"We think everyone here deserves to know what's happening. Really happening."
Shane was the first to speak. "What do you mean by that?"
Gray turned towards Hershel. "I know this might be sudden, but is there a place we can all watch something real quick?"
"I think the porch might be big enough...I don't want strangers inside the house just yet."Hershel said.
Gray nodded. "Fair enough."
The porch had gone completely silent, nobody moved. The Atlanta group was confused since they had already seen this.
Jenner slowly closed the laptop after the footage ended, his tired eyes lingering on the black screen for a few seconds before finally looking back at Hershel and his family.
"The infection is already inside all of us," Jenner explained quietly. "Every living person carries it."
The Atlanta group gasped, and a few of them exchanged glances. Shane looked ready to pounce on Dr. Jenner, but stopped himself.
Rick was the first one to speak, "You knew about this?" he said, turning to Gray.
Gray looked straight into Rick's eyes and answered bluntly. "I did."
Otis frowned deeply. "That don't make any sense."
"It doesn't have to bite you," Jenner continued. "The bite kills you through fever and infection, but death itself is what turns people."
Patricia covered her mouth, Maggie stared at the floor, trying to process it. Beth looked pale beside her sister.
Jenner kept speaking, his voice clinical but exhausted. "Heart attack. Blood loss. Suicide. Doesn't matter. Once brain activity stops..." he hesitated briefly, "...the brain stem reactivates."
"And they come back," Gray finished quietly from near the porch steps.
Hershel looked between all of them with growing disbelief, "No..." he muttered. "No, that's not possible."
"It is," Jenner answered bluntly.
Gray stayed quiet, watching Hershel carefully.
Because he knew exactly what the old man was thinking about.
Hershel suddenly looked sick, his breathing became uneven as his eyes drifted toward the barn.
Maggie noticed immediately. "Daddy?"
Hershel didn't answer right away, instead, he slowly sat down in the nearest chair, rubbing a hand across his face. "They're my family..." he whispered.
Rick frowned slightly. "What?"
Hershel swallowed hard before finally looking up at them. "The barn..." he said weakly. "The people in there... they're my neighbors. Friends. My wife..."
Maggie's eyes widened, Beth immediately began to cry quietly, and Otis lowered his head in shame.
Gray already knew, but hearing Hershel finally admit it out loud still hit differently.
Hershel looked absolutely broken. "We thought they were sick," he said. "We thought maybe there'd be a cure someday. That if we kept them safe..." His voice cracked. "That they'd come back."
Nobody interrupted him, and even Shane stayed quiet.
Jenner slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry."
Hershel closed his eyes tightly for a moment before standing up again. "I need to speak with my family." Without another word, he walked deeper into the house alongside Maggie, Beth, and Patricia.
The porch remained heavy long after they disappeared.
Merle finally broke the silence from near the wall. "Hell of a family reunion."
Daryl elbowed him hard enough to shut him up.
Outside, the sun had already begun dipping lower toward the horizon, and orange light spilled across the fields. After nearly twenty minutes, Hershel returned. He looked ten years older.
Hershel looked over all of them before finally speaking. "The people in that barn..." he said quietly, "they're dead."
Nobody spoke. Maggie stood beside him with red eyes while Beth clung tightly to Patricia.
Hershel continued, forcing the words out painfully. "I understand that now."
Gray stepped forward carefully. "Hershel-"
The old man raised a hand slightly. "I don't think I can do it myself."
That one sentence hit harder than anyone expected.
Rick lowered his eyes, Dale removed his hat respectfully, and even Shane looked uncomfortable.
Finally, Gray nodded slowly. "We'll help." Gray glanced toward the others. "We'll clear the barn for you."
The farm family visibly struggled hearing those words, but nobody argued.
"It'll give you time to mourn properly," Rick added gently.
Maggie wiped at her eyes while Otis nodded once in gratitude.
As the last sunlight faded, lanterns and flashlights began appearing around the farm, the mood had completely changed, nobody laughed that night, nobody sat around a fire telling stories, instead, the group quietly worked.
Rick, Shane, Daryl, Merle, Gray, T-Dog, Morales, and Glenn carefully led the walkers from the barn out one at a time.
Gunshots echoed across the fields for nearly ten minutes.
Hershel never watched, nor did Beth.
Maggie stood on the porch holding Patricia's hand while tears silently rolled down her face every time another shot rang out.
By the end, the barn stood empty, and the fields behind the farm held rows of bodies beneath white sheets.
The entire group spent the rest of the evening digging graves near the tree line. Nobody complained, not even Merle.
Shovels struck dirt beneath the fading orange sky while crickets slowly filled the quiet countryside.
Gray found himself beside Hershel at one point while they lowered another body into the ground. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Hershel stared down at the grave for a long moment. "So am I."
By the time they finished, night had fully settled over the farm, and people drifted silently toward tents, vehicles, and blankets laid near the trees.
The farm no longer felt like a stranger's home, now it felt like a funeral.
Finally lying down inside a tent, Gray had the time to check on his Gold.
Gold: 550,249
"Oh...I could've gotten the upgrade an hour ago. This is not optimal," he sighed, but got on with the next upgrade.
[New Upgrade]
(500,000 Gold) 24000 Gold/Hour ✔
[New Gold Multiplier]
(12,800 Gold) +0.05x ✔
(22,600 Gold) +0.05x ✔
[New Hourly Rate]
67,848 Gold/Hour
Gold: 14,849
'Damn...the next upgrade costs two million gold, so almost two days...I'll have to buy some multipliers to catch up.'
Feeling a bit sleepy since he had been awake for almost 24 hours now, he decided to pull out the laptop from his inventory and watch a few episodes of season 2. After watching 3 episodes, he finally turned it off, put it back in the inventory, and fell asleep.
The next morning smelled of coffee, dirt, and bacon grease, children played quietly near the porch while the adults gathered near the vehicles, eating breakfast.
Gray sat on the hood of the Humvee, cleaning his Glock, when Rick climbed up beside him, and a second later, Shane joined them too.
"We should start training people today," Shane said immediately.
Rick nodded. "Agreed."
Gray looked around the farm. "The camp attack proved that most of the group can't defend themselves yet. We fix that now."
Shane crossed his arms. "Everybody old enough learns basic firearm safety minimum."
Daryl and Merle joined them right after. "And knife work," Daryl added, sitting down, checking on his arrows.
Merle smirked behind him. "And maybe how not to scream every five seconds."
Carol and a few of the other women shot him a glare from across the yard.
Rick stood up and addressed the group loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Listen up!" Rick looked around seriously. "Starting today, everybody capable of holding a weapon starts learning how to defend themselves."
Some people looked nervous immediately, others relieved, and a few, like Andrea, got excited.
Hershel stepped out onto the porch during the announcement. "If you're going to do target practice," he said, "there's an open field past the north fence. Sound carries less out there."
Gray nodded appreciatively. "Thanks."
Training started shortly after breakfast, and Shane naturally took charge almost immediately. "Finger off the trigger unless you're ready to shoot," he barked while correcting Morales' stance.
Rick helped Glenn and T-Dog with revolvers while Daryl showed Carl how to properly hold a crossbow under Lori's very nervous supervision.
Gray quietly observed everyone for a while before noticing two people improving much faster than the rest.
Andrea and Carol. Andrea had confidence problems, but her aim was naturally steady. Carol, surprisingly, stayed calm under pressure.
Shane noticed too. "You two," Shane pointed. "Priority training."
Andrea blinked. "Seriously?"
Carol looked startled but determined.
For the next hour, Shane personally corrected their stances, reload timing, and breathing while Rick handled the rest of the group.
Meanwhile, Gray sat beneath a nearby tree reloading magazines when someone approached him.
Amy.
She hesitated slightly before sitting beside him on the grass.
"You've been avoiding everybody," she said.
Gray glanced sideways. "I prefer quiet."
Amy smiled faintly. "After last night? I think everybody does."
For a moment, neither spoke, then Amy looked down at her hands. "I froze during the camp attack."
"I saw them through the windows and..." she swallowed hard. "If you hadn't locked me into the RV, I'd probably be dead."
Gray finished loading the magazine before answering. "But you're not."
Amy laughed nervously. "You always answer questions like some old movie character?"
Gray smirked. "Only on days that end on Y."
That finally made her laugh properly, then her expression softened again. "I don't want to freeze next time."
Gray studied her for a second before speaking honestly. "Then stop thinking about killing walkers."
Amy frowned slightly. "What?"
"Think about protecting people instead," Gray explained. "Fear doesn't really go away. You just learn what matters more than being scared."
Amy looked thoughtful after that. "...You really think I can learn?"
Gray slid a loaded magazine into place and stood up. "Everybody can learn. That's why we are doing this," he said, pointing around at the whole group learning how to shoot and maintain their guns.
Amy smiled slightly.
A few hours later, deeper in the woods beyond the farm fences, Daryl moved slowly through the brush with his crossbow raised while Merle followed several steps behind him, carrying a hunting rifle over one shoulder.
Daryl crouched near the ground, pushing aside a few leaves before pointing at a set of fresh tracks in the mud. "Deer," he muttered.
Merle glanced down. "Big one?"
Daryl nodded slightly. "Buck. Passed through not long ago."
Merle smirked faintly. "Good. Maybe tonight we eat somethin' that don't come outta a can."
The two brothers continued deeper into the trees, moving quietly now. Every so often, Daryl stopped to inspect broken branches or disturbed dirt while Merle kept watch around them.
After a while, Merle finally spoke again. "Still weird seeing all these people workin' together."
Daryl snorted softly. "Ain't exactly normal times."
"Yeah," Merle replied, adjusting the rifle. "Still...to think we almost robbed them."
Daryl glanced at him sideways but stayed quiet. "You still don't trust them?"
Merle barked out a short laugh. "The only one I trust is that kid, he keeps a few secrets but he's crazy enough to fit in."
Daryl shook his head but couldn't really disagree.
Behind them, the woods slowly swallowed their voices as they continued tracking the deer trail deeper into the forest.