Chapter 37: Arrival
"What's that sound?"
"Rick, is someone coming?!"
A commotion suddenly swept through the camp. Rick subconsciously tightened his grip on his gun, scrambled to his feet, and peered into the distance from the top of the RV. Then, without a word, he dropped his gun and, heedless of the dangers of the night, ran desperately in the direction of the sound!
"Hey, Rick? Rick!" Merle, who had just returned from the woods, ran past him. Seeing Rick's state, he cursed "idiot" under his breath, then turned and followed him.
"What... what happened?" Lori, her lips pale, slowly opened her eyes. The noise from outside the tent made it impossible for her to sleep.
Carol slipped into the tent, touched Lori's forehead and cheek with a pained expression, and explained, "Rick suddenly ran out for some reason. Daryl and the others went after him."
At this, Carol couldn't help but sigh. Shawn hadn't returned. She had planned to show her gratitude to him with actions in the coming days, to thank him for saving Sophia's life. But who would have thought that the incomparably dominant Shawn would have fallen out there.
"Life is so unpredictable," Carol sighed again, looking like a woman perpetually lost in sorrow.
But upon hearing her words, the weak Lori suddenly began to struggle. She fought her way out of her sleeping bag and then, to Carol's astonishment, staggered out of the tent.
Carol rushed forward to support her. "What's wrong?"
"Carl... Carl..." Lori didn't answer, just kept muttering Carl's name. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, as if Carl would appear before her in the next second. Faintly, amidst the ringing in her ears, she could hear Carl calling her name over and over again.
"Mum~~"
"Mum~~?"
The world before Lori's eyes began to blur, everything turning into double images. Her drooping eyelids could no longer hold up and finally closed. Amidst Carol's cry of alarm, she collapsed to the ground.
-----
On the other side.
Music was blasting in the Red Tyrant. Shawn and Carl swayed their bodies to the rhythm of the song. The apocalypse had its perks, didn't it? At least no one was going to pull Shawn over for his driving now.
The sound inside the truck completely drowned out the sounds from outside, and Shawn's own voice then drowned out the music.
"Carl!"
"We're almost there!"
"Are you ready to see Rick and Lori?!"
"I'm ready!!" Carl's fair little face was flushed red. He mimicked Shawn, puffing out his chest and shouting back.
"HAHAHAHA-----" Shawn laughed freely and without restraint. He and Carl had gotten along very well these past few days. Looking at Carl, Shawn sometimes had the illusion that he was his own son. No wonder the original Shane had gotten so deep into his role, naturally taking care of Lori and her son on Rick's behalf.
"Brother Shawn, look! Isn't that Dad?" Carl suddenly shouted.
"Huh?" Shawn narrowed his eyes and turned off the music. In the distance, a man in a light-colored shirt was running toward them, stumbling several times along the way but not caring at all.
'Screech—'
With a hiss of air brakes, Shawn stopped the Red Tyrant on the main road in the middle of a field. He jumped down from the driver's seat and smiled at the approaching Rick.
"What's up, Rick? I told you I'd bring Carl back safe and sound..."
Shawn spread his arms, about to hug Rick, but Rick rushed right past him, hurrying to the passenger door and lifting Carl down. Rick held Carl's head and pulled him into his embrace, unwilling to let go for a long time. Only after deeply inhaling the scent that was uniquely Carl's did the emptiness that had filled Rick's heart these past few days finally settle. A huge weight was lifted from his chest, and even his expression relaxed considerably.
"It's good you're back... It's good you're back..." Rick muttered over and over, as if it wasn't just Carl who had returned, but also the pillar of his own sanity.
Watching this scene, the nearby Shawn couldn't help but click his tongue. Just then, a fourth person's voice sounded beside him.
"Hey man, you're finally back! Did you have a good time out there? So good you didn't even come back to camp?" Merle arrived from behind, out of breath. He stood next to Shawn and slung an arm over his shoulder, teasing him.
"Fuck off," Shawn said, slapping Merle's hand away. "What happened at the camp while I was gone?" Shawn looked at Rick... something didn't seem right.
Merle didn't lean in to whisper, but just shouted loudly, "Nothing major. Just that after you left, that bastard Shane found a group of walkers in the barn, and then we took care of them together." At least on the matter of dealing with walkers, Merle was on Shane's side.
"Then we started training again, until Rick and Lori started to worry about you... well, mainly about Carl. And then, everything is as you see it now." Merle shrugged, speaking nonchalantly.
In the end, Merle was just an old bastard. Before, he didn't care about anything except his own brother. Even if the man who was their father had stood before him as a walker, he would have shot him through the skull with his gun without hesitation. And thanks to the fact that that man was also an old bastard, Merle would have been extra merciful and beaten the corpse with his rifle butt a hundred times, until his head was smashed to pieces.
Hearing this, Shawn understood.
'I didn't expect this would be their reaction... after just taking Carl away for 7 days.'
Shawn clicked his tongue, raising Carl's importance to Rick another level in his mind. He dragged his Stone Sledgehammer over to Rick's back, raised it high, and swung it fiercely.
'Schlick—!'
The body of a shambling walker collapsed with a thud.
"Forgot to tell you, the number of walkers wandering around the Farm has increased lately," Merle grinned from behind.
"You might as well have waited until Rick was bitten before telling me," Shawn said, not even wanting to bother retorting to the old bastard.
Shawn walked up and patted Rick's shoulder. "Alright, Rick. Let's talk back at the camp. If Carl didn't die out there, he's going to be suffocated by you."
"Sorry, Carl," Rick said, quickly letting go of him, his eyes turning red. Holding his beloved son in his arms again, Rick finally felt like he was alive.
"Get in the truck," Shawn said, opening the back door of the Red Tyrant.
When they returned to the camp, everyone except Lori had come out. They watched as the fire truck stopped outside the yard. Glenn was the fastest. He hurried to the side of the truck and opened the back door. Only when they saw Rick get out, holding a wood-armor-clad Carl, did smiles unconsciously appear on their faces.
"I thought our agreement was about to become void here."
Hershel silently walked up to Shawn, dropped that one sentence, and then left him with a somewhat lonely-looking back.
*****
Hi guys,
My Patreon page is officially up and running..
The deal is simple: you get cool rewards (like reading 20 chapters ridiculously early) and I get to keep writing, fueled by your amazing support. It's a win-win!
I'd be absolutely thrilled if you'd spare a moment to take a peek. (Fingers crossed you'll join!)
https://Patreon.com/CanonTwist