"Wolf?... Or something else?" Tyreese covered his mouth and nose, his muffled voice slipping through his fingers.
The nauseating stench of decay seemed to seep straight through his hand and burrow into his nostrils.
Sasha forced herself not to look at the nightmare inside the bus and quickly circled the vehicle, inspecting the outside.
Then she suddenly crouched and pointed at a mess of tire tracks and several scattered shell casings on the ground.
"The tires were shot out. Could be those lunatics again."
Noah had gotten out of the SUV at some point.
He stood a short distance away on unsteady legs, looking as though his soul had been drained out of him, staring blankly at the bus full of corpses.
The destruction of Greenwood, followed by this surreal scene of horror, seemed to have crushed whatever ability he had left to process what was happening.
He simply stared, numb and hollow-eyed.
Sasha made the decision immediately.
"Move. We're getting the hell out of here."
Tyreese answered at once, climbed into the driver's seat, started the engine, and drove away as fast as he could.
The SUV tore down the road, kicking up a trail of dust.
Only after the horrific bus had shrunk to a tiny black speck in the rearview mirror and finally disappeared into the gathering dusk did the suffocating tension inside the vehicle ease slightly.
But everyone understood one thing.
They might be very close to those mysterious, mad raiders.
Before night fully settled in, they found a suitable campsite at the edge of a forest on elevated ground, with a rock face at their backs.
It was away from the main road, difficult to spot, and relatively easy to defend.
After a full day of suppressed emotions and constant tension, everyone was exhausted.
They ate a simple meal of cold food, then Sasha assigned the night watches.
She patted Boone and Kango on the shoulders.
"You two take first watch. Keep your eyes and ears open. Noah and Tyreese take second. Zach and I have third. Stay sharp. I don't want any mistakes."
The mountain forest was far from quiet at night.
Insects chirped constantly, and every so often, the distant howl of some unknown walker drifted through the darkness.
Sasha leaned against the trunk of an old oak, eyes half closed.
She looked as though she were resting, but her ears remained tuned to every sound around them.
Tyreese sat a short distance away, gently wiping down his heavy hammer with a cloth.
Time passed slowly.
Just as the first watch was about to end and Tyreese was preparing to get up and take over, Boone gave an almost inaudible whistle.
The sound was faint, but it hit Sasha and Tyreese like an electric current.
Both instantly went alert.
Keeping low, they moved silently into positions overlooking the trail below and the flank of the camp, their weapons aimed steadily into the darkness.
A moment later, two figures emerged from the shadows along the trail.
They moved with extreme caution, deliberately slowing themselves as if trying to avoid being mistaken for a threat.
Neither carried any obvious weapon.
Both had their hands raised.
One was taller, while the other was slightly slimmer.
Step by careful step, they approached the camp and stopped in an open patch roughly thirty meters away, directly within Boone and Kango's overlapping fields of fire.
The taller man raised his hands higher, palms open to show he was unarmed, then cleared his throat.
"Good evening. We don't mean you any harm. We heard a vehicle earlier and saw a faint light over here, so we came to take a look... Maybe we can talk?"
His voice was calm and carried an easy persuasiveness that made people instinctively want to listen.
Sasha didn't answer immediately.
She narrowed her eyes and studied the two men in the faint moonlight.
Their equipment looked well maintained.
Their clothes were worn, but they didn't have the filthy, blood-soaked appearance of raiders, nor did they carry themselves like survivors from the isolated little settlements they had encountered along the way.
Tyreese looked toward Sasha, the question obvious in his eyes.
What do we do?
Sasha lightly pressed a hand against his arm, telling him to wait.
Then she whispered to the others.
"Boone, Kango, keep them covered. Everyone else, stay where you are. Don't reveal your positions."
She took a breath, raised her voice, and called out to the two strangers.
"Identify yourselves and tell us what you want. Speak slowly, and don't make any unnecessary movements."
The taller man seemed to smile.
It was too dark to make out his expression clearly, but the friendliness in his voice was obvious.
"Of course. I understand why you're cautious. My name is Aaron, and this is my companion, Eric.
"We've been following you for a few days. You seem like decent people. We're looking for survivors like you, people who still know how to maintain order and keep their heads."
Sasha's pupils narrowed slightly.
The fact that they had been followed for several days was suspicious.
Still, nothing in Aaron's tone or posture suggested he was trying to deceive them.
And then there was what he had said.
Looking for survivors?
Rock Fortress was expanding south and east.
Virginia had brutal, mysterious raiders operating somewhere nearby.
And now there was apparently another safe community actively searching for people?
The situation in Virginia was far more complicated than Calista had expected.
Sasha kept her composure, her rifle still trained on the man calling himself Aaron.
"Where is your community? How many people do you have? And why are you looking for us?"
The questions went straight to the point.
Aaron didn't seem surprised.
His voice remained calm, even sincere.
"Our community is farther north. As for the exact location... I hope you understand that we need to establish a little trust first.
"As for numbers, we have enough people to maintain an orderly life. And why are we looking for you..."
He paused.
His gaze seemed to cut through the darkness and settle directly on where Sasha was standing.
"Because good people need to come together if they want to survive this world and rebuild something.
"And you..."
He glanced meaningfully toward the group.
"You seem like good people. More importantly, you seem like people who know how to remain good even in a world like this."
Sasha was silent for a moment, one finger resting lightly against the trigger guard as she weighed the situation.
"What exactly do you mean by 'rebuild'?"
She needed more information before deciding whether they should have anything more to do with these men.
Aaron took a small step forward, then immediately stopped, apparently worried that even that might be misunderstood.
"We have farmland, doctors, and defenses capable of holding off walkers and raiders.
"We want to bring together more people like you, rebuild civilization, and restore some kind of order."
Sasha frowned.
"Sounds nice. But how do we know any of that is true? And what makes you think we'd want to join you?"
Eric, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
"We can take you there and let you see for yourselves. Not right now, of course. When you're ready to trust us.
"As for joining us, you've been out here long enough to know how hard survival is. What we're offering is a stable home, somewhere you don't have to wake up every day wondering whether you're going to die."
Tyreese couldn't hold back.
"Stable? There's no such thing as truly safe anymore. How do we know you're not just trying to use us?"
Aaron quickly answered.
"We genuinely want more people to work together. Every person adds another pair of hands, another bit of strength. In this world, trying to survive alone leads nowhere."
Sasha thought for a moment.
"Give us some time. Stay right where you are and don't move."
Then she turned toward Tyreese and lowered her voice.
"What do you think? Can we trust them?"
Tyreese scratched his head.
"Hard to say. What they're saying makes sense. But people are impossible to read these days. Better to be careful."
Sasha nodded and looked toward the others.
She saw the same hesitation and caution in their eyes.
Then she turned back toward Aaron.
"We'll consider it. But before that, you're going to answer a lot more questions.
"And don't try anything."
Aaron smiled.
"No problem. We came here in good faith. Hopefully, we can find a way to work together."