Walking Dead: Altered Fate

When Samuel was keeping tabs on Dr. Jenner and his wife, he'd already done a lot of groundwork. 

During that time, he also attempted to pinpoint the locations of the members of Rick's group, hoping to bring them back to the CDC before Atlanta completely turned into a "walker paradise." 

But the problem was, there was no justifiable reason to do so. He couldn't exactly go up to each person and say, "Hey, I'm a dimension traveler here to save you."

That would only get him labeled insane. And in a city this massive, trying to locate people based on name and face alone was practically impossible.

He knew that around day fifteen, the CDC would experience a walker breach. 

It was that incident that led to Candace's death, an event that sent Jenner spiraling into despair after losing his test subject.

Meanwhile, Shane, along with Lori and Carl, would run into Carol on the road to the Atlanta refugee center, roughly on the sixteenth day.

Which meant Samuel needed to return to the CDC first and ensure the safety of Candace and the other research staff. 

Only then could he go out and retrieve the core group, who by that time should have all gathered at the quarry. Before Rick woke up, they were still in a relatively safe situation.

So, why was he out here now? To haul a load of fuel and weapons, of course. 

The CDC had no shortage of food or lab supplies at the moment, it lacked energy sources for the generators and ammunition.

Since he planned to train everyone in firearms and hand to hand combat soon, they couldn't afford to run short on bullets.

He drove to the furthest of the CDC's pre-stocked supply points. 

The roads were surprisingly clear, likely because for the past few days the TV and radio had been on repeat with broadcasts of "violent incidents" and "emergency action notices." 

Most people still didn't fully understand what was happening and were choosing to stay home and wait it out.

That, however, worked in Samuel's favor. He rolled out a pre-fueled tanker truck and began hauling crates of firearms and ammunition from the stash point to the CDC vehicle.

The location he'd chosen was sparsely populated even in normal times, and now it was practically deserted.

That meant he didn't need to sneak around. He just hauled the crates out openly, one by one, and loaded them into the vehicle.

Not far from him, in a nearby home, Andrea and Amy were saying goodbye to their father. Neither of them realized that this would be their final farewell.

"Andrea, you have to take good care of your sister. You're the older one. When I'm not around, you're basically Amy's guardian." 

Harrison wrapped his arms around both daughters and spoke to Andrea with a heavy heart.

"Dad, I'm not a kid anymore. I don't need her looking after me."

Amy yanked her father's arm off her shoulder and strode off toward their car with a huff.

"Haha, yeah… you're totally not a kid anymore."

Harrison chuckled at Amy's childish behavior. Andrea smiled too, watching Amy's back as she walked away, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

"Things have been getting rough out there, Andrea. The news keeps showing violent and bloody reports. 

You and Amy need to be careful. Don't go out for the next few days, just stay home and wait for updates."

"I will, Dad. I'll look after Amy too. You don't need to worry."

"I know you will." Harrison gave Andrea a hug, waved to Amy in the car, then turned and went back inside.

The sisters got into their vehicle and began driving back the way they'd come.

"Hey, Andrea?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that a CDC truck? Why would a CDC vehicle be out here?"

Andrea followed Amy's pointing finger and sure enough, spotted a man hitching a trailer labeled with the CDC emblem to the back of a fuel tanker.

She turned the wheel and drove in that direction.

"Hey there, handsome! Need a hand?"

Andrea had meant it as a casual greeting, but when the man turned around, she let out an involuntary sound and quickly looked toward Amy, who was already covering her mouth, whispering gleefully.

"He's cute! Totally my type! Hehe!"

Andrea muttered back, just loud enough for her sister to hear.

"No, he's not. Good looking guys are almost never any good."

Samuel had noticed their car a while ago, but since he'd already finished loading the weapons, he didn't care much. When he saw who it was, he was surprised, it was Andrea and Amy.

What were they doing here? He was a bit puzzled, but kept a straight face and said casually.

"I'm all set. Just picking up some supplies."

He acted like he didn't know them and responded nonchalantly.

"Hey, I'm Andrea. This is my sister, Amy. Are you with the CDC? Did something happen around here?"

"Oh, no, nothing serious. I was just passing by my place and figured I'd grab a few things. Heading back soon."

"Got it. Well, we won't bother you then."

Hearing that everything was fine, Andrea lost interest and started to drive off.

"Wait, Andrea, right?"

Now that his hands were free, Samuel called out to the sisters. He hesitated for a moment, then chose not to say too much and changed course.

"It's getting chaotic out there. You two are just girls, it's safer not to wander around. You should head home."

"Thanks for the heads-up!"

Andrea stuck one hand out the window and gave a wave as they drove off.

Samuel had considered dropping them a hint, but on second thought, it didn't matter. 

They'd all end up at the quarry eventually. Saying something now might actually mess with their choices. Better not to interfere.

…

After securing the CDC vehicle to the tanker, Samuel drove it back to the CDC garage, unloaded the weapons and ammo, checked in briefly with Jenner, then hopped back into his pickup and headed out again.

That afternoon, he was lying on the bed of a roadside motel room, the TV blaring yet another round of "emergency action notices." 

He wasn't interested in the content, what he cared about was when the signal would finally cut. That would confirm the timeline of the story.

And sure enough, almost like he'd jinxed it, the TV screen began to flicker and distort, becoming increasingly blurry before finally dissolving into static. 

He pressed the remote and flipped through all the channels, none of them had any signal.

He glanced down at his watch: 5:37 p.m., July 8, 2010.

"The apocalypse has officially begun."

Samuel got up, dressed, and slid into his pickup once again. 

Over the next nine days, he'd need to transport a portion of the supplies to a hidden forest location near West Georgia Correctional Facility.

If he waited another week to start transporting things, it would be far more difficult. By then, refugees would be clogging every route, leading to total gridlock.

Of course, the pickup truck wouldn't be enough for that job. He needed to find a way to rent a large cargo hauler, but that wasn't going to be a problem for him.

Over the next few days, while Samuel scrambled to make his final preparations, more and more cars began appearing on the roads. 

People were starting to sense that something was wrong. The TV signals were gone, but the radio kept broadcasting instructions.

Stay home, avoid contact with "violent individuals."

But the outside world only grew more chaotic. People ran out of food.

Those who went out to restock encountered violent individuals, opportunistic looters, and in some places, full-blown shootouts. 

Families that had never experienced such crises before finally broke down. One after another, they began packing up and preparing to leave.

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