The next day, we were in the center of the camp around the bonfire, which had already gone out leaving only burned remains, something I noticed were Lori's piercing looks.
"Could she have used the pregnancy test?" I wondered, confused.
[ Negative, the pregnancy test I gave you is linked to me, so I can know the result even if she doesn't say it, and no, she hasn't used it ]
"Oh, that's useful." I said mentally, at least I won't have to worry about her lying, all that's left is to wait until she uses it.
"So, will you tell me what happened?" asked Andrea, holding a cup of coffee.
"What thing?" I asked, not understanding.
"You and Lori, I thought you were... you know, in a relationship until yesterday, now she looks like she wants to stab you with her eyes." she said, glancing at Lori.
"We were, but not anymore." I replied bluntly, stirring the ashes with a stick, the remains of the fire crackling faintly.
"That simple? Did something happen?" asked Andrea with genuine curiosity, I turned to look at her.
"Relationships end, it's nothing out of this world, she just has to get over it and move on." I said, turning my attention back to the embers.
"Oh, that's very mature.." replied Andrea with a mocking smile.
"I mean it, there's no point in dragging something dead." I said, throwing the stick to the ground and standing up.
"Come on, we have to organize another run, I plan to go back to Atlanta today." I said, looking at the map spread out on one of the improvised tables next to the cargo truck.
Andrea frowned, setting her cup on a rock, "Again? We just got back yesterday, is it worth the risk so soon?"
"It's necessary, there are many of us in the camp, but very few of us are effective in combat, that's why I plan to return to look for weapons." I replied with a half-truth.
I actually plan to take every weapon I find, after all, the military left an entire arsenal throughout the city, but the main reason is, of course, the points.
Only by killing enough walkers and earning points can I become stronger and really make a difference, otherwise, I'd just be another poor bastard trying not to die without knowing how it happened.
"We'll move through here, this sector has a small police station and a sporting goods store, we can also take the equipment left behind by the military." I said, tracing a route on the map.
"Oh, that interests me, I'll go with you, just let me take one or two weapons, I'll pick them myself." That was Merle, with his typical rough voice and the cigarette hanging from his mouth.
"Not a chance.." Andrea was about to scold him, but I interrupted before she could finish.
"Fine, you, Andrea, Glenn, T-Dog, Jacqui and Morales will come with me this time." I said thoughtfully, I want to run a test, one that might be tempting fate.
"Oh.. hahahaha, that's what I'm talking about, then let's go already, damn it!" said Merle with a grin.
"Relax, we'll leave at nine, get your things in order and take your weapons, take the chance to ask forgiveness for your sins if possible, Andrea, talk to the others." I said, turning my gaze toward her, she nodded.
At nine o'clock sharp, the group gathered around the vehicles, everyone carried their characteristic weapons, including Merle, who true to his style, brought his Winchester rifle and a machete hanging from his belt along with a half-empty liquor bottle.
The other survivors gathered to see us off, Morales with his family, Andrea with Amy, I with Carl, since well, he's still a kid and you can't hate a kid, well, maybe you can.
As for Lori, she could only swallow her words seeing how I kept ignoring her every time she tried to make eye contact, after saying our goodbyes, we finally set out.
...
At the same time, outside the pharmacy where Shane's group had passed the previous day, more than a dozen figures appeared.
"It's here, the shots came from here." said one of the men.
The group advanced cautiously among the enormous mountain of corpses, the man in front, who seemed to be the leader, stopped in front of the pharmacy, the interior looked completely empty.
"This was the work of a large group, not only did they wipe out the walker horde, but they also took all the medicine." he murmured, observing the surroundings, he turned to his right-hand man and said.
"Martinez, form four groups and search the area, find any clue that could help, this group could be a serious threat to our people's safety." said the man in a deep voice.
"Yes, Governor." said the man and acted immediately.
...
After arriving in the city, we began to advance in formation through the alleys and buildings to avoid being surrounded by a horde, but we still ran into a few walkers.
[ Points + 5 ]
[ Points + 4 ]
After passing through an alley, we saw an improvised military fortification in the middle of the street, there were only about ten or fifteen walkers wandering around.
"Follow me, let's take them out, try not to make noise." I said, taking out my knife and approaching the nearest walker from behind, with a quick movement, I stabbed the knife into its skull.
The walker fell lifeless to the ground, the others gathered courage and quickly took down all the walkers present.
[ Points + 12 ]
We stopped for a moment to check the surroundings, the military fortification was partially destroyed, the sandbag walls still stood, and a couple of improvised barricades made of armored vehicles blocked the way.
On the ground, bullet casings, helmets and backpacks, the smell of metal and old blood filled the air.
"Damn... looks like hell broke loose here." said T-Dog, crouching to inspect a helmet with a dried blood stain.
"The soldiers held out for a while, but in the end they fell like everyone else." I said, lifting an HK-416 rifle from the ground, the weapon was dirty, but complete, I checked the magazine: half full, and an attached grenade launcher, good luck.
"Oh, baby, come to daddy." said Merle, lifting a light M249 SAW machine gun, there were three more scattered around the place.
"Damn, this is like an early Christmas, if the streets weren't blocked, we could haul all this back." grumbled Merle in frustration, seeing all the weapons around him, the others just gave him disdainful looks.
I approached a heavy Browning M2HB machine gun, placed my hand on it, and in an instant, it vanished as if it had never existed, the others weren't surprised, except for Merle, of course.
"Wow, wow, am I the only one who saw that?" said Merle, pointing at me with his finger.
Andrea let out a brief ironic laugh. "Relax, Merle, you're not drunk yet, yes, it disappeared, and yes, he does that often, you'll get used to it."
Merle clicked his tongue, staring at the empty space where the machine gun had been.
"It's a superpower or something, at first it surprised me too, but I think seeing people come back to life is crazier." said Glenn, checking a box of ammunition.
"Gather everything useful, T-Dog, Morales, search the bodies of the dead soldiers and take all the equipment they have, vests, helmets, grenades, everything, just make sure they're really dead first." I ordered, looking at the two, who shuddered at the idea.
Meanwhile, I continued putting all the weapons I could into the inventory, although the others took some for themselves, that way their combat strength increased.
You might be wondering why I'm doing this, that's simple, system weapons aren't expensive, but they're not cheap either.
I prefer to use the points to buy only essential things that help me get stronger or ammunition, it would be a waste to buy weapons at this point when there are so many lying around.
About fifteen minutes later, the entire place had been looted, including the two military Humvees, unfortunately, there were no tanks or anything like that.
In this way, we continued on our way, stopping every few blocks to take all the military gear we found.
...
Meanwhile, Rick was riding down the Atlanta highway, the horse trotting between abandoned cars, hooves echoing on the asphalt.
Rick gripped the reins tightly, moving carefully, by some miracle he managed to enter the city without encountering any obstacles, frowning in disbelief at the desolate world before him.
The solitude made him uneasy, but seeing no danger, he relaxed, as he rode slowly, he saw a tank in the middle of the street, an absurd sight in peacetime.
Rick decided to ignore it and keep moving, just as he turned a corner, the scene before him sent a sharp chill down his spine, even the horse seemed terrified by the sea of undead ahead.
The sound of hooves stopped abruptly when Rick pulled the reins, the animal neighed nervously and began to back up, but it was too late, the walkers had noticed his presence.
Hundreds of rotten faces turned in unison, letting out guttural growls that multiplied in the air like an infernal choir.
Rick felt panic creep up his back, pulled the reins hard, turning the horse around, trying to retreat down the avenue, but other walkers began pouring out of the side alleys, blocking the way.
"Come on, come on!" he shouted, kicking the horse's sides, which ran desperately searching for an escape.
Unfortunately, the walkers kept coming from everywhere, blocking every possible route, in the chaos, the horse reared as a dozen hands rose and teeth sank into its flesh.
Rick rolled, hitting the pavement, and quickly crawled away from the horse that was being devoured like by piranhas in a pond, he noticed the tank behind him and dove under it without hesitation.
But the walkers didn't stop for that, Rick pulled out his Colt Python revolver, pulled the trigger immediately at the nearest walker, killing it.
He did the same several times until he realized it was useless, just when he was about to end it all, he noticed the hatch under the tank and climbed inside just as the walkers were ready for a feast.
...
All of this was seen by Shane and his group, who were resting on the roof of a nearby building, on the way they had already killed more than fifty walkers.
"What the hell is that idiot doing?" murmured Andrea at the edge of the roof.
"Trying to get himself killed, I guess." said Merle, resting his Winchester on the wall, watching the chaos.
"Glenn, use the radio and try to contact him, there should be some comms gear inside the tank." I ordered, watching Rick finally close the upper hatch.
Glenn did as I said and began switching frequencies, a few minutes later: "Hey, you, yeah you, the idiot in the tank, comfy in there?"
"Hello, hello!" Rick's static-filled voice came through the radio.
"Hey, you're still alive, that's good." said Glenn with a relieved smile.
"Can you see me?" asked Rick hopefully.
"Yes, I can see you, buddy, if you saw what I see you'd have a heart attack for sure, you're surrounded by zombies, that's the bad news." replied Glenn.
"Are there good news?" asked Rick, exasperated, Glenn was about to answer with a simple no when I interrupted, deciding to continue the conversation myself.
"Hey, Rick, looks like you're in a tight spot." I said with a mocking tone, Rick fell silent for a moment.
"Shane... Shane, is that you?!" asked Rick, anxious after recognizing my voice.
"The one and only." I replied.
"Have you seen Lori and Carl? I went home and didn't find them, I thought they might be with you, man, please tell me they're with you.." asked Rick, desperate, as if he'd seen an oasis in the desert.
"Relax, man, first we need to get your stupid ass out of there, we'll talk later, now, listen carefully.." I said and paused.
"Most of the walkers are busy eating that horse, there's only one on top of the tank, you'll have to deal with it, two blocks north there's an alley with a cat ladder, go there, I'll cover you." I said, watching the sea of walkers around the tank.
"Walkers?" asked Rick ironically.
"That's what I call them, ready? I'll go down in two minutes, when I say go, run and don't look back." I replied, handing the radio to Glenn and telling him to guide Rick if something happened.
"Morales, T-Dog and Andrea, get to the lower floor and wait for me there, Merle, you stay with Glenn." I said and moved out, the others seemed to want to ask how I knew Rick, but chose to wait.
Two minutes later, Rick came out of the tank, saw the walker on top and took it down using the shovel he found inside.
With the path clear, Rick jumped off the tank, rolled to stabilize himself, stood up and started running toward the alley I'd indicated, shooting every walker that crossed his path.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several shots came from the alley, dropping three nearby walkers with precise headshots, that was me, which earned three more points.
"Shane!" shouted Rick, running closer, but my attention shifted to the system.
[ Host, Lori used the test, the result is negative ]
The system's voice was still just as cold, but this time it was like an angel's song, at least that's one less thing to worry about.
"Let's go." I said, guiding Rick toward the cat ladder with walkers on our heels, by some miracle we managed to climb the first section.
"Glad to see you, man." I said, patting his shoulder.
"Me too." replied Rick, looking at the sea of walkers below, there were so many they looked like locusts.
We didn't stay to watch the show for long and climbed the stairs to the roof, not the same one we were on before, by the way.
At the top, Rick looked anxious to ask about Lori and Carl, but closed his mouth when he saw me unclip a grenade from my vest, pull the safety pin, and throw it down with force.
Kaboom!
The explosion sent more than twenty walkers flying, the shockwave lifting dust and fragments that shredded even more.
[ Points + 21 ]
The notification made me smile, but I didn't stop there, I repeated the trick several times, throwing four more grenades in succession, the explosions echoed one after another unleashing chaos.
[ Points + 30 ]
[ Points + 28 ]
[ Points + 21 ]
[ Points + 25 ]
A wave of notifications rang in my mind, but instead of annoyance, it was music to my ears, I was tempted to keep going, but most of the walkers had already been destroyed, throwing more would be a waste.
"Hey, Shane, that... I get it." Rick meant to say it was wasteful, but stayed silent when he saw the bright smile on my lips, thinking I was venting.
"Carl and Lori are fine, I got them out of the county when it all started, honestly I thought you were dead, they're safe in a camp outside the city." I said, turning toward him.
"A camp? The refugee center?" asked Rick hopefully.
"No, just a group of people trying to survive." I replied, walking toward the hatch leading to the stairs, Rick followed me.
We went down the stairs to the lower floor, I used the portable radio to tell Andrea and the others to open the door, four walkers were wandering nearby.
I pulled my pistol and squeezed the trigger, four bullets finished them instantly, I don't care if it attracts more, they'll just be meat on my cutting board.
We entered quickly when the door opened, upon entering, Andrea and the others surrounded us checking for injuries, they sighed in relief when they saw we were fine.
"You're an idiot, how could you walk the street like that?" asked Andrea, frowning.
"I was chasing the helicopter." replied Rick as if it were obvious.
"Helicopter? There was no damn helicopter." said Morales, looking at him like he was crazy.
"It's fine, leave him alone, this is Rick, he's a cop like me, he'll be joining us from now on." I said, and everyone nodded, understanding how I seemed to know him.
With that settled, we walked toward the front of the building, a shopping mall, the others watched in horror as the walker horde kept slamming the glass trying to get in, some even holding rocks.
"The helicopter, could it have been CRM members?" I wondered.
Bang!
Suddenly, a shot rang out from the roof, it was obvious who did it.
"Damn, must be that idiot Merle." grumbled T-Dog, we all ran upstairs.
Merle was at the edge of the roof with the Winchester smoking, laughing alone as he aimed at a stray walker and fired again, blood boiling.
Everyone turned to me, including Rick, waiting to see what I'd do next, I approached Merle, who looked at me with a mocking grin.
"Hahaha, any problem, sheriff?" he asked, resting the rifle on his shoulder.
"Tell me, Merle, you having fun?" I asked, looking him in the eyes.
"Yeah." replied Merle as if it were obvious, I jumped onto the edge of the building and approached him slowly.
"In that case, let's all have fun." I said, pulling out a light M249 machine gun, aiming toward the sea of walkers below, and squeezing the trigger.
Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!
The M249 spewed tongues of fire that bathed the walkers below, there were so many you didn't even need to aim, just hold the trigger and two out of every three bullets hit the mark.
"Hahaha, damn, you're crazier than me!" said Merle, laughing like a maniac as he reloaded swiftly.
[ Points + 3 ]
[ Points + 2 ]
A burst of notifications appeared in my mind again, a few seconds later, the machine gun clicked, empty, with a simple motion, I made the weapon disappear and another identical one appeared in my hand.
I discovered that if I put any weapon in my inventory, I can choose for it to reload automatically, that way I just have to make it reappear in my hand a second later, that way the bloodbath could continue.
Meanwhile, Rick watched wide-eyed as a machine gun appeared and disappeared in my hand over and over, in just three minutes I had emptied more than ten belts.
[ Total Points 1881.5 ]
Many bullets hit some walkers who had already died, so the margin of error shot up, even so, the efficiency is undoubtedly terrifying.
The best part is that I don't have to worry about barrel temperature, as soon as they enter the inventory they cool down immediately, with three machine guns I can run a full rotation.
However, Merle at my side wasn't so lucky, so he could only fire in bursts, I gave him several boxes of ammunition so he could keep shooting.
The walkers began to thin out after a while, although more kept arriving due to the shots, even so, the efficiency dropped even more.
We kept firing until the last belt ran dry and we decided to call it a day, Merle turned to me with a genuine smile of respect.
"Good work." I said, bumping his fist, nothing else was necessary, that's the language of men, I stepped down from the edge and walked toward the others who wore looks of absurdity.
"Shane, what was that.. you, are you a magician?" Rick asked, pointing toward the edge, I let out a sigh at that, it's starting to get annoying having to explain it every time.
"No, I got this ability when everything went to hell, it seems related to space, I can store things, it basically turns me into a walking warehouse." I replied.
"Also into a walking arsenal apparently.." said Andrea, looking at the thousands of casings on the ground.
"So, are we leaving already? I want to see Lori and Carl." Rick asked, setting the subject aside.
"Relax, we still have something to do, we'll go back when we're done." I said and we left the building just as a light rain began to fall.
That didn't stop us and we continued on the planned route, but not before taking the tank, in addition to the police station, I added the bus station to the list.