Just as the people of Alexandria were preparing to attack the people who had been at Hilltop and destroyed the Kingdom, with some speculation that they might save someone still alive, something important happened in the Atlanta prison.
"Are you planning to leave early tomorrow morning?"
"Well, Shane has agreed."
"Can you take me with you?"
"Lori, are you sure you want to leave? You still have two children who love you..."
"I have to go. I haven't heard from Rick for three days. I can't stay at the base any longer waiting for answers from other people."
This group of people was exactly Andrea and the others who wanted to leave before, and Lori went directly to them when she heard the news that they were leaving tomorrow.
Although Amy wanted to go out, she thought they were not qualified to search and rescue Rick. She looked at her sister beside her with some hesitation.
"Are you serious? We're only doing this as practice and we won't go far this time. The place where Rick is and where Shane is going is too far from the base. What if something happens to us or we run into something we can't handle?"
Andrea also had doubts, she worried about her own safety, but she worried even more about the safety of her younger sister. After thinking it over carefully, she directly rejected Lori's request.
A look of despair appeared on Lori's face, and her expression suddenly became a little indifferent. After glancing at some people, she left the room directly.
"Who does she think she is? Why put us at risk because of her irrational ideas?"
"That's enough, let's not say out loud some of the things we're thinking."
Carol just sat on the side and didn't say a word from start to finish. After Lori left, there was a thoughtful expression on her face for a moment, she said goodbye to the girls and left the room.
After leaving the room, Carol slowly walked toward Lori's room. She didn't knock on the door, but first placed her ear against it and listened carefully. A muffled cry reached her ears.
Lori was someone she had known since the beginning of the last days, and the relationship between the two had always been relatively good, especially since their children played together so much that they were exhausted every day. This bond gave Carol a fondness for Rick's family.
Since the nightmare in her heart had died, she gradually realized that only by being strong could she survive in the last days. Although it took her some time to think about this idea, it was not too late for her to act to survive.
When Jason was still at the base, he went through a period of complaints. He often compared his life before the end of the world with the present. When reality was much harder than he imagined, he now understood that many die every day fighting to keep the base safe.
All this was because as he went out more and more, he began to understand how the world had been destroyed and what kind of life other survivors rescued by their organization were living. They not only had a safe shelter, but were also well fed and clothed, and even the children began to receive education and training.
Her feelings toward Jason gradually changed from dissatisfaction to gratitude and above all respect, and this respect made her begin to care about many things within their group.
There were more and more types of walkers, some more dangerous than others. Every day, someone cried over the loss of loved ones who had been infected by the virus or something even more unpleasant.
After hesitating a little, Carol decided to support Lori.
Bum bum bum!
"Who is it?"
"It's me, Carol. Can I come in?"
The room was silent for a while, and it took a few minutes before the sound of the door opening was heard, and soon Lori, with red eyes, opened the door.
"Is there a problem?"
Involuntarily looking back, Carol gestured to enter the room before speaking. She gently pushed Lori inside, then shut the door firmly and spoke in a very low voice.
"Lori, I can go with you tomorrow morning, but I have only one request!"
This sudden support made Lori emotional at that moment. She grabbed Carol's hand without thinking and kept nodding her head.
"That's good. My request is really very simple. You must listen to me throughout the entire process and you cannot act on your own under any circumstances."
"I promise!"
...
Early the next morning, a modified truck left from the backyard, carrying some provisions and fuel in the trunk, and when it passed through the inner courtyard gate, Lori quietly slipped into the back seat of the truck.
After getting in the car, Lori realized that including Carol, there were five more people inside. She thought only Carol would follow her, but she didn't expect it to be some old acquaintances.
The one sitting in the driver's seat turned out to be Richard, the one who had let her out when she first left. The co-pilot was a tall black man named Oscar, who had been in the prison for a long time.
In addition, there was a handsome young man next to Carol. If she remembered correctly, his name should be Alex.
"You?"
"Ma'am, Carol explained it to us, don't worry, we all followed voluntarily."
"Thank you, thank you!"
"The first thing is to leave the base, we must not get excited," Carol said with an indifferent expression.
As the truck approached the exit gate, several snipers aimed at the vehicle, ready to open fire if ordered.
"Zz... What do we do, Tyler?" Mike asked as he stood next to the snipers.
"This is the second time that woman named Lori has done something stupid. She'll die sooner or later, and the only thing I hope is that it doesn't happen inside our bases. What can we do? Let them go. Everyone in that truck doesn't value the safety they enjoy inside the base."
The soldiers at the gate touched their earpieces, nodded, and then signaled to open the gate. Their eyes were fixed on the window, and their faces showed nothing but cold expressions.
The truck quickly left the base and headed toward the town where Rick had last sent news.
...
Rick's group.
After discussing the follow-up route with Abraham, the twelve members of the two teams formed a temporary group and continued walking toward the next town.
After walking for half a day, little Katia was exhausted, her steps became smaller and smaller and she gradually fell to the back of the group.
At the very end of the line was Noa. Katia was trying to get her out of her mouth when Eugene saw the girl's appearance and immediately understood.
He crouched down, trying to carry the girl on his back, but for some reason Katia shook her head and searched the crowd in front of her with blinking eyes.
"What's wrong, Katie? Are you tired?"
Guillermo, who was near the back of the team, noticed the situation behind him, approached, and asked.
The girl just bit her lip, lowered her head gloomily, and Elen smiled a little embarrassed, then bent down to interrupt Katie's sulking, but it seemed extremely strenuous.
"It's been a long time since she spoke, all the time..."
As he signaled for her to put the girl down, Guillermo crouched down, looked at the silent girl, and his tone became strangely gentle. "Katie, are you tired?"
The girl kept lowering her head without any reaction. Elen at the side wanted to take her hand anxiously, but Guillermo stopped her with a look.
"Do you miss your grandfather?"
After saying these words, the girl finally responded. She slowly lifted her head. Although she didn't make any other movement, Guillermo could clearly understand her thoughts.
"Do you know where we're going? There's a big playground there, and there are many friends like you who love to play there, and all their grandfathers went to the same place."
"There aren't any terrifying monsters in that place. Everyone went there because life brought them there, but they are all happy not to suffer here anymore. Your grandfather lives happily, he's in a much better place."
As Guillermo spoke, the little girl's expression gradually relaxed a bit, and there was a certain anger in her eyes, so he hurried to strike while the iron was hot.
"How about this? When we come back, I'll introduce you to those kids. They have lots and lots of toys you can play with, and they can accompany you to explore the city wall. What do you think?"
After a little persuasion, the girl finally nodded slightly, and then Guillermo turned around with a smile on his face and patted his waist with his hand.
"Can Uncle carry you on his back?"
Katie at the side couldn't believe what she was seeing. She looked at the crouching man in surprise, her eyes full of gratitude.
At that moment, Rick and the others had no time to pay attention to the situation behind them. They walked toward a sign on the side of the road, looked at the writing, and glanced at each other, all showing inexplicable expressions.
There was a line on the sign: The Terminus, the refuge for all survivors.