Danger Zone

I slipped on a pair of freshly washed jeans, clipping my gun belt around my waist. Today I'd be heading out on my first official run with the group, taking my new role head-on. We were headed out to a warehouse about ten kilometres out for a device, which I can't remember the name of, to get the power grid up and running again. Eugene would be coming with us, he was the only one who could properly identify what we needed. Although, I was worried about bringing him along. He was smart, probably the most intelligent person I've ever met, but he was also stupid. He became stupid in the face of fear.

When I approached the van they had just finished packing up our supplies. Deanna and her husband Reg stood nearby, along with Maggie to bid us off. Noah placed a Glock with a silencer attached in my hand before Glenn tossed me a case of ammo.

"It's a dozen of these. They are consistent in appearance across manufacturers. The shit will be right. I will install said shit," Eugene said. He was arguing not to come, he wanted to stay here safe behind these walls.

"Eugene, get in the van before I knock you out with the said shit," I called out as I walked by him. I heard him huff as Noah shoved a gun into his hands.

I watched as Glenn gave Maggie a kiss goodbye for the day and Deanna kissed her son on the cheek. I had an odd feeling in my gut. Even though I was scared to go back out there for the first time since we took shelter behind these walls, I was also itching to get out. After the events that conspired at Deanna's welcoming party the other night I wanted to get away, I wanted to avoid it for just a little while longer.

"The power grid was a prototype. I'm surprised it lasted this long without acting up," Reg explained to Glenn and I. We were the last to get in the van.

"We'll get it going," Glenn smiled at him.

"Daylight is burning, let's go," Aiden yelled from the driver's window.

Deanna then stepped forward, approaching Glenn and I. "I know I said it before, but thank you. I can see that you two are a good team. I have every faith in you," she said, her big brown eyes boring up at us.

I didn't know how to respond. Yes, Glenn and I knew what we were doing out there better than anyone, but we knew very well that anything could happen out there and they didn't know how to fully grasp that. It was like she was looking at us as her people's protectors and I didn't have the heart to tell her just how unpredictable life is on the outside. Instead, I simply nodded my head and smiled. Glenn did the same, knowing exactly what I was thinking before we hopped into the trunk of the van.

We shut the doors behind us and Aiden started up the engine before an EDM mix began to blast through the speakers. I furrowed my brows.

"Great, another mix," Noah shook his head laughing.

"Helps draw them away," Glenn shrugged his shoulders.

Today was going to be a long day.

--------

We stood outside of two old buildings, the van parked in the alleyway. We loaded up our weapons as we discussed our plan to get inside. Aiden and Nickolas have been here before briefly, but for the rest of us, this was new territory.

"That's it there?" Tara asked, motioning to the building to our left.

"That's the warehouse," Aiden confirmed. The building was long. We parked on the right side of it, by some steps leading up to a side door. Off to our left was the front of the building, surrounded by chain-link fences which I assume was once the yard to drive trucks in. To our right was the back of the building that we had passed by when driving down here, I spotted a couple more doors along the way. "Looks like that door is our fastest way in and out," Aiden explained, nodding at the side door directly in front of us.

"We should know all the exits first," Glenn objected.

"Glenn's right. We need a plan in place in case things go south--" I agreed before Nickolas cut me off.

"Already got one. It's called going out the front," he chuckled at me like I was stupid. I furrowed my brows, annoyed.

"No, they are right. We should do a perimeter check. Know our exits just in case," Aiden agreed. Deanna had put me in charge, and the numbers in our group outranked theirs, but I still felt like Aiden was calling the shots. Nickolas would only agree if Aiden agreed with us first. He was Deanna's son so I had to tread carefully and that was dangerous.

"Walker," Tara called out, causing us all to turn our heads. It was a single walker, dragging one of its feet behind it like its hip had been dislocated. It moved slow, but Noah was the first to raise his weapon. The walker had to have been 40 feet away when Noah hit it directly in the forehead, killing it.

We then split up to cover the perimeter as quickly as possible, each of us taking inventory of all possible exits. Glenn and Tara went along with Eugene, an easy decision that he needed the most protection with his lack of skill. Aiden and Nickolas obviously paired off together, leaving me with Noah.

"That was good aim back there," I said, breaking the silence between us. We hadn't talked all that much since he joined our group, but I knew my brother had a fond liking for him.

"Target practice is helping," he responded. "Almost practiced on Aiden during our last run," he laughed.

I chuckled as well before silence loomed over us again. "I'm really sorry about you little brothers," I said, my tone sincere. "With everything that happened with Tyreese that day, I never had a chance to tell you that," I felt the need to explain my reasoning for bringing it up now.

He looked over at me, he had to be at least a foot and a half taller than me causing me to bend my kneck up to meet his eyes. "Thank you," he nodded. "I like to think Alexandria is a fresh start for us. After the other night I still hope you feel the same as well," he smiled weakly.

"I do," I answered, but I think he could tell that I didn't entirely feel that way.

"I'm interested in architecture. I asked Reg if he could teach me what he knows." I looked up at him again, a grin sliding up my face. "You know, I just really want this place to work and I want to help with that."

"Me too," I exhaled. The sounds of hissing moans then caught our ears as we neared the fences around the front of the building. My shoulders dropped as we came across a herd trapped within the chink links, stumbling around in circles. "I guess we're not going out the front."

Once we all reconvened and explained where we could and couldn't go, our plan still remained to enter through the side door. We were to stay close upon entering until we scoped out the inside. We were going in blind and if anyone stepped out of line it could be a death sentence and I made that clear. Glenn and I entered first, the door creaking open and echoing through the fairly empty warehouse. The room was dark, the only light coming in through the side door and the very few windows. Glenn slammed his hand down on the metal door three times trying to draw anything inside towards us before we began searching.

"Give it another second," Glenn raised his hand, stopping anyone else from entering in behind us. Our ears we on high alert, but there was nothing.

"It's a big place, there still could be some inside," I said. The quiet was a good sign, but that didn't mean the place was deserted.

"So, let's say they are. Let's move, let's be safe," Aiden suggested. I nodded my head agreeing. We look for our supplies quickly, acting like there are walkers in here to air on the side of caution.

I clicked on my flashlight, the side door shutting behind us and closing us in. Almost all light from the outside world was cut off, leaving me only with the thin glow of my flashlight in front of me. We walked slowly down the centre of the warehouse, all of us spinning in different directions as we passed by aisles and aisles of shelving units stacked with boxes. The building was eerily quiet, so quiet I could hear the creaks and pops of the restless pipes in the ceiling.

Then I stopped beside Glenn, "Shh," I ordered as everyone stopped behind me. The noise was so faint, but I could hear the rattling from a distance. "They are stuck behind something," I said, hearing the silent groans of walkers.

"How do you know?" Aiden asked, his voice shaking.

"Because they aren't here."

"Alright, eyes up. Let's make this quick," Glenn said, pushing us along.

We made it down an aisle, our flashlight hitting every box for Eugene to take a look at and tell us if it was the one we needed. Nothing seemed to spark his interest so we kept going. We hit the end of the aisle, walking along the backside before a walker slammed up against a fence that lead to another section of the warehouse. Our flashlights whipped in that direction, drawing the rest of the walkers towards the light. At least two dozen walkers rattled their fingers against the chain, hissing at us. Aiden jumped back.

"You know your stuff," he said, looking over at me.

"We were out there a long time," Tara answered for me.

"There could be more," Glenn said.

"Then let's get to work and get the hell out of here," Aidens voice shook.

At that point we separated from one another, knowing that the walkers were trapped behind this fence for the time being. Eugene showed us the device one last time, a small black box with some sort of antenna sticking out the right side of it. He got us to memorize the model number on the backside of it, ensuring we grab the correct one and sent us on our way.

I was walking down one aisle with Glenn while Eugene and Tara walked down another to our left. I felt useless with looking, number memorization not being one of my strong suits. I couldn't remember if it was 009 or 099 and Glenn wasn't helping as he murmured the sequence under his breath that didn't even have a 9 in it. My heart sped as I heard Eugene tell Tara "that one."

Glenn and I peered through the boxes on the shelf to look into their aisle as we waited for Tara to cut open the box. She ripped out a black box and styrofoam fell to the floor. It looked like the one he had shown us.

"Yeah," Eugene confirmed.

"We found 'em," Tara exhaled in disbelief.

"Alright, Eugene," Glenn celebrated.

Our heads then snapped up in a hurry, hearing the faint sound of a silencer. Glenn looked at me as his mouth fell open. We walked to the other side of the aisle, our flashlights raised as we tried to find an opening in the boxes on the shelf to see what was going on.

"It's got armour. Let it come closer," Glenn called out as he spotted what was happening on the other side of the shelf. I tried to look through, I could hear the deep groan on the walker as Aiden's gun continued to go off, but I was too short to see through the hole that Glenn had found.

I walked down the aisle a little further, finding a space between the boxes I could see through. I pushed one aside just as the walker was walking by me.

"I got it," Aiden called out confidently, shooting the walker in the leg to put it on its knees.

The walker dropped down on the floor in front of my peephole and I could feel my heart drop to my stomach. My eyes landed on the gear the walker was strapped in. Aiden continued to fire off rounds, trying to hit the walker under the face shield. "Aiden, no stop!" I shouted. He fired again. He was going to kill us all. "Aiden, stop!" He wouldn't listen. "Grenade!"

Another bullet left Aiden's gun, the blast sending me off of my feet. My body flew across the aisle when my back slammed against the shelving on the other side. I felt my stomach smack hard against the cement floor, the ringing in my ears not ceasing until I was unconscious.