"..Then we met Lee and the others soon after taking down the mutant walker. Unfortunately, we didn't have any camera to document its appearance before we burned it to ash. Then we resumed the journey back here the following day, which is.. today."
"It just sounds so unbelievable, but with all that happened to us. I'm not even surprised anymore." With a faint smile, Mary slightly shook her head.
"Then aren't we in trouble if there are walkers like that wandering around?" Her son, Alex, was more concerned about the threat it would pose. Since even Michael, who is abnormally strong compared to a regular human, had a hard time dealing with it. What more to an ordinary person who does not possess the same kind of power.
"Didn't you listen? Bullets can still kill them." With Maggie's pregnancy, Glenn certainly grew worried of this new enemy that poses a far more threat than a regular walker, but hearing that they still managed to take it down. He felt relieved that firearms can still kill them.
"That's not the main problem. You heard him, pistols are not effective against them and higher caliber firearms are not exactly easy to find and let's not even talk about the bullets man." Alex answered.
"Why worry about that? We don't even know if what Michael and others encountered is the only type of mutant walker out there, and even if there are others. I don't believe every single one of them would be almost bulletproof." Daryl interjected with a snap.
T-Dog was just watching the back and forth in amusement when a sudden realization struck him and that made him slap his knees. "Wait, hear me out! If pistols are not effective or that higher caliber firearms are uncommon is the problem. Why not rely more on shotguns using slug rounds? I think buckshot loads would be less effective, but we won't know unless we also encounter one. Though that's just my opinion."
"Ohh, not bad. Why didn't I think of that? We can always find those inside squad cars or in houses. I think we have eight of those, right kid?" Daryl snapped his fingers and turned to Cole to ask.
Cole turned to look at him "Yeah, two of those are in the hands of Rick's team and one each to Glenn and Andrea's team. The rest are being used by the guards."
"I'm not sure if I remember it right, I think I still have five or six boxes of slug rounds back at the farm. Around a hundred rounds or so. Though someone has to go back there to make sure since I was just reminded today." Hershel also just remembered that there's still shotgun rounds he had forgotten to bring from their family home, but he's reluctant to go back.
"Why are you just remembering it now, old man?"
"I'm old."
Watching them discuss things, Michael was slightly surprised at their reactions. He thought they would be more terrified after learning that there's an even more dangerous threat out there. Instead, their initial anxiety about it quickly disappeared when they started talking about firearms, and ideas also followed on how they'd deal with a mutant walker in case they'd encounter one in the future.
And so their discussion regarding the new threat and how they'd tackle this problem along with other things going forward continued deep into the night.
Around midnight, inside the motorhome.
Michael and Andrea were spooning together under two thick winter blankets while softly discussing things.
"Why did you lie to them and tell them that pistols are ineffective?" She softly asked, feeling relaxed from the mixture of their warmth.
Holding her softly, Michael responded. "I noticed today that they seem to be feeling a little comfortable now. I think their edge had dulled towards the dangers outside after the wall was built. So I lied to remind them that the dangers outside our walls are evolving."
"Isn't that good though, that they can finally feel safe after a lot of hardships trying to survive?" She does not understand what's wrong with it since wherever they go out, the wall gives her a piece of mind even when she's away from her sister.
Michael sighed. "It's not about feeling safe. It's about being safe. Feeling safe is a deceptive emotion. It's like how you'd feel safe when I'm near you, but that doesn't mean you're actually safe since you'd still get in danger when someone shoots you with a gun or throws a grenade at you. What I want for this place is to have guards patrolling the area 24/7 with sufficient firearms. Where we do not need to worry about our daily necessities anymore, and most importantly, to not be threatened by anything, like a massive herd of walkers attacking this place or anything remotely dangerous. That's my vision for this place."
Even though she doesn't quite agree with most of what he said, Andrea also saw the point he was making. "I understand. It's not like we're in the middle ages where everyone is using swords and bows. An explosive would pose no problem making a hole on those walls or a mutant walker like the one we encountered before would have no problem scaling those walls and I'm certain there's still more of them out there. We just haven't encountered them yet."
'But we're exactly not far from going down that route though.'
"Come on, let's sleep. A lot of things need to be done tomorrow." Michael softly said and pulled her closer to him.
Andrea softly moaned and said. "Are you still planning to head out tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I just need to first check on the things I left to the others when we left. The distiller I left for Amy, and the well. The greenhouse seemed okay so far when I saw it from afar when we arrived."
"It's going to be hard for you if you head out tomorrow since the snow squall lasted for quite a while. What are you heading out for anyway? Aren't we quite prepared to tide over this winter already?" Andrea felt curious.
"I'm planning to hit the city and look for medical supplies or first aid supplies we'd need for the attack in three days. I also need to head over to the farm and see if the slug rounds that Hershel was talking about are still there." Michael patiently explained to her.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, I'm going to bring Daryl and Glenn with me. Come on, let's sleep.I'm exhausted. We can continue this discussion tomorrow."
"..."
There was a short silence before Andrea's eyes suddenly snapped open when she thought of something. "Right, I just remembered. I found an ancient looking sword tucked away in the back compartment. Was it yours?"
Michael's eyes immediately snapped open when he got reminded of the reward he got after they killed that mutant walker.
"Ohh, yeah. I found it while I was looking around the warehouse in Townsend." He got a little flustered, but he still managed to make up an excuse for it.
"Alright, good night babe."
"Yeah, you too."