Chapter 2 - Another World

Harrison Memorial Hospital

Two Days Later

Tess had spent the past two days in the kitchen, refusing to go back into the cafeteria. She was running on autopilot, just fulfilling the basic necessities to meet the needs of her bodily functions. All instinctual, human survival at this point. She knew this wasn't going to last though, soon enough she'd run out of food and given that the power had gone out yesterday, all non-perishables didn't have much more of a shelf-life. Tess knew that she would have to enter the cafeteria again in order to get out of here and there was no point postponing the inevitable any longer.

Gathering her wits, she pushed open the door and stepped back into reality, venturing into the cafeteria again. She didn't look at him, she couldn't. The harsh reality of her situation would only come crashing back if she dared to look. Making her way forward, she kept her eyes to the ground, only coming to a stop when she spotted feet, clad in boots identical to hers. Her heart pulsed in her ears and her hands started to sweat involuntarily as she dug her nails into her palms. The sharp pain in her hand as she drew blood was enough to kick her back into gear and she tore her eyes away, bending down to pick up her belongings. Amongst them was a letter with her name on it. A name only Nate had ever called her.

She left it behind.

—

The sight of the hospital outside of the cafeteria was like something out of a horror movie. The sterile lighting flickered on and off, casting eerie shadows and highlighting the blood on the walls. The hallway was dark, equipment was strewn everywhere, bodies lay on the floor and nearly every surface was covered in blood or some sort of grime. It was a stark contrast to the room Theresa had been in previously. She tried not to pay much attention to the bodies around her, knowing some of them would be the men and women she served with and those that trusted her to lead them. Knowing she'd let them down was enough without having to also see it too.

Getting out of the hospital was proving to be more difficult than expected, with some corridors having been blocked off in the chaos. With her knife in hand, Tess made her way through the hospital clearing a path forward as best she could, turning around to find another way when she couldn't. It was eerily quiet and rather unsettling how there didn't appear to be any other survivors or even biters around. It still wasn't enough assurance to put her knife away though, especially when it was so difficult to see.

Pulling aside a cabinet that had toppled over, Tess lurched back as a groan emitted from the ground. On the floor lay a man, or what was once a man, in military uniform. One of his arms stretched out as he tried to sit up, the other having been crushed. His growls were beginning to grow as he became more aware of Tess standing above him but he flailed on the ground, unable to get up. With a wince and a dejected sigh, Tess pushed away his arm with her foot, standing on it so that it couldn't grab at her and bent down to plunge her knife into his head.

All movement stopped as the blade met its mark and Tess grimaced as she pulled out the knife, wiping it clean on her pant leg. She didn't think she'd ever get used to this. It was one thing to kill a man in war but this, this was something else. As she made to stand up again, she spotted a flashlight and pistol beside the man's crushed hand. She picked them up and checked the mag, three and one in the chamber. Holstering the gun, she turned on the flashlight. After a few shakes, the light turned on Tess started to feel hopeful.

"Hello?" An unknown voice called out from the void behind her. Jerking up and spinning around, she pointed the flashlight in the direction of the voice. At first she thought she had finally lost the plot and was starting to hear things when the beam of light fell on a man at the end of the corridor. He was dressed in a blue hospital gown and he looked weak as he stumbled towards her, hand up shielding his face from the light.

"Hello?" He called out again. Tess was momentarily in shock. A survivor?

"Are you bit?" She called out to him.

"What? Am I what?" The man seemed very confused and disoriented.

"Bit. Are you bitten?"

"N-no. I was shot." Tess noticed how the man gripped at his side with his other hand and she lowered her flashlight. How long had this man been in the hospital? Did he not know?

"What's your name?"

"Rick. Rick Grimes."

"Well, Rick Grimes. Welcome to the end of the world."