TWD: Saving Merle First - Chapter 57: He’s Actually Still Taunting Me!!! (Patreon)

The next month flew by. Or maybe life had simply become so repetitive that no one really noticed the days passing.

Every morning, they opened their eyes and worked. Every night, they closed them and slept. No recreation, no get-togethers. Just endless work and seemingly endless dirt to dig.

The results, however, were obvious.

Eight watchtowers now stood around the farm. The core area had been enclosed by its first line of trenches and spiked barricades, with sandbag positions scattered throughout.

Technically, sand would have been better for filling the bags, but since they didn't have any readily available, Wade simply used dirt instead.

Given the state of the world, who was he to be picky?

"I hereby declare Phase Two of the farm's defensive construction officially complete! For the next three days, you're free to do whatever you want. Go wherever you want, do whatever you want. There's only one condition. Stay safe!"

The moment Wade waved his hand and delivered his closing announcement, more than a few people nearly cried.

God only knew how they'd survived the past month.

Before the apocalypse, not a single person among them had ever endured such intense physical labor for so long.

Now that it was finally finished, a powerful sense of pride and accomplishment welled up inside everyone.

Merle, in particular, immediately started swearing up a storm, as though he intended to unload an entire month's worth of bottled-up complaints all at once.

Wade simply tuned him out and let him rant.

For someone as hot-tempered as Merle to go an entire month without throwing a real fit, work until his hands were covered in bloody blisters, exhaust himself to the point where he could barely straighten his back, and still finish everything he was assigned was already impressive enough.

Letting him run his mouth for a while wasn't going to hurt anyone.

But after that brief rush of excitement passed, everyone collectively fell into a strange state of confusion.

For the past month, their lives had followed the same routine every single day. Now that they were suddenly being told they could do whatever they wanted, they almost didn't know how to react.

They were like wind-up toys whose springs had suddenly gone slack, with no idea what they were supposed to do next.

Wade wasn't about to worry about that.

Counseling definitely wasn't his specialty.

Right now, there was only one thing on his mind.

Legs!

And no, not Beth's. He wanted walker legs—the kind he could tear off with his bare hands!

Over the past month, they'd barely seen any walkers. Whenever one did wander their way, Daryl or Merle usually shot it before it even reached the camp.

Now Wade wanted to go find some walkers and make trouble for them.

Preferably enough to gain another level or two and boost himself again.

Still, he'd have to talk it over with Rick first. Leaving the camp without anyone reliable watching over things could easily lead to trouble...

Wait.

Wade suddenly had the nagging feeling that he'd forgotten something important again.

His useless brain slowly started turning as he tried to remember...

The confusion gradually disappeared from his eyes, replaced by clarity.

Not because he'd remembered.

He'd simply given up.

Around him, the camp members began drifting away on their own, heading back to their tents or homes and finding something to occupy themselves with.

Rick and Shane walked over. After watching Wade's expression change several times, Rick couldn't help asking, "Wade, what's wrong? You feeling sick?"

Shane added, "Man, don't tell me all this work has actually made your brain deteriorate."

Wade stared at him.

Shane, you wanna say that again?!

Wait.

Shane!

Wade's eyes suddenly lit up.

That's right. Shane!

The perfect cure for what ailed him!

A broad grin spread across Wade's face, showing off a full row of white teeth.

He really had forgotten about it, but thanks to a certain someone running his mouth, it had all come back to him.

Shane, buddy, don't blame me for this.

You brought it on yourself.

Shane immediately noticed the change in Wade's expression and raised an eyebrow.

"What? Am I wrong?"

Holy shit!

He's actually still taunting me!!!

Wade gritted his teeth behind a smile.

"Right, Shane. You're absolutely right."

Forget going out for now.

Before dealing with problems outside, he needed to settle the ones inside.

The last thing Wade wanted was to leave for a while and come back to find himself one future top fighter short.

Just as he was thinking about how to bring it up, Marcus walked over.

"Wade, got a minute to talk in private?"

Wade broke out of his thoughts and glanced at Rick and Shane. Neither seemed bothered, so he nodded.

"Sure."

Marcus nodded as well, then gave Rick and Shane an apologetic smile.

The two of them took the hint and walked off together, leaving Wade and Marcus alone.

Marcus looked around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear them before speaking.

"Wade, Lori... might be pregnant. From what I can tell, she's probably around four to six weeks along."

Wade smacked himself on the forehead.

Damn.

He'd almost forgotten they had a top-notch surgeon living right here in the camp.

Obstetrics might not be Marcus's specialty, but recognizing the signs of an early pregnancy wasn't exactly difficult for someone with his medical experience.

Marcus frowned.

"You already knew?"

Wade hesitated, then nodded.

"I had my suspicions. I was actually planning to talk to Lori about it. But if you're saying the same thing, then it's probably true."

Marcus relaxed slightly and nodded.

This wasn't the civilized world anymore. Having a pregnant woman in the camp was hardly good news for the group as a whole.

"So what are you planning to do? Need my help?"

Wade paused, then shook his head.

"No. I'll handle it."

Marcus nodded.

"Alright. Then I know what to do. I'll wait to hear from you."

Truthfully, if Wade asked Marcus to quietly terminate the pregnancy, it wouldn't be particularly difficult for him.

The problem was what came afterward.

The moment Marcus became involved, he'd be dragged straight into the mess.

Shane would almost certainly start thinking about putting a bullet in Marcus's back. As for Rick, how furious he became would depend largely on how much harm Lori suffered in the process.

Once things reached that point, the conflict would only escalate and become even harder to control.

"Find a chance to talk to Lori. Ask her what she wants. Try not to let Rick or Shane know yet. The decision should be hers first."

"I understand. I've been meaning to talk to Lori about taking care of children anyway."

"Yeah. Tell her to think it through carefully. She can give us an answer tomorrow. And tell her something else. No matter what she decides, from now on she has to keep her distance from Shane. Absolutely no crossing that line again."

Otherwise, Wade wouldn't particularly mind if some unfortunate "accident" happened.

Marcus froze for a moment.

Then he remembered that Rick had spent an entire month lying in a hospital bed.

Once he started putting the dates together...

Damn. Rick really had no idea he'd been cuckolded, did he?

Wade sighed.

Well, so much for his perfect cure.

Looks like the prescription needed some adjusting.

And their pleasant little vacation was about to become a lot less pleasant.