Following Rick's orders, Greg and the tattooed madman were placed in two separate unused cells some distance apart. The iron doors were locked tight, with at least one armed guard stationed outside each cell.
Meals and basic medical examinations were handled by different people on a rotating basis, while Zhou's squad took the opportunity to rest and prepare for the escort mission in two days.
News always traveled fast.
Although Rick had tried to keep the matter quiet, word that "two survivors had been rescued from that cannibal den" quickly spread throughout the prison.
Most people found the news deeply unsettling and regarded the two survivors with extreme suspicion.
But there were always exceptions.
Father Gabriel was one of them.
When he heard from a young team member who had taken part in the operation that one of the rescued survivors "looked really young and pitiful, and kept trembling like he was terrified," something deep within Gabriel, something that belonged to him as a priest, was struck hard.
Gabriel himself had once succumbed to fear and selfishness during the darkest days at the beginning of the apocalypse. He had locked the doors of his church and left his congregation outside, where they screamed and died beneath the claws of walkers.
The crushing guilt he carried from that day had left him with an almost obsessive desire to save those who suffered and those who had lost their way.
"Where are they?" Gabriel found Rick while he was assigning patrol duties. "I heard you brought back survivors from that horrible place!
"They need help, Rick. Not just physically. Their souls may have suffered even deeper wounds.
"As a priest, I should at least see them, offer them some spiritual comfort, and hear their confessions!"
Rick was already dealing with an ammunition count and arranging sentry positions. Now that the Terminus situation had been resolved, he also needed to handle the arrangements Calista had previously mentioned for sending Noah, the boy from the hospital, back to Virginia.
With so many things piling up at once, the last thing Rick needed was the priest pestering him over something like this.
He frowned, his tone coming out somewhat harsh.
"Gabriel, they're being kept in isolation right now, and they'll be sent to Rock Fortress in two days. That's a direct order from the commander. Until they undergo further evaluation at Rock Fortress, no one is allowed unnecessary contact with them."
"Isolation?" Gabriel's voice rose slightly, disapproval showing on his face. "Rick, they're victims, not criminals!
"They were rescued from that kind of hell, and instead of care and prayer, the first thing they receive is more cold confinement and suspicion?
"That... that isn't consistent with God's compassion, and it isn't what this prison community stands for!"
Oh, damn idealism!
Rick rubbed his temples as his headache worsened.
Over the past several days, he had gotten to know Gabriel reasonably well.
The priest wasn't a bad person. In fact, he had helped calm and support quite a few members of the community. But his tendency toward excessive compassion, sometimes completely detached from the dangers of reality, often left Rick frustrated.
Especially after seeing the truth about Terminus firsthand, Rick knew Calista's caution was anything but excessive.
"Listen, Gabriel," Rick said, softening his tone. "That place... was more evil than anything you can imagine.
"We need time to make sure the people we brought back are completely innocent, and they'll receive better care at Rock Fortress.
"This is about everyone's safety. Temporary isolation is a necessary precaution."
"A necessary precaution..." Gabriel repeated, shaking his head, disappointment filling his eyes. "Procedures can't replace compassion, Rick.
"That young man, I heard his name is Greg? He's just witnessed horrors we can barely imagine. He lost his companions and barely survived himself, and now he's sitting alone in a cell, left to face all that fear and trauma by himself.
"If he can't even receive a prayer or a few words of comfort from another human being, then how are we any different from the beasts outside who care about nothing except survival?
"At least let me see him. Let me hear his confession. That is my duty as a priest, and basic human decency!"
Rick looked at the stubbornness in Gabriel's eyes, along with the faint reproach behind it, and knew there was little chance of changing his mind.
He didn't want to waste more time arguing about it, especially if the argument might make Gabriel resent Calista's orders.
"All right," Rick finally said, giving ground slightly while drawing a firm line. "You can see Greg.
"But I'll be there with you. You won't stay long, and you'll speak to him through the cell door. And don't blindly believe everything he tells you. Afterward, you'll repeat everything he says to me exactly as you heard it. Understood?"
Gabriel immediately nodded. "Of course, Rick. Thank you! I only want to fulfill my duty and offer a lost sheep some guidance."
He seemed to have completely ignored the second half of Rick's warning.
Or perhaps he simply believed God would guide him in separating truth from lies.
A short while later, Rick brought Gabriel to the cell where Greg was being held.
The heavy iron door had a barred observation window. The cell beyond was cramped, furnished with nothing but a crude wooden cot and a chamber pot.
Greg was curled up in one corner of the cot, his back pressed against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees and his head buried between them.
He was still wearing the same thin, ragged clothes, with the blanket Rick had ordered someone to give him wrapped around his body.
Even then, he seemed to be trembling slightly.
At the sound of movement outside, Greg suddenly raised his head.
His eyes were bloodshot, filled with confusion and fear, along with the helplessness of someone who seemed to believe the entire world had abandoned him.
When he saw Rick and Gabriel through the bars, especially Gabriel dressed in his black priest's clothing, hope suddenly flared in his eyes.
His lips trembled. He seemed to want to speak, but fear had apparently robbed him of his voice. He could only stare pleadingly at Gabriel, as though the priest were the only light that had appeared in the darkness.
Gabriel's heart clenched.
The young man looked so fragile, nothing like the coldness or numbness Gabriel might have expected from someone who had come out of such an evil place.
"My child," Gabriel said, stepping closer, his voice full of compassion. "I'm Father Gabriel. I heard you've been through some terrible things. Are you all right?"
Tears immediately welled in Greg's eyes.
He struggled to his feet, but apparently weakened by his ordeal, he stumbled and could only curl himself up even tighter.
"F-Father? Are you really a priest? God... God hasn't abandoned a sinner like me?"
"God loves every one of His children, especially those who suffer and repent," Gabriel said gently, unconsciously gripping the iron bars.
"My child, if something is weighing heavily on your heart, you can tell me. Before God, there is nothing you cannot confess."
Rick stood nearby with his arms crossed.
Greg's performance was flawless.
But Rick trusted Calista's judgment, and he had seen far too much of the complexity of human nature, and how easily people could hide what they truly were, to completely dismiss his doubts.
Greg's sobbing grew louder.
He raised his face toward Gabriel, his eyes overflowing with remorse and anguish.
"Father, I... I have sinned!"
...
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