This time, it was Calista's turn to be slightly taken aback.
Carver took a small step forward, closing much of the distance between them. He no longer tried to unravel every secret hidden behind her words.
His gaze softened in an unusually gentle way as he simply looked at her, as though Calista herself were all the reason he needed, or as though he were confirming something deep within himself.
"Calista, how you know doesn't matter." His voice was steady, each word deliberate. "If you say it's a threat, then it's a threat. If you decide we need to investigate it, guard against it, or fight it, I'll follow you."
He paused, a stubborn light in his eyes.
"From the beginning of the outbreak until now, every direction you've pointed us in has been right. I... all of us have followed you."
Carver paused again. His gaze remained fixed on her like an unwavering anchor, without the slightest trace of hesitation.
"I don't trust the source of the intelligence, Calista. I trust you."
The words were simple and unadorned, yet they struck Calista like a hammer to the heart.
Ever since crossing into this world, she had carried the burden of knowing the future. She had to exploit her informational advantage while constantly making sure no one noticed how unusual that knowledge was.
She had grown used to processing those "predictions" alone. She had grown used to guiding others through one method or another, and rarely stopped to wonder what the people around her truly thought of her almost prophetic ability, especially longtime companions like Leah, Rickson, Carver, and Mike, who had fought beside her all this way.
Now Carver had given her the answer in the most direct way possible.
He didn't care how she knew.
What mattered to him was Calista herself, her judgment, and the path she had led them down.
A quiet warmth spread through Calista's chest.
She looked at Carver and the undisguised conviction in his eyes. After a long moment, she gave a slight nod, her voice softer than before, with the faintest trace of emotion.
"Thank you, Carver."
Carver seemed to relax as well. The last trace of awkwardness disappeared from his expression.
"Is there anything you need me to do?"
"For now, stick to what we decided in the meeting. Increase support and intelligence sharing toward the prison. Also..." Calista thought for a moment.
"Pay closer attention to our current prisoners and newcomers. See if anyone knows the southeast particularly well, especially the old interstate routes. It doesn't have to be related to Terminus. Just watch for anything unusual."
"Understood," Carver replied immediately.
After a brief pause, he added, "Calista, you should... stop pushing yourself so hard too. With how strong we are now, we don't need to be afraid of any other camp."
The concern came out a little awkwardly, but from him, it sounded all the more sincere.
The corners of Calista's lips lifted into a sweet smile.
"I know. Go on."
Carver nodded, then turned and left the office without further hesitation.
...
Knoxville Industrial Park.
Tara wiped the sweat from her forehead with her grease-stained sleeve, then tossed the last worn gear she had replaced into a metal drum labeled "Recycling."
It landed with a dull clang.
She, Alisha, Mitch, Pete, and two other prisoners who had arrived even earlier, both former members of a raider group, had just finished their assigned quota of mechanical equipment maintenance for the day.
"Hey, look over there!" Alisha nudged Tara lightly with her elbow and lowered her voice, nodding toward another work area nearby.
That was where the police group brought back later from Grady Memorial Hospital was working.
The six of them had been assigned more basic physical labor, hauling construction materials, clearing chunks of rubble, and reinforcing the foundations of the perimeter wall.
Dawn was among them.
Her sheriff's uniform and former authority were gone. Her hair was tied back messily as she struggled to lift a broken slab of concrete onto a wheelbarrow.
Shepherd and McGinley were working silently not far away, occasionally sneaking glances toward Tara and the others.
Tara curled her lip but said nothing. A faint sense of superiority flashed through her eyes.
She had arrived earlier, and her work required more actual skill.
More importantly, she had an invisible ledger in her head, and the page she had been waiting for was almost ready to turn.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before a Defense Force soldier responsible for supervising the area approached with a roster in hand.
His eyes swept over Tara and the others, his expression neutral.
"Tara, Alisha, Mitch, Pete, and you two."
He pointed toward the two former raiders.
"Go wash up, put on clean clothes, then report to the management office in Block B. The review of your accumulated points is complete."
Tara's eyes instantly lit up.
Alisha tightened her grip on the wrench in her hand.
Pete grunted and continued tightening the last bolt, though his movements noticeably sped up.
Mitch let out a whistle, a grin spreading across his face.
The two former raiders exchanged delighted looks.
The commotion drew the attention of the police prisoners.
Dawn stopped working and straightened up, wiping the sweat from her chin as she looked toward them from a distance.
Shepherd also paused, watching curiously.
Tara and the others quickly packed away their tools and headed toward the communal wash area.
As they passed the section where the police prisoners were working, Dawn hesitated, then stepped forward and called to them from the edge of the wire fence.
"Wait!"
Tara stopped and turned, raising an eyebrow at Dawn.
Alisha stopped as well, while Mitch and Pete acted as though they hadn't heard anything and kept walking.
"What?" Tara asked.
Her tone wasn't particularly friendly, but there was no real malice in it either.
She knew these police prisoners had only arrived recently and were still at the very bottom of the adjustment period.
Dawn wet her cracked lips and looked over Tara and the others before speaking in a hoarse voice.
"You... where are you going? What does a points review mean?"
Tara looked at the dust and mortar covering Dawn's clothes, and a subtle sense of being the experienced one rose inside her.
She lifted her chin.
"Where are we going? To get a new status. The points review is where they check how well we penitents have been doing and whether we've earned enough points to buy our freedom."
She deliberately emphasized the words "buy our freedom."
Dawn's pupils contracted slightly.
"Freedom? You mean... you can become full members? Rock Fortress really keeps its word?"
"Of course." Tara's tone became noticeably lighter. "Rock Fortress has rules. Work hard, follow discipline, stay out of trouble, and you earn points. Get enough of them, pass the review, and you can become one of them."
She pointed toward the regular Defense Force soldiers patrolling in the distance.
Alisha added, "It's not easy, though. You have to do a lot of work, you can't screw up, and they hit you pretty hard with point deductions. We've been working our asses off. Some of the people who came in at the same time as us still have a long way to go."
Behind Dawn, Licari couldn't help stepping closer to the wire fence.
"And... what about the treatment? Once you become a full member, do you get decent living quarters? You don't have to... do the hardest work every day anymore?"
Tara and Alisha exchanged a glance.
Tara shrugged.
"The housing is definitely better than what you have now. Food rations depend on your position and contribution. As for the work..."
She smiled.
"Once you're a full member, you can apply for whatever suits you. If you have technical skills, you can get a technical position. If you're strong, you can join an engineering crew. If you can fight..."
A faint spark appeared in her eyes.
"You can even try applying to the Defense Force."
"The Defense Force?" Dawn murmured.
She had never expected Rock Fortress to actually honor its promises.
She had already prepared herself mentally to spend the rest of her life as a penitent. After all, that was how the police group had treated the survivors before. Once you were under them, you just kept working and working.
"That's right!" Tara straightened proudly. "The four of us are planning to apply today."
She stopped paying attention to the shocked, envious expressions on Dawn and the other police prisoners.
Instead, she turned toward Alisha.
"Come on. Let's not keep the administrator waiting."
The two hurried away, leaving Dawn and several police prisoners who had been listening closely standing where they were, silently watching their backs for a long time.
...
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