Chapter 34: I've Had Enough of You
"Sh... Brother Shawn, wait for me at the starting point..."
Carl gritted his teeth as waves of endless soreness and weakness washed over him. Perhaps even he hadn't realized how much weight Shawn now held in his mind, as if any problem could be solved just by finding him. The image of Shawn descending like a god to slaughter walkers was deeply imprinted in Carl's consciousness.
Perhaps that explained why a boy of Carl's age could persevere for so long. This had almost surpassed the support of theoretical data; all Carl had left was belief.
1.2 kilometers...
900 meters...
600 meters...
300 meters...
In Carl's blurry vision, he could faintly see the figure of Shawn, who had secretly circled back to the starting point. The Stone Sledgehammer rested by his feet. Shawn stood with his arms crossed, watching Carl from afar, a look of unexpected admiration on his stern face.
"You're not a little kid anymore, Carl. You did it."
Shawn felt the hair on his body stand on end, a tingling sensation spreading across his skin. Witnessing Carl's multiple transformations in a single day, Shawn realized that the moment Carl took that first step, he had already completed his own growth.
Even without Shawn today, Carl would have found a way to survive. Shawn was sure of it!
Time passed, second by second, until the very last moment the sun dipped below the horizon, at the intersection of light and dark.
Carl gradually approached Shawn. He was weak, forcefully dragging his body forward with sheer willpower. When he finally stood before Shawn, the silhouettes of dozens of walkers swayed behind him, their low growls coming from all directions.
Carl lifted his head, squinting one eye that was soaked with sweat, and looked at Shawn. In a daze, Shawn thought he saw the grown-up version of Carl.
He slowly opened his mouth, spitting out a few hoarse, low words.
"...Brother Shawn, I did it!"
Carl had never said anything with more conviction. But just as he finished, his expression softened, and his whole body pitched forward. He was too tired, completely exhausted, with not a single ounce of energy left to spare.
With a 'thud', it wasn't the hard ground he expected. Carl fell into Shawn's arms.
"You did very well, Carl... you did very well."
Shawn scooped one arm under Carl's knees and securely supported his back with the other. He carried him to the 6-seater section of the fire truck and gently laid him down on the soft seat.
'Slam—!'
The door closed.
Bathed in the last afterglow of the sunset, Shawn faced the darkness. He shouldered his Stone Sledgehammer and, facing the small horde of walkers that had followed, gave a savage grin.
"Damn it, I've had enough of you!!"
-----
His eyeballs rolled a few times under his eyelids. A pair of light-colored pupils, having inherited the best traits from both his parents, slowly opened.
Carl stared blankly at the milky-white light seeping in from outside the curtains. He reached out and just managed to catch the ray of sunlight in his palm. Feeling the warmth, memories gradually flooded back into his mind.
A moment later, he sat up in astonishment, enduring the soreness that shot through his entire body, and said with pleasant surprise, "I did it?!"
"I'm not dead. Brother Shawn saved me?"
"What are you shouting about? Making a racket the moment you wake up... If you attract walkers, you can deal with them yourself."
Shawn pushed the door open, holding a bowl of hot tomato soup. After confirming everything was fine he handed the soup to him.
"There are no fresh ingredients left. I found some canned goods and made this soup. Drink it while it's hot to regain your strength."
Smelling the slight sourness of the tomato soup, Carl couldn't help but swallow. He took the bowl, first scooping a spoonful into his mouth, and then his eyes lit up and he took several more mouthfuls in quick succession, his breathing quickening.
While eating, Carl asked with a muffled voice, "Brother Shawn, how long did I sleep?"
"It's been a day and two nights since I brought you here."
"Huh??"
Carl looked up, his fair little face full of astonishment. "Then we have to go back quickly. Mommy will be so worried if she can't see me." Carl didn't even have time to finish his soup and urged Shawn to hurry.
And at the mention of Lori, he couldn't help but feel like crying, as if all his grievances were bubbling up.
Looking at Carl's state, Shawn secretly sighed, glad he hadn't taken him back overnight. If he had really seen Lori, all his progress might have been undone. This trip was not only to give Carl a strong dose of reality, but Shawn also had to spend some time 'consolidating his foundation', helping him stabilize this new state.
"No rush." Shawn raised a hand to stop Carl. "I have no intention of taking you back yet."
"Although you've slept for a day and two nights, we still have half a week to train."
"Have you forgotten? Rick told you to follow my instructions to the letter."
"I haven't forgotten..." Carl muttered in disappointment, his voice so low it was almost inaudible. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was Sophia standing in front of Shawn.
'Well, he only retained thirty percent of his new state after waking up. The other seventy percent is gone again,' Shawn thought helplessly.
But that night, the way Carl had looked up at him... he could never forget it. In that instant, Shawn even felt that the Carl before him had traveled back from the future. The resemblance was uncanny! But that wasn't quite right. How could someone resemble themselves?
Shawn smiled and shook his head, ruffling Carl's hair. "After you finish the soup, the training starts again."
"Don't worry. After we go back this time, Rick and Lori will see you in a new light," Shawn said with utter confidence, just as he had promised Rick. But perhaps Carl's current transformation alone would be enough to shock the couple.
"Okay!" This time, Carl nodded heavily, his words filled with the same confidence, a confidence that seemed to have been granted to the little guy after he completed the round trip through town that day.
Hearing this, Shawn stood up and went into the living room. This was the very room where he had rested for a night, and it still had some gas and intact basic facilities. He casually flipped through a comic book he had taken from the family's bookshelf.
"Superheroes?"
"Now that it's the end of the world, why haven't any superheroes come out to save it?"
Looking at Captain America holding his shield in the comic book, Shawn tossed it aside, sneering at the so-called superheroes. In the end, it was better for people not to harbor any unrealistic fantasies.
'Click—'
A soft sound made Shawn look up. His eyes instantly lit up. Carl was now standing ramrod straight in front of him, clad in his wood armor, his chest puffed out. Although it was the same wood armor, the Carl of today seemed like a completely different person from two days ago. The faint, subtle aura about him could not be concealed.
Having personally killed a walker, having crossed that threshold, the current Carl was like a new person!