When Gabriel found Rick and made his request, Rick's reaction was exactly what anyone would expect.
"What did you say? You want to go to Rock Fortress with Zhou and the others? Just because of Greg?"
Rick could hardly believe what he was hearing. He stared at Gabriel as though the priest had completely lost his mind.
"Gabriel, an escort mission isn't a game. Zhou's squad has a job to do. What exactly is a priest supposed to accomplish by tagging along? Get in their way?"
"I won't get in their way, Rick!" Gabriel argued, his face flushed with emotion. "Greg is in an extremely fragile state. He's terrified of going to Rock Fortress!
"If I'm there, I can at least give him some emotional support and keep him from doing something irrational out of panic on the road.
"And as a neutral third party, I can make sure the transfer is handled with basic humanity. Rick, we're still human beings. We need to hold on to some compassion!"
"Compassion?" Rick was so angry he almost laughed. "Gabriel, you're showing compassion to the wrong people!
"Until they've been properly questioned, treating anyone who came out of Terminus with the highest possible level of caution is the most compassionate thing we can do for everyone at the prison and Rock Fortress.
"It's an order. It's a security protocol. Even you weren't allowed into the community until you'd gone through a quarantine and observation period."
"If a security protocol completely ignores someone's pain and fear, then that protocol is inhumane!" Gabriel raised his voice, something he rarely did, and confronted Rick directly.
"That commander at Rock Fortress only cares about rules. She has no idea what a soul that's just been rescued actually needs! Rick, you can't simply obey everything she says. We should still be capable of making our own judgments here!"
"This is an outpost of Rock Fortress! Calista is the reason this place was saved in the first place! Our administration and the Defense Force are both part of the Rock Fortress system, and so am I! This prison isn't some independent little survivor camp. Have you lost your damn mind?"
Neither man would back down.
Rick was already at the end of his patience with Gabriel's stubbornness and his increasingly obvious hostility toward Calista. No matter what he said, the priest had suddenly become completely unreasonable.
In the end, Rick decided to pass the problem on to Calista. It would put an end to the argument quickly and keep Gabriel from continuing to campaign on Greg's behalf around the prison, which could only create more unnecessary trouble.
Somewhat awkwardly, he relayed Gabriel's request to Calista.
After listening to Rick's explanation, Calista rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
She had almost forgotten there was a man like Gabriel at the prison.
Rick had mentioned that they'd found a priest before, but one thing after another had happened recently, and she'd quickly pushed it out of her mind.
Gabriel.
Even in the original story, the priest had repeatedly caused trouble because of his excessive fear, cowardice, and idealism. Sure enough, he was an unstable element.
Greg had managed to fool him so thoroughly that Gabriel was actually willing to defy orders just to play the role of some idiot protector.
Keeping Gabriel at the prison wouldn't be too much of a problem as long as Rick could keep him under control. But Greg had clearly succeeded in stirring up his emotions. If Gabriel stayed there, he would probably keep causing trouble and influencing other people.
Let Gabriel accompany the escort to Rock Fortress?
Calista narrowed her eyes as she thought it over.
Actually, that wasn't a bad idea.
Bringing this excessively compassionate priest onto her own turf would make him easier to straighten out, and it would also keep him from giving Rick more headaches at the prison.
Better yet, she could hand him over to the Defense Force and put him through an intensive training course. Turn him into a combat priest as quickly as possible.
And if he absolutely refused to behave, she could send him to a production line in the industrial district. Let him watch everyone else clock out on time while he worked from nine in the morning until nine at night, six days a week. Then he wouldn't have any energy left to stir up trouble.
The problem was that this would completely ruin her original plan.
She couldn't exactly silence Gabriel along with Greg.
She wasn't some homicidal maniac. Gabriel might be infuriatingly naive, but he hadn't done anything deserving of death. He was still a member of the community, and his potential later on was considerable.
She needed a new plan, one that would get rid of Greg while also teaching Gabriel a lesson he wouldn't forget.
Calista turned her gaze toward the window. A few seconds later, she spoke into the radio.
"Rick, tell Gabriel I've approved his request.
"On humanitarian grounds, I'll allow him to accompany the group as spiritual support until they reach Rock Fortress. Afterward, he'll remain at Rock Fortress.
"But he must obey every order Captain Zhou gives him without exception. He is not to interfere with the escort for any reason. If he agrees to those terms, tell him to get ready and leave with the group."
Rick breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't understand why Calista had agreed, but at least it settled the argument in front of him.
"All right, Calista. I'll tell him."
Two days later, Zhou and the other three set out with the tattooed madman, Greg, and the priest who had invited himself along.
Because of the extra passenger, they took a modified cargo van fitted with four rows of seats.
Zhou sat in the front passenger seat while Murphy drove.
Leon sat in the second row beside the tattooed madman, whose eyes remained dull and empty.
Leslie and Greg occupied the third row. Greg looked pale, his body slightly hunched, his gaze lowered. Every now and then, he glanced out the window.
Gabriel sat alone in the last row, his feelings complicated.
Part of him felt uneasy about reaching Rock Fortress and meeting the cold commander he had heard so much about.
At the same time, when he looked at the madman and Greg in front of him, he felt nothing but compassion and a strong sense of responsibility to protect them.
Before they had even departed, Gabriel had quietly whispered a short prayer beside the madman's ear, though the man hadn't reacted at all. To Greg, he offered a reassuring look.
The first part of the journey was unusually peaceful.
Zhou's plan was to cover as much distance as possible during daylight and stop for the night before dusk.
Their first rest point was a gas station about five hours from the prison, situated on the edge of an open stretch of rolling hills. It offered excellent visibility, with a small hill behind it that made the location easier to defend. The building itself was simple, with few places where walkers could hide.
They arrived in the afternoon.
Everyone got out to inspect the vehicle, rest, and rotate guard duty.
Greg and the tattooed madman were allowed out for some fresh air, under Leon and Leslie's close supervision, of course.
Gabriel climbed out as well and stretched his stiff limbs.
When he spotted Greg, he couldn't help moving a little closer.
"The ride's been rough. Are you doing all right?"
Greg looked up and licked his dry, cracked lips.
"I'm okay. Thank you, Father. It's just a little stuffy in there."
Without making it obvious, his eyes quickly swept across the surroundings.
Open ground. Woods and hills in the distance. An old dirt road running behind the gas station.
His heartbeat quickened slightly.
Was this an opportunity?
The thought of escape spread through his mind like a poisonous weed.
Just then, Zhou and Murphy finished checking the van's tires and walked over, stopping not far from Greg and Gabriel. Their conversation carried clearly through the air.
"Murphy, check behind that little rise to the southeast," Zhou said. "I thought I saw something reflecting light. Might just be scrap metal, but stay alert."
"Copy."
Murphy glanced in that direction, then casually added, "We're only a little over half a day's walk from the prison. This is still near the edge of our regular patrol zone. Probably nothing to worry about."
Zhou looked down at the map in his hands.
"This area's been cleared before, but there are always a few walkers that slip through. We're still too close to the prison. It's not clean enough."
A little over half a day's walk from the prison.
Still near the edge of their routine patrol area.
The idea that had just started forming in Greg's mind was instantly doused in ice water.
For a search team familiar with the terrain, catching a weakened fugitive like him after half a day's walk would be effortless.
Worse, this place was still within the prison's normal patrol range.
A patrol could pass through at any time.
Even if Greg somehow managed to shake his escorts and disappear into the hills or woods, there was no chance he could escape the search perimeter once the prison's armed personnel started hunting for him.
He didn't need much imagination to know what would happen if he were caught and dragged back.
Right now, he was only under observation and isolation.
If he tried to run and got captured...
"Why did you run? Feeling guilty about something? You must be dangerous. Bang!"
Greg forcibly crushed the urge to escape.
He drew his eyes away from the distant dirt road, lowered his gaze again, and edged a little closer to Gabriel.
Gabriel noticed all of it.
Naturally, he interpreted Greg's movement as a sign that the young believer trusted him as a priest.
He stepped half a pace closer in return, subtly placing himself in a protective position beside Greg.
"Don't worry, Greg. It's safe here."
For the remainder of the rest period, Greg behaved exceptionally well.
He obediently remained in the area assigned to him, drank the water Gabriel handed him, and idly picked through small stones on the ground.
He even began asking Gabriel simple questions about the Bible and forgiveness, as though he were genuinely a lost soul searching for spiritual guidance.
Gabriel was delighted.
He patiently answered every question and grew even more convinced that Greg was good at heart, merely frightened and traumatized by what he had endured.
By evening, the group settled down for the night inside the repair garage behind the gas station.
Gabriel insisted on sleeping near Greg, supposedly so he could "keep an eye on him."
Zhou didn't object.
He simply arranged more frequent watch rotations.
During the night, Gabriel heard Greg murmuring in his sleep, begging God for forgiveness and protection.
That only strengthened Gabriel's belief in Greg's sincerity and devotion.
A deep sense of satisfaction settled over him.
He truly felt that he was carrying out God's will by guiding a wounded soul back toward the light.
As for Zhou and the others' strict methods of handling the prisoners, Gabriel privately disapproved.
If anything, it only strengthened his determination to accompany Greg all the way to Rock Fortress and make sure he was treated fairly.