TWD: Saving Merle First - Chapter 46: Watch Me Play Nice and Catch Them Off Guard (Patreon)

Glenn and T-Dog fell silent for a moment.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I even doing here?

And who the hell was this guy with the bow up ahead? How could he be this damn good?

Just a couple of days ago, they'd been pinned under cars on the highway by walkers. Now they were strolling down the street like they were out for a picnic.

Compared to this, everything they'd been through before had been absolute hell.

The two chatted as they helped collect the arrows, feeling safer than they had in a long time.

Meanwhile, Shane looked down at the fire axe in his hand, then over at the recurve bow in Wade's hands, his expression darkening.

By now, he knew damn well he'd been played.

So much for "anything's fine." Wade had turned around and pulled out a damn killing machine.

Wade completely ignored the axe-wielding grouch beside him. He didn't even bother aiming. He simply drew the recurve bow to full draw and released. Every shot went straight through a skull.

At the rate he was firing, it was a wonder the bowstring wasn't throwing sparks.

"Oh, Shane, don't look at me like that. I'm only doing this for everyone's safety. You don't mind, do you?"

Shane said nothing. He was too busy wondering how he could kill the little bastard in front of him.

Ten minutes later, the number of walkers on the street had visibly thinned out. There were bodies sprawled everywhere, as if people had simply dropped where they stood and gone to sleep.

Wade swept his gaze around the area. Only after confirming that the surroundings were clear did he check his progress.

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He nodded in satisfaction.

Things were still moving along nicely. This place might be worth visiting more often.

Merle stepped forward and pulled down the roll-up door. The harsh screech echoed through the street, and everyone quickly ducked inside.

Once the door came down behind them, they were hit by a stale, suffocating smell mixed with dust, canned-food grease, and spoiled food.

As their eyes gradually adjusted to the dim light and they finally got a good look at the warehouse, the entire group fell silent.

A few seconds later, someone finally spoke.

"Holy shit. Are we about to hit the fucking jackpot?"

"Holy shit, I think there's enough food here to last us ten years!"

"Could be fifteen..."

"Enough talking. Get to work!"

T-Dog and Glenn started sorting through the middle shelves, pulling out flour, peanut butter, canned meat, bagged pasta, salt, white sugar, and cooking oil. They stuffed everything into large woven sacks they found on a nearby shelf, packing it all up for transport.

The two of them threw themselves into the work, getting more energized the longer they went.

This was real food. Actual supplies. The kind of thing that could genuinely put people's minds at ease.

Forget the apocalypse. Even before all this, having this much food stockpiled would've been enough to make someone grin in their sleep.

Merle and Daryl separated out the high-calorie food, including chocolate, hardtack, and energy bars. Instead of mixing them in with the everyday supplies, they packed them separately to serve as portable rations for long trips and short combat operations.

Marcus headed over to the household goods section.

Toilet paper, wet wipes, and anything similar went into separate bundles. He even spent some time carrying them over to the warehouse entrance so they could be among the first things loaded.

As ridiculous as it sounded, the camp was currently shorter on paper than it was on food.

Once that was done, Marcus moved on to the medical supplies.

He took anything that could be stored long-term, including iodine solution and gauze, bundling it all together to be taken back with them.

Wade and Shane headed over to the hardware shelves in one corner and began checking through them.

The selection wasn't great, and there wasn't much stock, but everything useful still needed to go.

Once Phase Two of the project began, it was going to devour supplies.

Machetes, steel nails, thin wire, household wrenches, screwdrivers. They gathered whatever they could find.

At this point, the fear of running short on supplies was starting to get to Wade.

He didn't care if they had to make a few extra trips. What bothered him was the thought of accidentally leaving something useful behind.

Last came the seed section.

Even though the area was close to farmland and ranches, the selection of seeds wasn't especially diverse. Fortunately, there was a decent amount in stock.

Wade quietly slipped some of each kind into his Storage Space whenever no one was looking.

He was being suspicious as hell about it.

Still, seeds were one of the foundations of their future. If a food crisis ever hit, few things could reassure people more than knowing they still had the means to grow more.

It was worth keeping some in reserve.

Before long, the first batch of supplies was fully packed and ready to go.

Wade sent the others to get the vehicles while he and Daryl stayed behind to guard the entrance. That also gave them a chance to clear out any walkers that wandered over.

When it came to fighting without firearms, the two of them were among the best in the camp, and both were still improving.

It wasn't long before Shane and the others returned with the vehicles.

By then, Wade and Daryl had already cleared out every walker nearby, giving Wade another nice chunk of Experience Points.

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"Come on, come on! Move it, guys! Whether we hit the jackpot today depends on how much we can haul out of here. Once this load is packed, go back and bring every vehicle in camp that can carry cargo. Let's try to clear this whole place out today."

Wade kept everyone's spirits up and personally took over for Glenn once the younger man started running low on stamina. Glenn switched to lookout duty while Wade handled the hauling.

Half an hour later, everyone finally stopped to rest.

They were all staring at Wade strangely, as if some incomprehensible humanoid creature had appeared in front of them.

They'd swapped out the people resting and standing watch several times, but Wade had been hauling supplies the entire time.

He hadn't stopped once.

At most, he'd take a sip of water every now and then, catch his breath for a moment, and immediately throw himself back into the work.

To put it simply, Wade had single-handedly done roughly one-fifth of the entire team's workload.

For the first time, the others got a clear look at just how absurd Wade's physical condition really was.

Shane sat on the ground with his back against the wall, gulping down water.

"Holy shit... is this guy a robot?"

Daryl thought back to the last time they'd hauled back the results of a hunt. He stopped chewing and said, "I don't remember him being this strong last time."

"Maybe not, but we ain't exactly slouches either, right, little brother?" Merle said, exhaling a cloud of smoke through a grin that showed off his yellow teeth.

Daryl couldn't be bothered to entertain his brother's bragging and simply rolled his eyes.

Glenn, who was sitting near the entrance, suddenly seemed to hear something.

He stood up and looked outside.

A convoy was slowly heading their way.

"Wade, someone's coming," Glenn said anxiously, turning toward him.

The warning instantly snapped everyone into action. Weapons came up as the group scrambled to their feet.

"Marcus, Daryl, grab your weapons and find somewhere to hide. If I make a move, shoot them from cover."

Marcus and Daryl immediately nodded, gathered their gear, and slipped away to find positions elsewhere.

"I'll handle the talking. The rest of you get into position. If things go bad, don't hesitate. And as long as you've still got bullets, don't even think about surrendering."

Shane looked at Wade again, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes.

As he spoke, Wade bent down, scooped up a handful of dust, and smeared it across his face, making himself look exhausted, filthy, and completely harmless before stepping outside.

Glenn stared at him.

"Wade... what are you doing?"

"You guys stay inside. Watch me play nice and catch them off guard."

"???"