Ch 3 Don't Say My Name

(Quarry Camp)

Daryl and Merle stood at one edge of camp sharing the cracking roasted corpse of a day ground squirrel They'd caught.

"We need a real place to settle down little brother, my stash is running low too..." Merle spoke nervously

"This is the best we'll find for now, on the supply run go see if you can find some more meds for yourself.....I should've just ran off into the woods like I told you." Daryl spoke but Merle merely scoffed.

" Any person by themselves are easy pickings nowadays..... It won't be long before it all breaks down completely... let's try to start with these fine folks for now." Merle spoke and Daryl agreed.

"You're right, it feels like daily everyone grows more on edge..... People should be out thriving but instead we hide and scurry around like rats." Daryl spoke angrily while Meryl sighed.

Then both of them saw Carol and her husband Ed walking by and their attention was diverted.

"That guy's a piece of work...." Daryl spoke in a whisper towards his brother who nodded.

"Reminds me of Pa'....'cept only Ed here only beats his woman while our Pa' came after all of us." Merle spoke with a sad grin.

"Yup, Just so long as that bastard doesn't hurt his daughter it's not our business though...." Daryl spoke and Merle agreed.

"I know I'm just sayin'." Merle responded before tossing his squirrel in the woods nearby.

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(One day Later King County Sheriff's Office)

Rick, Duane, and Morgan had just finished looting the Sheriff's Office and sat in one of the back rooms

The three of them were chatting amongst themselves when they heard a door open and close in another part of the station some distance away.

Immediately they both stood on edge, Morgan grabbed his shotgun while Rick grabbed his Colt Python and aimed it's huge barrel at the door.

"Someone is there ...Those corpses don't open doors..." Morgan whispered with a bit of anxiety in his voice.

"I know, that's why we have to be even more careful...." Rick responded.

They listened in carefully for a few long moments to see if there was anything else.... enough time had passed that it seemed like they had imagined the entire thing.

Rick motioned for Morgan and his Son to stay before moving forward with the revolver raised.

Morgan moved Duane to a corner of the room before quietly racking his shotgun and preparing himself mentally.

Morgan watched Rick go out the door and around the corner in a few only a few brief moments then held his breath to listen in as best he could.

Morgan stayed with shotgun in hand while pumped full of adrenaline for what seemed like an eternity.

The only thing Morgan heard for those seemingly neverending moments was his own heartbeat and the sweat dripping down his brow before.....

*BANG

*BANG

*SWISH

*SWISH

"AHHHH....Don't!!!"

Morgan heard a panicked yell from Rick and immediately charged forward without a second throught.

His vision narrowed as he raised his shotgun and sprinted out to find the attacker.

Instead of for finding an enemy Morgan only found a boot to the face before his shotgun and knife were snatched away by force while he writhed on the ground in pain.

He tried to scurry away but his ankle was kicked out from under him and was forced to stay put.

Eventually Morgan slowly looked up from the floor only to find himself on his knees beside a bleeding Rick.

Then Morgan looked up and spotted his attacker, an extremely tall young man in drab body armor, an assault rifle.....he was also holding Ricks fancy new revolver like it was an interesting toy.

"Calm down both of you, I am not here with bad intentions...I swear it." I spoke while looking down at the bloodied Morgan and Rick.

"I think you broke my Nose....fuck..." Rick spoke while spitting out copious amounts of blood nearby.

"You shot at me first though, a broken nose is hardly equivalent to two rounds from your 44. Mag ." I spoke and grabbed his Colt Python from my lap.

Rick watched on curiously as I inspected his shiny nickel plated revolver before spinning it twice and handing it back to him.

"If I were into revolvers I would have killed you for it." I spoke with a smile but that didn't get any laughs out of the two of them.

"The name is Vertum Sakklen, Sorry for the rough greeting I've had bad encounters before." I spoke and they both nodded a bit nervously.

"Vertum... is what German?...and you have a bit of an accent....I'm Morgan Jones and this is my son Duane ." Morgan spoke after getting a rag for his bleeding nose.

"Not German, but close enough,what I find more interesting though.... tell me my friends what are your plans from here on out?" I asked while holstering my pistol and putting my M16 on safe to calm them even more.

"Nice to meet you Vertum, I'm Rick, Rick Grimes the Sheriff of King County...also, That's a mighty lot of gear." Rick spoke while admiring my kit.

"It's needed in these trying times Sheriff." I spoke and he nodded sadly.

"Trying times you say.....Bullshit, this is the end of the damn world and my family is gone." Rick spoke with tears in his eyes.

"There is always hope Sheriff, and everything happens for a reason after all..." I spoke and he nodded.

"He's right Rick...I heard of a refugee camp in Atlanta you might want to take a look into, if your wife and kids are anywhere it's probably there, although I wouldn't be able to go with you." Morgan spoke while patting Rick's shoulder.

"That's great news, and I wouldn't mind traveling alongside you Sheriff, I watch your back and you watch mine?" I asked Rick and he stared deeply at me for a few long moments.

"I guess...Where were you trained?You seem very young to be as proficient as you seem." Rick asked.

"Here and there, it all just comes easily to me." I responded noncommittally and Rick nodded.

"It's about time for dinner." Morgan spoke after watching his son eyeing some of the cans they had set nearby.

"Very well then, since I am the surprise guest why don't I make us some food?" I asked and they all nodded as I set down my pack nearby.

Before long I was sizzling up cubed up spam along with a few other choice dishes for us without worry about running out.

Food was still plentiful and I'd eat people if I really got hungry so wasting a bit extra tonight would only do me a favor.

"So young man, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Morgan asked.

"I've been a transfer student to the USA....I enjoy baking and shooting....No family anymore." I spoke

"No family, what about girls at school? You're a handsome lad after all." Rick spoke but I just shook my head and thought of a good lie.

"I'll see if I can find a good one someday, even if it's the end of the world there's still plenty of fish in the sea."

I spoke with a cheeky smile which made us all laugh.

"Well let's hope you find what you're after, but good luck finding love in the apocalypse." Morgan spoke sadly.

"Oh don't be like that, Rick has to find his love and I have to find mine right?" I asked the both of them to which they chuckled a bit.

"Oh Vertum, you said you were into shooting right? I may have something for you in the arsenal." Rick spoke and we made our way deeper into the police station.

Eventually Rick and I walked together toward the weapons room.

"There's some accessories and spare parts you might want for your rifle it's not much but you're welcome to it." Rick spoke with a smile as we walked into the armory.

"They took almost everything but there were some parts for our rifles which are in the miscellaneous storage in the back....I doubt anyone went digging in there when shit hit the fan." Rick spoke while guiding me into the barren armory.

He pushed aside a trolley stacked with empty pallets before opening the door.

"It's mostly junk and spare parts but the new accessories are up there....." Rick spoke while pointing at a chest high shelf.

"What's with all this stuff?" I asked curiously after taking a peek into a few of the various bags/boxes.

"Oh they're Old parts from kits the department bought at expos, other stuff was donated, heck, all of those new scopes just needed to be approved by the Clerk to be issued but that never happened since she got sick last July...." Rick spoke

"Thank the gods she got sick then,And Thank You, I'll be sure to put anything good to use." I spoke as he walked off.

Immediately began searching the packages for what I'd take, two holosun red dots and batteries...

The next box had three suppressors inside which I snatched up...

A 22lr kit for an AR...oh goodness that'd be quiet af...

Another box had spare parts galore and it was all free for the taking.

By the time I had finished it was two hours later and I had spent the entire time getting the 5.56 M16 perfect for my use along with a conversion into 22 lr suppressed when I needed to be quiet which only took a few seconds.

After searching through the police station I also found their medical room which was not as empty as I would've thought since I quickly grabbed another pack and began shoving anything useful in there.

Once I was finished I returned to the comfortable Sofa in one of the offices which I locked behind me.

It'd be nice to finally get some good comfortable sleep for once.

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(Hours Later)

The four of us stood just outside the police station while saying our goodbyes.

"I wish you the best of luck Rick and Vertum." Morgan spoke while patting our shoulders.

"Likewise, take care of yourself and your boy." I responded before heading to the sheriff's car Rick got for us.

"I'm sure we'll meet again my friend don't worry about us." Morgan spoke to Rick after seeing the apprehensive look in his eyes.

"I hope so..... It's just what Vertum said yesterday was true, we should be staying together." Rick spoke a bit stressed.

"We'll be fine, Duane and I have God watching over us after all." Morgan spoke with a sad smile.

Before long I had finished loading my bags into the cruiser and jumped inside while looking at Rick and Morgan chat amongst themselves.

I was just happy to finally get going down the road.

I'd gotten a view of Lori from a Picture in Rick's house... Just the thought of spilling my seed into her made me giddy with excitement.

Eventually Rick finished chatting with Morgan and walked over to the car with his three large duffle bags packed.

"Aren't you a bit young to be driving?" Rick asked jokingly while sitting beside me.

"If I'm Old enough to fight the living dead then I'm exempt from the age limits." I spoke while turning on the car and shifting it into gear as Rick pulled out a map.

We started on down the road as Rick took calculations beside me.

"Should be six or so hours if we were going at full speed..." Rick spoke while looking the map over.

"There's too many obstacles and areas where we have to deviate from the road.... Id guess another two hours to the trip time." I spoke while maneuvering the cruiser around a few car wrecks.

"Yup it's bad, I just hope there actually is a refugee camp...." Rick spoke with a stressed tone to his voice.

"Trust in fate Rick.... For now we should turn on the ham radio and beam out some signals." I spoke while switching on the radio in the Sheriff car as I drove.

"Don't tell me you know how to use one of these..." Rick spoke in semi disbelief as I flipped the switches and moved the handpiece to my face.

"Just sit back while I beam out on the common frequencies." I spoke and Rick nodded before leaning back in his seat and pulling out a bottle of water from his pack.

{"BE ADVISED IF ANYONE CAN READ ME PLEASE RESPOND, HEADED DOWN HIGHWAY 85 EN ROUTE TO ATLANTA ETA SIX HOURS...."} I spoke into the radio then waited a few minutes before doing it again, this process lasted for an hour before anything happened.

{"COMING INTO ATLANTA ON HIGHWAY 85 ANY REFUGEE GROUPS PLEASE RESPOND."} I spoke again.

Immediately a garbled staticky female voice responded through the airwaves.

{"~.....H..HHHH...HELO.....HEY...~"} Came the garbled voice of Amy from their camp.

Dales RV radio was half broken so the transponder and tranciever were both nearly impossible to use.

{"THIS IS VERTUM SAKKLEN, CAN YOU HEAR MY VOICE?"} I asked aloud into the radio but only silence for a few long moments before the response.

Amy spoke excitedly. {".....Yes, I can hear you. You're coming through. Over....."} Her response was full of static but her words could still be made out.

"Rick you take over, looks like I'll have to focus on the road for this part." I spoke while handing over the radio.

I slowed the car down and began driving around a few wrecks on the road and having to bump a few walkers out of the way.

Just beside me Rick focused on his message.

{"Anybody who reads, please respond. Broadcasting on emergency channel 1114b. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85.please respond."} Rick spoke and waited for a reply.

{"OKAY.....BU* REMB** *** ** **** INTO *** CIT*....WE WILL BE WAITI** *** *** ** THE QUA*** BUT REMEMBER DON'T ** **** *** ****."} The garbled message came over the air while before Rick send another call.

"What the fuck did she say?" I asked but Rick only shrugged.

{"CAN YOU REPEAT THAT, PLEASE REPEAT OVER...."} Rick spoke but the airwaves were silent on our end.

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(Elsewhere)

The radio being used by Amy shorted out on her mid conversation and now the earpiece only buzzed and it seemed completely fried.

Amy still held up the handpiece while doing everything to try and fix it.

{"DON'T GO IN THE CITY.....Damnit. Hello? Hello? He couldn't hear me. I couldn't warn him...."} Amy spoke while everyone nearby gathered around.

Shane knelt beside Amy and took the radio from her before fiddling with it for a little while.

"Try to raise him again. Come on Shane. You know best how to work this thing" Dale spoke while everyone watched intently.

Eventually the handpiece stopped buzzing and Shane brought it up to his face.

{"Hello, hello, is the person who calls still on the air? This is officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting a person unknown, please respond...."}

Shane called out into his radio and everyone held their breath for a response... But none ever came.

" Thank God There are others. It's not just us out here...." Lori spoke with a faint smile and everyone nodded.

"Yeah, We knew there would be, right, that's why we let the CB on..." Shane spoke and set down the handpiece.

"I bet most people aren't on the CB Band with that's why this is the first person we've talked to... And our radio is barely useable..." Dale spoke

"I've been saying for a week, we ought to put signs up on 85 to warn people away from the city since clearly the radio isn't doing much." Lori spoke while nervously twiddling her thumbs.

"Folks got no idea what they're getting into once they get into the city...." Amy spoke with a slight tremble while she remembered the thousands of walkers she had seen in a horde.

. .... .. .. . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(Elsewhere Hours Later)

I sat in the passenger seat as Rick drove us down a large highway into Atlanta although the only thing by the roadside were long roads into hidden farms and ranches.

I was busy oiling my CZ pistol when a strange vibration came from the front of the car one moment.

Then there was a loud snap and the sound of shearing metal as the car lost all power and barreled down the road.

I held on tightly while Rick did his best to stop the car safely.

We continued on for a bit before veering into the grass and coming to a stop.

"Pop the hood." I spoke while standing up out of my seat while putting my pistol away.

"Yup." Rick spoke while getting up out of the car as well.

When I walked up to the hood I could already smell the sweet antifreeze and the steam coming from underneath was a sign that this cruiser was dead.

*CLICK

*SCREEEECH

I pulled the hood up to reveal the gashed up radiator and electrical cables.

" How's it looking?" Rick asked while coming forward.

"We'll hide our packs nearby and return when we get a ride." I spoke while moving our packs of supplies, weapons, and more into the treeline.

Soon enough both of us started on down one of the long dirt driveways up to a ranch.

Rick walked in front since he was in a Sheriff uniform and was less likely to be shot on sight.

After fifteen minutes of walking we came upon a two story farmhouse and approached cautiously.

"HELLO!!! KING COUNTY SHERIFF HERE!!!" Rick yelled but there was nothing in response.

When we reached the porch we realized why, there was an old woman leaned back in a rocking chair.

She had a double barreled shotgun sticking out of her mouth and a melon sized hole through the back of her head.

"That's the way to go, no suffering, no coming back." I spoke while observing her corpse.

"A bit messy...." Rick spoke before walking deeper into the home.

I made my way into the garage almost immediately and found an old rusty farm truck..... Perfect.

I hopped inside to find the keys in the coin holder.

After inserting the keys, the engine cranked but it only sputtered a few times before turning off.

I popped the hood just as Rick was walking in after hearing the commotion.

"I found horses outside and it's not too far into town." Rick spoke excitedly

"Absolutely not, modern horses are not bred with the right temperament for staying sane amidst the walking dead... And I don't want a sore ass when I'm trying to run from those gooks, get me the starting fluid." I spoke and Rick nodded sadly.

"But they are right there, free for the taking." Rick spoke trying to convince me.

"Since they need to carry supplies we can't just feed them grass, when doing actual work they need fodder like oats or grain which we'll run out of soon enough....best thing for them is to open their gates."

I told Rick and he sighed before walking over to a workbench and passing me the bottle of starter fluid.

After only a few sprays into the carburetor, the rusty farm truck was rumbling low and smooth as I checked the fluids.

"Did you find anything useful in the house?" I asked Rick and he nodded.

"There's a gun cabinet although it's mostly hunting rifles and long old shotguns.." he spoke.

"That's not of much use to us, we'll hop in and we'll go pick up those supplies then head into town." I spoke and Rick moved into the passenger seat.

"Let's hope this gets us there smoothly..." Rick spoke while patting the dingy truck.

"It'll be better than some damn horses at least." I responded as we pulled out of the garage and up the dirt road back to the highway.

"So Rick, how'd you meet your wife?" I asked as the old truck tumbled on down the road.

"Actually we met years ago when I Entered College, in fact I remember our first. . . . ."

The conversation continued on as both of us relaxed into our seats and became one with the road.....

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