Right after Rick and his group were taken to the terminal, a slightly strange walker appeared in the forest not far from where they had stayed. It wore a cloak covered in mud and rotting flesh, and its blood-covered face had a pair of clear eyes.
Carol had obviously smeared her face with dead blood. Due to time constraints, she had simply covered her face with blood and mud, but even that was enough to keep any predator from coming close.
As she walked among the dead, she observed the building complex not far from her position. She hadn't seen Rick and the others being captured at that moment, but she soon witnessed the scene in the courtyard.
"It's Rick and Lori…"
"God, they're all trapped. What should I do?"
Lori had been captured, which meant Shane and the others had also fallen into the enemy's hands. Judging by the current situation, those people had probably used Lori to trap them.
Focusing on the overall scene in the courtyard, Carol kept thinking about how to rescue her people from these unknown captors. After coming to this conclusion, she checked the gear on her body: only one rifle, a few grenades, two pistols, and a dagger.
It was clear that even with more equipment, she couldn't defeat the enemy alone. She would have to find an effective way.
It would be great for both her and her people if she could find a horde of walkers, but that would bring a different kind of problem—would everyone be affected if she attacked that way?
"No, I must contact the base first. With so many captains gathered in one place, they might send someone immediately."
Carol came up with a brilliant idea. After thinking of it, she pulled out her radio and began communicating with the base: "Zz... This is Carol, can anyone hear me? It's urgent, respond quickly!"
"Zz..."
"Damn radio, no signal when it's most needed..."
Even though no one answered, she still did everything she could to send signals, keeping an eye on the situation in the yard from time to time. But she knew she would have to act if her people were in danger.
As time slowly passed, Carol grew more anxious. The sky had darkened a little and night would soon fall.
While trying to communicate with the base, she wasn't just standing still. By now she had gathered dozens of walkers behind her. The number wasn't huge, but enough for what she needed. According to survival manuals, if you wanted to use a horde of walkers, numbers were a crucial factor.
Just as Carol was hesitating whether to go further to find more walkers, a faint crackle came from the radio on her waist.
"Zz... Central base, this is George... Respond if you hear my voice. Zz... We're heading with all survivors back to the base, respond."
"George?"
"Is Jason on his way to the base?"
Hearing this news, Carol's heart filled with joy. In no time, she pressed the button on the radio to get in touch with them, her eyes scanning the area around her, surrounded by trees, searching for a safe spot where walkers wouldn't attack her if they heard her voice.
"A tree?"
Carol looked at the large tree beside her, hesitated for a moment, then made her decision. She removed the rifle from her shoulder, leaving only a pistol and a dagger at her waist. She placed her hands on the trunk, gripping tightly, and pushed herself upward with the strength of her legs. She climbed slowly, even though her hands were scraped by the rough bark. She didn't care, and after continuous effort, finally reached the top.
"God..."
"Zi... George! This is Carol, please answer!"
"Zz..."
"Zz... Hello? Can you hear me? This is Carol!"
"Zz... Received... Carol... It's been so long since I heard your voice!"
Filled with emotion, Carol didn't rush to voice her concerns. She still wasn't sure of George and the others' location. If the distance was too great, they wouldn't be able to help.
"Are you really on your way back to the base?"
"Yes, we've returned. I'm just about to enter the urban area. Sorry, the signal isn't very good right now."
"Great! Where are you? Where's the commander?"
Jason, who should have been beside George, must have heard Carol's voice through the radio. After a few seconds, he asked: "Carol, what happened?"
Auron's voice quickly followed through the radio, and with just one sentence, Carol, who had been confused and overwhelmed, calmed down. She sighed slowly. Now she knew that as long as Jason was aware of the group's situation, he would come to rescue them no matter the enemy.
"Jason, Rick and the others—something's happened to them!"
...
In a few minutes, Carol recounted everything that had happened in the past days. When Jason heard the name "terminal," a clear murderous intent flashed in his eyes, impossible to hide.
This group of bastards—Jason knew that back when he was heading to Noah's community, he should have eliminated this enemy. But for a moment he thought things might change. After months and many unexpected events, he had forgotten about the terminal. Honestly, he hadn't expected Rick's group to walk straight into the enemy's claws despite all the warnings and advice he had given them.
An hour later, on the road not far from the terminal, a convoy of at least fifteen large trucks slowly pulled to the roadside, with the modified RV and several Humvees at the head.
Then, a figure emerged from the forest by the roadside—it was none other than Carol, with a happy smile on her face.
Looking at the long convoy, her expression froze for a moment, then she walked uncertainly toward the side of a Humvee.
"Hey Carol, long time no see!"
A dark-skinned man poked his head out of the driver's seat and looked at her with a smile on his face—it was T-dog.
Smiling back, she asked impatiently, "Where's Jason?"
T-dog pointed toward the back and said with some uncertainty, "He should be in the RV, wait a minute."
After a brief exchange, the modified RV drove to the front.
Strangers also got out of the vehicles in the middle of the road, all armed, starting to clear the walkers drawn to the convoy.
Originally, they had left the military base with some military trucks and even tanks, but those had since been relocated to another base.
"Did you bring these people from Washington?"
"Yes, a lunatic force appeared there, capturing people as slaves everywhere. The commander rescued them, and these people finally decided to join us."
As he spoke, the RV reached the front of the line, and before it even stopped, a man jumped out of the door.
Seeing him, Carol's expression finally relaxed a little, then she saw more than a dozen people stepping out of the vehicle one after another.
All of them were familiar faces. After scanning the group, she asked with some doubt:
"Where are Merle, Billy, and Jon?"
Jason, standing a few meters away, replied, "Billy's dead. As for the others, they're fine."
"I don't like welcoming you back under these circumstances, but I'm glad you're here."
Jason smiled slightly, but he wasn't interested in exchanging greetings now. He asked directly, "Where are they?"
"Over there, very close by. It's a station with a large area."
"How many people?"
"I don't know. I wasn't there when they were captured. I only roughly counted them when they were in the square. There were more than twenty at the time, but I don't know if there are more people in other places."
Without further questions, Jason frowned slightly, unconsciously folded his arms across his chest, and simply paced back and forth slowly.
Everyone behind him had long been familiar with this behavior. Jason only showed that expression when he was deep in thought. No one disturbed him, but Carol wasn't very familiar with him and was stopped by Glenn before she could speak.
After a few minutes, they saw him raise his head. His eyes had turned a little cold, and Glenn and the others knew these people were about to be in trouble.
"I shouldn't think too much about it. We just need to pay them a visit," Jason said, looking at all his men, whose cold expressions showed they were more than ready to do whatever it took.