The Protagonist System

137 Back To The Grind

My ruse to play my injuries off as bad sprains worked. Sort of. As I suspected, no one would let me do anything too strenuous with my foot or hand, Amy included. I figured they would try to baby me a bit for a while, just because they were worried I might re-hurt myself in a similar way. Instead, it was a blanket ban by everyone in the camp to refuse my help to keep me protected.

Seeing Merle laugh at my situation did not make me feel any better about it, either. I could do nothing but accept it, however. I was barely allowed to gather the dirty clothes together in the laundry basket and only allowed to help with cooking if I sat my butt at the kitchenette counter and took it easy.

So I, of course, cheated. While Amy and Andrea were out and about, I slipped on Goku's weighted clothing on under my thicker winter ones and no one noticed. Thankfully, my wand allowed me to adjust how much each of them weighed, so I wasn't suffering under debilitating weight the whole time.

In fact, because of my slightly sluggish movements with weights on my chest, arms, and legs, the people at the camp seemed justified about refusing my help with things. I didn't bother trying to correct their assumption and let them think I was weaker than I actually was.

The best part? I could see my stats change on my Adventurer Card in my inventory. My level wasn't raising up, probably because I didn't know how that worked; but, my skills rose phenomenally and they affected my base stats. I also gained Power Lifting, Power Walking, and a few other upgraded skills that the gradually increasing weight were granting me.

Outwardly, I was making no progress and remained tired and sweaty in the eyes of everyone. Internally, I was becoming much stronger and more experienced with doing normal and menial tasks with more and more weight.

I was also doing various exercises whenever I could, giving both Amy and Andrea a good show. They didn't comment about me always wearing grey sweat pants and a long sleeve matching grey sweat shirt, which was great, because they had to be washed every second day. I wasn't stupid enough to work out that hard every day, even with access to my now dwindling supply of healing potions.

Dale had used up the last of the diesel in the tractor weeks ago and work with that had to stop. I still had a barrel of it left in my Inventory, except that was all I had for however long it was going to take to find more, assuming there was any more to find. I doubted it, considering how picked over everything was.

In the spring, I would have to make another fake run to the construction site to 'find' the barrel I had. I should be allowed to move around freely by then. In the meantime, I was allowed to keep watch over the camp a couple times a week and Dale usually spent the time there with me and we talked about things. I brought up the farm and grazing field ideas and he looked really happy about that.

Becoming self-sustaining would change a lot of things at the camp and would make everyone happier, too. I would have to be sneaky and make a side field to grow potion ingredients, because what I had in inventory wasn't going to last. We were staying still for the long haul and the more we prepared, the better things would be.

Also, the guys loved the two mini-guns they had salvaged from the wrecked plane. After my watch shift, I managed to convince Dale to walk with me to the runway and I inspected the crash site, then I had to admit that it was almost a complete loss. The frame was bent, a lot of the fuselage was crumpled or broken off, and the wings were shredded underneath with the two wheels crushed up inside of them.

I honestly didn't think I hit the ground that hard and sighed, because the engine was damaged and also partially filled with dirt and gravel. Yeah, there was no way to fix the thing, let alone get it flying again. At least the bullets hadn't been set off during the crash or blown up or anything. When I asked about the remaining fuel, Dale said they used it in the tractor and I nodded. Waste not, want not.

We returned to the campfire and met up with the rest of the camp to have MREs for supper. Everyone greeted us and we sat down and joined in on the conversations. It was almost normal with the things people talked about and Glenn was praised again for finding more movies for people to share and for the little things that made life camping out more bearable.

I looked around at their happy faces and I felt a small swell of pride, because I had helped to put them there. More wood was tossed on the fire and we all stayed there for several hours and just hung out. Amy and Andrea sat across from Dale and I and were chatting away about something, so I left them to it.

Carl at one point managed to somehow climb onto my lap and sat on my left leg, while his unconfirmed girlfriend Sophia sat on my right and she slipped an arm around my back to snuggle in. I wasn't sure why I suddenly became an appropriate chair for them and I supposed it didn't really matter. I put an arm around each of them and held them for quite some time.

Carl started talking and told me all about their day and what they had planned for their sleepover that night. The bunk beds really had been a brilliant idea and he and his friends loved it, as did their parents, because they had many nights to themselves and weren't worried that their kids were being left alone or were up to no good.

The fire eventually died down and everyone started to leave, Amy and Andrea included, meaning it was time for us all to head back to where we slept and could have some time to ourselves, even the kids.

Carl turned and gave me a quick hug around my neck. “Goodnight, Dad. See you tomorrow.”

“Goodnight.” I said and kissed his forehead.

“Daaaad!” Carl complained and his face went red as he let me go, clearly embarrassed.

I chuckled at his reaction and pushed him off of my knee, making him stumble. Carl laughed and swatted at me, then he ran over to the moving van that was the designated sleepover spot this time.

“Can... can I have one, too?” Sophia asked, her words barely a whisper and her face was bright red.

“Of course, sweetie.” I whispered back and kissed the side of her head and she looked surprised, then she turned her head to look into my eyes. I saw the longing there and her arm had tightened on my back, as if she was afraid to let go. “I'm pretty sure Carl considers you a part of our family, so I should probably do that, too.”

Sophia's face stayed red and she didn't say anything, so I moved forward and very softly kissed her forehead and let it linger for several seconds.

I broke the kiss and gave her my best smile. “You need to get going or you're not going to get the best bunk for the night.”

Sohpia nodded and eased her hold on me, then she stood up and glanced towards where the other kids were. She looked unsure for a moment, then she turned to face me and leaned in to kiss my cheek.

“G'night.” Sophia whispered and started to walk away, her posture a little hunched down, then she took a breath and straightened her back as she walked over to Carl and took his hand. Miranda was there and ushered the kids inside and closed the sliding door.

“Thank you for that.” Carol's voice said from behind me and I turned around to see her standing a few feet away. “She's been... a little lost, ever since...”

I stood up and walked over to her to give her a hug. “I know. It was scary for me, too.”

Carol briefly hugged me back and let me go, so I let go, too.

“Amy had the worst of it, knowing how she reacted when I landed.” I said and Carol huffed. I knew she wanted to say something about that and then she sighed. “It's all right. I've been called an idiot before. Go ahead.”

Carol smiled and shook her head. “Goodnight.”

“Night.” I said and watched her walk over to her moving van. I had no reason to stay out myself, so I went to my own and went inside before shutting the door. Amy and Andrea were already sitting at the kitchenette counter and talking again, so I left them alone and went to the bathroom. A quick visit and washed hands later, I stored my weighted clothing and put on pyjamas.

I went back out and lightly brushed my hand across Amy's back, just to let her know I wasn't ignoring her, and I climbed into bed. It was getting chilly at night, so no more sleeping naked for me. I turned onto my side to face the wall and drifted off to sleep without realizing how tired I had been. Wearing heavy weights constantly was exhausting. Who knew?

*

Over the next few weeks as a light snow fell and some ice formed overnight with the lower temperatures, Amy seemed a little lost because she no longer had to visit me at a random time during the day to help me get off. So, I kind of did it back to her. I would hunt her down at different times every other day and surprised her, then I would drag her off to give her a good licking to get her off instead.

Sometimes it would become full blown sex, since she would sometimes get off a bit too quickly for her satisfaction. I also did my best to make it as fun as I could to pay her back for what she did for me while I was stuck in bed. Neither of us were surprised when Andrea would either be nearby or would 'accidentally' walk in on us if we made it back home. She did live with us, after all.

To my surprise, Andrea never once offered to share a shower with either of us, with the excuse that it would save water. I mean, it would have been a great excuse, even if no one ever watched when I went to each of the vans to replace the water filters in the recycling tanks. I never did, since I always used magic to clean them and brought the same ones each time and left with them out of the boxes. After that, I pretended to clean the 'old' ones to use them later.

With so many working showers, no one had to visit my home anymore to use ours. They also kind of got used to staying away after I had been stuck inside for two months and they didn't want to bother me. That was great, because that finally let me lay down on my bed in peace to check out the large collection of books that I had unlocked a long time ago.

It was an eclectic mix of real books, magic books from two different magic schools, books I myself wrote, and books that I had bought in the shop. Some of them really brought back some good memories, especially the books I had written while I was in Harry Potter.

Becoming the best Harry Potter had been the most fun I had ever had in my travels and I abused that line so much that it made people groan when I barely mentioned it. Good times, good times. That also reminded me how I was punished afterwards for giving Death back the tools they had left for the mortals. My mind drifted back to how many times I experienced death and shivered at zombie worlds being the first choice for punishment protocols.

I felt an odd feeling that wasn't mine and blinked my eyes when a little blue text box appeared, the same one Fate always used.

It's all right, Rick. We've instituted a better sorting system for things. If you end up with negative Karma at any point in the future, you'll have a choice of what world you want to be sent to.

Will it still be a zombie filled one? I asked, just to see if she would admit it.

At least one will be included in the list. There are so many of them that you could always give them a hand and it wouldn't be fair if we didn't include them.

Did... did you just make a joke about me jerking off? I asked, surprised.

The word 'giggle' appeared. You've kind of earned the nickname 'Handy Man' around here.

I groaned out loud at the horrible pun and the word 'giggle' repeated several times. I guess I can't complain about that. Things are kind of fucked up here.

Oh, we know. It's why we wanted to see what you would do with how badly the last trip went. It's been enlightening to see how things have changed in certain areas after you delivered your little gifts.

I had to chuckle at that. I would have loved to see Negan's face when that crate of warheads went off.

The little box expanded to the size of a television screen and a screenshot of the man's shocked face and his mouth hanging open, made me laugh really hard. It was hilarious!

I better go. You're about to get an interesting visitor. Don't screw this up.

My laughter drifted off at that warning and then I had to blink my eyes as the sliding door of the van slid up just enough to blind me with sunlight for a moment, just long enough for someone to duck down and slip inside, then the door was closed again.

“Rick, we... we n-need to t-talk.” Lori said, her voice a bit shaky.

I barely managed to not slap myself on the forehead about her being so fucking stupid, because there was only one other time she came to me and spoke that exact same line. It was just after we graduated high school and she became pregnant with Carl.

“No.” I said and her eyes widened. “Not only no; but, hell no. I am NOT claiming it's mine.”

“Rick, I don't... I don't want it to be a bastard. We're still technically married and...” Lori tried to explain.

“Fuck you.” I said and snapped closed the Harry Potter book I held in my hand and didn't bother hiding. “There's no fucking way I'm going to legitimize my cheating wife's illegitimate baby with my ex-best friend that she's been fucking non-stop ever since I died.”

Lori looked shocked at the hatred in my voice.

“How the fuck do you think I felt when I showed up here and saw how close you were? That you didn't even grieve for me before you spread your legs for that smug bastard? That you gave up on me with just the word of one single person that thought I was dead? That you were raising my son with the man you're cheating with?” I spat at her and hid my satisfaction as she winced after each question.

I didn't try to get up off of the bed, because I knew she would scream if I tried to approach her. That was not something I wanted to explain to everyone else, since she looked terrible with tears in her eyes after wiping at them. I would be automatically declared the guilty one, innocent or not.

“That...” I said and pointed at her belly. “...is not my fucking problem. It's yours and his. You can take your filthy ass right back to Shane and you can tell him about how you wanted to throw him away for a stupid chance to try and get back with me.”

Lori opened and closed her mouth several times and no sounds came out.

“Well? What are you waiting for?” I asked and shouted. “Get the fuck out of here!”

Lori jumped and burst out crying, just like I knew she would, and she pulled up the sliding door hard and ran down the steps, her face partially covered with her hands.

I sighed and walked over to the opening and leaned out just enough to see a lot of people staring at me and at Lori fleeing back to her own moving van. “It's okay, folks! She wanted me to take her back and I said no. I have a new wife and she has Shane. Why would I downgrade like that? Amy's the best!”

“Damn right she is.” Andrea said from not far away and I leaned out a bit more to see her leaning against the side of my moving van.

“Please tell me you heard most of that?” I asked her.

Andrea rapped her knuckles on the metal and it rang like a gong. “I heard every word.”

“Thanks, Andi.” I said and she looked pleased, because it was the first time I had used Amy's nickname for her. “Can you let Amy know what happened? Hell, tell everyone that didn't hear me shouting just now. I won't be the bad guy here because I won't renew my broken wedding vows and Lori's baby will be born out of wedlock.”

Andrea pushed off the side of the moving van. “If Amy doesn't know already, she will in a few minutes.” She said and walked towards the path that led to the lake, then she stopped and turned around to give me an appraising look. “By the way, you made the right choice.”

I had to smile at that. “Andi, there was never a chance that there would be a choice.”

That earned me a beaming smile and Andrea walked away as she hummed something musical. I waved to those still looking at me, then I stepped back inside and closed the door. I hopped onto the bed and opened up the Harry Potter book again. I was sure I could finish the chapter before Amy rushed over to have her way with me again.

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