In a guard office inside the Prison, Rick slowly set down the radio.
Spring sunlight fell across his tired but resolute face.
His call with Calista had shown him a more active way to survive.
She had not said much, but Calista had mentioned that they had several hundred people, and she had said, "Population is the foundation of hope."
Rock Fortress was clearly a large camp.
And that line from Calista meant Rock Fortress was still expanding, still growing stronger.
Rick thought of Lori's pregnant belly, of Carl and the other children, of Hershel, Dale, Glenn, T-Dog, Carol, and the rest of his family.
His family was the "present" he had to protect.
Simply holding the Prison was not enough. The Prison needed more people and more strength if it was going to truly stand in this world.
He could not keep waiting.
Rick needed to take the initiative, go out, find scattered survivors, and strengthen the Prison community.
Just like Rock Fortress had done.
...
After discussing it with the core members, Rick organized their first trip outside after winter.
Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and Andrea formed a four-person team and walked along the muddy roads that had not yet fully dried, entering an abandoned town northwest of the Prison, one they had never explored in depth before.
The wind passed through empty storefronts with a low, wailing sound. Broken signs creaked on their chains, and abandoned vehicles were scattered all over the streets.
Apart from that, the entire town was silent.
"Stay alert. Two-person groups, alternate cover as we move," Rick said in a low voice, the Colt Python revolver in his hand held steady and aimed ahead.
Glenn and Maggie took the lead.
With his experience from many supply runs, Glenn used vehicles and broken walls as cover, quickly confirming whether the path ahead was safe.
Maggie followed close behind him, the muzzle of her rifle moving with her line of sight. Her expression was focused, and she worked in perfect sync with Glenn.
Andrea and Rick covered the rear and the flanks.
Their target was a fairly large hardware store in the town center.
After a whole winter, the Prison's population had grown, and the living area had expanded. They needed more tools for daily repairs.
Nails and wire for reinforcing defenses, parts for repairing farm tools, and any fuel or batteries they might be able to find.
Clearing the hardware store went fairly smoothly.
There were only a few slow-moving walkers inside.
To save ammunition and avoid unnecessary noise, Glenn and Rick circled around from behind with knives and quickly dealt with them.
The supplies inside were covered in dust, but many were still usable.
Glenn, Maggie, and Rick quickly began packing the things they needed into their backpacks.
Andrea continued keeping watch.
Just as Glenn pried open a toolbox and found a complete set of ratchet wrenches inside, a trace of joy appearing on his face, a faint but persistent sound cut through the dead silence of the town and drifted in.
All four of them stopped moving and held their breath, listening carefully.
It was someone calling out.
The voice came in broken intervals. Whoever it was must have been shouting for a long time, because it was terribly hoarse, but it was unmistakably a human cry for help.
"Help... is anyone there... help me..."
The source did not seem far away. It came from an old five-story apartment building diagonally across the street, and it sounded like it was coming from the top floor.
Glenn and Maggie looked at Rick, waiting for his decision.
Andrea's brow tightened. She moved to the shop entrance and looked through the dusty glass window at the apartment building outside.
The building's outer walls were mottled and peeling. Many of the windows were broken, dark and hollow, like countless eyes peering out.
"Rick," Glenn whispered, "sounds like... just one person?"
Maggie was doubtful. "Could be a trap. Use a cry for help to make us lower our guard, then rob us or kill us."
She thought of the conversations she had shared with the survivors the Prison had taken in during the winter.
The longer people wandered outside, the more raiders and traps they ran into.
By comparison, after the apocalypse, her group had stayed on a farm that was almost like a haven and taken in Rick's group.
Later, with Calista's help, they had escaped with supplies and livestock, then taken over the Prison that Calista's teammates had already cleared as their camp. They had been incredibly lucky.
Andrea said nothing, but there was a trace of pity in the way she looked at that apartment building.
Rick's heart pounded.
His conscience and his reason pulled at him from both sides.
They had heard someone calling for help. How could they just stand by and do nothing?
But Maggie was right. The risk was too great.
The group's safety came first.
They were responsible for forty-two people, including Lori and the child in her belly.
Rick's gaze swept over his teammates.
There was sympathy in Glenn's and Andrea's eyes. Maggie's held sympathy too, but also caution.
All of them were waiting for him to decide.
The cry for help continued, growing more tearful.
Population... hope...
"We can't ignore it." Rick took a deep breath and finally spoke. "Andrea, set up a sniper position on the roof of that low building across the street. Watch the apartment building entrance and the surrounding streets.
Glenn, Maggie, the three of us go in. Glenn, you lead. Find us a safe route."
Maggie looked at Rick as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she nodded.
"Understood. Keep the walkie-talkies open." Andrea quickly checked her rifle, left the hardware store, and moved quietly toward the low building Rick had pointed out.
Glenn placed his half-filled supply bag in a relatively hidden corner, taking only his weapon and a few essentials.
"Follow me," he said to Rick and Maggie.
Glenn had a natural feel for this kind of urban environment.
The three of them left the relative safety of the hardware store, and Glenn chose a route that hugged the base of the walls, using abandoned newsstands and wrecked cars as cover.
The closer they got to the apartment building, the stronger the stench became.
Trash and unidentifiable stains were scattered around the entrance. The lobby was dim, with faint shifting shadows visible inside, along with low, guttural growls.
There were walkers inside, and they did not know how many.
The cry for help was clearer now, definitely coming from the top floor.
"Help..."
Rick tightened his grip on the revolver and glanced at Glenn and Maggie. Both of them nodded.
"Get ready to go in," Rick said in a low voice, stepping first into the apartment building's dark lobby.
The air inside was foul and filthy, almost suffocating.
The floor was covered in stains, and trash lay everywhere.
Rick took point, with Glenn and Maggie close behind him. The three advanced in a guarded formation, slowly climbing the stairs littered with debris and dried blood.
"Left side clear." Glenn took out a walker stuck between the stair railings.
Maggie's breathing was a little quick as she kept her eyes fixed on Rick's blind spot.
The higher they climbed, the fewer walkers there were, but the oppressive feeling of being trapped grew stronger with each floor.
The cries for help also became clearer, guiding them all the way to the top floor.