Joe stepped quietly into the dorm room they'd been using. The dim light was casting long shadows on the floor.
Amy and Andrea were sitting on their shared cot, backpacks open in front of them, half-packed.
Amy looked up first, eyes tired but soft. Andrea didn't say anything, just kept folding a shirt with deliberate slowness.
Joe closed the door behind him and exhaled.
"They know," Andrea said flatly, not looking up. "About the countdown."
Joe nodded. "Told them. We've got a way out."
Amy gave a small, shaky laugh. "So much for a miracle."
Joe moved toward them, kneeling in front of their bags. "We pack. We stay sharp. We survive. Same as always."
Andrea finally met his eyes. "That's it? Just keep moving like none of this matters?"
"No," he said. "It matters. But it doesn't stop us."
Amy reached out, resting her hand on his. "Do we even know where we're going?"
Joe shook his head. "Not yet. But it won't be here."
Andrea sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I thought maybe… this place was the end of the nightmare."
Joe looked at her. "It's not the end."
Amy leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him tightly. Andrea joined in seconds later, her head resting on his shoulder.
For a few minutes, they just stayed like that. Quiet. Breathing. Together.
When they finally pulled apart, Joe helped them finish packing. He kept his movements efficient, but gentle. He handed Amy her knife and checked Andrea's sidearm, then double-checked their bags for food and medical supplies.
Amy paused, watching him. "You're always ready."
Joe shrugged. "That's what keeps you alive."
Andrea stepped closer, placing a hand on his chest. "And what about what keeps you human?"
He looked between them. "That's you."
Neither of them had anything to say to that.
Joe slung his pack over his shoulder. "Let's move. I want us near the exit before we're out of time."
Amy and Andrea nodded, following him toward the door.
Together, they walked down the empty hallway.
Leaving behind the illusion of safety.
And stepping into whatever came next.
Side by side.
...
The countdown ticked past 00:31:12.
The group had gathered near the exit of the control room, packs loaded, weapons checked, eyes flicking anxiously between the exit and the digital clock.
All but one.
Jacqui stood near the central console, her posture calm. Still. Resolved.
Amy spotted her first. Her brow furrowed. "Jacqui…"
Rick stepped toward her, but she raised a hand gently. "Don't."
T-Dog froze mid-step, realization dawning. "Jacqui. No. Come on."
She turned to face him, smiling softly. "I'm tired, T. I'm real tired. I don't want to keep running."
"You don't have to run," he said, his voice cracking. "I'll carry you."
She stepped closer to him. "I know you would. But I'm done. You all go. You've got the will to keep fighting."
Jenner stood silently beside her, not speaking, just watching.
Rick tried again. "You don't have to do this."
"I do," she said. "It's my choice."
T-Dog shook his head, biting back frustration. "Dammit, Jacqui."
She stepped into him, resting her forehead against his. "Thank you… for always looking out for me."
He stood frozen for a moment. Then cupped her face and kissed her, firm and full of pain.
She kissed him back.
When they pulled apart, she was smiling. "Go."
T-Dog stepped back reluctantly, eyes burning. "You were the best of us."
Jacqui said. "Not anymore. But maybe for a little while, I was."
He turned without another word, walking slowly toward the stairs where the rest of the group waited.
Andrea wiped a tear. Amy held Joe's arm tighter.
Joe said nothing.
The room dimmed slightly as the power dipped again. An alarm blaring as the timer passed 30 minutes.
00:29:59
Jenner placed his hand over Jacqui's on the console. They stood side by side in silence, watching as the group vanished up the stairs... leaving them behind.
They had chosen their end.
Everyone else had chosen life.
...
Joe led the group up the stairs, the sound of their boots echoing through the sterile halls.
The reinforced glass still loomed above, solid as ever but not for long.
Joe turned, holding the grenade in his hand. "Take cover. Now."
The group ducked behind walls and doorways, bracing themselves. Amy and Andrea hesitated for just a second.
Joe grabbed them both, shielding them with his body behind a wall. He pulled the pin and rolled the grenade toward the glass.
BANG!
The explosion rocked the room. Shards of glass tore through the air like a tornado. The pressure wave knocking over loose furniture and shattering every light in the atrium.
Then, silence.
Smoke and dust hung in the air. The window was gone, leaving only a jagged hole and the distant sound of wind outside.
Joe was the first up. He grabbed one of the gear bags, slung it over his shoulder, and vaulted through the opening.
He dropped down clean onto the pavement below, landing in a crouch.
Walkers nearby were already stirring from the blast. Joe moved fast... machete flashing in wide arcs, putting down anything that moved with practiced ease.
Daryl, Rick, and the others followed, helping the women and kids down one by one. Carol held Sophia tight.
Glenn gritted his teeth and focused. Even Dale moved like a younger man for once.
Joe stood below, arms out. "Come on!"
Amy dropped first. Joe caught her, setting her down quickly before reaching up again.
Andrea jumped. He caught her too, just as easily. She kissed his cheek softly.
"Move!" he barked at everyone. "To the cars!"
The group rushed across the lot, ducking past abandoned humvees and body-strewn ground. Engines roared to life one by one.
Joe jumped into the focus with Amy and Andrea as the convoy peeled out.
Ten blocks later, they pulled off the road and stopped.
Everyone turned to look back.
Then it happened.
BOOOOM.
A shockwave rippled across the landscape as the CDC erupted in a towering fireball.
The ground trembled beneath them. A mushroom cloud of smoke and flame rose high into the sky, ash raining down like dark snow.
T-Dog dropped to his knees, sobbing. Glenn knelt beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, silent.
The others stood in stunned quiet, mourning Jacqui in their own way.
She had made her choice.
Joe clenched his jaw, watching the sky burn.
Then, he turned. "Let's move."
---
By one, they were deep in the countryside, following narrow backroads in hopes of finding a clearer route north.
Toward Fort Benning.
But just past 2 p.m., the caravan came to an abrupt stop.
The road ahead was jammed. Abandoned cars stretched in both directions. Bumper to bumper, some wrecked, others covered in dust.
A few had doors hanging open. A couple had blood smeared across the windows.
"What the hell…" Rick muttered, stepping out of the RV.
Joe got out too, surveying the scene.
"So much for backroads being clearer."
Daryl kicked a tire. "This is gonna take hours to clear... if we can clear it."
Joe's grip tightened on his machete.
The CDC was behind them. Fort Benning still a dream ahead.
Now, the only way forward was through the wreckage.
...
The caravan inched along the clogged country road.
Winding between abandoned vehicles and veering into the grass where needed. It was slow going, but surprisingly smooth.
Until it wasn't.
The RV groaned. Deep and metallic, before the rear end suddenly dropped with a loud, jarring CRUNCH.
Slumping into the grass like a dying animal. The entire line of vehicles were stopped behind it.
Joe stepped out of the car, already sighing.
He walked up to the RV, where Dale stood near the driver's seat, looking pale.
"What's the damage?" Rick called as he jogged up.
Joe didn't answer right away. He dropped to the ground, crawled under the RV, and stared at the twisted mess beneath.
The leaf springs were snapped clean, the body collapsed onto the rear axle, which had cracked clean through. A pool of gear oil stained the grass.
Joe slid out and stood, brushing off his hands. "It's toast."
Dale's face crumpled. Tears welled in his eyes, not for the vehicle itself but for everything it had represented.
Safety. Shelter. Home.
Rick ran a hand over his face. "Damn it."
Joe looked up the road,still blocked. Still crowded with rusting vehicles and then back toward the trail behind them.
"We've got options. Plenty of vehicles here. If we don't find another vehicle, at least we scavenge and adapt."
Glenn chimed in from further back, climbing out of the Hyundai. "There was a town a few miles back. Maybe we check that if we strike out here."
Rick nodded. "Yeah… we'll see what we find."
Joe turned toward the line of stopped vehicles. "Let's get everyone out. Let the kids stretch their legs."
People started filing out of the cars and SUVs. Carl and Sophia hopped down, already complaining about the heat.
Lori carried a few bottles of warm water. Amy and Andrea exited the car as Joe walked back to them.
"RV's done," he told them. "We're checking the cars here. Stay close to each other."
Both sisters nodded, already slipping into a practiced rhythm.
Joe leaned into the back of the focus, grabbing his gear and a few tools before heading further up the blocked road.
Around him, the group fanned out. Glenn was grinning like a fool, crouched beside a box truck.
The back doors had swung open to reveal thirty large, clear jugs of water... maybe 90 gallons in total.
Daryl had already pried the cap off one and was standing beneath it, letting the water cascade over his head like a makeshift shower.
Understandable. He'd ridden the whole way on his bike in ninety-degree heat.
Joe climbed into the truck's cab and hotwired it.
Nothing. Completely dead.
He sighed, stepping out. "Battery's shot."
Glenn didn't seem to care, still half-laughing. "Dude, that's drinking water!"
He looked around the road. Vehicles stretched in every direction.
Most were junk, some still sealed. People were already moving between them in pairs: Rick being followed by Elize, Lori with Carl, Carol with Sophia.
Dale perched on top of the ruined RV with his rifle, scanning the tree line.
The other kids stayed in groups and wandered off to look around.
Joe pressed on, working his way down the broken line of cars and trucks. He popped hoods, checked for damage, tested batteries.
He wasn't just looking for transportation anymore. They'd lost the RV... their mobile home, storage, command center.
Now, every inch of space mattered.
He opened the next hood, brushing off the grime. The battery looked intact. Clean terminals. Good weight.
Joe nodded to himself, unhooking it quickly.
With luck, it might be enough to wake that water truck up and give them one small win in a road scattered with loss.
Joe hauled the replacement battery over to the water truck, sweat beading on his brow under the harsh midday sun.
Nearby, a group of women worked together, hauling supplies from the ruined RV into the old moving truck they'd used back in Atlanta.
Pillows, blankets, and misc boxes... everything worth keeping.
Joe popped the hood, fitted the battery, and twisted the leads into place.
The water truck groaned once, then fired up with a low, rumbling purr.
Glenn whooped from across the road. Others looked over, smiling.
Even Dale, perched atop the dead RV with his rifle, cracked a smile...
Until he saw something over the ridge.
A wall of movement. A shuffling mass of limbs and moans.
Walkers. Hundreds of them.
Dale gave a sharp whistle and pointed, gesturing frantically. The smiles vanished.
The group kicked into gear, either scrambling into vehicles or sliding underneath them to hide.
Joe immediately killed the engine and leapt from the cab. He sprinted toward Amy and Andrea, grabbing both by the wrists and dragging them up into the water truck.
Amy clung to his arm. "Don't leave us!"
"I'll be back," he said quickly, pulling away and vanishing behind a row of vehicles.
He crept low, weaving between car frames, eyes scanning for the others. Carl and Sophia were tucked under a rusted sedan.
Sophia trembling, clinging to Carl as he whispered to her. Lori and Carol crouched beside them under a different car. Everyone was okay... for now.
Then... it happened.
A scream split the air.
The walkers turned like one creature, groaning louder as they lurched toward the sound.
Joe rolled out from under cover, drew his machete, and slashed clean through a walker's neck in one motion.
He bolted toward the screams, pushing through the herd.
Three teens. Shawn, Celine, Lisa... were already gone. Torn apart. Nothing left but blood and horror.
Joe scanned frantically. Where are the others?
There. In the distance, a flicker of movement. Mary's younger brother and the last teen girl sprinted into the woods, a trail of walkers stumbling after them.
Joe made a decision.
He stepped forward, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"COME ON, YOU ROTTEN BASTARDS!"
He walked backward, machete raised, dragging the herd's attention with him.
They followed.
Joe saw Rick rushing behind the herd after the kids.
For nearly a mile, Joe led them away from the group, taunting and pacing, staying just far enough ahead.
When the trees to the side thickened, he sprinted. Vanishing into the woods.
Doubling back hard and fast.
---
By the time Joe returned, the group had come out of hiding. The air was thick with sweat and silence. Rick had already returned from the forest, alone.
Everyone looked heavy... tired, broken. But when Joe stepped into view, covered in blood and leaves, the mood shifted.
People smiled.
Amy and Andrea ran to him. Then slapped him across the face in perfect sync.
Then they crushed him in a hug so tight it knocked the wind out of him.
"You scared the hell out of us!" Amy sobbed.
Joe nodded, arms wrapped around both of them. "I'm here."
Rick walked over. Joe met his eyes.
"I lost them," Rick said flatly. "They're still out there."
Mary panicked, stumbling forward. "We can't leave them! Please! We have to find them!"
She buried her face into Glenn's chest. Glenn, red-faced and half-panicked himself, wrapped his arms around her awkwardly.
All eyes turned to Rick.
He didn't hesitate. "We'll search the forest and make camp tonight. If they're thinking smart, they'll double back. Just might take time."
Mary nodded, wiping her tears. Glenn held her tighter.
Joe looked to the group. "Daryla and I. We'll split up. The rest of you set up a perimeter. Use the cars to block the road. Keep watch."
The others nodded. The plan was simple but solid.
With weapons in hand, Joe and Daryl stepped off the road and into the trees.
The forest swallowed them moments later.