Samuel had just finished his usual work training for the day.
After dinner, he sat down in front of the TV, opened Netflix, and was about to click on the Walking Dead when his hand paused.
He remembered he'd already rewatched it for the seventh time yesterday. Maybe tonight he should check out Fear the Walking Dead.
At exactly ten o'clock, he lay down on his bed. As he closed his eyes, he didn't notice the wall clock freeze at that exact moment.
"Zzz…Zzz…."
He woke up the instant he heard the strange noise around him, but didn't move right away.
Keeping his eyes closed, he focused on sensing his surroundings.
The sound of cicadas chirping filled the air. There was no immediate sense of danger. He cracked his eyes open slightly, he seemed to be in a park.
'What's going on? Where am I? Stay calm.'
He looked up at the sun's position, then instinctively glanced at his wrist.
'Huh? Where's my watch? Oh right, I took it off before going to sleep last night.'
He quickly scanned the area and instinctively pinched his thigh.
"Ow! Guess I'm not dreaming."
Looking down, he realized he was still wearing the shorts and T-shirt he had on before bed. No shoes.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit him. He closed his eyes as nausea surged.
When he opened them again, he had to spend a full five minutes adjusting to the sensation before the dizziness finally faded.
Taking a few deep breaths, he stood up without hesitation and headed out of the park. He needed to figure out his situation as soon as possible, take control.
Ignoring the odd looks from passersby, he made his way to what looked like a residential area. A few quick movements, and he disappeared.
When he reappeared, Samuel was wearing a baseball cap, a slightly loose outfit, and a pair of sneakers. He walked calmly along the road.
After passing a newsstand, a newspaper quietly appeared in his hand.
The front page headline read: May 23, 2010, Atlanta, Georgia.
He casually grabbed a passerby and asked, "Excuse me, is today May 23rd?"
"Yes."
"2010?"
"Of course!"
Ignoring the look the man gave him, like he was crazy, Samuel asked the same question in a few different places. The answers were all the same.
He found a shady spot by a flowerbed and sat down, thoughts racing through his mind.
"2010, Atlanta, Georgia? This time and place feel so familiar… Could it be… The Walking Dead?"
"Heh, no way…" Samuel shook his head at the ridiculous thought.
"But who could've moved me here without me noticing? Was I drugged?"
For some reason, Samuel suddenly remembered a conversation he had with Mark.
During a phone call, Mark had once said something like, 'Once you enter The Walking Dead world…'
At the time, Mark said it was a slip of the tongue, but Samuel had always found his tone a little strange.
Thinking back carefully, he realized something even more bizarre, his mind now contained a ton of new knowledge he'd never learned before, including foreign languages.
Even stranger, the rest of the knowledge in his head matched exactly what he had once asked Mark for: manufacturing, medicine, agriculture…
With that in mind, Samuel began recalling everything he knew about The Walking Dead. He'd studied the timeline in detail back then.
The series began in 2010, with filming starting in June. So, in the absence of an exact in-world timeline, it was safe to assume that the outbreak began around June.
The main character, Rick Grimes, woke up in a hospital in King County, just outside Atlanta, on Day 59 after the outbreak.
But there was a problem.
When Rick's group arrived at the CDC seeking shelter, Dr. Edwin Jenner mentioned in his computer logs that it was Day 194 of "Project Wildfire", meaning Day 63 of the outbreak.
That meant the "Project Wildfire" initiative started 131 days before the official story began.
"Project Wildfire" was the U.S. government's plan launched after they detected an unidentified, deadly pathogen.
They gathered experts in biology and virology, locked them in a lab to come up with solutions.
The project allowed communication with the outside world but no physical contact.
This was the generally accepted timeline. So the virus had already been spreading as early as 194 days before Rick woke up.
If Rick woke on Day 59, and Season 2 ended around Day 90, and Season 3 began around Day 300 in early spring, say, early April, then the story would have started in early July.
Today was May 23rd. That meant the outbreak was more than a month away. The exact timing was uncertain, but close.
There were several ways he could confirm whether he was truly in The Walking Dead universe.
He could head to the outskirts of Atlanta to check King County Hospital for Rick Grimes, or he could visit the CDC to see if Dr. Jenner existed.
By this point, Samuel had mostly regained his usual composure. After all, jumping from 2021 to 2010 was absurd beyond reason.
First things first, he needed some cash. Without money, he wouldn't get far.
He stood up, tugged down the brim of his hat, scanned the area, and blended into the crowd.
Two days later.
King County, outskirts of Atlanta.
Two men sat in a parked patrol car, talking.
"If that asshole takes one more step forward, I swear I'll blow his damn face off."
"Calm down. He's just a punk."
"Rick, sometimes I really wanna quit. This sheriff gig just ain't for me."
"Then what'll you do? Fix cars?"
"Hah, maybe I'll think about it."
"How's Carl doing?"
"Come over for dinner tonight. Ask him yourself."
"Ok. Have my beer ready."
"Don't worry."
The two men chatted and ate takeout in the car, unaware of the man standing across the street.
He wore a baseball cap, casual clothes, and appeared to be fiddling with his phone.
"Zzt… Zzt… Rick, Shane, this is HQ. We've got a disturbance at the supermarket on Fifth Avenue. Go check it out. Over."
"Copy that. On our way. Over."
The man in the baseball cap looked up at the departing patrol car and muttered, "Rick and Shane. So it really is The Walking Dead world."
That man was Samuel.
"Damn it. How am I supposed to get back? Am I stuck here?"
"What'll my parents do if they find out I'm missing? Or… is it just my soul that came here? That still doesn't explain this body."
"Ugh, whatever. No point thinking about it. Since I'm here, I might as well settle in and figure things out."
He figured the best move now was to get to know the story's protagonist, Rick, and his "good buddy" Shane.
Better to make contact now than wait until after the apocalypse, it could give him a crucial edge later.
With that thought, Samuel began walking toward Fifth Avenue. It was only two blocks away, and soon he spotted a crowd gathered in the distance.
He made a quick mental jab, then started heading toward the supermarket entrance.