Day 4: Serum
Doraville, Georgia, United States of America
9:31am, June 30th, 2010
I must have needed to catch up on rest, because I could see the sun shining in through the front window, almost as bright as it would be midday. Sure enough, Daryl was still awake, laying back in his seat. He seemed to have noticed that I was awake, his eyes flicking to mine for a moment.
"Are we still fucked?" I whispered.
He shook his head. "There's a few stranglers. Thought I'd let y'all get your rest, see if they decide to catch up to the rest of 'em."
"Did you sleep at all?"
"A few minutes here and there."
Of course. Daryl was known to me for his insomnia.
"I said we'd get to Atlanta today, and that's what we're gonna do. Let's try clearin' the road block."
"Merle ain't gonna be any help. Everyone of y'all has woken up throughout the night 'cept for him. Whatever he took from that big put him out."
"He really knows exactly what to take to get exactly what he wants, huh?"
"Guess so."
I gripped the side of the van, standing up and looking out the window. The herd definitely had passed, but there were a few stumbling about as Daryl had mentioned.
"What's that over there?" I asked him, pointing out towards what looked like a dirt road leading out from a broken wall section in the highway.
"Noticed it last night too," Daryl replied. "It's worth checkin' out. Might be better than movin' all these cars on the highway."
"Could definitely be, if it loops around or provides a way out of here," I said.
"Let's go then."
With no further ado, I grabbed the semiauto rifle from the front seat, careful to not wake the others. Yes, maybe we could have used their help, but I thought it better to let them have their rest. They were all sleeping right now, and Daryl had mentioned that everyone was waking up throughout the night, so I didn't know how much rest the others truly got.
I opened up the side door in the back, trying not to wake the others, but that seemed to do the trick. Mike opened his eyes, looking widely at me while Mia merely tossed in her sleep. Blake, ever the deep sleeper, didn't seem to budge. Ahmad did not wake either, but I had a sneaking suspicion that he was only pretending to still be asleep.
"Stay here," I said to Mike. "Let the others know that we're headin' out towards the dirt path over yonder when they wake up. Y'all are welcome to come join when everyone is up, but somebody gotta stay behind and keep an eye on Merle."
Mike nodded. I'm sure he would have had more to say had he not been so groggy and woken up suddenly only a few seconds ago. I'm sure the fear from last night's event didn't help either.
Daryl jumped out the side door, and I followed him close behind, slamming the door behind me.
Together, we surveyed the area for the threat of any eaters as we walked towards the entryway of the dirt road. There were a few trying to navigate through the cars up ahead, but there was no use for Daryl and I to go out of our way to catch up to them. It was only a couple that we could take care of later.
Approaching the dirt path, we saw that this seemed to have been somebody's camp. They must have set up overnight on the way to Atlanta then the place got overrun. There were a few vehicles blocking the road, but nothing Daryl and I couldn't take care of and push out of the way.
"We ought to loot all these tents," he suggested. "Gotta be some supplies left behind. Looks like folks got out of here in a hurry."
"I agree," I replied. "Here, pull the van up over here. It'll be easier to load up with it closer."
I tossed him the keys, and he did as I requested, making back for the van as I got started on pushing the first vehicle out of the roadway.
It was only a small sedan, so I knew I could take care of it on my own if I put in a little extra effort. Positioning myself behind it, I began to push, letting out a guttural moan that assisted me in moving the car out of the way. Once that was done, I took a peek inside, looking out for anything that might be useful, but the thing seemed pretty empty to me. Somebody may have already cleared it out on their own accord.
Sure enough, Daryl pulled up in the van, the thing bouncing up and down from the bumpiness of the dirt road. He pulled it to a stop right before me, getting out of the driver's seat, following him, Blake, Ahmad, Mike, and Mia poured out as well.
"Got some helpin' hands," Daryl called out to me.
"Good, everyone's awake," I replied. "Ahmad, you help out Daryl and I with clearin' the road. The other three of you go ahead and look for supplies. All these tents got to have a little bit of food and whatnot."
"Sounds like a plan," Mia agreed. "Let's go boys."
"Oh and hey, if you don't mind, keep an eye on the van. Holler for me or Daryl if Merle wakes up."
"We can do that," Blake agreed.
Daryl and I led Ahmad down the pathway towards the next vehicle in the way until we arrived. The three of us used our combined strength to move this sedan out of the way, and it seemed as though as soon as we finished this task, that's when the screaming and the gunshots started. It was familiar screams, and I knew it was coming from Mia and the guys.
Daryl took no time taking off back towards the tents, Ahmad and I following closely after him.
Once we arrived, we could see it. There were a dozen-and-a-half eaters stalking out from the woods. They had their hands on Blake, a good five or six of them, pulling him towards the trees as he struggled. Before any of us could get there, their teeth had sunk into the cop.
Mike had made a run for it, and Daryl pulled Mia back as he went after Mike.
"You two, stay back!" I told Mia and Ahmad, then rushed after Daryl.
I really didn't want to fire anymore shots today. I didn't know how clear this area was.
Mike lifted his gun towards the eaters, firing a shot into one of the ones chowing down on Blake's face. The ringing of the gunshot then attracted the attention of the dead consuming Blake, and they all turned their focus towards Mike, coming after him now.
The older man began rapidly firing a hail of bullets into the dead, but this wasn't enough.
One female eater had managed to slip through, tripping into Mike's chest, and sequentially taking a chunk out of it. Mike let out a howl as his flesh fell to the ground with the eater. Daryl had by then caught up to the man, pulling him harshly away from the dead and bringing his steel-toe boot down upon the once-woman's head several times until she ceased to move.
More eaters emerged from the trees, and I was terrified for Daryl's life, but before I could get to him, the van slammed up, Merle shouting a battle cry from the rolled down window, slamming into a few of the eaters. The man then jumped out of the car, taking out a few of them with the hammer I'd given him.
By then, I had caught up to my brothers, and I began to assist them by taking out what remained of the eaters with the butt of the rifle.
Turning around, I faced Mike, his face contorted in pain.
"You know what this means, man," Merle said to him, pointing an accusatory finger at Mike.
"Merle, I got it handled," I put a hand on my older brother's chest.
"I know, I know," Mike breathed. "Leave me here."
"No!" I shouted. "We're almost to Atlanta. They could have help there."
"They ain't got no help there for this shit, boy," Mike replied to me. "If they did, we'd be hearin' about it. If I reach Atlanta, they'll shoot me on site. Fifty-five years is a decent life. I've been more than lucky. I'm okay with this."
The man emptied out his clip, leaving one bullet in there.
"I can't just leave you here," I said, this time more calmly.
"I ain't goin' out on anyone's terms but mine," he argued. "That tent I was checkin' out was real nice. I'm goin' in there, and I'm finishin' the job on myself. Don't nobody come for me."
"Mike, I-"
"Joel," Daryl came and placed a hand on my shoulder.
His touch was hesitant. He wasn't one to often initiate such contact, so I knew he was serious here. Turning my head to look at him, he was shaking his head.
"I don't mean to be insensitive, but we need to make a decision," pushed Mia, tears in her eyes. "We need to get out of here."
"We can't," I insisted. "We need to finish clearin' the road."
"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me, dude?!" she screamed. "We just lost two of our own! Look at him, Joel, do you see Blake?!"
She gestured towards the mangled body of the police officer, his guts hanging out, his eyes still wide open with shock. His last emotion had been one of fear.
The image did disturb me, but I couldn't let this stop us. This was survival of the fittest out here. And I wasn't going to let anyone else die.
Walking over to his corpse, I leaned down to shut his eyelids, when he jumped up and snapped at me. Before I could comprehend that he had turned, Daryl sent an arrow through his head.
"You guys settle this," Mike interjected again, "but please, let me have my peace and quiet. I won't end up like one of them."
Gripping his chest, the man hobbled off towards an unzipped tent.
"Thank you," I said to him. "For helpin' us."
"I'm alright dyin' if it was to help some young folks get by," he nodded. "You're a good man, Joel. Get these people to safety. One thing, don't ask them to risk their lives again."
I said nothing more to the man as he made his way to the tent, zipping it up behind him.
"He's right," Mia agreed. "I can't keep riskin' my life."
"Don't you see," I began, trying to keep my voice low for Mike. "Livin' these days, is riskin' your life! You don't want to help, that's fine, you stay in the van from now on, but don't tell me how to get to Atlanta or you're on your own. My brothers and I are doin' this for you, for you people! We can survive just fine out here without no government!"
Mia shook her head and went over to the vehicle, slamming the door as she entered.
"Ah, my brother," Merle began, "Ever the chivalrous one. You made the bitch cry."
"She was already cryin'," I defended.
I did feel bad, but I was under a lot of pressure right now. I trusted myself over anyone, and my primary concern was keeping Daryl, Merle, and myself alive. Our guests too, but I didn't know them from Adam. They could leave if they wanted to.
I offered a look to Ahmad, who looked nervous, but contemplative.
"I said I'd pull my weight, so I'll help," he answered the question I didn't have to ask.
Truthfully, I didn't care whether Ahmad pulled his weight or not. It wouldn't have bothered me in the slightest if he'd chosen to wait in the car as well.
"Well, let's get it done with then," Merle said.
"Not you," I replied, making his face fall. "Somebody has to watch over Mia, and apparently you seem to think you know best with women."
Merle chuckled and headed back towards the vehicle. It really didn't have anything to do with Mia's gender, but everything to do with Merle being high. I just knew it was best to appeal to his ego to avoid an argument.
Daryl, Ahmad, and I continued on down the path until we ran into a truck blocking the end of the dirt road. It seemed that the dirt road ultimately led to a truck barn, and I hoped dearly that it gave us space to make it through the road.
We combined out strength to move the blue pickup out of the way, but more gunshots going off in the background.
"Shit, was that them again?" Ahmad asked.
"Came from the other way," Daryl said.
"Oh crap!" a male voice called out. "Hey! Get in here, quick! Hurry, we got snipers on the roof!"
"Are they talkin' to us?" I inquired.
"We should go back for the van," Ahmad suggested.
"You speak English? Snipers on the damn roof!" the voice called out again.
"They gotta be talkin' to us," I said.
"Is he threatenin' us?" Daryl growled.
"We can't go back for the van yet," I said, pointing towards a closed gate just up ahead.
"I'll go for the gate then," Daryl said. "Y'all head back for the van."
"Ahmad, you head back for the van," I corrected. "Let me talk to this guy."
"Talk?" Daryl questioned.
"He might be able to help us figure the best route to Atlanta, so we don't run into nothin' like this again," I explained.
"Alright," Ahmad agreed. "I'll head back."
The man turned around in route back towards Merle and Mia, Daryl heading towards the gate ahead. I noticed eaters coming out from the other side of the barn, and I veered towards the building on the other side of the gate.
Over here, I located a chain link fence, surrounding an open door that appeared to lead towards some type of lobby, a young black man inside.
Opening the gate quickly, I squeezed myself over to him.
"You do speak English," the man cleverly remarked. "We got a whole slew of snipers on the top floor, lotta families too. Waiting out the infection. We made this place secure as a castle."
"Waiting out the infection?" I challenged. "There a reason y'all ain't headed towards Atlanta?"
"We're not bringing a bunch of kids out on the road, even if we're close. Your man going for the gate, it's electric. Needs a fuse box to open it up."
"Where do I find the fuse box?"
"It's in the courtyard inside."
"Point me in the right direction."
"Right through the right through this hall," he pointed. "I'll let my snipers know you're here, we can provide some coverage."
"Ain't gonna argue with that."
I wasted no time heading down the hall to the young man's right, jumping over a turned over desk and heading through a door. I found myself in the courtyard he spoke of, faced with ten or so eaters, their attention from the far side turning towards me.
A gunshot took the closest one down.
"Pow!" An enthusiastic voice called out. "We got you covered, buddy!" More gunshots. "Ha! Fish in a barrel! Breaker's in the shed! Far end, pal! Keep heading to that fuse box, our ammo's limited."
Of course it was the far end. It was always the far end, wasn't it?
I didn't need anymore information, so I made a dash for it through the eaters. The courtyard was a long cemented area, infested with eaters. This place sure didn't look secure as a castle if you asked me.
I entered through the second section of the courtyard, about three eaters left over wandering around, but I could see the shed the sniper spoke of on the far side.
As fast as I could, I made a run for the shed, avoiding the gunfire aiming towards the undead. The fuse box was easy enough to find, and I flicked the lever upwards, just like the generator back in Blue Ridge.
Now, I needed to get back to Daryl.
Turning around, I took the pace of a steady jog since the snipers had taken care of all of the dead.
"Biters in the yard! Biters in the yard!" a voice called out. "Take them all down and get the kids into the saferoom!"
Yeah, I needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
I picked up my pace, now running back towards the hall I had entered through. I made my way through the hall, rushing out towards the front doors when the young black guy stopped me.
"Hey listen, we sent a team over to ClaraChem to bargain for some of that serum they developed. Keep an eye out for them, okay?"
"Serum?" I asked.
"It's supposed to stop the symptoms, stop you from turning."
God, I wondered if Mike had ended it yet.
"I'll keep an eye out," I promised him.
Dashing out of the door, the van was waiting for me, the driver, which appeared to be Daryl at this time, letting out a honk. Running around the other side past the dead that had infested the area, I jumped in the backseat which Ahmad quickly closed right behind me, Daryl taking off towards the gate.
"What took you so long?" Merle shouted.
"We have to go back," I said.
"Are you crazy? For what?" Mia questioned, her eyes now dry but obviously still upset.
"Mike."
"Brother, that ship has already sailed," Merle said.
I looked at Mia to confirm that Merle wasn't lying.
"A shot already fired from the tent," she answered. "He wanted to be left alone anyway, isn't that well-enough for you?"
"There's a serum," I explained.
"What like a cure?" Ahmad asked.
"Well, it supposedly stops someone from turning," I said. "It's at a place called ClaraChem?"
"ClaraChem," Ahmad repeated. "It's this big pharma place, in Atlanta but outside the city. It's on our way there."
I took to one of the backseats, letting Daryl take the lead this time. Merle was in passenger. Ahmad sat in the front row of backseats, providing Daryl with directions on how to get to this pharma place. I took this opportunity to catch my breath.
"Well, welcome to Atlanta," Ahmad said.
I sat up in the middle row, taking a look outside the window.
"This is all there is?"
The area looked just about the same as anywhere else that we'd passed through. It had largely been evacuated, eaters roaming around the streets in small groups.
"Hold your horses, cowboy," Ahmad said in good nature. "We're only on the outskirts. I'm guessing everything left is inside. ClaraChem is right around the corner- here- pull into the parking garage."
Daryl followed Ahmad's orders, pulling into a parking garage, crashing right through the restrictive rod.
"Well come on now, you don't have to hurt her," I said to Daryl.
"Just a van, dumbass," was his remark.
"No wonder all your cars get busted so quick."
Daryl drove down into the garage, beaming the headlights bright, looking for any sign of anyone.
"Hate to break it to you, camel jockey, but looks like there ain't nobody here," Daryl replied.
Ahmad frowned at the slur but said nothing. Clearly, he was used to it living in Georgia.
"Let's stay civil, people," I advised. "We should check the place out anyway. Might be a dud but there's gotta be some useful shit in here."
Daryl pulled the van to a stop, he, Ahmad, and I getting out in the process. Merle stayed behind with Mia again.
My brother crouched down before some marks on the road.
"Fresh tire tracks," he observed.
"Might be from the Doraville group," I added. "They said they sent some people this way."
"Looks like they got out of here in a hurry," he speculated.
"That can't be a good sign," Ahmad reasoned.
Daryl walked over to where the elevators were, pressing the button to request one, but nothing happened.
"This place is gone, Joel. It's a damn waste of time," he said.
"I said I'd get everyone to Atlanta today, we're here aren't we? What are we supposed to do?"
"Guess this place is as good as any to set up shop then," he offered. "Big walls, plenty of medical supplies."
"I think there's gotta be military inside the city, guys," Ahmad said. "I don't know that we should just set up anywhere."
"Who said you were invited?" Daryl questioned. "You want to go to the city, go!"
"He's pulled his weight, Daryl," I defended the man. "You see Mia or Merle out here helpin'? Let's check the place out and see what we got to work with. If it's all good and secure, we can set up a camp here and still check out the interior of the city in the morning."
"Whatever," this was Daryl's passive way of agreeing. "Guess we're back to the old-fashioned way."
He shined his flashlight towards the stairs, looking back at us before continuing towards them. Ahmad and I followed closely behind.
It was incredibly dark in the stairway, and the stench let me know that we might have company.
"Check these poor assholes out," Daryl said, shining his light on several fly-ridden bodies on the landing. "There's gotta be lot more where that came from."
"This place got overrun," I agreed. "You're right in saying that there's not gonna be any cure left here."
"Is clearin' it out gonna be worth the trouble?" Daryl wondered.
"Anywhere's gonna have bodies to get rid of," I pondered. "My only fear is that everyone's gonna be rushin' in here with their infected loved ones demandin' that we give them a cure."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ahmad asked as we continued up the stairs. "Not the whole bringing their infected here, but the strength in numbers? People come here, we get stronger."
"Not necessarily," Daryl countered. "Ain't no strength in numbers when you got more mouths to feed. Not everyone is so willin' to put the work in."
"Just depends on how it plays out," I inputted. "I don't know if there's anybody left to come rushin' in here like that or else we wouldn't be the only ones here."
At the top of the stairway, we entered through a door leading to an open concept elevator lobby. A large gate door protected the area to our left. In front of us was a giant room adorned with cubicles, eaters maneuvering around it.
"We clear this room out first and set up camp here. We can go room to room day by day until we're all done," Daryl strategized.
Daryl and Ahmad went forward, ready to take care of the eaters. I stood behind, considering a possibility. That large gate, it had to be protecting something important. Walking over to it, I noticed that it seemed to lead towards another staircase going down. That had to be where the labs were. If there was any hope for a serum, it would be down there. On the left-hand side of the gate was a keypad, but the thing was completely dark. The power was out here. The keypad wouldn't work even if I knew the code. There was, however, a keyhole. If I could find the key to that, I could get in.
In the middle of the elevator lobby, a vending machine was overturned, in the way of reaching what seemed to be an office on the other side. With all of the cubicles set up, this isolated office had to belong to the authority figure of the area. This person-in-charge was the most likely to have the keys if they were still here.
I quickly made a running jump over the vending machine towards the back office where sure enough, I found the keys hanging on the wall next to a big computer system. On the other side of the computer desk was another fuse box. That would certainly help, I flicked the switch up and the lights in the room automatically went on.
There had to be backup generators in the building, but their use was probably limited none-the-less.
Running back out of the office, I made it back to the gate. The keypad was now lit up, and I entered the key, overriding the system and opening the gate up. Going forth, I began descending the staircase, when I saw something that would certainly be of use. In the wall, there was a fire axe. How it had gotten there, I did not know. I could only guess that someone had been fighting an eater and couldn't manage to pull it back out. This would be much more useful than the butt of any rifle.
With a firm tug, I pulled the tool out of the wall, slinging my semiauto around my back. I then continued down the stairs until I reached what seemed to be a secure freezer.
This was it. The serum.
I approached the door, and presumably, an auto sensor opened it up for me, blasting me with freezing-cool air. I hadn't experienced air like that in God knows how long.
I proceeded forward to a second door, which opened upon auto sense again, leading me into the lab.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" a woman called out to me from behind some glass.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
She nodded. "I'm Sheila. My group and I were sent here to check this place out."
"From Doraville, no?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
"Buddy of yours asked me to come check in on you guys when I was passing through. Young black dude."
"This place is dead," she sighed.
"I noticed that."
"Except for that auto-security system," she pointed upwards. "Yeah, it's real cute. Locks gates, cuts power… it trapped me in here. Haven't seen my team…"
"Just a whole bunch of bodies out here, lady. If your people ain't dead, they ain't here. What about the serum?"
"The research results. No cure, no serum. They never found it. Lot of people died for a fairytale."
"That's nothing new."
"Look, can you get me out of here?"
"Safer in there than anywhere else."
"Come on, man, not if I starve."
"There was a baseboard upstairs. I managed to get the power on up there, but maybe there's another one somewhere else. Know where that door leads?"
I pointed to a set of double doors at the end of the hall.
"Back to the parking garage."
"Good, I'll get my brother real quick. We're gonna set up camp in here for now. Might check out the rest of Atlanta tomorrow. I'll be back."
"Don't take too long!"
I headed for the double doors she spoke of until I found myself in a corridor with a big sign at the end which read 'EXIT'.
A lone eater wandered the hall, and I was honestly more than ready to try out the axe for the first time. Lifting the thing up, I brought it down upon its head, making one clear cut through its cranium. Yeah, this thing was a lot better than anything blunt.
I made my way into the parking garage which was the same level Daryl had stopped the van at, ready to bring Merle and Mia inside when I was stopped in my tracks.
Sure enough, they were both in there, but the site was something I particularly didn't want to see.
Mia was… on top of him in the first row of back seats. I guess she wasn't so married after all. Shaking that image from my mind, I turned around and went back towards Sheila. I guess I'd send Daryl to go get them later.
"Back already?" Sheila greeted.
"You think this glass is bullet proof?"
"What are you planning on doing?" she asked. "Please don't fire a shot in here."
"I won't be firing any shots. Stand back"
The auto doors were made mainly of glass, and the windowed glass looked a lot stronger, so I though breaking the doors would be my better bet.
Bringing the axe up above my head, I slammed it down into the glass, shattering it.
"Jesus, thanks," the woman said from inside the room, walking towards me.
"You didn't try that before?"
"I'm all out of axes, sorry."
I scoffed.
I led her back upstairs to where Daryl and Ahmad were. It looked like they had done alright for clearing out the bodies and finishing out what was left of the eaters. We could use the cubicles as sleeping spaces for tonight.
"Found someone," I announced. "She was stuck down in the labs. You were right, Daryl. No serum, no cure."
"It was all phony," he remarked.
"Guess we're not gettin' too lucky today," I replied. "Give Merle another twenty minutes then go get him, will you?"
"Why twenty minutes?"
"He's got a charm with the ladies, you know?"
"Oh, God."
I laughed at that.
After everything, I was ready to get some rest for the night, so I picked out a cubicle close to the elevator lobby and shut my eyes.
Words: 4,920
This whole day was shorter than the others in the game, hence the shorter chapter. It's likely that Day 5 will be the last chapter adapting Survival Instinct, so we're going to be meeting some TV show characters following that and start leading up to the first episode. All the SI characters were getting to be a lot to keep track of, hence why I got rid of a few. I figured Merle needed to live up to his lady's man reputation haha
