The Walking Dead: A New Beginning From the End of the World Chapter 99 99: First Contact

Michonne, still trapped in the debate of her subconscious, looked again at the crowd moving away. For so reason, those people gave her a different feeling than the one she had when facing the Governor. Although the man who appeared to be the leader seed calm and removed from violence, everything inside her told her it wasn't true.

True to her intuition, which she had always trusted, Michonne decided to follow the crowd. However, before doing so, she wanted to observe the base of those people with her own eyes and then make a decision.

Soon, a large wire fence appeared before her, followed by a majestic wall. The wide fields surrounding the base, people working the land, and a defensive trench unfolded before her eyes. Unaware, Michonne continued walking after the crowd until she reached the entrance. That's when a strong sll left her stunned: the air was tainted by a mixture of animal waste and the characteristic rotten stench of walkers.

The people in this refuge didn't waste ti or energy caring for flowers or decorative plants. Instead, they had developed a hidden defense system around the wall and trench, which made Michonne begin to have a different opinion about the place.

She also noticed several curious details: there was an isolated area where walker corpses were piled up, which initially deeply confused her. Very few seed to know exactly what they were used for.

In another sector, several people held work tools. Due to the recent appearance of intruders in the forest, everyone had taken a one-hour break before resuming their work.

Then, on the other side of the inner wall, she heard the laughter and shouts of children playing. She hadn't heard such genuine laughter, full of security, in a long ti.

After crossing the gate to the inner courtyard, she finally discovered the source of the sound: a small playground!

Seeing it, she finally understood the aning of the words Jason had told her before leaving.

Standing in the middle of the main square, Michonne noticed that there were still fourteen soldiers in uniform with them. The atmosphere fell silent, and she stood aside, alert to the next moves and decisions that would be made in that place.

"What's the trick this ti?" Shane asked, sowhat bewildered upon realizing that Jason had let the intruders go.

Jason, noticing the stares directed at him, smiled and said, "Their leader has so strange behavior. I don't bla him... I've also committed sins I don't even dare to na. But I want to test the Governor. I want to know what he'll do next."

After saying this, pausing for a mont, Jason pointed out, "We don't have anything to worry about. We just need to contain our strength and not put all our eggs in one basket. Apparently, not everyone in that refuge led by the Governor is ill-intentioned."

Everyone fell silent. They knew, from the reports, that Jason and a small group had completely wiped out a refuge very similar to the Governor's. Therefore, they weren't really worried about what might happen in such a well-protected place.

...

While Jason was busy personally organizing all those people, Martínez and his group ran through the forest at full speed. They kept running until they could no longer and finally stopped, panting from the effort.

"Are they following us?" Martínez asked those behind him.

"No, they really don't seem to have any intention of following us!" Crowley answered with a relieved smile. A mont before, he thought he was going to die, but he hadn't expected the other group to let them go so easily.

"Let's go quickly, we have to get back before it gets dark!" Martínez said, who was in better physical condition. He was the first to move again, urging the others to follow.

It was already night when Martínez's group finally returned near the Woodbury refuge. Exhausted, they all longed to get ho. They knew the horror the night brought and the hidden dangers the darkness harbored. When they spotted the silhouette of the refuge in the distance, barely visible, they all quickened their pace.

One of the mbers, who was at the front of the group, exhausted from the effort and accumulated stress, montarily lost his focus. However, his body kept moving almost by instinct, driven by the need to reach the refuge.

Just as he passed near a large tree, a walker suddenly erged from the other side without warning. The man tried to defend himself by raising his arm, but as soon as he extended it, the creature bit him forcefully.

"Ahhh! Damn it!" He scread, in pain and desperation, as the walker pounced on him. His agonizing scream attracted other walkers in the area.

Martínez wanted to intervene to save him, but soon realized that a large number of walkers were starting to approach in his direction. Within seconds, two more were coming toward the fallen man.

The four remaining mbers looked at each other with doubts, then turned their gaze toward Martínez, waiting for a decision.

"Let's go, there's no way to save him!" One shouted, and the group quickly turned around and ran toward the entrance of the refuge.

After all the effort of the day, they hadn't achieved any results. They had almost died at the hands of a mysterious group, and now one of their own had been bitten by a walker. Once they finally entered the refuge, everyone headed straight for their rooms without saying a word.

Martínez also wanted to go to sleep, but the Governor was still waiting for him. He had no choice but to gather his patience and head to et him.

Knock, knock, knock! "Sir!"

"Co in…"

Martínez opened the door and entered the Governor's room. He knew the Governor wouldn't be asleep at that hour; to be precise, the Governor wouldn't go to bed until he was sure they had returned.

Upon seeing Martínez's haggard face, the Governor put down the book he was holding, turned his head to assess his condition, and asked, "What happened?"

After collecting his thoughts, Martínez explained, "As planned, we managed to kill the first woman. The other one was arrested, but a group of new survivors took her. On the way back, one of ours was bitten by a walker."

Hearing that soone had died, the Governor's expression didn't change much, but his eyes lit up upon hearing that they had encountered another group of people.

"Another group of survivors? How many are they?"

At the question, Martínez answered uncertainly, "First, an eleven-person group appeared. They got in our way as if they just wanted us to stop. Then their subleader ca with two more people. That's all we could find out at the ti. In total, there were about twenty people. They seed well-fed and well-equipped. The leader explicitly told not to attack them or, otherwise…"

"Otherwise what?" The Governor asked, frowning.

"Otherwise, they would kill us as if we were trash," Martínez replied, clearly rembering Jason's words.

A spark of anger appeared in the Governor's eyes. Apparently, that group had dared to threaten him. He stood up, crossed his hands behind his back, and walked to the window. He observed the silent, dark exterior of his house for a mont before asking:

"Do you think that group represents all their strength?"

Martínez lifted his head, ntally reviewed every detail he had seen, and after a mont, said, "The weapons and equipnt they carried were of good quality. They seed well-prepared. I'm afraid they are also the ones who rescued the people from the helicopter. I don't think that group represents all their power."

The Governor didn't respond imdiately. He just walked around the room while Martínez waited silently. "How many people here could we fight right now?"

"There are more than a hundred survivors in total, and between seventy and eighty are in fighting condition," Martínez responded, sowhat surprised by the question.

"Go rest. Let think for a while alone." The Governor said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

Once Martínez left, the Governor took a bundle of keys from his waist and walked to a door at the back of the room.

After closing it, he sat on a sofa in the center. With the dim light illuminating the room, his eyes glead with a feeling that was difficult to decipher.

On one side, the aquariums that covered an entire wall were filled with water. Inside, the heads of walkers floated.

The Governor suddenly stretched his arms and embraced the "daughter" who, at so unknown mont, had approached him. He tried to calm her with his arms, closed his eyes, and began to think in silence.

As he observed her, his eyes turned cold, and he murmured quietly:

"I'll get everything I want... Daughter."