The clinic door creaked open, announcing Tillie's arrival. She walked with short steps, holding a small pouch in both hands, the very picture of a harmless old woman.
"Hi, do you need something?" Marielle asked, pausing her sweeping.
"Oh, dear, I came to check on that young man," Tillie said, referring to Brick.
"He woke up this morning." Marielle's shoulders relaxed, relieved to have some good news for a change. "Apparently, he's not in any immediate danger."
She hesitated, her smile fading slightly. "But we can't be sure. Without the right equipment, all we can do is give him pain medication and hope his body does the rest."
"Thank goodness he's alive." Tillie smiled gently. "He's such a young man. He has so much ahead of him."
She glanced around. "Is Kristi here?"
"Yes, she's inside. Do you want me to call her?"
"If you don't mind."
Marielle stepped into the room and soon returned with Kristi, who greeted Tillie before asking,
"How can I help?"
"Well, since you're the local doctor, I thought it would be prudent to give you this," Tillie explained, opening the small pouch.
With slow movements, she took out a small dark glass vial and a sealed syringe, then handed them to the doctor.
Kristi read the label. "Why do you have liquid morphine?"
Tillie's aged face took on a troubled expression, a mixture of resignation and sadness.
Kristi quickly put the pieces together. Liquid morphine wasn't exactly something someone carried around without a serious reason.
It's cancer, she thought.
Her voice softened. "When were you diagnosed?"
"A month ago," Tillie said with a small sigh. "The thing is, by the time I actually need this medicine, I probably won't be able to use it myself."
Kristi gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."
As they talked, Marielle's eyes remained fixed on the vial of morphine, as if the little container held something beyond the obvious.
"Thank you," Tillie said, closing the small pouch. "I hope it doesn't come to that. Maybe that cave they found will finally give us a way out."
"What cave?" Kristi asked, frowning.
"You haven't heard?" Tillie looked surprised. "The others found one. Everyone from Colony House went there to see if it's the one with the exit."
Kristi exchanged a quick glance with Marielle.
The sheriff's plan to keep this a secret had gone down the drain. It had to be the same cave.
"Well, I won't keep you," Tillie said, waving sweetly. "I'll go back to my knitting."
After saying goodbye, as Tillie was about to leave, she fixed her eyes on Marielle.
A brief, strange smile curved her lips before she closed the door.
The two women, busy whispering about the matter, failed to notice it.
…
In front of the cave, the metallic smell of fresh blood mixed with the damp scent of earth.
Daniel finished tying the knots on an improvised stretcher made from thick branches and vines.
He looked at the dark entrance. There was still one man inside, and Daniel knew that, with his speed, he might be able to rescue him before being ambushed.
But he decided not to go in.
Courage had its limits. Those red dots could belong to the same creatures that appeared at night. Or to some other kind of supernatural monster. It was better not to take the risk.
A few yards away, Tabitha hugged Ethan, keeping the boy turned away so he wouldn't see the wounded.
"We need to go back."
Jim hesitated, his gaze shifting from his wife to the cave, as if expecting Boyd to walk out of there at any second. Finally, he looked at his son and nodded.
"You're right. Let's get out of here."
Hearing her parents' conversation, Julie approached Daniel and explained.
"I'm going with them," she said. "If an animal shows up along the way, I can protect them."
Daniel studied his girlfriend's expression.
The training the two of them had been doing was no joke, and he trusted her abilities, at least when it came to dealing with non-supernatural threats.
He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Be careful. Keep an eye on the trees, and if anything happens, don't hesitate to shoot."
"I got this," she assured him, turning to follow her parents and younger brother.
The Matthews family's departure set off a chain reaction. Several residents began retreating toward the town.
"I knew this was going to go to shit," grumbled a middle-aged man, adjusting his glasses. "This was never going to get us anywhere." He tried unsuccessfully to sound more irritated than disappointed.
"There's no way out." Another man shook his head. "It's just another trap in this damn place."
"Don't be like that," a woman nearby countered uncertainly. "Maybe it's just not the right cave..."
Daniel pressed his lips together. Denial was a dangerous drug.
After finishing the makeshift stretcher, Jon—who was in worse condition—was placed onto it.
Daniel studied the man's face, his skin gray and his lips blue.
Judging by the severity of the wound and the amount of blood that had already soaked through the makeshift bandages, he doubted Jon would survive.
Two volunteers grabbed the ends of the branches and lifted Jon. Two more joined them to take turns whenever someone grew tired.
Donna took the lead, giving instructions. "Come on, quickly, but watch out for logs and holes."
A few minutes later, Kenny finished the other stretcher.
With the priest's help, Daniel placed Brandon, the second injured man, on it.
The man's face was a grotesque patchwork, a nasty cut running from his forehead to his chin.
He had probably lost an eye, but his vital signs appeared stable.
The scar would be horrifying, but it wouldn't kill him. At least, that was what Daniel thought.
Kenny positioned himself at the other end of the stretcher. "Ready?"
"Yes," Daniel replied curtly.
They made their way through the forest in silence.
As they passed in front of the diner, Tian-Chen and Sara, who had remained in town, stepped out of the establishment with tense expressions.
They did not approach, however. They simply stood on the porch, watching.
…
Kristi, Marielle, and Donna were waiting outside the clinic.
As soon as they saw them, they guided Kenny and Daniel inside, leading them to one of the empty beds.
They carefully laid Brandon down.
After checking his vital signs, Marielle began cleaning the man's face with gauze while Kristi assessed the extent of his injuries.
Donna called the two of them outside.
Kenny, panting, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist. "What about Jon? How is he?"
"He didn't make it," Donna replied with a sigh. "He died on the way back. His body is at the church. They're digging a grave for him."
An overwhelming silence filled the reception area.
The deputy clenched his fists, frustration spilling over. "I'm going back to the forest," he announced, adjusting the holster at his waist.
Father Khatri, Ellis, and a few others had stayed behind to search the woods around the area.
If the sheriff and the rest of the group hadn't made it out through that entrance, they might have found adjacent tunnels.
Leaning against the doorframe, Daniel said nothing, but he didn't share the same optimism.
To him, Brandon was probably the only survivor, and with any luck, the sheriff was still alive too.
The creatures seemed to have a special fondness for him in the show—always seeming to enjoy tormenting him in their own sadistic way.
When Kristi stepped out of the room, she didn't wait for anyone to ask.
"He's going to be fine. He didn't suffer any significant blood loss or take a blow to the head."
They all breathed a sigh of relief. At least that was one piece of good news.
Kenny said his awkward goodbyes, and just as Daniel was about to leave as well, Kristi told him that Brick had woken up and wanted to speak with him.
Daniel agreed, and she led him to another room.
When Brick saw Daniel, his eyes lit up and he began thanking him.
"If you hadn't shown up, I would've died trapped in that place."
Daniel waved a hand dismissively. "No big deal. I'm just glad you're okay."
He saw no reason to turn it into some grand heroic act.
Saving someone when he was capable of doing so without putting Julie at risk wasn't exactly a sacrifice.
After saying goodbye, Daniel left the clinic. As he passed the Matthews family's house, he went inside, but no one was home.
Julie and her parents hadn't returned there.
They're probably at Colony House, he deduced.
Daniel unlocked the motorhome. The familiar interior of the Apocalypse Express welcomed him.
He started the vehicle and maneuvered it a few yards toward the town pool.
The depression that had been filled with stormwater was now dry. The drain had done its job.
Beside it lay the wreck of an old, overturned car, corroded by rust and threatening to fall into the pool at the slightest push.
Daniel got out, opened the rear compartment, and took out a sturdy tow rope.
He attached it to the rusty axle of the wreck.
The sound of scraping metal echoed loudly through the silent area as the car tipped over, settling back onto all four wheels.
Hearing the noise, Kenny, who had been telling his mother and Sara what had happened, stepped out of the diner.
"What are you doing, Daniel?" the deputy asked as he approached.
"Just wanted to make the place look a little less like a ghost town." He nodded toward the car. "That thing looks like a poster from a crappy horror movie."
Kenny stared at him in shock.
With everything that's happening, he's worried about that?
He eventually gave up trying to understand Daniel.
The day was already hellish enough, and he had more important things to worry about.
"Do whatever you want," Kenny finally said. "Just... don't cause too much damage. I don't need any more trouble to deal with today."
"Will do," Daniel assured, before slowly accelerating.
The rope stretched taut under the strain. The motorhome began dragging the wreck toward a more secluded area.
An hour later, the area was clear and orderly.
On the way, he passed Mike's garage and picked up some metal rods and steel cables.
He pretended to store everything in the motorhome, but as soon as he was alone, he transferred them into his Inventory.
In exchange for the materials, he left some of the weed the mechanic had enjoyed so much.
After parking in its usual spot, Daniel sat down on the couch, lit a joint, and took a long drag.
He browsed through the series catalog and stopped at The Walking Dead, but decided not to risk it in case Julie found out he'd continued watching without her.
He hit play on Breaking Bad.
The sun was still high in the sky, indicating that there were still a few hours before Daniel could put his plan into action.
If it worked, he would finally be able to kill one of those smiling creatures.
Just imagining how many points he would get filled him with an almost childish excitement.
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