exploration and education

A week later, Ron felt that his body had healed enough to risk investigating the outside of the wall.

During the month he had been recovering, Ron had walked the streets of Alexandria countless times, locating several escape points around the wall, although this only made him curse the carelessness of the Alexandrians, Ron also had to thank for this since sneaking outside of the wall was quite easy for him.

So, one day, after dropping Sam off at school, he returned home and got ready to go out. Taking advantage of the absence of Jessie who was at her new job, Ron prepared a backpack with the things he thought could be useful on his first getaway from Alexandria. He carried with him a military knife that Aiden, Reg's son, had given him after his death. recovery, a compass that he had borrowed from Reg, a bottle of water, a detailed map of the surroundings that he found in Reg's study, a baseball bat that he had found among the original Ron's belongings. She also checked under his jacket in search of the gun that he had stolen from the warehouse and that he now always kept with him. He had made an improvised holster with fabric and some cardboard so that he could carry it with him under his shirt.

Before leaving, Ron took extra precautions to ensure his safety and avoid detection during his absence. He made sure to wear clothes that would allow him to blend in with the surroundings and to carry a cap to protect himself from the sun and help hide his face a little while avoiding attracting attention.

With great stealth, Ron approached the wall that surrounded Alexandria and looked for a strategic point to climb it without being seen. With agile movements, he climbed up the wall and carefully slid to the other side. Once on dry land, ron took a moment to admire the landscape,

The outskirts of Alexandria were mostly surrounded by a dense forest, with tall, twisted trees forming a natural barrier as if isolating the community from the rest of the world. Among the trees, small clusters of ruined houses stood as mute witnesses of the past. Broken windows, collapsed roofs and vine-covered walls showed the fragility of the civilization that once existed

Ron took a moment to orient himself with the compass and mentally plot his exploration route, Ron's first steps out of the community were cautious and attentive. He moved stealthily among the ruined buildings and trees, carefully observing his surroundings for possible dangers. In the distance, he saw the silhouette of some walkers wandering the streets, reminding him of the constant threat they represented.

Determined to explore further, Ron cautiously entered the forest, keeping his bat in hand and his senses alert. The leaf-covered ground crunched under his feet, and cool, moist air filled his lungs. As he moved through the trees, he felt further and further away from the safety of Alexandria and more exposed to the dangers of the outside world.

Suddenly, a guttural growl broke the silence of the forest, causing Ron to stop in his tracks. With his heart pounding, he crept closer to the source of the sound and in the shadows he made out the figure of a zombie. The macabre looking creature staggered through the trees, glassy eyes fixed on Ron, as if he had sensed his presence, Ron watched the zombie with both fascination and repulsion. The pale, decomposed skin, tattered clothing, and smell of death emanating from the creature were terrifying, but at the same time fascinating, the mere existence of said creatures contradicted all of Rum's common sense, but still there it was, staggering towards to him.

With his heart pounding with nervousness, Ron forced himself to remain calm and face the threat that loomed over him, without taking his eyes off the walker, Ron backed away slowly, aware that any wrong move would endanger his life. .

As he backed away, Ron gathered his courage and decided to stand up to the walker. He slowly took his backpack and put it on the ground, then he checked the weapons he had brought with him, a baseball bat, the military knife that Aiden had given him and the gun he had stolen from the warehouse.

Seeing the weapons available, Ron quickly discarded the pistol since, while it was the quickest means of disposing of the zombie in front of him, the noise of the gunshot could attract unwanted attention, both from the zombies and the residents of Alexandria. , so he kept it as a last resort. The knife, on the other hand, was too small so he would need to get too close to the zombie exposing himself to being bitten, so he also kept it strapped to the side of his belt, staring at the bat that turned out to be the more suitable weapon for his situation, Ron held it firmly with both hands before heading towards the zombie.

Noticing his presence, the zombie rushed towards him, his movements were clumsy and slow as a low growl came from his throat.

Ron attacked him head on. The bat swung hard, hitting the walker in the face. His bones crunched as the zombie fell to the ground, but this didn't stop him as he continued to crawl towards him; Ron backed away, keeping a safe distance as the zombie followed him.

Ron hit the zombie again, but this time it was the legs and arms, since, despite his rotting state, the zombie's skull was still strong enough to withstand the hit of the bat.

Using all the strength he had, Ron slammed the bat against the zombie's knees which gave way easily causing the undead to fall to the ground, taking advantage of this opportunity Ron went around the zombie to break both of his hands with the bat leaving him with no choice but to continue writhing. On the ground in an attempt to attack Ron, Ron approached the zombie and pressed his foot on his back, immobilizing him, then he took the knife that he had tied to the side of his belt and stabbed the zombie in the head.

The knife glowed as Ron tried to pierce the zombie's skull, but he soon realized that this task was more difficult than it seemed, after several attempts he finally managed to pierce the side of the zombie's skull. The slimy texture and the stench Nausea from the brain flooded his senses, But the undead still continued to writhe under his feet.

Ron twisted the knife hard, turning the zombie's brain into mush until the walker finally fell to the ground completely still. Ron stepped away from the zombie, the bat and knife stained with blood, as well as his clothes, as he felt a mixture of disgust and triumph at what he had just done.

After catching his breath from the confrontation, Ron looked around, alert. The threat had been neutralized, but more walkers might be nearby. Ron wiped the knife on the walker's clothes before putting it back in his side, took the bloody baseball bat and picked up his backpack. Once that was done, he prepared to move on in search of more zombies. kill

After killing his first zombie, Ron was in a state of confusion and reflection, his mind working at full speed, analyzing the mistakes made and looking for ways to improve his technique for future confrontations. He recognized that although it was not that complicated to deal with a zombie, if he faced a group of them it would be a different story, in addition, his inexperience and the nerves of the moment had led to making small mistakes making dealing with the zombie take longer. than necessary, but he also understood that learning from those mistakes was crucial to his survival.

Ron continued to explore the surrounding area of ​​Alexandria, actively searching for lone zombies to take on and gaining experience in doing so. Each encounter was an opportunity to hone his skills and to learn firsthand how to deal with the constant threat of walkers.

With each confrontation, Ron gained confidence in his abilities and his ability to survive in a world infested with death and danger. He learned to anticipate the movements of the zombies, to identify their weak points and to act quickly and decisively.

After facing several zombies, Ron was able to come up with an optimal strategy for dealing with lone zombies.

Ron had discovered that the zombies were guided mainly by sound, although they still had their sight and smell, it seemed that these had atrophied after transforming. So the most effective way to be detected by zombies was to remain silent.

Once Ron spotted a lone zombie, he would always try to go around it and approach it from behind and due to the zombies' slow movement it was a fairly easy task. Once he was within their attack range, Ron would hit the zombie's head with the bat, this was often enough to finish them off, even if the blow was not strong enough for it, the zombie would fall to the ground where Ron could finish him off with a couple more blows or use his knife to pierce their heads, although the latter was somewhat more difficult than it seemed, Ron had spent time investigating which were the weakest areas of the skull but he still considered that this was less efficient than just smashing their heads in with the bat

Ron also noticed that, while the zombies were slow and clumsy, they had practically unlimited stamina and their grip strength was several times that of an average person, so with that in mind, he deduced that it would be a better idea to avoid the zombies. prolonged hand-to-hand combat, it was always better to finish with the enemy as quickly as possible or look for an opportunity to escape, avoiding getting entangled in a prolonged fight that could attract more zombies or result in accidents.

Soon, five hours had passed since Ron had ventured out of the safety of Alexandria to explore the surrounding area. Realizing that he had spent enough time outside the community, Ron decided to return, aware of the importance of maintaining a balance between explore the environment and return to a safe place. With stealth and caution, he approached the point where he had left Alexandria, checking that there was no one near the place, Ron jumped over the wall again to enter the community, once inside Alexandria, Ron sneaked stealthily to his house.

Arriving home, Ron took a moment to freshen up with a bath before fulfilling the responsibility of picking up his brother Sam from the community school. Arriving at the building the Alexandrians used as a makeshift school, Ron remembered how his mother, Jessie, had insisted that he attend community school after her recovery.

******** flashback one week before **********

It was just another night that Ron and his family spent at the Monroe house. Dinner had been a pleasant event, a comfortable break from the constant tension. Ron was grateful for Deanna and Reg's hospitality, but he also knew that this was all Deanna's way of making it up to his mother for ignoring her suffering during the first months of the zombie infection.

After dinner, Jessie asked Reg for a moment to talk, Reg agreed, knowing in advance what the conversation was about since Ron had told him about it in the afternoon.

"Reg, I'm sorry for the inconvenience Ron has caused you, but this morning we had a discussion about his studies," Jessie explained.

"I wanted Ron to attend Alexandria Community School. But he refused, saying that the topics they teach there are far behind his improvised tutoring sessions with you, is that true?" she asked

"Certainly, Ron is a very intelligent child and from what I have noticed during our tutoring, his educational level is much more advanced than what they teach there," Reg confirmed in a calm manner.

"He told me that you are willing to guide him in his studies?" she asked to which Reg only attended in affirmation.

"Jessie, Ron already approached me. Although I don't feel that not going to school is best for him, I completely agree that attending school is not of much use to him. Additionally, I have noticed that Ron is a very mature and intelligent child, I will be happy to guide him in his studies," Reg explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Jessie seemed relieved and grateful.

"Thank you, Reg. And I'm sorry if Ron has caused you any trouble."

Reg smiled. "Don't worry, Jessie, Ron is an exceptional boy," he concluded with a smile and looked at Ron who was standing at the door of the study.

*********** end of flashback *************

After picking up his younger brother Sam from school, Ron took him by the hand and took him to the Monroe house to meet their mother while he visited his tutors with Reg.

Once at the Monroe house, Sam went to play in the backyard while Ron accompanied Reg to his study to continue his academic guidance.

Reg's tutoring was mainly focused on the area of ​​construction, as Reg was a civil engineer, but also included knowledge of various fields that Reg considered necessary for Ron, however, despite Ron's constant attempts to obtain information When it came to zombies or anything related to the apocalypse, Reg flatly refused to address such topics.

Reg was trying to protect Ron from the cruel reality of the outside world and provide him with a safe environment. However, Ron perceived this omission as a mistake, since, for him, facing the challenges of the new reality was crucial for his survival and that of his family.