The sight of six unknown survivors actively scavenging near the wreckage of the M1 Abrams tank sent a fresh wave of tension through the small team on Harrison's rooftop. Daryl remained crouched, binoculars pressed to his eyes, tracking their movements. Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Ethan gathered beside him, peering down at the distant figures several blocks away.
"They don't look military," Glenn observed quietly. "Gear's all mismatched. Civilians, like us."
"Six of 'em, though," T-Dog added, his voice uneasy. "And they're armed, even if it's just melee from what I can see. Don't know if they're friendly."
Rick's mind was clearly racing. Their primary objectives were Merle and the lost guns. This new group was an unknown variable, a potential threat, or, just possibly, a source of information or even aid – though that last was a dangerous hope in this world.
"They haven't spotted us," Rick said, his voice low. "And they're a good distance away for now. But they're between us and any straight path out of this area if we go street level to get those guns from the alley."
Ethan focused his own Perception, aided by his System, on the distant group.
[System scan (Distant Human Group): 6 individuals confirmed. Current activity: Scavenging vehicles, focused. Armament: Visible melee weapons (pipes, bats), at least two individuals appear to have holstered sidearms. Behavior: Coordinated, cautious, appear experienced. No overt signs of immediate hostility towards environment, but vigilance level is high. They are currently unaware of Host's group.]
"They look like they know what they're doing," Ethan commented, careful to frame his System's analysis as an observation. "Not panicked. Moving together. They could be trouble if we stumble into them unprepared."
Daryl lowered his binoculars. "So what's the play, Rick? We still need to figure a way down to that damn alley for the guns. And Merle… if he somehow made it off this roof, he could be anywhere. Could even run into them." The thought clearly troubled him.
"We need a better vantage point on that alley first," Rick decided. "And we need to know if those new people are moving towards us, or away. We can't risk getting caught between them and the geeks when we go for the guns." He looked around the rooftop. "The west parapet gives us the best view of the gun alley, but it's exposed. The north side here gives us eyes on those new survivors and the streets Merle might have taken if he went east."
They were still trapped on a high rooftop, with limited options for descent that wouldn't immediately plunge them into a walker-filled street. The chained main access door to Stairwell A behind them was a constant, grim reminder of their precarious perch and Merle's desperate act. The Morales-Variant was also an unaccounted-for threat, potentially still within the building.
[System reminder: Morales-Variant (Walker - Type Alpha) current status and location within Harrison's: Unknown. High probability it is still active within the building. Proceed with extreme caution if attempting internal descent.]
"Alright," Rick said after a moment of tense silence, his gaze sweeping from the distant group back to their immediate surroundings. "New plan. Daryl, you keep an eye on those scavengers. Signal us if they make any move towards this building or look like they're heading south in our direction. Glenn, Ethan, let's re-examine that chained door to Stairwell A. T-Dog, you're on lookout for any walkers trying to find a new way onto this roof."
The thought of going back down through Harrison's was terrifying, but it was also their most direct route to potentially control their descent to street level, or at least to a lower, more manageable floor from which they could attempt to reach the alley with the guns.
Ethan, Rick, and Glenn approached the heavy steel door T-Dog had chained. The silence from the stairwell beyond was still deeply unsettling.
"If Merle went down this way, he would have had to break this chain from the inside after T-Dog fixed it," Glenn mused, examining the heavy links. "Don't see how he could've done that without tools we ain't seeing here."
"Unless he didn't go down this way," Rick said grimly. "Or unless that… thing… Morales… came up here after us and cleared a path for him by accident."
Ethan used his pry bar, carefully trying to find purchase on the padlock T-Dog had used. It was a sturdy lock.
[System analysis: Padlock (hardened steel). Pry bar effectiveness: Low. Will require significant, noisy effort. Alternative: Analyze chain links for weakest point for direct leverage or cutting (requires appropriate tool – hacksaw blade fragment from Merle's escape might be present on rooftop if searched for, but risky to use without proper handle and would make noise).]
"This lock's solid," Ethan said, "And the chain is too thick for this little pry bar to do much without making a hell of a racket." He scanned the rooftop debris near where Merle had been cuffed, his System highlighting what others might miss. "Wait a minute…" He moved towards the ventilation pipe. There, glinting amongst the grime and dried blood, were a few tiny, broken teeth from a hacksaw blade. And nearby, a small, almost invisible smear of something dark and oily on the concrete.
"He had a hacksaw blade," Ethan announced, picking up a fragment. "A broken one, by the looks of it. And this grease… maybe he found some oil or something in one of these maintenance boxes to help it cut through the cuff chain, not just his hand."
Daryl, leaving his watch post for a moment, came over, his eyes blazing. "He used a damn blade on the cuff too? Not just his hand?" He looked around wildly. "Where'd he get a hacksaw blade?"
Before anyone could answer, a shout came from T-Dog on the other side of the roof. "Movement! Down in the street! It's not the scavengers! It's… walkers! A lot of 'em! And they're heading this way, towards the base of the building! Something's stirred 'em up!"
From their vantage point, they could see it: a fresh wave of walkers, perhaps fifty or more, previously dispersed, now converging with a renewed sense of purpose on the main entrances of Harrison's Department Store below them. The noise of their approach, a rising tide of groans, was unmistakable.
Their time on the rooftop, and their window to act, was rapidly shrinking. The new survivors Daryl had spotted were still out there, an unknown factor, and now a fresh wave of the dead was surging towards their already compromised building.
Ethan Miller - Status)
* Level: 5
* Experience (EXP): 240/500 (towards Level 6)
* Battle Points (BP): 64
* Core Attributes:
* Strength: 10
* Agility: 11 (Soft Capped at L5)
* Endurance: 9
* Perception: 11 (Soft Capped at L5)
* Attribute Points (AP) Unspent: 0
* Skill Points (SkP) Unspent: 0
* Learned Skills:
* Basic First Aid (Active, Level 1)
* Advanced First Aid (Active, Level 1)
* Basic Stealth Movement (Passive, Level 1)
* Featherfoot (Passive, Level 1)
* Danger Sense (Rudimentary, Level 1)
* Machete Specialization (Passive, Level 1)
* Enhanced Awareness (Passive, Level 1)
* Inventory Highlights:
* Survivor's Machete
* Filtered Water Bottle (refilled or still low)
* Basic First-Aid Kit (depleted or very low)
* Climbing Gloves (Enhanced Grip)
* Pry Bar (Small, Durable)
* Oil Can (Industrial Grade, Silent Application)