[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 577 - Return

Lilly looked at Claire, hesitating for a moment.

"We can take you with us," Lilly said.

Claire's eyes lit up.

"Really?"

"But..."

Lilly's tone shifted, her expression going deadly serious.

"We only just met today."

"You took down that psycho in the basement, that tells me you're not rotten. But it doesn't mean I can fully trust you."

Lilly had always kept her guard up.

"I can't just hand you the exact location of that camp."

"It's the last hope my family has."

"If you change your mind halfway, or you show up there with some other agenda and burn it down... we'd have nowhere left to go."

"I understand." Claire cut her off.

Claire was a smart person.

In this world, trusting people too easily got you killed.

What Lilly was doing wasn't just reasonable, it proved she was exactly the kind of mother and survivor she needed to be.

If she'd carelessly laid everything out without a second thought, Claire would have started wondering if it was a setup.

"As long as you can guarantee that place is genuinely safe, I'll go with you." Claire's voice was sincere.

"Honestly, as long as Sherry can get in, that's enough."

She reached out and touched Sherry's hair.

"I can't drag her around the whole world looking for my brother."

"That's not fair to her. And it's too dangerous."

"I want to get her somewhere she can actually sleep at night."

Claire looked up at Lilly.

"Once we get there and I know she's safe, I'll leave. I still have my own things to take care of."

Tara looked the girl in the red leather jacket over again.

Bold. Capable. And she actually had principles.

People like that were rarer than pandas these days.

"You sure about this?" Tara asked.

"Your brother might already be... uh, I mean — it's all living dead out there."

"Going it alone is too dangerous."

"The place we're talking about is decent. If you're willing to stay and pull your weight, they'd take you in for sure. Might even help you track him down, you never know."

Claire smiled a little.

"Don't worry. My brother isn't the type who dies easy." She patted the revolver at her hip.

"Until I see his body with my own eyes, I'm not giving up. As for not wanting to be a burden, I can take care of myself."

"Owing people is too hard to pay back. I don't want to spend the rest of my life tethered to someone because of it."

The tension in Lilly's shoulders finally eased a fraction.

"Alright." Lilly nodded.

"We've got an understanding. Strap that motorcycle to the roof rack and get inside. The Walkers on the streets right now are too fast, a motorcycle is no match for a car."

"Deal." Claire extended her hand.

Lilly hesitated a beat, then took it.

The apocalypse's improvised contract, sealed just that casually.

No documents. No signatures. Nothing but gut instinct and a read on each other's bottom line.

Tara turned the key, and the engine roared back to life.

"Hold on, everyone." Tara gripped the steering wheel and shifted into gear.

"We're moving out."

"I want to get there before dark."

"I am not playing bumper cars with Walkers on the highway in the middle of the night."

Claire's red motorcycle was lashed tight to the roof rack with thick rope, and the van rolled south down the empty highway.

Inside.

Sherry leaned against Claire's arm, her eyelids going heavy. The crash after extreme tension had wrung her dry.

Claire shifted her posture, letting Sherry settle in more comfortably.

"We've come this far, can you at least tell me what the place is called?" Claire asked, casual.

"No name." Tara turned the wheel.

"Used to be a prison, though. Not too far."

A prison.

Claire turned the word over in her head.

A place that once kept criminals locked inside, now a paradise keeping monsters locked outside.

This world really had a way with irony.

Lilly added, "Don't rush. Once you get there, you'll understand what safety actually feels like."

"Did they mention any requirements?" Claire asked suddenly.

"A place like that doesn't take in survivors for free."

"Do you have to hand over supplies, or is there some kind of test?"

"Seems like it's just work." Tara picked it up.

"The person in charge said he doesn't keep idle hands. As long as you're willing to put in the effort — scavenging runs, wall construction, whatever needs doing — you get food and safety in return."

"Fair trade," Claire said.

More than fair, honestly. In the apocalypse, this was practically sainthood.

Most people didn't have the nerve to run things this way.

Decent person? You're in. No conditions attached.

Didn't matter if you were strong or weak. Nobody got turned away based on what they could fight. Everyone kept doing what they were best at, and if you didn't have a specialty yet, you learned one until you did.

Claire had no problem with that model.

Labor for the right to live. Even if it ground you down to nothing, it beat empty promises every time.

In the back seat, Meghan scooted over next to Sherry.

"What's your name?" Meghan asked quietly.

Sherry rubbed her eyes, still half-dazed.

"Sherry. You?"

"Meghan." The little girl held out the candy in her hand. "Do you want some? My mom said once we get to the big house, there'll be hot soup."

Sherry looked at the candy and swallowed.

She picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Her fingers closed around the silver pendant on her chest.

That man had been a psychotic liar. But maybe he'd gotten one thing right.

Her father might really already be gone.

Otherwise, why hadn't he come for her? After all this time?

Claire caught the shift in Sherry's mood.

She reached out and pulled the thin girl close.

"Don't be afraid, Sherry." Her voice was gentle.

"I'll get you somewhere safe. The bad people and the monsters won't be able to touch you anymore."

"And you'll have a lot of people around you there."

Sherry looked up at the red-haired woman beside her.

In this broken world, she thought maybe she'd finally found something to hold onto.

The road ahead grew harder to work through.

Wrecked vehicles on both sides. Some with their doors hanging open, sun-dried skeletons still visible inside.

Tara eased off the gas.

"Finally." She pressed the brake.

A heavy truck lay overturned across the road. The trailer spanned both lanes, sealing the route completely.

A few wandering Walkers heard the engine and turned.

"Do we need to get out and clear them?" Claire drew the revolver from her hip.

"No need." Lilly smiled.

"Just wait. Someone will come take care of it."

➤ Next: Sherry Walks Right Into His Hands