Chapter 25: Positions
The surrounding visibility was also very open. If walkers attacked, they could scout the situation well.
After Glenn explained the advantages of this location, Merle, Daryl, T-Dog, Morales, and others all turned their gazes toward him in amazement.
"What... what's wrong?"
Glenn felt a bit embarrassed being stared at. He wiped his face with his hand, thinking he hadn't washed it clean this morning.
Daryl asked in confusion, "Dragon Country kid, what did you do before the apocalypse?"
Glenn's face flushed red. "I'm Korean American."
"I was just a pizza delivery guy."
Caesar patted Glenn's shoulder and said proudly, "I told you that you could definitely do it."
Then Caesar looked toward Jimmy. "Jimmy, you'll follow Glenn often from now on."
"Ah, okay!" Jimmy nodded.
In Caesar's view, Jimmy and Glenn were the same type of person—people who could continuously learn and grow.
Similarly, neither had much self-confidence, perhaps brought about by their upbringing, but this couldn't obscure their capabilities.
"Glenn, you and Jimmy take a few people and scout it out first."
Immediately, Caesar assigned tasks to Glenn and Jimmy.
"Me?" Glenn's eyes widened as he pointed at himself, quickly shaking his head. "I can't. I can't lead people."
"I work alone, that's fine. Leading people, I can't do."
Caesar looked toward Jimmy. Jimmy's expression also indicated he couldn't handle it.
"We'll discuss it later. Let me assign tasks to others first."
Afterward, Caesar had Daryl and Merle lead one team, then had Morales and T-Dog lead the remaining personnel to follow him.
After assigning tasks, Caesar walked to the parking lot's edge with Glenn and Jimmy following behind.
Here, they could see the dead city. Rotting flesh stuck to chain-link fences. Walkers draped over them extended scarlet tongues, licking the putrid meat.
The breath of decay and putrefaction enveloped this city.
Caesar pointed at that walker. "Look at that walker."
Jimmy and Glenn didn't understand Caesar's meaning. They could only widen their eyes and look.
"Do you want to become walkers?"
Caesar suddenly asked.
Glenn shook his head. Jimmy did the same.
"Then why are you refusing to lead personnel?"
"I'm giving you positions—it's a commendation, an honor, and an opportunity. Do you want to remain at the bottom level after the base expands personnel in the future?"
"Even if you have no ambition, what about your future families?"
"I'm telling you, when there are more people and more resources, classes will naturally divide. When there's richer food and scarce medicine, if your position and contributions aren't enough, what will you do then?"
"Watch your own family members die from illness? Let your family envy others?"
"If you don't compete, you'll become a stepping stone."
Caesar's icy words stung Jimmy and Glenn.
Right—what would they do then?
Medicine's scarcity in the apocalypse was far higher than before, because some medicines were almost impossible to produce anymore.
Many people got sick, medicine wasn't enough—so they could only set thresholds, letting people who could contribute more to the base survive.
Jimmy had his grandfather. Grandpa was old, chronic illnesses had found him. Medicine was absolutely necessary.
Glenn's heart likewise realized it. He was young, naturally longing especially for the future—having a wife and children, he thought about how to create better living conditions for his family.
"So shut your mouths. Turn around and walk back. Face your subordinates. Learn how to lead them to survive in this cruel apocalypse."
"Mature a little, young men."
After speaking, Caesar urged the two to walk back to the convoy.
Glenn and Jimmy exchanged glances and walked unnaturally toward their subordinates.
Their subordinates numbered just five people, all robust young and middle-aged men.
Glenn's body stiffened. He felt several people's gazes on him. Those gazes held doubt—he could clearly perceive it.
"I'm Glenn. We often saw each other at camp before, but we communicated very little."
"From now on I'm your team leader. I'm very familiar with Atlanta and very clear about Atlanta's dangers."
"To survive, you must stick close to me and follow my orders. I don't want to lose my life because of you."
Glenn spoke more and more naturally. By the end, he swept his gaze around the circle.
Two middle-aged men in the group looked quite honest, with thick hands and feet—they'd joined the scouting team for their families.
The other three young men—one looked relatively introverted, another had a blank expression, and the last one didn't look too friendly.
That unfriendly young man didn't wait for Jimmy to introduce himself before speaking first. "How did you two become team leaders?"
As he spoke, he looked Jimmy and Glenn up and down, his eyes mocking.
"I don't think you're anything special."
"I joined the scouting team to survive better, not to follow you two little kids to my death."
The mockery on the young man's face was overflowing.
The two middle-aged men glanced back and forth between the young man and Glenn and Jimmy several times without speaking, just watching.
The remaining silent young man also noticed something was off and closed his mouth even tighter.
The last young man still stood there with a blank expression, as if everything had nothing to do with him.
This was challenging Glenn's authority. Even though he'd just become team leader, Glenn still wouldn't allow it.
But Glenn was more worried about one thing—if he went up and couldn't beat the young man, his team leader position definitely wouldn't hold.
Just as he was thinking of solutions, Jimmy pushed Glenn aside and strode forward.
"I'm Jimmy, your deputy team leader. Remember my name."
"You're just—"
SMACK—
Before the young man could mock him, Jimmy rushed forward quickly and slammed into the young man's chest.
Both hands smoothly wrapped around the young man's thighs, tripping him.
Using his own weight and forward momentum, Jimmy slammed the young man heavily to the ground.
The pain in his back made the young man curl up, hurting like a big shrimp.
Jimmy stood up. His right foot charged forward, viciously kicking the young man's abdomen.
His abdomen felt like something had drilled into it for a moment. The young man's mouth opened and he vomited something out.
"Next time, keep your damn mouth clean."
"Forgot to tell you—I'm a cowboy. I speak with my fists."
Then Jimmy crouched down and patted the young man's face lightly. "What's your name?"
"Uh, I'm Bobby." Bobby swallowed. Pain throughout his body warned him to be obedient.
Jimmy twisted his head to look at the circle of subordinates around him. "What about you?"
"I'm Hugh." The two middle-aged men spoke. "Just call me Wayne."
"Clark." That thin, introverted young man looked at Bobby lying on the ground, a flash of vengeful satisfaction in his eyes.
The remaining young man still said nothing.
Jimmy didn't trouble him either, nodding. "Very good."
Standing up, Jimmy patted Glenn's shoulder. "Tell them about today's mission."
Only then did Glenn react. "Our mission today is to head to..."
Caesar nodded approvingly. He hadn't expected Jimmy, who looked a bit simple at the ranch, and Glenn, who looked a bit cowardly, to make quite a good team.
Mm, Daryl and Merle had also bonded with their subordinates.
That's right—bonded in the truest sense of the phrase.
For more chapters, leave a review or powerstones(100)
or
go check out my patreon that has 50+advance chapters($12) patreon.com/Twilightsky588