Haunted

Chapter 13

."Rick! Andrea! They found a way out!" Jacqui calls out to them before climbing down the ladder, everyone else following behind her.

"Where's Merle?" I ask.

"I dropped the damn key," T-Dog says with a sigh.

At that moment, we hear the sound of shattering glass.

"GO GO GO!" I yell over the loud groans of half the walkers in Atlanta. I let everyone under the grate before me, then shut it behind us just as the first infected falls down into the sewer in an attempt to get to us.

"That thang's not gonna keep 'em out for long," Rick says, eyeing the rusted grate. We all start walking through the sewer.

"Where now?" Andrea asks Glenn. Everyone turns their attention to him.

He stops for a moment to think. "Five manholes down," he finally says, "that should be the edge of the city, or maybe outside the fence."

"One...two..." I stare up at the ceiling and count off as we walk under them, "three...four..." We stop at five, which is also conveniently the end of this tunnel. I look at the rusty ladder. "I'll make sure it's safe," I mumble. I carefully climb up the ladder, wary of where I put my weight. I swallow nervously before pressing up on the cover just enough to see outside. I cautiously look around. I see the city, but it's far enough away that walkers shouldn't be able to get to us, and there are fences blocking their path as well. "Clear," I call down to the waiting group. I climb up the remaining three rungs and look back at Atlanta. It seems....quiet. There are a few infected running around, but not nearly as many as there were before. Most of the city followed us down into the sewers, and unless they can somehow climb ladders and lift manhole covers, we're perfectly safe for the moment. We never got the supplies as we said we would. I look to the sewer to see if anyone would see me if I ran back into the city. No one would, but I can't. I can't risk getting bit; can't do that to Ellie. She probably wouldn't care too terribly much if I died, but still. I'd miss her.

"We never got the supplies," I say once everyone's aboveground. 

"Who says we didn't?" Andrea asks, holding up her backpack that looks fuller than when I last saw it.

"When---?" I start.

"Rick and I found this when you guys were checking out the sewer," she replies. I nod.

"Looks like it's time to head back," Rick says, and I notice it's getting dark.

"What about Merle?" Jacqui asks.

"We can come back for him tomorrow," I suggest.

"You think Daryl would be happy about us leaving his brother behind to be eaten?" Andrea asks, shooting me an 'are-you-fucking-kidding-me' glance.

"I deadbolted the door shut. No walkers could get through that," T-Dog says.

"He has a point. We really gotta go," Rick says.

"Alright, let's go then," I say.

And so we drove back to camp.