Badge embers and the chained door

The engine's roar shattered the morning quiet as the jeep charged into the woods.

Lynn scanned the ground from the passenger seat.

Morning light barely filtered through the trees, illuminating footprints in the mud-large boot prints beside smaller tracks, leading deeper into the woods.

"Follow those two sets of tracks."

Lynn's voice broke with the jolting.

Davis gripped the steering wheel, watching the ground.

Min-seon checked the IV catheter in Rick's arm from the back seat.

Rick leaned against the window, his face pale, his eyes fixed on the woods outside.

Tracking was slow, simply because the woods were too dense and the tracks appeared and disappeared.

They had to stop frequently so Davis or Lynn could get out and find the way.

Every time they stopped, the engine noise drew growls from deep in the woods.

Time slipped away as they searched for the way and cleared out scattered walkers.

The countdown ticked: 38:21:09...

After they passed through a stand of dead trees, an abandoned county road lay ahead.

Across the road, a building stood amid overgrown weeds-the King County Sheriff's Department.

Gray brick walls, doors and windows shut tight.

Crucially, the tracks coming out of the woods, carrying mud and bits of grass, were clearly stamped across the station's parking lot, pointing toward a locked side door.

"The sheriff's department?"

Davis grunted, parked beneath the roadside trees, and killed the engine.

Rick's gaze changed when he saw the station. This was where he had worked.

"The tracks went inside." Lynn pushed the door open and climbed out, chambering a round in his pistol. "Resupply ammunition. Davis, breach the door. Rick, lead us to the armory."

"Understood."

Rick took a deep breath and climbed out, gripping his axe.

Davis carried his machete to the side entrance, a thick metal door.

He stepped back half a pace and kicked hard at the lock.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The door dented and buckled.

On the third kick, the lock broke and the door sprang open a crack.

A wave of dust and the smell of blood rushed out.

The entryway was dim, with papers and overturned chairs scattered across the floor. Several rotting corpses in police uniforms or civilian clothes lay on the ground, most with shattered heads.

Davis squeezed through sideways, sweeping the corners with his shotgun.

Lynn followed to cover him, and Min-seon helped Rick inside.

"The armory's at the end of the back hallway, on the left."

Rick gave directions in a hoarse voice. His steps were unsteady, but his gaze had sharpened a little.

The hallway was just as chaotic, with bullet holes and blackened bloodstains on the walls. There were more bodies here.

Davis led the way, with Lynn bringing up the rear.

Occasionally, a walker in a police uniform staggered out of an office, only to have its head blown apart by Davis's shotgun or be shot dead by Lynn's controlled fire.

The armory's iron door was locked, proving no one had broken in yet.

Rick stepped forward and entered the code. With a click, the lock released.

Davis took a deep breath and slowly pulled the door open.

Inside, the gun racks were orderly. Though somewhat depleted, they still held weapons: pistols, shotguns, AR rifles, and more.

The cabinets held boxes of ammunition and magazines, along with body armor, batons, and flashlights.

"Quick! Grab shotgun shells and pistol ammo!"

Lynn gave the order.

Davis lunged for the shotgun ammunition crate, grabbed several boxes and stuffed them into his backpack, then slung bandoliers over himself.

Lynn quickly loaded 9mm magazines and slipped them into his chest rig.

He tossed Rick several Glock magazines.

Min-seon searched the medical cabinet to replenish bandages, disinfectant, and morphine.

Rick silently put on a bulletproof vest and slung a shotgun over his back, his movements slow but his gaze firm.

He looked around the armory without speaking.

"We need to check the jeep too," Lynn added. "It's taken a few hits. They've probably affected it.

"Davis, check the engine and tires. Make it quick."

Davis acknowledged him and carried the ammunition back to the parking lot.

Lynn and Min-seon loaded the supplies into the jeep.

Rick stood at the station entrance and took a look, then silently climbed into the vehicle.

Davis lifted the warped hood, checked the wiring, tightened screws, checked the tire pressure, and reinforced the damaged bumper with tape and wire.

In less than half an hour, their ammunition was replenished and the jeep had undergone some repairs.

When the engine started again, it sounded a little smoother.

The four set off, following the road toward downtown Atlanta.

The tracks showed their target had gone that way, but that was where the walkers were most numerous.

The closer they got to the city center, the more clogged the roads became.

Abandoned vehicles crowded the roads, and the stench of rot grew stronger.

They kept detouring down side streets and threading through garbage-filled back alleys. Every detour brought walkers drawn by the engine.

Davis used the jeep to ram through small groups of walkers. The bodywork creaked, and the newly repaired bumper bent out of shape again.

The countdown ticked: 32:17:48...

"Cross that main road ahead, then go around two more blocks, toward the Centers for Disease Control." Rick stared at the map they had taken from the station, his voice dry.

The jeep burst out of an alley filled with garbage bins and onto a broad commercial thoroughfare.

The sight before them made everyone freeze.

The entire street was packed solid, countless rotting figures filling the roadway.

The jeep's engine was piercingly loud in the deathly silence.

An enormous roar erupted. Every walker's head turned toward the jeep, staring at it.

"Fuck!"

Davis cursed and jerked the wheel, trying to reverse into the alley.

Too late!

The nearest horde surged forward and sealed off the alley entrance. Rotting hands slapped the windows as more walkers closed in from both sides.

"We can't back out! They're all over the road ahead too!"

Sweat beaded on Davis's forehead. He stood on the brake as the jeep rocked under the walkers' pushing.

"Find cover! A building we can get into!"

Lynn shouted, sticking his pistol out the window and firing controlled shots at the walkers clawing at the doors.

Every headshot cleared a little space, only for it to fill immediately. Ammunition was disappearing fast.

Min-seon shielded Rick in the back seat, her face pale, a scalpel gripped in her hand.

"Left! That building! The door's open!"

Rick pointed at a five-story department store on the left side of the thoroughfare.

Most of its glass curtain wall was shattered, and the entrance gaped darkly.

Of the two filthy, bloodstained glass doors, one hung crookedly open a crack.

But it was their only way to survive.

"Davis! Go! Ram it open!"

Lynn pointed at the gap and shouted.

Davis's eyes widened. He floored the accelerator, and the jeep roared, plowing into the horde.

Bang! Squelch! Crack!

Crushing impacts rang out nonstop. The jeep jolted, and filthy blood plastered the wire mesh over the windshield, turning their view dark red.

The jeep forced a path through the horde and hurtled toward the building's entrance.

Just before they reached the doors-

"Something's blocking the doors from behind!" Min-seon shouted.

Lynn's heart sank. Through gaps in the blood, he saw obstacles piled inside the lobby.

"Ram through!" Lynn kept roaring.

Davis bellowed without easing off the accelerator, steering straight into the gap.

Boom-crash!!!

A deafening impact!

The glass doors exploded into flying shards. The jeep smashed through the obstacles behind them-wood splinters and fragments flew everywhere. It charged into the dark lobby, skidded a dozen meters, and crashed into a pile of overturned shelving. Smoke rose from the hood as the engine died.

The headlights went out. The lobby was dim, with only a little daylight coming through the entrance to illuminate the dust.

"Out! Block the entrance!"

Lynn kicked his door open and rolled out, shouting.

Davis jumped out and rushed toward a heavy metal checkout counter near the entrance.

Lynn and Min-seon, who had just climbed out, rushed over to help.

Together, the three pushed the counter into the breach before the walkers' hands reached the doorframe.

Not enough!

The counter only blocked the bottom. There was still a gap above it, and the doorframe beside it was broken too.

"Seal it off!"

Lynn shouted, scanning the lobby. Overturned shelves and counters were everywhere.

They frantically grabbed heavy objects-wooden clothing racks, metal boxes, mannequin stands-and piled them into every gap!

Rick struggled out of the jeep, dragged a heavy suitcase over, and staggered as he hurled it toward a gap. Every load left him gasping hard.

The horde swarmed the entrance, rotting arms reaching through the gaps and clawing wildly. A foul stench hit them.

"Hurry! Over here!"

Davis shouted, bracing his shoulder against a wooden cabinet rocking under the horde's pushing.

The four strained with all their strength, piling every heavy object at the entrance amid the stench and growls.

A few minutes later, a crooked "wall" of assorted objects temporarily plugged the opening.

Rotting arms still clawed through the gaps, and the barricade muffled the growls. For now, the horde was held outside.

The four slumped against the barricade, gasping for breath.

Lynn leaned against the cold checkout counter, panting as his eyes adjusted to the dimness.

Dust hung in the shaft of light from the entrance. The vast atrium was deathly still.

Daylight filtered through the shattered glass roof, illuminating scattered merchandise and blackened bloodstains.

The air smelled of dust, mold, and faint decay.

They were safe for now, but they could not stay long.

"Check the surroundings. Find another way out. Find high ground."

Lynn gave the orders between breaths, warily scanning the surrounding darkness and the depths of the hallways.

Then Min-seon pointed toward the emergency passage deep inside the lobby. "There... that fire door... does it look like someone's wrapped chains around it from the outside?"

Lynn looked over. In the faint light, a heavy green door stood tightly shut. Thick iron chains were wound several times around its handles, secured with a large padlock. Dried, dark red stains marked the chains.

Chains? Locked from the outside? Who locked it? Why? What was behind that door?

Lynn stared at the chains.