As always, Jason conducted his questionnaires for multiple reasons. First, to find out what kind of special person arrived at his door, and second, to evaluate their character and potential value to the future of the community.
After many inspections and interviews, all the adults and elders had good profiles. In fact, Jason planned to contact the central base to request someone to pick them up. Obviously, these people couldn't travel with his group, and there wasn't enough room to carry more than the planned number of individuals.
After thinking it over carefully, Jason decided it was best for the central base to send a vehicle to pick up all these people. He couldn't bother Sam Valdez on the other side of the city since it was a training base, nor could he reach out to Shane, whose base was currently facing complicated issues and undergoing constant expansion.
Considering how far away they were from the two bases, the only possible and best option was to contact the central base. So Jason entered the modified RV.
A long-range radio had previously been installed inside the RV, primarily to communicate with the bases, while the team traveling with him used shortwave radios to avoid interference with other transmissions.
Since the time Jason had accidentally contacted others while evacuating Atlanta with supplies, he realized that long-range radios had been used earlier. Therefore, to avoid being discovered again, they now used shortwave radios.
Although Jason had the intention to travel far, his goals for this journey were clear—he didn't plan to get involved in other places unless it was clear they had things under control.
As for the long-range radio... depending on the location, it might not always get a clear signal when needed.
"Zz... Central base! Central base! This is Jason, respond if you can hear my voice, over."
"Zz... This is Tyler, what's the situation?"
...
After a long conversation, it was agreed that a truck would come from the central base the next morning to pick up all the people. Since it was already late today, Jason left the task almost finished.
Due to the lack of electricity, it was too dark to continue working. He originally intended to find a way to get power, but generators make too much noise—and in walker-infested areas, that would be a death sentence. So the work would resume tomorrow, and they would depart once the people were picked up.
A whole group of people boarded the modified RV. Merle and Carlos went straight to the third floor, while Michonne and the others were busy cooking. The rest sat on chairs and tables that had been pulled out of storage.
The interior of the expanded RV was enormous. When expanded, it provided a long space where more than twenty people could find shelter with all the equipment inside. The floors were designed to utilize every bit of space, but since there were still women on this trip, a section had to be reserved just for them.
At that moment, Bob sat on a small chair, marveling at the incredible interior design of the modified RV. Everything was so sophisticated and practical. There was a door at the rear of the vehicle, stairs leading to what seemed to be a gun port, and the walls were heavily reinforced.
There was a separate room that Bob assumed was for food storage. On both sides were bunk beds, and another room whose purpose was unknown.
Currently, Glenn and the others had divided the spaces into upper and lower sections, with everyone taking special floors. What surprised Bob the most was that the expandable compartments on either side of the central area turned out to be an operations room and a medical room!
This place could serve as a command center, and right next to it was a small area for treating any kind of injury. The interior could accommodate two people, and although the space was tight, there was no doubt it had everything necessary for a medical procedure.
Just as Bob was lost in admiration, Jason entered from outside, and Michonne and the others came out of the house carrying pots of food.
Bob quickly closed the door to the medical room and looked at Jason with a bit of embarrassment.
Seeing Bob's expression, Aidon waved it off and said, "It's fine, you can look all you want—we're just grateful we haven't had to use it yet."
"Sir, do you have a doctor in your group?" Bob asked, curious.
Jason pointed to a man silently listening to music on a cassette player and said, "I have some medical knowledge, but Jon is undergoing retraining to recall his experience as a military doctor."
Bob looked at Jon and couldn't help but say, "Seems like you've got a lot of experts with you."
"Your medical skills, and the fact that you're military, will be a big help. You might be transferred to one of the bases as support for training," Jason said. He knew a military doctor was a valuable asset to his forces. By then, Michonne and the others had finished preparing the food and called everyone to exit the RV to eat.
Patting Bob on the shoulder, Jason said, "Let's eat first—we can talk more after."
At that moment, several people had gathered around Michonne. The young children stood beside her, staring wide-eyed at the food in the pot. They hadn't had a proper meal in a long time.
Michonne took three plates and served food to the three children, who thanked her and ran off smiling, plates in hand.
Watching the children's backs, Michonne's eyes showed a flicker of emotion. She didn't pretend to be indifferent anymore, not until everyone was out of the RV and being served.
...
At the same time Jason's group was eating dinner, in the prison, dinner had just ended. Rick was walking to the room with Judith in his arms. Rick's condition was now better than in the original timeline—at least his wife and daughter had recovered well.
As for the powdered milk issue, the base had many people and had collected a large number of supplies early on in the apocalypse, including baby formula.
At that moment, his little daughter had just finished drinking milk. Rick patted her back gently, and after a small burp, Judith seemed sleepy again, dozing off in his arms.
After handing Judith to his wife, Rick sat on the edge of the bed, intending to chat with Lori.
Bang, bang, bang!
A series of hurried knocks at the door interrupted him. Rick frowned, stood up, and opened the door—it was Carol.
Seeing Carol's anxious face, Rick immediately felt something was wrong. He looked back at Lori and signaled Carol to talk outside.
"Lori, I'll step out for a bit. You should rest."
Lori, in a good mood, nodded and laid Judith in the crib beside her before settling into bed.
"What's wrong?"
Rick closed the door before asking in a low voice. He knew Carol wouldn't come to him unless it was serious.
Sure enough, Carol's tone was nervous as she lowered her voice and said, "A warning just came in from the scouts in the woods—they say a large horde of walkers is approaching the prison. All the scouts have left the forest and returned to base."
Rick was stunned by her words, turned around, and rushed out of the unit.
Carol followed him. Since her conversation with Daryl about Jason, she had joined the defense team and slowly learned to use bows and firearms, frequently venturing outside the prison.
Rick climbed a tower as soon as he left the unit. At that moment, many guards were gathering on the walls.
Rick knew what was coming—a horde of walkers! The prison was about to face its first walker horde since it was built. At that moment, Rick could feel the security conveyed by the thick city wall beneath his feet.
He quickly descended from the watchtower and moved along the wall, shouting at the people standing there:
"Everyone off the wall! Stay quiet! Absolute silence!"
The crowd began to withdraw in an orderly manner. Rick called on everyone to get ready and keep watch for any walker movement.
Rick grabbed the radio and broadcasted an alert for all guards at the base to prepare for direct combat if things went wrong. Soon, many soldiers climbed into the towers with extra boxes of ammunition for the machine guns.
According to protocol, the first rule was not to make noise and let the walkers pass. Thanks to the high walls, if no sound was made, the horde would keep moving.
Rick whispered to Marco, "Our defenses are good. But if the walkers hear any sound, we'll be surrounded, and the outer wire fence will be destroyed. Not only that—we'd lose all the newly planted crops."
Marco nodded, and the two of them waited silently in the watchtower.
The growls of the walkers grew louder, and everyone at the base could see the horde approaching. However, as the groans neared, everyone heard another unexpected sound—horses neighing.
Rick and Marco both paled.
And at that moment, they both cursed in unison...