TWD - Chapter 506: She... She Really Agreed? (Patreon)

The call ended just like that, leaving Sasha’s team completely dumbfounded.

After a long silence, Boone scratched his head and finally managed to say, “So... did the Commander just suddenly turn us into her local guides?”

Tyreese looked at Sasha with a helpless expression that clearly said, What now?

Sasha rubbed her temples. This reconnaissance mission into Virginia had gone completely off the rails, racing in a direction she could never have predicted.

Go back to Alexandria?

Go back and face the Monroe brothers, who had just mocked them, and tell them, “Hey, surprise! Our boss thinks your place sounds interesting, so she’s decided to come take a look herself and see whether you’re still alive while she’s at it”?

Just imagining the scene was painful.

“Pack up,” Sasha finally said, resigning herself to it. “Turn around. We’re going back to Alexandria.

“And while we’re at it, figure out how we’re going to explain to Deanna and the others that we didn’t get lost, and we didn’t miss their community so much that we came back...

“Our boss just thinks this place sounds ‘interesting’ and has decided to come up here for a little ‘outing’ and an anti-raider sweep.”

And so, less than half a day after “escaping” Alexandria, the team retraced its route with decidedly mixed feelings.

Zach muttered the entire way, going from, “Great, now we get another chance to be driven insane by idiots,” to, “Does this count as the fastest comeback after talking trash in history?”

Eventually, everyone in the SUV burst out laughing.

Well, this assignment was certainly getting more interesting.

By the time Alexandria came into view again, the sun had only just begun to sink toward the horizon.

The sentry at the gate was the same man from that morning.

When he saw the SUV they had just watched leave returning again, his eyes went wide.

As Sasha’s vehicle approached, the gate slowly slid open, noticeably slower than it had that morning, as if whoever was operating it was just as confused.

Aaron and Eric practically ran out to meet them, their faces full of bewilderment.

“Captain Sasha? Tyreese? Did you... forget something?” Aaron asked breathlessly, peering toward the back of their SUV.

Sasha stepped out and did her best to look both serious and appropriately official.

“We didn’t forget anything, Aaron. We’ve received new orders from Rock Fortress.”

Eric frowned in confusion.

“Orders? About...?”

“About the condition Ms. Deanna proposed for the talks.”

Sasha cleared her throat.

“We submitted a complete report to Commander Calista Norton of Rock Fortress.

“After careful consideration, the Commander believes that, given the potential threat we may both face and the possibility of future cooperation, direct communication between the two leaders is indeed necessary.”

She paused.

Aaron and Eric’s expressions shifted from confusion to outright shock.

“Therefore,” Sasha announced carefully, “Commander Calista has accepted Ms. Deanna’s invitation.

“She will personally travel to the Alexandria Safe-Zone for face-to-face talks.

“We’ll inform you of her exact arrival time later. Please let Ms. Deanna know and ask her to make the necessary preparations.”

Aaron and Eric stood there with their mouths open like fish suddenly tossed onto dry land.

Aaron stammered, “S-she accepted? Ms. Calista is coming personally? From Tennessee? All the way to Virginia? Here?”

Zach folded his arms and muttered just loudly enough for the people beside him to hear.

“Yep. Surprised? Didn’t see that coming?

“Our boss heard you’ve got nice scenery and a special local attraction where people argue with everything you say, so naturally she had to come see it for herself.”

Tyreese discreetly kicked Zach in the leg, then gave Aaron a friendly smile.

“Yes. The Commander places a great deal of importance on this opportunity for dialogue, so we’d appreciate it if your community could... make the appropriate preparations.

“After all, traveling such a long distance across state lines means basic security and suitable accommodations need to be assured.”

He phrased it politely, but the meaning was obvious.

Tighten up your sloppy defenses and get yourselves together before our leader arrives to find the place in chaos.

Eric was the first to recover.

“I... we’ll tell Deanna immediately! My God, this... this is...”

He had no idea how to finish the sentence.

The news sent shockwaves through Alexandria.

Deanna was drinking tea when Aaron delivered the report.

Her hand jerked, and the cup struck the saucer with a sharp clink.

“She... she really agreed?”

She made Aaron confirm it three separate times.

Her face practically screamed, I only said that to make her back down. Why did she take me seriously?

After a brief spell of complete panic, Deanna forced herself to regain her composure, though the unease in her eyes was obvious.

She had only wanted a response.

A gesture.

Deep down, she had known perfectly well that the condition was a polite obstacle designed to make the other side reconsider.

She had never expected the other leader to actually agree.

Much less come in person.

“Is she going to bring a large escort?” Deanna immediately began considering practical concerns. “How many people will we need to house and feed? What about security? Are we going to allow her people to carry weapons inside the community?”

Her brow tightened as the questions piled up.

Reg adjusted his glasses and thought for a moment.

“A mature woman leading an entire community is willing to travel this far to meet us. At the very least, that means she’s taking these talks seriously. We should respond with the same level of respect and professionalism.

“Dear, we need to prepare a proper guest house. Preferably a detached one, somewhere quiet and clean. Put fresh bedding in, and check the water and electricity.

“And the meeting room... we should rearrange the community center living room.

“For food, we can provide more vegetables from the greenhouse. Do we still have any coffee left in storage? I seem to remember there was a little...”

In the Monroes’ imagination, Ms. Calista was probably around Deanna’s age, composed and dignified, perhaps a former government official or senior corporate executive before the apocalypse.

For Deanna’s two sons, however, the idea produced a much more complicated reaction.

After their initial shock, Aiden and Spencer exchanged glances.

Both wore the same awkward expression.

We were just talking. Why is she actually coming?

And beneath that embarrassment was a growing sense of unease.

They could act arrogant toward someone like Sasha, a squad leader.

But a woman who might command a survivor force larger than Alexandria’s entire population, and one far more powerful?

Their swagger immediately shrank by half.

In their minds, a female leader, especially one important enough to receive a formal invitation, was probably stern, conservative, fond of lecturing people, and perhaps a little nagging.

Some combination of a strict school disciplinarian and an overbearing community manager.

Calista was probably just a stricter version of Deanna.

Maybe even more old-fashioned, constantly talking about “discipline,” “responsibility,” “the good of the community,” and “the future of humanity.”