After returning from the hospital, Carl immediately began planning where to hide supplies and extra weapons with ammunition. He checked the house again in search of a good hiding place but didn't find a suitable spot.
With no ideas, Carl also checked the yard, where he found an old well hidden in the bushes. It wasn't visible from outside and was 5 ft wide. Upon opening it, he discovered it was filled in. Carl decided to dig it out and hide all his supplies in it. Knowing he couldn't leave any trace, he spread a tarp to hold the dirt. Digging out the well took him two full days. Using a ladder, he managed to dig down to a depth of 20 ft (6m). It wasn't his only safety measure in case he got stuck; he also had a rope tied to a tree, initially used for pulling up buckets of dirt.
In the dug well, he stashed nearly all his supplies. Then he buried them and put the wooden cover back in place, though he still had a lot of leftover dirt. Carl decided not to worry about it for now and instead focus on modifying the car so he could reach the pedals.
The car modification was fairly simple; he attached wooden blocks to the pedals and put a booster cushion on the seat. When he was ten, he asked his father to teach him to drive, but Rick only explained the function of the pedals and a few other buttons without letting Carl drive. Nevertheless, Carl felt confident he would quickly master the skill.
After modifying the car, Carl packed the most necessary supplies, including a tent, spare fuel, extra clothing, some food, and a weapon.
He also changed his gear, replacing his military bulletproof vest with a civilian vest that fit better. He disguised his pistol holster as a regular waist pouch attached to his belt.
Carl examined a map to find the best route to Savannah, specifically near Rincon, where the officer's house was located. From the journal, he knew the officer's house was about 5 miles from Rincon, down a sandy road in the forest, surrounded by a 7 ft high, sturdy fence.
Carl finished planning the route by ten at night, deciding to secure the house and fence around it the next day.
As planned, he dedicated the following day to securing the house. He boarded up the windows on the first floor, blocked the garage to make it impossible to open from outside, and set up a trap on the stairs leading to the second floor. The trap was simple—a wire tied to a grenade. Additionally, he prepared caltrops made from nails and scattered them around the fence so anyone jumping over would have an unpleasant surprise.
In his view, these precautions would be enough to deter most looters, though they wouldn't stop the infected. Carl wasn't worried about them, as it was other survivors who posed a greater threat.
Alongside these defenses, Carl considered luring a few infected into the yard and leaving them there, but after thinking it over, he decided it was too time-consuming.
The night before leaving, while listening to the radio, he mostly heard looped messages or warnings. On the same channel used by the military, he heard several soldiers calling for help, claiming Fort Benning was surrounded by a massive horde of infected. But no one was answering their calls, so they were appealing on this channel for help. Suddenly, Carl heard a familiar voice.
"You're on your own, soldiers. There are no other large units left in Georgia to assist you. If you survive, head to Alabama to the crisis center. My forces are stationed there. Since this is a public channel, my IT team will secure it against unwanted intrusions. Over and out, General Walsh."
"That's Shane's uncle."
Carl knew Shane's uncle was a high-ranking officer but hadn't realized he was a general.
The night was quiet, with no surprises. As planned, Carl set off toward Savannah, with Macon as his first stop. At first, Carl struggled with driving, nearly veering into ditches and colliding with abandoned cars several times. But gradually, he improved. He did hit an infected once, but at a low speed, so there was no serious damage.
Carl tried to avoid main roads since most were blocked, either by cars or by hordes of infected. Because of this, he often got lost and ended up in places that weren't on his route. But about 20 miles past Macon, the car broke down. Carl didn't know what was wrong, but the engine wouldn't start. He was certain only that he had half a tank of fuel left, so he had to continue on foot.
In the evening, Carl set up camp in the forest, about 35 miles from a railroad crossing, or so it seemed from the map. Before going to sleep, he checked the area around the camp and found no infected. Instead, he found a crashed helicopter, which had likely gone down at the start of it all.
Though it wasn't a military helicopter, among the wreckage were soldiers' bodies. Near one of the bodies, Carl found a military radio. After checking it over, he discovered it still worked. He decided to turn it off and stash it in his backpack. The soldiers' weapons were bent or showed signs of fire damage, making them unusable. Nevertheless, Carl found a flare gun in decent condition besides the radio.
After checking the helicopter wreckage, Carl returned to his camp for the night, which passed quietly.
Carl woke up early in the morning. It was still dark but not so much that he couldn't see. A few minutes after he resumed walking, he heard a gunshot in the distance. Since it was only one shot, he decided to keep moving.
About ten minutes later, he heard an approaching vehicle, which turned out to be an old camper van. When it drew closer, it stopped, and a man stepped out. Through the window, Carl could see a girl who looked around eight years old.
After a moment, the man spoke up, "What are you doing out here alone, kid? Where are your parents?"
From the Author: I'm publishing this a day later than planned because I couldn't decide what to write here for a while. I might not publish more this week due to a lack of ideas for the next chapter and because Halloween is coming up (not widely celebrated in my country). November 1 is a different holiday (All Saints' Day), so I'm not sure I'll have time to write thenext chapter.