I kept watching the streets below while, behind me, the men kept talking. Well, in Dixon's case it was less talking and more throwing some more insults to Rick and some more rude comments in my direction. I just tuned him out. Men like him had tried to degrade me and made me struggle for every ounce of respect ever since I joined the army.
"My God, it's like Times Square down there…" Andrea had come up next to me and looked down as well. I watched her from the side. I couldn't figure her out yet. She seemed to be short tempered and a little on edge all the time. Still she had only started mouthing off to Dixon once he had been secured to the pipe. So maybe she was more bark than bite.
"How's that signal?" Morales had turned to the black guy, T-Dog, who was still working with the walkie-talkie.
"Like Dixon's brain… Weak."
I bit back a comment. It was funny how everybody seemed to be less intimidated by the redneck since he wasn't holding a gun to their face anymore. I was starting to wonder how people who were obviously so different from each other had managed not to kill one another by now. Especially with some of them having a nervous trigger finger and low self-control, as it seemed.
Rick agreed with Andrea that we were on our own since T-Dog couldn't reach the rest of their group outside the city. It came as no surprise that Dixon had something to say to that as well, stating that we wouldn't get out anyways, then followed with making a pass at the blonde woman still standing next to me. I couldn't help the snort escaping me.
"What's up, sugar? You jealous? Bet we could make room for an extra set of legs." He looked me up and down again with a look that made me want to vomit.
"Like I said before, short buzz, you wouldn't be able to handle me. And as long as there is any other living creature on this godforsaken planet, I wouldn't even consider spreading my legs for you." For a second his face fell before he gave me another of his grins.
"You'll wish for me to pay you a visit, sugar tits."
"You're right. I can barely contain myself not to jump your bones," I replied with as much sarcasm as I could muster.
Andrea broke into a short laugh. "Oh, I think I like her. She doesn't take shit from anyone."
I raised my eyebrows. Not half an hour ago she would have killed me for putting a gun to her head, and now she acted like we were friends already?

Before I could put any more thoughts into it, Rick asked if there was maybe a sewer system that could get us out of here, rather than having to get back to the streets. He, Morales and Glenn exchanged some thoughts on how to get to the entrances on the crowded street below when the black woman interrupted them.
"Old buildings like this were built in the '20s… Big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding down in the subbasements."
Glenn looked at her with curiosity. "How do you know that?"
She explained that she had worked for the city zoning office and so she knew a lot about older buildings and what was different in comparison to modern ones.
So we all, minus Dixon, headed down to the basement to take a look at the situation there. Once we were all standing around something that must have been the entrance to the sewer system, Morales asked if we were sure that this was it, to which Glenn responded that while looking around this had been the only way in the building leading down. When he asked who would even want to go down there, everyone looked at him.
"Oh. Great." He looked a little shaken that everyone was obviously expecting him to go down and check out the entrance.
"We'll be right behind you." I gave Andrea a skeptical look and Glenn started to violently protest, which the blonde couldn't understand at all. Rick encouraged Glenn to speak what was on his mind, why he didn't want anybody, or at least Andrea, down there with him.
"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. If you want me to go down this gnarly hole, fine… But only if we do it my way. 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 person… Not you either. You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were out in that store watching those doors, covering our ass. And you've got the only other gun, so you should go with him. You be my wingman. Jacqui stays here. Something happens, yell down to us, get us back up here in a hurry." I cleared my throat. Glenn had turned to Morales to go down with him.
"Your plan isn't bad, and I get your point about not bringing too many people down there just in case… But you forgot about me. No offense, but I am smaller than Morales and I might be able to cover your back a little better. I'll leave my rifle and bow with Jacqui if she is okay with that, I still got my knives and Glock." Everyone looked at me in surprise. I hadn't talked that much up until now and that might have been the reason why Glenn had totally forgotten that there was someone else who carried a gun.
"No offense taken. I think she is right. She is Army after all, so who better to send down with Glenn?" Morales clapped his huge hand on my shoulder and nodded. Andrea gave me another sideways glance. She seemed a little upset that she wasn't trusted to go down to the sewers but the new girl was, but she didn't say a word. Jacqui, the black woman, agreed to take my weapons that were too bulky for the underground for safekeeping until I came back.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You really don't need to. Morales can do it, just like Glenn said."
I shook my head at Rick. "I know I don't need to do it, and I appreciate your concern, Rick, but someone needs to go down with him. And I'd rather be the one to do it instead of someone with a nervous trigger finger or a family still attached." Since the discussion was closed for me I didn't waste any more time. I dispersed my rifle and bow and lowered myself through the opening into the tunnel before anyone could stop me.
Above, I could hear someone saying something about me having more guts than most men and I couldn't help the smile as Glenn came down to join me. I had never considered myself exceptionally brave. I just would rather act than stand by and let others decide.
"What are you smiling about?"
"Nothing. Come on tough guy, lead the way." Glenn rolled his eyes and walked past me. We followed the tunnel for a while, the only creature we encountered on the way was a rat that had Glenn almost screaming like a little girl. After a few minutes we reached a large grate. I let my flashlight wander over it, trying to find some weak point while Glenn mused if we might be able to cut through it.
"Maybe if we had a blowtorch… Still it would take too much time. I guess that's a dead end." I jumped back in surprise when suddenly a dead chewing on a rat appeared behind the grate and tried to grab us from the other side.
"Can we go back now?" I looked at the asian.
"Sure. There is nothing left here for us to do."
We turned and left the dead and the grate behind. When we came back up, Jacqui was still waiting for us. She handed me my weapons back, and I immediately felt better with the now familiar weight of the bow in my hand. Together we walked back up to the front of the store, where we were met with the shattering noise of breaking glass.
"Find anything?" I shook my head no at Rick, keeping my eyes on the dead that were slowly entering through the first set of glass doors they had broken down.
"We need to find a way… and soon." I looked at Andrea and could see the fear and dread in her eyes.
"We will get out. All of us," I stated with more confidence than I felt at that moment. Rick gave me an appreciative nod and motioned for us to retreat and join the others back on the roof.

About half an hour later, we were all back down in the store after Rick had finally come up with an idea on how to get us out. Apparently he wanted to gut one of the dead we had killed in order to reach the store, then spread the decaying matter over himself to cover up his scent so he could make a run for the abandoned construction site and the vehicle there.
"If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold…" I silently agreed with Glenn, this was by far the dumbest idea I had ever heard of. Even if the original idea might have been right, it was straight out suicidal. But without a surprise, nobody had listened when I made my concern about this "plan" known. Still I couldn't just let the cop run off.
I covered the entrance with my bow while they grabbed the now really dead body and hauled it back inside. I excused myself from joining in chopping the corpse to pieces and smearing the fluids and entrails all over Glenn and Rick by stating someone needed to keep watch on the glass doors. It wasn't so much that I couldn't have stomached cutting into an already rotting body, it was more that I refused to let my humanity slip by cutting into somebody who could have been a father, a brother, a husband. It would have meant acknowledging that we had met mankind's ultimate demise, while I still clung to the dwindling hope that we would somehow survive and see the end of this horror show any time soon.

Before the two made their way outside, Rick approached me once again.
"How good are you with that rifle?"
I gave him a cautious look before answering. "It's been a while. I should still be able to hit my mark over 500 yards. Why?"
"I would feel better knowing you are on that roof covering our backs in case this thing goes south…" I grimaced and bit back the comment about how I told him so beforehand. I gave him a short nod and turned to head back up the stairs.
"Where is she going? What did you say to her?!" Andrea's aggressive voice followed me up the staircase. I groaned and rolled my eyes. I never got along with women like her. Loud, nosy and despite their attitude, deeply self-conscious.
"Wait up!" I heard heavy footsteps behind me and looked back to see T-Dog following. When he caught up with me he just gave me a short nod and together we moved on. I appreciated him not trying to force me into a conversation, God knows I had other things to worry about right now. It wasn't a lie that I should be able to hit my target over a larger distance, the question was how many times I would miss…
Pulling the rifle from my back I walked past Dixon who was going on about what I was up to and some more lewd comments on my behalf. I just blocked him out, same as the others slowly filling back into the roof. I walked straight up to the stone railing and looked down. It took me a few seconds to make out the point where Rick and Glenn should come out any minute. I set up my rifle and cleared my head as best as I could, trying to shut out all the noise around me and even out my breathing. I knew the two down in the streets had put a lot of trust in my abilities in case anything went wrong and I didn't want to let them take the fall for me not being ready.

I had no idea for how long I watched Rick and Glenn make their way through and among the herd down in the street. I was completely oblivious to what happened behind my back. If I had paid any mind to it, I might have found myself tempted to give Dixon another piece of mind and eventually shut up Andrea for good.
I flinched when suddenly something wet dripped onto my left cheek and a few seconds later I realized it had started to rain.
"Fuckin' shit! That can't be good…" I mumbled, more to myself than to anyone in particular. Keeping a close eye on our companions in the street I was soon proven right as the dead seemed to be more and more interested in them as the guts started to slowly wash off. The same second Rick raised his axe to fight off one of the corpses that had come too close, I took aim at one that had gotten too close to Glenn's back and pulled the trigger. Thanks to the silencer there wasn't much noise as the bullet left my weapon and embedded itself in the dead's skull. With practiced ease I discarded the empty shell and replaced it with a new one, getting ready to fire again within seconds. I took down three more of the dead until Rick and Glenn reached the fence and went over it and around the corner out of my sight.

Relaxing my body a little and slowly standing back up, the world around me seemed to finally catch up. I felt the last of the raindrops on my face and the slight shiver from the wind on my wet skin.
"Damn, girl… Should have found you sooner." I looked over at T-Dog. He looked at me like I was some kind of heroine, which I certainly was not.
"Guess we now get at least one pair of tits that is able to handle the weapon in her hands."
"You know, Dixon… That might have been the first half-way intelligent thing I've heard from you all day." Before he had the chance to get back at me, Andrea shouted.
"They're leaving us."
I walked up to her and slapped her right across the face when she turned towards me. She gasped and gave me a shocked and pissed look. "They aren't leaving us behind. Use your fucking brain and eyes! They are drawing the dead away from the building, so they can get us out of here!" Proving me right, the big white truck was turned around and headed back towards us.
"Those roll-up doors at the front of the store facing the street… Meet us there and be ready." Glenn's voice was heard over the walkie-talkie and I made haste to usher the others down the stairs. I was the last to leave after a short debate of T-Dog having the keys to the handcuffs still securing Merle to the roof, resulting in him staying behind and freeing the redneck. I told him to be quick about it and followed the others.
Down in the store I noticed there were a few cracks in the last glass door separating us from the remaining dead. I rushed past the doors to the back where the others were now standing near the back entrance and the roll-up doors.
"Move!" I shoved Morales lightly and he helped me push up the door just in time to see Glenn was passing by us in a flashing red sports car, drawing away most of the dead so Rick was able to pull up with the truck. I waited until everyone was inside and kept an eye on the few remaining corpses. The same second T-Dog arrived next to me, I heard the shattering noise of the front doors giving in and the loud and hungry growls. I gave the man beside me a push that had him almost falling into the back of the truck.
"Go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and Rick pushed down on the gas, the tires screeching with the force of it. With a last glance back I jumped. I gasped when I felt myself slip, luckily Morales got a hold of my arm and yanked me towards him and further inside.
"Thanks…"
He nodded at me and closed the doors in time to prevent the nearest of the dead following me in. I looked around. Everyone was there. Andrea, Jacqui, Morales, Rick, T-Dog… Merle!
"Where the fuck is Dixon?" I whirled around to the man that was supposed to cut him loose.
"I dropped the damn key'"
I looked at T-Dog in disbelief. "Turn around. We need to get him." As much as the redneck annoyed me, we couldn't just leave him there to die.
"Are you insane?! He wouldn't come back if it was one of us! We barely got out and you want us to risk our lives for that piece of shit?!" I got right into the blonde's face and she jerked back a few inches.
"He is still alive. He is one of us. I don't care what you got to say, but we don't abandon our own! And I don't take orders from someone too afraid to use her gun and just keeps mouthing off without actually doing something."
"Rachel… We can't go back. I am sorry."
I looked at Rick's face through the rearview mirror. He didn't like leaving someone behind more than I did. I had no respect for Dixon, still as I had said, he was still human. And who were we if we abandoned our own kind?

I don't recall how long the drive was. At one point I must have dozed off while curled up in the passenger's seat. I was a little confused and grabbed my knife on pure instinct when someone touched my shoulder. Jacqui looked at me with wide eyes when suddenly my hunting knife was against her throat.
"Just wanted to let you know we are almost there, honey."
I nodded at her and apologized for being so jumpy. I rubbed my face and took a look outside the window. Green. Green and calm. I could have cried at the sight of the forest around us. It was a sight I hadn't hoped to ever see again. Now, for the first time in weeks, I felt safe…or at least as safe and calm as one could feel in a tense situation like that.
"You okay?"
I looked to my left at the former cop and nodded. "Yes. It's just I didn't think I'd ever be so glad to see trees in my life. I haven't felt this calm in a while now. Not since all of this started…" He gave me a small smile and squeezed my shoulder before returning his eyes to the road.

A few minutes later we pulled up on a small path next to the tree lines, just short of a vast clearing. There were cars, trailers and people. A lot of people. I felt my anxiety go up again. It wasn't that I didn't trust people in general, it was more that I wasn't used to so many people in one place anymore. Everyone slowly got out of the truck when Morales told us to get out and get to know everyone. It took me a few more minutes to actually get my door open and step outside.
"Daddy!" A boy with brown hair launched himself at Rick. Both were crying and hugging each other. I felt a sudden pang in my chest as I stood there next to the truck like some intruder to the heartwarming family reunions all around. Andrea was hugging another blonde girl close, apparently her sister by the looks of it. Morales was wrapped up by his own small family and Rick was sitting on the ground, his arms around his son and wife. I was happy for them. Still, it hurt when I had no idea where my own family was or if they were even alive.