NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 28: Everything in Motion
After some explanations from everyone, Daryl finally understood the current situation at the camp. He never imagined that after being away for just a few days, things would have changed so much.
Right now, he was only chasing a deer that had escaped through the bushes—that was the only thing that mattered to him. The most shocking part was seeing that a walker was dead right next to his prey.
Daryl was furious about being ambushed by a stranger and having a gun pointed at his head. Now, seeing that all his effort to hunt the deer had been wasted, he couldn't help but explode with rage.
Jason, standing to the side, watched as Daryl stepped forward and began kicking the dead walker fiercely, cursing from time to time.
"You filthy, disgusting thing! You bit my deer! Son of a bitch!"
"It's dead, stop it!" Dale grabbed Daryl, trying to calm him down.
But Daryl shook off Dale's hand and roared angrily, "What do you know? Old man! Huh? Do you have any idea how long it took me to track this deer?"
Even after yelling, he was still furious and kicked the walker a few more times. Suddenly, Daryl thought of something and pointed at the bitten area on the deer with a questioning tone.
"Do you think it'd be fine if we cut this part off and eat the rest?"
Even though Daryl had yelled at Dale, the old man, being a good guy, didn't take it personally and still answered him:
"It's not worth the risk, so forget about it!"
Daryl only showed a regretful expression when he heard Jason's voice behind him:
"Well, considering the time of the bite, it wouldn't be too bad to eat it. If we discard half of the body, it could still be edible."
Jason understood that the virus in this world was lethal. He didn't know if a cure could be found in the future, but if the most affected part was discarded and the meat was well-cooked, everyone could eat it without getting infected.
It was known that for someone to be infected by the virus, it had to enter the bloodstream. That's why cannibals hadn't been infected, even after eating human flesh that should have been contaminated.
When Daryl heard Jason's words, the anger in his chest flared up again, thinking his words were full of mockery.
"Did you just say it's fine to eat the meat?"
"He said it's fine because he knows more than we do. He's more familiar with the virus—he's from the CDC."
"He knows that because he takes care of the scientists who are still looking for a cure," Rick suddenly said after thinking it through.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Rick Grimes."
"Rick Grimes? You the new neighborhood cop?" Daryl sneered, looking at Rick in his sheriff's uniform.
"Just a friendly county officer."
"Brother, you're back?" A hoarse voice sounded—Merle had also heard the commotion and walked over.
"Merle! Why are there so many weirdos in the camp? Come on, help me clean these squirrels." Daryl ignored the deer on the ground, walked toward Merle, and showed him his catch.
Merle glanced at Jason and said, "I'll talk to him."
Jason didn't care in the slightest, so after making sure there was no more danger, he returned to camp.
Due to this incident, the camp's atmosphere was a bit tense. Everyone discussed it and decided to stay one more night, but Jason dismissed those words.
Jason didn't want to waste any more time in this place when he had things to take care of at the CDC, so he suggested that everyone calm down and leave once they were ready.
He didn't know when or how another attack might happen in this camp, and he wasn't ready to lose valuable allies he might need later.
Jason climbed into his RV and saw George listening to music. He smiled and greeted him:
"How are you? Everything okay?"
"Hey, boss, everything's great. Looks like dealing with new survivors is tough, huh?" George had heard all the drama from earlier.
"There are some tough guys in this camp, but they might be useful later." Jason shook his head—dealing with people he already knew was harder than he had expected.
Hearing that they were about to leave, everyone started preparing. They understood that Jason had his own responsibilities and couldn't stay away from the CDC for more than a day.
After nearly an hour of preparation, everyone was resting while getting the squirrels ready to cook. This would be their last night in this place, so they talked about everything that had happened.
While everyone was chatting, Jason and Shane spoke away from the group. This time, they were about to leave for the CDC, and Jason wanted to make a few things clear to Shane.
"The place I protect has several rules. Are there any unstable people here? You've known these people longer, so I want to know what you think."
Hearing Jason's words, Shane understood what he was asking. To be honest, he had faced the same challenges when trying to keep order in the camp without knowing anyone well.
"Everyone's relatively calm. If I had to point out anyone, it'd be Merle and Ed Peletier. But as long as they follow the rules, there won't be any problems." Shane looked into the distance and asked, "How many people are in your shelter?"
After thinking for a moment, Jason finally answered:
"Well, I don't know exactly, but we could easily be around five hundred people with us."
"Then, if the place is that big, we need to create new shelters. We need to expand—for the sake of the future," Jason added with a thoughtful expression.
"Alright, we'll do that later. See you around." Shane nodded and walked away from Jason's RV.
Hearing those words, Jason remained silent. He knew Shane could be very useful in the future, so he decided to consider him in his more important plans.
"I don't like this place. We should go back as soon as possible," George added with a calm look.
Jason looked at George and nodded. If he remembered correctly, this place would soon be attacked by walkers, and that was something he wanted to avoid—many could get hurt.
After a few more hours, Jason approached the group and said:
"Alright, we're heading to the CDC now. Once we arrive, everyone will undergo a blood test to confirm they're not infected with the virus. After that, you'll have food, water, a bed, and safety."
"There's still a long road ahead. Let's stick together and stay on course." Jason looked at everyone and prepared to set off for the CDC.
Jason recognized that many people here wouldn't be the same as they were in the original story. His changes to events were creating an entirely different timeline.
He just hoped that, in this one, a cure for this nightmare could exist.
That was the only way humanity could be saved.
Jason had been away for too long and needed to check on his shelter. Since the next phase of development was underway, there were new refugees that needed monitoring, and he would handle that as soon as he arrived.
"Everyone has a lot to learn, but that can be done slowly—we're not exactly in a rush." Jason knew he didn't need idiots like Ed, and if they caused problems, he wouldn't hesitate to remove obstacles from his path.
This trip had brought many benefits—he had gained reliable people. Now, he had to think about expanding his territory.
He needed to grow his influence and control his people. He also had to make it clear that they weren't exactly military personnel, they didn't work for the country, and they owed nothing to anyone.
Jason was about to announce that this wasn't about the government. If people wanted to eat and drink as much as they wanted, they'd have to work hard for those comforts.
For now, he had already identified strong leaders who would follow his orders to the letter—Shane, Guillermo, Merle, and Rick. They were all men with a natural air of leadership, and Jason now had his new captains ready to help him grow his power.
"Zz… Remember, everyone is welcome. Don't feel uncomfortable, and let's enjoy ourselves while we can. In this world, we never know when we'll turn into one of those walkers."