Samuel called everyone around to hear the plan. He walked amongst them as they all looked at the map. The route they drew on it finally finished when they arrived at the prison a couple of hours ago. No sign of the horde but the coast was prone to getting overrun. Marcus had started this same map back in New York when he originally told them about the prison. Now they had actually made it, and almost lost everything along the way. Marcus thought about Chambers and Quinn, Tyrell and Warren, how things had changed so rapidly. But alas they were finally here, and they had a plan.

What dwelled beneath became their only option. Everything was locked down for the most part. The outer fences of the prison were down in some areas. Zombies roamed the prison yard freely. They would have to lock down the inside of the prison first and then clear the outside and repair the fences, all in due time. Right now the primary objective was to find and save Marcus’ brother.

“So,” Atticus laid it out for them, “that means it’s a direct infiltration.”

The only way to circumvent the roaming undead was underground. Samuel and Atticus took their best guess on which sewer main to attempt the rescue.

“We will split into teams,” Samuel informed the group, standing together with Atticus before everyone. “Marcus, Atticus, Harold, Malcolm, Karina, Rebecca, and I will infiltrate the prison. Annie, Jesse, Echo, and Ruby will cover the point of entry-”

“Call it what it is, Samuel” Jesse interjected.

“You guys have to make sure the sewer main stays clear.”

Ruby was one of the only people to flinch checking with Echo for confirmation and then over at Samuel and Atticus almost in disgust.

You’re really going down there in the waste?

The Infiltration team got themselves ready. Rebecca was the most prepared. She still had the lab-coat on from the island and had accumulated enough supplies along the road to retrofit a hazmat suit as best she could. Such items in the outfit were duct tape and surgical gloves. Unfortunately, she could not find a proper helmet anywhere. So she put her hair in as tight of a bun as she could and slid a charcoal colored rain-slicker hood from under her lab-coat over her head and tightened it around her face tightly, tying off the strings.

Atticus had his same tactical gear on, he watched as Samuel sized himself up next to Rebecca getting ready. Samuel tucked his socks over his pants after watching Rebecca duct tape hers. When she put on the hood he reached into his bag of gadget treasures.

“I have just the thing for you, Doctor Pratt.”

Samuel pulled out several headbands with flashlights on the forehead and handed his duffle-bag full of devices to Jesse.

“Be careful with these, please.”

“Humanity’s salvation, I won’t let anything happen to them,” Jesse questionably reassured him, “I swear.”

Samuel handed the headgear to Atticus who dealt them all out to the group, leaving Karina and himself as the only two without one, as Samuel and Rebecca put on their headlights. Rebecca fastened a gun-belt between the lab-coat and her waist. With her glasses already on, the final touch was waiting in a pouch on the belt.

Atticus loaded his assault rifle and popped the flashlight on under the barrel. Karina began to panic as she watched everyone turn on their own lights. What was she going to do? Alone in the dark she might lose the group, she might lose herself.

Malcolm pulled a flashlight out of the knapsack he was leaving with Annie and tossed it over to Karina. He made her turn it on and then showed Karina how to hold it with her buck-knife, the only weapon the group allowed her.

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“Keep it forward always with your blade” Malcolm moved her arms while standing behind her, “and stay close.”

After Rebecca leant the rest of her duct tape to Samuel and whoever else needed it they were finally ready. Atticus popped the drain cap with a crowbar. Jesse and Atticus moved it over to the street pavement. Jesse held it while Atticus scanned down the hole with his light.

Echo gave them the “all clear” sign but Samuel could already tell it was clear, because it was so quiet. Marcus kissed Annie and took a hammer from their pack, along with a sidearm on his hip. At this point mostly everyone had guns on their hips, besides Ruby, Karina, and Echo. Marcus to some degree was wearing what he had started out in New York with, casual office attire, with a loosened tie around his neck. It seemed so impractical after all they have been through.

Samuel saw right through it, and he suspected Rebecca did too. Samuel knew Marcus did it to prove to himself that his life can’t move forward until he gets to his brother. Samuel knew all too well it was some sort of click inside your brain that made you bring up arbitrary obligations like wearing a tie or sitting in a living room surrounded by your dead family waiting for your son to come home.

The closer they got to what Samuel thought was the end, the more he thought about the beginning. Marcus entered the sewer drain down the service ladder while Atticus covered him with his rifle. Samuel followed closely behind him. He took pride in his duct tape boots after watching Marcus and, the only other member of their sewer rat pack that was more unprepared for the operation, Harold.

After his brief stint as executioner, Harold had gone slightly mad, albeit a sort of mad that he was able to keep to himself. A notable sign of his dissent included a Tommy-Bahama button down beach shirt that he swiped from Samuel post-Savannah.

As Samuel moved down the ladder, before his last glimpse of the above-ground he saw Rebecca get ready behind him pulling from her belt-pouch a facemask to cover her from nose to neck. It was not medical equipment in any way. It looked more like something you would see at a ski resort or during a bank robbery. He was very impressed, sufficed to say. Rebecca followed Samuel and Harold, Karina, and Malcolm all got down the ladder until Atticus dropped the rifle down to Rebecca and had a final word with Jesse before heading down to join them.

“Close it up behind us. Watch from a distance.”

“Got it,” Jesse nodded his headed.

“Don’t draw any attention until we have to.”

“We’ll be one step ahead with Echo.”

“Don’t forget about other people.”

“I’ll find a hold-up nearby no problem, Sarge”

“I was a Captain in the U.S. Airforce before civilization fell. Instead of trying so hard to be funny do us all a favor and stay sharp.”

“Yes sir, meant no disrespect. I can assure you of that.”

“And keep that girl out of trouble.”

Ruby shot a look of spite at Atticus as he lowered himself down just enough to help Jesse slide the behemoth metal cap back in its place in the road.

When Atticus met them all at the bottom there was a very definable odor in the air. The mucky water was just above their ankles. Everyone stood in front of him silently, flashlights all pointing to the way they thought the prison was. Atticus checked their flank as they moved, slowly, and more importantly quietly, through the sewer tunnel. Karina was getting very uncomfortable. Lucky for her she had used some of Rebecca’s tape on her ankles and was not yet wet with sludge like the others.

“The shit’s flowing away from us,” Harold pointed out.

No one responded.

“Downstream,” he dotted his i.

“Is the idea to come up out of the toilets, Sam?” Malcolm questioned.

Atticus, now maneuvered to the lead with Samuel, put his hand up to quell the team’s remarks. They turned the corner and groans could be heard amidst splash and scrape. It was game time.