The Walking Dead: Warlord

A few hours later, I’m removing the tourniquet from Amy’s arm, and just generally checking up on her. I take out a bottle of painkillers as well as some antibiotics, and set them on the table next to her before turning to Jaqui,

“If she wakes up, can you make sure she eats, drinks, and takes these? I made sure neither of them are anticoagulants, so they should be safe for her.”

Jaqui nods her head and continues to be relatively silent like usual. Suddenly, I start to hear a commotion outside. I walk out of the RV and see Rick and Shane going at it about the CDC and fort benning.

“Look, Rick, fort Benning is gonna be safe, alright? The military will be there, they have walls!”

I speak up, interrupting Rick,

“Well, you’re not wrong, but there is one issue with that. When something like this happens, where do you think the government would put everything into protecting? A single fort, or a research facility with all the necessary equipment to potentially develop a cure?”

I walk out in between the two fighting men,

“If anywhere is gonna be safe, it’s gonna be the CDC. However, I think there’s something that the both of you are missing.”

Rick rubs his nose with his hands on his hips, and speaks in a mildly annoyed, but curious voice,

“And what might that be?”

I look him in the eye,

“You think the government is still around. And even still, you think they won’t shoot a random group of survivors who want to get into their secure facilities along with an injured girl. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t try out the CDC, au contrer, I think the CDC is the place to be. I’m saying we need to approach this in a more calm and analytical manner, alright? Both places are good ideas. Fort Benning especially if the military would actually let us there, but I, personally, am not gonna hold out hope for the government to protect us.”

I go up to Shane and put a hand on his shoulder, taking him over to Rick,

“Look, you two. I know you want what’s best for this group, both of you do, but you’re letting your emotions rule over you. While normally this would just lead to you having a mild inconvenience, in this world it could lead to people dying. You gotta be more analytical.”

I chuckle,

“Heh, I mean look at my face. I learned the hard way not to let my emotions rule me.”

I pay both of their backs and speak to the group,

“We still got a good bit of daylight to burn. It’s only 8:46, so we got time to visit the CDC, and possibly turn around to go to fort Benning. Or we could explore other options after. Personally, I’d want us to have our own place, away from the military. Any thoughts?”

Everyone kind of looks at eachother before one of the people I don’t recognize raises their hand,

“I-I think I’d rather head out with my family…”

I see a few extras, and Morales’ wife nodding their heads. Dammit. I was hoping to keep them here. I answer them,

“Well, nobody is keeping you here. You can take a backpack of supplies and a weapon, but I’m sorry, you won’t be taking one of our vehicles. We have too little to spare. Let me tell you from personal experience, it is a cold and unforgiving world out there. One minute you could be having an amazing conversation with your family, and the next your kids could be killed in front of you, or worse. And if you leave, you’ll no longer have safety in numbers. We won’t stop you from leaving.”

I see a couple extras looking at eachother, and I speak up,

“Alright. Those who wanna leave walk forward.”

I see that the majority of the extras walk forward, with only three staying back. Morales’ wife goes to walk forward, but he stops her and shakes his head. Fuck yeah. We could definitely use him. His wife and kid not so much, but whatever.

I look at the group of people, two families and a young couple with no kids. I sigh and shake my head,

“Alright, follow me. Everyone else, start packing everything up. We’ll be leaving for the CDC the second we’re done.”

As I walk away with the group, I hear a conversation start with Lori and Rick,

————————————

[Narrator POV:]

As Penny walks away, Lori grabs Ricks shoulder,

“Rick, why did you let her walk all over you?”

Rick recoils in shock as he hears this,

“I didn’t? She inserted herself into the argument between me and Shane, and defused the situation. She kept a level head, and I felt almost compelled to listen to her. Plus, with the way she organized the camp defense, she most likely saved the lives of most of us.”

He does his Rick thing of rubbing his nose and putting his hands on his hips.

“With her quick thinking, she’s most likely saved Amy’s life so long as that arm doesn’t get infected. I don’t see why I shouldn’t have let her defuse the situation.”

Lori rolls her eyes,

“Rick, she’s a child. You don’t let children make such important decisions.”

Rick sighs and says,

“Child or not, she most likely saved the majority of this camp, and stopped a fight between me and Shane. I think she deserves at least enough respect for her opinion to be heard.”

With that, Lori scoffs and goes off to start packing up their tent.

—---------------------------------------------

AN: Read 10+ chapters in advance over on my Patreon.