Chapter 81 Judge Magnus Takes the Bench!

Andrew’s body hit the cafeteria floor with a heavy thud, and every remaining inmate turned toward Magnus Vane in horror. A faint curl of smoke still drifted from the compact pistol in his hand, yet Magnus showed no visible discomfort after pulling the trigger; his expression remained as calm as if nothing unusual had happened. Ignoring their terrified stares, he returned to the fixed stool beside the table and sat down. “You really thought you could lie to me when your records are sitting somewhere in this prison?”

The statement was only partly true, but the inmates had no way of knowing that. Magnus already knew enough about Andrew from the original timeline to consider removing him useful, especially since Andrew had eventually sabotaged the prison and created a disaster for Rick’s group. With the timeline already heavily changed, Magnus had no intention of leaving that particular threat alive long enough to repeat the same mistake. When he looked up again, he immediately noticed two of the remaining inmates avoiding his eyes.

Magnus smiled.

That somehow made them even more nervous.

“I’ll give you one chance to answer again,” he said. “Tell me exactly why you were locked up.”

Oscar spoke first. “Auto theft.” His voice remained steady, and unlike the others, he met Magnus’s gaze without wavering. Big Tiny followed hesitantly, almost shrinking despite his size. “I got into a fight.”

Axel clasped his hands tightly in front of his chest. “Drugs. That’s the truth, man. I swear.”

Tomas exhaled slowly before answering last. “Manslaughter.”

Magnus remained silent for a moment, studying all four men.

Then he stood abruptly.

“You said you were a mechanic?”

He walked directly toward Oscar until he was standing over him.

Oscar looked up without backing down. “Been working on cars since my parents threw me out. I stole one. That’s why I’m here.”

Magnus lifted the pistol and pressed the barrel against Oscar’s forehead.

Oscar’s body stiffened.

“Say it again.”

Several seconds passed.

Oscar swallowed once but refused to change his answer.

“Theft.”

Magnus slowly inhaled.

Then closed his eyes.

BANG!

Oscar flinched.

For one stunned second he seemed certain he had been shot, but when he opened his eyes, there was no wound on his body. Instead, Axel collapsed behind Magnus, a fresh bullet wound in his head. The room fell silent again.

Magnus didn’t even look back at the body.

His attention shifted toward Big Tiny.

“I heard you two were close,” Magnus said almost pleasantly. “You upset?”

Big Tiny seemed to shrink even further. “We met in here. That’s it. We weren’t best friends or anything.”

Oscar frowned and glanced toward Axel’s body. During their time together, Axel had always acted much closer to Big Tiny than that answer suggested, which made Oscar wonder whether the friendship had mostly been an act. Maybe Axel had simply wanted someone larger beside him while they were trapped inside the prison.

Magnus returned to his stool.

“All right.”

The remaining three prisoners tensed.

“What you’re telling me now sounds believable enough.” He set the pistol down beside him. “So we can finally start the rescue.”

Tomas looked up immediately. “You’re actually taking us out?”

“Of course.” Magnus stood and picked up his Remington. “This part of the prison isn’t safe, so you’re not staying here.”

He motioned for Shane to move.

Oscar stood first, followed by Big Tiny. Tomas came last, keeping his expression carefully neutral as the group prepared to leave the cafeteria. When they passed the stool where Magnus had been sitting, Tomas slowed slightly.

Nobody seemed to notice.

After a brief hesitation, he reached down and picked up the compact police pistol Magnus had deliberately left behind.

Tomas slipped it into the back of his waistband.

Then quickly caught up.

Shane had seen everything.

He said nothing.

Magnus had given him a subtle signal before they left, and although Shane still didn’t know exactly what Magnus intended, that was enough to keep him from immediately confronting Tomas. Instead, he walked near the front with his shotgun held close while Magnus led everyone back toward Cell Block C.

The deeper prison corridors were still dark, and the bodies scattered along the route quickly unsettled the three inmates. Walker corpses lay across the concrete, while dried blood and fragments of tissue stained sections of the walls where Magnus and Shane had fought their way through earlier. Oscar stared down at one body as he stepped around it. “What the hell happened out here?”

Tomas kicked another corpse lightly with his boot.

It didn’t move.

His eyes narrowed.

He had no idea what Magnus and Shane had actually encountered in these corridors, nor did he understand that some of the bodies had belonged to system-altered walkers far more dangerous than the ordinary dead. If he had known, he might have thought twice about whatever plan was developing in his head.

Magnus eventually led them back to the correctional-officer control room near the Cell Block C route. He stopped outside and turned toward the three inmates. “You’re staying here for now. As long as you remain inside and keep the door secured, you should be safe.”

Oscar nodded cautiously.

Big Tiny looked relieved.

“Shane and I still have something to handle deeper inside,” Magnus continued. “When we’re done, we’ll come back and—”

Movement erupted behind him.

Tomas lunged forward.

He had been waiting at the rear of the group, but suddenly sprinted past Oscar and Big Tiny with the stolen pistol already in his hand. His eyes locked onto Magnus’s back as he closed the distance, apparently believing he only needed to get past Shane before he had a clear shot.

Shane moved first.

Without warning, he stepped across Tomas’s path and knocked him off balance. Tomas stumbled, barely managing to raise his head before the stock of Shane’s shotgun slammed into him.

THUD!

Tomas crashed onto the floor.

His vision blurred instantly.

Before Shane could strike again, Magnus raised one hand.

“That’s enough.”

Shane stopped.

Oscar and Big Tiny stared at them in fear.

Magnus walked over to Tomas, who was still sprawled on the concrete trying to recover from the blow. He looked down at him with none of the amusement he had shown in the cafeteria.

“I figured you’d try something.”

Tomas froze.

Magnus’s gaze turned cold.

“I just thought you’d have enough patience to wait until we actually got you outside.”

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