DISCLAIMER: READ CHAPTER 1.

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CHAPTER 9 - HOW TO OUTRUN A 'RUNNER'

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They finished siphoning and filling up gas from the gas station, with a little secret help of Colt Gunner's magic abilities to suck it all up from the place and fill up the gallons they have with them. Once they fill up the vehicles' tanks to full ones, they set off instantly, not delaying for anything or something else, besides scavenging for food and water they could find.

After putting a safe distance very far and away from the Greene farm and the pack of Runners that might still be there, the three vehicles stopped again in a spot on the empty road somewhere in Georgia and parked near to a thick forest to have a break and rest for a moment.

Rick and Shane checked on the others to make sure they're all okay and not emotionally frazzled from what happened before at the farm and during the escape and journey. While Glenn and TDog did the job on checking and listing over the supplies they have with them, taking inventory on how much water and food they have to last for their journey or something. Dale is on watch above his RV as usual, while Merle, Daryl, and Colt are together again, talking lowly in their own private conversation by the truck and almost away from the others of the group.

"So, this 'Safe Haven'…it's really a safe place?" Daryl asked Colt, not noticing that Merle was glaring at him from behind as if offended with whatever he had said in their conversation.

Colt nodded as he took out and turned on the radio com-link to try to contact the others again. "Yeah, it's safe. It's surrounded by high stone and concrete walls and completely fortified and secure from Walkers and Runners," he said.

Merle added in, "Don't forget about the living hostiles, Colt."

"Right, them too," Colt said with slight nods as he fiddled on the buttons like trying to get a signal or something.

Daryl looked at Colt as he kept on messing with the radio. "Is it broken or something?"

Colt shook his head instantly as if he didn't want him anywhere near the device since it's magic-powered and Merle knew the reason why magic shouldn't be revealed so soon as he didn't tell his brother about it yet.

Colt said, "It's fine. I'm just trying to get the signal at whatever range we're at to contact back. Thanks for the batteries you found by the way." he added the latter part in case he might ask.

Merle nodded as he looked towards the distance. "In the meantime Daryl, you go and double-check on our supply load while Colt's trying to call for backup. Who knows if we might need to go and find some more while we're on the road?" Daryl nodded in agreement with his brother and then he turned around to get to Glenn and TDog to do just that, leaving Merle and Colt behind.

Once his brother Daryl was out of earshot, he swiftly turned to Colt and asked demandingly in a low whisper. "You sure you can't use your 'special' abilities to get us to safety and back home?"

Colt sighed and shook his head. "Much as I want to, but I can't. I don't have the right amount of energy in me to teleport or transport this group back into Safe Haven, nor do I have the power enough to manage to create a completely functioning Portkey."

Merle cursed. "Damn it!"

"I know…I can't believe I'm saying this-but we're screwed until I managed to contact the others. Magic is good for almost everything but…it has its limits." Colt said with a gloomy grim look on his face.

"But then you can still use it, right?"

Colt knew what Merle is asking and after looking around and double-checking that the coast is clear and nobody's at hearing range from them he whispered softly. "Sure I can but- as I said before, magic has limits, Merle. If I use too much of it at the same and one time, I'll end up being completely exhausted and drained dry like going through an Olympic marathon or something like that."

Merle almost grimaced at the thought and nodded in understanding.

Then he turned around when he noticed Daryl returning but this time he's not alone as Rick and Shane went with him.

Rick went straight to the point as he asked Merle. "Daryl mentioned about this safe place that we're supposed to be heading. How far are we to getting there?"

Colt was the one who answered him. "It's very far. But I'm sure once we contact our HQ with this radio, they'll send the backup to get us because of the Runners."

Shane looked worried when the teenage boy said this. "The Runners? They're going to come after us?"

"Hey, Officer Walsh, don't worry about it. We'll all be okay as long as we're far away from those things! There's no way they could've followed us from the old farm back then," Merle said smugly as he relaxed back against the truck.

Unfortunately, his words were dashed when…

LOUD ROARS!

They all froze when they heard those familiar loud sounds coming from the only creatures they have seen briefly back from the farm and the ones that Colt and Merle know.

Colt gave a frustrated breath and glared at Merle. "You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you, Merle?!"

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that the Runners would actually follow us?!" Merle exclaimed protesting.

From the measuring distance of the sounds they've heard, they sound like they are miles away but they can tell in a serious grim situation that soon the Runners will come near after they had heard them.

Colt groaned and turned his head up to the skies as he cursed. "Can't you give us a break for once?! God!"

Then in an ironic way of sorts, God answers his prayers-or rather the radio did.

[Hello? Is anyone there?]

Upon hearing the voice Colt and Merle finally expected to hear, Colt snatched the com-link up and turned it on to talk. "Hey! This is the West runners, we hear you! Finally! You sure took your time to contact us back!"

There was static a bit as the male voice replied. [Sorry about that. We had a slight problem with the communications but we managed to fix it up and got it running again. We noticed your signal trying to get to us once it's back on. What happened? What's been going on?]

"We encountered a fair number of survivors and we were going to bring them back to HQ. But we have a high priority red-alert situation over here in our end-a pack of Runners is somewhere in the area and we're in serious trouble here as those things are hunting us by now. We need backup, ASAP." Colt reported.

[Damn!]

There was static a bit with the others looking tense and anxious as the talker on the other end of the radio responded back. [We'll be sending backup as soon as possible, but there's a slight problem-we won't be able to make it in time on the GPS location we're getting here from your signal. You guys need to hold on whatever you can do for the moment.]

Colt frowned intensely when he looked over to the group as they exchanged grim looks before he snapped harshly through the com-link. "And how the bloody hell are we supposed to hold on when we got a pack of Runners tracking and hunting our trail!?"

[Just…try to find someplace secure and safe for you guys to hold-up and wait there for the time being while we try to get to you soon. We'll do our best but I can't guarantee that they might be able to make it faster than they already can.]

"Well, that's just great!" Merle cursed lowly, disappointed and frustrated at this and Colt felt the same way. "Where the hell are we gonna find a place like that in the middle of nowhere?!"

But then there was no response again from the radio as it gave out static again and the other end seemed to have been turned off communications, making Colt curse at losing contact again.

Then Shane remembered something before and said out loud. "Wait… isn't there a prison around here? I remember seeing it on a map."

They instantly rounded to him as if he just gave God-saving miraculous answers.

"A prison? Where?!" Merle instantly demanded from him.

"Uh-I don't know the name, but I think I remember seeing it marked on one of the maps. It's back there with Dale. He has them." Shane said.

"Well then, let's pack up and move it then! And we better hurry!" Colt said urgently as he went off running to the direction where Dale is at the RV.

The others soon followed as they go off into the set destination towards the prison which will be their temporary safe place from the incoming Runners.

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A few hours later, they managed to find out where the prison is that Shane talked about and they got there on time.

However, it seems that either fate itself is playing with them because…

"You gotta be freaking kidding me!?" Merle cursed irritated as he looked over to the fenced clearing near the prison.

At first, when they got there, they saw that there were almost many Walkers roaming about the plain field by the Georgia Correctional prison buildings, but then all of their hearts and guts sank when a few Runners came swooping in for the kill and then started tearing up the Walkers apart until almost half of them are gone. The Runners even leaped and jumped over the fences to get at the Walkers on other sides of them and they don't run or barge through them as if smart enough to not cut themselves from the wires.

Colt frowned with lips pursed tight before he said determinedly. "We need to get in there. That prison place is the only thing that will keep us safe from those Runners for the time-being and hold all of us safe in there until our back-up arrives."

"Well, it's gonna be a massacre if we try to ride our way through into there. Those Runners maybe only about four to six. But they're enough to take down two out of three of our cars and shove them over with their mutating super-strength." Merle pointed out.

Colt glared at Merle and asked sarcastically. "Well, do you have any bright ideas?"

Merle had to admit that he got none but Glenn does as his eyes seem to brighten up like a light-bulb. "I got it!"

They looked at him and Glenn almost blushed at their scrutiny before he responded. "They hear sounds sharply like dogs, right? Then… can't we use their acute hearing as their weakness or something?"

The others seemed confused but Colt seemed to realize where he might be going with the idea that he might have, and he asked. "What do you have in mind?"

"Maybe we could use the sharp and high sounds of the feedback from your radio and into those speakers up at one of the prison buildings and use it against the Runners to disable them and make them run away from it. Will that work?"

Silence for a moment before…

"China-man, if only I were gay, I would kiss you square on the lips right now!" Merle said with a wide grin, making Glenn flinch and back away from him as if he's turned really gay.

Daryl groaned and looked at his brother with disbelief. "Really, Merle?!"

"Sheesh! I'm kidding! Can't you guys take a joke?" Merle said amusedly with hands up to jokingly defend himself.

"I don't think this is the right time and place to be making some amusement, Merle," Colt said dryly.

"But…running and going for those speakers at the prison. It's a suicide mission." Rick said gravely. "Only the fastest runner might be able to get there and do that."

And the only ones who are the fastest runners…and being stared at pointedly was Glenn Rhee and Colt Gunner (Merle was the one looking at Colt).

Colt was about to volunteer but Merle instantly stopped him. "Nope. You're not going, kid," he said firmly like he's his father.

Colt glared at him incredulously. "Excuse you!? And why not?"

"Cause your mama won't forgive me if you get yourself into that kind of danger like that, Colt. Now shut up and let Glenn do it. He runs faster like you, so he'll be able to make it. You just tell him what to do with the radio and connect it with the speakers to release that screeching sound to drive away the Runners." Merle commanded him in soldier mode.

Colt wanted to protest but from Merle's tone he was serious so he held back and obeyed him grudgingly.

However, after Merle nodded satisfied that the boy listened and turned around to talk with his brother Daryl, Rick and Shane to get the others ready with the cars and drive once Glenn goes running for the prison-Merle didn't notice the devious look in Colt's eyes as he approached Glenn when he came towards him to instruct on using the radio and its feedback.

After Merle and the others had talked and prepared themselves to get ready to leave, he and Daryl went to check on Glenn and Colt if they're done with teaching instructions for their plan or something. Then Merle realized something when he and Daryl turned around.

"Wait a minute-Chinaman, why are you still here…? OH HELL NO!" he shouted almost loudly when he realized that Colt went off running instead of Glenn and he could instantly tell that he took over the suicidal mission instead of the Asian man because Glenn was bending over, his arms wrapping and clutching himself by the place of his guts as if he got hit there.

"DAMN IT, KID! YOU RECKLESS IDIOTIC BOY!" Merle hollered loudly angry.

Colt didn't stop running even when he heard Merle yelling loudly behind him as he focused on running straight, heading towards the prison building where there are the visible loudspeakers up there.

He was fast enough to run and dodge the walkers that were trying to grab at him, and he maneuvered easily through the slow-moving zombies like he's been used to this a long time before he finally reached the building.

Then Colt's adrenaline almost reached its high peak when he heard the Runners roar again as they noticed him and as he climbed up the ladder hurriedly, he could almost feel about two or four of them running after him from behind.

He got to the top, ran towards one of the loudspeakers and quickly did his work on connecting the radio and making loud feedback into the speakers and he didn't break focus even when he could hear the Runners trying to learn fast on climbing up the ladder to get to him.

Just before one or two of the Runners were about halfway reaching to the top where Colt is, there were loud gunshots and the mutated zombies that climbed were instantly shot dead by Merle and the others who took action as they watched Colt far away from where they are.

Good thing that both Merle and Andrea are sharpshooters when they killed the Runners that were climbing and the others are shooting in other directions as if trying to distract the Runners away from Colt.

Colt almost whooped in triumph when he finished his work and then turned the speakers on with his magic. He quickly got his hands shut over his ears as loud screeching feedback sounded out from them and instantly the Runners reacted in spasms and jolts and mutated hands clawing at their ears, as the sounds completely pained and hurt them of their sharp hearing.

Glenn was happy to see that his idea had worked and instantly after a few painful seconds, the pack of Runners decided to run away from the feedback and they went off dashing and leaping to another direction, trying to run away and keep a distance away from the shrieking speaker feed.

The others were happy to see this as well, even with the Runners had also decimated about all of the Walkers that were leftover remaining in the prison clearings. Only a few remained that are walking about, in a small count of three to five walkers.

Merle sighed in relief before he nodded to his brother, Rick, and Shane to get the others ready and get to the prison before the Runners might come back.

The feedback was still powered up and running while they drove inside and it only stopped until all of them got in and the gates were closed shut behind the three vehicles.

Merle got out of the truck and was standing by and waiting for Colt with agitation when he climbed down and he didn't hesitate to hold back as he gave the teenager a piece of his mind-both verbally and physically.

Colt didn't know this until it was too late. "Hey, Merle. The plan worked and-OW! Hey! What was that for?!" he exclaimed incredulously when he got slapped upside the back of his head from Merle's hand.

"That-is for being the reckless suicidal being that you are, boy! Seriously, Glenn over there is faster than you…and you had to be the idiot to take over without caring for the consequences!" Merle sharply scolded him which is another one of those firsts that he's a changed man, much to their audience's surprise and shock. "You could've been killed! Didn't you think about how your mom would suffer if she found out about it?!"

Colt sighed as he rubbed his head. "Of course I do. But I made it, didn't I? The feedback worked and it looks like the Runners might not be coming back for a moment. Now let's all go inside this prison and hold up here for a while until backup arrives."

"Damn you, really…alright, Officer Friendly!" Merle hollered over to Rick. "It's safe now, we better get everyone inside and all of the stuff before those things come running back!"

Rick nodded and he and Shane helped the others to move their stuff and get everyone in the group inside the prison while Merle, Daryl, and Colt stood guard and on the watch.

Unknowing to all of them, there is something else inside the prison.

A shadowy figure hiding in the shadows, watching them outside through one of the broken windows of one of the prison buildings.

The being that's watching them had already noticed them arrive since Colt started running into the prison and set off the speakers to drive the Runners away.

And whoever this unknown is…either it might be a good one…or a bad one.

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

WOW! So MANY kudos, comments and the number of people who bookmarked this story in AO3!

Thank you, Readers!

I'm sorry it took so long to update because the internet at home has been undergoing maintenance and repair. So annoying and frustrating! But I took the time into writing more of the chapters and saving them so that I would edit, rewrite, and then post and update them. Hope you like it!

Whew! This is one very long chapter, hope you like it! They made it to the prison! Will Harry and his people be able to make it before Merle and Colt's group end up getting hunted by the Runners again or might encounter the Governor and his men of Woodbury or something else that's even worse?

Find out in the next chapters of the story! Stay tuned!

There will be more, I promise!

PLEASE REVIEW OR COMMENT!

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