Surviving The New World (Book Six in the Surviving The Walking Dead Series)

Stumps and Bruises

"I told ya, it's fine." I argued as Eugene poked and prodded at my stump. "It's a lil' sensitive, but I expected that. I mean, he lopped off my arm, severed nerve endin's—"

"I just wanted to be sure," Eugene insisted.

"You ain't no doctor, Eugene, why do ya need to know how it is?"

"Besides the fact that I care? Because you're the only one who survived that night and I never got a chance to look your uh...appendage over."

"I said ya could experiment on Harper, not me," I laughed and pulled my stump away and strapped my prosthetic back into place. "Can we please get back to the walker situation?"

"Indeed. The walker situation, as you call it, may seem anomalous, but rest assured, that is not the case."

"Care to explain? Because all I got out of that was 'blah blah, I know big words.'" Before Eugene could speak, an explosion echoed off in the distance.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Us taking care of the anomalous walker situation," Eugene smiled. "Rosita and your friend Arat are out there with explosives, diverting the herd."

"So...there's a herd?"

"Nothing too unmanageable, definitely not the herd of Alexandria bad, but an adequately sized one." A faint siren began to go off in the distance. "Once the herd turns, Jerry is there to keep it diverted away from the work sites along with one of the other Saviors on walker duty."

"Who?"

"I...I'm not sure." Eugene thought for a moment. "Regina or Justin."

"JUSTIN? Y'ALL PUT THAT KIND OF TRUST IN JUSTIN?"

"W-We've been puttin' a lot of trust in the Saviors on this project."

"The project, yes, but not patrol!" I quickly stood up and placed my knife attachment onto my prosthetic.

"What are you doin'?" Eugene asked.

"I'm gonna talk to Rick and get some answers. If it ain't Regina, I don't trust it." I stormed out of Eugene's tent and began my search for Rick, finding him off by the docks with a few others. "Rick!" I called out as I made my way towards him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled before walking towards me.

"I thought I gave ya the day off?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, call it overtime. Who is the third person on walker patrol?"

"Walker patrol?"

"The fucks out there divertin' the fuckin' heard!"

"Calm down, Michaela, there's no need to shout."

"There just might be, now tell me who the third person is."

"Well, it's Rosita and Arat together, Jerry is by himself, and Justin."

"JUSTIN?"

"I didn't trust 'em to work around Daryl for today."

"YA SHOULDN'T HAVE TRUSTED 'EM ON ANYTHIN' IMPORTANT, PERIOD!"

"What are ya talkin' about?"

"Rick." Alden spoke up as he rushed towards us. "Michaela, what are you doing here?"

"Talkin' to Rick about who he allows to do important jobs," I answered. "You?"

"Carol asked me to check up on the Saviors who've gone AWOL. I just heard back from the Sanctuary and none of the guys who walked off made it back home."

"What?" Rick asked.

"Piper Two do you read?" A voice called out over the radio.

"None of 'em?"