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Being on the road, left to scavenge and scrap was a special kind of hell. But it was a hell Rick Grimes was all too accustomed to. How long had it been since the prison had fallen? Days? Weeks? It was almost impossible to tell, each day running together in a blur that he pondered late one night as he watched the crackling fire.
He knew it wasn’t sustainable to go on like this. That eventually, the group would grow tired of the directionless wandering, of his directionless leadership. They did not know where they were going, or even what the goal was. But one common thought stayed bubbling beneath the surface, that they needed community. They had a growing boy and a baby with them for god’s sake. They couldn’t stay this way forever.
As the day broke the next morning, his late night thoughts had given him a new resolve. A new plan formed in his mind, one to hopefully get them at least the tiniest bit closer to the comforts of the old world. There had to be some safe zone somewhere, in some place they could logically figure out.
“We’ll go along this fork in the high way once we get there,” Rick explained, tracing his finger along the map he sprawled out on the ground. Nervous glances were exchanged between those in the group as he suggested a deviation from their predetermined course, but what was life if not a gamble?
Glenn was the first to speak up. “I think it’s worth a shot,” he said, a newfound confidence lacing his voice, “If we go that way, we end up closer to a water source, there’s gotta be some form of people near one that big. It would be stupid for there to not to be.”
It was decided then, their journeys on the road continued, and a gamble was taken.
The long trek towards what they hoped would be their salvation was not the easiest task, but there was a rejuvenation among the group, a sense of hope. Almost, for hope seemed to be too strong, too misguided.
As the first day of travel started to come to a close, they needed someplace to rest, some place out of the way. And for once, fortune seemed to be on their side, as just as where to stop was a topic of discussion, an abandoned strip mall came into their view. The group rushed to the parking lot, surveying the area with urgency. Once they deduced it was safe enough, it was time to set up camp.
Carl had begged his father to let him take the first watch that night, and in spite of his continued reluctance to let the boy take on more responsibilities at this point, Rick obliged.
But being a teenaged boy, no matter how much he tried to trained his mind to focus, one constant ate away in the back of his mind as he sat in that parking lot.
Boredom.
And there was only one remedy to that boredom. Once he was certain that his companions had drifted off to sleep, the boy jumped up, reaching for a flashlight and headed across the expansive parking lot.
The further he went into the night, one sound persisted. The distinct humming of electricity, but Carl thought he was going crazy, from lack of food, lack of sleep, or any other insane combination of factors from the world they lived in. He tried to push it to the back of his mind, ignoring it and continuing his trek. That was until it came into view.
That distinct, bright yellow sign.
And the lights were on inside the building it stood in front of.
Carl went sprinting back to the group, not caring about what walkers he would possibly attract as he shouted, “Guys! Dad! I found something!”
In a panic, Rick bolted upright. Had something happened to the boy? “Carl, you know you’re not supposed to-“ Rick began.
“Dad, I know, but this is huge! You gotta believe me!” Carl cut him off, breathlessly. Rick gave a sigh of resignation, glancing at the rest of the group now gathered around. Carl looked at him expectantly, before getting a small nod of approval, a sign to lead the way.
Carl took off running the moment Rick nodded, so fast the adults could hardly keep up. It was hard to imagine what could have him so excited, but they trusted Carl to not lead them to a dead end.
“There! There it is!” Carl shouted out, excitedly pointing towards they distance. And now they understood.
There, in all its glory, stood a Waffle House.
It was a reminder of the world they had lost, and for some reason, it looked so intact, unlikely everything else in this broken reality. Rick lead the charge towards the door, and with a slight hesitance, he led them all inside.
The bright florescent lights were unlike anything the group had seen in a while, it felt like looking in the face of God, blinding them temporarily. Then a voice cut through the silent joy they all found themselves experiencing.
“Hi, welcome to Waffle House.”
Rick whipped his head around to see the source of the voice, a teenaged boy, probably no older than eighteen, standing behind the counter. Michonne gave a Rick a small nudge in the arm and a distinct look of confusion. How long could this boy possibly have been here, and how long could he have been here alone?
An overwhelming silence filled the room, confused glances abound from the group. But the boy did not seem to care, as he filled it by continuing his fast food worker spiel, “Do you want to order anything or not? I don’t have all day.”
A flat “What,” was all that came from Rick’s mouth.
Glenn went to take initiative, deciding to slowly approach the counter, his hands raised to single that they are not a threat. “Look, kid, we just want to know… have you been here alone? This whole time?”
”God, you’re asking a lot of invasive questions. Do you want a waffle or not? I need to put my order in before my shift ends,” he replied with an eye roll. “Look Jimmy in the back doesn’t like when customers take too long, and you’re already behind his schedule.”
”I’m sorry, are you just… doing your job normally?” confusion rose in Glenn’s voice, “Even when the world’s gone to shit?”
”It sucks, I know. I tried to call off when my grandma got bit but my manager said no! Said we had a reputation to uphold! Not like we’ve had many customers, no one knows we’re open anyways,” the boy rambled in return, clearly frustrated.
Glenn looked over, spying a name tag that read “Austin”. “Look… Austin?” Glenn asked with hesitation before continuing. Austin gave a nod, confirming his name. “Is there anything stopping from just… y’know, leaving?”
“I need the paycheck dude, minimum wage is better than nothing,” Austin replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, as if the group couldn’t hear the district groaning of a walker coming from somewhere nearby.
Glenn realized he was getting no where with this, and all he was getting was increasingly confused. He turned to Rick, searching for some kind of answer on his face. All he could see was some sort of realization dawning.
”You know Austin, I remember hearing something one time about how sometimes the severity of disasters was tracked based on how many Waffle Houses stayed open. Now, I always thought it was a fool’s idea, like that really meant anything, but maybe…” Rick trailed off, looking towards Austin.
”Sir, I don’t know what you’re saying. All I’ve wanted to know is if you guys are going to order anything or not,” Austin sighed.
”Son, if Waffle House is still open, does that mean there’s still hope for the world?” Rick inquired with a serious tone, as if their future hinged on the answer this clearly overworked teenaged boy was about to give them.
”I guess, if that’s how you want to look at it. But more importantly, I’d recommend a classic chocolate chip waffle,” Austin said with complete indifference towards the state of the earth.
“Thank you, but my group and I have a couple things we need to discuss first,” Rick said, as he turned back towards his traveling companions.
“We need to try and spread the word,” Glenn implored, “I know it’s stupid, but maybe this can give people some kind of hope. Some hope that we can actually rebuild something, anything. Look if we can find some people-“
“Too risky,” Daryl responded gruffly, “I say we take this place and stay here for ourselves. Keep the kid around, solid supply of food.”
”Where are they getting all this food anyway?” Glenn couldn’t help but inquire.
”C.H. Guenther & Son,” Austin chimed in, who by that point was reading a magazine, disinterested in their world saving aspiration “Real consistent supplier they are.”
“See! This could change everything, we just need to find a community and-“ Glenn was once again rudely interrupted by a walker stumbling through the door. The group jumped into action, scrambling to find their weapons.
Austin glanced up briefly at the commotion and let out a long, exasperated sigh as he shouted back to the kitchen, “Another one Jimmy! Need a little help!” And just like that, before the group could safely attack the walker, a barrage of bullets came from the kitchen, making quick work of it.
The group exchanged some more confused glances, this day was getting weirder and weirder by the second, but for Austin, his chill demeanor made it seem like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. “That was Jimmy, the cooks are something else,” he explained, still not looking up from his magazine.
Rick realized that this was just the place he was looking for. Just the place for his group to settle down. It seemed to have everything. Food, shelter, good protection. If a Waffle House was their salvation, if it was the only place they could find some sense of normalcy in this shattered world, then by god they would seize the opportunity. Rick knew what he had to do, that there was only one way to get them to stay.
He approached the counter again and with a firm tone, said to the boy, “Son, we’d like to apply for a job.”
Austin pointed towards a stack of papers at the other end of the counter, “Suit yourself, don’t see why anyone would want to work here.”
Rick have a nod of appreciation, and as he grabbed a handful of applications for each of his friends, a sense of hope swelled in his chest.
As the day went on, and each of them handed in their forms one by one, that hope did not diminish. They were finally free, finally safe, finally somewhere to belong. In spite of the world trying to stop them and utterly going to shit, their lives could begin again.
And it was all thanks to Waffle House.