After returning from High School, Bobby went on ahead and brought the medical stuff we had found to the old man and his family to save Carl. While he did that, the guys and I decided it was time for bed as the sun started to dawn on the horizon. We slept at most eight hours before getting up and feeling rested like brand new people after we piled in the RV to sleep. While we had slept I had some flashbacks to my past life about some of the key facts for this universe with some nightmares.
I remember when the doctor at CDC said the virus had infected everyone. With trace amounts of the virus in their bloodstream lying inactive until death or bitten. The second thing is that out there is a military group of some sorts abducting people in trades for likely experiments into the virus which I'll just dub the Waker Virus. The third is that the Whispers are an organized nomadic group that also doubles as a cult in a way given how they operate with the dead. Fourth I may actually have a clue on who is leading this military group in the business of trading supplies for people. In this life, while I was in the army I had met a man named James Grung Shepherd who used flowery words to get support. He focused on essentially his own little military-like cult which studied something interesting that he found three years ago in Iraq during one of our missions. At the time he was just a corporal, but he rose in rank a bit too quickly with his skills of talking bullshittery.
When I was leaving the army after being told I'm mentally no longer fit to continue my service, James had said something to me which was odd.
"Second Lieutenant Chimera, in a few months you shall witness the birth of a new grander world, just don't go snorting anything blue sold by drug dealers. In your attempts to escape reality if you go down that path to escape your traumas. Heh, wouldn't want you to miss the fun, when the time comes you'll want to join me though even though you have a fond disgust for me."
I hadn't known what he meant then before I fully took control of this body but now... I think I know what the fuck that man did. Which frankly makes me question what the hell he gains from this all, what's the end goal? Even if I were to think of an answer I wouldn't know even I heard it from the man himself as I can't understand dumbass, I understand crazy though. Anyways me, Daryl, and Merle got ready for another day of hell we eventually exited the RV when I asked Daryl if he could scout the barn from the loft.
After about two hours, Daryl returned after really checking everything out and venting on a tree somewhere. Thus calling for everyone from our camp group I explained about the barn situation and the incoming new friends we shall be expecting. "I'll gut those fuck! What if they tried feeding us to them!" was what Merle screamed while looking ready to charge off and murder the farm family. But I had to ask him to stop and stay to listen as I explain the possible reasoning behind this course of action from the family. I explained, that sometimes people have kept dead bodies of the family before in freezers or in something else as a mummy, so likely, one of those walkers was family, possibly Hershel's wife.
However, they lured and stuffed walkers into the barn to make sure she had company as they think there is likely a cure that'll bring her back from the dead. But I sighed and told the group "Let's be real you die, you're gone no cure can revive a zombie into their old self." Hershel likely will be outraged once he hears that he must let his wife and the other walkers rest, they're gone they won't come back. Sure I have the delaying medicine and eventually a cure but it won't revive a person, and I can't use magic in this world really so it's really best for those turned completely to be put to rest forever. Thus when we approached the home and called for him and his family, explaining things while getting yelled at, I stared the seething old man down as I raised my voice harshly.
"They're dead! You can't make the dead return to the person they once were Hershel! What you are doing to your wife or whatever you want to think she is now. Just isn't healthy you need to let her go, let those people turned into a rotting husk of their former selves go! My medicine can only delay the infection, and the eventual cure can only help those still fucking alive! THOSE WHO ARE ROTTING AND DEAD WITH WOUNDS LIKE WHAT MOST OF THE WALKERS HAVE CAN'T COME BACK!! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR SKULL OLD MAN! YOUR ACTIONS ARE ENDANGERING YOUR STILL ALIVE FAMILY! WHAT IF THEY GET OUT OF THAT BARN HUH?! YOU'RE JUST GONNA LET THEM KILL YOUR KIDS AND THEIR FAMILIES THEN HERDE THEM BACK INTO THAT BARN AREN'T YOU?! TELL ME I'M WRONG HERSHEL TELL ME!"
Hershel stormed off back into his house while his kids and their families stayed outside silently sobbing or thinking about what I had just said. Bobby for one though had agreed with me when I was talking as he looked at Hershel worriedly then at the rest of the family, mainly his own love with worry. Eventually, they all went back inside the farmhouse, while the rest of us walked away and did various random jobs until we knew the course of action Hershel would take. After a while, though a convoy of military trucks and other vehicles converged towards the farm, seems that our new soldiers had arrived.
As they pulled up they all dismounted from their vehicles and saluted me which surprised most people as they thought it wasn't important anymore. However, I saluted them back and told them at ease as the commanding officer spoke up.
"Second Lt. Chimera! I'm Sergeant Major Brandwell; these are my men. Welles, Wilson, Bradly, Carmen, Higson, Cromwell, and Johnson. Thank you for giving us a chance to join a group! We lost our old one, the undead overran it after someone opened the gate. Effectively wiping out a whole military settlement killing four hundred people."
"Your welcome, Sgt. Brandwell, this is my group from Merle, Daryl, Glenn, Rick, T-Dog, Lori, Andrea, Jacqui, Morales, Dale, and a young man called Carl who was shot and is now being treated his father Rick is with him. The ones who mainly live here are an old man and his family though there is some tension right now as earlier we had a rather heated discussion with the old man."
Speaking of old man, Hershel came out since we were making a racket seeming to have calmed and looking more like he was now fighting an inner battle. Otherwise, he says that the kid is fine and will pull through; Lori sighs happily. That night everyone sat around a bone fire eating some marshmallows to celebrate that the kid will live. Some of Hershel's family came out to celebrate with us while apologizing for today, they're apparently going to be holding a family meeting to discuss what to do with the barn.
Even had the kid Randall joining us, we had found him snooping around the area and thus imprisoned him, after I said bring him out of his hole which the kid enjoyed himself. While I had one of Brandwell's men draw blood from everyone. As on the way back from the High School we raided a local abandoned Center for Disease Control and stealing everything. To eventually help set up our own lab somewhere but for now, we had temporarily jury-rigged a military truck into a mobile lab after Brandwell's group arrived. Surprisingly Higson was an army doctor, had him study the blood samples he would be collecting after had set up the temp mobile lab.
However, for safety reasons and confirmation we will be making a stop to the CDC where that one doctor had essentially suicided with one of the group members in. As in this situation, a true professional virologist's opinion is worth its weight in gold. I don't doubt Higson but I would also like a professional's opinion on the whole matter for clarity's sake.
After a while, Higson returned with the reports on everyone about his findings that he could make given how dumb and awkward our lab is. While I'm giving Jim, the man who was bitten, another delay shot, to keep him alive. Which I have made improvements with it so he now only needs it every four days unless it's an emergency. With Higson finished sorting through the reports, he coughs to get everyone's attention. Getting all eyes on him, he begins to speak about what he found to everyone including Hershel's family.
"Looking at the files and using equipment from the CDC second Lt. Chimera got. I found out that in all of our blood is the virus reanimating people. Following his own naming of the virus and what it seemingly does, we'll call it the Waker virus. The virus though inside of us all is just lying in an inactive state, however, when one dies for any reason at all. Which I honestly mean any reason, if my theory is correct we will reanimate as a walker. However, luckily the second Lt. is working on a cure, it seems. Just as of now, it's a delay of sorts, so you'll turn if you don't get it after a certain amount of time."
With that, the festive mood dies down, but that's disturbed by a hooded figure walking up with the sound of chains rattling. With Two armless walkers wearing collars attached to the chains guiding them along. A katana on the waist of the hooded figure as they walk towards us all calmly and slowly to show they have no intention to fight. Before anyone can do anything, I hold my hand up high. To let our new hooded friend introduce themself, though I know it's Michonne.
"You all seem to be having a great time here... mind if I join you? The names Michonne... I heard some radio chatter while passing by a military truck that should've been dead. So I decided to head here after hearing about the talk of gathering up surviving military personnel at this farm... Seems it wasn't a lie though so that's good, just I'm sorry you can't have my weapons."
With that, she pulls off her hood, showing the figure of a woman who's tired and worn out but a fighter with cold eye's watching us. Before anyone can say anything, I motion her to join but to tie up her pets as they're still undead. Everyone was cautious at first but later warmed up to the modern samurai of the apocalypse. Which she and Andrea seem to have really hit it off like in the show so that drew a smile onto my lips as the two women make a great pair.
Calling Welles over though, I ask if it's possible to fly the helicopter they brought on one of their trucks. In order, to look around for a sturdy place that's fortified regardless of how far it is as long as we can get there. He agrees and later that morning is seen flying off with Bradly to look for a location according to my specifications. While the rest of us do chores or maintenance when Hershel walked over to us and asked if we could help put the dead to rest. Some of us had somber looks but we all did it, even when they found our missing kid as a walker, they put her to rest with one quick bullet to the head. Her mother was torn up after seeing the fate of her daughter but let us bury the kid without an overly dramatic scene.
Later that night, after Welles and Bradly had returned reporting about a prison a few miles out from our location. That was when I told Higson to get ready for a trip to the Center for Disease Control which had one main research lab somewhere near us. Thus me, Higson, Welles, and Bradly departed the next morning after leaving one order to Brandwell. That if something happens just shove everyone into a vehicle and escape to the prison to camp outside and radio us so we can meet up once more and clear it out together.