On the Rock Fortress convoy's side, Mike's Humvee was still leading the way.
Bossie sat in the passenger seat, while Turner and Wells flanked Lorenzo, who was receiving special "care," keeping him pinned between them.
The second Humvee carried Carver, Leah, and Calista.
Following close behind was Shane's lightly reinforced sedan, driven by Shane himself. Merle sat in the passenger seat, while Daryl sat silently in the back, holding his crossbow.
His flashy motorcycle and Calista's black bike had both been securely fastened to the fourth vehicle, the modified heavy truck.
Jenson drove the truck, carrying Ethan and Danny along with most of the team's supplies.
Calista sat in the passenger seat with a wrinkled but clearly marked map spread across her knees, her brow slightly furrowed.
Carver scanned the road ahead with sharp eyes, both hands steady on the wheel.
Leah sat in the back seat on watch, her gaze sweeping both sides from time to time.
"We're here right now." Calista pointed to a small town marked on the map not far from the prison. "Our destination is Tybee Island in Clayton County. It isn't far in a straight line, but the roads..."
She lifted her head and looked at the highway ahead, which was choked with abandoned vehicles.
"We go around Atlanta," Calista decided quickly. "Big cities have too many walkers, and they're also where human conflict is the worst. We'll take the outer route, following the service roads along the interstates and the country roads."
Carver tilted his head slightly. "Yeah. The roads might be worse and it'll take longer, but we can avoid most of the obvious threats."
As he spoke, his eyes flicked briefly to Calista's focused profile before returning to the road.
Calista nodded. "Exactly. Our advantages are mobility and firepower, not charging head-on into trouble."
Leah added flatly, "Quiet roads mean less trouble. They're better for handling 'accidents' too."
There was a clear implication in her words. She was talking about Lorenzo.
"Then that's settled. This time we've got him cuffed. He shouldn't be able to cause any more problems." Calista folded the map, set it beside her, and looked out the window.
The highway was a horrifying sight.
Rusted, abandoned cars clogged the road in chaotic piles. Some had clearly been through violent crashes, with shattered windows, twisted doors, and dried black bloodstains everywhere.
Torn clothing, scattered luggage, and even the occasional white bone lay between the vehicles or in the weeds along the roadside.
In the distance, a once-bustling town had been reduced to broken walls and rubble, with only a few walkers stumbling through the ruins.
Whenever they heard the engines, they would turn their heads sluggishly and stretch out their rotting arms, but the convoy always steered around them in advance.
If any of them truly blocked the road, Daryl would take them down with precise shots from his crossbow.
His crossbow was currently the only ranged silent weapon in the team, and they did not have to worry too much about running out of ammunition. Daryl could gather materials and make bolts whenever needed.
"Three on the front left, blocking the road," Calista said quietly over the vehicle radio.
"Copy."
The convoy slowed slightly, keeping the vehicles steady.
The rear window of Shane's sedan lowered silently, and Daryl's bolt shot out without a sound, nailing the lead walker right through the eye socket.
"Thud!"
The walker at the front dropped to the ground.
Two more bolts followed, and the walkers were dealt with cleanly.
Lorenzo's hands were cuffed behind his back.
His eyes were closed, as if he were resting, while the shadows beneath his thick lashes hid most of his expression.
Turner and Wells sat on either side of Lorenzo without speaking, but their tense muscles and the way their hands stayed near their weapons made it clear they had not lowered their guard for even a second.
After all, this Italian bastard had already screwed them over once.
In Shane's sedan, the mood was a little livelier.
"Shit, this road's a damn nightmare!" Merle shifted in his seat and cursed. "I'd rather get out and walk than get bounced around in this piece of crap."
"Walk? You?" Shane snorted and skillfully turned the wheel around an overturned truck. "Merle, how many times can you even swing that right arm? How many bullets you got in that pistol? Don't make me turn around and save your ass later."
"Fuck you! Shane, you..." Merle stiffened his neck, ready to fire back.
"Shut up, Merle," Daryl suddenly said from the back seat.
He did not even look up. His hands were busy shaving down a new crossbow bolt. "Save your strength. We don't know what's ahead."
Merle still listened to his younger brother. He spat unhappily and stopped talking, though his fingers kept tapping unconsciously against the inside of the car door while his dark eyes scanned the world outside.
Low, lead-gray clouds hung overhead, and the sky gradually darkened.
"Guys, start looking for a suitable place to spend the night," Calista ordered over the radio.
"Copy that."
"Understood."
The convoy left the main road and drove toward the edge of a small town that looked completely dead.
Most of the houses on either side of the street were damaged, their windows dark and hollow.
In the end, they chose a two-story detached house that stood relatively on its own and looked structurally sound.
It had a small front yard with a mostly intact fence, and the backyard connected to a small patch of woods.
The vehicles were not parked directly in front of the house. Instead, they were carefully spread out and concealed behind nearby bushes or ruined buildings, leaving only the necessary observation points and escape routes open.
"Clear the house of walkers and set up defenses." Calista was the first to open the door and get out, her movements quick and clean.
With her rifle raised, Leah and Carver immediately took position on either side of her, forming a standard tactical formation as they quickly approached the house.
Mike and Bossie followed them inside.
Turner and Wells brought Lorenzo out of the vehicle and had him stay in the relatively safe shadow of the cars, with Wells keeping watch over him for the moment.
Shane, Merle, and Daryl automatically spread out to cover the perimeter of the house and the road leading deeper into town.
Jenson, Danny, and Ethan unloaded several simple motion sensors and tripwire flares from the heavy truck, then began setting up early warning devices at key spots around the house.
The inside of the house was cleared quickly. There were only a few walkers trapped in the storage room, and they were dealt with fast.
The dust made people cough, but it was safer than being outside.
"We'll stay here tonight," Calista said, standing in the middle of the living room and looking around.
Everyone sat in a circle in front of the cold fireplace, eating dinner in silence by the light of several tactical flashlights.
The meal was mostly canned food, with a flat, salty taste, but it was enough to barely fill their stomachs.
The newly joined Shane and Daryl were like two stones dropped into a calm lake, stirring up the Rock Fortress squad's once-stable atmosphere.
When Shane wanted to, he was clearly good at fitting into situations like this.
He swallowed a few mouthfuls of canned beans and stewed meat, wiped his mouth, and took the initiative to move closer to Carver and Mike.
"Hey, man, that knife throw earlier was pretty sweet." Shane tipped his chin toward Carver, referring to Carver's precise throw when they were clearing walkers during the day. "How long have you been practicing?"