It was afternoon, and the group had settled not far from the house, making a perimeter of tents in the shape of a circle.
Hershel, although not really happy with this development, stayed silent, as in the end, this happened because of his people's fault, Otis's to be exact.
Dale, who had asked about water from Maggie, got to know that there are 5 wells on the farm, and they were allowed to use the 2nd one.
Thus he, William, and T-dog headed there to retrieve water just to find a guest.
A bloated Walker was trapped down in the well. Thankfully Dale spotted it before T-dog drank from that water they drew from that well.
Five minutes later, a few of the group gathered to discuss how to deal with the issue.
"We got ourselves a swimmer."
"And he seems to have been enjoying that for a long time," Billy smirked, seeing the bloated walker down there; it looked like a fucking pufferfish, only uglier and sick-green.
"Long enough to grow gills" Andrea laughed seeing the puffed walker down there.
"So...how to deal with it?"
"We need to get him out," Shane said to Billy.
"Easy, we put a bullet to his head, or an arrow," T-dog said, pointing to the two bow users here.
"Bad idea." "Why?" Glenn asked Katniss, who refused that way.
"If the water hadn't already been contaminated with that abomination in there, his blood would finish the job." With that, Billy took a closer look, thinking on what to do.
"So we need to get this out, alive?" Daryl nodded munching a straw; he wasn't really that motivated.
"What are you doing?" Billy asked seeing Shane coming back with canned meat and tying it to a rope, ready to throw it to the walker.
"A bait, we need it to catch the rope so we can move it up."
"It doesn't work; they are interested in the meat of the living only." Katniss shook her head.
"Yeah, already tried those things with Sasuke in the hospital; we need a living bait," Billy said and looked around to see if they could find a small animal or something but was surprised when mostly all others turned to look at Glenn.
"What happened?" He asked, as Glenn had that same look whenever he resisted cursing.
"I...am that living bait," Glenn said taking off his cap, feeling slightly faulted, and letting Shane help put ropes around him.
"No, are you fucking joking now? This isn't a game; one wrong move and we lose a person for such stupid action and meaningless reason...no one is going down that damn hole, alright?" Billy grabbed the cap and shoved it back at Glenn's head; he couldn't believe how calm they were at deciding such a risky thing.
"So we leave it in there?" Shane glanced at Billy, he became cautious while dealing with those people, Sasuke's group.
Maybe that deep fear intensified from seeing that fucker split a bulletproof glass with a fucking sword and seeing the trail of the horde he slew back on that road.
More than 80 fucking walkers all slayed in the same style...
He won't make unnecessary skirmishes with them.
"Of course not, but we aren't sending one of us down that well."
"Yo, Sasuke." T-dog's greeting got all of their attention.
They turned to see Sasuke walking toward them with Ciri, wearing a shoulder-sleeved blue shirt that made William wonder if that guy started working out since he was in the womb.
Those muscles and unreal strength always made him wonder if Sasuke was on dope or something.
"Good evening, why the tense mood?" Sasuke asked and leaned to see what was in the well that Katniss pointed toward.
"*Whistle* Unfortunately, you won't get the right tan down there, buddy." That ass joke made Duan snicker beside Jim.
"So, we seal it?" He asked.
"Why? We are trying to get it out of there."
"Mhm, why are you roped? That's a weird fetish to be done outdoors." Sasuke teased Glenn, seeing ropes tied at his limbs and waist.
"Don't ask me, man. Any idea?" Glenn just dropped to his butt, while someone nearby resisted asking if Sasuke was into that...indoors.
"To get it out? Easy, but are you guys sure the water is safe?"
"We will figure that out after we get him from there, so what's the idea?"
"Bag him and lift him out...got a sturdy bag?" Sasuke shrugged; it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Easier said than done, the bag won't tie itself around him." Shane pointed at the moving walker, that was the issue now.
"I will go down. Got big and sturdy bags?" Sasuke asked Maggie again, who turned to look at Billy like everyone, expecting the same words to be said to Sasuke.
"What? I'm not the one being asked." His cigarette dropped down a little from his lips as he glanced at them, wondering why the looks.
"You aren't going to say anything?"
"Oh, how many times had you pulled a walker up?"
"Hah? We had never done this before; we didn't need to," Glenn asked back, confused.
"Exactly."
Ciri watched in amusement as Sasuke bit at the arm brace and pulled his head back; she glimpsed a reflection of the sunlight in the space between his teeth and arm brace, thin wires, almost invisible, were pulled.
Taking a few kunais from the pouch on his waist, he tied them.
"Here, what now?" Maggie came and passed him one of the big yellow woven bags. Waiting to see what he was planning to do.
"Buddy, the short stick, please." Sasuke borrowed the short stick from Duan, put it horizontally on the bag's mouth to keep it open, and then crouched and planted a kunai deep in the ground until only its upper circle was visible.
"It's a bad time and place for a dip, boy. Be careful."
"Don't worry, I'm not in the mood to change my clothes." Sasuke smiled making sure of the wire around his wrist.
"Thread? We have a robust rope; why are you tying a fishing line around yourself?" Maggie asked him, perplexed.
Like everyone else who hadn't witnessed the quality of the steel wire.
"The issue is not with the rope, but with the holder. That thing will be dragged out with a firm tug, you can see for yourself." Sasuke pointed at an iron pipe nearby.
Which they had previously tied the rope around to help Glenn, who was the living bait in case he was the one to go down.
That flimsy pipe will never support the weight of an adult.
With that, Sasuke walked to the edge of the well staring down at the walker, who was flailing with its hands up, as if he was attempting to reach out and bite him.
Sasuke raised his hand a little and then dropped it, throwing down two kunais bound with steel wires.
They slammed into each other halfway, then veered off course and wrapped the trailing wire over the walker's hands before continuing to the stone wall below and embedding themselves next to the ankles of the walker.
Billy whistled as he observed the Walker's hands being bound with wire.
"See ya in a bit." Sasuke chuckled as he took a step forward and let his body fall parallel to the wall.
The stick on the bag's mouth was gripped in one hand, while the steel wires attached to the walker's hand were held in the other.
He spun to land directly in front of the walker, planted both feet on the side walls, pulled the walker's tied hands down to its swollen tummy, and bagged the walker's head before it rushed at him.
Pushing the walker back, he threw the stick away and continued to drag the sack down till it reached its knees.
His own feet were only a few centimeters below the water's surface.
"Alright, toss me another one." Sasuke waved at Maggie and others who had just witnessed that shit with wide eyes.
'A cat? No, he moved like a snake.' Amy thought.
If only Sasuke heard that thought, he would pull down his pants and wave her the real slumbering snake.
Maggie threw him the second bag and watched in wonder as Sasuke just used one arm to take the enormous wrapped walker and, using his hip support, hoisted it like a fucking potato sack to his shoulder, and covered it from the feet up.
Now, with two robust sacks confining the groaning walker, Sasuke secured them with the rope they threw at him, tagged the steel wire attached to the kunai up there, and then just went up using it as support to walk.
He made it look so easy that Glenn nodded to himself, thinking how that was exactly what he was preparing to do, just more hazardous maybe...
Sasuke reached the top and passed the rope to T-dog.
"Hop hop, here's your pull-ups rep for today. and be careful with the rope not to cut it." He waved, retracted the kunai and gathered his tools tidying them before leading Katniss away for their combat practice.
Others soon formed a line, passed the rope, and began pulling up the sacked walker, one thought going through their head.
'Monster, how the fuck did he lift this fat ass with ease?'
...
Sasuke stood a few feet from Katniss, ready to start their first combat session after the warmup.
"So, ma lady, just to be clear, you want it focused on dealing with humans or walkers?"
"Both"
"I see, we will start with humans, but I will have to make one thing clear: we don't have the time nor the equipment and necessary conditions to make it...systematic."
"So?" She wondered if he was about to pull back...but that was not really to be expected from him.
"So we need to do it the primitive way: learn through combat and make you develop your instincts through pain.
And your reactions, and strength through battle, which will be painful because your body needs to understand pain so that your instincts can start working on evading it." He moved faster than she could follow, planting a palm on her stomach, just enough to make her double down.
"Aghh."
"First lesson: kidney, ribs, and sternum..." He helped her stand up and pointed to the areas on her body.
"Basically the body's midsection; it's clear and easy to strike. You don't need to have overwhelming strength, just enough to be fast and precise to stun the person and follow up with the next strike."
"That was painful, ahh." Katniss held her abdomen in pain.
"Need to stop?" "No, let's continue."
"Alright, so...unlike me, you clearly won't be using a palm while targeting those areas, not if you are aiming for a fatal hit."
"My fists?"
"Not for now; use your sharpest and hardest tool on your body currently, so start using your knees and elbows...aim for the midsection, throat, temple, and solar plexus."
"At what?" She nodded asking if he made a training puppet or something.
"Me."
"You serious?"
"Yeah, you can't hurt me anyway; just do it with the intent to inflect harm. I don't want you to hesitate; otherwise, I will palm you every time you fail to deliver the intended hit."
Katniss swallowed, this Sasuke felt...different.
He suddenly became too serious, showing her body parts, focusing on her moves, and all.
Even when he was touching places that should feel enticing to men, his face showed no emotion, almost like he was teaching a puppet.
But she didn't feel bad and focused like he asked; it wasn't time for that.
Katniss moved and tried to hit him with her elbow, which was awkward.
"Don't make it obvious; use feints, a strong fist first." She nodded, doing just that, seeing how he grabbed it easily.
"Follow up, take a step close, and aim your knee at that point. Use your hip, and make sure the foot you are balancing on is firm and stepping on good ground. Slipping is a fatal mistake...never lift a leg if the ground is slippery."
And just like that, Katniss was being guided for the next two hours until she was on her knees panting, sweating profusely, and her body hurting all over.
Training? All she got was a beatdown that somehow resulted in her stance becoming firmer and more stable, her guard focusing on her vitals somehow instinctively, though all those observations were clear only to Sasuke.
To her? She received hits in one day that were ten times more than she did in her whole life.
She chuckled as she was being held by him on their way back to their tent and whispered in his ear with a parched throat.
"Hey Sasuke." "Mhm, what is it?"
"I won't swallow it next time; let's see if you are going to beat me tomorrow." She smirked, biting his shoulder, looking at his baffled expression, it was fun seeing that embarrassed look on his stoic face.