On the outskirts of Atlanta, there was a warehouse full of supplies.
Today, Rick led a team to organize a large-scale collection operation. It had been three months since he had taken the last military base, and this was the first time he personally led a team after reorganizing the supplies.
Shane had also come to Rick's base to help him organize the operation, while at the Growth Base, Elias was currently serving as the main leader.
As for Rick's recent troubles, they came from Lori finding out about the encounter with the cannibals and the numerous deaths caused by the evolved walkers. The scandal his wife stirred up had been overwhelming, making it difficult for him to dedicate himself either to the base or to his family.
He knew perfectly well what his wife meant. He was now the leader of the base, and he couldn't risk himself at every turn. If anything were to happen, it wouldn't only be his family who suffered—it would also be the base he led.
After much thought, he decided to remain at the base for a while, at least until his daughter grew older. His wife had just given birth, and her state of mind was still unstable.
Fortunately, there were many familiar and trustworthy people around. Hershel's younger daughter, Beth, for example, often accompanied Lori and helped her take care of Judith, which gave Rick more free time to manage the base seriously. Large expeditions were handled by Mike, and occasionally by Guillermo.
Rick had paused for a moment and finally had a very serious conversation with his wife the night before. Only then had he been able to leave today with peace of mind.
It had been nearly a year and a half since the world ended, and the materials available for scavenging were growing scarcer. For the past few months, the base had mainly relied on shipments of goods from containers at the port.
That was why the Growth Base was tasked with producing essential supplies, while the Central Base focused on large-scale farming for food.
Atlanta was one of the main inland ports in the country, and there had always been a massive amount of supplies in the port area—food, medicine, daily necessities, medical equipment, fishing boats, and many other crucial resources.
Nearby bases had sent a large number of soldiers to clear out the port, and then blocked several roads leading directly to it with containers filled with sandbags, leaving special passageways only known to the S.C.T. bases.
Sam had led numerous operations to take military bases. Some had been abandoned, but others were turned into outposts to expand their territory.
The cleansing of the port had taken many days. Thanks to the equipment received from the military base, they had access to protective gear that minimized casualties during the cleanup. Nowadays, special teams were responsible for eliminating walkers with spears and short blades.
The walkers had now been classified into categories: W-1 were the slow ones; W-2 were those that could run at high speeds; and the rarest, W-3, were both intelligent and fast. There were others as well, though their differences were still unclear. Even so, dozens of people had died, but in the end, the areas were finally cleared.
After countless deaths and disastrous accidents, the situation at the port had stabilized. A permanent group of personnel was stationed there, and every day large amounts of materials were transported back to the base, sorted and stored into categories.
Before Jason left, these containers had been incorporated into the overall growth plans of all the bases—not only for the supplies inside them but also because the containers themselves were extremely useful.
With a large number of containers, as long as the surrounding forests were cleared, it was easy to build new walls to defend the outer zones.
…
Port of Atlanta.
Rick inspected the operations across several warehouses, checking his watch now and then. It could be said that the goods in this massive warehouse were the top priority for all survivors. With the mindset of not leaving important places abandoned for too long, he still had many plans in motion.
At that moment, Shane came out of a warehouse with a few men. From a distance, Rick could clearly see the look of frustration on his face. Secretly sighing, Rick thought: This is already the fourth warehouse today, and our convoy hasn't even filled the trucks yet.
"Mark this place as a green zone. We shouldn't waste any more time here."
"Nothing at all?" Rick asked as he approached Shane.
Shane simply shook his head, then wiped the sweat from his face with his hand. "There's really not much left in these malls. My people moved almost everything to the Growth Base during the first months."
Shane was irritated—two people had died under his command during the cleaning operation. Though such losses were common, it didn't stop him from being angered by deaths caused by the red-eyed walkers.
Looking at his good brother, Rick just smiled. He knew Shane was only venting and would soon recover his drive once they moved on to the next locations.
Soon after, Rick saw the other groups coming out of the warehouse mall, led by Guillermo and Morgan, who also carried just a few bags in their hands.
Quietly, Rick opened the map of Atlanta and drew a large cross over the current warehouse with his marker.
"Since we're covering zones our people haven't cleared before, we need to stay cautious." Rick patted the side of the car, and the group continued toward their next objective.
This time, the main goal wasn't food, but rather medicine and other supplies. The areas they were searching were ones they hadn't visited before. So they scoured shopping centers, marked looted areas, and kept moving forward.
Sitting in the car, Shane glanced at the abandoned vehicles along the roadside.
The windows of many shops lining the street were broken, with various goods scattered outside the doors—destroyed by either walkers or looters.
"Let's head to the nearby towns and scout the area! It's getting harder and harder to find anything on the edge of the urban zone, and most of the walkers in the city have already left. Now, the surrounding counties are more dangerous, and very few people outside our group ever go there."
Rick thought for a moment after hearing Shane's words, then nodded. Shane made sense. Their small convoy quickly pulled over to the roadside, then sped toward a nearby town.
Before long, the group reached the closest town marked on the map. There weren't many walkers on the streets, and the fallen leaves on the road showed the place had been deserted for a long time. Even the signs of many buildings had collapsed to the ground.
To Rick's surprise, the stores here seemed to be in good condition. All the roadside shops were still closed. It wasn't certain if there were supplies inside, but it was at least a good sign.
Soon, Rick set his sights on a three-story building—a supermarket in the town. The doors were locked, but through the glass windows he could faintly make out shelves still stocked with goods inside.
Rick stopped the car in front of the supermarket without hesitation and addressed the group behind him:
"Everyone, stay together! Don't fire unless it's absolutely necessary!"
He placed his hand on the doorknob and pushed. The supermarket door creaked open. Rick left two men by the vehicles to stay alert, while the rest entered the store together.
There were many goods still on the shelves. Rick looked around. Not far from the entrance on the first floor, there was a stand that must have once held fruit, though now everything had rotted.
Sniffing the air, he noticed that while the supermarket smelled musty, there was no stench of decomposing corpses. He lifted his chin toward the far side, and Shane, who understood immediately, led a few men in that direction.
Everyone began to gather supplies.
Rick led another group toward the opposite side. After a full sweep, they found no traces of walkers in the supermarket. The shelves still held a wide range of foods—only a few sections were empty.
Rick examined the labels and realized that the missing products were mainly canned food, bread, crackers, and the like.
"Anyone here?" Rick asked in a low voice as Shane approached.
"No one." Shane replied.