Chapter 103

- Narrator -

Xenon woke up in the evening, feeling warm and refreshed, though the former was mostly thanks to the women cuddling to his side. It brought a smile to his face, observing her sleeping peacefully, having joined him to comfort him in his time of need. He stroked her silky hair lovingly, enjoying the soft texture against his hand.

Amy purred in her sleep and started smiling, a sight he found extremely cute. Though she woke up shortly after, rubbing her eyes groggily and looking up at him.

«G'morning...» She said with a yawn, which made him chuckle.

«Evening.» He corrected her before she seemed to remember something, as her expression turned a bit worried.

«How are you feeling, Xen...» She asked him softly, her sky blue eyes filled with concern for him, sending a wave of warmth through his heart.

«I'm feeling better, sorry for worrying you.» He reassured her.

«Can you tell me what happened?» She asked hesitantly, not knowing if it was alright to ask or not.

«It's not much really.» Xenon said easily. «I just didn't expect it to be difficult dealing with... everything this morning.» Amy understood what he was referring to, and didn't pressure him to say anymore, understanding it is a sensitive subject for him. She knew what happened that morning, everyone did. Xenon fully intended to use this as a warning for any such behavior in the future, and he saw no reason to hide the death of a traitor.

They spent a few minutes in bed, caressing and whispering sweet words to each other before Xenon activated his talkie and asked to be updated. It turns out that the others haven't come back yet, but as it was agreed upon, they would soon wrap up any work they've been doing and cut their losses, before heading straight home. They can always go back in the morning for the rest.

Xenon took some time to inspect the living arrangement he had recorded, making plans to accommodate about thirty newcomers. He didn't have the exact numbers yet, so he took a conservative guess. A lot of planning usually goes into adding new people into their groups, as he doesn't just put them anywhere willy-nilly. He usually spends a lot of time thinking over such things in advance, since they've never stopped expanding.

The issue was far from simple and required several days of thought and counsel. Their current population was sitting at sixty, twenty-seven of whom are men, nineteen are women, seven are teenagers, and seven are children. It was getting crowded, and they didn't have much space left, at least when counting rooms made for that purpose. They certainly had plenty of space, but having a room for privacy and comfort was a must for everyone. And he estimated that with the new arrivals from Woodbury, they would reach maximum capacity immediately.

Job distribution was also an issue, since there were a lot of variables to take into consideration, from people's interests to their skills and capabilities, and then other constraints such as how many he could assign to each duty. The women are the most problematic of the bunch since he didn't have many jobs for them. At least, those that required staying indoors. Depending on how many women would come from Woodbury, he might have to start assigning more of them to guard duty or construction jobs.

However, there is something very important that needs to be done. Morale is a fundamental notion when it comes to managing a group of people following the same cause, and as such, it needs to be up at all times. Xenon firmly believes that productivity and morale are inherently linked, and neither should be ignored. Therefore, he makes an effort to keep it up, either by organizing a few parties, celebrating birthdays involving everybody, or even small activities among the group to break the routine.

But for the newcomers, the first step he needs to do is to have them believe in the same values as them, by eliminating the remnants of modern morality. It is one of the reasons why nobody was truly against the Woodbury takeover. The trust they developed for their leader, along with their experience when it comes to such matters has taught them better. Needless to say, the people of Woodbury have neither, which means it ought to be slowly nurtured in them. And what better way to do that than through his people, especially the women. They have immense respect for him, and would easily understand the necessity of such manipulations in the early stages of their stay here. He informed everyone to share their story with them, how they have grown from such a tiny community to what they had now. Much of the credit goes to Xenon for such feats.

A message then came through the talkie once they were within range, informing them that the group is nearing the prison with the people of Woodbury.

Xenon went to the front gates to await their arrival. It was a very impressive party, mostly because it also had a few extra vehicles driven by the people of Woodbury. They looked a bit tense at the new surroundings, something Xenon could barely blame them for.

«How many people are there?» Xenon asked Shane and Rick who came to him as soon as they got out of the vehicle.

«Twenty-one total.» Shane answered.

«That brings our total to eighty-two. That's a start.» Xenon nodded, seemingly satisfied with their numbers. He saw strength in numbers, even if that meant there would be a huge consumption of resources in return. With careful management, the damage can be mitigated until they were back in the positive production-wise. «Any particular remarks?»

«The remaining people are friendly enough. Ten left when we took over.» Rick informed him. «There is an electrical technician and a researcher among them, and even a doctor. The governor was counting on them to expand his solar network. They might be of some use.»

Xenon made an 'ah' of recognition, not because he saw their uses but because he remembered who the researcher was. In the TV Show, he was locked in the same room as Andrea as he turned, sealing her fate by biting her as a zombie.

«We brought all the weapons with us as you said.» Shane added. «We were also able to take all of their food, though we left some utilities there, the doctor's equipment as well. We need to get those ASAP tomorrow.»

«Perfect.» Xenon was satisfied with the results. «I already have plans, we'll discuss them later with the others. For now, I think we should start interviewing and settling them here. Have the others unload everything, but do get a few men on watch duty. You never know what can happen.» Shane nodded. He was in charge of the prison's security, and organizing guard duty was one of his responsibilities. They had to have some of the untrained women stand guard because they needed everyone for their mission, but it was no longer the case. «I assume you've already informed them of our 'no gun' policy?» At his nod, he ordered: «Andrea, Amy, have everyone come to the meeting room. We'll speak to them family by family.»

They both got to work, while Xenon went ahead to the meeting room to go over his questions. They were fairly basic, and would mostly help him decide where he can put everyone, and determine their strengths and weaknesses to a certain degree.

- End Chapter -

MC's Name so far: Alvis. Of Old Norse origin. Means "All Wise". Also seemed appropriate for the northern Westeros setting, can still be changed tho'. Feel free if you have more suggestions.