The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye

Chapter 9 – Rendezvous

Rick along with the rest of the group that had gone with him, were arriving at the Atlanta camp. Glenn had stated that their destination was too far away. They were driving through a harsh road. Rocks, branches and stones made it hard for the tires to roll, and Rick had to avoid trees to pass between them. Besides Rick who drove, the rest were still as statues, trying to forget about T-Dog and only hoping they'd be able to retrieve him later. They had no clues of Lee.

"Are we close?" Rick inquired, so concentrated that drops of sweat sprouted of his forehead.

"Yeah, just about." Morales said.

Just then, Rick started seeing a figure beyond the vegetation. Narrowing his eyes and tightening the wheel, he recognized it as being an impeccable RV, where a man stood on top of it with a sniper rifle holstered on his back.

"We're here." Glenn announced, being obvious. In the back, the survivors became happy, knowing they would see their families again.

Rick switched off the ignition as he parked in a clearing near the urban bivouac. He heard the back gate door rattling, as Jacqui, Carley, Morales and Andrea hopped off. A blonde girl came running and squeezed her arms around Andrea. And Morales was greeted with his Hispanic family, made of his wife, his son and daughter.

The sight of this just made Rick sadder. It reminded him of his family. He banged his head lightly on the steering wheel, feeling his eyes watering and his throat drying. He dissipated those thoughts away, putting them into a latent state. Now it wasn't the time.

He exited out of the cube van, stepping out onto the mud below his feet. Apparently, Morales was talking about him to a few of the group members and Andrea to her sister.

In front of him, there were only faces of men and women that he didn't recognize. It made him feel a bit lost. But then he acknowledged two faces he never thought he'd see again.

"Holy shit…" Were the only words coming out of his mouth, as his jaw drooped.

Lee started noticing that walkers were erupting from around each corner, alley, door and window. That goddamned alarm was like a dinner bell ringing. They had stayed idle for too long.

Lee wiped his face and grabbed Clementine's hand. "Let's go!"

The man sprinted with the girl towards the Challenger, careful not to let her fall. He opened his door in a hurry and let Clementine go first, as he peaked around him to make sure no lurkers were catching him from behind. Clem scooted on the passenger seat, before Lee sank in the driver seat.

The urban person shut the door with all his mighty, just when he noted that the motor had been on all along, wasting gasoline. He felt a bit frustrated, but it would have been impossible to switch off the engine without the keys.

He changed gears with his right hand, then smashing the accelerator with his foot. The powerful car only took a few seconds to reach a supersonic speed, which caused Lee and Clementine to be dug into their seats.

A small horde was beginning to form with the incoming biters. Being distracted by the adrenaline, Lee rammed into a roamer that had managed to step into the track. It clashed against the windshield, splattering black blood and dead flesh across it. Both Clem and Lee began screaming; Lee especially because he couldn't see what was in front of him. He twitched the steering wheel back in forth, creating an erratic balance, and even had the idea to turn on the windshield wipers. All of the combined elements eventually led to the zombie falling off the car. And the wipers made the road clear, except for some bits of putrid skin.

The duo panting, Lee was wondering if their loud alarm wasn't gonna get them killed. But it was no use dwelling on it, afterall he wouldn't know how to turn it off.

"So…I'm Lee." Lee presented himself, as Clementine calmed down. "Put your seatbelt." Clementine obeyed, in a warp stringing herself up with the belt to protect herself. "Where are your parents?"

"They're in Savannah." Clementine affirmed, her voice still somewhat shaky.

"You've been survivin'…all by yourself?" Lee guessed, elevating his eyebrows.

"…Yeah…" Clementine admitted.

"Well, Clementine…I'll be taking care of you until your parents show up, okay? You can't be out there all alone, it ain't safe." Lee conceded with a hand gesture.

"Hmhm." Clem assented with a noise.

"We're gonna get out of Atlanta." Lee disclosed. "There's a camp there. Got people I know there. We'll be safe."

Lee stopped the car near the camp, as the burglar alarm just kept going off. "Stay in here." Lee adverted. Clementine nodded, and Lee exited the car.

A man, donning a Sheriff hat, came sprinting in Lee's direction. "Who the hell are you?!" The man demanded, his hand lingering around his gun holster.

"I'm Lee. I'm with Andrea and the others!" He spoke, but then sudden realization struck him. "Wait…you're that sheriff from the hospital!"

Shane extended his eyelids. "Holy…fuck." Shane mumbled, before he ran up to the hood. He popped it and fiddled inside, before he ripped out a cable which shut off the alarm.

Three more people arrived at the scene, who unknown to Lee were Amy, Kenny and Lilly. "Who's this guy, Shane?! He's gonna bring all the walkers on top of us!" Lilly sputtered with an angry expression.

"Look, guys, I'm Lee. I was with Andrea and the others." Lee repeated.

"Andrea?! She's okay?!" Amy inquired with a concerned tone.

"Yeah, she's fine." Lee said, as he jabbed his finger towards the horizon. The four people spun around and gawked toward the woods, spotting a cube van arriving. "And I'm sure that's them arriving."

Rick, Lori and Carl ran towards each other, attracted to each other like magnets. They all took part in a huge family hug, in which Rick held him tightly. "I can't believe…I thought you guys were gone…" Rick admitted.

At the same time, Shane and Lee holding Clementine's hand were joining the occasion. "I-I was so worried about you…" Rick muttered.

Shane removed his hat and patted Rick on the back. "It's good to see you, man." Shane conceded.

Rick turned his head around and a smile appeared in his face when he spotted him. "Oh my God, Shane!" He said, his eyes almost escaping his skull.

Lee glanced at Clementine and they both smirked. If Lee had to guess, Shane and Rick were probably partners before the apocalypse. "Shane helped us get here." Lori explained as the family slowly detached from the hug, and she wiped a tear away. "We wouldn't have made it without him."

Carley stepped into the scene and halted near Lee. "Made it here safe?" She asked.

"Couple close calls, but we're fine." Lee elucidated with a calm voice.

Carley gaped at Clementine in amazement. "So…who's she?"

"She's Clementine. Found her on the way here." Lee elaborated, taking a peek at Clem.

"That's a very special name sweetie." Carley complimented. Clementine hid behind Lee's legs.

"Thank you." Clem thanked, as her cheeks blushed.

"Looks like Rick and Shane used to be partners." Carley observed with an elevated eyebrow. "Once they're done catching up, Shane can give you a tour; let you get acquainted with everyone."

Carley set off to go somewhere. Lee strolled towards Rick and Shane, who were talking like old friends. "You're Lee, right?" Shane asked as the man approached.

"I am."

"And you got a daughter with you!" Shane perceived with an enthusiastic tone.

"She's not my daughter." Lee contradicted, passing his palm in front of his chest. "I'm looking after her temporarily."

"Well, I was just about showing Rick this place out. Come along." Shane said, waving his arm towards himself.

Glenn folded his arms and drew an arc in his mouth. It was hopeful, seeing a family reunite in the ruins of mankind. Just then, Lilly walked up to him and intervened.

"Glenn, what were you thinking?!" Lilly stipulated. Glenn already knew by her voice this wasn't good.

"What do you mean?" Glenn inquired, feeling slightly confused.

"You brought three new people into our group!" Lilly hissed, splattering her words on Glenn's face.

"So what's wrong with that?" Glenn insisted, still not knowing what she was talking about.

"Have you seen how many mouths we have to feed?" Lilly mentioned, throbbing her arm towards the group. "We're, what, twenty-six people here? And now with the new people we're almost thirty!"

"I couldn't leave them behind to die! Plus, Rick was the one who helped us get outta there." Glenn riposted. Lilly sometimes was a head hard to crack.

"Maybe you see it that way, but the food is getting scarcer by the day, and each time you bring fewer supplies." Lilly said, her tone lowering a little bit.

"We'll manage." Glenn reassured her. "Daryl knows his hunting stuff, he's even out there right now on one of his long hunting trips. Andrea and Amy often fish by the creek."

"Okay, but if we start to go starving, you'll be the one to blame." Lilly concluded her argument, before she spun around and paced toward an unknown location. Glenn sighed and slapped his own face, before Allen emerged by his side.

"Hey Glenn. Whatcha got?" Allen inquired.

Glenn crouched and unzipped his backpack. Allen got on his knees and too gazed inside the pack. "I got some candy bars for the kids, some soap, detergent and a couple rolls of toilet paper. We got more bags of stuff though."

"Great!" Allen assented, delighted with all of the things Glenn had ransacked.

"You guys already met Glenn, Morales, Jacqui, Andrea and Carley. Where's T-Dog though?" Shane interrogated. He was followed by Rick, Lee and Clementine, and Lori and Carl were accompanying Rick.

"We lost 'im downtown. Not sure if he's alive." Rick sadly enounced.

"Crap. The camp's gonna be sad. T-Dog was a good guy. Hopefully we'll be able to send a rescue team down there, find him. Merle isn't with you either. Daryl's gonna be pissed. " Shane reciprocated, disappointed. "Anyways, that's Allen hounding Glenn for supplies." Shane presented the man. "Allen's wife, Donna, is around here somewhere. They've got twins, Billy and Ben. They're hellions."

The group moved near the RV. Shane indicated the top of the vehicle, where an old man sat with a rifle on his lap. Two men with grimy clothes were sitting near the large RV, eating a can of beans. In the back of a station wagon, Ed and Sophia sat whilst Carol was taking care of clothing. "That's Dale up there keeping watch." Lee attentively listened to Shane, trying to remember everyone's names. They received a friendly beckon from Dale. "It's his camper."

"This place you guys settled in, it's nice." Lee flattered, looking around him at the green grass and the thriving trees.

"It's safer than Atlanta." Shane pointed his finger toward another old man leaning against the camper, and a young lady chatting with him. "That's Lilly, and her father Larry. Warn ya right away, he's got a temper. Steer away from him. Then there's Jim and Mark eating by the camper, along with the Peletier family: Ed, Carol and Sophia. They, uh, have discussions, so…just don't poke your nose inside."

They chased Shane past a few tents and reached a pickup truck. A redneck was bent inside, while his supposed wife and son were playing. "Those are Kenny, Katjaa and Kenny Jr., but we call him Duck."

"Duck?" Rick recited, with a perplexed face.

"Like water off a duck's back, right?" Shane said with a chuckle. "You probably won't come across Daryl anytime soon, he's out there hunting. He usually spends days missing, searching for game. There's also Doug, but he's a reserved guy. Likes to toy with contraptions he makes up himself. I think he's in the RV."

Shane, Rick, Lori and Carl departed in one direction, leaving Lee and Clementine alone. Around them, the people Shane had introduced them were doing productive things. "How do you like the camp Clementine?" Lee asked the little girl.

"It's nice." She shyly commented.

A/N: Now that Lee and Rick have reached the Atlanta camp, things gonna get heated the next few chapters. Be sure to tune in and find out what happens next!