Hmm, well, I got one reader(:

One or one thousand, here's chapter number two!

Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize!

Enjoy!

After some searching Rick and Rose finally found some riding gear. They drug it out into the sunlight and cleaned it off as best they could. Most of it looked as if it had not been used in years, and it took them quite a while to make it usable, but they managed. While Rose finished up with the gear Rick took a makeshift lead rope and approached the horse. Rose watched from a distance on her knees in the grass trying to get the saddle clean and watch for any walkers that might have heard them piddling around the farm.

Rick approached the animal slowly and it whinnied in disapproval. Rose couldn't help but stifle a laugh. He gave her a look and she continued her cleaning, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Easy now, easy. I'm not gonna hurt you. Nothing like that. More like a proposal. Atlanta's just down the road a ways. It's safe there—food, shelter, people. Other horses, too, I bet." He finally got close enough to put the rope around the horse's neck, "How's that sound?"

"That sounds wonderful." Rose breathed, falling back onto her feet. She took a deep breath, looking up at the bright blue sky and Rick chuckled, leading the animal out of the pasture. Rose stood and helped get the horse suited up and grabbed her backpack.

"Here, you first." Said Rick, "I'll help you up and the bag of guns can rest behind you. We'll put the strap around your waist. The other one can go on the saddle."

"Okay." She let him hoist her up into the saddle and scooted back a ways so he could sit comfortably and control the horse. Once everything was loaded and he was seated in front of her he grabbed hold of the reins.

"You all right back there?" he said.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek on his back.

"Just go easy, okay?" Rick told the horse, "I haven't done this for years."

But it was no use. The horse obviously had not been out of that tiny living space very often and as soon as Rick gave the signal, Rose squeaked as it took off down the road for Atlanta, full on galloping. Terrifying as it was, she couldn't help but laugh as she held tight to the guns around her waist and the other arm around Rick's torso so she would not fall off. After a half a mile or so the animal slowed to a steady walk, tired after its sudden burst of energy. They were pretty much quiet for the most part, simply enjoying the fact that neither of them was alone anymore. The scenery was nice, but every now and again they could see where a walker had been shot down, or there was a house or two that was boarded up or a complete wreck. It was depressing. Rose tried to look away, but if it was not something on one side of the road, there was something even more devastating on the other. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her head still leaning on Rick's back, trying to disappear from this world where civilization was a luxury not even the emperor of China could afford anymore. But after a while the silence began to drive Rose crazy. She could not stand to listen to one more clop of the horse's hoof on the black pavement.

"So," she started, "may I ask why you're all alone out here?"

"I'm not real sure to be honest." He said, "I don't know where my family is."

"Oh," now she wished she had never even opened her mouth to breathe, "I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."

"No, it's fine. I know I'll find them."

She was quiet a moment, contemplating what he had said, "How do you know?"

"I just do. I feel it in my gut."

"So, you're just running off instinct right now?"

"Well, in a way, I suppose. I woke up yesterday in an empty hospital, no idea the date, the time, what had happened to me or the entire town for that matter. When I went to my house, my family was gone, but so were the clothes and pictures. I know they're alive, and I know they're out there. I just have to find them."

Rose stayed silent after that, looking down at the ground as it passed them by. Rick took them down a large off ramp that put them on the interstate towards the city. Towards Atlanta. But it wasn't anything either of them had expected. Rick brought the horse to a stop and observed the area around them. They were on the road heading into the city and it was void of cars in front of them as well as behind. But on the other side of the median were hundreds of cars bumper to bumper, piled on top of one another trying to get out of the city, but not a soul in sight. All of the vehicles looked like they had not even been touched for months. Rose looked away to the other side but she was met with the same devastation to her right. A long train, passenger or cargo she couldn't tell, but one thing was for sure, it was knocked clean off its tracks.

"Let's go." Rick mumbled.

Happy to be getting going again, but unsure of their plan to find safety in Atlanta was valid anymore, Rose dug her face into Rick's back, trying to find her happy place. It was much harder than she thought. But without all of the traffic one would usually see during this time of day it didn't take them long to get into the city. But to their dismay, it was completely deserted.

"There's nobody here." Rose said, looking around.

"That we can see." Rick looked both ways before deciding on a right turn, "Come on, let's look some more."

They kept on their path, looking down every street and every alley for any signs of life, living or dead. There were cars and trucks scattered all over the road as if Godzilla had decided to take a midday swim over to America, toss some vehicles around and return to Japan. Rose took a moment to herself to smile at her small joke when they passed a city bus. There were a few people in it and they walked right past it, but Rose turned her head and continued to watch. Her eyes grew wide and she sucked in a breath when they started to move, making their way off the bus.

"Rick," she whispered, "those are walkers."

One of them stepped off the bus and spooked the horse. Rose gripped tight to Rick's waist as he spoke, "There's just a few. Nothing we can't outrun."

They kept going down the path of death, decay and debris, Rose looking behind them every five seconds to make sure they didn't get any closer. She steadied her breathing when they didn't seem to be walking very fast and turned back to the front. But what was caught in her line of sight made her suck in another breath. One of the army's tanks lay dormant in the middle of the intersection, the body of one of the nation's soldiers lay limp and dead, tossed on top of it like a rag doll. They cringed at the sight of vultures picking at its flesh. Rick was about to steer around it but he stopped in his tracks. Rose looked up at him and back behind them where a few walkers were gaining on them.

"Rick, what're you doing?" she said, "Those walkers are getting a little too close for comfort if you ask me."

"Wait." He said, staring up at the sky, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Helicopter."

They were quiet a moment. Listening to the sounds of the dead's' moans and soon enough she heard it, too. She looked to the skyscrapers and saw it: a green military helicopter flying overhead. She pointed it out and they took off in a fast trot, Rose keeping her eye on it the whole time. But she regretted it when they turned the corner onto the next street. She almost screamed at the hundreds and hundreds of walkers gathered in the street. They stopped in their tracks and the horse cried in protest. Rose's breathing became heavy with fear and they made a break for the opposite direction, back the way they came, but the zombies had taken over that street just as they had the other.

"Shit." Rick muttered, looking for a way out.

"Rick, what do we do?" Rose didn't even try to be quiet. It was no use, they'd seen them. But they dead didn't even give Rick the chance to answer and she screamed as the horse was dragged out from under her. She hit the pavement and Rick lost sight of her.

"Rose!" he searched frantically for her, but she was out of sight. His eyes darted around, trying to find any sense of reassurance with no luck. He could not find Rose anywhere. But his eyes landed on his bag of guns and he was not sure if he should have been happy that he had found weapons, or scared because the bag, and a very familiar navy backpack for that matter was not around Rose's waist. He stretched out his arm, reaching for both bags but the walkers were closing in fast and there was no way he was going to be able to retrieve them. Not now at least. The zombies were closing in at an alarming rate and he retreated under the tank, fear apparent in his short shallow breaths. He pulled the small pistol from is holster and shot the ones closest to him, as many as he could as fast as he could. He was beginning to get overwhelmed, they were coming in on both sides and there were so many of them. His breath still just as shallow, he rolled onto his back with the pistol to his head, muttering his apologies to his wife, Lori and his son, Carl. He was about to pull the trigger when he felt the tug of an angel on his shirt sleeve. He opened his eyes and saw Rose trying to pull him inside the tank from underneath.

"Rick, come on!" she was pulling as hard as she could and as soon as he realized what was happening he jumped up and hoisted himself into the tank, shutting the latch behind him. Each of them scrambled to the walls of the inside on the army vehicle, their breaths heavy. They were silent for quite a while, trying to catch their breath.

"Are you…okay?" Rick asked in between breathing.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Her whole body was shaking immensely so he didn't much believe her, "You?"

"Fine." He looked around until he spotted a body of an army man leaning against the opposite wall and almost jumped out of his skin. He looked to Rose who had her eyes closed trying to take slow easy breaths to calm herself down. He crawled across the tank and reached for the gun in the soldier's gear.

"What are you doing?" Rose's eyes were wide with panic.

"Checking for ammo." He didn't look at her but pulled the weapon from its holster and sat next to the body, examining the gun. When he wasn't paying attention the soldier came to life right before Rose's eyes and looked right at him.

"Rick!" she screamed, reaching for him. He looked up and wasted no time in putting a bullet in its head but he immediately regretted it. A high pitched ringing sounded in their ears and the pain was almost unbearable, making them dizzy and disoriented. Rose felt like she was going to throw up, and she could have sworn she blacked out for a considerable minute. But when she woke Rick was half outside the top of the tank looking around as if there weren't mindless zombies out there just waiting to get ahold of his very much alive and not decaying flesh. She could feel herself begging him to come back inside, but he had to know what was happening outside. However what he saw, he never expected to see. Walkers were everywhere. Most of them were going after the horse, but none-the-less, they were everywhere. He could just see where his bag of guns lay bloodied but untouched not too far from the tank, Rose's backpack a few feet from his pack, but he couldn't get to either of them.

"Rick!" Rose finally pulled him back down and yanked the lid shut behind him. The ringing seemed to have stopped and she seemed to be calmed down enough to come back to her senses, "Do you want to get bit, or something?"

"The guns, your bag, they're right outside." He said.

"I know; I'm sorry I dropped the bags. The walkers grabbed a hold of them and I was scared. I didn't know what-!"

"No, no, it's okay. You're not hurt?"

She shook her head,

"Then that's all that matters." He put a hand on her shoulder and she smiled. He looked around and picked up the gun he got off the soldier.

"Now what do we do?" Rose asked, leaning back on the wall. They were silent, listening to the walkers pound on the tank from the outside. Rose's question kept repeating itself in Rick's head. What were they going to do? He sat back, leaning his head on the gun in his hand.

"I don't know, Rose." He finally said, "I don't know."

Rose crawled towards him and sat right in front of him, perched on her knees. A half smile played on her lips, "Don't worry. Something'll happen."

Rick just looked up at her, unsure really of what she meant, but it seemed to make her feel better, so he simply smiled. That was when the radio when off. It started crackling and static came in through the CB. They exchanged glanced but stayed glued to their spot. Could this really be happening? Then someone spoke and it was as if they both stopped breathing.

"Hey, you." It said. It sounded like a young man, but all they could do was stare. This had to be a joke. Could this man really rescue them?

"Dumbass." The voice spoke again, "Yeah, you in the tank. Are you cozy in there?"