Boyd held her gaze for a few seconds before responding, keeping his back straight and his arms relaxed at his sides. His voice sounded tired, but firm.
"You can talk here."
Donna once again scanned everyone present in the room. Her eyes lingered a moment longer on Liam and Carrie before she slowly nodded, as if reluctantly accepting that there was nothing to hide. Then she spoke, arms crossed and expression tense.
"There are problems at Colony House. With the new arrivals from the bus we already had issues—people are complaining about the lack of food, and now it's even worse with another large group arriving."
Boyd lowered his gaze for a second, thoughtful, running a hand through his beard before answering in a practical tone.
"We'll ration."
Donna placed her hands on her hips sharply and took a step forward. Her voice hardened even more.
"You don't understand, Boyd. People are getting angry. It won't take long before there's a real problem."
Boyd opened his mouth to reply, but stayed silent. His expression clearly showed that he didn't have an immediate solution. That was when he noticed Liam take a small step forward, clearly intending to speak.
"Don't worry. About a week before the food runs out, I'll get everyone out of this place," Liam said with absolute confidence, without hesitation.
Donna slowly turned her head toward him and stared straight into his eyes, a mix of distrust and exhaustion built from months of false hope.
"And why should we trust someone who just arrived? Every time new people come, they believe they'll find a way out—and then they end up like everyone else," Donna said, never breaking eye contact. "Why do you think you'll be different?"
Liam didn't look away. His posture was relaxed, but his voice was steady, almost challenging.
"I'll show you results today. When you come back tomorrow, you'll find something that has never happened in this town before."
Donna watched him in silence for several seconds, evaluating him, searching for signs of lies or empty arrogance. Finally, she spoke in a cold but controlled tone.
"If you do what you say, I'll keep the people under control until you get us out of this hell."
Liam nodded once, then turned slightly so everyone could see him.
"Good. Now I'll tell you exactly what we're doing tonight."
As he said that, his eyes moved across everyone present. The expressions were tense; some swallowed hard, others frowned. The very idea of doing something outside at night made the atmosphere heavy.
"Carrie and I will capture one of those monsters, bring it to one of the empty houses, and kill it calmly. If everything goes well, we'll go back out and repeat the process, with the goal of killing as many Smilers as possible," Liam said with absolute seriousness.
Kenny's eyes widened in shock as he took a small step forward.
"That's insane. If you manage to do that for several days, you could wipe out all the Smilers."
He had been in the town long enough to know this: the Smilers weren't infinite. At most, he had seen around thirty, all with different appearances, and over time it was easy to recognize them all.
Clint slowly uncrossed his arms and spoke after thinking for a moment, his expression grave.
"That won't be easy. If you need help, I'm willing to help."
Jim nodded seriously, pressing his lips together before speaking.
"Without those monsters, the danger in this town would drop a lot."
Around the room, many exchanged glances. On several faces, something began to appear that hadn't been seen in a long time: hope.
Donna didn't lower her guard and spoke again.
"Even if you kill those monsters, how will you find a way out?"
Liam answered without hesitation.
"I have many ideas we can try, and if none of them work, we'll have to destroy the entire forest until we find an exit."
Boyd immediately frowned and shook his head.
"You're thinking of burning the forest? That won't work."
Seeing the doubt reflected in Liam's eyes, Boyd knew he had hit the right point and continued.
"We've tried it several times. It always goes out quickly, like something is preventing people from burning the forest."
Liam frowned deeply at that information. Burning the forest shouldn't be a problem for Carrie… but if there was something preventing it, he couldn't be sure it would work.
They could still tear down the trees or destroy them directly, but that would take much more effort than simply setting them on fire and letting it spread. They would have to destroy the forest piece by piece, each time Carrie recovered enough strength.
"I still believe we can destroy the forest without burning it, but it would take longer," Liam said after thinking for a moment, crossing his arms as his gaze briefly drifted to a point on the wall, as if he were already calculating the effort it would require.
Hearing this, the doubt on everyone's faces eased, knowing there were still other options. Some exchanged silent looks, others let out a breath they hadn't realized they were holding.
"Alright. We'll trust you. If you need anything, just tell me and I'll get it for you," Boyd said, willing to help in any way he could to find this new possible way out, placing both hands on the desk with determination.
"I'm entrusting my people's future to you. Don't disappoint me," Donna said, stepping forward, her expression firm and direct, making the weight of those words clear.
Liam nodded and spoke. "First, I need empty houses for the people who came with me, and if possible, they should be close to each other. Everyone who arrived with me will stay in the town." As he spoke, he subtly nodded toward Carrie, making it clear he was speaking for his entire group.
"Before nightfall, I'll have houses ready for your people," Boyd said without hesitation, rising slightly from his seat as if already organizing who to inform.
"Good. Now let's talk about the worms inside you. With what you just told me about how you got them, I now have an idea of how you might get rid of them," Liam said confidently, locking eyes with Boyd.
Boyd jumped to his feet in surprise, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. "Tell me, please. These things are a nightmare. They often make me see illusions and horrible things." His voice carried exhaustion and accumulated desperation.
"Just like the chained man passed them to you, you could pass the worms to another living being through blood. You could even kill one of the Smilers with those worms," Liam said calmly, as if discussing something purely technical.
"How do you know those worms could kill a Smiler?" Jim asked skeptically, frowning as he crossed his arms.
"That's my secret. It doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. You could simply pass the worms to an animal if you don't want to try killing a Smiler," Liam said. For him, Boyd killing a Smiler would be a loss, but at this moment, with so many of them around, killing even one would make dealing with the others easier. He was willing to sacrifice a skill to save time.
Donna and Boyd looked at him doubtfully for a moment before accepting it, exchanging a brief, silent glance. They didn't need to know everything—the most important thing was getting out of this place.
Clint wasn't interested in knowing Liam's secrets. From experience in his line of work, he knew there were things people shouldn't know, so he didn't blame Liam for keeping some things to himself. He remained silent, watching everyone carefully.
Jim and Kenny only wanted to get their families out of here. They weren't interested in secrets, only in escape. Kenny had already lost his father—he didn't want to lose his mother too. More than anything, he wanted to get her out. He lowered his gaze for a second, clenching his fists.
With everything important discussed, Liam and Carrie left the sheriff's station, ready to test some ideas Liam had—ideas that normally couldn't be tried without them there. They walked out with determined steps, leaving behind an atmosphere charged with a mix of fear and hope.