Ch.71

It was a long process but I was a diligent worker and the guys helped out when they had time which sped it up significantly. A month later the wall was finished and reinforced so I worked on the fences next, melting down more cars and cutting down trees as fuel. Reinforced steel and titanium fences covered the yard outside the two fences like a wall nearly ten foot thick.

The only gap in it was the main gate where the cars were now parked between the fences. As for the guard towers, it took a while to reinforce each of them and put up the extra heavy machine guns from the fort. The water under the fences from their digging for the crops was tricky to work around, but it was dealt with by razor sharp bars.

The rest including a reinforced titanium gate that opened via two sliding doors on both sides of the wall, extra lighting around the prison and a full cleanup, took up all my time while the others were growing crops in the field, taking shifts with guard duty and kicking the last three inmates out into the yard to help with their own cell block for now, made up their time. The infirmary was the first to be cleaned up and it took some powerful cleaners to get the mess out, but then so did the rest of the prison.

I took it a step further and not only modified the beds, I washed all the bedding, mattresses and clothes we had in the industrial washers and dryers. They doubled up on mattresses for the bedding and pillows as desired. Every room was scrubbed from ceiling to toilets after all the dead were moved out and burned on the highway. We took the armory outside the prison and loaded up from there as well.

With food, clean water and a safe place, everyone's spirits had lifted marginally. I got the radio tower to work and pulled the RV into the inner area of the prison now that it was secure. The whole field from then on was turned into a crop and ranch style deal with Daryl and I going out and bringing back chickens, deer, pigs and what few cattle we could find.

We got lucky with a dairy cow, a pen of pigs and a coup of chickens untouched on a farm that's been burned down mostly. Hell, twenty of Hershel's cattle herd had been found when we returned to the farm to get what we could. The house was a wreck, the place was covered in walkers, but that was mostly towards the house and away from the herd. Hershel wasn't happy to hear about the house, but the cattle were useful and we managed to take out most of the horde of walkers there as well.

Hell, not a sound was made because everyone used arrows on walkers these days. Guns were for humans and only when we had to these days. Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, Rick and I raided farms these days and cleared out the highway of vehicles entirely. There we met ten survivors of Fort Benning and they joined us with a helicopter and tank of their own.

They were impressed that four of us wiped out the horde at the Fort, enough that they decided the prison was a better home base than being on the move all the time. Add to that our arsenal, medical supplies, food, relative safety and my engineering skills up to par with making remote access turrets out of the heavy machine guns we have along the guard towers and they were more than happy to back our play. We shared the CDC information with them and warned them that everyone was infected.

One day Daryl brought back Michonne who was interested in joining up with us. Her walkers had to be left in the center fences since they were harmless, but she didn't mind that much and chained them up. I took the flatbed, T-Dog, Andrea and two of the new army guys with me to Atlanta, more specifically the CDC area, where we dodged two super hordes and loaded up three tanks, getting another flatbed and taking the fourth tank Rick and I'd gotten stuck in before. We loaded up on supplies we could scavenge from the malls, police stations and pretty much everywhere that wasn't destroyed by napalm during the initial outbreak or blocked by hordes of walkers.

I loaded up the Vatos as they called themselves and the remaining old folks in stolen ambulances, finding another group of survivors at the Atlanta county memorial hospital. They wanted us to join them with the tanks, but I wasn't interested and when the officers pulled guns, those that did died. Their leader, Dawn, tried to look strong but with the bulk of her rapist former cop buddies dead, she asked us to leave.

I turned to Guillermo. "Take what supplies you need to help the old folks and offer the survivors inside safe passage where they won't be raped or forced into indentured servitude for health care. If anyone gets in your way, blow them away."

I turned to Dawn. "And if you move from that spot, Andrea, the women to my right, is going to make you a memory for starting something so fucked up in the first place."

I turned to those that remained and told them they'd be questioned, if they lie they'd be left here, alone and tied up to be eaten by walkers before we kill and burn said walkers. I nodded to T-Dog and he waved one over, asking if he'd raped or mutilated anyone or forced them into commuting sexual or degrading acts. When he said no, T-Dog looked to me and I nodded.

He asked the man if he'd like to join us because we were taking everything the hospital had supplies wise and he'd be able to start over with food, freedom and safety so long as he chipped in to help things run smoothly. He agreed and after three shakes, the rest pretty much checked out. Those that lied were tied up, gagged and forced to wait while the rest were given their new choices.

They asked what kind of place they'd be going and I tilted my head. "A prison. We cleared it out, cleaned it up, reinforced the walls and now we have seven tanks, a helicopter and enough weapons to take back half the state against the walkers. The fences are surrounded by a ten foot thick titanium and durasteel alloy capable of shrugging off tank rounds if anyone else manages to get our kind of fire power. It has electricity, running clean water, food and medicine as well as room for hundreds of people."

The twenty odd people agreed readily before I waved to the Vatos and told them to have them help the sick and keep the old folks stabilized for the trip. Dawn moved to pull her gun on me and Andrea put a bullet in her head. I hopped down and told the Vatos and new members. "There's a U-haul rental place two blocks west. Get as many vans as we have drivers. We're taking everything this city has to give. The walkers can have it until they're too weak from hunger to fight back before we return and eliminate them all and take Atlanta for ourselves."

I turned to the police officers not bound. "Consider yourselves damned lucky he didn't ask if you'd stood by and watched as your fellow officers raped or hurt innocent people. I know this world went to shit, but the moment you lose sight of your morals you're no better than the walkers."

I looked at the three trussed up assholes. "Don't worry, we won't let the walkers actually get to you. No, you're just bait to lure them away from most of our people leaving while I start a fire that'll burn the hordes. That'll be where you get off though, cause I don't have room in my heart for rapists. You'll be stuck waiting for the fires to stop, then if you can slip your bindings you're free to go."

I took their weapons and passed them to T-Dog. "It's a sad day when those meant to be protecting you start raping you instead, no matter how fucked the world is."

He grunted, saying it wasn't so different before when cops shot brothers down and falsified reports. I nodded. "True, but it was a flawed system to start with. I guess they'll let anyone be a cop these days. I wonder if that's how Shane and sheriff dumbass got their badges."

T-Dog snorted and laughed before the Vatos returned and everyone emptied out the hospital of supplies. From medicines to bandaids, we took it all, well, everything that wasn't nailed down and too much effort to move. We had to clear out a mini horde, but the new recruits watched as T-Dog, Andrea and I dealt with it. They distracted the horde from safety and shot with arrows while I killed with swords, faster than most would believe but still within human limits.

When it was over, we left and emptied three malls, two police precincts and another military checkpoint long since destroyed. We left Atlanta full up on everything we could find and used the assholes as bait for the mega hordes. A bit of napalm and a bunch of grenades later and the three assholes were left just outside Atlanta waiting on the fires to go out and the mega hordes to die off or leave.

The noise and fire attracted more walkers and more burned. Our people got around the hordes and we got out, leading a caravan back home where we were told the military lost three guys when their chopper was attacked and now the so called Governor was knocking at our door. They hadn't resorted to violence yet, but it was imminent no doubt. Still, extra hands, four tanks and a fuck ton of supplies went a long way.

Lori soon went into labor and with two doctors and Hershel there, she came out fine with the baby.