54 Chapter 54

- Xenon -

The group fell silent, as they recognized my words had some truth to them, regardless of how they felt about it. It was the harsh truth of their reality, and they could no longer run away from it. At least, I would no longer run away from it with them, no matter what they thought.

"Thank you!" Daryl cheered. "Finally someone with some brains around here. I ain't no damsel in distress, and I ain't waiting for nobody to save me I'd rather die on my own terms."

"We're with him." Andrea announced, speaking for herself and her sister. "He warned us about the CDC, but we were too stubborn to listen to reason."

"Count me in." Jim and Theodore nodded. Glenn looked torn between which of the two groups that were clearly forming he should join.

Rick and Shane quickly realized that things weren't looking good for them. The divide that's been created thanks to my earlier words left them restless, especially when they realized our party had more than half the group's manpower. If we decided to part ways, they would only be left with Dale and Glenn if they somehow managed to convince him. Lori and Carol were next to useless when it to fighting walkers off.

"There is no need to rush to taking decisions." Dale tried to find the middle ground. "We're all in the same boat here. We're not at each other's throats, are we? So why don't we take some time to discuss it like adults."

"Sure." I nodded. "It's getting late anyway. We shouldn't move at night. We can use the time to catch our breath and discuss it."

"Let's set up the camp first. We'll have time to talk later." Jim proposed, earning nods from everyone. It would also give 'us' an opportunity to organize our thoughts and thinks things through.

I went back to my van to organize everything I had gathered so far. I've only been dumping them every time, and none of the guns were loaded just yet. I need to get a few of them ready to be used.

"Xen..." A soft voice interrupted my musings. I turned around to meet Amy.

"Hello, Amy." I gave her a smile, and she did her best to do the same. I didn't notice before, but her eyes were red, for whatever reason, I couldn't tell. Perhaps she was still in shock from finding out that the world as she knew truly ceased to exist. The CDC had been a hard slap that brought them back to reality. Or maybe she was sad at losing Jacqui, who chose to die in the explosion. "How have you been?"

"I'm okay..." She said, but she obviously was not. I didn't know how to comfort her. I was never good at it in either lives. I slowly approached her and put my hands around her in a hug, one she seemed to return with more force than she's supposed to, but I didn't mind.

Amy seemed... shorter for some reason... Now that I think about it, everyone else seems to be. Did I grow taller? In the span of one day? That seems absurd...

We held each other in silence for a while. Amy didn't break the hug, and I sure as hell wouldn't... I can't deny that I'm very attracted to her... She is a very sweet and thoughtful girl, not to mention, in terms of looks... I have to admit I am definitely attracted to her.

Being this close to her gave me a certain comfort I've never felt since coming to this world. I am uncertain how she feels about me, she's never gave me any clear signs that the feeling was mutual, and to be fair, I have never given any signs either... At least, I think so. We eventually separated.

"Better?" I asked her with a goofy smile.

"Yeah. Thank you." She rubbed her eyes and smiled. "I'm sorry we didn't listen to you before... We should've stayed with you..."

"You did nothing wrong." I shook my head. "I knew full well what I was getting into, it was my choice. Let's forget about that, alright?" She nodded weakly. "How about you help me out with the guns here?" I suggested.

"Alright. But I don't know the first thing about weapons, you'll have to teach me." It wasn't rocket science, so she picked up everything fairly easily. We began with handguns, loaded a few of them, as they are what we would be using the most when it comes to walkers.

I will eventually need to have that discussion with them as well. As of right now, they still haven't realized how valuable bullets are. The only time they should ever consider using them is against hostile survivors in my opinion, or in really tough spots against walkers.

**- Xenon -**

"I have an apology to make. To everyone." Rick began, as we gathered after settling down. "You gave me your trust, and I led you to a dead end. I can recognize it now. The CDC was a bad move either way. I apologize for that." He said sincerely. "I am not opposed to the idea of looking after ourselves. You're right about that, Xenon. It was foolish of us to place all our eggs in one basket. But we have people with us that can't fight. Carl and Sophia can't fight. We gotta find a place safe enough for them."

"I'm sure he's already thought this through." Jim remarked. "Haven't you, Xenon?"

"I have." I nodded. "I have an immediate plan for action. Something that would guarantee our safety for years to come if done properly. We need somewhere that can keep the walkers out of reach. With enough space to store our vehicles, food and supplies. Somewhere with enough space to accommodate all of our people."

"What do you have in mind?" Shane asked.

"In a hundred miles radius, there is only one such place that meets all those criteria. And also the only place we can easily, as it's pretty isolated." I said vaguely. "West Georgia Correctional Facility." They were dumbfounded at his proposition.

"I'm sorry." Lori said with a frown. "Did I mishear you, or did you just refer to a prison?"

"Nah." Daryl shook his head. "I'm pretty sure that's a five-star hotel, with a view on the beach and free breakfast buffet." His voice was oozing sarcasm.

"What's wrong with it being a prison, Lori?" I asked her calmly. "You do realize we don't have the luxury to choose here. A prison is an immediate solution to all our problems."

"He's right." Andrea nodded. "I'm not sure where this prison is, but it has to be isolated from the cities, right? That means we won't have to fight a lot of walkers for it."

"And it may have fields we can use to grow crops, in case we run out of food. We may be able to become self-sufficient over time." Jim muttered out loud. They were seriously considering the idea, and the more they thought about it, the more they liked the idea.

"Don't get it me wrong. It would only be our first base of operation. We won't have to build walls, since there is at least fences around it, designed to prevent prisoners from leaving. This time, it would keep the walkers from coming in. Once we are settled, we can start looking for alternatives. I already have one in mind, but we don't need to think that far just yet."

"He's right, Lori." Rick said to his wife. "While I understand a prison isn't the ideal place to be... It will at least provide us with safety. Once we find a better place, we can move out." Lori looked hesitant, but it didn't matter in the end. Especially since she won't be participating in the takeover, if I'm not wrong.

"If you have a better idea, we're all ears." Jim challenged. Lori didn't say anything anymore.

"Do you know where it is?" Shane asked.

"I do." I nodded, and I immediately noticed the suspicious look Dale was throwing me. I didn't understand at first, but I got the gist of what he was thinking. "I have a map." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't say anything." He raised his hands in surrender. Asshole.

The discussion continued for a while. I brought my map from my van. I wouldn't mind if I lost it, as it was already displayed on the system's HUD. We discussed quite a few details about our trip, and agreed to go there early next morning.