Chapter 10: The First Attack
POV: Carl Grimes
Carl wakes to screaming.
For a confused moment, still caught between sleep and waking, he thinks it's a nightmare. But the terror in his mother's voice is too real, too immediate.
"Carl! Get to the RV! Now!"
He stumbles from the tent in his pajamas, bare feet hitting cold ground. The camp's on fire with chaos—people running, shouting, something moving in the darkness beyond the fire's light.
Walkers. At least a dozen of them, shambling into camp like a tide of death.
POV: Shane Walsh
Shane's up and moving before he's fully awake, training and instinct taking over. Pistol in hand, safety off, brain cataloguing threats and priorities with mechanical efficiency.
"Form up on me!" he shouts, trying to establish a defensive line. "Don't let them scatter us!"
But it's too late for organized defense. The walkers are already in among the tents, people fleeing in all directions. Shane spots three of the bastards heading for the kids and sprints to intercept.
His first shot takes the nearest walker in the head, dropping it instantly. The second shot goes wide in the chaos, and Shane has to close distance, using his pistol like a club to cave in another walker's skull.
"Dale! Get the kids to the RV!"
POV: Dale Horvath
Dale's old hands shake as he fumbles with the RV's keys, trying to get the door open while Carl and Sophia press against his legs in terror. The diesel engine cranks once, twice, finally catches.
"Inside, children. Quickly now."
Amy appears at his elbow, her face pale but determined. "I'll help watch them."
Good girl. Dale's heart hammers against his ribs, but he keeps his voice calm for the children. "It's going to be alright. Just stay low and quiet."
Through the RV's windows, he watches Scott appear from nowhere, crowbar in hand, positioning himself between a walker and Carl's tent. The young EMT moves with deadly purpose, dropping walkers with efficient precision.
POV: Scott
[WALKER HORDE DETECTED: 15 HOSTILES]
[CAMP POPULATION: 21 SURVIVORS]
[DEFENSIVE POSITIONS: POOR]
Scott's System paints the battlefield in tactical overlays, but training and instinct matter more than interface data. He spots Carl's abandoned tent, a walker reaching for the fabric, and closes distance fast.
[POWER STRIKE ACTIVATED]
The crowbar punches through the walker's skull with wet finality. Scott spins, looking for the next threat, and sees Ed Peletier twenty feet away.
The abusive husband is down, three walkers tearing into him while Carol screams for help. Scott's System displays cold mathematics:
[ED PELETIER: CRITICALLY INJURED - 95% MORTALITY]
[CAROL PELETIER: IN DANGER - 70% SURVIVAL RATE]
[ESTIMATED TIME TO CHOOSE: 3 SECONDS]
Scott chooses Carol.
POV: Carol Peletier
The world dissolves into nightmare. Ed's screaming, walkers everywhere, teeth and blood and the smell of death. Carol runs without thinking, pure panic driving her feet.
Strong hands grab her shoulders, pull her away from grasping fingers.
"I've got you," Scott's voice, calm despite the chaos. "Stay behind me."
He moves like violence personified, the crowbar becoming an extension of his will. Walker after walker falls, and Carol huddles behind him, watching her husband die twenty feet away.
She should feel guilty for not trying to save Ed. Should feel something other than relief.
POV: Andrea
Andrea emerges from her tent with the shotgun Shane gave her, heart hammering but hands steady. Amy's safe in the RV with the kids—that's what matters.
She spots a walker stumbling toward Dale's position and fires. The blast takes off most of its head, painting the RV's side with gore.
"Nice shot!" T-Dog calls out, wrestling with a walker near the fire pit.
Andrea racks another shell, looking for targets. This is what she's been training for, preparing for. No more helplessness, no more watching others fight her battles.
POV: Daryl Dixon
Daryl puts a bolt through a walker's eye, smoothly reloads, acquires the next target. Crossbow work in close quarters isn't ideal, but he makes it work through pure skill.
Merle fights dirty nearby, using a broken bottle to slash and stab. His brother's always been vicious in a fight—it's keeping him alive now.
"Behind you!" Daryl shouts, seeing a walker approaching Scott's blind side.
The EMT spins, drives his crowbar through the thing's temple without breaking stride. Kid's got combat sense, knows how to fight for his life.
They might actually survive this.
POV: Merle Dixon
Merle dances with death, glass shards and walker blood painting his hands crimson. This is what he was made for—violence, chaos, the honest work of staying alive.
He spots the prissy EMT fighting near Carol, choosing to save the battered wife over her worthless husband. Smart choice. Ed was deadweight anyway, and Carol's got skills the camp needs.
Kid's got priorities straight, even if he's soft about most things.
The last walker goes down under Glenn's machete, and suddenly the camp falls silent except for heavy breathing and quiet sobbing.
POV: Scott
Fifteen walkers dead. Two camp members bitten and mercy-killed by Shane. Ed Peletier torn apart while Scott chose to save his wife instead.
The mathematics are brutal but simple—they survived because they fought together, because people made hard choices in split seconds.
[QUEST COMPLETED: EARN CAMP'S TRUST]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 500 XP]
[LEVEL UP! 4 → 5]
Scott stares at the notifications and wants to vomit. Experience points for a man's death, level advancement purchased with blood and screaming.
Carol approaches slowly, Sophia clutched to her chest, and whispers, "Thank you."
She doesn't know Scott chose her over Ed with cold calculation. Doesn't know the System guided his decision with statistics and probability. All she knows is she's alive, and her daughter is safe.
Maybe that's enough.
POV: Shane Walsh
Shane surveys the aftermath, counting the living and marking the dead. Two good people lost, but it could have been worse. Much worse.
The EMT acquitted himself well—fought smart, saved lives, didn't freeze when it mattered. Shane adds Scott to the short list of people he can count on in a crisis.
But he also notes how Scott moved during the fight, the tactical awareness that goes beyond medical training. The kid's hiding something significant, and Shane's going to find out what.
Dawn breaks over the quarry, painting the water gold while smoke from funeral pyres drifts skyward. The camp survived its first real test, but everyone knows it won't be the last.
The dead don't stay dead anymore, and the living have learned to be afraid of the dark.
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