Chương 48: Chapter 48

- Author -

"Say it." Rick spoke, as he was walking with Shane around the camp. Shane gave him a look. "I know you want to say something. Just say it."

"Alright." Shane nodded. "I think what you've done was both reckless, and stupid. You took half our manpower with you to save some dickhead who doesn't deserve to breath. You put everyone else in danger. You put Carl and Lori in danger!"

"Things could go bad even if I didn't." Rick disagreed. "I brought guns to the camp with me, something we desperately need. With weapons, we have better chances at survival. Besides, the kid saved the day, didn't he?"

"The kid just came back yesterday!" Shane said heatedly. "We assumed he was dead long ago, this is just a stroke of luck! What about next time something like this happens? You gotta stop thinking about doing what you believe is the right thing, putting your morals above Carl's life!" Shane was clearly guilt-tripping him with his son, which was working to a certain extent.

"I didn't." Rick knew Shane for a long time, and he was well aware of how volatile he was, so he tried his best to stay calm. "Besides, we couldn't have expected this."

"Sure we could. I'd just told you that morning!" Shane was stomping his feet in frustration. "That walker was dangerously close to camp, meaning other walkers could be dangerously close to camp." They fell silent for a moment, before Rick changed the subject.

"We could assign blame all day, Shane, but what is done is done. Maybe we should start thinking what we should do next." Rick spoke. "I don't think it's safe to stay here. The city belongs to the dead now, and it's only a matter of time before they run out of food and come looking for more."

"I was thinking the same things." Shane nodded pensively. "The question is where to go? Nowhere is safe for all we know."

"We should discuss it with everyone else." Rick proposed, to which Shane agreed.

**- 10 minutes later -**

"We've all seen what happened yesterday." Shane said, as everyone was gathered in a circle. They were told the group had something important to discuss. "At least, most of us did. But we know it's not safe to stay here anymore." Everyone nodded in agreement at his words. "It's time we discussed where we should go next."

"I heard the CDC was working on a cure." Rick suggested.

"I heard that too." Shane knew what he was getting at. "I heard a lot of things before the world went to hell."

"What if the CDC is still up and running?" Rick frowned.

"That is a stretch right there..." Shane shook his head.

"Why? If there is... any government at all… Any structure left, they'd protect the CDC at all cost, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection..."

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, I do too. Now, if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning." Shane voiced his own opinion.

"That is a hundred miles on the opposite direction." Lori commented.

"That is right." Shane nodded. "But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me... if that place is operational, it will be heavily armed. We'd be safe there."

"The military was on the front lines of this thing, they got overrun, we've all seen that." Rick countered. "The CDC is our best choice."

"The CDC is the worst choice for us." Xenon interrupted their argument that had been getting increasingly heated. They both looked at him, Shane in approval while Rick did not truly like it. "Even if we assume the CDC is up and running, it's a matter of time before it falls as well. The power grid is down, so it's most likely using its emergency measures right now, it has a limited amount of supplies, and more importantly, it's in the heart of the city. If we go in and get surrounded, we'd have no way out."

"That's right." Shane nodded approvingly.

"He does have a point." Dale conceded. "But the CDC is closer. Worst case scenario, we could go back if things aren't to our liking there. If we go for Fort Benning, a lot of things could happen on the way. We could meet walkers, get stuck on the roads, run out of fuel, food... They're both risky moves, but I believe we should at least try for the CDC first."

"Kid's right, Government bombed Atlanta, you gotta be stupid to think there's something left there." Daryl spoke for the first time that day. "I say fuck the government, we gotta look out for ourselves. I ain't waiting for anyone to get me shelter, food or anything. We can get that ourselves." Xenon nodded in agreement, but he could clearly notice that not everyone was thrilled by the idea.

"How do we decide?" T-Dog asked. "Seems to me like we've reached an impasse. Should we vote or something? Get this over with?"

"We have the rest of the day to think." Rick answered. "We think about it, make a vote if necessary later. But we gotta accept the outcome. We can't afford to split up now."

**- Xenon -**

I already knew the CDC was a dead end. Fort Benning too for that matter, but I had no way to justify my knowledge. Daryl's suggestion was the best one as far as I'm concerned. But it's clear they wouldn't agree to it right now.

Rick and Shane would be patrolling the area for walkers, and probably discuss where we should go in the meantime. The rest were already grouping, talking about it, or about anything really. I knew talking some sense to them was a lost cause, they wanted to rely on the "government". I can't blame them for hoping, mainly because my knowledge from watching the TV show was helping me.

I took a spot next to the campfire, Theodore and Glenn were there as well, talking about something I didn't care enough to listen to. I wanted to try something new.

With everything that's been going on yesterday, I didn't get to test my new-found ability, afraid it may have some unforeseen consequences. But now, I was relatively safe, and could afford to risk it.

I activated the skill: [Detect Presence], and was assaulted immediately by a new feeling. I was suddenly aware of the surrounding space, or more specifically, of who was around the area. I could feel Glenn and Theodore, sitting on their respective seat. I knew their exact location, relative to mine at least. In fact, I could even see them on the map. But after two seconds of the skill running constantly, I felt drained mentally, a sudden urge to lay down and sleep making itself known.

I regained my senses when I stopped the skill, but I could feel a major headache building up. I could tell using it continuously was the wrong thing to do, especially since I could still see both of them on the map even after deactivating the skill, except it was now "last known location" instead. Not to mention, using it for half should give me all the information I need.

I did several tests on the spell (I'm assuming it is magic of some kind), and ended up discovering a few limitations. First, it had a "cast" time I couldn't cancel, which was 600 milliseconds, and I still required another 100 ms to cancel it. Bringing the total time to 700 milliseconds.

I had a proper headache by the seventh activation, and could immediately tell it wasn't a good idea to go any further than that. The headache wasn't crippling, annoying more than anything, but I could tell a few more activations is all it would take for it to become a serious issue.