70 What I have to protect
The eyes of Elias, Emilio, Jim, Daniel and all the other survivors who were rescued by Airon and his group naturally looked at the surrounding environment. It was obvious that the place was a prison, but the number of survivors in this place was too large. There were dozens of people, security guards and elderly people in the yard after a casual inspection.
All the soldiers were glad to find a safe place where there were comrades of theirs protecting all these people, just by looking at their good mood, lively and bright complexion. From their point of view, the food in this place should be very plentiful and clearly protection was not a problem.
Looking at not only the adult people who all had guns, but the soldiers in the Towers around the prison with heavy weapons, cold and short weapons, it can be said that the people in this shelter have been prepared to defend themselves.
This alone made the soldiers very satisfied and happy to come to this place. The way things are going in the world, food is the basis of survival and weapons the courage to go on living.
Airon jumped out of the truck, approached Guillermo and gave him a warm hug while the others walked towards him, after speaking a few words, he turned to the crowd.
Looking at the soldiers and people who came this time, Airon had no choice but to give them a brief introduction to all these people.
Looking at the prison crowd celebrating the arrival of the entire group, he took the gloves off his hands and said loudly, "It's been long and difficult days since we started to move, I can't fully tell you that your safety is secure in this place, but I promise you that I will do my best to make it so."
"These people joined us on our return from Atlanta, most of them are soldiers, police, firefighters and the others are civilians who were struggling to survive until today, please give them a warm welcome!"
Hearing Airon's words, the crowd started clapping with joy and many came forward to greet the soldiers who had been fighting all this time.
When he finished making introductions, he said again, "Alright, I hope we keep working hard, we have to start unloading the weapons, equipment and food inside the trucks and take them to the warehouses according to their category, some of the weapons need maintenance. Shane, I'm going to have to ask you to help the new guys and sort them into the appropriate groups."
"Got it buddy." Shane said as he gave orders for the trucks to move to the side of the prison where all the vehicles and the rest of the tanks were parked.
Hearing this, Airon turned his gaze to Guillermo who was standing next to him and asked, "How are you doing with your injury?"
"I'm fine, as long as I don't make any sudden or heavy movements it won't affect me much. Don't forget to give me an order if you have something I should do." Guillermo smiled at Airon's concerned tone, then moved his body to indicate that he was fine.
"That's good! Guillermo, I want to leave the most important job to you, take responsibility for the food and weapons, you must keep a close eye on those two things and make sure no one misuses the community's things."
Airon mentioned a very important issue that had him alert, the food was plenty and enough, he had ordered to make a correct use of the proportions needed for the people and not to misuse the resources. Just like the weapons, the ammunition from now on should be reserved for the humans and not for the walkers.
It was obvious that Guillermo understood his concerns, so he knew what he should do to keep Airon's worries away from his concerns.
"Don't worry, I'll see to it that no mice eat the colony's cheese!" Guillermo said in a confident voice.
"Marco, I still have something important to do. For now, since Sam Valdez is resting, I want you to move all the tanks and leave only two parked in this open field, we must take care of the fuel and not make use of them if it's not necessary."
"Understood, Captain!" Marco said and moved from his side. At this moment, the soldiers who recently joined the community, agreed to follow him and call him captain, so Airon was quite calm.
"For now, let's consider moving to enter the prison as soon as possible, too much movement outside attracts nearby enemies."
"We got it, sir." Replied the others in unison, then went about their next business with cheerful faces, the main courtyard was immediately in motion.
Glenn and the others supported Richard towards the infirmary, although the wound was not life threatening, he had lost a lot of blood and still needed to be treated with attention.
Airon called Rick and Lori over for a moment and gestured for them to enter the prison. There was a separate room for Airon, although he didn't really care where he slept, they had all prepared a special room for him as his bedroom.
At that moment, Airon led Rick and his wife into that room. Their room was simple, a bed and a simple table with a few chairs.
Airon went to the table and sat down exhaustedly, then motioned for the two of them to sit down as well.
After a slight silence, Airon looked at the two and said, "First of all my congratulations on the child you both will have, there are studies that say that when many people die around the world the first reaction of humans is to reproduce, haha a rare action."
"Now then, Lori! My words may be a bit harsh next, you should be prepared.
Airon looked around and said directly, "I want to ask you a question, do you even know why people in our community respect you and don't blame you much for what you did?"
Lori was surprised by Airon's question to her. Yes it was true that she felt a certain different treatment from others, but she always thought it was because her husband was a group leader and policeman.
But now, when she heard the question Airon asked her, she did not say this, but chose to shake her head to express that she did not know.
Seeing Lori black with her head, Airon continued to express his thoughts, "I do know, for sure you must think they respect you because of Rick, due to the fact that he is a cop and a leader within our group that helps run everything within this place."
Looking at Lori without ever showing a negative expression, Airon said in a sterner voice, "You are wrong, let me tell you that yes it is because of your husband, but you have no idea that you have that respect because Rick is the first one to do everything, he risks his life to find food, our food."
"My sole purpose is to give hope to all who follow me, I want children to not have the need to raise a gun against humans, all my actions and decisions have a single purpose! Do you even know what my purpose is, do you know what I build a shelter for and strive to keep everyone safe? It's to keep everyone alive and preserve what humanity they have left."
As I look at Lori's shocked face, Airon's voice became calm again and he said frankly, "My father beat me, after my mother abandoned me and left me with my father, I had a rough few days and when I went into the CDC and was told if I had family what he said was no. Do you know what the name of the boy they killed was?"
Lori shook her head again. Rick next to her wanted to say a few words, but decided to stop as he understood the intention Airon had. Therefore, he decided to listen quietly and take responsibility for his family's mistakes.
"Let me tell you the answer, the injured one was Richard who only went outside because of the guilt he felt due to letting you out, and the boy who died was named Jimmy, he had no family and Hershel decided to take him in at his farm when the end of the world broke out."
"And you know why I know this?"
At this point, Lori began to cry slightly. She finally understood that the only thing she could do now was to listen silently without refuting Airon's words, after all it's her fault from the beginning.
Airon, who had stood up, walked to the glass window and looked at all the people working.
His tone also returned to calm and he said, "Because I know the situation you are all in! I have talked to everyone, I know their names, their jobs and what they are special at, I know their illnesses and dislikes. Each and every one of them is part of my plan for the future!
"Unless it is an accident, a major enemy attack, I do not allow anyone to die under my orders. If there is a bullet aimed at my men, I will be the first one to get hurt and I want you to know that they are all important to me and the entire community."
"I don't want Jimmy's death to torment you as that was not your fault, I just want you to know that any mistake we make in this community everyone will suffer."
"A funeral will be held later for Jimmy. I also hope that after you leave here you will apologize to Richard, he thinks it was his fault what happened this morning. And never question my decisions and results again! I work very hard to let everyone know that I am doing this for our future."
After saying that, Airon turned around and looked at Lori with a calm expression, and she also nodded as she heard his words.
At this point, Rick finally had a chance to speak, and he couldn't wait to say, "I want to apologize for my wife. It's true that I haven't been with her for a long time, and she did all this because she was worried about my safety, so I hope you don't blame her."
Airon looked at Rick and smiled, he reached into his vest and pulled out a large chocolate bar and said, "This chocolate will make you feel good, don't forget to take any food you want from our shelter, we will make priorities for the babies. Also, your safety will be safe in this place, there are doctors and teachers which you can offer little of what we have lost so far."
Lori burst into tears as she flashed a smile and said, "Thank you Airon, I know you do everything for the benefit of everyone in this place and try to maintain a calm environment. I am just worried. Since I heard I'm pregnant, I've been under a lot of pressure these past few days."
Speaking of which, Lori couldn't take it anymore and cried in Rick's arms, as Rick patted his wife on the back and continued to talk in her ear to comfort her.
Airon nodded to Rick, then left the room, leaving a space for the two of them to be alone. As for how long they hadn't seen each other, he didn't know how long they would have to chat.
By now, he had entered the cell complex, and as soon as he walked in, he was met with a very familiar group. Otis was silently hugging his wife while Hershel's family hugged.
At this point, Maggie was supporting Hershel, as if she was talking about something! Seeing her flattering smile, Airon knew there must be a gentleman named Glenn in all of this.
