As Arthur slowly drove away from the city, sipping his whiskey, the rest of the group came to a halt. The RV broke down in the middle of a colossal traffic jam; the abandoned vehicles forming an impenetrable wall. Each person got out of their respective vehicle. Hermione dismounted Ravenna near the RV.
Dale went to the front of the RV, checking the engine. "The hose is busted. No amount of tape can fix this anymore," he stated grimly. Rick approached Dale, his hand resting on his holstered revolver. "Looks like we have to stay here for a little bit. Let's scavenge these cars. Maybe we'll find a working radiator hose that can be used for the RV," he said, surveying the endless line of abandoned vehicles.
"This place is a graveyard," Lori said, walking toward the RV with Carl in hand. "No choice. We also have to slowly clear out the road before we can smoothly drive through," Glenn added, squinting against the intense sunlight.
T-Dog, opening the hood of an abandoned car, asked grimly, "Do you think Arthur can catch up to us? Or did he even survive the attack?"
Hermione, finished petting Ravenna's mane, walked over. "Yes, he will. I believe he's going to survive and catch up to us," she stated confidently, thinking, 'If he's telling the truth about also having an ability, then he'll survive the onslaught.'
"Do you really think so? You guys had a hard time killing one variant, and Arthur has to deal with several along with herds of walkers. Do you really think he'll survive?" Andrea challenged. The sheer horror of the newly evolved danger hit the group, and even Hermione fell silent.
Daryl, holding his crossbow, broke the tension. "With all the self-praise and the arrogance of that bastard, if he died, then he's just a joke," he spat, then continued, "But those fuckers are durable as fuck." Lori and Carol covered their children's ears, glaring at Daryl's cursing.
"We just have to hope that he'd survive, just don't keep our hopes up too much," Rick said, looking around at the anxious faces, his gaze pausing on Hermione.
"So what are we gonna do with this guy?" Shane asked, indicating Jenner, who looked completely lost.
Rick thought for a moment. "Let's keep him for now. A researcher is valuable, and he might have a thing or two about treating wounds. We don't have a doctor," he paused, then said, "For now, let's search around and maybe slowly clear out the road."
Soon, the group dispersed in pairs to scavenge, while Dale stood atop the RV as a lookout. After a while, Dale spotted a walker, then another, until a herd began to appear. "Guys, a herd of walkers is slowly approaching!" he shouted.
Rick immediately ordered everyone to get under the abandoned cars and wait for the herd to pass, praying no variants were mixed within.
T-Dog stumbled while searching for a hiding spot, managing to slash his arm on a sharp object. The flowing blood disoriented him, and he ran into three walkers. Luckily, Daryl arrived, killed the walkers, and quickly covered T-Dog with one of the dead bodies before doing the same for himself.
As the herd passed, Rick, who was watching Carl and Sofia hiding in a car next to his, saw Sofia slowly crawling out. Rick signaled to her, trying to tell her to wait, but fear overwhelmed her, and she ran directly into the woods, just as one last walker surprised her.
Meanwhile, Arthur was driving and drinking when his danger intuition screamed. He slammed the brake, stopping the car instantly, just as a bullet shattered his windshield. He immediately pulled his weapons and the backpack from the passenger seat.
'Close call. Luckily, my danger intuition alarmed me on time,' Arthur thought, strapping his bow and quiver to his backpack. He readied his rifle and used the side mirror to pinpoint the source of the shot. Seeing the scope flash, he thought, 'North East, huh. Wait for me, fucker. I'll slowly hunt you down.' He waited a minute for the scope flash to disappear, then immediately moved to the other side of the road and entered the tree line.
He rushed toward the direction of the shot, using all his senses to track any footsteps. He soon arrived at a small cliff, strapped his rifle to his back, and agilely climbed the rock face like an expert climber. At the top, he saw no one.
Instead of being frustrated, he smiled. He could see the tracks: a footprint of a clear boot, the faint smell of gunpowder. He pulled his hood up, covering his features, and muttered, "You want to play? Let's play. I'll fucking hunt you down."
He circled the cliff and crouched at an unusual spot where the leaves were disturbed. He frowned. 'So this is where he shot me,' he thought. He grabbed his rifle and scoped back toward the highway. 'Sure enough,' he spotted his car in the scope. 'His scope is 8x. Why was he able to accurately shoot me this far?' He slung the rifle back on his shoulder.
"An experienced sniper, huh. No untrained person can shoot a moving car and hit the bottle," Arthur smiled, feeling challenged. 'If I didn't brake on time, you might have killed me.' He inhaled deeply, noting the smell and the disturbed leaves. To others, it would look like nothing, but to Arthur, a Sequence 9 Hunter, the scent and footprints were vivid, as if the guy had stepped in paint, leaving a clear trail.
He followed the tracks, straining his ears to hear every little sound. He followed the trail for a while, stopping only when he found an area suitable for a trap, in case a chase ensued or he was exposed.
Soon, he heard running water and some muffled voices. He immediately crouched down, slowly approaching the sound. Then, he climbed a tall tree with dense leaves to gain a high vantage point. After securing himself on a solid branch, he grabbed his rifle and scoped the area, mentally noting: 'Seven men, three women, all armed. Two with a hunting shotgun, one with an MP5, one L96A1 sniper with a handgun as secondary. The rest are pistols and a melee weapon.' He muttered, "Damn, three military and the rest are civilian. They trained them."
He then directed his scope to their vehicles. 'One truck, a jeep, and wheew, a Tenere 700 Explore, eh? Built-in packs for adventure, too.' He looked at the setting sun and muttered, "Tonight, all of that weapon and adventure motorcycle is mine."
Arthur decided to stay and camp them. He thought of Ravenna. 'I love her, but it's too dangerous to bring her anywhere near the city with variants in the picture.' He would only ride Ravenna far from the city, in the mountains or farms. But bringing her into the city was too risky. Now, with the Tenere 700 Explore, he had a viable alternative for city travel.