The Walking Dead: Starting as a Cowboy

The barn had white borders and a white roof, giving it a chilling, eerie feel.

Realizing what Patricia was about to do, Jimmy took two steps back, his smile vanishing without him noticing, and looked around in a panic.

"I'm sorry, Patricia, I don't know..."

"It's okay." Patricia forced a smile and nodded to Jimmy. "Go find Beth to play with, I can go by myself."

After saying that, Patricia pushed her wheelbarrow slowly toward the barn.

Jimmy calmed his breathing a little, lowered his head, walked towards the house, went up to the second floor, and found Beth.

The young couple began to whisper to each other. Jimmy was no longer immersed in the panic he had just experienced, and Beth had a serene smile on her face.

In the sheepfold on the farm, Maggie deftly unfurled the clumps of hay to feed the sheep.

Apart from the zombies in the barn, everything seemed peaceful.

At the other end of the farm, there is a forest.

In the mountains and forests, a broad and imposing figure, carrying a hunting pole, led a walking corpse with difficulty toward the farm.

The figure had to stop after only a few steps, panting for a long time, his body drenched in sweat, and the hunting rifle on his back kept slipping down. All he could do was shrug his shoulders again and again.

The figure lacked stamina but possessed considerable strength. The zombie stretched out its arm to approach the person but was held firmly down and could only be pulled forward.

Just as he was about to leave the forest, Hershel saw that figure.

Herschel, though his hair and beard were both white, was in good spirits. He held a shovel in one hand, stuck it into the soil, and called out loudly, "Otis, do you need any help?"

"I couldn't be happier." Seeing that they had finally arrived at the farm, Otis felt relieved and squeezed out a smile on his greasy face.

Otis handed the trap to Herschel, took off his hat with one hand, and wiped the sweat from his head with the other, then casually wiped it on his clothes.

Before the two had exchanged more than a few words, a convoy suddenly appeared on the horizon.

Unlike the convoys Hershel and his team had seen before, this convoy headed straight for the farm.

"Oh no." Hershel's eyes widened, and he turned to shove the trap into Otis's hand. "You'd better take this into the forest right away, before those people see it. I have to get back and deal with them."

Hershel didn't know what the purpose of the convoy's visit was, but whatever their purpose, humans were very hostile towards these sick people.

Hershel didn't want these people to know that he was still feeding these sick people, causing him unnecessary trouble.

After saying that, Hershel ran into the house with a lithe physique that belied his age.

As Hershel ran, she shouted, "Maggie, Beth, Patricia, Jimmy! Someone's coming!"

As the convoy approached Green Ranch, the speed of the vehicles decreased, and they slowly drove into the ranch.

Hershel ran into the house, rushed upstairs to the second floor, went into his room, and rummaged through everything.

Beth and Jimmy came out of the room. Beth looked at Hershel, who was rummaging through things, and asked in confusion, "What happened?"

Hershel didn't answer, and just kept looking for his things.

Finally, in a familiar place, Herschel found a silver pistol and a Remington 870 shotgun.

As Hershel loaded his gun, he said, "There's a convoy approaching the farm. We don't know what they're up to, so we need to be prepared."

"Jimmy, take Beth into the room and don't come out later," Hershel calmly instructed. "Oh, and remember to load your gun and get ready to face the enemy."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hershel slung the shotgun over his shoulder, released the safety of his pistol, and wore a resolute expression of desperation.

"I understand." Jimmy listened to Hershel and pulled the reluctant Beth back to the room.

Hershel took a deep breath and went downstairs.

As soon as they stepped out of the house, they bumped into Maggie and Patricia, who were running towards them. Maggie hadn't even caught her breath yet, and she pointed anxiously at the approaching convoy, as if she wanted to say something.

Hershel held out his palm, indicating that Maggie didn't need to say anything.

"I know the situation. You still have your gun, right?"

Maggie patted her waist; she always carried a gun with her.

Hershel nodded in satisfaction and said to Patricia, "You should go upstairs too. Beth and Jimmy are in Beth's room."

"Where is Otis?" Patricia asked, now concerned about where her lover was.

Hershel pointed to the forest and said, "He went to the forest to catch the sick people; he should be back soon."

Seeing the worry almost overflowing on Patricia's face, Herschel quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, Otis knows what he's doing. He'll be fine and back soon."

"Besides, this convoy shouldn't be any bad guys."

Hershel's gaze drifted into the distance, looking at the convoy parked outside the farm's fragile iron fence.

The convoy was led by several military armored vehicles and followed by modified pickup trucks.

The vehicles were splattered with blood, which had dried and congealed into black clots. Some indistinct pieces of flesh and blood were still visible on the wide, thick tires.

The mere sight of the entire convoy parked there exuded an invisible sense of oppression and a bloody atmosphere.

This contrasted sharply with their polite and obedient behavior of waiting for the farm owner to open the door.

Hershel glanced at the forest and Otis came into view. His obese body began to jog slowly with difficulty, each step almost a squeeze on his lungs, his steps particularly heavy.

Hershel turned to Maggie: "I'll go keep watch at the door for them. Otis will be here soon. You and he stay at the door and wait for me to come back."

Maggie frowned, but did not object to her father's decision. She simply said, "Dad, be careful."

After saying that, Maggie stepped forward and kissed Hershel on the cheek.

Hershel strode toward the farm’s iron gate.

When he arrived, the convoy had been waiting for several minutes, and not a single car honked its horn; they remained silent and restrained.

They were worlds apart from the scavengers outside.

Hershel thought to himself that he had seen the frenzied crowds at the beginning of the apocalypse.

Even though the shop owner was still there, they still stormed in with weapons, smashing and looting; it was practically a riot.

Hershel was certain that if those men broke into his farm, he would not hesitate to shoot them in the head.

Click—

The iron gate was wide open, and Hershel pulled it open, gesturing for her to come in.

Hershel closed the door only after all the vehicles had passed.

At this moment, Morales got out of the car, walked up to Hershel, and looked down at him: "The boss wants you to get in the car and we can talk."