Crossroads

Chapter 2

We stared at the dead walker laying before us. Rick's idea was smart, we would cut open a walker and cover ourselves in it's guts, masking our alive scent. He held the axe in hands, stepping forward to do it but backing away right before chopping. These people are such pussies. I thought. It's just a walker. They'd need to face problems bigger than this soon enough.

"Just let me do it. You're taking forever and we don't have time to waste. It's going to get dark soon." I spoke. Rick dropped the weapon and reached into the walker's pocket, pulling out a wallet. He opened it and looked inside.

"Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license. Born, nineteen seventy nine." He paused. "He had twenty eight dollars in his pocket when he died. And a picture of a pretty girl." He flipped the picture. "With love, from Rachel." He reminded us of how that man was once like us, worrying about things like bills and the Superbowl. I doubted that man worried about the same things I did before shit hit the fan. Memories started to come back to me but I pushed them away. Tried not to think about it. This wasn't the time to remember how shit my life was.

Rick picked up the axe and finally took the first chop. Everybody looked away and cringed at the sight and awful smell. I continued watching. The sight didn't bother me and the scent slightly burned my nose but I ignored it. The blood and intestines were smeared across the floor. Rick looked like he was about to pass out so I stepped in and took the axe, giving him a break. I began chopping in the walker's chest while Glenn groaned.

"I am so gonna hurl." He bent over and held his knees.

"Not now Glenn." I muttered.

There wasn't much that remained of the walker when I was done.

"Everybody got gloves?" Rick asked. The group nodded. "Don't let any get on your skin. Only on the coat."

I stood with him as the group began to pick up the bloody mush and smear it all over our chests. I picked some up myself and splattered it on my backside, also helping to spread some on Rick. Glenn turned to the corner and puked, all of us grimacing at the sound.

"Sorry." He mumbled. Jacqui patted him on the back making sure he was alright. Meanwhile, Rick and I were covered in blood. We reeked of dead but it wasn't enough, we didn't want to take any risks. So we grabbed a few intestines and wrapped it around our necks. Rick took the feet and I took the hands, watching it dangle as I lifted them to place it around my neck.

"I think we're good to go." He told me and I nodded in approval.

"Alright I want you to all meet at the opening of the garage. Lift the door up and I'll load you all onto the back of the truck. And make sure you're quick about it." I told the group.

"What about Merle?" T-Dog asked me. Rick gave him the key to the handcuffs.

"Go up to the roof and keep watch on him. When you see us get to the cars, uncuff Merle and take everyone down to where we meet." Rick instructed T-Dog. The group gave us a quick nod and we opened the back door.

Rick and I stumbled out, limping like the walkers do. Soon a walker approached us and I could tell he was nervous. I shot a look at him trying to show that it would be fine and not to panic. When the walker passed I heard him let out a breath of relief. We were almost at the end of the alley now, the huge crowd of walkers nearing us. I gave Rick another glance and he nodded. We could do this. I started making groaning sounds as the walkers came by to sniff me. They stared blankly for a while then passed on without suspicion. Rick was beside me and I gave him a slight smile. I couldn't believe those dead fuckers were so oblivious to us. We kept shuffling along until I heard a rumble. Where the fuck did it come from? I chose to ignore it until I heard it again.

I looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds crowding in. Shit. I thought. The rain would wash away the blood and make us completely vulnerable to all these walkers. I wouldn't give up though, i'm not planning on being anyone's meal anytime soon. I gave a stern look to Rick and he understood. We began limping quicker, trying to make our way to the fence before the rain came. But we were too late. Drops of rain began tumbling down at a fast pace. We went as fast as we could but it wasn't enough. A walker came close and tried to rip out my shoulder. I pulled out my knife and stabbed it in his head, Rick pulling out his gun and shooting the walkers near us. There was no hiding it now. We both made a desperate run to the fence, taking out walkers one by one. I looked behind us to see about a hundred chasing us and I took that sight as a sign to quicken the pace. We reached the fence and jumped over, Rick grabbing the keys and throwing one at my face. I caught it and ran to the truck, whipping the door open and throwing myself in. A lone walker came up to the side and I smashed his head in the car door, watching him fall to the ground. I put the key in and revved the engine notifying Rick that I was ready. I heard the sound of a car alarm go off and turned to see that he had smashed the window and gotten in the car. He started to drive in the direction of the store and I followed behind.

We turned onto the corner where the building was and Rick guided all the walkers towards the other end, making it easy for me to pull into the garage and pick up the group. They better be fucking ready or i'm leaving without them. I got out of the car and opened the back of the truck, yelling for them to get onto the back. They began chucking the things they had brought and collected while they were here and then jumped in. I ran into the front seat and drove away, hearing someone slam the back of the truck down. We were safe.

Glenn came beside me in the front, showing me where to go to take them back to their camp. The ride was silent except for the soft humming of the engine and Glenn occasionally telling me where to turn. Then T-Dog spoke up.

"I dropped the damn key." I turned my head and gave him a quick glance.

"What?" I asked.

"Merle." He whispered. Silence fell again.

"I went to unlock him but I tripped. The key fell down a drain. I left him there." He said quietly. Everybody just stayed silent after that.

"Well he kinda deserved it. He was a dick and couldn't control himself." I said. The group nodded.

"Nobody will really miss him." Glenn said with a shrug. "Well.. Except for Daryl. His brother."

"Daryl?" I asked.

"Yeah. He's gonna be pretty freaking pissed." We stayed quiet again and my thoughts were filled with this Daryl guy. I wondered if he was anything like Merle. My thoughts were soon interrupted though by the sound of an alarm approaching. I looked at the rear window, seeing Rick driving close behind us. I turned my attention back to the road, taking a deep breath.

This was going to be a long ride.