The Return of Shane Vol 3: The Walking Dead (Final Cut)

"Replaced"

Chapter 3

It had been eight months since Shane had joined Phillip and Austin, and he now found himself quite fond of the couple. Shane had the tendency to be wary of strangers, but his trust in people had been reestablished after meeting the Marco's. Shane liked them both in different ways. He enjoyed Austin's roughness; the Italian was very abbreviated when he spoke, and preferred to let his actions speak for him. He was dark coffee—he didn't need to be overly sweet or smooth. Shane preferred that to Rick's "Can't We All Just Get Along" philosophy. No, we all could not just get along, and Shane and Austin both accepted and understood that.

Initially, Austin was distrustful of the Deputy; he'd found Shane's origin story a little unsettling. Austin figured that if Shane's own best friend wanted him dead, he may have had a good reason. Austin's suspicion had decreased over the months, especially after he'd seen just how efficient Shane was at disposing of the walkers. His experience with the dead, in such a hands-on fashion, was very valuable.

Phillip's and Shane's relationship was significantly warmer, due to their similar interests. Austin was initially somewhat distrustful by the amount of time Phillip spent with Shane. Shane, though outwardly cool, was an in-the-closet comic-book fan. He'd been too cool to share his secret obsession of Marvel Comics with Rick, because he'd been sure it would destroy his macho mystique. But Phillip's gayness made it easier for Shane to reveal that side of himself. Phillip felt that Shane's comic-book fetish was a rather boring "dark secret," but it gave the soldier more insight into Shane's psyche.

The two men had many similar likes when it came to music, as well. Both men enjoyed British bands like Oasis, Bush, and Coldplay. Shane was very interested in hand-to-hand combat, and Phillip helped train him in beginner's Jujitsu. Sherriff Walsh appreciated Phillip's openness; for the first time in almost a year, Shane felt like he belonged.

Phillip was done evaluating Shane. He deduced that though Shane had multiple character flaws, he was not a threat to either him or Austin. Moreover, Shane had become quite the asset to their team. With a third, the survivors could raid bigger and more dangerous locations.

One such location was in Augusta, Georgia. It was a significantly small town, compared to Atlanta, but it was still overrun by the dead. The team sat inside of the large, black, advanced Humvee prototype: The PYTHON. Their voices were muffled by the soundproof exterior of the vehicle, and their faces were obscured by its tinted windows. With the PYTHON's convenient accommodations, they were completely hidden from the dead.

The vehicle was parked outside of the city on Interstate Twenty as the men inside it finished gearing up. As Austin checked the clip on his UZI-Pro, he asked Phillip, "You see anything on that drone?"

Phillip had used the six-propeller drone to scan the area. "We got a few stragglers surrounding the building, but nothing we can't handle." The silver drone buzzed mutely above the Kmart located on Gordon Highway in Augusta. Kmart, though not one of Phillip's favorite places prior to the apocalypse, had everything they needed now. Kmart sold not only food, water, and clothes, but also ammunition.

"Good, we can just pull up, take out those few hanging out in the parking lot, and grab a shopping cart," Walsh concluded.

"Maybe," chimed Austin. "We can only see how many are outside; for all we know, that place could be full of them."

"Like in Palm Coast," Phillip reminded Austin.

"Palm Coast?" asked Shane.

"Florida," Phillip answered as he guided the drone back to the PYTHON. "Right after Miami became a little too dangerous, Austin and I headed to Palm Coast. We had a friend who owned a ranch there, and we assumed we could stay there until this entire thing had ended. Long story made short, we tried to make a quick stop at a Target for supplies. Unfortunately, the town's people had decided to store all their walkers inside of the department store. Needless to say, I couldn't get my much-needed hair pomade. I was pissed."