"Glenn. Glenn fucking Rhee get your Ass over here."
"What? What is it?" As he spoke, my boyfriend jogged across the office space we stood in and met me at the window I was peering out of. From the top floor we could see a horde of the undead crowding the streets of Atlanta, Georgia. And right down the street from them there was a man in a sheriff's outfit on a horse- riding straight into the crowd.
"What the hell?" was all Glenn could say in response.
"You mean what the fuck? He must've missed that memo that comic con was canceled." We laughed at maybe the corniest joke I had ever come up with and continued peering down at the sight before us. Once the horse turned into the heavily crowded street it neighed in distress and jumped to get away, knocking the sheriff off and sadly getting attacked by the things surrounding it.
My stomach has always been weak for animals dying, so I immediately turned and covered my eyes. Glenn noticed my distress immediately and grabbed onto my shoulders, pulling me in for a comforting hug.
"Ugh, I can't believe he got him and that horse killed trying to cosplay Sheriff Woody. That really sucks." I cringed and shook it off. Had to get used to death nowadays."
A couple gunshots rang out, and we turned back to the window. Guess we just couldn't help ourselves but to watch the show he was putting on. "Look!" Glenn shouted excitedly. Somehow the guy had gotten into the tank and was now peering over the top, attracting the monsters to him and forcing him to get back in.
"How the hell is he alive?" To say I was shocked was an understatement. "We should try to get him out of there, honestly."
"Oh yeah? How?"
"You don't think we can? Come on, have some faith in us as a pair." Glenn and I kept staring at each other with no words exchanged. "I'll give you some coochie."
Glenn groaned and shook his head. "Ok, but how?!" He sounded exasperated now.
I turned my head up in thought at Glenn's question and gave him a once-over. There was no way I was going to let him go outside, and I wasn't planning on going either. We had one gun between the two of us, and neither of us wanted to use it—trust me. We were already stuck on this death mission because we brought our whole group out to scavenge with us.
Glenn and I knew this city like the back of our hands; we'd spent our early twenties in a crappy apartment in the slums, delivering pizza across half of Atlanta. When we joined the camp at the quarry outside the city, it was natural for us to be the ones who went on supply runs for everyone. I've always liked helping people out, anyway.
It just so happened that hella people decided to join us and well now we are stuck in the city with no real way out. Gunshots from Woody down there probably didn't make it any better, but still, knowing he was alive- no way I would just abandon him like that when I'm sure we could get in contact with him or get his attention somehow.
"Actually I can try to fuck with the walkie and get on the tanks frequency. They have radios in there." He looked so excited to come up with something, his puffy cheeks filling with air as he smiled from ear to ear. He was so sweet.
"Okay, sounds like a good plan, shugga. Should we get up top or on the ground to have a better chance?" He only shrugged in response.
"Well we have nothing but time. Let's get on top so we can really see." Glenn didn't put up much of a fight with my executive decision so we started walking out the office space we were currently in to get to the top. He seemed to know where the fire escape exit was, and I followed suit, snagging a bag of Peach rings and gummy worms someone left on their desk.
Glenn heard the wrinkling and looked back at what was in my hand. "You hate candy."
"It's for the kids, duh."
Nothing else was said as we jogged to the back door and climbed the staircase all the way to the roof. The building didn't connect to anything, but it was much higher than some of the others. It gave me the heebie-jeebies. Still, I peered over the edge and squinted down into the alleys, trying to come up with a botched escape route for the man below. I was good at coming up with those kinds of plans on the spot.
From behind me I heard Glenn, "hey Dumbass. You in the tank. You cozy in there?"
My breath hitched as we waited for a response. Maybe he offed himself. My anxiety got the best of me and I grabbed the walkie talkie and said, "please tell me you're alive in there."
Glenn and I stared into each others eyes waiting for his response. I didn't even know this dude and I was feeling bad for him.
"Hello? Hello?" The panicked tone came over the device and immediately I smiled. I honestly felt relieved hearing him. But now it was the hard part- trying to get him out.
"Dude, you had us wondering." I responded, handing it back to Glenn so he can converse with our new survivor.
"Where are y'all? Can you see me right now?" The voice coming through the radio was definitely that of a southern boy.
"Yeah and bad news, you're surrounded by geeks, man."
"There's good news?"
We were silent as we stared over the edge of the rooftop, nothing but a group of walkers clawing on top of the tank, and the other group were still devouring that poor horse.
The voice came over through static again, "listen, please tell me- is there anything I can do."
My anxiety ticked up again as I thought about how he could possibly make it to us. Grabbing the walkie, I instructed him to take down the walker on top of the tank and just make a run for it. "There's an alley to your right, about two blocks away. Just get there."
"I dropped a bag of guns out there-"
"Forget the bag! You have to go now while they're distracted." He was silent for about thirty seconds after my response.
"Okay. I'm ready."
"We'll be there," Glenn took it back and was talking now. "We'll give you five minutes. Good luck, man."
Once he was done speaking, Glenn grabbed my hand and pulled me with him to the stairwell door. "Let's go, we have to get back down."
"Let's just take the fire escape! It'll be faster." I shouted, pulling back towards the ladder handing off the end of the building. A couple more bullets were fired from below. That was him- that crazy son of a bitch is actually getting closer!
I couldn't even lie; this had to be the most exciting day we'd had in a while. I was skipping ladder rungs to get down faster. When I dropped to the bottom, there was a 4x4 on the ground in the alley and I picked it up, swinging as hard as I could at a walker that was approaching from the other end of the street. When I looked back to my left Glenn had grabbed the man and was pulling him towards the ladder. Quickly, I dropped the wood and began climbing ahead of them. There were geeks hot on their trail and as soon as I got to the first platform I pulled them back so they could get up here faster.
All three of us sat huffing and puffing, the only sound being our ragged breaths mixed with the growls and hisses of the dead below us. I had a sip of water left in the plastic bottle I was carrying, so I handed it to Glenn. He took a quick drink, then passed it to our new friend, saying, "Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood. You the new sheriff, come riding in to clean up the town?"
"Yeah, what's with the outfit, sir?" I added onto the joke, smiling gleefully at the man.
After swallowing, our sheriff Woody buddy looked down at himself with a grimace. "I was a sheriff. Sheriff Rick Grimes."
He stuck his hand out to Glenn, who quickly introduced us. "I'm Glenn, and this is my girlfriend, Majesty."
I smiled at Rick. He looked surprisingly clean, from his shaven face to the spotless sheriff's uniform. It was odd to see someone looking so normal when, nowadays, most of us were covered in grime or blood. His bright blue eyes and curly hair added to his charm—he was a handsome guy, honestly.
While Rick extended a hand for me next, Glenn looked down and said, "oh no. We've got to go up." Following his gaze, I noticed the geeks gripping the ladder rungs and attempting to pull themselves up. Without saying much else, the three of us heading back up the ladder Glenn and I originally came from, me trying my hardest to just climb and not think about slipping at least 6 floors down.
From the top of the building we found a ledge to walk across and started traveling through the rooftops to get back to where Glenn and I came from. The department store was only a couple buildings away where the rest of the group we came with was waiting for us.
Rick was chatty as he followed suit. "Did y'all barricade that alley?"
We laughed at the idea of us doing some shit like that. Glenn answered, "no. Somebody did when the city got overrun. Comes in handy at least."
"Why'd y'all save me from that tank?"
My turn this time, "we weren't going to just let you die. Plus, I'd hope that if one of us were stuck someone would have the decency to at least try and help Glenn or I get back to each other."
Glenn stopped as we got to our destination and opened the roof top trap door. Before he went down he said, "she promised me a gift if I got you out alive."
I can't help but chuckle and roll my eyes at Glenn's blunt honesty, but I stay quiet as we make our way down the next ladder. We pass through another empty office space and out the door into another alley. Glenn fiddles with the frequency on the walkie-talkie and says into it, "Four geeks in the alley. We're back, and we've got a friend."
The three of us waited in tense silence until the rest of our group busted through the alley door, clad in riot gear. They took out the walkers blocking our path with swift, silent strikes from bats and sheer force. I tapped Rick with my knuckles, motioning for him to run along with Glenn and me into the store.
As soon as we got into the back room where everyone was waiting, we met our people. Andrea, Morales, T, and Jacqui. Not exactly the best group Glenn and I could come up with but they were the ones who wanted to come. T-dog was a good friend of Glenn's- from over Xbox or something I think. He was the one who got us out of Atlanta and probably the nicest person I know. Morales was the only other Hispanic person in the camp we stayed with, and it was a good comfort for me to be able to relate to him and his family in that way. Jacqui was just a little older black grandma- she gave off the best vibes and just reminded me so much of my momma.
Then there was Andrea. Andrea was a tricky one even though her sister was my closest friend, I didn't like her. And as soon as we got face to face with her, she grabbed Rick by his collar and threw him into some boxes, waving a gun in his face.
"What the fuck?" I shouted, "what the hell are you doing?"
"Just chill out, Andrea," Morales, our makeshift leader at the moment, tried to get her to relax, but she didn't budge.
"We're dead because of this stupid asshole," she grunted out, her blue eyes locked onto Rick's and were full of rage.
"Leave him alone, Puta Loca," I grabbed at her arm and yanked on it so the gun was at least out of Rick's face. This was no way to treat new survivors ?!
She jerked her arm back, "don't fucking touch me!"
"You're not going to shoot him, so get the hell out of his face." Something about the overly dramatic and cynical Andrea just really rubbed me the wrong way. Even though everyone knew she wouldn't shoot him, just because I said she wouldn't, Andrea side eyed me and kept aiming right at Rick. The seven of us stood there without moving until she backed off and put the gun away.
"We're dead, all of us. Because of you." Andrea mumbled with a grimace. She was on the verge of tears.
With true cluelessness, Rick got himself up and shook his head. "I don't understand."
"She's referring to your irresponsible use of your gun." I say and only a second later, Morales grabs him by his arm and leads him to the storefront. "How do you expect us to survive in here if every Walker for miles heard you shooting up the street."
"You just rang the dinner bell," Andrea says and I look up to the glass doors and see walkers, thousands of walkers just banging on the doors. Holy shit.
"They have rocks in their hands!" I shout, and everybody starts backing up. Glenn grabbed my hand and squeezed it until it hurt. I squeezed back before letting go to lean on the counter. This day is just getting worse and worse.
"Listen, he had no choice. He was stuck in the street completely surrounded. We just have to deal with this now," I tried to give Rick some consolidation with my words, even throwing him a smile. It was my choice to save him and I have to stick beside him.
"What the hell were you doing out in the street?" Someone asked and Rick's response actually made my jaw drop. Okay maybe I should regret my decision just a teensy bit.
"I was trying to flag a helicopter."
Morales looked at me with brows so high they were touching his hairline. "You chose to save this gringo loco, huh?"
"You were probably just chasing a hallucination, ain't no helicopters out here."
"I saw it," Rick insisted with a straight face and straightforward tone. Everyone shared a look but left it at that. Did I really save a crazy guy? I genuinely hope not. That is me, though- seeing the best in everyone.
As if we weren't just shitting on Rick for shooting in the street to save his life, multiple sniper rifle bullets started being fired off from right above us. I almost forgot about the other crazy fucker that came with us today—Merle Dixon. He and his brother were definitely the outcasts of the group we had back home. No one really talked to them except for those they chose to talk to—and me.
Let's just say I knew a couple things about being poor and left out. Still, I didn't necessarily like Merle because of his short tempered and crazy ways.
"You guys left Dixon up there with a gun?" I yelled, already sprinting toward the staircase. Everyone else followed close behind, the urgency in the air thickening with each step. When we reached the rooftop, we were greeted by the sight of Merle Dixon—overexcited, bald, biker vest and sleeveless shirt—acting like he was playing Call of Duty from the rooftop.
"Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?" Morales barked at Merle, who only chuckled in response. Out of everyone, I definitely don't know why we let Merle tag along. We all knew he had issues, but here we were, dealing with his madness yet again.
"HEY! Y'all best be more polite to a man with a gun!" Merle shouted, jumping down from the roof's ledge with a wild grin. "Only common sense."
I couldn't do anything but grab my temples and shake my head. I don't know if my nerves can take this any longer. To make matters worse, T charged over to start trouble with Merle. A man. With a gun.
"Hey bad enough I've got this taco-bender in my ass all day, now I'm gon take orders from you? That'll be the day." Merle protests are fueled by racism. Morales being Mexican and T being black. It's not easy to ignore that kind of shit, even if we were in the south. While I really hated how racist he could be- I seriously doubt he lacked the intelligence to come up with any other insults. Only way I even got to talk to him was by calling him and his younger brother some stereotypical racist shit and I guess he liked it.
"That'll be the day? You got something you wanna tell me?" T pressed Merle, seriously pushing his luck trying to test him. One thing about that man was he had balls.
I tried to shove myself between them shouting, "T, leave it alone. Merle, fucking relax. We need to worry about getting out of here." T was fuming, I could see it in his eyes and Merle had a crooked smile on his thin lips. He was just waiting for the chance to fight.
"That'll be the day I take orders from a nigger."
In an instant, Glenn grabs me by the waist and pulls me out of the way as T-Dog swings at Merle. The punch misses, giving Merle the chance to smash the back of the gun into T-Dog's face, sending him staggering. Without missing a beat, Merle follows it up with a brutal punch, sending T-Dog to the ground. Rick rushes in to stop the fight, but Merle throws a wild hook that catches him off guard, sending him flying backward.
There were shouts and protests, but Merle ignored them, continuing to beat the hell out of T-Dog. He slammed T's head into a nearby pipe with such force that I feared he might actually kill him. T-Dog was left writhing on the ground, gasping for air, and blood trickled from a cut on his forehead. The rest of us stood there, frozen in shock and distress, unable to do anything as Merle surveyed us with that wild look in his eyes. For a moment, it seemed like he might keep going, but then, for reasons unknown, he stopped. Maybe he realized how far he had gone, or maybe something in him just snapped back to reality.
"Alright, we're gonna have ourselves a little pow wow, huh?" Merle stood up, all smiles. There was no way he was just tweaking out like this for no reason. "Let's talk about who's in charge. I vote me! Anybody else democracy time y'all. Show of hands, huh? All in favor?"
As Merle kept talking, the gun never wavered, staying trained on the rest of us. Andrea, Jacqui, and I moved quickly, grabbing T-Dog and pulling him closer to the group. He looked worse for wear, with a bloody nose and a nasty bruise forming on his cheekbone. Morales and Andrea raised their hands in a gesture of surrender, and Glenn, not missing a beat, grabbed my free hand and lifted ours as well. The tension was thick, the air charged with fear. We all knew Merle was drunk on power, and we were desperate to do whatever it took to keep him from going completely off the rails. This wasn't just a man defending himself anymore; this was someone who was enjoying the control, enjoying the fear he was instilling.
As Merle continued his taunts, Rick, who I had completely forgotten about in the chaos, suddenly struck. He grabbed the rifle Merle had dropped and clocked him across the back of the head with it. The impact was swift, and before Merle could react, Rick had him pinned against the ground, slapping handcuffs onto him and securing him to a nearby pipe. It all happened so fast that it took a moment for the rest of us to process what had just happened. Rick hauled Merle up by his collar and began patting him down, searching him for any hidden weapons or keys.
I couldn't help but think, maybe he really was a damn sheriff after all.
"Who the hell are you man!?" Merle bellowed out.
"Officer friendly."
"Look here Merle, things are different now. There are no niggers anymore." He says with disgust laced all within his tone. "No dumb ass shit white inbred fools either. Just us and the dead. Only way we're going to survive is if we stick together." I actually liked Rick's speech. I knew I made the right choice.
Merle didn't like it too much, only giving him a, "screw you, man." In return.
"I see you got a habit of missing the point."
"Yeah? Well screw you twice."
Rick repeats after Merle, "you ought to be nice to a man with a gun. Only common sense." He puts the gun to Merle's temple, his eyes begging for a serious response from the man.
"You wouldn't. You're a cop."
Rick's demeanor shifted immediately, his expression hardening as he got real serious. His voice dropped to a deadpan tone that sent a shiver down my spine. "All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son. Anyone getting in the way of that is going to lose." The words hung in the air, heavy with the promise of consequences.
Rick kept at his task, methodically searching Merle like the seasoned cop he was. His movements were quick and efficient, driven by a single-minded focus. When Rick's hand found a small baggie of white powder in Merle's pocket, he didn't hesitate. Without a second thought, he tossed it off the edge of the rooftop. The bag sailed through the air before disappearing out of sight.
Merle erupted in a fit of rage, screaming and cursing like a child denied his favorite toy. His voice was a grating mix of fury and desperation, echoing across the rooftop. But Rick didn't flinch. He didn't even look back. He simply walked away, Morales trailing behind him, leaving Merle to his tantrum.
At least things were a bit calmer and nobody was getting beat up. I separated myself from the rest and looked over the balcony at the overwhelming sight of geeks just waiting for us in the streets. I sighed. This didn't seem real.
I feel thin arms snake around me and immediately shrink back into the firm chest of what I knew was Glenn. "You stressing over here?" He knew me so well.
I just nodded and sighed in response. "How can we get out of this?"
Glenn gently spins me around so I'm facing him, his hands resting on my shoulders. His eyes lock onto mine, filled with that steady, comforting warmth that never fails to make me feel safe. The chaos around us fades just a little, replaced by the calm assurance he always brings.
"Don't stress about it," he says softly, his voice a soothing balm to my frayed nerves. "If we can, we'll find a way."
I nod, trying to let his words sink in, trying to believe that we'll make it out of this mess. We share a small, tender kiss, the kind that's more about comfort than passion. It's enough to ground me, if only for a moment. After, I rest my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes and letting myself drift into daydreams—anything to distract from the reality of being trapped on a rooftop in the sweltering Atlanta summer, with a horde of undead monsters waiting below.
The heat is oppressive, the tension thick, but with Glenn by my side, it's a little easier to hold onto hope.
I glance up at Glenn as he calls out to me, "Hey, Majesty! Check the alley, you see any manhole covers?" Without hesitation, I push myself off Glenn's shoulder and jog over to the edge of the roof. Leaning over the ledge, I peer down into the alley. My stomach churns at the sight below—just a mass of rotting, stumbling walkers, no sign of an escape route. I shake my head, defeated, and slump down against the ledge, the heat and tension pressing in on me.
Jacqui, who's been quietly observing the situation, suddenly speaks up. "There may not be any manholes down there," she starts, turning to Rick and Morales, "but old buildings like this—built in the twenties—they often had drainage tunnels leading to the sewers in case of a flood. They'd be in the sub-basement."
Glenn raises an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "How do you know that?"
Jacqui shrugs, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I used to work in zoning for the city. Had to know the ins and outs of these old buildings. Never thought it would come in handy for something like this, though."
Rick nods, looking thoughtfully at Jacqui. "It's a good lead. Worth checking out."
I glance over at Glenn, who seems a little more hopeful. I can see the gears turning in his head, trying to figure out the best way to get down there and search for those tunnels. It's a slim chance, but at this point, we'll take whatever we can get.
Here's a rewrite of the passage you provided, keeping the original content and meaning intact with only minor adjustments for clarity:
The group started heading down to the basement, leaving T-dog to mess with our radio, hoping to reach the refugee camp from here. Merle remained handcuffed to the pipe, and I decided to stay behind to keep an eye on the two of them. A quiet tension settled between us, though I found it more peaceful than anything.
"Hey, sweet cheeks," Merle's voice broke the silence, dripping with his usual sleaze. "I know you've got a thing for the chink, but why don't you do me a favor and get me out of these cuffs? I'll show you what it's like to be with a real man."
I grimaced at the thought, barely holding back a gag. "Don't freak me out."
"You either want me or my baby brother," he continued, undeterred. "Ain't no way the Chinaman's letting you be out here washing our clothes and bringing us dinner for nothing."
I rolled my eyes. Glenn knew I loved him, and no matter how friendly I was, he never felt threatened in our relationship. That trust was the foundation of our strength. "Do me a favor and don't mistake my kindness for weakness. I'm just trying to help you and Daryl out. But clearly, you prefer being the outcast."
"Just ignore him," T-dog interjected. "He's an asshole."
"Don't start bickering, please!" I said firmly. That's the last thing I need to be hearing now.
"Why don't you tell your friend here to shut the hell up before I beat him again. Think I can't do it one handed?"
"I'd like to see you try, motherfucker."
I threw my hands up in defeat and got to my feet. "I'm going downstairs." I took the long staircase down to the first floor, where Andrea and Rick were deep in conversation. I nodded at them as I passed, making my way through the aisles. The store had a little bit of everything, a small tourist-like shop with all kinds of knickknacks. I tried to focus on remembering the little things people had asked me to look out for.
I paused in front of an anime-style shirt, my thoughts drifting to my brother who was obsessed with this kind of stuff. The uncertainty of where he or my mother might be gnawed at me. Not just them, but all my family, really. Having Glenn with me was a blessing, but I couldn't help but wish we had been in a better position to reach his sisters or my brothers before they cut off all the landlines and cell service. Now, all I could do was try to fill that void of caring for family with the strangers I was living with in the woods.
The newest stranger, Rick, came up beside me and stood silently for a moment. "I don't know if I've thanked you yet," he said quietly. "I really can't find the right words to express how much I appreciate you saving my life."
I smiled at him, "As long as you can find a way to get us out of here. I think that would be a good way to start."
"I have to get out of here. I have to find my wife. My son. They've got to be out there somewhere." His eyes traveled to the undead banging on the door keeping them out. There was sadness in them, for sure, but I could see a twinkle of hope and longing.
"I wish you the best of luck with that. I really do." I sighed and grabbed at a comic book next. Rick was watching me and for some reason I felt the need to explain. "There's a lot of kids at the camp. They get bored. I try to take care of them."
Before he could respond, the sound of shattering glass made us jump. The geeks had broken through the first door and were now banging on the second, which didn't look like it would hold up much longer. Glenn, Jacqui, and Morales joined us, their expressions confirming they had nothing good to report.
"Please tell me ya'll found something down there," Rick pleaded.
"Not a way out," Glenn shook his head and moved to grab onto me.
"We have to at least push these racks to slow them down or something." I suggested, immediately moving to do just that.
"I am not getting close to that door," Andrea muttered, shaking her head before jogging back upstairs. I just rolled my eyes and shot a wide-eyed look at the men still standing behind me. They quickly jumped in to help reinforce the weak barricade. Once we had blocked the dead as best we could, we bolted up the steps with more urgency than we'd had all day.
Back on the roof, I found myself sinking into a deep sense of hopelessness. Despite knowing this city and these buildings inside out, I was completely stumped. The rest of our scavenging group peered over the edge, but I couldn't bring myself to do it again—I was too close to having an anxiety attack.
Finally, Rick spoke up, louder this time, so everyone could hear. "I have an idea. If what y'all are telling me is right—we just have to smell like them."
"How are we going to do that?"
Not even a couple of minutes later, we were out in the alley, dragging one of the actually dead undead back into the basement area. We had managed to scrounge up some long white shirts and gloves from the store, but even with the gear, I couldn't believe what we were about to do.
Like he was reading my mind, Glenn groaned out, "If bad ideas were an Olympic event, this would take the gold."
"We don't have much time, this is the best idea we've gotten so far. That glass won't hold forever." The man with the plan himself, Rick Grimes was handing out the gloves and coats we would be needing for his great idea. He also took it upon himself to break open the fire ax glass and started tossing it in his hands. We all stood around him staring at how crazy and disgusting this was absolutely going to be.
To say I was squeezing the life out of Glenn's hand would be an understatement. Neither of us had the stomach for what was happening—Rick chopping up a body that had already died once and been killed again. I shuddered at the sight, my grip tightening even more as Rick lifted the axe. I winced and squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable, gruesome sound.
But it never came.
I peeked through my lashes just in time to see Rick pause, lower the axe, and remove his mask. He knelt beside the walker, reaching into its pockets like he had done with Merle—maybe it was a cop thing—and pulled out a wallet.
"Wayne Dunlap," Rick says, looking at his ID. "Georgia license. Born in 1979. He had twenty eight dollars in his pocket when he died and a picture of a pretty girl. 'With love, from Rachel.' He used to be like us; worrying about bills and who's gonna win the Super Bowl. If I ever find my family I'm gonna tell them about Wayne."
He finishes his monologue, handing us the Id to appreciate what was going on I guess? and is about to dig in until Glenn says something, "one more thing; he was an organ donor."
There was a sickening squelch as Rick swung the axe down, cutting into Wayne. A wave of winces and groans rippled through the group. Despite covering my mouth and nose, the stench of decaying guts and skin, mixed with the blood and body parts smeared across the floor, was too much. I whimpered as my body convulsed with a dry heave, forcing me to run to the corner and throw up. The continuous, wet sounds filled the room, fueling my stomach to keep emptying itself.
"Everybody needs to just think of something else," I heard Rick for a second over my throwing up. "Like puppies and kittens."
"Dead puppies and kittens," T muttered, which was enough to send Glenn running to join me in vomiting all over the floor. To be fair, he and Rick were the ones getting covered in intestines. They planned to mask their scent and walk right into the horde to find cars for our escape. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. We had no idea if this was going to work—it was literally a shot in the dark. The idea of Glenn getting torn apart for following Rick's plan put me in a trance.
Taking a deep breath, I bent down and started covering myself in the blood and guts too. Confusion was written all over everyone's faces as they watched me.
"Babe, what are you doing?" Glenn grabbed my arm to stop me but I yanked it away to continue. "You will literally have a panic attack."
"You're not going out there without me. I won't watch you get torn to pieces alone." Rick locked eyes with me and gave me a small nod, handing me the pipe he was holding earlier. I dried my hand on my shirt and took it, allowing everyone else to put some more guts on me. Holy shit.
"Do we smell like them," Rick asks, earning a wave of disgusted nods in response. "We make it back, be ready."
"What about Merle Dixon?" Rick hands T the handcuff key from inside his pocket and we all stand around silently. It's easier to think about than to do.
"Let's just test this shit out first, with the ones in the alley," I suggest.
Rick nods at me, "Good idea."
Andrea walks over to the door and grips the knob. Before we go out Morales stops me and pats my head, "esa segura, mi amor."
"That's all I can hope to do." I managed a weak, unenthusiastic smile. By this point, Morales felt more like an older brother or uncle. The thought of dying was terrifying—my heart was pounding so fast I could barely feel my chest. Turning to the group, I added, "If y'all get out and we don't, just make sure to tell everyone that we did this crazy badass shit, all thanks to this crazy fucker here."
There were sad looks all around so I turned away and faced Glenn. I needed something hopeful. "Hey, I love you so fucking much, Okay? You are literally my everything and we will find each other if anything goes bad out there, okay?"
He planted a big kiss on my forehead and sighed. "I love you too."
I glanced at Rick who was staring at us with a blank look. I felt bad knowing he was a stranger and probably felt expendable compared to everyone else here. "Be safe and quick out there, okay? I need bragging rights for whenever we find your family."
Rick laughed, offering a solemn smile in response, and then we were all set. He gave Andrea a nod, and she swung open the door for us to slowly shuffle out. The three of us moved slowly, shuffling and limping like we'd seen the walkers do. Rick held an axe, I had a pipe, and Glenn carried a bat—just in case.
My heart sank as we approached the other dead ones. They got close, sniffed us... and then completely let us walk by. The sinking feeling didn't go away as we crawled under the bus barricade and found ourselves fully in the middle of the horde. I stayed right behind Glenn, following his every footstep.
Things were moving so slowly that my chest ached from the relentless pounding of my heart. The last thing I needed was to have an anxiety attack, so I focused on my breathing instead of the nightmare unfolding around me. I reached forward to grab Glenn's hand, letting him guide me and provide some sense of safety. Despite the construction site being right ahead, it felt like it was miles away.
Thunder rumbled ominously from the sky above, and it took everything in me not to glance up at the darkening clouds. Then, I felt the unmistakable patter of rain on my skin and in my hair. There was no way it could be raining now. As if sensing my panic, Glenn gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, but the comfort he offered was quickly overshadowed by the way more of the walkers were turning to look at us, getting too close for comfort.
It was a full on steady rain now, I could see the guts washing right off of me. With one final deep breath I let go of Glenn and used two hands to grip onto the pipe in my other hand. "Is the smell washing off?" I tried to whisper.
"No, we're fine. Keep going," Rick said firmly but I noticed him picking up the pace as more geeks came close to him. At the sound of his voice, one roared and tried to charge at him but Rick was quick to react with an axe right in his face. "Okay, nevermind- Run!"
"Majesty!" Glenn shouted, pushing me forward so I could get a boost. The adrenaline was enough for me to just completely take off. There were only a few feet and a couple more dead in front of us and we were making quick work of them. I kept hearing Glenn whimper as he sprinted and it was just fueling my fire to make sure we both got the fuck out of there.
At the gate, we tossed our weapons over and scrambled up the fence. My senses were in overdrive, but only my sight and hearing registered. I saw the truck ahead and heard the clanging of metal, barely audible over the chorus of moans from the walkers closing in on us. The boys got over the fence first, but Glenn made sure to pull me over the top and onto the ground with a hard thud. I didn't care about the impact—just that there was something solid between us and those geeks.
The three of us ripped off the blood-soaked shirts, and Glenn and I sprinted to a box of keys. We grabbed every single one, not wasting a second. Rick laid down cover fire as the walkers began to climb the fence, desperate to reach us. I had never seen anything like it, and the sheer determination of those things sent a cold chill down my spine.
"Rick! I called for him as Glenn opened the only truck that was available and we piled in in the inside with the dead hot on our trails Without a second thought Rick pulled off, did u-turn and gpt us the fuck out of dodge.
"How are we going to get the others out?" Glenn scrambled out, his voice tight with panic. I couldn't respond right away—my heart was pounding so hard it drowned out everything else. I was trying my best to keep it together, but my anxiety was through the roof, threatening to overwhelm me.
"Call your friends- tell them to get to the roll up doors on the side of the store. You need to make a distraction so I can pull up and get them in the back of the truck."
"How the hell am I going to do that?"
"Noise!"
Rick pulled over next to a red Porsche that was just parked on the side of the road. While Glenn was on the radio he busted the window and an alarm started blaring. This was the riskiest shit I had even done since this whole outbreak started. All because of Rick Grimes.
Glenn hopped into the driver's seat while I slid into the passenger side. He gripped the wheel tight, his knuckles turning white as he revved the engine. We tore through the empty streets, drifting and turning with reckless abandon. I stole a glance at his face, noticing the intense focus etched in his expression, the tension creasing his brows. He was completely in his element, and I couldn't help but find it incredibly attractive.
As we approached the street where the horde was gathered, Glenn expertly maneuvered the car, drawing the walkers' attention. He parked just long enough for the dead to begin swarming the vehicle before backing up, turning, and leading them away. He drove with precision, skillfully guiding the horde like a conductor directing an orchestra. Watching him handle the situation with such control made my heart race for more reasons than just the danger around us. Glenn was driving like a pro, and it was so damn hot.
"All those years of driving in need for speed paid off, huh?!" I shouted excitedly at him, causing him to smile from ear to ear and keep turning and circling the car until he was able to sped off down the street with them mindlessly following
"HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!" I yelled, laughing uncontrollably. We fucking made it. The adrenaline rush was unlike anything I'd ever felt. As soon as we hit the open road, I stood up through the sunroof, letting the wind whip through my hair. Glenn and I were both screaming and cheering, caught up in the pure exhilaration of the moment. Ironically, this chaotic, dangerous life was the most alive I'd felt in ages.