Fortitude Unlocked

New chapter is live.

Settle in, take your time, and let's see what waits in the dark 🖤

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Evan's eyes flashed open.

Survival instinct flooded what little consciousness he had left.

With the last pieces of his awareness, he opened the system.

The moment he entered it, the familiar level-up sound rang in his ears as the effect rippled through his body.

Experience from the walkers he had killed rushed in like a tide.

[Experience Gained: +1200]

[Experience Gained: +300]

[Level has reached Lv. 20. Requirements met.]

[Attribute Sequence Unlocked: Fortitude]

Evan shook his head hard.

Through the haze, he saw the walker reach him.

He opened the skill panel at once.

He selected the newly unlocked attribute sequence, Fortitude.

Then, without even reading it properly, he spent points on Pain Tolerance and Healing Factor.

[Pain Tolerance]

[Rank 1/5: Tough It Out - Your body is no longer as fragile as it used to be.]

[Healing Factor]

[Rank 1/5: Fast Metabolism - Your body can heal itself automatically as long as you are not starving.]

Strength welled up inside him.

As the walker threw itself at him, Evan hooked its neck with his left arm, the one that had recovered just enough feeling to move.

He flipped it over and pinned it to the floor.

His right hand still would not move.

Staring at that hideous face, Evan's expression turned savage.

He lifted his head high.

Then he slammed it down.

His forehead crashed into the walker's skull.

Thud.

The impact was dull and heavy.

Evan did not stop.

Again.

Again.

Again.

He kept driving his head down until the last of his strength left him.

He staggered to his feet, managed two steps, and collapsed again.

Clinging to the final thread of consciousness, Evan grabbed a handful of antibiotics from his inventory and shoved them into his mouth with blood still pooling on his tongue.

His awareness blurred.

His mind, however, began to clear.

The world in his eyes shrank little by little, swallowed by darkness.

In the last instant before the light went out, he saw the final walker's chest.

'A suit... a corsage stained red?'

'So they were here for a wed...'

Evan fell unconscious.

Morning came bright.

The ground still carried traces of the storm from the night before. Dampness clung to the air, mixed with the smell of grass that refused to fade.

At last, a beam of sunlight pushed through the heavy clouds and spilled across the earth.

The fire truck door opened.

Rick climbed down in his scuffed boots.

Sunlight hit his weathered face. He narrowed his eyes and lifted his head.

The next second, raised voices reached him.

"The night before last, Evan didn't come back. Yesterday, we waited all day and got the same result."

"Not just Evan. Daryl, Merle - none of them came back."

"I told you. I told you we should've gone to the Prison."

"That's where we were headed. If they're alive and they can't find us, that's where they'll go."

Shane rubbed both hands through his dark curls, frustration raw in his voice.

"So you mean we abandon them and leave on our own?" Carol asked, frowning as she held Sophia's hand. Sophia clutched her doll to her chest.

"Man, we can't do people like that," T-Dog said, waving one arm. He stood with Carol.

Glenn walked over with Maggie and the Greene family behind him.

"Glenn," T-Dog said. "You tell them."

Everyone looked at Glenn.

Glenn pressed his lips together and stayed quiet for a moment before he spoke.

"Honestly... I think Shane's right."

"You think we should leave too?" Rick asked, looking at him.

He was not as agitated as the others. His voice stayed calm.

Glenn nodded.

Behind him, Hershel looked at Glenn's back, his eyes shifting slightly. He said nothing.

"Listen to me. Just hear me out first."

Several people were already staring at him with unfriendly eyes, so Glenn raised both hands in a calming gesture.

"Think about the three people who went out and didn't come back. Evan, Daryl, Merle."

"Look at who they are. Then look at who we are."

"Those three have always handled themselves. You've all seen what Evan can do to walkers."

"Then look at us. We have older people, kids, and whole families counting on us. We need a place that can shelter everyone and let people breathe."

Glenn laid it out calmly.

There was one thing he did not say in front of everyone.

The destroyed survivor camp.

Evan was not only hard on walkers. He could be just as ruthless with the living.

As for Daryl and Merle, the Dixon brothers were as tough as anything moving through the woods.

If anyone else from the group were out there, Glenn would be worried.

But Evan and those two?

They would not go down easily.

Glenn believed that.

"But..." Carl started.

Lori did not stop him.

Before Carl could finish, Rick looked back at him.

Rick crouched until his eyes were level with Carl's.

"Carl, remember what Evan taught you?"

"Out there, we have to be decisive. Hesitation can hurt the whole gro-"

Rick did not get to finish.

Carl clutched his Primitive Bow and turned, angry enough to run for the trees.

Rick caught his arm at once.

Carl struggled hard, tears already gathering in his eyes.

Rick pulled him in from behind and held him tightly.

"Hey. Hey, shh."

He spoke low beside Carl's ear.

"Stay calm, Carl. Acting like this will only bring more walkers. Is that what you want? Hm?"

"But Evan..." Carl said, his voice breaking.

"Evan will be fine. You don't have to trust me, but you can trust him. He has never let us down."

"We'll wait for them at the Prison. They'll come back. All three of them."

Before Carl could answer, Andrea stepped in from the side.

"Wait. Did I hear that right? You're agreeing with this? Just like that?"

She sounded almost disbelieving. Her pale eyes fixed on Rick.

She did not notice Shane quietly stepping into place behind her as she challenged him.

Rick lifted his gaze past Andrea's shoulder and saw Shane's face.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, the old familiarity from their days in the department returned.

Rick knew what Shane would do.

He chose not to follow that road.

Rick softened his voice as much as he could and looked at Andrea.

"If there were a better way, I wouldn't leave."

"When Evan opened the truck door, I gave him a radio."

"That means if he gets within one or two miles of us, we'll know."

"But we haven't heard anything, Andrea. You know what that means?"

"It means Evan is far from us. At least far enough that he can't get back right now. And that means we can't keep standing in one place waiting for him."

"But..." Andrea still tried.

"Think about Amy," Rick said.

That was the one thing that could reach her.

"Right now, the first thing we have to do is protect our families when Evan isn't here."

At the mention of Amy, Andrea's voice lost its edge.

She looked up and met the eyes around her.

In the end, she swallowed what she had wanted to say.

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