Chapter 11: The Same Idea
After some thought, Shawn didn't rush over. Instead, he turned around and went back to the Farm, calling Daryl and Merle out of the woods.
"What?" Merle's temper was getting worse. Just now in the woods, he had smashed a walker's head in with his rifle butt right in front of Shawn.
"I found the location of the motorcycles."
"What?!" Daryl, who had been silent, immediately looked at Shawn, his nostrils flaring and his breathing becoming heavier.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get the bikes back! I'm going to smash that son of a bitch's nose and all his bones!" Merle laughed with rage, grinding his teeth as he spoke, wishing he could skin the thief alive.
"Calm down," Shawn said, looking at him. "If I'm not mistaken, there are a lot of them. Maybe more than twenty."
"You scared?" Merle frowned at him.
"I mean, we should wait until night to make our move." A strange smile played on Shawn's lips.
Night wasn't just a paradise for walkers; the darkness could also conceal their movements. The other group had too many people; they might not be able to take them all out at once. If they weren't a match, they could use the cover of night to retreat to the Farm.
"Fine, you're the boss," Merle shrugged, then charged back into the forest with his rifle to blow off some steam.
"Don't mind him. That's just how he is," Daryl said in a low voice, explaining on Merle's behalf. It was clear Daryl didn't want this to cause a rift between them and Shawn. On the contrary, he had been watching Shawn's actions closely. If before he had only paid special attention to Shawn because of Merle, now Daryl genuinely wanted to be on good terms with him.
"I never took it to heart," Shawn said with a frank smile.
Merle and Daryl were a wolf pack of two. You couldn't judge them by normal standards. From the very beginning, Shawn's goal had been to win them over step by step, to make them genuinely accept him.
After sending Daryl off to keep Merle company, Shawn returned to their camp.
"We might need the car for another day. We'll give it back when we're done," Shawn said to Andrea.
With that, under the watchful eyes of the two sisters, Shawn chose a blue tent and went to sleep. He slept straight through until nightfall.
"Hey." Daryl kicked Shawn. "Get up. It's time."
Shawn sat up with some effort, shaking his head to clear it. Daryl and Merle were already fully armed and standing guard beside him. When they saw he was awake, they stared at him with burning intensity.
"Let's go. I'll drive."
Shawn wasn't sure what time it was, but the sky had indeed darkened. Looking from a distance, the Farm was completely dark. But the golden exclamation point was still there, especially conspicuous in the night.
The three of them got In the car. Shawn drove in the direction indicated by the apocalypse quest, stopping about 500 meters from their destination.
"We here?" Merle asked, licking his lips.
Shawn got out of the car. "It's about 500 meters ahead. We'll go on foot."
The sound of the car was too loud, especially in the dead quiet of an apocalyptic night. If they drove up so brazenly, they would likely be discovered before they even arrived. Shawn would bet his life that an active group of at least 30 people would have sentries at night.
And so, the three of them moved forward in a line, jogging cautiously. They circled around a looted supermarket and found a well-fortified house behind it. The iron gate of the house was shut tight, surrounded on all sides by concrete walls topped with barbed wire. A faint light shone from within the walls.
Shawn looked back, met the eyes of the other two, and gave them a hand signal.
Daryl and Merle nodded silently. They went to the base of the wall, and each grabbed one of Shawn's feet, boosting him up. Peeking over, Shawn looked into the courtyard.
A row of various cars was parked inside. In the corner, Shawn saw the missing custom motorcycles. But now, both bikes had been spray-painted with weird graffiti and some vulgar patterns, their style completely changed.
The corner of Shawn's mouth twitched. He glanced down at the two men grimacing below him and couldn't help but mourn for the group Inside.
"Me, go in first. Then you, come in," Shawn gestured to them.
He hooked his horse bone club under the barbed wire to lift it, then vaulted over the fence in the gap. He landed with nothing more than a puff of dust, making no sound.
Once inside the courtyard, he took a few cautious steps forward. He was about to turn a corner but froze and stepped back, pressing his back against the wall. Just around the corner, a chubby man in a hoodie was standing there, looking drowsy.
After a moment's thought, Shawn went back to the outer wall and tapped it lightly. A moment later, Daryl and Merle climbed through the gap in the barbed wire. Shawn pointed at the man behind the corner, then at the crossbow in Daryl's hand. The three of them exchanged glances, confirming their plan.
Dave's head swayed dizzily. Realizing he was dozing off, he shivered and suddenly woke up. He scanned his surroundings and let out a sigh of relief.
"Next time we go out to loot, I'm going too. Then I won't have to work so hard standing guard at night when I get back."
"That's too bad. You don't have a next time."
A low, suppressed voice sounded next to Dave's ear. He froze, immediately trying to turn with his rifle. But in the next second, he felt a cold sensation on his forehead, his mouth was instantly covered, and his whole body fell backward uncontrollably into a strong embrace.
"Shh—it's normal to feel dizzy. It'll be over soon." Shawn's right hand was clamped tightly over Dave's mouth and nose, preventing him from making a sound. Merle caught the rifle that fell from Dave's arms in mid-air.
Seeing this, Daryl cautiously approached, stepped on Dave's head, and pulled the crossbow bolt out of his brain.
After all this, Daryl and Merle both looked at Shawn, their eyes glowing with a predatory green light, like two hungry wolves.
Shawn silently pointed to the two motorcycles in the corner, which had been spray-painted beyond recognition, and shrugged helplessly.
The two brothers walked over, their trembling fingertips touching their beloved bikes, stroking them again and again. Merle's face turned vicious. He raised his gun, ready to charge into the house, but was stopped by Shawn and Daryl.
Merle's eyes were full of anger, but also confusion as he looked at Daryl.
Daryl pointed at the bikes, then at the main gate, and shook his head.
Shawn patted both their shoulders from behind, guiding their gazes to the gas can near a car behind them.
In an instant, all three of their faces lit up, and similar grins spread across their lips. They had all thought of the same thing.