Disclaimer... I still don't own any part of the Walking Dead since the last post...
CHAPTER 3: DETERRENTS
Relieved that the herd of Walkers passed, Rick stared at a large patch of grass remaining motionless at the center of the road. There was no sign of his son. The distraught parent shifted his attention to the people across the street. One of the persons pointed his fingers toward his eyes then down at the road.
"Help me mommy! Help me, please," a child's voice yelled from the far side of the road. Both Rick and Michonne searched the woods for the child but couldn't see anything. The voice called out again attracting the attention of the three lagging zombies, "Help me please."
Once the dead turned their backs away from the patch of grass, the 6 foot field peeled off revealing a man covered head to toe in black clothing resembling S.W.A.T. officers from the movies. The figure even wore a black ski mask without mouth hole and dark tinted goggles to hide his eyes. The figure lifted a hand to its mouth. Carl stood to his side.
"Mommy," the child's voice sounded by the tree line again.
The man moved toward the Walkers followed closely by Carl. Rick nearly fell out of the tree. He observed the man's left arm wrap around a zombie's neck while the right arm used a hunting knife to penetrate the back of its head.
Next the mystery man turned to Carl as if instructing the boy before sneaking behind the 2nd Walker. Rick could barely believe how Carl nodded while the figure drove the knife into the 2nd Walkers hip causing its femur to pop from the hip joint piercing the decaying skin.
The Walker fell to the ground. The person in black continued turning back to Carl as if instructing Rick's son before stabbing the blade through the fallen Walker's cranium.
The final Walker approached the two when it suddenly turned. It moved away from Carl and the man searching for something. Carl snuck up from behind the zombie and popped the femur just as the man did causing the Walker to collapse to a knee. Now at the boy's height, Carl dug his knife through the Walker's temple watching it go limp.
With the threat neutralized, Rick and Michonne emerged from the grass onto the empty highway at the same time as the people from across the road. Rick approached cautiously interrupting Carl's and Baldo's conversation. The figure motioned to the sheriff prompting the kid to turn around.
"Dad," Carl ran over entering a quick embrace.
"Carl, are you hurt," Rick asked holding his son. During the exchange, Rick's eyes did not move from the black suited figure. Baldo put away his knife.
"I'm alright," Carl broke the hug turning to the mystery man. "Baldo saved me."
"Baldo," Rick repeated.
"Pleased to meet you," Baldo extended his right hand. Rick kept his at his side. After a minute of cold shoulder, the stranger pulled his hand back. "Yeah, I don't seem to be as excited to meet you either." The ski mask tilted.
Carl laughed drawing Rick's attention, "Inside joke."
"Ah, saw me wink did you," Baldo chuckled. "We've got a camp not far from here. You can rest. Come on."
"Wait, Baldo," a Mexican man with a shark tooth necklace and a machete strapped to his back said. He held an automatic across his torso. "You didn't ask them."
"I just assumed, Miguel," Baldo said.
"You can't assume anymore," Miguel complained. "Not when every decision is life or death."
"Not every decision," Baldo responded. His head shifted to a red headed young male adult, then an older woman close to 40 years old with dark black hair, and a young girl no older than her teens holding a bow and arrow. "Fine… Deterrent #1…
"Our camp is all guys. A complete sausage fest," Baldo finished. He watched Rick's and Michonne's eyes dart to the people around Baldo. "I guess you saw through that one…
"Deterrent #2… Emily, can you come here please," Baldo's mask turned slightly as the teen girl approached him.
Emily's hair was pulled into a bun atop her flawless and somehow still soft skin. She carried a small bow with a quiver of 20 arrows. Dropping an arrow after stepping beside Baldo, the temptress bent over gently raising the shaft stringing her bow.
"Are you okay," Baldo asked when the girl returned upright. Rick felt that even though the question was directed at the teen, Baldo's eyes remained trained on the sheriff from behind the darkened goggles.
"Yeah, Baldo," Emily answered returning to her previous position among her friends.
"Good you passed another one," Baldo sounded pleased from the other side of his mask.
Rick's eyes meet Carl's then shifted back to the imposing figure interrogating them. For some reason the sheriff felt compelled to answer this stranger's line of questioning unsure whether from gratitude for saving his son or just for seeing his son smile again. Michonne continued to remain silent. Her face was unreadable.
"We have a camp not far from here but I think it's only fair for you to know everything before deciding to come with us. Deterrent #3…," Baldo started rolling up a pant leg. "I've been bit."
Rick's free hand shot toward the handle of his gun while Michonne's wrapped the hilt of her katana sword. The group surrounding Baldo all pointed their weapons at the trio. Silence filled the air between the teams as Baldo revealed a shallow bite mark on the back of his discolored left leg.
The smell from under the grass cover invaded Rick's, Michonne's, and Carl's olfactory senses 100 times more pungent. Each member of Rick's group covered their noses. Almost instantly Carl's smile had disappeared.
"How long," the boy asked.
"It happened almost 3 weeks ago," Baldo answered. He turned to his group, "Lower your weapons."
"But they drew," the red haired man started but was interrupted.
"Listen, Komamura, they reacted exactly how we'd react to that news," Baldo rationalized. "They're okay if they want to come with us."
Everyone of Baldo's group lowered their weapons. Even Rick and Michonne found themselves relaxing the grip on their weapons as well. Rick's eyes fell back to the graying skinned leg noting that it looked dead already.
"I don't know if it was because the bite was little and not very deep or if for some reason my body's more resistant than usual," Baldo turned his leg like he was hitchhiking. "Normally bites take 3 days to change a person…
"Somehow I still have my wits about me at day 23 though," Baldo rolled his pant leg down. "I feel the change happening. My muscles tighten. My joints ache. And my daytime vision has been fading in and out. Truth is I've been feeling stiff lately," Baldo finished in a tone drawing laughter from Carl again. "So, is it with a "K" or a "C"?"
"C," the boy responded with a smile. "Why do they call you Baldo, Tom?"
"I'll tell you on the way to camp," Baldo answered happily back.