This chapter covers events going on as Steven escapes the hospital. As he is running from soldiers through the woods, he runs into two people who are very familiar with Walking Dead fans. Feel free to read on for the scoop.

Chapter 3

As he exited the hospital, he looked around to make sure there were no other soldiers nearby. He observed several military vehicles parked alongside parking deck "A" with several soldiers engaged in different activities. It appeared that they were unloading supplies and setting up huge tents strategically placed near the exits of the parking deck. He also noticed that the soldiers were wearing gas masks.

"Shit!" He exclaimed. His car was parked inside that parking garage and he saw that there was no way to sneak in as the only entrance was blocked. He was going to have to be quick and sneak out of here on foot. It was approximately seven miles back to his house. He made his way up a grassy hill which was adjacent to where he was standing and took off over it.

Just as he made his way to the top of the hill, he heard shouts coming from the garage. He looked over and saw that several soldiers noticed him and they started running towards him.

"Oh god dammit," he said breathlessly as he took off running. He heard tires screeching but he didn't look back. He was completely focused on what lay ahead. He needed to get out of here and fast.

He looked over to the left and saw a tree line that was well overgrown due to heavy rainfall from recent storms. He ran into the wooded area, hoping that he was far enough ahead of the soldiers that they didn't see him. He didn't bother to stop to find out. He continued running through the thick brush. As he hopped over a fallen log his scrubs got caught on a branch and he fell back and smacked his head on the log. As his head hit the log he rolled into a small hole which was located underneath it.

"Ouch that is going to leave a mark," he whispered to himself. He tore off his scrubs shirt, revealing a Star Wars t-shirt underneath. His inner nerd was now showing. With all the crap going on right now, he thought that R2-D2 being on his shirt was the last worry in the world.

He heard the military Humvee roar by and the scrambling of feet on pavement as soldiers ran down the street. Apparently they didn't see him duck into the woods. Maybe his luck was turning around. As he crawled out of the hole he saw a woman standing next to a tree just staring at it.

He stood up and approached her. "Ma'am, are you ok? You better get out of here because there are soldiers all over the place and they seem to be shooting first and asking questions later."

She slowly turned towards him and he observed that the right side of her face was gone. Not gone as in hidden from view. It was gone as in somebody chewed the hell out of it. He stepped back so suddenly that he almost fell back in the hole.

"What the f-," he was cut off by an arrow plunging into the back of her head. The point of the arrow was sticking out of her left eye. She dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. He looked past her and saw two men approaching from the far side of the woods.

"Hey-ey nice shot little brother," said the bigger man. He looked like a poster boy for white supremacists. He was clutching what appeared to be a 9MM handgun.

The other man was a little smaller in stature but still a card carrying member of the redneck club. He clutched a huge crossbow and was busy trying to wrench the arrow out of the woman's head. The bigger man looked over at Steven.

"Well look what we got here, Daryl!" He exclaimed. "We got a live one."

The man named Daryl ripped the arrow out of the woman's skull and looked up. He looked Steven through squinted eyes and said, "Looks like some kind of doctor, Merle," as he observed the bottom half of Steven's scrubs.

"You killed that woman," was all Steven could think of saying. He was in shock, but not sure whether it was from hitting his head, being chased by soldiers or watching these two kill a woman who was missing half of her face.

The man named Merle only chuckled and glared at Steven. Daryl never stopped squinting at him.

"Where have you been, doc?" Daryl asked. "Y'all should know that walkers aren't people anymore."

"Um…walkers?" Steven asked.

Daryl looked over at Merle. Merle just shook his head. Daryl looked like he would spit bullets.

"Listen doc, we ain't got time to explain the workings of the world today. We are on our way to Atlanta. It's supposed to be a safe zone. You best be heading there yourself."

Steven absorbed his words and frowned. Safe zone? His desire to get back to his family was greater than ever now. "Sorry guys, but I need to get back to my family. My house is only a few miles from here and if it's all the same to you, I would rather avoid the soldiers who are running around shooting everyone."

At the mention of the soldiers, Merle grimaced and Daryl sneered.

"Soldiers are bad news, but there is worse shit out there. I'd wish you luck but you if you insist on hoofing it back to your house you are just a dead man walking," Merle said with a glare.

The two men started to walk away before Daryl turned around and looked at Steven. "Here you'll need this." He held out a .38 handgun. "I can't leave a man out here with nothing but his Star Wars shirt." He chuckled.

Steven walked over to Daryl and took the gun. "Thank you, I guess."

"There ain't no guessing," Merle said. "You are gonna use it, and you will find out that it won't be enough." He added cryptically.

The men walked out of sight and Steven was left standing there with a .38 and a female corpse to contemplate the events which led to him being there. He took in a deep breath and let it out; time to go.

He was now very concerned about his family's safety. His thoughts flashed back to the woman with the half-eaten face. He shivered.

He knew that he had to stay off of the main roads, as he figured it was being patrolled by soldiers. As he cut through the woods he was actually saving time for these woods led to an area located behind the cul-de-sac where he lived. After a rather uneventful twenty minutes, he realized that he was close to his neighborhood. He came to a steep slope that led down toward the end of his street. He looked down the hill and saw some of the homes situated on the end of the street and all appeared quiet. He was only able to observe three of the homes, but everything seemed normal. He didn't see any soldiers or people with half eaten faces. He began the descent toward his neighborhood.