RE: The Walking Dead [Zombie LitRPG]

Chapter 134 – A Lurking Danger

The descent from the sixth floor felt like leaving one world for another. While the top floors of Grady Memorial were kept relatively clean by the residents, the lower levels were a graveyard of the old world. Every floor they passed was a mess of abandoned triage stations and barricades that hadn't been used in months, the shadows stretching long and thin as the soft glow of the afternoon wore on.

By the time they reached the first floor, the soft glow of the sun was streaming through the narrow gaps in the boarded-up windows. It was that heavy, orange glow that signaled the end of the day was approaching. They stepped out into the grand lobby, a cavernous space filled with overturned gurneys and shattered glass. The heat of the afternoon was trapped inside, making the air feel like a physical weight against their skin.

Michael signaled for the group to rest up. Oscar and Rosita set their gear down near a marble-topped reception desk, the rustling sound of the things inside the bags of medical supplies softly echoed. Rick wiped a layer of grime from his forehead, his eyes immediately going to the doors that led to the outside.

"Is it really necessary to enlist their help?" Rick said, his voice echoing in the hollow lobby. He looked at Michael, his expression curious. "We already have enough muscle and weapons to take them on. Adding more unnecessary people would only cause trouble, especially when a group is not united. You’ve seen how that O’Donnel guy looked at Shepherd earlier, it’s like he couldn’t wait to put his hands on her, but maybe because of the people around him, he had to repress the urge. He’s trouble, Mike."

Michael leaned against a concrete pillar, he looks exhausted. He pulled a canteen from his belt and took a sip. "Don’t worry about him, O'Donnell is just that, a fox trying to be king. What you all should worry about is Shepherd. She’s not to be underestimated, don’t assume that she’s weak after seeing her being nervous when facing us, or that there are people trying to question her leadership, she’s not. She’s actually a sly one. Think about the time when Dawn died and how she had easily taken the leadership role.”

“She was already planning to overthrow Dawn, and your appearance that day, accelerated it.” Rosita added in a grim tone.

"Ahh, so that’s why I felt like we wouldn't get along when I first saw her.," Andrea remarked and raised her eyebrows while checking on her rifle "So is that the reason why you’re adamant on getting their help with taking down Woodbury?"

Michael nodded. “Yeah, we can’t allow anything that can pose a threat to the camp while we’re away. They need to join us or we’ll have to turn our blades to them first.”

“But they don’t even know the location of our camp.” Oscar said.

“They’re police officers, I’m sure it wouldn’t take them long to figure out the locations that’s good for holding out this disaster.” Rosita argued.

“So, you're essentially saying that we might need to get rid of them if they make the wrong choice?” Rick looked at Michael and asked. It was obvious from his expression that he does not like that idea.

Sighing, Michael shrugged his shoulders and looked at Rick with a slight smile.

The lobby fell into a heavy silence, but Glenn on the other hand seemed not interested in the grim subject. He had been wandering toward the back of the lobby, poking around the darkened entrances to the rooms on the first floor. He stopped at one of the doors that was slightly ajar, a small, mischievous smirk playing on his lips as he looked back at the group.

"You know," Glenn said, his voice casually cutting through the tension. "I’m honestly wondering if the officers even noticed that half of the stuff on the floors below them are gone."

Rosita raised an eyebrow, looking over at him. "What do you mean?"

"The first time we were here," Glenn said, shrugging as he peered into the dark room while flashing his light inside. "While everyone was focused on the events taking place on the streets, I spent a good chunk of my time looting some of their supplies and I even spied on them. These people might boost our firepower, but it’s obvious they are a careless bunch. Their lousy defenses makes it obvious that they had never encountered any hostile groups that wanted to take over this place. Makes you wonder if they have ever killed someone before."

Michael, Rick and the others exchange glances. They were surprised at the things he mentioned, especially to the former since he realized that he had made a mistake and forgot to account for their experience.

Michael closed his eyes in frustration. ‘Crap, I forgot that I actually messed up the timeline. What if those bastards never had it in them to actually shoot someone? I kept looking at them like they were the people that Beth had spent her time with.’

“Right, I think we never actually had the chance to ask them the important questions.” Though he messed up, he still tried to play it cool.

“I don’t think we need to right now.” Rick said. He agrees with Michael’s decision of enlisting their help, but that’s about it since he does not trust them after the things he’d seen and heard.

Glenn turned around and slowly walked over towards them. "And I don’t think we’ll have any problems whether they join us or not. and even on the off chance they find our camp while we’re busy dealing with Woodbury. I doubt they’d even make a dent to our walls with their meager firearms. They’ll just be asking to get killed if they do something that stupid.”

“But hey, are we just gonna keep sitting here and waste our precious time, or are we gonna make use of it and start looting the other locations in the area? We might find something unexpected.”

“Or just more food and water.” Andrea added.

Glenn rubbed his hands together and replied. “And that’s still good, we need to stock up as much as possible since the weather is getting colder.”

Rick looked at Michael, then back at Glenn before turning his gaze outside. "It’s a good idea. How about we split into two groups? One goes out to look for extra supplies, while the other group stays here to keep an eye on this place?”

Michael nodded slowly. "You guys go together, better to have more people to watch your backs. I’ll just stay here and keep an eye out.”

“Are you sure? Andrea can stay with you, I think the three of us won’t have any problems handling the dangers outside.” Rick asked out of concern.

Andrea wanted to say something, but Michael only shook his head and replied. “No need. Just be very careful out there. If you feel that there’s something wrong, retreat immediately and don’t do anything stupid. Remember, whoever killed those people on the road, it’s still out there.”

Being reminded of the gruesome sight they encountered earlier, Rick and the others shuddered and became nervous.

“You know what? I suddenly think it’s better that we stay put here, right?” Glenn chuckled in nervousness.

Rick and the others glanced at each other before slowly making themselves comfortable on the floor. They all came to a silent agreement that it's not a good idea. They’re not stupid enough to go out there when there’s an unknown danger lurking around that can easily disptach them.

If it was just any other group of survivors, then they wouldn’t have any problems with it, but anyone with eyes would immediately reach a conclusion that whoever killed those people on the way here clearly wasn’t human or even a walker.

‘A mutated walker, or is it something even more dangerous?’ Rick thought while glancing towards Michael. ‘The former can still be killed with firearms, but what if the latter is something even more dangerous than a mutated one? Those people didn’t even have the chance to shoot. So It should be something that has both power and a speed that a human eye would not immediately register, and by the time they did, they would already be dead.’

Taking another glance at Michael, Rick asked himself. ‘Would he be able to take it on if he came face to face with whatever it was?’