chapter 15 : Departure

After two days of complete rest in his truck, Calvin sat in front of the King on a folding chair with a small table as he cleaned his disassembled weapons.

He had already filled his magazines with ammunition, cleaned his knife before filing it just like his Katana and now he was taking care of his bullet-spitting babies while a lit joint decorated his mouth.

Cal was having a good time when Rick arrived with Shane and Dawn. Rick first started to thank Calvin again for what he did and it was Dawn's turn to ask him for forgiveness but he just nodded slightly without emotion.

Shane: You've done a lot for the camp, we'll never know what to do or say to thank you, but it turns out we still need your services.

Calvin: Damn! What now ?!!

"Rick, he's barely recovering from his injuries..." Reyes came out of the trailer wearing an apron while behind was wearing a sexy knit and mini shorts.

Dawn looked at him a little pointedly because a woman in an apron was a woman in what she considers home.

Rick: It's not what you think. In fact, this is the big batch of weapons and ammunition that you brought back in the vehicle.

Calvin: Saving your life isn't enough for you but now you even want my resources?

Shane: We know we ask a lot of you man but with what almost happened, we seriously said to ourselves that we had to train at least all the people capable of holding a gun so that we could defend ourselves next time and what you reported could be very useful to us.

Rick: Please Calvin, you don't have a thousand arms to use them all.

Cal: Fine, but What do I get in return? 

Rick:…

Shane:…

Cal: Take them, I'll give them to you. But be careful with the sound of gunshots.

Rick: You mean you're giving us everything with the ammo?!

"Yeah…take it all, I have more than enough for myself." he said without emotion and he was telling the truth, he had a lot of weapons and ammunition before going to the CDC and the military equipment and boxes of ammunition he found there added a lot more .

Shane: Thanks man, really.

Rick: By the way, my wife is prégnant. 

Cal: Congratulations, now leave me alone. I have guns to clean and my wife's kitchen to eat.

Dawn turned to leave and Calvin looked at Shane.

Cal: Now that she's heartbroken, you have free rein to console her and get your chance. I advise you to take it slowly and not ruin everything, she's a great woman.

Shane looked at him in a daze at first before nodding, thanking him and leaving to follow Dawn.

Rick:…

Calvin: You and your friend have a pretty special relationship. He slept with your wife, you know it but you still consider him a friend.

Rick: Do you know...?

Calvin: I have excellent instincts and good observation skills. Shane is useful to the group and he needs someone, if Dawn hadn't been there to keep his desire away from your family then there would have been big problems. I took the time to observe it and I can guarantee you that one of you would have killed the other.

Rick: So in a way, you saved our group again and especially my friendship with Shane.

Calvin: Nigga, I know it's none of my business but your wife (shakes her head)…I don't know what made her sleep with another man only a month after considering you dead, it's already serious in such a short time but doing it on top of that with your best friend, your bro, it's another level. In short, it doesn't concern me.

 « Thank you for your help, I'm really grateful. » Rick said before turning to leave. When he and Reyes looked at each other.

Reyes: You called me "my wife" earlier.

Calvin: Does that bother you?

Reyes: I don't know if you love me or if I'm going to end up like Dawn.

Cal: Do you think you used it to dump her afterwards? She left of her own accord exactly the day I found you, I told her that her departure was going to be permanent and she left anyway.

"It's really too harsh." She said before going back inside and Calvin looked at her blankly before following her, she was cooking when Calvin tenderly hugged her from behind.

Cal: Captain Christina Reyes (kisses neck) how could you imagine (slides her tongue upwards) that I would have wanted to get rid of you (bites her ear)?

"No...I'm cooking..." she pulled her head back and he kissed as his hands slowly massaged Christina's breasts behind the apron, her nipples had become hard.

Cal: You are so beautiful...I want you all the time, my dear.

She started to rub her ass against him while he started to slide Reyes' mini shorts down but Calvin stopped because he felt people approaching and he did well because it was Lee who arrived accompanied by Clementine whose hand he held.

Calvin: Lee?

Lee: Hi. Are we disturbing?

"No, and you brought this little princess with you" Calvin said as he walked out as he had a small brick of juice in his hands and handed it to Clementine.

Clementine: Is it for me?

Cal: Just for you.

"Thank you…" she said, taking the juice, jumping up and down with joy as Lee patted her head.

Lee: Thank you very much.

Calvin: Do you need anything?

Lee: Yes and to be honest it's really too much to ask. It's for Clementine…

" Clementine ! Come see me little angel..." Reyes called Clementine and the child went upstairs to see her inside, she was amazed by the interior and Reyes turned on the TV to put on the DVD of cartoon.

Lee: Your wife seems to really like the little one.

Cal: Who wouldn't like her ?! I'm listening to you Lee, tell me what she needs.

Lee: We need someone to transport us to Savanah where his parents are. She believes they are still alive there.

Cal: You don't ?

Lee: It's difficult, although God only knows how much I wish it were true so she could find them. This is our only lead, my leg is still injured and I won't be able to do it alone. This group, we would like to stay but Clementine... 

Calvin: I understand...

 « When do we leave ? » Reyes asked inside as she finished cooking, she knew Calvin pretty well already.

Calvin: Tomorrow.

Lee: So you accept? Thank you very much, I don't know what to say to you.

Calvin: We'll find them so that the little princess will be fixed. If they're alive then we will bring them back and if not, we'll see.

Lee: You're a good guy, man.

Calvin: That, I don't know. What I do know, however, is that I would have liked people to be there for me when I was his age. By the way, Christina put him on some cartoons and she's making food. Do you want to stay and eat?

Lee: Oh man my pleasure…thanks.

Calvin: No problem, in a new world like this I don't know many people who will put their lives in danger to just help a little girl travel.

That evening, Calvin told Rick that they were going to leave tomorrow and look for Clementine's parents.

Rick first tried to hold them back but couldn't say anything of consequence because it wasn't Calvin who needed them but the opposite, this guy could perfectly fend for himself and live like a king in this apocalypse and absolutely nothing attached him to the group.

Rick told the others and everyone tried to get them to stay but to no avail. Lise wanted to come with them like several others but Calvin refused , he told her that as a doctor in addition to being a good shooter so she was too important for the group. 

Very early the next day, Calvin was already ready for the long trip to Savannah and had given the keys to the large volume van to Lee to follow the truck with his resources while Clementine was going to be in the truck.

Kim had decided to stay with the others to be with Glenn, Calvin understood that they were the only Asians in the group and they both came from South Korea so they were a bit like brothers.

 « So it's true ?! You leave ? » Sophia came to ask Calvin who was sharing one last joint with Daryl.

Calvin: Yeah, we're going pretty far.

Sophia: I don't want you to leave, yet you are very good here with us. No ?

Calvin: That's true but I have other things to do and we have to find Clementine's parents.

Sophia: Are you going to come back?

Calvin: Maybe.

Sophia didn't say anything more before giving him a hug and leaving crying.

Calvin: What was that ?!

Daryl: Dude you found this girl she was terrified, hurt, alone and chased by monsters then you brought her back to her mother. You're a sort of…charming prince for this kid and maybe even her first crush. Now that you're leaving, she's sad.

Calvin: Protect this kid and as for her mother, you have to try to toughen her up at least for her daughter. You can teach these children and their parents how to survive. 

Daryl: Okay but it will depend on them.

"By the way, I have something for you. I thought I would find use for them but I am much more comfortable with guns" he said as he walked towards his truck and Daryl followed him to wait outside while Calvin came out with a black crossbow.

 « Holy shit!!! » Daryl said taking the crossbow directly from Calvin's hands. It was a modified compound crossbow with a mechanism to bring the string back like before a shotgun almost effortlessly.

There was a slot for the 8 15.5 inch arrows at the bottom. The whole thing was very light because it was made with carbon fiber.

Daryl: Where did you get that gem?!

Cal: In the well-hidden storage room of a weapons store in Atlanta, but that's not all.

He went back inside and came out with a black case and some kind of long, very sharp blade which he inserted into a slot under the rail at the end of the weapon and swiveled it down and the blade tucked into the rail like the blade of a Swiss army knife. As for the case, it hung on a mechanism above the rail, it was a magazine containing 8 small 7-inch arrows.

Cal: With the blade you can face walkers in close combat, there is a button on the side to disdain it even if the storage is manual and the case is an automatic loader for small arrows. Honestly, the designer of this weapon was certainly a genius engineer who made it by hand but it is, as you said, a gem.

Daryl: And you're giving me that??!!!

Cal: It's no use to me. Protect them, especially children. I sincerely hope that you can find your brother.

"Yeah…thanks, we'll see you again buddy." Daryl said and they shook hands.

Soon after, Calvin in the King drove off to leave while Lee in the van drove ahead, they had over 400km to go and it was going to be a while before they got to their destination.