The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye
Chapter 7 – Storm's A Brewin'
A/N: So here's the new chapter! Sorry it took a while, but lately I just kinda lost inspiration to write, and I thought it was best to take a break. But now I feel really inspired and ready to push on with the fanfic. Enjoy!
Lee took a final twist on the key and the door opened. Thankfully, the power was off meaning that the alarm wouldn't go off. But the walkers still persisted outside. Lee pushed the door opened, and the duo peaked inside. The obscure room exhibited multiple shelves, all of them replenished with cylindrical boxes with pills. Lee and Carley stepped inside and began examining the boxes, picking them up and reading the labels with the dim light.
"It's nitroglycerin, ain't it?" Lee asked again, to be sure, just as he was investigating a pair of pill trays.
"Yeah, that's it." Carley grunted, trying to tiptoe to grab a crate of drugs she spotted on top of the shelf. She gripped it and then lowered the crate onto the floor. She then kneeled and scoured through the tablets. "Since we're here, grab everything you can carry."
Lee responded with a noise, as he stuffed his pockets with pills. He couldn't know what they were, due to their complicated names and the fact he didn't have medical expertise. "Mind me asking…what did you do before all of this started?"
"I was a reporter for WBEA." Carley confessed, making Lee let out a surprised sound.
"Does that mean you were famous all over the news channels?" Lee inquired with a chuckle.
"Not really." Carley said, as she silently triumphed when she picked up some nitroglycerin medicaments. "I never got any autograph requests if that's what's you're hinting at. The pay wasn't too good either. Buncha work hours. Rarely got a day off or even some time to myself. What about you?" She reciprocated, glancing at Lee.
"History teacher." Lee confided, concentrating at ransacking the pills previously owned by his parents. "Trying to find my wife Deborah."
"Well, I'm sure you'll find her eventually." Carley reassured with a firm tone. "I think we got all we need. Let's go back up."
"Yeah, my pockets are full anyway." Lee conceded, his pockets burping with pill boxes.
"Let's go then." Carley disclosed, as the man and woman left the pharmacy and headed towards the stairwell.
Lee and Carley climbed up the stairs and entered the rooftop. Rick, Morales, T-Dog, Jacqui and Andrea were leaned on the rails, gazing at the threat below them. Merle was still cuffed to the tube, his skin red as wine and he often mumbled some non-sense. The duo walked and joined the group.
The sight below them was creepy. Walkers were roaming around in the street, bumping into phone cabinets and flag poles. From the height they were in, their bodies were nothing but black dots moving on ground level.
"My God, it's like Times Square down there." Andrea remarked, gawking at the imminent threat.
"Hey guys. We found some nitroglycerin for Larry, and some other medical supplies." Carley informed, as she and Lee tilted onto the rail beside the group. T-Dog was sitting against the wall, endlessly toying with the C.B.
"Good work, perhaps he won't be such a pain in the neck now." Jacqui praised, giving them a quick look before glaring down again.
"How's that signal?" Morales asked over to T-Dog.
"Like Dixon's brain. Weak." T-Dog teased with a grin. All we received was Merle giving him an eyeful and flipping him off with his free hand.
"Keep trying." Morales insisted, not losing moral.
"I'm not sure if there's anything they can do." Jacqui acknowledged in a pessimist tone.
"We only got some people outside the city." Morales told Rick with a nod. "There is no refugee center. That's a pipe dream."
"Shit…" Lee muttered, lowering his head and passing a hand through his neck. After all the shit they had been through to get there, and now he discovered it wasn't true. He felt stupid; almost dying among a horde to chase a hallucination.
"Then she's right, we're on our own." Rick said with no enthusiasm. "It's up to us to find a way out."
"Good luck with that." Merle intervened, always cuffed to the pipe. "These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear." Merle turned his head to Andrea, who was on her knees digging through a bag. "Ain't that right, sugar-tits?"
"Pfft." Andrea hissed, shaking her head. The rest of the group returned to their task of surveying the road for another exit.
"Hey, honeybunch. Whatcha say ya get me out of this cuffs," Merle advocated, jabbing his hand towards the metal circlets around his hand. "We go off somewhere and bump some uglies. Gonna die anyway."
"I'd rather." Andrea reciprocated, removing something from the bag and standing up.
"Rub-muncher." Merle slandered with a face showing he was not surprised. "Figured as much. The streets ain't safe."
"Now that's an understatement." Morales said. The group kept ogling continually the miniature figures of walkers trekking around below.
"What about under the streets? Sewers?" Lee proposed, rubbing his chin.
"Oh man." Morales murmured, realizing how genius Lee was. He turned over to Glenn, who was sitting on the stairs and coquetting with yet another radio. "Hey Glenn." The Asian man instantly rose his head at the mention of his name. "Check the alley. See any manholes?"
Glenn leaped onto his feet, before he spiraled around and sprinted across the rooftop. The gang viewed in hype, anxious to hear his response. Glenn bent over the edge to look at the road, before he turned round again and walked in a fast pace towards them. "No. Must be out on the street where all the geeks are."
"Well, we're screwed then, right?" Carley inquired in a pessimist tone.
"Maybe not." Jacqui interceded, her voice enthusiastic like a scientist that had unraveled the discovery of the century. "Old buildings like this built in the late 20's…big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding, down in the sub-basements."
"How do you know that?" Glenn asked curiously.
"It's my job. Was." Jacqui explained, eyeing each of her friends. "I worked in the city zoning office."
Rick turned around as the group remained silent, considering the option.
The sub-basements were a dark place; their creepiness being enhanced by the dim light, rusty pipes and creaking sound echoing through the walls. Lee, Rick, Andrea, Morales, Carley, Jacqui and Glenn had climbed down the thousand steps towards the drainage sewer systems, and they were all equipped with flashlights; illuminating the blackness. T-Dog had stayed on the roof, surveilling Merle and trying to contact the group.
"This is it?" Morales quizzed as they arrived at their destination. It was a small room, with a squared hole in the floor with a tiny fence surrounding it and a ladder constructed into the wall. The group leaned on the railing and gazed below them, at the smelly, dirty and perilous shaft as they emitted the light towards it. "You sure?"
"I scoped this place out real good. It's the only thing in the building that goes down." Glenn explained. His voice was accompanied by the resounding noise of dripping water. "Never went down into it. Who'd want to right?"
Glenn raised his head, only to find out that everyone's heads were turning toward him. Glenn's lips constrained, recognizing that he was the one who was gonna have to go down there. "Oh. Great." He sarcastically sputtered.
"We'll cover your back, man." Morales asserted.
"No. You won't. Look guys, until now I always came in here by myself, take a few things, in and out, easy. First time I bring a group, everything goes to hell. No offense." Glenn elucidated, as the group attentively listened. "If you want me to go down this gnarly hole, fine. But we have to do it my way." Rick nodded, so as did the rest of the group. "It's tight down there. If I run into something and have to get out quick, I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed. I'll take one of you." Rick immediately came forward, but Glenn stopped him. "Not you either. You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were on that drug store, covering our asses." He then pointed his finger at Andrea, Carley and Lee. "And you all got guns so go with him. Morales comes with me, Jacqui stays here. If something happens, holler, and get us out in a hurry."
"Okay." Jacqui acknowledged, responding with a nod.
"Okay, everybody knows their jobs." Rick spoke up, patting Glenn's shoulder.
"Let's get started. Those walkers can burst in at any minute now." Lee encouraged.
Glenn wrapped his lips around his flashlight, before he gripped the ladder and began descending into the sewers. The group made space for Morales to pass through, and he too chewed on the flashlight as he followed Glenn into the drainage tunnels.
Back on the rooftop, having rescue coming was being deemed useless. T-Dog was slumped against the border, in the shadow, while Merle was always attached to the pipe, crouching and burning under the smoking sun. Once in a while, a thunder would be heard. A storm's a brewing.
"Is there anybody out there?" T-Dog talked to the walkie-talkie. The same question, the same gesture on pressing the button then letting go. "I'm hoping to hear somebody's voice 'cause I'm damn sick tired of hearing mine."
"Well that makes two of us. Why don't you turn that crap off?" Merle suggested with his hoarse voice. "You givin' me a headache boy."
"Why don't you pull your head out of your ass? Maybe the headache will go away." T-Dog mocked, but Merle just chuckled. "Try some positivity for a change. Damn."
"I tell you what. You get me outta these cuffs…and I'll be all Sammy Sunshine positive for you." Merle essayed to strike another of his horrible deals. "Hey, see that hacksaw in the tool bag over there?" Merle jabbed his finger at Dale's tool box, lingering a few feet away from him. T-Dog passed a hand through the area of his face Merle and beaten him. "Get it for me, hmm? Make it worth ya while. Whadya say? C'mon man, take me off these things." He illustrated, by motioning his hand in the cuff.
"So you can beat my ass again?" T-Dog retorted coldly. "Or call me nigga some more?"
"C'mon now, that wasn't personal." Merle lied. "It's just that my kind and your kind ain't meant to mix. That's all. Don't mean that we can't work together, parley, as long as there's some kind a' mutual gain involved." Merle grinned, talking business. "So…'bout that hacksaw…"
"I guess you want that rifle too so you can shoot the new guys when they get back, uh?" T-Dog predicted, glancing at the gun and then back at Merle.
"Hmm." Merle breathed, barely moving his face or body.
Back at the Atlanta camp, everything was rather calm. Things had set down after the communication from the C.B., and everyone was back at their usual tasks. Dale had taken a break from standing on top of the RV, and Allen was now replacing him. His wife, Donna, along with the other women had gone doing laundry except for Amy, who was watching over the kids and Lilly who was trying to keep her dad calm. Doug off tinkering with some contraption. Ed lazily smoking a cigarette. Kenny busy with his truck.
"There ain't a goddamn hose in this world." Dale whispered, as he was immersed inside the RV's engine and he was unscrewing bolts with his tools. Jim was standing behind him. He was a rather old dude, but was handy with the tools, especially when it came to vehicles. "Where the hell we gonna find a replacement?"
"It's late. They should've been back by now!" Amy complained. Beside her, Billy, Ben and Duck were playing around on the floor.
"Amy, don't stress out." Katjaa soothed her, being reclined in a lawn chair next to her son. "They'll be back eventually. Andrea knows how to protect herself."
"Kat, don't tell me that. If it were your husband out there you'd be stressing too." She replied, a bit harsher than she intended.
Katjaa thought it was best not to say anything else, knowing Amy wouldn't be calmed down. She turned her head and saw Sophia sitting in the station wagon near her father, Ed. Ed was drunk, low piece of scum, lazy, nothing good came out of that man. Carol wouldn't admit it, but everyone knew that he was violent to her. She would always appear with fresh bruises in the morning.
"Ed! Why can't Sophia play too?" Katjaa asked loudly.
Ed released a huff of smoke into the air, before he glared towards Katjaa. "It's none of your damned business, woman. Sophia stays here, she wants to be with her dad." He responded like a brute, before he looked at his daughter. "Ain't that right?"
Sophia nodded nervously out of fear, gazing at the ground. Katjaa sighed; there was nothing she could do. Ed didn't do anything to help around camp, and nobody seemed to have the balls to stand up to him.
Lori folded a piece of clothing and strung it on the hanger with a few springs. A few feet away from her, Shane and Carl were sitting by a burnt out campfire. Shane was teaching him how to do knots, or whatever things men like to do. From amid them, laughter erupted.
The next second, the radio began sizzling. "H-hello, an-anybody h-h-ear me?!" T-Dog on the other side spoke.
Heads were raised, and the group began gathering around the RV, because the C.B. was placed on top of it. Allen, being the one closest to it, gripped the radio and pressed the button.
"Hello? Reception's bad on this end." Allen uttered.
"Shane?! That you?!"
"Is that them?!" Lori demanded in an alarming voice, putting her hands on her hips. Allen nodded positively.
"We're in some deep shit! We're trapped in Everett's Prescriptions!"
"They're trapped?!" Kenny repeated with concern.
"There're geeks all over the place. Hundreds a' 'em. W-er-ss-ro-nd-"
"T-Dog! I can't understand!" Allen said in frustration, but then all there was was static. "Dammit. Lost 'im."
"They're in the local pharmacy." Mark conveyed, frowning his eyebrows.
"Shit…" Kenny muttered, sliding his hand down his face.
"Dammit. Look, guys, here's what we do." Shane voiced loudly, taking over leadership. "We wait. If in a few hours we don't get a word from 'em, we go get them, alright?"
"My sister's out there! She needs our help now!" Amy hollered, waving her arm towards the horizon.
"And my dad needs those pills urgently. You all know how he gets angry easily." Lilly ranted, intervening in the gang's conversation.
"I know, I know." Shane assented. "But we can't go out riskin' our people like that. They might be able to get out. We'll have to wait an' see."
Rick, Lee, Carley and Andrea stepped into the drugstore. More walkers had accumulated on the windows, and some of them already had cracks, which was worrying. They paced around the room slowly and carefully, like they were walking on thin ice.
"Me and Lee got a buncha meds from the pharmacy." Carley announced, in order to inform Rick and Andrea. "It'll be useful if someone gets hurt back at camp."
"This camp you guys have…is it outside of Atlanta?" Lee enquired, keeping an eye on the windows.
"Yeah, a lot of people." Andrea stated. "Usually, Glenn's the only one that comes here, but we thought we'd be able to get more stuff if we all…"
Suddenly, one of the windows shattered into a thousand pieces, that collapsed on the ground. The walkers on the other side began bending their bodies, flailing their arms to get inside.
"Shit!" Rick cursed. He pulled out his holstered Colt Python and aimed it at the lurkers, firing a deadly round into the skull of the walker that was about to get in.
The noise made the walkers more active. They had to find a solution quick, otherwise the horde would realize that there was an open entrance right there. Lee's eyes went back and forth until he spotted a large shelf right next to the broken window, perfect to barricade it.
"SHELF!" Lee screamed. Carley reached for her Glock 17, and fired a few rounds at the herd so as did Rick. The sound from the guns was bound to backfire on them, but they had no other choice.
Lee and Andrea sprinted across the room, avoiding the other shelves and empty food containers. They glued their hands onto the shelf as they pushed it with all their might and strength, letting out small groans.
They panted once the sturdy shelf was cloaking the window. They could hear the dead's claws scrubbing against it. Rick took the chance to reload his six shooter, whilst Carley just sheathed her weapon. "That ain't gonna hold for long." He affirmed.
Glenn, Morales, Jacqui and T-Dog stormed inside the room, gaping at the scene with shock. "What you find down there?" Andrea asked, recomposing herself.
"Not a way out." Morales said with a lump up his throat.
"I managed to contact the camp, but what the hell we gon' do now?" T-Dog demanded, in a rhetorical question.
"There's a truck out back. We might be able to start it, but I'm not sure if we'll make it past the herd." Jacqui spoke.
"It's our only shot. We have to take it, otherwise we'll get swarmed in here. T-Dog, take this key." Rick elaborated, tossing a tiny key at Theodore. T-Dog peaked at the teensy object clutched in his hands with a serious face. "Free Merle and meet us out back. But now we gotta hurry."
