Unknown to the four survivors packed in a small, rusted pick up truck trudging deeper into the decomposing city, Rick Grimes knew just as much as they did about the climaxing death toll. He shifted uncomfortably in the confinement of a King County police cruiser, holding onto a belief that the outside world was merely an optical illusion. His partner, deputy Shane Walsh was on edge as well-for the same reasons. The two men were in the mists of discussing Rick's wife's sleeping arrangements with both of them before all hell broke loose. As if the stress of Lori's unfaithful doings weren't enough, the two somehow made their way into the heart of Atlanta. Pulled in by orders from their boss and their boss' boss, both men had no other choice but to scope out the destruction in their neighboring city. Though sirens and screams polluted the world outside the vehicle, thick, tense silence remained between them.
"There ain't shit for us to do here," Shane's annoyance worsened Rick's. It was obvious there wasn't much they could do to help the dying people, but he continued, "May as well find our way back."
"Why? So you can find your way back to my wife? My kid?" Rick spat back. A subtle headache now surfaced. They were forced to work together, but it didn't mean they couldn't pick at each other.
"Man, why don't you jus' pay attention to the job that needs to be done."
"Coming from the guy who wants to leave-" Rick barely had time for the words to escape his mouth before a body charged the driver's side window awkwardly. Its eyes followed the way both men grabbed towards their holsters, instinctively gripping their guns at the wake of danger.
"Jesus Christ," Shane's head snapped toward his window. A woman's bloodied hand clawed purposely, attempting to get in. He looked towards Rick, shaking his head, "We gotta go, man.
"Dave said stay."
"So we can get killed by these sons of bitches? No way. Nuh-uh." They looked at each other a little longer, ignoring the group that now seemed to come their way. Rick shook his head, starting up the cruiser once more and pushing his way slowly through the crowd.
He knew not to worry about the body parts being crushed by his vehicle's pursuit forward by the way they kept on coming at him with two rounds through the chest earlier that day. These people weren't in need of any help. They were plagued by a disease, a death kissed disease; something that fortunately hadn't touched him and his partner in their heated argument. Whatever came over the city and its outskirts just today hadn't touched them.
He was more concerned for now-what he was too busy fighting about and less worried thinking about saving-was his wife and son. The growing worry caught him off guard. As of right now, Lori would be picking up Carl from school. The thought of his wife and son possibly being together made his worries lower just a little. It wasn't much though.
"I gotta find Lori."
"We, you mean." Shane didn't attempt to keep the frustration out of his voice.
"You think that's your duty?" Rick cringed as the bodies piled up, growing in numbers around the vehicle.
"I know shit's happened, but I ain't leavin' now. Especially now. Whether you like it or not, your family's my family. You included."
"You're gonna help me, but there's no way in hell I'll have you around them once we're together again," Rick forced a chuckle, "and to think I thought of you like a brother."
"It's too congested." Maggie managed to speak as they looked towards the stand still traffic jam in front of them. Nothing moved except for staggering people, directing their bodies throughout the crowded streets. Some noticed their moving vehicle, some didn't. A few bodies started to grab at the bed of the truck.
"This was a real stupid idea, Blondie," Merle scratched his head anxiously, "I ain't stayin' here. We gotta go back towards my place."
"So you wouldn't have done the same if it was one of us stuck here? I tried, okay?" Beth rubbed her temple. They wandered aimlessly in the city's crowded streets after fleeing the diner, looking for anyone or anything alive and capable of communication. So far they had found nothing more than the rising number of dead bodies scattered throughout sidewalks and streets.
Merle looked towards the three beside him, grunting at the way they all looked lost and scared. Even his baby brother, someone who he always tried to toughen up all his life for crazy shit like this still had that hint of worry in his eyes. It was enough to make him want to smack some sense into every single one of them.
"We're leavin'." He exclaimed with no one responding back.
The trek away from the city's devastation was no easy task. The number of bodies multiplied, taking much of the free space between blazing cars and smoking buildings. Most seemed unaware of the truck's slow advance away, but others still caught onto the metal exterior. Their nails dragged painfully loud. Metal against human flesh. Daryl watched out the window, staring straight through the bodies that banged up against the truck. He was used to the loud approaches now, not reacting at all like he had earlier. He mumbled something incoherent, but Beth nudged him, catching his attention.
"What'd you say?" Her voice was now stable and timid in nature. Her cries subsided and her mind was clear enough to process what was going on around her.
"Said they're attracted to the sound. Engine's too damn loud," He pointed towards a whining car off to their right. Its alarm screamed through the street while a pack of wandering people attacked it. He shook his head, "They're attackin' anything that makes sound."
They agreed in silence. Though they crushed a few stumbling bodies in the slow, painful process, they had exited the heart of the city in less than thirty minutes. Merle's annoyance calmed down as well as Beth's as they saw less destruction. What they all secretly hoped for-and were sorely disappointed-was a sighting of any intelligent life. They searched through the bloodied truck windows without any luck.
Their luck was sparked quickly though, spotting a woman and child pushing their way out of an overturned car. Beth watched the way the woman's hands shook, even from far away she could see the distress in her movements. She grabbed onto her son's limp body, pulling away from the wreckage that brought on a few clumsy braindead people's attention.
Merle abruptly stopped, shutting off the truck in the middle of the street like he had a few times in the past couple of hours. They all scrambled out of the car, weapons in hand while running towards the woman. She spotted them, screaming for help as a staggering figure pursued. His arms outstretched towards her crying son, groaning and growling words to the two huddled up against the burning vehicle. He hadn't had much of an advance before Merle's hands dug into the diseased man's shoulders, pulling him away and throwing him to the ground.
Daryl's crossbow managed a blow to its head, sending skin and flesh apart from its skull. With hands outstretched, the man's moans intensified. Merle watched his brother, amazed at how the body was still moving, even after the bow's butt cracked the cheek bone in half along with a few teeth.
Maggie reached down to the woman, grabbing her nervous hand and pulling her and her son towards the truck. They were hesitant, but anything was better than being attacked by these monsters that were once humans. Beth stuck behind them, kicking away any bodies that tried to follow.
She was terrified, but kept enough strength and courage to force the dead people away from them as they climbed into the truck.
"We'll take the back. Don't worry about us, just get your men." The mother gripped Maggie's shoulder, reassuring her. Maggie nodded, throwing her voice towards the Dixon brothers.
"Come on!" Beth watched the way they were too consumed in fighting off the sick people to even notice they had made it back to the truck. After the last of the four bodies dropped to the ground and lay motionless, Merle and Daryl looked towards them. It had taken only a second for them to register they had to leave before more came around.
They climbed in quickly. Maggie stayed in the back with the two victims, consoling and reassuring. Beth looked towards Daryl, searching his blood ridden clothes up until she met his eyes. They were shamed; he avoided eye contact with her. She grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers.
"You guys saved them." Beth stated. The only response she received was a squeeze to her hand.
A second later, knocking from behind them caught Daryl's attention. He looked over his shoulder to see Maggie waving at him. He sighed.
"Pull over."
"Why tha hell you want me to do that now?" Merle grunted.
"Maggie needs to talk."
They felt the small chug of the engine slowly dying down before they heard a stiff cry from the bed of the truck. Merle ran a hand over his head before opening the small window separating the inside group from the outside. Maggie pushed the window completely open now, holding onto the glass while looking from the woman and child then back towards the three inside.
"Lori said her husband's going to be looking for them," She cringed slightly at the way the boy cried into his mother's chest harder. She didn't want to bring up his father, but there was no other option. She bit her lip, "She said he might be at the sheriff's station a little ways south of here."
"What makes ya think he's alive, Suga?"
"I know my husband. He's alive and he'd be looking for us right now. I'm just hoping he has enough sense to know we'd be heading back his way." Lori wiped away a falling tear. Her attempts to hide her distress were useless. They were all feeling some sort of fear.
"How about we switch places and you show Merle where to go," Daryl rolled his eyes, "He probably knows the way by heart, though. Been in enough stations as it is."
"Fuck you man." Merle's shoulder stung as he realized Maggie's hand made hard contact with his skin.
"There is a child around." Merle shrugged his shoulders.
Daryl and Beth gave up their seats in the truck, letting Maggie, Lori and her child climb in after them. Daryl made sure to rough the little boy's hair and pat his back. He knew how it was to be a child with fear instilled in his body, not knowing what was going to happen next in life. He felt for the kid. Although he was safe from abuse, he wasn't safe from harm. Daryl didn't know when this chaos would end-or if it would-but he grabbed what little hope he had left for this world and pushed it to the front of his mind. He hoped the little boy would survive through all of this. For the first time, the boy's face brightened just a little bit at Daryl's touch before climbing onto his mother's lap.
"Do you think we'll find her husband?" Beth sunk into Daryl's side, failing to cover herself from the whipping wind around them. He slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in. He felt her hair tickle his face as it flung about from the wind. She eased his mind just a little bit as she wrapped her arm around his torso.
"Dunno. Hopin' we do if he's a cop. Maybe he knows what t'hell's goin' on."
Beth looked up at him, smiling calmly, "I hope so too."
For the remainder of the ride they watched the streets pass them and vanish behind smoking houses and vehicles. The sirens from the city silenced now, leaving behind nothing more than a few sporadic explosions going off in the distance. Screams that flooded the air earlier in the day had died down. The wasn't a good sign. The silence was deafening; the only thing making noise was their truck.
Beth worried about the noise. She remembered Daryl's comment about the way the deranged people reacted to noise. She didn't want any of them to step foot towards her family again. She wanted to be silent for the rest of her life, to stay hidden away from the danger around them. But staying silent wasn't an option they could choose.
"They aren't here!" Rick threw his hands onto his head, holding onto the thought of Lori and Carl alive and unharmed. Both Shane and him had made their way to the school, discovering Lori's vehicle overturned and on fire, but most importantly, empty. In his fit of despair, Rick did keep one thought in mind. They had escaped, somehow. They had managed to kill a few bodies in the process.
Shane wiped his finger over the crushed skull on the ground, fingering the blood between his thumb and index. The blood was very fresh; they had managed to fight of these mindless shufflers just moments before they arrived. He stood up, shoving a hand through his thick curly hair.
"How the hell do you think they killed these things? Can't see Carl fightin' off these bastards while his mom helped." Shane chuckled, though no humor was intended.
"Ain't the time for jokes," Rick glared at Shane before shuffling through the driver's side of the car. He found nothing more than shattered glass and Lori's wallet. He sighed, holding it firmly in his grip, "They're out lookin' for me."
"You think so?" Shane shook his head. He had doubts they hadn't made it very far. A small child with a helpless woman could only go so far.
"I know so. We'll swing around my house." Rick stood up and walked away from the wreckage, making his way into the cruiser. Shane followed suit.
"What if they ain't there?" Shane's doubts were making Rick's mood worsen. He was going to find his family, whether his partner believed it or not.
"Then we'll look until we can't look anymore. Got it?" Rick watched the man next to him. He watched the way Shane's jaw clenched at his harsh tone.
"Yep."
Rick ignored him for the rest of the ride, searching the streets while avoiding bodies that made their way into his path. His heart skipped a beat any time he saw a brunette woman dragging her way down the sidewalk. He didn't have it in himself to think it was Lori, but there was always a small part of him that tricked his eyes. He could see her face in these diseased people. He was glad he hadn't seen any children yet. He didn't know how he would be able to think of his son turning into a mindless body. It wasn't something he wanted to think about, so he turned the radio on, hoping for anyone to speak up through the static that played back.