The team continued through the laboratory's increasingly complex network of corridors.
The signs became clearer here, pointing toward various functional areas: "Sample Preprocessing," "Data Analysis Core," and "Biological Containment Observation Area."
The rescue team passed several rooms. Through the observation windows, they could see overturned equipment and dried stains everywhere, but there were no signs of walkers or mutants moving inside.
After rounding another corner, they entered a wider corridor. At the far end stood an open hatch marked "Secondary Security Monitoring Room."
Faint voices drifted out from within.
"...Damn it! That's why you should've listened to me! You should've shot through that main support pipe and brought the passage down. Instead, you just stood there like an idiot and burned through three whole magazines!"
The impatient, furious voice belonged to Merle.
"Moron! If we'd brought the pipe down, we could've been buried too. It also would've sealed off our only way back," Daryl snapped.
"Fuck the way back! Do we even have one now? We're trapped in here, and the place outside is crawling with those disgusting, man-eating freaks! Can those crossbow bolts of yours even punch through their shells?"
Merle's voice rose sharply.
"Still better than tossing grenades around and nearly blowing Leah off the platform."
Daryl's reply remained flat, but it struck exactly where it hurt.
"Fuck you!"
"Enough, Merle. Daryl. Stop arguing. If you still have that much energy, go search for another way out!"
Leah rubbed her temples wearily, cutting off the Dixon brothers' argument.
Merle stood in the middle of the room, his face flushed and his anger still plainly visible.
Daryl stood in one corner. After Leah spoke, he fell silent somewhat sheepishly and glared at Merle.
Carver reached the doorway first and knocked on the open frame.
The monitoring room fell silent at once. Several weapons swung toward the entrance, only to lower again the moment their owners recognized him.
The room was small and crowded with dark surveillance monitors. Eleven figures sat or leaned around the space.
When Calista stepped in close behind Carver, the argument seemed to fade into the background.
Every eye turned toward her. Surprise came first, followed by an explosion of disbelief, joy, and excitement.
"Commander?!"
"Calista! How did you..."
Calista saw only the figure leaning against the control console.
Her sister, Leah.
Leah saw her at almost the same moment.
"Cali?"
Her voice caught in her throat, barely loud enough to hear.
She straightened abruptly and stumbled two steps forward, reaching out as though she wanted to grab Calista and make sure she was not a hallucination brought on by exhaustion and stress.
Calista reacted just as quickly.
"Leah!"
She rushed forward, opened her arms, and pulled her sister into a tight embrace.
The force of it knocked Leah back half a step, but she immediately hugged Calista in return, buried her face against her sister's neck, and drew a deep breath.
"When communications went down and those monsters surrounded us... I thought... I thought we weren't going to get out."
Leah's muffled voice broke off. She could not continue. She only held Calista tighter, her body trembling beyond her control.
"I'm fine, Leah. I'm fine," Calista repeated softly. "We're here. We're all here."
Maya, Bossie, Jenson, and the others filed in behind her.
The monitoring room erupted with the lively commotion of reunited comrades.
"Bossie! Jenson!"
Mike was the first to rush over, thumping both men hard on the chest.
Turner punched Ethan in the shoulder with considerable force. Ethan grinned and punched him back.
"Leon! Mikey!"
Wells and Jonathan slammed shoulders with Leon and Mikey. No words were necessary.
Even Honeywell, who had been rather timid before, naturally began to relax in the warmth of the reunion, despite no one saying anything directly to him.
Michonne came over as well and hugged Calista. Her gaze lingered on Calista's face for a moment, confirming that she was unharmed, before she smiled at Maya, her team leader.
The anger on Merle's face vanished, replaced by surprise and relief.
He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something, but then his eyes met Calista's calm expression. Remembering that she had probably overheard his ridiculous argument with Daryl, he merely scratched his head and stepped back awkwardly.
Calista did not waste time on small talk. She swept her gaze across the task force members, checking their condition.
Seeing her sister shift back into command mode, Leah composed herself and quickly reported, "After entering the laboratory area, we conducted a rough search of this section.
"This is the secondary monitoring and sample analysis zone. It's relatively secure, with an independent backup air circulation system and emergency power.
"The exits leading outside are sealed by high-level electronic access controls or physical barriers. We've tried bypassing several of them, but progress has been slow.
"Did you run into Anderson and Frank?"
Calista opened her mouth with difficulty.
"They... We marked their locations. Once the mission is complete, we'll bring them back."
Leah's expression dimmed. She did not press for details. Instead, she patted Calista's shoulder and changed the subject.
"How did you manage to break in? Those things outside..."
"We repaired and activated the large chemical neutralizer detonator you left at the entrance. It threw them into confusion, and we forced our way through," Calista replied briefly.
"We barricaded the door leading in from the multi-level reactor workshop. The situation outside is under control for now, but there are still a lot of Predators. We need to find another way out as soon as possible."
Merle seemed to find a new outlet for his frustration and muttered, "A neutralizer? If we'd managed to set off that big one earlier... Tch. Daryl just had to choose the hardest possible way and nearly got us all killed."
"Merle!"
Leah gave him a warning look, then turned back to Calista.
"It was an emergency.
"Several Predators attacked me at once while I was installing the large detonator on the platform. They destroyed the cable, and two large Predators cut off our retreat.
"Daryl used sustained fire to draw most of their attention, giving me enough time to get around them and make it inside."
She paused, glanced at Daryl, and continued.
"He chose not to damage the main support pipe because it might have compromised the structure or blocked our eventual escape route. Instead, he kept firing to slow the Predators' pursuit.
"It was risky and cost us a lot of ammunition, but it prevented something worse. We didn't bury ourselves along with them."
Hearing Leah defend his decision, Daryl awkwardly rubbed his nose with the back of his hand through his protective suit and said nothing.
"You made the right call, Daryl," Calista said. "Under those conditions, preserving the escape route and getting most of the team out safely had to come first."
Daryl looked at Calista, then stole a glance at Leah before giving a slight nod.
Merle opened his mouth, but in the end, he said nothing. He only raked a hand through his hair in frustration.