Chapter 24: Shock
After recounting the events of the past few days, Rick looked at Shawn and Daryl and finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask all along.
"How have you guys been?"
Rick carefully observed the few who had split off from the Quarry Camp. Their condition was surprisingly good. It wasn't just about material possessions. The feeling was more like… they finally had something to look forward to, a sense of hope for the future.
'If Jacqui had chosen to follow Shawn back then, maybe she wouldn't have chosen to kill herself?' Rick's conviction wavered.
Shawn and Daryl exchanged a look. Daryl suppressed a grin and kept poking the bonfire with a small branch.
Shawn turned back, his face open and honest as he told the truth. "We haven't been up to much, really."
"Just… plenty of food, plenty of water, a stable camp environment, and friendly neighbors, that's all. Nothing else."
When he mentioned 'friendly neighbors', Shawn even glanced pointedly at Hershel and his family. In an apocalypse like this, Hershel was truly one of the few good people left, a benevolent and kind old man.
But what Shawn described as unremarkable 'basic conditions' sounded completely different to everyone else.
Lori held little Carl in her arms and looked at Sophia, a hint of envy well hidden in her eyes. Sophia had only been at the Farm for a day, but her complexion already looked much better. Her poor Carl had been through so much on the road and had only just gotten a hot meal today. At this thought, a shadow of worry crossed Lori's brow.
Old Dale, sitting beside her, adjusted his fishing hat, his eyes slightly widened as he looked at Shawn for confirmation. "You have a lot of food and water?"
After hastily leaving the CDC, they had been chased by walkers without a moment to catch their breath. On top of that, without the expert hunting duo of Daryl and Merle, they had nearly exhausted all their food and ammunition. Their RV, which had always been running, had nearly broken down and was temporarily abandoned on the road.
'Tch—'
A sneer came from behind them. Merle couldn't hold it in any longer. He directed everyone's attention to the fire truck and pointed a forceful finger at it.
"Shawn went to the town to the east and searched for two days and two nights by himself. He filled up almost the entire fire truck. The food he brought back is enough for the few of us to eat for half a year."
"Now that you're here, I give it two months at most before we need to resupply."
Merle's words were harsh, but they were also true. So, uncharacteristically, even Shane remained silent upon hearing Merle's taunt.
'They're living so well, all because of Shawn?'
In their hearts, everyone silently raised Shawn's importance by several levels. To be able to eat and drink their fill, to have a safe and long-term place to live—for this group of survivors who had been whipped and battered by the apocalypse, this was already the greatest happiness imaginable.
Seeing everyone's expressions, Daryl threw his branch into the fire and decided to speak up. "On the road, Merle's and my bikes were stolen."
"Shawn personally took us to the camp of that group of survivors, got our bikes back, and taught those people a lesson while he was at it."
"What survivor camp?" Glenn couldn't help but ask. He had always been the team's living map, thanks to his nimble body and excellent memory. They had crossed the highway looking for Sophia and had only met Daryl halfway, who then led them to the Farm. But in Glenn's memory, he didn't know of any survivor camp, only aimlessly wandering walkers.
"It was around the center of town. A two-story house in a square compound," Daryl said, stuffing a strip of jerky into his mouth as he described the survivor camp he had seen that night.
'That… that place?!'
Glenn's heart leaped in shock. He could never forget that survivor camp, which had been filled with densely packed corpses. Everything inside had been looted clean. Aside from the bodies with their heads smashed in, nothing was left. Just hearing Daryl's description sent a cold sweat down his back, a chill running up his spine to the top of his head.
'That was nearly 20 people, and there were dense bullet holes everywhere. Shawn took them down with just two other people??'
This was almost beyond Glenn's comprehension. He was sure that in his twenty-something years of life, he had never seen anyone so fierce. When he looked at Shawn again, there was a new hint of fear in his eyes.
But if Glenn knew that the group had originally consisted of 30 people, and that Shawn himself had led Ferals to take out nearly half of them, he would probably be even more shocked.
'In just a few days, they've accomplished so much… while all we've done is run for our lives…'
This was the thought going through the minds of almost everyone in Rick's team. Hearing what Daryl and Merle said, even Shane looked at Shawn with a new level of caution. The sense of pressure Shawn exuded was as strong as ever.
In the apocalypse, people could live without food, but they couldn't live without guns. And in a team, you could do without guns, but you couldn't do without someone like Shawn. A person like him didn't even have to do anything; just being in the team was a powerful deterrent that was impossible to ignore.
"It's really nothing. Just a matter of not bothering others unless they bother me first," Shawn said with a smile, taking in everyone's reactions.
'If they knew I still have an inventory half full of firearms and half of massively stacked food, they'd be even more surprised…' Shawn thought. But he didn't take these supplies out now.
First, the team was difficult to lead. Shawn had only been with the Quarry Camp group for a few days in total; they still needed more time to gel.
Second, it wasn't the right time. They weren't facing a food shortage, nor were they facing a major enemy. The important supplies in his backpack could be used as a 'hidden reserve'. And providing timely assistance in a moment of crisis was completely different from just adding a bonus when things were already good.
The reason Shawn hadn't stopped Daryl from speaking was that he wanted to make himself more and more important to the team… more and more important… until he became an inseparable part of the entire group.
Hearing Shawn's response, everyone present, including Rick, nodded in agreement.
"That's right. 'Don't bother others unless they bother you first.' That's well said!"
"Your next… do you have any other plans or suggestions?"
A familiar question, a familiar formula. But this time, Old Dale didn't opt for democracy. Instead, he directly asked Shawn for his thoughts. After all, the facts were enough to prove that Shawn possessed a foresight and strength that surpassed most of the people in the team.
******
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