Chapter Text
Glenn was...how should he say it?
...
On edge?
Nope.
Not quite.
He came with the same group as before, being himself, Morales, Andrea, T-Dog, Jacqui, and Merle.
But there was no tension, despite Morales and T-Dog being wary of Merle, who only ever snorted about it.
Briefly he had stared at Jacqui.
She'd lost the will to live after the attack on camp. After Amy and Jim died.
If those deaths were prevented, then maybe they could prevent her from choosing to stay at the CDC.
Andrea had looked too, but looked away in a couple seconds, clearly not trying to dwell on it.
They'd gotten into Atlanta easily, and the department store.
At this point, Glenn and Andrea were just waiting for Rick.
Eventually as they were searching a lower level, they heard gunshots.
Yet...that didn't sound like Rick's gun.
Maybe he was using a different one??
"Huh?! Who the hell is poppin' off rounds?!" T-Dog hissed slightly.
Glenn remembered the times where T-Dog was the cool, calm, collected man.
Though he wasn't at that point yet.
"Tourists maybe, doin' a little sightseein'." Merle spoke up, though his suspicion was only noticed by Glenn and Andrea.
All three were thinking the same thing? Good.
Morales rolled his eyes at that remark but otherwise added his own opinion.
"Wouldn't they know by now that the cities are no go zones?"
"Maybe not. Could be someone who wasn't connected to the outside world before all this." Jacqui pointed out.
Glenn frowned as walkers passed by the doors, then stopped and came their way, suddenly banging and clawing at the glass, while drawing more in.
"Shit." Morales started.
Andrea shook her head and pointed at him.
"Don't panic. It's not gonna get us anywhere. Most we can do is stay away from the doors as much as possible, and try to be quiet."
Huh.
Glenn doesn't recall her being like a leader in any way.
Curious.
Soon he was on his walkie, back on the roof of the building with everyone else.
But from what he'd seen, it hadn't been Rick, plus there wasn't a horse, but there were a couple of military guys getting feasted upon.
And a woman in the tank.
...
This...wasn't right.
"Hey you. Yeah, you in the tank, you cozy in there?" He spoke into the walkie.
The voice of the woman who replies was feminine but a bit on the deeper side, maybe as deep as Andrea's voice, but it was calm in contrast to how Rick's had been before.
"Who is this?"
"Ah, there you are. You had me worried."
"You can see me from where you are?"
"Yep, and it's about as good as you'd think."
"Forgive me for my forwardness, but I'm Doctor Candace Jenner from the CDC. I was with a couple others, out trying to research things, of course...that went as well as you would expect. God I was an idiot."
Wait.
Candace Jenner? As in Edwin Jenner's wife?
She was alive this time? Weird. She ought to be dead by now.
...
...
Unless...
"Question." He started. "Ever been to the circus?"
Okay, stupid way to phrase his real question but, if she did remember then she'd pick up on it.
He hoped.
It was silent for a moment, but the answer relieved him somewhat.
"Yes. It wasn't a very pleasant experience, and I don't think I'll ever go back."
he noticed Andrea looking at him with a raised brow, and Merle was masking confusion. Not shocking, he wasn't here for...all that.
He sighed as he saw only one walker, the same as before, still trying to get into the tank, the rest joined the feeding frenzy.
"Glenn Rhee. Listen, Good news is there's only one geek waiting for you, the rest have climbed down to join the feeding frenzy. With me so far?"
"Yes."
He explained it to her similarly as he did with Rick the first time, minus the gun bag since there wasn't one.
Thank God.
But...where was Rick?
He'd have to ask that again later.
For now.
The process went like before, eventually a woman in a white lab coat with more casual wear underneath came up to him at the fence at the alley, and they escaped like he and Rick did before.
Everything played out similarly getting back to the others, minus Andrea losing her cool.
"Look, we're trying to survive here. Know what the key to that is? Tiptoeing. Not shooting up the streets like it's the okay corral, got it?" Morales ranted a bit like last time.
Candace nodded, but frowned.
"I do apologize for that, but I honestly assumed that the geeks, as Mr. Rhee put it, had vacated the city for the most part. Clearly my assumptions were incorrect."
"Ya don't say." T-Dog muttered.
They avoided the doors this time though.
Candace then hummed.
"But...we did also see a helicopter fly overhead. That should be impossible, and yet..."
T-Dog of course disagreed like before.
"Helicopter? Lady that's crap, ain't no damn helicopter."
"You were chasing hallucinations, imagining things, it happens." Jacqui supplied.
"I know what I saw. Not to mention I'm a doctor and scientist, I'm pretty sure I'd know if I was hallucinating." Candace retorted with some bite.
Jacqui looked away a bit, somewhat chastised, while T-Dog cleared his throat awkwardly.
"And what of the apparent refugee center?" Though Glenn noticed that Candace seemed aware of the answer already.
"Yeah the refugee center, they got biscuits waitin' at the oven for us." Jacqui replied sarcastically with a shake of the head.
"Hey T, that walkie?" Glenn asked, given he'd handed it off to T-Dog like before.
Who shook his head.
"Got no signal, maybe the roof..."
Thankfully there were no shots being popped off by Merle, so they got to the roof and were up there with no issues.
"Well Mrs. Jenner, welcome to the big city."
Oh, thanks for that Morales.
"God it's like Times Square down there." Andrea said, clearly keeping some things the same.
"You say you have others? A larger group? Could we call them?" Candace inquired.
Andrea nodded but sighed.
"Yeah, but there's nothing they can do about it, not a damn thing."
"Hey T, how's the signal?" Morales asked.
"Like my will at this very moment, weak." Was the dry reply.
"Damn." Glenn stared.
Though this moment was broken when Candace spoke again.
"Could we go under the streets to get out? Through the sewers?"
"Oh man..." Morales looked to him, but Glenn shook his head.
"I checked, but all the manhole covers are out on the street where the geeks are."
"May not be the only way out." Jacqui started, looking thoughtful. "Old building like this built in the seventies, they had other access hatches in case of flooding, down in the subbasements."
"How do you know?" Morales asked, surprised.
Jacqui nodded.
"It's my job, was. I worked for the city zoning office."
Andrea chimed back in.
"A good idea in theory, but I suspect that some people likely fled down there. So chances are there are walkers down there, and we don't know how many."
"We shouldn't risk it." Jacqui replied, which admittedly surprised them both. "So we'll have to find another way out then."
"Wait." Candace looked out over the city, clearly zeroing in on the trucks from before, like he and Rick had done.
"Those work trucks, they always keep the keys in the ignition."
Morales looked and then nodded in approval.
"Problem is, you'd have to get through all those walkers down there."
"So, how do we do it?" Glenn asked, a knowing look on his eyes that thankfully Candace already seemed to perfectly analyze.
"Hm, can't they tell us by smell?"
"Can't you?" Glenn questioned with a glint of humor.
"They smell dead, we don't, it's pretty distinct." Andrea supplied, though she also clearly knew where this was going.
"And other than that?"
"Sound." T-Dog added.
"Right, like dogs. They hear a sound, they come." Glenn nodded.
"Otherwise?"
"Aside from they hear you?" Morales started. "They smell you, obviously, and see you, and if they catch you they eat you."
Jacqui seemed to stare at the other woman, as if she were searching for something.
"So what's your plan?"
Candace grimaced.
"Well, it's not going to be pleasant."
It was like before, except with Glenn and Candace, not him and Rick.
He didn't panic like before though, and they somehow managed to get to the truck without incident and then sped off.
"On the bright side, most of those geeks at the door will have lost interest by now."
Candace glanced at him and he shrugged.
"I'm a glass half full kinda guy."
"So I can see."
For a moment he thought of how to phrase it, but...she remembered, like he did, so he felt it unnecessary in this case.
"So, where's Edwin?"
Candace turned a corner.
"Back at the CDC. He'll be worried that I've failed to report back in yet, but I can get him later. The CDC generators still have a few days before they run out."
He nodded.
"I take it he opted out."
Not surprising that she didn't put it as a question.
It was obvious that she knew her husband had given up last time.
"You could say that."
"...and let me guess, you and your group eventually got there and he tried to lock you in and take him with you."
...
Damn this woman was smart.
No wonder Edwin believed she could've done something about all this.
...
Maybe she could, since she's still alive now.
"He failed, but yeah." He sighed. "The black woman you met here today, Jacqui, she stayed. We lost some of our own, and she just... lost the will to continue."
Candace nodded with a sympathetic expression.
Glenn briefly wondered her survival was going to affect things. And given Edwin would likely not lose his will to live like before, chances were that he'd join them.
This...was going to be interesting.
She said nothing though and the rest of the trip went about as one could predict.
Getting to the roll-up doors, the rest of the group was already there.
With Merle not being left behind.
...
Okay, this was good.
Not anticipated, but, it worked out better than last time.
Except one problem....
Where the hell was Rick?
...
Maybe he remembered and that's why he wasn't here??
...
Eh, who the hell knows.
Hopefully he'll show up at camp soon.
So...
Department Store run going better than before? Check.
Andrea getting that necklace for her sister like before? Check.
Getting out? With everyone this time around? Check.
Then there was Candace Jenner, who's survival might affect things in a major way, though that was yet to be determined.
Glenn was excited to see how this would alter things, but also nervous.
But now, despite his worry about Rick's apparent absence, his mind already shifted to worrying about tomorrow night's fish fry.
How to save Amy.
How to keep Jim from getting bitten, if heatstroke didn't kill him anyway that is.
Well, Andrea was no doubt already on alert there, and would definitely be staying close to her sister, so he wasn't as worried for Amy now.
Her death had saddened him a lot last time, she'd always been very nice, kind of reminded him of one of his sisters. And although he hadn't known her well, she was one of those people who you just couldn't really dislike.
Judging from what he observed before leaving camp, Lori looked as if she would be keeping a close eye on Amy herself.
And Merle set up lines of tin cans all around the perimeter of camp, along with Daryl.
Unlike last time, Shane hadn't taken them down, so they'd be alerted before the walkers came in and attacked, so another plus.
Though he, like Shane, had noticed something about Carol being off this time around. She still acted like before, minus fear and minus Ed's presence, but...something was off with her.
Not only did she give a couple wary glances at Shane, but she seemed far more protective of Sophia than before.
...
...
...
Mm...
As interesting as that was, it wasn't at the top of his list of concerns.
For now, they, along with Candace, we're heading back to camp.
And hopefully, just hopefully, they'll be ready for the inevitable attack and the losses that are still a guarantee.
After all it just proved that they weren't truly safe anywhere.
Except Alexandria, but that was still a long ways off.
First prepare for tomorrow.
After that, he can think about what's next.
As well as reuniting with the woman who was his wife.
Whether she remembered or not didn't matter, she'd still be Maggie either way.
But he was sure of one thing.
He was more than ready to reunite with all his family as time progressed.
And Rick was the next to find.