Rick did not give the order right away. His hesitant gaze swept over Michonne.
At a glance, Michonne clearly wasn't someone to mess with.
"Calista… who's that behind you?" Rick asked, extremely cautious.
"A friend who joined us on the road. She's one of us now," Calista said simply.
Rick hesitated no longer and nodded to Carl.
The prison gates opened, wide enough for both people and vehicles to pass through.
But Calista and the others did not drive in. They stopped outside the prison instead.
They had been away from Rock Fortress for too long, and everyone was eager to get home. Calista had no intention of staying at the prison. Once she picked up her little animals, they would leave.
She walked in openly with Leah, Carver, and Michonne.
The rest of the Rock Fortress team stayed by the vehicles on guard, exchanging greetings with members of Rick's group up on the wall.
In the open yard inside the prison, Hershel, Lori, Beth, and the others had gathered after hearing the commotion.
When Maggie and Beth saw Calista and Leah, delighted smiles spread across their faces.
Maggie hurried over with concern in her eyes. "Calista! You're back! Are you okay?"
"Maggie, I'm fine." Calista smiled at her, then nodded to Hershel as he walked over. "Hershel."
Hershel looked at Calista and the new faces she had brought with her, surprise filling his eyes.
Rick, Glenn, and the others also climbed down from the wall and came over.
"Calista," Rick said, getting straight to the point, "did everything go smoothly on the road?"
Calista had prepared her explanation in advance. She left out the details about what they had found at the Sentinel Station and the helicopter encounter, then calmly gave them a brief account of the journey.
Rick fell silent.
This had been a high-level operation, far beyond what ordinary survivors like them could take part in.
Beside him, Glenn looked at Calista with envy, then at Michonne standing behind her with a katana, clearly a formidable fighter.
T-Dog, Jacqui, Carol, and the others were just as amazed.
They had worked hard to build up the prison and had finally begun to make some progress, but compared to Calista's team, who had gone out once and brought back a pile of valuable scientific equipment, the gap between them was enormous.
They were still fighting to survive. The others had already started doing research.
Maggie looked at Calista, her eyes flickering. She gently touched Hershel's arm and whispered, "Dad, look at them… Rock Fortress really does seem powerful. And safe."
There was a trace of longing in her voice.
Beth also murmured, "Yeah. Calista and Leah are amazing."
Hershel patted his daughter's hand and did not speak right away, but the admiration in his eyes grew stronger as he looked at Calista.
As someone who had lived through the destruction of the farm, he was no longer as naive as he used to be. More than the young people, he understood what a strong, orderly community truly meant.
Rick took in all those subtle reactions.
He could feel the slight divide beginning to form within the group.
In truth, even Rick himself was deeply conflicted.
On one hand, he was glad Calista was so strong. After all, she was a powerful potential ally.
But on the other hand, the desire not to be absorbed by someone else, to keep the prison independent and build it up on their own, had taken firm root in his heart.
Not to mention, Lori was pregnant. She could not handle a long journey or the strain of an unknown environment.
He also needed Hershel, a doctor, to stay and ensure Lori and the baby's safety.
Calista was sharp enough to immediately notice Rick's hesitation, as well as the longing in Maggie and Beth's eyes.
She smiled faintly and took the initiative to break the slightly tense atmosphere, speaking in an easy tone. "Hey, Rick, we came this time to pick up my little animals!"
Calista turned to Hershel. "Hershel, are my livestock doing all right?"
Hearing that, Rick quietly let out a breath of relief, but in the same instant, he felt as if something in him had changed.
She had helped them so much without asking for anything, yet here he was, harboring these selfish thoughts.
His feelings were complicated, and he did not know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Calista paid no attention to Rick's inner struggle.
She did not care about it at all.
After all, the main group was still small and only just getting started. They would not be much help to Rock Fortress right now. If they wanted to develop freely on their own, that would actually be better for her.
Rock Fortress could gain fully grown allies in the future without having to spend its own resources and energy supporting them.
She continued, "I can tell you've managed the prison well. It's easy to defend and hard to attack, with a lot of potential. We're in Tennessee, near Knoxville, and you're here. That means we can support each other and watch each other's backs."
Calista signaled for Danny to bring over a military radio, then handed it to Rick. "This is for you. The frequency is already set.
From now on, we can stay in contact, share intelligence, and support each other if trouble comes up. Independent development, but not isolation. That benefits both of us."
Rick took the radio, feeling its weight in his hands and in his heart.
It was not just a piece of equipment. It was a promise, and a gesture.
Calista had not used her strength to pressure them. Instead, she had shown respect and offered sincere cooperation.
"Thank you, Calista," Rick said solemnly. "You're welcome at the prison anytime."
A trace of disappointment flashed through Maggie and Beth's eyes, but they understood Rick's decision.
"Well then," Calista said with a smile, "shall we go pick out the livestock? Hershel, I'll have to trouble you."
Hershel nodded with a smile and led Calista and the others toward the livestock pens at the back of the prison.
Rick began arranging people to help.
Calista casually glanced around and noticed Axel, Big Guy, and Oscar.
The three of them were not standing together. They were spread apart, but their eyes met from time to time, revealing the unease in their hearts.
When Calista and the others walked in with Michonne, the three men were immediately drawn to them.
Axel looked at the unfamiliar faces and swallowed unconsciously, his fingers absently picking at the seam of his pants.
Big Guy looked at Leah, Carver, and the others behind Calista, all of them giving off a strong presence, then secretly glanced at Rick. His brows knitted together, and his massive body seemed awkward and at a loss.
Oscar's reaction was the most complicated.
His lips pressed together slightly. His gaze first swept quickly over the Rock Fortress team.
Then his eyes landed on Rick, Glenn, and the others, the "cellmates" who had cleared cell blocks with him, reinforced the walls with him, and even shared limited food around the campfire with him at night.
Calista keenly caught the conflicted looks on their faces, and she understood.
Oscar and the other two had initially spent a brief week with Carver, Mike, and the others. But in the longer period that followed, they had become more deeply integrated into Rick's group.
This group was different.
Here, Hershel and Dale offered the care and nagging of elders. Lori, Carol, Jacqui, and Patricia quietly mended clothes and prepared food for everyone. And above all, Rick held on to a kind of idealism and moral conviction.
That feeling of ordinary life was something Carver's mercenaries, who were always in combat mode, could never give them.
On one side was a powerful professional team that could provide safety. On the other was a "home" full of human warmth, built through everyone's shared effort.
It was not an easy choice.
...
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