Nikolai awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. It had been a long time since he had slept on an actual mattress. Surprisingly, his armor and boots had not stained the fabric of the sheets upon the bed. Turning his head, he caught glimpses of various citizens rushing about. Something had obviously stirred the town's attention. Slowly rising his head from the pillow, he sat himself up, and took a closer look at the scattered trinkets around the room. There was a rather nice vase atop the dresser, obviously aged. Indigo shaded-linens draped across the windows, and were currently half-closed. Whomever had decorated this place liked to feel comfortable. Nikolai rose, feeling the all-too familiar weight of his weapons and chains begin to pull. Trudging slowly to the window, he observed the people outside. There were several men and women loading firearms onto various trucks, and some were attending to the vehicles, apparently inspecting them for abnormalities. During The Governor's speech, he had spoken of preparing for war. The giant observed the heavily-armored military trucks outside. They would be quite formidable in an offensive onslaught. He turned towards the door, and noticed that there was a basket of assorted fruits upon the nightstand by the bed. Nikolai opted to not take it, for risk of infection or poison. Pulling off his weapon harness on his back, he performed an inspection of its integrity. Two self-made torrent cannons, constructed from the base frame of two larger .50 cal rotary cannons, were lying upon the bed as he inspected and cleaned them. He remembered finding them in an old warehouse. They had most likely belonged to a collector of such memorabilia. He had modified them in a way that he, being an extremely strong man, could use comfortably without too much strain. After making sure they were fully functional (mainly by pulling apart the outside frame), he unsheathed his two blades, one on each hip. Blood stained the metal, as he investigated the fine craftsmanship for imperfections. He had owned them since he was a teenager. They were his father's parting gifts before he passed on into the realm of Valhalla. They had proven quite useful. They measured at 18 inches in length, plenty of length for decapitating the undead. Satisfied, he removed his last weapon. A modified Smith & Wesson Model 500 with a custom cylinder for 10 rounds. The massive gun gleamed in the crack of sunlight that shone through the drapes. This was Nikolai's personal sidearm, and he always had a slight chip on his shoulder that he could use it so easily. Most people's arms would buckle. He gently examined the chamber, making sure nothing was afoul. He absolutely relied on this gun. It was the first firearm he had ever used. The Giant silently recalled shooting it the first time. The recoil of the weapon was so strong it rocketed out of Nikolai's hands and flew straight into his father's crotch. Nikolai was banned from using it for years afterwards. His father had told him that the revolver and blades were a family heirloom. Nikolai did not know if that was true, but he still felt somewhat honored nonetheless. The giant rose to his feet, returning all of his weapons to their proper place. He shouldered the harness for his torrent cannons, and lumbered towards the door.

Turning the knob, he rounded the corner, and bumped into someone much smaller than him. Nikolai looked down, and was greeted by the sight of a middle-aged looking Hispanic man. Nikolai instinctively went for his revolver, but the man had a rifle in hand, and Nikolai did not feel the need to stir problems, no matter how strong he might have been. The man looked up and said, "Sorry about that, I didn't see you." Nikolai could tell there was a non-malicious sarcasm in his tone. Nikolai merely stood there silently. The man continued, "I didn't know when you'd wake up. Governor told me to keep an eye out for you." Nikolai then realized this was the man whom The Governor had sent to check on him this morning. Nikolai spoke softly, his deep voice resounding through the hall, "My apologies. I meant no disrespect." The man was apparently in a good mood, for he responded, "Oh my goodness. It speaks." Nikolai did not like conversing so casually with strangers. However, he said, "I see." The man spoke, "The name's Martinez." Nikolai responded, "Nikolai, sir." The man did not offer a handshake, and Nikolai understood why. It was difficult to trust people nowadays. Martinez spoke, "So you're the new guy? I must say you're a lot bigger up close. By the way...your name...is that Russian?" Nikolai felt a twinge of annoyance. The metal helmet he constructed, which hid his head from view, made his deep voice sound even more menacing. Nikolai spoke, "Many people think so. But no." Martinez nodded and said, "Alright. Well, I was sent to wait for you to wake up, and here you are. I have a few tasks I need to take care of. Why don't you go out and mingle with the people? You might find something you like." Nikolai spoke, "You imply that I am allowed to go...anywhere I choose?" Martinez nodded and said, "The only place you can't go is the metal utility building at the far end of town. Only authorized people can go there." Nikolai nodded and said, "Very well." Nikolai knew better than to ask "Why?". He was in potentially hostile territory and he needed to keep a low profile. Martinez said, "Have fun." The man hurried off through the door, shouldering his rifle and disappearing from sight. Nikolai slowly followed suit, emerging from the dim hallway onto the bright, sunlit pavement of Woodbury.

Nikolai was slightly surprised. There were at least 50 citizens rushing to and fro with their tasks. Trudging along the sidewalk, he took notice of just how clean it appeared to be. There was no litter on the ground. From the looks of it, even the grass appeared to be maintained. Nikolai saw the youngest children and a few teens playing together a ways off from the adults, likely to keep them from learning the harsh truths of this grim reality. Nikolai watched them. Not far from the kids, he saw several women grouped together, talking among themselves. No doubt the female attribute of gossiping had returned to civilization. Such was the way of humans. Several people looked at him as he walked. Surely he must have been quite the spectacle. Someone his size and stature was indeed rare. However, it wasn't until one of the children came up and spoke to him he began to get aggravated. It was a young girl, no more than 7 years of age. Behind her was another child. A boy, maybe one year younger. They looked up at him and the girl spoke, "See Robbie? I told you giants were real!" The boy said, "He's not a giant. He's a super-giant!" Nikolai merely stared at them. The girl spoke, "Hey Mister! They said you caught that bad man. What was his name? Marley? Are you a policeman?" Nikolai could not help but feel a twinge of annoyance. What sort of idiot kid was this? He may have been polite on the surface, but on the inside, he greatly distrusted others, having a general overall dislike of people. Years of hell had turned him into a very bitter man. He had a dry sense of humor, nearly non-existent. The only slight sense of warmth in the pit of his soul was the fact that this town seemed to be safer than the outside of the walls. He spoke to the girl, "No ma'am." The girl said, "But mommy said that you-" A woman called out from across the road, "Jessica, leave that man alone! Come on Robbie!" Jessica said, "But Ms. Karen!" The woman, Karen, walked over to the kids, looking up at Nikolai. "Sorry about that, they love to meet new people. Go back to Monica, children." The two kids hung their heads and left. Karen looked at Nikolai and said, "So you're the hero of Woodbury?" Nikolai said nothing. Karen continued, "It was mighty fine of you to catch that traitor, Dixon. He had been a bit of a night terror." Nikolai merely stared. Indifference to the woman made him merely nod his head politely. "Not much of a talker are you big guy?" Nikolai did not move. She said, "Well, we're getting the ammo together and helping them load it on the truck. Apparently the big attack is in a few weeks. If you want to talk, come stop by our group over there." She pointed at where 2 other women were performing their stated tasks. Nikolai always made sure to stay aloof from others. As much as he hated to admit it, the town did fascinate him. These people sure had outdone themselves.

For the next several hours, Nikolai had examined every building that he was permitted to enter. As indifferent to others as he was, he was intelligent enough to know not to push his boundaries. He spoke to no one, ensuring that the only two people he had talked to were The Governor and Martinez. It was the late afternoon, when Martinez began moving towards him from a small group of people he had been speaking with. Nikolai stopped, and turned towards him. The Hispanic man came up to the giant, and said, "I hate to bother you, but The Governor asked me to come and find you. He wanted to talk for a minute. Nikolai said nothing, following the man. They swiftly walked towards The Governor's seat of power in the center of town. There the patched man sat, reading what looked to be some scribbled notes. He looked up and said, "Thanks Martinez. I will take it from here." Martinez nodded, swiftly leaving. The Governor rose from his chair, and looked at Nikolai from where he stood. Nikolai said nothing. The Governor smiled as he spoke, "Well, you've seemed to make a reputation for not talking much." Nikolai said, "My apologies sir." The patched man said, "It's not a problem, but you might do a bit better with friends." Nikolai said nothing. The Governor continued, "What do you think of the community? See anything you like?" Nikolai remembered the first conversation he had when the giant apologized for knocking The Governor's three men unconscious. Of course, Nikolai wasn't truly sorry, but they had beaten that man, Dixon, unconscious. The massive man knew he would need to keep a low profile to avoid unnecessary conflict. Being alone for so long turned his mind into a very tactical one. His polite facade was also quite useful to avoid trouble. Nikolai spoke, "The community is stable, sir." The Governor nodded and said, "That's good to hear you think so." Nikolai nodded. The patched man walked towards the door, and said, "Well, if there's anything you need, please come see me. I just wanted to touch base with you and see what your thoughts were. Would you mind coming with me?" Nikolai said, "Of course, sir." The Governor motioned for Nikolai to follow him. The giant lumbered behind. The patched man led him towards the gate. Before they got there, one of the guards looked worriedly at The Governor and said, "You really need to see this, boss." The Governor craned his neck, "What is it?" The Governor broke into a run, hurriedly climbing the ladder to the top of the perch. Nikolai followed and looked abroad. Undead. Undead in several directions. There were no doubt at least thirty of them. They were not headed in their general direction, but an accidental shot or car horn would definitely get their attention. The Governor said, "Relax. They'll pass by." Nikolai noted his words, how confident they were. The Governor proceeded to lower himself down the ladder saying, "Don't shoot unless they come within 25 feet of the door." The giant followed the patched man. When they were alone, The Governor said, "Damn hordes. They aren't common, but they have happened before. Largest one we ever had was 53." The giant said nothing. Nikolai had defended himself against a herd of approximately two dozen undead before. He successfully neutralized all of them, albeit with some effort. If it weren't for his body armor they would have devoured him. The Governor said, "Well, I need to go get a few tasks done myself. You come find me if you need anything." Before Nikolai had a chance to speak the patched man walked off swiftly. Nikolai stood there, the undead herd on his mind as he began sluggishly trudging towards the building designated to hold his bedroom. The giant pondered if the guards would actually listen to the order. The Governor seemed to command, not demand, respect from his people. Nikolai was curious if The Governor put himself in that position, or if the people had willingly chosen him.