Malcolm, Diana, Juan, Chris K, Ramona, Riley
As before, the convoy - now three vehicles - is forced into several delays or detours on the road. Some are predictable, like a forced detour around Camden (an almost-certain quagmire) that forces the group to find an alternative route over the Ouchita River; others can't be predicted from road maps alone, like vehicle graveyards or infrastructural damage like fallen utility poles. In one harrowing case, the group encounters another roadblock ambush, only revealed after careful and time-consuming observation to have been abandoned - or its crew exterminated - well before the group got there.
It's very late afternoon, close to evening, by the time the group reaches Milton, a town of about 1000 located a stone's throw from the Red River. Riley grew up here; her family never left.
The convoy spots a few walkers in the outskirts of Milton, but once they penetrate deeper into the town, the streets become uncannily empty of human figures. Though every community seems empty compared to Little Rock, the town makes even Lonoke look overrun. Occasionally the group spots animals; squirrels and birds, of course, and larger game all the way to deer - but no walkers.
Soon, on the convoy has reached the street of Riley's childhood home. They are still a few blocks away, and have the freedom to choose their approach.