Leah looked at Calista.
Calista was completely wrapped in a white ghillie suit, making her expression impossible to read. After a moment, she said, "You can see Marcus and Leo."
With that, she tilted her head slightly and gave Carver a quiet order.
Carver nodded, stepped back without a word, and walked toward the truck where Marcus and Leo were being temporarily held.
Only then did Calista look back at Anna and the others. "You can see them. As for talking..."
Her gaze, hidden behind her goggles, was sharp as a blade. "Give me a good enough reason. My time is limited, and so is my patience."
Outside the warehouse, the snow on a patch of ground that had been cleared in a hurry had been trampled into slush.
This place had become the temporary negotiating table that would decide the fate of the Norris community.
On one side stood Calista, with the cold-faced Leah and the intimidating Carver behind her.
On the other side were the representatives of the Norris community, along with Marcus and Leo, who had just been brought over.
When Carver led Marcus and Leo down from the truck, the two looked a little pale and their clothes were somewhat disheveled, but they did not appear to have been mistreated.
Leo spotted Knox and the others at once and immediately tried to rush over in excitement, only to be stopped by a look from Carver.
"Clifford! Knox! Anna! Gwendolyn!" Leo's voice trembled. "Why are you here? The camp... how's the camp? Where's my sister?!"
What he cared about most was still his only family.
Gwendolyn looked at Leo, and her eyes instantly reddened. She forced down her emotions, her voice choked. "Your sister is fine. Her fever broke, and the others are looking after her at the camp."
She paused. The weight of her grief nearly made it impossible for her to keep speaking. "But the camp... something happened at the camp..."
Knox closed his eyes heavily. Clifford and Anna bit their lips hard and lowered their heads.
Marcus's heart sank, and a terrible premonition seized him.
He hurried up to them, his voice urgent. "What happened? Tell me!"
Gwendolyn took a deep breath, and tears finally slid down her face.
Speaking quickly, her voice thick with grief, she described the horror of the walkers' night attack.
The fence had been breached. The people had rushed to fight back. More than a dozen companions had died, and six more had been bitten.
The wounded had given out one after another during the night and turned, until their companions were forced to kill them through tears.
Now the camp had fallen into a desperate situation. Its defenses were gone, and its food was nearly exhausted.
"Dead... more than twenty dead..." Marcus staggered back a step, his face going deathly pale as if all the strength had been drained out of him.
As their leader, he had been detained while the community suffered such a devastating loss. The crushing guilt and helplessness nearly swallowed him whole.
Leo looked as if he had been struck by lightning.
He thought of how his own recklessness had nearly gotten everyone killed, then thought of the terrible state of the camp and his helpless little sister. His body began to tremble uncontrollably, and he murmured, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't..."
"This isn't the time for that, Leo," Knox said hoarsely.
He looked at Marcus, his eyes threaded with red.
"Marcus, we... we can't hold on anymore. Everyone is scared. We talked it over."
He forced out the next few words with great difficulty. "We want to... join them."
Marcus jerked his head up and looked at Knox, then at Clifford, Anna, and Gwendolyn.
In their eyes, he saw the same despair.
Marcus understood. The community had reached a consensus, one bought with blood.
Calista watched the entire scene calmly from beginning to end. She did not rush them, nor did she show any sympathy or disgust, as if she were watching a play that had nothing to do with her.
Carver stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Calista's decision.
Leah remained silent at the side, showing no interest in this outpouring of emotion.
Marcus took several deep breaths of the icy air, trying to steady the storm inside him.
He turned to face Calista and the other two. His steps were a little unsteady, but a desperate resolve gradually gathered in his eyes.
He walked up to Calista, stopping a little closer than before.
Then, under everyone's stunned gaze, the leader who had once worked so hard to preserve the community's dignity slowly bent at the waist and bowed to Calista.
It was a gesture that cast aside every last bit of pride and dignity.
"Ma'am, first, I offer my sincerest apologies to you and Rock Fortress for Leo's earlier impulsiveness, and for David and the others' reckless spying afterward. We didn't know what was good for us, and we offended you."
Marcus straightened. His face burned, but his eyes remained fixed on the gray-blue eyes behind Calista's goggles. "I also want to thank your companions for their restraint earlier, for not hurting David and the others. And that lady..."
He looked at Leah. "For giving us those life-saving supplies. Without those biscuits and medicine, we... we might have lost even more people."
The apology and gratitude were painfully difficult for him to say. Every word seemed to be forced out of his throat.
Anna and Gwendolyn turned their heads away, unable to bear watching. Clifford let out a heavy sigh, and Knox's back hunched a little more.
Leo stared blankly as their leader humbled himself and pleaded with the other side for a thin chance of survival for their people.
Marcus paused. Then, using all the strength he had, he voiced the decisive request.
"Ma'am, I, Marcus, on behalf of the sixty-one remaining members of the Norris community, beg you. I beg Rock Fortress to take us in!"
His voice was choked, but utterly solemn. "We are willing to give up everything and follow every rule of Rock Fortress!
We are willing to give all our labor. All we ask for is a chance to survive, a place where the children won't have to go hungry or live in fear anymore!"
Marcus knew empty words meant nothing, so he immediately began listing whatever value they might still have, as if auctioning off their last remaining chips.
"In our community, we have former Norris Dam maintenance and operations staff, including Knox and Anna. They have experience with hydraulics and mechanical maintenance.
Maybe... maybe that could help you improve your camp's facilities, or make use of the dam in the future!
We also have a counselor, farmers who used to grow crops, and people who know carpentry.
If... if you don't need any of that, we still have strength to work!
Half the camp is made up of young, able-bodied people. We can learn anything, and we can do anything! We're not afraid of hardship!"
By the end, his voice had nearly become a plea, and his waist bent again despite himself.
"We only ask for a place to shelter and enough food to stay alive. We... we truly have nowhere else to go!
The elderly and the children don't eat much. We can support them ourselves. We won't add to your burden..."
Seeing this, Knox also took a step forward and added hoarsely, "Ma'am, what Marcus said is what all of us mean.
We know we're a burden right now. This winter is hard on everyone.
But I still have some skills, and I can work. The young people have strength too.
We just want... we just want a way to live!"
This camp elder, who had once strongly insisted on keeping their distance, had now completely abandoned his stance for the sake of survival.