After freeing Ed, everyone scattered to take care of their own matters, such as removing the bodies from the camp to cremate them.
"Carl, we need to talk." Said Rick and Shane approaching the boy with frowns on their faces, Carl nodded and followed them to a secluded area far from the tents after calming Lori down.
Rick crouched to his level and looked at him seriously, he was not angry, on the contrary, he was genuinely worried.
"Carl, what you did last night was more than impressive, but that is not what worries me." Said Rick in a firm but calm voice, maintaining eye contact.
"That pistol, Carl, it is not one of ours." Said Shane slightly tilting his head.
"I saw it clearly when you fired, it is small, compact, it is not like your father's or the ones we brought from Atlanta." Added Shane looking at him with suspicion, Rick nodded.
"I am not angry, son, but I need to know where it came from.." Rick wanted to make Carl understand how dangerous people can be, but he was interrupted.
"Dad, Shane, I am sorry!" Apologized Carl suddenly, leaving both men stunned.
"Sorry for what exactly, son?" Asked Rick gently, resting a hand on his shoulder.
Carl lowered his gaze for a few seconds before raising it again, this time with a mix of shame and firmness, "Because I knew you would get upset if I said it before."
"I found it in the forest, it was inside an old backpack, a walker was carrying it, I killed him and took his things, the pistol was there, but that was when I realized I was lost." Said Carl timidly.
Rick and Shane exchanged a quick glance, neither spoke immediately, they decided to wait for Carl to finish the story first.
"After that, I started wandering around the forest, that was when I heard mooing, I followed the sound, and that was when I found the cow trapped between the bushes."
"After freeing her, I realized I had almost made it back to the camp, that is why I am sorry, I was too embarrassed to tell you the truth!" Said Carl apologizing once more with his head lowered.
Both remained silent for a few minutes, studying the boy's face as if trying to decipher the truth.
"I understand, I believe you, but even so, I need you to promise me, promise me that you are telling the whole truth." Said Rick with a frown, but deep down he had already believed him.
"I promise!" Swore Carl firmly, his face looked so serious that no one could even doubt his words.
Rick held his gaze a few seconds longer, as if trying to find a crack in that solemn expression, but he found nothing, which made him let out a sigh of relief.
"Alright." Said Rick finally, standing up once more, but a hint of pride crossed his face.
Without either of them noticing, Carl kept his fingers crossed behind his back, with a small mental apology.
«I am sorry, I cannot tell you the truth yet, not until I am strong enough to protect both myself and you»
"You did well, Carl, last night you saved our asses more times than I can remember, by the way, were you the one who set up the noise traps?" Asked Shane raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, it was me." Carl admitted without hesitation.
Both men exchanged another look, this time it was less suspicion and more surprise, they were sincerely impressed by the boy, they did not even bother asking how he came up with something like that.
"Like I said, you saved us all." Said Shane ruffling his hair, however, there was something else he did not mention.
After the battle ended, Shane inspected the surroundings, where he discovered the noise traps made with cans, but he also noticed that there were practically none on Ed's side, who coincidentally was the only victim of the disaster.
Shane was not stupid, he had been a police officer for years, he was used to observing patterns and that was not a small detail.
The cans were carefully distributed, covering the most vulnerable access points of the camp, but the angle where Ed used to isolate himself to drink and curse at the world was almost clean.
He said nothing at that moment, but the conclusion was uncomfortable, however, Shane did not feel bad for Ed, that bastard, but rather worried about Carl, who is only ten years old, thinking that he could be like that is terrifying.
However, that concern was not tinged with rejection, but with guilt, Shane did not look at Carl as if he were a monster, he saw him as a child who had to grow up too soon.
Shane clenched his jaw slightly, he remembered how Carl had warned him in the morning after Rick left, at first he thought the boy was simply worried about nothing.
But seeing him now, it seems that it was because of his negligence that Carl was pushed to dirty his own hands, that thought made him feel as if a knife were tearing through his insides.
«I am sorry, Carl, I should have listened to you» Thought Shane to himself, swearing not to make the same mistake again.
"By the way, Carl, your aim seems pretty good, when did you learn to shoot?" Asked Rick suddenly remembering another important point.
Carl was not surprised, he knew that question would come sooner or later, he could not dodge it, but he could not tell the truth either.
"Shane taught me a bit, when we used to go to the shooting range before all this started, remember?" Responded naturally, slightly turning his head toward Shane.
Shane blinked, surprised for a second, then nodded slowly, understanding his intentions instantly, so he decided to cover for him.
Rick frowned slightly, trying to reconstruct that memory in his mind, it was not impossible, Shane and he had gone to the range many times, and Carl had always been curious.
"I see, you can keep the pistol, but practice a little more with Shane to avoid accidents, although I doubt you need it." Said Rick looking at the huge pile of corpses around them, a little more than a third had died at Carl's hands.
"I will, thanks dad, Shane!" Said Carl sounding like a child excited with his new toy.
After that brief exchange, both men left to discuss what they would do next, Shane proposed going to Fort Benning while Rick wanted to head to the CDC, which caused confusion for a while.
Meanwhile, Carl walked to his tent, entered and closed it carefully, then sat down cross legged.
"System, show my status!" Ordered Carl.
|[ Name: Carl Grimes
• Age: 10 Years
• Affiliation: Quarry
...
[ Statistics ]
• Strength: 7
• Agility: 10
• Intelligence: 10
• Endurance: 5
[ Shop Points: 51
[ Note: 1 point in strength equals 10 kilograms on bench press ]
...
[ Skills: [Precise Shot • Intermediate][Infinite Inventory] ]|
"Hm, my base stats have not increased, it seems that upgrading Precise Shot to Intermediate only improved my vision and control over my body." Murmured Carl resting his cheek on his fist.
Another feature of the system is the ability to obtain points by killing walkers, Carl can gain one point for each walker killed by his own hands.
He can use the points to improve his skills or spend them in the system shop, unfortunately, he can only buy items that the system has rewarded before, he also cannot buy cards.
For example, one stat point costs a total of one hundred points, the same as upgrading Precise Shot to Intermediate, which is why Carl preferred to do exactly that.
After upgrading Precise Shot to Intermediate, he can hit a target at one hundred meters, which is undoubtedly much more useful than a single stat point, but to upgrade the skill once more, he needs one thousand points.
"It is a shame I cannot use Minecraft zombies to get points.." Lamented Carl feeling devastated, if it were possible, he would have killed two birds with one stone gaining experience and points at the same time.
"Anyway, it does not matter, it is time to receive the mission reward." Said Carl patting his face.
|[ Mission: Protect the Camp
• Details: Prevent the camp from being overrun, the fewer people die, the higher the reward
• Reward: Gold Level Card
• Penalty: Death
• Status: Completed ]|
"Hm, it seems my performance was not bad, I think even if Ed had not died, the reward would not have been better, alright, system, open the card!" Ordered Carl.
|[ Gold Level Card: Multi-Shadow-Clones
• Description: Technique that allows dividing the user's energy evenly to create copies of himself ]|
"Hahaha, just as I expected from the system, the rewards seem to adapt to my needs!" Celebrated Carl thinking about how useful this ability is.
Whether for combat, distraction or infiltration, this ability is perfect, but its greatest use lies in the fact that they can go to Minecraft to keep developing the base while the real body handles important matters in the real world.
From mining to crafting and enchanting, all of that can be left in the hands of the shadow clones, it would be strange if he were not happy, with a thought, the card was destroyed to integrate with him.
"Hm, so Chakra was replaced by physical energy, although I doubt other people could use it even if I taught them." Murmured Carl to himself.
Carl closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to feel that new technique as if it were a muscle he had always had but never used.
A warm sensation gathered in his abdomen and spread through his arms, as if his body were gathering strength for a jump.
For an instant, the air in front of him rippled, and an identical figure appeared half a meter away, it was himself, same height, same clothes, same childish face, the clone nodded, opened a portal and left.
"It seems my current limit is only one clone at a time, if I try to create another, I probably will not even be able to move." Analyzed Carl feeling his body as if he were carrying a backpack full of stones.
After eating two breads from the Minecraft world, Carl recovered, but decided not to create more clones, after all, he still does not know if he will be able to withstand the side effects like Naruto did.
Instead, he decided to join the discussion about what the group would do next, with Rick wanting to go to the CDC and Shane wanting to go to Fort Benning.
To be honest, even though the CDC is just a hopeless tomb, Carl still wants to go, mostly because he wants to try to recruit Dr. Jenner, a professional virologist.
Although it is possible that he can use potions and golden apples to cure the infected, it is still only a temporary treatment, it is not a vaccine or a definitive solution.
Therefore, if he successfully recruits Dr. Jenner, they will be able to start working on a real solution, one that does not depend on the resources he can bring from Minecraft.
There is also the hope it could give the group knowing that a professional virologist is researching a cure to end the apocalypse, similar to what happened with Eugene, who turned out to be nothing more than a fraud.
In addition, the CDC has equipment, generators, medicine, books, maps and radios, all of that is worth more than any empty promise of Fort Benning, which had already fallen.
"I am not saying it is safe, I am saying it is the only option that makes sense, a center for disease control, if anything remains, it is there." Said Rick.
"Rick, you are chasing a ghost, the military, Fort Benning, that is where we are supposed to regroup, there will be weapons, walls, discipline, people who know what they are doing." Replied Shane.
Everyone fell silent, the truth is that neither bet was safe, they simply wanted to get out of there before another wave of walkers devoured them.
"I think we should go to the CDC." Said Carl suddenly, taking everyone by surprise.
"Why?" Asked Shane cautiously.
"Because it is closer, even if there really is nothing, it will only take us one day to get there, but if Fort Benning turns out to be a cemetery, then we will have wasted several days and fuel for nothing."
"On the other hand, the CDC is close, with luck there will be medicine, maps, radios, fuel and canned food." Said Carl looking at Shane without looking away.
"And if there is nothing, at least we will know quickly and we can change plans without being stranded in the middle of the road." He added.
Rick nodded slowly, grateful that someone else was putting the ideas in order, Shane clenched his jaw, but did not argue, he thought about it for a moment and decided to trust Carl this time.
"Fine, we will go to the CDC." Said Shane, which made everyone let out a sigh of relief knowing they finally had a destination.
"You heard him, we leave at noon, get everything ready!" Ordered Rick, it was at that moment that he established his position as the leader of the group.
Everyone began to move quickly with people walking back and forth, as if the idea of staying one more minute in that place terrified them.
At that moment, Amy approached Carl along with Andrea, both women stopped in front of him, catching him off guard, which made him wonder if he had made a mistake.
"Carl, we wanted to thank you for saving us yesterday!" Said Amy with a smile, but seeing that Carl did not respond, they continued.
"If it had not been for your warning, none of us might have survived, not to mention the times you saved me from danger, Carl, you are a little hero!" Said Andrea ruffling his hair.
Hearing their words, Carl felt truly surprised, although he had indeed saved Andrea more than once, Amy had not been directly saved by him.
Even so, both came to thank him, maybe it was just a feeling, but whatever it was, Carl decided to play dumb.
"It was nothing, I just thought it would be a shame to see two beautiful ladies die." Said Carl with a shy smile, Amy let out a giggle and Andrea raised an eyebrow, amused.
"Kid, you are too dangerous with that mouth." Said Andrea giving him a light tap on the forehead, but she could not hide a small laugh.
Carl shrugged as if he did not understand anything, after exchanging a few more words, the two sisters left to take care of their matters.
...
At noon, the group was finally ready to depart, something interesting that happened is that Morales, who originally planned to leave with his family to search for relatives, decided to stay and go with us to the CDC.
In this way, the convoy departed, raising a cloud of dust that floated over the quarry, the engines roared like ferocious beasts and people looked back from time to time.
Only after completely leaving the quarry did everyone let out their sighs of relief, at that moment they realized the danger they had been in all this time.
After that, the trip was calm, stopping only once to repair Dale's damaged RV, the old coffee maker barely kept going with some duct tape.
Since Jim was not bitten, the scene where he was left to his fate on the side of the road did not happen.
At nightfall, after driving for several hours, the convoy finally arrived at the CDC, which was surrounded by corpses everywhere, which made many feel disappointed.
The group slowly advanced toward the CDC doors, seeing that it was closed, almost everyone wanted to go back, thinking they had wasted their time.
But at that moment, Rick seemed to notice that the camera moved, so he did not want to leave, instead, he began to beg for help from the people inside.
"Please, open up, let us in!" Begged Rick looking at the camera.
"Rick, it is a machine, it cannot hear you, we have to go!" Said Shane trying to pull Rick away.
"No, I know you are in there, let us in, we have women and children, we are almost out of supplies, if you do not help us, you are killing us!" Shouted Rick desperately.
The group remained silent for a long time, but seeing that nothing happened, they began to lose hope, even Rick started to doubt.
Just when they were about to leave, the doors began to open slowly, letting out a blinding light that forced them to close their eyes.
|[ Mission: No One Left Behind
• Description: Make sure no one dies in the CDC explosion, including Dr. Jenner and everyone else.
• Mission Reward: Diamond Level Card
• Penalty: Depression for one week ]|
"Hm, it will be complicated, but that was my original intention anyway, so welcome." Thought Carl stepping forward to enter the CDC.