Old MacDonald Had a Farm

Jayr POV - Earth, Georgia, Mert County - 2010

As our convoy of vehicles continues its advance across the roads leading to Mert County searching for a good abandoned place to claim as our own, my mind continues to wander thinking about all the possible difficulties our group could face in the immediate future and about the current Random Battle.

Not only, I'm worrying about who I'm going to face in this Universe, but I also worry about my friends and allies, Zandeer and Nikita, who hopefully won't be forced to face a ruthless and powerful Champion in their Random Battle.

As my thoughts move to my friends, I keep my gaze on the window of the passenger seat, admiring the fast-moving scenery outside with an unfocused gaze as I start to think about their chances of coming out on top of this second Random Battle, 'Well, Zandeer on his own is already a quite powerful and dangerous opponent to face for most people. When he uses the Resurrección of his Zanpakuto, Chacales (Jackal), Zandeer fully unleashes his Aspect of Death, Decadence. Decadence is the death brought by physical, mental, and spiritual decline and with it, Zandeer may take control of any darkness in the hearts of others to create Hollows with it and make them into their servants with the same abilities and powers of the people they get created in addition to the natural abilities they have as Hollows. He can even become stronger with the darkness and corruption of others by just being around them.' 

Thinking of that, I already start to feel a little bit of pity for any opponent that may face Zandeer in the future as they will be basically forced to fight against a more aggressive version of themselves and Zandeer.

With a smile, I continue to list everything I know about my friend's capabilities, 'In addition, that isn't even everything he is capable of, because after he awakened his Aura in the RWBY Universe and became a Living Spirit very close to the Heroic Spirit of the Nasuverse, he also gained the ability to transcend beyond Resurrección making all his previous abilities a lot more powerful than before, and in addition to that, he also gained a Semblance that allows him to not only control Grimm, but also produce Grimm Liquid to create Grimm Pool capable of spawning Creatures of Grimm, and even to evolve Grimm into sentient creatures close to Hollows fully loyal to him which in turn enhance his power even more thanks to his OP Aspect of Death.'

Then I think about the most important advantage that Zandeer may have over his opponent, 'Let's not forget about, Nikita, a mostly immortal Witch, Vampire, and Werewolf Tribird as she can recover from any kind of wounds and actually killing her is very, very hard. Moreover, thanks to her Tribird nature she is also supernaturally strong and fast, to the point that in a universe like this one, one without magic and supernatural powers, she has an overwhelming advantage against Champions who rely mostly on those things but ignore their physical strength. But without any doubt, she is most dangerous when those two things are present as she has mastery over hundreds of useful, versatile, and powerful spells that may be used to take advantage of almost any situation they may face, and she also has her own Aura and Semblance which enhance her physical might even more and grant her control over ALL blood in a certain area, something that can be quite deadly for any living beings that have blood in their body. Overall, Nikita is also a threat that shouldn't be underestimated as her versability makes it so that she won't ever find herself in a truly disadvantageous situation as long as the difference in sheer power between her and her opponent isn't overwhelming.'

As that last thought comes to my mind, I can't help but sneer a little while thinking, 'And even in the case where the opposing Champion may be overwhelmingly powerful, there are also their Digimon Partners, Agumon, and Blucomon, by their side who just like my Digimon Partners can now also evolve to the Ultimate Level. Zandeer's Partner, Agumon evolves into Gaioumon, a subspecies of the Greymon-species which is heavily specialized in martial combat. Gaioumon thrives in pure direct battles as he can overwhelm his opponent with sheer power, speed, and technique. Meanwhile, Nikita's Partner, Blucomon evolves into Hexeblaumon a Digimon who fully mastered Ice Sorcery. Hexeblaumon excels in the art of manipulating the cold, and with it, he creates various things with ice that can be used to attack, restrict, and defend. Both of them have more than enough power to easily destroy an entire universe and maybe even a small multiverse. With their presence, I think that the chances of Zandeer and Nikita to come out victorious from the Random Battle are much higher.' 

Remembering all that, I feel a lot more confident about their chances in this Random Battle as long as the universe where their Random Battle is taking place isn't restricting their powers and abilities too much and the Champion they are going against isn't an absolute OP monster.

But despite reminding myself of their advantages, I still can't help myself from worrying a little, after all, the Omniverse is truly a place full of infinite possibilities and I have no way of knowing just what kind of opportunities the other Champions have gained in their journey or what kind of powers and advantages their Blessing gave them.

I'm not even sure if I'm strong enough to face them despite the fact that I'm pretty confident of my own progress and power as the Omniverse is full of way too many cheat abilities, powers, weapons and so that it is virtually impossible to be ready for anything. 

I also must not forget that power isn't the only thing that decides the outcome of a confrontation as there are many other variables to consider like intelligence, cunningness, strategy, and even just the willingness to do anything to pull off a win may be the deciding factor that shift the scale of victory in favor of a person instead of another.

This is why despite the incredible power I already have at my disposal, I continue to train every single day, constantly trying to improve myself one way or another.

After all, what I experienced back in the One Piece Universe reminded me that I must never underestimate my opponents, no matter how much more powerful I am compared to them as a little distraction, opening, or opportunity is all a capable enemy needs to have to screw me over.

I continue to let my mind wander over such subjects while time calmly passes with T-Dog and Morgan chatting about random topics while driving the Cargo Truck until suddenly the walkie talkie in my hands comes to life and from it Daryl's surprised voice can be heard as he says, "Doc! I can't believe my eyes, but I think the perfect place that has all the things you requested. It even has a freaking steel fence around its perimeter which by the way is immense. It is located a few miles away from the main road that our convoy is using. At the first intersection, you must take the right and then continue forward until you see a big weary sign with the words "Lone Oak Farm" on it. Over."

Shortly after hearing that, I bring the walkie talkie close to my mouth before I press the button on it and say, "Great job, Daryl. I knew I could count on you. I'll quickly inform the others of your finding and then we will quickly reach you. Please, do not scout ahead on your own because it may be dangerous, especially if the farm is as big as you say, then there may be numerous walkers hidden inside ready to swarm out at the first sign of prey. Over."

A few moments after I let go of the button, the walkie talkie once again comes to life as Daryl's voice says, "Got it. Hurry up then. In the meantime, I'll use the motorcycle to check the situation of the rest of the Farm from the outside. Over."

Shortly after that, I look at T-Dog who is driving the Cargo Truck, and say, "You head Daryl. Give the others the signal we discussed before and start to lead the way. Maybe we have found what we were looking for."

In response, T-Dog smirks and cheerfully replies, "Got it, doc!" before he presses the driving wheel to honk one time and press his foot on the accelerator to speed up and surpass Morales' car, Dale's RV, and Carol's Cherokee to lead the convoy to the farm found by Daryl following the simple but clear directions that he gave us.

Soon with our Cargo Truck leading the convoy, we pick up the speed and continue to advance until we find the intersection that Daryl told us about, without any hesitation, we take the right turn, entering a secondary, desolate road with woods on one side and some smaller farmhouses and fields on the other. 

After some time of this scenery repeating itself, I see the big weary sign with "Lone Oak Farm" written on it just like Daryl told us, and say, "There is the sign! We must be close now." which is quickly followed by Morgan's voice as he comments, "Goddam! All those fields out there are all part of that farm!"

Hearing that, I glance his way and see that Morgan's gaze is fixed on the side of the road where until now the various smaller farms and farmhouses with their fields were located only now in their place there are many vast fields with all surrounded by solid steel fences.

Of course, the fields themselves are in a clear state of abandonment with weeds growing all over the place with dead dehydrated corps, I even see a tractor parked in the middle of a field with creeping plants growing around it, but despite their current state, I can't help smile seeing that.

More importantly, the smile on my face grows wider and wider the more we advance as more and more of the same abandoned fields appear in our sight, and all of them are clearly part of this Lone Oak Farm and are more than enough for what I had initially planned. 

Seeing all that, I can't help but think, 'Perfect! This farm is perfect for what I planned. There is only a little problem. It is a little too perfect. Such a vast and well-equipped farm is without any doubt a perfect place for people to survive in such difficult and harsh times. People in the area would have likely gathered together and found refuge in this place as soon it became obvious that things spiraled out of control... so why is this farm abandoned? From what I can see every structure seems to be in a perfect state which makes the passage of a walker horde big enough to threaten this place very unlikely but despite that it is clear that this place is empty and no one took care of those fields in months. This is strange. What is going on here?'

While that doubt continues to swarm my mind, our convoy arrives at our destination and stops right in front of the steel gates that apparently function as the only clear entrance to the farm.

Shortly after we parked our vehicles, one by one the people started to get out and stretch their legs until the whole group gathered in front of the steel gates in silence, admiring the structure in front of us for a few moments until Dale broke the silence by asking, "So this is the farm found by Daryl? What are your first impressions?"

In response to that question, we all take a moment to look at the scene beyond the steel gate.

There are fields bathing in the sun all around, some are clearly for growing plants and vegetables while others I'm pretty sure were used for pastures especially since I see fences built around them so maybe they were used for animals like cows and goats who likely ran and frolicked in those lush pastures before the end of the world caused by the Wildfire Virus, but now are all empty and desolate full of overgrown weeds. 

Burrowing its way through and around the many fields runs an overgrown, stone road, this road leads to a simple but pretty big farmhouse after passing a sign with the farm's name. 

The farmhouse is old, but it didn't show too much despite its abandoned state, which makes me believe that this farm was actually a family farm that expanded little by little through the various generations until it reached the current size instead of some farm built by some big company. 

There are also several barns that surely provided shelter to livestock when it was still active, and that now may be repurposed as temporary living habitats for other people if needed.

Bees buzzed all around the cacophony of flowers near the entrance, and dozens of frogs living in a small pond to the side filled the air with croaks and splashes. 

Overall, even if in an abandoned state, the farm still has a delightful feel to it, this is largely due to the small little things, like the welcome sign, the seating areas, and the overall hospitality that the farmhouse radiates but there is also the discrepancy of the desolate atmosphere that radiates from the abandoned fields and the absence of other animals.

Then after Rick took a brief look at our immediate surroundings and at the farm, he looked back at us and commented, "I admit I don't know much about farms and agriculture in general, but at the very least, I can say for sure that this steel gate and the steel fences all around look quite promising from a security standpoint, especially if we have to deal with roaming walkers as they seem quite sturdy."

While Rick is saying that, Shane takes a closer look at the nearby steel fences that are erected all around the farm perimeter. 

I also focus on them and see that the fences are around 2.4 meters tall and both the post and the rails are made of solid steel, but more importantly, wound around those parts there are also many thin steel wires which makes me instantly think that they may serve for only a single, simple but effective purpose.

Shane also notices the presence of thin steel wires all over the fence's structure and shortly after Rick told us everyone his opinion, Shane looks back at the group and comments with a smile on his face, "No shit, Rick. These fences are all electric ones! If we can get them running again then all the walkers will get fried before we can even move and deal with them. They may even function as a clear warning for those with less kind intentions."

Hearing that, Lori asks with clear worry in her tone, "Are they going to be safe?" but it is Morgan who answers, "As long as you don't touch them they are going to be safe, the only problem that we may face is that if the walkers approaching those fences are too many, they may get overloaded and the whole system may get fried."

At this point, Andrea catches everyone's attention as she comments, "Before we can worry about that, we have to confirm if this farm is truly abandoned and more importantly if it is safe. I find it very strange that such a perfect place to use as refuge is completely devoid of people."

In response to Andrea's words, Carol asks, "What do you mean with that?" but at the same time, Dale nods and says, "Andrea is right. We have to be careful as I can think of only two reasons for the apparently abandoned state of this farm. The first one is that everyone on the farm is already dead for one reason or another which means that there may be many walkers hidden inside somewhere. The second one is that this farm isn't actually abandoned but that only a very few people are present, too few to keep this huge farm running and more importantly those people may not have kind intentions toward other people. After all, this is the biggest farm I have seen since we've left Interstate 85 and it is impossible that the locals didn't know about it, but despite that, this farm appears to be completely abandoned."

Hearing, Dale's analysis, Glenn looks a little tenser as he comments, "Indeed, now that I think about it, something is clearly eeirie about this farm..." but before he can continue the sound of an engine can be heard from the distance and soon we all notice the figure of Daryl getting closer as he rides his brother's motorcycle and decide to wait for him to arrive before continuing. 

Before long, Daryl parks his brother's motorcycle a few meters away from us, and after getting off, he smiles and comments, "Okay guys, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the farm is very likely as abandoned as it appears to be, which means that we can claim it as our own without worrying about stepping on someone else toes."

This brings a smile to the faces of most of the people in the group, only Shane, Morgan, Rick, Andrea, and Glenn are the only ones who keep an even expression on their faces as they wait for Daryl to give us the bad news and they don't have to wait too long for it as after a brief pause, Daryl continues, "The bad news is that the farm may not be as safe as it appears to be and is likely be full of those walkers."

Hearing that, the expression on everyone's face turns especially serious, and then Rick looks at Daryl and asks, "Are you sure about that? How can you be sure that there could be walkers hidden in this farm?"

In response to those questions, Daryl calmly explains, "Shortly after I informed doc of the finding of this farm, I didn't want to waste time waiting for you all to arrive, so I decided to drive the motorcycle around the farm perimeters to see if I could pick up some more useful information about this place from the outside. At first, I didn't notice anything strange with the farm, it seemed like any other abandoned place, but then I started to explore the back of the farm and there I found an entire section of the steel fence collapsed."

At this point, after a brief pause where Daryl picks up his crossbow, he focuses his gaze on the farm and continues to explain, "From the state of the collapsed fence it is pretty safe to assume that the cause behind its collapse is that a big horde of walkers, one much bigger than the one we encountered this morning, for some reason concentrated on that particular point of the fence until their combined weight brought it down allowing all the walker to swarm inside." 

After another short pause, Daryl chuckles and asks, "At this point, I'm sure it is pretty clear to everyone here what the fate of the people that were inside the farm was, isn't it?" 

No one actually replies to Daryl's question as everyone present here realizes that it is a rhetorical one, and then, after a few moments of silence, Daryl continues to stare at the farm from outside the steel gate as if trying to spot a walker hiding somewhere as he says, "Let's ignore that and focuse on the important things. Now the only real questions are: Did those creepy bastards got away from this farm after they had their meal? If yes, did they all left or some of them remained? If not, are those bastards still hidden somewhere in this farm waiting for the perfect chance to jump on us?" 

At this point, Andrea can't help herself from asking, "Wait a moment! We all caused quite a bit of ruckus when we arrived and even now we are generating quite a bit of rumor with our voices. If there are walkers hidden inside the farm, shouldn't they be already attracted to our position by all this?" which is quickly followed by her sister, Amy who adds, "Andrea is right. We have been here for some time already, if there were walkers nearby they would have already been attracted and revealed their presence. Doesn't this mean that the farm is clear?"

But before anyone can actually answer, I step forward and say, "While what Amy said may be possible, I don't think it is safe to assume so without actually checking first. The reason for that is that not all the walkers behave in the same way." which makes Glenn exclaim out loud, "What! Are you kidding me!?"

In response, I shake my head and calmly reply, "Nope. During my travel I noticed that there are some variants among the walkers who behave in a slightly different way from the usual ones for reasons that vary from a simply mutation of the virus itself, to the manner in which they got turned and how long they have been active, and even artificial factors like the thing we did to make them more tame by cutting off the arms and lower jaw."

After saying that, I start to explain what I remember from the TV show, "During my travels since the Wildfire Virus spread, I have encountered and categorized 5 variants of the usual walkers. The first variant are what I like to call the Roamers are variants who remember aspects of their lives before they died and will roam to find people, places, and/or objects that they recognize from when they were alive and because of that, they are also able to interact with those objects."

In response to my words, Morgan exclaims, "That's just like Jenny!" to which I slightly nod before I continue, "The second variant is one of the most dangerous, I call them the Climbers which are variants with the ability to climb walls, open doors, and use objects."

Hearing that, Daryl snorts and comments, "Yeah, I was ambushed a few times by one of those nasty bastards before in some supply runs. When you think you are safe, bam! One of those things apprears to fuck with you!"

Shortly after Daryl's comment, I go on with the list of variants, "The third variant is something you are familiar with, I call them the Pets which are variants that have been rendered docile after the removal of their limbs and mechanisms for biting, such as their jaws or teeth. Then there is the fourth variant, the Cohorts which are variants with increased agility, speed, strength, intelligence and durability. They are notable for their resurrection time of thirty seconds after death. They are the most dangerous variants to encounter. Their durability makes them hard to dispatch, surviving blows to the head that would down a regular walker, of course, damaging the brain is still effective."

After saying that, I conclude by telling them about the last variant, "In the end, there is the fifth and most common variant, the Lurkers which are variants that enter a state of death-like dormancy until alerted by a nearby external presence in which they attack, creating a trap. Lurkers enter this state after either a prolonged period of isolation or sustaining an injury that would normally cause death to a living person, such as getting shot in the stomach or face. They can be exceptionally nasty to deal with as they do not react unless a very loud sound wakes them up or a prey carelessly approaches them. And considering the situation, it is very likely that the farm is full of this last variant."