Survival Guide: To Surviving the Living Dead 101

Rule #23

Stay Calm

No matter what kind of situation you're in, always stay calm. It does no one any good if people start to panic. The Big Spot didn't go as we planned. Shit went sideways and fast. I panicked when I should have stayed calm. Let me explain more in detail about what happened.

When we got to the department store the parking lot was empty. When we spotted the store it was full of walkers. Military had set up a shelter here. Tents and cots were set up for the sick. A wrecked helicopter was set atop the roof of the store. So we set up a radio with a couple car batteries to draw them out. We waited for a couple weeks before coming back. Now the lot was empty save for the walkers on the roof and whatever ones are in the store itself. We walked through the hole we cut into the fence and through the tents. Old medical equipment and dead bodies and cots lay all over the ground.

When we got past all of that we went up to the large window that looked into the store. Daryl sat down on the small legend in front of it and knocked on the window with his elbow. I stood right beside him, Michonne lent across from us on the pillar. Beth's boyfriend, Zach, was standing beside us too. He's been trying to guess what Daryl did before the world was full of the dead."Okay, I think I got it," Zach said. "Got what?" Michonne asked. Zach looked at her before looking back at Daryl. "I've been trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn."

"He's been trying to guess for like six weeks," Daryl said and I chuckled. "I'm pacing myself. One shot a day" Zach told him. Daryl looked up at me and shrugged, smiling at him. "All right, shoot," Daryl finally said. Zach looked at me then at Daryl, "well, the way you are at the prison, you being on the council, you're able to track, you're helping people, but you're still being kind of… uh… surly." Michonne gave me a look and I just shrugged. "Big swing here. Homicide cop." Me and Michonne started laughing. "What's so funny?" Daryl asked. "Nothin'. It makes perfect sense," Michonne said, smiling.

"Daryl a cop?" I asked, laughing. "Well, I mean you were a cop, right? And you two are together. It makes sense." I didn't bother correcting Zach when he said Daryl and I are together and neither did Daryl. "Daryl and I didn't know each other before the outbreak. And we didn't always get along like we do now," I told him. "Okay, but am I right? Was he a homicide cop?" He asked. I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea. Never came up," I said. "How? He knows what you did before the turn." I hummed, "yeah, because when we met I was in uniform."

"Actually, the man's right. Undercover," Daryl said. Zach looked at him in surprise. I held back a laugh because I knew he was just fucking with the kid. "Come on, really?" Daryl nodded, "yep. I don't like to talk about it 'cause it was a lot of heavy shit, ya know?" Daryl told him. Daryl looked up at me and I shook my head. "Dude, come on. Really?" Zach asked. Daryl just looked back at him and I laughed. "Okay. I'll just keep guessing, I guess," Zach said. "Yeah, you keep doing that." Walkers then came up and started to bang on the window behind them. "Are we going to do this detective?" Michonne asked. "Let's do it."

After we took care of the walkers everyone was given instructions on what to look for. Food, water, clothes, nothing for Judith, and anything that would be useful. Things were going fine. Everyone was finding what was needed. The store was pretty well stocked which was rare to find. Everything had gone to shit when the shelves of wine fell over and Bob got caught under them. Since I was with Daryl we rushed over there along with a couple others and started to help pick up the shelves.

But then a walker fell through the roof. It had got all hung up but it's guts and was just swinging back and forth. Then more walkers started to fall through the roof and we had to take care of them. Bob was still under the shelves and the rest of us were taking care of the walkers. It was a complete shit show. I took my gun out and started to shoot. The ceiling was starting to cave in from the weight of the  helicopter. Zach and Daryl got Bob out but then Zach was bitten.

I was taking care of a couple walkers when one came from behind me and knocked me to the ground. My gun slid out of my hand and a couple feet away from me. I was lucky enough that I turned around and fell onto my back. My hands were on the walkers shoulders trying to keep it away from my face. I needed to try and reach for my knife but needed to get a grip on the walker with one hand to do so. Panic started to set in when another walker started to crawl towards me. I kicked at it, smashing my boot into its face over and over again. The walker above me started putting more weight on me, making my arms start to shake.

More walkers were coming my way and I could see the helicopter above slowly start to slip from above. I was in full panic mode now. I readjusted my left arm so it was pushing against the walker's chest and tried reaching for my knife on my belt. Another walker came over, grabbing my ankle and I kicked at it. "Daryl!" I screamed out to him for anyone to help me. I couldn't get my knife with the weight of the walker. I kept kicking at the one at my feet. It's hands wrapped around my leg trying to pull me closer to its mouth. "No! Daryl!"

Tears started to run down my face, my left boot landed hard into the center of the walker's face and went through its skull. The walker on top of me was getting closer to my face as my arms started to give out. The helicopter groaned above me. Panic swept through my body, I screamed for help from anyone. My arms finally gave out and the walker atop of me fell with its face between my neck and shoulder.