— 23 years ago —
Rick put his baby sister into her crib, "What the hell were you thinking!?" Rick yelled, enraged by his best friend's actions. Rick had walked into his house to find Shane fooling around with a girl he's never seen before. Usually, Rick isn't bothered by his best friend's "conquests" but this time he was, especially when his baby sister was running around in the kitchen. Unsupervised.
Shane rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Rick. What are you so angry about?" he asked which only angered Rick more. He clenched his jaw, his eyebrows lowered.
"You used my baby sister to get a girl!" he screamed, he couldn't believe his friend would be so irresponsible with his baby sister, especially when he trusted him to look after her, "How could you?"
"Man, what's your problem? She wasn't hurt. She's fine." Shane couldn't understand why Rick was so upset. His sister was fine.
"You left her on her own." He reminded him. Shane didn't respond, "You are so irresponsible, I'm never letting you babysit her ever again," Rick told him.
— Present Day —
Dale stood on the roof of his R.V. Wearing his hat to protect him in the heat and a rifle slung over his shoulder; a pair of binoculars is in his left hand. Standing guard in case they have unwanted visitors. On the roof a couple of camp chairs, an umbrella, and a cooler.
Amy made her way towards the campfire, where Lori is cooking, with a red bucket in her hand. Carl was playing with his toy cars on the ground, "Any luck?" Lori asked the blonde girl as she approached her.
She handed the bucket to Lori and knelt beside her, "How do we tell if they're poison?" she asked. Amy would usually go out searching for stuff to eat but not straying too far from the camp. Daryl went out further, hunting. He had been gone ever since the group left for Atlanta.
Amy poured some mushrooms into a pan Lori held out to her. Lori studied them closely as she passes a spoon to Amy. "Uh, there's only one sure way I know of," she told Amy.
"Ask Shane when he gets back?" she asked, Lori nodded picking up the empty bucket and called up to Dale on the RV, "Dale I'm heading out," she then turned to look at Carl, "Sweetheart, I want you to stay where Dale can see you, okay?"
Carl nods, "Yes mom," he said. She smiled at him and started to walk away.
She paused in her spot when Dale called to her, "You too," he instructed, "Stay within shouting distance... if you see anything, holler. I'll come running," he smiled at her.
"Yes, mom," repeating what Carl had said moments ago as she walked away.
Lori walks out of the camp and into the woods, looking for anything edible.
The sound of leaves rustling startles her, she looks around at the sound but she doesn't see anything. She looked up as birds flew away. She then hears twigs snapping behind her. She began to breathe heavily as she thought something was following her, immediately fearing that it was a walker. She looked around but there was no one there. She turned back the way she was facing letting out a muffled scream as a hand covers her mouth. They both fell to the ground.
Lori tried to wriggle away but relaxed when she saw who it was. Shane was hovering above her a smile on his face, "Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh." He said as he moved his hand away.
Lori laughs and slaps Shane on his arm, "You scared the hell out of me."
"I bet." He told her "That's what you get for keeping me waiting. I was trying to be quiet. Where you been?" he teased.
"Amy the mushroom queen, I had to wait for her to get back." She replied.
Shane leaned down capturing her lips in a kiss, pulling her up to sit as he did, "How much time do we have?" he asked.
"Enough," Lori replied as she began unbuckling his belt whilst Shane took off his shirt. He unzips her jeans then pulls her shirt up. He runs his tongue over her skin and kisses it. Lori pulls her blouse off. Shane looks up and sees the locket Lori is wearing around her neck. Sitting beside it is Rick's wedding ring. They both stop. She takes the ring in her hand for a second before she pulls the necklace up from around her neck and places it in the grass nearby. She pulls Shane back into a kiss and they proceeded to make love in the woods.
— ATLANTA —
The radio was still buzzing and crackling inside the tank that the siblings were trapped inside. "Hey, are you two alive in there?" the voice asked, Rick got up and rushed towards the radio. Hitting his head on a pipe as he did.
"There's a metal pipe there, bro." Cindy teased, she got a sarcastic laugh in return.
He picked up the radio and spoke into it. "Hello? Hello?" Cindy wasn't sure what would come of this. They were surrounded, outnumbered and low on ammo.
"There you are, you had me wondering, "the voice responded. Rick was getting fired up as adrenaline started to flow through him. He was ready to fight and Cindy knew this.
"Where are you? Outside? Can you see us right now?" he asked, many questions were spiraling around in his mind. The questions that Cindy was wondering herself.
"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news," he informed.
"There's good news?" he asked curiously. Cindy listened closely to see if there is a way for them to get out.
"No," the man answered honestly, that made Rick's heart drop. He had hoped there was a way out of the tank, so he and his sister can find their family.
"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here," Rick told him.
"Oh, man. You should see it from over here. You'd be having a major freak-out." His voice trembling with fear as he spoke.
"Got any advice for us?" Rick asked the man. Hoping he had at least an idea of how to get them out of there.
"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it," he replied, Rick's head dropped, it wasn't exactly the advice he was expecting.
"That's it? 'Make a run for it'?" Rick questioned, 'This is a bad idea, one wrong move could get us killed.' He thought to himself. He looked to his sister and she just shrugged.
"My way's not as dumb as it sounds. You've got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still up on the tank but the others have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down. With me so far?" he asked, checking that Rick was keeping up with his plan. Rick looked to his sister. She nodded to say 'yes' as she listened closely to the voice on the radio.
"So far," Rick reported, ready to hear the rest of the plan and get him and his sister to safety.
"Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now while they're distracted, you stand a chance. Got ammo?" he asked, Rick hung his head when he realized that he'd dropped his bag of guns on the street.
"In that duffel bag I dropped out there, and guns. Can I get to it?" Rick asked the man. Cindy doubted they could get to the bag without getting trapped again.
"Forget the bag, okay? It's not an option. What do you have on you?" he asked quickly
"Hang on," Rick told him as he hurriedly checks his gun and the one he picked up from the soldier's corpse whilst Cindy checks his pockets. She pulls out a grenade and holds it up to show Rick. Rick makes his way back to the radio to report what they had on them, "I've got a Beretta with one clip, 15 rounds, and my sister has her bat,"
"Okay, make 'em count. Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe 50 yards. Be there." He directed. Cindy picked up her bat and her bag she managed to hang on to.
"Hey, what's your name?" Rick asked the man, Cindy mentally facepalmed, 'Really, Rick. We're trapped in here and you wanna have a nice little conversation.' Cindy thought.
"Have you been listening? You're running out of time," he snapped, Rick picked up his gun as Cindy picked up her bat. They both mentally prepared themselves for what they were about to attempt. They couldn't let fear get to them. Rick stood up with a 'right' indicating he was ready to go. Well, as ready as he can be. Cindy followed his actions, standing below the hatch.
"You be safe," he said seriously to his sister. She looked up at him and smiled. She picked up her bag and her bat and nodded.
"You too, Rick." She responded she had to protect him at all costs. If it ever came down to only one of them who could live. She'd choose Rick. Carl needs his father, now more than ever. "I got your back. I'm not ready to lose you again." He nods pulling her into a brief hug, after pulling away he picks up a shovel on a shelf, he then places his hand on the hatch and pushes it open. He spotted a walker and swatted him with the shovel. Cindy climbed out after him, whacking any walker that got too close.
Rick threw the shovel to the ground and began to run towards alley the man told them about. Cindy not far behind covering his back with her trusty bat. Rick shot any walkers that were in his way. Their hearts were pounding, adrenaline pulsing through their veins. Suddenly a guy popped out from behind a corner.
"Woah! Not dead!" the guy said his hands raised in surrender, he looked young, about mid-twenties, "Come on! Come on! Come on! Back here! Come on! Come on!" he said as he climbed up a ladder that headed to the roof of that building. Rick looked at the oncoming horde.
"Rick, hurry up." Cindy spoke up, pointing towards the ladder, the man above them asked, "What are you doing?" shouting down to them. Rick went up first then Cindy followed. A walker grabbed her foot as she climbed up, she kicked it off and carried on up the ladder.
They got to a platform halfway up the building. They all panted trying to catch their breaths as they looked down at the walkers that were attempting to climb up to them.
"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood. You the new sheriff come riding in to clean up the town?" he joked obviously a little annoyed. He looked exhausted. Cindy got a better look at him. He was kind of skinny, he was young and of Asian descent. Something else that Cindy noticed, even after just meeting him, he was quick, smart, caring. She could also tell he was scared, but it didn't stop him from risking his life to help two strangers.
"It wasn't my intention," Rick tells him. All three of them still panting as they gaze at the walkers below.
"Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You're still dumbasses," he declared. Cindy smiled, normally she would argue but he has a point. Neither of them thought it through.
"Rick. Thanks," Rick spoke as he held his hand for him to shake.
"Glenn, you're welcome," he tells him as they shook hands. Glenn held out his hand to the girl.
"I'm Cindy, thank you. I owe you." She spoke, taking his hand and giving it a shake. Rick grabbed his gun and shoved it into Glenn's backpack as he watched the walkers claw up at them.
"Oh no," he spoke as he saw a few walkers attempt to climb the ladder. Glenn looked up at the next ladder. "The bright side, it'll be the fall that kills us," he tells them as they all looked up at the ladder. Cindy smirked when she heard a gulp from beside her. She knew her brother was afraid of heights. "I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy," he finishes and Cindy couldn't hold in her laughter as she watched her brother and Glenn start to climb.
"Are you the one that barricaded the alley?" Rick asked when they reached the rooftop. The siblings followed Glenn as he led them across the rooftop towards wherever they were headed.
"Somebody did I guess when the city got overrun. Whoever did it was thinking not many geeks get through," Glenn said jumping over a wall.
"Back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for us?" Rick asked as they reached a square, metal hatch that led into the building below. Glenn took his backpack off as Rick held the hatch open for him.
"Call it foolish, naïve hope that if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me," he replies, Cindy smiled at his response. She was really starting to like this guy. "Guess I'm an even bigger dumbass than you," he teased. 'Yep, we're going to get along just fine.' Cindy thought as they climbed down the ladder to enter the building.
"I'm back. Got guests plus four geeks in the alley," Glenn spoke into a walkie talkie as they trotted down a set of stairs and stopping when two of the walkers noticed them and start making their way to us. Glenn and Rick both tensed as they advanced, Cindy raised her bat in defense when the door across the alley burst open two people dressed in black safety suits and baseball bats. Taking out the two walkers that were advancing towards Glenn and the siblings.
Glenn, Cindy, and Rick ran towards the door the others appeared from, "Let's go!" Glenn called out to the two in suits.
"Morales, let's go!" a different voice called as Cindy left the door wide open for them. She stood by the door and waited for them to follow them into the building. When they rushed in, she closed the door behind them.
Suddenly, Rick was pushed against a pile of boxes. Cindy looked to see a woman with blonde hair, blue eyes with a gun pointed to her brother's head. "You son of a bitch. We ought to kill you," she snarled at Rick as her hand was firm against his chest. Rick's hands were raised in surrender.
"Just chill out, Andrea," one of the men in the suits said as he began to take it off, stepping closer to the blonde woman who had her gun pointed to Rick's face. "Back off," he spoke again.
"Come on, ease up," another woman spoke. Her eyes flicking between Rick to the blonde named 'Andrea'. Rick kept his eyes locked on Andrea.
"Ease up? You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of this stupid asshole," she growled eyes not leaving Rick as she kept her aim on his head.
Cindy grabbed the woman's wrist as she growled back at her, "Get your gun out of my brother's face." The woman turned her head to look at the younger girl beside her but kept her gun against Rick's head. Cindy's patience was beginning to wear thin, "Now," she snapped, narrowing her eyes at the blonde, "I'm not going to ask again." Andrea hesitantly lowered her gun.
"We're dead. All of us... because of you," she cried, shaking her head slowly backing away from Rick. He stood up straight and looked at her, fear evident in her eyes.
"I don't understand," Rick told them honestly. He was new to this. He only woke up yesterday and he still had much to learn about this cold world he now lives in.
One of the men grabbed Rick leading him through corridors. Whilst Glenn stayed behind with Cindy, telling her the names of his group, "Look, we came into the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral," he said as they entered a room that looked like a store.
"Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds," another man added, T-Dog maybe late 30's early 40's, he was the other man that came out to aid Glenn in the alley.
"You just rang the dinner bell," Andrea stated as Rick's body tensed at her statement, seeing glass doors and windows surrounding the entrance, walkers ramming against it. One was charging at the glass with a brick in their hands.
"Get the picture now?" Morales asked him. Rick was frozen. His eyes glued on the walkers on the other side of the glass, ready to tear them apart and chomp on their guts.
"He only woke up yesterday. All this is still very new to him." Cindy spoke, everyone looked at her wondering what the hell she was talking about, "He was in a coma."
There was a chorus of 'Oh' before the sound of glass breaking rang through their ears.
"Oh God," Andrea spoke as they all backed away, watching the walkers impatiently try to get at them.
"What the hell were you two doing out there anyway?" Andrea questioned looking between Cindy and Rick
"Trying to flag the helicopter," Rick answered, which seemed to anger one of the men, T-Dog.
"Helicopter? Man, that's crap. Ain't no damn helicopter," T-Dog spoke as he shook his head.
"You were chasing a hallucination, imagining things. It happens," Jacqui said kindly as she shook her head.
"I saw it," Rick declared, Cindy spoke up in her brother's defense, "I saw it too. We both have the exact same hallucination?" she asked.
Morales sighed and turned to T-Dog, "Hey, T-Dog, try that CB," Morales instructed, "Can you contact the others?" Morales asked T-Dog as he pulled out a CB.
"Others? The refugee center?" Rick asked them, wondering if Morgan was right about it.
"Yeah, the refugee center. They've got biscuits waiting in the oven for us," the Jacqui said sarcastically. Cindy smirked at her response, that's two people in this group she knew for sure she'd get along with. The first, of course, being Glenn.
T-Dog tries to contact the other survivors but he gets no signal, "Got no signal," T-Dog reported to the group. Cindy noticed her brother's demeanor change "Maybe the roof," he proposed. Just seconds after the words left his mouth a gun firing could be heard from the roof.
"Oh no. Is that Dixon?" Andrea grumbled looking up at the ceiling.
"What is that maniac doing?" Jacqui questioned quietly as they all ran towards the stairs that led to the roof with the siblings following close behind.
"Come on, let's go," Morales instructed them, jogging up the steps with the group following him. Opening the door onto the roof the siblings immediately see a man with a gun, short hair, white... possibly middle age shooting walkers with the rifle in his hand.
"Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?!" Morales asked him.
The guy whose name is 'Dixon' began to laugh, his voice was rough as he did he continued to fire.
"Oh jeez," someone mumbled, Cindy didn't know who said that she was to busy analyzing the guy in front of her which is something she got very good at. He turned to look at them, his rifle loosely grasped in his hands as he waved it around. She studied his actions, his voice. She found that he's volatile, hot-headed, and abrasive. He had a southern accent. Long story short, she knew this guy was an asshole.
"Hey! Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh? Ah! Only common sense," he said, acting as if he had all the power because he had a gun with his hands. As if he had control over everyone there.
"Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got!" T-Dog stressed him but he kept on laughing. "And you're bringing even more of them down on our ass! Man, just chill," T-Dog said a little angered as Morales came to stand beside him, possibly to step in if this guy gets violent which Cindy knew for sure would happen as she carefully assessed the conversation between the three men.
"Bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day. Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day," Dixon told him motioning to Morales as he spoke.
"'That'll be the day'? You got something you want to tell me?" T-Dog questioned getting more pissed off by the second. Cindy soon learned this guy was racist. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if he was a misogynist as well.
"Hey T-Dog man...just leave it," Morales spoke trying to urge T-Dog not to give him the reaction he wants.
"No," T-Dog replied as he held his hand up behind him signaling Morales that he was going to stand his ground against Dixon.
"All right? It ain't worth it," Morales tried to calm him down, trying to avoid a fight. Glenn shook his head at Rick to say not to get involved, "Now Merle, just relax, okay? We've got enough trouble," Morales tried to negotiate with the man they referred to as 'Dixon'.
But of course, Dixon didn't listen. A fight is exactly what he wanted, "You want to know the day?" Merle asked, not backing down either.
"Yeah," T-Dog answered.
"I'll tell you the day, Mr. Yo,'... it's the day I take orders from a nigger," Merle said, as he moved the rifle to rest on his right shoulder.
"Mother-" T-Dog said as he threw a punch at Merle, he missed and got hit in the face with the butt of the gun, causing him to fall flat on his back. Rick climbed over two pipes to separate the two.
"Hey, come on, Merle. That's enough," Morales said as Rick went to grab Merle only to get punched in the nose, falling back over the pipes he climbed over and onto the floor as others stood there, begging Merle to stop as the two fought, Merle relentlessly continued to beat up T-Dog.
Rick got up and checked his nose. He grabbed his cuffs as Merle pointed a handgun in T-Dog's face, watching as everyone begged him not to shoot him. Begging him not to kill T-Dog.
Merle looked around at the group before spitting it on T-Dog's chest. Rubbing it into his shirt. He got to his feet, gun in hand. "Yeah! All right! We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge... I vote me. Anybody else? Huh? Democracy time, y'all. Show of hands, huh? All in favor? Huh? Come on. Let's see 'em," he ordered as he pointed the gun at them, his stance lazy and clearly he was on something.
"Oh, come on. All in favor?" he asked as the group knelt beside T-Dog away from Merle, some of them raising their hand but Jacqui held her middle finger up at him.
"Yeah. That's good. Now that means I'm the boss, right? Yeah. Anybody else? Hmm? Anybody?" he asked wondering if anyone else would try to oppose him.
"Yeah," Rick growled rifle in hand and whacked it into his face as he turned to look at him, not giving him a chance to react. He fell onto his back much like T-Dog did. Rick pulled him towards the pipes and hooked him to a piece of metal.
"Who the hell are you, man?!" he asked as Rick lifted him by his vest to set him in sitting position. Rick stared at him to show him that he wasn't intimidated by him. Rick had dealt with many people like him in his years as an officer.
"Officer friendly," Rick told him. "Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart," he told him.
"Screw you, man," he spoke. Rick nodded at his response.
"I can see you make a habit of missing the point," Rick insulted him.
"Yeah? Well, screw you twice," he repeated, making Rick press the gun against his temple.
"Ought to be polite to a man with a gun," Rick said mimicking Merle's earlier words, "Only common sense,"
"You wouldn't. You're a cop," he challenged.
"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anybody that gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that," Rick spoke and then begun to search his pockets. He found some cocaine in one of his pockets. Rick looked at his face and he saw some white powder on his nose. "Got some on your nose there," he said as he flicked his nose.
"What are you gonna do? Arrest me?" he laughs which he soon stops as he watches Rick throw the canister off the roof, "Hey! What are you doing? Man, that was my stuff! Hey!" he screamed out as he began struggling against the cuffs, "If I get loose, you'd better pray...yeah, you hear me, you pig?! You hear me?!" he screamed at him as Rick walked away to look over the wall and down at the street below. He rubbed his wrist.
"Yeah, your voice carries," Rick mumbled to himself, he heard footsteps approaching behind him, he turned his head to see Morales coming to a stop next to him.
"Do you hear me, you filthy pig?!" Merle continued to scream but it was ignored by everyone.
"You're not Atlanta P.D. Where you from?" he asked Rick as he stopped to stand beside him and looking at him, his face showing a look of curiosity.
"Up the road a ways," Rick answered in as little words as he could.
"Well, officer friendly from up the road a ways...welcome to the big city," Morales spoke looking over the walker infested streets. A once lively, busy city that now belongs to the dead.
Morales walked away as Cindy come to a stop beside Rick. She looked at her brother's face, worry had overtaken his features as he continued to gaze over the dead city, "They're not here, Rick." Cindy stated simply and confidently.
Rick tore his eyes from the street and looked towards his sister, "How can you be so sure?" he asked her, his voice trembling.
Cindy smirked up at her brother before answering him, "Shane ain't that stupid. Despite many of my previous allegations." she joked, trying to cheer up her brother. Which worked. A small smile made its way onto his face, "He would have hightailed it out of here the first sight of trouble." she added, Rick nodded agreeing with his sister. They weren't here, they were safe, somewhere. They had to be.
Thunder rumbling could be heard, the walkers on the street below, moaning. Feet shuffling on the ground as they stumbled around, "My God, it's like Times Square down there." Andrea commented as she looked over the ledge. She looked down at T-Dog who was sat down beside her, "How's that signal?"
T-Dog's eyes were on Merle as he spoke, "Like Dixon's brain... weak," he answered. Merle raised his hand to give him the finger in response to the insult.
"Keep trying." Morales urged as T-Dog continued to try and gain a signal.
"Why?" Andrea asked him, "There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing." She said walking away from the ledge.
"Got some people outside the city is all," Morales spoke softly to the siblings. "They is no refugee center. That's just a pipe dream." He informed as they watch the walkers below walk around aimlessly.
"Then Andrea is right. We're on our own." Cindy spoke up. "It's up to us to find a way out," Rick added to her comment. Cindy nodded in agreement. She surveyed her surroundings as she tried to find a way to get out.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the gruff voice of the redneck, "Good luck with that. These streets ain't safe in this part of town." He said looking between the siblings. He then looked to Andrea who was combing through her bag pack, taking out a cloth to wipe her hands, "Ain't that right, sugar tits? Hey, honeybunch, what say you get me out of these cuffs, we go off somewhere and bump some uglies? Gonna die anyway,"
"I'd rather," the blonde answered. Cindy smirked at her response, 'She's feisty, I'll give her that.' Shethought.
"Rug muncher. I figured as much," he insulted as she stood up and walked away, his eyes following her until they landed on the newest girl there, who was still smirking. Her smirk fell when she noticed him staring at her.
She shook her head and scoffed, "I'd rather peel off my own skin and bathe in saltwater." It was now Andrea's turn to smirk.
"The streets ain't safe." Morales repeated, "Now there's an understatement." Morales muttered looking up at Rick then back down to the street.
"What about under the streets? The sewers?" Rick suggested to him.
"Oh, man." Morales exclaimed, "Hey Glenn, check the alley. You see any manhole covers?" he asked. Glenn jogged over to the side of the building and looked down into the alley. Seeing nothing, he sighed before turning around and jogging back towards the group shaking his head as he neared them, "No, must be all out on the street where the geeks are," he informed
"Well, there goes that plan." Cindy sighed.
"Maybe not." Jacqui spoke making everyone look at her, "Old building like this built in the '20's... big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding, down in the sub-basements." Everyone looked at her curious as to how she knew that.
"How do you know that?" Glenn spoke, asking the question everyone was currently thinking.
"It's my job... was. I worked in the city zoning office," she told them, everyone nodded and started to go and check out the basement.
"This is it? Are you sure?" Morales asked as they looked at a hole in the ground and a ladder that led down into the sewers.
"I really scoped this place out the other times I was here. It's the only thing in the building that goes down. But I've never gone down it. Who'd want to, right?" Glenn laughed softly. Then he realized the look people were giving him, "Oh. Great."
"We'll be right behind you," Andrea reassured him.
"No, you won't. Not you," Glenn disagreed
"Why not me? Think I can't?" Andrea asked obviously offended by the insinuation. Cindy found herself a little bit feeling a bit insulted too.
"Yeah, is this some sort of sexist guy thing? Like only guys can do something like this? If you felt like she couldn't handle it why'd you let her come with you in the first place?" Cindy ranted at the young Asian boy.
"I-I wasn't... I-I didn't mean..." he stuttered but Rick, even though amused, stopped him before his sister lay into the poor boy again.
"Speak your mind," Rick encouraged 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," he put forward.
"It's tight down there," he started, gesturing to the hole. "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." He said. Rick stepped forward to take that place.
"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 the doors, covering our ass," Glenn spoke.
He looked to Andrea and continued to speak, "And you've got the only other gun, so you should go with him." he advised, answering Andrea's previous question as to why he didn't want her to come with him. he turns to Morales "You be my wingman." He then looked to Jacqui, "Jacqui stays up here. Something happens, yell down to us. get us back here in a hurry," he instructed.
"Okay," Jacqui nodded her head in agreement. Everyone looked at each other.
"Okay, everybody knows their jobs," Rick said, they all nodded
Cindy rose her hand and waved, "Uh, not me."
"U-uh," Glenn stammered not knowing what to say to the girl.
She raised her eyebrows and looked between Glenn and her brother, "I'll grab some clothes or something then."
They all began to go their separate ways. Jacqui stayed beside the ladder as Glenn and Morales climbed down it. Andrea, Rick, and Cindy went back to the shop area. Cindy was browsing around seeing if there was anything she and her brother might need on their journey to find their family.
After a few minutes of silence, Andrea spoke up, "Sorry for the gun in your face," she apologized as she looked around.
"People do things when they're afraid." He said sympathizing with her, knowing that this life isn't easy, and from what he heard his baby sister and Morgan had been through hell already. Cindy smiled hearing her brother say this. He was so understanding.
"Not that it was entirely unjustified. You did get us into this," she replies, Rick nodded in agreement.
"If I get us out, would that makeup for it?" He asked her as they continued to look around the store, her eyes wandering over to him and then back down at the table she was sorting through looking for things that they might need.
"No, but it'd be a start," she said looking at him with a ghost of a smile on her lips.
There was a moment of silence before it was broken, "But," Cindy started as she walked up to stand next to Andrea, "Next time he gets on your nerves, take the safety off. It won't shoot otherwise," she finished with a devious smirk playing on her face.
Rick laughed sarcastically at his sister's joke, "Thanks, love you too sis."
Cindy burst out laughing followed closely by Andrea, "Thanks for the tip, Cindy," she said, she pulled out her gun, looking down at it as if she didn't know what to do with it.
"Is that your gun?" asked Rick walking up to her. Cindy assumed she picked it up somewhere after the world ended. She didn't seem like someone who has ever used a gun before, she probably didn't need to.
"It was a gift. Why?" she asked
Rick held out his hand, Andrea gives him her gun. He pushes up on the side, "Little red dot means it's ready to fire. You may have occasion to use it," Rick explained.
"Good to know," she replied as she slipped the gun back into her jeans.
Rick checks on the walker's progress on the glass doors. He sees they haven't broken the windows enough to be dangerous yet. He turns to look over to his sister when he hears her voice and notices Andrea looking at something "See something you like?" Cindy asked her as she walked up beside her.
"Not me, but I know someone who would...my sister. She's still such a kid in some ways. Unicorns, dragons She's into all that stuff. But mermaids...they rule. She loves mermaids," she replied as her eyes flickered towards the girl beside her and then back to a necklace that was displayed on a stand.
Cindy giggled, "I love unicorns," she said looking at the blonde beside her, she put a hand on her shoulder, "Why not take it?"
"There's a cop standing over there," she said as she nodded her Rick's direction. He walked over chuckling, Andrea turned her head to look at him, "Would it be considered looting?" she asked him.
"Don't think those rules apply anymore. Do you?" Rick questioned her, his expression showing he is serious. Nothing from the past matters anymore. No laws, no rules. No police, doctors. There was nothing left. All that anyone is now is people trying to survive the apocalypse.
Andrea took the necklace off the stand and put it into her back pocket smiling at Rick as she did. The sound of glass shattering alerted them, Rick pulled out his gun pointing it at the doors as walkers smash through the first set of doors, getting closer to them. They didn't have long left.
Glenn, Morales, and Jacqui returned from searching the sewer, staring at the door in horror. "What did you find down there?" Rick asked them, his eyes quickly shot to Morales before returning to the door.
"Not a way out," Morales replied quickly.
"We need to find a way... soon," Andrea stated, fear evident in her voice.
Thunder rumbled above, the sky was grey and murky. Rick was looking through the binoculars, he raised his arm, pointing at something in the distance, "That construction site, those trucks...they always keep keys on hand," he said passing the binoculars to Morales. Hoping that it would be their way out of there.
"You'll never make it past the walkers," Morales said at the same time Cindy said, 'And how do you suppose we get there?'.
Rick frowned and looked to Glenn, "You got us out of that tank," Rick stated as
Glenn nervously looked around and then back to Rick, "Yeah, but they were feeding. They were distracted," he explained.
"Can we distract them again?" Rick asked him before Glenn could respond he received a sarcastic answer from Merle Dixon.
"Right. Listen to him. He's onto something. A diversion, like on 'Hogan's Heroes,'" Merle laughed as he sat there still chained to his pipe.
"God. Give it a rest," Jacqui groaned, clearly she has had enough of his crap.
Rick completely ignored Dixon and continued to conceive a plan, "They're drawn by sound, right?" he asked.
"Right, like dogs. They hear a sound, they come," Glenn confirmed.
"What else?" Rick asked them, trying to gain as much information before coming up with a plan to escape their pending death.
"Aside from they hear you? They see you, smell you and if they catch you, they eat you," Morales listed as simply as possible as if not to confuse him.
"They can tell us by smell?" Rick asked them obviously still trying to understand what was happening in the world.
"Can't you?" Glenn and Cindy asked in a 'duh' tone.
"They smell dead, we don't. It's pretty distinct," Andrea said.
"I have an idea," Rick said as he walked towards the stairway.
Rick grabbed some rubber gloves off the shelf and handed the out to the group, "We're going to use his guts to disguise ourselves as one of them. Glenn and I will do this," he explained, he grabbed long, grey raincoat off the shelf and passed them around, "Use these to protect your clothes."
"If bad ideas were an Olympic event...this would take the gold," Glenn said, disgust showing on his features.
"He's right," Morales said as the group put on the grey raincoats over their clothes, "Just stop, okay? Take some time to think this through," Morales said, his voice wavering, he was not sure about this plan. Not one bit.
"How much time?" Rick asked him. He looked towards the glass doors, "They already got through one set of doors, that glass won't hold forever," Rick stated, they needed to act quickly if they were going to survive, they didn't have any more time to come up with a different plan.
Rick and Morales pulled a walker in from the alley, one that was killed earlier. Rick broke the glass barrier with a crowbar and pulled out the fire axe. He turns to the corpse and takes a running start with the axe and swings it only to pull back at the last second. He drops the axe, the sound of steel on the concrete floor pierces through the air. He takes off the head shield and his gloves. He starts looking through the corpse's pockets and pulls out his wallet, finding an ID card inside.
"Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license. Born in 1979." He said, handing the licence to Glenn, "He had $28 in his pocket when he died...and a picture of a pretty girl. 'With love, from Rachel.' He used to be like us... worrying about bills or the rent or the Super Bowl. If I ever find my family, I'm gonna tell them about Wayne," he said putting his protective gear back on.
"One more thing...he was an organ donor," Glenn added Rick plunged the axe into the corpse, his grunts echoing with every swing.
"Oh! Madre de Dios!" Morales groaned as Rick chopped up the corpse. Squelching sound of organs and cracking bones are the only things that can be heard besides the repulsed groans from the group. Glenn was on the verge of throwing up, you could see it in his face as he paced around. Rick continues chopping off legs, arms and through the torso.
"Keep chopping," Rick ordered Morales as he passed him the axe and the visor.
"I am so gonna hurl," Glenn voiced as he continued pacing around the room trying not to think about or smell the dead, chopped up corpse.
"Later. Everybody got gloves? Don't get any on your skin or in your eyes," Rick advised as he starts smearing his raincoat. Everyone takes turns covering Glenn and Rick with the walker guts. Andrea drapes intestines over Glenn's shoulders.
"Oh, God! Oh jeez. Oh, this is bad. This is really bad." Glenn cried, Cindy offered to go in his place but Rick told her that he wanted her to stay here and cover the group.
Glenn continued to complain about how he was going to throw up, "Think about something else. Puppies and kittens," Rick suggested trying to get his mind off it.
"Dead puppies and kittens," T-Dog elaborated, this did not help Glenn one bit, he turned away from the corpse and threw up on the floor.
"That is just evil. What is wrong with you?" Andrea asked as she glared at him.
"Next time let the cracker beat his ass," Jacqui said to Rick as she begun to smother him with blood and guts.
"I'm sorry, yo," T-Dog apologised.
"You suck," Glenn groaned as he begun to have guts smeared on him.
"Do we smell like them?" Rick asked, ensuring that they smelt dead enough to go outside and walk with them.
"Oh yeah," Andrea replied, scrunching her nose in disgust. She walked up to Glenn and slipped her gun into the waistband of his pants, "Just in case."
"If we make it back, be ready," Rick instructed, Cindy frowned at the word 'if'. She felt like she should be going. She would offer to go in Rick's place but she knew he wouldn't allow it and they didn't have time to argue about it. Time was running out.
Cindy stood in front of her brother, "I'd hug you but, you know... you stink." she told him, "And I thought he smelt bad yesterday." She joked.
Rick rolled his eyes, "At least I'll get some peace out there," he joked back, with a smirk on his lips. He knew she was joking. No matter how old she got, her brother was her best friend. The sibling banter started when she became a teenager, probably encouraged by Shane.
"What about Merle Dixon?" T-Dog asked, interrupting the siblings. Rick reached into his pocket for the key, he chucked it to him and he caught it.
"Give me the axe. We need we need more guts," Rick asked before going to chop open Wayne some more earning more groans from the group. Both Rick and Glenn added more guts and blood to their attire before exiting the building into the alleyway.
Rick had the axe in his hand and Glenn had a machete. They imitate the walkers as they hobbled around, dragging their feet. Making past the two walkers in the alley. Now they have to navigate carefully through the rest. They get down on the floor to crawl under the bus and onto the walker infested street or as Andrea described it 'Times Square'. On other side of the bus, they slowly get to their feet, trying not to draw attention to themselves.
They limped their way towards the construction site. Growling and snarling were the only thing Rick could hear besides his own heartbeat. The look of determination rested on Rick's face. The life of the group and most importantly his baby sister's life was in the hands of this plan.
"That hose isn't long for this world, is it?" Dale asked Jim as he was looking at the radiator hose of his RV.
Dale passes a tool to Jim, "No, sir," he replied
"Where the hell are we going to find a replacement?" he asked, more to himself than to Jim.
Amy paces backwards and forwards, "It's late. They should've been back by now." She said, clearly worried about her sister. All she could do was wait.
"Worrying won't make it better," Dale told her, looking away from the hose and at the young blonde. Dale and Jim were fixing the RV just in case they needed to move out quick.
Lori was folding clothes, she looked up and smiled at Carl as Shane taught him how to tie knots.
"Attaboy," Shane praised as Lori watched them, a smile making its way onto her face.
"Yeah," Carl cheered as he let Shane see what he had done with the rope.
"And three, two, one pull it," Shane instructed.
"Ah! Aw," Carl groaned sadly as he messed up the knot he was attempting. Shane urged him to try again, giving him instructions along the way.
The radio squawked and T-Dog's voice immediately followed, "Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? Base camp, this is T-Dog. Anybody hear me?"
The radio attracted everybody's attention. Shane immediately made his way to the RV as Dale climbed up on top of it to answer the radio. "Hello? Hello? Reception's bad on this end. Repeat. Repeat," Dale spoke into the CB.
"Shane, is that you?" T-Dog asked into the CB.
"Is that them?" Lori asked, looking up at Dale with her hands on her hips. The words on the radio were broken as static invaded the speaker.
"We're in some deep shit. We're trapped in the department store," T-Dog told them, everyone looked down to the ground.
Shane run a hand through his hair, "He say they're trapped?" Shane asked, everyone was silent as he spoke. Listening closely to the radio.
"There are geeks all over the place. Hundreds of 'em. We're surrounded," T-Dog added.
"T-Dog, repeat that last. Repeat," Dale called into the CB but he was met with nothing but static. Amy was on the verge of tears but was still in shock.
"He said the department store," Lori said as she looked at Shane.
"I heard it too," Dale agreed with her, still crouched next to the CB as if he was hoping T-Dog would suddenly start talking again.
"Shane..." Lori spoke as she took a step towards Shane but was completely cut off by him.
"No way. We do not go after them. We do not rest of the group. Y'all know that," he said lowering his head to the ground.
This answer however did not go down well with Amy, "So we're just gonna leave her there?" She questioned Shane. It was her sister there, the only family she had left, that she knew of at least. With no way of communicating with them for all she knew her parents could be dead. Andrea was all she had and she wanted her back safe.
"Look, Amy, I know that this is not easy," Shane began, acting as though Andrea was dead already.
"She volunteered to go to help the rest of us," Amy pointed out to him. Andrea didn't have to go but she volunteered to risk her life to bring the group supplies.
"I know, and she knew the risks, right? See, if she's trapped, she's gone. So we just have to deal with that...there's nothing we can do," Shane said. If he was trying to make her feel better about leaving her sister to become lunch to the dead, he was doing everything but that. He was literally leaving them to die.
"She's my sister, you son of a bitch," she seethed, running off immediately after she spoke the words. Lori just looked at Shane with shock before running after the young blonde, "Amy!" she called after her.
"Come on. It's all right, buddy," Shane said as he placed a hand on his head.
Every so often Rick looked towards Glenn to make sure he was okay. Glenn was scared, that much was obvious. But he was brave, he was once again risking his life to save his group, "It's gonna work. I can't believe it." He whispers to Rick.
"Don't draw attention," he whispers back. Walkers slowly pass them as they both continue their façade, slowly approaching the construction site. Their objective less than a block away.
—On the roof—
Morales was keeping track of Glenn and Rick's location through the binoculars. He felt something wet drip onto his arm, "Oh man,"
"Shit," Cindy cursed, she took the binoculars from Morales, looking at her brother, hoping that the dead didn't notice. Glenn and Rick slowly hobble along. They are still half a block away from the construction site's security fence.
"It's just a cloudburst. We get 'em all the time. It'll pass real quick." Morales told them. Andrea watches Glenn and Rick as they continued through the rain.
The sky continued to rumble as the rain got heavier and poured down on the city.
"The smell's washing off. Isn't it? Is it washing off?" Glenn asked Rick, his voice laced with panic. Rick attempted to keep him as calm a possible as not to alert the dead that they were alive if they hadn't figured it out yet.
"No, it's not," he told him, as the words left his mouth, a walker snarled at them, "Well, maybe," Rick turned and plunged his axe into it's head, yanking it back out as this alerted the other walkers on the street. He turned to Glenn, "Run!" he shouted at him as they began to run, killing every walker in their way.
— Roof —
"Come on, come on, come on," Morales prayed as he watched them take off through the walkers.
"They'll do it," Cindy told them, she said it over and over again in her head, she thought if she kept thinking it then it'd come true.
Back down on the street Glenn and Rick, approaching the fence, Rick throws his axe over the fence, he and Glenn leap up and vault over the chain link fence, they stripped themselves of the guts and blood covered raincoats. Rick pulled out his gun and began shooting the walkers that were climbing the fence. Covering Glenn as he ran to the box where the keys were kept. He broke open the box with his crowbar, opened it and grabbed the keys, "Rick!" Glenn screamed Glenn tosses the key to Rick; they both run for the truck. One walker climbs over the fence and runs after them. Rick and Glenn get into the truck and Rick starts the engine. The walker threw itself at Glenn's window, "Go, go, go, go!" Glenn shrieked.
The tyres screeched as he quickly reversed the truck. The chain link fence collapsed from the weight from all the walkers pushing against it and began to pursue the truck.
On the roof Morales slowly lowered the binoculars as he saw them drive away, Jacqui, Andrea and Cindy were stood beside him.
Andrea gasped, "They're leaving us." she said in disbelief. These words caught Dixon's attention "What? What?"
"No no no no no. Where they going? Where they going?" Morales spoke as Andrea spoke over him.
"No no, come back." Andrea pleaded as she tapped on the ledge.
"They'll come back, Rick wouldn't leave me and I'm pretty sure Glenn wouldn't leave you guys. Not even Merle." Cindy reassured them. Of course he was coming back for her. Her big brother wouldn't leave her to be torn apart by the dead, would he? At least she hoped not.
Rick drives the cube van through the construction site fence on the far side and around the corner, "Oh my God. Oh my God. They're all over that place." He panicked.
"You need to draw them away." Rick said simply, he had a plan and he needed Glenn's help to do it. Glenn's face was filled with confusion, "Those roll-up doors at the front of the store... That area? That's what I need cleared. Raise your friends. Tell them to get down there and be ready." Rick told him
"And I'm drawing the geeks away how? I—I missed that part." Glenn panted, he was obviously terrified but Rick needed him to be calm. His group needed him to be calm.
"Noise." Rick replied. Rick pulled the van over on a deserted street. He gets out of the van and walks over to a red sports car. Rick smashes the crowbar through the driver's side window. The alarm blares. Glenn covers his ears while Rick hotwires the ignition.
Glenn made his way to the area Rick instructed him to clear. He picks up his radio," Those roll-up doors at the front of the store facing the street... Meet us there and be ready." He told them quickly.
In an instant the group started collecting their things and ran down the stairs of the building. Dixon screaming at Morales to let him go. Begging him not to leave him behind.
Morales Andrea and Jacqui run through the sales floor past the walkers were growling at the doors, still attempting to get in. Cindy stayed at the door that led to the entrance they were told to meet at confusing the group, "Cindy, what the hell are you doing?" Morales asked the girl.
She gripped her bat as she replied, "Waiting for T-Dog and Dixon. They might need cover." She waited, keeping one eye on the walkers and one on the stairway.
An alarm was heard from outside, "What is that?" Andrea asked. Worried that the noise might bring more of them.
Cindy chuckled as she looked at the group, "A stolen car, good plan," she commented with a raise of her eyebrows. She turned her head when she heard T-Dog's voice echoing down the stairs.
Jacqui and Andrea grab the chain ready to raise doors. Morales joins them and they wait for the signal.
Glenn stopped the car allowing all the walkers to rush towards him. He waited until they were crowded around the car before slowly backing away. He raced off leading the dead away from the store.
The glass of the last set of doors finally give way as T-dog weaves through the store, with nothing holding them back, the walkers swarm through the doors following T-Dog, "Come on, T." Cindy told as she had her bat ready to smack any walker that came near them. She thanked god for small mercies that the doorway was small so only a few could get in at once but she wasn't going to be able to hold them much longer, "Whatever they are doing they better do it fast." She voiced to the group.
T-Dog swapped places with Morales as he picked up his bat to help the young girl. 'Rick, please hurry up.' she thought to herself. There was a bang at the door, "Open the door." Morales told them. They pulled on the chain and the door began to roll open. Andrea, Jacqui and T-Dog all put their bags in and jumped in after them.
"Go, I got your back." Cindy told Morales as she slowly backed away towards the van. Morales got in the back and turned to the girl. She hit one last walker and jumped into the van, Morales grabbing her arms making sure she didn't fall back. He shut the door behind her.
"We're in," Morales informed Rick, not a second later Rick puts his foot on the gas and starts driving away.
Rick drives the van down the highway towards the Quarry where Morales told him their camp was. Morales sat in the passenger seat. He looks at T-Dog who is in pain. Andrea, Cindy and Jacqui exchange looks. The van was silent except for the sounds of panting as the group tried to regain their breath. Jacqui and Andrea held onto each other, still in shock over what had just happened.
"I dropped the damn key." T-Dog said into the silence. He avoided eye contact with everyone. His face covered in guilt.
Cindy got up and sat beside him, "You didn't do it on purpose T," she spoke softly, he just scoffed and shook his head, "You tried to help him and I know that, we all do. You tried to save him despite what he did to you earlier. You're a good man T," she finally got a smile out of him.
"Where's Glenn?" Andrea asked looking around the van, worried about her friend. Rick stayed silent, Cindy could see his smirk in the rear-view mirror.
"Let me guess, it's a sports car." Cindy spoke up. Rick just tilted his head and chuckled, Cindy rolled her eyes and looked at Jacqui and Andrea, "What is it with boys and their toys?" she asked them, earning a few chuckles from them and T-Dog beside her.
Rick continued on towards the camp. Cindy assumed that her and Rick would stay for a couple of days to rest up before heading out and looking for their family. She knew Rick wouldn't stop searching for them and she wasn't going to let him do it alone. Right now. Each other is all they have...