Chapter 16
Days at the Camp
Chirp chirp—
The campsite was near the woods, where birds started singing early in the morning.
Caesar opened his eyes and looked at the swaying shadows of the trees above the tent; the sleepiness in his eyes gradually dissipated.
Caesar pulled back the tent flap and saw Carol.
Carroll bent down and picked up the clothes that Moore had carelessly tossed aside the night before.
Carol noticed Caesar's gaze, her eyes flickering as she concealed the redness and swelling on her face, and explained with her eyes lowered.
"I...I'm here to get my dirty clothes. The women in the camp go to the lake to wash their clothes."
"Where are your dirty clothes?"
Caesar wasn't embarrassed at all. He turned around, took out the clothes he had taken off yesterday, and handed them to Carol. "Thank you."
Carol glanced at Caesar in surprise, then said hesitantly, "No...you're welcome."
"What's wrong?" Caesar noticed her confusion.
Carol smiled. "In the camp, very few people say thank you to us."
After a brief farewell, Carol left the tent.
Moore and Daryl's tent was located further into the woods, where the busy camp could only be vaguely seen.
"So, Moore, what do you think of this woman?"
Caesar watched Carol's departing figure and suddenly asked a question.
"Hmm, Carol? Cannon fodder in the apocalypse, remnants of the era. She'll soon become a walking corpse on the street. Maybe she'll even take her daughter with her."
Moore rolled over, his eyes wide with lucidity, clearly having been awake for some time.
Being a hunter, even when sleeping, one maintains a certain level of vigilance! Let alone someone approaching with such a loud noise!
Caesar raised an eyebrow, glanced at Mor, and said, "I disagree with you. She will become a powerful warrior and may even outlive you."
Moore's face showed a mocking expression, and he scoffed at it.
After a quick wash, Caesar entered the camp.
Most people in the camp were busy working. Dale, Jim, and Glenn stood in front of the old RV, discussing how to repair it.
Andrea, Jacqueline, Amy, and others were carrying clothes and lifting them into the back of a pickup truck.
Moor walked casually to the food distribution area in the camp and picked up two plates of food with him.
"Is the food supplied centrally?" Caesar took the plate and rummaged through the food with his fork.
It was all canned and semi-finished food, probably scavenged from outside.
Moore stuffed a large piece of luncheon meat into his mouth, chewed vigorously, nodded, and said indistinctly, "The camp relies on scavenging for food from outside. Nobody is interested in growing anything, and there's no fresh meat."
"It's just Daryl and me, occasionally hunting for some meat. I wanted to trade that meat for guns or something, but my brother... tsk tsk tsk."
"Completely different from me, insisting on giving it away for free."
Mohr spoke at length about Daryl, but his words were mostly filled with complaints and dissatisfaction.
Caesar listened as Mor talked about the situation at the camp and Daryl.
He also greeted Rip and the others who had finished breakfast.
At that moment, Rick, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, came out. He was fair-skinned, but his complexion looked unhealthy and sickly.
Caesar was the first to greet him, "Good morning, Rick."
"Good morning." Rick hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and said somewhat apologetically.
"I'd like to discuss something with you."
Caesar had just finished breakfast and wiped his mouth. Moore, ever perceptive, took the tray and left.
"Speak."
"Could some of the guns in those holsters be left for the camp?"
Rick looked directly at Caesar and said.
Caesar smiled and looked up at Lori, who was watching them from a short distance away.
The moment Lori noticed Caesar looking over, she quickly turned around and went back to her tent.
Caesar understood what was going on. "Rick, this isn't okay."
"Our deal is: we save you, the gun is ours, and your life is yours."
Caesar spoke very solemnly, and his expression grew increasingly serious.
Rick knew he was in the wrong, so he lowered his head.
Although Rick never agreed to this deal, since the other party came to rescue him, it's perfectly fine for him to receive the reward he deserves.
It's impossible for him to stand up and say, "I didn't ask you to save me," after someone else has rescued him.
Rick understood that this was an attempt to gain Caesar's sympathy.
Caesar's firm refusal made Rick realize that there was no room for negotiation.
Rick walked slowly back to his tent, his head hanging low.
Caesar watched Rick throw himself into Lori's arms and secretly shook his head.
This woman is such a nuisance.
Not long after, a sharp scream suddenly came from the camp.
The voice was a child's voice, and several children cried out, instantly putting the camp on alert.
The man immediately grabbed a weapon and rushed toward the source of the sound.
Rick and Sean, in particular, recognized that the first voice was Carl's.
Caesar was faster and overtook Rick and Sean.
Halfway through the run, Caesar saw Karl, Sophia, and several children running back, their faces streaked with tears and filled with panic.
Caesar did not try to appease them, but instead ordered, "Go back now!"
After saying a few words, Caesar ran into the scene.
Pushing aside the bushes, they saw a deer lying on the ground, its eyes vacant, while a zombie knelt on the ground, tearing at the deer in ecstasy.
The deer had several crossbow bolts embedded in its body, each bolt halfway in, indicating that the crossbow used was extremely powerful.
Caesar, ignoring the zombie's continued feast, swiftly unleashed a whip kick.
After a sickeningly loud cracking sound, the zombie lay on the ground, a dent in its neck and a broken neck on the other side, with white bone spurs piercing its bluish-black skin.
Even with a broken cervical spine, the zombie is still alive, its mouth opening and closing, and its eyes occasionally moving.
After dealing with the walkers, Rick, Shane, and others appeared, armed with a variety of weapons.
They gathered around.
"How come there are zombies here?"
Sean looked surprised. There were walkers in the valley, but in small numbers, and he had never seen them near the camp.
As he spoke, Sean glanced at Caesar.
He suspected that it was caused by the large truck that Caesar and his men had driven there yesterday.
Caesar didn't care about any of that and smashed the zombie's head with his foot.
Instead of thinking about why the walkers appeared near the camp, we should quickly rule out whether there are any other walkers nearby.
Rip offered some sound advice.
As the group chattered amongst themselves, Moore crouched down, took out a crossbow bolt from a deer carcass, and smirked.
At that moment, the bushes on one side began to sway.
The bushes were swaying quite a bit, which made it clear that something big was about to appear.
Caesar gave Rip a wink, and Rip, understanding, prepared to charge forward.
The rustling in the bushes stopped the argument. They gripped their weapons tightly, swallowed nervously, and stared intently at the source of the movement.
The shaking intensified, indicating that the creature on the other side was about to appear, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
Just before the creature was about to appear, Rip charged in like a bull, embracing a dark figure and disappearing from everyone's sight.