Ch. 37
'The bigger they are Part two'
[Atlanta, GA, late morning]
The trio had journeyed into the heart of Atlanta; the closer they got to the CDC, the more infested the route became with the undead.
Summer hoped they would find their friends alive; they were like family now.
Ahead of them was a wall; Summer could see it was made of cars, slabs of concrete, and miscellaneous wood pieces from furniture, fences, and other buildings.
And in their path were several walkers, aimlessly wandering the streets of this long-dead city.
"Shit," Summer heard Blake mutter, he was walking just in front of her at this point, and she could tell he was going to stop.
Stopping beside him, Summer looked at her brother as she pulled her bow out. "If we're quiet, they may not all come crashing down on us," Summer pointed out while pulling an arrow out of her quiver and inspecting it.
Turning his gaze from the enemies in front of him, Blake looked to his sister and let out a sigh; nothing could just go smoothly in Blake's mind. "It looks like there's a makeshift staircase leading up the wall, but we'll have to pull on the rope to bring it down," Blake explained, pulling his hatchet out of the loop on his pack.
"You can see all of that from here?" Summer asked, notching the arrow in place.
Blake shook his head but didn't tear his eyes from the undead. "Educated guess, really, they used this kind of setup in Baltimore, too," Blake said as Genevieve pulled out her knife.
The walkers turned to see the three humans; their appetites roared to life at the very sight of them; with a feral growl, the first of several zombies shuffled toward the group.
Summer pulled the string back on her now, breathing in before exhaling and firing her shot; the arrow soared through the air and hit the walker in its open maw.
Summer nocked another arrow as she watched the previous one fall.
Blake walked towards the ensuing battle with the bladed weapon clenched tightly in his hand; the menacing growls still sent chills down his spine every time.
Rearing back, Blake swung over his shoulder, arcing the blade of the hatchet straight into the closest walker's head, smashing the weapon down; Blake could see his ax had decimated the skull and had lodged itself in the zombie's neck.
Genevieve rushed forward, quick as a flash, and skidded to a stop just in front of the closest walker; the young survivor waited for the monster to lunge at her.
Stepping to the side, Genevieve tripped the walker; grabbing its tattered shirt, she pulled it to the ground; for extra measure, stomping on its head once, then rearing up again and coming down with a second blow to the monster's head, feeling the claws of another undead foe, Genevieve whirled around grabbing the walker's wrist in quick succession, the teenager swept the zombie's legs.
Ripping his hatchet out of the walker he had just killed, Blake turned to check on Genevieve; just as she brought her knife down on the current walker; an arrow hit one of the undead near him; flinching slightly at the close impact; Blake brought his weapon-arm back and swung it at the next walker nearest to him, severing the zombie's head and kicking the lifeless body to the ground, a geyser of blood erupted from the base of its neck.
Pulling her life up, Genevieve looked up in time to see the situation; the young survivor saw two more undead shambling forth.
Flipping her knife in her hand, Genevieve cocked her arm back before whipping it forward, throwing the projectile; the knife found purchase in the undead's eye socket; running it down, Genevieve went to get her life as the last walker came close, the teenager couldn't get the knife out, and the danger loomed ever-closer.
Blake turned to see Genevieve throw her knife at the walker but also saw her get caught up with the blade being stuck; rushing forward, Blake brandished his hatchet when he saw Genevieve sweep the last walker's legs; the ex-saviour brought his ax down on the monster's face, leaving nothing but a bloody pulp.
Finally wrenching her weapon free, Genevieve stands up and wipes her knife off before she sheaths it. "Thanks," she said, nodding in respect to Blake.
"Don't mention it," Blake said, replacing his weapon in its rightful place, and looking to the staircase, mere feet away. "Let's take that hill," the man said before putting Genevieve on the shoulder.
Summer holstered her ranged weapon and followed the two up the wall; what they found was a terrifying sight.
Thousands of walkers milling about with no clear destination, the sound of their growls and moans was now like a crowd at a sporting event of the old times, the CDC building now laid in plain view.
The urge to yell out Ian or Melissa's name was not lost on any of them; they had come so far, they had to find them dead or alive.
The trio looked the building up and down but saw no sight of their friends in the many windows; a glint was noticed in one of the skyscrapers next to the CDC.
Blinking in the sunlight, Summer didn't quite realize what the sparkle could be until it flashed again, the realization dawning on her. "Get down!" the woman shouted as she brought Genevieve with her, Blake following suit.
After no shots were fired, the group looked at each other in anticipation. "Do you think they saw us?" Summer asked, wincing as she felt the gunshot wound on her abdomen flair up from the quick movements.
"They had to!" Blake exclaimed, peeking over their cover in a very cautious manner.
"Why would they hesitate with what I have done here?" Genevieve asked, her words ringing true to them all.
With that said, Summer poked her head up and saw the flash of light reflecting again.
This time it was clear; the sniper was attempting to flag them down. "I, uh, I think they're trying to get our attention," Summer said, looking at her family.
Blake had already peeked, but Genevieve's brow furrowed at the odd notion before popping her head to investigate.
Sure enough, they could all see the weapon swaying side to side, catching the sunlight in the lens of the scope; when they all were looking, the reflection disappeared, and the shooter stood up.
The trio squinted in the brightness of the southern sun, but they could piece together who they saw, and all of them beamed and nearly cheered when they saw it was Melissa; she was still alive.
Melissa covered the group until they made it up to her nest; after that, she abandoned the bolt-action rifle to join the group hug, happening at her behest.
"You all made it!" Melissa exclaimed, emotion overtaking her survival instincts; she never would have thought it possible, that Summer and Blake could find Genevieve.
Tears fell from the middle-aged woman's face, her family had survived, and she did, long enough for them to find her.
Genevieve hugged tightly, but she only felt minor relief, someone was missing, a very big someone. "Where is Ian?" the teenager asked, pulling away from the group to see an old man standing near the rifle.
His hands were in his pockets and his posture was relaxed, but he was unfamiliar. "Who are you?!" Genevieve exclaimed, immediately taking a step back to distance herself.
Melissa turned abruptly at her first question, panning her vision over to the man that the young survivor questioned. "That's Charles, we found him when we made it into the city," Melissa explained as the hug ended.
Charles flashed a quirky smile and waved subtly before replacing his hand in his pocket. "You must be the folk that Melissa was telling me about," Charles wheezed before coughing; his voice sounded hoarse, like that of a smoker, a notion supported by the fact he had a pack of handmade cigarettes poking out of his vest pocket.
Melissa nodded, her face beaming with joy. "Introductions are in order," the woman exclaimed, stepping in between the group she had been with for years, and the new person she had met.
"This is Summer, I've known her since the world ended," Melissa stated, prior to moving her hand to the next person. "This is Blake, he's Summer's brother and a real good guy!" the former nurse continued as her hand planned to the final member. "This is Genevieve, a girl that we rescued in the opening months of the apocalypse.
Charles' eyes widened subtly at meeting Genevieve, she matched the description that the Saviours were circulating; he had overheard them talking about her; she had made a name for herself. "Good to meet y'all," the stranger said as he popped an unlit cigarette in his mouth.
Genevieve had been looking over the edge, into the abyss of zombies that shuffled far below her; one question hadn't been answered. "Where is Ian?" the teen reiterated, the edge of worry in her voice was beginning to be obvious.
Melissa's face fell at the question being posed again; the amount of time she had been asking that same question had been far too many. "We've been waiting four days to get that answer," the woman said sadly, stepping over to the edge with Genevieve.
The entire mood dropped at the tragic revelation, everyone aside from Charles crowded the edge, straining to see even a glimpse of the large man they had grown fond of.
Half an hour passed, and Summer was the only one still watching, her heart ached and her breath was shallow, quiet so as not to miss a sound around her, in case his booming voice were to sound off; she wanted to see him, dead, alive, even turned; she wanted closure.
Another half hour passed and the group knew they needed to leave soon, they couldn't stay here.
The redhead wasn't ready to leave, she had known him for years, his loud and obnoxious voice, his over-the-top personality, his horrible, and profane music taste; she needed to know his fate.
The sound of footsteps softly approaching didn't stir Summer from her vigil; she just needed a glimpse, one more moment.
"We need to go," Genevieve said, her voice broken, probably from crying, Summer assumed as she heard the teenager clear her throat. "We need to go," the young survivor reiterated in a clearer voice.
Summer turned to face the girl she had raised, tears welling up in the redhead's eyes, Genevieve's gaze fell when she saw Summer's tears.
"I'm sorry," Genevieve said, full of sincerity, turning to walk down the stairs, assuming Summer would follow.
Summer looked down again, another family member was gone, whether he had turned, died, or survived; they couldn't possibly hope to know; what she knew all of them knew was that they would miss them.
Closing her eyes and wrapping her arm around the support column she stood next to; a slow heaving breath was released as a tear fell from her eye.
Sniffing and wiping her cheek dry, Summer opened her eyes and stepped away from the edge before turning to make her way down the stairs, her heart told her to stay and believe Ian was alive, but her mind knew she needed to leave, this was hostile territory, and what family was alive, needed her to go.
Willing herself down the stairs, Summer made her way down the building and she found Melissa ushering her out of the back exit.
"Out this way, Charles has a surprise," Melissa breathed as Summer exited the building.
Summer was indeed surprised to see a station wagon that was running; Blake had just closed the hood of the vehicle and was rubbing his hands together and nodding before he jumped in the driver's seat.
"Why isn't Charles driving his car?" Summer asked as she stepped beside the vehicle.
"Blake didn't trust him, so Charles let him," Melissa explained as Summer opened the driver's side rear door.
Summer would have chuckled at her brother's antics had it not been for the loss of their dear friend.
"Where're we going?" Charles asked as the vehicle started moving, it had been a while since the group had a vehicle, this would be beneficial.
After several minutes of swerving through the city streets, the group was able to see a few people wearing military-grade equipment on patrols, the bands on their arms signifying that they were Saviours.
Blake whipped the vehicle through a crowd of walkers, knocking a few of them into the concrete, after several hundred feet, the road ahead was blocked by a horde of the undead.
"Shit!" Blake shouted as he craned his neck around to see out the back window, there was a large group of zombies giving chase to the vehicle.
The last time this happened they had been in Idaho Falls, this time, Blake was in the driver's seat.
Taking a moment to look things over, the walkers in front of him were moving across the street, endlessly shambling towards the next place they would brood in, the group behind them would be on them in the next several seconds.
"We can't stop here, kid!" Charles piped up as the undead closed the distance.
"Hurry, Blake!" Melissa exclaimed soon after Charles spoke.
Blake took a breath before he pressed his palm down on the horn, the loud sound blaring, projecting out across the decaying city of Atlanta, Georgia.
"You are ringin' the dinner bell, for the whole damn city!" Charles shouted incredulously, looking out his mirror, at the rapidly approaching zombies.
Ignoring the people in the man in the car protesting his methods, Blake focused on keeping his breath even.
"Make sure the doors are locked, everyone!" Blake ordered as he saw the first walkers reach the back of the vehicle.
The passengers began to frantically check the locks on their respective doors, the thumping of hands smacking the trunk's window was soon heard, then the sides; and before too long, the undead had completely surrounded the station wagon.
The banging was overbearing, the light of day was nearly blotted by the mass of bodies, and the roar of the horde was deafening as the group inside fought within themselves to not break down and panic at the prospect of the windows being shattered, a real possibility.
"Get us outta here, you crazy fuck!" Charles screamed as the pounding hands of the zombies outside began to pick up intensity.
With that, Blake slowly accelerated, when he made it to about fifteen miles an hour, the group began to see what he was doing, instead of running at full steam, Blake decided to slowly, deliberately push through the crowd.
Passing walkers, swiped at the windows, one of them even managed to crack the front passenger window; yet despite it all, the vehicle eventually saw daylight, and when the driver did, he sped up; they had made it, they were out of Atlanta.
Where did they go now?
Ian Brasic, 05/23/1988 - 07/28/2021