Stirring awake with a groan, Gray finally opened his eyes and noticed the glaring sun already high and being a pain in the ass. "I really needed that, god even my back feels weird." Excited for a new day, Gray got out of bed and headed to the kitchen table. Once there, he finally decided to upgrade his vehicle, but not before checking the time and maybe seeing if a new upgrade was available.
[Status Info]
Name: Gray Ashwood
Age: 27 years old
Race: Human
Gold: 406,853
Gold per hour: 18964 (12643)
Gold Multiplier: 1.50x
[Clock]
10:13 AM Date: Wednesday 06/01/2011
"Would you look at that, I slept all I wanted and still got almost the exact gold for an upgrade, let's go!" Gray muttered and got the upgrade right away.
(400000 Gold) 12000 Gold/Hour ✔ The new rates looked like this
Gold: 6853
Gold per hour: 36,964 (24643)
Gold Multiplier: 1.50x
{Earthroamer SX} (25000 Gold)
"Heh, I still remember a few days ago that I needed to wait full days just to get that amount, now? An Earthroamer an hour babyyyy." Gray started pondering whether he should keep both trucks out here or just the big one, since he knew the group had about 8 people. He decided to keep the big one and store the smaller one in his inventory for now.
Eating his breakfast, which would feed two people, he walked outside with rifle in hand, getting rid of any zombies outside the fence. He got to work on those holes once again, heading to the uphill side, and he got to work.
After just 2 holes being made, he made his way back, testing the backpack theory again. He put the earthroamer in his inventory, grinning and laughing. He left it there for now and bought the new one; this time it came in a different color, instead of being black, this one was light blue.
Stepping inside, he noticed this one had a full fridge, opening a cabinet under the sink, he saw the washing/drying machine, and finally, the most important part, the bathroom inside was a roomy full standing shower. After finally checking everything out, he got back to work.
2 Hours later, Gray was back inside the truck, having made a lot of holes on the uphill side. The M249 and all his ammo were sitting on the table now, always keeping the AR-15 in his inventory along with 4 fully loaded extended mags. Stocking the fridge with the leftover drinks he had on the other earthroamer, finally setting everything up, he took a water bottle with him and went to keep digging.
Looking at his progress, Gray smiled, seeing as he was almost done with this side of the wall, "Nice, the next one ends at the guard tower near the water, should probably get half done today if I don't keep getting distracted."
After 2 hours of digging, Gray was seen still digging, while looking around for any zombie maybe sneaking up on him. He froze, a little bit further away from the tower. He saw two people, one of them holding a crossbow.
Without thinking, he dashed towards the gate and his truck. Good thing I have the other earthroamer in my inventory, if they start shooting, I can just spawn at my back and take some cover.
Finally making it at the gate, he unlocked it and closed it behind him, getting inside the truck and closing the blinds. He waited, after around 10 minutes, 2 people pulled up to the gate on a motorcycle, got down, and checked the gate and the truck. After looking around for a bit longer, one of them finally shouted something.
"Hey! Is someone in there?" Rick's voice rang out toward the truck.
Gray peeked through the blinds, catching sight of two figures standing outside. His heart skipped a beat. Finally.
"That's Rick… and Daryl, right?" he muttered to himself, forcing his nerves to settle. He unlatched the door but didn't step out.
"Yeah, I'm here," he called from inside. "What do you want? I don't have anything to give!" The corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk.
Rick took a measured breath. "Listen, can you get whoever's in charge? We need shelter for a while. When we passed through, we saw the prison. We'd appreciate staying a few days. We have our own supplies—we won't take yours."
Gray thought for a moment, then called back, "How many of you are there? Let me see your group first. I've got a good eye for people. I just cleared the yard—you could stay there. Haven't gone inside the prison myself."
Rick and Daryl exchanged a quiet word. After a pause, Daryl headed off. Rick stayed behind.
"Fine," Rick said. "We'll bring them over, but if you try anythi—"
"I won't!" Gray cut in. "You have my word!"
Minutes later, three trucks and a motorcycle rolled up. People climbed out—men, women, kids. Gray's pulse quickened. Oh yeah. You and me, Rick… we're gonna make history.
"Only good people would travel with kids, a pregnant woman, and the elderly!" Gray called. "Do I have your word you won't shoot me when I open the gate?"
"You have my word!" Rick answered.
Gray checked his Gold balance, then quickly purchased a Kevlar vest and ballistic helmet—2,500 Gold gone in an instant. He strapped them on, slung his AR over his shoulder, and stepped toward the gate.
"Coming out!" he warned. "I've got my gun, so don't be rash."
Up close, he saw their wariness—some tense, others watchful. He unlocked the gate and waved them inside, locking it again behind them.
Rick stepped forward. "My name's Rick Grimes. Thanks for letting us in. What's your name?"
"Gray. Gray Ashwood."
Rick's brow furrowed. "It's just you here?"
Gray shrugged. "Unless you count my truck and the zombies outside, yeah."
"Zombies?" Rick echoed.
"You probably call them something else—walking corpses?"
"Oh. Walkers," Rick said with a nod.
Gray gestured to his truck and sat on the steps. "So what can I do for you people?"
Rick stepped closer. "We're looking for a permanent place. Somewhere, we can stop running."
Gray smiled. "If you're willing to share, I wouldn't mind the company."
He led them to the courtyard. Rick's group eyed the inner gate—shut tight, with dozens of walkers clawing behind it.
"Ever tried clearing the inside?" Rick asked.
"Not yet," Gray said. "Only needed the courtyard. We can clear it together—just not tonight. Sun's going down."
They gathered in the center, and Gray addressed them. "I've introduced myself. Now I'd like to put names to faces."
Introductions went around, and soon Gray disappeared into his truck, returning with a crate.
"Twenty steaks," he announced. "Figure this calls for a celebration."
Some of them eyed the meat suspiciously. Gray caught it immediately. "Don't trust me yet? Fair. I'll take a bite out of any steak before you do. But first—who here can cook? Because my only specialties are well-done and burnt to hell."
After the first bites were taken, the group began to relax. Later, Gray and Rick walked the fence line together.