TWD: Saving Merle First - Chapter 64: That’s What You Call a Good Reputation (Patreon)

It was already evening when Ryan opened his eyes.

What pulled him back to consciousness was the smell of food drifting through the camp from Nancy and Carol's cooking.

He instinctively tried to move his hands, only to immediately realize they were restrained. He stopped moving at once.

Looking down, he saw a pair of handcuffs around his wrists.

Handcuffs?!

Ryan closed his eyes and tried to remember what had happened.

He'd developed a high fever and felt weak all over. He'd been trying to reach the pharmacy for some medicine when, for some inexplicable reason, more than a dozen walkers had locked onto him.

He hadn't been in any condition to fight, so he'd run.

Then, eventually, someone had saved him.

But why had they handcuffed him?

While Ryan was still trying to figure that out, Carl spotted that he was awake and hurried off to tell Wade.

Wade stopped chatting with Marcus and Rick, and the three of them came over to the shade beneath the tree.

Marcus stepped forward and placed a hand against Ryan's forehead before looking back at the others.

"The medicine's working. Another two days of medication and he should make a full recovery."

Wade noticed that Ryan was still pretending to be unconscious, and his mischievous side immediately surfaced.

He grinned wickedly.

"Good. But cutting off one of his legs for dinner tonight shouldn't affect anything, right?"

Ryan's eyelid twitched uncontrollably.

Had he really escaped one nightmare only to land in another?

Holy shit!

Were these people cannibals?!

Rick froze for a second, but the moment he saw the smirk on Wade's face, he understood.

"Why don't we fatten him up a little first?"

Carl's little head was practically filled with question marks.

What were they even talking about?

When Ryan still refused to react, Wade drew the Bowie knife from his waist, deliberately making the sound of the blade leaving its sheath as loud as possible.

"No. I've been hungry for days. I'll just eat one leg first."

Ryan's eyes snapped open.

His gaze was fierce and resolute.

He arched his body and suddenly drove his right foot upward, aiming straight between Wade's legs in an attempt to disable one of his attackers immediately.

Wade casually caught Ryan's ankle with his left hand.

The kick didn't even make him sway.

He looked down at Ryan with amusement.

"Oh? So you were pretending to be asleep."

Wade casually tossed his leg aside and slid the knife back into its sheath.

"First, we have plenty of supplies and we don't eat people. Second, don't you think you should introduce yourself?"

Ryan finally realized that Wade had known he was awake the entire time and had only said those things to mess with him.

The corner of his mouth twitched into a stiff, unpleasant smile. His throat was dry, leaving his voice hoarse.

"Ryan Walker. Before the apocalypse, I was a scout."

Wade glanced at Rick.

Rick gave a slight nod.

He could indeed sense something familiar about Ryan, something that reminded him of people from his own line of work.

But Ryan felt tougher, colder, and far more guarded.

Had the guy been discharged because of some psychological problem?

Rick couldn't help asking, "Active duty or veteran?"

"...Active duty. I came here while traveling during annual leave."

Ryan seemed to understand what Rick was getting at and explained why he'd ended up in this town without waiting for the next question.

"Carl, go get him a bottle of water," Wade said.

"Okay, Wade. I'll be right back."

Carl jogged toward the tent where they stored the food.

Ryan's eyes shifted slightly.

He'd originally assumed that the man in the cowboy hat was the one in charge here.

He hadn't expected it to be the young Asian man standing in front of him.

Wade ignored the surprise in Ryan's eyes and started thinking about how he could convince the man to stay.

After all, Ryan was an active-duty soldier from the regular military.

His combat ability was practically guaranteed.

The only things Wade needed to figure out were whether the guy had any nasty habits and what kind of personality and temper he had.

That would take time.

Some things could only be learned by living together.

"Sorry, Mr. Walker. You know how bad things are now. They're even worse than before. There are elderly people and children in my camp, so I have to consider their safety."

Ryan glanced down at the handcuffs around his wrists and weakly nodded.

"I understand."

His life was already in someone else's hands. There wasn't much point in acting tough.

And the aura of blood around Wade in front of him wasn't any lighter than his own.

"So, how about joining us?"

Ryan was caught completely off guard by Wade's train of thought.

For a moment, he couldn't even process what he'd just heard.

One second, the guy was talking about protecting the camp from potential dangers.

The next, he was inviting Ryan to join them?

Was he simply that trusting?

Or was he confident enough to handle Ryan even if he turned out to be a problem?

"What happens if I refuse...?"

"Then I'll keep you cuffed here for two days. Once you're healthy again, I'll give you some weapons and food and let you leave to find somewhere else to survive."

Ryan narrowed his eyes and studied Wade for a moment.

"You're really willing to let me walk away like that?"

"Once you're healthy? Yeah. I'm not interested in keeping prisoners."

Ryan fell silent for a few seconds.

"Then I'll join you."

"..."

Wade's brain stalled for a moment.

What the hell was that?

He'd barely given Ryan any reason to trust him, and the guy had agreed just like that?

Was this really all it took?

Ryan seemed to notice Wade's confusion.

"You've treated me well. I'm willing to trust you."

Instead of relaxing, Wade immediately became a little more wary.

This had gone far too smoothly.

Too easily.

Easy enough to feel almost unreal.

Ryan seemed to remember something painful and didn't explain any further.

Wade thought for a moment, then eventually pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs.

He reached down and helped Ryan to his feet.

"Thanks for trusting me. I'll prove through my actions that you made the right choice. But I also hope you'll be sincere with us, and that we can survive this terrible world together."

Something flickered in Ryan's eyes.

For a moment, Wade seemed to remind him of someone else.

Then he nodded.

"I will."

Wade patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on. You must be starving."

Carl came running back just then.

When he saw that Ryan's handcuffs were already off, he understood that something had changed and handed him the bottle of water with a smile.

"Here. There's more if that's not enough."

Wade smiled and ruffled Carl's hair.

"Let's see if you're still smiling like that two days from now."

Carl stared at him.

"??? Wade, child abuse can get you hauled in for questioning."

"Oh, I'm sure Rick would be more than happy to have that conversation with me. Hahahahaha!"

Rick gave Wade a suspicious look.

For some reason, he had the distinct feeling Wade was planning something again.

Then a thought occurred to him.

"You're not planning to make Carl train too, are you?"

"Why not? Rick, have you forgotten what happened with Sophia?"

Rick's expression immediately darkened.

Of course he hadn't forgotten.

When Sophia had gone missing alone in the woods, he'd nearly wanted to kill himself over it.

"But he's still a child..."

"Those walkers who only think about eating people aren't going to care about that. The sooner he learns how to use a weapon, the sooner he'll be able to protect himself, right?"

Rick remained silent for a long time.

Eventually, he nodded.

He agreed with Wade.