A radio call for help

Lynn stared at the thick iron chain and stains on the fire door.

Something was wrong with this building. Someone had locked this not long ago.

"Movement!"

Davis growled under his breath, his body tensing as he raised his shotgun toward the escalator to the lobby's second floor.

Lynn and Min-seon heard it too-faint footsteps creaking on metal steps, coming from upstairs. From the sound of it, there was more than one person.

The four immediately raised their weapons. Lynn and Davis crouched behind the counter, aiming at the top of the escalator. Rick held his shotgun and leaned against the checkout counter, panting, while Min-seon gripped her scalpel and watched the escalator.

The footsteps stopped at the top.

In the dim light, several figures appeared behind the second-floor railing, looking down with weapons in their hands too.

"Hey! Down there!"

A rough, hostile male voice rang out. A bald man leaned out, his face scarred and his eyes fierce, holding a modified hunting shotgun.

This was Merle Dixon.

"Talk! Who the fuck are you? How'd you get in? Did you bring those things outside here?!"

Merle's tone was aggressive, his gun pointed downstairs.

Beside him, a burly Black man, T-Dog, nervously gripped a fire axe, looking downstairs and then at the blocked entrance.

There was also a blonde woman, Andrea, her face pale as she aimed a pistol down at them with unsteady hands.

No Glenn.

Lynn quickly recognized who these people were, but Glenn alone was nowhere to be seen.

"Calm down!" Lynn's steady voice cut through the gloom. "The herd forced us in here. We crashed through the front doors. We didn't bring those things outside here. We're running for our lives too."

He emphasized "we" and "running for our lives."

"Running for your lives?" Merle sneered. "With all those weapons? Nice gear! You're robbers, aren't you!"

"We're not robbers," Rick stepped forward and said hoarsely. "My name is Rick Grimes, a deputy with the King County Sheriff's Department. I'm looking for my family."

He identified himself. What he had done was fairly well known.

"A sheriff?"

T-Dog sounded a little surprised. He vaguely remembered what had happened to this man.

Andrea's gaze shifted slightly, but she made no move.

"Sheriff, my ass!" Merle wasn't buying it. "What the fuck good's a badge now? Did you break those doors? We barricaded them!"

He pointed at the wrecked entrance.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Both sides held their ground, guns trained on each other.

Merle looked furious, and Davis had his finger on the trigger.

Rick held himself up, while Min-seon stayed still.

Outside, the walkers kept roaring.

"Listen," Lynn spoke again, his tone a little calmer. "We mean no harm. It's blocked outside, and we're all trapped here. Fighting will only bring those things back again.

"Let's exchange information. Maybe we can find a way out."

He paused and looked at T-Dog and Andrea. "We've got medicine and bullets. If you need any, we can trade.

"How about a ceasefire for now? Each side stays in its own area, and we talk when daylight comes."

Lynn didn't want trouble and was doing his best to show his goodwill.

"Trade?"

Merle had been about to laugh, but his eyes flickered at the mention of bullets.

T-Dog and Andrea exchanged glances too. Both those things were hard currency in the apocalypse.

Just then, a burst of electronic noise-"Bzz... shhh..."-suddenly sounded.

It came from Merle's waist.

Merle looked down and cursed, "Fuck!" He pulled a black walkie-talkie with an antenna off his belt. The noise was coming from it.

Something stirred in Lynn's mind. He seemed to have guessed something.

Then a young, trembling, nervous voice came through the walkie-talkie:

"Merle! T-Dog! You hear me?! Fuck! Outside... they're everywhere outside.

"I got the medicine, but I'm trapped in the 'rat run.' I can't shake them. There are too many.

"I need help! Answer me! Answer, damn it! Fuck!"

It was Glenn, with walkers roaring in the background.

The expressions of all three upstairs changed.

T-Dog and Andrea looked worried.

Merle looked anxious too. He slapped the walkie-talkie and shouted, "You little yellow monkey?! Which 'run'?! Be specific! The signal's too damn bad!"

"Bzz... east... east section... number three vent... shhh... opening! Hurry! They're... bzzzt!"

Glenn's voice broke in and out before the noise swallowed it completely.

"Glenn! Glenn!"

T-Dog shouted into the walkie-talkie, but there was no reply.

"Fuck!" Merle cursed viciously, threw down the walkie-talkie, and glared at the people below. "You hear that? Our guy's trapped in the building! What now?!"

Lynn stood, his gun still aimed upstairs, and looked at Merle. "Vent number three in the east section? You know this building. We've got people and guns. Working together to save him beats going alone."

He pointed at the fire door. "Also, why is that door locked? What's behind it? Could it be a way out? Once we've saved him, maybe we can figure it out together."

Rick straightened too. "Save him first!"

Davis and Min-seon followed Lynn's lead, so naturally neither had any objections.

T-Dog and Andrea looked at Merle. He was the leader of their group, and decisions like this were his to make.

With a dark expression, Merle looked over the four downstairs, then at the walkie-talkie on the floor, listening to the walkers' roars outside and the cries for help.

He spat, his gaze still vicious, but lowered his gun a little. "Fine... goddamn it! We save the kid first! Try anything funny..."

He waved his hunting shotgun, then let its muzzle drop for now. The chain still hung on the fire door.

Glenn's cries for help had broken the deadlock here.

Merle lowered his gun and knocked its barrel against the railing. "What are you waiting for? The kid's gonna die! East section, vent number three! Follow me! T-Dog, lead the way!"

T-Dog answered, turned, and ran toward a passage piled with clutter on the second floor.

Andrea quickly followed. Merle glared downstairs once more, then went after them.

"Davis, you're coming up with me.

"Min-seon, stay and look after Rick. Guard the entrance and keep an eye on our bags."

Lynn gave his orders. He couldn't fully trust the others, and leaving Min-seon behind was also a precaution.

Rick wasn't in good shape. Going along would only make him a burden.

"I can..."

Rick tried to move, but stumbled and nearly fell to the floor.

"Remember, make sure you hold the entrance!" Lynn cut him off, glancing at the fire door. "Watch that door. Radio us if anything happens."

Rick gritted his teeth and nodded, leaning back against cover with his gun aimed toward the fire door and the gap at the entrance.

Min-seon also found a position and stood guard.

Lynn and Davis rushed to the escalator and climbed to the second floor in pursuit.

The second floor was a mess.

T-Dog knew the way. He quickly threaded between shelves and clutter, turning into a narrow passage.

High on the wall at its end was a square metal grille-a ventilation opening.

"Here! Number three!"

T-Dog pointed at the grille and lowered his voice, urgency on his face. Behind the grille came pounding and the roars of walkers.

"Fuck! It's blocked!"

Merle growled, raising his gun to fire.

"Don't shoot!" Lynn shouted. "It's narrow in there. A stray bullet could hit Glenn, and the shots will draw more zombies."

"Then what the hell do we do?!" Merle glared.

Lynn looked around and pointed at a metal trash can in a corner.

"Davis! Drag that over and brace it against the grille!"

Davis grabbed the can, dragged it over, and braced it in place.

"T-Dog, Andrea, find something to pry with! Something long!"

Lynn gave the order, drawing his machete and inserting it into a gap in the grille to pry.

T-Dog and Andrea found some broken shelf poles.

Merle cursed and pushed with his gunstock. He was rather annoyed. This guy was trying to take his place!

"One, two, three! Push!"

Lynn immediately gave the order.

The four heaved together. The metal grille warped and bent, and the noise made the roaring inside grow fiercer.

"Again!"

Davis growled and heaved once more.

Crash! Crack!

The grille was pried loose and fell inward with a loud crash. Dust and the stench of corpses surged out.

The moment the grille opened, a rotting hand reached out, followed by a head lunging at Lynn.

Lynn leaned back to dodge and swept his machete upward.

Squelch!

The blade cleaved into the walker's jaw, spraying foul blood. The walkers behind it surged toward the opening.

"Block it!" Lynn roared, kicking the corpse away.

Davis held the opening, using his shotgun like a club to brace against the surging walkers as countless rotting arms reached out from both sides to grab at him.

"Glenn! Are you there? Talk to us!"

Andrea shouted into the duct.

"Yeah... yeah! I'm over here! They've blocked the way."

Glenn's voice came from deep inside, thick with tears.

"Hang on!"

T-Dog roared, chopping off an outstretched hand with his fire axe.

"Fuck! There are too many! We can't clear them all!"

Merle shouted, his muzzle wavering as he wanted to shoot but didn't dare.

Lynn knew forcing their way in wouldn't work. There were too many.

"Davis! Hold for three seconds!"

He shouted, stepping aside at the same time.

Davis grunted and held firm.

Lynn thrust his machete out, not chopping at a head, but stabbing at the cervical spine.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He drove the blade into a neck and twisted. The walker collapsed, blocking the way.

He moved fast, creating a barrier of piled corpses at the opening.

"Glenn! Crawl over here! Step on them!"

Lynn shouted as he cleared away walkers.

"I... I'll try!"

Glenn's voice trembled. He didn't know who had come, but they were clearing the zombies, so they should have come to save him.

Crawling sounds and walkers' roars came from inside the duct.

The pressure at the opening was intense.

Davis braced against both sides to fend off the grasping hands, while Lynn stabbed the necks or heads of walkers forcing their way out.

T-Dog and Andrea used the pole and axe to strike at the arms.

Lynn was sweating and panting. He had long since started cursing inwardly.

But the target of his curses was this damned system.

The system panel at the edge of his vision displayed:

[Side quest: Save Glenn - In progress]

Although the penalty for this side quest wasn't that severe, Glenn was still worth saving.

He just hadn't expected it to be this troublesome and dangerous.

"I'm here! I'm here!"

Glenn's shout rang out at the opening!

He looked terrified, his body filthy as he stepped on the pile of corpses.

"Grab on!" Andrea reached out to pull him.

"Watch out behind you!"

Lynn saw a walker inside the duct grab Glenn's ankle.

"Ah!"

Glenn screamed as he was dragged back.

Bang!

A gunshot!

The bullet grazed Glenn's shoulder and blew the walker's head apart. Merle had found an angle and fired.

Andrea and T-Dog hauled the screaming Glenn out with all their strength.

Glenn collapsed on the floor, coughing and gasping, trembling all over as he clung desperately to a bulging medical bag.

Walkers surged through the breach even more fiercely.

Davis fired his shotgun. With no need to worry about friendly fire now, he could shoot without restraint.

Boom!

The upper halves of the walkers squeezing through were blasted apart.

Lynn's machete, T-Dog's axe, Andrea's pistol, and Merle's hunting rifle all struck together, quickly clearing out the rest.

Gun smoke and a foul stench filled the passage, and mangled corpses and filthy blood covered the floor.

"Kid! You still alive?"

Merle asked, glancing at the medical bag.

"Not... not dead..."

Glenn lay sprawled on the floor, gasping. It had been close, so very close-he really would have died here.

He looked around and spotted two unfamiliar faces.

Lynn leaned against the wall, panting, his arms aching.

[System panel...]