Part One - Adjustments
2 - You Scared of the Dark?
They left just after dawn, hoping to avoid the midday heat. It made the dead reek more, like out-of-date meat in the middle of a heatwave. The pair stood on the roof of a department store, looking out over the city. There were no lights or sounds, save for the meandering dead and a few echoing, faraway car alarms. It wouldn't be long before all the cars ran out of battery, silencing the last of the noise. The city had been busy, once, a cacophony of noise that never really stopped no matter what the time of day way.
"I like to keep this place as a home base, a safe room." Glenn said, "Somewhere to run for if it goes south."
"It's still in the city, still dangerous. Smart, though." Alice pulled at her ponytail to tighten it. The ends of her hair just reached the back of her neck, sticking to the sweat there. The heat was too much. "Where are we going?"
"Stoneley Mall. It's twenty minutes from here on foot, but we make it to there and there won't be any walkers inside; they closed it up when things went bad." Glenn held the map against the ledge and ran a finger along the route they'd take, "We cut through these buildings. They were clear when I was last there."
"But, if they locked it up then we can't get in. Dale's old hacksaw isn't exactly going to get through some chain."
"Someone's already busted in so we'll be able to use the shutter they opened. If that's not an option then," he nodded to the bag of tools, "we use the bolt cutters."
Alice crouched over the red bag, one hand resting on the hatchet tucked into her belt. The weight of it was a foreign object, digging into her side when she leaned forward, "You're way too smart."
"I just do the runs," he said like it wasn't an accomplishment that he'd been coming in and out of Atlanta since the start and he was alive. Alice nearly hadn't been a lot of times, and all she'd done was sit at home and wait for Delia to come home with something to eat. She remembered the day she'd come back, her clothes all torn up and black blood splattered down her face, and Alice knew she had to go with her on the runs as a backup. Looking at Glenn, Alice wondered if she'd ruined Delia's luck. She thought that she'd ruin his too.
"I was with someone before I met you. My ex." Alice fiddled with the screwdrivers in the bag, remembering how Delia would use one to stab the walkers through the eye. Delia called them drunks, because of how they walked. She never liked drinking. They'd fallen out over Alice's enjoyment of beer more than once. "She died. On our first run together. Her runs never went that bad, not before I went."
Glenn stood, not quite knowing what to say, "You kicked ass yesterday and I like having someone to watch my back. If I ever get trapped in a tight spot, I know I won't be alone."
Alice couldn't exactly back out now, leave him alone to do a run he'd planned for two. She nodded to herself.
Glenn spoke as they picked up the little they'd brought, "I thought you had no one in America."
"Just her. We'd broken up before it all. That didn't matter, not when the military started losing." the journalist looked away, remembering the hurried knocks on her apartment door and the terrified face of Delia when Alice had finally opened it.
"I left my family to move here. When this happened, I hoped that they'd come to Atlanta like everyone else. I don't know if they ever made it out of Michigan."
"They evacuated up north to Minneapolis and New York," Alice remembered the articles, "Canada started closing their borders when the infection spread here before Vancouver fell."
"How do you know all this?"
"I took a special interest in it," Alice looked away, "I just figured that it was another craze, you know? Something I'd never have to worry about."
"If I knew, I would have gone home," Glenn admitted, swinging the roof access door open. Alice took it as a sign that they needed to go, and she calmed her beating heart the best she could.
The mall was a short grey building that sat meekly between two giant offices. The stone wall was smooth and untarnished save for the large red letters protruding out, reading 'Stoneley Mall'. There were no windows on the building, something Alice hadn't thought of on the way over. It'd be pitch black inside.
The journalist stood with one foot propped up against the concrete stairs, waiting. She didn't like that the whole street was empty of walkers but she knew better than to go looking for them. Wherever the dead had gone, there were bound to be more.
Her legs felt heavy, dread pulling her back. Past the shutters there was a thick darkness that obscured all view. Alice watched Glenn as he fished in his backpack, pulling out two flashlights and handing one over. The flashlight was a solid, reassuring weight in her left hand. She pulled out her hatchet, just in case. She hung back as they climbed the stairs, just in case Glenn needed room to move quick.
Glenn flicked his flashlight on when he got to the top of the stairs, getting up real close to shine it inside the doorway. The light stretched for a few feet into the blackness, illuminating the dirty white tiling. With a nod, the man moved through the doors and became a silhouette shrouded in blackness. Alice turned on her own flashlight and followed him in. Their footsteps were the only sounds in the quiet. On their right, a glass storefront used the light to reflect eerie reflections back at them.
"I think the computer store's on the other side, Glenn."
He stopped, looking at her, "You know the way?"
"There." The journalist shone her light over to the wall past the glass, illuminating a map of the first floor. Once Glenn had gone to the map with his own flashlight, Alice moved her light about, the ray of light bouncing around the darkness. There was a corpse in front of one store, old, dark blood coating the glass. Alice couldn't see much flesh left in the mess of muscles and bones. "I thought you said they closed this down?"
"I guess they lied about it being empty when they closed it. Looks like they put them all down," He said, gesturing with the light to another body, bloody hole in its forehead. The walkers just looked like human corpses, less decayed and torn apart than most. Alice took off after Glenn when he resumed walking, flashlights bouncing around as they watched for any reanimated dead.
They came to the food court, a large circular room with different food places dotted around it. The area stank of decay and out of date milk. A set of escalators sat in the middle, leading up to the second floor, and two corridors stretched away into darkness on either side of them.
Alice's beam of light landed on an old box of food. She looked around uneasily, but saw and heard nothing in the total black around her. It reminded Alice of the underground, looking out of the train window to see pure darkness. There was no safely lit train to protect her here. She spun, light bouncing around, but saw nothing except the gleam of the white light on the glass storefronts. It was eerie, the dark quiet.
"Upstairs or downstairs?" she asked. Glenn made his way over to a map of both floors between the escalators before replying, "Up, and to the left."
Alice didn't trust the dead-still escalator. It didn't feel right to walk up an escalator like it was just stairs. Glenn climbed up beside her, occasionally turning around to check behind them. Upstairs, the closest store sat on the corner, a big display of posters covering the glass. The doors had a pile of stools scattered behind them, the round kind that you sit on to try on shoes. It looked like they'd been stacked up against the door, and then knocked down.
Shining her light on the mess, Alice moved closer. "Why make a barricade if the military came in and cleared this place out?"
"We should go," Glenn said, "There are other places to get supplies,"
"Those places are futher out and full of walkers though, right?"
A crash echoed through the halls. The pair turned off their lights, backing up against the display, but the sound was coming from where they'd just been, not where they were going.
"Did someone just open that other shutter?" Alice asked.
Glenn nodded, raising a finger for her to be quiet. There was a chance that it would be normal looters, people just coming for scraps- except, Alice wouldn't have ever touched this place alone. The only reason she'd agreed was that it was the only place big enough to provide for the whole quarry camp that didn't have hundreds of walkers around it.
Lights bounced down the hallway, followed by laughter and booming voices.
"Man, it is dark in here."
"You scared of the dark? You little bitch." the voices were deep, male, and had a cruel twist to their words.
The journalist swore under her breath, pulling Glenn back against the wall behind them. He looked concerned, but Alice couldn't explain right there.
She could just see down the escalator and saw the group advancing into the food court. If they were lucky, the darkness would hide the pair from the group, of which there must have been a dozen, all holding flashlights and enough guns for an armory hanging from their bodies. They must have raided one of the fallen military blockades. If the men saw them, the pair wouldn't be able to escape from the locked up building, not with them blocking the way.
"Why don't you all shut up so we can make a plan? I want a smoke before we start looking for shit."
The group stood at the bottom of the escalators, messing with something. Alice dropped into a crouch as she heard something click and an orange light filled the space around them. They were lighting cigarettes. Must have been confident that nothing would happen to them. Alice needed to find a fire exit before the group- of which the journalist was sure were bandits- found them. She pulled along, almost crawling as she moved towards the corridor on her left. She realized she was struggling to breathe. Images of Delia being shot down were flashing in her mind.
A shuffling echoed down the same corridor that Alice was headed towards. Dragging feet, not steps. She moved back to Glenn, peering cautiously down at the floor below. They could stay quiet for now, but they'd have to move very soon. One of the bandits pointed their light upwards, studying the faux daytime painted onto the roof. Through the minimal light, Alice saw the pair of walkers staggering towards the railing. They weren't far, just two storefronts down the left corridor, and aiming straight for the center. A blue toilet sign glowed in the light on the opposite wall.
The dead would see Alice and Glenn before they made it over the barrier, though. Nudging Glenn, she gestured to the store that had been barricaded with the chairs, and the pair moved around the display to reach the doorway. Alice barely breathed as she took each step, one hand grasping at her hatchet and the other resting on Glenn's arm to follow him.
She heard a shout, and turned for a moment to see one walker reach over the railing before tumbling down, followed just after by a loud crunch and shouting. The flashlight that had been pointing to the ceiling moved, plunging the pair back into darkness. Where had the other walker gone?
Glenn must have thought the same, because Alice felt his arm yank her, moving quickly. She felt him turn into the store from earlier and realized that the stools from the barricade were around them, out of sight and easily disturbed. She stood, using her hands and feet to feel the air before her. There wasn't anyone behind them yet.
Something toppled, and then thudded on the floor. It came from in front of her. Glenn had knocked a stool over. Every sound seemed a thousand times louder in the silence, especially when you were hiding.
A shout came from below, "Fuck, is that more braindead upstairs?"
Her heart faltered, remembering the weapons strapped to them, and she followed Glenn's path until he stopped. The silhouette of something sat before her, and Alice realized it was one of those big round clothing racks. Climbing in after Glenn, she ended up crouched against him as he rested on one knee, the hangers still tapping together from their entry.
A series of thuds and bangs came from somewhere, maybe the doorway, followed by thundering footsteps. White light shone into the room. Alice breathed through pursed lips, trying to make her breathing inaudible.
"Jesus Christ, this one musta been sexy back when it was alive." She heard a faint groan, and then a loud crack, before another crunch accompanied by the squelch of brain matter.
"You fuckin' creep." Laughter echoed, and then stopped, "Why the hell did it come in here? It knew we was downstairs."
"I ain't the Wizard of Oz. Go have a look if you think something's up. One inside probably jus' knocked somethin' and drew it over,"
More footsteps followed, and the sound of something rolling. The light cast a shadow on the floor, and it crept under the bottom of the coat rack and onto their feet. She stood still, clutching at Glenn for balance. Her heart murmured in her eardrums as it beat. She didn't want to die, not here, not being shot in the middle of a coat rack in some abandoned mall. She didn't want to die at all.
"If someone's touchin' our shit I'll be mad."
"There ain't no one here but the brain-dead. Pete's gonna get mad soon; He wants out of here by sundown."
The light moved away, and footsteps thudded back down the hallway. Alice heard voices talking, but couldn't hear what they were saying. She took a deep breath, finally feeling like she could breathe. Alice and Glenn stayed perched together, listening for every little noise. Minutes might have passed, but to them, it felt like hours.
Glenn whispered, "How do we get out? Can we reason with them?"
"I don't know." She replied, before slowly pushing apart two coats to peer outside the rack. There was no light on the second floor and Alice reckoned they'd gone back downstairs. "Some walkers must have gotten stuck when they locked it up, or some people who were bit died in here."
They sat for a few minutes, it felt like, staring at each other's dark grey silhouettes.
"I've seen a group like this before," Alice dragged her hand over her face, "They- they killed Delia. Tried to rape her." The memories were overwhelming again, too much.
The stars were out when they finally made it back to camp.
The hours in the bathroom had proved uneventful, despite the footsteps storming by. A bandit group held no interest in the bathrooms and, hours later, left. Alice and Glenn had heard the noise fade and the gunshots being fired outside before risking leaving the bathroom. There were windows smashed in, shards of glass carpeting the lower floor, but no bandits.
"You two feel like talking about today yet?" Shane asked, a look of agitation on his face. "I mean, you left early this morning and you came back after dark with nothing."
"We got trapped." Glenn said, "Bunch of people with guns came in, talking about how it was their stuff and that there'd be trouble if someone touched it."
"The new CB wasn't worth getting shot at, or staying in Atlanta at night." Alice said, "No way out of there without them seeing us. We waited until they left, that's why we're so late."
"You haven't seen them people before, Glenn? How many runs you done to that city - five, six?"
"Eight." Glenn corrected, "I haven't been around that area before, but everyone said we needed the CB to hear any new messages."
Shane ran a hand through his black hair, shotgun resting across his legs, and nodded, "I want more people on the night watch, make sure no one comes out here claiming things. But do not worry people, they have bigger targets in the city. It's just a precaution, that's all."
Glenn said, "You said we needed food. How much longer can we last?"
"A couple days, but I'm gonna need you to do a run before it gets serious. Think you can manage that?"
"I can go tomorrow, but I'm not going back unarmed." He said. Alice shrunk into her chair.
"I'll go." A voice announced, and Alice turned to see that Andrea had been the one to volunteer, "I've got the gun that my dad gave me."
"Me too. If Andrea goes then so am I." Amy said, but Andrea immediately put a hand on her sister's shoulder.
"You're not coming, Amy. I want you to stay here."
Morales, who sat with his wife and two children, interrupted the bickering between the two, "Let me go with your sister, Amy. I'll make sure she gets back just fine." Alice hadn't ever spoken to the man, but Glenn had pointed him out before they'd left that day. She couldn't imagine leaving behind your kids to go back to that city.
Glenn looked at Alice, questioning, but she shook her head. She was done with the place. It was the only place in America she'd known, but she wouldn't go back if she could help it.
It was then that Merle Dixon sauntered into the center. His body swayed as he walked, and Alice realized he was completely out of his tree on drugs.
"You people ever plannin' on inviting me?" he boomed, "Seems you people ain't got no manners, so I'm invitin' myself.
Shane straightened up, scowling at Merle, "I don't need you putting this group in danger."
Merle laughed, "Don'tcha you worry, Officer. I'll be just fine by the morning." The man grinned, turning to wink at Andrea, "Hey sugartits, you wanna help a man out? I got a real bad itch." His hands gestured to his crotch. Alice laughed as Andrea stuck her finger up at Merle.
Alice felt something against her arm and turned to see that Glenn had nudged her. His cap was back on, a few dark hairs poking out from under it.
"You aren't coming?"
"It's so dangerous. You don't have to go, Glenn, you really don't." Alice said, "If you need me I'll come, but I'm…" Scared.
"What?"
"Nothing. Do you need me to come?"
"No. I don't like having so many people anyway; I've always gone into Atlanta alone before today."
"More people to watch your back." Alice offered, trying not to feel bad about not going with them. The anxiety crept up her spine at the thought of it though, images of being shot racing in her mind. It made her feel sick with fear, the idea of a bullet tearing through flesh and organs.
"More people to get up shit creek with." He corrected her before standing, "I wanna get some sleep before tomorrow if I can."
"Night, Glenn."
Alice didn't sleep for a long time that night, and when she did, she dreamt of running from beams of light, never moving fast enough to get away.
Alice woke up again while it was still fairly dark. Despite the heaviness of her eyelids, closing her eyes just left her lay mindlessly tossing and turning. Her brain was awake. Shoving on her shoes, she ventured outside to find out the time. Alice felt lonely inside the small tent.
The sky was a shade of blue-grey tinted with enough light to signal the coming dawn. A figure stood on watch, so she climbed up the back of the RV and waved as she got to the top.
"Morning, Shane." She said, taking the seat he'd left empty, "Tell me to move, if you want the chair."
"You're up early." He commented, cap low on his face. He stood, figure offset against the lightening sky. "Reminds me of my partner; he used to get up at the stupidest of times. The man loved getting up and having breakfast with Lori and Carl."
"What was his name?"
"Rick. He was in a coma when this all happened." Shane moved, picking up a flattened camping chair and folding it out. He didn't look at her while he spoke about Rick.
"Lori's husband, right?"
Shane took a seat, holding his shotgun with the butt pressed against the roof of the RV.
"He was my best friend too." He looked down, then away. He was on watch, sure, but Alice thought that he wasn't looking at her on purpose, "I used to date this girl, Patty Taylor. We were together in high school, and every day I go to him telling him that I ain't got a clue what to do with her, and every day that sonofabitch knows exactly what I should do, every time."
"He sounds like a good man."
He paused for a long time before saying, "Yeah. Yeah, I just wanna be half the man he was."
"I'm sorry." She said. It was just something you said when you had nothing else to say.
"I saved Lori and Carl, that's the main thing." He looked at her, "You have any family over here?"
"Nope. It was just me." She played with the zipper of her jacket, detaching and reattaching the end. "The phone lines were already down by the time I realized it was serious. I'm stupid - didn't believe that it could get this bad. But if dodos can go extinct from being hunted, I guess humans can too. Never got to call my parents."
"I'm sorry." He said, looking her in the eye, and she knew he was saying it for the same reason that she did. Mutual guilt held the two for a moment. "Did you just compare all of this to dodo birds?"
"I don't mean any disrespect. I just mean the dead are hunting us extinct." Alice stumbled over the words, oblivious to the grin he struggled to hold back, "Oh god, I don't kno-"
The sound of twigs snapping caused the pair to jump to their feet. Shane pointed his shotgun down, slowly scanning the direction the sound had come from.
A figure hidden by shadow shoved past a bush, reminding Alice of the bandits from the mall for a second, before coming into view.
"Damnit Carl, your mother told you not to leave our sight. What were you doing in the woods?" Alice watched Shane climb down from the RV two rungs at a time to speak to the boy who was awkwardly stood, looking guilty.
"I needed the toilet."
"You best let one of us know next time so we can go with you, yeah?" Shane reached forward, ruffling the kid's hair, "C'mon, it's early."
Carl kept his eyes to the ground, and as he walked with Shane back to his tent, Alice wondered if Shane was doing more than just trying to help his best friend's family.
Alice stood by as the group loaded into the van, joined by T-Dog and Jacqui who'd joined the party that morning. Glenn gave her a wave before jumping into the passenger seat. The others were already inside the van, save for Morales, who stood beside it to hug his family. Alice wasn't sure how Merle had managed to be the first one ready, sat smoking on the bonnet- no, that was a hood here- of the van.
"What am I supposed to do all day without my tools?" Dale mused beside her, "I can't work on the RV."
"I remember a board of monopoly in your possession. I'm a mean landlord, you know." Alice said, smirking at Dale, "Want me to prove myself by beating you?"
"If there's nothing else to do, I submit to playing a game with you before my watch."
Alice stopped to see Morales get into the van and start the engine, cautiously starting to drive away up the dirt path. A bad feeling pulled at her chest.
Even as the pair began to walk away, Alice couldn't help but turn back and watch the van as it disappeared into the trees. An ill feeling followed her, but there was nothing she could do now. Mentally calculating how long there was before the group was supposed to return, Alice turned and continued walking on.
"Dale?"
"Yes?"
"I'm being the racecar."
A/N: Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, followed or faved the first chapter (you're my favourite people in the world now) and another thank you to anyone who has also read this chapter. I'll keep this short so that it doesn't inflate word count. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that it didn't disappoint from the first. Just for the record, Stoneley Mall isn't a real place as far as I know and is just a place I invented for this fic.
DISCLAIMER : No characters, plots, references, etc from The Walking Dead Universe are owned by me. Only my OC and my prose are mine. Updated for a few typos, 29/09/18
