One evening a few days later, Calista had just finished dealing with the day's work and was about to head to the Rock Fortress cafeteria when Danny suddenly stopped her.
An urgent transmission had come in from the prison.
Calista followed Danny into the communications room, pulled over a chair, sat down, and put on the headset.
"Put it through, Danny."
After a brief burst of static, Rick's voice came through, sounding unusually excited.
"Rock Fortress, this is the prison. Rick speaking. We've got a new development that needs to be reported immediately."
"I'm listening, Rick."
Calista felt her heart tighten slightly.
Could it be...
"About three hours ago, Tyreese and Sasha found two survivors near Old Route 77, northeast of the prison, roughly fifteen kilometers away as the crow flies."
Rick was speaking faster than usual.
"They're a father and son. The father's name is Chris, looks to be in his fifties. His son, Christopher, is in his early twenties.
"When they were found, five walkers had them surrounded. They were badly dehydrated and almost completely exhausted, with scrapes and scratches all over them. They were barely hanging on."
"How are they now?" Calista asked immediately.
"Tyreese and Sasha brought them back to the prison. They've received emergency treatment and show no signs of infection, but they're badly shaken and exhausted. We gave them food and water and placed them in an isolation block."
Rick paused, his voice becoming more serious.
"But Calista, once they recovered enough to talk, Chris told us something... something we need to take seriously.
"About Terminus."
Rick pronounced the name slowly and clearly.
Calista swallowed.
Terminus.
It had finally appeared.
But what point in time were they at now?
Were the people maintaining it still those kindhearted survivors?
Or had they already become monsters?
"Tell me everything, Rick."
Rick could hear the excitement in Calista's voice. He took a deep breath and began reconstructing Chris and Christopher's halting account as accurately as possible.
"Chris said that after the apocalypse, they'd been surviving around a gas station and motel near the old Interstate 85 route.
"Things kept getting worse. Everything worth scavenging had been picked clean a long time ago. There weren't huge numbers of walkers, but they were constantly wandering through.
"About ten days ago, they ran completely out of food. The two of them decided to head northwest, toward us, and try their luck. They'd heard rumors that there might be a large community somewhere in this direction.
"They were afraid to use the main roads, so they followed an abandoned railroad track running parallel to the old interstate. It was more concealed.
"Then, about five days ago, around noon, they passed through some woods and Chris saw... a billboard."
Rick paused.
"A very obvious one. It was standing beside the old railroad embankment, with no tall trees nearby to block the view.
"He said 'Terminus' was written across the top in huge letters. Below that was a thick white arrow clearly pointing north.
"Under the arrow was a smaller line of text.
"Safety. Community. Future."
A blue background.
The word "Terminus" in large white letters.
A white arrow pointing north.
The slogan, "Safety, Community, Future."
The description was so precise, so vivid, that Calista could practically see the billboard in her mind.
Rick continued.
"Calista, when you first mentioned Terminus at the meeting, I couldn't really picture it. But after hearing their description... the whole thing feels too deliberate.
"It sounds like a carefully prepared trap."
They were right.
And they were wrong.
Calista silently rejected the conclusion.
When that sign had first been painted, the people who wrote "Safety, Community, Future" had genuinely believed those words.
Then the raiders came.
Violence destroyed their fragile order and turned lambs into cannibalistic butchers.
Calista knew the bloody truth, but she couldn't reveal a single word of it.
"What else did the father and son say? What was the block around the billboard like?"
"Chris said the billboard looked unusually clean compared to everything around it. Like someone was deliberately maintaining it.
"He had mixed feelings when he saw it. Part of him was excited because it looked like hope. Another part of him instinctively felt something was wrong.
"But he and his son had nothing left. They didn't really have a choice.
"They were probably only two or three hundred meters from the billboard in a straight line. There was just an overgrown stretch of land and some abandoned guardrails between them and it.
"Chris said he didn't see anyone around the billboard. Didn't hear anything either. Everything was completely quiet."
"What happened afterward? Did they follow it?"
Calista's heart tightened.
She already knew the answer. In the original storyline, this father and son had died in front of Tyreese.
But she still needed to confirm how events had unfolded now.
"They did. Or at least, they tried.
"They decided to take the risk and follow the direction of the arrow, hoping they could find Terminus.
"They traveled north along the road for... Chris estimates less than a kilometer. The farther they went, the worse the road became. More wrecked vehicles, more debris.
"At a bend filled with rusted car wrecks, six or seven walkers suddenly wandered out of an abandoned restaurant off to the side.
"Chris and Christopher were already exhausted. They got caught off guard and were separated in the confusion.
"Chris managed to get away from the walkers, but he completely lost his bearings. He spent several days wandering through the woods, starving and dehydrated, almost losing his mind.
"Then yesterday, by some miracle, he found Christopher again. His son had also been wandering through the woods completely disoriented and was close to breaking down.
"Once they reunited, they kept moving in what they thought was west.
"That took them straight into Tyreese's patrol block.
"Then the walkers surrounded them, and that's where Tyreese and Sasha found them."
When Rick finished, Calista remained silent for a moment before leaning toward the microphone.
"Rick, listen carefully.
"First, protect Chris and Christopher.
"Put them in a completely secure isolation and observation block. For now, only medical personnel are allowed contact with them.
"Question them again in greater detail. Focus on the billboard's exact location, the precise route they followed between seeing it and being attacked, and whether they noticed any other signs of human activity or unusual markings along the way.
"Have Boone, Tyreese, Sasha, and the others help them draw the most accurate map they can.
"Second, information about the Terminus billboard and everything connected to it stays restricted to the core members who already know.
"Make it clear to Chris and Christopher that they cannot mention Terminus to anyone else.
"As far as they're concerned, they need to forget they ever saw it.
"Third, and most importantly, form a reconnaissance team immediately.
"Have Zhou lead it. They're veterans of Rock Fortress, disciplined and experienced in reconnaissance.
"Send them toward the coordinates Chris provided and confirm that the billboard exists.
"Without exposing themselves, they are to follow the direction indicated by the arrow using long-range surveillance.
"We need to know where that route ultimately leads and whether there are any signs of active Terminus operations along the way. Patrols, people directing survivors inward, anything like that.
"I want to know what that place looks like right now.
"Does it look like a camp where people are living normal lives?
"Or does it look like a raider camp?
"And remember the rules of engagement."
Calista emphasized each word.
"Observe from a distance. Do not approach. Do not make contact.
"Your mission is to determine the current state of Terminus, not to start a fight."
"Understood, Calista. I'll arrange it immediately."
Rick hesitated.
"But honestly... this whole Terminus thing makes me uneasy."
Calista didn't correct his impression.
"Don't worry, Rick. Zhou and the others will find the answer. If it's a trap, we'll destroy it before it ever becomes a problem."
She gave him one final warning before ending the transmission.
"Stay alert, Rick. We know far too little about Terminus to underestimate it."
"Understood."
The transmission ended.
Calista removed the headset and felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her.
Danny studied her for a moment.
"You seem like you're... holding something back, Calista."
He paused.
"You don't think it's necessarily a trap, do you?"
Calista couldn't tell him the truth, but she could share part of what she believed.
"In the apocalypse, there's often only a thin line between hope and a trap.
"That billboard, those words... maybe when they were first painted, they came from genuine goodwill.
"Zhou and the others are going to help us find out which side of that line Terminus stands on now."
Danny fell silent, thoughtful.