Knox's admission of that brutal truth sent many of those still clinging to a last shred of hope into despair.
But then his tone shifted, and his eyes filled with deep worry. "But if we go to them, will that really save us?
There are so many of us. Half are elderly, weak, sick, or disabled. To them, we're dead weight. A burden!
Why would they take us in?
Even if they do, what will we become?
Slaves? Second-class citizens?
Doing the hardest work, eating the worst food, always at risk of being thrown away?
Would we just be jumping from one hell into another that looks a little better?
If we lose our freedom, then what's the point of living?"
This was the fear buried deepest in Knox's heart, and it was what many of the silent people were thinking.
"Being alive has meaning by itself!" a clear but firm voice rang out. It was Anna.
She tugged her collar higher and rubbed her cheeks, red from the cold. "Knox, freedom matters. Dignity matters too.
But if we're dead, what freedom and dignity are there to talk about?
Do we have freedom now?
Do we have the freedom to choose not to go hungry?
Do we have the freedom to choose not to be afraid?"
Anna pointed to a little girl by the fire, huddled tight with her arms around her knees. "Do we have the freedom to make sure she sees the sun tomorrow?"
She took a deep breath and went on. "That Rock Fortress, whatever it is, may have its own rules. They may be strict.
But they have order! They have medical care! They have food! They have safety!
We can work, Knox. We know dam technology. We have hands and feet.
We can prove our worth, instead of sitting here waiting to be drained dry!"
At that moment, David spoke in a muffled voice.
He did not look at anyone. He only stared at his bandaged hand, which still ached faintly, his voice defeated. "Today, if they hadn't shown mercy…"
He meant Jenson's terrifyingly precise shot. "We might not have made it back at all. Fighting them head-on really is a dead end."
The man who had once opposed them most fiercely finally lowered his head before the lesson taught by blood and death.
David's stance snuffed out the last trace of opposition.
Clifford looked around at everyone's faces again and said heavily, "Before Marcus left, he entrusted the camp to me.
The situation has gone beyond what we can control. For the sake of those who are left, especially the children…"
He glanced at the children curled up in the adults' arms, their eyes full of fear. "We have to seek change. I think Gwendolyn and Anna are right."
A long silence settled around the campfire.
At last, Knox let out a deep sigh.
He stood, his voice hoarse, but with the release of someone who had made up his mind. "All right. For the people who can still survive, for the children, we'll go talk."
Knox looked at Clifford, Gwendolyn, and Anna. "Tomorrow, the four of us will go as representatives and face the people of Rock Fortress together. We'll go see Marcus and Leo, and we'll ask them to give us a way to live."
Once those words were spoken, they seemed to drain all the strength from him, while also lifting a massive weight from everyone's hearts.
No one cheered. No one objected.
They had decided to stake the fate of the entire Norris community on that powerful group of strangers.
No one knew whether the road ahead would bring fortune or disaster, but staying here meant only death.
...
The entrance to the abandoned railway tunnel had now become a busy temporary logistics hub.
Calista and Leah had arrived as well, preparing to finish clearing out the Civil Defense warehouse in one go and bring everything back.
More than a dozen modified trucks and pickups sat in a long line, engines rumbling.
Three teams were handling the final cleanup: Maya's team, Jonathan's team, and Hank's team.
Leah, Carver, Merle, and Daryl were responsible for guarding the core area.
Under Lieutenant Welles' command, the other team members kept hauling out the last supplies from deep inside the tunnel, along with scattered items they had not had time to move earlier, and loading them onto the vehicles.
Maya moved between the vehicles with a tactical tablet, carrying out the final count and registration to make sure nothing was missed.
Farther out, Bossie and Jenson held the high ground, their sightlines covering the entire warehouse area and the more distant wooded hills.
Just as the cargo bed of the last truck was about to be filled, and Jonathan began directing people to use the materials they had found to reinforce and seal the warehouse doors for the time being, Bossie's voice sounded in Calista's and Leah's radio headsets.
"Calista, Leah, movement at one o'clock, edge of the tree line. Four people, unarmed, hands raised. They're from the Norris Dam community."
Calista's gaze sharpened, and she immediately pressed the talk button. "Everyone, attention. Unarmed personnel spotted at one o'clock. Stay alert. Do not fire without orders. Repeat, do not fire."
The order swept through the entire team in an instant.
The team members, already on guard, moved even faster.
Leah, Carver, and the Dixon brothers almost instinctively adjusted their positions, forming a more defensive formation.
Calista signaled Maya and Lieutenant Welles to steady the team, while Jonathan continued leading people to seal the warehouse doors.
She brought Leah and Carver with her and took a few steps forward, stopping at the front of the convoy as she coldly watched the four people carefully emerge from the edge of the woods.
Clifford, Knox, Anna, and Gwendolyn looked even more battered than before.
Knox's face was pale, his eyes sunken. It was clear the tragedy at the camp, the loss of his old friend, and everything that had followed had left him mentally and physically exhausted.
Anna's steps were unsteady, and her hands were clenched tightly around the hem of her clothes, making her look nervous and uneasy.
All of them held their hands high to show they posed no threat.
The four stopped about twenty meters from Calista, close enough to talk without provoking an overreaction.
Anna spoke nervously. "We... we mean no harm."
Calista's cold gaze swept over them before settling on Anna's face. "State your purpose."
Knox took half a step forward, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only let out a deep sigh and looked to Anna for help.
Anna gathered her courage and continued, "We want to ask to speak with you. About... about the future of our community.
Also, could we see Marcus and Leo? We only want to make sure they're safe."
At the mention of Marcus and Leo, the others raised their heads as well, a flicker of concern passing through their eyes.
The scene became extremely tense.
Carver was ready to move, his hand already on his gun. If the other side made one wrong move, he would act at once.
And the people standing across from them looked like guttering candles in a storm, fragile and desperate.
...
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