The woman who was desperately pleading was about to give up because she didn't have much time left. But inexplicably, when she heard Merle's words, she couldn't help but feel eternally grateful. She tightly held her savior's hand and then pushed the little girl beside her toward the man who had offered to help.
The girl's small head shook like a rattle, trying to say she couldn't stay with Merle, but the woman didn't give her that chance.
"Don't be stubborn!"
Smack!
Impatient and overwhelmed by her situation, the woman slapped the girl across the face. She looked at her with eyes full of tears, yet her expression was resolute. The two of them froze for a moment, not knowing what to do.
Merle was casually finishing his last bite of snake meat when he turned his head and saw the dramatic scene. He raised his hand and cleaned his teeth with his fingernail before saying, "Hey, what's your name?"
The woman and the girl, who had been arguing intensely, didn't expect that bitter old man to suddenly speak, so they both fell silent. But the infected woman quickly responded:
"My name is Elena…"
Merle simply nodded, then pointed at the girl with the tip of his knife, clearly asking for her name.
Elena quickly patted the girl, but she only glared at Merle with anger and stubbornness, so Elena sighed. She knew this girl's temperament very well—she was extremely stubborn. But arguing now was just a waste of time, and time was something she didn't have.
With the strength she had left, she pulled the girl close and, with a more desperate attitude, whispered something in her ear. Merle saw the girl's expression grow darker and darker, and when she finally turned her head to look at him, she began sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sir, her name is Henna Simón." After speaking, Elena pushed Henna toward Merle. Seemingly relieved, she looked into the distant darkness and began walking away without another word.
Watching Elena's figure disappear, the girl couldn't help but cry again. Merle didn't say a word. He simply watched the woman's back in silence until she was no longer visible, then looked at Henna.
At first, he didn't want to speak. But seeing the devastated girl reminded him in some ways of his younger brother, Daryl. He might never have been a good brother, but that didn't mean he didn't love him.
"Hanna, right? I'll call you that from now on. Since you'll be following me like a mouse after cheese, I need to make a few things clear. Do you understand?"
Seeing that the girl lowered her head without saying anything, Merle didn't care about her response and continued directly, "The only thing you need to do is obey everything I tell you. I'm not a good person, but as long as you're with me, I'm sure you'll learn how to survive. And don't worry—it won't be too hard."
As someone who had just lost someone important, Hanna showed an unusually curious expression. Elena's departure had deeply shaken her, and an unfamiliar sense of fury exploded inside her.
Merle smiled and said nothing more. He simply picked up the remaining piece of snake meat from in front of the fire and tossed it directly in front of her.
Fresh, with a pleasant smell.
Hanna, who had been hungry for the past two days, swallowed unconsciously. Her red, tear-filled eyes were fixed on the snake meat on the ground.
"Eat. If you don't eat enough, you won't have the strength to work for me. I won't worry about you if you're too weak to be useful."
Grrr…
Hanna's stomach growled loudly, so she grabbed the food and, without waiting any longer, took a bite.
As she sank into the taste, she felt the salty flavor burst across her taste buds, and she kept eating.
Merle's face showed no expression, but he took a bottle of water from his backpack and tossed it at the girl's feet.
"Don't waste time eating. Tomorrow you'll have to decide whether you're following me or not. Let me make one thing clear—you need to learn how to kill walkers and survive in the wild. If I don't teach you, then it's something you'll have to learn on your own. Four eyes see better than two. Listen before you look, and speak about what you see only after you've listened. Following me is dangerous, but in a world like this, that doesn't count for much."
Merle tried to be as harsh as possible with the girl and left her to think. Then he stood up from the campfire to check the perimeter in case any walkers had approached. Everything seemed intact, so he returned to camp.
By that time, Hanna was already lying near the fire with her eyes closed. Merle stared at her for a moment, then lay back down on his simple bed made of wooden sticks.
…
A few minutes later, Hanna's voice suddenly sounded in Merle's ear.
"You said you could teach me how to fight and survive, right?"
"That's not teaching. I'll just show you how things are done, and whether you learn or not is up to you…" Merle replied casually, sounding as though he were already asleep.
This was Hanna's chance to survive. After remaining silent for a moment, her eyes closed weakly, and she succumbed to exhaustion.
…
The next day, Merle brushed the dry leaves off his body. The campfire had gone out long ago, leaving only small charred pieces of wood and a faint trail of white smoke.
His eyes scanned the forest before finally settling on Hanna. The girl still hadn't woken up, and the cool morning temperature had made her curl into a ball.
She seemed to be having a nightmare. Her face was scrunched up, and her body twisted slightly.
Cough! Cough!
Merle cleared his throat and deliberately let out an exaggerated noise, as if his main intention were to wake her up.
Hanna opened her eyes, sat up, and saw Merle looking at her with a smile.
"Kid, if you hadn't had me last night, you'd have died several times over." After saying that, Merle extended his hand and pointed to the side, where several walkers lay on the ground.
Hanna said nothing. She stood up, dusted off her clothes, and positioned herself beside Merle without a word. But soon her stomach growled, and she quickly covered it with her hand. Instead of looking indifferent, she seemed slightly embarrassed.
Merle didn't tease her further. He simply packed his things, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and prepared to leave.
"Are you from that nearby town?"
"Yes…"
"What exactly is going on there?" Merle paused and looked at Hanna seriously. "Do you want to live?"
When he saw her nod, Merle frowned and his eyes turned cold. "Listen, if you keep acting like this, you'll die in a few days. I don't care whether you believe me or not. If you want to live, you need to take extreme measures to prove it."
He said nothing more and continued forward at a steady pace, alert to everything happening around him.
Hanna, on the other hand, followed behind him like a duckling. She looked as if she were about to cry again, but she held it in and hurried after the old man.
He knew they hadn't been far from town the previous night, so after walking for a few hours, they could see its silhouette.
Hanna, walking behind him, suddenly remembered what had happened the night before. With hesitation on her face, she finally spoke.
"Elena and I ran straight into a small horde of walkers. She was bitten while protecting me… After we escaped from town, we fled into the forest and saw a fire burning in the middle of nowhere, so we decided to approach you."
After hearing Hanna finally speak, Merle thought it over. A small horde would be about a dozen walkers—but he was worried that might not be the case.
"Are there any survivors in town?"
"There weren't any when we left…"
Everything was difficult at the beginning, but after saying this, Hanna felt that the awkward atmosphere between them had eased somewhat. At least she didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore.
"Alright. Then let's hurry to town and look for supplies—and maybe a vehicle. I'm already sick of walking…"