Night.
Michael couldn't sleep and instead lounged on the roof of their large motorhome while gazing at the starry skies, deep in his thoughts.
"Can't sleep?"
Michael slowly turned his towards the voice and saw Andrea climbing up the ladder from the passenger side.
"Yeah. I'm just thinking about things." Michael replied softly.
"Is it about that mutant walker or those two newcomers? Because you've been really quiet since you encountered them." Andrea asked while walking over towards him and sitting beside him, their pair of feet dangling over the edge of the trailer.
Michael threw a quick glance towards her before gazing back towards the starry sky. "Both actually, but I'm more concerned about that mutant walker. Their existence would make surviving difficult for us. Specifically, small groups of survivors, those ill equipped. Their existence could also determine if humanity will remain in this world since they might become the end of humanity."
Hearing his words, Andrea shuddered as she imagined a world overrun of horrendous looking walkers, where no place is safe for humans anymore.
"Then what should we do then?"
Michael sighed, "Nothing, we can only hope for the best. On another note, I always had this idea in my head of building another base for us, but I always threw those thoughts to the back of my mind since I thought we don't need it yet. But now with the appearance of that mutant walker today, I think it's time that we actually need to consider this option."
Suddenly worried about their future, Andrea thought that it might be a good idea to consider it since the future is unknown, especially since she knows that the prison is not really an ideal place to ride out this calamity that engulfed the world.
'Michael would certainly leave for something again in the future and his absence would always cause a huge hole in our defenses. A fallback base would prove useful in the off chance the prison community gets overrun.'
With those thoughts in mind, Andrea quickly agreed with him. "I think that's a good plan. We'll need to discuss it further with the others when we return though so we can make a concrete plan to bring it to life."
"Hmm.." Michael responded with a grunt.
Michael turned his head to look at her and said, "Right, what do you think about that guy?"
"You mean Lee? Hmm... for someone taking care of a child during these hard times, I think he's a reliable and compassionate guy, right? Maybe, I'm not really sure since we only got to be with them in less than a day." Andrea has some good impressions about Lee since he came off as someone with a good head on his shoulders from the stories he shared earlier, but not to the point that she'd immediately trust him.
'He's sure is reliable, but his compassion eventually killed him early.' Michael still feels a little heart broken when Lee died during his playthrough. He eventually quit playing the game when he died because he couldn't accept the outcome. It's just that he didn't expect he'd actually meet him in the flesh.
'This world is seriously f*cked up.'
Andrea glanced at him. She had been watching him since earlier today and when he became silent. She couldn't help but suddenly make up some theory.
'Did he actually know that guy from somewhere? His silence ever since is really out of place for his kind of personality.'
"..."
"So, are we heading back tomorrow or stay here for the meantime and loot this place?" There was a long silence between them before Andrea brought up an important matter.
"We'll extend our stay here until 3pm tomorrow, then head back to camp after a short rest. I'm a little worried about them, I have a feeling they're in some kind of trouble." Michael responded with gloom in his expression.
Listening to his words, Andrea suddenly became worried, especially when she thought of her sister. "Then shouldn't we return as soon as possible instead of staying here for several more hours?"
Michael did not immediately respond to her and instead gaze at the night sky for a short moment, "All the more reason we should not. I'm indeed worried about them, yes, but I also want them to take care of any problems that come their way without any help from me. I'll always be frequently away from camp, so I won't always be there to help. They need to grow without always relying on me, or else they will become weak when a threat I can't solve appears. This world does not need weak men; it needs people who strive to survive."
"Are you…are you planning on leaving again shortly after we get back to camp?"
"I think so, yeah."
Andrea had always been reluctant to part with him, like when he left when they were still on the farm. She did not want him to leave then, but she couldn't do anything or say anything back then.
And right now, she suddenly has this foreboding feeling that if she keeps hesitating like this and still keeps her thoughts to herself. She feels that this time, it would take a long time for them to see each other again on the day he leaves.
"Can't you just stay and not go back out there? Just stay and help us rebuild a society for ourselves. What are you even looking for out there? Wouldn't it be better to tell us so that we can help you?"
"A cure."
Andrea immediately turned her head towards him and asked. "A cure? Have you heard anything about it before everything fell into chaos?"
She still remembers when Michael told them that there was no cure before, but for him to say those words right now. Andrea quickly figured out that he might have been lying back then, though she had no idea why.
'Well, technically, I already have a cure. It's just expensive.' Michael thought about the Serum in the Alchemy Store, which he had been eager to purchase since.
He's no idiot like that guy who revealed he's a reincarnation to someone close to him. So instead, he weaved a believable theory for Andrea. "I didn't hear anything about a cure, but who's to say the possibility of one is not out there? What if there's already someone out there who's closed to making one? I don't like leaving our fates to just luck. So, if there's a cure out there, then I'll find it."
"But the world is so big, where would you even find it?" Andrea does want to dampen his spirit, but she's not stupid to not know that finding someone working on a cure somewhere unknown out there is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The success rate does not reach one percent!
"I'll head down south first." Michael answered.
"What.. to Florida? But almost every road we tried to take was blocked by that massive herd." She's a little perplexed.
Michael turned his head to Andrea and slowly smiled. "That's why I will be using a boat this time, babe."