Hey all! This chapter is going to follow what happens to Dr. Grant's group after the first day of the outbreak, taking place after Rick's Group departs for the CDC. Enjoy!
Grant, Gerry and Nima had been on the road for almost a month now, looking for places where Billy might've been. Luckily, they had found footprints leading away from the plane crash. Wether they were Billy's, remained to be seen. After finding supplies and weapons at various places throughout Georgia, the group was on their way to the one place they dreaded going: Atlanta. Nima's leg had healed significantly by now, and the three of them were nearing the city.
"Are we really going IN to the city?" Nima asked.
"Yes. This is the only place we haven't checked for Billy. If he's not in Atlanta, he's probably moved on," Gerry explained.
"Where are you, Billy?" Grant said to himself. After another bout of driving into Atlanta, Grant saw rustling in the woods along side the highway.
"Gerry, Gerry! Stop!," Grant said, pointing to the woods.
"What? Why?" Gerry was answered with the low bellow of no less than five apatosaurs emerging from the woods, along with several parasaurolophus, gallimimus and two triceratops. The trio had stunned but awed looks on their faces as the herd passed in front of their truck. Everyone was cautious not to startle the animals as they just casually walked over the abandoned cars on the opposite side of the highway.
"I guess they had to migrate east sometime," Nima said, her eyes fixated on the almost smiling appearance of the apatosaurs.
"My god. I'd forgotten. It's been so long since I've seen one not actually trying to kill me," Gerry said.
"You never went back to Isla Nublar? Even after that new park opened?" Nima asked. Gerry shook his head.
"God, no. Once was enough for me. I was content to retire after we escaped," he said. Nima laughed and shook her head.
"For all the times they've tried to eat us, they just, do what we do. Survive," Grant said. Gerry and Nima looked at him as the herd finished passing by.
"Alright. Let's get a move on," Grant said. Gerry nodded and put the car in drive as they continued down the highway, eventually reaching the exit to the city. There were walkers here and there but most of them had moved on from the city, forming a herd heading out of the city in the opposite direction that Grant and company arrived from. The truck eventually drove by a Tank sitting in the middle of the road, with dead walkers and the rotting corpse of a horse next to it. Gerry pulled to a stop.
"What the hell happened here?" Nima asked.
"Same thing that happened everywhere, I guess. Though it looks like someone got lucky. The horse probably distracted them long enough for someone to get away," Gerry said, explaining his view of the situation.
"Think that someone could've been Billy?" Grant asked. Gerry shrugged.
"Maybe. Doesn't seem like anyone's here now though," he said. Grant had a look of defeat on his face.
"We'll find him, Alan," Nima said, with a smile. Grant smiled back at her. Gerry put the truck back in drive as they slowly patrolled the streets looking for any signs of life. Eventually, they came to a boarded up old building that looked to be a nursing home at one point. There were a few abandoned cars outside of it, and a sealed garage door.
"That place might be worth a look. What do you think, Gerry?" Nima asked.
"I say it's worth a look. It's one of the more fortified buildings we've come across. Doesn't look like anyone's home though," Gerry replied. Grant nodded.
"At the very least, we may find something useful in there," he said.
"Like that?" Nima pointed to a helicopter parked on the roof of the building. It read Biosyn on the tail rotor.
"Biosyn. Feel like I've heard that name before," Grant said to himself. Gerry nudged him.
"We could certainly cover a lot more ground looking for Billy with a helicopter," he said. Grant nodded.
"Let's check it out then," Grant said. They all hopped out and grabbed their weapons from the bed of the truck. Gerry had the wrench he used to save Grant a month ago, Nima had a pistol she had found when they were scouting for supplies, as well as a survival knife, and Grant had a machete that he holstered around his belt. Once everyone was suited up, the trio gathered around a door leading into the building. Nima and Gerry each took cover on both sides of the door, while Grant unholstered his machete and kicked open the door. There was no one. At least no one living.
"All clear," Grant said. Gerry and Nima came out from cover and followed Grant as he walked inside. A few walkers on the inside of the building heard the commotion and lumbered towards the group.
"Eyes front. Muertos," Nima said, readying her survival knife. Grant swung his machete and scalped one of the walkers before kicking it down and plunging the machete into its eye. Nima kicked the leg of one of the walkers, with her own good leg, knocking it down long enough for her to stab in the temple. Gerry bashed the other two walkers heads in with his wrench and then stopped to catch his breath as Nima finished the last walker by stabbing it in the chin uppercut-style.
"Everyone alright?" Grant asked. Nima and Gerry nodded as they inspected the walkers.
"Good news is, none of these are Billy," Gerry said. Grant took a closer look at the walkers.
"These Deadheads look a lot older than other ones we've seen," he said.
"Well, this was a nursing home. It's… sad to think about," Nima said sadly.
"Lets—Let's search the rest of this place," Grant said, changing the subject. He led the trio upstairs where they came across a gruesome scene. There was blood everywhere. On the walls, the floor, the ceiling. Various entrails were strewn about the room. Both from the nursing home residents, and what remained of the staff.
"Ay Dios Mio. What—What happened here?" Nima asked.
"A fate worse than death," Gerry said. Meanwhile, Grant was inspecting the bodies. Many of them exhibited characteristics of being disemboweled with a sharp object, rather than being torn apart by walkers. The bites were ragged and sharp. Something else did this.
"I don't think deadheads killed these people," Grant said.
"Then what did?" Gerry asked.
"Raptors," Nima and Gerry looked at each other shuddered as Grant uttered the word.
"You—you don't think they're still here do you?" Nima asked. Grant shook his head.
"If they were, we'd already be dead," he said taking off his hat and scratching his head. Suddenly they heard a creek in the floor and the cocking of a pistol.
"That can still happen," a feminine voice said. Grant and Gerry turned around to see an African American woman with curly black hair and a brown leather jacket pointing a gun to Nima's head.
"Just—Take it easy," Grant said, both his and Gerry's arms up in the air.
"You're not exactly in a position to be making demands. What the hell do you want?" The woman asked.
"We're looking for someone in our group. We got separated a month back and thought he might've ended up in the city," Gerry explained.
"That's rough. He's not here though. I can tell you that. I've been over every inch of this shithole city and haven't seen anyone else alive. Aside from you three," the woman said. Still holding the gun to Nima's head.
"I take it that's your helicopter on the roof?" Nima asked.
"Yeah? What about it?" The woman asked. She put her gun closer to Nima's head.
"We're not gonna steal it, if that's what you think. We just want to find our friend. Please," Gerry pleaded. The woman was hesitant for a minute, but nodded and lowered the gun. Everyone relaxed a bit.
"Thank you. I'm Gerry Harding. That's Nima Cruz, and this is—" The woman cut Gerry off.
"Alan Grant. I know who you are," she said with a coy smile. Grant looked a little surprised.
"You—You do?" He asked. The woman nodded and outstretched her hand.
"Kayla Watts. Pleasure to meet you,"
End
Hey everyone! I really enjoyed writing this chapter! I think having Kayla be part of this group will add a lot of depth to their story. I also wanted Grant's group finding the nursing home residents slaughtered, to be a reference to a deleted scene in TWD where Rick returns to find them all dead. Also, the raptors that killed the nursing home residents are the same ones that attack the Quarry Camp. Please let me know what you think, and as always, thanks for reading!
~JPfan