FATAL IMPACT
[ 002 ] officer friendly
[season one, episode two]
"Hey, you two alive in there?" The man's voice questioned through the radio again, loud and clear.
"Yeah we're here!" Tessa sprung into action, bounding over to the radio. Her heart hammered in her chest as she listened for the man's voice, Rick reaching her side as he began to speak again.
"There you are. You had me wondering." The man breathed a sigh of relief and a light gasp slipped through Tessa's lips. She had yet to get used to the sound of other people's voices again. It had been so long... she'd been alone for so long. Her hands shook with anticipation as she gripped the radio waiting for either Rick or the man to say something. When neither did she spoke up.
"Look thanks to Officer Einstein over here we're stuck in this damn tank. I really hope you got a way to get us out because our current situation ain't looking great." Her tone was harsh and demanding, her southern accent stronger when she swore. Rick gave her a bemused look.
"You're surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news."
"There's good news?" Rick asked as he took the radio from Tessa. She shook her head impatiently and pulled at the threads coming loose from her pants. She felt stressed at the situation and Ricks obvious lack of apocalyptic experience. The man had not a redeeming quality in his bones. She would even go as far as describing him as utterly useless.
Pulling her bag onto her shoulder Tessa ran through her options in her head. She could stay with Rick, possibly die, and then end up hours away from her hideout or she could feed him to the dead and make a run for it. Neither seemed fair or ethical. Looking back at the dishevelled officer she sighed. Despite everything it felt nice to have someone to talk to again. Rick caught her eye as she turned and an encouraging smile found its way onto his face.
"Good news?" Tessa asked. Rick shook his head and a sarcastic scoff fell through her lips. She ignored the strange look the officer gave her.
"We have to run for it."
"Oh great! Fabulous! Just damn awesome! Fuck!" Tessa slammed her fist against the wall beside her and the snarl of the dead from outside rose several octaves. Her breath was shaky as anxiety seeped into her stomach. There was not much she valued anymore but her life was definitely her most important asset.
"So what's the plan?" She asked, pushing aside her trivial fears in search of an answer that could settle her stomach. She did not receive one. Rick began talking a hundred miles an hour explaining a plan that was almost certain to get them killed. Luckily for Rick the dead would kill him before she got a chance to.
"Look there's an alley up the street. If we can make it to that without dying the man on the radio agreed to help us. I know I've given you no reason to trust me so far but I need your help with this. Please. I'm just asking you to trust me for five minutes so that neither of us die today. You get it?"
Tessa stared at him as he talked allowing her brain to process the overload of information before she agreed. "Fine. But you follow me. Follow my lead. I don't know where the hell you've been the last couple months or so days but it was clearly not in the same reality as the rest of us."
Rick smiled and gave a gentle nod. In all honesty he was glad that he had found Tessa. She seemed to know what she was doing; and she was brave. She could hold her own irrespective of the situation at hand. He was more than willing to do as she asked. Placing a hand on her shoulder Rick motioned to the hatch at the top of the tank. To him it seemed the perfect, if only, way to escape ― to Tessa it was the beginning of a doomsday. Nonetheless she gave herself over willingly, hoisting her bag onto her shoulders and arming herself with her rifle. For a moment there was a hint of nothing, silence enveloping the duo, before Tessa slammed open the hatch.
She was met with the sight of the dead; a decaying body with hands that grabbed at her chest. Her gut was telling her to shoot but she knew better. Noise would only rally the dead more. One gunshot was all it would take for them to be overrun by hungry, rotting bodies. With only the slightest hint of hesitation Tessa rammed the barrel of her rifle into the skull of the zombie. When she pulled it free blood splattered across her front, decorating her face and body. She had no time to worry about the potential risks of being coated in the infected substance. For now it was survive or die. And she knew which option she was choosing.
Pulling herself onto the top of the tank she swiftly surveyed the street, searching for the alley Rick had mentioned. Once she had it in her eyeline she jumped, landing on her hands and knees on the hard asphalt. She could already feel the burn in her joints and the sting of her skin. She knew the jump was going to leave a mark but she had no time to care.
Wiping her bloody palms on her pants she pulled herself up using all her strength and began to run. Around her the dead growled and she knew they could smell her blood. Behind her Rick shot his gun, trying to keep them at bay, the sound of the gunshots reverberating in the streets around them.
"This was a poorly calculated plan!" Tessa shouted in a taut tone, roughly shoving a rotting body out of her way.
Reaching the alley she was met with the sight of a young man in a baseball cap, hands raised in careful surrender. It only took him a second to register the bedraggled woman before he moved his hands to grab her wrist and pull her behind him.
"I don't need a protector." She huffed, bumping him with her bag.
He nodded. "I can tell. But you were almost walker bait so a little thanks wouldn't kill you."
Tessa shot him a withering glare and took her chance to survey the alley. It was a mess, a dead end, littered with abandoned trash. And it smelt worse than it looked. Placing her hand on her knife, a cautionary measure that had become second nature, she scanned the alley for available escape options. The only clear route she could see was a faded yellow ladder that lead to the roof of the building beside them. Without thinking she took off towards it, looking back briefly to check that her two companions were following.
They were. Unfortunately they were also being followed by a heard of the dead. Reaching down Tessa grasped the hand of their young saviour, pulling him up beside her as she reached a small platform at the top of the ladder, Rick joining them only a moment later.
"Next time I'm feeding you to the dead so that I can escape." Tessa panted, eyeing Rick.
"That's probably fair." The officer agreed as they both turned to the boy who had saved them. He was watching the two interact, curiosity etched across his face.
"You two know each other before," The boy waved his hands around for dramatic effect. "All this?"
"God no." Tessa cut in before Rick could speak. "Thankfully we didn't."
"Yea well lucky you." The boy turned to Rick and gave him a slightly cross look. It was easy to see that rescuing an idiot on a horse had not been on his agenda for the day. "Nice moves there Clint Eastwood. You the new Sheriff? Come riding in to clean up the town?"
"It wasn't my intention." Rick sighed, exasperated, giving Tessa a look as if begging her to help him. She just frowned and turned away, eyeing the masses of the dead that were shuffling around in the alley below. They made her anxious; she didn't know what they were capable of but she didn't feel like hanging around to find out.
"Look y'all, not to alarm you or anything, but the dead are looking a little hungry and we'd make some real tasty snacks so I'd suggest getting a move on." Tessa muttered, tugging her backpack further up onto her shoulders and turning to her companions as if for reassurance.
"Your lady friend is right." The boy panted out as he looked down over the railing and then back towards the ladder that lead up to the roof. "But hey at least on the bright side it'll be the fall that kills us. I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy." He stated as he noticed the puzzled looks on the faces of his guests.
"Hey asshole my name is Tessa. And I'd rather not die today, so please, can we go?"
"I'm Glenn."
"Good. Great. Wonderful. Can we get a move on?" Tessa asked taking hold of the ladder and beginning her ascent to the roof. The locket bumping against the skin of her neck was the only thing keeping her sane as she felt her hands tremble against the thin metal railing of the ladder. Heights had never been her strong suit. Even as a teenager she'd been too afraid to follow her best friend onto the roof of his house. He never ridiculed her for it though which she was grateful for.
Reaching the roof she slung her bag over her shoulder and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She could feel the sun beating down against her back and as she looked across at Rick and Glenn she could see similar heat exhaustion plastered across their faces. The Georgia heat was not for the weak.
"Hey were you the one that barricaded the alley back there? If so, that was a smart move." Tessa asked, nudging Glenn.
"Nah. I guess somebody did when the city got overrun. They probably thought that geeks wouldn't get through." Glenn replied, supporting Tessa as she tugged open the hatch that led down into the cavernous building. She could hear Rick behind her stepping from foot to foot anxiously and had to fight the urge to reach over and punch him.
"Well that's both brave and stupid of them." She stated as she lowered herself onto the ladder below. The darkness that swallowed her was stale, musty, as if the place hadn't been cleaned for a long time. It was a sense that she was becoming accustomed to, buildings being left abandoned and uninhabited; Atlanta was nothing more than a graveyard, a memorial for those who didn't make it.
The inside of the office was deserted and Tessa couldn't help but wonder who had worked there before. She'd had a similar office herself when she'd worked in accounting and the room seemed to mirror everything she remembered; late nights working, leaving Effy with ten dollars for dinner and the walk back to the caravan park in the gloomy darkness. Effy and Ruth had always begged her to get a taxi but she couldn't spare the money.
Following Rick and Glenn through the empty building she felt an immense exhaustion wash over her. The bag on her back was heavy and her system was deprived of food and water. She didn't know what sort of community Glenn had come from but he seemed healthy enough. He had strength and that was what mattered. Tessa couldn't count how many days it had been since she'd had a proper meal.
"I'm back. Got two guests plus four geeks in the alley." Glenn spoke into his radio breathlessly.
"Hey Glenn, how's your group going to feel about a couple of strangers in their midst?" Tessa asked, catching up with the young man.
"Hopefully positively."
"Yeah well-" Tessa was cut off by the appearance of two walkers. Her heartbeat spiked at the sight of them but she barely had time to react before two men with baseball bats ran from the building in front of them.
"Let's go!" Glenn yelled and Tessa didn't hesitate to follow him into the abandoned department store. Behind her she could hear the grunts of the men as they took out the dead and her heart dropped into her stomach. She feared for their lives; she didn't need their deaths on her conscience.
"You son of a bitch! We ought to kill you!"
A gun in Ricks face was all it took for Tessa to be on high alert again. The blonde that had threatened him was shaking as she held the firearm with unease.
"Put the gun down before you do something you regret." Tessa warned, her knife going to the woman's throat. She could feel the visceral unease that filled the room at the sight of her weapon but she didn't back down.
"Tessa... it's okay." Rick assured her, raising his hands in surrender.
Tessa refused to budge, her eyes remaining on the target. Just because Glenn was not the type to resort to violence didn't mean the rest of his group were as relaxed as him. Her gaze flicked up to Rick for a second and he directed her eyes to the gun the woman held. The safety was on. The threat was there but it became significantly less dangerous when placed in the hands of somebody who did not know what they were doing. Tessa stepped back slowly, keeping her knife close. Everyone's eyes were on her.
"Stop pointing the gun at my friend... please." Tessa stated wondering how late was too late for being polite.
"Andrea back off." A man stepped in, his hand going comfortingly to the woman's arm. She took a step back, eyeing Rick and then Tessa, before breaking down.
"We're dead... all of us. Because of you." She whimpered.
"I don't understand." Confusion ran across Rick's face but Tessa understood. One look at the frightened expressions of the people around her and she knew what fate was most likely awaiting them.
"Your gun..." She said softly, leaving the group behind her as she wandered off, entering the main area of the department store. The dead were rallied at the locked doors, mouths frothing with hunger as they stared at the moving feast that stood in front of them. A gruesome death awaited Glenn's group and, from what she could tell, their doom was only minutes away.
"You just rang the dinner bell." The woman, Andrea, stated.
Tessa could see the horror in Ricks eyes as he stared at the bodies of the dead scratching at the door. A long shattered crack ran through the glass and its spiderweb shape only grew as more bodies pressed against it.
"We should get out of here." She recommended taking a cautious step back.
"I second that." Glenn agreed and the rest of the group obediently followed his lead not wanting to become a snack to the dead.
"What the hell were you two doing out there anyway?" Andrea asked.
"Waiting for the dead to pass. My hideout is just beyond where they were." Tessa spoke up before Rick could. "I need to get back to my radio. It's my only chance of knowing if there's anybody left... anywhere I can go."
"There's no one. Not that we know of. We have a camp in a quarry just beyond Atlanta but there's no one else for miles. Not that we've seen at least." A dark haired man continued, giving Tessa a funny look.
"There has to be." Rick added. "I was trying to flag a helicopter, that's why I was out there."
"Helicopter?" Tessa looked sceptical.
"There ain't no damn helicopter." A heavyset man in a muscle shirt chimed in.
"You were chasing a hallucination, imagining things. It happens." A friendly older woman added.
"I saw it." Rick sighed in exasperation and Tessa shook her head in disagreement.
"I've been out there for weeks Officer Einstein. I ain't seen a single helicopter."
The group all turned to look at Tessa, taking in her matted ponytail and blood caked clothes. She shied away from their curious gazes, avoiding eye contact. There was nothing more she hated than the scrutiny of people who didn't know her. Glenn was about to open his mouth and say something when a gunshot sounded from above them.
"Oh no." Andrea spoke up. "Is that Dixon?"
The name made Tessa stop in her tracks, her hand flying to the locket around her neck. There was a tiny sting in her fingers where an open wound touched the cool chain but her thoughts were elsewhere. Dixon. She could do nothing but hope that the man on the roof above was the same person she'd left behind sixteen years ago.
She took off after Glenn's group as they ran towards the roof; the source of the gunshot. She didn't stop for her bag or her weapon, they held no importance to her anymore. As the person in front of her threw open the door, her heart dropped into her stomach. She recognised the familiar face of trouble. No it wasn't him but where Merle was Daryl wouldn't be far behind. The sight had stopped Tessa in her tracks and as she made eye contact with the man in front of her she knew he recognised her.
He ignored the angry questions of the people around him and took a step towards Tessa: "Well hello."
"Merle." There was not a hint of emotion in Tessa's voice as she stared down the crazed redneck in front of her.
"Tessa. Jesus Christ I haven't seen you in years. Rumour was my baby brother got you knocked up, that's why you ran off."
"That's not true and you know it." Tessa remained stoic, refusing to give over to Merle's mind games. She could feel eyes on her but she never took hers off of the man in front of her.
"Ah I knew he didn't have it in him."
"Put the gun down Merle." Glenn spoke up. He seemed unbothered by the strange reunion, more concerned by the situation at hand. Tessa allowed him to take over, knowing that if she let Merle press her buttons for any longer she'd find herself with the desire to punch him in the face.
"Are you crazy?" Someone butted in and that remark was enough for Merle to lift his weapon menacingly.
"Y'all ought to be more polite to a man with a gun. Only common sense."
Tessa scoffed at the mans remark. She wasn't afraid of him but she knew the others had every right to fear his instability.
"Merle just put the damn gun down. They don't want want any trouble. They just want to get out of here alive. And so do I."
"Hey, bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day. Didn't know I needed advice from a whore too."
"Whore huh? I see old nicknames never die." Tessa took a step forward, her hand falling to the knife attached to her hip. It was easy to see that Merle wasn't going to go down without a fight and, after the day that Tessa had had, a little bit more blood spilt wouldn't be a big deal. She was ready to plunge the sharpened steel into Merle's stomach when the butt of his gun connected with her face.
The next few moments slowed, chaos ensuing. It was as if the world around Tessa had darkened; blues turned to greys and the figures of the people around her became nothing more than shadows. She was vaguely aware of the fight that had broken out amongst the group but she was unable to coherently focus her attention on it.
A flaring pain shot through the side of Tessa's body as she tried to push herself up onto her elbows, gasping at the sight she was met with. The tip of her knife had wedged itself below her right ribs, crimson coating her skin. Her hand hovered briefly over the wound as she debated whether or not to pull the offending weapon from her midsection. All her medical training seemed fruitless in such a situation.
"Tessa, are you-"
"Do not ask me if I'm okay." Tessa huffed, gripping onto the police officer that hovered beside her.
"Good Lord, okay." Ricks eyes widened at the sight of the knife and he was quick to offer up his shirt to stop the bleeding.
"Merle... you gotta..." Tessa could just see the commotion, caused by her failed attack, over Ricks shoulder. She knew that the man was unpredictable; his craving for power and leadership would cause him to be dangerous. Merle wasn't one to back down easily.
"You gotta stop him Rick. You're smarter than him. I'll be fine." Tessa looked into the officers eyes, concern knotting her features.
"Okay. Just don't move or you'll make the bleeding worse. And don't take the damn knife out."
"Wasn't plannin' on it."
Tessa watched Rick stand and step towards Merle, arms raised in surrender. He didn't get very far before Merle turned to him, gun raised. Worry was evident on the faces of the people from Glenn's group and Tessa knew that no matter what Rick said Merle was unlikely to step down (or shut the fuck up).
Pushing herself up she tried desperately to keep pressure on her wound, blood running through her fingers. The air around her had seemed to thicken and she was well aware that her breathing had become shallow.
"Hey Merle." She gasped out, stepping up behind the redneck. "Shut the hell up."
Before she knew what she was doing her fist had connected with Merle's nose. The hefty man fell to the ground as his gun slid across the ground. Rick was quick to take over, pulling cuffs from his belt and chaining Merle to the pipe next to him.
"Who the hell are you man?"
"Officer Friendly."
"Shit Rick-" Tessa sighed breathlessly. Her vision swam as she tried to sit, passing out almost instantly.
⋆ ★
Tessa awoke to the sound of her own shallow breathing. She was vaguely aware of a dull ache stretching through the right side of her body and as she tried to sit up the ache only grew.
"Hey woah. Don't try to move." A soothing voice echoed in Tessa's head as she felt someone lay her back down.
"It hurts."
"I know honey. You had a knife in your side."
"Shit." Tessa drew her hands carefully to her face, rubbing her eyes. She winced as she did so feeling pain rocket through her right knuckle; courtesy of Merle's nose.
Tessa's eyes flittered open properly, resting on the face of the kind, older woman.
"It's nice to see you awake." The woman smiled, brushing tangled strands of hair away from Tessa's face. Her voice was soft, like melted butter, and as she spoke Tessa felt her anxiety lessen.
"Where's Rick?" She asked, trying once again to sit up ― this time with more success. She avoided looking at the wound. Someone had removed the knife and she could see it sitting a few feet away, still soaked by her blood.
"He's fine. A couple people have gone downstairs to try and find a way out."
"You took the knife out... are you sure I won't bleed out?"
"Bleeding stopped all on its own. We took the knife out, dressed your wound as best we could."
"Oh." Tessa replied, sinking back against the wall behind her. Muscle shirt man was sitting beside her and, as her gaze fell upon him, he shot the blonde a pained smile.
"I'm Tessa by the way." She stated not looking directly at the people around her.
"I'm Jacqui and that's T-Dog. I see you already know Merle."
"Yeah I know Merle." Tessa's jaw clenched as she caught sight of the redneck. He had a grim expression on his face like he had been sentenced to death. She didn't feel in the slightest bit sorry for him.
"I have to get back to my bag. There's, uh, some painkillers in there. I can't help y'all if I'm in constant pain."
"It's okay..." Jacqui trailed off and a small hopeful smile lit up her face.
Tessa could see though her façade. Fear and worry glimmered in the woman's eyes. Many a time Tessa had seen that look ― death had been quick to follow it.
"No it's not. C'mon help me up. Please. Y'all need to get out of here. It's not safe and if you got people back at a camp relying on you then you're gonna want to get back to 'em... alive preferably."
Tessa attempted to push herself off the ground, groaning as she put pressure on her right hand. Jacqui was quick to get to her side, wrapping her arm lightly around Tessa's waist so as not to cause more damage to the knife wound.
"You okay watching Merle?" Jacqui paused, looking down at T-Dog.
"Yeah yeah it's all good. Go. Get her to her painkillers." The man's response was offhand as his eyes fell on Merle. "I got this."
⋆ ★
Jacqui was careful with Tessa as she helped her down the stairs. She could feel the blonde flinch at each step and noticed as blood began to seep through her poorly bandaged midsection.
"We gotta get you to sit down."
"No. No I'm fine... ain't my first time being stabbed anyway." Tessa mumbled as she looked shyly at the woman next to her.
"I don't wanna know."
"That's probably for the best."
Tessa breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the mall they had entered from. Jacqui was careful as she sat the woman down, leaning her up against a shelf.
"You stay there. I'll get your things." She commanded and Tessa was more than happy to oblige. The pain in her side was beginning to strengthen causing standing to be almost impossible.
She let her eyes wander around her as she waited. Clothes lined the racks around Tessa and she wished she didn't feel so nauseous so that she could take a proper look around. She'd been so focused on finding food and medicine that new clothes had entirely slipped her mind. She doubted the few things she owned would be any good after getting a knife hole in them.
"Here. Got your bag and the painkillers. You got any water? Anything to take them with?"
"I got a bottle of water in the.... in the uh... front pocket I think."
Jacqui rummaged around in the bag before she found the bottle, if one could call it that. It was really just a mason jar covered in a layer of dirt and grime with the bottom patched up by several thick layers of duct tape.
"Ain't what you were expecting?"
Jacqui smiled; "Just thought a woman with your resources would have something a little more robust."
"I did. I killed one of the dead with it and it didn't seem sanitary to use again."
"That was probably smart."
Tessa laughed softly and placed several painkillers on her tongue. Lifting the jar to her lips she swallowed the cool water inside. Her parched throat was thankful for the refreshment.
"You want some?" She asked, holding the jar out to Jacqui who took it gratefully.
The older woman was about to take a sip when the sound of glass smashing echoed around them. Tessa stood instantly, ignoring the pain in her side, as one hand went to her gun and the other to her bag.
The two women made their way hurriedly to the centre of the store and were greeted by the terrifying sight of one of the dead wielding a rock. It had smashed through the first door and looked as if were trying to make its way through the second. Behind it more rotting bodies swarmed desperately, trying to reach the moving feast that paraded itself in front of them.
"I really think we need to find a way out." Tessa piped up. "Soon would be preferable."
⋆ ★
"That construction site, those trucks, they always keep keys on hand."
Tessa watched Rick pass his binoculars to the man whose name she'd learned to be Morales. The pain in her midsection had subsided allowing her to stand with the rest of Glen's group without much discomfort.
The tension between the survivors was thick with worry. For as far as the eye could see the dead milled about hungrily awaiting their next meal. No one found the sight particularly relaxing.
"You'll never make it past the walkers." Morales sighed, pointing to the street below them.
"You got us out of that tank." Rick insisted as he turned to look at Glenn and Tessa, as if they hadn't only just escaped with their lives.
"Yeah but they were feeding. They were distracted." Glenn recalled. "We probably wouldn't have the same luck a second time around."
"Glenn's right, Rick. It's unlikely we'd be able to create a big enough distraction a second time around." Tessa added, refusing to let her voice get lost amongst the group.
Rick paused, looking thoughtful. His gaze lingered on Tessa for a second taking in her wound. It was clear that the group wouldn't be able to run for it. Not only were T-Dog and Tessa both wounded but the majority of the others didn't seem to be the type to dodge through a pack of hungry walkers.
"They're drawn by sound, right?" Rick spoke suddenly, a curious look coming over his face.
"Uh yeah. They hear a sound come running." Tessa frowned. "And they can smell... they smell you."
A slight smirk tugged at the corner of Tessa's mouth as she finished speaking. A thought had begun to form in her mind, a trick she'd tried only once before.
⋆ ★
"If bad ideas were an Olympic event this would take the gold." Glenn complained as Tessa passed him a pair of packaged rubber gloves.
"Look I've done it before. Once. And at the moment we ain't a lotta other options." Tessa responded sharply, looking from Glenn to Rick and back again.
"He's right." Morales sighed. "C'mon think this through."
"We ain't got the time or resources to figure out a better plan. Right now, this is all we got. And yeah maybe it's crazy but do you want to see your family again?"
Tessa's final remark seemed to ruffle a few feathers as Glenn's group began to mutter amongst themselves.
"You don't have to trust me but... I know what I'm doing. I've been out here awhile. You pick up a couple survival tactics in places like this."
Andrea sighed; "Right, how do we do this?"
"You're gonna need a body. A dead body. One of their dead bodies. There were the ones that y'all killed in the alley. They'll still be good. You're gonna have to go and... get one." Tessa's voice softened as she noticed the fearful looks on the faces of the people around her.
"I can go if..."
"Not with that injury you can't." Rick said, taking charge.
Tessa watched with worry as he took Morales, Glenn and Andrea to the door that led into the alley. It had been easier when it was just her. Find a stray walker, put a knife in its skull, coat herself in its blood. It had been a long while since she'd had to worry about the survival of others.
The thing, the man, that they dragged back in left a trail of slimy, plum coloured blood behind him and Tessa had to move quickly out of the way to avoid the oozing substance.
"That's nice." Jacqui sighed sarcastically, moving to stand beside the blonde.
Tessa shot her a sympathetic look before turning back to their rotting companion.
"You got to... uh... gut him." She mumbled, looking over at Rick. The man was wearing an expression on his face that suggested he would have rather been anywhere else.
Using a crowbar, Rick smashed the glass window that housed the emergency fire axe; a weapon that Tessa had never considered using. There was a moment of hesitation as Rick went to swing the axe, stopping only a few feet above the body. The group of people tensed waiting for a crunch that never came.
"Rick..." Tessa trailed off, looking at the cop. The two made eye contact for a split second before Rick threw down the axe in his hands and began to search the dead mans pockets.
"Wayne Dunlap. Georgia license. Born in 1979. He had twenty eight dollars in his pocket when he died. And a picture of a pretty girl." Rick held his findings up for the group to see.
No one said anything for a long minute before Tessa reached over the body and took the license from Rick, studying it before slipping it into the pocket of her jeans.
A small hopeless laugh tumbled from her lips; "He was an organ donor."
"If I ever find my family I'm gonna tell them about Wayne." Rick ran his hands through his hair as looked at the dead body in front of him. There was hesitation in his actions: his findings had turned the body from a no-one to a person and Tessa knew it would be even harder to do the impossible once there was a name, a person, to a body.
Rick stood and Tessa watched something in his features harden. Some humane part of him faded before he slammed the axe into Wayne's body. Around her groans of disgust echoed and she had to force herself to stay standing.
She watched the axe come down again and again sending blood and guts scattering across the ground. Rotting flesh caved in at each strike, the aroma of death soaking the room. She wasn't sure whether the sight or the smell was worse.
"I'm so gonna hurl." Glenn groaned, pressing his hand over his nose and mouth. "Oh god I think I can taste it."
"Don't breathe too deeply." Tessa recommended, stepping past Jacqui and T-Dog to place a comforting hand on Glenn's shoulder.
"So can we, you know?" Rick asked.
"Yeah. Gut up."
Groaning echoed around the room as the group dug their hands into the almost liquidised body, rubbing the substance into the coats Glenn and Rick wore.
"Oh God. Oh jeez. Oh this is bad." Glenn's complaints came louder and closer together as Tessa wrapped a trailing string of guts around his shoulders.
"Think about somethin' positive. Somethin' like puppies. And kittens."
Tessa's comfort was short lived as T-Dog piped up; "Dead puppies and kittens."
Glenn retched, turning just in time to throw up behind the group.
"Hey woah woah. Put your head between your knees and breath." Tessa was quick to react, wrapping her arm around Glenn and helping him to sit down on an upturned crate.
"That is just evil. What is wrong with you?" Andrea huffed.
"Just ignore him. Seriously it ain't as bad as it seems."
Glenn shot Tessa a glare that could have frozen a lake and stood on shaky feet allowing the others to continue to decorate him with blood and guts.
"Do we smell dead enough yet?" Rick asked desperately and everyone nodded. There was no need to double check. Tessa knew that they could have smelled the two a mile away. Death reeked. It was a hard smell to miss.
"Wait. What about Merle?" Tessa asked, stopping Rick. "I mean he's an asshole but we can't leave him up there, can we?"
"Wish we could." T-Dog remarked and there were a few muffled agreements amongst the group.
Rick seemed to debate with himself for a few seconds before reaching into his pocket and passing T-Dog a key. A look passed between the two men and Tessa knew that whatever happened it would be up to T-Dog.
"Good luck."
⋆ ★
A feeling of anxiety weighed down on Tessa as she looked desperately into the crowd of walkers below. Beside her Morales donned the binoculars, keeping a close eye on Glenn and Rick.
"Are you sure about this?" Andrea asked as she searched Tessa's eyes for some sort of certainty.
"No. I'm not. But they got this far right? They'll be fine." A rumble of thunder accompanied Tessa's words and everyone's eyes went to the sky. A storm was not a good omen.
"Hey! Hey! I got something!" T-Dog's voice drew everyone's attention. They all watched as he gripped the radio in his hand tighter waiting for a response.
A crackle and some distorted words were all Tessa caught but the sound of voices seemed to cheer up the others. T-Dog was quick to try and update the people on the other end of their situation but the connection dropped out before he could get a reply.
"At least they know where we are now, right? They'll come for us, won't they?" Andrea's questions left a silence in their wake.
"They wouldn't risk it." Jacqui shook her head, speaking aloud what everyone was thinking.
"Glenn and Rick are gonna do this though. It won't matter. We'll get out of here regardless." Tessa smiled at Andrea. There was fear in the young woman's face. She was just as aware as everyone else how precarious their situation was. Tessa wondered if she had a family back at the camp. A mother? A father? Brother? Sister?
"Yeah, you're right. They'll be able to do this." Andrea's words came only a few moments before the first thick drops of rain hit Tessa's skin.
"Oh man." Morales voice filled with concern and he once again lifted the binoculars to his face searching the walkers for Glenn and Rick.
"Shit." Tessa gasped as the water hit open wounds on her skin, sharp stings dancing throughout her body. With rain that heavy Glenn and Rick had only a short while before the smell of death washed away leaving the walkers with a living, breathing feast right in their midst.
Pushing damp strands of blonde hair from her forehead she searched for a sign of feasting in the grey streets. She waited anxiously expecting to hear screams and the smacking of lips any second.
"Hey look!" Morales passed his binoculars hurriedly to Tessa, pointing out the sight of Rick and Glenn fighting off the horde of walkers that desired to eat them.
"Come on! Come on!" Tessa screamed tautly, willing the two men to get to safety. A stabbing pain flared up in her right side as she yelled and Tessa was greeted with the sight of a growing blood stain on the shirt wrapped around her midsection.
A queasy feeling washed over Tessa as she lowered her hand to the wound and attempted to put pressure on it. It took every muscle in her body to fight the urge to scream.
"You okay?"
Tessa looked over at T-Dog, thankful for his concern, and nodded. It was easier than explaining that it felt like her innards were about to fall out.
"They're leaving us. Why are they leaving us?" Andrea cried out, slapping the concrete barrier of the roof as if Rick and Glenn would hear the commotion and suddenly decide to come back and get them.
"I'm sure they're not leaving us." Jacqui said optimistically and looked to Tessa for confirmation. The blonde nodded just as Glenn's voice crackled through the radio.
"Those roll up doors at the front of the store facing the street... meets us there and be ready."
Glenn didn't need to tell the group twice. They were all quick to grab their bags, Morales taking Tessa's things as Jacqui helped support her. The pain in her side was growing as the painkillers wore off and running had not been a part of her plan. It almost felt as if the skin around her wound was tearing open, becoming bigger.
As they reached the lower levels of the building black spots once again began to swim in her vision and she wondered how much blood she'd lost. One pint? Two pints? Every ounce of her medical training felt distant and she wondered if her own memory would be the cause of her death.
"Hey, hey hang in there." Jacqui reassured bearing the brunt of most of Tessa's weight.
The sound of Rick's voice followed by T-Dogs frantic bellows was both comforting and terrifying. Somewhere behind them the groans of the dead were growing louder, coming closer.
Tessa was the first into the truck, Rick helping buckle her into the passenger seat, before climbing into the drivers seat and taking off. Looking back Tessa breathed a sigh of relief. Only seconds after they drove away a large horde of the dead had found their way into the room and she couldn't help but think that only a minute or two later, she, and everyone else, would have been a meal for the walkers.
"I dropped the damn key." T-Dogs voice filtered through to the front of the truck and only then did Tessa realise Merle was missing from the exhausted group.
Part of Tessa wanted to feel bad for the man but she couldn't. She'd seen and heard about the things he'd done. Growing up next door to the Dixons had opened her eyes to a whole new world, and not one she liked. If it weren't for Daryl she'd be glad they'd left the redneck behind.
But she couldn't shake the feeling that the younger Dixon boy wouldn't let Merle go as easily as she and the others could. Asshole or not Merle was Daryl's family. And in a fallen world there wasn't much left to care about but family.
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yooooo. chapter two!! if you ignore the fact it took me almost a year to write then it's pretty good. i think. i hope.
tessa really goes through it, injury wise, in season one so oops?