After dinner, night slowly fell, and it was time to sleep. At that moment, Jason didn't return to the modified RV where he usually slept with the others. Instead, he lay down on a proper bed in a house. Next to him was a female figure—Alicia. Since they met and survived together, the two had grown gradually closer and had become much more connected since arriving in Alexandria.
Without thinking too much about what that meant, they simply allowed their true desires to run their course.
"I have something very important to discuss with Deanna."
"Do you want me to come with you?"
Jason shook his head and explained softly, "It's not necessary. I'll just talk about the organization that will take over this place in the future."
Alicia didn't respond right away. Her intuition told her Jason wasn't being entirely honest, but since he didn't seem willing to share more, she didn't press and simply smiled slightly.
"All right, since I don't know how long you'll be, I'll go to sleep first. I'm tired..." Saying that, Alicia lay on the bed and closed her eyes after wishing him goodnight, while Jason, standing by the window with an emotionless expression, picked up his coat and left the room after giving her one last glance.
But the moment he gently closed the door, Alicia had already opened her eyes. She didn't seem intent on sleeping, so she grabbed her coat and weapon before quietly leaving the room.
By then, Jason had already left the house long ago, so Alicia looked around sharply. At night, the shelter looked completely dark, which led her to glance toward Deanna's house in the distance.
Some time later, Alicia followed him closely. Knowing her boyfriend was a very careful man, she didn't approach the front entrance. Instead, she looked through the window and saw Jason walking into the living room on the other side, while Deanna and her husband Monroe were sitting beside each other in front of him.
After hesitating for a moment, she moved to the window closest to the living room and pulled out a device she'd had for a while, used to hear distant conversations more clearly.
She slid the device through the open window and then quietly walked away before putting on her headphones to listen in. Ever since her relationship with Jason had grown deeper, she knew he hid things from her to avoid worrying her—and it really bothered her.
She didn't need him to protect her. What she truly wanted was to help him protect and preserve their future together. And, as expected, she heard Jason's voice through the headphones.
She had seen Jason working on things she didn't understand many times—training people personally as if he were worried about something more than just surviving the walkers. And when she saw the weapons his people were taking to Atlanta, she knew he was hiding something.
Sometimes, women's intuition is very accurate. They don't need exact information—they just know when something is off. Moreover, Jason always knew Alicia wasn't someone who liked to feel pressured by expectations, completely underestimating what Alicia could offer him.
In fact, Alicia understood Jason was doing it to protect her, but the feeling of doing nothing to support him made her deeply uncomfortable. Since arriving in Alexandria, she had been watching Jason closely, which led her to eavesdrop.
Alicia quickly suppressed the nervous feeling of doing something she shouldn't for the first time and began listening closely to the conversation in her headphones.
Jason, in his usual tone of voice, said, "Since this is what you want, I won't beat around the bush. This conversation is very important, but before we talk about that, I want to share Alexandria's current problem."
Deanna, understanding, said, "Jason, Monroe and I are well aware of your abilities. You can share what's on your mind freely."
"It's simple. Your people have split into two groups—some have formed a close relationship with us, while others secretly question us. This conflict bothers me, and sooner or later, it'll become a bigger problem."
"In short, the community is completely divided, which could lead to a conflict of interest over who stays and who leaves—or even a dispute between both sides. To be honest, in either case, the initiative is in our hands. If we don't want to leave, I'm afraid these people won't be able to fight us. So I hope neither situation happens."
"You asked me to go slowly with them, but that's not really what they need. In my opinion, the best way is to let everyone see the reality. I believe the thirty-plus people who joined the community training aren't stupid. Since they can see the truth, they'll naturally make the right choice."
Monroe, with a hint of fear in his voice, asked, "What about the few who don't want to change, Jason?"
"That's simple, Monroe. Those people will have to obey the decisions I make from now on. But do you know what will happen if they don't? They'll be eliminated from this world. When more than forty out of fifty people decide to change, the rest will be forced to change too. But that change will be passive—it depends on whether they can truly adapt to this world."
After a long silence, Deanna's voice came through Alicia's headphones again.
"Jason, we'll talk more about that later. Can we talk about the other thing you haven't shared with us yet?"
Jason stayed silent for a moment, then, after organizing his thoughts, said, "All right. This situation is a bit hard to digest, so let me tell you what we're really dealing with."
"This goes back about a month. An exploration group was scouting beyond the areas we usually cover. Besides the undead, some survivors were found. At that time, I was in Texas helping a group escape from a military base. But according to my soldiers, they saw a helicopter land in a very strange area with a rather odd symbol printed on it."
The voices from Alicia's headphones went silent for a moment. Jason was likely thinking of the best way to explain this, and then she heard him again.
"At that moment, the soldiers were wondering who those people were. One of them was killing walkers when a group of survivors stood before them—but what they did next shocked the exploration team: they witnessed the murder of those people who were just asking for help. Enraged, my people eliminated the entire group—but one survived, and we learned a lot from him about who they were and where they came from."
"Is it serious?" Deanna asked.
"It's far more than that, Deanna..."
Jason and Deanna's voices overlapped, so Jason clarified once more, "I need you to keep this strictly confidential! Very few in my community know about this. Can you do that?"
Deanna looked at her husband, and they both nodded. "Of course we can."
After thinking it over, Jason said, "After a not-too-long interrogation, we found out the other side belongs to an organization no weaker than my S.C.T. community, called the Civic Republic Military. Also known as a military death force—CRM. It's a community where the number of survivors will soon rise to more than 200,000 people."
Not only did Deanna and Monroe look astonished—even Alicia outside had to cover her mouth to keep herself from speaking.
"What?! 200,000 people?"
Jason scoffed ironically and said: "Isn't that surprising? My community barely reaches 20,000 people, and we think we're the strongest in this country. But what's terrifying about this organization is that even their own people don't know what their true goals are."
"Just like in my community, social order has been restored. This organization has the capacity for pharmaceutical production, military industry, agriculture, and both heavy and light industry. On top of their exponential growth, they also own schools, courts, and other institutions."
"As far as my people know, it's possible this organization has its forces spread from Chicago to New York, along the coast. Secret bases have been established, gathering talented individuals. Even now, I can't confidently say my community is stronger, so I'm unsure if we're more powerful or weaker at this point."
"CRM's policies are harsh; they focus solely on gathering talented people, but their goals come later. They'll only cooperate with forces they recognize. Once smaller settlements become aware of their existence, they're swiftly wiped out by the other side."
"If a growing community poses a threat to their dominance, they'll destroy them too. Now, what do you think would happen to my community if we clashed with CRM? Yes, there would be a war in which one of us would end up dominating this country."
"There should be a way out. There's always a way out in cases like this..."
Jason sighed and asked bluntly: "Do you think that's all I've discovered?"
"What else?"
Jason paused and said: "My people are growing and preparing for whatever may come. Besides CRM, we've also discovered other large settlements."
Monroe was surprised and quickly asked: "There are more shelters?"
"Of course. There's an organization called the Commonwealth, another settlement where we estimate there might be more than 30,000 people. Their structure is solid, but they're just a united town trying to survive. They have internal problems, systemic flaws. I've been informed that to the west of here, there's a community with tens of thousands of people, and countless survivors in other places."
The room fell into dead silence. Monroe, Deanna's husband, asked: "Jason, I believe there must be an important reason for you to share such confidential information about your people, right? Do you think we can contribute something?"
"I'm not a good person in the true sense of justice. I've killed many people—sometimes for safety, other times to defend my ideals. Many know that I don't care about anything other than protecting what's mine and those I care about. So at the very least, with CRM, I won't seek peace or allow them to trample me, Deanna."
Deanna was silent for a moment and then said: "With those words, you make me feel like I'm part of your family, Jason."
"You may not understand it, but to me, you two are my friends and part of my family. Because during the time I've known you, you've made me realize there are still good people in the world. But if we want to keep going, we can't afford to just be good people. Originally, I had no intention of bringing this up, but ever since I met you, an idea began to form in my mind, which led to today's conversation, Deanna."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"I want to integrate these organizations as soon as possible. I know it'll be difficult, and I might have to use some less-than-ideal methods. But I want you to be the voice of my decisions."
"What do you mean, Jason?"
"It's simple. I need both of you to go to the Commonwealth."
"Why the Commonwealth and not CRM?"
"Didn't you say CRM is the bigger community? Two hundred thousand people, right?"
Jason answered: "Because I don't want them discovering my organization. It's not the right time yet. CRM will eliminate any organization that threatens them and secretly use different methods to bring special individuals into their refuge. So I hope you'll join the Commonwealth and not CRM."
"I understand it's for our safety, but I still have to ask: what's the purpose of joining them undercover?"
"It's not really undercover. You don't have to do anything special—as long as you do well there, it would be ideal if you gradually build up authority."
Deanna then said: "I understand. You're hoping we gain influence there so that merging with your people becomes more stable. But will it really work?"
Jason smiled and asked: "You've known my people for over a month. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"You're brave, wise, you care about your people, and ruthless to your enemies. You're a great leader. In many ways, I don't share the same leadership skills as you."
Jason shook his head and said: "No, Deanna. You just lack experience, but you can be just as good a leader as I am. You're a woman with foresight, purpose, and determination, and your political instincts are sharp. Your husband, Monroe, is excellent in architecture. Both of your talents meet many of the Commonwealth's needs. Even if they have many people in their ranks, they still need talent for management, which is why I want you to go there."
"At first, I thought about going alone, but after thinking it through, I realized I can't afford to waste time. We need stable, growing bases, and my absence would cause many delays."
"Deanna, Monroe, I trust in your abilities, and I hope you trust in me. I'll form a powerful force and expand throughout Atlanta, which means you'll have a strong force behind you when the time comes. When the time is right, we'll work together to build a larger survivor base and bring everyone together. Wipe out the undead and rebuild civilization. That's our ultimate goal, isn't it?"
"Even if you fail to gain ground there, I'll still be a backup plan for you. When the time comes, I'll find a way to bring you back. By then, we'll know each other well—but the Commonwealth won't know us. Isn't that a good thing?"
"But beyond all this, there's another much more important reason why I believe you'll succeed."
Deanna became interested and asked: "There's another reason?"
"I remember you were a congresswoman from Ohio, right?"
Deanna nodded: "That's right."
Jason then explained: "As far as I know, the Commonwealth is based in central Ohio, and I dare to assume you might have some influence in that place because there may be people you knew before the world ended. That's your advantage..."
"Settlements are too sharp-edged. Many times, choices are life or death. Right now, can you still use the democracy you once spoke of to solve these problems?"
"The Commonwealth is a different case. Their system has a very strict hierarchy, and social status is assigned according to people's jobs before the end of the world. But that's exactly your edge—I believe you can find your place there and even make a difference. Do you want to live in a small settlement, always afraid of what danger might show up next? Alexandria is too small for you, Deanna."
"I believe that if the small ones unite, we can rebuild civilization. Don't you want to leave your name in the history of humanity's reconstruction? The great woman, Deanna Monroe, who helped unite the largest communities."
"Please, don't make me resort to force. We're not the enemy. CRM is our enemy, and a time will come when we face them. There shouldn't be two forces deciding humanity's future—that would be a truly stupid decision."