"Zz… Keep your eyes wide open, we might run into enemies."
"Zz… Road is clear, no enemies in sight."
After completing the task they had originally set out to do, everyone returned to the stadium through the dark streets of Texas. According to the report on the supplies recovered from the church, there were some very interesting items.
Inside the large armored vehicles used by Jason's people, there was no need to worry about a horde of walkers. Nothing alive—or dead—could get into the interior of those armored vehicles.
The walkers along the road were crushed by the massive convoy, and everyone advanced without fear. The soldiers assigned to this task were among the most experienced in combat, so Jason had no issue traveling at night.
The large convoy soon reached a street where the group returning from the church merged with the main force, and everyone proceeded back together. Daniel Salazar was in Jason's vehicle, and from what he'd heard, the man was a retired soldier and a lethal agent, capable of extracting information as easily as eliminating targets.
It was Daniel Salazar who had tortured that young woman as gently as possible in order to extract the information Jason and his people were looking for. In doing so, he was largely responsible for keeping her from dying. And once he learned about the cult and what they had done, he felt absolutely nothing when he witnessed their deaths.
At that moment, Daniel realized that following Jason might be one of the easiest ways to help people. The purpose behind the organization formed by a group of soldiers was noble, and when he heard they had all deserted Operation Cobalt, he didn't hesitate for a second.
After a brief reflection, he offered Jason his services, with the sole goal of helping those in need. This earned him the respect of the group. Shane personally witnessed how old Daniel tortured the girl and was pleased to accept him into their team.
When a light turned on inside the cabin of one of the armored vehicles, it dimly reflected Jason's cold face as he stared at a map. When Shane saw him, he knew the Jason he had once seen in action was back—and he wouldn't rest until their enemies were reduced to ashes.
"Sir, have you decided what to do about the cult?"
"Mm."
Hearing the question beside him, Jason nodded, thought for a moment, then reached into his vest and said, "There's something about that cult that bothers me. I hate them, but I don't want to kill them all. I'll give the children and non-combatants a chance to retreat before we attack."
Shane shook his head when he heard those words—he didn't agree with Jason risking himself that way, so he said, "I'll go to that place. You're still healing from your injuries—you can't expose yourself like this."
"Charlie said the cult's leader, a man named Teddy, is reasonable and well-spoken. Talking to him should be easy."
Jason shook his head, sighed tiredly, turned, and said, "The survivor groups here attacked a helicopter from our community and did a lot of terrible things to people who just wanted to survive. I have to speak to Teddy, offer him a chance to surrender before he dies, and then we'll initiate the extermination plan."
Then he turned to Shane and said, "Send a message to Sam to prepare the gear we brought from Atlanta—that should be more than enough to wipe them out without taking too much risk."
"Alright…"
"Zz… Sir, we've been receiving survivors at the military base since it became active. What should we do about that?"
Just as Jason finished speaking, a voice came through the radio. After hearing the report, Jason responded, "Remember to isolate them for a while. We'll bring them over once we're done with our task here."
"By the way, I read the report about what the scouts found in the other cities. If it's true, that organization that's forming could be a serious threat to our expansion."
Jason read a report Shane had given him, which stated that their people had eliminated some soldiers from a strange community far from theirs. These exploration teams were in charge of checking the condition of cities and determining whether life was still present.
But a run-in with what could be the early stages of the CRM caused great concern. It's known that after the advent of the undead, three established communities in various parts of the country envisioned bringing civilization back to the world. With the support of the armed forces, they interconnected and became one unified organization.
In their mission to find more capable survivors for the powerful project they were developing, the CRM began searching the country using helicopters. They categorized people with codes:
A – individuals with leadership and combat potential.
B – those without combat capabilities.
Jason doesn't know when the CRM was created, but he is racing against time—growing his forces as fast as possible so that, when the time comes, he won't have to bow to this powerful organization.
Shane understood what Jason meant, so he said, "We're strong enough not to fear that organization, but we need to move faster—clear out the military bases and secure important locations before they do."
"We must expand…"
Southeast Texas, on the outskirts of a city
On the rooftop of a small five-story building, a man named Kenny gathered his group. He looked at the people in front of him and said, "We need to wait here until the walkers move away… Damn bastards."
Then he looked at a burly man on the team and said, "Lee, what do you think? You said Texas was a quiet place, and that's why we came here—but it looks like the bastards still alive here are fighting like it's a war."
"This place was safe until recently. We should still be able to find somewhere secure to survive."
Standing atop the building, staring out at the dark city, he added, "Carley, are you sure the soldiers at that military base will actually help us save our people?"
Carley couldn't say for certain, but when she looked into Lee's eyes, she could see his determination to head toward that military base. So she said, "Yes—they'll definitely help us!"
"Oh my God, look! There's a fire over there!"
While the two of them talked, Clementine—who was standing behind them—suddenly pointed in a direction and shouted.
Hearing this, both were momentarily startled. They turned their heads and looked where she was pointing—far to the north, a small light flickered in the distance.
If not for the fact that the city buildings were relatively low and their position was relatively high, they probably wouldn't have seen anything at all.
"There's… there's a church!"
Looking toward the glowing light, Kenny murmured to himself, remembering what the soldiers had told them over the radio. His heart stirred with urgency.
He glanced at Lee and noticed he was staring back—he knew everyone wanted to head toward that place.
"Lee, do you think they're a bad group of survivors?"
Thinking this through, Carley turned and shouted to a middle-aged white man on their team to get ready.
Kenny nodded, picked up the binoculars hanging from his chest, walked quickly to the edge of the rooftop, and looked toward the distant church. Even though it was hard to see in the dark, the fire made it visible enough to observe.
He kept moving the binoculars slowly, mumbling to himself and counting—probably trying to estimate the number of people. But after a few minutes, he lowered the binoculars, turned his head, and quietly said:
"Some were taken into vehicles and disappeared. The ones who stayed behind killed the rest and started loading supplies from the place."
Lee shook his head, looked at Clementine, and said, "We've come a long way—we need to reach that military base and find out if it's really active or not."