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🕑 Added 2025-06-09 11:19:52 +0000 UTCA New Beginning From the End of the World
Chapter 156 – An Agitated Merle
At the Shirewilt Estates community, as Jason’s group rushed out through the main gate of the shelter, a family of five was sitting at the dining table with a large meal laid out before them.
There was a five-year-old boy; his face beamed with excitement, as he hadn’t seen such delicious food in a long time. He waved his hands enthusiastically and bounced around in joy.
The elder man of the family sat silently, watching everyone already seated.
The eldest daughter was in the kitchen, serving the last dish.
Before long, the entire family had gathered at the table, and the elder man extended his hands to begin a prayer. After finishing the prayer, they all exchanged soft smiles.
“We can eat now!”
“Yes! Today’s food looks amazing!”
The young boy continued to stare at the food in awe; his mother helped him serve his plate and handed him a glass of orange juice.
“Thank you, Mom! You’re all amazing, thanks for the food.” The boy looked up at his mother and smiled, unable to wait any longer to start eating.
After a while, the family ate in silence, but midway through the meal, the excited little boy lay still on the table.
A cold silence spread through the room as the boy’s parents turned to look at their daughter, who was slowly slumping over her own plate—but even then, they didn’t stop eating.
The man raised a glass of wine and, with his other hand, held his wife’s. Cowardice had driven him to make this decision together with her, and tears streamed uncontrollably down both of their faces.
“I love you all so much, family. When this all started, I promised I wouldn’t let you witness how terrible the world outside is. Even if I had to make this decision, I’m comforted knowing you won’t suffer.”
“My love, did we do the right thing?”
“You did well. You protected this family.”
After a few minutes of silence, they both drank the wine from their glasses, and the light in their eyes slowly faded away.
In another room, Ravi’s wife was still embracing the cold body of her husband, gazing at his face with the purest expression of love, as if the memories were vividly alive in her mind.
But at that moment, Ravi Kapoor slowly opened his eyes. He looked at his wife—but his eyes showed no sign of life, his pupils had turned white, and his face was completely pale.
His wife didn’t seem to care. She looked at him as he suddenly “woke up” and said with joy, “Ravi! I knew you wouldn’t leave me alone. I was sure of it.”
After saying that, she hugged him tightly—and Ravi responded by sinking his teeth into her neck. Blood poured from the wound, soaking her clothes, and soon the bed sheets turned red.
Ravi’s wife’s eyes lost all signs of life, but her arms remained wrapped around her husband.
The only sound left in the room was growling and chewing.
Some had stopped fighting. Others wanted to die alongside the person they loved. Everyone had made their choice, and it was something that deserved respect.
...
Some time later, Jason’s convoy was speeding down the road, plowing through a large number of walkers. After driving for a few kilometers, the modified RV slowly pulled over to the side of the road.
Jason wanted to check for damage and ensure the buses hadn’t been harmed—it was necessary to know the condition of these vehicles to avoid problems later on.
“Let’s check for major damage!”
With those words, Daryl and Liam followed Jason. Flashlights in hand, they checked the buses' tires and fuel tanks—these were the most delicate areas after the engine.
“Zz... Everything in order?”
Jason walked around the buses, while the people in charge of order checked each vehicle one by one. Everything seemed to be in perfect condition.
It appeared that most of the bullets had hit the modified RV, and it was obvious those attackers had meant for it. That brought Jason some relief.
Daryl stood aside, watching the surroundings. Liam kept a lookout with the large scope on his rifle to make sure they weren’t being followed.
As time passed, everyone felt relieved—there didn’t seem to be any problems, and they could continue their journey without issues.
Daryl held his crossbow and growled angrily: “Those bastards! I’ll make sure to kill every last one of them if I ever see them again!”
“We’ll kill them, bro! And this time, I’m wearing a bulletproof vest!”
Before Merle could finish his sentence, he stepped out wearing a green vest with grenades strapped to his chest, and a rifle in his right hand. A moment later, Glenn and T-Dog tried to stop him, but Merle had already exited the RV.
“Oh, Merle! You should heal your arm before heading into war. I’m sure we’ll run into those people again—let’s be the good guys this time.”
Jason approached Merle, who seemed slightly drunk. He signaled to Glenn and T-Dog to remove the vest with the grenades. The entire group was surprised; tension rose as everyone focused on what Merle was doing.
Merle, smiling, pointed to the wound on his arm and said, “Hey, don’t you think it’s sexy when someone gets hurt? Damn, I just remembered Ravi Kapoor...”
“Get back inside. What the hell are you doing with all those weapons out here?” Daryl, shocked by how his brother had come out, approached and took the rifle from his hands.
“Alright, let’s get back inside. We need to put more distance between us and those people if we don’t want to be shot at again.”
Jason smiled at Merle’s eagerness to fight and at Glenn trying to stop him. T-Dog was the most nervous of them all, and he agreed with the decision to leave quickly.
Soon, the convoy resumed its journey.
...
That night, at a remote farm, the large buses and the modified RV with a trailer parked in front of a barn. By this time, most of the group had finished eating and gone into the buses to rest.
In a pickup truck outside, Glenn had fallen in love with the vehicle and made sure to clean it after confirming that the gas tank was a little over halfway full.
Outside the buses, a few people remained on watch, scanning the area in all directions for any signs of trouble. Daryl was on top of the modified RV.
Sitting on the shooting hatch, Daryl stared into the dark grassland in the distance. After all, he liked peace and quiet. He wasn’t fond of social environments—if he was around people, he preferred to stay silent.
Just as he pulled out a cigarette and was about to light it, the hatch opened, and Jason appeared with two bottles of beer in hand.
“I told you smoking could make you go blind!”
Daryl glanced sideways, but when he saw it was Jason, he relaxed and said, “You should get some rest tonight. You haven’t slept these past few days.”
Jason smiled and said nothing as he handed Daryl a beer.
“I’m fine. Your brother offered me some white powder, and I feel brand new—wait! That was a joke, haha…”
Jason tried to make Daryl laugh, but apparently, his sense of humor was just as bad as Glenn’s.
“That was a shitty joke…”
“Yes, it was…”
Jason nodded with a bitter smile. He had really tried with that joke, but clearly, Daryl didn’t find it funny. Moving on, Jason said, “Am I the only one who’s noticed that whenever we go out, all kinds of things happen?”
Daryl looked at Jason without saying anything—he didn’t understand the point.
Seeing that Daryl didn’t get it, Jason asked more directly, “I mean, is there a difference between how I lead and how the others do it?”
Obviously, there were differences, but Jason wasn’t looking for an obvious answer. So he waited in silence for Daryl’s response.
Daryl frowned slightly, as if deep in thought, and after a while, said, “Every time we go out, we run into all sorts of things—but also new enemies.”
“Yeah, that’s right.” Jason wasn’t thinking logically, and he couldn’t share what was on his mind with anyone.
Daryl was even more confused. He scratched his head without saying a word, his mouth twitching slightly, thinking he’d scold his brother later for sharing his meds with Jason.
But by then, Jason was already deep in thought. He had uncovered a secret—something he had noticed, but somehow ignored at the same time.
