NOVEL WEB S2E43 – Oh Well
The next few days were spent rather leisurely for me. I took out a notebook I got a while back and wrote down my plans.
First thing's first, I wanna get everyone trained on these assault rifles. I won't be there everytime someone gets into a gun fight, so I wanna guarantee they can actually defend themselves with them.
Secondly, I wanna clear out the prison step by step before moving everyone in. I'd rather not have to deal with staying outside of the prison in the yard when we could stay in this house. We aren't gonna be stupid about it, either. We got suppressors on some of the guns, so we'll use those to clear it out from outside. Dunno why Rick thought it would be a good idea to open up the gate and go in there all caveman-like. Well, I do know why. Cool factor. It was a TV show after all.
Thirdly, getting some equipment to make life at the prison easier. Rainwater collectors, solar panels, gardening equipment, the whole nine yards.
Fourthly, setting up some quality defenses. Yeah, the fence can hold a lot, but one horde and that shit's coming down. Plus, we've got the governor and his group to worry about. The group won't be as hardened as they were when they faced him before. But, we'll have more numbers. I'd like to head back to Atlanta and see if we can't get some of those tanks up and running. I mean, an M1 Abrams versus a Patton? Hell, a modern RPG would rip through that thing like a hot knife through butter. I wanna basically turn the prison into a castle. Who knows, maybe one day we'll take back the state of Georgia from the walkers!
Lastly, I wanna start inviting more people into the prison. If we're gonna go to war with the governor, we're gonna need the numbers. We'll have to find out the capacity of the prison itself, but it should be high enough for us to invite a couple hundred. With at least one hundred well-trained people, groups like the governor wouldn't be a problem. But, you have monsters like the Commonwealth and the Republic who have over 50k and 250k respectively. At least, that's what the show said. Honestly, I'm not too worried about the Commonwealth. Their goofy ass stormtrooper armor does nothing but make them stand out like a wart on a nose. The Republic, on the other hand…
"Haaaaaah…"
I sigh and close my notebook before storing it away. I'm basically fully healed, giving Hershel a bit of confusion. The group still refuses to let me lift anything heavy or go out with Glen to search for supplies, but I've been keeping watch on the fields from Hershel's house, keeping an eye out for any walkers that may be around. As I look out the window towards the field, I see something that catches my eye. T-dog and Dale are out by the well.
Well, shit. Pun intended. Guess that one walker is in the bottom. Actually… This might be a good chance to shake Hershel's faith that these things are still people. Fuck it, may as well try. I get up and sling my marksman rifle over my shoulder. I found it in the pile we got from the CDC. It's an M14 DMR, fires 7.62x51mm rounds and packs quite the wallop. Of course, I got it equipped with a suppressor, a scope, and a red dot. I also slapped an angled grip on the front for added stability. It's no sniper, but it'll be good for taking heads.
With it slinged over my shoulder, I decide to head down and speak with Hershel. Walking downstairs, I find him reading his bible sitting by the fireplace. When I step out, he doesn't even notice me. Unfortunately, it seems him and his family are still living in pre-apocalypse mode. That'll change soon. I knock on the wooden arch leading into the living room to get his attention. As he looks up to me, I ask,
"Am I interrupting?"
He shakes his head and closes the book, setting it down on the table beside him,
"Not at all. Just getting some light reading done in the morning. How you feeling?"
I walk forwards and lean on the arch beside me, answering,
"I feel fine, honestly. Good enough to get back to work, but I'm happy for the vacation."
He nods his head as a slightly uncomfortable silence hangs in the room, which I quickly break by saying what I came to say,
"I was keeping watch from the second floor, and I happened to see T-dog and Dale out there looking pretty frazzled by one of your wells. I saw that the cover to it was broken as well. Something may have fallen into it."
He sighs and stands up, groaning as his knees pop. He shakes his head and mutters a complaint about how it's always something on this farm or something similar. He says,
"Thank you, I'll go see if we can't fix whatever it is."
I nod my head and start leading him there. As we walk outside, we pass by Otis and Patricia sitting on the porch. Patricia is knitting something, while Otis is cleaning his rifle. Hershel speaks to Otis,
"Otis, mind potentially helping us with somethin'?"
Otis nods his head. Over the past few days, He's been pretty quiet, likely feeling down because of what happened. I give him a nod as I pass by him. He nods back and stands up, following us over to the well. As we walk out, I see Gerard, Toby, and Kim all talking to one another under the shade of one of the trees, the three non-main cast survivors of the camp attack. I call out to the group,
"Hey, guys! We may need some extra hands!"
Gerard and Toby nod their heads and start walking over while Kim heads off to do god knows what. Probably helping with laundry or something. Gerard, the average height black guy speaks to me while we walk,
"Whatcha need?"
I say,
"Something may be stuck in the well. I'd rather we not get sick from it. So, what've you guys been up to?"
Gerard smiles and says,
"We've been planning what to do when we get to that prison you were talking about. Kim used to be really into history and mentioned that we could build palisades around the wall. Basically taking logs and putting them a few feet into the ground straight up. It should keep out any walkers that may arrive, even a horde if necessary. Only issues would be both fire and explosives."
I nod my head. I guess Kim is more of a brain over brawn type. Toby, the lanky, white, emo looking guy speaks up next,
"Yeah, if we put those up first we can build up a stone or concrete wall behind them and really keep things out."
I nod my head,
"Not bad ideas, honestly. I'm less worried about the walkers and more about people honestly. Big herds could probably be easily led away if we have people on lookout."
Gerard nods his head,
"She came up with something for that, too. Basically we clear the area around the prison of trees about two miles each way. That way, anyone who wants to attack us will be very clear to spot, and any walkers would be gunned down before they can even see us."
I think for a second,
"That could also be a good help against any potential forest fires as well and eventually farming. Good ideas."
As we get closer to the two guys looking down into the well, I call out to them,
"So, what's got you two all frazzled?"
Dale looks at me and sighs while pursing his lips,
"Our water source may be contaminated."
I look down into the well and see the disgusting, bloated walker looking back up at me. I scrunch my nose as I look at it and lean back,
"Someone's enjoying a bit of a dip, huh?"
Hershel looks down as well, fighting back a gag. T-dog gives us his idea,
"We could probably wrap a rope around it and pull it up. If we can get it under its arms, we should be able to get it right up."
Hershel speaks up this time and says,
"If you could, I'd mighty appreciate it. I'd rather not lose one of my wells."
I nod with him and say,
"Looking at it, it seems like it's bloated up quite a bit, meaning it's been in there for multiple days, if not a week straight. Considering the fact that it's rotting and bloated on top of that, I wouldn't be surprised if it rips in half while we're trying to pull it up. Hell, it's worth a shot, though. Better than leaving it in."
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AN: I most likely won't be uploading next Monday. I'll be taking a short break. I'll be back on Wednesday.
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