Hello gang!
Today I've done another Carl POV. You get to see how what interests him (everything) and how his mind works. Also got some fun history in there which I expand upon further on my tumblr so be sure to check that out. :)

Guest reviewer:
Courtgirl26:

Shane's brand of leadership has always been lacking in a few areas. And yeah he didn't fight because literally everyone was against him. Shane's envy will eat at him slowly but he'll start acting fairly soon.
Having the People of Color side with Rick was intentional and I'm glad you mentioned it. As soon as Rick mentioned he got shot preventing a lynching he became an unspoken (and perhaps unintentional) ally to them. They're certainly more inclined to follow him than Shane.


Three wagons traveled down the road to from Atlanta. From the sky they lay out in a pattern with the smallest wagon and the least draft animals in the front and the largest wagon with the most animals was in the rear. It made a pretty picture but to those on the ground it wasn't so pretty. Carl walked on sore feet behind his father and Shane. His parents had told him that he could ride in the wagon if he wanted to but Carl wanted to walk with his father. Keeping up wasn't a problem because the wagons were going so slow the adults had to slow down to let them keep up. Carl could walk along with them at an easy pace. That didn't change the time he spent on his feet though nor did it help the fact that his legs were tired and his feet were sore. Carl didn't complain though. If he did his mom would probably insist he get in the wagon with Jimmy's kids.

Jimmy was driving the second wagon with his family in the back. Amy sat with them with a pale quiet look on her face. It was hauled by four mules and carried food and ammunition as well as people. The first wagon was driven by James. It was hauled by the two draft horses he always drove and it carried much the same cargo as Jimmy's wagon but less of it. Dale took the rear with his large covered wagon hauled by eight mules. Carol and Sophia rode with him along with the majority of the camp gear and supplies. Dale still fascinated Carl. His hat was black and made of felt. It was of the same style that all the other men wore (except for his father) but it was sleeker and it had a small red feather tucked into the headband. Carl also noticed that the white haired man liked to watch everyone else just like he did. That intrigued Carl.

Most of the group was on foot. Rick and Shane were in the front next to James' wagon. Carl walked behind them and his mom was next to him. Behind them trailed Andrea, Theodore, Glenn and Jacqui. Daryl wasn't in sight. Carl turned his attention to Shane and his father. His dad was wearing his Boss hat that he had worn on the farm. Carl also noticed he was wearing a belt like the Dixon brothers and his gun now hung off his right hip. Somehow the belt and gun made his father walk differently and Carl though that it looked cool. Both his father and Shane had their rifles slung over the backs. As the two men walked side by side Carl noticed that the two guns looked different. The wood on Shane's gun was a lighter brown than his father's and the metal on Shane's was black whereas Rick's was silver. Carl didn't know if that meant anything but he was curious.

"Hey dad?" he asked coming up to his father's left.

"Yeah Carl?"

"Why do your gun and Uncle Shane's look different?" Carl watched as his father looked at Shane and both of them began to chuckle.

"Shane's gun is a different type of rifle." Rick said, "We've been arguing for years about which one is better."

"Yours is better?" Carl asked. Shane snorted.

"I think so." Rick told him. Carl looked at both men consideringly.

"What makes them different?" he asked.

"Well first of all they're made by two different countries. Mine is a Springfield rifle and Springfields are-" he paused, "were - made in America."

"They were made by Yankees." Shane interrupted.

"Yes they were made by Yankees. Your Uncle Shane's rifle is called an Enfield rifle and it was made in England."

"Okay. So what else makes them different?"

"Well, one difference is that the Enfield rifles are made with a slightly smaller barrel and that affects how they're loaded."

"Does that mean they have to use smaller balls?" Carl asked, "So they fit in the barrel?"

"No. That's because balls are always made smaller than the the barrel. You see every time you fire a rifle the powder gets the barrel all dirty. If you had a ball that was the exact same size as the barrel that powder would prevent you from being able to load it. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, that makes sense." Carl told him.

"Now just because we don't have to clean the barrel every time we shoot doesn't mean we never have to. Eventually, after shooting for a while, the powder builds up and we can't load the gun anymore. At that point you have to clean it before you can use it again. Since the Enfield has a smaller barrel than a Springfield you have to clean it more often than you do a Springfield."

"Only if you're using Burton cartridges." Shane countered. "If you're using a Pritchett style cartridge it's a whole different story."

"What are Burton and Pritchett Cartridges?" Carl asked with interest.

"Go ahead and tell him Shane." Rick said.

"Let me borrow one?" Shane asked.

"Yeah." Carl's dad opened up a pouch on the front of his belt and handed a paper wrapped cartridge to Shane. Shane rolled it between his fingers before holding it out for Carl to see.

"This bulky thing is the American style or Burton cartridge. Do you know how it works?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Carl, "you rip the paper open and pour the powder into the barrel. Then you remove the ball from the paper and push it down the barrel right?"

"That's right." Shane told him. He reached into his own cartridge pouch and pulled out a much different looking paper cartridge. The paper was wrapped in a very smooth cylinder around the ball and it was yellow at one end.. "This is a Pritchett style cartridge, it's what the English use and it's made specifically for Enfield rifles. You see how carefully it's wrapped?" Carl nodded. "That's because you never actually take the paper off the ball. You rip of the end and poor the powder into the rifle just like with an American cartridge but then you stick the ball with the paper down into the barrel. The paper is carefully wrapped because it needs to fit perfectly into the barrel. "

"Why?"

"You see how the paper is yellow at the end?"

"Yes."

"That's because it's coated in beeswax. When you fire the rifle the paper goes up the barrel with the ball and it cleans the barrel as it goes. When the paper and ball reach the end of the barrel they separate. The ball flies toward the target and paper falls to the ground. With Pritchett cartridges you can shoot all day and never have to clean your gun."

"Wow." Carl looked at his dad. "Why don't you use Pritchett cartridges dad?" Rick chuckled.

"Because the barrel sizes are different. The paper has to be totally flush with the inside of the barrel so that it cleans it. Unfortunately for your Uncle Shane English cartridges aren't made in America so they have to be shipped all the way form England."

"True," Shane admitted, "But if I ever run out I can still use American ammunition. That's what makes Enfield rifles better than Springfields."

"Why do you think Springfields are better dad?" Carl asked. So far the Enfield sounded much better.

"Because of how they're made son. Most Enfields are made by hand while Springfields are all made by machine."

"Are machine made guns better?"

"Not necessarily. Shane's Enfield is hand made and it shoots just as well as my Springfield. The problem is when things break. If something on my Springfield breaks I can find a replacement part easily. Every other Springfield was made by the same machines and every part on every Springfield is the exact same. I can just find another Springfield and take the part I need from it. You can't do that with hand made guns. It doesn't matter how good he is no gunsmith can make two guns the exact same way and if you have hundreds of gunsmiths all making the same weapon it's pointless to even try. If Shane's gun needs a replacement part he has to go a gunsmith and have him make an entirely new part."

Carl walked by the two men in silence pondering everything Shane and his father had told him. "I think the Springfield is better." he said.

"Yeah?" Rick asked.

"There aren't any gunsmiths anymore."

Carl's dad stared at him for a second. "You're right there son."

"Nah. Enfield's still better." Shane said.

"Oh come on!" Rick cried, "Surely now you must admit that given the circumstances the Springfield is better!"

"Handmade guns are better than machine made."

"Sure, whatever."

Carl watched the two men joke with each other with amusement. After a while he spoke again, "Dad can you teach me how to shoot?"

Rick looked at his son carefully, "I think that would probably be a good idea. Let me talk with your mom first but I think I can do that."

"Great!" Carl smiled.

"He's gonna be too small to shoot a rifle." Shane said, "If only we had a carbine that'd be perfect."

"Yeah well carbines are hard to find. I'll just teach Carl how to shoot my pistol."

"Whats a carbine?" Carl asked.

"A carbine is like a rifle but shorter son." Rick told him, "They're almost as accurate as a regular rifle too but they're not very common."

"If you ever find a carbine can I use it?"

Rick opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the sound of horse-hooves. At that moment Daryl came around the bend riding his mustang. He came right up to them and dismounted. Carl still thought the red-brown horse was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"What'd you see?" Rick asked Daryl.

"Decatur is pretty well empty." Daryl said. "Shouldn't be a problem getting these wagons through it."

"Good." Carl's dad pulled a map out of his coat pocket and studied it for a moment. "We should be there in less than an hour." He told Shane, "We'll push through the town and camp on the other side just to be safe." Shane grunted in acknowledgement. "I'm gonna go let Dale and Jimmy and Dale know. Can you tell James and the rest?"

"Yeah I got it." Shane replied. Carl's dad turned and walked back toward the other wagons.


Amy didn't react to the news that they would be stopping soon. It wouldn't change how uncomfortable she was. Sam and Eric seemed excited though. The two boys looked to the arrival of a new campsite with the enthusiasm of a daring adventure. Amy tried to match their excitement but couldn't. Throughout the trip she kept getting called back to the day before. That moment when she had seen the first child walker. Then when the whole group had come out of the forest and chased her. After the fight all the dead children lay on the ground surrounding the wagon with bullet holes in their heads. Nothing had gotten better and now the images were burned into her memory. She couldn't forget them.

The wagons came to a stop about an hour later and Amy followed Jimmy and his family out of the wagon. "Alright everyone!" Rick called, "I'm going to head into Decatur with Glenn and James to see if we can find any supplies. The rest of you stay here and get the camp set up. Shane will tell you where everything needs to go." With that he left.

Amy did what she could to help set the camp up. Tents were set up, the animals were unharnessed and tied up where they had access to grass. Lastly two fires were lit and food was prepared. When it was all done Amy sat down next to one of the fires and silently ate her food. Andrea sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Amy sank into her sisters embrace.

"You doin' alright?" Andrea asked. Amy nodded and Andrea hugged her closer. "I think Rick's right." she said, "I think we'll find a safe place." Amy didn't respond. How could there be a safe place after what had happened? There was no safe place from your mind.


So another chapter without a Rick POV. I'm pretty certain I've completed some kind of record. :p

What did you guys think of Carl's observations of the convoy? What did you think about the differences between Shane and Rick's guns? Which one would you choose?
As mentioned in the chapter the Springfield rifle was made in the north but it was popular on both sides of the war. The Enfield was also used on both sides of the war but it was more popular in the South. The South had limited manufacturing capacity and thus imported a lot of weapons from Britain. The Springfield was still the most popular rifle in the South but the Enfield was solid second. If you want to see the rifles and learn more about them and their ammunition I've posted about them on my tumblr blog. My username is JasonBlakePosts and the blog is titled The Ricktatorship Series.

Let me know what you thought in the reviews!