The first contact between the prison and Woodbury ended after the Governor's people suffered this foolish loss. Jason was sure of one thing: knowing the vengeful nature of the Governor, the other side wouldn't leave him in peace, even if his men, including him, had been defeated. That disturbed man would get up from the ground and keep fighting while searching for new subordinates.
In short, Jason wasn't worried about the situation at all. He trusted that he could easily handle the Governor, but if he held back, it was only out of consideration for the people of Woodbury. He couldn't act recklessly if he really wanted to protect those survivors.
If he wanted the inhabitants of the Woodbury community to voluntarily join his group, he would have to find a way to reveal the true face of the Governor, let everyone see his true personality. Only when the Governor was exposed could the prison take control of that area.
Only then could he secure a new, stable base that would provide strong logistical and operational support for his future movements. Although he already had a huge base in the city of Atlanta, traveling back and forth by helicopter was easy; however, sending people to fight or defend certain points was much more complicated.
...
In the forest north of the prison, a group of five people ran toward the compound. The walkers were close behind them, and soon many more began to appear between the trees on both sides of the path, blocking their progress.
One of the five seemed to have lost the ability to keep running and was being carried by two men. One of them kept speaking words of encouragement, trying to get everyone to keep going while checking the state of the wounded woman. However, her face looked exhausted, and she didn't respond to his words.
The group was led by a duo of African American siblings, a man and a woman. The man, bulky and wearing a distinctive wool hat, wielded a machete with strength, cutting down any walkers in his way.
His sister, with long, somewhat frizzy hair tied back, wielded a knife with determination, quickly taking down the walkers in front of her while protecting the group advancing behind her.
As the two siblings fought off the walkers, the woman began to pay attention to their surroundings. She realized they were about to reach the edge of the forest if they ran a few more meters. Through the gaps between the trees, she could vaguely make out an open space covered with trees and bushes.
Without turning her head, she shouted to those running behind her: "Tyreese! We're almost out of the forest, we can't stop!"
The bulky man, Tyreese, cut down another walker in front of him and, without slowing down, shouted to his sister: "Sasha! Go back and help Ben and Allen! I'll clear the way ahead. How's Donna?"
"There's no hope, she's gone!" Allen replied in a tone full of sadness.
Although Tyreese felt somewhat guilty, he knew there was nothing he could do in that situation. He gripped the machete tightly and, without stopping, they all quickly left the forest.
Tyreese was the first to run out. Looking up, he realized that in front of him stretched an open field, and there was no way to cross it without being exposed.
A feeling of despair welled up in his chest, but he wouldn't allow himself to give up. Seeing there were no walkers on the sides, he turned around, relieved Ben, who was already exhausted, and began to advance alongside Allen, who was still carrying Donna.
Clearing the way, the group ran without a clear direction. For now, all they could do was distance themselves from the group of walkers chasing them. Faced with this situation, they made a quick decision: to head back into the forest. Seeing what was happening, Tyreese said, "We need to keep going! I'm sure someone must have built a shelter around here!"
Allen's face was marked by despair. He didn't believe Tyreese's words at all. At that moment, the only thing pushing him to keep running was the fear of the walkers closing in behind them.
Sasha suddenly looked around suspiciously and asked uncertainly, "Didn't you notice there are very few walkers here?"
Hearing her, Tyreese realized she was right. They had been going through the forest for a while and hadn't encountered any wandering dead. It was as if the walkers in that area had completely disappeared.
"Could it be that this forest is free of walkers?" Tyreese asked, frowning as he examined the surroundings. He found no trace of the undead.
Just as the group was puzzled, they saw two people emerge from the grass not far from them. Both were dressed in military uniforms and helmets, but what really shocked the group was that they were pointing their weapons directly at them.
With level two surveillance activated, Jason didn't allow anyone outside the prison to roam the area without being stopped. For that reason, as he analyzed the overall situation, he had deployed several attack squads at strategic points.
"Stay still, don't move!"
Seeing the long black barrels of the weapons, everyone froze in place. Allen, terrified, even dropped the machete he had been holding.
"Don't shoot! We're just survivors! We'll leave right now, please don't shoot!" Tyreese shouted while holding Donna with one hand and the machete with the other.
Just as he was about to release the weapon, he heard a rustling from the bushes behind them. Soon, staggering figures began to emerge from the trees.
"Get down!" shouted one of the soldiers.
At hearing the command, Tyreese's group immediately crouched down.
Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!
They felt the wind whistle over their heads, and a few seconds later, they heard the sound of bodies falling behind them. Though they didn't look back, they all knew it was the walkers being taken down.
After the gunfire subsided, several turned to see what had happened. Several walkers lay on the ground, fallen just a few meters from where they were.
Tyreese barely had time to thank when one of the soldiers approached the group. Seeing the wound on Donna's hand, he asked in a firm tone:
"Was she bitten?"
"Huh?" Sasha, hearing the question, quickly replied. "We didn't have time to check her before. We were running the whole time."
"How long has it been since she was bitten? Her life depends on the answer you give me." The soldier didn't believe the lie they told him when he asked about the infected person in their group.
"I don't remember, more than ten minutes," Sasha answered immediately.
"No, the virus has probably already spread through her bloodstream. We need to amputate her arm immediately." Considering the possibilities, the soldier didn't hesitate and looked at Tyreese, who seemed to be the leader of the group. "We have to amputate her arm. It will be a miracle if she survives, especially if she was infected with the Wildfire virus."
"I don't remember, more than ten minutes." Sasha responded immediately.
"No, the virus has probably already spread through her bloodstream. We need to amputate the arm immediately." Considering the possibilities, the soldier didn't hesitate and looked at Tyreese, who seemed to be the leader of the group. "We have to amputate her arm. It'll be a miracle if she survives, especially if she was infected with the Wildfire virus."
"Yes..." Tyreese didn't understand half of what the soldier said, but seeing that he was willing to help, he nodded in understanding.
"Give me the machete, Jim!" The soldier ordered.
"Yes, sir." Jim, who was behind, pulled out a long machete and handed it to his comrade.
"Now, we need to apply a tourniquet. Tighten it ten centimeters above the bite. I really hope this works." After saying this, the soldier pulled out a radio and reported the situation: "Central, we have a group of five survivors. One of them was infected in the arm. I am proceeding with the protocol, but all indications are that the virus has already spread in her bloodstream for an indefinite amount of time."
"Received, Group 9! The infirmary is being prepared right now. You can proceed with the protocol."
Upon hearing the voice on the radio, no one in Tyreese's group attempted to interfere. Making a decision, the soldier who was holding the machete with both hands stood up and swung it forcefully.
Crack!Crack!
With two dry cuts, Danna's injured hand fell to the ground. Thanks to the tight tourniquet on her arm, the bleeding was stopped.
"Come with us, it's not safe here!" The two soldiers guided some of the survivors toward the depths of the forest, one by one.
…
Woodbury Town
Early in the morning, the Governor gathered his group of assassins and prepared to leave the area. The survivors in the city naturally thought they were going out to gather supplies again. They gathered as usual to hear instructions on how to stay safe.
But unexpectedly, the Governor jumped out of the back of a truck and addressed the crowd: "Dear citizens of Woodbury! I have bad news. Something very unfortunate happened yesterday, something that really angers me. After our investigation, as we have always done, we discovered that the two women who arrived yesterday belonged to another group, and their stay here was intended to spy on the place. They wanted to learn our secrets, see our weapons, and know how many resources we have."
When the crowd heard this, a loud murmur erupted, and it didn't take long before people began to show concern on their faces.
The Governor smiled with satisfaction at their reaction and continued to stoke the fire: "Those two women stole things from my office. Unfortunately, I found out too late, so I sent Martínez to pursue them and retrieve what they had stolen. Fortunately, they caught up with them, but reinforcements had already arrived from the other side."
The Governor paused and pointed his finger: "Martínez and the others were outnumbered, but they managed to defend themselves from the attack and killed one of our enemies. However, we also lost one of our own, Tim."
"How? Tim was killed!"
"Oh, God!"
Some of the men and women who knew Tim covered their mouths, shocked. The others also appeared visibly distressed.
The Governor surveyed everyone, his eyes scanning the faces of the crowd. Seeing the sadness and rage in their expressions, he added: "The purpose of these people is clear! They want to destroy us! They want to end our community, which we've worked so hard to build. They want to loot our resources! Listen, what should we do?"
"We must fight!"
"We have to kill them!"
Seeing how everyone's emotions and thoughts were being manipulated by his words, the Governor got what he wanted. He raised his arms and shouted: "Let's destroy them!"
"Let's defend our territory!"
"All who can fight, grab your weapons! We're ready to leave as soon as possible!"