[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 561 - Listening In on the Cerberus's Thoughts

Jill swallowed and turned to look at Leon.

"You call this a full recovery?"

"With that kind of strength, she could shatter a mutant with a single punch."

Leon gave a casual shrug.

"Don't be jealous."

"She just got lucky and crossed the threshold ahead of everyone else."

He looked between Chris and Jill.

"Once William and Rebekah finish developing the safe version of the enhancement serum, I'll get everyone up to that level eventually."

"When that day comes, every last one of Umbrella's bioweapons will be trash in front of a squad of superhumans."

Chris felt it hit him somewhere in the chest. He slapped his thigh hard.

"If that day actually comes — god, that would be something. We'd literally be superhumans."

Ashley shook out her wrists and walked back to Leon's side.

She was very satisfied with her new strength.

If danger came again, she would never be the one hiding behind somebody else's back.

Just then.

Three dusty shapes came shuffling in from across the yard. Slow. Heavy.

Bruce, Max, and Sam.

These three mutant dogs normally owned the place. The Patrol Squad gave them a wide berth on principle. But right now something was clearly wrong with all of them.

Their coats, normally sleek and glossy, had gone dull and flat. Their steps were unsteady, bodies swaying with each stride.

Bruce led the way, his big head hanging low. Even his tail, the one he usually carried so proudly, was tucked between his legs. Max and Sam looked even worse, too wilted to manage so much as a whimper.

They shuffled up to Leon's feet and dropped straight to the ground.

Bruce pressed his big head against Leon's trouser leg and let out a low, pitiful whine.

"What happened to them?"

Chris looked at Bruce, the dog's frame was easily the size of a small calf.

"They're heroes. Both of them."

Leon crouched down and scrubbed his palm roughly over Bruce's head a couple of times.

"To save Ashley, Candice drew a lot of blood from all three of them." He paused. "You could say they were nearly bled dry."

"They're very weak right now."

He straightened up and waved toward Dawn, who was logging inventory not far off.

Dawn trotted over immediately.

"What do you need?"

"Go to the livestock pen and bring a live pig. Fattest one they've got."

Leon pointed at the three dogs on the ground.

"Give our heroes a proper reward. Bring it over live and let them dig in."

"Understood. I'll handle it right now."

Ashley looked at the three mutant dogs, left in this state because of her. Something welled up inside her that she couldn't quite name.

She crouched down in front of Bruce and reached out, stroking the coarse, stiff mane along his neck.

Bruce lifted his eyelids and glanced at her. He didn't pull away. Instead he stretched out his tongue and licked the back of her hand.

Ashley's hand went still.

Her eyes went distant. Her brow furrowed slightly, like she was straining to catch something no one else could hear.

"They're saying..." she murmured, "...their heads feel really dizzy."

She turned and looked at Leon.

"Also, Max says he doesn't want pork. He thinks it's too fatty."

"And Sam says she wants beef — bloody, big cuts. She says she could eat an entire cow."

Leon went quiet for a second.

Chris and Jill looked at each other.

"Are you hearing things, girl?"

"They can't talk."

Leon stood up. "Look, those three do have high intelligence. They understand everyday commands just fine — tell them to go bite someone, they'll go bite someone. That's not the same thing."

"I think you need more rest."

Ashley shook her head.

Her expression was dead serious. More than that, certain.

"No, Leon. It's completely different."

She pointed at her own head.

"I'm not guessing at what they mean. I actually heard it. In my head. Clear as anything."

She looked over at Sam.

"Sam says her left hind leg is cramping."

Leon's eyes narrowed.

He walked over to Sam, crouched down, and pressed his fingers into her left hind leg.

Sam flinched with a sharp, reflexive shudder. A pained whine rose from her throat and she jerked the leg back.

Everything lined up exactly.

Even Jill wasn't composed after that. She walked over and crouched beside Ashley.

"You can communicate with animals?"

Leon's mind was already moving fast.

This was not ordinary telepathy.

Ashley had swallowed the Solar Stairway petals, and not long ago she had merged with his specially crafted control source. Solar Stairway already carried an extremely strong biological-link property on its own. Had the two things combined inside her and triggered something unexpected? Had that actually given her cross-species communication?

Or was it the Cerberus blood samples? Something changing inside her body on a deeper level?

And the most important question of all, could this be replicated?

The value this girl represented right now was more terrifying than an entire armed squad.

"Can you hear other animals?" Leon kept his eyes fixed on her. "Birds farther away, or... Walkers?"

Ashley closed her eyes and concentrated.

After a moment, she opened them and shook her head.

"I can't reach anything too far off."

"And the Walkers..." she hesitated. "There's only noise. Completely chaotic. Nothing but hunger for flesh and blood. No actual thoughts at all."

"But..."

Her gaze crossed the high wall and drifted toward the Leech Moat.

"I can feel the big one."

The Tyrant's position.

"What's it thinking?"

Chris couldn't hold back.

"Something very simple."

Ashley stood up and brushed the dust off her hands.

"It's just moving rocks. Over and over."

Leon broke into a grin.

An unexpected windfall.

Ashley hadn't become a burden. She had turned into a beast tamer. If they ran into swarms of mutants down the road, with her there, direct communication might be possible, maybe even turning them against each other.

While the group was still gathered around the dogs, talking through Ashley's new ability, Dawn pulled up in a pickup truck from the livestock pen.

In the truck bed, an iron cage held a white pig weighing well over 200 pounds.

The pig had caught the scent of the mutant dogs. It was slamming itself against the bars in a frenzy, shrieking.

The instant Bruce, Max, and Sam heard it, they were on their feet.

Every trace of weakness, gone.

6 eyes locked onto the back of the pickup. Drool hit the dirt.

Leon kicked Bruce lightly.

"Go eat. Plenty for everyone."

The three dogs launched forward.

Ashley watched them hit the cage and turned back to Leon with a look.

"Max was just complaining in my head that the pig was too fatty." A beat. "Now he's saying it smells incredible."

Chris shook his head slowly.

"In this world, even dogs say one thing and mean another."

Leon listened to the tearing and snarling from the direction of the truck for a moment.

Then he looked away.

"Let's go."

He turned to Chris and Jill.

"Everyone's worked hard this past few days."

"Tonight we hold a welcome gathering."

"And it's time to set the tone for what comes next."

➤ Next: A Playful Impulse