Hello everyone, 087-B here with a new issue of this ongoing story of Rick Grimes' new chance at surviving the zombie apocalypse. I hope you enjoy this one.
I figure since Trace is gonna be a main character, he's gonna need more character development, so in this issue, Rick is gonna teach him how to hunt and properly shoot a gun. Maybe it will go successful and they'll bring back food? Who knows.
Now, on with the show!
Issue 2 - Learn To Survive
Rick woke up and noticed Trace leaning against him, still asleep. He smiled. For a teenager, he could still be very sweet. Probably his little sister, keeping him behaved and sane. His mother was sweet as well and kept him from getting out of hand. His father, however, was making an attempt and failing at controlling him, even getting violent. If anything, his father didn't seem to fit the role of-
"Ugh… Rick?" Trace slowly awoke, interrupting Rick's thoughts.
"Oh, hey." Rick looked at Trace as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes. His gash and bruise were almost completely gone. "Morning."
"Mornin'." Trace replied, now sitting up. "Man, I wish I could just go back to sleep but… nowadays, you can't sleep ever." Rick smiled at him.
"The way your dad acted yesterday…" Rick began. "Do you even know how to hunt?"
"What? Of course I do!" Trace said.
"Lemme rephrase that." Rick said, getting more serious. "Do you even know how to properly shoot a gun?" Trace was about to reply, but he stopped himself. He didn't know how.
"…no." Trace replied.
"There you go, that's the problem." Rick said. "If you don't know how to shoot, you don't know how to hunt."
"So you agree with my dad hurting me?" Trace asked.
"Hell no, your dad overreacted." Rick replied. "But today, I want to teach you how to hunt."
"I think my dad should teach me." Trace said.
"I don't think he'll do that anytime soon." Rick said. "Come on. Get up, get dressed, and grab that assault rifle of yours." He grabbed a black leather jacket he had found yesterday, put it on, and exited the RV.
"Oh, Rick, you're awake." Pete walked over to Rick, holding something in his hands.
"Morning, Pete." Rick greeted. "What's that in your hands?" Pete handed him a small red apple.
"Breakfast." Pete said. "Lucas told us we should conserve food in the mornings now."
"Thanks Pete." Rick took the apple and took a bite out of it. "I miss fresh fruit like this."
"Don't we all." Pete said, then he walked off back to the dining cabin.
"Ugh…" Trace rubbed his eyes again as he stepped out of the RV.
"Well, you ready boy?" Rick asked.
"Yep." Trace held up his assault rifle. Rick nodded, grabbed his shotgun, and the two went out into the woods.
"I know how to shoot." Trace said.
"A handgun. Not a shotgun or a rifle." Rick said. "There's a major difference, if you haven't noticed."
"I kinda realize that, Rick." Trace said. "So what do we hunt first? Rabbit? Deer?"
"We ain't hunting yet." Rick said. "First, you gotta know how to use that thing."
"Well what am I supposed to shoot then?" Trace asked.
"These." Rick brought out a bag and pulled out an empty can. "You're gonna learn to snipe." He set the can down on a stump and led Trace behind a shrub about 4 yards away.
"This distance seems close." Trace said. "Don't make this easy on me."
"I'm not." Rick said. Trace raised his gun up and pointed it toward the can. "Don't lock your elbows."
"Why not?" Trace asked.
"Being stiff ain't gonna help." Rick said. Trace loosened up.
"Now what?" He asked.
"Remember to keep it steady." Rick said, adjusting Trace's arms.
"Anything else I should know?" Trace asked.
"Hold your breath before you shoot." Rick said. "Only for a split second before you pull the trigger."
"How's that supposed to help?" Trace asked.
"Well, it helps me aim more accurately whenever I do it." Rick said. "Like I've said before, I was a police officer, so I know how to shoot a gun."
"Okay…" Trace took a breath, aimed the gun towards the can, then pulled the trigger. The bullet flew out of the gun and shot into the can, halving it and sending its top half flying. The kick of the gun sent Trace landing on the ground.
"Heh heh, maybe you aren't ready for a rifle." Rick said, chuckling. "But you did good, Trace."
"So am I ready to shoot something else?" Trace asked, getting up.
"Well, lemme show you something." Rick took the gun out of Trace's hand and reloaded it, then aimed it at a deer that had scampered by. He pulled the trigger and the bullet went through the head, sending its limp body to the ground.
"Whoa, good shot." Trace said, staring in awe.
"Well go get it, I just killed tonight's dinner." Rick said. Trace smirked and dashed over, grabbing the deer by its front and hind legs and pulled it up, hauling it over onto his back, struggling. Rick walked over and grabbed the deer's hind legs, with Trace holding the frontal legs.
"Damn, we got some good food for tonight." Trace said.
"C'mon, let's get back to camp." Rick said.
:::::
The walk back to camp wasn't long, only about an hour, and once the two made it back, they brought the deer into the dining cabin and set it on the table. Trace called Pete and his father Lucas inside, and their eyes widened at the deer.
"Trace, I said not to use the guns to hunt." Lucas said, glaring at his teenage son.
"I taught him how." Rick said, defending Trace. "I shot the deer anyways."
"Yeah dad. He showed me how." Trace said.
"Well what're we waitin' for? Let's gut this thing and chow down!" Pete said, smiling.
"Well, the bullet hit the head, so we'd have to decapitate it first." Rick said.
"The liver and a few other organs can be eaten, and if we mash them up, we can make a mighty fine meal." Lucas said.
"The only problem is convincing Carlos and Sarah to eat it." Pete said. They all chuckled.
"Carlos did something weird a few minutes earlier." Lucas said. "He covered himself in mud for Sarah, saying he'll do strange things for her."
"Carlos is love struck." Trace said, smirking. "Maybe they'll eventually get together."
"I doubt it." Pete said. "Anyways, I had to clean him up, but he's still treating me like crap, even though I saved his ass."
"This group is pretty ragtag, but that's what I like about it." Rick said. "So, Lucas, why didn't you-" The conversation was interrupted as they all heard screams outside. Trace looked out the window and his eyes widened.
"Oh shit! Sarah! Carlos!" Trace grabbed his handgun and ran out the door, followed by Rick, Lucas, and Pete. Outside, Sarah and Carlos were running from the woods as many lurkers emerged from the woods, chasing the two children.
"Shit, the gunshots must've attracted them!" Rick said. He reached into his pant pocket and found his colt python, the one he used the day of the roadside shooting before the apocalypse. He pulled it out and began shooting at the oncoming lurkers. Sarah tripped over a rock and landed on the ground, and a crawling lurker grabbed her ankle.
"AHHH! HELP ME!" Sarah screamed as she tried to get away, struggling.
"SARAH!" Carlos grabbed the handgun out of Trace's hands and began rapidly and randomly firing shots, hitting the ground around the lurker and the lurker itself, but not killing it, merely piercing its shoulder and side. Finally, one bullet pierced the lurker's head, killing it and saving Sarah, giving her time to escape.
'Oh thank god…' Trace thought, sighing in relief. He pulled out another handgun and handed it to Sarah, leaving himself unarmed, but Rick threw him his colt python to protect himself, and Rick himself took his shotgun, with Pete and Lucas taking assault rifles.
"Remember everyone! Aim for the head!" Trace said.
Lurkers stumbled out of the woods constantly in a seemingly endless wave. Carlos, although having terrible accuracy, managed to kill two lurkers that emerged, shooting them in the head. Sarah had impeccable accuracy, and she managed to kill a majority of the lurkers along with the others. However, another one snuck up on her and grabbed her legs, taking her to the ground.
"Shit, Sarah!" Trace pulled out a pocket knife and opened it, then tackled the lurker that grabbed Sarah, stabbing it in the head repeatedly, filled with rage.
"Die…you…fucking…piece…of…SHIT!" Trace yelled. Although it was already dead, he continued to stab its head. He didn't stop, and Lucas had to pull him away.
"Son! It's dead, boy, it's dead." Lucas said, holding Trace back. Trace took a breath, calming down.
"I-I know, dad. It's just… Sarah…" Trace looked over to his sister, who was unharmed. "I can't let anymore family die."
"I understand that, but you gotta learn to keep calm while killing these things." Lucas said.
"I hate to break up the conversation, but more of them are comin'!" Pete shouted. He fired another two rounds before hearing a clicking noise. "Fuck! I'm out!"
"Same here!" Carlos said.
"I'm out too!" Sarah called out.
"Fuck, out as well." Lucas said.
"The gun's jammed!" Trace said.
"I'm out…" Rick muttered. 'Now what?!'
Then, they heard a car heading toward them. The car stopped behind Rick, and they all turned to see it. Nick and Elizabeth stepped out from the backseat and Maria stepped out from the passenger seat, and a new person stepped out from the driver's seat, a woman. The woman appeared to be in her 40s and had short blond hair, a pink hoodie, blue jeans and brown hiking boots.
"C'mon, let's get these fuckers!" The woman said as she took out a small black revolver. The 3 others took out handguns and began shooting along with the woman, killing many of the lurkers that emerged from the woods. Once all of them were dead, all of the survivors regrouped, with Trace explaining everything that happened.
"Thank god everyone's okay." Maria said.
"Sorry we weren't here earlier." Nick said. "Maybe if we were, we could've helped."
"Well, it was good you showed up when you did." Pete said. "Now who the hell's this?" He pointed to the mysterious new female survivor.
"Name's Christie. Nice to meet you." The woman said.
"And she's here why?" Lucas asked.
"She saved our asses back in the city." Nick said.
"Well if you can pull your weight, you can stay with us for a while until you figure out what you want to do." Trace said, giving a small smile. Sarah turned to Carlos.
"Carlos, you saved my life today." Sarah said. "I'll never forget that."
"So does that mean…?" Carlos asked, getting excited. Sarah sighed, smiled, and rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend." She said, giving Carlos a kiss on his cheek. Carlos hugged her tight.
"Aw, how cute." Christie said. "This place feels like a nice camp."
"Well we have plans on moving out soon." Maria said.
"We're staying here." Lucas said.
"Dad, you've seen what's happened to day, and it can happen again." Trace said. "We gotta go."
"I agree with Trace, Lucas. We gotta go sometime." Rick said.
"Thank you, Rick." Maria said.
"Stay out of this, Rick." Lucas said, glaring at him.
"I actually think that moving out would be a good idea, too." Christie said.
"But-" Lucas began, but noticed everyone was glaring at him. "Fine, I don't need this shit." Then he stormed off.
:::::
Another night came, and another dinner was had. Tonight, it was the deer. While the others ate their meal, Rick took Trace outside to talk with him.
"What do you need, Rick?" Trace asked.
"Your dad seems pretty overprotective." Rick said.
"Yeah, I know, but…" Trace stopped.
"What is it?" Rick asked.
"…ever since my brother died, he's been determined on keeping me, Sarah, and my mom alive." Trace explained. "So he never wants any of us taking risks unless its our only option. I mean, I had to beg him to let me keep my handgun."
"Well, I'll try and talk to him." Rick said. "Meanwhile, I don't know why I never asked this, but what city did Nick and Elizabeth go to anyway?"
"Macon." Trace answered. "If you were thinking we left Georgia, you're dead wrong."
"Then tomorrow, you and I are going out on a supply run." Rick said. "I'm gonna teach you how to survive the cities."
"But you've only known about this infection for two days." Trace said. "How can you teach me?"
"We'll just go along with Nick and Elizabeth, then." Rick said. "We learn from them."
"Oh, okay then." Trace said. Rick turned to go back inside. "Wait, Rick."
"Yeah?" Rick asked, turning back around. Trace held out the colt python.
"Technically, its yours, so… Yeah." Trace said. Rick took the gun and put it away. "Anyways, I still gotta try and take my handgun back from Carlos. That boy ain't gonna give it up without a fight…" Trace went back inside.
'That boy is smart.' Rick thought. 'His father, though…' He shrugged off the thought and went back inside the cabin. Once he did, he looked around at all of the survivors. They all seemed so happy, so glad to be with each other…
'If they ever died… people would be in tears.' Rick thought. 'And just the thought of it…' His thoughts were interrupted as Christie approached him.
"Ah, you're Rick, right?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Officer Rick Grimes." Rick said, holding out his hand. Christie firmly shook it.
"Christie Torres." Christie said. "I heard about your wife and son. I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Thanks, that means a lot." Rick replied. Christie smiled at him, then went back over to her seat and began eating.
"So Christie," Pete began, looking up from his meal. "Where're ya from?"
"I come from Oregon." Christie said. "I came down to Georgia to visit my sister but we got separated during the outbreak."
"People seem to get separated from family a lot nowadays." Elizabeth said. "Carlos got separated from his dad, Rick got separated from his wife and kid, and now you and your sister…"
"Wait a second, someone's missing." Trace said. "Where the hell is Sachiel?"
"Last time I saw him, he was asleep inside his tent." Pete said. "Lemme go wake that kid." He got up and left the cabin.
"Well, I'm turning in for the night." Rick said, getting up.
"Me too." Trace said, standing up as well.
"Trace, you've trusted Rick a lot, even though he's only been here for two days." Nick said. "Why is that?"
"I… I don't know." Trace replied. Then he left the cabin.
"He's a good kid." Rick said. He turned to Lucas and Maria. "You two raised him well." Then he exited the cabin as well.
When Rick entered the RV, Trace was already fast asleep in the bottom bunk, his arm dangling over the side. He was already drooling on a pillow. Rick smiled and climbed onto the bunk above him, falling asleep as well.
Tomorrow would be a big day.
-(End Of Chapter)-
A new character introduced, development in Trace, a relationship between Carlos and Sarah, the bond between Trace and Lucas strains-*takes a breath*-so much STUFF! I'll try to update this whenever I can, but It takes a while to write each issue. Fun fact, Christie was supposed to appear WAY LATER in the story (around Issue 40) but for the sake of the plot I added her in this issue. Heck, at one point, I was considering making her an antagonist, but I decided against it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are highly appreciate, and as always…
Stay Tuned!
~087-B