Chapter Text
Disorientating. That was the word Rick Grimes would use to describe waking up in the deserted hospital.
The last thing he could recall was his good friend Shane Walsh placing a bouquet at his bedside, looking over now: the flowers lay wilted.
Rick struggled to pull out the IV needle from his forearm, the bag that held the solution was empty; he steadily pulled out the catheter attached to his groin, wincing as he did. Once he was satisfied he wasn't hooked up to anything else, he stumbled out of his hospital bed. The stitched wound in his side stung as his skin moved, he looked down at the browning bandage and chose to ignore it for now.
His hospital garbs were stained with sweat but almost everything he owned was, so he didn't care.
Rick pushed open the door, and started walking down the decrepit corridor; being careful not to step on any broken glass. As he reached the end of the hallway, two doors chained shut bore graffiti:
'SNEAKY DEAD PEOPLE, DONT OPEN'
"What?" Rick wheezed confused, he stepped closer to the door; for a moment he could swear he heard sniffing on the other side.
"Heyyy, is someone out there? I can smell you," A sinister voice called from inside the locked room.
Rick startled backwards, "hello?"
"Oh hey there, open the door pleaseee," the door rattled, and whoever the voice belonged to pushed on it.
"Wh- what are you doin' in there?"
"...Some baddd people put me in here, but I bet you're niceee. Let me out please."
"Is it just you in there?" Rick's head was starting to hurt.
"Yes, I promiseee. ... I got food in here, we can party, just open the door," it rattled on the door again.
"Why- why does this door say sneaky dead people, don't open?"
"...They were lying, none of us are dead in here."
"Wa- you said it was just you?"
"Did I? Rats..."
"I think- I think I'm just gon' leave you in there," Rick started to move away.
"No, don'tttt. We can have a partyy, I have food: pecan pie... cheesecake... roast beef. You like roast beef?" It seemed to be getting desperate.
"Uh, yeah."
"Well, guess what? I have two roast beefs. You can have one, buddy... just open the door."
Rick decided to keep moving, ignoring the chains rattling and the whispering voice promising him a party. Exiting the derelict hospital, he was blinded by warm sunlight.
The beautiful weather had a stark contrast to the horrifying scene of wrapped cadavers in the courtyard, Rick tried not to think too much about it.
His mind remained hazy, maybe he was dreaming or in shock, he tried to remember what he was doing before all this happened: he was at his job... managing the local waffle house. He was taking orders when shots were fired into the busy lunch-rush crowd, there were screams and piercing pain in his side. What happened after he couldn't recall?
Subconsciously, he had been walking to his home, he remembered the streets. What he didn't remember was the absolute silence, it was uncanny. He spotted a pink bicycle upturned in a patch of grass, he pulled it towards him. His eyes widened in shock upon seeing a half-dismembered corpse turn to look at him.
"Well hello there, cutie pie, give us a kiss," it croaked at him, reaching towards him.
Rick recoiled in disgust, he wasn't convinced that all this wasn't part of some fever dream. Hopping onto the bike, he peddled away, the rainbow tassels fluttering in the wind; he chose to ignore the scene he left behind.
"... come back, come back, cutie pie! Oh, darn it."
As he rounded the corner, his house came into view. He discarded the bike at the front and struggled up his front steps into the unlocked house.
"Lori?! Carl, Carl?!" His calls were unanswered as he searched the empty house.
Feeling defeated, he sat down on his front steps, heaving ugly sobs. He was confused, and sore and had no idea where his wife or son was.
A big, soft, blonde-furred mass pushed itself against his bare legs, whining helplessly. Rick shook away the tears in his eyes to see a friendly-looking golden Labrador, he recognized the neighbourhood dog.
"Oh, Hi Benny," Rick sighed, stroking the dog which in turn sat next to him, licking his face, "mm, gross."
He was completely unaware of the figure sneaking up behind him till Benny the dog started growling, as Rick turned he was met with a shovel to the face.
"Oww..." Rick groaned, he could feel the blood rushing down his nose, he looked up at a short figure, "Carl? I found you."
"Daddy! I got the son-of-a-bitch, Imma smack him dead!" The young boy, Rick could now see, was definitely not Carl.
The two looked to the side to see the boy's father shoot a person, before rushing over to his son's side, gun pointed at Rick.
"What was he doing with that dog?" The older man put his hand protectively over his son.
"He called it Benny, I think he knows it."
"Son, you know they don't hesitate to kill anything when they're that close," the man looked to Rick and then to Benny, who was wagging his tail and smiling, "hey mister, what's the bandage for?"
Rick, who had just recently woken up from a coma and now struck with a metal shovel, was looking up at the man but not hearing what he was saying.
"Tell me or I will kill you."
Rick took the opportunity to black out.