Chapter 43 The Motel

The convoy pulled over along the road outside the motel, but before the vehicles had even fully stopped, seven or eight walkers began shambling toward them from the parking lot and roadside brush.

Magnus Vane immediately took the handheld radio from Rick and opened the group channel.

“Nobody elderly, injured, or too young gets out until the walkers are down.

And no guns unless something goes wrong.

Repeat, no gunfire.” Out here, even a few shots could carry far enough to attract every walker wandering through the surrounding woods.

Magnus opened the fire engine door, dropped to the pavement, and dragged the Stone Sledgehammer out with him.

The first walker staggered close, and Magnus gripped the handle with both hands before swinging upward from below.

The stone head crashed directly into the corpse’s jaw with enough force to lift its feet clear off the ground.

It landed hard on its back, limbs twitching uselessly because the impact had broken its neck and upper spine even though the brain itself remained intact.

“Damn!” T-Dog stared at Magnus and then looked down at the crowbar in his own hands.

“Did you get stronger again?” Compared with the massive Stone Sledgehammer, his weapon suddenly looked ridiculous, and for a second he seemed unsure whether there was any point in joining the fight at all.

Magnus was about to finish the crippled walker when something whistled past him.

Thunk!

A crossbow bolt buried itself directly through the walker’s skull.

Magnus slowly looked back.

Daryl stood several yards away with his crossbow raised and casually lifted his chin, as if accepting thanks that Magnus had never offered.

“You asshole.” Daryl smirked.

Magnus shook his head and pulled his hammer back into position.

Having competent teammates was usually a good thing, but apparently it also meant losing perfectly good experience points whenever Daryl felt helpful.

He turned toward the remaining walkers and moved in before anyone else could steal another kill.

Inside the fire engine, Carl had already grabbed his Primitive Bow after seeing Magnus and Rick climb out.

He leaned toward the door, clearly intending to join the others, only for Lori to catch him by the back of his shirt and pull him firmly into the seat.

“Mom!” Carl protested, twisting around.

“I can help.” “Absolutely not.” “I know how to kill walkers now.” “And Magnus promised me you weren’t going to be thrown into dangerous situations whenever you felt like it.” Carl looked offended.

“That’s not what he said.” Lori smiled and poked one finger against his cheek.

“Then you can ask him after he gets back.

We’ll see which one of us he agrees with.” Her condition had improved almost as quickly as the weather.

Once she learned Carl was alive and saw him standing in front of her again, the fever and exhaustion that had crushed her over the previous several days began fading surprisingly fast.

Magnus’s apology had also eased much of the resentment between them, and although Lori still disliked how extreme Carl’s training had been, she could no longer deny that the boy had changed for the better.

Rick appeared outside the rear door and waved.

Lori blinked.

“Already?” Carl grinned as he slipped free of her arms.

“Didn’t you see who trained me?” He climbed down with the Primitive Bow across his back before Lori could stop him again.

Rick helped her out more carefully, and only after she stepped onto the pavement did she see the bodies scattered nearby.

Most of the walkers had already been put down, several with skulls crushed so completely that it was difficult to tell where the head had ended and the pavement began.

Lori’s eyes moved toward Magnus.

She had seen him fight before, but watching the aftermath from this close felt different.

Magnus wasn’t simply strong; he moved with purpose, finished threats quickly, and rarely wasted effort.

The same man who could reduce a walker’s skull to broken bone and pulp was also capable of planning routes, organizing supplies, training Carl, and admitting when he had made a mistake.

That mattered.

Lori found herself feeling something she hadn’t associated with Magnus during their earlier arguments.

Security.

If Rick and Carl were traveling with someone like him, then perhaps they had a better chance of surviving whatever came next.

Magnus finished the final walker, shook the blood from the Stone Sledgehammer, and rested it over one shoulder before walking back toward the convoy.

By then, everyone still waiting inside the vehicles had begun climbing out after seeing that the area was clear.

Magnus met Rick’s eyes, received a small nod, and quickly counted heads before speaking.

“Thirty-minute stop,” Magnus announced.

“Stay within about thirty feet of the vehicles unless you have a reason to go farther.

You can rest inside with the windows and doors shut, but don’t sit or lean against the outside of a vehicle where you can’t see underneath it.” He pointed toward the motel and nearby fuel pumps.

“If anyone goes looking for gas, take at least two other people with you.” Everyone listened closely.

“Eat something, drink some water, stretch your legs, and check your gear.

We’re changing drivers this afternoon, so don’t burn all your energy during the break.” Magnus gave the vehicles another glance.

“We leave again in half an hour.” The rule about staying off the outside of parked vehicles wasn’t random paranoia.

Cars created blind spots beneath the chassis, around windows, and between closely parked vehicles, and a walker lying motionless in one of those spaces could grab someone before they even realized it was there.

Magnus had already watched Carl learn that lesson the hard way with the storm drain, and he had no intention of letting someone else repeat it beside a motel.

Once everyone began settling into their assigned tasks, Magnus glanced toward Daryl.

Daryl gave a small nod.

The two of them turned toward the motel.

“There are enough walkers around here that I doubt anyone’s cleaned this place out recently,” Magnus said quietly.

“Might still be supplies inside.” “Worth checking,” Daryl replied.

“Watch yourself.” Magnus smiled faintly.

Anyone who didn’t know Daryl might have mistaken his flat tone for irritation, but Magnus knew better by now.

The man had a talent for making concern sound like he was annoyed somebody had given him another problem to deal with.

The motel was a two-story building with roughly forty or fifty rooms split between both levels.

Magnus stopped outside Room 101 while Daryl took position at Room 102, close enough that either could reach the other quickly if something went wrong.

They exchanged one final look before beginning at the same time.

Magnus knocked hard against the door.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

He waited.

A low growl answered from inside.

Magnus stepped to the side of the doorway rather than standing directly in front of it, then kicked the lock hard enough to send the door swinging inward.

He raised the Stone Sledgehammer but didn’t enter, giving whatever was inside the room a chance to come to him.

The growling grew louder.

A walker in shredded clothing stumbled rapidly through the doorway.

Its head cleared the frame.

Magnus swung.

Splat!

The Stone Sledgehammer crushed through its skull in a single blow, and the corpse dropped outside the room without taking another step.

[Experience +300] At almost the exact same moment, a softer impact came from the room beside him.

Magnus glanced over.

Daryl was already lowering his crossbow.

A bolt protruded neatly from the walker’s forehead in Room 102.

Neither man said anything.

They simply reloaded and looked deeper into the motel.

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