Chapter 75:

Carl's Resolve

The Walking Dead: Blood Moon Warden

New chapter is live.

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

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"Don't overthink it," Evan said.

"If we run into something we can't handle, we'll pull back as fast as we can."

It was meant as reassurance.

Rick looked up at him.

After a long moment, he nodded.

From Rick's eyes, though, Evan realized the person Rick was most worried about was Shane.

Shane had always been impatient and impulsive. As his brother in everything but blood, Rick understood that better than anyone.

As for Evan...

There was probably less to worry about there.

So far, Evan had survived several situations that should have killed an ordinary man. Somehow, he had come through all of them.

"Maybe you should wear Rick's tank suit in there," Lori said, coming over with two cups of warm water for Evan and Rick.

"No need."

Evan shook his head, took the cup, and drank it down. He felt better almost immediately.

Everything he wore, from head to toe, carried attributes. In protection, his own gear was not worse than the tank suit.

More importantly, the thing was too cumbersome.

It restricted movement. For Evan, wearing it would lower his combat ability instead of raising it.

Bringing only Shane was part of the same idea.

Travel light.

By then, Shane had finished putting on the Heavy Tank Suit and returned.

He held a long shotgun. A machete and handgun hung at his waist. A small pouch crossed his chest, stuffed full of twelve-gauge shells.

A twelve-gauge shotgun used a bore of about 18.5 millimeters, roughly the diameter of a one-twelfth-pound lead ball.

Compared with the twenty-gauge Evan had been using, the twelve-gauge was heavy enough for large animals. Against walkers, it was almost overkill.

In the narrow, crowded corridors of the Prison, though, overkill might prove useful.

Evan looked away and nodded to Shane.

Then he turned, shouldered the Stone Sledgehammer, and walked outside.

Shane followed close behind him, a cold, killing edge settling into his face.

He seemed to understand why Evan had chosen only him for this trip.

The two of them walked to the iron door at the back entrance of Cell Block C. Only then did Evan turn to face Rick and the others, who had come to see them off.

"We'll be out before dark," Evan said. "But if we aren't, do not come in blind looking for us."

"During the day, clear the walkers in the exercise yard with melee weapons. Keep the noise down. The bars won't hold forever if you stir them up too much."

As he spoke, he pointed toward the iron gate Glenn had locked a second time.

With the gate between them and the walkers, the group only needed long melee weapons like crowbars to kill them one by one. It would not be completely safe, but it was manageable.

"Best option is to let anyone who hasn't killed a walker by hand try it there," Evan added. "Good training."

Rick nodded.

Daryl stepped out from behind him.

"You sure you don't need us?" Daryl asked, voice low. "Say the word and we'll go in with you."

He shifted his weight from foot to foot, ready to move, like a lean hunting cat waiting for the fight to start.

"You know how I am." Evan rolled the Stone Sledgehammer in his hand. "While I'm gone, keep the camp safe for me."

Daryl gave a rough nod.

"Got it."

The moment Daryl moved away, Carol came forward.

She had been exhausted the day before and had slept until now, only to wake to the news that Evan was going into the Prison.

Carol hugged him lightly, then looked him straight in the eye.

"Potatoes and horse meat tonight," she said. "I'll have it ready when you come back."

Evan looked away from her without meaning to, suddenly a little shy.

"Then Shane and I get two bowls. We're the ones working today."

"And this."

He took out the small pistol he had found in the office and handed it to Carol.

Maybe it was his imagination, but Evan had the feeling Carol was starting to treat him like a son.

Carol was gentle by nature. A few words were enough to redden her eyes.

When she stepped back, Evan was about to move.

Then a small body latched onto his thigh.

"Sophia..." Evan said softly, helpless.

He looked down.

Sophia, barely reaching his waist, had tilted her little face up toward him. Carl stood beside her.

One of Sophia's hands held Evan's leg. The other clenched her doll.

She did not speak.

As if right now, the only thing that could make her feel better was the warmth of Evan's body.

Evan stroked her hair with real tenderness.

Quiet. Obedient. Introverted.

Sophia was different from Carl. Her nature was better suited to growing under shelter and safety.

She did not want to face the cruelty of the apocalypse, and she was not good at it.

Looking at her, Evan opened his mouth, then stopped.

The words he wanted to say would not come.

So he simply kept his hand on Sophia's head and stayed with her for a little while.

Only after Sophia walked away with her doll did Evan look at Carl.

Carl was no longer clinging the way he had yesterday.

He stood with his small fists clenched, stubborn eyes fixed on Evan.

"Evan," Carl asked, "when do I get to go on missions with you?"

Rick and Lori both looked ready to speak.

Even Shane, beside Evan, almost opened his mouth.

Then something seemed to occur to him, and he shut it again, his expression cooling.

Evan thought for a moment.

Then understanding flickered in his eyes.

In canon, Carl had always been drawn to killing walkers.

That did not mean he had some strange taste for it.

Part of it came from the pressure of the world around him. Part of it was a need to prove his own worth.

Most of all, Carl still carried hope in his heart.

He wanted to fight in order to protect.

The boy's urgent need to join missions was not so different from any child wishing he could grow up faster.

Evan crouched, brought his face level with Carl's, and turned with him toward the grass in the distance.

"See the outer chain-link fences?" Evan asked, pointing.

Carl squinted, stared hard, and nodded with total seriousness.

"Because of the corridor between them, there are inner and outer fences. Each opening in the mesh is about two inches wide."

"One day, when you can use the bow I made for you from ten feet away, shoot through the opening in the first fence, through the opening in the second fence, and kill a walker on the other side..."

"That is when you can come with me as part of the camp's core team."

Daryl's expression shifted.

Even with his crossbow, he might not be able to do that reliably. Carl's bow was closer to a toy by comparison.

It was almost impossible.

The same realization appeared on the faces of the other adults.

This test would be difficult even for them, let alone a boy Carl's age.

But Carl only nodded hard.

"I can do it."

Evan smiled and patted Carl's shoulder.

"I'll be waiting for the day you cover my back."

This time, he turned and walked through the iron door with Shane without hesitation.

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