TWD: Saving Merle First - Chapter 83: This Isn’t How the Script Is Supposed to Go! (Patreon)

Dale wasn’t speaking loudly, but Wade’s excitement immediately shot through the roof.

You think Dale was calling him over just to confirm something?

No!

He was rescuing Wade from a disaster!

Wade hurried over, grabbed Dale’s hand, and shook it firmly twice.

Dale’s face was flushed with excitement too, and he couldn’t hide the proud grin on his face.

The old radio in his hand crackled intermittently.

“Static... This is Harran... Is anyone... static... can anyone hear us... static... We need assistance... static... If anyone is willing to make contact... static... please tune to... 6.3... 56.3... static... limited time... same time tomorrow... distress call...”

The message came through in broken fragments until nothing remained but harsh static.

Wade’s excitement gradually faded.

He had suddenly realized one very important problem.

Dale’s radio was only a receiver.

It couldn’t transmit.

In other words, they could hear the broadcast, but they had absolutely no way to talk back.

Well...

That was a problem.

“Eugene! Andrew! Come over here for a second!”

The two men in the distance had been discussing ways to improve the combine harvester.

Hearing Wade call them, they turned around and slowly walked over together.

“What is it, Wade?”

“I need something capable of two-way radio communication. Do either of you have a way to make that happen?”

Andrew’s brow slowly furrowed.

He looked Wade up and down several times, almost as if Wade had deliberately come over to make his life difficult.

Eventually, he managed to keep his tone under control.

“What exactly makes you think I’m Santa Claus, Wade?”

Eugene frowned as well, staring at the radio in Dale’s hand while thinking.

After a while, he spoke uncertainly.

“Theoretically, if both parties are operating on the same frequency and within the same signal range, real-time two-way communication should be possible.

“Based on that principle, if we install a transmitter onto this radio and connect it to the receiver circuitry, there is a possibility that two-way communication could be achieved.”

Wade looked thoughtfully at Eugene.

“Then where do we get the receiver equipment?”

“...A town radio station, a school broadcast room, or possibly some shops with rooftop communication equipment.”

“Okay. How about I leave that to you?”

Wade looked at Eugene with a faint smile.

Cold sweat immediately appeared on Eugene’s forehead, and his face went slightly pale.

He hadn’t expected a casual bit of theorizing to result in Wade actually handing him the job.

Couldn’t Wade at least question the idea first?

Or doubt whether Eugene could actually do it?

What was this?

Had he just dug his own grave?

Under Wade’s expectant gaze, Eugene hesitated before speaking quietly.

“...This isn’t exactly my area of expertise, and I can’t guarantee success. I can only promise to try.”

Wade nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“Fine. I’ll leave it to you.”

Eugene froze.

Then bitterness filled his heart.

This wasn’t how the script was supposed to go!

Wade was supposed to doubt the plan first.

Then question Eugene’s abilities.

Then crank up the pressure and threaten to kill him if he couldn’t finish it by the end of the day.

After that, Eugene was supposed to rise to the challenge, rack his brain, somehow finish the device before the deadline, prove everyone wrong, and then walk off into the sunset with Rosita at his side.

That was how it was supposed to work!

Not this!

He had said it might be possible, and Wade had actually believed him!

Eugene pulled a miserable face and began desperately trying to remember what a signal transmitter module even looked like.

Was it the part with the antenna?

Wade, meanwhile, didn’t care about any of that.

That had always been his style.

Technical work should be left to technical people.

Give them authority and let them handle it.

He didn’t understand this kind of equipment anyway.

If he tried giving advice, he would probably just point them in the wrong direction and expose how little he knew.

Better to listen to the experts.

Whatever they needed, he would provide.

He could handle logistics and cheer them on from the sidelines.

“If you need people or supplies, talk to Shane. He can help coordinate manpower for you.”

Wade patted Eugene on the shoulder and walked away.

Eugene looked toward the man who often sat outside his tent with an unfocused stare, a face covered in stubble, and a tired, slightly disheveled appearance.

Him?

Shane noticed someone staring at him.

It was the guy they had brought back a few days ago.

The one who seemed better at talking than anything else.

Shane frowned slightly.

Why was this guy staring at him?

Looking for trouble?

For no obvious reason, irritation rose inside him, and his grip tightened around the bottle in his hand.

Their eyes met for a few seconds.

Then Shane looked away and took another drink.

He didn’t have Merle’s fondness for alcohol.

But...

If he didn’t drink a little at night, he couldn’t sleep at all.

The moment he closed his eyes, his head filled with memories that felt like they could tear him apart, along with the cold reality he couldn’t escape.

Pain.

So much pain.

“Shane, drinking on an empty stomach is bad for you. Eat something first. You’ll sleep better that way.”

Carol held out a plate toward him.

Shane’s hand paused around the bottle.

Then he reached out and accepted the food.

“Thanks, Carol.”

Carol smiled gently and shook her head.

“You don’t need to thank me. I just hope you can get back on your feet soon, like you used to be.”

Shane forced out a smile that didn’t look particularly convincing and gave a complicated nod.

“I will.”

Carol smiled, gave a quiet acknowledgment, then walked away.

After dinner, the camp gradually settled down.

Merle and Jim picked up their guns and headed toward the watchtower.

They would handle the first half of the night watch.

Wade had specifically reminded them to stay extra alert.

There had been a lot of activity around the camp recently, and there was a real possibility that a large group of walkers had already been drawn toward the area.

When it came to serious matters, Merle never screwed around.

That didn’t stop him from finding Wade’s repeated warnings annoying.

He stuck his pinky into his ear and scratched at it as if to say, Yeah, yeah, I heard you.

Then he grabbed his weapon and climbed the tower.

Wade opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else.

Then he gave up.

Whatever.

Let him do his job.

The camp gradually fell silent.

Only the long piece of wood in the campfire continued to crackle as it burned.

The moon slowly climbed higher into the sky.

Night covered the land.

Beneath the pale, misty moonlight, shadows began to move...