Second Chance – Chapter 9 – Co-authored by Rckyfrk & Remi Savant
In less than an hour, Otis was steering the pickup truck down the street in front of the high school. He parked half a block away from the school parking lot and the four men hopped out.
"Why'd we stop so far away?" Glenn asked.
"We don't know if the camp is still overrun. Don't wanna chance attracting any more walkers to us than we need to," Rick explained. "Besides, it's not all that far. Think you'll make it?"
Glenn grimaced at Rick's attempt at humor at his expense. "Yeah. I'll be fine," he replied, his voice deadpan.
Otis interjected, "The camp was set up in the rear parking lot near the football field. We oughta get going." With that, the four made their way around the side of the campus.
When they finally reached the FEMA camp, they found an ambulance, military vehicles and squad cars all arranged haphazardly around the parking lot. Amidst the vehicles were a hundred or so walkers, milling about aimlessly, creating quite a racket with their groans and growls. The four men hid themselves behind one of the two squad cars nearest to them. Rick and Daryl immediately began to plot out a course to get to the gym entrance. "How the hell we gonna get up there past all these bastards?" Rick ground out.
"We don't need to get to the gym," Otis corrected them. "Anything we'd need are all in the supply trailer over there." He pointed across the parking lot to the exact opposite side from where they were hiding.
"Oh, cause that's much easier," Glenn sniped.
"Wait...are you telling me all the supplies we need are all in a modular trailer? One with wheels still attached?" Daryl asked pointedly. Otis nodded. "Why do we even need to bother going in? Can't we just take the whole damn thing? Then we don't have to spend time riflin' through everything with a buncha walkers waitin' for us to come out." The other three men looked at Daryl incredulously. "What? We got these Humvees sittin' here. Might as well use 'em," he shrugged. "'Sides, it'd take us just as long to go through everything as it would to hook up the damn trailer."
Rick stared a moment longer at Daryl, thoroughly impressed at his idea, before shaking off his amazement and regrouping. "Alright. How are we going to get the Humvee to the trailer with all those walkers surrounding both? We need a distraction." He and Daryl both looked directly at Glenn.
"Oh come on! It's always me that's the distraction," Glenn complained. Rick chuckled; he really felt like the older brother setting up the younger brother for something stupid. Glenn hung his head in reluctant acceptance, then snapped his head back up with a determined look. "We could use one of the squad cars again, like in Atlanta. Think the keys are still inside?"
"Only if we're lucky," Rick answered. "Guess there's one way to find out. Daryl, would you go with Glenn and check it out? Hotwire it if you need to." Daryl nodded and crept around to the side of the car, silently opened the car door and slid into the driver's seat. He searched between the car seats, in the glove box, and in each sun visor, finding nothing. He slid to angle himself under the steering column and set to work hotwiring the car. Glenn was crouched nearby, ready to trade places with him as soon as the engine started.
Rick and Otis sneaked over to the Humvee to start searching for a spare key, much like Daryl had just done in the squad car. Instead of finding a key, they found the half-digested remains of a man in military fatigues sprawled on the pavement near the driver-side door. Otis covered his mouth and nose with his hand, obviously not accustomed to seeing such carnage this close up. Rick half chuckled before stooping down to check the many pockets of the man's torn uniform. He hoped for the best, starting with the pockets on the man's jacket, which were less covered in gore, but realized quickly he wasn't that lucky. He made a face and gingerly reached into the corpse's hip pocket; his fingers closed around a slender piece of metal. He pulled out his find and held it up for Otis to see. "Small favors, huh?" Rick remarked with a smile, wiping the key off on the dead man's jacket.
Otis climbed into the driver's seat, taking the key from Rick and sliding it into the ignition; he turned toward the squad car and waited to hear the other engine come to life. He didn't have to wait long; Glenn started to back up the squad car to maneuver around the crowd of walkers as Daryl rushed over to join Rick next to the Humvee.
"I'll be damned...it worked!" Otis exclaimed. Glenn pulled away from the trailer, flipped on the red and blue police lights and slowly inched the car forward toward the far end of the parking lot, hitting the siren in a loud BWOOP BWOOP, leading the walkers around the buildings to find the football field and track. Once the area was clear of walkers, Otis quickly maneuvered the Humvee around. Rick guided Otis back, aligning the tongue of the trailer to the trailer ball.
"I'm gonna head out and get my truck and try and find Glenn," Otis announced while Daryl started connecting the trailer to the vehicle. "You two get ready to go. I'll be back as soon as I can." The larger man took off, moving as quickly as he could. Rick hoped he wouldn't find any unwelcome surprises along the way.
Daryl and Rick sprang into action; they pulled the temporary stairs away from the side of the trailer, and removed the stabilizing blocks from around the tires. "Guess we just gotta wait, huh?" Rick asked. Daryl shrugged noncommittally. "I gotta say, that was some damn good thinking, taking the whole trailer. Sure saved us a bunch of time. Well, maybe not for Glenn." Rick smirked at his own little joke and noticed Daryl wore a matching expression. "So...who's gonna drive this bad boy?"
Daryl peered at Rick out of the corner of his eye, "It was my idea. Just sayin'."
Rick chuckled a little, glad they were already falling into an easy cadence with each other, that Daryl felt comfortable enough around him to joke a little. "Yeah, but do you have a valid license and registration?"
"Do you?"
The two men squinted at each other; it was obvious neither of them was really upset, based on the good-natured grin each of them wore. "I'll throw ya for it," Rick said, holding a fist in the air. Daryl followed suit. "One, two, three, throw!"
Rick cursed under his breath as Daryl gloated, "Rock beats scissors, man," casting him a wry grin.
"Two out of three?"
"Hell no," the redneck exclaimed, snatching the key out of Rick's hand and heading toward the driver's side. Rick shook his head and smiled then looked up in time to see Otis coming around the corner, heading toward the track. He had just seen the truck's tail lights clear the end of the building when he heard a metallic crashing sound from the direction of the football field.
"What the hell was that?" Rick rushed to the end of the trailer, meeting Daryl when he got there, and scanned along the edge of the football field. He followed Daryl's finger as he pointed out that the red and blue lights had become stationary on the side of the field.
"Looks like he crashed the car into the bleachers," Daryl observed.
A concerned look crossed Rick's face, "Hope he's okay. Should we go check it out?"
Daryl shook his head, his face looking grim. "If there were that many walkers...chances ain't good. We can't tow this big ol' trailer around, neither."
"I guess you're right," Rick agreed. "Alright, we stick to the plan and hope for the best. Let's get ready to go once Otis comes back around."
They both climbed into the Humvee. Daryl debated starting the engine, but Rick thought better of it, wanting to conserve gas. Several minutes ticked by; both men were starting to get concerned – what was taking Otis so long?
Finally they saw the headlights of the old Ford truck coming from around the building. Daryl started the engine quickly and pulled out to follow Otis out of the parking lot and back to the farmhouse. As they followed the pickup, Rick saw the outline of someone sitting in the passenger seat next to Otis. The passenger turned his head and Rick could see the silhouette of Glenn's baseball cap and breathed a sigh of relief. Daryl looked over to Rick and smirked. "I wasn't worried, were you?"
Rick just shook his head and chuckled, feeling himself relax now that they were on their way back to the farm.
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Night had long since fallen when they finally arrived at Hershel's farm. As the two vehicles pulled up close to the house, Maggie, Hershel and Jimmy appeared on the front porch. The four men disembarked and met them on the steps to the porch. "You wanted supplies..." Rick gestured to the trailer.
"You took the whole trailer?" Hershel asked incredulously. "Isn't that a tad overkill? We just needed some pills and some gauze."
The four men looked at each other sheepishly before Otis spoke up, "The parking lot was swarmed with walkers. We couldn't guarantee being able to get in and out without running into trouble. Daryl here suggested it'd be easier to just take the whole thing and sort out what we'd need once we got here." Rick saw Daryl duck his head at the mention of his name, in a gesture that screamed, 'leave me out of this.'
"What if someone else needs some of these supplies?" Hershel questioned, a mixture of anger and disappointment growing in his voice.
Rick spoke up, "As long as this has been sitting there, if anyone was going to need it, they'd have come and gotten it by now. Besides, with over a hundred walkers guarding it, no one was going to get near it any time soon anyway. It took some quick thinking and fast action to get it out here. Now, are we gonna keep talking about it, or are we gonna get this medicine into that boy?"
Hershel fixed Rick with a look, clenched his jaw, and breathed heavily through his nose. Realizing Rick had a point, he motioned to Otis to head to the trailer, calling over his shoulder, "Jimmy, run inside and grab the step stool, would ya?"
Rick watched as the lanky teen ambled up the steps and into the house. The tension coming from Hershel had not subsided, even moments later when Jimmy returned with the step stool, Beth following him outside. Rick heard her say, "I don't understand why you need a step stool to get some medical supplies out of a truck." When she saw the large modular trailer sitting on the lawn, she stopped short, dumbfounded, taking in the sight before her, a soft, "Oh," escaping her lips.
Hershel and Otis entered the trailer and came out a short while later, arms full of packages of gauze, surgical tape, and bottles of pills, and headed directly into the house. "Bethy, you come with us," Hershel commanded gently. Beth glanced around the group in front of her again before following her father inside.
Rick, Glenn and Daryl stood outside, not sure what to do now. They didn't have any of their camping equipment with them, save for Daryl's pup tent. Hershel seemed pretty upset at their quite literal haul, but they needed to know if they'd be allowed inside the farm house for the night. Maggie crossed the lawn to address the trio. "You guys look beat. Get some food and some sleep."
"Wasn't sure if we'd be welcome inside," Rick mumbled. "Your dad seems pretty upset with us."
"Don't worry about him. He's always been a frugal man, usually giving our excess away to those in need. Don't get me wrong, we never went without...anyway," she continued, shaking her head, "Lori and Carl are already up in the guest bedroom. You two are welcome to the couch and recliner in the living room."
Glenn's face lit up at the idea of sleeping on cushions with four walls around him and followed Maggie inside. Daryl hung back, muttering something about the house being too stuffy with all those people in it, offering to stay out on the porch to keep watch. Rick nodded, clapping the man on the shoulder, "Alright, but come in and get some grub first." Daryl followed Rick inside; Maggie and Beth busied themselves preparing a late dinner of sandwiches and peaches for the men.
Once they finished eating, Rick, Daryl and Glenn each thanked the girls for their hospitality and split off to find their sleeping quarters for the night. Maggie directed Rick to where the guest bedroom was and led Glenn to the living room to get him set up. Beth ran out of the kitchen and returned shortly with a spare blanket, offering it to Daryl. He nodded his appreciation and strode out the front door.
Rick poked his head into the make-shift operating room and found Morgan sitting at the edge of an arm chair, hovering over his son, his hands clasped in apparent prayer. "How's he doin'?"
Morgan started at the sudden question before seeing Rick in the doorway, then relaxed, "Hershel seems to think he'll pull through."
Rick crossed into the room and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's all gonna be okay, Morgan."
Morgan looked up at Rick, his eyes looking tired with worry, "Thanks for...everything, Rick. For getting my boy here safely, for running and getting everything he needs to get better. I can't thank you enough."
"Think nothing of it," Rick spoke solemnly, "we're all family now. We take care of our own." He squeezed Morgan's shoulder slightly, "try and get some sleep. Duane's gonna need you fully rested tomorrow."
"Thanks," Morgan replied, patting Rick's hand in gratitude. "G'night, Rick."
Rick made his way upstairs and found Carl and Lori curled up in a soft looking queen-sized bed. He toed off his boots, removed both his gun and regular belts, and took off his uniform shirt. He slid into bed behind Lori, wrapping his arm around her waist. She turned at his touch to face him. "Everything go okay?"
"Yeah. I'd say it was a really successful run," he said with a smile before kissing her temple.
"Good," Lori responded, sleepily, then yawned, "glad to hear it." Rick watched her eyes flutter shut again as she slipped back to sleep.
Rick traced his finger down her cheek, then found the top of Carl's head and ran his hand over the boy's hair. He reached over and turned out the lamp; the room was filled with moon light. Rick glanced out the window, watching the leaves reflect the soft glow, until his eyes landed on the large wooden barn across the Greene's property. He swallowed hard as a sense of foreboding washed over him.
What? A chapter that ends without a cliff hanger? You'll just have to settle for a dose of foreshadowing.
Next week's chapter will have the details of Glenn's little escapade. Unfortunately, we're both in a musical that opens next Thursday, so starting next Sunday, we'll be in what's appropriately called, "Hell Week," in theater terms. We're going to try very hard to get a chapter up for next Monday, but we just can't guarantee that.
Thanks for all the great reviews from last chapter! If you'd be so kind, please leave us some love on the way out! Thanks again for reading!
