Survival Guide: To Surviving the Living Dead 101

Rule #21

Don't Hesitate

One thing you shouldn't do in this world is hesitate. Don't hesitate to shoot or run. If you hesitate then you might as well sign your death certificate. Don't hesitate to kill a walker or a living person. Carl didn't when we made it into town more.

We were walking down the street heading towards the bar where Rick and I knew the owner had guns behind the counter when we stopped. There was a barricade in front of us and not a normal police barricade. Someone had made it with shopping carts, barbed wire, and spikes. They had rats and birds in traps to distract the walkers.

We were carefully maneuvering through the barricade when someone started shooting at us. We ducked for cover and I peeked around a car that was in the center of everything. "There's someone on the roof," I whispered to Rick. We started running and shooting back until we got over to the buildings for cover. That's when a man had a gun pointed at Rick. He had a mask on so we couldn't see his face. Then Carl shit him.

We thought he was dead until Rick pulled the guy's jacket open to reveal he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Next he took off the mask he was wearing. Rick stared in shock at the man laying on the ground unconscious. "We need to get him inside." I shook my head, "he just tried killing us, Rick!" He bent down and hauled the man up. Without another word we made our way inside but not without having to watch our steps. He had the place boobytrapped.

After Rick laid him on the cot in the corner of the room and zip tied his hand to it he stepped away. The floor was full of things. Guns, ammo, food, water, and other weapons. On the one way he had a hand drawn map of the whole town. "Do you know this guy?" I asked as me and Rick stood looking at the map. "He saved my life when I got out of the hospital. I went to the house and couldn't find Lori or Carl. I had no idea what was going on. If it wasn't for him I would have never found you guys. I wouldn't even be alive."

"So that's Morgan? The guy you left the note for back at the quarry." He nodded his head and turned around. We looked over to see Michonne eating a bag of chips. "We eating his food now?" Rick asked. She shrugged, "the mat said welcome." I snorted and Rick gave me a sideways glance.

I looked around in the ammo and found a couple magazines that were full so I shoved them in my pocket. "YN." I looked over at Rick. "What? He's got plenty." He sighed and looked around. Then Carl said something about going to the baby store. "I'll go with him," I told Rick. He nodded his life and I quickly made my way after my nephew.

When I made my way around the corner I saw him walking past the baby store and towards the restaurant. "Hey, you passed the baby store!" He stopped and looked back at me. "I gotta get something first," he told me. I walked up to him, "the picture of us and your parents?" I asked. There was a picture hanging on the wall of the four of us on the wall in the restaurant. We were close friends of the owner.

Carl nodded his head and I sighed, looking around. "Fine. But we're going to be smart about this." He smiled and hugged me, "thank you, aunt YN." When we got there we sneaked through the back. There were walkers sitting at the tables. Some were surrounded by a tarp on a skateboard that had a rat in it. Things were going fine until more walkers showed up. Luckily Michonne showed up to help us.

Carl had been upset that we didn't get the picture but Michonne went back in. She held up a cat sculpture. "What the hell is that?" I asked. "Art. It's beautiful," she said, smiling. We were walking back to the baby store when I stopped. "You guys go ahead. I'll meet you in a little." Michonne looked at me, "where are you going?" She asked. I looked down the street towards the building my apartment was in. "Just gotta check something out. I'll be fine. Won't be more than ten minutes." She nodded reluctantly and guided Carl down the road.

I walked the other way until I reached my old apartment building. Looking up at the window I knew belonged to my apartment. The last time I was in there Shane was rushing me to pack. I walked up to the doors with a big orange X on it. Morgan must have cleared this building already.

I pulled on the door handle and stepped inside. On one wall was a line of dirty faded golden mailboxes. Number 254 sticking out to me right away. Curiosity getting the better of me I walked to the door that had been busted open. It led into the back where the mail carrier would go so they could put the mail in the boxes. I went to box 254 and pulled out a stack of mail.

YN Grimes 
112 Post Street
Apt 254
Kings County, GA, 30004

"Nothing but bills. Of course I can't get away from them even in a dead world." I walked out of the room and headed up the stairs to the second floor. Ironically enough the door was unlocked. He'll, I probably didn't even lock it in my rush to get the hell out of here. When I walked in everything looked the same except for kitchen cabinets being wide open. "I see he took whatever he could."

I threw the mall down on the table I had beside the door and walked into the living room. Unlike Lori I left all my pictures behind. I had pictures of the family but not many. I understood why Carl wanted to get that picture from the restaurant. He wants his little sister to know who their mother was. So I found a bag and grabbed all the family photos in the living room before walking down the hall to my bedroom. It was left just how I left it when rushing around trying to grab what I could.

I grabbed a couple more photos and grabbed another bag and shoved what clothes I had into it. It never hurts to have more clothes. We have very little. Anything else that was useful Morgan had taken. As I was walking out of the bathroom I looked back into my room, looking at the little dish sitting on top of my dresser.  I set the bags down and walked over picking up a locket our mother had given to me. It was a family heirloom. Passed down from generation to generation. I picked it up and put it around my neck then finally got the bags and left. The time I got back Rick was helping with a playpen Michonne and Carl got for Judith.