The Return of Shane Vol 2: The Walking Dead (Final Cut)

"Don't Die"

Chapter 3

Lesson the first: "don't die..." 

-Austin Marco

He had always been the "clean up man," or at least that's how Shane looked at it. Ever since both of them became deputies, Rick had always been one step ahead of Shane. And like a rabbit, Rick always left little shit pebbles everywhere he went. But Shane was there to clean them up, and tonight would be no exception. Shane put two and two together; he figured out exactly what had lured the herd to the farm.

"Carl..." Shane said aloud as he peered aggressively at the large number of walkers still loitering on the farm.

"That's the boy, right?" Phillip asked as he made sure his clips were full of ammo. "What about him?"

"He shot that gun. That had to be what brought them in this direction," deduced Shane. "Why the fuck couldn't that squirmy little shit just stay with his mom, for once? I know for a fact Lori didn't tell him to follow me and Rick into the forest." Shane was more frustrated that Carl was still being so reckless and dangerous. Carl saw what had happened to Sofia, yet he'd still followed Shane and Rick into the dark forest.

"The how doesn't matter at this point." Phillip wanted to bring Shane's focus to the task at hand. "Can you run now?"

"More or less."

"Good, then run and shoot. We're going to lure them away from the house, but we are going to use suppressors. No point in bringing any more of these motherless sons of bitches out of the forest with noise. Once they are sufficiently away from the property, we dart for the door. Remember, run and shoot. By no means do I plan to kill them all with this method, but it will give us a clear shot into the house. The fact that the doors are closed and the windows aren't broken yet is promising."

"Say it's not barricaded and we get in, that doesn't solve our bigger problem. What do we do with all those walkers?"

"Simple. We take to the roof. Where does that door lead?" Phillip pointed to the large door surrounded by thin, white columns. It brought a Victorian flair to the farm home.

"It's it in the hall, near the Old Man's room. Let me guess, we use it to hit the roof and light up the walkers beneath us?" Shane couldn't help but give his classic, dark grin as the gears clicked in his mind.

"Bingo."

"Just one problem," interjected Shane. He was ready to take a crap right on the cloud that Phillip was on.

"I don't have a suppressor, let alone one for an assault rifle. Do you?"

Phillip gestured to the dark duffel bag in his shoulders. "I never leave home without one."

Shane sucked his teeth. "Fucking show off."

"You have no idea," promised Phillip.

15 Days since "Patient 0"

Miami, FL

Phillip and Austin had been sitting silently for the past six hours in their hotel room. Using a silent drone, they surveyed Lo Lupo's property in the ritzy South Beach, Miami neighborhood. Usually the mood was merry when the couple worked together. But ever since Phillip had withdrawn one tenth of the couple's savings to sponsor some musical venture, they had been at odds.

The tension was so thick, a katana couldn't penetrate it, but neither man said anything to the other. They both just watched the monitor as the drone scanned the area.