the horse shrieks and takes a step back, which causes Rick to slow his movements.

"Easy now, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you. Nothing like that. More like a proposal. Atlanta's just down the road ways. It's safe there. Food, shelter, people, other horses too, I bet. How's that sound?" He asks the horse and when thenhorse doesn't move away but goes closer to Rick, he wraps the harness around the horse. "There we go. Good boy. Good boy. Now come with me. Come with me." He leads it out of the field before we grab our bags and situate ourselves on the horse. I'm in front of Rick as his duffel bag of guns is pretty big.

"Let's go easy, ok? I haven't done this in years." Rick says but as soon as those words are out of his lips the horse sprints across the field and I burst out laughing when I hear Rick trying to calm the horse. "Easy. Easy, boy. Easy. Woah."

I manage to calm the horse down from his happy sprint and got it to do a walk.

"Where did you learn to ride?" Rick asks me and I smile.

"I lived on a farm in Auburn, we had horses on our farm so I learned how to ride." I inform him and he hums.

When we get to the city my breath catches in my throat. It's like a ghost town. The left side is jam packed full of destroyed cars or abandoned, the train tracks are ruined while some buildings are destroyed. The city is in ruins. I wonder what happened here.

"Carry on?" I ask Rick.

"Let's go." Rick answers and I press a light kick on the side of the horse to get it moving again.

We continue to ride down the empty side of Atlanta to enter the eerily quiet city. Once we get in the city there is trash littered everywhere and the streets are empty, too empty. We come across a crossroad and look down each set of road before going down the one on the left.

What the hell happened here? It's like a war zone.

We ride past a helicopter with barriers. Safe landing spot. I wish I could work a helicopter, how peaceful that would be? Not worrying about walkers up in the air.

We ride past a destroyed bus and the horse squeals and goes to the side in panic but I put a reassuring hand on the horse's mane to calm it.

"Easy, boy." I mutter.

I look to the bus to see a few walkers.

"Steady. It's just a few. Nothing we can't outrun." Rick assures the horse and I hum in agreement. I can easily kill them with my machete if need be. The horse trots so the walkers can't catch up easily.

On the tank there is a dead walker, it's face rotted with two crows pecking its and I scrunch my face up in disgust. I ride past it and duck under the nozzel of the tank.

That's when I hear a sound and stop the horse. I look up in the air and I'm pretty sure that Rick is doing the same thing. We look in the sky in every direction until we look at a glass building at rhe reflections. And what we see is something I thought I wouldn't see in a long time. A helicopter, fully operational! Woah.

I kick the horse into a gallop and we chase the chopper, just as I turn the corner we're met with a horrible sight. Walkers. A lot of them. Packed in one street. They start to growl and come towards us when I turn the horse around.

The horse runs away, time to get out of the city. We slow to a stop when other walkers appear in front of us, gathering like a pack of dogs when there's food. But this time, we're the food. Holy fuck.

"Shit." I breathe out and just as I turn the horse rears away from a walker. The walkers now on top of us. Shit. They grab on the horse but the horse kicks me and Rick off as it falls to the floor, tackled by walkers. We see the walkers tear into the horse and we back away quickly. Oh my god. We turn but walkers see us so we crawl under the tank.

Rick kicks a walker in the face and we carry on crawling.

"Oh god." Rick repeats.

Just as we are about to go out on the other side, walkers see us.

"No." I growl out and un holster my gun. I click the safety off and aim at a walker coming to us, Rick shoots at the ones behind while I hit the walkers in front. Bang. I shoot a walker in the face. Bang. One in the side of the head. Killing it. I notice Rick has stopped shooting and I take a worried glance at him.

He looks at me defeated and I nod. There is no way we can get out of this. This is it.

"I'm sorry, brother." I say as Rick says he's sorry to his wife. I put the gun to my head but before I pull the trigger, Rick grabs my arm and I look up to see a hatch open. Rick climbs in first and I scramble up after him and he closes it behind me before he sits next to a dead walker and groans in disgust. I click the safety back on and holster my gun.

"Oh... god." Rick mutters.

"That... shit. We're lucky." I comment and Rick nods wordlessly.

I watch on as Rick unholsters the dead soldier's gun. But it turns. Oh hell no.

"Oh, fuck. Rick." I call and he turns just in time and gasps in surprise.

He puts his python underneath its chin and pulls the trigger and I clamp my hands over my eara and squeeze my eyes shut. The ringing in my ears blaring. Ow, fuck. Just as my hearing clears I look up to see Rick closing the hatch of tank on the roof. That was open?

Rick checks the ammo of the new gun and leans his head against it. Great, we're stuck in here until the walkers clear. Which could be a while.

I lean my head against the tank. Time for the wait.

Cuewch.

The radio crackles to life and me and Rick look at each other and then to the radio. Someone's alive?

"Hey, you. Dumbasses. Hey, you two in the tank. Cozy in there?" A voice questions. Holy shit. It's not just me and Rick in the city. We juat stare at the tank in amazement before the voice comes again. "Hey, are you two alive in there?"

Rick scrambles to the radio first an- bang. I wince as he hits his head. He shakes it off before picking it up. "Hello? Hello?"

I rush next to Rick and perch myself next to him. Staring at the radio like it's the best thing in the world. And currently it was. It's the best thing ever right now.

"They you are. You had me wondering. But, where's the girl? Is she still alive?" The man asks and I nod. Wait. He can't see me so I pick the radio from Rick.

"Hell yeah, I am." I tell the stranger and he chuckles.

"Good." The guy responds and I hand the radio back to Rick.

"Where are you? Outside? Can you see us right now?" Rick rambles on to the stranger. Fair enough for all of the questions. I need to know too.

"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news."

I take the radio from Rick once again. "There's good news?"

"No." He replies and I breathe out through my nose in frustration. God damnit.

I offer the radio back to Rick and he takes it back from me. "Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you we're a little concerned in here."

"Oh man. You should see it from over here. You'd be having a major freak-out." The man tells us and I hum.

I take the radio for the final time from Rick. "You should've seen it in person. It was terrifying."

I hand it back to Rick. "Got any advice for us?" Rick questions the man.

"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it." The man informs us and I frown. Come again?

"That's it? 'Make a run for it'?" Rick asks, a bit shocked at his words. Don't blame him.

"My way's not as dumb as it sounds. You both have 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 sown. With me so far?"

Rick looks at me and I nod. "So far."

"Ok, the street on the other side of the tank is leas crowded. If you guys move now while they're distracted, you stand a chance. Got ammo?"

"In that duffel bag I dropped out there, and guns. Can I get to it?" Rick asks him. I hope we can.

"Forget the bag, ok? It's not an option. What have you guys got on you?"

Ok, never mind.

"Hang on." Rick tells him before walking away.

I pick up the radio. "Thanks for this. You didn't have to help us. But it's a good plan."

"You're welcome." His voice replies and I smile. "Thanks. I just put it together. I couldn't leave you both, it wouldn't have felt right." He explains. Wow, this guy is a good person.

"I have 12 rounds, a machete and two buck knives." I tell the guy.

"Wow. I don't want to mess with you." He responds with a nervous laugh and I grin, even though he still can't see me.

"You shouldn't." I reply jokingly before Rick returns. I hand him the radio which he takes gratefully.

"I've got a Beretta with one clip, 15 rounds." Rick informs our saviour.

"Make 'em count. Jump off the right sise of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe 50 yards. Be there." The man explains and I nod. Why do I keep nodding like the guy can see us? We're in a god damn tank.

"Hey, what's your name?" Rick questions and I glance at the radio. Oh yeah, we never got his name.

"Have you been listening? You two are running out of time." The guy rambles.

"Right." Rick mutters sheepishly. Like he got scolded by his parents.

I watch Rick grab a shovel and I raise a brow.

"Nice." I comment and he shrugs at me.

He looks at me. "Ready?" He questions and I nod.

"Hell yeah." I answer and that's when it begins.

He quickly opens the tank and I hear a growl before he swings a shovel at the walker. He climbs out and I'm right behind him. We work our way to the alley.

I grab my gun and fire at a walker about to grab Rick's leg. Bang. Another down. Bang bang. Another two fall to the floor. We keep on shooting. Rick killing eight of them while I kill six. Not like it's a competition or anything but we're on fire.

We run into the alley that the man on the radio directed us to and we literally run into him.

"Whoa! Not dead!" He exclaims and runs off, we run after him. "Come in. Come on. Back here. Come on. Hurry up!"

Th man climbs up a ladder so I quickly holster my gun and climb up after him. That's whwn I realised Rick isn't following.

I look down at him, seeing him still shooting at the many walkers coming from both ends of the alley. "Rick, hurry your ass up!" I shout.

"What are you doing?! Come on!" The man shouts and Rick climbs up.

The man helps me on the platform, as well as Rick. We pant out of breath or from relief, I'm not sure.

"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood and Lara Croft. You the new sheriff, come riding in to clean up the town?" The man sarcastically asks.

"It wasn't my intention." Rick answers.

"Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You both are still dumbasses" He points out to us and I nod.

"I'll accept that." I comment.

Rick holds out his hand. "Rick. Thanks."

The man looks at his hand then his face. "Glenn. You're welcome." Glenn looks at me expectantly.

"Payton." I introduce myself and he nods.

I see him look down and I follow his line of sight seeing some walkers trying to climb the ladder. "Fuck." I curse.

We look up and see a very long way up to the roof and I sigh, nodding my head. This will be my workout for a life time.

"The bright side. It'll be the fall that kills us. I'm a glass-half-full kinda guy." Glenn says and I grin.

We climb up the ladder and quickly make our way to wherever we're going. Glenn is leading us somewhere safe I guess. Safe-ish.

"Are you the one that barricaded the alley?" Rick questions Glenn.

"Somebody did. I guess when the city got overrun. Whoever did it was thinking not many geeks would get through." Glenn explains.

"That's smart." I announce when we come to a hatch. Glenn nods in agreement.

"Back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for us?" Rick questions, pointing between himself and me. That's a good question.

"Call it foolish, naive hope that if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me. Guess that'll make me a bigger dumbass than you two." Glenn informs us before climbing down the ladder.

Wow. He's a really good person. He could have just left us both in that tank but he helped us so someone can do the same for him.

I follow after him, Rick quickly follows and we make our way to back alley stairs. He takes out a walkie-talkie.

"I'm back. Got two guests plus four geeks in the alley." He talks into it where we run into two walkers.

My hand goes to my machete when two people in protective gear run out with baseball bats and go after the walkers, bashing their brains in.

"Let's go!" Glenn shouts, taking off into the building and we hurry after him.

That's when Rick gets pinned by a woman and has a gun pointed at his face.

"You son of a bitch. We are gonna kill you two." The blonde hisses and I aim my gun at her. That's when I notice her safety is still on but I don't lower my gun.

"Just chill out, Andrea. Back off." A man warns the blonde, Andrea.

"Come on, ease up." Another woman tries to calm Andrea but she doesn't listen.

"Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of these stupid assholes." She points out to them.

"Put it down. You pull that trigger, more of 'em will be heading our way." I hiss at the woman, I see the gun waver. Ah, she's thinking of dropping the gun.

"Andrea, I said back the hell off. Well, pull the trigger." The same man challenges her and she lowers the gun and backs away with tears in her eyes.

"We're dead... all of us... because of you two." Andrea accuses us. I frown at her. What?

"I don't understand." Rick admits. Me neither, Rick.

A guy grabs Rick and takes him away, I hurry after them. "Look, we came into th city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K corral."

"Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds." Another guy adds on.

"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea puts in.

"Get the pixture now?" The guy questions us.

I see loads of walkers growling, trying to get into the store. I see one with a rock in its hands and smashing the doors.

"Oh god. What the hell were you two doing out there anyway?" Andrea asks us.

"Trying to flag the helicopter." Rick answers her.

"Yeah. It flew over nearby." I inform them.

Their faces morph into confusion.

"Helicopter? Man, that's crap. Ain't no damn helicopter" A guy turns down that idea.

"You two were chasing a hallucination, imagining things. It happens." A woman tries to tell us.

"We're not hallucinating." I bite.

"I saw it." Rick snaps, his head spinning to her.

They all go silent. Realising that maybe we are right. The woman that tried to tell us that we were hallucinating looks down sheepishly.

"Hey, T-Dog, try that C.B. Can you contact the others?" The guy asks the guy with the hat.

"Others? The refugee centre?" Rick asks and I poay attention. They must be out of the city then since it has been overrun by walkers.

"Yeah, the refugee centre. They've got biscuits waiting at the oven for us." The woman sarcastically responds.

T-Dog takes out a walkie and tries it but nothing happens. "Got no signal. Maybe the roof." He offers.

Bang!

A gunshot rings out from above and I look up.

"Anything on the roof?" I ask them with a raised brow and a smirk. Andrea gives me a dark look.

What? They'll have to get use to it until we get out of this.

Let's leave it there. I hope you're enjoying Payton so far. She's a really fun character to write. She's my favourite person ever that I can actually picture her on the show. I hope you guys can too! Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Please leave a review!