Lorenzo had already sprinted to the rear door of the Humvee Carver had been driving and slipped inside.
Mike was already at the wheel of the lead vehicle, roaring off the dirt road and plowing through the grass, trying to break through a weaker point in the encirclement.
The tires bounced wildly over the uneven field.
But it was too late.
There were far more walkers than they had imagined.
They poured in from every direction, as if the earth itself were spawning these rotting monsters.
The lead vehicle had barely left the road before it was surrounded by more than a dozen walkers.
The Humvee's power knocked a few aside, but more surged in, slamming against the windows and climbing onto the hood.
The vehicle slowed immediately.
"Damn it! There are too many!" Mike's panicked voice came over the radio.
"Run them over! Mike! Run them over!" Leah shouted, firing to help clear walkers closing in on the vehicles.
Mike gritted his teeth and floored the gas.
Everyone leaned out and opened fire. Bullets poured out in a relentless stream, cutting down the walkers swarming around them.
The Humvee roared like a trapped beast, crashing left and right, crushing bodies beneath its wheels. The impact thuds and wet sounds of bursting flesh echoed nonstop.
But for every walker that fell, more rushed in to take its place.
There were simply too many.
In the chaos, Calista saw the lead vehicle find a narrow gap and surge forward, briefly shaking off part of the horde.
The heavy truck followed close behind, grinding over severed limbs and bodies like a rolling crusher.
The two vehicles were about to break through.
Carver had been waiting for Calista and the others. Seeing them about to be cut off, he threw open the door, jumped down, and started firing wildly to clear a path.
But in that instant, Calista saw something that made her heart stop.
After Carver got out, Lorenzo slipped into the driver's seat.
He moved incredibly fast.
He did not wait for anyone.
The engine had never been turned off.
He slammed Carver's door shut, locked the vehicle, and grabbed the wheel.
The easy smile was gone from his handsome face, replaced by a look of pure excitement, almost madness. His eyes shone with an unsettling intensity.
It all happened in a flash.
He even had time to lock eyes with Calista through the window.
Lorenzo gave her a bright, taunting smile and blew her a kiss.
The message in his eyes was clear. Let's see if you survive, my charming leader. If you do, then this will be truly interesting.
"Goodbye, friends! Good luck!"
He even whistled before slamming the accelerator.
The Humvee roared forward, smashing through the walkers ahead. Against all odds, he tore open a gap and sped off toward the southwest.
Lorenzo had taken the vehicle and fled alone.
It happened so fast that everyone froze.
"You fucking Italian bastard!" Carver was the first to react, roaring in fury.
He spun and emptied a burst at the fleeing Humvee, but the reinforced armor held. Not a single round penetrated.
With more walkers closing in, Carver sprinted and caught up to the heavy truck.
Rifle in one hand, he grabbed the side of the truck, muscles straining, and hauled himself up in a clean, powerful motion onto the back.
"Shit! Shit! Go to hell, you pretty boy!" Merle cursed furiously.
At that moment, Wells' frantic voice came through the radio.
"Calista! Leah! You're completely cut off! What do we do?"
Calista forced herself to stay calm.
No hesitation.
She grabbed the radio and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Wells! Mike! Listen to me. Forget about us. Go after Lorenzo. Bring him and the vehicle back. That's an order."
She had to preserve the main force and recover the critical asset.
"But Calista! What about you?" Carver's voice came back, tight with urgency.
His eyes were locked on her direction, fists clenched, knuckles white. He was on the verge of jumping down and coming back.
"Follow the order, Carver!"
Calista's voice was firm.
"Trust me. We can get out. Go after him. That's the priority. If we get separated, regroup at the prison. The one I mentioned last night. I repeat, regroup at the prison in Griffin."
That was the fallback point they had agreed on in the storage room.
Calista was not familiar with the area.
She did not know whether Hershel's Greene Farm had already fallen. The only place she remembered nearby that was relatively safe was the prison Rick and the others went to later.
There was a brief silence.
Then Carver's voice came back, heavy but resolute.
"…Understood, Calista. We'll wait for you at the prison. Stay alive."
He chose to trust her.
This girl, who had a way of pulling people in, always managed to make the impossible happen.
And his job was to carry out her orders.
Calista watched as the heavy truck and the Humvee with Mike began forcing their way forward, ramming and firing as they pushed through the horde.
They carved a path toward the direction Lorenzo had fled, giving chase.
Meanwhile, Calista, Leah, and Merle were left behind, completely cut off near the farmhouse.
From above, the three of them would look like a tiny boat in a vast ocean, about to be swallowed by waves of gray and black.
Soft mud and weeds underfoot. Endless walkers closing in from all sides.
Rotting faces drew closer. Calista could even see bits of red flesh caught between some of their teeth.
Human or animal, there was no way to tell.
The stench of decay was suffocating.
Calista snapped into action. She grabbed Leah and Merle and shouted hoarsely, "Into the woods. Now. They're slower than us. There are fewer walkers in the trees than on the road."
Leah and Merle immediately understood.
The woods offered cover. Those slow-moving things would struggle to keep up.
"This way. Follow me."
Merle swung his metal axe blade, carving a path as he charged toward the forest.
Years of hunting instinct guided him now.
Calista and Leah followed close behind, running while firing back to slow the pursuing walkers.
Behind them, they could still hear crashing, snarling, the fading roar of engines, and distant gunfire.
Calista and the others had lost contact with the main group.
All that remained was their own heavy breathing and the walkers closing in behind them.
The only way forward was to keep running, deeper into the unknown woods.
...
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