After breakfast, I took Maggie's hand and we stepped out of the kitchen and onto the front porch.
The kids were playing around with Ghost, their laughter echoing all around the yard.
"Where to now, tiger?" Maggie asked, leaning her shoulder into mine.
"Don't know," I shrugged. "I guess we can just roam around."
And roam we did.
We went from one area to another, taking our time.
The first area was the training ground.
Rick and Shane were already there with the trainees.
The Harrison sisters, T-Dog, Morales, Glenn, and Shawn were each holding a gun, completely locked into training.
Shane was barking instructions from the side, his voice booming over the clearing.
"Keep that barrel up, Glenn! Lean into the recoil, don't let the gun push you back! Squeeze the trigger, don't jerk it!"
Rick was standing right next to him, adding tidbits as well.
"Fix your stance, T-Dog. Keep your feet shoulder-width apart. Remember, these rubber rounds don't bite like the real ones, but you still gotta treat the weapon with respect. Don't forget to reset your grip after every shot."
When we arrived there, Rick held his hand up and called a pause. "Take a five-minute break, you guys."
He and Shane turned toward us.
"You both took your sweet time eating breakfast," Shane said with a barely imperceptible hint of envy in his tone.
I just shrugged. "Didn't have anything to rush for, unlike you guys, so I took my time."
"We should have roped you in with us as soon as you were free," Rick joked from the side.
"You wish," I snorted, with no real bite behind it.
Silence fell between us for a bit, then we burst out laughing.
"Enjoy your free time, Zeph. You earned it," Rick said, patting my shoulder twice.
"Don't do anything we wouldn't," Shane said from the side with a wide grin.
"Yeah, right," I deadpanned, causing them both to chuckle.
"We're off," I said. "Can't have your schedule get disrupted."
"Oh, you can stay as much as you want!" Glenn piped from behind, leaning on a wooden post.
"Don't think so," I chuckled, causing Glenn to groan and the others chuckling at his misery.
"See you guys around." I waved at them and headed off to the next area: the fields.
When we got there, Hershel was already overseeing the operations while giving instructions to Otis, Tom, and Jimmy every now and then.
"Otis, get those wooden stakes hammered deep near the tomato rows before the vines collapse," Hershel was telling them, pointing his cane at the dirt beds.
"Tom, check the irrigation line down by the second trench. Make sure the dirt run-off didn't plug up the main pipe again. Jimmy, bring the cart around and start loading the dry weeds."
When Hershel spotted us, he stepped toward us with a slight frown in his brows. "Everything alright, son?" he said gruffly, looking between the two of us.
"No, we're fine," I said with a smile. "Just roaming around. Don't let us disturb you."
"Alright," Hershel said, the frown nowhere to be seen now. He turned to Maggie and spoke up, "Don't forget to help Annette at the greenhouse later. She needs more hands on deck. Beth alone won't cut it."
Maggie groaned softly, but agreed anyway. "Okay, daddy."
Hershel nodded once, then returned to overseeing the fields and shouting out more orders to the farm crew.
I turned to Maggie, who was borderline pouting as she watched her dad walk off.
I chuckled. "Guess you're needed elsewhere."
"But I wanted to accompany you," she said with a genuine pout, folding her arms.
I couldn't resist—I leaned in for a kiss. "We still have plenty of time for that. Now go, Annette needs you."
"Mhm, alright," Maggie said.
She tiptoed up, kissed me again, and turned around to head for the greenhouse.
She made sure to walk with a bit more sway in her hips than usual, knowing damn well I was watching.
I just chuckled to myself before I continued on roaming on my own.
The next area was the workshop-slash-garage.
Jim was doing maintenance on the vehicles when I got there, covered in grease from his elbows to his knuckles.
He stopped when he spotted me walking up.
"How are the vehicles, Jim?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe.
"They're still operational," Jim said, tossing his greasy rag onto a wooden workbench.
"Though I would suggest bringing in more spare parts whenever you're out scavenging, because they won't be staying like this forever."
"Got it," I said. "Good work, Jim. Don't push yourself too hard today."
"Will do, Zephyr," Jim nodded, picking up his wrench again, and I left him to his work.
Next was the lab, where Dr. Jenner was still doing research on my blood.
The room smelled like rubbing alcohol and sterile equipment.
He was hunched over his microscope, his eyes slightly bloodshot behind his glasses.
"Any development, doc?" I asked, stepping beside him.
Jenner didn't even look up at first.
He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "No, nothing new yet. Your white blood cell response is still abnormal. It's going to take some time to isolate that factor."
He finally turned to look at me, grabbing a few fresh glass vials off a metallic tray. "Since you're here, give me a couple more vials. Need a fresh sample for the new culture plates."
I didn't complain.
I rolled up my sleeve, sat on the stool, and let him draw the vials of blood he wanted.
As soon as he capped the last vial, he pointed a finger toward the exit door.
"Alright, that's enough out of you. Get out of my lab so I can focus." He shooed me off, already turning his attention back to the microscope slides.
I shook my head with a faint smile and left him to his work.
Finally, I stopped by the newly constructed gates.
Dale was sitting on top of his RV, holding a hunting rifle in his lap as he watched the road ahead.
"How's the view up there, Dale?"
"Clear as a bell, Zephyr," Dale called back, tipping his bucket hat down at me. "Not a soul in sight."
"Good," I said, leaning against the heavy metal gate. "Keep your head down if you see anything out on the tree line."
"Always do, son," Dale chuckled softly, adjusting his grip on the rifle stock. "Don't you worry about me."
"Catch you later, Dale," I said, waving a hand back at him before leaving him to his watch duty and continued my stroll.
(To be continued...)