TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 289: Merle: I’ve Always Liked Kids, Especially the Little Troublemakers... (Patreon)

“As for whether she’s immune, whether dissecting her brain is necessary to extract something that could be used to make a vaccine or antidote for the Cordyceps fungus...” Luke deliberately revealed just how much he knew.

“To tell you the truth, I know quite a lot, and my view isn’t nearly that narrow. I honestly don’t care all that much about what happens to one particular segment of humanity in the future.”

“All I care about is making sure my own people survive the apocalypse.”

“So, Joel, there’s no need to be in such a hurry. Stay at the outpost and take your time figuring out how you’re going to explain everything you did to this girl. Understand?”

Luke continued, “Once you’ve figured that out, I’ll naturally let the two of you reunite.”

“But there’s one condition...” Luke’s voice abruptly turned cold. “You’d better behave yourself. I’ll make this clear right now. Your daughter is in my hands.”

“And I’m a man of principles.”

“If I hear even one more time that you’ve broken into a superior officer’s quarters without permission, don’t blame me for killing the hostage outright. There will be no room for negotiation.”

“After all, you wouldn’t want to lose a daughter for the second time, would you?”

“You wouldn’t dare!” Joel’s voice twisted with rage.

“Whether I would or not, you’re welcome to test me.” Luke remained completely unmoved, even sounding faintly disdainful. “You managed to fight your way out of the Firefly hospital. I’ll give you that, you’re quite something.”

“But those little skills of yours aren’t enough to impress me.”

Luke clicked his tongue. “I wouldn’t even need seven minutes to deal with you.”

“All right, it’s getting late. Let’s stop wasting time arguing.”

“Remember my terms. Behave yourself, and you’ll be reunited with your daughter. If you don’t...”

“Then sit back and enjoy the show.”

With that, Luke cut off the transmission.

He clipped the radio back onto his belt and sighed.

Joel really was stubborn.

Only when Luke turned around did he notice Ellie staring fixedly at him.

“Relax. I was only trying to scare him. Simple methods don’t work on someone like Joel. You have to grab hold of his weak spot if you want him to think rationally and stop doing whatever the hell he wants without considering the consequences.”

Luke looked at Ellie. “And of course I’m not going to kill you. It’s not like I’m some kind of Pope.”

Ellie barely cared about the threats.

Her attention was still fixed on something else.

“What did you mean when you said they’d have to dissect my brain to extract something that could fight the Cordyceps fungus?”

Oh.

Ellie didn’t know about that yet.

“That’s the real reason Joel slaughtered the Fireflies and killed Marlene and that doctor. Of course, you probably won’t believe me right now,” Luke said slowly.

Ellie’s pupils contracted.

“You’re the only immune person in the world.”

“There isn’t a second one,” Luke said clearly. “You’re special. And according to the Fireflies, if they want to develop a vaccine against the Cordyceps fungus, they need a sample from your brain.”

“In other words, the extraction would kill you. Even Anakin wouldn’t survive it.”

“At least, that was the Fireflies’ conclusion.”

“That’s impossible!” Ellie immediately shot back. “Joel said... Joel said there were other immune people! The Fireflies were just using us!”

“Is that so?”

Luke looked at her meaningfully. “Then let me ask you again. During your entire journey, have you ever actually seen a second immune person?”

Ellie opened her mouth.

She had no answer.

From beginning to end, she had only ever seen one immune person in this world.

Herself.

“Don’t rush to argue with me.” Luke waved a hand. “It won’t take my people long to investigate the whole thing and find out exactly what happened.”

“What you should do now is go back, get some proper rest, and stop overthinking everything.”

“That’s all for today. Bye-bye, girl!”

With that, Luke clasped his hands behind his back and casually walked off into the night.

All Ellie could do was watch his unhurried figure disappear into the darkness.

...

Joel had massacred the hospital?

She had been the only immune person all along?

And extracting the vaccine would have killed her?

Sure enough, Ellie didn’t sleep that night.

The next day, Luke came to get her again.

“Come on. We’re not wandering around inside the Commonwealth today. I’m taking you outside for some fresh air!”

“Where are we going?” Ellie asked, rubbing her eyes.

There were dark circles beneath them. She hadn’t slept well either of the two nights she had spent in the Commonwealth.

She kept waking up in the middle of the night and instinctively reaching for Joel, only to remember that he wasn’t there.

“Outside the walls, of course!” Luke grinned. “I want to put your survival skills to the test. If we’re lucky, we might even find a walker or two for you to practice on.”

At the mention of going beyond the walls to fight walkers, Ellie temporarily pushed her troubled thoughts aside.

Combat and survival were instincts carved into her bones.

She followed Luke toward the Commonwealth’s West Gate.

Merle was on guard duty.

A cigar hung from his mouth as he lounged around, bragging to the others about the time he had beaten someone up in a bar.

It was ancient history, yet the bastard still told the story over and over again.

Luke’s expression went flat.

The version Merle was telling his companions was completely different from the one he had told Luke before.

Expecting two honest sentences out of a drunk was like expecting the sun to rise in the west.

“Boss! Heading out?” Merle called with a whistle.

“Yeah. Open the gate,” Luke said. “Just the two of us. We’re going for a walk.”

Merle’s gaze shifted to Ellie. Curious, he asked, “Whose kid is this? Don’t think I’ve seen her before.”

“A little lady,” Luke replied. “But you’d all better show her some respect. Don’t underestimate her just because she’s small and a girl. She might be able to put every last one of you on the ground all by herself, so watch yourselves or she might catch you slipping one day.”

Merle clearly didn’t believe him. He looked Ellie up and down.

If Luke said he could drop all of them in a few moves, Merle would have taken pride in that. Anyone capable of trading a few blows with Luke already counted as a serious fighter.

But this little girl?

What, had she started learning how to fight in the womb?

Still, Luke looked completely serious.

He didn’t seem to be joking.

A hint of surprise appeared on Merle’s face. Then he casually pulled down his shotgun, racked it with a loud clack, crouched in front of Ellie, and flashed a mouthful of yellow teeth.

“Little lady, you into big guns?”

Thump!

Luke kicked Merle squarely in the ass.

“She’s a kid. Quit messing with her.”

Ellie raised an eyebrow.

This was the guy they trusted to guard the Commonwealth’s gate?

“Hey! What was that for?” Merle rubbed his backside. “I’m just trying to see if the kid’s got any taste in weapons!”

Before Merle could finish, everyone around him took a step backward, their faces making it clear they wanted nothing to do with him.

Luke’s fist clenched.