After Sydney and the others departed with the reluctant escort of Jake and a handful of Rico's people, the remaining group began making preparations for our own journey to the Boardwalk settlement. The memorial building's interior bustled with quiet animation as weapons were checked, supplies were gathered, and final talks occurred between those staying behind to maintain the watch post and those making the trek to the main community.
I thought it wasn't really necessary to send Jake along as protective escort for my departing companions—the gesture felt more symbolic than anything else given how hostile he'd been throughout every interaction. But perhaps that was Rico's way of demonstrating some residual goodwill after I'd saved Shannon, a token acknowledgment that not everything between our groups had to be poisonous conflict. I was pretty sure however Molly sent a word though.
