Rock Fortress was relatively well hidden, but it was not completely isolated.
"Our defenses still aren't enough," Calista said to Leah and Rickson. "High walls and barbed wire can stop scattered threats, but if a large force comes, or if a horde spots us, we'll be trapped."
Leah crossed her arms. "Then we build a wider early warning system and set more traps."
Rickson nodded. "We can also clear more of the outer forest to reduce blind spots and prevent stealth approaches."
Calista fell silent for a moment.
"Maybe… we can use the enemy to defend against the enemy," she said quietly.
A few hours later, the mobile team led by Calista, Leah, Carver, Mike, Turner, and Bossie left Rock Fortress and headed down toward the highway.
They drove two modified pickup trucks loaded with unusual equipment: heavy canvas, thick ropes, several large logging axes, and steel saws.
"Calista, what exactly are we doing?" Mike asked while driving. "You're being mysterious."
Calista replied calmly, "We're going to catch some 'labor.' Free, and they never get tired."
The others exchanged confused looks.
As they approached the outskirts of Knoxville, the number of walkers increased noticeably.
They stopped near an abandoned motel.
Around twenty to thirty walkers wandered there, most of them heavily decayed.
"This will do," Calista said. "Capture five or six that are still relatively intact."
The plan was simple, but extremely dangerous.
Carver and Mike would draw most of the walkers away.
Leah, Turner, and Bossie would provide overwatch and deal with any stragglers.
Calista would personally demonstrate her method.
"Leah, Turner, help me hold one down."
She drew her dagger and signaled for Turner to take the axe.
Though puzzled, Leah and Turner carried out the order without hesitation.
After most of the walkers had been dealt with or lured away, they quietly approached a lone male walker.
Leah swept its legs out, knocking it to the ground. Turner immediately pinned it face-down with his weight, pressing his knee into its back so it could not rise.
The walker snarled and thrashed wildly.
Calista stepped forward, took a breath, and forced down her disgust.
She had to be the first to do it.
"Hold its head steady."
Leah grabbed the walker's head firmly. She used so much force that part of its rotting scalp tore off.
Calista crouched down, eyes cold, and drove the knife in.
The blade cut into the jaw joint. She pried it open and sliced across.
With a tearing sound, she removed the entire lower jaw along with the tongue.
The walker's roar instantly became silent. Its upper teeth were fully exposed, its throat vibrating soundlessly.
Turner's face twitched. "Man, this guy's teeth are nasty. Definitely never saw a dentist."
"Now cut off its arms," Calista said calmly.
She gestured for Turner to use the axe.
Turner found it unsettling, but he did not hesitate.
He raised the axe, lined up the strike, and brought it down twice.
Two clean blows severed both forearms at the elbows.
Dark, sticky blood splashed out, and the stench made all three of them gag.
The walker, now without a jaw or arms, still writhed, but it had completely lost any ability to attack. Only its torso and legs moved weakly.
"See?" Calista stood and wiped her blade on its clothes. "Now it can't bite or grab anyone. But it's still 'alive.' It can move, and it still gives off that smell."
She looked at the others, who were staring in shock.
"We'll take them back, chain them up outside the fence, or scatter them in the surrounding woods.
From the outside, it will look like our base is naturally surrounded by walkers. Other walkers will treat it as their own and lose interest.
As for human raiders, most will turn away when they see this many walkers. We start with Rock Fortress. Once Blackberry Ranch is fully secured, we expand it there."
Silence followed.
The idea was extreme.
Using walkers as a defensive layer was something none of them had considered.
Mike frowned. "Isn't that risky? What if they break free?"
"In times like these, we do what we must," Calista said firmly. "As our territory expands to Blackberry Ranch, we won't have enough people to guard the entire perimeter at all times.
These 'sentinels' don't need food, don't need rest, and will never betray us. As for breaking free…"
She pointed at the chains and locks.
"We secure them properly and check them regularly. This is only the outermost layer of defense."
Leah looked at the mutilated walker on the ground, then at Calista, and nodded.
"It's worth trying."
Bossie thought for a moment, then added, "Based on what we saw with the Whisperers, walkers ignore their own kind. Using them as a barrier could reduce pressure on the inner perimeter."
That was enough to convince the rest.
"Get to work," Calista ordered.
The process that followed was grim and repetitive.
They repeated the method, capturing and "processing" four more walkers.
Everyone became more efficient with each one.
Mike and Carver even started discussing which joints were easier to cut and how to strike more cleanly.
Calista insisted on taking part every time.
Like the Whisperer tactic before, she refused to stand aside. If it was her idea, she would carry it out herself.
After several rounds, her hands and clothes were soaked in filth, the stench clinging stubbornly.
Leah silently handed her water and a clean cloth.
"I'm fine," Calista said, forcing a faint smile.
The smell was overwhelming.
Once the five prepared walkers were wrapped in canvas, loaded into the truck bed, and secured with chains, the team withdrew.
Back at Rock Fortress, Calista personally directed the placement.
The five "living alarms" were chained at different points along the outer fence. Some were in clear view, others hidden near the tree line.
They writhed silently, giving off the unmistakable stench of walkers. From a distance, they looked like a natural cluster.
Calista then gathered Rickson, Leah, and the leaders of the patrol and search teams.
"Starting today," she said, "when you encounter lone walkers, use this method. Remove the jaw and arms, then bring them back and chain them along the outer perimeter. Place some along the fence and some in the surrounding woods."
She met their mixed expressions of discomfort and doubt.
"I know it's unpleasant. Hard to accept.
But this is another layer of protection. The thicker this 'wall of the walkers' becomes, the safer our core will be."