"Alicia... how is your family?"
The middle-aged man's words reached Jason's ears, making his hand—the one holding the gun—pause in midair. He looked at the man in surprise, then turned his eyes to Alicia. "You know him?"
"Oh my God! It really is you!"
Getting a closer look at Alicia, the man examined her carefully. Then, after removing the scarf that covered his face, he said, "I'm Daniel Salazar. After the dam was destroyed, I never saw you again."
"Daniel?"
Hearing the name, Alicia picked up the flashlight and shined it on his face. A familiar face appeared before her. Daniel Salazar, who had left his backpack and weapons in the truck, slowly walked toward them.
Even though they knew each other from before, these days had been full of betrayal—even among familiar faces. So, Daniel dropped all his weapons to make it clear he meant no harm.
Seeing this, Jason also slowly lowered his gun.
"I never imagined I'd see you again!"
It was Salazar who stepped forward to greet Alicia. Even though he knew Jason could shoot him if he made a wrong move, he trusted that Alicia would recognize him—and he'd been right.
"I truly didn't expect to run into someone I knew in this part of Texas. I thought everyone would be elsewhere."
As he got closer, Salazar gently hugged Alicia and asked, "Looks like you've got a fierce companion… hasn't taken his eyes off me once. Where are the others?"
Alicia smiled and then looked at Jason. "He's a friend I contacted almost a year ago. Everything just aligned recently, and I managed to save his life. His helicopter crashed and he was attacked by a group called the Vultures."
Daniel looked at Jason's wounds. "Those are serious injuries. You shouldn't be so tense. If you don't relax, they won't heal properly. I also reunited with a friend... he had multiple wounds and kept muttering a name even after he passed out."
After saying that, Daniel looked toward the car and shouted, "Morgan, it's okay! Lower your weapon and come over here."
When Jason heard that name, he was as surprised as Alicia, who had already heard it over the radio. When the bald man emerged from the shadows, Jason felt a wave of guilt and walked forward slowly.
"Morgan… how are you?"
Morgan looked at him and, with a smile, replied, "By the looks of it, better than you. What the hell happened to you?"
While Jason began updating Morgan on what he'd been through, Alicia did the same with Daniel Salazar. It didn't take long before they found out that the soldier Morgan had helped had died—he had sacrificed himself to draw the walkers away.
"Looks like we weren't the only ones attacked by the Vultures… and a pack of sick cannibal bastards," Jason said, shaking his head.
"Are you done talking? We need to get out of here. The Vultures and another group called Eternal Blood are hunting and killing any survivors they find."
"Looks like they're looking for us, Morgan. Killing over twenty Vultures wasn't enough for them to get the message…"
Upon hearing this, Daniel realized this wasn't a place to stick around. He turned to Jason and Alicia and said, "You can't stay here tonight. Come with me. I've got a camp nearby. I've taken in many survivors fleeing Texas in desperation. Tomorrow, we'll figure out what you and Morgan will do."
"Alright."
At Daniel's invitation, Jason hesitated only a moment before nodding. He could sense Daniel had no bad intentions.
"You lead the way. Alicia will follow in the truck."
Seeing that they agreed, a broader smile appeared on Daniel's face. Then he noticed the bandage on Jason's leg and frowned. "Is that a gunshot wound?"
"It wasn't caused by walkers—otherwise I'd be dead already."
Seeing Daniel's concern, Jason waved a hand and explained, "We passed through the suburbs, far from the most active zones in Texas, heading toward Alicia's community. But we got ambushed by some cannibals. That's when I got hit."
"I think it was the same group…"
As he said it, Daniel seemed puzzled, but quickly added, "Sounds like the same ones we fought alongside Morgan. You're lucky to have survived those crazy bastards."
"Alright, let's move."
Alicia got into the driver's seat and Jason sat in the back. The two vehicles drove down the dark road, leaving the glowing embers of the fire behind.
During the ride, Jason told Morgan in more detail everything they'd gone through. He mentioned they had a working radio, and that once they reached Daniel's refuge, he planned to contact his base. Jason couldn't wait to talk to his people.
Morgan was genuinely impressed that Jason had survived such a bloody, dangerous situation. In fact, when he saw him climb out of the helicopter cabin with a rifle, he never thought he'd see him again. But thanks to his skills—and some luck—Jason had survived that massive walker horde.
He later learned that Morgan had tried to look for him, but the hordes and the fighting around the hospital made any proper search impossible. And afterward, he hadn't dared to contact the base because he didn't know how to explain what had happened.
If they found out Jason was likely dead, the S.C.T. community would have deployed all their military force to the area and left no one—living or dead—until they found those responsible.
Fortunately, Morgan had found Jason again, and now he could take time to think carefully about what to report to the base, and avoid spreading false information.
After listening to Jason and Morgan's conversation, Alicia could vaguely imagine what might happen next. From what they said, once they contacted the base, they'd get enough help to evacuate all civilians to Atlanta and eliminate the hostile communities in the region.
Daniel, for his part, seemed to have valuable information about the Vultures and the nearby groups. That would help them pinpoint the exact location of those who had attacked Jason—and killed Billy and other soldiers.
Just after sharing their stories, they arrived at a small camp.
At the entrance, bright spotlights and makeshift barricades greeted them. A sentry looked up to see who was arriving.
Daniel leaned out just in time, spoke briefly with the guards, and they were allowed through without incident.
Once inside the camp, Jason couldn't help but observe his surroundings.
There weren't many people—at most, fifty. Most were survivors, and many of them were armed. Based on their clothes, it was clear they came from the same area where Jason and his team had crashed.
As soon as they got out of the vehicle, Jason and Alicia's unfamiliar faces immediately drew attention.
After a brief explanation, Daniel led them into a makeshift house and offered them some dried meat.
"What are you doing in this temporary camp?" Jason asked as he sat down with the help of crutches, eyeing the dusty little house.
Daniel, who had just entered, paused for a moment and replied bluntly, "I know what you're thinking—and you're right. If we stay here, we'll die. But according to Morgan, your community might be able to take all these people in. Is that true?"
"That's correct."
Alicia looked at Jason and fell silent. Even she had her doubts about whether Jason's community was really that strong or as secure as it claimed. She'd been through many communities, and the same mistakes always brought down those so-called safe havens.
"I'll contact my people right now!"
As he said this, Morgan stepped forward with a satellite radio and handed it to Jason without a word.