Chapter 4 – Return of the Prodigal Son

July 24th, 2013

It had been about a week since we left the cabin. We drove as far as we could on the tank of gas and made it to some small town ironically called New Hope. It was in Pennsylvania, and we had found shelter in an old barn on the outskirts of town. The accommodation wasn't luxurious, but the barn was safe. There were also some camping supplies left in the barn, so we had sleeping bags and lanterns. We had decided to stay in the barn for a few days to regroup and try to scavenge the nearby town for needed supplies. We also needed to get some more gas or find an alternate vehicle so we could continue our trek south. We had been living off of the canned and dry goods from the cabin, but we were running out of food and needed to make a supply run.

We all decided we would head into town and see what we could gather. We figured we could split up into groups and hit more places at one time. Fin and Amaro decided to try and find gas. Cragen and I found a diner and decided to check it out for food. Amanda and Melinda headed towards a hardware store to gather some tools and other supplies we may need.

There was more eerie silence as we approached the diner. We both had knives out ready for any walkers lurking about. I opened the front door slowly and we entered the same way we used to when entering a perpetrator's home. We were on full alert and had each other's backs. The restaurant was a mess as though other people had the same thought we did. Menus were all over the floor, the register drawer was open and empty, and chairs were knocked over.

Cragen yelled, "Clear!" as he came out of the restroom.

I yelled back, "Clear!" after checking behind the counter and in the kitchen.

Cragen said, "I'm going to check out the dry good storage and see if there is any food left."

"Ok, I'm going to look around the kitchen area and see what's left."

I was bagging up some apples and oranges I found hidden on a back shelf when I heard a loud noise of something hitting the floor. I then heard Cragen yelling and that unforgettable noise of a zombie moaning. I could tell by all the noise that Cragen was in a full-blown fight with this zombie trying to fight it off. I ran towards the back of the restaurant as fast as I could with my heart pounding and my mouth dry. Horrible images of Cragen getting eaten by a zombie were racing through my head. I reached the back of the restaurant when my blood went cold. Several shelving units had fallen over and were completely blocking my path. I could see Cragen lying on the floor with this grotesque creature on top of him. Cragen was attempting to hold the zombie at bay with both hands, but Cragen's arms were shaking, and I could see him wearing out. Cragen's arms started to bend, and the zombie's head was getting closer and closer when suddenly I saw the zombie bite Cragen's shoulder hard.

I screamed, "No! Don, hang in there! I'm coming to help."

As I was frantically moving the shelving units out of the way with an adrenaline filled rage, the back door to the restaurant opened. A man walked in, but I couldn't make out his face due to the glare of the sunlight. He looked to his right and saw the zombie on top of Cragen. He ran over and stabbed the zombie in the head. The zombie fell on top of Cragen and Cragen shoved him off to the side. Cragen was panting and obviously out of breath from what just happened. He then rolled on his side and started to stand up.

"Hey, thanks for that."

I could only see the back of the strange man who just saved Cragen's life, but I saw Cragen pause as he looked at the stranger's face.

Cragen gasped, "You've got to be kidding me! Saved by Stabler. How the hell have you been Elliot?"

He then reached out and gave the man a hug. My eyes had to be as wide as saucers and my mouth was hanging open. No way was my old partner who I hadn't spoken to in two years standing 5 feet away from me.

I then heard Elliot's voice, "Cragen! Oh my god, I can't believe it's you. I was doing ok until the world decided to turn upside down."

Cragen then winced and grabbed at his shoulder where the bite was.

I instinctively yelped, "Don, we need to get you out of here and have Melinda look at that."

At the sound of my voice, Elliot turned towards me unaware that there was anyone else there. I was then staring into those crystal blue eyes again that had only been in my dreams the past two years. I felt like he was looking into my soul and my mouth was dry again but not because of fear. My legs felt like rubber, and I couldn't move. I wanted to be angry and furious with him, but I was so happy to see his familiar face that I just smiled back and uttered,

"El, Elliot. What are you doing here?"

I saw a flicker of recognition and then shock in his eyes, "We left the city looking for a safer place and ended up here. We are hiding out in an abandoned home nearby."

My stomach started to knot. Of course he would have brought his family including his wife. There was a pang of jealously suddenly in my gut. What is wrong with me? Elliot then started to help move the shelving units out of the way so I could get through. Finally, there was a path big enough for me to push through and get to the two of them. I put my arm around Cragen and started to walk him towards the back door.

"We need to get back to the barn so Cragen can get medical attention from Melinda."

Elliot spoke up, "The house we are staying in is much closer. Let's take him there and then he will have a bed to lay in."

I shook my head, "No, we don't want to impose. There are six of us and seven in your family. That will be a lot of people in one house."

El's face suddenly fell, and he rubbed his hand over the front of it.

"There are no longer seven of us. Kathy, Maureen, and Lizzie are all dead. They were killed by these walkers and the rest of us barely made it out in time."

A wave of guilt then came over me. Half of his family was dead, and I had been feeling jealous less than five minutes ago.

"El, I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what you're going through."

He said, "Listen, we need to get out of here before more of the dead come by. Let's get Cragen back to the house and we will figure things out from there."

We exited the restaurant and met up with the rest of our group out front near the main road. Nick and Amanda had no idea who Stabler was.

Fin nodded at him and said with a tone of anger, "Hey man. What dark corner did you crawl out from?"

He was still pissed at Elliot for walking out on me. Fin was the only one there to help put me back together after Elliot left and I will always be grateful to him for it. Melinda glanced at Cragen's wound and looked very worried as we followed Elliot back to the house he is staying in.