The sun beat down on the quarry, hot and unforgiving.
Three men knelt in the dirt, hands bound with plastic zip-ties Ren had pulled from his inventory. They were the scavengers from the woods. Their faces were bruised, spirits broken.
The camp survivors stood in a semi-circle, watching. This was their first trial.
"They talked," Ren said, wiping a speck of blood from his knuckles. He stood over the captives like a judge. "They're from a group of twelve. Holed up in an abandoned gas station five miles north. They rob, they rape, and they kill."
Ren turned to the group. "What do we do with them?"
"We let them go," Dale said immediately, his voice trembling with moral outrage. "We warn them. If they come back, we defend ourselves. But we don't execute people, Ren. That's not who we are."
Shane shifted his weight, looking conflicted. He wanted them gone, but execution in cold blood? That was a line he hadn't crossed yet.
Ren looked at the scavenger leader, a man named Vinnie. Vinnie spat at Ren's boots. "You think you're tough? My boys will find us. They'll burn this camp to the ground."
Ren smiled. It was a terrifying expression.
"You hear that, Dale?" Ren asked softly. "He says they'll burn us. He says they'll come for Amy. For Andrea. For Carol."
Ren drew his pistol—a standard Beretta 9mm from the police bag.
"In the old world, you had the luxury of mercy," Ren announced, his voice carrying over the wind. "In this world, mercy is a weakness that gets your family eaten."
BANG.
The shot rang out, echoing off the quarry walls. Vinnie slumped forward, a hole in his forehead.
Lori screamed. Carol flinched violently. Dale looked horrified.
Ren didn't hesitate. BANG. BANG.
Two more shots. Two more bodies.
"Problem solved," Ren said, holstering the weapon. He looked at the group, his Incubus Charisma shifting from 'Charming' to 'Terrifying Authority'. "No loose ends. No enemies coming back for revenge in the middle of the night. We are safe."
[System Notification]
[Ruthlessness Detected. Alignment Shift: Chaotic Neutral.]
[Group Morale: Mixed (Fear/Awe).]
[Shane Walsh Fear Level: High.]
"You... you just murdered them," Andrea whispered, staring at the bodies.
Ren walked over to her. He didn't apologize. He placed a hand on her shoulder, his grip firm. "I saved you, Andrea. Imagine if they found you while you were washing clothes in the stream. Think about that."
Andrea looked at the bodies, then back at Ren. She swallowed hard, the reality of the world sinking in. She didn't pull away. "You... you're right."
"Clean this up," Ren ordered Shane. "Burn the bodies away from camp."
Shane glared at him, jaw clenched. "You don't give the orders here."
"I just did," Ren replied coolly. "And unless you want to explain to the group why you'd prefer these men alive to rape the women, I suggest you get digging."
Shane turned purple with rage, but he saw the look in the others' eyes. They were scared of Ren, yes. But they looked safe. Shane cursed and grabbed a shovel.
The Arrival
Two hours later, the sound of an engine cut through the tension.
A red sports car—a Dodge Challenger—came roaring up the access road, followed by a box truck.
"Glenn's back!" Amy shouted, jumping up from the log where Ren had been teaching her how to field-strip a pistol.
Ren watched calmly. In the chaos of his arrival, he had let the timeline flow naturally for the Atlanta run. Glenn had gone into the city to scavenge, and if canon held true, he was bringing a guest.
The Challenger stopped, its alarm blaring loudly.
"Turn that damn thing off!" Shane shouted, running over.
Glenn popped out, grinning like a maniac. "Pop the hood! Pop the hood!"
As the group scrambled to silence the car, the box truck pulled up. The back rolled open.
Out stepped Morales, T-Dog, Jacqui... and a man in a sheriff's deputy uniform.
Rick Grimes.
Ren leaned against a tree, crossing his arms. The protagonist arrives.
The reunion was exactly like the show. Emotional. Tearful. Rick saw Carl. He saw Lori. They ran to each other. It was a scene of pure, unadulterated hope.
"Dad!" Carl screamed.
Ren watched, feeling a pang of... nothing. He had seen this scene on TV. It was touching, but to him, it was just a plot point.
Shane stood back, watching the reunion, his face falling. His secret relationship with Lori, his leadership—it was all crumbling. First Ren, now Rick.
Rick hugged his family, tears streaming down his face. Then, he looked up. He looked at the group, thanking them. His eyes landed on Shane. They hugged.
And then, his eyes landed on Ren.
Ren stood apart from the group, a dark figure against the bright quarry rock. He was cleaner than everyone else, stronger, more composed.
Rick approached him, wiping his eyes. "I don't know who you are," Rick said, extending a hand. "But Glenn told me you've been securing the camp. Thank you."
Ren took Rick's hand. He squeezed. Just enough to let Rick feel the difference in power.
"Ren," he introduced himself. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Deputy."
Rick frowned slightly at the grip but didn't pull away. "Rick Grimes."
"I know," Ren said. "You have a lot of catching up to do. But don't get too comfortable. We have work to do."
"Work?" Rick asked, looking at Shane.
"Ren thinks a herd is coming," Shane said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, though he sounded less sure than before. "He's got us digging trenches and clearing lines."
Rick looked at the trenches. He looked at the cleared brush. He saw the dead scavengers' pile of clothes nearby.
"Seems like smart moves," Rick admitted. "Who were the clothes for?"
"Intruders," Ren said simply. "I handled it."
Rick's cop instincts flared. "Handled it? Did you arrest them?"
Ren chuckled. "I revoked their breathing privileges. We don't have a jail, Rick. We have a quarry and a forest full of monsters."
Rick looked at Ren, really looked at him. He saw the coldness in the blue eyes. "We don't kill the living."
"We do if we want to stay living," Ren countered. He stepped closer, towering over Rick by two inches. "You're a good man, Rick. A lawman. That was great for the old world. But out here? Your morality is going to get people killed. I won't let that happen."
He walked past Rick, brushing his shoulder. "Enjoy your reunion. Tonight, we prepare for war."
Nightfall: The Eve of Destruction
The camp was buzzing. The return of Rick had brought hope, but Ren's presence brought urgency.
Ren had distributed the Talent Buy Card (Fragment) he got from the scavengers into his inventory. He needed three fragments to make a full card.
He sat by the fire, sharpening a machete.
Amy walked over. She was holding a plate of beans—the last of the stash.
"You haven't eaten," she said softly, sitting next to him.
"I'm fine," Ren said.
"Take it," Amy insisted. She looked at him with big, doe eyes. The Incubus Charisma had her fully ensnared. To her, Ren was the dark knight who had already saved them once today. "Please? For me?"
Ren smiled, taking the plate. "Only for you."
Amy blushed. "Do you... do you really think something is coming? Tomorrow?"
"Yes," Ren said. "Tomorrow is Amy's birthday, isn't it?"
Amy's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"I told you, I know things," Ren said. "Tomorrow night, we celebrate. But we celebrate armed."
He put the plate down and turned to her. "Amy, listen to me. Tomorrow night, no matter what happens, you stay within five feet of me. Do you understand? Even if you have to pee, even if the world is ending. You stay by my side."
Amy shivered at the intensity in his voice. "I promise."
"Good."
Across the fire, Lori and Rick were talking in their tent. Shane was drinking alone on the RV roof.
Ren looked at the moon. The System clock ticked down.
[Countdown to Herd Arrival: 23 Hours.]
"System," Ren thought. "Use Limit Breaker to force evolution on my eyesight. I need night vision."
[Request Acknowledged. Focusing biological resources to Retinal Enhancement.]
[Time remaining: 6 hours. Pain Level: Moderate.]
Ren closed his eyes as a stinging sensation washed over them. He welcomed the pain. Pain was growth.
The Birthday Dinner
The next day passed in a blur of preparation. Under Ren's orders, and with Rick's reluctant agreement, the group reinforced the RV with scrap metal. They moved the tents closer together.
Night fell.
The group gathered around the fire. It was Amy's birthday. Dale had found a necklace to give her. Andrea had wrapped a mermaid pendant.
They were laughing. For a moment, it felt like a normal camping trip.
Rick was telling a story about a perp he chased. Shane was laughing along, pretending everything was fine.
Ren sat on the periphery, his new Night Vision turning the dark woods into a clear, green-tinted landscape.
He saw them.
Through the trees, about three hundred yards out. Shapes moving. Stumbling.
One. Ten. Fifty.
"Here we go," Ren whispered.
He stood up. The movement was so abrupt that the laughter died down.
"Ren?" Amy asked, holding her gift. "What's wrong?"
"Quiet," Ren commanded.
He drew his machete in one hand and his pistol in the other.
"They're here."
"Who's here?" Rick asked, standing up and reaching for his Colt Python.
From the darkness, a twig snapped. Then a groan. A chorus of groans.
"WALKERS!" Daryl screamed from the perimeter.
The herd didn't trickle in like in the show. Because of the noise from the previous days and the general chaos, they surged.
A wave of rotting flesh broke through the tree line.
"Defensive positions!" Ren roared, his voice booming like thunder. "Form up on the RV! Move!"
Panic erupted. But Ren was an anchor in the storm.
He grabbed Amy by the waist, pulling her behind him just as a walker lunged from the shadows—the exact walker that was supposed to kill her in the show.
Ren didn't shoot. He swung the machete.
The blade, powered by his 25 Strength, cleaved the walker's head cleanly off. Black blood sprayed across Ren's chest.
"Stay behind me!" Ren ordered Amy.
"Andrea!" Amy screamed, looking for her sister.
Andrea was backing up, fumbling with her gun. A walker grabbed her hair.
"No!" Andrea shrieked.
Ren moved. He activated Limit Breaker: Sprint. He closed the twenty-foot gap in a heartbeat. He didn't stop to attack; he used his body as a battering ram.
He slammed into the walker holding Andrea, exploding its ribcage on impact. The force sent the walker flying back ten feet.
"Get up!" Ren grabbed Andrea by the collar and shoved her toward Amy. "Back to back! Shoot anything that isn't us!"
Rick and Shane were firing wildly. BLAM! BLAM!
"Carl! Get inside!" Lori was screaming.
The camp was being overrun. There were too many of them.
Ren saw the flow of battle. They were getting surrounded.
"We can't hold the ground!" Rick shouted. "To the RV!"
"No!" Ren countered. "The RV is a coffin! They'll tip it!"
Ren looked at the quarry wall. There was a narrow choke point he had cleared yesterday.
"To the rocks!" Ren commanded. "Funnel them! Daryl, T-Dog, take the flank! Rick, Shane, suppressive fire! I'll take the front!"
Ren stepped forward, into the tide of death.
He wasn't afraid. He was exhilarated.
[Quest: Survive the Herd]
[Objective: Kill 50 Walkers.]
[Bonus Objective: Save Amy (Complete).]
[Bonus Objective: Save Ed Peletier (Optional).]
Ren glanced to his left. Ed Peletier was cowering in his tent, screaming as walkers tore through the fabric.
Ren looked at him. He could save him. He had the speed.
"Help me!" Ed screamed, locking eyes with Ren.
Ren smirked. He turned his back on Ed and swung his machete at a walker attacking Glenn.
Squelch.
Ed's screams were cut short as teeth met throat.
"Oops," Ren muttered. "Must have missed that."
He turned back to the horde. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness. His blood was singing.
"Come on, you ugly bastards!" Ren laughed, a sound that terrified the living almost as much as the dead. "Let's dance!"
He was a whirlwind of steel and violence. Limbs flew. Heads rolled. With every kill, the System pinged.
[EXP Gained.]
[EXP Gained.]
[Level Up!]
Ren was leveling. And the Omniverse was watching.