Ch.66

The next day I added self defense classes and helped with instructing the shooting class. From shooting to teaching armed and unarmed combat, I taught it all and Shane pushed Andrea in the advanced class. Amy was right behind her in the advanced course and it helped that I wasn't the one pushing them. After the basic classes, I worked on Dale's RV, getting it fully functional.

He didn't want the whole upgrade, but the reinforced door, windows and stabilizing beams to keep it from being pushed over, those he wanted. I worked on the roof next and added solar sheeting with a few upgrades to save on gas. Every little bit helped and after emptying out the town of medicine, food, towels, blankets and useful things, I went out, telling Rick I'd be back in a couple days.

He wanted to know where I was going cause Daryl was injured alongside T-Dog and Carl so he worried. I grunted and told him. "I'm going to the school Shane and Otis went to. I'm going to pick off walkers and see if I can't load up on medical supplies, extra weapons and whatever I can find. I'll be back in two days at the latest."

I turned to Daryl in his tent and told him. "I'm taking your bike. I'll leave you the keys to the RV for Andrea and Amy when they return. You can crash on the sofa bed or couch instead of out here if you'd like. At least it has hot water and locking doors."

He nodded and I tossed him the keys so he tossed me the keys to his bike, telling me I'd best bring it back or he'd come looking for me. I chuckled. "Don't worry, if this works I'll have a trailer and truck for your bike to sit on when you want something a bit more solid."

He nodded. "You owe me a truck and trailer then."

I shrugged and strapped my crossbow and sword, turning to Rick. "Tell Andrea and Amy to lock the doors at night and that I'll be back with all I can find even if I have to pick off the horde there for those two days straight."

I grabbed a M24 Sniper rifle and took out a homemade suppressor, putting it on it. I grabbed a bag of bullets and told them. "Two days at most."

Rick nodded before saying he wished I didn't go. I shrugged. "There's deer meat in the fridge and all the laundry's done. I'm done with the stuff Hershel and you had for me and I'm not sitting here twiddling my thumbs. If I see Sophia there I'll bring her back, even if I have to put her down first."

Rick nodded and I left, headed to take care of things. I found the school, cut down dozens of walkers and found proof of the truth of Otis's demise. I took his guns and took down all the walkers around him before sweeping out at night, using the flare guns my sword and the sniper to whittle the horde of hundreds down to dozens by morning. I finished the last of them off before taking the biggest trailer and best truck I could find, loaded it with medical supplies, weapons and everything I could think to grab.

Lastly, I loaded up Otis in a coffin and brought him back. I took the time to siphon gas from all the vehicles nearby and load up the twenty foot trailer to the five foot siding. The last thing put on was Daryl's bike before I hit several houses and every place I could on the way back. By the time I returned that night, the stuff had to be unloaded just to get Otis and Daryl's bike out.

I gave Otis's coffin to Hershel saying. "It's not much in the way of good, but I hope it helps to have something to bury and say goodbye to. If you'd like, I can dig the grave next to the stone pile."

Hershel nodded slowly and thanked me. I turned to Shane and back to Hershel before shaking my head saying he helped save the life of one of the group I'm with, no matter how it began or ended, he went down a hero saving a life and he deserves the proper respect and whatever I can do to help his passing. That night I dug the grave and washed up, joining Andrea and Amy in bed. The truck was Daryl's and the trailer with it now while it held the supplies including all the jugs of water from the water truck along the highway I'd stopped at.

Andrea asked why I'd gone and I told them our resources weren't unlimited and someone needed to do it because I wasn't about to let guns, ammo and medical supplies just go because a walker horde surrounded it. I stroked Amy's leg while she snuggled into my side and Andrea asked how I did it. I sighed. "With patience. I took my time picking them off, isolating those I could and whittled down the horde over night with flares, my sword and the sniper I took. They may be persistent, but I'm quick, precise and methodical. I burned the bodies in a pile and closed the gate to the school when I left after I cleared it out. Maybe someone will use it someday now that it's semi safe."

Amy asked about the walkers inside and I shook my head. "I cleaned it out, sealed the doors and locked the classrooms from the outside so even if walkers get inside again, it won't be many. Unfortunately it's a terrible place to set up any form of defenses unless it's heavily reinforced and better armed. Waist high sand bags don't do much against walkers I'm afraid."

Amy asked if it was safer than here and I asked if she meant the farm or the RV. She rolled her eyes knowing I'd made the RV into a monster. "The farm of course."

I shrugged. "It depends. The farm has fields for acres you can see walkers coming in while the school has fences and blockades to funnel the walkers, not that some of the fences are remotely usable now. For now I'd say the farm, but that could change so don't relax too much here. If you keep you're guard up you won't be surprised and overrun. It's when you drop your guard that the world kicks you in the teeth."

Andrea sighed. "Speaking of teeth."

She slid below the sheets and to my surprise, so did Amy. They took what came and didn't leave a mess which made me ask when they came up what brought it on. Andrea told me it was incentive to come back and a thanks for leaving them a safe place to sleep. I wasn't complaining and instead wiped her chin before kissing her. Amy slid on the condom and it was a long night.

The next morning I buried Otis with T-Dog and told Rick what I'd learned from Otis's body. He said he'd handle it and a bit later after breakfast Glenn told us there were walkers in the barn. Amy was terrified and I turned to her. "The school is definitely looking safer by the minute."

We went to the barn and Rick talked Shane down before Shane asked me what I thought. I shook my head. "I've got my RV and there can't be more than a hundred walkers in there max. Odds are there's only a few dozen. I'll know if they get free during the day and I'm sure I'll hear it if they get free during the night so I don't much care. Though I'm starting to get a bad feeling about where Sophia may have been all this time and why one little girl has escaped our tracking skills."

That made even Rick stiffen up while the rest looked grim. I turned and told them. "Let me know how it turns out cause honestly, I'm going to be kicking myself if she's been in that damn barn all this time right under our noses."

I lit a blunt and headed to work on reinforcing Daryl's truck like he asked me to. He wanted the full upgrade of whatever I can give him so I put my mind into that task. Andrea asked if I really wasn't worried about the walkers in the barn.

I shrugged. "The barn is fortified, the chains are strong and like I said before, I'm not looking for Sophia anymore so even if she's in there like I think, that's not my problem anymore. I've got no reason to care about that barn and so long as you and Amy stay away from it, I don't particularly care one way or the other unless those walkers get free."

I spent most of the day working on the truck, turning the trailer into a war machine with slots for guns and a reenforced suspension. The truck was reinforced down to the windows and shredder grill. It was all functional over fashionable and looked like a nightmare or a post apocalyptic survivor's wet dream. With the lift kit and suspension, it set high enough to mow things down without causing problems and the trailer was reinforced so much that it could sit in a horde and be used to pick off anything that moves until everything's dead.