Chapter 66:

Long-Term Quest: The Prison

The Walking Dead: Blood Moon Warden

New chapter is live.

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

✦

The next morning, Evan woke before everyone else.

He sat upright, facing the Prison.

In his field of vision, a huge golden exclamation mark hovered over the compound.

[Apocalypse Quest: Secure the Prison (Long-Term Occupation Quest)]

That was all.

No reward listed.

No punishment.

Only the quest prompt, floating above the Prison in silence.

Unlike the quest markers Evan had seen before, this exclamation mark was enormous and studded with tiny star-like facets.

From a distance, it shone like a firework frozen halfway through blooming.

"No. That was definitely not there last night."

Evan almost wanted to laugh and groan at the same time.

A quest like this would not be stingy with rewards.

The system had never been cheap.

But the other side of that was obvious.

A bigger reward meant a bigger mess.

The kind of trick the motel treasure room had pulled - hiding walkers right outside the prize - would not be rare inside the Prison.

"Did you give me a high-level quest just because my Strength is maxed out?"

"Thanks a lot."

At least it was a long-term quest.

That meant he did not have to rush the whole thing at once. The system was giving him time to take the Prison properly.

Sitting there would not help, so Evan got up.

"Evan, what are you doing?"

Glenn's head poked out of a nearby tent. He held the two flaps together under his chin, covering everything below his neck as he blinked at Evan sleepily.

"Warming up. What does it look like?"

Evan rolled his shoulders as he answered.

The Prison had looked like a sure thing last night.

Now he would rather treat it like a fight that could kill them.

"Warming up?"

Maggie appeared through the gap below Glenn, also holding the tent flaps up to cover herself.

Clearly, the young couple had enjoyed the night.

Evan swallowed a whistle and nodded.

"If we want to move into the Prison today, every young fighter in the group is going in."

"Don't worry. I prepared for this."

Maggie looked up.

Glenn looked down.

Neither of them understood.

In the end, they tried to retreat into the tent and enjoy what little time they had.

Two seconds later, Evan kicked the tent twice.

"Out. Out. Do you two know this kind of behavior corrupts team discipline?"

He grumbled as if deeply offended.

They were clearing walkers soon. If Glenn got himself killed because his knees were weak, that would be ridiculous.

Of course, Evan had no personal feelings about it.

He was doing this purely for Glenn's survival.

It had absolutely nothing to do with being forced to watch other people be happy first thing in the morning.

"We know," Glenn called, embarrassed. "We're getting dressed."

He came out red-faced a moment later, clothes hastily in place.

"Come with me. I'll show you the equipment."

Evan looked him up and down.

Good.

Awake enough.

He led Glenn to the fire truck, climbed into the water compartment with one pull of his arms, and pretended to search the bottom.

In reality, he was pulling the special gear he had found at the fire station out of his inventory.

The most important pieces were the fire-resistant suits and the Heavy Tank Suits.

Tough.

Full-coverage.

Built to handle more than one kind of disaster.

A walker would not bite through them with one or two tries.

The fire-resistant suits were better for lighter, faster fighters who needed flexibility more than weight.

The Heavy Tank Suits were made for large, strong fighters who could charge into trouble and stay upright.

Black fitted pieces.

More than thirty pounds of weight.

Anyone who did not know better would think Evan had somehow dragged out body armor.

Glenn caught the suits outside and laid them neatly on the ground.

Evan also handed down three fire axes.

The rest of the camp gradually woke and gathered around the fire truck.

Among them, Evan saw Shane.

After a night of sleep, Shane had contained his emotions.

When Lori appeared with Carl, he only lowered his head. He did not look at them.

But when Evan looked at him, something in Shane seemed absent.

He moved like a man hollowed out and still walking.

Evan withdrew his gaze.

When Rick arrived, Evan pointed to the combat gear at his feet and raised his voice.

"Found these at the fire station. Now they can do some work."

"Choose the weight you can handle. These suits can help stop walker bites."

"If we want to take the Prison without losing anyone, we need them."

"Today?" Hershel asked with a frown. "Isn't that fast?"

"If you stop moving, you start sliding backward."

Evan shrugged.

"Get comfortable enough, and you won't want to take the Prison at all."

"Just like the corrections officers yesterday."

Faces changed at the mention of the officers.

The more they thought about it, the more sense his words made.

Hershel himself was the clearest example.

Comfortable on Greene Farm, he had been blind to how hard the outside world had become and how dangerous walkers really were. He had even treated those corpses as patients.

If Evan, Rick, and the others had not arrived, maybe Hershel and his family would have died quietly one night without ever seeing it coming.

"I don't have a problem."

Maggie stepped out from beside Hershel, picked up one of the fire-resistant suits, and began putting it on.

Glenn came second.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

The younger fighters chose their gear without needing to be pushed.

Evan saved the last two Heavy Tank Suits for Rick and Shane.

"What about you, Evan?" Carol asked when the suits were gone.

"Me?"

"I'll make do."

Evan pulled off his outer layer, revealing the Athletic Outfit beneath.