Haley couldn't help holding her breath as she kept listening.
"Yeah," Beth sighed softly. "Rock Fortress... When we first met Leah and Calista, they were being chased by a walker herd and had gotten separated from their teammates, then ended up at the farm.
Now they even have a helicopter. Rick said they might have a lot more people than we do now, and they're much more organized."
More people. Better organized.
Haley's heart thudded hard in her chest.
As far as Woodbury's residents knew, Tennessee was practically a blank spot. Woodbury was the only paradise left.
"Calista and Leah's teammates don't look ordinary at all. They're like those professionals, uh, the kind you see in movies... mercenaries!"
Jimmy lowered his voice a little. "And then there's Calista. She's as young as we are, but she seems way more capable.
Good thing they seem to follow rules. If some other force had that kind of strength, they could easily slaughter us and take all our supplies."
Mercenaries. Easy slaughter. Plunder.
Each word hit harder than the last.
This was not an ordinary survivor camp at all.
The kitchen went quiet for a moment before Beth's light voice sounded again. "Sometimes I think, if we'd gone with them to Tennessee back then, somewhere near Knoxville, it wouldn't have been that far..."
"Rick and Hershel had their reasons. The prison is our home, and the people here need us."
Jimmy interrupted her hesitantly. "Besides, we have a good relationship with Rock Fortress and keep in touch regularly.
The fact that they're willing to help with Lori's delivery proves that. Maybe we'll get to visit someday."
"Yeah, I really want to see it too. I wonder if it's better than the prison..." Beth's voice grew quieter. Jimmy hugged her, then started cleaning up.
Haley's head buzzed. She quickly and quietly backed away, then hurried out of the hallway.
When she found Gargulio, he was in the repair shed, absentmindedly wiping down tools.
Haley pulled him into a corner and quickly whispered everything she had heard.
Gargulio's expression changed.
"Near Knoxville? Mercenary background? And they have the ability to wipe out a camp the size of the prison whenever they want?"
He took a deep breath. "That sounds... like a small army, or a warlord. The helicopter is just the tip of the iceberg."
"The Governor has no idea," Haley said firmly. "All his attention is on the prison. He thinks that's the only threat. But if there's a giant like that up north..."
"Then our mission is completely wrong!" Gargulio cut in, his mind suddenly clearing.
"Before we figure out whether Rock Fortress is friend or enemy, and what they want in this region, doing any real damage to the prison would be stupid.
It could even bring retaliation Woodbury can't withstand. If they're connected to the prison, or if they simply see this area as part of their sphere..."
The two of them understood each other at once.
This vague piece of information, overheard by chance, about a powerful force in Tennessee might be enough to change the Governor's entire strategy.
"We don't know much yet," Haley said, calming herself and sorting through it bit by bit. "The location is probably near Knoxville. The name is Rock Fortress.
The leaders are Calista and Leah. They have a helicopter, more people than the prison, strict organization, and people with combat backgrounds.
Most importantly, they're connected to the prison, and they can provide support over long distances."
"That's still not enough," Gargulio said quietly. "We can try to find out more. Maybe wait until the next time this Rock Fortress contacts the prison..."
They looked at each other and both decided to stay a few more days.
...
At the same time, Rock Fortress had no idea the Governor had already entered the game. After all, Calista was the only one who knew about him, and in her memory, Woodbury was not supposed to appear until sometime between summer and autumn this year.
It was still spring, and besides, Rick had never mentioned in their regular communications that the prison had encountered any organized camp.
A week after arriving here, Lori's morning sickness and the exhaustion from the long journey had finally eased. The simplified pregnancy-preserving medicine Ming provided seemed to be working, and the heavy, sinking feeling in her abdomen had lessened too.
Since she arrived, communications between Rock Fortress and the prison had also become more frequent.
Her call with Carl and Rick the day before yesterday had lifted her spirits, and since she needed to stay active during pregnancy, she chose a comfortably warm morning to leave the cabin and take a walk around Blackberry Ranch.
It was too quiet here. Quiet in a way that did not feel like the end of the world.
It was not the dead silence of a city, but a calm stillness full of life and steady motion.
No walker snarls. No sudden gunshots. No constant tension stretched tight in her nerves.
She was walking with her head lowered, thinking about her call with Carl two days earlier, when cheerful barking and hurried footsteps grew closer.
"Stupid dog, stop chasing my new spinning top!" a boy shouted.
"OMG! Catch them! There's a pregnant woman up ahead!" another boy yelled.
Before Lori could react, three yellow-and-white shadows burst out from the bushes at her side, tumbling and chasing each other, and nearly crashed into her legs.
She cried out in surprise and stumbled backward. Luckily, she grabbed a nearby fence post and steadied herself.
The three beagles seemed to realize they had almost gotten into trouble and crowded to a stop in front of Lori, all six eyes sneaking looks at her.
Little Jimmy and Duane ran over, panting. When they saw Lori, they slammed to a stop, panic spreading across their faces like children caught causing trouble.
"S-sorry, ma'am!" Little Jimmy quickly apologized, running over to grab the collars of two beagles. "Sit! Bad dogs!"
Duane grabbed the last one and pried a hand-carved wooden spinning top out of its mouth, now covered in drool.
He scratched his head awkwardly. "We didn't mean it, ma'am. They go crazy whenever they see something rolling."
Little Jimmy poked each dog in the forehead one by one and warned them fiercely, "Do that again and I'll send all of you to Rock Fortress, have Murphy train you, and make you help Bullet and the others patrol and stand guard."
Lori calmed herself, looked at the boys' flushed faces, then at the three dogs whose tails were still wagging like propellers even though they were being held back, and suddenly laughed.
"It's all right. They're very lively." She paused, then asked curiously, "Are you two going to feed the livestock?"
The two boys exchanged a look and nodded. Little Jimmy said, "Yeah. Today we're taking care of the small animal area."
"The small animal area?"
"That's where the rabbits, chicks, calves, and lambs are," Duane explained, a little pride in his voice. "There's even a little monkey. It's really smart."
...
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