"Quick! See what's wrong with him!"
The camp was instantly enveloped in a wave of panic.
Dale quickly stepped forward. He felt Jim's carotid artery with his rough fingers, then flipped open his eyelids to check, and only then did his tense face relax.
"He's fine," he said hoarsely, a hint of relief in his voice. "Just heatstroke and dehydration, plus he got too emotional and passed out. Just carry him to the RV to rest, and he'll be fine."
Only then did the crowd, with many hands, untie the ropes and carry away the unconscious Jim.
However, the wild ravings he uttered before he fainted still disturbed some people's minds, making the atmosphere somewhat tense.
Not far away, the children who had just been playing together were also drawn by the commotion and moved closer.
Carl looked at the adults' nervous expressions and couldn't help but run over. He tugged at his mother Lori's clothes, looked up with his small face, his eyes full of confusion: "Mom, what did he mean by what he just said?"
"He has heatstroke, darling."
Lori hurriedly pulled her son into her arms, gently smoothed his sweat-soaked hair, and softly comforted him, "People talk nonsense when they have a fever. Don't listen to him."
She didn't want these strange remarks to pollute her child's mind.
"But..." Carl wanted to ask more, but a clear and assertive voice spoke up first.
"Was he talking about Louis?"
Everyone looked over. It was Duane who spoke.
This black-haired boy, who had just arrived at the camp and still looked a bit timid, now had an unusual sparkle in his dark eyes.
"I heard it, he just said Carl's dad would bring back hope."
Duane looked at Carl, "Isn't your dad going back to Atlanta for Louis?"
"Louis?"
Morales had just helped carry Jim into the RV. Hearing this, he walked over, wiped some sweat, and asked, confused, "He did go to find Louis today, but why do you say that?"
Shane stood by, his brows tightly furrowed.
Too many things had happened today, first Lori's falling out, then Jim's madness. His already irritable mood was now a tangled mess.
He scanned the crowd, wanting to resolve this matter quickly, and said in a deep voice, "I think it's just a coincidence."
"Let me explain."
Morgan stepped forward, pulled his son to his side, and placed his broad hand reassuringly on his shoulder.
He had already learned from Morales that Louis had become Rick's "son" and understood, showing no reaction to the title.
He looked around at the curious and puzzled gazes of everyone in the camp, sighed, and slowly began to speak.
"I think... Duane just remembered his experience when he was sick."
Morgan didn't directly explain his son's "sleep talk" but chose to start from their encounter with Louis.
"...Jenny thought it was all over then," Morgan's gaze swept over his wife, his eyes full of relief, "but just then, a stone flew from nowhere and happened to smash that thing's head."
"We never knew who saved us. It wasn't until later at the hospital that we saw the two boxes of medicine we left for our 'savior' in Louis's backpack..."
He then recounted how Duane had a persistent high fever due to wound infection, how he and Jenny were desperate, and finally, at the hospital, they met the lone blond boy again.
"The doctor said Duane's condition was very bad and required observation. But Louis just looked at him and, with a very certain tone, comforted us, saying Duane would get better soon."
"We just thought it was a child's innocent words at the time," Morgan said, looking at his now healthy son, a complex smile on his face.
"But the next day, Duane's fever really broke, and he woke up."
Morgan paused, seemingly searching for a suitable word to describe it, but ultimately just shook his head and sighed:
"That child named Louis... he always seems to appear at the most crucial moments and bring good luck."
"So, Duane has always liked him very much, always feeling like he's a savior."
Morgan's story captivated everyone.
It turned out that the child, who only existed in Rick's words and whom they had never met, had such an experience.
Shane, on the other hand, recalled the boy in the office building who calmly smashed a Walker's head with a crowbar.
He wondered how he managed to lure those Walkers away and survive completely unharmed.
Shane did not doubt Morgan's words. Because he was the first to witness the "miracle."
"He sounds like a lucky star," a tender voice broke the silence.
Sophia, the little girl who always held a doll and looked somewhat timid, now summarized softly, her big eyes wide open.
"A kind lucky star."
Carl's eyes also lit up. He nodded vigorously, his face full of pride: "My dad escaped from the hospital with his help and then found us!"
"I think Jim is right, my dad will definitely come back safely with Louis, he is our hope!"
The children's innocent words relaxed the adults' tense nerves.
They looked at each other, kind smiles appearing on their faces.
Yes, hope. In this damn world, what could be more precious than hope?
"Haha, in that case, Jim is a great prophet!" Morales laughed loudly, half-jokingly.
Everyone else joined in the laughter. The oppressive atmosphere in the camp was swept away, filled with a long-lost sense of ease.
"Tsk, how ridiculous."
However, a discordant grumble, like a basin of cold water, was poured over everyone's heads.
Everyone looked over to see Ed sitting on a rock.
This tall, bloated, and vulgar-faced man, wearing a jacket, was looking at everyone with an idiotic gaze.
"How can you still believe in this kind of thing?" He said with a look of disdain. "They might not even come back alive today, and you're talking about some bullshit hope here, you're really idle."
He had originally wanted to teach his 'ungrateful' wife a lesson this afternoon, but was publicly warned by Shane a few times.
With a belly full of anger and nowhere to vent it, seeing the good atmosphere among the crowd, he couldn't help but jump out to sing a different tune.
The smile on Lori's face instantly vanished. She looked coldly at Ed, who seemed to be cursing her husband: "What did you say?"
"I'm sorry, he didn't mean that..."
Ed's wife, Carol, a woman with short gray hair and a perpetually timid and uneasy expression, hurriedly ran out of the crowd.
While apologizing to Lori, she ran to Ed's side and pleaded softly, "We... let's go back first..."
"Slap!"
A crisp slap instantly silenced the camp.
"Get lost!" Ed backhanded Carol to the ground, seemingly wanting to kick her a few more times, but when he met Shane's icy, piercing gaze not far away, his movements abruptly stopped.
"Carol!" Lori exclaimed, hurrying forward to help her up.
"Mom!" Sophia also ran over crying, throwing herself into her mother's arms.
The camp's atmosphere dropped to freezing point. Everyone looked at Ed, their eyes filled with anger and disgust.
Just as Shane couldn't help but flex his wrists, wanting to rush forward and punch him a few times—
"Vroom—vroom—"
The roar of a car engine, approaching from a distance, broke the dead silence!
Everyone suddenly froze, instinctively looking towards the entrance of the quarry.
"Oh! My God!"
Dale was the first to see the arrivals. He waved his binoculars, his voice filled with surprise.
"It's Rick's truck, they're back!"