Boone patted his huge orange backpack. "Sometimes this thing's a burden, but sometimes it can block them for a second in tight spaces."
The answer surprised Glenn and Maggie a little, but it made sense.
For a backpacker surviving alone, choosing to avoid risk instead of fighting head-on was the smart thing to do.
Rick's expression did not change. He threw out the second question, a sharper one. "Then how many people have you killed?"
Boone's steps paused. Then he shook his head firmly. "None. Not a single one!
After the outbreak, I ran into other survivors. Some were cautious, some tried to take my things, but I always found a way to get away. I never fought them.
I think... as long as I can still run, it hasn't reached the point where one of us has to die. I'm fast."
He paused, and his voice dropped a little. "And killing people... that's different."
That answer softened Rick's gaze.
A survivor who had lasted this long in the apocalypse but claimed he had never killed another person was either incredibly lucky, or he had his own line he refused to cross.
"One last question." Rick looked at his back. "Why?"
Boone took a deep breath, his eyes open and honest. "Because I want to live, but I don't want to become... a monster that only survives by killing.
I believe there have to be places like yours out there. Places where people are trying to rebuild instead of just tearing everything down.
I want to find a place like that and become part of it, not just someone who knows how to pull a trigger."
His answer was sincere and straightforward. If he was not lying, then he was a very idealistic person.
Glenn and Maggie exchanged a glance, and both saw that the other had been moved.
Boone's answer, especially the part about not wanting to become a monster, touched them.
Not having killed walkers meant he lacked combat experience.
But never having killed a person, and having a clear reason for it, lowered Boone's potential threat in a certain sense.
Just then, six walkers suddenly burst out from a patch of waist-high weeds ahead, snarling as they lunged toward them.
They had clearly been drawn by the sound of the group's voices and had been lying hidden in the grass.
"Eyes up!" Glenn growled. He, Maggie, and Andrea immediately raised their guns, ready to fire.
Rick had already drawn his knife and moved forward.
Boone's reaction surprised everyone.
He did not scream in panic or stumble backward. Instead, he quickly swung the hiking pack from his shoulder to the front of his body and pulled the small entrenching shovel from a side pocket.
He did not rush in recklessly. Instead, he stayed close behind Rick and to one side.
When Rick chopped one walker down, another lunged at Rick from the side. Boone immediately seized the chance and swung the small entrenching shovel with all his strength.
His movement was a little clumsy, and the tip of the shovel caught in the walker's ribs instead of landing a killing blow. But he held it there with everything he had, stopping the walker's lunge.
Rick used the opening to turn back and finish off the walker Boone had briefly pinned down.
On the other side, Glenn, Maggie, and Andrea worked together smoothly and took care of the remaining four.
Boone was breathing hard, the hand gripping the entrenching shovel trembling slightly, his face a little pale.
He looked at Rick. "You... you okay?"
Rick nodded, and there was a trace of approval in the way he looked at Boone.
Staying calm in a crisis and knowing how to cooperate mattered more than how many walkers he had killed.
"Nice reaction, man." Glenn walked over and patted Boone on the shoulder.
This small incident was like a sudden field test, and Boone had barely passed.
...
Back at the Prison, Boone was taken straight to a separate quarantine cell block.
Hershel was already waiting there. His gentle gaze swept over Boone. "No need to be nervous, young man. Just a routine checkup."
He carefully examined Boone, checking for bites and scratches, then asked about his health and medical history.
Boone cooperated and took off his jacket. There were only a few old scars and traces of mosquito bites on his body, with no fresh wounds.
"He looks healthy enough, just somewhat malnourished and exhausted."
Hershel said to Rick and the others waiting outside, "He can be placed under quarantine according to procedure."
Inside the cell, Carol walked over with some food and clean water, wearing her usual gentle, harmless smile. "You've had a rough time, Boone. Eat something. I'm Carol. I help with some of the logistics here."
She handed the food and water into the cell, looking timid, but her gaze quietly swept over Boone's body and the backpack.
Boone did not notice anything. He gratefully accepted the food and water.
He felt that this woman was kind and probably timid, unaware that while he lowered his head to eat, Carol exchanged an extremely brief look with Rick.
Carol gave a slight shake of her head.
For now, she had not found any obvious problems, but they still needed time.
...
That night, in the Prison's former guards' lounge.
The core members of the Prison had gathered: Rick, Lori, Hershel, Dale, Glenn, Maggie, T-Dog, Jacqui, Andrea, and Carol.
Rick briefly explained how they had found Boone, his answers to the three questions, and how he had behaved when they encountered walkers on the way back.
"He hasn't killed any walkers, and he hasn't killed any people," Rick stated. "His reasons were avoidance and not wanting to lose his humanity. He has decent mental resilience, understands cooperation, and his wilderness survival skills are his biggest advantage."
Dale was the first to speak, as kind as ever. "I think we can give him a chance. His wilderness knowledge is exactly what we're lacking.
Besides, someone who can survive alone and still hold onto the line of not killing people should have goodness in him."
Hershel nodded in agreement. "Dale's right. He doesn't seem like a bad person. We should give him a chance."
Carol was more cautious. "How could someone survive alone for that long and never once be pushed to the brink?
I can believe he hasn't killed walkers, but never killed a person? Maybe it's an act.
His skills are useful, yes. But because they're useful, we need to be even more careful."
Maggie spoke softly, not fully agreeing with her father. "I agree with part of what Carol said. He seems... too 'clean.'
Not on the outside. His personality. We should observe him longer. We can have him start with some perimeter work."
T-Dog had been leaning silently in the corner. Only then did he speak. "Yo, everyone, I think we let him work and keep an eye on him. He's just one guy. How much trouble can he cause?"
The others also expressed relatively positive opinions.
Rick listened to everyone, then looked around the room. "Then Boone will be treated like the other people we've taken in before. He'll stay in the quarantine area first and take part in work under our supervision.
His main job will be helping organize and sort supplies. At the same time, T-Dog and Glenn will be responsible for taking him around the Prison perimeter to set up the early-warning traps he mentioned."
He paused and looked at everyone. "Report anything unusual immediately. This is our standard procedure for accepting new members. Any objections?"
No one objected.
For now, this was the safest plan.
...
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