Chapter 32: Carl's First Time
"But... but..." Carl was getting anxious, his mind racing. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Shawn with a pitiful expression.
"But brother Shawn, didn't Sophia and the others start their training with firearms?"
"You're a boy. There's a difference between boys and girls, so your training is different from theirs."
How could Shawn not see through Carl's little trick? He brushed it off with a casual sentence. Little Carl was stunned by the answer, sitting frozen in his seat.
'Is that how 'difference between boys and girls' is used? Brother Shawn, you better not be lying to me.'
"Alright, alright." Shawn clapped his hands, drawing Carl's attention back to him.
"You can't escape this, Carl. Your parents handed you over to me, which means I have control over everything you do."
"If you don't want to go today, there's always tomorrow, the day after, and even when we get to the Prison, I will still make you face this. You can't avoid it."
Shawn paused, suddenly feeling it was a bit much to scare a child like this. After all, at this point, Carl was pretty much the youngest kid in the camp.
"Think about your mother. Don't you want to grow up quickly and protect her?"
"And think about your father. Don't you want to make him proud of you after you can stand on your own two feet?"
"The blood of both of them flows in your veins. You have so much potential that hasn't been fully unleashed yet. Believe me, Carl."
"If you train according to my plan, this will be the fastest way for you to grow right now."
Shawn was playing the emotional card. After hearing this, Carl lowered his head, his breathing quickening slightly.
"Weren't you just complaining? Are you scared already?" Shawn threw out another trump card, directly stirring up the pride and rebelliousness in Carl's heart.
"Fine, I'll go!" Carl took a deep breath, a look of determination on his young face. Clearly, Shawn's combo was very effective on him.
"In that case, you can begin your first battle now."
Shawn pointed outside the passenger door, where a walker had gradually wandered over. The fire truck was tall; from the walker's height, only its head could reach the outside of the door.
Hearing the walker begin to 'thump, thump' against the door, Carl gritted his teeth, unlocked the door, and kicked it with his foot.
'Thud—'
With a dull thud, the walker staggered back two steps, then stumbled and fell backward. At the same time, Carl took the opportunity to open the door and jump out. Under Shawn's watchful eye, he ran like the wind, speeding toward the eastern end of town.
As Carl got further away, the walker staggered, trying to get up. But in the next second, a boot pressed down on it, and its head was slammed against the ground, caving in completely. It went silent.
[+300 XP Gained]
Shawn held his Stone Sledgehammer and casually closed the car door. He glanced at the walkers gradually surrounding him, then dragged his hammer and followed Carl. He had made a promise to Rick; he wouldn't just leave Carl in danger like this. However, Shawn could let Carl think he was on his own, completely unaware that he was following behind.
"I cleared out a lot of the walkers in town last time I was here. Plus, Carl is wearing a full set of wood armor. There shouldn't be any problems," Shawn calculated as he gave chase.
After a short while, Shawn saw Carl's back. He carefully hid behind an abandoned car and watched. At this moment, Carl was no longer as energetic as when he had started. He was panting heavily. Perhaps he was already regretting it. Carl walked with his head down, carefully avoiding car windows and the space under cars, his eyes constantly scanning the area for any sign of walkers.
Perhaps after walking this far, Carl already understood. The most terrifying thing about walkers wasn't when they were standing in the sun, in front of you. It was when, in a place where a walker should be, it was nowhere to be found. Like a hunter, just quietly waiting for its prey to arrive. That was what had happened with the walker Sophia had encountered.
Watching Carl's slowing pace, Shawn wasn't worried that he would slack off and just circle the area. In the apocalypse, there was no safe place out here. The entire town had long become a playground for walkers. So, even if Carl just survived in this area for a whole day, it would be enough to prove his independent survival skills were up to par, and Shawn would still accept it.
The distance across the town was about 3 kilometers, so a round trip was about 6 kilometers, which was quite large for a town. At Carl's pace and stamina, if he just walked slowly like this, he might not even make it back to the starting point by nightfall.
Shawn wasn't rigid. He didn't necessarily need Carl to complete the entire course. It was just a goal to set for him. So even if Carl couldn't finish the whole run, Shawn wouldn't be harsh on him. On the contrary, just having the courage to face all this, Shawn would only think that Carl had the potential to survive better in this apocalypse.
As for not reaching the finish line? Shawn felt that was also just a small trick for survival in the apocalypse. Yes, Shawn's assignment for Carl was a test. Even if Carl showed a cunning side and chose to lie about Shawn's assignment, Shawn would still praise him for being resourceful. This was another way Shawn was different from Rick and Shane. Shawn was truly training Carl as a warrior.
And so, Shawn followed closely behind Carl, slowly walking for 800 meters. By now it was noon. The scorching sun made Carl drip with sweat. The low growls of walkers echoed through the town streets, along with the pungent stench of corpses.
Carl suddenly ran to the shade of a tree by the roadside, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and muttered to himself, "No, Mom and Dad are both training back at the camp. I can't go back just like this."
He kicked a stone at his feet, and it rolled down into a slit-style storm drain. "Huh?" Carl looked at the drain. He hadn't heard the expected sound of the stone hitting the bottom.
Frowning, Carl leaned closer and closer, his body moving unconsciously. The storm drain was pitch black inside; there seemed to be nothing there. Just as he was about to get close, Carl suddenly stopped, as if realizing the danger of his actions.
But just as he was about to step back, a pale, rotting arm suddenly shot out and latched onto the armor on his calf, trying to drag him into the opening!
"No... no!"
Carl's face instantly went pale with fright. His whole body was jerked by the momentum, and he frantically kicked at the arm with his small leg.
Seeing this, Shawn secretly tightened his grip on the Stone Sledgehammer, ready to strike at any moment.
But in the next second, Carl planted his other foot firmly on the edge of the storm drain, his entire body going rigid. And the leg that was caught by the walker, he used to stomp down on the walker's hand with all his might. He didn't stop until its hand was a bloody mess. The grip suddenly loosened. Carl fell backward, landing heavily on the ground.
Although he was protected by the wood armor, his elbow was inevitably scraped. Blood flowed from the abrasion, trickling down his forearm and dripping onto the ground.
*****
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