The partially stocked Quick-Stop convenience store and its promise of meager supplies vanished from Ethan's mind. Glenn Rhee, a cornerstone of the group that would eventually form around Rick Grimes, was out there, right now, in the heart of a walker-infested Atlanta, and he was in serious trouble. The System's optional mission, "Guardian Angel," felt less like an option and more like a destiny Ethan had to meet. This was his first real chance to interact with the canon he knew so well, perhaps even make a small, positive difference. The "Very High" risk level was a cold spike of fear, but the potential rewards, and the moral imperative, were too strong to ignore.
"System, lead the way," Ethan commanded mentally, his earlier weariness forgotten, replaced by a surge of focused adrenaline. "Fastest, safest route to Civic Center Plaza. And if you can get any updates on Glenn's condition, I need them."
He took one last swig from his water bottle, checked the edge of his machete, and slipped out of the barricaded apartment, back into the chaotic embrace of a dying Atlanta.
[Route to Civic Center Plaza calculated. Optimal path utilizes alleyways and interconnected building rooftops where accessible to minimize street-level exposure. Warning: Multiple walker clusters detected en route. Proceed with caution.]
The journey through the city was a harrowing blur. The System's map overlay was invaluable, guiding Ethan through deserted back alleys, over collapsed fences, and sometimes, with no other choice, across terrifyingly open streets where the dead shambled in growing numbers. He moved with a grim efficiency, his TWD foreknowledge dictating when to hide and when to fight.
He encountered several lone walkers and a few small groups of two or three. Each encounter was a brutal, up-close lesson. His machete, guided by the System's subtle highlighting of weak points and his own burgeoning combat instincts, became an extension of his will. Each dispatched walker added to his growing reservoir of Battle Points, and he felt his experience solidifying, the world around him becoming a fraction less overwhelming with each small victory.
After one particularly vicious encounter in a narrow service corridor where he was forced to take down three walkers in rapid succession, their decaying bodies piling up at his feet, the System chimed with a significant notification.
[Congratulations! Host has reached Level 2!]
[Health and Stamina fully restored!]
[Attribute Points (AP) available for allocation.]
A surge of renewed vitality washed through him, aches and fatigue vanishing as if by magic. Level 2. It felt good. He quickly ducked into a deserted storefront, the System confirming no immediate threats. With a mental command, Ethan focused his newfound potential, channeling the available Attribute Points into sharpening his reflexes and heightening his awareness, knowing those were paramount for the dangers ahead, while also adding a touch more to his raw strength. He felt an immediate, if subtle, sharpening of his senses and a new lightness in his limbs.
The System then updated him on Glenn: [Canon Event Signature (Glenn Rhee) status: Unstable. Auditory analysis detects close-quarters combat, metallic impacts, and multiple walker vocalizations. Subject appears confined to a small, indefensible structure within Civic Center Plaza, heavily besieged by multiple walker contacts. Vital signs (inferred): Extreme stress, rapidly depleting stamina. Critical danger imminent.]
"Hang on, Glenn," Ethan muttered, his now slightly enhanced speed and perception carrying him through the ravaged streets with greater urgency.
Civic Center Plaza was a vision of hell. The open square, usually a place of civic pride, was now a grotesque feeding ground, teeming with hundreds of walkers. Ethan, using his heightened Perception and the System's active scanner, moved like a ghost along the plaza's ravaged periphery, using lines of abandoned police cars and overturned planters for cover.
[Target Located: Glenn Rhee detected in a heavily damaged, kiosk-like information booth, center of plaza. Approximately 20-25 walkers directly surrounding kiosk, attempting to breach. Glenn is actively defending with improvised melee weapon (metal pipe). Stamina at critical levels. He is about to be overrun.]
Ethan saw him. A flash of a red baseball cap amidst the clawing, decaying hands. Glenn was a blur of desperate motion inside the tiny structure, his pipe a flashing arc, but for every walker he knocked back, two more seemed to take its place. He was tiring visibly, his movements becoming slower, more ragged.
A direct charge was suicide. The System confirmed: [Direct assault on Glenn Rhee's position: Inadvisable. High probability of being overwhelmed. Suggest immediate, high-impact auditory diversion to draw majority of walker attention away from kiosk perimeter. This will create a temporary breach for extraction and support.]
Ethan scanned his surroundings frantically. The crashed police cruiser near the fountain, its emergency lights still feebly flashing. It was his best, perhaps only, shot.
He took a deep breath, then sprinted from cover, his machete a silver blur. He cut down two walkers that turned towards his sudden movement, not even pausing to register any change in his Battle Points, his focus absolute. He reached the cruiser, smashed the driver's side window with the pommel of his machete, ignored the slumped, uniformed corpse inside for the moment, and slammed his hand down on the horn.
It blared. Loud, long, continuous. A glorious, desperate noise that cut through the plaza like a thunderclap.
Instantly, every walker head in the vicinity swiveled. The relentless pressure on Glenn's kiosk visibly lessened as dozens of the dead, their attention captured by the more immediate, overwhelming stimulus, began to lurch and shamble towards the blaring cruiser.
"Now!" Ethan yelled, though Glenn couldn't possibly hear him over the horn and the renewed groaning of the diverted horde. He disengaged the horn, took a precious second to ram his machete through the skull of the walker in the driver's seat, then charged towards Glenn's kiosk.
"Hey! Looks like you ordered some backup!" Ethan shouted as he reached Glenn, his machete cleaving the skull of a walker that was still stubbornly clawing at the kiosk's broken window.
Glenn, his face pale and streaked with grime and walker gore, stared at Ethan in stunned disbelief. "Who… where in the hell did you come from? An angel?"
"Name's Ethan! Less talking, more running!" Ethan replied, a feral, adrenaline-fueled smile on his face. He helped Glenn kick out the flimsy back panel of the kiosk. "Grab your bag! That horn isn't going to fool them for long!"
Glenn, snapping back to reality, nodded, snatching up a bulging backpack from the kiosk floor. "Glenn. And you got it, man!"
Together, they burst from the ruined kiosk, fighting back-to-back, a desperate, two-man army cutting a swath through the remaining, confused walkers. Glenn, despite his exhaustion, was incredibly agile with his pipe, creating openings. Ethan, with his newly enhanced stats and combat awareness, and guided by the System's subtle combat cues, fought with a controlled fury, his machete a deadly whirlwind.
They finally broke free, ducking into a deserted, debris-strewn alleyway a block from the plaza, the sounds of the main horde converging on the now-silent police cruiser slowly fading behind them. They collapsed against a brick wall, chests heaving, adrenaline singing in their veins.
[Optional Mission: Guardian Angel – Complete. Objectives achieved.]
[Rewards Issued: Significant Experience Gained! Battle Points substantially increased. Karma Points +20 (Good). Reputation with Glenn Rhee: Trusted Lifesaver.]
[Congratulations! Host has reached Level 3! Health and Stamina fully restored! Attribute Points (AP) available for allocation.]
Another, more powerful wave of energy coursed through Ethan as the System announced his success and subsequent advancement. The world seemed to sharpen further, the aches of his mad dash through the city fading. He knew he had more Attribute Points to command, a vital edge for what was to come, and his pool of Battle Points had grown considerably.
"You… you saved my life, man," Glenn panted, offering a shaky but profoundly grateful grin. "For real. I was five seconds from being walker chow. That horn… genius. And you fight like… well, like nothing I've ever seen."
Ethan allowed himself a tired smile. "Been a rough couple of days for everyone. You learn to be quick, or you don't learn anything else at all. Glad I could help."
Glenn nodded, his gratitude palpable. "More than help. You were a godsend." He looked around the alley. "Well, I got what I came for, mostly." He patted his backpack. "Meds for Jim, some antibiotics that Andrea was looking for, batteries… Dale and the others, they're gonna be thrilled. We have a small camp, just outside the city. It's not much, but it's… people. Safety in numbers, right?" He looked at Ethan expectantly. "You with anyone? Or are you on your own?"
"On my own, for now," Ethan replied.
"Well, you don't have to be," Glenn said immediately, his relief making him earnest. "Come with me. We could really use someone like you. Someone who knows how to handle themselves. What do you say?"
The invitation. The doorway into the heart of the story.
Ethan met Glenn's hopeful gaze. "Lead the way, Glenn. Lead the way."