Our Horrific Adventures

Poster used for the second episode.

"**Our Horrific Adventures**" is the third episode of the first season of *The Walking Dead*. It is the third episode of the series overall.

## Plot

As Rick is welcomed into a group, a shocking discovery is made. Rick makes a decision to go back to Atlanta to retrieve the bag of guns and save a man's life

## Synopsis

In the roof of the department store, a handcuffed and delirious Merle Dixon sits alone, talking to himself about a violent incident from his past. Suddenly, he snaps back to reality and begins panicking as some roamers start to clamor at the padlocked stairwell door. Merle becomes hysterical, desperately trying to break free. He prays to God for forgiveness and then spots a hacksaw from the overturned tool box and his resolve suddenly strengthens. Taking off his belt, he repeatedly tosses the buckle end to try to reel in the hacksaw, lying just out of reach.

On the road, Rick is driving to the camp, while Morales advises him not to dwell on Merle's abandonment, claiming that nobody will miss him, except for his brother, Daryl. Rick listens in silence.

At the camp, Allen watching over the kids is interrupted with the approach of Glenn's Mustang alarm blaring. Orlando spots the car, and alerts the others. Amy rushes to Glenn and demands to know if her sister, Andrea, is okay. Dale tells Glenn to turn off the car alarm before walkers hear. Jim disconnects the alarm while Amy continues to ask questions about Andrea. Glenn tells her everyone's okay, except for Merle. Dale chastises him for drawing attention to their location.

The cube van arrives. Andrea and Amy tearfully reunite, as do Morales and his wife, son and daughter. Dale and Morales greet each other as we see a woman and her son, with the boy looking sad, as she tries to comfort him. A man in a police jacket walks up, shotguns in hand. He greets them, and then asks Glenn how they made it out of the city. Glenn says a new guy helped them while Morales adds that he's a police officer. He then tells an exhausted and apprehensive Rick to come meet everybody. Rick emerges from the van and recognizes Shane. The two trade stunned glances as Carl tearfully lifts his head and Lori's eyes follow. He spots Rick and runs into his open arms. Lori stares at Rick, but she tearfully embraces her husband and son. Shane and the rest of the group watch on, dumbfounded. Lori cries into Rick's shoulder while Rick turns to smile at Shane, who walks up to Rick, and tells him how good it is to see him.

In the night, around a campfire, Rick describes the disorientation he felt waking up alone in the hospital. Lori explains she was told Rick would be brought over to Atlanta, but it never happened. Carl says Shane told him he died. Rick states Shane had every reason to believe he did, and he thanks Shane for looking after his family. Rick tells Shane he owes him more than he’ll ever repay, to which Shane downplays. Shane goes on to explain he thought this would be over in a week, and feels silly for it now. Rick makes mention of his bag of guns, and Shane notes how he was afraid of explaining it to the captain when he got back. Shane notes how they only had his shotgun and Dale's rifle for a while, until Merle and Daryl showed up.

Nearby, Ed Peletier stokes his family's fire with a fresh log. Shane intervenes, instructing Ed to take the log out so they can't be seen from a distance. Ed tells him to mind his own business, but concedes under Shane's forceful command and instructs his meek wife Carol to pull the log from the fire. Ed then glares as Shane bids Carol and their daughters Sophia and Anna good evening.

Back at the group's fire, Dale asks what they should tell Daryl about his brother. Jacqui reasons that Merle was out of control, but Dale reasons that they can't tell that to Daryl. Rick volunteers to deliver the news, as does T-Dog, still filled with guilt for dropping the key. He tells the group that he stopped to chain the stairwell door before he ran for the van.

In their tent, Rick says goodnight to Carl. Rick then leaves, and sits outside the tent watching the fire. Lori joins him, and tells him she’s sorry they left him. He tells her he understands, and is really just happy Shane was around to help keep them safe. He tells her he knew she and Carl were alive because their photo albums were gone when he returned to their house. Lori smiles and pulls one open. They reflect on their past mistakes and are grateful for the second chance that they have been given. Lori returns Rick's wedding ring, which had been removed when he was in the hospital, and the two continue to talk. Rick is seen visibly shaking, and he admits he hasn’t had a chance to be scared yet since he was so focused on finding them. Lori kisses him and tells him to go to bed, and the two discretely have sex. Outside, Shane, keeping watch on top of the RV, stares with malice and jealousy at Rick and Lori's tent as a thunderstorm builds in the night sky.

The next morning, Rick wakes to find a fresh pair of clothes laid out for him inside the tent. He gets up and gets dressed. Outside, he finds Donna ironing his freshly ironed uniform, though she laments how much harder it is without her old Maytag. Rick thanks her for her kindness. Nearby, Glenn mourns as Morales, Dale, and Jim strip the Mustang down for parts, taking gas for the camp's generators.

Rick then sees his wife preparing laundry with Andrea and Amy. She asks if he slept okay and grins, saying she didn't want to wake him, before she catches a look in his eye. Shane arrives back at camp with more water, and Rick tells Lori he plans to return to Atlanta. Lori is shocked, but their discussion is interrupted by screams. Carl, Sophia, and Jacqui, who had been out walking, run into camp deeply shaken. Jacqui explains there is a roamer in the woods as Sophia calls out for, and rushes towards her mother as the men grab various weapons from the campsite.

Rick, Shane, Jim, Morales, and Allen run past them to a clearing where a roamer is devouring a deer with crossbow bolts sticking out of it. Amy and Andrea follow. The five men beat on the roamer until Rick swipes its head off with his hatchet on the ground. Morales wonders why the roamer has made it this far up the mountain into the camp. Jim theorises it is because they are running out of food in the city.

The group hears the bushes rustling and Shane raises his gun protectively. Daryl Dixon emerges from the woods carrying a crossbow and hauling over a dozen dead squirrels. He's upset that the roamer ate the deer he'd been tracking for miles, and the food has been wasted. The roamer's decapitated head starts grinding its teeth, growling. Amy and Andrea take off back to the campsite, disgusted. Daryl fires his crossbow into the roamer’s head. He mocks the group for not realizing they need to destroy a walker’s brain to permanently kill one. He then walks into camp, calling out for Merle.

Shane follows, telling Daryl that Merle didn't make it back. Rick chimes in, confessing he left Merle handcuffed to the roof as the group surrounds them. He introduces himself to Daryl, who doesn't want to hear it. Enraged, Daryl throws the dead squirrels at Rick who ducks as Shane throws Daryl backwards. T-Dog sees Daryl pull a knife and warns Rick and Shane, joining the scuffle. Rick is able to disarm Daryl, and Shane locks him in a sleeper hold. Rick tells Daryl he plans on heading back to Atlanta to find Merle.

Later, Rick prepares to leave with Daryl. Rick admits he wants Glenn to come along because of his experience getting in and out of the city. T-Dog decides to tag along as well, to make up for his mistake. Shane argues with Rick that they need everybody to protect the camp in case more roamers show up. However, Rick contends they need more guns, which he'd be able to retrieve from the bag he dropped outside the tank. Shane softens, knowing the value of more guns, but Lori still isn't convinced and continues to plead with Rick not to risk his life for a man like Merle. Rick explains to her that he also needs to collect his walkie-talkie from the bag so he can warn Morgan Jones away from the city. He claims he owes them his life. Shane also recognizes that the walkie-talkie would be better than their CB. Lori gives up arguing, and Carl tells Rick he's okay with his reasons for going back to Atlanta.

Rick and T-Dog cut a deal with Dale for a set of bolt-cutters to cut the chains on the door. Dale agrees in exchange for making sure they bring back his toolbox, while Jim wants to be able to strip the cube van for parts that they can use for the old RV when they get back. Rick asks if they know of any gun stores downtown, just in case the bag of guns is too dangerous to retrieve. Glenn asks Jim for help, who tells them the exact cross streets of one. Shane then gives Rick the last of his bullets for his revolver.

Before Rick can enter the van, Dale pulls him aside. Dale explains how while he thinks Shane is a good man and has protected them, that he has his eye on Lori, and that he can’t confirm, but suspects something is up. Rick brushes this off, and spots the two laughing with each other. Rick thanks him, but explains they were best friends, and Shane has known Lori almost as long as he has, and isn’t worried. He walks back to the van, and looks back at Dale, before glancing towards Shane and Lori once more, before getting in.

Rick loads his gun in the passenger seat while Daryl drives out of camp and the group watches as they exit the campsite. In the van, Rick asks Glenn about Jim, asking if he’s okay, having noticed his solemn demeanor. Glenn asks if he remembers telling Rick about the guy who made it out of Atlanta, and explains that man was Jim. Glenn explains how Jim lost his family, and that he only told the story once before, and hasn’t talked much since besides talking to Dale. Glenn then swears suddenly, noticing the gun store is further into the city than he usually goes. Rick calms him, and tells him it's only the backup plan anyway.

In Atlanta, the group parks beside a railroad line. Daryl threatens T-Dog if Merle's not okay, but T-Dog insists that the undead can't get through the chains on the door. As they travel on foot below a highway overpass, Glenn decides the group should go for Merle first, because going for the guns would mean doubling back.

Back at camp, Orlando, Morales, and Allen hear shouting coming from Ed, who is screaming at Carol in their tent. The three look uncomfortable, and Orlando stands up, saying he can’t take this anymore. He goes over to the tent, but Ed exits the tent first, and exchanges a dirty look at Orlando. Orlando attempts to peek inside the tent, but Ed zips it up first, and asks him if he’s seen Sophia or Anna around. Morales and Allen look on, as Morales mentions he’s not sure he can handle this anymore.

Jim is working on dismantling the car with Dale, who asks Jim if he can retrieve a tool he thinks should be outside of the RV. Jim walks over, and begins searching, before silently spotting a shovel. He grabs the handle, and looks to the ground for a moment, before dropping it, and retrieving the wrench, walking back towards Dale.

In Atlanta, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog return to the department store. Daryl kills a roamer in the store with his crossbow. They cut through the chain on the stairwell with the bolt-cutters and emerge onto the roof. On the ground, the hacksaw sits beside a severed hand with bloodied handcuffs hang from the pipe above. Daryl screams as the others look on helplessly.

## Credits

* Rick Grimes
* Shane Walsh
* Lori Grimes
* Carl Grimes
* Glenn
* Dale
* Amy
* Andrea
* Carol
* Ed Peletier
* Sophia
* Anna
* Orlando
* Jim
* Allen
* Donna
* Ben (No Lines)
* Billy (No Lines)
* T-Dog
* Morales
* Miranda Morales
* Eliza Morales
* Louis Morales
* Jacqui
* Daryl Dixon
* Merle Dixon

## Mentioned

* Morgan Jones
* Lori's Parents

## Trivia

### First and Last Appearances

* First appearance of Lori Grimes (Physically)
* First appearance of Carl Grimes (Physically)
* First appearance of Carol
* First appearance of Ed Peletier
* First appearance of Sophia
* First appearance of Anna
* First appearance of Daryl Dixon
* First appearance of Donna
* First appearance of Ben
* First appearance of Billy
* First appearance of Miranda Morales
* First appearance of Eliza Morales
* First appearance of Louis Morales

### Other Trivia

* This is the only episode of the series in which the entire Atlanta group appears.