RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

officer friendly

"COME ON, LOVE. WORK WITH ME HERE." The woman supported the little bundle against her chest as she barreled down the four lane street, her other hand clenched tightly around her Bowie knife. The little one continued to cry, alerting any of the risen within multiple blocks. With some already hot on their tracks, the woman continued to push forward, her eyes darting to every building she passes, sizing them up and down in search of a temporary safe haven. Though, with the screams and cries of the baby, she knew she needed to go further than her legs could let her to find somewhere to rest comfortably.

The city of Atlanta has never looked so dead. Rusted and broken down cars spread for miles along every road that twisted and turned through the city. Though the city and life as everyone knew it was dead and doomed, nature was thriving. Various flowers, weeds, and trees grew, cracking and slipping through cracks of cement and asphalt.

The world has gone quiet, almost as if it had stopped turning.

The baby let out another cry as the woman tripped over a stray metal car door.

"Shh, it's alright." she cooed at the baby against her chest.

She slipped into a musty alley between two towering buildings, pulling a chain linked gate closed behind her. Her feet dragged towards a dumpster where she fumbled against the wall as her legs gave out. Sliding down the brick wall behind her, she sat next to the dumpster, pulling back the cloth that shielded a majority of the babies face. To her surprise, the tears were dry against the little ones face, and her eyes were wide, staring largely at the woman.

"Good girl." She smiled down at the baby. "I knew you could do it."

She set her knife down next to where she sat before pulling off her backpack, digging through it to find her canister of water. Though the buildings were tall, the sun still beat down against her skin, blistering slowly. She took a few sips before pouring some into her hand, dousing her face and her neck in it, in hopes to cool down. But not to her avail, the water was just as warm as the Georgia air.

They sat for a while, the woman listening closely to the scuffling of the dead's feet that seemed to be surpassing them. A quiet sigh of relief slipped through her lips, only to be sucked back in at loud gunshots that seemed to only be getting closer, soon followed by loud pattering that was heading towards the gate in which she came from. Out of instinct, she covered the a bit more and quickly fumbled for her knife as the gate flew open. A boy about a few years younger than her held the gate open for another man to follow behind, a bit older than the both of them.

"Come on, back here!" The younger boy yelled at the man.

They swung the gate shut, but at the sight of how many risers were at the gate, it most definitely wouldn't hold.

She quickly got up from her spot, and immediately found both pair of eyes on her. The younger boy halted for just a second in his tracks, his eyes full of worry, before ushering her to come along as well.

"That gate won't hold, follow me, now!" His yells echoed in the alley, and without thinking, her feet started moving at their pace to stay with them.

It was only a matter of seconds before they reached the end of the alley. The man in front of her was wearing a sheriff's uniform and had his gun out in front of him as risers started to pile in at the end of the alley, blocking the only exit.

"Let's go, let's go!" The boy screamed as he began to climb a yellow metal ladder.

The man ushered her to go up after the boy as he continued to shoot a few for of the dead before following up after them. She held her breath as she ascended the ladder as the dead were groaning and screaming beneath her. It felt like a thousand minutes to even get halfway up the ladder. Stepping off onto a metal platform, the three of them stood against the railing, catching their breaths. The woman gently bounced the baby against her chest while patting her back to prevent her from crying again.