"You was right, Governor, no ordinary survivor group could take down so many biters, only a military unit could do it," Martinez said, watching the enormous pile of dead.
The Governor fell silent with a somber look, his knuckles turned white.
The Governor fell silent with a somber look, he clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white.
"Do you know what bothers me, Martinez?" the Governor asked, Martinez fell silent, he knows that when he's like that it's better to listen, so he only shook his head.
"What bothers me is that our people start to believe someone will come to save them," the Governor said in a icy voice, Martinez tensed, recalling the recent rumors.
"That illusion is more dangerous than any horde, because it makes them lower their guard and, when that happens, they stop surviving, stop obeying," the Governor continued, Martinez swallowed, finally understanding the point.
The Governor approached Martinez and whispered something in his ear, Martinez squinted astonished, but finally accepted.
Thus a painful piece of news spread among the members of Woodbury, several members of the scouting team encountered a hostile group, who coldly killed their people.
Of course, those members turned into martyrs were specially selected by Martinez, they were all the ones who secretly opposed the Governor or spread rumors.
After inspecting the place, the Governor left, although if everything had happened like in the original timeline, this is where Merle would have joined them.
...
At the same time in the abandoned quarry, the roar of engines drew everyone's attention in the camp, the survivors came out of their improvised shelters and slowly gathered.
They were all surprised when they saw the three huge buses slowly parking in front of the camp.
Dale's jaw nearly hit the ground when he saw the caravan obviously more advanced and modern than his.
The roar of the engines died down one by one, the first to get out was Glenn, who shot out of the cab of a bus, Shane and Andrea descended shortly after from the caravan.
The others came out slowly one by one, Rick came down last, the man seemed a wreck, probably still praying to God that his family was really there.
When he finally dared to look up, he saw them, his wife Lori and his son Carl, both looked incredulous to see him, especially Lori, she seemed about to go into denial.
Rick decided to ignore it and ran to his son who was already coming to meet him, he knelt and hugged him with tears in his eyes, the others in the camp only watched the emotional family reunion stunned.
...
Night fell soon and we all gathered near the fire, the fire crackled while sparks rose into the dark sky illuminating everyone's tired faces.
"Disoriented, that's how I felt, disoriented, scared, yes, but.. the word is disoriented," Rick said, concluding his account of what he had lived in recent days.
"Sometimes words are not enough," Dale added, Rick nodded in silence looking at the fire, the flames reflected the weariness on his face and the deep bags under his eyes.
"When I woke up in that hospital, I thought I was dreaming, that I was in a coma and I would never wake up, I was totally lost," Rick continued, recalling bitterly.
"Mom said you were dead," little Carl said in Rick's arms.
"She had reasons to believe that," he answered avoiding letting the boy blame his mother.
Lori's gaze drifted toward me, I could notice some resentment in her eyes, but I don't care and decided to ignore it.
"When things got bad, in the hospital they told me they would take you and other patients to Atlanta, but it never happened," Lori said.
"Yes, it's logical after what happened in Atlanta, I'm sure it was chaos," Rick murmured massaging his temples.
"Luckily Shane managed to get both of you out of there safely, believe me I can't explain how grateful I am, really," Rick said looking me in the eyes.
"You're right, I saved your family, but it's only temporary, we're still not safe, maybe we never will be," I said deciding to take the opportunity to take the next step, everyone watched me as I stood up.
"The city is infested with walkers, it will be a matter of time before they have nothing left to bite and start migrating, maybe they're doing it right now."
"That's why I plan to leave, anyone willing to come with me can come, of course I won't force you, but if you decide to join, you must obey my orders," I said watching their reactions.
"We are far from the city, it is unlikely the walkers will reach here and even if they do, it will only be one or two, I don't think we should leave," Dale said trying to stay calm.
"You say that because you haven't seen them move en masse, walkers move in groups, when one moves the others follow, it's a matter of time before a horde finds this place, and when that happens there will be nowhere to run," I replied immediately.
Silence settled among everyone, just imagining that scene gave them chills.
"But where would we go? We can't wander around," Dale asked still unconvinced.
"To the CDC, I heard they were researching a cure, a place that important will surely be protected, we can find refuge there," I lied, I can't tell them I have seen the show, it's not like they'd believe me.
"I heard that too, I back Shane," Rick said supporting my decision.
"Okay, tomorrow will be our last day here, think about it and make the right decision," I said, doubting seriously that they would not be willing to join me after what will happen tomorrow.
Suddenly, Ed sitting by the fire threw more wood on the fire, stoking the flames more than he should, everyone looked at him annoyed, not only for breaking rules, but for the risk it implied, the flames could be seen from afar and attract walkers.
"What the hell are you doing, Ed?" I asked with sincere curiosity, I really don't understand what the hell is going through this guy's head.
"It's cold, mind your business," Ed replied without even looking at me.
I walked slowly until I was in front of him: "I'll tell you only once, put out that damn fire."
Ed's face twisted becoming sullen, but finally he clicked his tongue and turned to Carol: "Come on, you heard, put it out!"
"Stop, let him do it," I intervened stopping Carol.
Ed almost lost control at being humiliated like that, his eyes bloodshot, but he deflated like a balloon when he met mine, he ground his teeth and obeyed.
"Thanks for cooperating, Ed," I said returning to my place with the group, all this made me realize I still have to take out the trash, tomorrow's event will surely be a big opportunity.
...
The next day, we all woke up to a warm sunrise, if I didn't know better, I would think it would be a good day, unfortunately it's not.
"So, when did you learn to weld?" Rick asked looking at me intrigued.
"You see my friend, there are many things you don't know about me, like this for example," I said with a smile finishing welding another plate to the side of a bus, Rick just called me cocky and walked away.
[ Welding: Advanced Level | Cost: 100 Points ]
[ Mechanics: Advanced Level | 150 Points ]
I discovered I can acquire not only skills but also knowledge, so I bought the right knowledge to perform necessary modifications on the buses.
I also got a set of keys for each vehicle costing a total of 30 points, since previously we had to resort to unorthodox methods to start them.
Andrea, Glenn, Dale and Morales became my assistants, despite our differences, Dale saw the value in the buses, so he volunteered, with my new skills the first bus began to look more like a vehicle designed to withstand the end of the world.
"Aaaahh!"
Suddenly, a scream assaulted the camp, by instinct I dropped the welding tools and ran toward the direction of the scream already with my pistol in hand, Rick and the others also ran in that direction.
When we arrived, we found Carl and Sophia fleeing danger, further on, Daryl who was on his watch shift had already neutralized the threat, a walker.
The body lay with an arrow lodged right in the center of the skull, with impeccable precision, Daryl turned to us: "It was only one, I saw it come out of the woods, it was heading straight for the camp."
Rick approached frowning and examined the corpse, only a common walker, but Shane's words from last night echoed in his mind once more.
"Do you think it's alone?" Rick asked without taking his eyes off it.
"Who knows, the forest is too quiet, that's never a good sign," Daryl answered as he cleaned the arrow with a rag.
"Maybe it just strayed from a horde, but we must be alert, if one arrived, others may too," I said while observing the edge of the woods, suddenly an idea lit up in my mind.
"Daryl, find Jim and T-Dog, I want you to use the barbed wire we found in the city and make a fence around the camp, also clear the undergrowth to improve vision." Everyone's eyes lit up realizing it's a really good idea to contain walkers.
"Okay, I'll do it now," Daryl replied realizing the advantages of doing this.
The best part is it's quick to do, so Daryl disappeared into the trees, I turned to Rick.
"I want everyone who is not busy to help reinforce the perimeter, if one came, it means the natural barrier is no longer enough."
"I'll take care of modifying the vehicles, the sooner we leave the better," I said and turned back to work after seeing him nod.
The sun was already high and the metallic sound of tools resonated throughout the camp, Glenn and Morales cut sheets while Dale adjusted the roof supports of one of the buses.
The first bus already had steel plates on the sides, reinforced glass with grilles and a small compartment on the roof where an improvised turret could be mounted, my plan is to turn it into a fortress on wheels.
"This looks amazing, Shane, it looks like a real armored vehicle," Dale said wiping his sweat with his forearm while observing the work, I nodded.
"It will withstand armed confrontation, but it's hard to say if it will survive an explosion," I said with regret, but for now it's the best we can get.
At the same time, Daryl, Jim and T-Dog gathered rolls of wire and some metal stakes, although they decided to use the trees around to save time.
The first thing they did was clear the dense undergrowth around the camp, when visibility improved the next step was to define the perimeter and they began to drive metal stakes at irregular intervals, using the trees as the main supports.
With that ready, they began to tension the barbed wire, four lines plus others in zigzag, all to prevent walkers from slipping through gaps in the fence, some parts were designed as doors, to be able to flee in different directions if necessary.
The work took most of the day, but the result was worth the effort, now at least they don't have to worry about being taken by surprise and can clear walkers little by little.
At dusk the group gathered and lit a small fire, I approached them after bathing, I had been covered in grease and dirt all day, not everyone was there since most were watching the perimeter.
Andrea gestured for me to sit beside her: "Come and relax, you must be tired after welding all day."
"Sure," I said and sat down next to her, she offered me a metal cup with coffee, its aroma was strong but comforting.
The heat of the fire crackled before us while the night air brought the distant sound of crickets, for a moment the world seemed calm.
"I think I forgot how much I missed coffee," Andrea murmured watching the flames.
"I miss the radio, those moments where you just listen to the news or a bad song just to pass the time," Dale added.
"I.., I guess I miss hot showers," Glenn said, which provoked general laughter.
Everyone began to share what they missed most, some spoke of simple things like a clean bed or a hot meal.
Others mentioned more personal things, like lost family or friends, little by little the atmosphere became more melancholic but also liberating, but it was precisely at that moment that everything went to hell.
"Help, Ed.. Ed was bitten!" Carol's voice sounded in the distance.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
[ Points + 3 ]
Several shots rang out suddenly, I didn't hesitate for an instant and ran while pulling my rifle from the inventory, I stopped for a moment turning around.
"Andrea, Glenn, take the noncombatants to a bus, protect them." With that said, I ran again.
Upon arriving at the place, I found Rick and Daryl firing nonstop at the horde of walkers.
This section was one of the emergency gates, apparently someone had opened it, so they were trying to repel the walkers to close it again, observing closely I could deduce who was responsible or rather, the irresponsible one.
At one side was Ed being helped by Carol, the guy kept cursing over and over, at a glance I could see the bite on his hand.
Looking at the wound once more, I realized that if I amputated his arm now, the man might survive, but I won't do it, originally I planned to get rid of him during the chaos, given the current development of things, I'll let him accept his fate.
I ran alongside Rick and Daryl to fight the walkers, I didn't feel bad for him, the bastard is scum, an abuser who was even attracted to his own daughter, just remembering it makes me nauseous.
[ Points + 3 ] [ Points + 4 ] [ Points + 2 ] [ Points + 5 ]
The rain of bullets was reflected in the long line of system notifications, the others grabbed their weapons and joined the battle.
Although at first they were terrified, soon they realized it's not as bad as it seems, thanks to the fence they only had to concentrate on the compromised section.
[ Points + 24 ]
But the walkers seemed endless, although they fell like flies, more and more kept coming, some parts of the fence began to give way under the fierce attack of the walkers, we could only reinforce those areas.
[ Points + 31 ]
Little by little we managed to clear enough walkers to close the gate, Daryl secured the door with several zip ties.
After eliminating the immediate threat, what followed was easier, walkers are as stupid as they are ugly, so killing them was as easy as pulling the trigger.
[ Points + 33 ] [ Points + 25 ] [ Points + 37 ]
The fight lasted until almost dawn, the ground was completely covered with corpses, at this point everyone's hands were numb from firing so much.
"Everyone okay?" I asked looking around, Daryl nodded wiping sweat from his forehead with his forearm.
"My hands don't feel anything, but yes," T-Dog answered, the others seemed fine, just tired, so my gaze turned to the main culprit of this whole crisis.
An hour later, Ed had been interrogated, by his words and what I could deduce, the idiot was angry about being forced to keep watch.
So in a huge act of rebellion he sneaked out of the camp to smoke, but was surprised by a walker, after disposing of it, he thought that would be it, but then the horde arrived and in the end he was bitten on the way back.
Yes, I know it sounds stupid, I actually believe it too, but that's what happened, maybe it was fate doing its job properly for once or the author wanting to get rid of the bastard, who knows.
But in the end, the result wasn't so bad, no one else died and I got a total of 231 points, if that isn't a fruitful day I don't know what is.
"God, Shane was right.." Jacqui said remembering my words the night before.
"Shane, I'm sorry, I'm just a stubborn old man, if I hadn't opposed you, maybe we would have left yesterday," Dale said lowering his head.
"It's not your fault, Dale, everyone's opinion matters, so don't feel bad for speaking your mind, it's not time to feel bad," I encouraged him and then turned to the others.
"I know you haven't slept at all all night, go and rest a bit, we'll leave the camp at noon, those who want to come with me are welcome." On hearing my words, everyone seemed to have made a decision.
"Ed.. Ed!" Suddenly, Carol, who was still caring for Ed, spoke alarmed.
Ed seemed about to kick the bucket, he opened his mouth and said: "..Bitch."
That left everyone paralyzed, the bastard was about to die and the only thing he had to say was curse his family, suddenly everyone felt disgusted with him.
"Scum, I almost feel bad for you," I murmured mentally watching the piece of trash in front of me.
A moment later, Ed finally died, although no one felt any pity for him, they stayed to support Carol and Sophia.
Andrea approached and took her hand: "You are not alone, we all support you."
Daryl looked at Sophia and handed her a handkerchief, "Your mom needs you with a clear head, you are brave, you're doing well."
Silence settled for a good while and only rose when several spasms ran through Ed's body, Andrea took Carol away.
"Okay, it's his last chance to say goodbye," I said drawing my pistol.
"Ed, I'm very sorry that everything was the way it was," Carol finally mustered the courage to say.
"I.. I hope he goes to heaven," Sophia said.
I nodded and approached the body, covered the face with a blanket, rested the barrel where it should be and executed the mercy shot.
[ Points + 1 ]
After that, everyone dispersed, Rick offered to bury him, grabbed Morales and they took him away, I continued making modifications to the buses.