Day 5: The Promised Land
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
10:32am, July 1st, 2010
It was weird how easily I fell asleep now. Each day had exhausted me and put me to sleep like a baby. No blanket or pillow necessary, just a space big enough to squeeze into. When I stood up in the cubicle, I saw Daryl, Merle, Mia, Sheila, and Ahmad standing around, chatting sparsely while rationing out the little food that we had. I wasn't sure that I had even eaten at all yesterday.
"Hey, my baby brother!" Merle greeted, happier than usual.
I guess I knew why.
He tossed me a protein bar which I caught and began to eat.
"Y'all ready to head into the city today?" I asked. "See if Atlanta is really all its cracked up to be?"
"It's as good a day as any," Daryl shrugged.
"To do what? Die?" Mia said.
I had to admit, her pessimism was getting kind of annoying. It wasn't particularly helping anyone out, but I would let her be. Not everyone could cope as well with everything going on as I could or my brothers. It wouldn't be fair for me to ask that of her or anyone else.
"That's at stake anywhere we go," I replied. "Load up and meet me at the van when you're all ready. I ain't forcin' anyone to go that would rather not."
I headed back down towards the stairs that led to the parking lot, grabbing my axe beforehand. I had to admit, I felt a sense of urgency. I had no toothbrush, and the lack of clean teeth and gums was making me antsy. And things were easier if I could just get everything done as fast as possible. I didn't have to think about the deaths. My dad, Jess, Blake even, my homestead. I had to just keep moving.
I waited for a while in the van until everyone joined me, loading up in. Ahmad took passenger this time, considering that he knew the city best out of any of us. I wasn't necessarily going to put him behind the wheel, but I'd need him up front for navigation purposes. Daryl took the front row in the back with Sheila in the middle and Merle and Mia in the very back. I think they still thought they were being slick.
"Today's the day, huh?" Daryl grunted as I started the ignition.
"I don't know what could stop us, we're right here," I replied.
"A whole lot," Daryl scoffed. "Noticed that someone woke the dead?"
"We're gonna be fine," I assured him as I pulled out of the parking garage.
"We should be pulling up on military blockades any minute now," Ahmad agreed.
"I don't understand," I admitted. "Shouldn't there be more crowding in these streets?"
The streets were mainly empty. I knew we were still making our way through the outer part of the city, but I'd guess there to have been some more military presence out here to ensure safe passage.
"Hold on!" Ahmad choked as if not hearing what I'd said at all. "We were supposed to go down this road but look at that."
I looked over to where the man was pointing to see what appeared to be a chain link fence set up in order to keep people out, cars positioned in the way. A big makeshift sign read "DO NOT ENTER, DEAD ZONE".
"Don't like the sound of that," I commented. "You know the city well enough to find me another way?"
"I don't have to- look."
Ahmad pointed down towards the road where big orange arrows were painted on leading further down. I hoped this wouldn't be a dead end. I didn't want to lead any more of these people to their deaths. Warren, Blake, Mike. They all had died so that we could live, intentionally or not.
As we advanced further into the city, the deader it got. This couldn't be good. But maybe it was because the military was clearing the streets. For clarity's sake, by deader I mean that there was no sign of life, and eater bodies littered the lawns of homes, the sidewalks, even the streets causing me to swerve around out of place. In some places, street lamps were knocked over, their electrical flickering almost unnoticeable in the daylight.
The van was silent, everyone observing our surroundings, waiting for a good omen or to be let down.
The omens were there though. Signs along the side of the road said in spray paint, "THIS WAY TO SAFETY" or "FOLLOW THE ORANGE ARROWS".
Every time we passed one, it felt like the tension slipped out of the vehicle if only for a moment, a sense of hope and relief filling my passengers.
After following the arrows for a while, we inevitably hit a barrier.
"What the hell?" Daryl called.
"Oh, hell nah," Merle cried.
Up ahead was a traffic jam, as far as the eye could see. And we were in the very back. I was a bit relieved though. It had been so long since I'd seen so many people, alive, however desperate.
"They're letting people in," Ahmad concluded. "The line is so everyone can go through safety precautions."
"I don't feel good about being stuck up in here," I confessed. "Things could go south real quick."
"Where the hell else would you have us go?" Mia challenged me as usual.
It was a fair challenge though.
"Nowhere now," I told her. "We're in the back, it'll be a quick swerve out if need be."
"I'm not swerving out of here," she said, mocking the wording I used. "I want to be with people. This is the most people I've seen since everything happened."
"You guys hold up then," I said, turning the engine off. "I'm going to go ask someone if they know what's going on."
"Screw that!" Merle replied. "You do your little dance, I'm gonna stretch my legs."
I got out of the driver's seat, taking nothing but my revolver and the keys with me. Right ahead of me, I spotted a police cruiser. If anyone would know what was going on right now, it would be him. I didn't see any military out here regulating things.
I approached the vehicle, and wrapped on the window, the man giving me a startled look as he turned from the conversation he was having with his female passenger. He was a black guy in his forties, I would say, still in police uniform with a big thick mustache.
He rolled down the window, looking at me expectantly.
"Hey man, you know what's going on here?" I asked him.
"I think we're just waitin' to be let in," he answered.
"You think?" I repeated. "How long have y'all been out here?"
He shook his head, "Jesus, three, four days. I haven't seen new folks show up in a while."
I took a look around, and it certainly looked like people were settling here. Everyone's car doors were handing ajar, kids sat around looking hungry and tired over board games.
"Four days?" I reverberated. "Is the line movin' at all?"
"It was the first couple days, honestly. I don't think it has in twenty-four hours. Lots of folks have just up and left."
"And y'all ain't gettin' eaters comin' up here to put an end to this parade?"
"Not too many up this way. I think people have taken out a few."
"Alright, thank you, Officer…"
"Kendall," he answered. "Lambert Kendall from the Cummings Police Department. This here is Paula. She's a friend from home."
"Joel Dixon," I introduced. "Friends from before are a luxury these days."
"I must be rich then," he nodded his head towards a family with a preteen boy ahead of him.
"Those all your people?"
"We weren't all that close before if I'm honest. Worked together. But something about all this brings folks closer together."
"I hear you there. I'm lucky enough to have my brothers with me. We've made a few friends along the way. Not all of them made it."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yeah, I'm sorry too. Look, I really appreciate your help. I got to get back to my people and let them know what's goin' on."
"You have a good day now."
I nodded at Officer Kendall and his female passenger, Paula.
Paula was a thin white woman, maybe with some Asian in her but long auburn hair. Her eyes were full of sorrow, and I could tell that she had already lost a lot, like she was barely even here.
This woman hadn't had time to cope.
I then walked back over to the van where I found Merle standing outside, the side door left wide open.
"Find anything out?" Sheila asked.
"It's not exactly good news," I admitted, looking between my group. "We're supposedly in line to get entry, but he said that the line hasn't moved in a day or so."
"A day or so?" Mia reiterated.
Daryl scoffed and the rest of the group's faces fell flat in fatigue and disappointment.
"So, how long they been out here?" Daryl continued.
"He said about half a week. I think we should take our chances elsewhere."
"Well, nobody died and put you in charge," Mia countered. "None of us have to stay together. I don't want to just leave all these people out here."
"So, what, you want me to tell everyone to follow me? Recruit people to somethin' I can't promise them?" Mia just folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, looking at me expectantly. "Come on, now, what am I supposed to say? Lie to them, say we can lead them to safety?"
"We can bring them back to ClaraChem," Ahmad offered.
"Come on, not you too," I turned to him. "There's got to be hundreds of people here."
"It's a big building," Mia pointed out.
"What happens when they realize we have no real authority? I don't want to manage all these people when they're all riled up and pissed o-"
BOOM. BAM. BOOM.
"What was that?" Sheila asked.
"It came from the direction of the city," Ahmad added. "I think we can take a look through these trees on this side of the highway. Come on."
I knew the sound. An airplane going down, something falling from the sky. It could have easily been a helicopter with a bit pilot taking the plunge.
I turned to follow Ahmad with the rest of the group, nearly running face to face with a young Asian guy who gave me a strange but knowing look. I didn't have time to think about it, and I was sure it was nothing, so I continued on after Ahmad. He led us down a slight slope through some widespread trees and brush, until the skyscrapers of downtown Atlanta were visible. Out in the distance, fiery explosions littered the streets. Other survivors had gathered in the trees, looking down in horror and tears.
"Oh my god," the brunette woman from the family Officer Kendall said he knew spoke.
She and her husband had been among the survivors who'd rushed to see the scene through the streets.
"They're droppin' napalm in the streets," her husband spoke, barely above a whisper.
"Shane," she whimpered, and the man embraced her, holding her tightly.
Mia looked from me over to the couple as if coaxing me to do something to comfort them, but I knew what she really wanted. I sighed. I wasn't going to get let off by this woman anytime soon. I didn't think we could lead everyone out of here, but maybe we could recruit Officer Kendall and his friends at the very least. He seemed like a decent man as of this far.
As I turned towards the couple, I caught a familiar pair of eyes on me once again. It was that Asian guy from just a moment ago. He was clearly looking at me for a reason, and it was the fact that he was looking like he knew something that I didn't that made me feel uneasy.
I returned him an intense look and began tromping up to him where he was further up on the slope, feeling the confused and irritated gaze of Mia on my back.
The man looked a little frightened upon seeing me approach him, backing up a little which was when I realized how intimidating I must look to him. I soften my demeanor a little, letting my facial muscles and shoulders relax a bit. I felt a little bad for scaring the kid.
"Please don't hurt me," he said almost comically, putting his hands up in submission as I approached.
I simply chuckled in reply. "Relax, dude. Why would I hurt you? Who are you?"
"Glenn?" he said.
"Is that a question or an answer?"
"Is that a… it's an answer."
"So what's with you giving me the eyes? Askin' me to bend you over behind a tree and lay it to you?"
"What? No! I'm not-"
I couldn't help but let out a louder laugh. "I'm just kiddin', dude."
"Okay, can we just stop with the weirdness then?"
"That's all you."
"Look, I heard what you and your friends were saying," I felt my cheeks get a little hot at this, embarrassed that our plot was caught. "And I'm not against it," I felt myself relax at this. Wait, I didn't have to prove myself to this kid. What would have happened if he was? "I knew Atlanta was a dead end, and I don't think that ClaraChem place is such a good idea either."
"Why not? We were there, it was pretty clear. A lot of bodies though."
"Yeah, exactly. A lot of bodies means a lot of geeks migrate through there."
"Geeks," I repeated under my breath.
I liked that one too. I had to admit, eaters wasn't all that creative.
"Anywhere close to the city where a lot of people are- it's probably not going to be safe. I know a place I think we might be able to put some faith in though."
"You think?"
"It's out of the way, up in the hills. Westside Reservoir Park."
"Westside? How far is that from here. We'll have to go all the way around Atlanta. How do we know the way isn't blocked?"
"We don't."
"That's right."
"Look, listen to that!"
Glenn shushed and I copied, listening for what he was talking about.
Up on the road, horns were blaring and cars swerving. Eaters- geeks had to already be on their way. People were panicking.
"Yeah, I should get back to my van kid and get the hell out of here."
"Go to the park. You can follow me, get whoever you can to come. People will listen to anyone who acts like they know what they're doing. They just need someone to give the direction right now."
"What are you drivin'?"
"You won't miss it, it's a church van."
Glenn jogged back up the mountain, and I turned around to face my group, my people looking at me expectantly.
"We need to get back to the van and get the hell out of Dodge!"
I tromped back up the incline, my group right behind me back towards the van. People were going crazy. As cram packed as the highway jam was, people were trying to drive their vehicles through and around, yelling commencing and cars being collided into.
"Joel, look out!" Daryl called from behind me.
While running, I was so focused on all of the chaos ensuing, that I failed to see the geek in front of me. They had likely been coming this way for days. I quickly pulled out my revolver and put a shot through its skull. Some survivors screamed at the gunshot, and more gunshots followed.
As I approached the van, I could see an SUV parked right up next to it, a couple guys hurriedly loading our supplies into their vehicle for themselves. I thought to fire shots at them, but that may have been interpreted the wrong way by everyone else and I could have gotten shot in return.
"Hey! Get away from my stuff!" Merle shouted.
The two guys looked in our direction, saw the fury on Merle's face, hopped in the SUV and took off, zooming away. I had no time to criticize anyone for leaving the door opened, I had left the van unlocked anyway, so I was partially at fault.
"Y'all get in, give me one moment!" I shouted back at them while veering towards Officer Kendall's car.
"Joel, get in the damn van!" Daryl disagreed, but I paid him no mind.
"Kendall," I breathed once I arrived at his window again. "Get your people, and anyone else to follow me or that church van. We can lead you guys to safety."
I said nothing more to the cop and took off towards the van again. I decided to leave out the part where we weren't sure if this place was really safe. Hopping in the front seat, I plugged the keys in and started the ignition, surveying the area for Glenn's van.
"What are you doing just go!" Mia yelled.
"He knows what he's doin', bitch, just shut the hell up!" Daryl defended me.
As soon as I saw a big white van with words on the side, something about 'CHURCH', I swerved around and took after it.
"Listen up!" Through the opening in my window, I could hear Kendall's voice on his loudspeaker. "Anyone who needs somewhere safe to stay, follow me. I'll turn my siren on for 10 minutes, after that it's off. Keep up!"
"Happy now, Mia?" I quizzed the young woman, taking a look back at her in the rearview mirror.
She gave me a serious but satisfied nod.
"What you go talkin' to that cop for, huh?" Merle asked. "And that Chinese kid in the woods?"
"Guy in the woods said to follow him to a reservoir. Cop was just to keep your girlfriend off my ass."
"Girlfriend?" Mia played dumb.
Merle gave a telling look.
Kendall repeated his message a few more times, until the time had passed for him to turn his sirens off. At this point, we were out of the way of all of the commotion of the escaping cars. I took a glance back in my rearview. We were the first car behind Glenn, and I could see at least five more vehicles right behind us. Things had calmed down now, and I had time to think about everything that had just happened. Those assholes who went through our stuff. I looked around. Everything at my seat was gone- the two rifles, the fire axe. I was lucky the revolver was on me.
Taking another gaze back through the rearview mirror, it looked like they'd really cleaned out a lot of what we had back there. There was still a bit of fuel and food left, but only a fraction. I was sure we would have been cleaned out empty if we took thirty seconds more to make it back to the van.
It was a long and windy trek to west Atlanta. We were avoiding the main roads and going straight through the city for obvious reasons, Glenn leading us around some backroads. I wasn't sure how well phones were working right now, so he either had a GPS or the guy really knew his way around. I knew we were getting closer when we weren't driving through streets aligned by factories anymore and heading up a hill, the vehicles bouncing up and down at the unfamiliar terrain. Looking back through the side mirror, I could see only a few of these vehicles were meant to be off roaders.
We made our way up to a clearing on a cliffside, and Glenn stopped the van. To my surprise, Glenn wasn't the one to hop out of the driver's seat, but a stocky bald black guy. Glenn was next to get out of the passenger's seat, followed by a harem of five women, two black and three white jumping out of the van.
I was grateful to Glenn for leading us all to safety, but we needed to know what we should do next. I turned off the van and joined Glenn and his friends outside, my crew piling out after me and the other vehicles inhabitants following suit. I looked around at who we had gathered. It was certainly a big mix of what was to be found in the Atlanta metropolis. Of course, we had plenty typical southern white guys, I would say with me being the probable youngest of them at twenty-six up to another guy in a fisherman's hat who I'd guess to be in his fifties or sixties. It struck me to only see four children between three different families, but it made me happy to see that each family seemed to have kept both parents alive. Others though, who stood alone, had empty and sullen faces, and I could only assume that they had lost what they had left of family. There was Kendall's friend, Paula; a few of the women who had been with Glenn, a tall bearded white guy in overalls, and another hefty Latino man who all wore the same look of despair. Others appeared frightened but a little more hopeful. Some of them still had loved ones they were clinging onto. Overall, we had a total racial, age, and class hog posh among the group of seemingly thirty or so.
"Glenn," I greeted. "Is there a plan going forward here?"
I had tried to keep my voice low, but to no avail. Fritted glances going in Glenn and my direction. Well, I had been the first to speak. Now I knew I would have to be the first to explain.
Glenn looked towards me and then the rest of the survivors, uncertainty in his eyes.
"I, uh, we survive?"
There he goes with the questions as answers thing again.
"That's the big plan?" a blonde woman in her thirties spoke up. "What the hell are we supposed to do in the middle of foothills?!"
I sighed. Glenn wasn't much younger than me, but somebody was going to have to keep these people under control, and he wasn't the one to do it.
"Listen up," I projected my voice. "We're not just goin' to be forgotten out here. Atlanta was a safe zone; more people will be on the way. Military troops, government agents, people that can help. We can hold out here until they send an evac team."
"How do you know they'll send one?" the older man in the fisherman's hat asked.
"He's right," the man identified earlier as Shane spoke up. "My name is Officer Shane Walsh with the Cummings PD. We have word that more airlifts will be coming through here. I can keep in touch with them with the CB radio."
Though a sense of tension left the scene, I noticed the look that his wife shot him, and the look he gave me. He was lying. Hell, I was sure most of the survivors could tell he was lying, but nobody wanted to give up hope. They would believe what they needed to believe to make it through the day.
"So, we just hold up here?" a Latino man spoke up, holding his wife and two kids close to him, as if they were in immediate danger. "My family, we won't all fit in my Suzuki. We have barely any supplies, no tents, nowhere to sleep."
"Well, your family is welcome to my RV," the older man said again. "It'll be a tight squeeze with me and these two young ladies, but we'll make it work."
I could quickly assess who had the real leadership qualities in the group. There was the officer, Shane. I could tell he wasn't so different from me, willing to twist the truth to keep shit together. Then this older guy with more of a kind fatherly energy. These other voices speaking up, the blonde woman and the Latino father, I thought would be more vocal in this group. Chances are, this is who we'd be stuck with for a while. If any of us lived much longer.
"Thank you," his wife spoke.
"Yes, thank you," the husband agreed. "But wouldn't we be safer waiting in an actual structure? You know, like behind walls?"
"Not necessarily," I disagreed. "We're way up in the hills here, we have a water source. Look around, you see any geeks up here? No. The city is packed. They're not going to make their way up these hills. They have nothing to track, no scent, no sounds. We can take precautions to make this place safer until we're rescued."
"That makes sense to me," Glenn's friend shrugged.
"And Mister…" I began looking at the Latino man again.
"Morales."
"Morales. Mister Morales. I'm Joel Dixon. I will head out in the morning myself and pick up more tents myself at first light. There's got to be a camping supply or a sporting store somewhere not too far from here. I can grab tents and go for anything else we might need."
"I'll go with you," Shane offered, giving me a nod. "We need some too. Ain't too much you can fit in a Jeep."
"Shane, no, please don't leave u-" his wife began.
"I'll be fine, Lori, we won't even be gone three hours."
Lori didn't argue anymore but shook her head in disbelief and disappointment.
"Your best bet is going to be DICK's Sporting Goods," Glenn spoke. "And NOT the one in the middle of the city. Go north to the one in Cumberland Mall. I'll write you directions."
I had to give credit where it was due. Glenn was beyond helpful, though petrified in the face of leadership. He had been the one to lead us all here, and he seemed to know the city completely well.
"Thank you," I said to him.
"Right now, we need to set up shop," Shane directed. "Those with tents, start putting them up. I was able to pack in a decent amount of food, so come to me if you need any provisions. We can pull through this, people. We need to stick together. I'll work on starting a campfire before it gets too cold."
The flock of survivors began to disperse, looking to the leaders in their individual groups for guidance. Daryl had seemed to have disappeared while the coordination was going on, and I was sure he was off to his happy place, if you will, in the surrounding woods. That man wasted no time, and I was sure he was already out hunting in order to feed himself, Merle, and me. At the end of the day, my brothers would only look out for their own, so I was a bit worried about us staying so close to such a large group. If things got out of hand with them, we may have to jump ship. At least we got Ahmad, Sheila, and maybe even Mia to a group better for them.
I was planning on making my way back to Merle, when I spotted the old fisherman coming towards me, a kind though determined look on his features.
"Mister Dixon," he greeted.
"Please just Joel," I begged. "I'm not the only Mister Dixon at this camp, I don't want things to be confusing."
It was more so about the fact that I'd heard my father referred to as such so many times, and I didn't need any reminders.
"Very well then, Joel," he corrected himself. "My name is Dale Horvath, but since we're on a first name basis, just Dale will be fine. Why did you go along with Officer Walsh's lie?"
So, we had someone more self-aware and perceptive than others here.
"Why did you?" I pointed out.
"These people won't listen to an old man," he countered.
"So, what are you saying? Not everyone will listen to… a man of my background."
"Not everyone here is going to listen to a cop. And excuse me for saying this, but what exactly is your background?" I didn't reply. "Whatever you were before, it doesn't matter. You led us here."
"Glenn led me here."
"Glenn froze up under pressure. He's just a kid. These people, they're looking to you. Sure, some people may feel safer under the authority of a cop, but there's other bases to cover here. I think you should, I think you should go around and introduce yourself personally to everyone. Everyone knows your name now, but how many names do you know?"
"Geez, when you say it like that. Don't let this newfound power and responsibility get to my head," I joked.
I liked Dale. He was a little pushy, but perceptive and seemed to really think things out. I also appreciated how much he seemed unafraid to speak his mind.
"You're the only one who can be in control of that," he said seriously. "Now, come on. I'll introduce you to Andrea and Amy."
He gestured for me to follow him, and I obliged towards where he had parked his RV on the cliffside.
"These your daughters?"
"No. My wife and I never had kids."
His wife. She wasn't here. I could only assume. But he didn't seem too disturbed by the mentioning of her. Maybe she was elsewhere. Though due to the factor of his age, I could also guess that she was long gone before the world ended.
We approached the two women, and I could guess them to be sisters, their matching blonde hair and white complexions.
"Ladies," I greeted as the two faced to meet me. "My name is Joel. You three seem to be doing alright for yourselves, but please let me know if there's anything more I could do for you."
"Thank you, Joel," the older woman said. "I'm Andrea. I appreciate it again."
"Amy," the younger offered me a weak smile.
There was quite an age difference between the two sisters from what I could tell, and they seemed to be holding on strong for one another.
"It's nice to meet y'all again," I said. "I'm goin' into town tomorrow, so let me know if there's anything y'all might need me to pick up for you if I get the opportunity."
As the sun lowered into the sky, the groups were sitting around a few different campfires that some of the men had set up for everyone. While Dale was right in me taking on a leadership position here, I didn't have the social battery power at the time to go around and speak in front of everyone again. I'd go around in the morning and see who I could help. For now, I need my rest. I needed to strategize and come up with the best course of action.
What was it that I really wanted right now? Maybe survival was it. But how could I make the most of my situation? Merle was using this opportunity to get laid. That wasn't personally my primary motivation in life, but he stood for a good point in that he wasn't letting these changes hold him back.
Retreating to the van, I made my bed for the night in my reclined driver's seat, leaving the back door open for the others to use the backseats as beds for the night. Closing my eyes and falling asleep.
WORDS: 5276
This is getting much more fun to write. When I started this chapter, I had every intention of carrying out the ending of SI, but that just didn't make sense in this timeline, so we went straight to the traffic jam from the flashback in season 2. I don't know how many people remember in season 1 how there were thirteen background characters in the Atlanta camp, and those will be replaced in this story with actual named characters which I will reveal in the next chapter. I already know who it will be in addition to the SI characters of Ahmad, Sheila, and Mia as well as Lambert Kendall (cop that worked with Shane and Rick in season 1) and Paula (friend of Lori's shown in flashback in season 2 when she finds out Rick is in a coma at Carl's school). With that being said, there are eight more minor characters from the show that will be making an early appearance. As you may have noticed, to match real Georgian geography, Shane and co are from Cummings and not the fictional King County, Georgia. I would've included the cop Leon Basset in the group from King County, but he seemed to have died Day 1 according to that game about Shane they put out years ago, so we're staying true to that narrative.
