Chapter 52: A Moment of Life and Death
Shawn's eyes suddenly lit up.
A powerful will to survive flooded his mind. With the last dregs of his consciousness, he opened the system. The moment he did, the unique sound effects and music of a level-up filled his ears and washed over his body. Experience points from killing walkers poured in like a tidal wave.
[+1200 XP Gained]
[+1200 XP Gained]
[+1200 XP Gained]
...
[+300 XP Gained]
[+300 XP Gained]
[Experience has reached Level 20. Requirements met.]
[Attribute Tree Unlocked — Fortitude]
Shawn shook his head hard. Dazedly seeing the walker right in front of him, he quickly opened the skill panel. He navigated to the newly unlocked attribute tree—Fortitude. Then, without even looking, he put the skill points directly into 'Pain Tolerance' and 'Healing Factor'.
[Pain Tolerance Level 1/5, You enjoy your endurance, because your body will no longer be so fragile. (Tough)]
[Healing Factor Level 1/5, Your metabolism must be very high. As long as you don't starve, your body will heal automatically. (Fast Metabolism)]
A surge of strength welled up from within him. Shawn faced the walker that was lunging at him. With his left arm, which had regained a trace of feeling, he hooked its neck, flipped it over, and pinned it to the ground. His right arm was useless. Looking at the hideous walker, a ruthless expression appeared on Shawn's face.
He reared his head back and then slammed it down hard, colliding with the walker's skull.
'THUD—!'
A dull, heavy impact echoed. Shawn didn't stop.
He kept slamming... and slamming... until he had lost what little strength he had left.
He staggered to his feet, but after just two steps, he fell heavily to the ground again. Clinging to his last shred of consciousness, Shawn grabbed a handful of 'antibiotics' from his backpack and, mixed with blood, shoved them desperately into his mouth.
Shawn's consciousness was fading, but his reason was gradually returning. In his eyes, the world began to shrink, slowly being enveloped by darkness. In the last moment of light, Shawn saw the chest of the final walker.
'"A suit, a blood-stained corsage?"'
'"So these walkers were here for a wedd—"'
Shawn fell into a coma.
***
The sky was bright. Traces of last night's downpour remained on the ground. The damp air, mixed with the smell of fresh grass, lingered. A ray of sunlight finally pierced through the thick clouds and shone upon the earth.
The fire truck door was pushed open. Rick jumped down, his retro-style, pointed leather shoes hitting the ground. The sunlight shone on his somewhat weathered face. Rick squinted and looked up. In the next second, a restless noise reached his ears.
"Shawn didn't come, and we waited all day yesterday."
"Not just Shawn, but Daryl and Merle too. None of them came back!"
"I said it before... I said before we should go to the Prison and wait for them."
"That's our destination. If they're still alive and can't find us, they'll definitely go there!"
Shane ran his large hand through his curly hair, his tone filled with an indescribable annoyance.
"You mean we should abandon them and go on ahead by ourselves?" Carol's brow furrowed tightly. She held Sophia, who was clutching her doll, and questioned him.
"Man, we can't do that. That's not our style," T-Dog said, waving his arms and siding with Carol.
Glenn walked over, followed by Maggie and her family.
"Korean kid, you tell us," T-Dog said, and everyone couldn't help but look at Glenn.
Glenn pursed his lips and was silent for a moment before speaking. "Actually... I think Shane is right."
"You also think we should leave?" Rick asked, raising his deep-set eyes to look at Glenn. He wasn't as agitated as the others; he was just asking calmly.
Glenn nodded. Hershel, standing behind him and Maggie, shifted his gaze at the sight of Glenn's back but said nothing.
"Listen to me... just listen to me first." Seeing the unfriendly looks from several people, Glenn quickly raised both hands to placate them.
"Think about it carefully. The three people who went out and didn't come back—Shawn, Daryl, and Merle."
"What's their situation, and what's ours?"
"We've always been able to count on them. We've all seen how Shawn deals with walkers."
"And then look at us. The elderly, children, women. We're a whole family. We desperately need a place that can shelter everyone, a place where everyone can feel safe."
Glenn analyzed the situation calmly. There was one more thing he didn't say in front of everyone—about that destroyed survivor camp. Shawn wasn't just ruthless with walkers; he wouldn't go easy on the living either. And Daryl and Merle were a pair of ruthless brothers, comparable to the walkers wandering in the woods.
If it were anyone else out there, perhaps Glenn would be worried. But if it was Shawn and those two, they would definitely be fine! Glenn was sure of it.
"But..." Carl couldn't help but speak up. Lori didn't stop him. But before he could finish, Rick looked back at him. He knelt in front of Carl, bringing his line of sight level with his son's.
"Carl, do you remember what Shawn taught you?"
"In the wild, we have to be decisive. Indecisiveness will only affect the entire gr—"
But before Rick could finish, Carl angrily turned around with his primitive bow, about to charge into the woods. But Rick grabbed his arm.
Carl struggled desperately, tears already welling up in his eyes. Rick turned him around and pulled him into a tight hug, whispering in his ear, "Hey, hey, shhh—"
"Stay calm, Carl. You'll only attract more walkers like this. Is that what you want to see? Hm?"
"But Brother Shawn..." Carl's voice was choked with sobs.
"Shawn will be fine. You don't have to believe me, but you have to believe him. He has never let us down."
"We'll be at the Prison. We'll wait for them there. They will definitely come back."
Hearing Rick's words, before Carl could speak, Andrea, who had gathered around, spoke first. "Wait, did I hear that right? You agreed? You just agreed like that!" She was agitated, her light-colored eyes staring at Rick in disbelief.
She didn't know that as she was questioning Rick, Shane had silently moved to stand behind her.
Rick looked up, over Andrea's shoulder, and saw Shane's face. The two exchanged a look. The familiar feeling from their time together at the police station returned at that moment. Rick knew what Shane would do, but he didn't plan to go along with it.
Rick tried to soften his tone as he looked at Andrea. "If there were a better way, I would never leave like this."
"When Shawn opened the car door, I gave him a radio."
"That means if he's within a 2-4 kilometer radius, we would definitely know."
"But we don't. Andrea, do you know what that means?"
"It means Shawn is far away from us. At least he can't get back right away. So... we can't just wait for him in the same spot."
"But..." Andrea looked at Rick, still wanting to say something.
"Think about Amy. The first thing we need to do now, when Shawn isn't here, is to protect our own families."
Rick played his trump card. At the mention of Amy, Andrea's tone softened considerably. She looked up and met the gazes of the others, and the words she wanted to say remained unspoken.
*****
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