Chapter 15-A new member
The next day
Merle's P.O.V
Merle sat at the top of the stadium, watching the roads and the woods. "Did you sleep last night?" Hershel asks him as he walks up behind him. Merle turns his head for a moment and looks at Hershel before he looks back towards the road.
"Yeah, I slept. I sent Strand to bed a few hours ago," Merle answers. Hershel nods.
"Mind if I join you?" Hershel asks.
"Be my guest," Merle says. Hershel sits down beside the older Dixon brother.
"Did you see anything on your walk yesterday?" Hershel asks Merle after a few minutes.
"No," Merle says. "They are far, and if they are close, they are well hidden," The two men sat in peaceful silence as they watched the parking lot. About ten minutes later, they both stand up when they see a man running from a small group of walkers in the parking lot. "Go get the others," Merle says to Hershel, who nods as he leaves. Merle grabs the rifle and aims down the scope. Merle shoots a walker through the head, and the man looks towards the stadium. Merle shoots another walker in the head as he hears shouting below him. He looks and sees Abraham and Shane come up beside him with their own rifles. The three shoot at the walkers as Daryl and John go out into the parking lot to help the man. John shoots a walker through the head with his revolver. Merle shoots the last walker through the head.
"I'll stay up here and make sure we don't get any more company. Go see what is going on," Abraham says to the two men, who nod as they leave and go down to the field. Merle walks over to the group. Madison had sat the man down and was cleaning a few wounds on his face.
"Was he bit?" Merle questions.
"No," John says as Madison looks him over.
"What is your name, stranger?" Eugene asks.
"Leo. Leo Walker,"
Leo's P.O.V
A few hours earlier
Leo stood in Ivy's house with the woman. "Why am I here?" Leo asks.
"We know the plan, but you need a better story," Ivy answers before she punches Leo in the face, making him step back.
"What the hell, Ivy!?" Leo asks in anger.
"We need it to look like we hurt you. I sent a scout out last night, and he came back an hour ago. There was a group of the dead about a mile from their camp. Lead the dead there, and they will help you," Ivy says before she hits Leo again. Leo and Ivy drove past the walkers a few hours later, and Ivy stopped as they moved towards them. Leo climbs out. "Good luck," Ivy says with a smirk before she leaves. Leo watches her leave and starts to move down the road with the group of walkers following him.
Daryl's P.O.V
The group stared at Leo once Madison was done. "Why were you out on the road so early and during the winter?" Shane questions Leo.
"A woman drove me out here with a bag over my head and threw me in front of them," Leo explains. "They have been keeping me for days asking about groups I have seen."
"Have you heard talk about any groups they may have killed?" T-dog asks.
"No, they just wanted to know if I have seen any, and then they dropped me off," Leo answers.
"I'm Shane Walsh," Shane says to Leo. "Let's get you cleaned up, some fresh cloth, a shower, and something to eat."
"You have showers?" Leo asks.
"Yeah, not a lot of hot water, but we have some. We are working on fixing that," Madison answers. "Come on. Let's go get you cleaned up," Leo nods as he follows Madison.
"What do you think?" Glenn asks.
"I don't know yet. Keep an eye on him and have two people on watch," Shane orders.
"I'll go on watch," Rosita says as she walks away.
"Let's go fix breakfast," Lori says to Carol, who nods as she follows her.
"Merle, take Maggie and Glenn after breakfast and see if you can follow his footprints. See if he is telling the truth," Daryl says. Merle, Glenn, and Maggie nod. Daryl looks at Carl.
"Go ask Abraham if Leo can use some of his clothes," Daryl says to Carl, who nods as he leaves.
"You think he isn't who he says he is?" T-dog asks.
"I don't yet. Seems a little too convenient," Daryl says. "We'll watch him and see what happens," They nod as they walk away.
Michonne's P.O.v
Michonne walks up to Eugene, who is sitting at a table with a map. "What are you doing?" Michonne asks the man who looks up at her.
"I am marking areas in the state of Texas that are most likely to have been used as outposts for the military or refugee centers," Eugene answers.
"Are there any near here?" Michonne asks Eugene, who nods. Eugene puts his pen on a mark a few miles out of Round Rock.
"This is one of the more popular schools in the area. It was stocked up with supplies in case of emergencies, and I bet the army used it as one of their bases to fight off the dead. It should have enough food, medicine, and ammo to last us through the winter and then some," Eugene says. Michonne nods.
"Good, get your gear," Michonne says.
"Excuse me? I was only providing you with the information to do a clean sweep and to better our living situation," Eugen quickly says in a panic.
"I don't even know what to look for, Eugene. We'll grab Andrea, Strand, and Daniel and go," Michonne says. "You need to get out there,"
"Okay, I will join you," Eugene agrees.
"Good, now get some gear," Michonne says. Eugene nods as he walks away.
Leo's P.O.V
Leo sat with the group as he ate. He looked at the food and continued to eat. It was better than what they cooked up at that damn trailer park. He sat across from Abraham, who kept looking at him. "Did you serve?" Abraham asks Leo, who looks up at him. "I can see the dog tags,"
"I did," Leo says. "Got back about a year ago, and then this shit happened. You?"
"Yes, I did," Abraham says. Leo nods as he continues to eat. Everybody sat in silence as they ate.
"Where were you at the start?" Arthur asks him.
"Austin," Leo answers.
"How did you get out? Most of the big fell fast around the country. Atlanta included," Lori says.
"You come for Georgia?" Leo questions. Lori nods. "I barely made it out. I saw a lot of people die. It took me a few days to get out. I lost my wife and son."
"I'm sorry," Lori says. Leo nods as he continues to eat in silence.
Merle's P.O.V
Merle, Glenn, and Maggie walked down the snow-covered road, following Leo and the walkers' tracks. "What do you think of this guy?" Glenn asks Merle.
"Why are you asking me?" Merle wonders.
"Because you don't trust easily, and if anybody would see past the bullshit, it would be Merle Dixon," Glenn says, making Merle chuckle.
"I don't know. He may be a spy for that group, or he could be a guy trying to get by and is telling us the truth. Hopefully, this tells us more," Merle tells Glenn, who nods as they continue to walk. They stop when they see tire tracks.
"He might be telling the truth," Maggie says. Merle nods as he follows the car tracks until they get to where the footsteps started. Merle bends down.
"I can't tell. Walkers stepped all over it," Merle says. "He's telling the truth about the car to an extent, but who knows if he is telling the whole truth. We'll have to watch him,"
"What do we do if he is with them?" Maggie asks.
"The same thing Daryl did to that kid that you had but much worse," Merle answers as they start to walk back.
Madison's P.O.V
Madison walks up to Nick and sits down by her son, who is reading. Nick looks at her. "How are you feeling?" Madison asks.
"I'm okay, Mom," Nick answers.
"It's been a few months, and you still haven't left the stadium," Madison says. "You can't avoid it forever."
"I know, Mom, but I don't need to go out there. We have enough people that I don't need to do it. I"ll stay here and help grow food and help with the animals," Nick says. "I need this, Mom. It has been all over the place since we left L.A. From Chris and Travis dying to Troy and Jake and everything with the Ranch. I need to forget that world for a little bit," Nick explains to his mother. Madison slowly nods.
"Okay," Madison says. She kisses Nick's forehead before she leaves Nick to his book.
Michonne's P.O.V
Michonne, Andrea, Strand, Eugene, and Daniel sat in the truck as Michonne drove down the road. Michonne turned onto another road and stopped the truck outside the gate to the school. Daniel and Strand get out of the truck and pull the gate open. They climb back in, and Michonne drives in. Michonne stops the truck and turns it off. They get out and look at the school. There were watchtowers and army trucks all around the pavement, and a few walkers were coming towards them. Michonne pulls out her sword as the others pull out their knives. Eugene stays back. Michonne cuts off the head of one walker and then stabs another one through the forehead. The four of them quickly clear the parking lot and look around. "Where would the supplies be, Eugene?" Andrea asks.
"The basement," Eugene answers. They nod as they walk towards the entrance of the school. They stop when they see a pipe in the door holding back a herd of walkers.
"Well, this just became a whole lot more complicated," Andrea says as they stare at the walkers.
Thanks for reading. Leo is now with the group, and how he will react to the way the group lives. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.