Tap-tap!
The sound of footsteps echoed throughout the military camp. After moving the corpses and placing some in special boxes to preserve their bodies, Jason's group began transferring the ammunition and weapons into larger bags to load onto a military truck.
This place was huge; there was packaged military food, damaged military weapons, and numerous bulletproof vests in good condition. The soldiers' bodies were stripped of their vests, boots, and any other important equipment that could be reused.
The corpses were examined. They needed to find out why some of them ran while others remained on the ground. Bob was also in charge of conducting the necessary tests to collect samples and store them, intending to deliver them to the research team.
Seven Humvees with mounted machine guns, eight heavy machine guns, five military trucks, and thousands of cartridges were recovered from this location—along with much more powerful weapons, grenades, and other equipment.
But the most important discovery was the ancient weapons museum next door, which also had an armory. The weapons were old, such as the FG 42, MG 34, and STG 44.
Merle was so crazy he wanted to take an old artillery cannon with him. He was so insistent that T-dog was persuaded, and along with Glenn, they dragged it into a truck using the necessary equipment.
But back to the main point—there were also three tanks at the site, which were moved by Jon and George. There was enough fuel to reach the destination Jason had told them about.
So now, with four buses, seven Humvees with machine guns, five trucks, a fuel tanker, the three tanks mentioned earlier, and the modified RV, Jason had assembled a fearsome convoy in a very short amount of time.
After speaking with Ferdinand, he happily decided to join Jason's group after a few brief considerations. Jason's group now totaled 132 people, and at first glance, most of them seemed trustworthy.
Even so, Jason left the Humvees and tanks in the hands of reliable people he had been observing since arriving at Noah's shelter. After cleaning up the site, Jason changed clothes and noticed several internal bloodstains on his skin—evidence of the harsh blows he'd taken.
As he exited the modified RV, Daryl was waiting outside and asked, "How are you holding up?"
Jason looked at Daryl, shook his head, and replied, "Those walkers were fast—especially the one we brought with us. Stronger, faster, and more flexible. Definitely something new. We need to confirm with everyone whether this is rare or common in this part of the country."
Daryl nodded slightly. He understood Jason's words and said, "Yeah, it'd be a real problem if those bastards can run like that."
"We need to leave this place. We've stayed too long already."
...
The road from Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Alexandria is relatively long, and the large convoy had been driving for quite a while. But with every passing hour, they drew closer to their destination.
Jason still wasn't sure if the current Alexandria had already sent Aaron to look for survivors around Washington D.C., but what he was certain of was that the good days were coming to an end.
Not that Jason cared much anymore. During the journey, he made several stops, found potable water, filled food containers, and discovered more supplies. Yet his mind remained focused on the variants of walkers they had faced.
According to Edwin, the variants most similar to what they had encountered were like the ones found in France, but even those didn't compare to what Jason's group had dealt with. After all, even if the lab Edwin was in contact with eventually found a cure, if the virus mutated, there would be nothing they could do.
During the brief time Jason was able to communicate with Sam Valdez over the radio, he instructed him to train the special attack group and increase the number of capable members for any situation.
He had described the situation they'd faced in some detail, and Sam agreed to boost training and strengthen defenses.
Along the road, they didn't encounter any walkers like those they had previously fought, which led Jason to believe they weren't very common. That gave him some peace of mind—but he knew he had to focus even more on the abnormal changes happening in this world.
If he wanted to fully take over Atlanta, he needed more firepower and to find larger military-grade weaponry at a big army base. To do that, he first needed to reach Alexandria and use it as a key outpost for his community.
He needed strong leaders, to train young men, and to build a powerful army capable of eliminating both walkers and people. He couldn't deceive himself about how limited his group's strength still was—that was one area he couldn't afford to give up on.
Now things had gotten much more complicated. There were mutations that shouldn't exist in the first place. Even if they did, he needed to be prepared so they wouldn't significantly impact his community.
Bigger walls, more sophisticated weapons, and better-trained soldiers. Everything had to be considered—and Jason had no time to waste. Feeling overwhelmed and unable to solve it all, he slammed his arm against the nearby couch.
"Damn it!"
In return, he got a tingling sensation in his already-bruised muscles. But the pain calmed Jason, so he closed his eyes and tried to rest his mind.
Thinking about how all his plans now needed to change, Jason couldn't help but smile coldly, filled with frustration. Merle, who was sitting not far from him, slid off his chair and whispered to T-dog:
"What's going on? Just asking… is he high?"
Jason, on edge, suddenly grew more impatient. He looked at George and asked, "George, how far are we from our destination?"
"We'll be there in two hours tops. If we're lucky, maybe one. Depends on the road, boss!"
After hearing the answer, Jason nodded in satisfaction and went back to the couch to plan his next move.
...
The Alexandria Community
This is a quiet community located in a private residential area that hadn't been used much before the world ended. It has a solar power system, a large weapons and food depot, and a water filtration system.
These houses were top-tier, and living here once meant having a lot of money—but many of the original owners were now dead, and the place had mostly been taken over by strangers.
The large wall surrounding the community, built by Reg Monroe and others, primarily served to separate the community from the outside world. It was also the main means of defense, as it blocked walker advances.
This community had been lucky—very lucky—until Rick and his group arrived. With limited skills, they had still managed to survive.
Some might wonder: hasn't this group ever faced a walker horde before?
That's correct. This refuge had remained calm and would likely continue that way for years to come. According to the current leader, Deanna Monroe, because many were evacuated, there weren't many walkers around.
The terrain was favorable, and many other factors kept the walkers from reaching the community. The main one was the quarry.
Today was like any other for Alexandria. Early in the morning, Aaron and Eric packed their things, ready to head out on a scouting mission. Both held important roles in the community and followed Deanna's orders.
Each time they went out, they found no survivors. Even when they did spot suspicious individuals, they needed a lot of observation before bringing them into the community.
So far, none of the survivors had met their standards.
"Aaron, Eric! Be careful out there and scout the roads cautiously!"
Deanna stood in front of an RV, watching the couple as Aaron continued packing, nodding seriously.
This wasn't their first time out—they had been venturing beyond the walls for a long time, which made them feel a bit out of place in the community, and everyone looked at them strangely.
At first, they felt uncomfortable, but over time, that feeling faded.
Aaron walked up and hugged Deanna, then stepped back naturally, hugged Eric, and said seriously, "Don't worry, we've always been careful."
After speaking, Aaron and his partner exchanged smiles, climbed into the white RV, and the outer door slowly opened.
"Wait!"
The people at the gate stopped in their tracks and, in the distance, saw a massive cloud of smoke as a convoy approached.
All the vehicles were large, and the convoy was long—heading straight for the gate.
Aaron jumped out of the RV and shouted back in a short tone, "Eric, go call the others!"
As he said this, he also drew the pistol from his waistband and took a defensive stance at the gate fence.
In the distance, the sound of vehicle brakes echoed, and the huge convoy came to a slow stop in front of the gate.
At that moment, many survivors in Alexandria rushed out of their homes and headed for the armory. Everyone's faces were full of panic and confusion—they had never encountered anything like this before!
Meanwhile, Deanna stood in front of the gate, watching the convoy with a serious expression.