"They're pushing it!"
A shout stopped Jason, who was just about to turn around, and when he did, he saw something unusual.
Daryl was pushing the door with great effort, but at that moment, the door was still opening slightly.
There was no time to think about anything else. Jason rushed forward to hold the door and prevent the walkers from forcing it open.
"Glenn, everyone, come here!"
Before he could finish speaking, he felt someone running toward him, and when he turned his head sharply, it turned out to be Rick.
Right after that, one person, then another, ran to help, but the force coming from the other side of the door was getting stronger and stronger, and the two sides entered a battle of strength and endurance that lasted for a while.
But soon Jason realized that the help didn't come without consequences, because his shout had not only alerted his people but also the walkers that hadn't been cleared out at the far end of the hallway right beside him.
On the other side of the corridor from where they had just come, more than a dozen walkers were gathered in a room, and all of them had been drawn by the noise.
That shout alerted the walkers that hadn't been dealt with, and before long, things got complicated.
A walker not far from the door turned its head and staggered toward the source of the sound, followed by about a dozen more that came down the hallway to Jason's right.
As they shuffled through the more-than-ten-meter corridor, the group of walkers saw the people trying to shut the door. At that moment, everyone was doing their best to hold it closed — even Amy and the other women stood behind, pushing while staring at the person in front of them.
Abraham had been a huge help in keeping the door shut so the walkers wouldn't break through into the hallway. Among the group, the weakest in physical strength was Carol, and she was also the least effective in pushing the door. But in a situation filled with adrenaline, she could only use all her strength, pressing hard against Daryl's back with a fierce look on her face — a face covered by a mask.
The walkers in the distance were drawn by the large group gathered there, and some let out low growls that were heard by a few of the women straining their bodies to keep the not-fully-closed door shut.
"Walkers on the side!"
As soon as Andrea turned her head, she saw walkers coming up behind them, the nearest one less than five meters away.
Carol was also startled. Seeing the walkers approaching, she clenched her teeth, released her hand from Daryl's back, and pulled a dagger from her waist.
Crack!
She stepped forward and plunged the dagger viciously into the head of the nearest walker, and the dark blood splattered across her mask — adding a bit of grim intensity to the woman who, until now, some of those unfamiliar with her might have thought was weak.
Hearing the noise behind them, everyone looked back in surprise, only to see a slim figure fighting a group of walkers that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"Shit!" Jason was furious now. It would've been much easier to take out those walkers beforehand, but seeing the situation, he simply ordered, "Amy, Andrea, go help! Shoot if you have to!"
The two women still at the back were stunned and looked at him when they heard his command. Andrea didn't hesitate — she immediately pulled out her pistol and started firing.
Amy froze for a moment, then, after seeing Jason still looking at her through the mask that hid his face, she gathered her courage and also drew her pistol.
Jason glanced at Rick beside him and shouted breathlessly to the people behind him.
"If we keep this up, we'll just wear ourselves out! We have to reduce their numbers and let the door open slightly."
They're all insane! The women who didn't understand what the others were doing — pulling away from the door that protected them from the walkers — were shocked.
Just as they were about to shout in disbelief, they saw Jason pull out a gun and fire a few shots through the gap. The walkers that kept pushing closer dropped to the floor, and for those holding the door, the pressure suddenly lessened.
Immediately after, there were several more gunshots, and the force weakened again. Then came a loud roar that alerted them to what they had to do.
"Push! Now, hard!"
"Ahhh!"
Boom!
The door finally closed.
Jason, who had been ready all along, quickly slammed the top latch shut, then bent down to lock the bottom one.
Click! Click!
The sound of the lock echoed again.
The door was completely shut!
"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."
Everyone began gasping violently. The last few moments had left them utterly exhausted, but one person broke away from the crowd.
Jason raised his hand and fired the last bullets from his gun into the heads of the remaining walkers behind him, then stopped the girls, drew his machete, and slashed the last few undead bodies to the ground.
Looking at Carol, then at Amy and her sister, Jason nodded approvingly and said, "Good work!"
The three women were delighted to receive Jason's praise, but after seeing the heap of walkers piled up on the other side of the door, everyone's spirits dropped again.
"Let's go back. We can't get through here."
Everyone wore disappointed expressions, and Daryl even spat toward the pile of corpses on the other side of the door, muttering bitterly, "Damn it, there are dead ones in every damn corner!"
But Jason just smiled, took the lead down the corridor, and motioned mysteriously for everyone to follow him.
Walking again toward the window where he had first seen the air corridor, Jason raised his gun and opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The shots echoed, glass shattered everywhere, but Jason didn't care since everyone's faces were covered by masks.
At the sound of shattering glass, everyone watched as the bullets instantly tore a large hole through the glass wall on the side of the air corridor. The opening was sudden — and clever.
Having lost the option to go through the main entrance, all that remained for that massive horde of walkers was the hole that had just appeared out of nowhere.
Then everyone in Jason's group saw a sight that made them feel deeply satisfied: a huge number of walkers poured out of the gap and fell straight from the fifth floor into the open space below.
Piles of corpses covered the ground, all dying instantly as one after another crashed down.
"Zz... Michonne, George, some of the walkers might still be alive. Take care of it and wait."
"Zz... Understood, we're moving."
Everyone was thrilled to see how dozens of walkers had been wiped out so easily — without wasting much ammo or exposing themselves to danger.