Ch.63

I grabbed my sword and headed into my camper. I set out the sofa bed and blankets for those who want it. My sword and weapons were next to my bed on a small nightstand so I stripped to some pajama bottoms and relaxed in bed. When the screams came from Ed, Amy was fine because the toilet paper was stocked in the RV. I went outside with my sword telling Amy to stay inside.

I killed a dozen walkers telling them. "Get into the RVs now!"

I was like death given wings, slaughtering the walkers fast as the group got into the RVs. I saved most of them at least once or twice while Ed was the only human that died. The walkers were left outside with me, Shane, Morales and the returning group of four that used a ton of ammo on a few dozen walkers. I'd killed nearly fifty walkers on my own with my sword while the rest were offed by guns and a bat Morales carried.

By sun up everyone else was fine while I put my sword through Ed's temple, ending his now walker body. They buried Ed and I piled up the bodies of the walkers before setting them on fire. Amy was fine but as it turns out, Jim was bit before he made it to the RV. I checked him over, looked at and dressed the wound with antibiotics before shaking my head. "If it were on the hand or arm and immediately, I'd chop it off and cauterize the wound to prevent infection. With it being in the torso, there's nothing I know to do. I'm not a molecular biologist or a doctor. I haven't even gotten my PHD for applied theoretical astrophysics yet."

He grimaced but thanked me for trying while in truth I studied the virus and determined there was nothing I could do for him at the moment with or without outing myself so I left it at that. Andrea gave Amy her birthday present in the RV that night and the next morning Morales split from us saying they had to check out Birmingham. I shook my head and sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that."

I took out a Glock with an extended mag and gave him three clips. "Seventy-two rounds, all loaded. Keep your eyes peeled and for the love of God don't get stuck in traffic with a horde. Now that the big cities are empty the hordes will be sweeping out in search of food. If you change your mind-"

He nodded. "We'll head to the CDC if we can't find what we're looking for."

I nodded and handed his wife a gun as well. "The safety's on, just be careful and keep your eyes open. Not all people are friendly and seeing one Walker guarantees more are nearby that you can't see."

She nodded and they thanked me for everything including the supplies and saving their lives the other night. Andrea and Amy rode with me while Jacqui stayed in Dale's RV with Jim and Dale. We had to deal with Jim on the side of the road when he got bad and I offered to make it quick, like falling asleep. He agreed and I told them to go and I'd catch up.

His death was instant and clean, a simple stab to the brain stem. I cleaned my blade and joined Amy and Andrea in the RV. I told them it was quick and clean, a good and honorable death for a good man and something I can only pray for someday when it's my time. Amy said it was murder and I shook my head. "It was mercy, something I'd have offered before had I known how bad it was to slowly change. A quick and painless death over a slow and drawn out one, trust me, I didn't enjoy it, but if I'm ever in that position I ask that either of you give me the same mercy."

We moved on and when we arrived at the CDC, we were stopped by barricades. Andrea asked if I was going inside and I shook my head. "You can if you want, but I only came because I knew they'd have a military posting here meaning weapons and ammo laying about. I'm going to kill the walkers around, work on my RV and collect the weapons and ammo including that sixty caliber right there I plan to mount to the roof of my RV."

I pulled the keys after parking and grunted. "I'm not looking for sanctuary from this crap, I'm looking to arm up and build my own sanctuary if possible."

Amy and Andrea talked while the others gathered and they decided to stay outside and help me gather weapons and ammo, kill walkers and keep an eye out for whatever comes next until they come out with good news or bad news. They got in and we got to work until night time. I made sure Amy and Andrea were in the RV with the door locked while I worked at night.

I told them to keep quiet and get some sleep and in the morning I'd be there like always or they could keep the RV. Amy made me promise and I did before handing Andrea the keys and unsheathing my sword. I killed walkers, gathered weapons and ammo and piled bodies up after I made sure they were dead with a stab to the brain stem. Hell, I emptied gas from the tanks, took shells and gathered hard supplies.

Bags of guns, ammo and tank shells were there waiting with gas tanks full for all the vehicles and extra gas in cans. There was a veritable mountain of dead bodies stacked in piles in the roads to be burned. I took one of the convoy trucks and put all the weapons and ammo in the back after clearing out the bodies and washing it. Apparently the others had watched me all night while I took down walkers, took supplies, stacked bodies and prepared the vehicles. What wouldn't fit in the back of the convoy truck was in bags in front of the RV.

When morning came, I moved the truck and loaded the RV up before telling Andrea that she and Amy could drive the RV while I drive the weapons and ammo truck. When the CDC blew up, I looked at the others that barely got out, having left Jacqui inside. "I leave you alone for one night and you blow up a building. Sheriff Dumbass to the rescue alright."

I lit the pyres and we left armed to the teeth. Shane volunteered to drive the army truck while it pulled his jeep to save gas so I could strip clean the weapons and take stock of it all. I stocked up on food, water and the basics over the next two days before we left Atlanta for good. I asked Shane if he got what I asked of him and he had so I wasn't even irked that I was with Glenn doing most the runs.

They'd gotten a copy of all the data the CDC had on a hard drive so that someday someone could possibly cure it. I used a laptop and solar charger to make copies of the data onto several hard drives so it wasn't likely to be lost before giving one to each group with a vehicle. We headed towards fort Bennett south of Atlanta about a hundred miles. We had to take back roads most of the way so it was slow going mostly, but it gave me time to clean and count the guns.

Forty-seven M16s with eleven thousand rounds, two hundred and fifty assorted pistols with a hundred and thirty thousand rounds, seven fifty caliber machine guns, two sixty cals and fifty thousand rounds in total for all of them. Twenty tank rounds, twenty odd flare guns with flares, fifty grenades, a veritable fuck ton of army issue trench knives and fifteen canisters of five gallon gas cans was the total sun of what I'd collected from around the CDC.

That didn't include the thermal goggles, sniper rifles and other equipment I didn't mention because it wasn't in the truck, but the RV. There were enough weapons to wage a small war and we had them all. Hell, if I'd had time I'd have loaded up a tank or two on a flatbed and taken them as well. As for the RV's fortifications, I'd had to make blueprints, measure the RV's capacity and the tires, everything really, so it would take time, but there were bars on the windows now, including the front window.

The door was reinforced titanium and locked from the inside with enough capacity to stop a horde. The real issue was keeping the RV from being tipped over in a horde situation. In essence I had a plan, but it would take time to improve and upgrade using synthetic Vibranium and adamantium. When we came across a blockage in the road, I was in the RV driving. Dale's RV's new radiator hose blew, stopping us for now so we looked around.

Dale played lookout while we scavenged and I carried water jugs from a water truck to the RV until I saw the horde. I got Amy inside with Andrea and closed the door, locking it and telling them to get down. We waited out the horde and while one tried the door, it couldn't get in it left with the rest. I peaked out of the window when they were gone and opened the roof, getting on top before calling it clear to open up.

The others were chasing after after Sophia who was being chased by two walkers. I jumped off and joined the others before Rick and the rest returned. We went out and searched after T-Dog's arm was looked after as best we could. We did a grid search in the morning and I tracked Sophia while they went to a church or whatever it was.

I lost her scent at the river and doubled back to look for her just in case she hadn't been but yet. I searched high and low for her, covering over ten miles of woods thoroughly before finding them at the church about to split up. I told them. "I covered ten miles south of here and around the horde that's out there. There's tracks leading to the river but after that I lost her trail. Now whether she went against it with the river or crossed it, I don't know, but I do know that she ain't by the highway or anywhere near it. I followed the river back so if she went against the stream then she's walked at least three miles that way or left it at any time in between. I'm gonna follow it up further another five miles before I call it on that and we need to search down river or across and to the west."

They agreed and Carol thanked me for trying. I told her not to give up yet, telling them I could hear the bells where she went in so it's possible she's around here as well. I grabbed a canteen and told them I'd check up and down rivers before crossing it because it's a lot of farm lands on the other side from what the maps say and she could be anywhere if she made it to them.