The convoy moved steadily down the highway, their vehicles kicking up dust as the Georgia heat bore down on them. The sun glared in the sky, casting long shadows from the trees that lined the road. The atmosphere inside the RV was tense, not just from the heat but from the conversation unfolding.
Rick gripped the wheel tightly, his eyes scanning the road ahead as Lori sat beside him, cradling Carl, who was half-dozing in the seat. In the back, Shane leaned against the wall, arms crossed, his jaw set tight as he listened to the discussion.
"If Doctor Jenner had more time and did it safely, with testing," Rick said, voice even but laced with conviction, "he could've done it. Found a cure."
Shane scoffed, shaking his head. "Yeah? And what did we get instead? Intelligent walkers, Rick. Ones that can think, ones that can talk. You really wanna go down that road again? We got outta the CDC by the skin of our teeth, and now you're talkin' about that man's work like it was some lost miracle."
Lori frowned, glancing between them. "But what if he's right, Shane? What if Jenner was onto something? What if we left too soon?"
Shane clenched his jaw, his frustration mounting. "Left too soon? Lori, the man locked us in and was gonna eat us! And even if he wasn't a damn lunatic, what we saw—what happened to him—tells us all we need to know. That so-called 'cure' of his did not work. It made things worse. And let's not forget Jim is still out there somewhere, talking about some mission from God. Maybe he's like Jenner now, maybe worse. We don't know."
Murphy, sitting in the middle of the RV, shifted uncomfortably. His fingers tapped against his knee as he listened. He understood both sides. He had seen firsthand what happened to people who tried to cure the undead. He had also seen how desperate the living were to hold onto any sliver of hope.
"Maybe there was a way," Murphy finally said, his voice softer than usual, a rare vulnerability creeping in. "Maybe he could've done it right. But I ain't seen a cure yet that didn't come with a whole lotta consequences."
Shane narrowed his eyes at Murphy. "And you would know, huh? How do we even know you ain't carrying whatever Jenner had? We all saw how you don't turn. Maybe it's only a matter of time before you go full walker yourself."
Murphy stiffened. The group fell silent. Even T-Dog, who had been quietly listening, shifted uncomfortably at Shane's words. The tension was thick, and Murphy could feel the weight of suspicion pressing on him like an iron vice.
Rick sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Shane, come on. Murphy's been with us this long. If he was a threat, we'd know by now."
"Would we?" Shane challenged. "We keep takin' unnecessary risks, and it's only a matter of time before one of us pays for it. First, we let Jenner work on somethin' he didn't understand, now we got a guy who—no offense, Murphy—ain't exactly normal, just hangin' around, waitin' for us to trust him."
Murphy exhaled sharply and shook his head. "I ain't got no secret agenda, man. I don't even know what I am in this world. I'm just tryin' to survive."
"And we're supposed to just trust that?" Shane shot back. "I ain't buyin' it."
"Well, maybe you don't gotta buy it," Murphy said, his tone hardening. "Maybe you just need to accept that the world's changed. I didn't ask to be like this, just like none of you asked for any of this. But here we are."
Before Shane could argue back, Daryl's voice crackled through the radio. "Roadblock ahead. Big one. Looks like we ain't goin' through this way."
Rick picked up the radio. "What do we got?"
"Piled-up cars. Must've been some serious panic when the world went to shit," Daryl responded. "Ain't nothin' moving through this mess."
Rick sighed and slowed the RV to a stop. The rest of the convoy pulled up behind them. Dust swirled in the heat as the group stepped out to assess the situation. The blocked highway stretched for miles, cars jammed together in a mass of abandoned wreckage.
"We're not getting through this," Andrea said, shielding her eyes from the sun.
T-Dog wiped his brow. "So, what now? Backtrack?"
Rick shook his head. "That'd waste too much gas. We need another route."
Lori shifted uneasily. "So what's the plan?"
Daryl glanced at a faded road sign and then down at the map he had pulled from the glove compartment. "There's another road. It ain't on the map, but I seen it before. Takes us 'round this mess. Might lead toward some town called Woodbury."
"Woodbury?" Glenn asked, stepping up. "Never heard of it."
"Might be nothin', might be somethin'," Daryl said with a shrug. "Either way, beats sittin' here."
Rick considered for a moment before nodding. "Alright. Everyone, back in the vehicles. We're taking the detour."
As the group got back in, Murphy felt the eyes of Shane on him once more. This wasn't over. He knew it. Shane was spiraling, and his paranoia about Murphy was only getting worse.
The vehicles rumbled to life again, and the convoy turned onto the dusty backroad leading toward the unknown town of Woodbury. In the distance, the wind carried the distant moans of the dead, lurking beyond the tree line.