Merle was genuinely panicking. He rushed over to the motorcycle and started rummaging through it.
"I remember there's some meds in here. Take them now."
Daryl slapped his hand away, irritation flaring into anger. "Get lost. I'm fine. I don't have a fever."
"Bullshit. Your face is hot as hell." Merle grabbed Daryl's uninjured arm without waiting for a response.
He shoved an old medicine pouch into Daryl's hands. "Forget the bike. Put it in the back of Rick's pickup. Get in Shane's car with me."
Daryl frowned, annoyed that Merle would not listen, then paused, confused. "What, Merle? You don't need this stuff anymore? Your lym..."
Merle clamped a hand over Daryl's mouth instantly. The back of his neck flushed bright red, making him look even worse than Daryl.
He shot a quick glance toward Calista and Leah. They were far enough away that they had not heard anything. Only then did he glare at his brother and mutter through gritted teeth, "Shut up. I haven't had that in ages. Just get in the car and stay quiet."
The Dixon brothers were both big and strong, and Merle was especially powerful. Daryl had no chance to argue.
Merle practically dragged him over and shoved him into the back seat of Shane's sedan, then roughly hauled the motorcycle onto the pickup bed and tied it down with a rope.
Daryl's face was an unnatural red, and Merle was not much better.
Shane looked at them, puzzled. "Wow. You two running fevers?"
Neither of them answered. Both Merle and Daryl shot him a glare at the same time.
Daryl could not fight Merle off, and he did not want to aggravate his injury, so he sat there with a dark expression. Still, his eyes kept drifting out the window, searching for that blonde figure.
The two sisters stood together.
Calista pulled a wrinkled map from her bag and pointed at it as she spoke. Leah leaned in, listening closely. Sunlight fell over them. One calm and striking, the other cool and sharp.
From the driver's seat, Shane quickly noticed Daryl's wandering gaze in the rearview mirror, along with the unusual intensity behind it.
He followed that gaze and naturally landed on Calista, who was leading the discussion.
Shane's brows drew together.
A faint sense of irritation rose in him.
That kid Daryl...
Shane did not bother with subtlety. He turned his head and looked straight at Daryl in the back seat.
"Hey, Daryl." He jerked his chin toward Calista, his tone blunt, almost interrogative. "You like her?"
"What. What?" Daryl stiffened like he had been shocked, nearly jumping out of his seat.
He thought Shane had seen through his feelings for Leah, and panic hit instantly. The redness that had just faded from his face surged back even stronger.
"I don't. What the hell are you talking about?" Daryl snapped, his tone defensive, his nerves showing through.
He avoided Shane's gaze and pointed randomly out the window. "I was just checking if any walkers were following us."
The excuse was painfully obvious. His eyes flickered, his fingers digging into the edge of the seat.
To Shane, it looked exactly like someone flustered after being called out.
Shane stared at him for a few seconds, then simply let out a quiet scoff and turned away without pressing further.
In the back seat, Daryl let out a silent breath of relief. Still, he could not help stealing another glance at Leah outside. He cursed Shane for meddling, and himself for reacting like that.
At that moment, Calista and Leah finished their discussion. Calista stepped forward with the map and addressed the group, her voice clear.
"I know everyone is feeling lost right now. But we do not have time to stay stuck in it."
She raised the slightly crumpled map, the same one she had marked with Hershel, Jimmy, and Otis the day before.
"This is the route we planned yesterday." She pointed to a bold line on the map. "Our destination is here. The Griffin Prison."
The prison.
Everyone looked up, surprise flashing across their faces.
Lori spoke first, a hint of urgency in her voice. "Your camp is at the prison? Is it safe?"
Calista shook her head. "Our camp is in Tennessee. The prison is just our rendezvous point. My team went ahead on an important mission, and we agreed to meet there."
She shifted her tone and looked at Rick, Hershel, and the others.
"But for you, it is a good place to settle for now. The prison has solid concrete walls, barbed wire, and separate sections. It is easy to defend and hard to breach."
Her voice remained calm and steady.
"It can keep the walkers out and give you shelter. If you want, you can come with us. At the very least, it will give you time to catch your breath. After that, you can decide whether to stay or move on."
She did not present the prison as a permanent home. She made it clear it was only a temporary stop for her team, while still explaining its value.
There were too many people in Rick's group. If they could eventually make it to Rock Fortress, they would be valuable manpower.
But Calista's team had other missions. They still had to head to Sentinel Station. The situation there was unknown and required a small, mobile force. They could not bring along a large group with different priorities.
They would have to wait until the mission was done, then see if the others wanted to come along when they passed by again.
No one hesitated for long.
"I'm going with you. No matter what, you're the reason we managed to keep all this." Maggie stepped forward first, pointing at the livestock and supply vehicles, her eyes full of gratitude.
After everything that had happened, she was certain following Calista was the right choice. And the prison sounded like a solid place.
Glenn stepped up right behind her.
"We're going too," Beth and Jimmy said immediately.
Otis and Patricia exchanged a look, then nodded firmly.
They had lost their home, but they did not want to lose the people they had just escaped with.
Hershel looked at Calista, his expression complicated.
The young woman he once saw as a source of trouble had proven she was right in the harshest way possible. And she had preserved the last hope of the Greene family.
He opened his mouth, then finally said, his voice weary but lighter than before, "Let's go."
"We're going to the prison." Rick looked at his group, got their confirmation, then said to Calista in a steady voice filled with trust, "We'll follow your lead."
"Good." Calista folded the map and looked over her team. "Stay in formation. Stay alert. Move out."
She still had Carver and Mike on her mind, wondering if they had managed to capture Lorenzo yet.