NOVEL WEB S2E44 – Well, Well, Well
Looking down into the well, I can see that the walker already has split skin and has contaminated the water source. Meaning, this well is already gone. But, it’ll still shake Hershel’s belief that they’re still alive. I mean, generally, people don’t survive being ripped in half. Maybe for a few seconds at most before shock sets in.
I look around the group, finding the majority of us to be around, save for Lori, Carol, and the kids. Dale and Andrea as well, as I sent them to keep watch from up the hill. T-dog holds the rope in his hands that Hershel had tied into a noose to make sure it didn’t come loose.
Hershel, who is standing next to me, speaks up,
“I’m surprised he’s still alive. Lookin’ at him, you can tell he’s been in there quite a while.”
I nod my head to him and say,
“Well, to be fair they don’t really need anything. They’re basically walking corpses. They do starve, but it doesn’t seem to really affect them that much. They don’t need oxygen, hell they don’t even need bodies. So long as the brain stem is intact, they’ll survive. Found some that had been chained up and tossed into a lake. Pretty damn scary seeing a group of people all lookin’ up at you from under the water, writhing angrily to try and kill you.”
Hershel nods his head,
“Seems it’s gotten pretty bad out there.”
I nod my head,
“Yeah. But it’ll get worse. People right now still have the majority of a conscience. They’d rather rob than kill. But, soon enough, even people who would’ve been saints before will start killin’ without a thought. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how we are as humans. Those who keep their conscience will die out, either literally or figuratively.”
Hershel solemnly nods his head. I speak to him as the guys start lowering the rope,
“You had any thoughts of movin’?”
He shakes his head,
“Nah. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this place and I’ll die in it.”
I nod my head,
“Unfortunately I don’t think that’ll be an option much longer. Recently, I’ve noticed a shift with the walkers. They’re starting to band together into hordes. Big hordes too. Just on the way up here, we had to hide under some cars so that a horde of damn near two hundred wouldn’t kill us. ‘Course, I ain’t telling you how to live your life, just thought I should give you a little heads up since you did save my life.”
I can tell that Hershel was about to get angry with me, but with that preemptive deescalation, most of it abated. He speaks with a slight bit of annoyance in his voice,
“Well, I thank you for the heads up. I’ll keep it in mind for the future.”
I nod my head to him and say,
“I know how hard it is to leave your home behind. I’m actually from Louisiana. Had a mom, dad, and little sister back home. I went here for college. I was originally tryna get back to them, but then the power went out so I lost connection. The roads were so congested that cars were tryna push eachother out of the way. And the military was firing on the cities, anyways.”
T-dog, Shane, and Rick begin pulling the rope up from around the Walker. I sigh and say,
“There were three outcomes to trying to get home. First, and most unlikely, I get home untouched and find my family. Second, I die on the way there and become one of the walkers, potentially attacking and eating someone. Thirdly, I get there and find three walking corpses. I dunno about you, but I don’t have the heart to put down my little sister, even if she’s trying to kill everything around her. At least I didn’t.”
They pull with all their might, almost dropping the rope before Otis, Gerard, and Toby join in. I continue on,
“I’ve seen some things since then. Things that modern man usually wouldn’t see, even on a battlefield. I’ve seen how the walkers kill people. They’ll rip into people's guts with ease and eat you while you’re still alive. They don’t care about age, gender, or even species. Anything around them is nothing more than a meal they haven’t killed yet. Before this, I woulda held onto hope that my baby sister was still in there. But now, I can honestly say… Without a shadow of doubt…”
As the walker comes up over the lip of the well, a ripping sound rings out as it’s bottom half slowly peels away, falling into the well below, and leaving a trail of blood and guts behind. It reaches out towards T-dog, trying to grab him. I walk forwards with my gun out and aim it down at the walkers skull,
“These things ain’t people no more.”
*BANG!*
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