Dale's question hung in the cool evening air, heavy with unspoken risks and the desperate hope of reward. Ethan looked from the old man's earnest face to Lily, who was now dozing fitfully against Carol's side near the low fire, her small face still etched with a weariness that no child should ever know. The System's recommendation to accept the scavenging run was a logical imperative, aligning with his own need to contribute, to secure resources, and, selfishly perhaps, to earn more Survival Points for the Exchange. But it was the thought of Lily, of providing better for her, that solidified his decision.
"If Glenn's willing to have me," Ethan said, meeting Dale's gaze, "I'm in. We need supplies, and I can pull my weight."
Dale's face broke into a relieved smile. "Good man. Glenn! Ethan's game for that Taylorsville trip!"
Glenn, who had been listening from a short distance while cleaning his knife, looked up and gave Ethan a nod. "Alright. Good to have an extra pair of eyes and hands, especially ones that know which end of a bat to use." There was a hint of earned respect in his voice after the morning's perimeter sweep.
Later, huddled around a flickering map of the county that Dale had salvaged (which Ethan's System discreetly scanned and integrated, cross-referencing with its own data), the four of them – Ethan, Glenn, Dale, and a reluctantly participating Shane – discussed the plan. Taylorsville was a small town about five miles inland from their current position on Highway 316. Less likely to be hit as hard as the city, Dale reasoned. Their priorities were clear: non-perishable food, fuel (if they could find any siphonable gas or jerry cans), and medical supplies, particularly antibiotics and painkillers.
"Town's got a main street with a pharmacy, a grocery store, and a hardware store, if memory serves," Glenn said, tapping a location on the map. "We hit those first. In and out, quiet as we can. We leave at first light."
[MISSION ACCEPTED (SELF-INITIATED): SCAVENGING RUN TO TAYLORSVILLE. OBJECTIVES: SECURE FOOD, FUEL, MEDICAL SUPPLIES. PROTECT TEAMMATE (GLENN RHEE). RETURN TO CAMP SAFELY. POTENTIAL REWARDS: SUBSTANTIAL EXP/SP, GROUP TRUST INCREASE, VALUABLE RESOURCES.]
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS (TAYLORSVILLE): BASED ON REGIONAL DATA AND DISTANCE FROM INITIAL OUTBREAK EPICENTERS, WALKER DENSITY LIKELY MODERATE. INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE UNKNOWN. RISK OF ENCOUNTERING OTHER SURVIVOR GROUPS: MEDIUM.]
Ethan listened, absorbing the information, his System silently processing probabilities and potential hazards. He noted a "limited time offer" in the Survivor's Exchange: 'Sturdy Leather Work Gloves' – 15 SP. Useful for scavenging, less chance of cuts. He had earned 35 SP from the perimeter sweep and the water tablet contribution (135 - 25 + 35 = 145 SP). He made the discreet mental purchase. The gloves would just be "something he already had."
His main concern was Lily. Before turning in, he found her with Carol, Sophia, and Carl by the RV.
"I have to go out for a bit tomorrow, Lily-bug," he said softly, kneeling down. "With Glenn. To find some more food and things to help everyone."
Her eyes widened slightly. "Are you… coming back?"
"Every time," Ethan promised, ruffling her hair. "I always come back for you. Carol and Lori will look after you and Sophia and Carl, okay?"
Carol offered a reassuring smile. "She'll be safe with us, Ethan. You just focus on what you need to do and come back in one piece."
First light found Ethan and Glenn ready by the edge of the highway camp, beyond the flimsy barricade of cars. They were traveling light: backpacks with some water and basic supplies, Ethan with his baseball bat, Glenn with his tire iron and a sheathed knife. They'd decided against firearms for this initial approach to maintain stealth.
"Alright, let's do this," Glenn said, his usual easygoing demeanor now tinged with a focused seriousness. "Stick to the tree lines where we can. Main roads are too exposed."
They set off, leaving the relative chaos of the highway behind and entering the eerily quiet woods that bordered it. The System immediately began painting a preferred path through the undergrowth, highlighting patches of dense cover and warning Ethan of unstable ground or thickets that might snag clothing and make noise. Ethan translated these silent warnings into seemingly natural observations.
"Careful there, Glenn, ground looks loose," he'd say, or, "Maybe we skirt left of that thorn patch."
Glenn, a natural scout, took these suggestions in stride, often concurring. "Good eye," he commented once, after Ethan pointed out a nearly invisible tripwire – probably an old snare – that could have alerted anything nearby.
They moved in silence for the most part, the only sounds their soft footsteps on the leaf litter and the distant, ever-present chorus of the dead. About an hour into their trek, as they were crossing a shallow, muddy creek, the System pinged.
[SINGLE WALKER SIGNATURE DETECTED. UPSTREAM, 30 METERS. HIDDEN BY BEND IN CREEK. AMBUSH PREDATOR STANCE. LIKELY WAITING FOR PREY DISTRACTED BY WATER SOURCE.]
"Hold up," Ethan said suddenly, grabbing Glenn's arm. "Thought I heard something upstream. Or smelled it. Something's not right." He sniffed the air exaggeratedly. Lily would have believed his "super smeller" act; Glenn just looked curious but cautious.
Ethan crept forward, bat ready, using the creek bank for cover. As he rounded the bend, he saw it: a Walker, half-submerged in the muddy bank, its clothes tattered and waterlogged, its head craned as if listening. It was perfectly positioned to grab anyone stopping to drink or fill a canteen.
Before Glenn could react, Ethan moved. He lunged, bringing his bat down hard on the Walker's exposed head with a sickening squelch. The creature went limp.
[WALKER NEUTRALIZED. EXP +10. SP +5.]
[TEAMMATE (GLENN RHEE) SAFETY MAINTAINED. POSITIVE TEAM SYNERGY INDICATED.]
Glenn came up behind him, eyes wide. "Damn, Ethan. I didn't see that thing at all. You got sharp senses."
Ethan just shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "Just got a weird feeling. Lucky, I guess." He knew Glenn wasn't buying the "luck" entirely, but he didn't press. For now, his competence was an asset.
They continued, the woods eventually thinning, giving way to overgrown fields and then the first dilapidated houses on the outskirts of what had to be Taylorsville. The town looked eerily still from a distance, no smoke, no obvious signs of large walker herds. But an unsettling quiet hung over it.
[ENTERING TAYLORSVILLE PERIMETER. WALKER SIGNATURES: SCATTERED, LOW DENSITY ON OUTSKIRTS. SIGNS OF PREVIOUS HUMAN ACTIVITY: MODERATE (LOOTING, MAKESHIFT BARRICADES – SOME BREACHED, RECENTLY DISTURBED DEBRIS).]
"Alright, Main Street should be just ahead," Glenn whispered, gesturing towards a break in the trees. "Pharmacy, grocery, hardware. Let's take it slow, check the approaches."
They moved cautiously, using garden walls and overgrown hedges for cover, until they reached the edge of what was clearly Taylorsville's main thoroughfare. It was quiet. Too quiet. A few lone Walkers shambled in the distance, but the street itself was largely deserted, though heavily looted. Cars were parked haphazardly, some with doors hanging open.
As they prepared to step out onto the street, aiming for the pharmacy first, the System flashed a sudden, urgent warning in Ethan's vision, an insistent red pulse.
[!!! CRITICAL WARNING !!! MULTIPLE CONCEALED BIOSIGNATURES DETECTED! LOCATION: SECOND-STORY WINDOWS, PHARMACY AND OPPOSITE HARDWARE STORE. HUMAN. ARMED (PROJECTILE WEAPONS CONFIRMED VIA REFLECTIVE SIGNATURES – SCOPES/BARRELS). STATIONARY. OBSERVING STREET. POTENTIAL AMBUSH PROTOCOL DETECTED!]
They were being watched. Aimed at. This scavenging run had just escalated dramatically before they'd even taken a single item.