POV: Rick & Glenn––––––––
The van bumped over the cracked asphalt as Glenn maneuvered through the wreckage of the abandoned city streets. His eyes were glued to the rearview mirror, scanning for any signs of movement anything that could be a threat. The air felt thick, stifling. Rick sat in the passenger seat, a tense silence stretching between them. His hand gripped his rifle with a white-knuckled grip.
"We should have heard from Andrea and T-Dog by now," Glenn muttered, his eyes darting out the window.
"They're fine," Rick replied, though the doubt in his voice betrayed him. "They know how to handle themselves."
Glenn said nothing. He didn't have the same confidence, but they didn't have time to dwell on it. Jacqui and Alister had to be their priority right now.
The van rounded a corner, and then there, in the distance, Rick's sharp eyes caught sight of a figure stumbling out from between two wrecked cars.
"Stop the van," Rick ordered.
Glenn slammed on the brakes, the van screeching to a halt as the figure limped forward. At first, they couldn't tell who it was just a shadow in the dimming light.
Glenn quickly got out of the van, moving at a quick pace toward the woman.
"Jacqui!" he called, his voice laced with urgency.
The figure stopped for a moment, then staggered forward again. It was Jacqui, her clothes torn, one arm pressed tightly against her side, blood staining the fabric. Her eyes were wide, filled with exhaustion, but there was a flicker of recognition when she saw Glenn.
"Glenn…" Her voice was barely a whisper. "I… I made it… but…"
Before she could finish, she collapsed into Rick's arms. He caught her instinctively, his heart racing.
"Let's get her into the van," Glenn said, his voice firm but shaking with concern.
They lifted Jacqui carefully into the back of the van, her breath shallow, her skin cold against their hands. Rick looked down at her pale face, the blood streaking her torn clothes. His thoughts raced what had happened? Why was she alone?
"Stay with me, Jacqui," Rick murmured, but she only nodded, her eyelids fluttering as if fighting to stay conscious.
Glenn jumped into the driver's seat, ready to speed off again. "We need to get to the others," he said, his voice tinged with frustration and worry.
Glenn who was in the driver seat still subconsciously looks at Jacqui. The seconds stretched out like hours, his mind racing through every possible scenario. What had happened down there? He couldn't stop the questions from flooding his mind. He had seen how the walkers were closing in on the group before, and now Jacqui… alone… bloodied. Had Alister made it out too?
"Jacqui," Rick began, his voice low and careful, "What happened? Where's Alister?"
Jacqui's lips parted, but it took her a few seconds to answer. Her words came out in ragged breaths.
"He… he held them off for me." She paused, her eyes shifting to meet his, haunted. "I went back… but I couldn't find him. There was blood, his helmet, but no sign of him. I couldn't stay. The walkers… they were everywhere."
Rick felt a tight knot form in his stomach, but he tried to keep his voice steady as he asked, "So he's still down there?"
Jacqui's eyes fluttered shut, and she gave a slight nod, though it was clear she wasn't fully aware of her surroundings anymore.
"We have to go back," Glenn said urgently, his voice tight with emotion. "We can't leave him."
Rick looked out the van's window, the sound of the engine the only noise as he processed the weight of Jacqui's words. It was clear that Alister had fought through the horde to protect her. But whether he had made it out… they didn't know. And it was a risk, a terrifying uncertainty that gnawed at Rick's mind.
"Let's focus on getting Jacqui stable first," Rick said, finally turning his gaze to Glenn. "Then we figure out our next move."
Glenn didn't argue, but his expression was grim. He knew Rick was right, but it didn't make the situation any easier. Not knowing where Alister was, or if he was alive… it was almost as painful as losing him.
As the van sped through the streets, Rick couldn't shake the feeling that they were on the edge of something much worse something they couldn't control. It was a feeling that had become all too familiar in this new world.
POV: Andrea, T-Dog & Alister––––––––––
The crunch of Alister's boots against the gravel echoed between them as they hurried toward the fire escape. The urgency in their movements mirrored the threat of the walkers closing in around them. Andrea kept her eyes peeled, scanning the rooftop behind them for any sign of movement.
As they reached the ladder, T-Dog took the first step, quickly followed by Andrea. Alister brought up from behind, his hand tight on the broken sword at his side. His armor weighed heavily on him, each step more labored than the last, as if the burden wasn't just physical. His usual strength, his usual presence, seemed drained. But there was no time to dwell on that. They had to move.
The fire escape door creaked open, and the sharp scent of decay filled the air. Andrea's stomach churned, but she didn't slow down. They had to make it through the alleyway, regroup with Glenn and Rick, and get out of this death trap before the walkers cornered them.
Alister stumbled slightly as they reached the bottom of the ladder, his hand gripping the edge of the ladder. Andrea turned toward him, brow furrowed in concern.
"Alister, you okay?" she asked, her voice low but urgent.
He nodded, but the hollow look in his eyes made Andrea hesitate. He'd been through hell, but it wasn't just exhaustion weighing on him. There was something deeper, something he wasn't saying. She could see it in the way he held himself, the way he refused to meet her gaze for long.
"We need to keep moving," Alister muttered, pushing past her with a briskness that felt too sudden, too dismissive. "No time for talking."
T-Dog kept pace behind him, brow furrowed. He exchanged a glance with Andrea. They both knew there was more to Alister's condition than he was letting on, but now wasn't the time to push him.
They reached the alleyway, the shadows growing deeper as the last of the daylight bled away. The streets were eerily quiet, but the distant growls of walkers reminded them that their reprieve wouldn't last. Andrea's grip tightened on her gun, her senses heightened.
"We're close," T-Dog murmured. "Just a little further."
But as they rounded a corner, a rustling sound came from behind a pile of discarded crates. Andrea froze, heart racing in her chest. Before she could react, a figure lunged from the shadows a walker dragging itself toward them with a guttural growl.
Before Andrea could raise her gun, Alister was there. His broken sword slashed through the air with precision, severing the walker's neck in a swift, powerful strike. The creature's head hit the ground, followed shortly with its body stumbling backwards.
Andrea's breath caught in her throat. The speed and accuracy with which Alister moved was astounding. But as she looked at him, her amazement faltered. Alister didn't seem relieved. His chest heaved, but his expression remained grim. There was no satisfaction in his eyes, only exhaustion. And unimaginable guilt.
T-Dog moved past him, offering a quiet nod of approval but saying nothing. He, too, could see that something had changed in Alister, something deeper than the weight of his armor.
"We're almost there," Andrea said, her voice steady but betraying the uncertainty she felt inside. She didn't want to show how shaken she was by Alister's uncharacteristic behavior.
Alister nodded, though his gaze remained averted. "Let's go," he said flatly, his voice devoid of its usual warmth or conviction.
They moved quickly through the alley, the soft thrum of tension in the air. Every shadow seemed to loom like a threat, every step a reminder of how close they were to danger. Yet, Alister's heavy steps and distant demeanor cast a shadow over them, like a storm cloud that refused to break.
Just as they neared the corner leading to the main road, the faint sound of a vehicle engine reached their ears. It was distant, but unmistakable. Andrea's heart leapt in her chest.
But the sound of the van faded. A long, agonizing silence followed. It was as if the van had passed them by.
Andrea's stomach twisted with despair. They were so close, yet the relief they'd hoped for was slipping away.
Alister's footsteps slightly faltered, but he didn't look back. His shoulders sagged as the weight of his guilt pressed down on him once more. Had he acted too soon? Had his decision to stay behind cost Jacqui her life? Every moment not knowing his friend's fate felt like a weight he couldn't carry, a burden of failure and doubt that gnawed at his soul.
But he couldn't show it not yet. Not in front of Andrea and T-Dog. He would have to wait until he saw Jacqui, until he could know that she was still alive, before he would allow himself the smallest breath of hope but right now he has a job, to protect these two. Until then, the dread would remain, suffocating. his own mistake has led a friend going missing.
T-Dog wiped a streak of rot from his cheek, his breath ragged. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
Andrea stood beside him, staring at the chain-link fence that stretched across the back of the alley like a cruel joke that it was only a fence separating them from the horde. It was at least eight feet tall, rusted in places but still solid. On the other side? A narrow passage between buildings. Open space. A possible escape route.
No vehicle. No backup. Just a wall of metal and an ever-growing tide of death infront of them.
"They're coming," Andrea whispered, eyes darting back as the first moans echoed louder. Shadows shifted at the mouth of the alley. The dead were closing in.
Alister stepped forward, gripping the fence with both hands, testing its strength. It rattled under his armored weight. "We may able to go through the horde," he muttered.
"With what? And how? Man, there are like a million of them out there!" T-Dog snapped. "Even if you can do it, it's not gonna be the same for us. We don't all have armor and knight legs, man."
Andrea pressed her forehead to the cold metal. "If we had a car, we could ram straight through the horde or at least gather to a safe distance from them…"
"But we don't," T-Dog said. "We got nothing."
For a moment, silence fell. The dread began to sink deeper.
And then Alister spoke.
"There is another way."
They turned to him. He was already kneeling beside a freshly slain walker, cutting it open, revealing its insides.
He stood still for some time, his eyes locked on the horde ahead but his thoughts were elsewhere. He could hear their moans. Smell their rot. Feel their death pressing in from all sides. And then it hit him.
That memory.
The basement. The fight. The blood.
He had been drenched in walker filth. Gore in his hair, blood soaked into every crack of his armor, guts clinging to his gauntlets like thick ropes of death. He'd felt them pressing in around him and then, they had stopped. Turned. Ignored him.
His heart thundered.
"They did not see me," he murmured aloud.
Andrea glanced at him. "What?"
Alister turned toward them, eyes wide with realization. "In the depths of the building's basement… when I fought the horde… I was covered in their blood. From head to heel. And… they stopped. They did not strike me. They passed me."
Andrea's stomach lurched. "Are you fucking serious?"
He nodded once, firmly. "The scent hides us. We become as they are… just long enough to pass through."
T-Dog made a face. "Man, that's messed up."
"Better messed up than dead," Andrea said, steeling herself.
They moved fast now. Desperation fueled their hands. Alister smeared the thick black blood across his breastplate, and some intestines across his body, until the shine of his armor was dulled beneath layers of filth. Andrea and T-Dog did the same, gagging through the process, but pressing on.
The moans grew louder.
Then Alister paused, eyes locking on the fence.
"If we cover ourselves and move slowly, they might ignore us. If we can cross this alley unnoticed… I can go first and you both follow me through."
Andrea looked doubtful. "What if it doesn't work?"
Alister met her eyes, gaze steady.
"Then I shall draw them away. And you run. No matter what."
T-Dog cursed under his breath. "You're a crazy bastard, you know that?"
Alister gave a faint, humorless smile. "So I've been told."