Beep! Beep!
Repeatedly pressing the horn on the school bus, Daryl slowed down the bus since he saw something that piqued his curiosity along the fences.
"What the…are they building a wall?" Gareth voiced what Daryl was also thinking.
Mady felt astounded and a little excited seeing the people working outside. "My goodness, can we even finish it before winter? I really don't want to work during the cold months."
Hearing her words, Daryl let out a sigh and felt a little worried.
'Everyone is worried about winter. It makes me wonder if the supplies we have are enough to last us until Spring. I just hope there won't be any seasonal changes due to what's happening to the world right now.' Daryl became visibly worried. The gates opened and he slowly drove the school bus inside, with the other cars closely following behind them.
Alighting from their cars, the crew quickly gathered by the school bus where Lori, Maggie and the others had hurriedly came over after hearing the news of their return.
"Why is it only you guys? Where's Michael and my sister?" Amy had just arrived from outside and suddenly threw that question towards Rick. While inside the bus, Daryl and the other passengers of the school bus are all busy unloading the goods.
Rick was startled as he wasn't expecting those words from her. He broke away from Lori's hug and looked at her. "Michael's already back?"
"Yeah, they just left this morning to look for you since your group and Glenn's did not return yesterday. Did you not see them on the road on the way back here?" Lori looked at her husband with some confusion on her face.
Rick shook his head and answered. "No. We probably missed each other since we did not take the interstate highway on the way back."
Hearing the conversation taking place, Daryl came over and interjected. "Yeah, we mostly took the country roads since there are less obstacles on them."
"Do we need to head back out and look for them?" Oscar suggested while leaning on the school bus on his shoulder.
Gareth stuck his head out of the bus window and supported his idea. "I don't mind going back to look for them."
"No need to bother. We don't need to worry since Michael is with them." Michael has proven his capabilities to them time and time again. So Daryl wasn't the least bit worried about them and immediately took the initiative to reject their idea.
"I agree. It's not like they're in any immediate danger. That jerk had faced more dangers when he left before, and this time, he's not alone anymore." Knowing Michael wouldn't want them wasting time looking for them, Amy also had to agree with Daryl.
"Besides, we have more things to do now than going out to look for them. We still need to finish building that Wall, and a Well before winter." Amy added, which immediately garnered approving nods of the people around her, excluding the people who had just recently returned.
Rick turned his attention towards the people working over at the forest. "How long has this been going on?"
"We just started yesterday, and already covered a quarter of it." Maggie replied with a hand on her waist, and her other hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
"Anyway, head on inside and take some rest. Then join us after lunch." Mary had also come over after checking on her son.
They listened and started carrying the supplies they had gathered and carried them over to the office of the Director that they turned into a large pantry.
"This is their biggest haul so far, isn't it?" one survivor said while putting down a box full of canned goods on top of a similar box.
"Yeah, these three boxes of canned meat are one of the best finds so far." one of them agreed.
"Aside from water, I think these bags of rice are the best find out of all of these. These can last us the entire winter months if we turn them into porridge."
"Shut up, and get a move on. We still have more things to move." Daryl entered the warehouse and berated them when he saw them slacking off.
"Hey Daryl, wait up. Can I join you in your next supply run?" A dark skinned man deliberately slowed down his movements and waited for the chance to be alone with Daryl before approaching him.
Daryl turned his head towards him, but kept on walking. "Give me a reason why you should join us?"
The man walked with him as they exited the building, "Well, I'm big and strong. I can carry my own weight. I'm also good at picking on locks if that helps."
Daryl looked at him and responded. "Hmm, how long have you been here?"
"I've been here for almost two weeks now. We arrived just two days after Mary's group." the dark-skinned man thought for a moment before giving him a reply.
"And your name?"
The dark skinned man smiled and replied, "Tyreese, Tyreese Williams."
Meanwhile,
"Hey babe, you know that Tyreese guy? When did he join the group?" Still driving along the road, Michael suddenly remembered someone familiar he saw the day he returned.
While reading a book, Andrea paused when she heard him and thought for a moment. "You mean that big black dude who's popular with the kids?"
"Yeah, that guy." Michael nodded.
"Hmm..they joined us just a couple of days after Mary's group found the prison. Rick's group rescued them..and if I remember, I think it was around Polk County. Just Northwest of Atlanta. Yeah, I think they found them around that area. Why are you asking?" Andrea looked lost in her thoughts while responding to Michael.
"With that build, it's a waste letting him stay in the prison. Once we get back, get him to join one of our supply runners. He'd be a good addition to the team." Michael instructed whilst he took a right turn, and it wasn't long before they eventually left the interstate highway and entered a country road.
"Alright. After we get back, I'll talk to him and take him to Rick's group since compared to mine and Glenn's group, their group is the one who prioritizes looking and collecting supplies." Andrea replied and made a mental note regarding that man.
"What about me? Can I join too?"
Suddenly, Rosita's voice echoed from the backseat following Andrea's words.
Michael gave her a quick glance through the rearview mirror before also taking a quick glance at Andrea from the corner of his eyes.
Andrea didn't say anything, she knows that it's better to remain silent than say anything. Though she actually prefers she does not join any of the supply runner groups in the meantime since she just recently joined them and still hasn't earned their trust. So she's just gonna leave this decision to Michael since he has known her longer than them.
"I can't give you any definite answer yet since you just recently joined the group." Michael knows she's capable, but he can't just give her any preferential treatment since it would invite dissatisfaction among the others. "But I'll bring up your request with the others, alright?"
"Okay." Rosita immediately agreed. She was just trying to take a shot, but didn't expect it would actually work.