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The next morning, Evan jumped down from the fire truck with the Stone Sledgehammer over his shoulder.

He asked Rick to call a full camp meeting. Four people had followed Evan, eight had arrived with Rick, and six came from Greene Farm. With Evan included, every active survivor in the area was there.

"This about the Prison?" Rick asked.

He looked much better than he had the day before.

Greene Farm had no walkers pressing at the fence, no immediate crisis, and everyone in the group was within reach. Rick had slept more deeply than he had in a long time.

More than that, there were more people now.

Strength in numbers was no longer an empty saying. In this patch of Georgia, it was visible in every survivor gathered there.

No one was trying to sabotage the group. Everyone was trying to survive.

"Yes and no," Evan said.

He took over the meeting and drew every eye.

The others looked better too. One night of rest had brought back some of the life they had carried at the Quarry Camp.

"Before we start, I want honest answers to a few questions."

Evan planted the Stone Sledgehammer beside his boot and raised his voice.

"First question. Raise your hand if you've personally driven a blade into a walker's skull."

What kind of question was that?

People were confused, but they answered.

Evan looked around.

"Rick, Glenn, Shane, Daryl, Merle, T-Dog... Maggie too?"

That surprised him. He had not expected Maggie to have killed walkers by hand this early.

Even counting Maggie, only seven people had raised their hands. The other twelve watched in silence.

"Next," Evan said. "Raise your hand if you've killed a walker with a gun."

The people who had already raised their hands kept them up, and a few more joined--Andrea, Dale, and several others from the old Quarry Camp.

Most of the old Quarry Camp had fired on walkers during the first group fight.

The rest still did not raise their hands.

That meant, if walkers appeared right now, only twelve or thirteen people including Evan could fight immediately.

If they needed to stay quiet and avoid drawing more walkers or other survivors, only seven could reliably act.

And among those seven, true specialists like Evan and Daryl were rare.

In this country, most people could fire a gun. That did not mean they were experienced. It did not mean they could hold a line alone.

When real danger arrived, how many would actually move?

The point was obvious.

Under everyone's gaze, he spoke again.

"Everyone here knows I mentioned the Prison."

"Yes, I know where it is. South of here. With enough gas, we could reach it in about a week."

"If we left now, this time next week we might be standing on grass inside the Prison fence, roasting meat and opening a couple of beers to celebrate."

Some faces brightened.

Then Evan poured cold water over the spark he had just lit.

"But this morning, with a clear head, I realized I'd underestimated the problem."

"If we go as we are, we're feeding the walkers inside that place."

"Could we take the Prison? Yes. But we might pay for it with half this group."

"Think about it. One week from now, half the people standing here might be gone."

"Your wives. Your fathers. People you respect. Maybe even your children."

"Can you still smile?"

Evan looked at them plainly and laid out the cost.

In short: they were not ready.

Without Evan, Rick's group should have wandered for months, fighting walkers again and again, before ever finding the Prison.

Even then, they had paid a price to secure it.

Hershel losing a leg. T-Dog being torn apart in the chaos. Lori dying during Judith's delivery, leaving Carl to prevent her from reanimating.

If Shane had still been alive then, would he have let Lori die?

Now Evan was here, and the group was stronger, but were they strong enough to take the Prison easily?

He doubted it.

If the Prison were easy to take, other survivors would have claimed it already, just like the town east of here.

Evan wanted the whole Prison.

And he wanted it without losing a single person.

That would be the group's first true clean victory.

After hearing his analysis, everyone fell silent.

Carol stroked Sophia's hair and looked down at her own hands.

Without Rick and Evan, could she protect her daughter?

If a walker stood right in front of her, could she kill it without panicking?

Watching someone else do a thing ten times was not the same as doing it once yourself.

One by one, people looked down just as Carol did.

'If they've survived this long, there has to be something worth working with.'

Evan relaxed slightly.

"What do you want to do?" Rick asked, stepping closer and lowering his voice.

Daryl and Merle stood behind Evan, one on each side.

"Training," Evan said at once. "Melee weapons, firearms, all of it. Everyone joins. Even the kids."

The answer landed hard, but Evan would rather wake them up now than let them cry only when walkers tore someone apart.

"Are you joking?"

Lori stiffened the moment she heard that the kids were included. She wrapped one arm around Carl's shoulders and held him tight.

Then she looked at Rick.

"I thought this was a democratic group."

"Democratic?"

Evan's voice dropped. He stepped forward, planted the Stone Sledgehammer in the dirt, and fixed Lori with a hard stare. The sudden anger in him silenced the camp. Even Daryl and Merle went still.

"Hey, buddy," Rick said quickly, stepping in before the confrontation went any further. "Get control of yourself. Lori didn't mean it like that."

Evan did not look at him.

His eyes stayed fixed on Lori.

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