After Alicia helped him with his wounds, Jason checked the contents of the backpack he had grabbed after the crash. Among the most important items were weapons and so military rations—enough to get them through the day.
But Jason's thoughts remained clouded by the deaths of Billy and Carlos. Although many people had died, those two had been closest to him. Billy was a forr soldier who had followed him since they entered the CDC. Jason often questioned whether his decisions were the right ones, and Billy had been one of the first to trust his orders.
Carlos, on the other hand, had been rescued in Atlanta. He was a brave young man who never hesitated to help good people, even though he was deeply afraid of walkers. Jason had always spoken to them about the beautiful world they would build together, but now they were dead.
Even though Jason understood how cruel the world had beco, everything had happened so quickly that he was struggling to process it. If not for his arrogant decisions, he knew those two would still be alive.
Jason stared at the glow coming from the oil lamp and couldn't help but think about Daryl. If he rembered correctly, Carlos had been very attached to him. Based on recent events, Morgan should be nearby—assuming he was still alive.
Truthfully, Jason wasn't too worried about Morgan's safety, considering how capable he was. Now, Jason had a clear objective: to return to his family.
According to Alicia, the people who attacked them called themselves the Vultures—a group of thieves who harassed small communities and groups to steal all their supplies without the intention of killing.
But that wasn't sothing Jason had heard before. When he asked Alicia who Teddy was, she said she had never heard that na since moving to this part of the country. Alicia lived in a community established inside a stadium, so her situation should be stable for now.
As they spent the night in that place, and although it wasn't very cold where they were, they set up the space to make it more comfortable and to be ready in case any strangers tried to enter the room.
Judging by the pattern of snowfall over the past couple of days, if they encountered a small group of survivors, those people would most likely try to take anything of value. And if they were part of a twisted group, they'd likely do even worse. To avoid being caught off guard, Jason shared so weapons and set up a few traps to alert them if anyone entered the building.
Rubbing his frozen hands, Jason silently looked around at the dim surroundings. For so reason, after losing so many of the people who mattered to him, he felt a deep sadness—as if all of this had been his fault.
No matter how things turned out, if you're the leader of a group and people die, then the consequences of your choices are your responsibility... Had he really been so arrogant to think they could always get out unscathed?
When Jason finished eating, he looked at Alicia again and asked, "Why did you decide to help , risking your life like that?"
Alicia looked at the silent Jason, surprised that he had broken the silence. As she heard his words, she thought for a mont. That sense of guilt Jason was now feeling after losing people who had followed him—that was sothing she feared back when she was forced to lead at the ranch before ending up at the stadium. So she could sowhat understand what he was going through.
And when she heard that question, she thought about it. This ti, she had made the decision to help him without caring about anything else, so she said, "I don't know. It was all so sudden. When I saw you fighting the Vultures, I thought it would be a good idea to get you out of there. Besides, I never thought we'd et again—especially not like that."
"You didn't expect to show up in a helicopter? Co on, with the way you talk, it sounds like you never imagined Atlanta could be a safe place." Jason's tone was more relaxed now, the way he usually spoke with strangers.
Seeing that Jason had opened up a bit more, Alicia gave him a slight smile. After he ntioned the city, she beca more interested and asked, "Do you really have a shelter in Atlanta? Is that even possible? At the beginning, there were thousands of walkers—it's impressive you managed sothing like that."
"It's not just …" He was surprised the credit was being given solely to him, so he quickly added, "I just put the right people in the right places at the right ti—places where their potential could be used. Right now, my community is fighting to build a better future."
"But let properly introduce myself. My na is Jason, and although I don't like to ntion my last na, it's Darcy. I really appreciate you saving from a place where I probably would have died. I was overwheld by the deaths of people who ant a lot to ."
"I'm Alicia Clark."
Alicia smiled and sat down beside Jason to talk about the differences between Atlanta and Texas. Even though she knew there shouldn't be too many, she wanted to know more about Jason and where he ca from.
One had to understand that piloting a helicopter these days—and having access to so many weapons—ant he had to co from a powerful community. That's why she was so intrigued about what might happen next, now that the leader of that community was stranded in Texas.
They talked late into the night, and during that ti, Jason could honestly say he felt a little better. It helped him process everything that had happened—and strengthened his resolve to start fixing the problems he had caused, beginning with finding Morgan.
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