TWD: Saving Merle First - Chapter 21: A Brief Discussion of the Ideal Butcher (Patreon)

Wade knocked lightly on the door, producing three steady thuds.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

The wooden door creaked open.

A small head peeked out from behind it, along with half of a timid face.

It was Beth.

Wade looked down at her, and Beth immediately averted her eyes, looking for all the world like a lost fawn.

The thought popped into his head out of nowhere.

"Good evening, Beth."

"Good evening, Wade."

Beth stepped aside and pulled the door open, allowing four grown men and a little girl inside.

The main house wasn't particularly large, but it had a warm, cozy feel to it. A crucifix and a family portrait hung on the wall.

Small wooden decorations sat on the long table in the middle of the room, and the windows were spotless and gleaming. It was obvious the place was well cared for and that its owner took pride in keeping everything presentable.

Hershel emerged from one of the rooms carrying what looked like homemade liquor.

"Good evening, Wade. I heard you went around checking the property this afternoon. How does it look?"

"Uh... it'll take some time, Mr. Greene."

Hershel understood what he meant and nodded.

"Then I'll leave it to you. If you need anything, just ask."

Wade nodded. "I will, Mr. Greene."

Hershel nodded as well. So far, he was quite satisfied with Wade. The young man had left a good impression on him.

Humble, steady, reserved, and low-key. He didn't go looking for trouble, but he wasn't afraid of it either.

After Daryl handed Hershel the two rabbits and a bottle of whiskey, everyone took their seats.

Maggie and Beth began bringing out the food, and there was plenty of it.

Roast chicken, smoked bacon, fried eggs, baked mashed potatoes, a large bowl of salad, cornbread, apple pie, along with cheese cubes and milk for the children.

What Hershel hadn't expected was for Cathy's attention to immediately lock onto the roast chicken and smoked bacon.

That surprised him.

After a brief prayer, dinner began, and the atmosphere was fairly pleasant.

Before coming over, Wade had already spoken to Merle and told him to keep his temper in check as much as possible.

Naturally, Merle hadn't been happy about it. He'd even gotten pretty heated, but Wade had one surefire way of shutting him down.

He'd only needed one sentence.

"You don't want Daryl wandering from place to place with you forever, do you?"

Merle, who'd been arguing passionately just moments earlier, immediately went quiet.

In the end, he reluctantly agreed.

Wade breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Okay. At least tonight was handled.

As for the future...

Heh. As long as Daryl was around, keeping Merle in line wouldn't be too difficult.

Hershel took a sip of his drink.

"Wade, what did you do for a living before all this?"

Wade paused with his fork halfway to his mouth.

"Butcher."

The moment the word left his mouth, the clatter of silverware around the table noticeably died down.

Several pairs of eyes turned toward him almost at once, each carrying its own thoughts.

Only Daryl and the others seemed completely unfazed and kept eating.

Hershel looked as though something had clicked.

"No wonder you... adapted so quickly."

Wade raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe that's part of it, but mostly, I just want to survive. And I want all of us to survive together.

"I want to live, and I want the people with me to live too. Someday, when we're old and can barely walk anymore, I want us to still be sitting around the same table, eating and drinking together, telling the kids stories about all the crazy things we went through.

"That's all I want."

He didn't speak loudly, but everyone at the table heard him clearly.

And somehow, those simple words reached the unease they'd all been carrying inside.

A trace of memory passed through Hershel's eyes before he nodded.

"On that, you're right. To the future."

"To the future."

The glasses clinked softly.

As everyone drank, a timid pair of eyes remained fixed on Wade without blinking.

Maybe he wasn't that scary after all.

Maybe he just looked a little rough...

After Wade's sincere words, everyone seemed to loosen up, and the conversation gradually shifted to their lives and stories from before the outbreak.

Well, aside from the idiot and the quiet one, everyone got along pretty well.

Cathy, in particular, knew exactly how to charm people.

It didn't take long before she had Hershel, Maggie, and the others laughing, and her plate kept getting piled higher and higher.

Unfortunately for her, Marcus saw right through the act.

While chatting with everyone else, he calmly added a generous helping of vegetable salad to her plate.

Cathy silently pouted, but still obediently started eating it.

Every now and then, Maggie would glance toward Wade, only to quickly look away again.

Maybe this man wasn't as frightening as she'd thought...

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Maggie took over for the slightly tipsy Hershel and walked Wade and the others to the door.

With a polite smile, she asked, "Wade, are you going to repair the fences tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"We'll come help you."

Wade thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure. Just come by whenever you have time."

Maggie nodded.

"Don't worry. We don't spend all day lying around in bed. Oh, right. That barn over there is locked up tight, so don't go near it unless you have a reason to."

"Don't worry. We know the rules," Wade replied, his tone carrying a hint of meaning.

Back at camp, Merle crawled straight into his tent, dropped onto his bed, and was snoring within minutes.

Daryl walked beside Wade and asked as casually as he could, "What's the deal with the barn?"

Wade sighed.

"What do you think? That old Christian man genuinely believes the Walkers are just sick people, so..."

Daryl immediately understood.

"So? What are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing for now. They can't get out, so we'll focus on what we need to do first. As for the Walkers in there, I'll talk to Hershel about them later."

"You think that'll work?"

"He'll agree. Trust me, okay?"

Daryl nodded, said nothing more, and went back to his tent.

Wade sat beneath the camp canopy, leaning back in his chair as he looked up at the night sky.

The night was deep and dark.

A few stars flickered overhead, appearing and disappearing in the darkness.