Liam left Raúl behind with the priest and walked toward the inner courtyard, where he ran into Jason, who was just stepping out.
"Commander? What are you doing?"
"I'm about to speak with the people who arrived from Washington. You can take care of whatever you have pending."
"How's Rick's wife?"
Jason didn't reply; he just shook his head slightly. Liam sighed—this kind of thing was inevitable, and he had long grown used to seeing it happen with subordinates and loved ones alike.
"I'm going to pay my respects."
Just as he was about to go inside, Liam suddenly remembered something, turned his head, and said:
"Jason, I just brought an old acquaintance of one of my subordinates. From what I heard, he's a childhood friend of his. Turns out he's now a priest. If you think it's appropriate, he can preside over the funeral."
Jason was surprised when he heard that. A priest? Could it be Gabriel?
In fact, on their way back, he had originally intended to rescue the priest along the route, but had forgotten about it after they left the terminal as soon as Rick learned his wife was infected.
Now, upon hearing Liam mention a priest, he instinctively thought of Gabriel.
"What's his name?"
"Gabriel."
Indeed, it was him. Jason couldn't help but recall that the priest in the original story had that very background. Now that he thought about it, somehow everything was unfolding in a way that brought people together one way or another, which reassured him. It wasn't that he had forgotten everything, but sometimes living within reality was a much greater challenge than he imagined.
"Is there a story behind it?"
Jason's question was simple, but unexpectedly, Liam nodded when he heard it.
"Actually, they mentioned knowing a few people who were a bit special. That group was known as the Lunatics of the End of the World. I think the man's name was Joe, can't remember exactly where. But they say he's very muscular and lives alone with his dog."
Joe and his dog?
Why did that sound extremely familiar?
There were many things about this world that were unknown to him. That wasn't surprising, even after meeting Alicia in Texas. By this point, he had prepared himself well enough not to run into trouble with other organizations.
Of all of them, he only knew the famous CRM. But who was to say there couldn't be others of a similar nature? The scope of the story was so limited that it never really showed what was happening in the rest of the country, so everything outside Atlanta remained a mystery.
Now, everything was about to begin. He had gathered the most important people—those capable of bringing true change in the future. Jason would make sure their fate would be entirely different.
Together we endure; together we survive, because we are the walking dead.
…
In an open plaza, the last people were finishing their tests, and around five hundred individuals who had arrived over the past few days were now gathered.
These 500 people were still divided into several small groups, but those with good relationships chatted openly with the others.
In that plaza were people from the Kingdom, Hilltop, Alexandria, and Noah's shelter, as well as those from Arturo and Negan's group, who had been found unexpectedly.
Not to be overlooked was the Oceanside group, who were accompanied by people rescued from the Terminal.
However, there was an obvious difference between these two groups: no one communicated with the others, and they simply stood there in silence.
The construction workers on the other side were different. Their leader, Arturo, was an observant man with clear survival goals. Throughout the entire journey from Washington to here, everyone had remained quiet, not bothering anyone.
But as soon as they arrived, he immediately began reaching out to people. Despite struggling with social interaction, he skillfully connected with everyone. With his straightforward yet reserved personality, he quickly got along with those around him.
When Jason returned to the gate, what he saw was Arturo laughing heartily with Ezekiel and the others.
"Jason, my friend, you're here!"
After waving his hand to greet everyone, Ezekiel said loudly with a smile.
"It's always good to see you, Ezekiel. I hope everyone's comfortable here—and your cat as well."
Without waiting for Ezekiel's response, Jason cleared his throat and said, "Listen carefully. Your inspection is now complete, so we'll be taking you to a special place. But first, there are some things you need to know in advance."
As Jason looked at the crowd paying close attention, he organized his thoughts, and the scene immediately fell silent. Everyone stared at him expectantly, hoping for a good outcome.
"The first thing I want you to know is that we've worked together, and there are no differences between any of us. No matter who you are, you will be saved as long as you belong to our organization. I will always protect you, and I promise to stand before you and take a bullet if necessary—that is my duty as your leader."
"We've all come back from hell. We once thought of finding a place to build our domain, but that dream was difficult to achieve since my people couldn't operate that far from Atlanta. You've probably noticed that people like Jesus and Ezekiel are my good friends, as we've been in contact for quite some time."
"I'm sure you've all heard things about that place, but before you learn more about what goes on here, you must understand that we are not mere survivors—the organization you're about to join represents humanity's salvation."
"But before that, all of you will undergo a deeper evaluation, and you won't be allowed to leave for 48 hours. Food, clothing, and blankets will be provided—you'll have everything you need. Anyone sick or in need of medication will receive it without issue."
"However, if you feel you can't trust us, I must ask you to leave. We share one purpose—to rebuild society—and for that, we must all stand united."
The scene was calm, and no one made a sound, but Arturo, the leader of the hundred-member team, spoke tactfully.
"Sir, everyone in our group fully accepts your conditions. The conditions here are so good—who that's been out there wouldn't want to stay in a place like this?"
Everyone secretly nodded. They had seen a lot while guarding the gate for over half a day.
For example, fully armed soldiers in advanced suits, security forces stationed along the base wall, various sophisticated weapons and equipment, and even helicopters flying overhead alongside tanks being moved from one location to another.
Besides Michonne, Carol, and the others who hadn't entered, there had been many conversations. They also learned that this place was small compared to the refuge in Atlanta. If the numbers were real, they could be a group of over twenty thousand people.
Tanks, heavy artillery, helicopters, fighter jets, CH-47s, Apaches, and many other combat aircraft—even access to far more powerful things that had only been spoken of.
It must be said, the sense of security that weaponry provided was the most direct. Seeing that no one had stood up for quite a while, Jason continued speaking loudly.
"Alright then, if all of you have made your decision, follow me."
…
The sound of footsteps echoed as the people finally entered the courtyard, where there was a wide path leading from the gate.
The inner courtyard was massive. The stables had been removed, and the area was now being completely rebuilt with the purpose of creating a sophisticated building.
"All the livestock we had has been moved to the back area you haven't seen yet, and we plan to use the outer zone for greenhouses."
Ezekiel and Jesus stared wide-eyed at everything before them. They had raised livestock before, but at most, they'd had twenty or thirty pigs and a few dozen chickens.
Here, however, there seemed to be every kind of livestock imaginable, Humvees neatly parked, and numerous tanks stationed around. There were also helicopters, and they'd heard there were plans to make a landing strip so planes could touch down here.
In the end, the more than 500 people were divided into two groups. Those familiar with Ezekiel and Jesus were immediately assigned to sleeping quarters without needing evaluation, while the rest had to be assessed before being assigned rooms.
Then came the smaller matters—vaccinations, receiving daily necessities, job assignments, and so on.
The vaccination part truly shocked the crowd, but after an explanation, everyone understood that it didn't make them immune to the virus—it merely eliminated their carrier status.
On the other hand, there was a gleam of hope in Arturo's eyes. He realized how important the vaccine was and was overjoyed to know that in this place, hope still hadn't been lost.
This is hope. Most people just don't understand it yet.