The old pickup rattled along the abandoned road toward town. Glenn kept his eyes on the road, carefully steering around the growing number of wrecked vehicles scattered ahead.
Maggie sat in the passenger seat, staring blankly out the window at the desolate landscape rushing past. She was clearly still shaken by the tense atmosphere at the farm and the secret that had just come to light.
Calista, Leah, and Merle were squeezed into the back seat.
Daryl, as usual, rode alone in the truck bed, his back to the cab, crossbow resting across his knees like a silent sentinel.
Calista broke the silence, looking at Maggie as she tried to ease the tension.
"Maggie, your farm is really well maintained. Being able to keep a place like that going right now can't be easy."
Maggie snapped out of her thoughts and gave a faint smile.
"It's my father's life's work. He always says the land is like people. It needs care."
She paused, then asked, "Calista, what about where you came from? That community up north, what's it like?"
Since the outbreak, Maggie hadn't seen any other survivor camps. Aside from occasional supply runs into town, her family had stayed on the farm the whole time.
She was curious about how others were surviving.
Calista chose her words carefully, neither overstating Rock Fortress nor making it sound weak.
"We've been lucky. We found a place that's easy to defend, with a water source, and we've started growing some food. Supplies are fairly stable.
There are quite a few of us now, around a hundred and eighty. Most importantly, everyone understands that if we want to survive, we have to stick together and stay alert."
She subtly emphasized vigilance, hinting at her thoughts about the farm's lack of security without saying it outright.
Maggie nodded thoughtfully.
Calista spoke clearly and with restraint, giving the impression she was far from an ordinary survivor. Maggie's opinion of her improved.
"It sounds… organized. Not like here. Sometimes…"
She trailed off, but it was obvious she meant the argument earlier.
"When there are enough people, there will always be different opinions," Calista said lightly, choosing not to comment further.
Silence settled over the truck again.
"Hey, Glenn, who taught you to drive like this? A snail could do better," Merle cut in with his usual rough tone, knocking on the back of the seat with his metal arm.
Before Glenn could respond, Daryl's muffled voice came from the truck bed.
"Still better than someone who drove straight into a ditch."
"Bullshit! That tire blew out!" Merle snapped. "And you, playing with that crossbow all day, think you're some kind of Rambo?"
"At least I can hit something. Some people just swing and hope," Daryl shot back.
The two brothers went back and forth, their bickering childish but enough to lighten the mood a little.
Calista caught a brief hint of a smile at the corner of Leah's mouth before it disappeared.
Glenn let out a helpless sigh.
"Can you two keep it down? We're almost there. Stay sharp."
The outline of the town came into view ahead, lifeless and still.
Trash and abandoned cars littered the streets. A few walkers wandered aimlessly in the distance.
Glenn pulled the truck into a relatively hidden alley and stopped.
"Maggie and I cleared out the pharmacy yesterday. Today we're heading to a supermarket with a pharmacy section. It's about two hundred meters from the main road."
He lowered his voice.
"Move fast. Don't draw attention."
He glanced at Calista and the others.
"Your guns…"
"We understand," Calista said calmly, tapping the dagger at her thigh. "This is enough."
Leah still had two empty pistols hidden in her tactical vest, but without bullets, they were useless. With Maggie around, it was better not to reveal anything.
Otherwise, Hershel might think they were going against his rules.
Merle swung his metal axe slightly, its blade catching the light.
Daryl had already checked his crossbow.
They got out of the truck quietly and moved along the shadows of the buildings toward the supermarket.
Daryl and Merle took the lead.
The Dixon brothers' instincts made them natural scouts.
Glenn and Maggie followed behind them, with Calista and Leah covering the rear.
The air was thick with the stench of rot.
A few walkers stumbled out from nearby buildings, but Daryl picked them off from a distance with clean shots, while Glenn and Merle handled any that got too close with swift, silent strikes.
Before long, they reached the supermarket.
The glass doors were shattered, and the inside was a mess.
Daryl leaned in to check, then signaled that it was clear.
"I'm going in to grab some medicine. Glenn, keep watch," Maggie said, stepping forward.
"Wait, Maggie," Glenn said, grabbing her arm. "It's too dark. We go in together."
"No need. I know where things are. You're better off staying outside," Maggie said sharply, pulling her arm free.
The barn and the argument had clearly left her angry, not just at Glenn, but at Rick's whole group.
She felt they didn't understand her father, and might even threaten the farm.
"Maggie, don't do this. You don't know what's inside," Glenn said, his tone rising.
"I'm not a burden, Glenn. I can take care of myself," Maggie shot back, her voice getting louder.
A nearby walker let out a low growl in response.
"Damn it. Keep it down," Daryl snapped.
Seeing this, Calista stepped forward.
"How about this. Leah and I go in with Maggie.
Glenn, you stay out here with Merle and Daryl. Keep the walkers away. Inside is tight. Too many people will just get in each other's way."
It was a reasonable plan.
Maggie glanced at her, then nodded, clearly trusting her more than before.
Glenn still looked uneasy, but he agreed.
Calista, Leah, and Maggie stepped carefully into the dim supermarket.
The food shelves had already been cleared out, and most useful tools were gone as well.
Following her memory, Maggie headed toward the medicine section.
Then everything changed in an instant.
A walker in a tattered, rotting shirt suddenly lunged out from behind the counter.
It moved fast, heading straight for Maggie.
She screamed and stumbled backward, only to trip over debris on the floor and fall.
"Maggie!"
Glenn heard the scream from outside, panic hitting him instantly. He tried to rush in, but two walkers drawn by the noise blocked the entrance.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (45 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.