The New World | The Walking Dead x Male Reader, OC

Secrets + Summary

Carl was up and out of bed, so was I. Granted, I was only in bed for an afternoon. Glenn was handing out peaches to everyone.

"Hey! Peach man!" Shane shouted out to Glenn as Dad, Shane, Jimmy, and I were back at looking at the County Map.
"The creek flows South past the farm house Daryl found. Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there, the current brought it downstream." Dad said.
"So what, you think she took this road here and then she went North?" Shane said as he pointed at the map.
"Yeah, what's up there?" Dad asked Jimmy.
"A housing development. It went up around ten years ago." Jimmy said.
"Take the guns up there and start gun practice. I'll hold the fort here, but take backup. After what went down with Daryl, I don't want anyone going alone. We stay in pairs." Dad said.
"I'll take suggestions on a partner." Shane said.
"See how they do then take your pick." Dad said as Glenn brought over a basket of peaches and we each grabbed one. Glenn stood around awkwardly before handing binoculars over to Shane and walking away. Shane and I chuckled before Patricia and Beth walked over to us.
"We'd like to join you for gun training today." Beth said.
"Hershel's been very clear. I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay." Dad said.
"He doesn't like it but he consented." Beth said before looking at me with a smile.
"Otis was the only one who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn how to protect ourselves. Her father saw the sense in that." Patricia said before Shane walked off towards Carl.
"No offense, but I'll ask Hershel myself." Dad said.
I also walked over to Carl, in the middle of him and Shane's conversation.

"I want to learn to shoot too. Can you teach me?" Carl said and Shane chuckled.
"Well, man, that's-- that's up to your parents." Shane said.
"Wanna be a gunslinger, little man?" I said with a smile as I softly flicked Dad's sheriff hat that Carl wore.
"Can both of you talk to them? They'll listen to you." Carl asked. I looked over at Shane and he looked over at me.
"We'll see, yeah?" I said and Carl started to walk off but we heard a click coming from him.
"Hey. Let me see what you've got there." Shane said in a stern tone.

Carl immediately had guilt written all over his face. He lifted up his shirt and had a small revolver tucked behind his pants. Shane got up and walked over to Mom and Dad. I took the gun slowly and opened the chamber revealing that it was loaded. I took the bullets out quickly and pocketed the bullets.

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"How the hell did this happen?" Mom said. Carl was sitting on a wooden bench while Dale, Dad, Shane, and I stood a few feet away.
"It's my fault. I let him into the R.V. He said that he wanted a walkie and that you sent him for one." Dale said.
"So on top of everything else, he lied?" Mom said.
"It wasn't loaded, at least." I said, lying to help Carl out a little.
"He wants to learn how to shoot. He asked me to teach him. Now, it's none of my business but I'm happy to do it. It's your call." Shane said.
"I'm not comfortable with it." Mom said with a nervous laugh. Shane and Dad looked at each other.
"Oh, don't make me out to be the unreasonable one. Rick?" Mom said.
"I know, I have my own concerns too, but--" Dad said.
"There's no but. Both of our boys were just shot. Carl's just back on his feet and he wants a gun?" Mom said.
"Better than him being afraid of them. There are guns in this camp for a reason. He should learn to handle them safely." Dad said.
"I don't want my youngest boy walking around with a gun." Mom said.
"When this started, I learned how to shoot almost immediately. He needs some sort of protection. His own protection." I said.
"He's as safe as he'll ever be right here. Look, everything you two are saying makes perfect sense. I mean I didn't feel good about him following you out into the woods. And I wish I said something, I should've gone with my gut." Mom said.
"He's growing up, thank god. We've got to start treating him more like an adult." Dad said.
"Then he needs to act like one. He's not mature enough to handle a gun." Mom said. Carl stood up and walked over to us.
"I'm not gonna play with it, Mom. It's not a toy. I'm sorry I disappointed you, but I want to look for Sophia and I want to defend our camp. I can't do that without a gun." Carl said.
"Shane's the best instructor I know. I've seen him teach kids younger than Carl." Dad said.
"I'll head with Shane to the gun range. Another pair of eyes on Carl." I said.

"You will take this seriously, and you will behave responsibly. And if I hear from anyone in this camp that you are not living up to our expectations-" Mom said as she walked over to Carl.
"He won't let you down." Dad said.

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Those of us going to gun training drove out and into the woods. Mom and Dad decided to come along after all. They were with Carl, Shane was with Andrea, and I stood beside Beth.

"Now, before anything, you need to completely grasp the concept of a gun. It's not a toy. You've got to respect it and if you pull the trigger, you have to mean it. There's got to be full intent when you shoot." I say as I hand a small handgun to Beth.
"I have to mean it. Got it." Beth said as she grabbed the gun. I show her the safety, the proper grip, how to reload, and how to prime the gun to shoot.
"Try shooting that bottle." I say as I take a step back. Beth shoots and hits the bottle.
"I did it!" She said with a soft but excited tone.
"You're a natural. Try this one. It's my personal one. Now, I don't let just anyone use it. Guess that means you matter to me." I said with a smile as I hand her my handgun. It's twice the size and weight of the previous one.
"This ones way heavier." Beth says as she grips the gun and aims it at another bottle.
"We'll work you up the ranks slowly. Take a deep breath and shoot." I said.

Beth shot and hit the wooden stump that the bottle was on top of. She bowed her head slightly with disappointment.

"Come on, it's alright. It's your first lesson." I say with a smile as I step beside her. I put my hands on top of hers almost as if I'm also holding the gun. I aim slightly higher.

"That's good. Show that bottle who's boss." I say as I move my hands away and take a step back.

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so far so good! i'm going to skip two episodes, not because i don't want to write them, but because i want to start developing mason and the rest of the group as well as the story's characters and story. there'll be times when i skip a few episodes at a time and i'll always let you know while providing a summary.

RELATIONSHIP/CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:

-Rick and Mason find out that Lori's pregnant.
-Glenn and Maggie get closer and start to fall for one another. Glenn and Mason are pretty much best friends at this point and by extension, Maggie and Mason become closer friends.
-Shane is getting more and more survivalist focused.
-Mason and Beth start to get closer as well. Mason's falling for Beth and vice versa, but none of them are bold enough to mention it yet.
-Mason having taken a bullet in the shoulder for Daryl, makes them start to get close as well.
-Mason realizes through a calendar in Hershel's house that his birthday had just passed, making him 17 years old now.

IMPORTANT EVENTS:

-Everyone finds out about Hershel's barn full of walkers. Shane wants to open it to kill all of the walkers while Rick and Mason are trying to respect Hershel's views and opinions but ultimately Shane ends up opening the barn forcing everyone to kill the walkers.
-They finally find Sophia but not in the way they wanted to. She was in that barn and was also a walker. Daryl and Mason were there for Carol, but Mason blamed himself which made angry towards himself.
-Hershel and his family are devastated by what happened with their barn. This causes tension between Beth and Mason as well as Hershel and Rick.
-Shane accuses Hershel and his family of knowing Sophia was in the barn. Whether they did or not doesn't matter but this creates a huge rift between Shane and the rest of the group. Hershel wants Rick and his group off the farm, mainly Shane.
-Maggie asks Glenn and Mason if they would stay if their group leaves. She wants Glenn to stay because she's in love with him and asks Mason for Beth's sake.
-They bury Sophia along with Hershel's loved ones. Hershel disappears into a bar in a nearby town and Beth goes into shock which leaves her bed-ridden.

(I've been asked if I can keep Beth alive throughout the whole show as opposed to her dying like she does in the show. This isn't something I'm completely writing off, I'm just thinking of a way to do it that makes sense without changing too much of the original story.)

Where I'm going to pick off is where Rick and Glenn go to look for Hershel but Mason'll be tagging along.

Officer Friendly and his oldest son are beginning to change into the survivors that'll do whatever it takes to keep their loved ones alive.

Thanks for reading so far!