Rick can only stare at the radio in shock from inside the tank, not believing it had made noise. The walkers pound on the tank, trying to get to him, and the radio continues to static.
"Hey." The man says, "You alive in there?" The Alpha scrambles for the radio, not wanting to lose the man.
"Hello? Hello?" Rick pants, hoping his good luck from earlier will resurface.
"There you are." The man responds, and Rick thanks everything he knows for it, "You had me wondering."
"Where are you? Can you see me right now?" Rick asks.
"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by Walkers. That's the bad news." He says.
"There's good news?"
"No." The young voice and the sarcastic way the male seems to hold information reminded Rick of a teenager.
"Got any advice for me?" Rick asks, exasperation clear as day.
"Yeah, I'd say run for it. "Rick looks at the radio for a moment, like it had offended him.
"That's it? "Make a run for it"?" The Alpha asks, a low rumble in his chest.
"There's one Walker still up on the tank. The others have climbed down and are eating the horse. The other side of the tank has fewer Walkers, so if you go while they're distracted, you should stand a chance. Got ammo?" The voice says.
"I dropped a bag out there with supplies and guns. Can I get it?" Rick asks, hoping he could.
"Forget the bag, okay? Whatever you have on you, will have to count. Jump off the right side and keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, about 50 yards. I'll meet you there." The radio static starts up again.
"Hey, what's your name?" Rick asks.
"Have you been listening? You're running out of time."
"Right," Rick says. He drops the radio and grabs a shovel from the tank wall. He sees a grenade next to him and grabs it, putting it in his pocket. Rick pulls out the gun he got from the tank Walker and checks it. He scrambles back to the dead Walker and checks him for anything else.
Armed with a gun and shovel, Rick breathes before he throws the tank lid open. He makes his way towards the alley, shooting any Walkers close to him. Turning into the alley, Rick points his gun at the being that had pushed the gate to the ally open, ready to fire.
"Whoa! Not dead!" An Alpha in his 20's yells to get Rick's attention. Rick and the Asian man make their way further into the alley, Rick shooting any Walkers that get too close to them. Halfway through, the Asian man starts going up a yellow ladder attached to the building on their left. Rick fires the gun once more at a Walker before shoving the gun into his holster.
"What are you doing?! Come on!" the younger Alpha yells at Rick, already halfway up the ladder and climbing fast. They make it to a landing, the man helping Rick up.
"Come on, get up." The men rest for a moment, panting, while the Walkers try to fight over the ladder.
The man turns to Rick, "You the new sheriff come riding in to clean up the town?"
"It wasn't my intention." Rick pants.
"Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You're still a dumbass."
"Rick. Thanks." Rick holds out his hand for the man to shake, scenting the air around the new Alpha.
"Glenn. You're welcome." Glenn's hands are sweaty but firm in Rick's. Rick pulls the gun from the holster and puts it in Glenn's backpack, letting the younger Alpha take in his scent as well.
Glenn shivers at Rick's scent and the natural protective feel of the Alpha. The pure Alpha pheromones coming from the man were intoxicating. The smell of protection, calm, comfort, and safety made Glenn's head spin. He looks down the ladder to focus his mind on something other than Rick's scent. The Asian Alpha realized he had stuck his nose in the other Alpha's arm to get a better sniff. A Walkers came out on top and was a little way up the ladder, with other Walkers pulling on it to claim its spot.
Glenn gets in front of the second ladder, which goes to the roof, and looks back at Rick. Making his way up with Rick right behind him, they were fortunate neither of them fell off. Glenn helps Rick over the building edge after he hops down. They run across the roof, make it to a hole leading into the building, and throw the packs down it.
"At the tank, why'd you save me?" Rick asks.
"Call it foolish, but I hope that if I'm ever in that bad of a situtation somebody might me out too. Guess I'm a bigger dumbass than you." Rick follows Glenn down, closing the hatch for the hole as he does so. Reaching the bottom, they gather their packs and run through the room. They go through the exit door and down a couple of flights of stairs, Glenn getting on a walkie-talkie.
"I'm back. Got a guest plus four of the dead in the alley." They make it to the bottom of the stairs, where two Walkers start making their way towards them. Nervous, the two men watch as a door opens from the opposite building. Two men come out in black police armor and mask with baseball bats. They start to beat the Walker's heads as Glenn and Rick move around them and make their way inside.
Everyone piles inside. The two men started to pull off their gear, and a blonde Beta woman in her 30's pushed Rick against a cabinet, a gun in his face.
"You son of a bitch." She grits out of her teeth, trying to intimidate the new Alpha.
"Chill, Andrea. Back off." A Hispanic Alpha says, his glare piercing Rick.
"You're kidding me, right?" Andrea asks in disbelief, "We're dead because of this stupid Knot-head."
"Andrea, I said back the hell off. Well, pull the trigger." The man says after a moment of Andrea not listening to him. She drops the gun and stares at the floor.
"I don't understand." Rick pants out from where he is still leaning on a file cabinet.
"Look." Morales grits through his teeth. He grabs Rick's arm, pulling him into another part of the building, "We came into the city for supplies. You know the basics of scavenging is?"
The man pushes Rick down a hallway, the group following them, "Surviving! Do you know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out." The group finally stops in what appears to be a department store filled with clothing.
"Every Walker in the city heard you shooting out there." The Beta man says.
"Get the picture now?" Morales asks. Rick couldn't fault them for it. He stares at the crowded glass doors at the front of the building with growling geeks, all banging on the glass. One of them grabbed a part of the concrete from the road and hit the doors—large cracks webbing from the impact point.
"What the hell were you doing anyway?" Andrea sneers at the Alpha.
Rick bares a tooth with a low growl and chest rumble at the Beta. The group backed up a bit more from the upset Alpha. Glenn goes as far as tilting his head in Rick's direction. It was unnatural how submissive he was for another Alpha.
Morales turns to the black man. "Hey, T-Dog, can you contact the others on the CB?"
"Got no signal." T-Dog says, "We can check the roof?"
Abrupt gunfire was echoing above them. "Oh no. Is that Dixon?"
"What is that maniac doing?"
"Come on, let's go." Glenn gestures for Rick to follow them, and with one last look towards the door, the group makes their way to the roof.
…
Upon the roof's edge stands a Beta man with a rifle, shooting at the Walkers like he was at target practice. He lets off a few more rounds as the groups make their way to the roof. Upon opening the door and running into the Georgia heat, Morales starts yelling at the man, Dixon.
"Hey, are you crazy?!" The man laughs and shoots off another round, a Walker falling dead.
"Man, you are wasting bullets we ain't even got!" T-Dog screams as he jumps over a large pipe, landing in front of Dixon. Morales joins him as T-Dog continues to tell off the other Beta.
"Hey! Bad enough I've got this guy on my ass." Dixon replies, "Now I'm gonna take orders from you? That'll be the day."
"That'll be the day? You got somethin' you want to tell me?" T-Dog snarls at Dixon before pointing at himself.
Rick looks to Glenn for an explanation. Glenn waves his head and hands in a 'you don't want to get in the middle of whatever happens' formation. Dixon, Merle, didn't seem to want to give it up, though.
"You want to know the day?"
"Yeah."
"I'll tell you the day, Mr. "Yo." It's the day-" T-Dog takes a swing at Merle, which he ducks.
"Hey, Come on, Merle. That's enough."
Merle ends the fight before it begins. He pulls out a handgun from his waistband and shoves it in T-Dog's face. Merle looks at the man under him, then the rest of the group.
He gets off T-Dog. "Now lets talk about who's in charge. I vote for me. Anybody else?" The others grab T-Dog and pull him away from Merle, being mindful of his injuries.
"Yeah." Merle turns around to Rick, who hits him in the face with the butt of a rifle. Merle goes down to the ground. Rick places himself over the older man to keep him there, one knee digging Merle's face into the roof. Rick grabs his wrist and handcuffs him to the pipe before hauling Dixon up to look at him.
"Who the hell are you, man?!" Merle screams at Rick.
"Officer friendly," Rick growls low in his chest. The Beta glares into the Alpha's eyes, showing defiance. Rick gets closer to Merle and rumbles again, his chin lifting in a silent show of dominance. After a moment, Merle lowers his eyes and tilts his head a minute amount to the side. A growl echoes around them, expressing Merle's displeasure in admitting his submission.
Rick ignores the man's neck, which has Merle narrowing his eyes. The upset Beta hated having to surrender, and Rick would respect that. He wouldn't scent the man in front of the group; to do so would place Merle below him in the group's ranks. With Rick being so new, that would be a hit against the Beta's pride, not to mention that it would make him a Gamma, a scapegoat.
He decides to turn around and finds the gun that Merle had pointed at T-Dog. Turning back to the Beta, he took the gun apart. "Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There's us and the dead. We survive this together, not snapping at each others throats."
Merle huffs, "Screw you, man."
Rick looks at the group before responding, "I can see you make a habit of missing the point."
"Yeah? Well, screw you twice." Merle looks away from Rick to his hands.
"You shoud be more polite to a man with a gun." Rick rumbles again, cocking the gun and pointing it at Merle's head, ready to fire but reluctant to do so. "Only common sense."
The group exchange looks as they watch the man deal with the redneck. Merle's eyes widen before they narrow, calling the Alpha's bluff. He swallows around a slight tremor the rest of the group was too far away to hear, "You wouldn't. You're a cop."
Rick lowers the gun from Merle's head, grateful that he wouldn't have to act like he would kill the man anymore. In a calm tone, Rick admits, "All I am is a man looking for his family."
Rick gives the other man a once over; something about Dixon's behavior triggered his inner cop. Rick starts searching his pockets. As he reaches into the last pocket, he pulls out a small bag of pills and a smaller bag of white powder. Suppressants; why would a Beta like Merle have these? Rick can make out the pills without having to examine them.
Rick watches as Merle lifts his head and sees the pills in his hands. A tick in the man's jaw that the Alpha reads as the Beta holding back a whine. Rick lifts Merle's head and sees the fear in his eyes. Not for himself but for the person that was supposed to have them. The fact that an unknown Alpha now knew that an Omega was with their group. That had to mean that they were an unclaimed Omega. The Alpha decides to keep the information to himself. The Beta wouldn't have hidden the pills if the group knew; it had to be a secret Merle didn't want to get out.
Pocketing the Suppressants, the Alpha walks over to the other side of the roof and throws the drugs over. He rubs his wrist; hitting Merle had put a minor strain on the muscles.
Morales walks up next to Rick, watching him for a moment. "You're not Atlanta P.D. Where you from?"
"A little up the road," Rick replies, uncertain.
"Well, officer friendly from a little up the road, welcome to Atlanta." Morales chuckles. The two men look out to the city, the group content on staying quiet now, while they watch the streets below from the edges of the roof. Merle was growling loud and threatening, looking for a chance to go after Rick. The Alpha could taste the Beta's hatred in the air.
'He thinks they're gone.' Rick realizes, 'He thinks I threw away the Suppressants too.'
"This isn't going to work is it?" Morales asks, "I mean three Alphas in one group is bad enough. But with an Omega and three Betas, two with Alpha complexes… I don't see how we're going to get out of here."
"We'll make it." Rick says, nodding his head, "We have to."
"How can you be so sure?" Morales sighs. Rick looks at the other man before scenting the air around him. Morales freezes as Rick scents him and relaxes when it's over.
"You have an Omega and two kids." Rick looks at his hands, so he doesn't see the look he knows Morales is giving him. The Alpha had always seen his nose as a gift, but sometimes it was too much.
"T-Dog and Jacqui are mates. Andrea has a smell on her; an Omega. Family, cause there's no scent that they've been intimate." Rick continues, "Can't smell anything on Glenn though."
The rest of the group saves Rick from answering questions Morales seems to be dying to know.
"How's that signal?" Morales asks as the two men return to the others.
"Like Dixon's brain… Weak." T-Dog says, glaring at the redneck. Merle turns to him and flips him offs.
"Got people in the mountains outside the city. We're set up by the old quarry. " Morales explains, seeing Rick's confused look.
"The streets ain't safe."
"Now there's an understatement." Morales looks at Rick.
"What about under the streets? The sewers?" Rick asks.
Jacqui interrupts. "Old buildings like this often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding. They'd be down in the subbasements."
The group looks at her in astonishment. Glenn blurts out a question, "How do you know that?"
"I worked in the city zoning office." The woman tenses but answers. Rick looks around before nodding to the door leading inside.
"Can you show us where it is?" Jacqui bites her lip.
"I can." Glenn steps in, "come on."
The group heads inside, careful not to make a lot of noise. The group follows Glenn to a hole with a ladder, a sewer entrance in the basement.
"This is it? Are you sure?" Morales says.
Glenn gulps but nods. "I've never gone down there. Who'd want to, right?"
Everybody looks at him.
"Oh. Great." Glenn swallows, looking deeper into the tunnel.
"We'll be right behind you," Andrea tries to reassure him.
"No, you won't. Not you." Glenn counters.
"Why not me? Think I can't?" Andrea snaps back with a glare.
Glenn hesitates, looking to Rick for help, a quiet whine leaving his throat. "I wasn't…."
It was strange that Glenn, an Alpha, was looking to another Alpha to explain himself, even more so when Glenn was with the group a lot longer than he had known Rick. The Asian Alpha was more likely to be the Prime-Alpha than Rick or even turn to Morales for guidance if needed. Rick gave Glenn permission to speak anyway, ignoring the looks he was getting from the others.
"Speak your mind." The cop prompts him.
Glenn takes a deep breath, "Look until now I always came here by myself… In and out, grab a few things… No problem. The first time I bring a group… Everything goes to hell. No offense." He looks at Rick, who nods from the man to continue.
"If you want me to go down, fine… But we do this my way. If Walkers are down there and we gotta get out quick, I don't want you all behind me getting me killed." Glenn pokes the cop in the chest, "You've got Merle's gun and I'd feel better if you were out there watching those doors, covering our ass."
Glenn turns to Andrea, "And you've got the only other gun, so you should go with him."
"You come with me." He points to Morales, "Jacqui stays here to warn us if something happens so we can get back up here in a hurry."
Jacqui nods, "Okay."
"Okay, everybody knows their jobs." Rick pats Glenn on the shoulder and nods at the others.
Rick had seen cases like Glenn's before, back in the old world. When there is more than one Alpha in a family, one becomes the Prime-Alpha. The one the other Alphas would follow. The youngest Alpha would submit to the others in most families and groups of friends. His Alpha had forced Glenn to submit to so many Alphas that he was imitating a Traditional Omega. These Alphas need to take command to regain their suppressed instincts. But it had to be in controlled situations, so it doesn't overwhelm them. Glenn's scent lightens at the other Alpha's approval.
Rick and Andrea decide to leave, heading to the front of the store to watch the glass doors. Glenn leads Morales down the ladder under Jacqui's watchful eye.
…
The group makes their way to the roof to check in on the others. T-Dog looks up from the CB and asks, "What happened?"
"Geeks got through one of the sets of doors, and the sewers are crawling with Walkers. We need a way out of here, the glass won't hold forever." Glenn says.
Morales goes over to the bags and pulls out a pair of binoculars. He hands them to the Alpha when the cop holds out a silent hand, asking to see them. Walking over to the edge, the group starts looking for anything they can use. Rick spots a U-haul truck at a construction site closer to them.
"That construction site, with those trucks." Rick points it out to the group, handing the binoculars back to Morales, "They always keep keys on hand."
Morales looks at the street and then looks at the place Rick pointed out. "You'll never make it past the Walkers."
Rick turns to Glenn, "You got me out of that tank."
Glenn sighs, "Yeah, but they were feeding. There was a distraction."
"Can we distract them again?"
"Right." Merle chimes in, "A diversion, like on Hogan's Heroes."
"God. Give it a rest." Jacqui snaps. The group misses the look Rick sends her. Merle was trying to help, and they were acting like he had skinned a puppy. Rick decides to ignore it, for now, making plans in his head to bring that up later.
"They're drawn by sounds, right?" Rick asks, unaware that Merle had seen the glare he sent Jacqui because of what she said.
"Right, like dogs. They hear a sound, they come." Glenn confirms.
"What else?"
"Aside from they hear you?" Morales asks, "They see you, smell you and if they catch you, they eat you."
"They can tell us by smell?" Rick questions, amazed.
Glenn snorts, "Can't you?"
"They smell dead, we don't. It's pretty distinct." Andrea clarifies. Rick thinks for a moment before getting an idea.
"Go down to the clothing department; get any long, cloth-like coats you can find. See if you can find some gloves too. Glenn," Rick turns to the other Alpha. "I want you to go to the hardware section and find something we can use to cover our eyes. Goggles, anything like that. T-Dog you come too. We'll need your help."
The group makes their way to the door, questions bouncing around like firecrackers.
"HEY! What about me, officer Friendly?! You can't leave me up here!" Merle yells from his spot on the ground, twisting his body around to see the others. Rick stops and looks at the other man.
"Can you play nice or are we gonna have more problems?" He asks.
"With a Dixon around, you'll always have a problem." Morales snorts.
"Whatcha say ya taco-bender?! Come over here so I can beat yo piñata ass!" Merle tugs on the restraint harder, no doubt cutting up his wrist more while doing so.
"Enough," Rick growls, voice stern as he looks at the group. "Antagonizing Merle isn't doing anything but pissing everyone off. You all will leave him alone."
Rick turns back to see the other man on his knees, an unreadable look on his face. "If I hear one more word out of you that is even a little offensive I will find something to tie up your other hand and gag you."
"Yes, sir, officer." Merle solutes him, mocking him, before laying down on the ground. Rick observes the Beta before addressing the group behind him.
"You guys go look for the stuff, okay? I want to talk to Merle; then I'll be down to help." The Alpha heads over to the handcuffed man.
"Rick?" Glenn calls out. Rick turns his head and gives the two Alphas a look. Morales nods and starts to pull the group to the stairs to make their way down. The others hesitate but follow. Rick moves back over to the edge of the roof. At this point, Dixon was sitting up, watching his every move. The Alpha kneels in front of the Beta and raises his chin. Merle tilts his head, baring his neck to the Alpha. Rick watches the door for a moment before leaning down to scent the man's neck. The Beta uses it as an opportunity to attack.
Merle punches Rick in the gut and kicks him away from him. The Alpha is quick to get the other man under control. He pulls Dixon away from the pipe, leaving him to work with only one hand. Rick pins it to Merle's back and shoves the man to the ground, kneeling on him to keep down. Rick bends down and places his teeth close to the Betas glands, causing Merle to freeze with a growl. After a few moments, the Beta's breathing evens out, and Rick releases him. He finishes scenting the Beta. He lets him up, programming Merle's scent into his memory. The Alpha sits on the balls of his feet while Merle leans back against the pipes.
"Now, can you explain why a Beta would need these?" Rick pulls out the bag of Suppressants. Merle freezes, his eyes on the small bag.
"I didn't take you as a druggy, Officer Friendly." Merle laughs it off. His eyes never stray from the pills.
"I know what Suppressants look like Merle. These are for Omegas; it's a high dosage too." Rick says, looking at the tan-ish pills. "Normal Suppressants are white; the tan ones are for Omegas going into heat or already in heat."
"I ain't talking about this. Give 'em." Merle snarls, holding out his hand. Rick ignores him.
"Can I ask who they're for? Is this all they have saved?" Rick asks, sitting on the ground, legs crossed in front of him.
"Why do you want to know? You have a Mate, and I can smell her on you, she's a Beta." Merle says, eyes narrowed. The man's scent was familiar, as was the Beta's and the kid's that cling to him, though faint.
"I had a bag with me when I came to Atlanta." Rick sighs, "Inside were guns, ammo, and a few other things I picked up from places on my way here. I had a bottle of Suppressants, the Omega kind, that I got from a man I met after I woke up. Brand new, still had the plastic cover. He said it might be useful if I got into a group; like insurance to let me in. if this is all your Omega has, that bottle might be useful."
At this point, Rick had the Beta's full attention. Merle snorted when Rick brought up the Omega, "He's not my Omega. It's my baby brother's supply. That's all there is in the whole camp."
Rick looked at the bag again before handing them to Merle for him to pocket. Rick gets up, ready to help the group. He makes his way to the door before he looks back at the Beta, "How many Omegas do y'all have?"
Merle thought for a moment, "bout six, give or take. And my brother's the only male one. There are a couple of Traditional Alphas at the base, and you know what will happen if they find out. If I don't make it back, you take care of him, you are the only one who can. You're the only other one who knows."
Rick looks at the man, "You'll make it back. We all will."
"We'll see Friendly… we'll see."
…
"So, what's this big plan man," T-Dog asks. Rick comes downstairs after his talk with Merle. He finds the others hiding in the stairwell, eyeing the store doors.
"You said they can tell us apart by smell. So, if we smell dead, we should be able to blend in." Rick says as they reach the department store. The Walkers are still banging on the glass.
"And how exactly do you expect to make yourself smell like them?" Andrea crosses her arms over her chest.
"If we can get a Walker's body, we can cover ourselves in its blood," Rick says, looking for the stuff he would need.
"Glenn, I want you to come with me," Rick says, addressing the group. "If we use the alleyway, then we can test the two Walkers there. It's better to have the situation under control. We try it with a few Walkers and some back up close by, instead of jumping right into the middle of them and it doesn't work. If the two Walkers in the alley don't react to us, then we can move forward to the street. We need to get to the construction site and grab one of the cars. If not, we'll have to run back inside without getting bit and come up with another plan."
Rick grabs coats and gloves and a couple of other things and hands them to Glenn.
Morales turns on the new Alpha. "Stop, okay? Take some time to think this through."
"How much time?" Rick points to the doors, "They already got through one set of doors, that glass won't hold forever."
The group puts on trench coats and rubber gloves. They go outside and drag one of the dead Walkers into the store, avoiding the other two farther up. Rick puts on protective headgear and uses a crowbar to break open the glass box holding a fire ax to cut up the body.
Glenn and Rick are soon saturated in Walker blood and guts, its hands and feet hanging around their necks. Rick and Glenn walk outside with a crowbar and the ax, limping towards the other Walkers. The Walkers look at them but ignore them after a quick sniff. Happy that they didn't have to go back inside and put on another layer of Walker guts, Rick and Glenn crawl under a bus. They come out on the other side, where a vast hoard of Walkers is waiting for them. Rick and Glenn shuffle through the crowd of Walkers, none noticing that they are alive. Thunder rumbles. They head for the gates blocking the construction site from the street of Walkers.
Glenn turns to the other Alpha and whispers, "It's gonna work. I can't believe it."
Rick whispers back, "Don't draw attention."
When Rick and Glenn get over halfway down the street, rain starts to fall. A cloudburst, a spit of rain that doesn't last long. Rick and Glenn try not to panic as they continue to walk at an average pace. They notice that the rain is starting to wash off the guts and, with it, the smell. The Walkers start to move with more purpose as the rain continues to wash the smell off.
"The smell's washing off." Glenn breathes, "Isn't it? Is it washing off?"
"No, it's not." Rick tries to reassure Glenn. A Walker moves past him and growls, taking a second and third glance at him before it's pushed back, "Well..."
One of the Walkers charges at them, and Rick crushes its skull with the ax. With that, the other Walkers give chase to the food so close to them.
Rick turns to Glenn and screams, "Run!"
Rick and Glenn take off down the street, killing any Walkers that get too close. Once they get to the gates, the two throw their weapons over the fence and climb it. Glenn runs over to the box to find the keys to the truck. Rick pulls Merle's pistol and kills any Walkers that start to climb over the fence. When Glenn finally finds the keys to the truck, he throws them to Rick.
"Rick!" Glenn yells.
They run over to the large truck and get in as some Walkers start climbing over the fence and running after them. One of them reaches the truck as Glenn closes his door and bangs on the window.
"You need to draw them away," Rick says as they speed away from the herd, avoiding some Walkers in the way. "I need you to clear those roll-up doors at the front of the store. Tell the others to get down there and be ready."
Glenn looks at the Alpha in confusion. "And I'm drawing the geeks away how? I… I missed that part."
"Noise," Rick says as he pulls up next to a red sports car. Getting out, he makes sure there aren't any Walkers in the area. He takes Glenn's crowbar and smashes the window. The car alarm starts to sound, and Rick opens the door to hotwires the car. At least one good thing came out of following Shane around all the time when they were teens. Once the car starts, Rick gets back into the truck while Glenn gets in the sports car. The two of them drive back towards the store with Glenn in front, leading away from the Walkers.
Glenn gets on the radio and contacts the rest of the group. "Meet us at the roll-up doors facing the street ready to move quick."
Glenn drives the sports car in front of the store. "Come on. Come on. Get closer. Get closer. Come on. Come on." The Walkers start to bang on the car, trying to get to Glenn. He pulls the car back until he's confident that most of them are surrounding him. Then he turns the car around and takes off.
…
Rick pulls the truck up to the roll-up doors once Glenn has most of the Walkers distracted. The group pulls up the metal doors, and Rick helps Jacqui and Andrea before making his way up to the front. The sounds of the Walkers are getting closer. Morales helps T-Dog get the bags up before helping the man up himself, then jumps in too.
Morales looks at Rick. "I'm in!"
The Alpha closes the back before the Walkers can get to them, and the group makes their escape. As they drive away, everyone notices one of them is missing. The group looks at T-Dog, knowing he had the key.
T-Dog swallows around a gulp of air, "I dropped the damn key."
The group stays quiet, knowing there is nothing that they can do now. Rick drives the group away from Atlanta, following Morales's directions as the man joins him in the front. It takes everything in him to not turn around, go back and run headfirst into the herd to get the Beta. Rick had scented the man, scented his glands, and allowed the other to do the same. That wasn't something an Alpha allows anyone to do. It's something only a pack member could do. He chokes back a whine at the thought of leaving a potential member of his Pack behind.
"Where's Glenn?" Andrea asks, noticing the small Alpha isn't with them.