Calista stood before a spread-out map, sliding her finger west until it finally stopped in the general direction of Woodbury.
Bossie crouched beside her, quickly adjusting the Black Raven drone they had brought with them.
"Scout Woodbury," Calista said to Bossie. "I want a clear look at it. Its walls, guard posts, and…"
She paused, pressing her fingertip firmly against the blank area on the map. "Look for any unusual standalone buildings, or places with especially heavy security."
Bossie nodded. "Understood, Calista.
With a full charge, the drone has enough endurance and range to cover this route and carry out a detailed scan.
I'll use the terrain and the morning light as much as possible to reduce the risk of being spotted."
"Start," Calista said, patting Bossie on the shoulder.
Bossie said nothing more and focused completely on the controller and tablet screen in his hands.
With a faint hum, the Black Raven drone lifted lightly off the ground, climbed quickly, and soon became a small dot as it sped east.
Real-time footage began streaming onto the tablet. First came the prison's damaged wall and the busy figures moving around it, then the forest and the winding abandoned highway.
Carver stood not far behind Calista with his arms crossed, clearly paying attention to Bossie's live report as well.
"Currently entering airspace over the forest. Visibility is good. No large-scale walker gatherings or signs of human activity detected…
Found a trail that appears to have been made recently by vehicle tracks. Direction points southeast. Coordinates marked…"
Calista listened quietly, her eyes on the constantly updating map on the tablet and the occasional paused, zoomed-in details.
The drone continued east.
Scattered small farms and abandoned houses began to appear on the screen. Some showed signs of having been looted, while others still held the abrupt stillness of the day the world ended.
"Approaching the edge of the target area. Man-made wooden wall detected, approximately four meters high, with an observation post… target confirmed, Woodbury!"
Everyone's spirits lifted.
Maggie and Glenn stopped what they were doing and instinctively moved closer.
Carver also turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the tablet screen.
On the screen, Woodbury's outline gradually grew clear.
Just as Haley and Gargulio had described earlier, it looked far too orderly for a place in the apocalypse.
The wooden wall was neatly maintained, with regular patrol paths and watchtowers along the top.
Inside the town, the houses were arranged in an orderly way. The streets were clean, and they could even see small planned vegetable plots and clothes hung out to dry.
In the morning light, there really were residents walking around, and children were playing in the small square.
"They've done a nice job with the act," Carver said, snorting as he watched the screen.
But Bossie's camera and focus were clearly not on these "warm" surface details.
"The wall has three entrances. The main gate is the largest, with reinforced guard booths on both sides. Visual estimate, at least four armed personnel.
There are smaller gates on the east and north sides. Defense is relatively weaker, but barriers are in place… watchtowers at every corner of the wall, equipped with binoculars, suspected fixed weapon platforms…
There is a concentrated vehicle parking area near the central square, including modified pickup trucks and off-road vehicles…
Suspected armory identified. Single-story brick and stone structure, reinforced doors and windows, two-man sentry at the entrance…"
As he spoke, he quickly marked the locations on the digital map.
As the drone circled silently, more details were captured.
Certain sections of the wall showed signs of recent reinforcement. In the square, aside from children, there were also groups of young and middle-aged men gathered together. Their movements and bearing did not look like ordinary residents. They looked more like they were on standby or training.
"Suspected command center or residence of an important figure," Bossie said, lowering his voice slightly as the camera pushed toward a relatively isolated two-story building on the north side of town, one with a more refined appearance.
The area around the building was open, with some distance separating it from the other houses, and guards were stationed at the entrance.
Calista stared at the building, her eyes narrowing slightly. That was probably the Governor's residence.
The drone continued its scan, not missing any corner.
Just as the battery entered its final warning stage and it was about to return, Bossie suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise.
"Calista, look here." He froze the image and zoomed in.
The camera pointed to the westernmost side of the town, near the wall, where an area had been enclosed by a separate fence.
Inside were not houses or vegetable plots, but several thick wooden stakes, with some unclear debris scattered nearby.
The ground in that area was dark, different from its surroundings.
"What is that?" Glenn could not help asking. "Looks kind of wrong."
Bossie zoomed the camera in as far as it would go. The image was somewhat blurry, but they could still make out deep, dark marks on the wooden stakes. Among the debris on the ground, there seemed to be torn clothing and rope.
"The marks on the stakes… look like they were left from tying things down, or repeated impacts." Bossie narrowed his eyes, judging from experience. "The color of the ground is wrong. Looks like it's been soaked with blood for a long time."
"An execution ground," Carver said coldly, breaking the silence. "Or a place for displaying 'punishment,' where people watch bloody shows."
He had seen similar things before, usually in certain African countries where warlords were common and the methods of rule were far more dictatorial.
Haley and Gargulio, who had been standing uneasily at the edge of the crowd, looked at each other. Haley spoke up.
"That… that's the 'colosseum.'"
Calista turned and waited for them to continue.
Gargulio licked his cracked lips and picked up where Haley left off. "The Governor calls it 'entertainment,' or 'necessary courage training.'
Every month, the outside teams bring back walkers, or living people from outside. Usually captured raiders.
Chamberlain is one of the Governor's trusted men, just like Martinez. He's in charge of guarding those walkers."
Gargulio paused.
Thinking about it now, those people might not have been raiders at all. They could have been innocent survivors too.
"The Governor makes the townspeople, especially newcomers, go in with weapons and fight walkers. Sometimes it's people fighting people. Whoever wins gets extra rations and praise.
Those wooden stakes are used to tie up walkers. I once saw them tie a walker there after it bit a gladiator to death, then make the townspeople line up to stab it. They said it was to 'overcome fear.'
The ground, the color of the ground, is blood. Blood and other things, soaked in again and again."
Haley added in a trembling voice, "Almost the whole town goes to watch every time.
The Governor stands over there. He says it's to make everyone remember how cruel the outside world is, and to keep their will to fight.
He says that once people get used to death and killing, they won't be afraid anymore."
"But the children…" Carol covered her mouth in disbelief.
"The children watch too!" Haley said, pained. "Some parents cover their eyes, but they still have to be there. The Governor says they have to build courage from a young age, so they can protect Woodbury when they grow up."
Andrea forced a few words out through clenched teeth.
"…Madman."