Exit Alexandria: Shane's Escape. #wattys2017 #twd

On The Road, Again

                    

Setting: This is an alternative universe. Phillip decided not to help Dr. Denise and immediately fled Alexandria before the Walkers made it to the gates. Shane, Henry and Phillip are inside the military vehicle the PYTHON and are heading west on a Virginia highway.

Shane is sitting shotgun next to Phillip, and Henry is sitting in the first row of passenger seats. Henry is sitting in close proximity to the men, so he can be involved in the conversation.

"I'm not leaving my daughter, Phillip. I didn't even get to see her!" Shane's voice was coarse and his saliva collided with the windshield.

"First off, say it don't spray," Phillip replied with a rather monotone voice, his eyes were still focused on the road, only seeing Shane's gross behavior in his peripheral. "Secondly—"

"I don't need you to list shit for me, asshole!" Shane angrily retorted. Shane had no patience for any of Phillip's cutesy, sarcastic bullshit.

"Secondly..." Phillip resumed, "we're not exactly leaving. Not just yet. We're relocating to less hostile territory. That place was being attacked!"

Shane slammed his fist against the dashboard. "That's EXACTLY why I need to be there!" The crash of Shane's fist sent a shock through Henry, but was mostly ignored by Phillip.

"We're going eighteen miles out. We're going to come back, Shane," Phillip said, taking his eyes off the road. "And I don't think we have to worry about those people that attacked Alexandria. They didn't even have guns. Most likely they were just scavengers who fucked up royally when they attacked that community.

"Shane, I know you want to see your daughter, and we will. But we can't stay there. It would only be a matter of time until Rick tried something. And not just him, that entire community. We put roots down close to the Alexandria and then we wait."

"Wait for what?" asked Henry.

"Just until tomorrow. We're just regrouping, and we can't regroup in enemy territory."

Phillip understood how important Judith was to Shane, and they would return to Alexandria. But Phillip couldn't sleep knowing Rick was in the building.

"We're going back, Shane. I promised," Phillip said, breaking his gaze on the road to lock eyes with his friend. "We're not giving up. We're not running. We're regrouping, that all."

"Whoa!" Henry exclaimed, and Phillip's eyes refocused on the road.

The road was darkened by shadows of the looming night with only a crimson glow from the setting sun still visible. But blocking that one-way road was a gang of men. The men varied in age and race, but they all dressed in biker garb. They blocked the road, holding large automatic weaponry, waiting for their victims.

***

"Someone has a biker fetish," Phillip said as he slowly hit his breaks, causing the Humvee to come to a halt.

Phillip counted roughly twenty bodies, all armed. Phillip's knee-jerk reaction was to place the vehicle in reverse, but that prompted a hailstorm of bullets from the Saviors. The bullets caused numerous cracks in the windshield, but the reinforced glass stayed together.

"Go, go, go!" screamed Shane as Phillip attempted to pivot the large vehicle so it could escape the attack.

But the Saviors hopped on their bikes  and began to chase the PYTHON, now firing their handguns.

"Who the hell are these people?" asked Shane.

"I don't know, but I'm starting to think Virginia isn't very safe," Phillip stated. "We got to get these cum stains off our tail. Its only a matter of time before they shoot out something important."

The Saviors had secretly tailed the PYTHON for miles and had already placed a large semi-trailer two miles away south on the one-way highway. Shane, Phillip and Henry were boxed in. Even though the PYTHON was a powerful vehicle, they neither had the time nor the resources to tow the large semi that was also armed with Saviors. They were waiting, brandishing their weapons, firing them gaily in the air.

"No more running, Phil," Shane declared. "We're going to have to have to fight our way out."

Phillip inhaled slowly. "I know. I'm just trying to figure out the best way."

"I guess talking to them is out of the question?" Henry nervously joked.

"I'll 'talk' to ‛em alright," promised Shane,   his M-16 in hand. "You ready for this?"

"This is not the Alamo," Phillip chastised. "We do this the smart way."