Just as the people of Alexandria were rushing to arm themselves in preparation for defense, the convoy outside the main gate came to a complete stop, and several individuals stepped out of the modified RV. The man leading the group carried no weapon in his hands as he walked forward.
Deanna Monroe slowly walked out to the front gate, looked at these unfamiliar figures, and said in a loud voice, "This is our community! Who are you? I ask you to identify yourself!"
However, none of the newcomers responded to her question or demands. Deanna was about to speak again when she saw the man approaching from the front.
"Are you Deanna?"
Hearing that question, Deanna was surprised that these people knew her name, which only deepened her confusion—but she still nodded.
"Yes, I'm Deanna! And who are you?"
The man gave a faint smile, reached toward a pocket on his vest, and said, "Listen, there's no need to get nervous about our presence. I've brought a letter that spoke of this place."
After speaking, he slowly extended his hand and pulled an envelope from his pocket, then held it out to Deanna.
"Ma'am, you can read the contents of the letter and understand that we didn't come here with ill intentions."
Deanna took the letter through the open gap in the front gate. After a moment of hesitation, she opened the envelope. Sharp, neat handwriting appeared on the page, and the more she read, the more her expression relaxed. By the end, a light, carefree smile appeared on her face.
She looked at the man standing silently before her and asked again, "Are you Commander Jason?"
This man—Jason—had indeed been wandering around, mainly because Alexandria was such a well-hidden place. He'd been searching since the previous day until nightfall but still couldn't find the settlement, so he and his group had to camp outside.
Unexpectedly, thanks to Daryl, who happened to discover some mysterious walls, they finally located the community.
Even Jason wondered if perhaps he and his people weren't meant to be in this place originally. What other strange changes might the future hold?
"Yes, Congresswoman. My name is Jason Darcy. I earned the title of Commander after completing my mission to protect the CDC facility in Atlanta. Mr. Gregor Helmont was fortunate enough to be found by our people, so we came here to assess the situation in this part of the country."
Deanna then gestured for the anxious people behind her to lower their weapons, and she personally stepped forward to open the gate. Aaron moved to her side, hesitating slightly as he held her arm, and the two of them stepped aside.
"Deanna, what are you doing? We still don't know anything about them!"
Deanna calmly smiled, lifted the letter in her hand, and said, "This is a letter from an old acquaintance. Very few people knew that this man was someone Alexander Davidson trusted. These people are reliable; they won't harm us. And the information in the letter can't be faked. There's nothing to worry about."
But seeing the concern on Aaron's face, Deanna patted him on the shoulder and added, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing."
Aaron nodded nervously. What else could he do? For now, all he could do was choose to believe and hope for the best.
Just as Deanna opened the gate and stepped out, the rest of the Alexandria residents had reached the gate, armed and tense.
"Aaron, what's going on?" A tall man ran up with a rifle in his hand and immediately saw Deanna stepping alone through the gate.
Startled, he nearly raised his weapon, but Aaron quickly extended a hand and said, "Everything's fine for now. The group doesn't seem hostile. Let Deanna talk to them first!"
More people ran up behind them. These individuals didn't seem to have any real sense of danger. They simply stood there carelessly at the gate, not realizing that if the newcomers had meant harm, a single round of gunfire could have wiped them out.
Deanna approached Jason, offered a polite smile, and introduced herself: "Hello, let me formally introduce myself. I'm Deanna Monroe, and I'm the one in charge here."
Jason smiled, stepped forward to shake her hand, and said with a modest grin, "Hello, Mrs. Monroe. As I mentioned earlier, I'm Jason Darcy. Just call me Jason."
"Then call me Deanna, too. It's been a long time since people spoke so formally with me."
"Then I'll call you Deanna from now on."
After saying this, Jason pointed to the people behind him and added, "These are my companions. Some of us came from Atlanta, and others we met along the way."
Hearing again that they had come from Atlanta, Deanna couldn't help but sigh.
"My God! I can't believe you made it this far. That's quite a journey."
"Haha, luckily it took us just under a week. Mostly because we made several stops along the way. Clearing the road from here to Atlanta would take no more than a day's travel."
"Let me be clear—I trust you. But just to confirm, could you describe the man who wrote this letter?"
Jason nodded and described the man's appearance without any hesitation. He would've been surprised if Deanna had trusted him right away.
"I'm glad to know he's safe. Let's head inside and talk properly. It's not safe to remain outside!"
Before Deanna could finish her sentence, she noticed a few walkers emerging from the nearby woods, staggering toward them with bared teeth and clawing hands.
She took two nervous steps back and was about to warn Jason—but saw him simply signal to two people behind him.
She saw a long-haired man wielding a hand crossbow and a large black man in a wool hat step out from the group.
A crossbow bolt flew straight through a walker's head, and then, with a swift movement, the man drew a machete from his waist, took two steps forward, and split a walker's skull from top to bottom.
The big man was even simpler and more brutal—he swung a huge metal rod in his hand. One by one, the walkers dropped to the ground within seconds.
The survivors in the Alexandria yard watched as the two handled the small group of walkers with ease. All of them wore stunned expressions. They couldn't understand how these people did it so effortlessly. Were they not afraid of getting bitten?
Looking at the expressions on the Alexandrians' faces, Jason sighed inwardly.
Many of these people aren't cut out to survive in this world—they just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
You could say this community is lucky. And while luck is a form of strength, its greatest flaw is instability. Those who survive by luck alone usually don't last very long.
At Deanna's signal, several vehicles were finally allowed inside the community—revealing a small group of walkers behind them, drawn in by the noise.
All the Alexandrians looked nervously at the figures walking toward them. They lined up at the gate and began firing at the walkers.
After a brief volley, Jason wore an odd expression. Two walkers had been taken down after several shots, and the rest were still closing in.
The people behind Jason couldn't help but smile. Michonne had already turned around, shaking her head in weary disbelief.
Seeing this, Deanna became a bit uneasy and said, "Our community is made up of ordinary people who don't promote violence, so we're not really used to handling weapons."
Jason nodded and shouted behind him, "Elias, Sasha!"
"Got it!"
Elias and Sasha walked casually toward the gate, raised their weapons, and fired a few precise shots at the distant walkers. Soon, only one undead straggler remained.
Bang!
The last walker dropped on the spot.
All of them had been taken care of without issue.