TWD - Chapter 542: Father, I Won’t Let the Lord Down! (Patreon)

Gabriel crouched down until they were eye to eye. There was a warm, inviting pull in his gaze now. “My child, you can live again.”

There was something almost irresistible in his voice. “Not existing like a walker. Really living. Food to eat, a place to sleep, friends you can trust, and no need to be afraid every single day.”

Gabriel held out his hand. “Come with me. Come back to yourself.”

Victor looked at the hand. Dark skin, callused palm, yet somehow reassuring. “Why should I trust you?”

Gabriel smiled. “I don’t need you to trust me. You need to trust yourself.”

He paused. “You said earlier that you were happy when you were a mercenary. Do you still remember that happiness?”

Victor nodded.

“That was the real you,” Gabriel said, his voice growing softer. “Not the brainwashed you. Is he still alive?”

Victor’s tears burst forth instantly, and he wept like a child.

Benson stood nearby, watching the scene with a complex expression.

So pastors and priests really were all this good at talking!

If Benson had that kind of gift for words, he could have quit mercenary work ages ago and gone off to make a fortune.

Victor cried for a full three minutes. When he finally stopped, his eyes were as red as a rabbit’s, and his nose was still sniffling.

He looked at Gabriel. “Father, I-I don’t know what to do!”

Gabriel rested a hand on Victor’s shoulder. “You don’t have to decide right now. You can think. You can doubt. You can ask questions.”

He paused. “But there’s one thing you need to remember.”

Victor looked at him.

“You cried over Benson and the others just now. Those weren’t angry tears. You were hurt because you felt betrayed.”

Victor nodded.

“That’s love,” Gabriel said. “You love them. You see them as friends. Love isn’t a sin. Love is right.”

Tears welled in Victor’s eyes again. “But they defected…”

“They chose to live. That isn’t defection. It’s a choice.” Gabriel looked at him, patted his shoulder, then turned toward Calista. Before walking away, he left Victor with one final sentence. “You can choose too.”

Victor fell silent. He looked around, and finally his gaze settled on Calista.

She stood farthest away, sunlight streaming in behind her and gilding her figure in gold. Her gray-blue eyes rested on him, calm and almost holy.

Victor suddenly remembered what she had said. “Win people over with virtue.”

He had thought it was ridiculous before. Now he said, “I want to talk to The Pope.”

Benson’s expression changed. “Victor…”

“I’m not going back to snitch!” Victor lifted his head. His eyes were still red, but something inside them had changed. “I’m going to ask him about all of this. Ask whether he still remembers what things were like before the apocalypse.”

He could not continue. Benson looked at him with a complicated expression and sighed. “He’ll kill you.”

Victor smiled. “Maybe. You’re still a damn traitor, and I’m still pissed at you, but… you treated me pretty well before. I remember that.”

Benson’s throat moved. He used his knife to cut through the zip ties and ropes binding Victor. “Get lost… Wait!”

Victor had already made it more than ten meters when he heard him. He turned back in confusion. “What?”

Benson glanced covertly at Calista. He had just seen her say something to Gabriel. Gabriel drew a deep breath, then started back toward Victor.

Benson cleared his throat twice, pointed at Gabriel as he approached, and said solemnly, “Looks like the priest has something else to say. Maybe… uh, maybe he received guidance from the Lord.”

Victor already looked at Gabriel differently. He watched reverently as the priest approached. “Father, I-I… does God have some guidance for me?”

Gabriel cleared his throat, his gaze turning even deeper. “Victor, you’re a good man. But have you considered that The Pope won’t listen to anyone right now?”

Victor paused for a moment. “I can try…”

“Try?” Gabriel gave a small shake of his head. “Do you know what trying might cost you?”

Victor fell silent. Of course he knew. He could end up like the people hanging from stakes or those thrown into the fire pit.

Gabriel sighed. “My child, I’m not trying to stop you. I’m afraid you’ll die for nothing!”

Victor’s eyes reddened again. “Then what should I do?”

Gabriel looked at him intently. “Victor, do you know how many people The Pope has under his command?”

“Less than thirty, I guess…”

“A little over twenty,” Gabriel said with a nod. “They’re all like you. They fear The Pope, depend on him, and believe him.”

He paused. “But how many of them truly want to kill people? How many are like you and Cyrus, too afraid to resist?”

Victor’s mind started racing. “You-you mean…”

“I’m not sending you to die. The Lord would not have you kill people, and He would not have you die for nothing. The Lord loves all people.” Gabriel lowered his voice. “I’m asking you to do something harder.”

He leaned in a little closer, looking Victor straight in the eyes. “Go save them.”

Victor was stunned. “How?”

“Find them one by one. Talk to them one by one. Make them see that The Pope isn’t God and that they have a choice too.” Gabriel’s voice slowly worked its way into Victor’s heart. “Think about it. If you go talk to The Pope and he burns you alive, what will the people who feel the same way you do think?”

Victor opened his mouth. “They… they’d be even more afraid. They’d be even less willing to resist. They’d think The Pope was right.”

Gabriel nodded. “But if you talk to them, tell them there’s another path, tell them there are people willing to take them away…”

He paused. “What do you think would happen?”

Victor’s breathing grew heavier. He had never looked at it that way before. “I-I can do that?”

“You can!” Gabriel said. “You’re one of them. You’ve stayed with The Pope all this time. They trust you.”

He put a hand on Victor’s shoulder. “My child, this isn’t betrayal. You’re following God’s will to save people!”

Victor looked at him, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter. “So what should I do?”

Gabriel smiled and encouraged him gently. “Take it slow. Start with the people you know best. Talk to them one by one. Don’t rush.”

He stood up. “You can leave now. Go back and act like nothing happened. Then wait for your chance.”

Victor stood as well and took a deep breath, full of conviction. “Father, I’m going! I won’t let the Lord down!”

He turned and strode toward the shipyard. Once his watch ended, he would start talking to people.

While Gabriel and Victor were talking, Leah quietly walked over to Calista. “Cali.”

Calista turned her head. “Hmm?”

Leah’s expression was complicated. “What did you say to Gabriel?”

Calista looked at her but said nothing.

Leah stepped closer and lowered her voice. “You told Gabriel to steer Victor into turning the others, didn’t you?”

Calista nodded. “Yes!”

Leah frowned. “How could you… how could you do that?”

Calista looked at her and asked calmly, “Do what?”

“Use him!” Leah kept her voice low, but the emotion in it was obvious. “Victor’s a good man. He genuinely wants to help. You-you’re sending him to his death…”

Calista didn’t argue. She just looked at Leah, then said, “It’s better than you going.”

Leah looked at her. “Are you that sure?”

“Yes.”

Leah took a deep breath. “You never met The Pope before the apocalypse. He thought highly of me. If I negotiate with him as a representative of another faction, he won’t lay a hand on me.”

“That was then. This is now,” Calista cut in. “When The Pope likes someone, he treats them very well. When he doesn’t, you’ve already seen what happens.”

Leah looked at her. “Cali, how can you be so sure?”

Calista watched the inner conflict in Leah’s eyes.

That was her sister, the person who had always supported her unconditionally and stood beside her. Now, for once, they were at odds.

“Leah.” Calista’s voice softened slightly. “I know you’re soft-hearted. That’s one of your strengths.”

She paused. “But there are times when being soft-hearted doesn’t help. Someone as single-minded as Victor is actually safer because he won’t act suspicious. He might finish talking to everyone one by one before The Pope even notices anything is wrong.”

Calista left one thing unsaid.

If The Pope found out, they would move to Plan B.

If Plan B went well, they could take The Pope down without losing anyone. If there was no time, the only person they would lose was Victor.

Leah didn’t say anything.

Benson, listening nearby, could not help chiming in. “Actually, I think…”

“No one asked you.” Calista gave him a dismissive glance.

Benson shut his mouth.