"A group of survivors we ran into during a massive traffic jam on the highway. They found the supplies you left near the CDC in Atlanta. One of them—a woman named Jacquie—asked me to thank you for saving her life."
"Jacquie?" Calista thought for a moment but couldn't recall the name.
"Funny thing is, that group actually knew Felipe and the others before. They even gave them some weapons. Their leader's named Rick. Looks like a cop."
Calista's heart skipped a beat.
Leah actually ran into Rick's group?
Jacquie?
Wait. In the original storyline, when the CDC exploded, there was indeed a woman named Jacquie who chose to stay behind.
Leah didn't notice Calista's momentary distraction and kept talking.
"She kept repeating how grateful she was for the things you left behind. Said she'd never forget your kindness. She sounded completely sincere."
So it really was her.
Calista understood immediately.
The supplies and note she had left behind had indeed been found by Rick's group.
And Jacquie—the woman who, in the original storyline, had lost hope in the apocalypse and chosen to die in the CDC alongside Jenner—had survived because of her interference and had left with Rick's group.
That meant Calista had not only changed Jenner's fate but had also unknowingly altered the fate of another minor character.
The group she had once deliberately waited for but ultimately missed had crossed paths with her in this unexpected way.
Those small supplies she had left behind had actually caused a ripple.
"I see," Calista said, suppressing the waves in her mind and keeping her tone calm. "Did they say where they were heading afterward?"
Even though she already knew the answer from the original storyline, she still wanted to confirm it.
"I asked," Leah said, nodding. "Rick said they were looking for a little girl. He asked if I'd seen her."
"Did you?"
"Of course not. But I noticed a place nearby called Greene Farm, so I told them to try looking there."
Hershel's farm.
The destined timeline had lined up perfectly after all.
Sophia gets lost. Rick's group heads to the farm. Everything is unfolding along the original track.
Except for the small variable of Jacquie—and the fact that they arrived at the farm earlier.
Calista wondered whether Rick might manage to find Sophia before she turned into a walker this time.
She fell silent for a moment.
She knew what would happen at the farm.
The walker threat.
Shane's descent into darkness.
Brutal fighting.
The group breaking apart.
It was the beginning of a long chain of tragedies.
For a brief moment, a powerful impulse rose within her—the urge of someone who knew the future—to intervene and change those inevitable deaths.
But she quickly suppressed the thought.
Back when she had watched the show, she had desperately wanted to change the characters' fates.
But after truly entering the world of The Walking Dead, that impulse had vanished.
This was a real apocalypse.
The nameless extras who had once died on screen were real people here.
In a TV series, they were expendable background characters while the protagonists were protected.
Here, they were all human beings who could bleed, suffer, and die.
Calista was just an ordinary person. She wasn't some all-powerful protagonist with a cheat ability.
She was the leader of Rock Fortress, not Rick's group's caretaker.
Her first responsibility was to protect her own territory and the people who relied on her.
Interfering recklessly in the main storyline might expose her greatest secret and could bring unknown risks to her still-developing base.
In the apocalypse, people with savior complexes usually died the fastest.
She could offer small help when it didn't endanger her—like leaving supplies—but she would never rush in blindly to play hero.
Calista understood this clearly. Outwardly, she simply nodded.
"I hope they find that little girl. Times like these… it's not easy."
"But we don't have the time to worry about others. We've got enough problems of our own." Calista pointed toward the unfinished breach in the fence.
Leah nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. Our own fence isn't even secured yet."
Calista smoothly changed the subject.
"By the way, were there any capable people in that group?"
Leah thought for a moment.
"Rick's authority seemed average, but he's probably a good shot. Seems like a decent guy. There was also a burly guy with curly hair and a man carrying a crossbow. Both looked pretty skilled compared to ordinary people."
Here it comes.
Calista's pairing radar immediately lit up.
She casually asked about the one person she cared about.
"A crossbow? Not many people use that kind of weapon these days."
At the mention of the crossbowman, Leah's expression shifted ever so slightly.
"That guy with the crossbow…" Leah narrowed her eyes as if recalling the scene. "Probably a hunter. A bit wild. He was really pushing to keep searching for that little girl. Felt like he might've just lost someone."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Calista asked, keeping her tone neutral.
"Well… something about his state felt off. When I mentioned you, he seemed to think of someone too."
Leah continued thoughtfully.
"And that girl isn't related to him. For him to insist on finding her that strongly, either he's extremely kind… or he lost someone before and never found them. The missing girl might've reminded him of that person, and it set off his emotions."
Calista listened carefully and nodded inwardly.
Of course.
His brother, Merle Dixon, was still here at Rock Fortress, currently practicing shooting with his left hand every day.
Calista suddenly asked, "What do you think of him?"
Leah paused for a moment before answering, her tone carrying a hint of admiration she might not even have realized herself.
"His stance. The way he holds that crossbow. He's experienced. If the situation had been clearer, I would've liked to spar with him in archery."
She gestured casually.
"The feeling was… well, like seeing another version of myself. If I were some mountain wildling running around in the woods."
Leah said it jokingly, but the subtle sense of recognition between warriors was obvious.
Calista understood immediately.
Even with the timeline altered, some fateful connections still seemed to exist.
Leah's evaluation of Daryl was far beyond what she'd say about a normal survivor. It carried the respect of one fighter recognizing another.
Which made sense. It matched Leah's identity as a top-tier mercenary.
For now, though, her interest in Daryl remained purely professional.
"Sounds like there are a few tough ones in that group," Calista concluded.
"If our patrol, reconnaissance, or scavenging teams run into them near resource locations again, stay alert and try to avoid any conflict."
"Understood, Cali. I'll inform Rickson," Leah replied, switching into a professional tone as well.
Leah nodded slightly and turned to leave.
Her back was straight and decisive, without a trace of hesitation.
Calista watched her sister walk away and let out a quiet breath.
Good.
Leah was still the same Leah—calm, professional, dependable.
The complicated love-hate relationship from the original storyline hadn't happened yet.
"Alright. Stop daydreaming," Calista muttered to herself, clapping her hands as she headed toward the busy construction area.
Her eyes settled once more on the unfinished barbed-wire fence.
The base in front of her was the story she needed to devote herself to.
The joys and tragedies unfolding at the distant farm would follow their own path of fate.