PART 1
August 18th, Wednesday.
6 days until the apocalypse.
Ethan woke up at 7 a.m.
He slept in his car.
It was quite comfortable.
Taking a mug full of coffee from the inventory.
Taking advantage of the fact that things in the inventory don’t rot, as if time froze them.
He savors the pure, hot coffee, without any sugar or milk.
Sighing, he sees a vehicle approaching, his old pickup truck, and out gets Jasmine, beside her a young blond with blue eyes, 17-year-old Jacob.
“Mr.
Walker.” – Jacob is a respectful, tall, strong, and handsome young man.
Certainly popular.
“I hope my house is comfortable.” – Ethan smiles.
“Yes sir, thank you for receiving us.” – Jacob nods and smiles.
“Great.
Do you know why you came?” – Ethan asks.
“Yes.
My father said I’m going to help Mrs.
Willcher clean the clinic.” “Well, have you received your payment yet?” Ethan asks.
“Not yet, sir.”
“Okay, I left it with your father, but take this as a bonus.
Help Jasmine and later, go out for a bit, but don’t stay out too late, okay?”
“Thank you, sir.” Jacob smiles, excited to receive $100.
Leaving it with Jasmine, he says goodbye, but not before giving her a revolver.
– “You know how to use it, right?” – She nods.
– “Use it if necessary, if anyone asks, say you’re checking out the place and are under Mr.
Barry’s service, then use Wallace, I think that’s the name of one of those who inherited the money.”
Jasmine nods.
…
Ethan goes to the library; he’s been studying his system whenever he has free time and apparently has things related to books and videos.
Curious, he went to the library and found a survival book.
His system manifested and informed him.
[Survival – First Aid(I)]: Accelerates the acquisition of [First Aid] Skill EXP by 3x until Level 2.
Ethan raises an eyebrow.
He looks and notices that there are other interesting books, but… opening his inventory, he uses the [Loot] function, where a window appears.
He begins to find volumes 1 to 5 of books related to the various Skills he possesses.
Including magazines that help to understand specific things.
Ethan even ignored it, but his system has a crafting function.
He found it all very interesting and understands that he will need to read all of this in the future.
So, without wanting to go through the headache of paying, he pretended to read some books while transferring the interesting ones to his currently empty inventory.
The books don’t weigh much, but the quantity made the weight significant.
Grabbing some random books, he went to the librarian, saying he wanted to rent them, giving her the money, thanking her, and leaving.
Ethan went to a few bookstores to see if he could find other books that would be useful and that weren’t on his list.
He did find some, but since it was a smaller place, he paid and left.
He also went to DVD rental stores, finding survival CDs, metalworking CDs, etc., and took the opportunity to buy many movies, even some projectors.
Entertainment will be a necessity in the future.
For now, Ethan has already gotten almost everything he wants.
…
Returning, he moved the books to a room and informed Jasmine.
– “Be careful with these, textbooks and some CDs with movies and other things.
I’m going to Atlanta, I have things to take care of.”
Jasmine nods and Ethan says goodbye.
…
Night falls and Ethan is in Atlanta, a cigarette in his mouth.
He’s been smoking more lately, but it’s because of the stress and all the coffee he’s been drinking.
Even his Health, which was normally 100%, is at 93%, showing that this is taking its toll.
But he understands that he will soon have a well-deserved rest, that the suffering of now will bring him a good life in the coming years.
But until then, he needs to take down his enemies.
…
Ethan raided more casinos and, listening to conversations, found drug dealing locations, where they hid the drugs on street corners, how they sold them, etc.
He sneaked in, stole, and left.
He put guns to the heads of those with the money, knocked them out, and left.
He discovered who was prepared, with high defenses, and simply riddled the walls with bullets, scaring them.
Ethan left after a few shots, leaving them confused and frightened, calling for help on radios and cell phones, or attracting the police there.
Ethan caused a lot of chaos, a lot of money in his hands, but he knows it will be difficult to spend it all in the time he has left; he still has over $300,000 more than he got yesterday.
Anyway.
The more fuel he adds to the fire, the more criminals will kill each other.
When the outbreak begins, many will be imprisoned or dead; there will be less of this scum on the streets now and after the apocalypse.
When it happens, one less danger.
Ethan will mark his safe havens to raid in the future, to collect his weapons if needed.
When dawn breaks, Ethan collapses onto a bed and sleeps for 8 hours.
He could sleep longer, but the alarm clock rang and he has to work.
PART 2
August 19th, Thursday.
Ethan called and told them to focus on buying diesel.
He also gave them more money to buy large, heavy, and useful vehicles.
Necessary spare parts for the future, wheels, and much more.
Ethan also noticed that his [Sneaking] skill, which was Level 1, reached Level 2 and is not far from Level 3.
The excessive use of [Radar Sense] also earned him his 4th Level of Proficiency, which naturally increased his senses, no longer needing to keep his eyes closed and focused to amplify them.
Of course, it’s a subtle passive effect, but it almost gives him a spider-sense.
Very useful.
…
While the city burns, Ethan continues spending money all over the city.
Filling his inventory, he returns to Linden County, where he finds Clark with his brother.
Besides Clark’s brother, Damian, there are two other people who joined, recruited at Ethan’s request.
The other two police officers serving in the county: Arthur Morrigan and Hudson Phiney.
Upon joining, Ethan presented them with the evidence and his plans.
Both agreed, seeing the money, and began to help.
Ethan isn’t comfortable with so many less trustworthy people, but whether he likes it or not, he’ll need more people, including their families.
The apocalypse is coming!
…
August 20th, Friday.
Ethan reached Level 4.
Understanding that Charisma isn’t a good stat to increase right now, he doesn’t want to waste another level.
Having confidence in his physical abilities and knowing that with proper training he can improve them, he focused everything on INT, as he should have done before.
The first result is a “7”, which raises his INT from 7 to 8.
A wave of cold energy washes over him, and his mind becomes clearer, older memories resurfacing.
With sharp eyes, he hesitates, but…
The second result is an “8”.
Ethan trembles with joy at another delightful increase.
His INT reaches 9, close to the human limit.
The intense sensation spreading through his mind, an abnormal control over all the knowledge he acquired throughout the village, more details about the memories he received upon arriving in this world, new plans emerging, countermeasures, and best of all, details from the series have come to light.
Characters, where the farm should be, a search on the internet should find it.
– “Maggie and Carol…” – Ethan says to himself.
Of the main cast members of the series, these are two characters he is very interested in, besides, of course, Daryl and Merle.
Having both of them would be essential.
Merle can be a pain to deal with, but he’s the kind of person you want as an ally in an apocalypse, a henchman who follows orders if properly domesticated and fed.
Daryl will follow his brother; if he dies or disappears, he’ll find people to cling to, because Daryl is a good, kind, and attentive person.
He’s the kind of person you want as an ally.
Ethan knows that, as far as he’s seen, Maggie was only Glenn’s partner, but he knows about Alexandria and Hilltop, he’s seen brief videos and knows she becomes a leader, a woman worth having by his side.
‘The problem is the age.’ – Ethan knows she must be beautiful; the actress was incredible, and even if real people aren’t identical to those in the series, they possess a similar level of beauty.
As for Maggie’s age, she must be around 20.
Even though for country folk, a 10-year difference is insignificant, and Ethan is also quite handsome.
But he understands that, based on principles and a preference for more mature women, he would never attempt something like that.
This makes him think of Glenn; even though he’s just a child now, he’ll become a great survivor—small and agile, attentive and intelligent.
A great scout alongside Daryl. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Having them around, investigating, analyzing, and even recruiting, would be preferable.
Ethan remembered he still has 1 point left; the odds of rolling a 9 or 10 are 10-20%.
Grunting, he selects Constitution and… the result is 3.
Being below 4, it results in an increase.
Ethan blinks and feels a warmth flood his body.
His lungs ache, but his breathing becomes stronger, a tingling sensation spreads as his body becomes more resilient, his fatigue from sleep deprivation in recent days has practically disappeared.
His Health is back to 100%.
And all this while at Constitution Level 5, below Level 6, which is the level for Athletes.
‘I should have chosen strength; that way, at least, it would have increased my inventory.’ – Ethan thinks and nods.
He thinks again.
Glenn is preferable to recruit, but besides him, there are the tough characters he knows will make great survivors.
Ethan will need these talented people, because he knows that if he doesn’t face challenges, the first armed and capable group he encounters, the true survivors of this hell, will obliterate him and his team.
One example is the cannibals.
From his memories, he recalled their story, how they accepted anyone.
They accepted the wrong people and ended up in a deplorable state, regained control, and became these monsters.
‘I remember their location is very good, a kind of factory in an isolated location.
It’s a shame I haven’t found any of those around here, but I can research more later, as I’ll need several bases to divide survivors.’ – Ethan nods slightly.
He also plans to use the Governor as an example; they sealed off the streets, isolating the buildings and creating a good base.
Ethan can do the same, surround the right streets, and since he has the mission of potentially killing 1 million zombies, he will always be annihilating zombies.
“Shane and Rick, I think I’ll approach them.
Rick is a moralist, but Shane is more of a survivalist and paranoid.
Avoiding the accident shouldn’t be a problem.
But…” – Ethan knows that if he saves them, Shane, who was the leader of the quarry, won’t be the leader and the original group won’t reunite.
Dale, Andrea, T-Dog, Carol, Amy, Morales…
All these individuals, some very good… even Morales is interesting, as he survives until later in the apocalypse.
Of course, he was a character reused at no cost, just a little drama before dying.
But how does Ethan know about him?
YouTube edits.
‘I must avoid the butterfly effect as much as possible, avoid interacting too much with Shane and Rick, let the shooting happen, if it’s still going to happen… isolate myself and my people in the clinic, observe and watch Atlanta burn…’
Ethan marked in his mind the priority targets in the following order: Shane, Daryl, Merle, Glenn, and Carol.
The others are supporting characters, but he wants these five.
The reason Carol is probably the perfect woman to survive the apocalypse?
Simple, because she only becomes that after her daughter dies, which Ethan will probably prevent.
‘I wouldn’t sacrifice a child to have a killing machine.’ – Ethan nods.
Carol is an exaggerated character, but that’s the world of the series… no, it’s a world that mixes the series, comics, and games.
He knows nothing about the games, at most the existence of a child named Clementine and nothing more than that.
And from what he does know, Carol isn’t that amazing in the comics, so it’s hard to know for sure which Carol will exist here.
But she could be replaced by Andrea; she’s a strong and energetic woman.
Ethan might be able to get close to her, knowing she has a talent for shooting.
(Author: Andrea becomes Rick’s second wife after Lori’s death in the comics; she’s also the best shot in the whole group.)
Ethan sighs.
He needs these people, he needs them to survive the weeks or months.
He’ll oversee the hospital where Rick will be admitted, see the doctor who probably cared for him all this time and recruit him; a doctor will always be essential in this world.
With sharp eyes, Ethan began his 10th day in this world even more focused than ever.
PART 3
Everyone is tired, so Ethan asked the women to prepare a feast with plenty of meat, and of course, it’s a gathering at his house.
While the children play, he meets with Clark, Jerome, Arthur, Hudson, and Damian, along with Jasmine and Kate.
Currently, these are the most trustworthy.
Ethan understands that he can’t say too much about what he expects from the future; it might scare them or make them think he’s crazy.
As soon as the zombies appear, he can give more details and say that the focus will be on isolating them from the rest of the world while they try to understand.
“Right now, we just need to refine things,” Ethan says calmly.
“The clinic is functional, we have two fortified houses thanks to Damian.” He smiles at the muscular 30-year-old man, Clark’s older brother, who gives a thumbs-up.
“I’ve already stuffed my ass with loans and usury.
In two weeks they’ll be bothering me, but of course, Martial Law will begin in a few days and that won’t matter much.
And as you may have seen on the internet, the cases of this so-called flu are only getting worse, along with those isolated cases.”
Everyone nods.
TV doesn’t show this, but the internet is different.
Even with the government trying to cover it up, controlling the media, the Dark Web, which they have access to and understanding of, allows them to see what’s really happening.
This made Damian, who was only here to take money from a lunatic, understand that maybe he’s lucid and knows much more than they do.
Without hesitation, he’s here, with the group, working, receiving the money and spending it on groceries and improving his own house.
“Now, let’s focus on gathering materials, storing them in our homes, having them as necessary bases if the worst happens.
But the focus will be the clinic, and I’m already planning other locations of interest to take in the future, but of course, if the worst happens.” – Ethan smiles bitterly.
“So let’s fortify the fences around the clinic, even though they’re good, since they were built to withstand large animals like horses, we’re talking about something that hasn’t been maintained in years.
We’ll also prepare barbed wire to install if the outbreak occurs.”
Everyone listens attentively.
“And I know that everyone here has family and friends, but… I hope you’ll keep quiet about our secret base; that’s where our weapons and supplies will be, the place we’ll use to get through the future turbulence.
In my calculations, for the number of people we have and until the day of Martial Law, we should have enough supplies for a year without problems.” – Ethan says calmly.
Besides the 8 present here, we have Jerome’s 4 children, Clark’s 2 children, plus the children of the other police officers and Damian.
In total, there are 23 people, with more than half being young.
13 young people to be exact, but only 3 are between 16 and 19 years old.
“Okay, for now, let’s rest and eat.
Tomorrow we’ll have more work and… no surprises, please.” – Ethan says, and everyone agrees.
They understand that what they have now is precious for what may or may not happen.
If the end of the world comes, or something similar, giving rise to a new government, they will have the resources to stabilize themselves when it occurs.
No one here believes it will be a global collapse, that the government will end in a few weeks.
(Author: It was 3 days, but Ethan doesn’t know or doesn’t remember.)
The world will end, Ethan is preparing for it and to become a leader in this new world.
Everyone here just thinks it’s going to be some kind of global pandemic, that the world will be shaken, but that it will recover.
…
The next day, August 21st, Saturday.
The focus was on observing and spending the rest of their money.
Ethan was tired and had no more reason to visit Atlanta after transporting most of the things from his warehouses, but still leaving enough supplies for weeks in their respective locations.
Not to mention that he left many of the things he took from the criminals in one place.
He can’t show up with military weaponry or anything not sold to the public without raising suspicion.
‘I remembered that CDC headquarters.’ – Ethan smiled as he remembered more of the series, the details, the missed opportunities.
At the CDC, before it exploded, the place was full of military vehicles, weapons, and ammunition scattered around.
Killing the zombies there, looting all the weapons and vehicles, would guarantee them a higher survival rate.
And if they keep the military uniforms, they can use them to deceive other groups, recruit them, or intimidate them.
‘A military base, it would be interesting to take one and make it the main base.’ – Ethan scratched his chin, but he knows that if he’s going to do that, it has to be after 6 or 7 months of the apocalypse, because before that, he’s taking a risk.
There will still be soldiers scattered around, he remembered the Governor, how they annihilated a squad of soldiers for their resources.
…
Ethan spent his time reading.
With 9 INT, his reading speed is absurd, but not only that, the books he’s reading are the “Volumes I” for several of his Skills.
Normally, reading time varies from 6 to 8 hours, but with 9 INT, if he focuses, he should finish reading in 3 to 4 hours.
But then, Ethan tested [Radar Sense], focusing on the book, and how he regretted it.
The words shot through his brain like a cannon shot.
Blood dripped from his nostrils, but somehow, even with a headache, he memorized that page and others.
A lot of stuff, confusion, but after calming down, he hesitated, but tried again.
He tried to control it more carefully, page by page.
As if he were simply rubbing it into his brain.
It’s painful, but he literally forced himself to memorize, as if he were hitting his brain with the book.
In about an hour he finished the first book related to Electrical, a 3x buff to EXP acquisition for the Skill, and any EXP point invested will triple.
Ethan watched YouTube videos about it and… in less than 20 minutes of watching such videos, a slight pain flooded his mind and [Electrical] reached Level 2…
The knowledge consolidated, making more sense, and he even feels more experienced in the subject.
Ethan found the 2nd Volume of Carpentry, started reading it, and repeated the process.
His [Health] decreased while [Pain], [Fatigue], and [Stress] only increased.
But after reading the 2nd Volume and a 5x Bonus appearing, he went to watch related videos.
In less than half an hour, he felt his pulse and [Carpentry] reached Level 3, but as he watched more related videos, he quickly reached Level 4.
[Carving], which was Level 0, reached Level 1.
He also watched forging videos, which made [Blacksmithing] reach Level 2.
Ethan saw that his Health was below 80%.
He was exhausted and very sore.
He went to sleep after talking to the others.
Now, to reach Level 5, it would only be possible on the 15th day, that is, August 25th.
Time passes and Ethan focuses on reading and watching videos, transferring many of them to CDs, taking notes and meticulously storing them.
He asked the young people for help with this, even paying other children for libraries and gaming centers.
Ethan even went to the owner of one of these, requesting terabytes of data for external hard drives and notebooks.
Series, movies and games.
When asked, while paying half, he said he was building a bunker, mentioning a random location, and then said he wanted to gather as much information as possible.
The shopkeeper didn’t ask any more questions, accepted the money, and started working, even getting children who visited his place to work; time is short.
But with Ethan paying, they happily go to work.
…
Time passes, and Ethan continues to mentally push himself to his limits.
But he still sees how everyone is doing, noticing that the situation is only getting worse.
Approaching Martial Law, they officially go to the clinic, which is organized, dormitories prepared, a warehouse with installed refrigerators, and the stable serving as a storage for provisions and other items.
In the innermost part, an arsenal with all the weapons and ammunition.
The clinic has a basement with an internal and external entrance.
They sealed the external entrance with cement; they don’t need to.
The basement, which was an operating room for the animals, has become the armory.
There’s also a second floor, followed by an attic, which was cleared, then the wiring for the solar panels that now cover the roof was installed, which will also be a place for someone to keep watch in the future.
Ethan received a room on the second floor; it used to be an office, but they turned it into a room just for him, since he spent all the money and planned everything, not to mention they see him as the leader.
They don’t feel comfortable sharing rooms with him.
The adults share rooms, staying close to their children.
Ethan said that depending on the situation, they might even return to the city in the future and get houses nearby.
Of course, it’s a lie, but for now, it’s better than nothing.
…
The days went by.
Day 22, 23 and then… day 24.
Clark was still on duty.
Ethan decided to go back to work early, as he was anticipating something like this.
Finding it strange.
But then there was an urgent call and they had to go to King County to provide support.
A police officer was injured.
In less than an hour, they arrived, but the place was already almost empty.
“What happened?” – Ethan and Clark approached an officer.
“Rick… he was shot by one of the criminals.” – Said a man, somewhat shaken and sad.
“Will he survive?” Ethan asks.
“Hard to know… it was some kind of shotgun.” That alone made Ethan and Clark look at each other.
Ethan knows he will survive, but Clark has his doubts.
“What do you need?” Clark asks.
They begin to work.
Securing the weapons, moving the bodies, someone arrives to collect the bodies.
No expertise is needed for this; everything that happened is obvious, and a police officer is fighting for his life.
In a short time, they arrive at the hospital.
They go to assess the situation, the patient’s condition.
There they find Shane Walsh, a tall man with a strong physique, shaved head, marked beard and mustache, a shocked look in his eyes, trembling with blood on his hands and on his white shirt, pants, and sheriff’s uniform.
[Image] →
He’s in shock, trembling, his heart racing as if it’s about to burst out of his chest.
Sh-ne
Someone calls him, but he doesn’t hear.
Slap!
A hard slap lands on his face, forcing him to wake up, clutching his face and staring at the handsome man in front of him.
“What the—FUCK?!” – He roars, growling.
“Regained your senses, you idiot?!” – Ethan grabs him.
– “Get a grip, you weren’t the one who got shot, were you?”
“What?
Oh… no… shit!” – Shane makes a tearful face.
– “Rick… he…”
“Where’s his wife?” – Ethan asks, and Shane shudders.
– “They haven’t told her yet, have they?”
He looks at the other King County police officer.
– “Shit… Shane, go to the fucking bathroom and clean yourself up, we should have an extra uniform in the patrol car.”
“No, I… I can’t…” – Shane clenches his fists.
Bang!
Ethan slams him against the wall.
– “Your best friend, your damn partner and brother, is fighting for his life and you’re here, cowering?!
Man up and clean yourself up, you and I are going to tell his wife what happened, you owe him and his family that, now!”
Ethan looks at the other officer.
– “Take him, let’s get the clothes.”
The officer nods, intimidated by Ethan, even though he only has 2 Charisma.
“Dude… are you okay?” – Clark asks, not expecting to see Ethan lose control.
“I am.” – Ethan replies as they leave.
– “Just… a cop got hurt by some useless rednecks… damn it!
We know his family, the world is a mess and now this…”
Clark stares at Ethan with new eyes.
He always thought he was a cold and indifferent man after the divorce.
But he cares about people and makes things happen.
What Clark doesn’t know is that initially Ethan did this to become more memorable to Shane, but he was actually angered by the cowardice of one of the men he believes to be one of the best and strongest characters in the story.
Seeing him like this… surreal, infuriating, and depressing.
Then there’s Rick, he’s still a police officer, a family man, and he could actually die.
Ethan has no idea how the butterfly effect is playing out; maybe Rick will die because of his actions, maybe the criminals were delayed in showing up because of the war happening in Atlanta.
There are many possibilities, anyway.
He grabbed the extra clothes, went to the bathroom, and found Shane still trembling.
“Wipe the blood off your face and get dressed,” Ethan says firmly, and Shane nods, already composed, but bites his lower lip and sighs.
“Thank you.” – He says.
…
Less than an hour later, Ethan and Clark escort Shane home.
Lori Grimes greets them cheerfully.
– ‘She seems boring even here.’ – Ethan can’t help but think; she’s literally a character he hates.
But he doesn’t show it, as she starts crying while Carl Grimes appears.
– ‘That kid’s going to be awesome.’ – Ethan knows it well.
Soon they are taken to the hospital.
On the way, Ethan notices an ambulance; on a stretcher, a man is fighting and trying to bite the paramedics.
Ethan stops Clark and points.
– “It’s starting.”
Clark observes and swallows.
– “Call Jerome and tell him, tell everyone to get ready.”
Clark nods.
They enter the hospital, and Ethan takes the opportunity to walk around, keeping Clark by his side and assessing the situation.
Things are only getting worse.
…
Hours pass, Rick Grimes miraculously lives to tell the tale, but he’s in a coma.
The family and Shane are overjoyed.
But Ethan pulls Shane aside and warns him, “Something serious is happening.”
“What are you talking about?” Shane frowns.
“Haven’t you noticed that since this morning people have been bringing in people who are biting the paramedics and doctors nonstop?
It seems to be related to the rumors of a viral outbreak in the city… man, I know Rick is your brother, but… you can’t do anything for him right now, but you can for his family.
Get them out of here and keep an eye on them.” Ethan says seriously.
Shane blinks, confused.
“Shane, it’s serious,” Clark says nervously beside him.
“I need to go home and see how my family is doing, this… man, it’s not normal.
Take Lori and Carl home and stay with them, or go back and stay with Rick.”
Shane frowns, ignores them, and leaves; he needs to see for himself, but less than 10 minutes later he returns.
“Lori, Carl, we need to get out of here, now!”
The pair stare at him.
…
When Shane manages to get them both out with the help of Ethan and Clark, they get into their respective vehicles, but as they leave, Ethan notices [CDC] in a vehicle, just one, but it’s the beginning.
It’s getting dark.
Shane took Lori and Carl home, but will most likely return to the Hospital to reassure Rick.
Ethan and Clark returned to the clinic.
Hell is beginning, and now they need to watch the world burn.