The next day, Martin and Shane exited the house and saw the remains of King County. During the last 3 days, it had been completely overrun by the walkers, and the military were killing humans and undead, not measuring their firepower. The old town they both grew up in was no longer, only memories remain. They jogged over to the police station, which was not very far, and they both took out some walkers on sight, leaving nearly cleared the area.
The walkers weren't such of a big threat if they were alone, but in a pack of a dozen or more they were deadly. In three days the entire county was gone, save for a few survivors that got out in time, but Martin and his small group were isolated in the area, making them vulnerable to the dead.
The police station was not big, in it's prime having only 20 workers inside it. They had a few cruisers and trucks for transportation, but those were provided by the head of state at Atlanta. Shane took out his keys and unlocked the garage were the vehicles were kept, hoping that at least one was still in condition for the drive to the city.
Out of 25 cruisers only 3 were left, the ground was stained with flesh and blood, also full of bullets of pistols and rifles. The police force did their best to hold out, but they were overrun in the end. Martin had no time to mourn, instead began to make a quick plan.
"You wait here, I'll head upstairs and see what I can get from the armory," said Martin, who grabbed a shotgun from the bag of guns Shane orignally had.
"You be careful up there, anything goes nasty I'll holler at ya," replied Shane, who was picking at the door lock of the truck they were gonna use.
Martin nodded in response and opened the door that took him upstairs into the armory. The lights were out, so he had to use a flashlight to find his way around. The station was so quiet, yet at the same time it made him feel insecure. Upon finding the hallway to the armory, he saw what he didn't want to.
His partner Leon Basset, who he never was on good terms, was on the ground handcuffed to a metal pole. He was grunting and growling at him, while he tried to grab him with his other arm. Martin got closer and saw that he had a bite on his shoulder, revealing part of his shoulder blade. He had bled to death in the armory from the bite and turned. Martin grabbed his knife and ended his misery.
There wasn't much to grab from the armory anymore, save for a few rifles and ammo. He didn't want to waste any of it so he took as much as he could. He ran back down into the garage, where Shane had started the engine and was waiting for him to come back.
They left the station and got back on the road to the Quinn house, while Shane told him what they could do.
"Atlanta ain't feeling like a haven to me, these biters could be everywhere," said Shane, who was biting on a plastic cap.
"Feelings aren't enough. We need to be sure it's gone or no." replied Martin, who was looking at his uniform, full of dirt and blood. This was his reality now, and there was no changing that.
Alicia had already packed everything they would need for the road, and got on the truck with Sarah, Ian and Tony. The truck was drawing too much attention and Walkers were getting closer to the Quinn house, but by the time they got there, the group were already on the road.
A few hours into the day, and the road, and their journey stopped. The road ahead was blocked by a bunch of vehicles. A old truck, 2 cars, and a large RV were on the road, and more then 5 people were watching them.
"Grab the rifles and get out, we'll see who these folks are," said Martin, who decided to try to help them. He didn't know if they were friendly or not, but he was willing to take that risk.
"Why is that RV across the damn road?" Asked Shane, who had holstered his rifle, because the others were not pointing at him.
"The radiator is on it's last legs. It heated up so I decided to stop for a bit to let it cool down," replied a man, who appeared to be in his 60's, with a small hat covering his bald head.
"The name is Martin. Martin Quinn and this is Shane," Martin had introduced themselves to the other survivors.
"Well, I'm Dale. These folks are Ed, Carol and their girl Sophia," he pointed to a family next to the old truck that had it's hood opened.
"And these girls are Amy and Andrea," he pointed to a pair of young blonde girls, most likely in their early 20's.
"Call me T-Dog," said a african american man, who was looking at the truck behind Martin and Shane.
The group got to know Martin's group, Ian became a good friend of Sophia. in the while they were there, they needed to make a plan.
"We need to move to Atlanta. If you guys are heading there also, you can tag along with us," said Martin.
"He's right. If we all stick together we have a better chance of surviving. We have a large stash of guns with us, we can be better protected if we all carry a piece," added Shane.
"Guess the cops are right. We should get on the road now, look behind your ass!" said T-dog to Shane.
More than 40 walkers were closing in on them from the other side of the highway, they must have followed them from King County. Once they got the vehicles going, they started their path again to Atlanta, leaving the herd behind them.
"Are you sure we can trust the others?" Asked Alicia, who did not like the fact that they had joined another group, completely random people.
"We can. They have a kid, we have one too. I know they won't try anything," replied Martin, who was cleaning his colt Python revolver.
Alicia didn't respond. Her husband was a very sterdy and Intelligent man, she trusted him. She was about to fall asleep when the caravan they had formed with the other survivors had stopped.
"What's going on?" Asked Martin as he got off the truck, with pistol in hand.
"One of our scouts just got back from Atlanta, he's got bad news for us," replied Daryl, who had a crossbow for a weapon.
"Tell us Glenn, what did you see?" Asked T-Dog, who had grabbed a rifle from Shane's bag of guns, and began to load it.
The asian boy, who appeared to be in his mid 20's, got his breath back and began to explain what he saw at the city.
"It's gone. I went to the safe zone and it was overrun, a lot of military dudes had turned, also there isn't a damn soul for miles. Atlanta is a hot zone for Walkers now," replied Glenn, who sat down on the steps of the RV.
Everyone looked dissapointed. Atlanta was their shot at bring safe, and it now belonged to the dead. They had no time to mourn the loss they had suffered, the sun was going down, and being out in the road at nighttime is dangerous. They needed plan B, and fast.
"We can try the CDC. It's on the other side of the city, it could be our last chance," commented Alicia, who was holding a scared Ian in her arms.
"That's the damn problem. The streets are full of the geeks. We won't make it when our heads get ripped off by those damn things," replied Glenn.
"There's the other road. It crosses the city without even entering it. If we are going there, we need to do it now," Added Daryl, who began to add arrows to his holster on his back.
The survivors agreed and head north to the other road. The CDC in these cases might still be functioning and they might even have access to a clue to whatever was causing this.
Martin was driving this time, Shane was tired and wanted to rest a bit. Atlanta was a city with over a million people, it's hard to imagine all of those are walkers. Martin thought over several times.
They decided to stop the drive for the night and set up camp in the outskirts of a quarry. There were over 20 survivors that Martin did not notice in the other vehicles, which made him be careful with his family, after all, there was danger with humans also. Once everyone got their tents set up, Dale decided he'll keep watch for a few hours then someone will relieve him a top the RV.
Martin entered the large tent with Alicia Ian and Tony, while Shane and Sarah slept in another. He took off his shoes and layed down next to his wife on their makeshift bed.
"How long ago did we have a moment together?" Asked Alicia, who looked at Martin firmly in the eye, but with a sweet tone.
"I don't know. So many things have happened that I don't remember anymore," replied Martin, who took out his revolver from it's holster and put it under his pillow.
"It's alright. As long as we have each other, as long as we are together, we are strong," she replied, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
She then turned around and began to fall asleep. Martin made sure Ian was okay, then he also started to fall asleep, while keeping his hand close to the gun in case of a emergency.
Later in the morning, he could hear yells coming from the outside of the tent.
"Don't overthink this, Ed." Martin could hear the voice of a panicked woman.
"I'm not Carol. I know what the hell I'm doing, and I certainly won't take orders from a woman," replied Ed, in a more hostile tone.
Martin got out of the tent with his revolver in hand, but lowered it when he saw that it was only Ed and Carol.
"What's up with all the yellin," Asked Daryl who was coming out of the RV.
"It's Ed. He wants to take me and Sophia to look for beer," Replied Carol, who looked quite scared.
Martin approached Carol and put his hands on her shoulder.
"You two aren't going anywhere, it's too dangerous and we can't risk losing anyone," said Martin to Carol.
"Get your damn hands off her!!" Yelled out Ed, who had pushed Martin without him noticing, making him fall to the ground.
Alicia noticed what Ed did and in defense of Martin went to push him back, but with a strike from the man she too fell next to Martin.
He wouldn't allow anyone, or anything to hurt his wife. Whoever did was going to pay the price. And Ed would be the next one.
He quickly got up and punched Ed in the face, knocking back a few meters. Martin followed him and kicked him in the stomach, then he grabbed his head shoved it into a nearby tree, breaking his nose. While he was on the ground he grabbed a rock and striked at Martin, but he dodged it with ease. He then kicked him in the knee and made him fall once again, and pointed his revolver at him.
"I ain't playing around. You touch my wife again, or any other woman in this group and I will kill you," said Martin coldly, with the barrel of the pistol on Ed's forehead.
"Anything else you gonna do to me?!" Yelled out the beatened man, who ached from his bruises each time he breathed.
"I got something you'll like," said Shane, who had just woken up and began to approach Ed.
Once he got closer, he took out his shotgun and hit him with the barrel in the face, knocking him out cold.
He was then dragged to the RV and tied up by the request of Carol, who revealed that her husband was a abusive man with her and her daughter.
T-Dog, Glenn, Shane and Martin along with Dale met up at the bank of the lake next to the camp.
"We'll need to head to the city very soon, supplies are going dry," Said Dale with a worried tone.
"In a few minutes we'll be heading off, as long as the supplies get here earlier the better," added Glenn.
"Very well. A scavenge hunt to Atlanta it is. If we leave right now and if things go well for us, we'll be back by sundown," Added Shane.
The men who would be going to Atlanta began to get ready. Martin grabbed a bag of guns and put them in a truck, while Glenn grabbed another bag for the supplies. Suddenly, they could hear a strong yell coming from camp.
"Get back to camp, now!" Yelled Martin to the rest, and they began to run back to camp. As soon as they got a quick sight of the area, he knew they were in for a good surprise.