Only after the convoy confirmed they were safe did they gradually slow down, finally stopping in a relatively open clearing in the woods.
The engines shut off.
The world fell quiet.
Calista leaned back in the passenger seat, eyes closed, her chest rising and falling hard.
The heavy stink of blood and sweat filled her nose. No one in the vehicle smelled good right now.
Her hand, still gripping the dagger, trembled slightly at the knuckles from how hard she had been holding it.
Leah was silent too. One hand rested on the steering wheel, the other on the window, her eyes looking through the blood-smeared windshield toward the rolling gray mountains in the distance.
In the back seat, Carver's chest heaved. His tactical gear was soaked through with sweat, clinging to the lines of his powerful muscles.
Michonne held her katana and rested with her eyes closed, though her tightly pressed lips and the faint rise and fall of her chest showed she had used up plenty of strength as well.
The silence was not awkward or distant.
It was just the exhaustion that came after the adrenaline faded. After all, they had just crawled back out of hell together.
Calista was the one who broke the silence.
She took a deep breath, as if trying to force all the stale air out of her lungs, grabbed a bottle of water from the vehicle, and took a long drink.
Then she pulled two more bottles from under the passenger seat and tossed them into the back, before handing her own bottle to Leah. "Water."
At the same time, inside the second Humvee.
"Hey, Mike, you didn't get bit, did you?" Turner asked from the side, grimacing as he checked the bloody scrape a rock had left on his arm.
Mike answered in his deep, muffled voice, "No. Worry about yourself, Turner. You need Ethan to look at that cut."
As he spoke, he fished half a bottle of whiskey out from under the seat, took a small sip, then handed it to Turner. "For disinfecting."
Turner's eyes lit up. He took the bottle and drank a generous mouthful without the slightest hesitation, then exhaled sharply. "Damn! You were hiding the good stuff!"
In the back seat, Bossie was tightening the restraints on the unconscious Lorenzo, making sure both his hands and feet were securely bound.
Wells rubbed his aching shoulder from all the digging and watched Bossie work. "This guy's sleeping like a log."
Mike's mouth twitched. "He was knocked out..."
Over by the heavy truck, Danny finally collapsed into his seat. "God, I feel like I got trampled by a herd of rhinos."
Jenson turned back from the driver's seat and handed him a compressed biscuit. "Get some strength back, Danny. Ethan, you too. Check everyone's injuries in a bit."
"Got it."
Inside Shane's sedan, the atmosphere was slightly different.
Merle struggled with one arm to twist open the cap of a canteen. After several failed tries, he cursed under his breath in irritation.
Daryl, sitting beside him, glanced over, silently reached out, took the canteen, and opened it with ease. He took a big drink first, then handed it back.
Merle took the canteen and gulped down several mouthfuls before letting out a long breath and passing it to Shane in the driver's seat.
Shane said nothing. He simply took it and drank as well.
Only after they had left the walkers far behind did Calista give the order to rest over the team radio, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Everyone, rest in place for fifteen minutes. Treat your wounds and get your strength back. Ethan, check the injured. Jenson, set up lookouts."
"The Sentinel Station is just ahead."
...
Deep in the valley near Tybee Island, the vegetation grew thicker and thicker. Tangled vines were everywhere, almost swallowing every trace of human presence.
Following the rough map Dr. Jenner had drawn, the convoy rolled over the last stretch of uneven dirt road. When the scene ahead came into view, everyone held their breath.
It was not the high-tech structure they had imagined, but an area enclosed by rusted barbed wire, so silent it felt unsettling.
Several weather-beaten signs hung from the wire. The writing had faded, but it was still barely readable: "Southeastern Ecological Observation Station. Unauthorized Entry Prohibited."
Several low, single-story buildings stood scattered inside, their outer walls covered in dead vines. They had the outdated look of something built decades ago, almost blending into the green mountains behind them.
"If Dr. Jenner remembered correctly, this is it," Calista said softly.
She compared it with the map, her gaze sweeping over the abandoned cluster of buildings before settling on an inconspicuous metal emblem on the side of the main building, nearly covered in moss.
It was a simplified outline of the Earth, pierced by an upward-slanting arrow.
"The Sentinel Station mark. Dr. Jenner was right. The surface structures are just camouflage."
The convoy stopped in a relatively hidden clearing outside the barbed-wire fence.
"Bossie, Daryl," Calista called. "Scout ahead and confirm the situation inside. Stay in contact. If anything looks wrong, pull back immediately."
"Understood." Bossie quickly checked his gear, slung his assault rifle behind his back, and switched to a suppressed pistol.
Daryl nodded and tightened his grip on his crossbow. The two slipped silently through a break in the barbed wire and disappeared into the shadows of the buildings.
The wait felt especially long.
Everyone stayed on high alert, fingers never leaving their triggers, eyes constantly scanning the dense woods around them.
Michonne leaned against a tree trunk with her katana in her arms, her gaze sharp.
Shane and Merle guarded the convoy's outer perimeter together.
Lorenzo had already woken up. Wells dragged him out of the vehicle, his hands still cuffed, and he narrowed his eyes as he studied the observation station in front of them.
About twenty minutes later, Bossie's lowered voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Calista, the surface is clear. Most of the buildings are empty and covered in thick dust. We took out four or five walkers."
He paused, and his voice turned more serious. "But we found something big. There's a building in the back disguised as a warehouse. Inside, there's a heavy-duty elevator shaft leading underground. Power's out, so the elevator's dead. There's an emergency fire passage beside it, stairs leading down. Can't see the bottom."
The news made everyone's hearts tighten.
An underground facility did not sound like anything simple.
Calista made her decision quickly.
She gathered everyone, her eyes moving across the team's faces. "Listen. We found the entrance, and it's underground. We don't know what's down there, so not everyone is going in.
"Jenson, Wells, Ethan, Merle, you stay on the surface and guard the vehicles and all our supplies. This is our way out. We cannot lose it."
Merle patted his chest. "Don't worry, Calista. With us here, not even a fly's getting near our vehicles."
Jenson nodded steadily. "We'll hold this place. Keep the radio open. If anything happens, call for support immediately."
Calista looked at the remaining elites, along with the new members. "Leah, Carver, Mike, Bossie, Turner, Danny, you're coming down with me. Michonne, Daryl, Shane..."
She paused briefly, her gaze lingering on their faces for a moment.
"You're coming too. We need every bit of strength we can get."
After seeing what they could do in the previous fight, Calista had already started planning to bring them into the core operation circle.
After all, two of them had survived all the way to the finale.
Maybe they had some kind of halo she could take advantage of.