Highway To Hell

Chapter 2

I smirk when a rat squeaks and startles Glenn. They don't bother me anymore. They're nasty, sure, but so is having blood, guts, and mud splattered all over you. I usually had more things to worry about than the resident rodents. We come to a door and I try to listen for anything on the other side. I don't hear anything, but that doesn't mean something isn't there. I pull a knife and take a breath before shoving the door open. I brace myself for an attack, but nothing's there. I put my knife away and walk down the steps.

"Sewer tunnel. Jacqui was right," Glenn mutters. I grab the grate and give a firm tug. "Think we can cut through it?"

"Don't have the time or the resources," I say. We hear a noise and look beyond the grate. Glenn shines his flashlight down the tunnel and I yank my hand away from the grate when I see a eater eating a rat. It snarls at us and lunges. Glenn's arms go around my waist and he yanks me back. The geek tries to grab us.

"I think it's time we get back topside," Glenn says and I nod. We quickly make our way to the top.

"Anything?" Jacqui asks as we come into view. I open my mouth to answer but clamp it shut when we hear glass shatter. I throw myself at the ladder and yank myself up it. Glenn follows and we run to the front of the store. Rick, Andrea, and Morals are pointing their guns at the doors. The geeks had broken through the first set of doors.

"What'd you find down there?" Rick asks.

"Not a way out," I mutter.

"We need to find a way," Andrea says. "Soon."

We make our way back to the roof and I sit down and lean on the wall. Rick takes the binoculars and looks out over the city. I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall.

"That construction site, those trucks - they always keep key on hand."

"You'll never make it past the walkers," Morals says.

"You got me out of that tank," Rick says.

"Yeah, but they were feeding. They were distracted," Glenn answers.

"Can we distract them again?" Rick asks.

"Right. Listen to him. He's onto somethin'." I open my eyes to see Merle pointing at Rick. I wait for the smart-ass remark to come out of his mouth. Surely, nothing intelligent would. "A diversion, like on 'Hogan's Heros'." I roll my eyes and shut them again.

"God, give it a rest," Jacqui says.

"They're drawn by sound, right?" Rick says, ignoring Merle.

"Right, like dogs. They hear a sound, and they come," Glenn says.

"What else?"

"Aside from they hear you? They see you, smell you and if they catch you, they eat you."

"They can tell this by smell?"

"Can't you?"

"They smell dead, we don't. It's pretty distinct." I open my eyes and see that an odd look comes across Rick's face at Andrea's words. I know immediately that I'm not gonna like whatever idea he's cooking up.

I was right. I don't like it. My face scrunches up in disgust and Jacqui gives me a lovely gut necklace.

I'll cherish it forever, Jacqui. Thanks. I don't voice the thought or even say anything. I, of course, had objected when Rick told us his plan, but when I had been asked for a better one . . . I didn't have anything to say. I couldn't think of a better way to get a vehicle to fit us all in and it irked me. Sam and Dean would have been able to rattle off a dozen ideas off the top of their heads. Granted they wouldn't have been good ideas, but it would have been better than nothing. My earlier thoughts of having blood and guts smeared over you being worse than the sewer rats comes back to me. Me and my big . . . thoughts.