『 CHAPTER ONE - CLINT EASTWOOD 』
1x01 - "Days Gone Bye" & 1x02 - "Guts"
❝ Hey, you. Dumbass. ❞
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THE WOMAN sighed as she pulled her up into a ponytail, pushing any stray hairs behind her face. The heat that washed over Atlanta was unbearable. Sweat laced her entire body, forming almost a coat over her. Her foot tapped on the concrete in an annoyed pattern.
She was bored out of her mind, and waiting for this man to bite the dust was exhausting. Her friend, Glenn, couldn't help but decide to save the stupid guy who decided to hole up in a tank surrounded by geeks. Or, that's what she called them. The undead—the people who were once alive but now craved human flesh. Of course, they didn't mind an animal every now and then. An example being of the horse that the man once rode, which was now half-eaten.
"I'm thinking of a quick grab and run maneuver. Go in from the right," he pointed towards the side of the tank where less geeks were. "There's less of them that way. We'll tell him to crawl out from under and meet us halfway. We're better against the geeks as a group," Glenn decided.
"No way," Marlee shook her head. "If we go out there, we end up with three dead bodies. Not just one." She could see the look in Glenn's eyes. He wouldn't just abandon this idiot in the tank. If she was being honest, it would haunt her conscious if she just ran away like she planned. "Okay, but if we die I'm blaming it on you."
He shook his head. "Never-mind. New plan. One that won't get us killed." Marlee nodded slowly, showing him she was ready to hear the plan. "Alright, let's do this." He grinned, his smirk making Marlee the slightest bit grateful she decided to try and save this guy. "You still got that radio?"
Marlee gave a short "Yeah", and reached into the backpack she had hanging off one shoulder. Both of them were equipped with supplies, one of them being a radio they were lucky enough to scavenge. She handed it to him, watching as he inspected it.
He sucked in a sharp breath, then spoke into the radio in his hand, "Hey, you. Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank. You cozy in there?" He grinned. Marlee shook her head, smiling softly.
After no response from the man, Glenn tried again, "Hey, you alive in there?" Both of their faces started to fall. Maybe he was already gone. Marlee wouldn't be surprised if he somehow got bit while maneuvering through that crowd of geeks.
"Hello? Hello?" The radio hissed back with a frantic crackle.
"There you are," Glenn let out a relieved sigh. "You had us wondering." Marlee laughed softly, a begrudging relief washing over her.
"Where are you? Outside?" The man questioned. "Can you see me right now?"
"Yeah, we can see you. You're, uh, surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news."
Marlee couldn't help but wonder what the good news of this situation would be. After her eyes crawled around the scene, there really was none.
"There's good news?"
"No," Glenn replied bluntly.
"Look, whoever y'all are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here."
Marlee let out a laugh. She would be a "little concerned" too if she were in a tank with dozens of geeks piling onto it.
"Oh, man. You should see it from over here." Glenn let out a shaky breath. "You'd be having a major freak-out."
"Got any advice for me?" He questioned.
"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it."
"That's it? 'Make a run for it'?"
"My way isn't as dumb as it sounds. You've got eyes on the outside here."
Marlee got closer to the radio and spoke, "He's right, we can help you. I'm gonna be honest though, your chances are pretty slim. But you've got help here. That's a hell of a lot better than trying to get out by yourself."
After the radio went silent for a moment, the man replied. "Alright. I'm listening."
"Okay, so there's one geek still up on the tank, but the others have climbed down, to- well, eat your horse." She spoke quickly, something she did quite often when she and Glenn were in sticky situations. "You with me so far?"
"So far."
"Good, alright- alright," she took a breath before continuing. "Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now, while they're still distracted, you stand an actual chance."
Glenn asked quietly, "He got ammo?"
"Do you have any ammo?" Marlee repeated.
"In that duffel bag I dropped out there, and guns. Can I get to it?"
Marlee's eyes darted around the street frantically in search of the bag. They could use the extra weapons. Their group could use the support, and she and Glenn needed any protection they could get on runs. But when she saw it, she shook her head. There was no way they could get it. "Uh, forget the bag, okay? It's not an option. What ammo do you have on you right now?"
"Hang on." The radio went silent for a moment, and the two heard shuffling in the background. "I've got a Beretta with one clip, 15 rounds."
"You better make 'em count, alright? Now, jump off the right side of the tank, and then keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street, maybe... 50 yards," she guessed. "We'll meet you there."
"Hey, what are your names?"
Before she could open her mouth to respond, Glenn grabbed the radio, "Have you been listening? You're running out of time."
"Right," the man mumbled before the radio went silent.
"Right," Marlee repeated before she and Glenn bolted upwards. They had to meet him there soon, or he may not make it.
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The two scrambled past familiar passages, their feet pounding upon the concrete they had traveled on many times before. Marlee adjusted the axe in her hands, handling it with ease from her experience as a firefighter. Glenn eyed the weapon from beside her. "Careful where you swing that thing," he joked as they sprinted towards their destination. Marlee shook her head with a short laugh before flinching at the loud pounding sounds that echoed through her ears.
Gunshots.
"That idiot!" She groaned as more shots were fired. "So much for an easy rescue." Those shots were about to cause major problems, that she knew.
The pair soon skidded to a stop when they got to the planned alley, coming face-to-face with the man from the tank. The officer unknowingly directed the gun at Glenn, who he thought was another geek. Glenn quickly raised his hands in defense, "Woah, woah! Not dead!"
Marlee's heart froze with fear, but she didn't let it show. She quickly shoved the officer's gun away. "Focus on the dead, detective."
The man didn't have time to glance at her before she shoved him forwards towards the tall, yellow ladder that scaled one of the buildings in the alley.
"Come on!" Glenn urged the both of them. Marlee stuck to the back, turning to see a mob of the undead clawing for her. She tried to shut the fence that was at the opening of the alley, but it was no use. The starving creatures easily shoved past the metal gate and towards Marlee.
She readied the axe in her hand, swinging it to the closest geeks. She stepped back every few swings, glancing every so often to measure how close the ladder was.
After one hard swing, her axe lodged into the side of a decaying geek's head with a thud. Blood gushed from the wound as Marlee tried to tug the weapon from its clutches. Yet the harder she pulled, the deeper the weapon seemed to be. She grunted frustratingly, shoving the monster away instead.
"Marlee!" She heard Glenn shout from farther away. "Just run! C'mon!"
Taking his advice, she bolted towards the ladder and climbed up the rungs as quickly as possible. Once she neared a platform halfway up, both of the men helped pull her onto it.
All three of them panted heavily, resting for the slightest moment. They were out of the geeks' clutches—for now, at least.
Glenn let out a sigh before resting his arms on the railing, Marlee doing the same. She hung her head in between her shoulders, still heaving as her body tried to recover from all the running.
"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood," Glenn joked. "You the new sheriff come riding in to clean up the town?"
"Wasn't my intention," the officer replied.
"Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You're still a dumbass."
"Rick," the man introduced, holding out his hand after everyone had some time to catch their breath. "Thanks." He held out his hand, wordlessly asking for Glenn's name.
"Glenn," he answered as he shook Rick's hand. "And you're welcome."
Rick held out his hand to Marlee, "Thank you."
"Marlee," She breathed out, nodding as she took his hand. "And you're welcome for saving your ass."
A smirk tugged at the corner of the older man's mouth as the woman turned away, glancing down at the dozens of geeks below. Even if they were safe for now, trouble would be sure to creep up to them eventually.
Those shots Rick fired were undoubtedly heard miles away, and they were going to have to hurry if they wanted to leave the city before any more geeks came to investigate.
"Oh no," Glenn murmured, looking down at the geeks below, which had somehow found a way to climb up the ladder. One geek already had a grip on one of the pegs. Marlee sighed, shaking her head as she internally grumbled about how they couldn't catch a break.
After having a few more seconds of rest, the trio looked towards the other half of the ladder, which was even taller than the one they just climbed. Marlee's eyes trailed the seemingly endless rungs before she let out a short groan.
Glenn adjusted his backpack and headed up the later first, followed by Rick, and then Marlee. Her friend glanced down towards her and Rick, "The bright side: it'll be the fall that kills us. I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy." He explained with a soft smile.
Marlee gave one last look towards the ground below. Her eyes searched the crowd of geeks, trying to find the one which still had her axe lodged in its head. Her eyes stopped when she spotted it, shoving past other geeks to try and reach the yellow ladder. Blood still dripped from the wound as it was shoved forward and backwards by the other creatures around it, all desperate to get a hand on the survivors above.
With one, short sigh, she allowed herself to look back towards the ladder and began climbing hastily upwards. Sweat covered Marlee's face and arms, the heat of the day still bearing down on her. She internally promised herself she would rest again when they met up with the other members of their group.
She and Glenn usually came alone to the city, but this time was different. More people joined them to help salvage extra supplies, which they did in hopes of helping the majority of their group, which was camped out in the outskirts of the city. The site was surrounded by mountains and trees, and the safest they could be from the geeks.
Yet, here in the city was where Marlee usually found herself. Though it was dangerous, she found comfort in the fact she knew the streets and passages within the city. As a firefighter, she knew almost every portion of the city like the back of her hand.
She was brought out of her thoughts when the trio finally arrived onto the roof. Glenn was the first to hop over the ledge that surrounded the roof, the other two following behind. Marlee glanced down into the alley once again, which had gained more geeks to occupy it.
"You the ones who barricaded the alley?" Rick asked, breaking the silence. Marlee made her way towards the passage into the building they were on, which prompted Glenn to follow.
"Somebody did," Her friend replied. "I guess when the city got overrun."
"Whoever did it was thinking not many would get through," Marlee shrugged. "Guess they underestimated the power of a hungry geek."
"Back at the tank, why'd you stick your necks out for me?" Rick asked while Glenn handed Marlee his backpack before climbing down into the opening.
"Call it foolish, naive hope that if I'm ever that far up shit creek, somebody might do the same for me," Glenn replied, looking up towards Rick. "Guess I'm an ever bigger dumbass than you." He started to climb down the passage, creating enough room for Marlee to hop in. She adjusted the backpacks so they both could rest comfortably on her back, glancing down the ladder to see if Glenn was ready to catch the bags.
"What about you?" Rick asked as Marlee got the confirmation from Glenn and dropped down the backpacks.
She looked up at Rick, "He's my partner-in-crime," she gave him a light shrug. "Couldn't let him do somethin' like that without me, could I?" Rick nodded with a polite grin.
Once she and Rick climbed down, they quickly scanned the abandoned office they found themselves in. Rick followed the pair until they were running down a staircase that led into an alleyway. A few geeks were scattered around, and perked up at the sound of the trio bounding down the stairs.
"We're back," Glenn said into their radio. "Got a guest plus four geeks in the alley." He and Marlee stopped in their tracks, also slowing Rick behind them. The staggering geeks started towards the trio, but two of the rest of their group rushed out in riot gear before anything could happen.
The pair began bashing the geeks with the bats they had in hand. Using the opening, the other three sprinted for the door and into the building.
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"You son of a bitch!" Andrea shouted, startling the trio that had just entered. The blonde woman shoved a gun into Rick's face immediately as he came inside. "We ought to kill you."
"Just chill out, Andrea. Back off," Morales, one of the men from the alley, warned as he took off the riot gear.
"Come on, ease up." Jacqui, probably the sweetest woman Marlee had ever met, soothed in a soft voice.
"Ease up? We're dead because of this stupid asshole," Andrea growled.
"Andrea!" Morales exclaimed. "I said back the hell off!" Marlee eyed the tense pair, ready to intervene if it accelerated any further.
"Well, pull the trigger," he mumbled as he began to take off the gear. He must've known she wouldn't go that far.
"We're dead—" The blonde teared up, slowly lowering the gun. "All of us—because of you."
"I don't understand." Rick replied, panting.
"Look," Morales began, pushing the officer into the other room, while Marlee and the rest of the group followed closely behind. "We came into the city to scavenge supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral."
"Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds," T-Dog explained as the group's attention was drawn towards the store's set of two doors. The building trembled with the pounding of the geeks outside the doors. Hundreds of them seemed to have gathered on top of the doors, ready to tackle whatever got in their way. That included other geeks.
"You just rang the dinner bell," Andrea finished.
"Get the picture now?" Morales asked angrily.
They all backed away as the glass began to crack under the pressure of the geeks. Marlee's brows furrowed at the sight of a rock in one of their hands. "We better start moving," she recommended. "Before they get past those doors."
"What the hell were you doing out there anyway?" Andrea questioned.
"Trying to flag the helicopter," Rick answered simply.
Marlee let out a confused, almost playful laugh. "What?"
"Helicopter?" T-Dog scoffed. "Man, that's crap. Ain't no damn helicopter."
"You were chasing a hallucination, imagining things. It happens," Jacqui said softly.
"I saw it," Rick told her firmly.
"Hey, T-Dog," Marlee said, motioning towards the radio in his hand. "Try that C.B. Can you contact the others? Let them know we're here?"
"Others?" Rick asked. "The Refugee Center?"
"Yeah, the Refugee Center. They've got biscuits waiting at the oven for us," Jacqui scoffed.
T-Dog messed with the radio in his hand before shaking his head. "Got no signal. Maybe the roof." The sound of a gun firing from above interrupted him.
"Oh no. Is that him again?" Marlee groaned in disbelief, running towards the staircase that led up to the roof. About a handful of shots had already been fired through the city—all around the same area. Hundreds of geeks had already been drawn to their location, and Marlee couldn't imagine how many more were about to rain down on them.
If they wanted to get out of Atlanta, they were going to have to pray.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
hello! this is a bit of a longer chapter since the last one was rather short.
happy (late) holidays everyone! i hope you had a great holiday and that you were able to spend some time with your family!
with that, i hope you have a great day!