The Kingdom Community
At that moment, Ezekiel returned to his throne and sat down; Jerry and Richard stood at his sides, as usual.
The man named Jesus stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty the King, on behalf of Hilltop, I've come to the Kingdom to seek your help."
Ezekiel crossed one leg over the other to think more clearly; resting his left arm on his knee and his right elbow on the armrest, he said, "Jesus, we've always been allies, and the exchange of goods between Hilltop and the Kingdom has continued steadily."
"So, as far as I know and remember, there hasn't been any halt in production, and our trades have gone well. Didn't we complete a transaction just a few days ago?"
Jesus showed a slightly anxious expression. "The medicine supply at Hilltop hasn't held up these past few months. Some people began getting sick just yesterday. The doctor says we've completely run out of certain specific medicines."
"Right now, there are people with high fevers, and we can't do anything for them. Without the proper medicine, they'll likely die soon."
"We split into two groups before coming here. Carson has already taken some people to search for medicine, and I came here to ask Your Majesty if you could lend us some of your reserves."
The dialogue at the Kingdom continued, but Jason and the others were already far down the road, music playing inside the modified RV as several people sang along.
Jason was lying on the couch with his eyes closed, silently thinking about how to make contact with Hilltop. It could be said that the current leader of that community was quite a nuisance.
In fact, the elderly man named Gregory was one of the prime examples of a deceitful person—but Jason needed to reach him. Encounters with men like that were inevitable, so the best approach was to deal with it quickly—and if it wasn't beneficial, he had a thousand ways to eliminate him.
In the original story, the main group had encountered a man with a shawl and long hair who was very skilled, during a supply run. After a scuffle between both groups, they began to build some trust. Only then did they learn his name was Paul Lowe, but because of his appearance and personality, they jokingly called him Jesus.
Given the current state of things, the best scenario would be to run into Jesus outside—but Jason didn't want to rely on or cling to that chance for long. He knew things would only get worse and that he couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long.
Jason needed to find more weapons, more helicopters, and more modern tanks—along with far more sophisticated tools. All of this could be found at a military base, and he had already mapped out his next steps once things stabilized here.
Back to the matter at hand—The Kingdom and Hilltop should already be connected, which meant they'd eventually meet. So Jason didn't dwell on it further. At most, it would only be a few more days before he made contact with the Kingdom again.
What if he didn't locate the place before deciding what to do next? If he couldn't, he'd simply ask Ezekiel directly or send someone to monitor Hilltop and spy on Jesus. When that man decided to leave, he might just be heading to the Kingdom to meet Ezekiel.
Along the way, the convoy came to a slow stop, and George, up front, said in an unusual tone, "Boss, look over there."
When Jason heard this, he quickly got up, walked to the front, and looked in the direction George was pointing.
Up ahead, there was a small town, and on the main street, a group of walkers was rushing toward a building on the side.
The rest of the group, drawn in by George's words, all moved forward to assess the situation while grabbing their weapons. The first to speak was Glenn, who asked with some uncertainty, "Are those survivors?"
Jason nodded without hesitation and said firmly, "They are. Everyone get ready for combat—this will be good training."
As soon as they heard the word "battle," everyone gripped their weapons with serious expressions. Jason motioned for George to move forward while explaining everything to the others over the radio.
The convoy stopped on the street in front of the building. Jason had developed a very useful skill—whenever he arrived somewhere, he analyzed countless possibilities. He quickly deduced that the survivors here had come for medicine, but were attacked by walkers.
Jason stepped out of the RV, followed by several others. As he advanced, he spoke through the radio: "There likely aren't many survivors. Move in groups of three, watch out for walkers, and conserve your ammunition."
"We need to be careful—we don't know if they're enemies or common survivors we should save." Daryl raised his crossbow; this time, it was the right weapon for silently taking out walkers.
"Got it!"
The group of walkers heading toward the hospital was drawn by the sound of the vehicles. Some stopped, turned around, and began advancing toward those who had just exited.
Just as Jason and Daryl finished speaking, five walkers had already redirected toward the group. Everyone had formed a small circle, armed with machetes, hammers, and axes.
Thud!
Shlsh!
Jason's axe slammed into a walker's head with such force that a single blow dropped the rotting creature to the ground. But seconds later, two more walkers came from behind. Just as Jason turned to defend himself, an arrow pierced one walker's skull, and the other was sliced down by a sword.
No thanks were needed. No one expected a "thanks for saving me." They had been doing this for a long time and continued clearing out the walkers.
Not far from the trio, Tyreese spotted several walkers piling up at the hospital's main entrance. He ran in with a hammer in hand, followed closely by T-Dog and Carlos. Each supported the other, and things proceeded smoothly.
Tyreese's hammer swung powerfully up and down, while T-Dog, wielding a metal rod, bashed the walkers aside. With Carlos providing support with his bow, the walkers were quickly dealt with.
Glenn, Maggie, and Bob, who were following closely behind Tyreese, smiled at the impressive display of efficiency. Meanwhile, Sasha and Elias were in a sniper position, rifles in hand, while the rest stayed nearby to guard the convoy.
A group of nine people advanced slowly toward the hospital. But Jason frowned as he entered the doorway—the interior was much narrower than he expected. The dark hallways forced him to switch on the flashlight mounted on his rifle. One group went left, another right, while the rest followed behind.
The group that had come for medicine must have been either extremely desperate or completely reckless. Even with walkers chasing them, they hadn't abandoned their search for supplies.
Jason signaled separately, and the team split into two smaller groups—five and four—taking opposite hallways.
Jason, Daryl, Michonne, and Carlos advanced down a corridor, delving deeper into the hospital's darkness. Their flashlights proved useful, allowing them to silently dispatch several walkers. Before long, Jason's group came across a cluster of walkers banging against a door. The team didn't hesitate—they rushed forward, and a few silenced shots later, the walkers fell lifeless to the floor.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After taking down the walkers, Jason approached the door while the others covered him, and he shouted loud and clear, "Listen! Is anyone in there? We're here to get you out—are you still alive?"
"Damn it!"
There was no response, and Jason cursed angrily.
Wasting no time, he kicked the door. After two solid blows, the door finally gave in. Daryl, ready to move, entered the room to cover Jason—and immediately saw a walker behind the door. A man was being bitten on the wrist, struggling to fight it off.
"Ah! Help me!"
The man screamed in pain, afraid to move for fear the walker would tear deeper. The dagger he held dropped to the floor.
Daryl aimed and took the walker down with an arrow. The man in the corner was finally freed from the bite. He looked at his wrist, crouched on the ground, and muttered weakly in disbelief:
"No… it can't be… I can't die like this…"
Jason approached the man, grabbed his shoulder, and shouted, "Hey, wake up! How many teammates are with you?"
The man's dazed eyes regained a bit of clarity as Jason shook him. He stammered, "Three… three people."
Aiorn immediately grabbed the radio from his belt and relayed the information to the rest of the team. Then he looked at the man with a serious expression and said something the man would never forget:
"Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"
"I… I can live?"
That word triggered the man's instinct to survive. The only reason he had reacted that way was because he'd been bitten. Everyone he knew who had been bitten had died—every single one had turned.
"Yes. I want to live."
The human drive for survival helped the man regain his senses at that moment—and everything else no longer mattered. He just wanted to live.
Jason turned to Daryl and said, "Daryl, grab his wounded hand and tourniquet it above the elbow."
Daryl immediately understood what Jason meant. They'd heard that when someone was bitten, if the bite was on a limb, it could be cut off quickly to prevent infection. It might just save a life. But up to now, they hadn't seen anyone actually do it.
The man on the floor stood up, and Daryl reached out, grabbing his injured arm and starting to apply a tourniquet.
Jason stepped closer and said, "Listen, if you want to live, you can't keep that hand. We need to cut it off now—before the virus spreads through your bloodstream."
The man froze. A surge of fear gripped his heart instantly. Before he could pull his arm away, he felt a sharp pain in his neck—and then everything went black.
Jason didn't cut until the man passed out. Then, without hesitation, he raised his machete and severed the man's arm.
Afterward, Jason covered the wound, tucked the machete back into his belt, and lifted the unconscious man in his arms. He sprinted toward the exit as Daryl reported to the group, "George, get the emergency medical gear ready—now."