Time rolled back to the night before the rescue operation outside the factory led by Jason, in the community of Alexandria.
Because of recent problems, a group was tasked with leading an emergency operation to the nearest S.C.T. base, where at least one hundred and fifty people were safely and quietly relocated.
Jason and the others knew it wasn't at all beneficial to have so many people in this place, so he organized a special elite group and safely sent all those people away.
The guard force was sufficient even with the large numbers that led both operations; at least everyone knew they would find out if something happened that could put the security of the place in danger.
…
Meanwhile, a few people were sitting on the couch in Deanna's house. Lucille was resting in a recliner, and at her side was Negan, holding her hand tenderly.
Sitting across from them were Maggie, Madison — Alicia's mother — and Aaron.
Maggie looked at Lucille, who was already asleep on the couch with a smile on her face, and said softly: "You two have such a good relationship. It would be wonderful if Glenn and I could be like that in the future."
"Well, I heard your family is at the main base of the organization Jason leads. Why do you fight here if you could stay by your family's side?"
At this question, Maggie looked at Madison and said: "My father, my sister, and I always stayed on the farm since our closest loved ones left this world. I slowly learned from Jason's original group that we must fight in this world to survive. At first my father didn't agree — he didn't want me to put myself in danger — but he fully understood it wasn't his choice."
"Right now, even though I miss my family, I can talk to them from here once a day. That comforts us, and we make sure we're always fine, no matter the distance. We're building a future, and I'm part of it. That makes me very happy."
Madison smiled and said nothing. Apparently Maggie's family was exactly like hers. Alicia had left this refuge in search of a future that might not matter easily to her, but Madison understood what it meant for the future.
"Did you say you hid in a small town until your wife's chemotherapy was finished?"
"Well, all of that was thanks to Franklin. I was able to finish the treatment because of him, since I lost all the medicine when the electricity went out."
Franklin's laughter came from the side; he pointed toward Negan and said jokingly: "Hahaha, in fact he grabbed a damn gun without bullets to rob us in our first encounter."
His daughter laughed too and said: "I remember it well. I knocked him out with a baseball bat — Negan's favorite weapon."
Everyone in the room laughed, and they could easily imagine Negan's embarrassment between the laughter. Who tries to rob someone with an unloaded weapon?
Negan didn't mind everyone's laughter, and even gave a thumbs-up in praise.
"That was one hell of a hit!"
"Hahaha."
Lucille, who had been sleeping all afternoon, woke up at the laughter. She opened her sleepy eyes, looked dazedly at the blanket over her body, then saw her husband's worried eyes, and her anxious heart calmed instantly.
"Hey there!"
"Darling, it's time to get up and eat. The IV in your arm is to help you recover slowly — the doctor said with this you'll regain the strength you've lost."
Everyone who had been chatting all afternoon stood up and were about to leave when they heard a scream from the yard, followed by many gunshots.
"Ahhh!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Immediately after, several shots shattered the peace of the community, and screams followed one after another. Everyone in the room drew their weapons, Negan even grabbed the baseball bat at his side and reached for his wife's hand.
"We're under attack!"
"Zz... There are many figures in the dark, we don't know where they got in. There are blind spots in our field of vision... Ahhhh!"
In an instant, communications were cut, and in the distance there was a cry followed by large flames that lit up the quiet night.
"Let's go give support!"
Most of the guards outside were people from Alexandria who had been trained for a long time, and the gunfire sounded from different parts of the base, so now they should have been suppressing the enemy.
The people in the house rushed out quickly. Only Negan led Lucille up to the second floor of the house and was about to shut the door behind him, but Lucille stretched out her hand to stop him.
"Negan, it's too dangerous outside!"
"Relax. What kind of man am I if I can't protect you? I'll be fine, I'm sure of it. Stay here and wait for me to come back."
After speaking, he freed himself from his wife's arms, closed the door, and swung the handle of the baseball bat, a wicked smile on his face.
The plaza was full of people at that moment, and the sky was already dark. Some men with torches moved through the community. They broke into houses and rushed to kill anyone they saw. Some carried firearms, the rest just cold weapons.
Meanwhile, from time to time, many of that group fell with numerous gunshots in their bodies. But they didn't care — as if the purpose of killing was more important.
Liam was the first to run out of the house, charging at two men with machetes. In the glow of the flames, he clearly saw the two W marks on the enemies' heads, and a surge of rage rose in him.
That's right, these people were Wolves. These bastards had hunted them from Noah's community. Even though Jason's group had made sure to wipe out the entire pack, the rest were bold enough not to fear death.
The Wolves' leader was one of the three Deanna had previously exiled, but because of too much external trauma, he had mental problems — no different from a madman. As he drew closer and closer to Alexandria, he remembered this settlement where he had once stayed for a short time, so he came here with the seventy Wolves remaining in the group.
Thanks to a group of people outside, several had gathered at one point. They hadn't chosen this spot randomly, but had built a ladder that went directly over the wall.
As for why the guards didn't see them, it was because the Wolves were clever enough to draw a small horde of walkers that distracted the guards long enough to be killed with Molotov cocktails.
The Wolves that entered were basically in groups of two or three, storming directly into several houses. This was also the source of the screams at this moment.
The guards were many, but no matter how many enemies they killed, as long as they were inside the base in the dark, it was impossible to distinguish them so easily.
At this moment, Liam and his group had just rushed out of the house, when suddenly a woman ran out of a house not far away — the same woman who had argued with Jason's people that morning.
The moment she ran out of the room, a machete slashed directly into her neck. The sharp blade cut through flesh, exposing blood vessels inside. Her neck split in half instantly, and blood spurted like a fountain, staining the ground.
Some of her blood splashed onto the face of the man in front of her. The man showed an excited expression, grinning, and was about to raise the knife and run to one side when Liam shot him in the head.
Bang!
Both corpses lay on the ground, motionless. Seeing that the woman couldn't be saved, Liam couldn't stand that this place he was protecting was being attacked like this. He looked at everyone and gathered them immediately, trying to organize the people.
At that moment, two more men jumped from the fence behind them, both with gleaming weapons in their hands.
"Keep your eyes on anyone with a damn letter on their forehead — shoot as many times as it takes to kill them!"
Although these people were insane, they weren't charging forward stupidly.
…
Two crazed men from the group entered a house.
At the far end stood Denise.
This woman was a medical student who had been learning medical skills from many people here, later joining to serve as a nurse. Usually she studied with Bob and occasionally picked up a few things from Edward.
The two Wolves finally got close behind her, silently raising their knives without hesitation.
Denise seemed to sense something, turned her head to look back, and saw two strangers with knives raised. The next second, two dull thuds were heard.
Puff, puff!
A bat moved quickly through the darkness behind the Wolves, two heavy blows landing directly on their heads.
Before Denise could recover from the shock, she saw the Wolves roll their eyes back and fall to the floor. Behind them stood a man in black leather, a wicked smile on his face.
"They almost screwed you, sweetheart."
Then his voice came again.
"You okay?"
Denise's mind went blank; she shook her dazed head, then started to move, hearing him continue just as she was about to speak.
"I need you to go inside. Lucille is hiding in the stairwell. Go watch over her. Leave these bastards to me, got it?"
Nodding quickly, Denise twisted her plump body and rushed into the room.
Just as Negan turned his head, out of the corner of his eye he saw a Wolf running in from the side. The corner of his mouth curled up, and he muttered to himself in a mocking tone:
"Man, you're a rat."
Just as the Wolf lunged forward, relying on his height and long legs, Negan kicked straight out, driving his right foot into the man's abdomen. The man's eyes bulged slightly and he doubled over in pain.
But Negan didn't stop. He took advantage of the distance to strike another man approaching him. After several blows to his head, he let out a deep breath.
Looking up again, he saw an old man running out the door of another house. However, a long-haired man immediately rushed out behind him, and the knife in his hand stabbed toward the old man's back.
Soon, the old man fell into a pool of blood, unmoving. The man looked up and saw Negan, who was witnessing everything not far away. Wiping the blood from his face, his expression immediately turned crimson. His cruel smile was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.