TWD - Chapter 518: Alexandria Will Relocate to Rock Fortress (Patreon)

Aiden walked toward his mother one step at a time, like a puppet being pulled by strings.

Deanna looked him straight in the eyes.

“You’re Alexandria’s security coordinator. You’re supposed to protect everyone here, including the people who are too afraid to speak for themselves. You failed to do that.”

Aiden lowered his head.

“Now,” Deanna said, looking past him toward Pete’s pale face, “use your fist to tell him that from today onward, no one in this community gets to hide behind the excuse of being ‘irreplaceable’ and use it to hurt people.”

Aiden’s head snapped up.

“...Mom.”

“Do it.”

Pete shrank back, but Spencer held him firmly in place. He stared in terror at Aiden’s raised fist.

“Aiden, you can’t. I’m a doctor...”

Aiden’s fist slammed into Pete’s left cheek.

Pete cried out and fell sideways, clutching the rapidly swelling side of his face as blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Jessie stood beside her older son, Ron, while holding her younger son Sam’s hand. The three of them watched in silence.

Deanna remained where she was, unusually calm.

“Take Mr. Anderson back. Until we’ve properly assessed the situation, Jessie, Ron, and Sam will move into the guest rooms on the east side of the community center.”

Calista stayed at the edge of the crowd the entire time.

She did not step forward. She did not interfere. She offered no opinion.

This was Alexandria’s internal matter. She had no right to interfere, and she should not.

But she saw the change clearly.

Deanna was different now.

She was no longer so idealistic.

A few minutes later, Deanna helped Reg sit on the steps and confirmed that his injury was not serious.

She straightened the wrinkled collar of her jacket, walked over to Calista, and spoke with complete seriousness.

“Calista. Alexandria will relocate to Rock Fortress.”

Calista paused in surprise, then smiled.

“Ms. Deanna, Rock Fortress will not betray that trust. I promise.”

Deanna nodded.

“Mom!” Spencer pushed away from the wall and stepped forward. “You can’t just...”

His words stopped abruptly.

Aiden had stepped in front of him without Spencer noticing and seized his wrist.

Spencer glared at his younger brother and struggled once, but could not pull free.

Aiden lowered his voice so only the two of them could hear.

“Do you still not understand? We can’t protect this place. Mom can’t protect it. None of us can.

“If you keep pretending otherwise, next time it won’t be Andrew and Richards who die. It’ll be you, me, Dad, and Mom.

“Do you want those lunatics breaking into our house, dragging Mom outside, and burning her alive the way Richards was burned?”

Spencer’s face went white. His lips trembled violently, but he could not say a word.

Aiden released his wrist, stepped back, and turned toward Deanna.

“Mom, I support you. I’m going with you.”

Spencer did not argue again.

Deanna looked at her two sons. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she quickly turned away, blinking hard as she forced back her tears.

She was Alexandria’s leader.

She could not break down in front of everyone.

At least not now.

Without waiting for anyone else to react, Deanna turned to face the residents and raised her voice.

“Everyone, you all know what happened here before dawn. I’ve decided that Alexandria will join Rock Fortress and accept Rock Fortress’s arrangements and protection.”

She turned her head and met Calista’s eyes.

Calista understood the signal, stepped forward, and took her place in the middle of the crowd.

Today she wore only a stand-collar shirt with the sleeves casually rolled up, but no one was paying attention to details like that anymore.

“My team and I witnessed last night’s attack firsthand and took part in the fighting. Several Alexandria residents were killed. We also captured one attacker alive, and he is currently being interrogated.

“Now, on behalf of Rock Fortress, I’m going to explain your options clearly.

“Alexandria can relocate as a complete community to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee.

“Rock Fortress will provide secure housing, jobs assigned according to your skills, standardized food rations and medical care, and full protection under Rock Fortress’s security system.”

Calista looked openly at Deanna.

“As Alexandria’s founders and core administrators, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe would need to travel with the relocation convoy to Rock Fortress.

“Your experience in governance, architecture, and hydraulic engineering is exactly what Rock Fortress needs. You would not lose your status. You would have a larger platform on which to use those abilities.”

Then she turned to the residents.

“Everyone will be assigned work based on skills, physical ability, and personal willingness. That may mean agriculture, workshops, logistics, the Defense Force, or other positions.

“Rock Fortress uses a points-based system. The more you contribute, the more you earn, and everyone receives a fair share. This is not charity. It is an exchange. You trade your labor and knowledge for security and a future.”

A low murmur spread through the crowd.

Some people exchanged looks. Others whispered among themselves. But no one immediately spoke up in protest.

“Anyone who does not want to leave Alexandria, or who has concerns about moving to Tennessee, may stay behind and form the Alexandria Outpost. Rock Fortress will provide military protection and regular shipments of basic supplies.”

Her tone shifted slightly.

“In return, the Alexandria Outpost will accept Rock Fortress’s substantive leadership, provide us with regular reconnaissance reports, and serve as our early-warning outpost in Virginia.”

She paused and looked across the crowd.

“Whether you relocate or remain here, you will all be part of Rock Fortress. There will not be two separate factions.

“But Rock Fortress is not a savior, and we do not make empty promises. What we can offer is real expertise that you can see for yourselves and commitments we are capable of keeping.”

Calista took half a step back and returned the space to Alexandria’s residents.

Leah moved closer and asked quietly, “Should we start arranging the relocation plan?”

“Tomorrow,” Calista replied softly. “Let them think it through today.”

Leah nodded and said nothing more.

While the residents discussed everything in low voices, Sasha’s squad watched quietly from nearby.

“The Commander convinced them,” Tyreese said under his breath.

Sasha remembered the first time she had seen Calista, descending from the sky like a war goddess and wiping out the Governor’s team in seconds.

“It wasn’t persuasion,” Sasha said. “She made them face something they already knew but had never dared admit.”

She paused.

“Sometimes that’s harder than convincing someone.”

Tyreese nodded silently.

Deanna stood on the porch steps, watching Calista.

The young woman stood in the middle of the square, bathed in sunlight.

Calista was so young that Deanna could easily have been her mother.

Deanna had once been an Ohio state legislator. She had presided over federal meetings and outmaneuvered countless political opponents.

Every week, she held community meetings and tried to replace orders with consensus, coercion with discussion.

She had believed she was rebuilding civilization.

She had believed she could plant the first shoots of democracy and order in the ruins.

That was why, during their first talks, Deanna had mistakenly believed she could control the pace and keep Rock Fortress in check.

But now reality had proven something else.

Calista might be young, but she was better suited than Deanna to lead in the apocalypse. All Calista had to do was stand there, and somehow people wanted to believe in her and follow her.

The lioness who had once roamed the political world of civilization was growing old.

The young lioness who had fought her way through the blood and chaos of the walker apocalypse had grown up.