Hey all! Thank you guys so much for even reading my story! And thank you an extra bunch to those who reviewed! It made me want to pump out this chapter even quicker than I expected! I hope you like this chapter and review again! As always, I do not own the walking dead or any of the characters!
Chapter 2: Crooked Smiles
"God it's like times square down there." Andrea muttered looking out over the edge of the roof down at the street filled with walkers. My stomach clenched even thinking about getting close to those things.
"Hows the signal?" The spanish guy named Morales (which I'd just learned a few moments ago) asked T-dog. T shook his head from his place leaning against the roof ledge, jamming buttons on what looked like a radio or walkie talkie. "Like Dixon's, brain...Weak." He replied nodding his head toward Dixon who was still cuffed to the roof pipes. Dixon didn't do anything but raise his middle finger lamely at T-dog. Well, T was right, Dixon's brain is weak. Idiot.
"Keep trying." Rick urged the others, standing next to me and looking out over the city. Andrea scoffed and shook her head. "Why theres nothing they can do! Not a damn thing." She said, pushing off the edge and turning to walk away, clearly very frustrated. Not that I blame her really, but it's like she can be mad at Rick for trying anything he could to stay alive. Even if it was louder than fireworks on the fourth of July.
"I think she's right, we're on our own. We have to find our own way out." Rick told the rest of the group. "Good luck with that." Dixon chuckled.
"The streets aren't safe." Rick thought out loud. I could almost see the gears turning in his head as he tried to sort this out. I thought back to every action movie imaginable, trying to think of anything that could be plausible no matter how crazy. We all remained quite for a moment before a light bulb went off in my head. "But what about under the streets?" I said quietly to Rick. His eyes widened in realization and he snapped his head up to look me in the eye, his mouth pulling up on one side into a crooked smile. Woah, well that was only mildly attractive. Stop it Brooke, he's married. I scolded myself.
"Glenn...are there any man hole covers in the alley that you can see?" Rick called to Glenn who was the closest to the side of the roof the alley overlooked. Glenn seemed confused for a second and then he seemed to have the same kind of light bulb moment Rick and I had. He whipped around and looked anxiously over the edge.
His shoulders slumped after a moment. "No," He said turning back and walking towards us. "They must all be on the street where all the geeks are." He finished as he approached us.
"Maybe not, an old building like this...built in the 20s, big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding. Down in the sub basements." The black woman who I'd just learned was named Jacqui.
"How do you know that?" Glenn asked incredulously. "It's my job. Was. I worked in the city zoning office." Jacqui replied confidently. Rick turned around to look at all of us as and we all shrugged. Turning to exit the roof, leaving Dixon still cuffed to the pipe and T-dog still too hurt to move much on the roof.
We all made our way down the stairs to the basement level. The basement was almost completely dark if it weren't for some light escaping through the garage loading doors on the other side of the room. I stuck close behind Rick and Glenn, fearing being to far away from the people I'd known the longest, even if it was just by a few minutes. A few minutes meant a lot in this new world. I was shuffling along behind Rick when I accidentally stepped on the back of his boot, moving just a bit faster than he was. "Oh! I'm sorry." I practically squeaked, embarrassed. I could feel my face flush with blood as Rick turned back to look at me, good thing it was dark in here.
The light from the slits in the garage doors and the few flashlights our group carried was just enough for me to see him give me a small smile and nod of his head. "S ok." He chuckled a little. "Hey, your idea up there." Rick said quietly to me jerking his head upwards towards where just were on the roof. "It's great, good thinking." He finished.
I shifted from foot to foot, anxious and slightly embarrassed. "It was nothing, just something I remembered from countless actions movies." I whispered back with a small laugh. "I'd hold the praise until we're out of here though." I added sarcastically. Rick laughed a little and shook his head. "Good point." He whispered to me as we finally reached the edge of what looked like the entrance of the drainage tunnel Jacqui had mentioned.
All of us peered over the railing to the bottom of the ladder, not seeing anything to dangerous yet. But the idea of walking down there into the unknown was quite alarming. "This is it? You sure?" Morales questioned Glenn, who had lead us to this part of the building. Glenn nodded pointing his flashlight down the hole."I really scoped this place out the other times I was here, it's the only place in the building that goes down. But I've never gone down it." He answered with a visible gulp. "Who'd want to right?" Glenn asked, filling the awkward silence as we had all just stared down at the tunnel, everyone silently praying it wasn't them who would have to go down there. The rest of the group stared at him expectantly and he got the hint. "Oh great." He said lamely.
"We'll be right behind you." Andrea tried reassuring him. "No, you won't! Not you." Glenn retorted. Andrea scoffed, seeming offended. "Why not me? You think I can't?" She asked.
"Well, its, its..." Glenn trailed off stuttering. Rick reached out and put a hand on Glenn's shoulder. "Speak your mind." Rick stated, encouraging Glenn that it was ok to have an opinion. This poor kid was clearly easily pushed around and walked on by others, even in a life and death situation.
Glenn heaved in a big breath before starting. "Look, until now I always came here by myself. In and out, grab a few things. No problem. First time I bring a group, everything goes to hell. No offense. If you want me to down the smelly 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 ya jammed up being me getting me killed. I'll take one person. Not you either." Glenn emphasized, touching Rick on the shoulder as Rick moved forward to volunteer. "You know how to use a gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if I knew you were out in the store by those doors, covering our ass. You've got the only other gun so you should stay with him." Glenn motioned towards Andrea. "You be my wing man, or woman or whatever." Glenn said pointing towards me. I blanched a little shocked and so did everyone else. "I've seen you run, your fast and small like me. We can get in and out together easily." Glenn explained making me and the rest of the group feel marginally better. "Jacqui and Morales stay here, something happens, yell down to us and get us back up here in a hurry." He instructed. "Ok" Everyone said in unison. "Everybody knows there jobs." Rick said patting Glenn on the shoulder and throwing me an encouraging look.
My throat suddenly felt dry. These people risked their lives trying to save you, you have got to do something to help them, and yourself. I told myself in my head a few times. Plus Glenn did have a point, I was fast and small, which none of the others seemed to be. I can do this.
Morales handed me a flash light, and I shifted around the the front of the group where Glenn was already descending the ladder, his own flashlight between his teeth.
I sucked in a huge breath before turning and stepping onto the first step on the ladder downward. My legs and hands shook as I held onto the hand rails and paused for a moment. Rick's hands suddenly covered mine and I looked up at him. "You can do this." He stated like it was fact. His eyes were so blue and genuine even in this dull light. I nodded before looking back down at my feet and continuing down.
When I reached the bottom Glenn was waiting for me. We gave each other a knowing nervous look and raised our flashlights to point them down the long tunnel. I glanced down at the two inches of murky water I was standing in. was momentarily grateful that I had brought my real leather riding boots to Atlanta, because any of the other shoes I owned would have soaked through by now.
I cringed at the sight of some rats scampering down the tunnel as we slowly crept forward. I almost laughed at myself for that. Of all the things I've seen within the past month or so and I was still skeeved out by some sewer rats.
Glenn and I came to the end of this section of tunnel and took a step down into an area with even more water and a large grate over the next section. "Thats definitely a sewer tunnel, Jacqui was right." I said quietly to Glenn as he put his hands on the bars of the sewer grate. "You think we can cut through it?" I asked Glenn. He sighed, "If we had a blow torch and half a day, sure. T's hack saw sure won't do it."
I lowered my flashlight to look for the source of a noise I heard from the other side of the grate. The light landed on a biter gnawing on a sewer rat, which it promptly dropped and lunged for us through the bars. Glenn and I flew back against the wall behind us gasping. My heart pounding in my chest as the dead guy snapped his teeth at us, spewing the blood from the rat everywhere.
"Let's go!" I hissed and we both turned and sprinted down the tunnel back up the ladder. We heard shattering glass and the moans and growling grew louder as we made it to the basement level again. Glenn and I exchanged a glance before we sprinted into the main area of the department store where Rick and Andrea had there guns raised. Morales and Jacqui already behind them. The walkers had gotten through the first set of doors and now were pushing and banging against the thin glass door separating us and them.
"What'd you find down there?" Rick asked hurriedly. Both Glenn and I shook our heads. "Not a way out." I answered breathlessly. "We need to find a way, soon." Andrea replied, stating the awful obvious truth.
...
Rick was maybe just a little too good at thinking of ways to get out of hairy situations. He squatted down to the bottom shelf of the store room we ended up in and plucked a few sets of rubber gloves and lab coats and turned to hand them to Glenn. "If bad ideas were an olympic event, this one would take the gold." Glenn quipped shaking his head. Rick had come up with a lovely diversion plan of smearing dead walker guts all over ourselves to sneak around and grab a loading truck to escape in. It may be disgusting but it was also pure genius. There really is no other way anyway. Beggars can't be choosers and we were definitely begging to keep our lives.
"Alright man, hold up ok? Take some time to think this through." Morales tried to sway Rick. "How much time? We're running out." Rick replied matter of factly. I nodded in agreement while everyone else seemed unsure. "That glass won't hold forever." I added, completely siding with Rick. It might not be pretty but what other choice to be have?
No one else had any more to say so it was settled. Rick and the rest of us put on the gloves and lab coats and then Rick and Morales grabbed a completely dead walker, dragging it back into the store room from the alley. Rick put on what looked like a spray mask for painting and took the hatchet out of the emergency box on the wall. We all stood watching as he readied himself for what he had to do next.
He raised the hatchet and I turned not wanting to watch next but then no noise of impact came. I turned back surprised to see Rick with his mask off and hatchet on the ground looking at the wallet that was in the walkers pocket. "Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license, born 1979." Rick told us, reading off the ID in the wallet. He looked up to Glenn showing him the license. Glenn took it in his shaky hands looking very uneasy. "He had 28 dollars in his pocket when he died, and a picture of a pretty girl." He said flipping the picture over in his hands. "With love from Rachel. He used to be like us, worrying about bills or the rain or the Super Bowl. If I ever find my family I'm gonna tell them about Wayne." Rick finished solemnly as he stood putting the mask back on and grabbing the hatchet.
"One more thing...He was an organ donor." Glenn added. A strange sense of rightness washed over me about the whole subject. This man had died, but at the very least he could potentially save the lives of others after he was gone. Just like he had wanted.
Rick closed his eyes for a moment and swung. The impact making a sickening noise. I couldn't help but groan. All of us moaning and groaning, stomachs churning at the sight before us. Morales took a turn next chopping us Wayne's remains.
"Everyone got on there gloves?" Rick asked and we all nodded hesitantly. "Make sure you don't get it on your skin or in your eyes." He said as he reached down and grabbed a handful of the guts and smeared it all over his front. I gagged for a moment before I could reach down myself. I closed my eyes mostly as I grabbed my own few handfuls and smeared the guts all over Ricks arms and back.
"Oh oh, my god this is so bad." Glenn moaned, voicing everyone else thoughts. "Think about something else, like, puppies and kittens." Rick suggested, cringing as he hung a piece of intestines around his neck. "Dead puppies and kittens" T-dog mumbled. Glenn turned lurching to the side and threw up all over the ground. I fought the urge to cover my mouth from throwing up, remembering that I had guts all over my hands. "Do we smell like them?" Rick finally asked, obviously hoping this would just be over.
I almost laughed. "Oh yea!" Andrea and I both answered at the same time. "Glenn, just incase." Andrea said, placing her handgun in Glenn's belt. "When we get back you have to be ready." Rick told us.
"What about Merle Dixon?" T-dog asked as I wondered the same thing. Rick shook his head, not really bothering to respond. "Give me the axe." he said to Morales. "I need more guts." He grunted as he swung and chopped up more bits and pieces. I had to turn around at the point, worried I would puke like Glenn had. Thankfully it only took a few more moments before Rick was finished. They exited the store room and went out into the alley.
I gritted my teeth as I peeled off my gloves and discarded them on top of the walker body before we all turned and ran back down the hall way to the stairs up to the roof. Once we got there Merle started yelling. We mostly ignored him as we all looked over the edge of the roof to see where Rick and Glenn had gone. "Wait, that asshole is out on the street with these hand cuff keys?" Merle roared. T-dog smirked, pulling the key out of his pocket and waving it in front of Merle. I barely paid attention to the argument that ensued between them. I was more focused on the fact that thunder was rumbling in the approaching storm clouds above us.
"Can anybody out there hear me. Base camp, This is T-dog." T said into the radio for the 9 millionth time in the past 5 minutes. But this time he got an answer. "Could you repeat that. Over." A voice crackled back. "Shane is that you?! Were trapped in the department store! Theres geeks all over the place, tons of them. We're surrounded." He yelled back into the radio but all we heard back was crackling.
I tried not to be too upset about the lost radio connection, until the sky opened up and rain started pouring down on all of us. The rain slowly washing away the blood and guts smeared all over Rick and Glenn. Rick raised his hatchet and split the head of a walker just as the walkers noticed they were dead. Coming to the end of the road the both jumped the fence, shedding the lab coats and gloves and running to the loading van. Just as they backed away the walkers knocked over the fence, they peeled out and started speeding away down the road.
'They're leaving us! No, no, no. NO!" Andrea yelled, slamming her fists not the edge of the roof repeatedly. "No! They wouldn't, they'll come back!" I snapped back at her. And just sure enough, not a moment later, the rain stopped an the loading van screeched around the corner followed by a red dodge charger with racing stripes and a blaring car alarm.
"Theres roll up doors on the loading platform facing the street! Meet us there and be ready!" Glenn's voice barked over the radio T-Dog was holding. "Come on! Let's go, let's go!" Morales yelled rushing everyone to grab there things. "Hey! You can't leave me up here!" Merle cried out, yanking on his cuffs. None of us even noticed as we all rushed back through the door and down the stairs. I barely recognized the fact that T-Dog lagged behind, maybe helping Merle.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs we all burst through the back door by the loading dock and got ready to open the roll up door. We all listened closely as we heard the car alarm going off and getting closer and closer to the door. We heard the screeching of tires and Morales yanked up the roll up door just as Rick banged on the other side. We jumped in the back hurriedly, T-dog making it at the very last minute. I released a breath I didn't even know I was holding and moved to sit up in the front seat next to Rick.
"I dropped the damn key." T-dog said, answering the question we all were thinking but to afraid to ask. "Where's Glenn?" Andrea asked, not even bothering to worry about Merle stuck on the roof of that department store.
I looked to Rick who looked completely unworried, he was actually smiling a bit. "Well, he's righttttt...there." Rick answered at the perfect moment, just as Glenn flew past us in the charger with the blaring alarm. I was the only one to actually laugh. "Good for him!" I said, receiving a strange look from the others and a nice and oh so attractive crooked smile from Rick. Stop it you, he's married remember. Oh how could I ever forget. I thought to myself, knowing in that moment that I definitely had a little crush for Officer Friendly. A crush that I would just wholeheartedly have to ignore.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you guys like where this is going, Brooke is a good dooby and would never go after a married man, doesn't mean she can help having her little crush though! Please review some more and I'll promise to update soon, please no flames! :)
