(EXTRA CHAPTER)
...
Outside the barbed-wire perimeter of Rock Fortress, the atmosphere was so tense it felt almost tangible.
A nauseating stench of rot hung in the air, coming from two things tightly bound to wooden frames—
two walkers, still twitching faintly.
They let out hoarse, rasping growls and struggled constantly, their decaying bodies grinding against the ropes.
Calista stood in front of them, her face pale, but her eyes unwavering.
She wore a thick old coat and long pants, her golden hair pulled tightly back behind her head.
Leah stood beside her. One hand pressed hard against the pistol holster at her waist, her knuckles pale, while the other gripped a sharp hunting knife. Her face showed a level of anxiety and resistance no one had seen from her before.
"Cali, think about this again," Leah said in a low voice that trembled despite her effort to control it. "This is insane. What if something goes wrong? What if they don't react the way you think they will…"
The core members of Rock Fortress stood in a circle around them.
Mr. and Mrs. Howard turned their heads away, unable to watch. Evans and Dr. Jenner frowned deeply, Evans gripping a first-aid kit tightly in his hands.
Merle stood off to the side with a crooked grin, looking like he was enjoying the spectacle, though a hint of tension showed if you looked closely.
Tom, Elena, Guillermo, and the others stared in disbelief.
Most of the mercenaries remained silent, but the looks they exchanged were filled with doubt.
This was something none of them had ever encountered before. It wasn't in any military manual.
It was pure madness.
"We don't have a better option, Leah." Calista's voice was tight, though she tried to keep it calm.
"A direct assault on Lorenzo's stronghold? Even if we win, how many people will we lose? They have too many men, and they're spread across multiple floors. We can't eliminate them all at once. The rest will react immediately."
"Infiltration? Their defenses will only be tighter than the industrial park."
"This is the only method that can minimize our casualties."
This plan was the result of long hours of thought, pieced together from fragmented memories of the story and their current reality.
The Whisperers—those lunatics who lived among walkers—had proven it was possible.
Maggie's group had used the same tactic during the assault on the Meridian community. In theory, it should work.
But theory and reality were two very different things.
Calista's stomach twisted from both fear and the smell.
Before coming here, she had been nothing more than an ordinary person. Even now, this body belonged to a well-educated, pampered rich girl.
She wasn't someone like Rick, a hardened police officer.
Nor was she like Michonne, a survival expert.
To cut open a still-moving walker with her own hands, peel off its skin, wear it over her body, and smear herself in its blood and flesh—
Just imagining it nearly made her throw up.
But Calista had no way out.
She was the leader of Rock Fortress.
She was the one who proposed this plan. If she didn't dare to try it herself, how could she expect anyone else to carry it out?
"Give me the knife, Leah."
Calista held out her hand.
Leah stared at her, breathing hard, fury burning in her eyes.
But in the end, very slowly, she handed over the hunting knife. The handle was still warm from her grip, damp with sweat.
Calista took it. The cold metal steadied her slightly.
She took a deep breath and immediately choked on the overpowering stench, coughing until her eyes watered.
Forcing herself to ignore the intense physical discomfort, she stepped toward the writhing walker.
Its cloudy eyes locked onto her, its mouth opening in a hungry snarl.
Everyone's heart rose to their throat.
Dr. Jenner stepped forward, ready to rush in at any moment.
Among everyone present, he was the most opposed to this plan.
In his eyes, Calista was more valuable than anyone else alive.
Anyone else could die.
She couldn't.
His research had only just begun to make progress.
Calista raised the knife. Her hand trembled slightly.
She aimed for the walker's chest, where the flesh was relatively intact.
Then she clenched her teeth and drove the blade down.
"Squch!"
A wet, heavy sound.
Dark, nearly coagulated blood and black fluid slowly oozed out, and the smell instantly became ten times worse.
"Ugh…"
Calista forced down the urge to vomit and dragged the blade downward.
She felt the knife slicing through rotten flesh and scraping against ribs that were still hard. The sensation made her scalp tingle and goosebumps spread across her skin.
The walker felt nothing, thrashing even harder.
Calista acted almost purely on willpower. Her mind had gone blank, leaving only one thought:
Finish it.
She grabbed the loosened flesh and tore hard, ripping away a piece of corpse skin that reeked of death.
Thick black fluid splattered across her arms and the front of her clothes.
Then Calista did something that made everyone's pupils shrink and their stomachs churn.
She threw the dripping piece of corpse skin—covered in livid spots and rotting textures—over her own shoulders.
The cold, sticky horror wrapped around her body instantly.
Someone in the crowd finally lost it and vomited.
Calista herself nearly collapsed. She bent over and dry-heaved, tears streaming down her face.
But she clenched her teeth and forced herself to continue.
She grabbed more decaying flesh from the ground and smeared it over her face, neck, arms, and clothes, covering herself completely in the scent of death.
At that moment, Calista looked almost indistinguishable from a walker.
The only thing proving she was alive were her gray-blue eyes, filled with tears from nausea.
"Test it now."
Her voice was hoarse and barely audible.
She nodded to Carver and Mike, who were holding the control ropes.
Both men looked pale, but after receiving the order, they cut the ropes binding the walkers.
The moment they were free, the walkers roared and lunged toward the nearest living flesh—
Calista.
"No!" Leah screamed, nearly drawing her gun.
But in the next moment, something unbelievable happened.
The two walkers rushed toward Calista until they were almost face-to-face with her. Their rotting noses twitched as their cloudy eyes stared at her.
Then they stopped.
They tilted their heads slightly, as if confused.
After a few meaningless growls, they slowly lost interest.
The walkers shuffled past Calista and began moving toward the others nearby—the ones who actually smelled like living humans.
It worked.
Calista stood frozen, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs.
Relief flooded through her, followed by a delayed wave of fear so strong her legs nearly gave out.
The courtyard fell completely silent.
Everyone stared at the two walkers bypassing Calista and heading toward them.
Then they looked back at the filthy woman who had just proven the impossible.
"Holy shit," Merle muttered, his usual mocking grin gone.
Leah rushed forward—not to catch Calista, but to smash the two walkers down with the butt of her rifle before finishing them with a shot to the head.
Only then did she turn around.
She grabbed Calista by the shoulders, her eyes red with lingering fear.
"You scared the hell out of me, damn it! You crazy woman!"
Calista looked at her. She wanted to smile, but she was afraid some of the filth would drip into her mouth, so she only tugged the corner of her lips.
Her gray-blue eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Leah it works, doesn't it?"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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