Chapter 8: There and Back Again.
It was currently me, Rick, Darryl and Glenn all heading back to Atlanta to look for Merle. I'm sure it was nerve wracking for all of them, but I couldn't help but feel a bit bored. I knew that Merle was most likely being feasted on by sewer rats under the building, but I couldn't exactly tell them that.
So it will basically just be me showing them the fake trail and then us deciding to head back. Oh well. Looks like we're parking just outside Atlanta and Glenn is going to guide us in. I take up the rear to watch out backs and Darryl stays right in Glenn's ass, probably trying to make him go faster.
Reaching the department building we find very few walkers roaming around and Glenn waves for us to go through the front doors, where they see all the dead walkers in the ground. Most with their heads disconnected from the shoulders, but a few with bullet holes. They all look to me with strange expressions and I just shrug.
"They got in my way while I was searching for Merle." Glenn looks shocked and a little afraid, while Rick shakes his head and Darryl gives me a nod of approval before we head up the stairs to the roof. There Darryl finds the handcuffs and Merle's cutoff hand, I could have taken it with me but I didn't want a rotting hand sitting in my humvee until we met Darryl. Thankfully he didn't question and just asked for something to put it in, which I supplied a small bag from my pack for him to use.
"Looks like he lost a lot of blood." Rick said as he eyed the blood pile, but Darryl was already looking at the footprints that lead off. We followed him to the window and he placed the hand into Glenn's bag before we followed him into the window.
(AN: found out it was actually a door, but I'm not gonna change that now lol.)
Continuing we find the stove with the burner I left on and the iron I used to cauterize his stumps. Right across from it is the window and we continued following the trail of blood down the fire escape. Eventually making it to the pile of shattered glass and Darryl just looked back and forth down the street before punching the wall and yelling.
"Gaaah!"
"That's not helping." Rick says as he steps forward.
"Can it, asshole. It's your fault he was in that spot in the first place. Let's just go back to camp, and you leave me the hell alone." Rick looked ready to say more, but I shook my head and he decided to listen to me. With nothing else keeping us here we headed back to the box truck and drove back to camp. Making this excursion only ended up taking a few hours, the sun hasn't even started to set yet.
We arrive back at camp to see them all moving around the camp, but the strange thing was that we found Jim tied to a tree next to where the kids were doing school work.
"Mom, I shouldn't have to do this. I should be training to be like Will, I bet he doesn't do any schoolwork." I turn to see Carl talking to his Mom while they're doing some math homework. I look down and point at the problem he was working on.
"That's wrong, you get the sum of the numbers in the parentheses first and then you move on to exponents, multiplication/division and then lastly addition and subtraction. Stay in school kid." Lori looks up at me with a thankful nod and Carl just looks at me with his mouth wide open. I turn to where Jim is tied to a tree and Shane is talking to him. Though it seems he's letting him go, not sure what that was about, but I'm sure we'll find out later.
I decide it's time to set up my hammock, so I grab it out of my humvee and make way to the edge of the camp. Finding a couple of strong trees with branches hanging about 15 feet above the ground, perfect to sleep in and not have to worry about something getting me from the ground. 10 minutes later and my new resting place is set up and ready.
Now it's time for the reason I joined a group in the first place. People watching. I begin to make my trek around the camp, just dodging the eyes of passing people. It's not a ducking behind object or anything like that, it's purely just a trick if movement where you stay in their natural blind spot. You'd be surprised that you can walk right past someone and they won't notice you.
I pass by Ed's tent just in time to see Carol and Sophia leaving and catch a glimpse of his face. Looks like someone got their ass beat, and if I had to guess it's Shane given I saw him with slightly swollen knuckles. Also it seems we're going to have a fish fry tonight, not much of a seafood person myself but I'll eat it.
Other families here that I haven't really interacted with are just kind of sitting around the fire almost with no expression on their face. As if they're just waiting for something to happen, or to die. I guess some people just aren't made for this kind of living, I don't see them lasting for much longer. I near the RV to hear Andrea talking about it being Amy's birthday to Dale and her needing wrapping paper.
While I don't have wrapping paper I do have a crown Royal bottle bag, it used to have some alcohol in it but I took it out and left it at my safe house. Now the bag is just holding some bullets, but I could dump those out and give her that. I knock on the RV door, and Andrea opens it.
"Heard a little something about you needing something to put a present in." I say as I hold out the bag and she quickly grabs it.
"You're a life saver Will. No one wants to receive a present unwrapped." I just nodded my head with a slight smile.
"No worries, just tell her the bag was from. It's a little late to get her an actual present after all." She gives a knowing smile, but agrees.
"Don't worry, I'll let her know." She heads back I got he RV and I go back to walking around the camp.
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Like this a few hours past until it's time for to eat and our same little group I sat with the first night had increased by a few people. We added Dale, Jim, Jackie, Carol, Sophia, Morales and his wife as well.
Amy stands up and to go to the bathroom, I don't think much of it, but I get a weird feeling. I begin listening and I realize I hear some shuffling footsteps, looking around I only see Amy up walking towards the RV but I can differentiate her steps from the ones I'm hearing.
Rick noticed my gaze and gives a smirk thinking I'm checking out Amy, but confused face causes him to drop it.
"What's wrong Will?" I look back towards him until I hear the door open on the RV and Amy enters, but I'm still hearing something from over there.
"Somethings wrong." I say and everyone looks at me, while Rick and Shane grab their guns and I pull mine into my hand as well. Next thing I know Amy comes back out of the RV.
"We're out of toilet paper?" As soon as she finishes as walker walks around the the RV goes to grab her arm, but I've already shot it. She still screams from the sudden shock and falls backward into the RV.
"Walkers! Everyone gather up by the RV!" Shane roars out and screams start sounding off from the other campfires as more and more zombies start spilling out of the woods all the children and weaponless jump in the RV while the rest begin shooting all the walkers as they come at us. I knew I should have done my nightly rounds, but I suppose this is a bit more fun. Just shooting one after another as they pop up.
Like whack a mole but with walkers. Eventually we cut down all the walkers, and the sounds of gunshots are replaced with the cries of different people over the bodies of the deceased. It seems none from our immediate group died and I even see Darryl walking up to us from his side.
"Everyone alright?" Shane asks and nobody really says anything, but they give him a collective nod.
"Alright, lets sweep the campsite. Stab the head of every body you come across, we can't have anybody turning from bites or scratches. Even if they looked already turned just make sure they're dead." Everyone nods again and we split up to ensure the dead stay dead.
I used one of my throwing knives and just did what I did to Merle, a clean stab straight through the eye socket. I eventually came across Ed's tent and saw him all tore up from multiple bite wounds, it was honestly better than he deserved. Too bad the walkers got to him before I could. With a stab to the eye socket, I kept on moving.
By the time the entire camp had been sweeped, most everyone was too wire to go back to sleep, so we started separating bodies. People we knew went to one pile and the ones we didn't went to another to be burned. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon when we started the burn pile, and then started finishing the graves that Jim had begun. Turns out that's why he had been tied to the tree, he was digging graves in the blazing heat with no breaks and wouldn't tell anyone why.
Gotta say I'm not sure how much I trust a guy that had a dream about all this happening, but I guess it's not much different than me getting a random gut feeling when something bad is about to happen.
During the burning, Andrea and Amy had come to stand beside me. I looked at them out of the corner of my eyes and saw them looking at me until finally Andreas turned to me.
"Will, I don't know how to thank you. You saved Amy last night from that walker." Amy nodded and turned toward me too.
"Thank you so much Will, I- I don't even want to imagine what would have happened if you hadn't been here." She said before she dove toward me and wrapped her arms around and I had to stop myself from drawing my gun or any of my blades. I froze and went still as a board as I felt her arms tighten around me.
I eventually relaxed and noticed the squishy sensation that was pressing against my abs as well her rhythmic breathing. Even her smell entered my nostril and though i could smell the fish from the food, I could also smell her shampoo that seemed to be hanging on. I tentatively wrapped my arms around her too and gently rubbed her back in comfort. She finally released and stepped back to where I could see her smiling as well as a smirking Andrea.
"Thanks again, Will." Amy said shyly.
"You're welcome, Amy." She nods and her and Andrea walks away with her, but joy before looking over her shoulder with a thankful smile.
"Jim's bit! A walker bit Jim!" I hear Jackie yell and everyone turns around to see Jackie standing next Jim and him holding his arms up in defense. Well shit, guess not everyone made it through unscathed from our little group.
(AN: chapter over, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Last chapter of the day and will most likely be the last until next Wednesday, sorry for that but that's why I decided to pop out so many chapters today since I wasn't doing anything.
I appreciate your willing or unwilling patience for the next chapter ;)
Stay safe.)
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