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The Anderson Family's Survival

Guts

While the supply group are having to deal with the dangers of the city, those still at the camp continue to go about their regular day under the hot, midday sun. Dale watches over the camp still from atop his RV, sitting up in his lawn chair with a shot gun laid across his lap, occasionally reaching for the binoculars hung from his neck to get a closer look at the camp perimeter. Shawn climbs the ladder to speak with him once or twice while the rest of the Andersons run about the camp helping out with various chores; as expected, Elijah has his head stuck under the hood of one of their cars, tinkering experimentally with the engine and talking over his shoulder to one of the other men as Sheon and Alex work on a different car; Anna walks back into camp with a young blond woman dressed in pink named Amy, each of them carrying a small bucket. They reach a fire pit in the center of camp, where an older woman sits, holding out a bowl for them to dump their buckets out in. The two young women watch as she sorts through the mushrooms they've emptied out into her bowl.
"How can we be sure these aren't poisonous?" Amy frowns as she crouches down beside the woman, who presses her lips together.
"Well, there's only one way I know..." she muttered, referring to just eating one to find out.
Anna hummed in thought, "Well...I know a few simple rules when it comes to mushrooms....but Christina's really the expert when it comes to herbs and fungi...likely we'll have to ask her. Hey Lori, do you think Shane would know anything about this, too? It's always best to get a second opinion."
"Hm, I can ask him." Lori set the bowl side, dusting her hands off as she picked up one of the buckets and got to her feet, "Well, I'm gonna go out to look for some more. Be sure to have Christina check these while I'm out."
"Will do." Anna agreed with a nod as she took the bowl and walked over to where Christina was watching Keith and Lori's young son, Carl. Lori nodded gratefully and looked up to where Dale is chatting with Shawn.
"Dale, I'm heading out now. Carl, sweetheart," she looked to her son, "Be sure you stay with Dale and the others. Don't go anywhere they can't see you, okay?"
Carl looked up from playing in the dirt with Keith as Christina sorts through the mushrooms, "All right, mom."
"You be sure to stay nearby yourself," Dale tells Lori as she starts into the woods, "At least within shouting distance, so if you see anything we can hear you. One of us will come running if there's trouble."
"Yes, mom," Lori mutters under her breath as she heads out, earning a faint smile in amusement from Amy as she disappeared among the trees while Anna shakes her head, exchanging a smile with her younger sister.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Back in the office building in Atlanta, Rose and Glenn wait for a response from the man trapped in the tank down on the street, watching anxiously as walkers continue to swarm in on the site. Eventually, two of the walkers that had climbed the tank descend to join the feeding frenzy where the horse had gone down. After a stretch of silence from the other end of the walkie, Glenn exchanged a look with Rose before lifting the speaker back to his lips.
"Hey, you still alive in there?" he released the button to listen, letting out a breath of relief when a cracking, shaky voice answered.
"Hello? Hello?"
Rose sighs out in relief herself while Glenn presses down on the button for him to talk, "Ah, there you are, you had us wondering..."
"Where are you? Outside? Can you and your - wait, us?" he paused, sounding confused for a second.
"Never mind that," Glenn dismissed quickly, "We can see you right form where we are, you're surrounded by geeks. That's the bad news..."
"Is there any good news?" The man asked; Glenn glanced briefly back at Rose, who frowned deeply, pursing her lips as she watched the scene out on the street critically before slowly shaking her head back and forth. Glenn sighed, returning to the walkie, "No..."
"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind letting you know I'm more than a little concerned in here..."
"You should see what we're seeing...." Rose gently took Glenn's hand, bringing the walkie closer to her so she could speak to the man herself, "I wouldn't be surprised if you had a panic attack..."
"Either of you got any advice for me?"
The pair exchanged a look before Glenn took the walkie back once more, "I'd say your best option would be to run."
A stretch of silence, "Really?" he sounded exasperated and apprehensive, "Just run?"
"Look, just listen to me here," Glenn plead, "Our way isn't quite as dumb as it might sound. You've got eyes watching from the outside. There's still one geek up on top of the tank, the others have climbed down to join the feeding frenzy where your horse went down. Still with us so far?"
"Yeah..."
"Okay, it looks like the street on the other side of the tank is the least crowded. If you move now, while the horde is distracted, then you've got a chance. Got any ammo?"
"In the duffel I dropped out on the street with all those guns. Would I be able to get to it?"
"No, no chance, just forget about the bag, it isn't even an option." Glenn shook his head as though the man would be able to see it, "What do you have on you?"
There was another stretch of silence as Glenn and Rose wait to hear from the man, hoping he would at least have something to protect himself. Even just a bat would be useful in this case, if it meant he could get out of this situation in one piece.
"I've got a Beretta with one clip, 15 rounds." The man informed the pair less than a minute later. Glenn and Rose looked at one another, nodding together, "Make 'em count." Glenn tells him, taking a quick sweep of the street below before motioning to Rose to follow him as he started out of the office, "When you get out of the tank, jump off from the right side and keep going in that direction. Just about 50 years up the street is an alley. Be there."
"Hey, what're your names?" he asked as Glenn and Rose climbed the stairs to the roof of the building, where they jumped across to the neighboring roof, heading for the alley they'd told him about. Glenn scowls, impatient, as he lifted the walkie back to his lips, "Have you even been listening? You're running out of time."
The man sounded apologetic, but grateful, "Right."
Tossing the walkie back to Rose as they reached the ladder leading down into the alley, Glenn started to descend while she attaches the device to her waistband and moves to follow him.
"One of us should stay out of trouble, Rose," he looked back up at her as he was already a quarter of the way down, "Stay up here and I'll get the sheriff."
Rose frowned down at him, shaking her head, "No, I'm going with you, there are way too many walkers down there for you to go alone. You need back-up."
Looking ready to refute her and argue this point further, Glenn was distracted by the sound of gunshots ringing out from the street; the pair whirled their heads in that direction, hearts leaping into their throats before Rose motioned to Glenn to get down the ladder, "Look, we don't have time to argue, we've got to get down there and help him."
Remembering the severity of the situation, Glenn continued down the ladder as fast as he could without further argument, followed not a few rungs behind by Rose. He hit the ground and made a break for the end of the alley, where the gunshots were getting louder while she climbed onto a closed dumpster next to the ladder, pulling her bow from her shoulder and notching an arrow. A figure appeared around the corner, brandishing a gun and pointing it at Glenn; she can hear him telling the man he isn't dead before motioning to him to follow him down the alley. Rose lets the arrow fly, felling the walker that tried to grab the man as more follow. They reach the ladder as more walkers file in from the other side, surrounding them on both sides; Glenn hurries up the rungs while the man whips back and forth to look at both groups closing in on them, hesitating at the base of the ladder.
"Hey, what're you doing? Go!" Rose screamed at him, letting several more arrows loose; he spares her a quick glance and holsters his gun as he starts up the ladder after Glenn. A walker grabs for the man's feet, but Rose downs it so he can escape before she slings her bow over her shoulder once more and runs across the dumpster to jump onto the ladder guard.
When the trio reached the metal platform halfway up the building, they stopped to catch their breath, Glenn and Rick leaning on the railing for support as they watch the walkers claw at the bricks and ladder below.
"Hey, nice moves out there, Clint Eastwood." Glenn muttered sarcastically, turning to the new man now as he straightened himself up, "So, what, are you the new sheriff coming to clean up the town?" he snorted, turning to Rose, "And what about you, what was with the parkour stuff, huh?"
Rose shrugged, "Did you want me to get swarmed and eaten?" she quirked a brow as the man watches the two in mild amusement, shaking his own head, telling them it wasn't his intention to appear as a sheriff. Glenn waves this away.
"Whatever, dude, you're still a dumbass."
The man smiles faintly, holding out a hand for either of them to shake, "Rick. Thank you both."
Rose takes his hand, giving it a firm shake, "I'm Rose, this is Glenn, and you're welcome." She smiled politely as she released Rick while Glenn was focused on the walkers below, which were attempting to figure out how to climb the ladder. He motioned Rick and Rose toward the upper half of the ladder leading to the roof. They each look up toward the top of the building and Glenn sighs, "Well, on the bright side: it'll be the fall that kills us. I always try to see the glass as half full."
Rose nodded her head in agreement as Glenn starts up the ladder, "We'll get you back to the others just next door." Rose motioned for Rick to follow Glenn before climbing the ladder after him.
"That barricade at the alley over there," Rick waited until they'd reached the roof before speaking, "Were you two the ones who set it up?"
"It was there already, before we arrived," Rose explained as Glenn opened a hatch in the middle of the roof, which lead down into the building, "It probably got set up when the city got overrun. Whoever put it up knew not many walkers would be able to get through."
Nodding slowly, Rick watched Glenn start to climb down into the building, "Hey, uh...back at the tank...why....why did the two of you stick your necks out like that for me?"
Glenn stopped and looked back up at Rose before shrugging, "Got a flash of foolish, naïve hope that someone would return the favor if either of us were ever that far up shit creek. We're probably just bigger dumbasses than you are, though."
Shaking her head in amusement, Rose moved to follow Glenn while Rick takes up the rear, closing the hatch behind them. Down into the top level of the building, the trio made their way into an indoor stairwell leading a few floors lower; Glenn pulled out his own walkie to contact the rest of their group as Rose moved to take the lead, notching a couple of arrows into her bow while she pushed a door leading outside open with her hip.
"Hey, Rose and I are coming back and we're bringing a guest along with us," Glenn said into the walkie as he and Rick followed Rose down a metal stairwell leading into the blocked off alley. She stopped just a few steps from the bottom, pulling her string taut as a pair of walkers noticed their approach and started to stumble in their direction. A door leading into the building across from them creaked open as the walkers dropped, each with an arrow sticking from their forehead while a pair of men usher the trio toward them. Rose motioned Rick and Glenn ahead of her, slowing only long enough to retrieve her arrows before following them into the safety of the building.
"You son of a bitch," No sooner had the door closed behind them than one of Glenn and Rose's team had a gun in Rick's face, backing him up into one of the empty work stations against the wall. He tensed, meeting the furious blonde's gaze, "We ought to kill you here and now."
"Chill out, Andrea," One of the other men, an older Hispanic by the name of Morales, told her as he and one of the others were checking Rose and Glenn for bites or scratches, casting Andrea a warning look, "Back off."
"Yeah, ease up a bit," Jacqui, a middle-aged African American woman told the blond, Andrea, looking anxiously between her and Rick; the calm way in which the others tried to get her to relax only seemed to infuriate Andrea further as her hand tightened around her gun, her finger itching against the trigger.
"Ease up? You can't be serious! We're all dead thanks to this stupid asshole!"
"Andrea." Rose frowned at the other woman, furrowing her brows in disapproval, "Just stop and take a deep breath, will you? I get you're upset, but flying off the handle is not going to help the situation. Calm down."
There was a brief pause for Rose's words to sink in as Andrea glared heatedly at Rick before stepping back away from him while she lowered her gun, shaking her head slowly, numbly, back and forth, "We're dead....we're all dead...because of you..."
Rick straightened himself slowly, as though he was preparing for another attack as he eyed Andrea for another moment before looking around at the others, his brows furrowing, "I...I don't understand."
Morales exchanged a look with T-Dog, the second, African-American man who had opened the door for Glenn, Rose, and Rick when they'd arrived, before he took Rick's arm and pulled him through the back room toward the doors leading into the store itself.
"Look, the point of us being in the city is to scavenge supplies and you know what the key to scavenging is? For us, and the rest of our group, to survive! And do you know the key to surviving, hm? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing so we don't draw attention to ourselves! We don't go shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral."
Morales dragged Rick around the jewelry counter and they came to a stop amid racks of clothes facing the double pair of glass doors leading out into the street, which was now swarmed with walkers.
"Every geek for miles heard you popping off those rounds." T-Dog said from behind Rick as he and the rest of their group had followed the pair out into the main room to watch the walkers claw and bang against the outer glass doors, their growls and snarls so loud it almost sounded like they were coming through the speakers at a rock concert.
"You just rang the dinner bell." Andrea seethed heatedly, glaring at Rick out of the corner of her eye as she crossed her arms; Rose and Glenn looked at one another quietly, frowning, before she sighed and ran her fingers anxiously through her bangs. Suddenly, through the crowd, one of the walkers forced its' way to the front, where it smashed a small, ground rock into the window, making the group take an involuntary step back as cracks started to appear in the glass.
"Damn, what the hell were you even doing out there?" Andrea turned her head fully to face Rick now, her eyebrows pulling into a single line over her eyes, lips setting into a deep frown.
"I was trying to flag the helicopter." Rick stated matter-of-factly, which pulled the rest of the group up short as they gave him a bewildered look; Glenn and Rose looked at one another once more, frowning together.
"Helicopter? Man, what in the world are you talking about, there ain't no damn helicopter." T-Dog snorted, shaking his head in disbelief as Jacqui nodded her head in agreement.
"Likely it was just an hallucination, it happens sometimes in stressful situations."
Rick shook his head stubbornly, "I saw it."
Exchanging looks, the others shook their own heads and Morales turned to T-Dog, "Hey T, why don't you try the C.B., see if you can't contact the others."
This piqued Rick's interest, "Others? Do you mean at the refugee center?"
The group paused, sensing Rick didn't know the refugee center had fallen yet...boy was he in for a surprise. Jacqui made a crack about how they were making fresh biscuits for the group's return while T-Dog tried to get a signal on his walkie. He cussed under his breath.
"Ain't no signal in here...hopefully I can get something -"
The sound of gunshots ringing from the rooftop cut off the rest of the man's words as the survivors looked toward the ceiling, a few with wide, frightened eyes and others in exasperation.
"Someone please tell me that's not Dixon..." Rose sighed as she pivoted on her heel and hurried toward a back corner of the store, Glenn close on her heels. The others soon follow to figure out what the commotion was about, wondering what the redneck could possibly be thinking shooting that gun of his at a time like this. At the top of at least two dozen staircases, the group runs out onto the rooftop, hurrying across a short metal catwalk to where Merle stood looking down into the street, mowing down walkers with a sniper rifle.
"Dixon, are you insane?!" T-Dog yells as they reached the redneck, who glances at them over his shoulder with a manic smile, laughing as he continued to shoot down into the crowds.
"Merle, stop it, you're making things worse!" Rose growled, putting her hands on her hips, "Are you trying to bring the entire city down on us?!"
Merle just continued to laugh, "Don't get your panties in a twist, sweetheart, I won't let anything happen ta ya." He grinned lecherously at her, making Rose tense, her fists clenching at her sides before she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, doing her best to ignore the way her skin crawled, "But ya'll're going ta have to be a bite more polite to me, since I got the gun here. Common sense, ain't it?"
"Not if you're wasting bullets we don't have," T-Dog shot back, crossing his own arms as he glared at the other man heatedly while Merle just grinned, "Man, didn't you hear Rose? You're bringin' more of those things here with all that noise. Just chill!"
Merle finally stopped shooting as he turned to face T-Dog, some of the amused humor leaving his features, "Hey, it's bad enough I've got this taco-bender chewing on my ass all day," He jabbed a thumb at Morales as he returned T-Dog's glare, "And now I gotta hear it from you too? Nah, I don't think so, bro, that will be the day."
There was a noticeable shift in the air as T-Dog balled his hands into fists, taking a quick step toward Merle with his shoulders squared, "That will be the day?" he repeated slowly, as though making sure he'd heard correctly. "You got something you wanna say to me?"
"Hey, c'mon T-Dog, just leave it." Morales told him calmly as the women looked between the pair, shifting uncomfortably. T-Dog ignored Morales, continuing to glare at Merle, who gave him a nasty grin, baring his teeth. Morales put a restraining hand on T-Dog's shoulder, "T, it ain't worth it, okay? Merle, let's just relax. We got enough on our plate..."
Merle ignored Morales, waving a hand without turning his attention away from T-Dog, "You really wanna know the day, boy? Hm? Well, I'll tell ya, Mr. 'Yo'. That's the day I take orders from a nigger."
The others swore they saw T-Dog's eyes turn red as he brought his arm back, "Mother..." Before any of them can stop him, T-Dog's arm came forward, aiming for Merle's jaw; he leans back to dodge and grabs the other's arm, pushing it aside to throw him off balance as the others try to regain order. Merle sinks his fist into T-Dog's stomach, making him bend over in pain before his legs are knocked out from under him and he's pinned down to the roof, where Merle begins to beat him mercilessly. Rose is the first to make a move to physically stop him, grabbing Merle's arm as he brings it back for another punch; she twisted it sharply backward as she yanked him off T-Dog. He yells out in surprise and twists to face her, baring his teeth once more as he swings his other arm around to hit her; she blocks with her free arm, trapping his hand under hers' and slamming her knee up into his groin; all the air left his lungs in a whoosh, his face slackening in pain as he hunches forward in an attempt to protect himself. Her head snapped forward automatically, head-butting him hard enough to send him sprawling backward against the side of the roof. The others can only watch in astonishment, looking between Rose and Merle as she straightened, brushing a few loose strands of hair from her face back into its' ponytail.
"All right," She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and pinning Merle with an unimpressed, disappointed stare, "If you're quite through with being a bratty, immature jerk, what's say we move on from this moronic bickering, huh? We have more important things than an asshole like you throwing your weight around like you own the damn place. This isn't the jungle, now you'd better evolve some kind of damn brain and grow. The. Hell. Up!"
Glaring heatedly at the young woman as he held his brutalized privates, Merle shifted to sit up straighter, panting faintly from the overwhelming pain as he grabbed for the handgun at his waist. He whipped it out of it's holster and pointed it right at Rose, clicking the safety off; the others gasp and a few take an involuntary step back as Morales holds T-Dog up. Rose frowns and keeps Merle's gaze as he gets unsteadily to his feet.
"You know, I'm getting real sick and tired of gettin' pushed around by you people." he growled low as Rose narrowed her eyes, keeping her stance defiantly, unwilling to back away, even in the face of danger, "I think it's about time there were some changes 'round here, startin' with who's leadin' this thin'. I vote for me. Anyone else with me, hm?" he looked around at everyone, a slow smirk crossing his lips. "C'mon people, I'm willin' to go the democracy root if you'll just cooperate." His eyes slid quickly over the rest of the group, quirking a brow at them before he waved his gun, "C'mon, show of hands, hm. Who's in favor?"
Rose clenched her fists tightly as she glared at Merle, lifting her chin proudly; he had absolutely no conscious if he was willing to stoop so low as to use such petty intimidation techniques. Gods she hated people like him....
A moment of silence passed between the group as they glanced at one another before each one of them slowly raised their hands; Merle's snicker widened and he slowly turned his gaze back on Rose, who narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin proudly.
"You're gonna have to shoot me before I let a bully like you intimidate me...a man like you doesn't deserve to be leader of anything. You'll just lead us into disaster and get us all killed, I don't care how much military experience you have! You're just a big, dumb ape that relies on his brawn to make up for little brains you have. You don't have the right qualities to be leader and I'd rather die than follow as reckless and selfish as you!"
Merle almost looked impressed at how outspoken and bold the young woman was, although the smirk never left his lips as he raised a brow at her, "Quite the balls you go there, girly, but, as you can see," he indicated the rest of the group, who watched with interest, looking between the two with big eyes, "The majority vote is in and now I'm in charge. And I don't tolerate rebels in this team." he lifted the gun to Rose's forehead level as she lifted her chin proudly, refusing to let Merle see any fear; he deserved that satisfaction about as much as he deserved to be their leader.
The sudden sound of hard metal coming into contact with bone renting the air made Rose jump and she watched in surprise as Merle stumbled forward as Rick stood behind him, holding the shotgun he'd dropped. Merle turned to face him, grimacing as he held up the handgun to shoot, but Rick knocked his hand aside hard enough to make him drop the gun before he landed a punch to Merle's jaw, which sent him to the floor. before he can even more, Rick is on him, snapping one half of a pair of handcuffs around his wrist while the other is attached to one of the pipes.
"Who the hell are you?!" he snapped as Rick held him in place by the front of his shirt.
"Officer friendly. Now listen here, Merle, things around here are different now. No more niggers or dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. To those corpses down there, there's only dark and white meet. It's us versus them. And if we want to survive, we need to pull together, not apart."
Merle glared at Rick, "Screw you...." he spat around his fat lip; Rose sdid her best to surprise a sigh as Rick slowly shook his head.
"You certainly make a habit of missing the point, don't you?"
Merle wrinkled his nose, "OH yeah? Screw you twice."
Rick shook his head and picked up the handgun, waving it in Merle's face, "You know, you should really take your own advice about being polite to the man with the gun. It's only common sense, isn't it?"
Merle sneered, "Cop like you wouldn't have the balls."
"Not a cop anymore," Rick shoved Merle back into the pipe as he let go of him, "Just a man looking for his wife and son and anyone that gets in the way of that is going to lose. I'll give you a moment to process that."
Merle snorted derisively, "Oh yeah, what're you gonna do about it, huh? Arrest me?" he starts to laugh when Rick searches him and finds a stash of cocaine in the other's pocket. Merle can only watch in horror as Rick stands with it and throws it off the roof. Merle screams out in rage and yells at Rick that he'd better watch out for when he escapes. RIck ignores him, shaking his head as he turns away from him. Morales approaches Rick then, smiling warmly.
"Hey, you're not Atlanta P.D. Where you coming from?" he cocked his head as Rick shrugged, "Up the road a ways." This makes Morales chuckle softly, "Well, officer friendly rom up the road a ways, welcome to the big city."
Nodding appreciatively, Rick watches the group settle in on the roof, T-Dog propped against the side of the roof while the others look down at the building entrance, each with a different level of fear etched into their features.
"Christ, it's like Times Square down there..." Andrea mutters as she pushes off from the edge and moves over to where she's put her bag, sitting down with a huff; Morales asks T-Dog if he's having any luck with contacting the rest of their group. T-Dog fiddles with the walkie, shaking his head.
"Nah, the signal up here's just like Dixon's brain....weak." he mutters as he glares at the trapped man with his one good eye; Rose snorts into her hand as Merle flips the other off and Morales tells T-Dog to keep trying. Andrea tosses her hands into the air.
"What's the point of trying that, anyway, it's not like they're going to be able to do anything...." she sighed, almost sounding defeated, "Not a damn thing...."
Rick looks ready to ask the group who they're trying to contact and Rose turns to him, "The refugee camp you mentioned earlier, that's gone, it's just a pipe dream now. Our camp is outside the city."
Rick frowns grimly at this, "Well then, Andrea's right, we're on our own....we've got to figure something out to get ourselves out of this mess."
Merle snorted, "Yeah, good luck with that, officer, these streets ain't safe in this part of town, not even before those lamebrains down there took over everything. Right, sugar tits?" he grinned lecherously at Andrea as she's digging through her backpack for a water bottle; she casts him a half disgusted, half disbelieving look, "Hey, honeybunch, what's say you help me out of these cuffs and we get out of here, hm? Bump some uglies...might as well have some fun before we die."
"I'd rather." Andrea rolled her eyes as she got up and walked across the roof to get away from Merle, who scowled, "Rug muncher...figured..."
"I think it's a bit of an understatement that the streets aren't safe now, isn't it?" Morales pointed out, ignoring the simple minded redneck now as he addressed the rest of the group. Rick watched the walkers below continue to mob the streets, frowning.
"Hm....the streets might not be safe, but what about underneath? In the sewers?"
The group seemed to perk at this, looking at one another hopefully, "Glenn, go check the alley, see if you can't spot any manhole covers." Morales told Glenn, who nodded and jogged toward the back of the building, to the alley that had been closed off. He came back with a grim expression, shaking his head.
"Didn't see any....they must all be out on the street with the geeks...."
"Maybe not." Jacqui piped up, looking thoughtful, "Old buildings like these ones, built back in the 20s', were designed with drainage tunnels that go directly into the sewers just in case there was flooding down in the subbasements."
The others looked at her in surprise, as though wondering how she could possibly know that, causing her to smile faintly.
"It was my job to know things like this since I used to work in the city zoning office."
"Well, it's something. We should head down and look. T-Dog, keep trying the C.B. while we check it out." Morales said as the others headed back into the building; T-Dog nodded after him, watching the group disappear. Knowing buildings like these well, Glenn and Rose lead the way down to the ground floor, then through a door that went down into the basement and then subbasement, where there was a ladder leading down into a large hole going underground. The group gathers around it, starting down into the darkness. Morales checks to be sure this is what they're looking for.
"Rose and I made sure to scope everything out every time. This is the only thing in the building that leads down." Glenn tells them while Rose nods.
"We never thought to go down there before today, though. We figured there wouldn't be anything useful....And even if there was, who would want to go down there?"
The group turns to look at the two, who blink and then stare at one another as Rose sighs, "Great..."
"We'll be right behind you both, so you don't have to go alone." Andrea points out with a small, reassuring smile. Glenn shakes his head in frustration, "No, not you."
Surprise flickered across Andrea's face before a hurt, offended expression took it's place, "Not me? You think I wouldn't be able to help."
Glenn sighs and starts to shake his head in an attempt to placid here, "No, that wasn't...." he trailed off, unsure, and Rick puts a reassuring hand on his shoulder encouraging him to speak his mind while Rose smiles gently, encouragingly. Glenn frowns, "Look....until now it's just been Rose and I coming into the city for supplies...we could get in and out to grab a few things with no problems...but then, the first time we decide to bring a group, it all goes to hell...and please, don't take this as offensive...if you want the two of us to go down this gnarly hole, that's fine, but only if we do it our way."
Rose nodded her head in agreement, "Glenn's right, we need to think this through properly to avoid anymore mistakes...that tunnel down there is going to be tight and we need to be able to get out of there quick if something happens. We won't be able to do that if the tunnels jammed behind us. It might be best if only two people went down there, so they can get in and out quick."
"I think it should just be me and one other person." Glenn pointed out, holding a hand out to Rose as she looked to protest, "You're an excellent marks' men, Rose, they need you up here, as they do Rick. He knows how to handle a gun and I would feel a lot better if you two stayed in that store to watch the doors. We need both of you two cover our asses. Andrea, you stay here, too, you've got the only other gun and they're both going to need someone to cover their other flank. Jacqui, stay here at the top of the ladder so you can yell down to us if anything happens and we can get out of there as fast as we can."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and Rick tells everyone to get moving; Glenn and Morales head down into the sewers and Rick leads Andrea and Rose back out into the store front once the two men have disappeared into the shadows. The walkers are still banging against the glass doors, snarling and clawing at the glass as though they thought they could get through with their nails alone. Rose leans back against the jewelry counter to watch the doors with Rick, who looks back at Andrea as she's admiring some of the necklaces and rings on display. He moves to talk to her and they reconcile from their meeting earlier before Rick shows her how to properly use her gun; Rose pretends not to listen, although she can feel a smile turn up the corners of her lips, glad to know the two of them were getting along now.
Silence soon envelopes the three as they continue their watch, although Andrea apparently soon grows born as she starts checking out the jewelry once more; it isn't long until se spots a necklace with a mermaid pendent. She smiles to herself as Rick and Rose spot what's she's looking at and exchange quiet smiles.
"See something you like?" Rick asks her, cocking his head curiously. She looks up from the necklace and chuckles, shaking her head.
"Oh no, it's not for me...it's for my sister, Amy." her eyes return to the beautiful pendent, a soft smile on her face, "She's still such a kid sometimes, it's funny....still believes in unicorns, dragons, anything fantasy...but mermaids...they're her absolute favorite."
Rose hummed to herself, "Why not take the necklace, then? I'm sure she'd love it." she smiled, knowing Amy would be ecstatic to get such a beautiful gift; Andrea's eyes slid toward Rick again.
"I would....but I've got a cop staring at me." she quipped with a small smile, making Rick chuckle as she chews her lip, "Would...it still be considered looting...?"
Rick smiles a bit, shaking his head, "I think rules like that kinda went out the window when people started coming back to life." he told her, encouraging her to take the necklace. She seems to relax a little and nods as she gently takes the necklace from the small mannequin on top of the counter. Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering echeos throughout the store, making the trio jump as their heads whirled back in the direction of the doors as the walkers break there way through the first wall of glass, and crowd into the small entry, their fists banging into the second glass wall aggressively, snarls and growls louder as they echoed hauntingly around them. Rick and Andrea draw their guns as Rose notches an arrow instinctively, watching the leader walker slam his rock into the glass angrily. It's then that Morales, Jacqui, and Glenn come running in to join them.
"What's you find?" Rick asked them without taking his eyes off the door; Morales informs him there isn't a way out through the sewers like they hoped and Anndrea mutters they need to figure out another way, and soon.
The group decides then to head back up to the roof to scope out the streets below in hoping to find another way of escape; Rick finds a single ray of sunlight in the darkness in the form of a cube van parked at a construction site at the end of the street. He points the vehicle out to the others, telling them the keys must be kept nearby. The others all look at one another, uncertain, however, as Morales pointed out none of them would be able to get past the walkers to get to the construction site. Rick considers this and then turns to Glenn and Rose.
"You two were the ones who helped get me out of that tank."
The pair raise their eyebrows, nodding together, "That was only because the walkers were distracted eating, though..." Rose pointed out, wondering how Rick possibly thought that would be able to help them. He didn't seem discouraged, "Is there a way to distract them again?"
Merle let out a bellowing laugh, "Oh, ya'll better listen to him, he's really onto something there." he snickered, "Yeah, let's go the 'Hogan's Heroes' route with a distraction."
The group let out a collective sigh as Jacqui snapped at Merle to give it a rest. Rick ignores Merle and points out the walkers are drawn by sound. Glenn and Rose agree.
"We can kinda connect 'em to dogs in that sense." Rose crossed her arms, "They're drawn in by anything they hear."
Rick nodded, "Anything else that draws them in?"
"Aside from sound?" Morales cocked his head, frowning, "Well, aside from the obvious being that they attack if they see you, they'll also attack if they can smell you."
Rick seemed surprised by this new information, "They can tell our scents apart?" he asked, earning small, amused chuckles in response.
"Our scents are quite distinct from one another. They smell dead and we don't." Rose pointed out, watching Rick's eyes light up as an idea formed in his mind.
"That gives me an idea." Rick motioned for the others to follow him back down into the store, explaining his plan to them on the way. Returning to the back room where Rick had arrived with Glenn and Rose, the group gathered together rain jackets and rubber gloves as Glenn and Morales tried to convince Rick this was a bad idea. He points out that it would only be a matter of time before the walkers get through the double set of doors, reminding them they didn't have a lot of time to debate this. This immediately silences the others as they reluctantly concede.
Outside in the alley through which Rick had followed Glenn and Rose, Rick and Morales collect one of the walkers Rose had downed earlier and bring him back inside. The group watches uneasily as Rick stands over the corpse with a fire axe in hand, trying to prepare himself to start chopping, although he hesitates, unsure, for a moment, before crouching to search the body. The others can only watch with twisting stomachs and heavy hearts as he uncovers the walkers wallet.
"His name was Wayne Dunlap..." Rick said hoarsely, glancing up at the group, "He's got a Georgian license...was born in 1979....and had $28 dollars in his pocket when he died...." he searches the wallet and pulls out a picture, "And a picture of a pretty girl..." he flips the picture over, "'With love, from Rachel.' He used to be like us....Worrying about bills or the rent or the Super Bowl. If I'm ever able to find my family again, I'll tell them about Wayne..." he handed the license over to Glenn, who looked it over.

"There's one more thing....he was an organ donor..." he looked up slowly at everyone else as they shared a moment of silent reflection. Then, Rick stands and begins to hack the dead body to pieces with his axe. Crunching bone intermix with the sound of squishing flesh and the gurgling of gasses escaping into the air, making the group gasp and gag, muttering their disproval, even as Rick stops and hands the axe and protective mask over to Morales to continue hacking away so the others can start smearing guts over him, Glenn, and Rose. Glenn mutters about how he's going to hurl as Rose has her eyes closed, breathing through her mouth so she doesn't have to inhale the horrible scent. Rick advices everyone not to get any of the guts on their exposed skin as they apply it thickly to their rain coats. Glenn groans, visibly shaken and uncomfortable.

"Try and think of something else..." Rick advises with a grimace, trying to hide his own unease, "Puppies and kittens..."

T-Dog grimaces himself as he smears the guts on Glenn's back, "Dead puppies and kittens."

This proves too much for Glenn, who whirls away from the group to vomit all over the floor; Rose visibly shudders and holds back a gag as she has to turn away from the sight, squeezing her eyes shut once more while Andrea can only look on in horror before turning on Rick.

"That's evil, what is wrong with you?"

Jacqui mutters about how they should've let Merle beat Rick up while he apologizes to Glenn, who wipes his mouth on the inside of his collar.

"You suck..." he pants, letting T-Dog cover his arm while Rick looks down at himself, then the others. "Do we smell like them?" he asked. The others nod with wrinkled noses while Andrea sticks a gun into the front of Glenn's pants, just in case he needed it. Rick advises the others to be ready for when they got back with the van.

"What about Merle Dixon?" T-Dog piped up, making Rick pause. He reaches under his rain coat into his jean pocket and tosses T-Dog the keys before asking for the axe, his face scrunching, "We need more guts..." he mutters as he brings the axe down on the walker once more.

About ten minutes later, with the trio covered in guts and pieces of internal organs, they slip out into the blocked off alley and start toward the entrance, passing a couple of walkers, who glance at them briefly before turning away again when they can't detect anything off. Glenn breathes a brief sigh of relief as he follows Rick and Rose under the bus and out into the crowded street, his face paling at the horde waiting for them on the other side, his grip tightening around the crowbar he's equipped with while Rick tightly grips the axe and Rose has her swords clenched tight in her fist. They shuffle down the street toward the construction site, blending into the crowd, almost unnoticed; a few walkers turn in their direction with interest, but then turn away as their scents are effectively camouflaged by the guts on their coats. This helps ease them, although the trio is still on guard as they keep a careful eye on the crowd without taking their eyes off their objective ahead.

Rose would be lying if she said she wasn't impressed by Rick's quick thinking and ingenuity; he certainly was a man with many surprises and he would make a great addition to their group. Hell, she wouldn't even be surprised if he became one of their leaders, he certainly had the right kind of attitude and skills, compared to Merle. She would gladly follow him since she knew he would look out for everyone and not just himself. He was someone they needed and would made a very valuable member of their group when they got back.

Now if only Merle would take a leaf out of this man's book instead of always going off half cocked like he always did....then they would be golden...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A low rumble of thunder over the city can be heard all the way back at the camp, causing the survivors to turn their heads up toward the graying skies; Amy paces past the fire pit, where Shawn sits with Keith, trying to teach him to read. Christina watches the blond pace, her leg bouncing anxiously as she glances in the direction of the city, her worried expression reflecting the other young woman's as she idly listens to her brother talk to Dale and Jim about the RV.

"Doesn't look like that hose has much life left in it." The young Anderson pointed out as he pulled himself back out from the vehicle, running a hand swiftly through his messy hair while Dale and Jim exchange a worried look.
"Great....and just where the hell are we going to find a replacement....?" Dale sighed, pulling his fisher's hat off to run an anxious hand over his balding head.

"It's late..." Amy declared, drawing the camp's attention as she continued to pace, "The group should've been back by now...."

"Worrying about it won't help anything." Dale advised with a kind smile as Shawn nods his head in agreement, even as his own face shows signs of worry for his daughter.

"Dale is right, Amy, just give it time. I'm sure they're on their way." he smiled as Alex and Anna sit in on Shane's knot tying lesson with Carl while Lori watches from where she's doing laundry nearby. Shane and Alex are showing the two the basics first. Suddenly, the radio squawks to life, drawing the survivors attention as T-Dog's voice crackles through the speakers.

"Hello, base camp! Can anybody out there hear me? This is T-Dog. Anybody hearing me?"

Dale hurries around the RV to answer, "Hello? Hello, T-Dog? The reception's real bad on this end. Please repeat."
"Shane?" T-Dog asks, prompting Shane to get up from where he was sitting and stride toward Dale while Lori asks if it's the group.

"We're in some deep shit here." T-Dog told them grimly; the rest of the group abandons what they're doing to gather around the radio so they can hear what's being said, exchanging dark looks, "We're trapped here in Atlanta, in the department store. It's crawling with hundreds of geeks here. We're surrounded." The radio starts to cut out as Dale tries to get T-Dog to repeat himself one last time before they lose him. Lori crosses her arm, visibly shaken.

"He said the department store..." she muttered as the others nod their heads in agreement. Lori turns to Shane with big, compelling eyes, but he's already shaking his head.

"No, no way are we going after them." he said sternly, frowning at her before sweeping his gaze over the rest of the group, "We are not going after them, we already agreed we wouldn't risk the rest of the group. Ya'll know that."

"So we're just going to leave them there?" Amy asked incredulously with big, frightened eyes, earning a sympathetic look from Shane in turn, "Look, Amy...I know this isn't easy to accept..."

"Andrea volunteered to go to help the rest of us!"

"Fully knowing the consequences of that, right?" Shane frowned, "If they're trapped, then they're gone and we're all just having to deal with that. There's nothing more we can do."

Amy glowers at Shane, "That's my sister out there, you son of a bitch." she snapped as she turned on her heel and stormed toward her tent; Lori frowns at Shane and hurries after her as thunder rumbles in the distance once more. Shawn looks at his children quietly, feeling his heart twist in his chest.

"Shane, there has to be something we can do..." he stopped the other man before he could move away, earing a disapproving frown in turn, "Look, I won't ask anyone to come with me, I won't risk anyone else, but at least let me go and find them. That's my daughter out there."

"Shawn..." Shane started, shaking his head; Sheon and Alex stepped up alongside the Anderson patriarch.

"We'll go with him." Sheon started, "Just us three and that's it. If we don't come back, no one else goes. Just let us try, please."

Shane looks between the three men and then sighs slowly, "Fine, but it's just you three and no one else." he looked sternly at the youngest of the Andersons, "After that, no one else is going out there, understand?" Shawn nodded quietly, "You can take one car. None of you come back, that's it." he ushered Carl away as Shawn gently hands Keith to Anna, who looks ready to protest as Christina stares pleadingly at her father. He smiles at them, hugging his children tightly.

"You three have to promise me you'll keep on if we don't come back." he whispered, pulling back to kiss each of their foreheads as Alex and Sheon hug them each as well, Alex kissing Anna passionately. Christina sniffles, her bottom lip trembling as she stared up at her father.

"Please come back, daddy..." she whispered pleadingly; he smiled weakly, "I'll try. But if I don't, you're going to have to be strong for me, okay? Can you do that?" he whispered; a few small tears escaped down her cheeks as she gave a weak nod, hugging him tight. Shawn held Christina tight to him, kissing the top of her head before he reluctantly pulled himself away, gently wiping her tears away, "Now you be sure to listen to your brother and sister and look out for Keith, too."

Nodding once more, Christina smiled weakly at her father as he hugged Elijah and Anna one last time, "You two are in charge....look out for your sister and little cousin." he told them, trying to be stern, yet failing as his voice wavering uncontrollably with the weight of his emotions. They both gave small nods.

"We will, daddy..." Anna whispered, squeezing Alex's hand tightly, "Please be careful out there....and come back to us...."

"We'll do our best." Shawn promised, kissing his daughter's forehead one last time before ushering Alex and Sheon toward the cars parked on the edge of camp. Shane hands them the keys to one of the smaller cars and wishes the men luck. Shawn nods quietly in thanks as he climbs into the driver's seat and reeves the engine, peeling away from the camp as fast as the vehicle will take them as they head toward the infested city, each praying in their minds that they could reach their allies before it was too late.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rick, Glenn, and Rose are a little over halfway to their destination by this time, their camouflage still strong enough to keep them hidden from the horde, which now surrounds them on all sides. Walkers shuffle past them in all directions, bumping and pushing past them mindlessly as they moan and gasp. The sound of thunder grows louder overhead, although none of them think much of it, ignoring the darkening clouds overhead as they continue down the street. Glenn seems relieved and ecstatic that Rick's plan is actually working.

"This is gonna work..." he whispered, just low enough for Rick and Rose to hear him, "I can't believe it..."

"Don't draw attention to yourself." Rick and Rose hiss in return, eyeing the walkers to ensure none of them heard them speak, their hearts racing in their chests, at the prospect of getting caught. Rose tenses, though, when she feels something hit the top of her head, her heart sinking into her stomach as she realizes it's rain as more drops hit her face and hair.

"Shit...." she mutters under her breath as the rain gets heavier, fighting her instinct to run, praying the rain passed soon; as her brain tells her the rain is going to wash away the stench of death that was keeping them alive. Sure enough, within minutes of it starting to rain, the trio's natural scent began filtering through, catching the walkers attention around them as they start sniffing at the air, their faces twisting into grimaces and animalistic snarls gurgling up from deep in their throats. Glenn starts to panic, even as he tries to keep himself together.

"The smell's washing off, isn't it?" he whispered, starting to sound frantic. Rick tries to reassure him it isn't, but Rose cuts off that the smell is, indeed, washing off, as one of the walkers realizes they're actually alive and charges the trio. Rick, who is closest to it, reacts immediately, crushing the walker's skull with his axe.

"Run!" he told Rose and Glenn as he pulls the axe back; neither of them hesitates as they take off down the street, felling any and every walker that got in their way. When they reach the fence surrounding the construction site, they throw their weapons over first and them scale it just as the walkers catch up to them. They discard their soiled clothes and grab their weapons up again before Glenn runs to get the keys while Rick shoots down walkers through the fence with Merle's pistol. Glenn yells for Rick when he finds the keys and tosses them to the other man as they hurry toward the truck while walkers start climbing the fence. One manages to get over and charges them, slamming into the passenger side door as Glenn slams it shut, watching with wide eyes as the walker snarls and claws at the glass.

"Go Rick, now!' Rose cries as Rick brought the van to life and peeled out of the site through a gate on the other side, drawing away from the department door.

"Oh my God! That place is swarmed!" Glenn cried as he clutched tight to his seat, turning to stare at Rick and Rose with wide eyes.

"We're going to need to draw them away if we want a chance of saving the others." Rose said with a frown, "If we could get to those roll-up doors at the front of the store, we'll be able to save them, so we need to clear that area." She pulled her walkie off her belt, handing it to Glenn, "Radio the others, Glenn, tell them to be ready for - Rick look out!" she screamed as she looked up suddenly, seeing a car speeding toward them; Rick swore aloud as he swerved out of the way of the silver Volvo and stomped on the brakes as they could hear the car breaking hard, too.

"Holy shit!" Glenn cried, scrambling to keep a hold on the walkie as the sudden stop made the trio jerk in place, "Was that Shawn?!"

Before either Rose or Rick could answer, something slammed into the driver's side window, making the trio jump and whirl toward the noise; a worried, wide eyed face stared back at them, palms pressed to the glass as the man stared crazily in at them.

"Rose!" Shawn cried when he spotted his eldest daughter, fighting the tears threatening to fill his eyes, even as she screeched in happiness and scrambled over Glenn to get out of the car; Shawn ran around the front of the van to envelope his daughter in a tight hug, lifting her off her feet as he held her tight to his chest as though afraid she would disappear if he let her go.

"God, Rose, you scared me half to death!" Shawn chided as he finally set her back on her feet, holding her at arms length to give her a once more, "Are you okay? You're not hurt or bit anywhere, are you?" he asked all in one breath, sighing out in relief as she reassured him she was fine.

Someone clearing their throat behind them caught the father and daughter's attention, making them turn to face Rick as he had stepped out of the van with Glenn to join them, along with Sheon and Alex, who each took a turn to hug Rose themselves. Shawn smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself....I'm Shawn Anderson, Rose's father." he held out a hand, which Rick shook, nodding, "Rick Grimes, it's nice to meet you. I'd love to talk more, but we've got more pressing issues at the moment...."

Shawn immediately sobered, nodding, "Yes, we got your transmission back at the camp...my nephew, son-in-law, and I convinced our leader to let us come to help you..." he looked over Rick's shoulder, suddenly noticing the rest of their group wasn't with him, "Where are the others?"

"Still trapped in the department store." Glenn told him grimly, "We need to circle back to get them...."

"But first we need to figure out how to draw enough walkers away to be able to get them." Rose pointed out as Rick nodded; Shawn cocked his head and put a finger to his chin in thought as he looked at Rick, "Where you thinking of using noise to draw them away?"

Rick nodded, "Yes, I was. I thought we could find a car with a alarm to draw enough away to clear the way for us to get the others."

"With more people, we could find at least a couple of cars to do that." Sheon pointed out, "If I could find a police car or an ambulance, then that would make it all the better...."

"I don't think we have that kind of time, though...." Alex chewed his thumb nail, "The best chance we have is finding normal cars that we know will have alarms. Sports cars are good, too." he added as he spotted a red Dodge Challenger parked nearby, only to blink when, not a hundred feet away, he spotted an abandoned police car, "Huh, what of you know?"

Exchanging smiles, Rick pulls Glenn along toward the sports car as Shawn and his brood head toward the police cruiser not too far back; the sport's car's alarm blares throughout the street as Rick smashes the driver side window and he lets himself inside. Sheon takes care of the police car's window and crawls in to hotwire the car, which roars to life within minutes. With Glenn behind the wheel of the challenger and Alex carpooling with Sheon, the trio lead Rick and Shawn back toward the main street, the challenger's alarm warring against the cruiser's sirens as they reverberated throughout the city, bouncing off the surrounding buildings and echoing up into the sky. Sheon and Glenn pull their cars around to the side of the department store Rick needs cleared and stops, waiting as the walkers swarm them until they were sure they had enough, at which point they reversed and drove down the street. The walkers mindlessly follow, snarling and growling as they chase their prey, unaware of the van and Volvo making it's way down the alley alongside the store. Shawn pulls up far enough to give Rick room to back up toward the roll-up doors and park. While Shawn keeps an eye out for approaching walkers, Rose climbs out of the passenger seat of the van to knock loudly on the door and step back as the rest of the group opens it. She helps load their bags in, then lends a hand up as they scramble into the van. T-Dog is the last in, throwing himself into the back of the van as walkers swarm the loading dock behind them. Rick waits until he's sure they're all in before he pulls away from the building as Morales hurriedly pulled the door closed behind them. Rose climbs back into the passenger seat, sighing out in relief with a big smile as silence settles over them, although her smile slips as she suddenly notices they're missing someone; Morales looks at T-Dog, who avoids his eye guiltily.
"I dropped the damn key..." he muttered, looking down; the rest of the group can only exchange sad looks In realization as they let his words sink in. Andrea, though, notices they're missing another member.

"Where's Glenn...?" she looked between Rose and Rick, who exchange a look of their own as they pull out onto the highway, Shawn pulling up on their right as a police siren and car alarm grows louder behind them; without warning the red challenger roared past them, with Glenn's screams of victory muffled by the screech of the sport's car's alarm and the sound of loud rock music. The others can't help but smile faintly in amusement at the sight, watching Glenn drive away ahead of them; Morales leans against the back of Rose's seat, shaking his head slowly.

"Well, I'm glad someone's at least having fun." he chuckled, making Rose smile gently

Notes

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