Chapter 8: Rick's Adventure Part 2

*Rick POV*

I wake up in an unfamiliar room with a candle as a source of light. Ironically, my head felt a bit clearer after the hit to the head and my eyes was clear. I was laying in a bed with my arms tied above my head. My eyes look around the room and I see a child on my right, about Carl's age, standing there with a baseball bat. The man who had threatened me earlier was standing with his back to me by the drawer, cleaning something. He turns around and sees me looking at him

"I had a look under your bandage just to see if you need the wound cleaned. I don't how did your bandages but they must be pretty skilled. What was the wound?" he asks

"Gunshot"

"Gunshot? Anything else?" He asks again

"Gunshot ain't enough?" I was getting impatient

"Look, I ask and you answer. That's common courtesy, right? Did you get bit?" His questions were getting weird now

"What do you mean, bit?" I was confused

"Bit, chewed, maybe scratched...anything like that?" He explains

"No, I got shot, just shot as far as I know" I feel even more confused after his explanation

He reaches his hand towards my head and I flinch but he assures me it's alright. He checks my temp and says it's cool enough and if I had a fever, I would've already kicked the bucket. I say I'm good and he pulls out a pocket knife from his back pocket and gives me another good ol' threat before cutting my binds. He tells me to come outside when I can and leaves with the child.

I grab a warm blanket of the bed and wear it over my shoulders before walking out of the room, down the stair to the dining room. The father and son are dishing out servings of food on the table. I turn to the right and walk into the familiar living room

"This place...Fred and Cindy Drake's?"

"Never met 'em. The place was empty when we got here" He answers from the kitchen

I walk over to the covered windows to have a look outside. Before I pulled it back, he warns me that they can see the light if I proceeded

"More of them out there today than usual. Should've never fired that gun today. The sound draws them. Stupid...using a gun but it all happened so fast and I didn't think" He says, sighing.

"You shot that man today" I state calmly

"Man?" He sounds confused now

"It weren't no man" The child interrupts

"What the hell was that out of your mouth just now?" He gives his son a mean look

"It wasn't a man" The child corrects himself

I looked on and appreciated a good father teaching his son to speak proper English but my mind was still stuck on what I had witnessed this afternoon

"You shot him, in the street, out front. A man" I try my best to recall my memories

"Friend, you need glasses. It was a Walker. Now come on, sit down before you fall down" He hands me a put of food and gestures to the chair.

I sit down and prepare to eat but the child stops us and ask his father to bless the food. I ain't never been too religious myself but they both reached their hands out to me and I was eating their food so I didn't want to be rude. They blessed the food and we started eating.

"Hey mister, you even know what's going on?" He looks curious

"I woke up today in the hospital. Came home and that's all I know"

"But you do know about the dead people, right?"

"Yeah I saw a lot of that. Out on the car park, piled in trucks." I answer

"No, not the one they put down. The ones they didn't, the Walkers, like the one I shot today. 'Cause he would've ripped into you, tried to eat you or take some flesh at least. Well, I guess if this is the first time you're hearing about this, I know how it must sound."

To be honest, it sounded like a crazy story but everything I had seen and experienced until now proved it. The nurse, the growling cafeteria hand and the legless bike keeper. All the questions I had about everything was answered immediately

"They're out there now, in the streets?" reality finally sunk in

"Yeah, They get more active after dark sometimes. Maybe it's the cool air or hell, maybe it's just me firing that gun today but we'll be fine as long as we stay quiet. They'll probably wander off by morning. Listen, one thing I do know, don't get bit. I saw your bandage and that's why we was afraid. The bites kills you, the fever burns you out but after a while...you come back" Ominous

"I seen it happen" The child adds, quietly

After we finish dinner, we set up the living room as a sleeping area and get prepared for the night. We grab the cushions off the chairs to use as beds and turn off all the other lights around the house except for the dining room and kitchen ones. The errands are done and we're all sitting down, resting while we talk

"Carl.....he your son? Well, you....you said his name today."

"He's a...a little younger than your boy." I answer

"And he's with his mom?"

"I hope so" I reply.

The child who we thought was asleep moves before he tilts his head up and asks his father if he'd asked me something. The man laughs and looks at me, apologetically and explains

"Your gunshot wound...we got a little bet going. Me and my boy. He thinks you're a bank robber" he explains, smiling

"Yeah, that's me. Deadliest dillinger, Kapow! Sheriff's deputy" I reply, chuckling

He nods his head. I can tell he's surprised but before we could talk any further, a car alarm goes off outside. I look over and see the child terrified but his father reassures him that they're fine and that it was nothing

"One of the Walkers must've bumped into the car and set it off"

"You sure?"

"It's happened once before. Get the lights, Duane" He instructs the boy

He reaches over to his left side and grabs the revolver he had under his blanket and holds it while approaching the window. Duane's already turned off the lights in the kitchen and I helped him blow out all the ones in the living room. We move over to the windows and peak through holes in the sheet, covering them.

"Look down the street. Same car as last time. I think we're okay"

"The noise....won't it bring more of them?" I ask

"Nothing we can do about it now. We'll just have to wait them out till morning"

We watch for a while before a female Walker turns up and Duane points her out, saying she's here. The man tells him to get away from the window and go back to bed which he obliges but as soon as his head hits the pillow, he starts crying. The man runs over to him and starts placating him.

I watch the lady Walker move towards the house entrance, like she knew the place. I walk over to the boarded up front door and look through the peep hole and see her walking up the steps to the house and stand in front of it. It looks around for a bit before it's eyes focus on the peep hole for half a second. She then looks down and reaches for the door handle and starts turning it

I walk back to the living room, relieved after confirming that the door wouldn't be opened and that we were safe. The man just barely calmed Duane down so I walk over and sit down, quietly, not wanting to disturb their moment

"She um, she died in the other room on that bed in there. There was nothing I could do about it, that fever, man. Her skin gave off a heat like a furnace. I sh-should've put her down, man. I should've put her down. I just didn't have it in me. She's the mother of my child" tears were trailing down his face

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*8 hours later*

We walked out of the house the next morning after a long night. The man, Morgan and I equipped with weapons while Duane stood behind us. He introduced himself last night after the heart to heart. I grabbed Fred's old baseball bat and wore a face shield I found in the garage. Last night situation and the sleep had help me come to terms with reality and now, I was ready.

"Are we sure they're dead? I have to ask at least one more time" I ask Morgan

"They dead. Except, for something in they brain.. That's why it's got to be in the head" he replies

We reach the bottom of the stairs and the Walker leaning against the picket fence must've sensed us. It's head snapped in our direction and it stood up before it started coming towards me. I ready my bat and swing with all my strength and hit it across the face. The first hit staggers it but it doesn't seem to have affected it much. I swing two more times before it finally falls to the ground and two more swings to finish it off for good.

I fall to my knees. My wound must've reopened after the high intensity movement I just did. The pain is coursing through my body and my arms have started to feel numb. I couldn't give up now. I need to find Carl and Lori. I know they are alive out here, somewhere.

I get back to my feet and we walk into my house and now with my head clear, I can see a lot more than I saw yesterday.

"They're alive- My wife and son. At least they were when they left"

"How do you know? But the look of this place-"

"I found empty drawers in the bedroom. They packed some clothes, not a lot- but enough to travel" I cut him off

"You know anybody could've broken in here and stolen them clothes, right?"

"See the framed photos on the wall?" I saw pointing and the empty spaces "Neither do I. You think some random thief took those as well? My photo albums, family are all gone"

"Photo albums...Hahahaha. My wife did the same thing. There I am, packing survival gear and she's packing photo albums" Morgan laughs but you could see pain in his eyes

"They're in Atlanta, I bet" Duane chimes in

"That's right." Morgan agrees

"Why there?"

"Refugee Centre. Huge one they said, before the broadcast stopped. Military protection, food, shelter. They told people to go there, said it would be safest"

"Plus, they also got that disease place" Duane added

"The CDC, Centre for Disease Control. They said they was working out how to solve this thing"

After hearing that, I knew exactly where I was going so I walk over to the cupboard with the key holders and grab the Sheriff's Office Key off the holder. We made our way down there together.