The day came when they were ready. They'd scavenged all they needed for their plans and they weren't about to go easy. Glenn and his team gathered up as many of the giant wheels they could find. Tara and Heath brought back trucks full of household chemicals. Carter and Reg had gathered scraps to reinforce the barriers. All of it was orchestrated according to their collective plans.
On top of one side of the quarry, Rick, Michonne, Lupe, and Sasha set up their explosives and flammables. Glenn, Heath, Tara, and Morgan are on another with their chemicals. Abraham, Eugene, Daryl, and the construction crew had split, lining up to take their shot from the two other available edges.
"I'm still not sure how I feel about that kinda book being so easily available." Rick scoffs.
He goes down the line, picking off bright red tops and laying them on the ground. Lupe follows, packing shiny metal holiday ornaments filled with water into the containers. She leaves the little tops undone, waiting for the right time.
"Well, you were part of group of people that enforced unethical systems that provided you with heaps of protection from oppressive systemic violence," she replies. He stares at her blankly. She rolls her eyes and snorts. "You were a cop, right? Of course you'd be upset. Anarchists go against the entire faulty system you were paid to uphold." Rick gives her a slightly disappointed look, but from the talks he's had with Michonne, he knows she's right.
The radio at Rick's waist crackles softly and Daryl's voice fills the air, "A'right so let's rehash this shit before we git'goin."
Lupe and Rick both chuckle. Rick brings his radio up to his lips, smiling. "First we throw the tires, get as many of them as we can with pure force."
"Next goes the nail polish remover, aerosol cans, linseed oil, and the rest of the flammables," Glenn responds.
"Last is the creamer," Abraham's hearty voice rings over the radio.
Michonne, Sasha, Rick and Lupe all grin at each other, looking out. Above the quarry, each side manned with their people, prepared for the ultimate gamble.
Rick nods and asks, "How's the containment looking Carter?"
"Looks like it's holding strong. Reg says it's good and should be able to withstand what you're planning," Carter replies.
"At least before we blow them all the hell," Sasha snickers and elbows Lupe in the arm. Lupe smiles and sways with the nudge.
"Alright…" Rick looks around his group and takes a deep breath. "Y'all ready?" Everyone nods. He exhales and raises his radio. "Check in and prepare to launch."
"Check, we're ready," Glenn responds.
"Check, we're set," Daryl growls.
"Check we're ready to fuckin' GO!" Abraham hoots. Everyone laughs and rolls their eyes with affection.
Rick chuckles and raised the radio to his mouth. "Tires, ready." He waits a good five seconds. "Drop in 3… 2… 1… Now!"
Up on the North and South sides of the quarry there are two long semi trucks with flat beds. Along the top of the flatbeds are a line of thick tires, stacked side by side on their rolling axis with several lines of rope tying them firmly together. One piece of rope ties all the way through kept them in place, right on the ledge. When Rick shouts for them to be released, Abraham and Daryl both swing their axes, agents of chaos setting it free.
It takes a second for the wheels to groan themselves over the edge of the metal flatbed. The wheels start rolling as a unit, slowly at first and a bit unsurely. Everyone is afraid they'll sink right into the dirt and become useless, but as they continue, their motions even out and they pick up speed. No one expected what came next, but they sure as hell enjoyed it.
The tires thunder through the gathered walkers like a combine, crushing bodies and kicking up bits of gore like gravel. When four to six hundred pounds of rubber meet together in the middle of the quarry they bang together like a wild Newton's Cradle. The ropes snap. The force of them ramming into each other causes an explosion of circular shrapnel, tires flinging out in a starburst that takes out more walkers. A burst of wheels flies hard towards the path leading upwards and it hits like buckshot to a bees nest. The entire wall crumbles and the walkers and tires go with it in a flurry. The semi trucks roll down on top of any remaining writhing bodies. It is pandemonium, but almost everyone erupts into laughter and cheers.
"Flammables, now!" Rick growls into the radio. The East and West sides of the quarry all gather and start chucking containers with loosened lids and aerosol cans out into the quarry. The flammables bounce off of bodies, hit rubber tires, or land in the gravel. Most of the tops start flinging off too, bringing with it liquids splashing all over.
There's ringing silence and Rick takes a deep breath. He looks back at Michonne and Sasha who have little tins in their hands, full of calcium carbide chips. He brings the radio to his lips, but nods to them first. They nod back and he speaks, "Set the creamer and go."
Michonne and Sasha each split the line of coffee creamer canisters coming in from either side to meet in the middle. They drop a couple pieces of calcium carbide in the water inside the ornaments, jam the tops shut with clay, and move onto the next. Rick follows Michonne and Lupe follows Sasha. They put on the red tops and tape them shut before chucking them as hard as they can into the quarry.
A hail of red topped canisters goes sailing through the sky from each side like falling stars. Taped shut, they bounce around a little bit and settle. Silence fills the space again. They wait.
Rick clears his throat. "Lupe…"
"Give it a second," she mutters, staring out into the pit littered with large rubber tires, bottles of varying colored liquids, and a few walkers still scrambling around helplessly.
"Rick, should we throw the Molotov's?" Glenn's voice asks.
"Lupe," Rick grunts, "How long —,"
His words are interrupted by the first crack. Lupe smiles. "Right about…" she puts a single finger up, "…Now."
A consistent popping soars through the quarry, small, like firecrackers. The second after the popping starts, a soft FLOOM erupts and the coffee creamer ignites to a fireball the size of a barn. Once that single canister burst, the rest soon follow. Everyone stares in awe as the fireball continuously spread, like a miniature mushroom cloud. It expands over the area, lighting up the accelerants and creating a sea of flame and the burning dead.
"FUCK YES!" Lupe roars, long and proud, punching a fist into the air.
She suddenly hears the elated cheers of the Alexandrians. She smiles wide, staring out around the clearing and watching the groups erupt themselves, hugging each other and screeching in joy. Her eyes fill with tears and her smile is so big she thinks she'll crack her face right in two. She turns back to see Michonne and Sasha already coming at her, both of them howling in excitement. She opens her arms with a shout and they slam right into her, all laughing and congratulating each other.
Rick smiles as he watches the women all hug and cheer. He picks up his radio, "Reg, how's it looking?"
He could hear the laughter in his voice, "The barriers held pretty darn well considering that fireball and those tires!" A moment later he clicks back on, "I would say almost 90% destruction, but the fires still haven't burned out. I don't see any moving corpses down here, just flames!"
Rick smiles and hears more cheers. Laughing to himself, he shakes his head and looks over at the women. They're in a line on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the burning destruction they caused that would save so many lives. They have their arms around each other, shoulders or waists, leaning in and muttering about what they'd do now that the threat was eliminated. There is so much more to be done, but this provided a bit of a spark of hope, as it were.
Some stay until the fires burn out, keeping an eye on the quarry. Others, like Lupe and Barbacoa, walk through the woods and take out walkers that were drawn by the ruckus. Rick has to admit that the explosion was much quieter than if they would have tried just about anything else. Lupe was right, it was easier to just try and hit the bullseye instead of moving it.
The groups all pack up and move their cars to meet up on the main road. Rick stands atop the bed of his truck, looking down on every one smiling. He smiles back. "This was a great victory today and everyone deserves a thank you for their efforts. You all did amazing." He nods to the group and then points directly at Lupe. "And I know she hates attention, but she's gonna have to suck it up cause we're gonna give her a little. Thank you Lupe. Your idea saved us a lot of lives. We owe you."
Lupe heats up like she was covered in acetone and set afire. She looks around wide eyed at all the people cheering her. Barbacoa runs circles at her feet, bouncing up and down. Her smile is small and tight. She's thankful that they liked her idea, but she doesn't need this. She nods and puts her head down, only now missing her hair because she used to use it to hide her face.
"Alright everyone, lets pack up and get —,"
Rick's cut off by several gunshots and a long, drawn out blaring. The extended raging cry of a truck horn being seriously laid on. Everyone turns to the sound, bouncing out of the woods and around the quarry. They collectively hold their breaths.
"That might be comin' from home," Morgan mutters, his voice melodic, but distressed.
"Everyone! Go now!" Rick roars, jumping off of his truck and swinging down into the driver's seat. Everyone scatters to their vehicles like roaches when the lights flick on. Dust and gravel spray up behind them as they tear ass to get back home where everyone is waiting on them.