Chapter 3 - Waking Dead

Harrison Memorial Hospital

Rick didn't know what to think. From the moment he'd woken up in the hospital bed to now, standing in the hallway with the soldier in front of him, he'd been confused and afraid. The end of the world? He certainly thought it looked like it but… surely not?

"I'm sorry, what?" He didn't know what else to say. Was this some sort of sick joke? "Who are you?"

"I'm Colonel Theresa Murphy . My unit and I were stationed here to help with the outbreak."

"Outbreak?" Rick didn't know if he was more or less confused now. He'd heard of people getting sick before his accident but nothing to this magnitude.

"We don't know what- It all happened so fast." Tess sighed and started to step towards Rick. "Things have changed since that." She nodded at Rick's bandage, trying to make a point of just how quickly things had fallen apart. Rick's mind raced and he stumbled as he tried to take in what she was saying.

"Woah!" Tess grabbed him quickly as he faltered and lowered him to sit on the ground. "I know it's a lot to take in. Just take a second." Tess began to realize that she definitely could have handled that introduction a lot better. "Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. I just need a moment." Tess nodded and stepped away, allowing him to have his space.

Rick was definitely in shock. How long had he been asleep? What was going on? Where was his family? Lori, Carl. He had to find them.

"My family." Rick rasped, looking towards Theresa. "I need to find my family." Tess' gut wrenched at the thought of this man's family. God knows where they would be. "They're just out of the city. Is it safe?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry. They started evacuating the major cities a couple weeks ago."

"W-what?" stammered Rick, flabbergasted. Tess took a deep breath and began to explain,

"The cities were too dangerous. In the event of a catastrophic outbreak, there are measures in place to minimize the fallout. Major cities are to be leveled to control the spread."

"They bomb the cities?"

"Yes." She nodded, knowing this wasn't an easy reality to accept and could see the look of horror that was washing over Rick's face.

"Hey, Rick." She quickly moved to kneel in front of him again, "There were evacuation orders to leave the city before anything happened. If they followed the orders, they'd have gotten out. They'll be safe." Tess was really kicking herself now. She wasn't deliberately trying to terrify him, she was just so used to providing direct responses but she knew she'd have to be more cautious with her choice of words from now on.

Rick nodded to himself, choosing to believe that his family was safe and sound. Shane. Shane would have kept them safe.

"I need to find them."

"Of course. I'll help you however I can."

"Thank you, Colonel."

"Just Tess is fine. Not much use for ranks now." She offered him her hand and pulled him up to his feet.

"Tess. Thank you. You don't happen to have any water on you, do you?" Tess closed her eyes, knowing she didn't but knowing where to get some. Back where she'd come from.

"We can get you some."

—

The cafeteria was the last place she wanted to go back to but she knew Rick probably hadn't had water in days that wasn't from a drip and could tell he was dehydrated. The walk back hadn't taken too long now that the path was clear and she could see where she was going. She stopped in front of the doors for a brief moment, steeling herself before pressing forward. Just don't look. Trying to appear unphased, she walked towards the kitchen on her left, not noticing that Rick had stopped behind her.

Rick had seen a few self-inflicted gunshot wounds in his time as deputy sheriff and could recognise one when he saw one. He slowly made his way toward the soldier sitting against the wall, blood splattering the wall to the left of the head. It was more morbid curiosity than anything else. What could have driven this man to kill himself? Beside him on the floor was a note and on it, written with scrawly handwriting, RESA. As in Theresa? Did she know this man?

"Tess?" Rick called out, causing her to turn to face him reflexively. Unbeknownst to Rick, he had made her look at what she'd been trying so hard not to see. Heat crept up Theresa's neck as the panic set back in and as if she'd been struck in the face, she turned her head back quickly to the floor. "I think.. Is this for you..?" Rick said hesitantly, not missing her reaction.

"Leave it." She spun on her heel and started walking towards the kitchen again. "We need to get you water and go."

—

Their journey out of the hospital was quiet. Rick not choosing to bring up what happened in the cafeteria and Tess refusing to acknowledge it either. It wasn't until they breached the door to the lower carpark that either of them spoke. Tess knew what was awaiting them out there but for Rick, this was going to be a shock. Holding the door ajar, Tess turned to Rick,

"You might want to hold your breath. We couldn't bury the dead fast enough." Again, Rick was confused but nothing could have prepared him for what was beyond that door. As Tess pushed it open, light flooded in and so did the stench. The parking lot was filled with bodies. Some covered in white sheets, others in body bags, some casualties in the fallout. While Rick was astonished at the sheer number of them, Tess knew that there had been more just over 48 hours ago.

"Jesus Christ…" whispered Rick as he tried not to trip over the bodies.

"This way." Tess gestured towards the hill and the pair made their way to the upper parking lot.

Base camp had been hit badly. The tent set up as barracks for Martinez's men had been burnt to the ground but thankfully hers was left standing. It looked like it had been well picked over though, so she wasn't sure what more would be left to find.

Tess grabbed a backpack from her station and filled it with an extra pair of clothes, any ammo she could find and anything else she thought might come in handy. Once packed, she started going through the rest of the barracks. Rick could use a change of clothes but it wasn't looking likely right now, as she kept coming up empty.

"I don't suppose you're the same size as me?" Tess laughed awkwardly, earning a crooked smile from Rick.

"Probably not, no." He shook his head. Rick was easily 6-foot tall, if not more and was well built, with a muscular frame. While Theresa wasn't short, standing at 5'9", he did have a good few inches on top of her and his frame was broader than hers too. She knew he wouldn't be fitting into her uniform.

"We'll find you some clothes, just not here."

"It's alright, my house isn't too far from here, we can make it. Maybe my family is still there."

Before Tess and Rick left the hospital, Tess tried to contact Fort Benning using the base radio but she got nothing but silence. Which was never allowed out of Fort Benning.