NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: In Depth (Part 3)
Due to the lack of electricity, the interior of the prison was very dark, but this didn't bother anyone. With flashlights on their weapons and in their hands, illumination wasn't a problem as they walked through the hallways.
Not long after entering, they arrived at a spacious hall without encountering any obstacles.
The place was truly a mess. The situation on the upper floor was temporarily unknown, but it appeared to be some kind of warning room, while the lower floor was filled with overturned tables and chairs, large amounts of trash on the ground, and a thick layer of dust covering everything.
Upon stepping inside, Jason scanned his surroundings as he slowly and silently moved forward with the others. He took in the environment, breathing in that mixture of dust and dampness.
Daryl walked toward the iron door leading to the cells. He shook it forcefully, only to find that it was locked. Turning his head, he whispered, "It's locked. We need to find the key to get in."
Everyone spread out and began searching the room. After a while, they heard Felipe's voice coming from the guardroom on the second floor.
"I found it!"
Jason rushed up to the second floor, looked at Felipe, and walked toward him at the guardroom. He saw Felipe looking hesitant to enter, so he leaned in to take a look and immediately recalled this scene upon seeing the guard sitting inside the small room.
A corpse was slumped in the chair, its head completely tilted back, motionless. Looking at it from the front, it was impossible to tell whether it was a walker or just a corpse, while the keys hung from its waist.
Even though he vaguely remembered that this guard was completely dead, Jason still moved cautiously. He slowly extended his hand, took the keys from the guard's waist, and also grabbed the guard's gun.
Turning around, Jason looked at Felipe and handed him the weapon. "We can't leave anything behind. Keep that gun. The guard is just a corpse, and we need to clean it up."
With that, Jason headed down the stairs, the keys in his hand. Felipe, on the other hand, swallowed hard. He had come because he heard that Guillermo was injured, but he never expected to end up in a place like this.
Now that Jason had the keys, the rest of the problem could be easily solved. The prison was filled with iron doors and bars. Without saying a word, even before stepping inside, their priorities were clear. Without hesitation, they entered the first section.
When Jason unlocked the barred door, to everyone's surprise, there were very few walkers in the cells. Even on the first floor, not a single walker was found—only one or two corpses lay on the ground, each with a bullet wound to the head.
It was more than clear that everyone here had been killed. Most were likely eliminated before they could turn into walkers.
After opening the second floor, Jason and the others finally found a few walkers inside some of the cells. However, since the doors were completely shut, Rick and the others easily took them down.
"There are twelve cells in this unit, and each room can hold two to three people, meaning a maximum of about thirty people per unit."
Hearing this, Jason looked at the cells and said, "With some partitions in the hallway, this unit could hold around fifty people."
Rick examined the cell layout and was pleasantly surprised—this place was more than perfect for living.
"No, let's count two people per room. This unit can accommodate twenty-four people. Our current group needs more space than this, but it'll work if we expand our area. Let's keep moving!"
Jason's plan was to check the entire place first, making sure not to leave as many unsealed gaps as in the original story, which had led to countless problems later on.
Additionally, the large amount of resources he had needed to be transported to this prison, leaving nothing behind. Therefore, every corner of this place would be useful.
Jason opened the next door and stepped into the hallway. He noticed that this passage was much darker due to the power outages and that this area was a deeper part of the prison. He extended his hand to stop several people carrying shields and signaled to Glenn.
"Give me that bag!"
After taking a backpack from Glenn, Jason pulled out a dozen pistols and silencers, then turned to everyone and said, "The next step is crucial. We need to observe carefully in a tight, confined space. Not all of us can go in right now."
"For now, we need a small team. Rick, Glenn, Daryl, Morgan, we'll carry weapons while T-Dog holds a shield. We'll move forward, while the rest will follow Shane. He'll be in charge of checking blind spots and ensuring everything is clear inside."
"Remember to only do what you can. Don't rush in if things get bad," Rick reminded his friend.
Shane nodded and called for the others to move to another area. Jason turned his head and noticed that neither Maggie nor Otis had gone with Shane. He was momentarily surprised and said in a low voice, "What are you two doing? Get out! Wait outside with the others."
"Glenn's not leaving, and I'm not leaving!" Maggie seemed stubborn. Glenn kept trying to convince her to go, but she wouldn't move, gripping Glenn's hand and looking at Jason, unwilling to leave.
Otis, standing behind her, looked even more confused. When did I get dragged into the frontlines? At this moment, if he really didn't leave, he was surely going to die.
Seeing Maggie's serious expression, Jason looked at Glenn again and simply said, "You're too kind. If anything happens, you'll have to answer to Hershel."
Glenn nodded, clearly much less enthusiastic than before. Jason shook his head helplessly and could only motion for the others to head out.
The passage ahead was completely dark, with half-open doors on either side. The wide corridor could only accommodate about four people at a time.
Morgan and T-Dog stood at the front with their shields raised, while the others slowly advanced behind them.
Unlike everyone else, Jason pointed out that every body on the ground that wasn't moving had to be secured, even if it made their progress slower. The search would be much more detailed this way.
Once every cell, every floor, and every walker was secured, the area would be much safer for the others to clean up without risk.
As a result, one could imagine how much slower their progress was. Fortunately, this ensured complete coverage. Jason would rather spend twice as much time investigating than lose good subordinates under his command.
Every cell and room in the prison corridor was carefully checked by several people. The corpses on the ground were stabbed to make sure they wouldn't get up. However, the few walkers inside the cells and rooms began to unsettle the group. There hadn't been any walkers for a while—where were they? The answer was clear: outside their cells and rooms.
As the group reached a corner, the beam of their flashlights illuminated rotting faces. They saw a horde of walkers densely packed around a door.
Stimulated by the light and sound, the walkers turned and started moving toward Jason and the others.
"Down!"
As soon as T-Dog and Morgan heard Jason's roar, both of them, who were in the front row, immediately slammed their shields onto the ground. Using their bodies for cover, they positioned their shields and flashlights, aiming them at the approaching walkers, illuminating the front.
Just before the walkers could reach Jason, he and the others opened fire.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
One by one, bullets pierced the heads of the undead in the first row, and the entire team fired simultaneously.
Bang! Bang!
The deafening gunfire filled the corridor with suffocating tension. Luckily, Jason had given everyone suppressed weapons, so only muffled shots could be heard as they shattered the walkers' skulls.
The first row of walkers collapsed to the ground with a dull thud, followed by the second row.
After the first two rows of undead fell, their bodies created an obstacle. The walkers in the back piled up, pushing against those in front. Some tripped over the corpses littering the ground.
Jason shouted, "Focus on the ones in the back—leave the fallen ones to me!"
Without hesitation, Jason concentrated on dealing with the walkers on the ground. Even though everyone's aim had improved to some extent, they were still inefficient at handling so many walkers attacking from multiple directions.
Even though Jason was the only one dealing with the fallen walkers, their numbers were anything but low. His speed and precision were unmatched, and his reload timing was so fast that, throughout the entire encounter, not a single walker managed to get close to his position.