Open up, Survivors Inside

Chapter 18

Puffer panted as he collapsed on the sewer floor, his chest heaving. Chuck looked back up as he caught his breath and shook his head, "We won't be going back that way."

"No we will not..." Puffer panted, slowly standing up, "Kenny said the river was only a few blocks away, we just need to travel to a grate near it and wait there."

"You good to walk?" Chuck asked, noticing how Puffer was sweating from the pain.

"No, but what choice do we have?" Puffer replied, the cane's tapping echoing in the sewer. The sewer itself was pretty clean, but then again it hadn't been used properly in over eight months. As the two kept walking, the pain in his ankle was growing greater by the second, as if his ankle was on fire.

The all of a sudden, the pain stopped, and Puffer could no longer feel his ankle. He took another step and collapse, his foot no longer moving. "Puffer?" Chuck questioned.

Puffer felt the color drain from his face, "...I can't feel my foot...Chuck I can't feel my foot." He tried to stand up, only to fall and be caught by Chuck.

"We're close enough," Chuck said, helping Puffer lean on a wall.

"We don't even know where we are!" Puffer said, and it was clear he was panicking, "I'm going to die down here! How am I supposed to climb back out?!"

"Easy there," Chuck started, causing Puffer to look up at him, "We'll figure it out." A growl caught both off guard, and the sound of shuffling footsteps could be heard.

"Why down here?!" Puffer hissed out, lowering his voice. He looked around and saw a grate that was open a bit. Chuck helped Puffer up, with Puffer leaning on Chuck for support. When they made it to the grate, Chuck let Puffer go first. Puffer managed to get in, but there was barely enough room for a person to fit inside, "Dead end! It's just a bunch of small pipes-" Puffer was cut off by Chuck closing the grate, sticking a splintered piece of the shovel's handle inside to lock it in place, "CHUCK!"

"One of us has to live, kid," Chuck said, "Don't worry, I had a good run."

"LET ME OUT!" Puffer begged as Chucked moved away from the grate, turning to face the walkers. One had managed to get close enough to bite down on his arm, causing Chuck to hit the wall of the sewer tunnel.

Puffer squeezed his eyes shut and covered his wars as Chuck pulled his pistol out. The sewers echoed with the bang from the shot, and the walkers descended upon Chuck's corpse.  He didn't dare look or listen, even as some walkers approached where he was hidden and tried to grab him. Panic and terror filled him as he realized he was all alone, with only a crossbow and cane to defend himself with. It didn't help that Chuck's corpse was within eyesight, being treated like a mere snack for the walkers.

How the hell was he going to survive this mess?! He had always had the group to back him up, ever since this whole apocalypse started. And now he was on his own. And Puffer realized he hadn't had anything to drink in days. Most of the group hadn't. He didn't know about Christa or Omid, but everyone else would need fresh water. And Puffer realized he had no way of getting it.

This was it, this was his finale. Puffer leaned back against the wall of the small hole he was trapped in, the walkers at his grate still trying to reach for him. At least he knew that when he died, he wouldn't turn. He wanted to scream at whatever began everything, he wanted answers. And he knew he wouldn't get any. Puffer closed his eyes. If he didn't die any time soon, at least he could deal with some of his lack of energy. And if he woke up again, more energy meant that maybe he could come up with a plan.

Hours went by, and the only sound in the sewer system was that of the walkers eating Chuck's corpse. There was no noise of life, as if all that remained was the dead. That was until Lee scrambled down a ladder and into the sewer, having been cornered by a hoard of walkers. He could only hope Kenny, Molly, and Clementine made it back safely. A walker attempted to follow after, only to land head first on the sewer floor, killing it instantly.

Lee turned and got a good look, heading down the tunnel. Making it into the further sewer system, Lee paused, seeing some walkers huddled over a corpse. Using the climbing pickaxe Molly let him borrow, Lee slowly lured them away by tapping on the wall, taking them down one by one. However, there were two staying near a grate near the exit, with one trying to reach into it. Lee moved towards the corpse, and his heart dropped upon seeing who it was. "Oh my god, Chuck," Lee mumbled, looking at the gun. When he took it, he saw there were no bullets left. "If he's here...then Puffer must be nearby...!"

Lee looked to the grate, noticing it was locked shut with a splintered piece of wood. Coupled with the two walkers near it, and Lee was certain the younger man was there. Lee snuck towards the remaining two walkers, only to be grabbed through a floor grate by a walker. The two walkers turned, slowly approaching, but Lee was faster. He fired at the walker in the floor grate before using the pickaxe to dispatch the other two walkers.

As soon as both were dead on the ground, Lee ran to the grate and removed the wood piece, opening the grate. Lee paused, as he did see Puffer. But it looked like he wasn't moving. "No..." Lee said, grabbing Puffer and carefully dragging him out. Puffer looked very pale, and Lee couldn't see if his chest was rising or not. Thankfully when Lee went to check for a pulse, he found one.

Puffer was alive, thank fuck. Carefully, Lee hoisted Puffer over him, just as Mark had done to Ben and Travis's teacher over a week ago. Grabbing the cane, Lee moved to where the ladder was, only to find most of it gone. So up wasn't an option. Although, Lee did notice a sign on the wall that was crooked. Seeing this, Lee removed it, finding a large hole in the wall.

Carefully, Lee maneuvered himself in so that Puffer didn't get scratched on the bars sticking out. To his surprise, he had ended up in an old nuclear fallout shelter. The only way out was through a door. However, as soon as he opened it, he was met with a group of five. Everyone froze like a deer in headlights, staring. An older, balding man was the first to speak up, "Who are you?"