People followed the sound of the voice and saw that Negan was holding a bone—it was him who had spoken just now.
Hanna's eyes lit up. She followed the voice and looked at Negan, who was sitting there with a smile on his face.
"Are your words convincing? Or are you willing to stay up at night and keep watching her?"
"Yes, I don't agree… Within this group, I'm the most aware of threats, and right now we don't know if this woman belongs to an organization we should be wary of. It's too unsafe for both us and what we're planning to do if we let her go."
Negan held his bat. His wide grin revealed the bright teeth in his mouth, then he stroked his beard. "Since we have a tanker truck, I'll watch her myself and take responsibility until you decide to accept her into our group. If after a week you still don't trust her, how about letting her go then?"
The one who had questioned Merle turned his head to look at him. Aaron, who had been silent at the side, also stood up at this moment and said, "I trust Negan. Eric and I will help keep watch over her and make sure she's protected all day."
Merle pursed his lips, then spread his hands with an indifferent expression. "Fine, that's up to you. But speaking of that, I want everyone to keep in mind that I will punish this woman with the harshest penalty."
"There won't be any problem…"
Seeing that three people had taken responsibility, everyone fell silent. The rest had nothing to say, even if they felt uncomfortable. They might not be familiar with Negan and the others, but Merle had been in the prison since it was taken, and everyone knew what this man was capable of.
Now that the matter was settled, Negan brought the woman aside and gave her some food. She was obviously starving, and the people around her shook their heads with complicated expressions.
Negan didn't say anything, but silently placed a bottle of water beside her. Marlett was surprised, looked at him, and thanked him vaguely.
Sensing her gratitude, Negan understood her situation and nodded with a smile. His observant eyes briefly fell on Marlett's stomach, but he said nothing.
After dinner, night quietly arrived without any trouble. The end of the world was a disaster for humanity, but a gift for nature. Countless walkers had turned into nutrients in the soil, nourishing the planet as it recovered from pollution.
The absence of city lights also allowed the stars in the night sky to display their original beauty.
Accompanied by the night, a campfire was lit beside the RV, making the faces of the people around it glow in orange light. Even Marlett, who was exhausted, looked very calm at this moment.
The effect of the food was immediate, and she recovered a lot after eating and drinking enough. At that moment, she was telling the group about some new factions in Texas.
"After the military arrived and eliminated a group that was something like a cult, there are now some groups with a few hundred people. We don't know much about them, but they're dangerous." Marlett paused, took a sip of water, and seeing everyone looking at her, hurried to explain.
"I don't know where the base camp of that force is. The other side is very mysterious. The camp I stayed at before had someone who encountered them while going out, but they only hid from them."
Merle listened to all this in silence and briefly recalled his conversation with Jason. That crazy leader, who was ten steps ahead of many people, wanted to control the border with Mexico and, if possible, start cooperating with those groups. He knew it—Jason was looking for a way out in case they couldn't face the CRM or another reckless organization that didn't care about the damage.
Merle wasn't interested in small groups, but the girl beside him listened seriously, clenching her fists whenever she heard the most painful parts of Marlett's story.
Everyone sat around the campfire for more than an hour. Marlett also shared everything she knew and asked which group they belonged to, but Merle quietly withdrew.
Minutes later, Negan pointed to the tanker truck right behind the modified RV, signaling for Marlett to follow him.
Marlett nodded, followed him, and walked toward the truck. Aaron waved from behind, set up a night shift with Negan, and then went back to sleep.
The two climbed into the fuel tanker truck, and Marlett stared at the dark night outside for a moment. Then suddenly, she turned her head and said to Negan:
"Thank you for what you did today…"
Negan chuckled and waved his hand indifferently. "Don't thank me. Even though that girl is still very young, she's kind. She's willing to speak well of strangers. It's obvious you moved her, so what does it matter whether I or the others believe you?"
Negan held his bat, glanced at the pistol at his waist, listened to the sounds around them, and closed his eyes in the driver's seat.
Marlett looked at him in confusion, feeling uneasy. What did this guy mean by closing his eyes? Shouldn't he be watching me?
"Aren't you… afraid I might run away?" Marlett asked him.
"If you run away at night, the next few days until the week is up will be easier for me, don't you think?"
"Then… wouldn't you be punished?"
Hearing her question, Negan finally opened his eyes and looked at her with a sharp gaze. The smile on his face didn't fade.
"I just think you're worth trusting, and I'm willing to trust you once. If you leave or even come back with someone else, trust me—you won't gain anything from it." After saying that, Negan ignored Marlett and closed his eyes again.
Suddenly, Negan felt something touch the lower part of his body. He opened his eyes again with a slight jolt—it was Marlett reaching out her hands.
Grabbing her wrist, Negan pushed her hand away with a light pull, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
"Your name is Negan? Just take this as a token of my gratitude."
As she spoke, Negan looked at the woman, who really couldn't be more than twenty-five years old. Negan was a very perceptive man, so he immediately understood what was happening.
"This is not what I want…"
"What?"
Negan thought about what he had done earlier and suddenly realized that she must have misunderstood him. He had helped Marlett only because his wife was also pregnant.
"Listen, my Lucille is still waiting for me in our community. The reason I helped you is not for this. Don't misunderstand—I helped you because my Lucille is also pregnant. I understand your situation. I also want you to believe in us, and you'll know that in the future there will be a safe place for you and your baby."
…
Early the next morning, Negan opened his eyes. He looked at Marlett, who was still sleeping beside him, and shook his head as he recalled what had happened the night before.
By then, two people were already cooking in the open space outside, while two others were dealing with some walkers that had been drawn near the camp.
"Negan, good morning."
Hanna, who was helping with the cooking, looked to the side and saw Negan, who had just woken up. She smiled and waved at him, pointing to the utensils in front of her, signaling him to come eat.
Negan smiled, walked over directly, took a bowl of food, and began to eat.
"Thanks for yesterday, Negan…"
Little Hanna walked up to him sweetly and gave him a small hug.
"She's still just a kid…" Negan muttered as he watched Hanna scolding Merle, who wanted more food.
Everything seemed to proceed so peacefully that the group quickly set off on their journey south. What awaited them was still unknown.