TWD - Chapter 556: Calista Is Human, and Better Than a God (Patreon)

The Pope’s head jerked violently to one side!

His eyes went wide. Half his skull blew apart, and his body slammed to the ground.

On the roof of an abandoned building some distance away, jenson lowered his sniper rifle, then checked through the scope to confirm that his target had fallen and the advancing walkers had already covered the body.

He had the priest in his sights too, but the walkers had reached him too quickly...

Jenson had only fired one shot so far. With a slightly disappointed click of his tongue, he shifted his crosshairs toward Xavier and the other three loyalists, but Xavier had already disappeared.

The other three loyalists were fleeing frantically. Jenson, unhurried, sniped two more in the head and hit the last one in the calf, watching as he was swallowed up by the main wave of the undead.

...

Victor was taller than Cyrus and quite heavy, so Cyrus couldn’t move very quickly. Seeing that the two of them at the front were moving too slowly, Mika walked straight over to lend a hand, and together with Cyrus, they dragged Victor along.

Screams echoed from the workshop far behind them. The few Reapers who had fallen behind recognized Xavier’s voice, followed by more sounds of chewing, and then silence. A chill ran down their spines, and they quickly picked up the pace to catch up with the main group.

The trailing edges of the walker hordes on either side were thinning out, and the walkers were no longer a threat. Even so, the Reapers stayed together, silently following Gabriel.

After running for what felt like an eternity, several rows of tents finally came into view in the distance.

A few vehicles were parked there, along with a Black Hawk helicopter and a Bell 407.

Leah stood at the very front, her arms crossed over her chest, a somewhat complex expression on her face.

Benson stood beside her. When he saw Cyrus and Mika dragging Victor toward them, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “Yo, still alive?”

Victor looked at him. “…You’re here too?”

Benson replied, “Duh. Where else would I be?”

Seeing this, Dubin and Zike were completely baffled. “Benson, aren’t you… aren’t you a traitor?”

Benson sighed and gave them a once-over. “Don’t say that. I might be your boss someday, so watch it, or I’ll make your lives miserable!”

Dubin and Zike shut their mouths.

Gabriel walked up to Leah and pointed to the Reapers behind him. “They’re all here. Twenty-one in total.”

Leah let out a sigh of relief as she looked at the new arrivals. She recognized some, while other faces looked familiar even though she could not remember their names. “Welcome, everyone, to Rock Fortress.”

No one spoke. Mika’s eyes were red, and Malcolm kept his head down, lost in thought.

Leah said no more. She turned to Benson and said, “You and Gabriel take them to the vehicles first. The ones we found are a bit beat up, but they should hold out until we reach Rock Fortress. They’ve been refueled, and the extra fuel is in the back of that pickup truck. I’ll stay here and wait for Cali and the others.”

She walked over to Victor, whose face was swollen like a steamed bun, and said, “Victor, you stay here with me. We’ll fly back directly by helicopter later.

“We need to treat those injuries quickly. An infection would be serious. When Ethan gets back in a bit, have him tend to you first.”

Benson and Gabriel nodded. “Okay.”

Benson walked over to the group and waved them on. “Come on, move! Don’t just stand there. We’ve got a few days of driving ahead of us!”

Meanwhile, in front of an abandoned factory, a figure emerged from the rubble and shook the dust off her clothes.

It was Calista.

The white gown she had brought from Rock Fortress had belonged to the original Calista. It was a custom-made designer dress. To make her look suitably otherworldly, Martha and Mira had spent the night sewing an extra layer of long white tulle onto it, which made walking a nightmare. Now, with the skirt covered in coal dust and bloodstains, she’d casually tied it into a knot around her leg.

The wind caught the fabric and puffed it out until she resembled a giant white lantern. It looked ridiculous, but her face was still flawless, gilded by the sunlight.

Calista glanced up at the walkers gradually dispersing from the direction of the Rusted Sanctuary, realizing that Carver and the others were probably on their way back. She then strolled leisurely around to the other side of the ruins.

Twelve people had gathered in the clearing. Some were drinking water, others wiping sweat from their faces, and still others peeling off the foul-smelling, blood-soaked walker skins.

Bossie, who was in charge of operating the drone, was the first to arrive, followed by Jenson, who came carrying his sniper rifle.

After that, the others responsible for luring the walkers gradually arrived and gathered.

Wells crouched on the ground while Mike poured water over him from a bottle. Mike had already washed himself clean.

Ethan and Danny were sitting on a rock, chatting.

Jonathan was tying his shoelaces, and Wagner was carefully cleaning his knife.

Merle lay on the ground with his eyes shut. Whether he was asleep or merely resting was anyone’s guess.

Daryl sat in the farthest corner, his back to everyone, polishing his crossbow.

Carver and Turner had led the walkers the farthest, so they were the last to arrive. They still had bits of walker skin and entrails clinging to them.

Carver had just peeled off the walker’s skin and was tugging at a piece of intestine hanging from his neck when he was the first to spot Calista, who had emerged dressed as a goddess.

He froze, then dropped his head as his ears turned bright red. He yanked the intestine free and flung it aside.

“Jesus Christ! Carver, what did you just throw?”

Turner appeared to be taking his pants off. No, he was actually trying to peel away the walker skin wrapped around them when a length of intestine suddenly snagged his pant leg. He frantically tugged at it a couple of times, accidentally pulling his pants halfway down in the process.

As he looked up and saw Calista, he panicked and felt utterly mortified, which only made him fumble even more.

Calista quickly turned away, shouting even louder than he was: “Jesus Christ! Call me when you’re done!”

After what felt like an eternity, Turner finally managed to rip off that damn walker skin. He stood up, shook the blood, flesh, and guts off himself, and finally shouted, “I’m done!”

Calista turned around and stood at the edge of the clearing, watching them, her emotions running high.

These were the best of her best, comrades willing to risk their lives alongside her.

Twelve of them, some standing, some sitting, all looking at her with a shared expression in their eyes: admiration.

Calista smiled faintly. “Good work, everyone.”

Carver sprang to his feet with a swish, flinging the pile of rotting skin onto the ground. “It was nothing. Just a bit smelly.”

Turner chimed in from the side, “Smelly? You were out front covered head to toe in the stuff, and now you’re complaining?”

Carver glared at him. “Shut up!”

The group laughed and joked for a while, then Merle stood up from the ground and brushed the dust off his clothes.

He walked over to Calista, hesitated for a moment, then managed to say, “Calista, you look... pretty good today.”

Calista tilted her head and teased, “Wow! Merle, it’s rare to hear you give a compliment without swearing!”

She took a step forward and said to everyone, “Let’s go, let’s fly back and get a good night’s rest!”

Carver suddenly asked, “Calista?”

“Hmm?”

“When you walked out just now, were you scared?”

Calista thought for a moment, then nodded honestly: “Of course. I was terrified I’d take too big a step, trip over my dress, and fall flat on my face.”

Everyone froze for a moment, then Turner was the first to burst out laughing.

Calista looked at them and smiled too.

Carver watched Calista, who looked like a goddess in the sunlight, and his heart pounded.

He could not quite tell what he felt for Calista. Was it admiration or something closer to love?

But Carver knew that for the rest of his life, he would be willing to follow her.

Calista was human, and to him, she was better than a goddess.