The Protagonist System

121 Camping Is Fun

Amy was not subtle at all with her flirting as we all sat around the unlit campfire. It was kind of refreshing, to be honest. The playful banter with her as I showed everyone how to prep the MREs, actually made me feel a lot better about showing up at the camp right after the group returned, instead of waiting and pretending to find them later. The looks on Lori's and Shane's faces made it worth it, too.

With everyone around, neither of them could confront me about anything and they would have to wait until we were relatively alone, assuming I could get Carl to let me go sometime today. It made me chuckle how even with him right there, it didn't stop Amy's flirting even a little bit. Thankfully, a lot of it went over my son's head and only the adults near us understood what was really going on.

Amy was a good-looking woman with dirty-blonde hair and a nice figure. It was even better because she was sisters with Andrea, whom had declined my generous offer of help and Amy was pretty angry with her about it, pretty much cementing me as a means for her to tease and get back at her sister.

While everyone ate and enjoyed the much tastier MREs, the situation back in Atlanta came out and a few of the people at the camp were not happy with how the group had handled things. Then again, they also said they should have brought me in and watched me instead, then turned on me if I proved to be lying or was too dangerous to have around.

I agreed that would have been a better choice, mostly because it would have given them time to see that I was genuine with my offer and I wasn't trying to trick them. I did not call them out for keeping Merle and his brother around, either. Sometimes having dangerous people around during certain situations actually helped.

After the meal, the moving van was raided and emptied of everything as they dispersed it all to wherever it was needed the most. A lot of the food and things went inside the RV, the biggest vehicle they had, because it had a refrigerator and storage space for a lot of it. They had even drained the fuel from the other vehicles to keep the RV topped up for the small amount of power needed, as well for the CB radio and the small single person shower it had.

I offered one of my full gas cans from my trunk and a lot of the survivors thanked me graciously, because they had to use the shower sparingly with so many people around. Of course, being the idiot I was for not keeping my big mouth shut, I mentioned raiding the police station's huge hot water tank and a full propane tank. I was immediately bombarded with requests to go get them right away and to set them up.

My excuses of not having the power to hook them up or run them properly were ignored and I was pointed to a large generator that they didn't have any fuel for. Luckily, I wised up and did not mention the barrels of diesel fuel I had raided from the construction site and instead I promised to head out soon to go to my stash with the moving van.

Nearly everyone cheered and I was enthusiastically thanked, with Amy being the most thankful when her hand sneakily slid down onto my butt and her lips pressed to my cheek. The pleased look she gave me when she let me go, let me know she was very happy that I hadn't reacted negatively or said anything about the casual grope.

I debated returning the favor and decided against it for now, because I didn't want to be too blatant about things. I also didn't ask for anyone to come with me to help, since I didn't want to give away where my stash was. When I mentioned that and going alone for safety reasons, no one objected and a few of them gave me approving nods.

“Are you sure you don't want me to come along for some company?” Amy asked, suggestively.

I couldn't let that question go without an appropriate response. “You'd be coming along all right, only you wouldn't be much help in moving things. We'd be busy all night.”

Someone made a snorting sound and softly laughed. I was pretty sure it was a woman this time, too. I didn't try to see who it was, though. Amy on the other hand, gave me a huge knowing smile and a look of anticipation. Yep, she was going to be a fun one.

“Carl, I need to hand you off to your mom...” I started to say and his arms tightened around my neck, almost choking me. “Hey, don't worry. I'm not leaving you.”

The others watched as I stood and carried him over to the front of the squad car and pulled out a set of walkie-talkies. I turned both on, hooked one to my belt, and gave him the other one.

“I'll keep mine on the whole time and you can talk to me whenever you want to make sure I'm okay. All right?” I asked him.

Carl let my neck go and hugged it to his chest as he nodded.

“Just press this button twice to get my attention and wait a few seconds. Hold it in to speak, say 'over' when you're done, then let the button go. That way I know I can speak back.” I explained. “Want to give it a try?”

Carl nodded again and tapped the button twice. The one on my belt chirped twice, as did Glenn's and the one Andrea had in her bag.

“Oh, right. They all match right now. You can change frequencies like this.” I said and showed him how to put the channel onto the next one. I did mine and smiled at the looks the group from Atlanta had on their faces at the simple explanation of why I had the same frequency as them. It was a lie; but, they didn't know that. “Try it again.”

Carl did so and only mine chirped.

I pulled the walkie-talkie from my belt and held it up close to my ear.

Carl pushed the button. “Dad, this is kinda fun.” He said and let the button go without saying anything else.

“You need to say 'over'.” I whispered. “I forgot that the first time talking to Glenn, too.”

Carl laughed and it almost sounded like a giggle as he pushed the button. “Over!” He almost shouted and let the button go.

I waited a couple of seconds and pushed the button on mine. “Hi, Carl! I haven't heard from you since a few seconds ago. You must be at least ten years old by now. Over.”

Carl pushed the button. “Daaaaad! I'm twelve! No! I'm twelve and a half!” He said and giggled. “Over!”

I laughed and hit the button again. “This concludes the demonstration of proper radio operation. Thank you. Over and out.”

“Over and out.” Carl said and let the button go.

“I won't be long.” I said and walked around the people gathered and knelt to sit Carl next to Lori. “I think it's about an hour or so to get there?” I asked with a shrug. “The traffic's surprisingly clear on the inbound lanes and the speed limit is pretty much only a suggestion at this point.”

That earned me a few laughs from the men and comments about speed demons from a few women.

“I'm not sure where the closest hardware store is, though.” I said and stood.

“What do you need at a hardware store?” Glenn asked.

“Some essential stuff like piping, fasteners, and maybe some wood for bracing? I'll definitely need some caulking as a sealer.” I said and almost everyone gave me confused looks. “I'll explain later.”

Glenn stood and walked over to me as he pulled out a map of Atlanta. “There's a pile of ransacked and wrecked businesses along here, between Lake Avenue and Fourth Street near the outskirts of town.” He said and ran his finger along a stretch of road. “I'm sure I remember passing a hardware store around there somewhere.”

“Thanks. I'll check it out on the way back.” I said and started to walk away.

“I'm sorry.” Glenn suddenly said.

I paused to turn back to look at him as I gave him my best amused smile. “I'm not that big of an ass to blame you for not wanting to go against everyone on my behalf. We just met and trust has to be earned, right?”

“I... yeah.” Glenn said and ducked his head slightly. “I'm just sorry I doubted you instead of giving you the benefit of the doubt.”

I chuckled. “That saying sounds weird, doesn't it? What's the benefit of the doubt? Not doubting? Then why is it called a benefit of doubt?”

Everyone stared at me like I was speaking nonsense.

“Someone remind me later that we have to raid a library or something.” I said and walked over to the squad car.

I climbed in and drove it back slightly before I pulled it off to the side just enough to get the moving van out. I took the rifle out from the backseat and locked the doors, then put the gun inside the trunk and locked it. They already had a crate of MREs and one of my gas cans and wouldn't be getting any more for a while. I slipped the keys into my pocket and went to the moving van's driver's side.

“Here.” One of the guards said and I turned as he tossed me the set of keys.

“Thanks.” I said and climbed in, started it up, and backed up slowly. I reached a wider area and turned the moving van around, waved at Carl, and drove off.

Barely a minute later, the walkie-talkie on my belt chirped twice to get my attention. I unhooked it and held it up as I drove with one hand.

“Hey, Dad! Is it working?” Carl asked and was silent for a few seconds. “Over!”

I decided to play a bit of a prank and pushed the button. “No, it's not working. Please leave a message and try again. Over.”

There was a click a few seconds later and I could hear laughs in the background.

“Mom said you're being a dick.” Carl said and there was some scrambling sounds, a lot more laughter, a shouted 'hey' from Carl, and another click cut off the sound.

I laughed and put the walkie-talkie on the seat beside me and within easy reach. Someone would be calling me back soon... right after Carl was told off for cursing.

*

“I can't believe he's funny, too.” Amy whispered after watching the poor kid getting told off for repeating what his mom said. She watched as Lori pretty much dragged Carl over to their tent and they went inside, probably for some privacy.

The other survivors moved off to do their own things as well, with Shane and Dale on afternoon watch, and they left the two sisters sitting by the unlit campfire alone.

Andrea sighed. “Look, you know I love you...”

“I love you, too.” Amy said with a roll of her eyes, because she knew her sister was going to rant at her about something.

“I wish you weren't acting like such a slut over a married man.” Andrea said.

“Uhhhhh.” Amy groaned and managed to not slap herself as she palmed her own forehead. “You saw how he acted when he first saw Lori.”

“That doesn't mean they've broken up.” Andrea said and Amy gave her a pointed look.

“Uh huh. He clearly saw the guilty looks Shane and Lori shared, then he showed off the missing ring on his finger. We all saw that.” Amy reminded her and Andrea reluctantly nodded. “Everyone knows Shane and Lori have been getting it on for weeks now, despite how they think they're sneaking around and hiding it from everyone.”

“His wife cheating on him doesn't give you the right to throw yourself at him every few minutes.” Andrea tried to explain.

“No, no, no. You left out the best parts. She's cheating on the father of her son, her loving and devoted husband, with his best friend. And his patrol partner. And Shane saved his life after Rick was shot. And then left him for dead at the hospital when everyone evacuated.” Amy explained right back.

“For fuck's sake.” Andrea sighed and rubbed her face. “You're not going to let this go, are you?”

Amy gave her a tooth bearing grin that was worthy of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. “You heard what he said to her. He died back in the hospital. Do you understand what that means?”

“No.” Andrea said and used as sarcastic of a tone as she could when she spoke next. “Why don't you enlighten me, oh wise and ancient one.”

Amy laughed and punched her shoulder. “Their wedding vows, you idiot! What do they say?”

Andrea gave her a confused look for several seconds before her mouth dropped open.

“That's right. Til death do us part.” Amy said, almost triumphantly. “He told them he died and pretty much gave Shane permission to keep his cheating wife. Rick can move on to the next best thing to ever happen to him without feeling even a little bit guilty about it.”

Andrea closed her mouth and looked away from her very happy sister. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“You get it now.” Amy said and stood up to grin down at her sister. “You didn't trust the hottest cop to ever show up, and probably messed up his plans, because he was coming here looking for his son anyway.”

Andrea didn't say that wasn't why she was cursing. It was because she just realized she had ruined any chance she had of getting with the guy herself and had pretty much handed the most eligible bachelor over to her very horny sister without a fight. Hell, even the couple of women around the camp that were flexible with relationships, wouldn't stand a chance against Amy's brazen attitude.

“I think I'll go see if I can borrow something nice from Miranda and take a shower in the RV.” Amy said and started to walk away as she muttered to herself. “I wonder if Dale would let me borrow his wife's lavender soap?”

Andrea watched her sister for a few moments before she stood and went to their tent. She might be disappointed in her sister for acting like she does; but, she also didn't want her feelings to be hurt if she was rejected. She pulled out a tiny bottle of expensive perfume from her backpack that she had found in the department store back in Atlanta.

Since she knew she could still do something about the situation, her sister was not going to smell like stale flowers when Rick came back to the camp tonight.

*

It was kind of freeing to drive at ungodly speeds on an open highway. I had to at least pretend to leave the area and would camp out for a short while, unload some of my limited inventory into the back of the moving van, and then head back. The ruse would be good enough to fool them, since I doubted they had the means to detect me from so far away.

The only hole in my plan was the distance the walkie-talkies could reach. I hadn't lied and said Carl could call me at any time to check on me, and he did. He just didn't know how far away I actually was. Actually, I didn't really know, either. I chuckled at that and came to a stop at a relatively clear stretch of highway on both sides, set up an alert ward around the moving van, and tried to take a short nap.

Surprisingly, I was out for about an hour and nothing showed up and neither Carl nor Lori called. I dropped the ward and cleaned up, then drove all the way back to Atlanta. I had a hardware store to check out and to see what I could find.