The Warrior Within

Playing Dead

~Chapter 3~

~Charlotte~

Time passes and we are still stuck on the roof with T-Dog trying to get a signal to contact our camp. Everyone is practically looking over the edge of the roof, glaring down at the geeks in the street below except for T-Dog who is sitting down, staring at Merle. My chocolate brown hair is being pushed into my eyes and tickles my ears by the gentle warm wind. 

I give this time to think about what is probably happening back at camp. I wonder if everyone is alright…Alice…Daniel…Tom and Alex. The rest of the kids…Amy? Dale? Did camp get attacked? I need to stop thinking like this, I feel blood rushing to my head as thoughts overcome my brain.

“My God, it’s like Times Square down there.” said Andrea, who stands right next to me and I cant help to think that that is a perfect description of the chaos down there.

“How’s the signal?” Morales asks T-Dog.

“Like Dixon’s brain…weak.” And I cant help but laugh out loud at the comment made by T-Dog. I turn my head around to look at Merle to see his reaction and he slowly puts his middle finger up to T-Dog.

“Keep trying.”

“Why?” I mutter. Again, I feel eyes on me. Why do I talk when I don’t want to? Words slip out of my mouth and I immediately regret them, even if they are not bad. “There’s nothing they can do. Not a damn thing.” I shake my head.

“Got some people outside the city is all. There’s no refugee centre. That’s a pipe dream.”

“Then she’s right.” Rick speaks up. “We’re on our own. It’s up to us to find a way out.” 

“Great…” I sigh. 

“Good luck with that. These streets ain’t safe in this part of town from what I hear. Ain’t that right sugar tits?” He starts talking to Andrea. Great, perfect timing to be hitting on the ladies. And Merle has a great way of doing it. “Hey, honey bunch, what say you get me out of these cuffs, we go off somewhere and bump some uglies? Gonna die anyway.” At first I think, what does he mean by ‘bump some uglies’, but seeing as it’s Merle, it’s going to be something dirty.

“I’d rather.” Andrea replies.

“Rub muncher. I figured as much.”

I decide to ignore Merle and what he is saying to Andrea and listen into the discussion that the rest of the group are having.

“The streets ain’t safe."

"Now there’s an understatement.” I hear Morales say.

“What about under the streets? The sewers?” Rick asks, thinking outside the box. Good idea.

“Oh man. Hey Glenn!” Morales calls Glenn over. “Check the alleyway. You see any manhole covers?” Glenn jogs over to the side of the roof where the alleyway would be. 

I continuously stare at him and his actions, he shakes his head. “No, must be all out on one street, where the geeks are.”

“Maybe not.” Jacqui speaks up. “Old buildings like this built in the twenties…big structures often had draining tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding down in the subbasements.” I stare at her, amazed by the knowledge.

“How do you know that?” I ask her.

“It’s my job…was” she said sadly. “I worked in the city zoning office.” And in that moment I wonder what would of happened if Jacqui didn’t come with us.

~

I feel bad for T-Dog, having to stay up on the roof with Merle as we go to the stores basement. It didn’t take long to reach there and get to the sewage entrance that we all gather around.