Recently, with the Knoxville Industrial Park's infrastructure expanding so quickly, more than half of Rock Fortress's core circle had been stationed there.
Rock Fortress and Blackberry Ranch had been left in the hands of the Howards, Dr. Evans, Martha, Ellie, and the others.
Harry and Jenny from the medical team had been transferred to the industrial park, and Guillermo had also come over to handle the points exchange here.
The Defense Force was basically stationed across both locations.
Maya and Lieutenant Welles's team, along with Thompson's pilot team, were stationed at the main base with the reservists. The other veteran teams had mostly been assigned to Block B.
Inside the communications room of the Block B Command Center.
Danny focused on adjusting the knobs, making sure the signal was clear and stable.
Calista sat at the main console. The latest supply inventory and population allocation report were spread out in front of her, but right now, all her attention was on the familiar voice coming through the headset.
Regular communication with the prison had become one of the important channels for Rock Fortress to stay in contact with Rick's group and exchange information.
Aside from its trade relationship with the Riverbank Guerrillas, Rock Fortress's connection with Rick's group ran even deeper.
After all, putting aside Calista's occasional urge to borrow a little of their protagonist halo, she had known every member of Rick's group for many years. With everything they had gone through at the farm, they could absolutely be called comrades who had faced life and death together.
"…Yeah, our numbers finally passed one hundred," Rick sounded like he was in a good mood this time. "We've completely cleared out the prison.
We found more cell blocks we can convert, and we've taken in a few survivors we met on the road who seem reliable enough.
The defensive pressure is higher now, but we've got a lot more hands to work with, and we've expanded the farmland again."
In the background, Hershel's voice could faintly be heard. He seemed to be outside the room, speaking to someone nearby. "Put those new carrot seeds aside by themselves. Yes, keep them separate from the potatoes."
Calista was happy too. Rock Fortress had been developing rapidly lately. "It's about the same on our side. We just absorbed a new batch of people, and some of them have pretty good skills."
Rick paused for a moment, as if choosing his words. "Right, we had a few unexpected gains too. We ran into a backpacker traveling alone a while ago.
Before the outbreak, he worked as an outdoor guide and wilderness survival instructor. He knows all sorts of useful things, identifying plants, setting traps, fixing little gadgets…"
A backpacker? Outdoor guide?
Could it be that poor man who had tried to approach Rick during his most guarded and paranoid period, only to be coldly rejected and end up dying alone to walkers?
The backpacker's blurred face, his futile waving, flashed through her mind.
But now Rick's group had obtained more supplies and a stable environment early on, with no losses among their own people, so Rick's mindset had not become that extreme yet.
That tragic character from the original timeline had actually been accepted?
It looked like the Governor had not appeared yet. So what stage had the prison reached now?
"Really?" Calista followed the topic. "Wilderness survival skills are definitely useful nowadays. By the way, Rick, do you have any newcomers with strong combat ability?"
"The newcomers are all training right now. Jacqui and Andrea are teaching them target practice, and Carl and Sophia have started practicing too." Rick thought for a moment, then added,
"Two new people came yesterday, a brother and sister. The younger brother looks pretty capable, but they're still in quarantine. Something happened, and we're still discussing whether to take them in."
Wow! Here it comes!
Calista was practically itching to hear the gossip. Rick heard the sudden quiet on her end and could probably guess what she looked like. He burst out laughing. "Calista, you must be really curious, huh?"
Obviously!
Rick stopped teasing her and quickly explained. "Yesterday, Carl and Sophia were playing near the prison when they saved a few people: a brother and sister, both Black, and a family of three. But the mother had been bitten by a walker, so Carl didn't let them in…"
"And then?" Calista asked eagerly.
Rick sounded surprised. "Wow. Hahaha, Calista, it's really rare to see you like this."
Calista said, "Huh? What was I like before?"
Rick fell silent for a moment, then said seriously, "You always looked like you were carrying a lot. Like you never let yourself relax. You were a great leader, not a teenage girl. Calista, right now you finally seem like someone your age."
The line went quiet for a few seconds, with only the soft hiss of static.
Calista felt complicated.
It seemed the apocalypse really had changed her quite a bit.
The old her had just been an ordinary girl who liked watching shows, reading novels, and chasing gossip.
Then Rick's voice sounded again. "Anyway, back to it. The father and son wanted to bring the mother in too. When they saw Carl and Sophia were just kids, they tried to force their way in, but the brother and sister stopped them.
They listened to Carl and went into quarantine. Sophia went to tell Carol, who was patrolling nearby. By the time Carol arrived, the wife had already turned."
Rick sounded regretful. "Looks like the younger brother, Tyreese, gave her a quick end."
As Rick spoke, Calista gradually remembered this part of the original plot. Wasn't there something else that happened afterward?
This time, before Calista could ask what happened next, Rick continued on his own. "Most of us were out searching for supplies at the time, and Hershel was farming with a group of people. Carol was the closest, so she went over.
Maybe when the father saw Carol, Carl, and Sophia, he thought we only had women and children here. He and his son tried to attack Carol and take the prison.
Tyreese and Sasha stopped them. Carol drove the father and son away and only kept the brother and sister."
"Did she really drive them away? Aren't you afraid they'll bring people back for revenge?" Calista asked uncertainly.
Was that really how Carol handled it?
What if that father and son ran into the Governor out there?
Wouldn't that bring trouble to their doorstep early?
Rick paused. "I don't think so. They didn't actually hurt us. We can't just kill them all, right? We're not raiders."
Calista did not know what to say.
Rick, oh Rick. You've been protected too well.
She wanted to confirm one more thing. "Did you see them leave yourself?"
Rick shook his head. "Carol handled it before we got back. She said she drove them all the way out to about a kilometer from the prison.
I asked Carl too. He went with her. Sophia stayed behind here to keep an eye on Tyreese and Sasha.
That kid refused to say anything at first. I asked him several times before he finally told me.
He and Carol saw them leave with their own eyes and made sure they wouldn't come back."
Thinking back to Carl's behavior at the time, a flicker of doubt crossed Rick's mind.
Carl and Carol had both been so certain the father and son would never come back. Could it be…
But he immediately pushed the thought away.
Carol's combat ability had improved a lot, but her nature was still gentle and kind. And Carl was still a child.
Killing people? How could that be possible?
...
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