Glenn's desperate, static-laced plea from the walkie-talkie – "Walkers pouring into the alley behind us! You gotta open that door from your side, NOW! We're trapped out here!" – electrified the tense atmosphere on the Harrison's rooftop. Rick and Glenn were alive, mere floors below, but on the verge of being overrun at the very service door they themselves had barricaded from the inside.
Compounding their peril, the heavy steel access door to the rooftop stairwell shuddered violently under the relentless assault of the walkers trapped within the building, deep groans and splintering sounds echoing ominously.
"Damn it all!" Shane roared, his face a mask of fury and adrenaline. He whirled, barking orders with the ingrained authority of command. "Morales! T-Dog! That rooftop door won't hold forever! Reinforce it with whatever you find! Don't let a single one of those bastards through!" He then spun towards the others. "Andrea! Jacqui! Ethan! You're with me! We're going down to that service door on the ground floor and get it open for Rick and Glenn! That's our only shot! Move like your lives depend on it!"
Ethan's mind, already processing the store's layout via his System, recalled the secondary stairwell. The main one would be a deathtrap.
[System reminder: Employee Stairwell B (West Wing, near current rooftop quadrant) previously assessed with lower walker presence. Main Stairwell A likely heavily congested.]
"Shane!" Ethan interjected, his voice sharp and urgent. "Stairwell A is a no-go by now! The store directory I saw showed a secondary employee stairwell, west wing, not far from here! It's a longer route to the service alley once we're downstairs, but it's probably our only clear path down!" He framed his System's intel as remembered "map knowledge."
Shane, though visibly stressed, gave a curt nod after a split second of consideration. "If you know a faster, safer way, Miller, you damn well lead it! No mistakes! Let's go!"
While T-Dog (his injured arm a clear hindrance) and Morales desperately dragged a heavy, rusted ventilation unit against the groaning rooftop door, their faces pale with exertion and fear, Shane, Ethan, Andrea, and Jacqui raced across the rooftop towards the west wing access panel. Merle, still cuffed securely to the pipe, hurled curses and jeers after them, his voice a grating counterpoint to the rising cacophony of the dead.
They found the door to Employee Stairwell B. It was unlocked. The stairwell beyond was narrow, dimly lit by struggling emergency lights, and blessedly, seemed relatively quiet for now. Ethan took point, his machete held ready. His Basic Stealth Movement skill and the new Featherfoot (Passive, Level 1) made his steps uncannily quiet on the concrete stairs. His Danger Sense (Rudimentary, Level 1) was a faint, almost imperceptible prickle at the back of his neck, an early warning system.
As they rounded the first landing, the prickling sensation intensified slightly. Ethan raised a hand, signaling for silence. He peered cautiously around the corner. Two walkers, former store employees by their tattered uniforms, were aimlessly shuffling at the bottom of the next flight.
"Two ahead," he whispered to Shane. "We can take them."
Working with a grim efficiency born of necessity, Ethan and Shane dispatched them quietly, Ethan's machete and Shane's combat knife finding their marks before the creatures could raise an alarm.
[Walkers Neutralized x2. Battle Points +2. Experience Gained.]
Ethan's BP count rose to 98.
Their descent continued, floor by floor. On the second level, Ethan's Danger Sense flared again just as they were about to open a fire door leading to a retail section. "Hold it," he murmured, pressing his ear to the door. "Movement on the other side. More than one."
The System confirmed: [Walker presence (3) detected directly behind door. Alerted by proximity.]
Shane nodded, and they prepared. When Ethan eased the door open, they were met with three lunging walkers, which they dispatched with a swift, brutal coordination, Andrea and Jacqui providing covering fire with their handguns.
[Walkers Neutralized x3. Battle Points +3. Experience Gained.]
Ethan's BP now stood at 101. The small gains were reassuring.
They finally reached the ground floor, emerging into a dusty, ransacked storage area behind the main retail spaces. The sounds from the service alley were terrifyingly close now: Rick and Glenn's desperate shouts, the furious snarling of countless walkers, and the sickening thudding of bodies against the steel service door from the outside.
"This way!" Ethan urged, his System guiding them through a maze of overturned shelves and discarded stock towards their side of the service door.
They reached it. The heavy steel door was shuddering violently, the makeshift barricade of display counters they'd erected earlier visibly straining under the external assault.
"They're right there!" Glenn's muffled yell, filled with terror, came through the door. "Hurry! They're breaking through our barricade out here! Can't hold them much longer!"
"Alright, people, earn your damn keep!" Shane bellowed, he and Ethan throwing themselves at the heavy display counters, trying to pull them away. Ethan's Strength of 7 allowed him to contribute significantly. Andrea and Jacqui, handguns trembling but aimed steadily, watched their backs, covering the dark aisles of the store for threats approaching from within.
It was a frantic, desperate effort. The counters were heavy, wedged tight.
[System alert: External walker pressure on service door: Extreme. Biosignatures of 'Rick Grimes' and 'Glenn Rhee' in immediate peril. Door must be pulled inwards to allow entry. High probability of multiple hostile entities attempting to breach with them.]
"It has to swing in!" Ethan yelled to Shane, recalling the door's mechanism from their earlier entry. "When it gives, we pull it hard, then get ready to slam it shut and fight whatever follows them through!"
With a final, synchronized heave from Shane and Ethan, the main counter scraped loudly across the floor, creating just enough space. Ethan yanked on the door handle with all his might. It screeched open inwards.
Rick Grimes, his face a mask of dirt, sweat, and fresh blood, practically fell through the opening, hauling a terrified, equally battered Glenn with him. "GO! GO! GO!" Rick screamed, shoving Glenn further inside, his Colt Python already firing back into the alley at the horrors pressing in. His command was a raw burst of survival instinct, focused entirely on getting himself and Glenn through that narrow doorway to perceived safety.
But they weren't alone. As Rick and Glenn stumbled clear, three lean, unnaturally fast Runner Variants, their eyes burning with feral hunger, squeezed through the doorway right on their heels, their distinctive, piercing shrieks echoing in the confined space. The main body of walkers from the alley was just a heartbeat behind them, a wave of grasping hands and snapping teeth.
It was instant, brutal chaos in the service entrance area, the fight for survival now ferociously internal, their brief hope of rescue immediately overshadowed by a new, terrifying invasion.
Ethan Miller - Status
* Level: 3
* Experience (EXP): (: 120/300 towards Level 4)
* Battle Points (BP): 101
* Attribute Points (AP) Unspent: 0
* Core Attributes:
* Strength: 7
* Agility: 9 (Soft Capped)
* Endurance: 6
* Perception: 9 (Soft Capped)
* Learned Skills:
* Basic First Aid (Active, Level 1)
* Basic Stealth Movement (Passive, Level 1)
* Featherfoot (Passive, Level 1)
* Danger Sense (Rudimentary, Level 1)