Chapter 6: Sweeping Through the Walkers
"Get flashlights and any light source! Back-to-back, everyone grab a weapon!" Rick shouted.
Handing his pistol and little Carl to Lori, Rick raised his tactical shotgun and blew the head off a stray walker. After doing this, he glanced over at Shawn.
If he hadn't suggested a welcome party that night, the sleeping camp members would have been caught completely off guard. What would the consequences have been then?
Rick didn't know, and he didn't dare to imagine. He just felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up uncontrollably, a chill running from his spine to the top of his head, instantly waking him completely.
Merle and Daryl followed not far behind Shawn. The others stared in surprise at Shawn's back as he calmly walked into the woods. Recalling the bloody scene of him smashing a walker's head in, they felt a sense of security mixed with their fear.
"Good thing this guy is on our side." This was the genuine thought in the minds of many at the quarry camp.
Compared to Merle, Shawn seemed more stable and gentle, even if he was much more brutal when he fought…
"Don't go too far, I can't always see you!" Daryl shouted in Shawn's direction, firing a crossbow bolt that pierced a walker's skull. Brain matter oozed out from the back of the arrow as the walker fell heavily to the ground.
"You're worried about that barbarian? You should be more worried about me!" Merle's big pistol went 'bang-bang-bang', and the walkers in front of him fell one after another. His muzzle was intentionally angled in the direction Shawn had gone, helping to clear the walkers from his back.
But in the face of all this, Shawn just wanted to say, "Slow down! All of you, slow the fuck down! Don't kill all the walkers!"
Triggering a headshot chance, he smashed a walker's head with one blow. A golden light flashed around Shawn as he reached Lv. 4. However, he didn't pay attention to the level-up notification and instead hurried to the next edge of the camp to start harvesting walker heads.
With everyone having a firearm, the number of walkers was decreasing rapidly. Shawn's plan to use this surprise attack to level up to 6 or higher was proving to be a waste of effort.
'BANG!'
Shawn stopped in his tracks. He followed the still-smoking bullet hole at his feet to see Andrea a short distance away, gripping a pistol with both hands.
"She's in the RV!" Andrea shouted frantically at Shawn.
Shawn turned his head and saw three or five walkers milling around the RV door. He strode over.
One swing… two swings… if that didn't solve it, he'd just swing again.
Thanks to the club's wide attack range, the walkers were all knocked staggering to the ground, accompanied by a brief stun effect. Shawn bent down, like a diligent old farmer in a field, and delivered a finishing blow to each of the downed walkers.
"Don't worry, I've been a butcher for years. I know your business better than anyone, more intimately than my own family."
Shawn's tone was leisurely, completely at odds with the urgent and thrilling scene. Yet his blows were vicious and ruthless, giving the walkers no chance to get up and bite.
'Schlick—'
After finishing off the last walker nearby, Shawn didn't open the door immediately. He just knocked heavily on the RV door a few times, making the vehicle shake slightly.
'Gasp!' A frightened sound came from inside.
Shawn said helplessly, "Stay put in there, don't come out and run around. I'll keep an eye on this area, you'll be fine."
Hearing his words, the panicked sounds from inside subsided.
Turning back, Shawn looked into the distance and gave Andrea an 'OK' sign before leaning on his horse bone club and admiring the camp's first 'big team fight'.
Although there was some panic at the beginning, with Rick leading, and Shane and Daryl assisting, they quickly stabilized the situation. Most importantly, the number of guns and ammunition in the bag gave everyone immense courage.
"This little quarry camp has the potential to rule, eh~"
Shawn said without turning his head, raising a hand to club a stray walker that had gotten close. Before he could deliver the finishing blow, an arrow flew over and lodged itself squarely in the side of the walker's head.
In the distance, Daryl gave Shawn a nod, his eyes saying everything that needed to be said.
Although Shawn had repeatedly emphasized that Merle no longer owed him anything, it was clear that Daryl didn't think so.
'Such a tsundere.' Shawn found Daryl's reaction somewhat cute.
After the last few gunshots, a white mist of burnt gunpowder and firewood smoke hung in the air. With that the first 'big team fight' was officially over.
"Is everyone okay? No one's hurt, right?" Rick immediately checked on Lori and Carl, who were hiding behind him, and only dared to breathe a sigh of relief after looking around at everyone else.
Amy, wearing a white t-shirt with a cartoon on it, ran out of the RV and into Andrea's arms. The two sisters hugged for a long time. Amy rested her head on Andrea's shoulder, looking at the approaching Shawn with a pale face, still shaken.
"Thanks. I owe you one," Andrea said to Shawn, her eyes red. She could die, but Amy couldn't.
"We're all in the same camp. It was nothing," Shawn said, always downplaying his contributions.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!"
"You smashed a walker's head with one swing! Do you know how fucking awesome you are?!" Merle yelled, mimicking a bat swing at Shawn, a stream of curses pouring from his mouth. He completely ignored Lori's disapproving look as she discreetly covered little Carl's ears.
Merle was one, Shawn was another. Both were crude fellows! Why was her little Carl's path to growing up so difficult? Lori felt a little annoyed.
-----
Midday.
Everyone moved the walker corpses out of the camp and began to prepare lunch.
Shawn walked up the small hill to the east and came up behind Carol, who was dressed in a simple floral skirt. She was clutching a hoe, and next to her lay the body of her husband, Ed, a bullet hole in his forehead.
He had his throat and jaw torn out by a walker in his sleep, his entire jaw exposed. But now, Ed looked far less repulsive than when he was alive.
"I heard you refused everyone's help and wanted to bury Ed yourself."
Shawn stood behind her for a moment but received no response. He looked back and saw the people from the quarry camp discreetly watching from a distance, their eyes filled with concern.
Lori held Sophia, who was clutching a doll, and Carl in her arms. Rick stood with his hands on his hips, his gaze darting around Shawn.
Perhaps the raid at night had put the leader, who had not yet fully matured, on high alert.
Turning back, Shawn took two steps forward. He glanced at Carol, who seemed lost in her emotions, then reached out and took the hoe from her hands, swinging it forcefully at the soft earth.
"Let me, let me do it," Carol said quickly, getting to her feet with a weak expression.
But Shawn paid her no mind, continuing to swing the hoe with single-minded focus, just as Carol had been doing, without saying a word.
Before long, a small pit, about a meter deep and long enough for a person, was dug.
Shawn took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his right sleeve, and handed the hoe back to Carol. Then, without hesitation, he walked back towards the group.
'This is a hurdle Carol must overcome. It's her chance for a new beginning. She just needs a little help,' Shawn thought to himself.
Others didn't understand Carol, but Shawn did. This woman, full of resilience and talent, had been kept and constrained by Ed. She needed someone to give her a push, even if she kept saying she didn't want it.