Boom!
A muffled sound was heard when the fist struck the couch. Fortunately, Rick was not the only one sitting on the couch, otherwise Abraham would have knocked him down with his punch.
But Rick's reaction was not slow at all. Immediately after seeing Abraham attack him, he jumped from the couch the moment he sensed danger, successfully avoiding the blow.
Seeing this, several people around the room rushed to restrain Abraham, and Rosita grabbed his right arm immediately, but she was thrown to the ground by great force.
Abraham broke free from the obstruction of several people without any effort and rushed toward Rick again.
Click!
"Don't move!"
The muzzle of the Colt touched the big man's forehead, and the long barrel gleamed with a cold light, causing everyone's movements to freeze.
Immediately afterward, both sides drew their weapons and aimed at each other, and even Katia raised a small revolver, which was a weapon Guillermo had given her for self-defense.
Although Elen also drew her weapon, her expression was a little unnatural, and she shouted at everyone with some hesitation.
"Everyone, don't be impulsive and speak properly if you have something to say."
Eugene, who was shrinking in the corner of the room, was the most entangled at this moment and realized that this matter had nothing to do with him.
From his perspective, it felt as if two large animals, one white and one red-haired, were arguing over a trivial matter. He only hoped something would happen so his unsustainable secret could be kept, but Eugene knew he needed more and more lies to convince others. Sooner or later the truth would come out, and he knew he couldn't support his claims for long. If he could endure the consequences then, it would be a miracle.
On the other hand, part of him wanted to stand up and tell everyone the truth. He hoped to be brave and take a step forward, but his cowardly nature made him not dare to speak at all.
However, the word "vaccine" in the opponent's mouth became the last straw that broke the camel's back! He gathered the courage to tell the truth, but the words turned into a shout on his lips.
"Abraham!"
"Shut up, this has nothing to do with you!"
Eugene didn't shut up but began to babble.
"Maybe I really can't change things, but one thing I'm pretty sure of is that I'm the smartest guy in the room right now, so I say you should lower your weapons, and if there's a shootout, pretty much everyone will be involved right now. Ninety percent of the people here will die from crossfire and stray bullets. I don't want to die inexplicably at the hands of allies, so I need you all to lower your weapons now, immediately."
"I'll give an opinion that both sides can accept, and then it depends on whether you agree or not. I mean—"
"Eugene! Shut up!"
Following Abraham's growl, the man who was still speaking at this moment instantly turned into a deflated balloon, and his body shrank into the corner of the wall.
Ignoring the gun barrel at his head, Abraham did not waver at all, staring at Rick without any fear.
"Abraham!"
Rosita was worried he would do something stupid, and she hurried to speak softly, but she was interrupted by the strong man raising his hand.
"We are two separate teams. I don't want you to judge our people. I will take Eugene to Washington. Unless I die, no one will stop me from moving forward! Do you understand?"
After understanding what the other meant, Rick raised his eyebrows indifferently and lowered his weapon.
"Of course, none of my people will go to Washington with you. We'll separate tomorrow."
"As you wish!"
...
That night, the two groups of people slept on different sides of the room, and both kept watch through the night. In the first half of the night, Guillermo was on duty, and in the second half, it was Morgan's turn.
Looking at the sleeping people, he walked over to Abraham, who had not slept all this time. His face was hidden in the night so that no one could see him clearly, but his identity could be confirmed thanks to the military uniform on his body.
Abraham was not stupid. At night, before Rick finished speaking, he understood the meaning of the other side, but he was unwilling to believe the words of someone almost equivalent to a stranger. It could be said that Eugene and Washington were the pillars of his life, and he also had a weak suspicion in his heart. He deliberately ignored it, and now his attitude toward Morgan, who appeared suddenly, was not hostile.
"Why, do you still want to persuade me to stop going to Washington?"
"Of course not, I just want to talk to you about the situation in Washington."
"You mean that friend of yours?"
Abraham understood that there was someone these people knew right now in Washington, so there must be something more than life in that part of the country compared to other places.
"No, he is the leader of our base. I was with him in Texas, where there was nothing but people eating humans, children sent to war, and many other horrible things you can imagine. We have several bases, thousands of people in each of them. Our leader also mentioned it when he left… One of the reasons to go to Washington is to see if living conditions there are better and to find out if there is anyone we can save. However, according to the news we received some time ago, the situation there is not optimistic either."
"Why, is there still a group of people waiting to kill us?"
"At least not before we left the base, but there are always groups trying to kill us in different places, and I'm not seeking for you to agree with me in any way, I just don't want to—"
Having said that, Morgan paused for a moment and did not continue, but Abraham asked strangely.
"Don't want what?"
"It's nothing, let me talk about the purpose of seeking you this time."
Seeing the other silent, Morgan didn't mind.
He began to whisper about what he had found this time.
"Our leader, who in this case is known as our commander, is the one who went to Washington. His name is Jason, a soldier just like you. He guarded an important CDC laboratory even after law and order collapsed. The researchers are now in a different place but still with enough equipment to find a cure for this disease—professors, researchers, assistants, everything you can imagine we have…"
"Jason and the people at the base ensure absolute security. I can't assure you that there are two teams in other places, but our research progress and growth are definitely in a leadership position within the country."
"Even with this kind of setup, we still haven't been able to completely overcome this difficulty, so what Rick said makes sense. Even if we manage to eliminate the possibility of contracting the infection that turns people into the undead, there won't be much change."
"But I have a suggestion. You can return with us to the base first and wait until you finish drawing your conclusions. If there are researchers in Washington, we will send a special team by helicopter to investigate it. Our people can even help you."
Morgan said a lot this time, but Abraham was still sitting with an indifferent expression. Morgan secretly shook his head and did all he could. What to choose depended on the other side's opinion.
What neither of them noticed was that Eugene was not sleeping at all at this moment. His eyes were staring at the ceiling, wondering what he was thinking, and the moonlight shone in his eyes, revealing an inexplicable expression.
...
In a small town more than ten kilometers from Rick and the others, Carol and her group also hid in a residential house for the night.
At this moment, the night watchman was Richard, and another person was sitting beside him—it was Carol, and the two were talking about something.
"Aren't you going to sleep?"
"I can't sleep."
"Still thinking about Rick?"
"Yes…"
Richard sighed, looked toward the closed door of the room behind him, and deliberately spoke in a low voice.
"I'm sure Captain Rick can survive hell and return to the base, but if we went out this time, it's once again because of Lori…"
"You're right about that, but we can't just wait…"
"Then, which terminal do you think we should go to?"
Carol pondered for a moment, then spoke with some uncertainty.
"We definitely have to go to that place, but we'll approach directly, just observe it first."
"I understand, those are basic survival rules."