"Let's rest; I'm *~pant~* tired." I turned to Vivian; she was panting by the side of the road, supporting her weight on her knees and unable to walk more.
Gale and his wife were some distance behind, not much different than her.
I moved back to support her and help her walk more. "It's close; we are close...just a little more, you can do it."
Yet the girl hit her limit; she didn't eat well in three days, and walking became harder. Fucking assholes, they could've at least given us more food and water.
"I can't move, Glenn...it's okay, we didn't find many walkers, fortunately. Let's rest."
"Yeah, someone has killed them; I can say that whoever did it used something sharp and in one slash. Possibly Sasuke; that's his style. So we are on the right track." I turned to the other two, who weren't in a better state, and then at the surroundings; the place looks safe around here...maybe we can rest a little.
"Alright, we don't have any more water; let's rest and move on as soon as possible. We need to be there before sundown."
"Don't worry, we are close, just a few hundred yards {1 meter=1.09 yards}." Gale looks relieved hearing what I said, and he spoke with a tired smile, reassuring us.
"Okay." They found a place with clear surroundings and sat, while I stood by the side, keeping an eye on the place.
Honestly, this was a risky endeavor. And I know it, especially since I'm the only one here who can really fight, and even I am not in my best condition.
But why? Why does it feel much more...liberating?
I like this; we get to decide our next move, the logical next move. No one here is yelling, no one here is throwing blame, no one is suggesting the stupidest thing we have ever heard, and no one is looking weird at me, like I don't belong or like I'm just a lost man they found and took pity on and are keeping with them to use as a meat shield.
Here, it was calm, and I could think with clarity.
'Maybe it's just because we didn't find many walkers; we are relaxed.' Most likely...
We are close; I just hope that the shelter is still up and, as Daryl said, a better shelter than anything we were in.
But...what if Sasuke refuses to let us in?
I don't think he will; Daryl and William told me they accepted new people, but those were new people, not like us, who turned their backs at him.
This is the only thing weighing on me right now, the possibility of being kicked out.
"What are you thinking?" I looked down at Vivian...and gosh, even when she is messed up and smeared, she still looks pretty. I'm a lucky bastard.
"Nothing...just thinking things. Hungry? I got a piece of chocolate." I took it from my inner pocket and passed her the wrapped bar; it was melted but will give her a push.
"Thanks, there."
'She is such an angel,'
She took half and gave me the other one; she didn't even eat hers but gave it to Gale's wife, who looked to be in need of energy more than any of us.
I really hope this is the right call. We are risking everything on it.
I want Vivi to live comfortably and in safety, with no more running around and fearing for her life. I don't want her to see those nightmares when sleeping at night.
I forced her to take the other half back and went back to watch the surroundings.
It was still calm...
Yet, not much after the silence was broken by the sound of engines, I rushed back trying to help Gale and his wife to move away so we could hide in the bushes, but unfortunately...the cars were in front of us before we could do anything.
I hastily pulled Vivian behind me and gripped the Beretta; it had only three more rounds...but there were two cars.
Could it be another survivor? Or Sasuke?
"Glenn, are we going to be okay? What to do"
"Don't worry, just stay close, I go—"
{3rd POV}
"Long time no see, Glenn."
Glenn blinked, his vigilance receding as he saw a familiar face belonging to the grinning man who got down from the Hammer, followed by other men who Glenn wasn't familiar with.
"William?"
"In flesh," William laughed and walked to his side, giving him a hug, wincing at seeing the state the man was in.
Glenn looked like he rolled through the ground all the way to here from the damn farm.
"Hey, book girl, old man and Mrs. Meyers, I see you are all fine." William smiled at the other three, not really recalling their first names.
"You are the boy from the quarry." Gale sighed in relief, recognizing him, and patted his wife's hand to reassure her.
"I am. Those are Axel, Oscar, and Guillermo. Sasuke sent us to bring you guys." William pointed to the three armed men behind him, who nodded in greeting.
And Guillermo moved to help the elderly couple get in the second car with him.
"He knew?" Glenn asked once he and Vivian sat on the rear seats.
Receiving a nod from William "He knew"
"The dead walkers, the food, and the guns!! It was him?" That particular one thing had disturbed his mind since back then.
Who would drop food and guns for them? They didn't find anyone on the road, and Sasuke's group was the only human presence around that was known to them.
"I'm not sure about the guns you are talking about, but he was the one who eliminated the walkers in this road; Guillermo was with him when he did it. He told me. Anyway, good call for coming here...it's safe, we got more people, and we are all in better shape." William told Glenn, passing him water and canned fruit to eat.
He smiled seeing the two sharing them.
"Thanks."
"Are you Sasuke's friends?" Oscar, who was driving the car asked, looking at Glenn from the rearview mirror.
He was briefed by William on the road and still couldn't believe some people thought it was better to stay clear from a man like that and try to survive on their own. Heck... Sasuke wasn't even the bad kind who would make you want to risk it all rather than being near him.
It just felt too fucking weird for him to understand no matter how much he racked his brain trying to make logic out of it.
"Y-yeah...kind of; we met in the quarry." Glenn hesitated; he wondered if he would be denied the stay if he said no. It wasn't really a lie tho...
At least their relationship wasn't as bitter as the one Shane had with Sasuke.
"Lucky you, I didn't get to see the outside world that much, but what I'd witnessed was enough to make me not want to be there alone, a good and trusted friend is rare to come by. You are safe now; we will be there in a few minutes."
Glenn nodded, thanking him. His girlfriend looked no more tense; she wasn't forcing a fake smile anymore.
She simply leaned on his shoulder and closed her eyes to rest.
...
7 minutes later the two cars pulled closer to the outer area of the prison, and Glenn leaned forward to get a better view.
The first thing to come to his sight was the people; around 5 or so of them were standing, each one clothed in black and equipped with rifles that were aimed at their vehicles. And many more in the distance behind the fence.
One of them moved forward, said something and the others held their weapons by their side, he knows him...it was Billy.
"We are here; let's go," William told him, and Glenn woke Vivian, who was feeling both anxious and excited at seeing the prison.
Many of the good people, women, went with Sasuke, especially those her age...if only her brother didn't insist on staying on the farm, she would've been with her friends and he would be still alive, alas...
Glenn and the other three were soon standing in front of the entrance.
The gate of the outer fence.
"Welcome, glad you made it safe. I know it's not the best thing to hear now, but it will be good if you follow the protocol from this point. My name is Billy Butcher. Let's go." Glenn and others stiffened seeing the man treating them like outsiders.
"Don't worry, it's just how things are here; when on duty, there's no room for chitchat. Let's go...it's just a normal screening procedure from here to see if anyone is bitten or injured." William patted Glenn's shoulder and nodded, seeing them follow behind.
"The prison was this good?" Vivian couldn't stop her curiosity.
Behind the four armed men who were still in their posts, there were many people who were transferring some materials and seemed to be building something outside the fence...a wall that was still on the foundation step.
"Not even close, it was overrun, bloodied, stinky, demolished...but we saw a way forward, thanks to Sasuke, and we worked on it; this is the result...we are still in the process of making it better."
William explained and saw Glenn rushing to the side making few armed man wary but Billy signaled for them to put down their weapons.
As he saw that Glenn was going toward Dale, who was close discussing something with other people.
"You are here boy, and you too... welcome back." Dale smiled and hugged them, happy to see some of the familiar faces, while Billy and William stood aside, giving them some room.
"Great to see you, Dale and Jim." Glenn smiled happily seeing their people, their state and the condition of the place.
It was better than anything he had expected.
There were people here, it was lively, and secure...
"Let's go; you can bathe and eat after the screening," Billy told them, and soon they reached the inner wall.
There was another watchtower behind it.
The gate was opened by yet another familiar face, Andrea, who greeted them with a smile.
"Welcome home...hey, Vivi, Isabelle." She walked and hugged the two women, seeing their pitiful state.
"Andrea, I missed you guys." Vivian hugged her and beamed even more seeing Amy and Jess, who came to greet them.
...
"Hello, my name is Rowan. I'll be the one to supervise the ladies. William will check on the other two gentlemen. This way, please. Don't be anxious; it's just a physical check." She smiled reassuringly and led the two women to a room, Glenn and Gale following William to another one after a brief hesitation.
They were checked and then once again back to the office after they were found to be good, and then they went to the bathhouse to clean themselves.
Excited at the mention of the coming dinner, Glenn even singed while taking his bath, feeling all the burden leaving his shoulders...this is what he was searching for.
A sanctuary.
><><><><><><>
While all this was happening, Sasuke, who would've needed only one look to confirm their physical status, had finally finished with his business in limbo, stashing some materials in a separate room, and eventually, found his free time to deal with his shinobi life matter.
186—that's the number of chakra coursing through his system now. He has already unlocked two jutsus this far.
The first being the shadow clone...which turned into a big mystery.
The second being shunshin, the high-speed movement jutsu, it required the whole 180 threads to make him able to perform it, crossing a 20-meter distance in a blink.
Sasuke did the hand seals required for the shadow clones and halted briefly, processing the new information reaching the last seal before slamming his palms, finishing the set.
Beside him, an identical clone of him stood, looking back at him.
'So there are two types, a shadow clone and a shadow ego.' He spent a few minutes testing the clone; it was...okay.
30% of his physical strength, and it was built with half of his chakra, 90 thread.
He can only make one at a time for now even though his chakra regenerated to 186.
And unfortunately, it wouldn't give him back chakra once it dispersed like it used to, but his spent chakra regenerated all right, and he still recovered the memories and experience from the clone.
He took a deep breath, feeling that his chakra was once again full, and redid the hand seals, changing the last one to perform the upgraded jutsu.
Sasuke felt how a whole fifty threads from his painfully accumulated chakra vanished just like that; it didn't regenerate, and he was once again back to 136 chakra threads.
And shunshin jutsu getting locked once again.
'I don't even know what I'm signing for here.' Sasuke just steeled his mental strength not to be disappointed and watched the fuinjutsu writings that formed in the ground in the shape of a complicated circle.
In front of him, a figure started materializing from its center almost in a magical way… Well...it was magical.
From its feet up, the body was being constructed, accompanied by some blue light.
It felt like whoever this person is now was simply revealing itself from an invisibility jutsu starting from its feet and up to its head.
In seconds, what stood in front of Sasuke was a figure of 160 cm{5,42ft} height, with a slender-shaped body, feminine, wearing simple black clothes efficient for fighting and moving yet also elegant on their own, with a white ANBU mask covering her face and her hair tied into a high ponytail, black and reaching all the way down to her waist. Brown eyes peering at him from behind the mask with...reverence?.
"You have to be kidding me..." He blinked further, receiving one last piece of information about what just happened.
'So, my upgraded clone jutsu has the ego of shinobi from my world? What the freaking...'
He saw her tilting her ANBU mask up, revealing a stunning face, and going down on one knee, the sign of servitude and respect normally shown only to your own kage.
"Sasuke-sama, your orders?" Sasuke looked down at the masked ninja. Someone he knows from his childhood memories.
"For now, let's talk about you, Haku..."
'50 chakra thread, 500 kill. But it's worth it.' He sighed in relief seeing her nod her head; at least he got something way more satisfying than what he paid for.
=====
Better being late than never.
I wrote this just now, so there may be some issues with the chapter.