Chapter Text
It was like a scene from Hell itself.
All around Lee and Carley, the walkers, skin burnt and baked by the sun, arose from their slumber. Raspy moans began to pour forth from rotten throats, filling the street with a cacophony of horrible noise.
Lee looked back to the truck, seeing that at least a dozen of the things had risen up between them and the vehicle, shrunken skin crackling and tearing as they got to their feet.
That option was closed off. Now all they could do was…
“Get back to the food bank!” Lee yelled.
Lee turned back to Carley to see that the woman had already drawn her pistol.
Three walkers between them and the building had already managed to stand, with even more still making the effort. Two went down under well-aimed shots by Carley, and Lee charged forward to split the third’s skull with his axe.
“Quickly!” Carley ran past Lee, and he followed after her at the same pace, catching up just as she reached the front doors.
Together they threw them open, lurching forward into the lobby of the food bank. Lee turned to close the doors, seeing that the street outside was already crawling with walkers, the whole swarm awoken from their sleep.
Lee slammed the doors shut, backing up quickly as he caught his breath.
The groans from outside were muffled now, though it wouldn’t be long until those things were pounding at the doors.
“That… was close,” Carley panted as she turned to look towards the pantry. “Think we can get out through the back?”
“Hopefully, if it’s not locked,” Lee replied, already walking towards the pantry. “Lucky for us, those front doors look pretty sturdy, so we should have time to figure out-”
Before Lee could finish the sentence, a sound reached his ears that made his heart stop.
The sound of the front doors creaking open.
At once, the moans and growls from outside were no longer muffled, and as Lee turned around he already knew what he’d see.
A walker in a sun-faded business suit stood in the doorway where one of the doors had been opened, hand still on the knob.
The walker had opened the door.
Bud stood there quietly for a moment as Doug finished explaining his idea, a half-hopeful, half-anxious look on the other man’s face.
“That… sounds like it could come in handy,” Bud admitted, and Doug beamed at him.
A string system on the road, connected to bells so they could know if anything was coming, and where it was coming from. The whole thing sounded like a pain-and-a-half to get working properly, especially if they had to get it set back up after every walker, but…
“I like it,” Bud continued. “Could be pretty useful, ‘specially if whoever’s on watch ain’t paying attention.”
Bud couldn’t help a scowl over at Jolene on top of the RV, the woman still barely paying attention to outside the wall as she focused on her daughter and Clementine.
“I’m glad you think so,” Doug said, sounding surprisingly earnest. “I was… I was kinda worried…”
“What for?” Bud frowned. “It’s a good idea.”
“It’s… never mind. Thanks,” Doug smiled. “Do you… think you could help me convince your dad to go for it?”
Bud let out a huff of frustrated laughter despite himself. “You really think he’d listen to me?”
The old man wouldn’t even let Bud handle the trip that was his idea, probably just to get back at him for arguing so much. Chances were, him getting involved would only make Dad shut Doug down out of spite.
“I figure it couldn’t hurt,” Doug said naively, and Bud rolled his eyes.
“You’d be better off gettin’ Mom on your side; she’s the only one he’ll listen to anymore. Man’s too dang cautious.”
“I think he just cares about everyone and wants to keep us safe,” Doug countered. “Is that a bad thing?”
“Sure,” Bud shrugged. “But how safe can ya really be these days? We aren’t gonna get anywhere if we never take any risks. Especially since it don’t look like anyone’s coming to rescue us.”
Doug didn’t seem to have an answer to that, simply bowing his head.
“Come on, let’s get this wall finished,” Bud said, not wanting to leave things on a bad note. “Maybe once it’s done, we could talk a while? We haven't really said much to each other these past few weeks.”
That made Doug perk up, a smile returning to his face. “Sure. That sounds great.”
“Pantry, now,” Carley ordered with fear in her voice, and Lee couldn’t agree more.
This time Lee reached the door first-or what was left of it after he’d chopped it down with his axe. First he, then Carley stepped over the wrecked wooden remains as the walkers began to pour into the food bank.
Carley ran over to the back door, gripping the handle. Nothing.
“It’s locked!” Carley shouted, looking back at Lee with wide eyes.
Lee cursed under his breath, but as he turned back to the other door he realized they had more pressing concerns.
The swarm was already halfway across the lobby, practically trampling one another in their hungry rush. They’d reach the pantry in seconds.
“We need to…” Lee began, not even finishing the sentence as all his focus was on searching the room for something to use. “The shelf!”
One of the several wooden shelves that lined the small pantry stood next to the right of the broken door, already empty of all food and water. It looked decently heavy; at least enough to slow the walkers down for a while.
Lee stepped forward and grabbed onto one side. “Help me with this!”
Carley rushed forward, and together they began to lean the heavy shelf to the left. It was tough work at first, straining Lee’s arms and making him sweat, but as it leaned further and further the shelf’s own weight did the rest of the work for them.
With a heavy thud, the shelf slammed sideways onto the tile floor in front of the door, wide enough to cover almost the door’s entire height.
Just in time for the walkers to arrive.
They seemed less like individuals than a mass of rotting arms and grasping hands as they fought to squeeze through the doorway.
The crowd pressed against the shelf, and for a moment it looked like it would hold until…
With a rough squeak of wood against tile, the shelf began to shift.
Next to Carley, Lee cursed as he lunged forward and pressed his body against the shelf, trying to hold it against the door.
“Find a way through the back door!” Lee ordered, throwing his fire axe to the floor at Carley’s feet. “Use that if you have to!”
Carley nodded, scooping up the axe, but she wasn’t optimistic about her chances using it.
She was a reporter for crying out loud. Not something that required a whole lot of upper body strength. Not enough to break down a door at the very least.
Maybe… maybe there was a key, taped under one of the shelves?
Carley had seen that trick before, from a time years ago when she’d done a fluff piece on a much larger food bank.
She began her search at the shelves closest to the back door, all while Lee continued to grunt and struggle against the horde in the lobby.
He was strong, she’d give him that. Stronger than she’d expected, and Carley was hopped up on enough adrenaline that she could admit she’d thought about it. The walkers struggled to reach him, putting their hands through the gaps in the shelf-barricade and trying to crawl through, but still Lee held them at bay.
It couldn’t last forever though. Everyone had their limit.
As Carley continued to check the shelves, running her hand under each row, she was startled by the sound of gunshots.
With the walkers getting closer and closer to reaching him, Lee had taken out his revolver and stuck it through a gap, opening fire on the swarm. Several corpses slumped down and fell away from the shelf, only to be crushed underfoot as new walkers took their place.
Focus, Carley, focus! How do we get out of here!
It would be easier if the lights were on in here. There was some light from the windows, but…
Wait. Windows.
Carley looked up, following the beams of light until she saw their origin: small, rectangular windows up close to the ceiling, just like the ones out in the lobby.
She stared at one of those windows, and then her gaze lowered to the shelf just underneath it.
She had an idea.
All tired from running around playing, now Clementine and Danielle were drawing again. Really though, they were mostly just talking.
“You really think they’ll be okay?” Danielle asked nervously as the two of them scribbled side by side.
“Yeah,” Clementine nodded. “They’re smart. And strong.”
She took a moment to admire her current drawing: Lee with his axe and Carley with her pistol. It wasn’t as good as if she’d had crayons or markers or anything colorful, but it was still pretty nice.
They stood side by side, smiling bravely. Next she’d do the truck.
“It’s just… it’s scary out there,” Danielle whispered. “It’s not just the monsters. It’s…”
“It’s what?” Clementine turned to look at the other girl curiously.
Danielle almost seemed to shiver a little before she spoke. “There’s some really mean people out there. Mom and me, we were at the big store where she worked, with a bunch of other people. I think we were all waiting for someone to come rescue us…”
Clementine waited patiently for Danielle to continue, even as she wasn’t sure what she was saying.
“No one came though,” Danielle sighed, setting down her pencil. “People started getting mad. There were fights. A lot of people left. I think we were running out of food, and that just made people madder. Then Mom said we had to leave.”
“Why?” Clementine asked. “Did walkers come?”
“No,” Danielle shook her head. “She said the people were gonna hurt us. So we left while everyone was sleeping.”
“Oh,” Clementine’s eyes widened slightly.
That was… scary. Walkers were one thing, but why would the people want to hurt them? Because they were angry?
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Clementine said earnestly with a smile, which Danielle returned meekly.
“Thanks. I’m… happy we’re here. I’m just scared about the food. I don’t want people to get mad again.”
“It’ll be fine,” Clementine insisted. “They’ll find food. Don’t worry.”
"Clem, Dani!” Georgette called out from across the parking lot. “Time to eat, girls!”
Clementine sighed despite herself as she and Danielle got up off the asphalt, leaving their paper and pencils where they were.
Great. More chips. Clementine never would’ve thought she’d get sick of those…
“You found something yet?” Lee yelled as he struggled to reload his revolver while simultaneously holding back the walkers and avoiding their grasping hands.
“I think so!” Carley yelled back, and Lee turned his head to see her… climbing a shelf?
The fire axe laid on the floor, discarded.
He didn’t have time to ask about it though, as another walker managed to break through the crowd to press up against the shelf, forcing him to devote his full attention to holding them off.
“These windows up top!” Carley continued. “If I can reach it… good, it opens!”
Lee glanced over at her once more to see that she’d unlatched the window, shakily clinging to the shelf.
At once, he knew what she was thinking.
“You really think we can fit through that?” Lee questioned loudly to be heard above the snarls and groans.
“I think so! Worth a shot at least.”
“When I let go of this, it won’t take long for them to push the shelf out of the way…” Lee warned.
“There’s…” Carley poked her head out through the window. “There’s an air conditioning unit on the wall out here. If I stand on it, I can cover you while you run.”
“Whatever you do, just… hurry!” Lee said through clenched teeth as the walkers seemed to push even harder against him.
Carley began to crawl out through the window, which thankfully seemed tall enough for her.
A near-unanimous shove from the walkers at the barricade sent Lee’s boots skidding against the tile floor, and he swore violently as he tried to right himself. He couldn’t give up now, couldn’t let them through. Not until-
“I’m ready! Get over here!”
Lee stood up straight, looking over to see Carley peeking in through the window from the outside.
Now or never. Lee ran for it, shoving the revolver into his pocket.
As soon as he was away from the shelf, Lee could hear the gut-wrenching shriek of the wood scraping against the floor as the walkers began to push it away from the entrance. He did his best to ignore it as he reached the shelf Carley had used.
Lee put a hand on one of the shelves, staring dubiously at the piece of furniture for just a second.
Would this thing really hold his weight?
“Hurry it up!” Carley demanded. “They’re almost through!”
No time to worry about it, then. Lee began to make the climb, putting his foot on the lowest row.
As Lee ascended the heavy shelf, the wood groaning under his weight, he flinched at the sound of gunfire above him.
Carley had stuck her pistol through the window, firing away at the walkers he knew had to be close behind him.
Don’t look behind you, don’t look behind you…
Carley ceased fire as Lee reached the top, and he couldn’t help but look back.
The walkers were practically flooding into the room, looking more like a liquid than a simple horde of walking corpses. The shelf, still halfway blocking the door, was the only thing that even slightly halted their progress as they pushed past it and stampeded towards him.
“I hope there’s room on that AC unit!” Lee shouted as Carley moved away from the window.
His chest and back brushed along the edges of the window frame as Lee pushed his head through, and for a terrifying moment he thought he wouldn’t be able to make it. But just as his body began to catch, he forced himself forward, his chest now fully through.
Of course, that led to him almost plummeting face-first to the concrete below, but Carley was there to catch him.
Slowly, carefully, Lee stood up atop the AC unit, the metal making dubious noises under their combined weight.
Through the window, he could still hear the combined noises of dozens of hungry walkers filling the pantry.
Funny. Lee and Carley had come here for food, and the walkers had ultimately done the same. It was a miracle they’d gotten out of there…
“I think I’m ready to go home now,” Carley breathed, and with the two of them crowded together on the AC unit Lee was close enough to see that she was shaking ever so slightly.
“Me too,” Lee said honestly.
Lucky for them, it wasn’t that far to the ground beneath them.
“Watch your step…” Carley joked, though she sounded too anxious for it to have the intended effect.
“Isn’t it ladies first?” Not that Lee was any better.
After a few seconds of consideration, Lee took the plunge. He hit the ground hard, shockwaves running up his legs, but he was alright.
Carley dropped just seconds later. As they gathered themselves, Lee could see more walkers passing by the alley on their way to the food bank.
“We might have to fight our way out,” Lee said with a slight sigh.
Carley held up her pistol. “I’m ready.”
In the end, there weren’t that many left out on the street as they made their way back to the truck. Carley shot two, and Lee shot another with his revolver, and from there they had a clear shot at escape.
Carley took the driver’s seat this time as Lee ran around to the other side. She gunned the engine just as he closed the passenger door, getting them out of there before any of the remaining walkers in the street could reach them.
They were safe. Lee’s heart was still pounding from all the adrenaline… but they were safe.
And they had plenty of food for their troubles.
“Nice work out there,” Carley said to him as she drove, with the kind of crazed cheer that could only come from a near-death experience. “We’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”
“You weren’t too bad yourself,” Lee chuckled, sounding about the same. “Let’s just say… we saved each other.”
Carley smiled over at him. “Sorry. About your axe, I mean.”
“Eh, if any of us had to go, better him than us,” Lee said, earning a half-wild laugh from Carley that set him off in turn. “I’m sure I’ll find something else.”
The two of them spent the rest of the ride home in comfortable silence.
Jolene let out a quiet huff of frustration as she watched her girl finish the last of a bag of chips, chasing it down with some water.
Chips. Chips. They’d said there’d be food here, and that was what they had for her daughter.
Idiots. All of ‘em. Well, that Bud seemed to have some sense, but not much if he couldn’t even convince an old man on his own.
She’d hoped this would be different. Not like the Save-Lots. Like her former friends.
It weren’t quite that bad yet, at least. No one was threatening to hurt her little girl. But all it took was a little hunger, and people’d start showing who they really were. Animals. All people were animals, most just tried to pretend otherwise.
When they stopped pretending… that was when you really had to worry.
Maybe those other two would come back with some real food. Jolene wouldn’t hold her breath.
If they did, great. If they didn’t, and things started gettin’ worse, well…
They’d already ran away from a bad situation once. Jolene would do it again in a heartbeat.
Anything to keep Danielle safe…
When Lee and Carley returned, it was to much fanfare.
Abram would admit that he’d been skeptical about their chances of success, but he couldn’t deny the results: a whole truck full of food and water.
Even he could admit it would be a nice change of pace.
Everyone else seemed quite pleased as well. Jolene was smiling for, well… maybe the first time Abram had ever seen. Even Barry couldn’t find anything to complain about, though he knew his son well enough to know he was still smarting over not getting to go.
“Doug, help me carry some of this, would you?” Georgette requested as she looked through the boxes of food. “I’m gonna use that hot plate to cook up a nice little feast for everyone. Lift peoples’ spirits a little.”
“That sounds amazing,” Doug said with a grin, already moving to help.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” Abram disagreed. “We shouldn’t waste food.”
Seeing that rescue would clearly take longer than they’d expected, they should really be conserving as much food as possible. The last thing Abram wanted was for them to have to take another risk any sooner than they needed to.
But his wife wasn’t dissuaded. “Oh, hush. There’s plenty here. We could at least use one good meal.”
Ultimately, Abram let it go. It wasn’t worth the argument.
Georgette and Doug walked away with their arms loaded down, Clementine and Danielle trailing behind excitedly.
“See, Dad?” Barry smirked as he walked up. “Told you my idea was a good one. We could’ve done this a week ago.”
Abram opened his mouth to reply, but Lee beat him to it.
“It wasn’t exactly an easy in-and-out, if you know what I mean,” Lee said wearily, and from there he and Carley launched into the story of just how things had gone.
Every detail made Abram feel colder and colder.
Military equipment left behind, indicating that they’d tried to respond to the situation… and failed.
Walkers that laid in wait, sleeping on the ground until someone came close enough for an ambush. Walkers that opened doors.
Jolene had sniffed at that part. “I told you,” she said to Barry, who simply stood stone-faced.
No sign of any other humans still alive in Macon. None at all.
Abram couldn’t see how it was possible. So many people lived in Macon, for all of them to have either left or…
No. He couldn’t even think of the alternative.
Everything else was just as disturbing. How was it that the military had lost to these things? Abram just couldn’t understand. If even the military was struggling to contain this… this outbreak… then they’d be waiting even longer than he’d thought.
And the walkers… every day they seemed to become more and more inscrutable.
Corpses that got up and attacked the living even as they began to rot. Some could hold weapons, or climb obstacles. Open doors, or pretend to be dead to lure in prey. What made some different from the others?
It was all far beyond Abram. He’d seen many things in his days… but never anything like this.
One thing he knew for certain though: this world was growing more dangerous with each and every day.
That made it even more important to stay cautious, conservative. Abram wouldn’t allow any of his family, any of his group to be lost to the walkers. Not if he could help it. If that meant Barry being frustrated with the choices he’d have to make, then so be it. No more risks.
At least they had this food now. With any luck, it would be enough to last until rescue.
Even as he thought the words… Abram felt doubt.