The Reapers.
Before the apocalypse, every member had been a retired special forces soldier. Later they became mercenaries, living a life of constant danger, and survived almost until the end of the series through sheer strength.
When Calista watched the show, she had always felt the Reapers were wasted. Their deaths didn't do their abilities justice.
Their leader, Leah, was exceptionally capable. She valued teamwork and treated every member of the Reapers like family. She even killed her own faith—the Pope—for the sake of that family. A warrior of flesh and blood… yet in the end, she lost to love.
But now Calista was here.
As Leah's sister, she naturally had a connection to the Reapers.
Leah valued family deeply and longed for genuine bonds. If Calista tried hard enough, this was a powerful branch she could climb.
In the original plot, Leah supposedly had a son who died to walkers, but he hadn't appeared yet.
Maybe he was still too young and hadn't been born.
Or maybe Calista's butterfly effect had erased him.
Either way, Calista was currently Leah's only blood relative.
She had to use that to get Leah to take her under her wing.
As for Leah's boyfriend, Daryl… her feelings were complicated.
Everyone in Calista's dorm had loved the crossbow guy. The show only gave him one serious pairing—Leah—and their love-hate dynamic had been thrilling.
But now, as the man destined to kill her future golden backer, she found herself slightly annoyed by him.
Well… whatever happens, happens. At worst, she'd just save Leah in the end.
This was the powerful ally fate had given her.
The delicate and charming Calista was determined to cling to it.
If she could eliminate the Pope early and recruit the entire Reaper team, that would be even better.
Being the beloved younger sister of their leader was far better than being some useless rich girl in the protagonist's group.
—
After reviewing the large stack of information the private investigator had sent, Calista transferred the payment without hesitation.
"Connect me to Sentinel Tactical Company in Arlington, Virginia," she instructed Emily, who was waiting outside the hospital room.
She rubbed the tip of her nose and took a deep breath, preparing to act.
That morning she had removed her bandages. The blue light on the ankle monitor indicated her body was basically recovered, and the private investigator's report on Leah had been extremely thorough.
Everything was ready.
She decided to try securing Leah during the very first phone call.
After all, if events followed the normal timeline, the virus would begin spreading in less than a month.
"Just say Leah Shaw's sister needs to discuss arrangements for their mother's funeral."
After a tense wait, the satellite phone finally connected.
Static crackled faintly through the line, followed by the sharp metallic click of a weapon being chambered.
It sounded like Leah was currently on a mission somewhere.
"I never knew Margaret had another daughter still alive."
Leah's voice was cold and hoarse, sounding completely uninterested in having a sister.
Calista's heart sank.
This wouldn't do.
After the apocalypse, she'd just be a delicate little treat holding resources and beauty—something anyone could take a bite out of.
She had already decided she would cling to Leah no matter what.
Building a connection with her sister was far easier than trying to force her way into the protagonist group with no ties at all.
"Sister? Mom… she always missed you."
A distorted scoff came through the satellite phone, making Calista's heart sink a little more.
"You sound even faker than Margaret. At least she had the decency to tell me and my father to get lost."
Leah recalled the year she was eight.
Her parents had just divorced when Margaret impatiently prepared to leave home.
When Leah refused to go with her, Margaret lost control and smashed the liquor cabinet. Broken glass scattered across the floor, slicing her daughter's feet until they bled.
Yet she dragged her suitcase out the door without a backward glance, stepping straight into her new life.
This must be another cold, hypocritical little girl just like Margaret, Leah thought absentmindedly.
On the other end of the line, Calista sniffed softly, forcing her voice to tremble.
"Sister… Mom actually kept your things all this time! I found your baby bracelet among her belongings. The silver plate says 'my little jackal.'"
That detail came from the private investigator's report.
Among Leah's otherwise dull life history, it stood out as especially useful—
Her biological father used to call her that.
At that moment, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted on the other end of the line. Completely unprepared, Calista jumped, her ears ringing painfully.
She let out a small cry and frowned, silently cursing Leah Shaw in her heart.
That awful woman!
She must have done that on purpose to scare her.
If she didn't need to cling to this powerful backer, Calista would never put up with this kind of humiliation.
After grumbling internally for a while, she finally heard a response.
"So?"
Leah's reply revived a tiny bit of hope in Calista's heart.
She hadn't hung up immediately.
There was still a chance.
Calista pressed on, quickly pulling out a sheet of paper and deliberately rubbing it near the microphone.
"Mom never forgot about you! There's even a photo of you in her safe—one she secretly took years ago."
Calista glanced down.
In reality, it was just a random blank sheet of paper.
But she would need to arrange forged materials soon, or things could get ugly if she got exposed.
A full minute passed.
So long that she almost thought the call had ended.
Finally, she heard what she'd been waiting for—
The faint rustle of Leah adjusting her posture on the other end.
Calista pinched her thigh hard and spoke with a thick nasal tone.
"Sister… I really need you! Mom's dead, and I don't know what to do! You're the only family she left me!"
"What about your father?"
Calista gave a bitter laugh.
"He divorced Mom years ago and settled in Europe. We haven't been in contact for ages. There's no way he'd fly back just for this."
Silence hung on the line for a moment.
"So this is what family means for you rich people? How ridiculous."
Leah's next cold laugh was cut off by a sudden burst of machine-gun fire.
Fuck.
All Calista heard was Leah swearing before the sounds of hurriedly packing up weapons and running.
Calista didn't hang up, nor did she speak. She simply listened quietly to the chaos on the other end.
Eventually, things went quiet again.
Leah's voice returned, slightly breathless, which finally reassured Calista.
"Listen. You'd better be worth the eighteen-hour flight from Kabul."
Oh—Leah was in Afghanistan.
If she could return to the U.S., it meant the mission there had already been completed.
Her mercenary teammates should be free as well.
How could she bring them all back together so she could cling to their strength?
Just as the call was about to end—and before Calista could figure out how to invite Leah's teammates—her iPad suddenly displayed a breaking news alert.
BBC was reporting a "new form of rabies" outbreak in Afghanistan.
Calista glanced at it, then immediately raised her voice.
"Leah! I just saw on the news there's a rabies outbreak in Afghanistan!"
She quickly pulled up a WHO report on the tablet. The screenshot showed the words "some patients attacking medical staff" circled in red.
"It's not safe there! Since your mission's finished, why don't you bring your teammates back to rest for a while?
I have a manor that's perfect for recovery—in the Great Smoky Mountains. I guarantee you'll all be treated very well!"
Calista waited nervously for Leah's response.
It was the most natural excuse she had managed to think of at the last second.
Would they come?