Calista stood on the balcony of her room, staring toward the gates of Rock Fortress.
Under normal circumstances, Glenn and the others should have arrived yesterday afternoon. Even by the most conservative estimate, they should have been back before lunch today.
But there had been no radio call, and neither Glenn nor Maggie had sent word that they would be delayed.
Something was wrong.
By three in the afternoon, there was still no sign of them.
A vein throbbed between Calista's brows as a bad feeling settled over her. She quickly made her way to the communications room and ordered the operator, "Contact Glenn. Confirm the team's status!"
The first call went unanswered.
The second produced only static.
The third was the same.
"Contact the prison. Ask whether Glenn's team has left yet!"
The prison's radio operator responded almost immediately. "Rock Fortress, this is the prison. Over."
"This is Calista. Are Glenn, Maggie, and Dr. Caleb still at the prison? They're overdue."
"Stand by. I'll get Rick."
The other end went silent for quite a while.
Then Rick hurried over, his voice noticeably tense. "They left the morning before yesterday. Dr. Caleb went with them. Calista, are you saying they still haven't reached Rock Fortress?"
Calista's heart sank. "They haven't arrived. I've tried contacting them, but there's been no response. Where were they when they last reported in to you?"
"About two hours after leaving, Glenn checked in once. They were near the old steel mill section of Highway 7, and everything was fine. They haven't contacted the prison since."
Rick paused, then added, "But we've scouted that area several times. Our patrol last week didn't find any large walker hordes."
They both understood what that meant.
If there was no horde, then the danger most likely came from people.
"Organize a search team at the prison immediately!" Calista said, speaking faster. "I'll send a drone to scout the area. We'll make contact every hour and share any leads we find."
"Copy that. Stay safe!"
The transmission ended.
Calista turned to the communications officer beside her. "Notify Bossie. Get the Night Hawk drone ready for immediate launch!
"Use Glenn's last reported position as the center point and conduct a grid search.
"Prioritize the highway, abandoned building complexes, river crossings, bridges, and anywhere vehicles or people could be concealed."
Her voice grew heavier. "Transmit the data in real time. Have the drone team monitor in shifts, and report anything unusual immediately.
"At the same time, keep an open radio link with the prison. Share any coordinates the drone finds and use them to guide the ground search."
"Understood!"
The communications officer knew how serious the situation was and immediately contacted the drone team.
Calista then drove to Blackberry Ranch to tell Hershel in person.
Hershel knew that Maggie and Glenn had gone back to the prison, and he knew his daughter and son-in-law had originally been expected home around yesterday.
That very morning, he had specifically asked whether Glenn and Maggie had returned to the base yet.
Calista found Hershel deep inside one of Blackberry Ranch's greenhouses. He was bent over a row of tomato seedlings, inspecting their growth.
Hearing footsteps, Hershel looked up.
When he saw Calista approaching alone, without her usual smile of greeting, his throat tightened.
The old man brushed the dirt from his hands and slowly straightened.
He asked nothing.
He simply looked at Calista in silence.
"Hershel." Calista stopped in front of him and took a deep breath. "We've lost contact with Glenn, Maggie, and Dr. Caleb on their way back. The prison has confirmed that they left. We don't know what happened yet, but it's most likely not walkers."
As Calista spoke, the color gradually drained from Hershel's face.
His body swayed, and he instinctively reached out to brace himself against the nearby seedling rack.
It took him a long moment to recover enough to force out a question.
"Where did they go missing?"
"Their last confirmed position was on the outskirts of Atlanta, near Highway 7. The prison reports that there hasn't been any major walker activity in that area recently."
"So it was people." Hershel's voice was dry and hoarse. "Raiders are the most likely explanation."
Calista nodded. "The prison is closer. Rick has already put a team together and headed out. We've also launched a drone to scout the area."
Hershel nodded numbly and stared out through the greenhouse, as though trying to process what he had just heard.
To Calista's surprise, he didn't break down or demand answers. His back simply hunched a little more.
Then he thought of his younger daughter.
"Beth..."
"Where is Beth? It would be best if you, or someone she trusts, tells her," Calista said.
"She's over by the warehouse with Jimmy, taking inventory of the seeds." Hershel drew a deep breath. "I'll... I'll go find her. Thank you for coming to tell me, Calista."
Calista knew how hollow promises like this could sound in the post-apocalypse, but she gave him her word anyway.
"Don't worry, Hershel. We'll find them!"
The old man nodded once more and slowly started toward the warehouse. His steps were unsteady, and his frail figure seemed to tremble as he walked away.
Inside the warehouse, Beth and Jimmy were checking the labels on a stack of sacks.
Jimmy was struggling to haul a sack of potatoes into its designated place while Beth checked it off on her list.
"Potatoes, twenty sacks. That's all of them!"
Her voice was bright and cheerful.
Beth was happy with the life she had now. She could live safely at Blackberry Ranch with her family and the person she loved, enjoying a life that wasn't all that different from before the apocalypse.
Then she saw her father standing in the warehouse doorway.
"Dad!"
Hershel didn't come inside.
He simply stood there with a grave expression and called her name.
"Beth."
The smile on Beth's face froze instantly.
She knew that tone all too well.
When the apocalypse began. When she lost her mother. When walkers overran the farm.
Before every terrible loss, Hershel had called her name just like that.
The list and pencil slipped from Beth's hands and fell to the floor.
Her voice began to shake. "Dad?... What's wrong?"
Jimmy lowered the sack he was holding and straightened, immediately alert. He walked over to Beth's side.
Hershel entered the warehouse, stopped in front of Beth, and took her hand.
Beth realized that her father's hand was ice-cold.
"It's Maggie and Glenn. They... disappeared on the way back. Neither the prison nor Rock Fortress can reach them."
Beth's eyes widened.
She instinctively shook her head, slowly at first, then faster and faster.
"No. No, that's impossible!
"They... Glenn knows the route, and Maggie's so careful... They said they'd be back for dinner. They told me to save them some bacon..."
Her words came out in a confused rush, and her breathing quickened.
"Beth, listen to me!" Hershel tried to calm her. "Rick and Calista have already sent search teams. They'll..."
"Search teams?!" Beth suddenly yanked her hand away, her voice rising into a sharp, hysterical cry. "Do the search teams even know where they are?! They could be hurt! They could be trapped! They could... they could already be..."
She couldn't force herself to say the word.
Terror seized her.
She turned away and stumbled several steps through the warehouse like a trapped animal. Then she grabbed an empty sack beside her and hurled it to the floor before kicking a small wooden crate out of the way.
"Dad, we should go look for them right now! Right now!"
Tears poured from Beth's eyes.
Jimmy stepped forward, trying to embrace her. "Beth, calm down..."
"Don't touch me!"
Beth screamed and shoved him away. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at Jimmy and her father.
"Aren't either of you worried?! That's Maggie! And Glenn! And you're just standing here... just standing here!"
She flung her arms around wildly.
The fact that Hershel and Jimmy remained calm only made Beth lose control even more.
Jimmy didn't back away.
He approached her again and, ignoring the blows she landed against him, wrapped his arms around her firmly but gently, pulling her against his chest and pressing her head to his shoulder.
"I know, Beth. I know," he repeated. "I'm just as worried as you are, but running off blindly won't help.
"Rick and the others have the most experience, and there's a Defense Force unit stationed at the prison. They've already gone out to search. We have to trust them!"
Beth struggled and cried in his arms until all the strength seemed to drain out of her.
Finally, she went limp, leaving only uncontrollable sobs.
"Jimmy, I'm scared... I can't lose anyone else..."
"You won't!"
Jimmy held her tightly, then looked toward Hershel and gave the shaken old man a reassuring look.
"We'll find them. We will!"