Early in the morning, Jason slowly opened his eyes and felt as if every part of his body had been shattered. As if yesterday's pain hadn't been enough, today's was twice as intense, and even moving was painful.
At that moment, the sound of a gunshot rang out outside the building where Jason was staying with Alicia, prompting him to grab his weapon almost by reflex and walk toward the exit to see what was happening.
Jason's movements woke Alicia, who also grabbed her weapon and slowly walked over to a nearby window. Outside, a group of people was being devoured by red-eyed walkers, and some were even trying to defend themselves with gunfire.
Jason carefully observed the scene to make sure it wasn't Morgan, who had yet to appear.
Alicia watched the infernal scene, ignored everything else, gripped her rifle firmly, turned around, and ran toward the door, clearly intending to go out and help.
"Don't go out there! If you open that door, we're going to get killed!" Jason noticed Alicia's intentions right away and reacted before she could open the door.
From recent conversations, Jason had a rough idea of Alicia's character. Just by looking at her expression, there was no need to guess what she was thinking. She was a warmhearted person—there was no doubt about that—and he found that admirable.
Naturally, Jason didn't want her to take unnecessary risks, so he spoke to her firmly: "Calm down! Don't be impulsive. All those red-eyed infected out there and the people running… if we open the door now, we'll just be putting ourselves in danger."
But Alicia believed there was still time to save the people outside. She could hear their screams, so with a voice full of conviction, she said to Jason, "They don't seem like bad people. We could help them!"
Seeing that Jason had no intention of giving in, she even considered taking advantage of his weakened condition to quickly move and open the door before he could stop her.
"Alicia, we need to stay calm and think clearly. Look, if this had happened before the crash, I would've run to help them too… but now I know better than anyone that we can't save everyone. And that's something you have to understand."
At those words, Alicia let out a bitter sigh and turned her gaze back outside. Even though she knew their situation was fragile and helping would put them at risk, her instinct was to help others—even at the cost of the group's safety.
"Come on. We need to analyze the situation out there to figure out the best time to head to your shelter." Jason looked out the window again before heading to the bathroom where they kept their gear. He didn't blame Alicia; he had acted the same way in the past.
After carefully observing, Alicia noticed how the screaming was dying down and said in a calm voice, "I don't know where so many walkers came from at once, but it looks like they'll move on soon. The Vultures are real idiots… didn't they see the walkers nearby? I don't get why they started shooting at your people like that."
At that moment, Jason stopped and turned to look at her. His mind went back to the scene of the shootout, and with a furrowed brow, he replied, "Maybe they wanted what we had. Even though we didn't carry much, they were looking for a chance to snatch something valuable."
One way or another, Jason knew their helicopter would crash, and that the noise from the explosion would attract walkers.
"Look!"
Just as Jason finished speaking, Alicia, still watching outside, pointed toward the window with surprise in her voice.
Curious, Jason moved closer to look in the direction she was pointing: a truck loaded with crates was moving forward as regular walkers approached it, but they were mercilessly crushed.
However, as it plowed through the crowd, the truck came to a sudden halt. The driver stomped on the gas in desperation, managing to turn onto the right side of the street.
But it was too late. Dozens of walkers had already climbed onto the truck, pounding the doors and windows hard, trying to reach the humans inside.
Boom!
When the truck stopped, it partially exploded in a burst of white light followed by a violent blast. The infected nearby were blown away, with bodies and blood flying through the air.
Flames rose into the sky, leaving a massive crater. The people inside the truck had detonated the vehicle's grenades and ammunition.
One of the building's walls collapsed, opening a breach. The explosion not only took out the nearby walkers but also slowed down those coming from farther away, giving the convoy time to escape.
A dozen trucks at the front took advantage of the chaos. They made a sharp turn at a corner, crossed a pedestrian intersection, and fled the ambush without even stopping for some survivors caught in the middle of the scene.
The leading truck, marked with an American flag, carried the convoy commander. It was clear that the explosion was part of a strategy to cover the retreat.
Jason and Alicia, stunned by what had just happened, watched in silence. Jason frowned and said, "We need to take this opportunity. Let's grab our things and head in the opposite direction."
Jason went into the bathroom, holstered his weapons and knives, and reminded Alicia, "Those explosions are only going to attract more walkers toward the convoy. This is the best time to escape."
Alicia remained silent for a moment, looked out at the chaos, gripped her weapon tightly, and with a determined expression, replied quietly, "I see… Let's get out of here first."
Jason felt relieved. After all, it was just the two of them. It was easy to become a target for thieves—or even for the same group that had attacked his people. He had a feeling that convoy belonged to the Vultures. Trusting they were moving away, they had to leave that unfavorable place quickly.
"Then let's go!"
With Alicia's determined expression, Jason opened the door and swiftly took out the nearby walkers. They ignored the vehicles and advanced through the narrow alley walls, quickly moving away from the area.
Jason, ignoring the pain in his body, kept a careful watch to avoid ambushes. Alicia, for her part, reflected on everything that had happened as she walked, gradually calming herself and focusing on what needed to be done.
That gave Jason a sense of reassurance and gratitude. In his mind, he promised himself he'd get her out of there and help her group however he could.
But right now, Jason had no time for insignificant thoughts. He looked toward the street: the walkers were running, and there were no signs of survivors hiding in the buildings. After checking the map, they found a special route that could help them avoid encountering too many walkers.
Looking at the train station, Alicia asked, "Why do we have to take the darkest path?"
Jason patiently answered her doubts: "The walkers haven't reached our side yet, and with that explosion, things must be chaotic for at least ten kilometers around."
"Won't it be more dangerous to move through the train's underground tunnels?"
"No." Jason shook his head and calmly replied, "It won't be worse than staying up here. We've got night vision goggles—we'll be fine."
"We can't go too far walking along the street; we could be attacked by those undead. We could also take the back road, stay close to the highway, and then find a safe spot to settle down and wait. But I don't think we have time… you need to reunite with your family, and I need to contact my people."
Alicia was surprised. No one had ever spoken to her like that before.
That reasoning reminded her of her father at the beginning of the end of the world. She was impressed by Jason's intelligence—he kept surprising her more and more.
But that kind of surprise would only last a moment. Though there were many types of survivors, this wasn't anything supernatural… Jason was just different.
Having made their decision, the two of them headed toward the underground station, intending to reach Alicia's community as soon as possible—where she was now expected—while Jason waited for the right moment to get in touch with his own.