"You wanna run that by me again?" Anna said, flabbergasted.
Anna, Tara, Jessie, Michonne, Rosita, Siddiq, Tara, and Emma were gathered around a table and a map, listening to Rosita's story. Everyone was in a stunned silence as they listened to her harrowing tale.
"They were whispering to each other," Rosita repeated, seeming frustrated.
"Are you sure? Maybe—" Michonne started, only for Rosita to interrupt.
"Yes!" She snapped. "I know what I heard, and what I saw. They were hunting us. They were talking."
Everyone was quiet, lost in thought, when Anna began to nod, furrowing her brow.
"I believe it," she said.
"What?" Tara asked. "You can't be serious. Talking walkers?"
"I spent a hell of a long time reading studies on the walkers," Anna said, referring to Milton's journals. "They don't make much sense to begin with. But we know the brain is still active—reanimated from the infection. Some form of alive," she said, putting air quotes around the word alive. "If it's alive, then it stands to reason that it could evolve."
"Was there some kind of doctoral program out in the woods I didn't know about?" Tara asked.
Anna shot her a look before turning to the others.
"Believe it or don't, but our friends are out there and in danger," Anna went on. "We need to go help them."
"Anna's right," Michonne said. "I'll go out and find them. Bring them back."
"Why just you?" Jessie asked, and Michonne sighed in frustration.
"Because—"
"Doesn't matter why, you're not going alone," Anna interrupted, picking up her spear that was leaning against the table.
"Anna. I can—"
"Nope," Anna interrupted again. "You think you can find them faster on your own? You can't."
Michonne frowned at Anna, seeming ready to argue further, only for Jessie to begin speaking.
"All right, I'll go get my gear," Jessie said.
"You're not going," Anna said. "Michonne and I will be enough."
"But—" Siddiq started.
"You both need to stay and care for Rosita," Michonne said.
"I'm fine," Rosita said just before staggering on her feet.
"You need to lay down and rest," Jessie said, quickly catching her.
"Just tell us where the barn is," Anna said. "We'll take care of the rest."
.
.
Thunder rumbled overhead as the wind rushed through the night. They approached the abandoned barn, flashlights illuminating their way. Dog rushed into the barn and Daryl readied his crossbow.
"Go on, boy. Go find him," Daryl said quietly.
Dog sniffed along the ground until he came onto a pile of hay and let out a soft whine.
"Move," Daryl ordered, and Dog jumped off the pile. "Good dog. Hey," he called, gesturing for Aaron and Jesus to join him.
Jesus poked into the hay carefully before kicking something solid.
"Here," he said.
"Eugene?" Aaron called. "Are you in there?"
"Affirmative," came the terrified response.
The three quickly brushed the hay aside to reveal a door in the floor. They opened it to see Eugene cowering and covered in dust.
"Hey," Jesus smiled.
Eugene stood shakily and began to climb out of the storage hole.
"Give me your hand," Jesus said, offering him help.
He stumbled, hissing in pain as he sat down.
"Eugene, you all right?" Aaron asked.
"I took a bad step and dislocated my knee," Eugene explained. "There was a herd on our six, and Rosita was forced to stash me here."
"Well, if it's dislocated, we can just pop it back in," Daryl suggested.
"No," Eugene snapped. "We have to get out of here. The herd that followed us here is on its way back."
"I saw their tracks. They're gone," Daryl assured.
"No, it's not," Eugene insisted. "It's already been through here twice. It's lookin' for me. We have to get away before it comes back."
Daryl, Aaron, and Jesus glanced at each other warily.
"This wasn't a normal herd," Eugene said firmly.
"What do you mean?" Aaron asked.
"When… when they passed us by, we could hear them. They were… they were whispering to each other," Eugene said, sucking in a breath.
"You mean they were talking?" Aaron asked.
"I-I know how it sounds. But Rosita heard it, too. She'll corroborate," Eugene said.
"Yeah," Aaron said, patting Eugene on the shoulder before helping him up.
"We should get him back," Daryl said.
Dog began to bark, and they turned to see him leaning out of a window, alerting them to approaching walkers.
"There's no way that's the same herd," Daryl said.
"They got us cut off," Aaron warned.
"No, no, no, no," Eugene whimpered, using a shovel as a walking stick to stand.
"So, we'll backtrack, we'll go around 'em," Daryl said.
"Old Route 28 isn't far," Jesus said. "It's the straightest shot back to the horses."
"Lead the way," Aaron said as he and Daryl grabbed Eugene on either side and practically carried him out of the barn.
.
.
Anna and Michonne made their way through the woods in relative silence, careful not to trip over anything in the dark. They had taken a couple of horses for most of the way before they decided to stash them at a house and cut through the woods to get to the barn faster. Anna was grateful Rosita had woken up when she did, and remembered where she'd left Eugene.
"It's good to see you," Michonne said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah," Anna agreed absently. "How's everyone back at Alexandria? How's Judith?"
"She's good. She's gotten so big. And R.J. is growing so fast," Michonne said.
Anna grimaced, thankful Michonne couldn't see it. She hadn't been there for R.J.'s birth, having left after finishing the charter. It was just too hard.
"She's just like Carl, you know?" Michonne said with a sad laugh. "She brought those people in—Magna and the others. Just like you and Carl did for Siddiq."
"Look how that turned out," Anna said, keeping her eyes forward as they continued on.
"Not everyone is going to be like Siddiq," Michonne said grimly.
"Not everyone is going to be like Jocelyn," Anna shot back with a shrug.
"Anna—"
"Especially not us. Not Hilltop, not the Kingdom," Anna went on.
"It's not as simple as that," Michonne insisted.
Anna paused and turned to Michonne, taking a breath to speak, but decided it didn't matter. Michonne was going to do what she was going to do— or not do— no matter what anyone said. Frustrated, Anna kept walking.
"Anna," Michonne called, following after her.
"Let's just focus on finding the others," Anna said firmly.
It fell quiet between them again. They traveled for a few more minutes through the woods until they came upon a field, the barn Rosita had told them about, sitting abandoned and dilapidated. As they approached, Anna spotted tracks in the grass and she drew her spear. At her action, Michonne drew her sword.
"A large herd came through here," Anna said quietly, gesturing to the ground.
They entered the barn cautiously to find a door in the ground hanging open, but otherwise, there was nothing of note; it was empty.
"They must have already cleared out," Michonne said, relaxing her stance.
"If what Rosita said is true, then that herd is going to be following them," Anna said. "We follow the herd, try and get around it, we should catch up to Daryl and the others."
"All right," Michonne agreed, and they started after the trail.
.
.
Daryl and Jesus helped Eugene over to an abandoned car, giving him time to rest as Aaron kept look out for the herd.
"It doesn't make any sense," Jesus said as they stepped away. "They shouldn't have doubled back like that. And they definitely shouldn't have followed us all the way to the barn."
"I do have a theory to posit," Eugene said. "The walkers are evolving."
"Bullshit," Daryl snapped.
"They're dead, they're not evolving," Jesus said firmly.
"Being dead hasn't exactly stopped them from perambulating ad infinitum, though, has it?" Eugene challenged. "They're not dead in any sense that makes sense. It takes an impact to the cranium to stop them, which means the brain is alive, degraded as it may be. And if it's alive, it can change. Maybe even start to remember things, too, like how to talk."
"What?" Daryl huffed.
"It's not any crazier than the dead being alive in the first place," Jesus said, seeming to come around to the idea. "If they can learn to talk, maybe they can learn strategy and how to hunt."
"They're right on our asses," Aaron announced, rushing up to them. "We've gotta get to the horses fast."
"You have to leave me behind. I'm slowing you down and tiring you out. Every time we stop, the dead get closer," Eugene said.
Daryl grimaced at the thought, looking around them in search of the herd.
"No! We came out here to find you," Jesus snapped. "We're not going home without you."
"You don't have a choice," Eugene huffed.
"It's not your call," Jesus said firmly. "The numbers actually work for us. We can split up. You two get him back to the horses. I'll wait for the herd to get here, then I'll draw them off in the other direction. Then I'll ditch them and meet you back at the Hilltop."
"We're stronger together," Aaron argued.
"That doesn't help us," Jesus sighed. "Our only way out of this is to avoid a fight."
"No," Daryl said, turning to them. "If anyone's staying, it's gonna be me."
Jesus shook his head, but was unable to offer up any argument.
"Go," Daryl ordered. "Hell, I'll probably beat you back. Go!"
Jesus and Aaron helped Eugene off the car and started down the road toward the horses.
"Come here, boy!" Daryl called, heading in the other direction toward a shack.
He climbed onto the roof with an order of 'stay' to Dog. As the herd came into view, he waited till they got closer.
"All right, boy, let's get 'em," Daryl said, digging a string of firecrackers from his bag and lighting the end.
He tossed them out into the street and, after a moment, they went off with loud pops of light. Dog began to bark, luring the walkers toward them.
"Dog, keep 'em comin'," he encouraged.
He watched as the herd started toward them, a satisfied smirk on his face. That smirk fell away as the herd slowly turned, however, heading in their original direction, ignoring the sound.
"Sh!" He hissed, quieting Dog. "What the fuck?"
.
.
Anna and Michonne raced through the trees, keeping low to avoid being spotted by the herd they'd managed to catch up with. They moved around along the outside, until they got ahead of it and could safely hide within some bushes.
"They're heading into that cemetery," Michonne said, pointing to a gap in the stone wall.
"The others must have gone in there, to use that gap as a bottleneck. I don't see a gate on this side. That's probably where they're headed," Anna deduced.
"All right. Keep low," Michonne said, and they started around the cemetery.
Once they were out of sight of the herd, they got closer to the wall, following it around until they spotted the wrought iron gate and a man pressing himself against it.
"Eugene," Michonne hissed. "Eugene."
Eugene whirled around as they arrived at the gate.
"Michonne, Anna—honest to God, am I happy to see you two," Eugene rambled. "The gate's obstructed by topsoil erosion. We can't get out."
"I need you to push," Michonne instructed, pulling on the gate.
Anna grabbed for one of the bars, yanking back on the gate when two figures appeared in her peripheral. She swung around, ready to strike, when she saw that it was two of the women from the group Michonne had brought to Hilltop.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Michonne demanded as the one with the sandy hair began to help pull on the gate.
"Earning our keep," the woman said easily.
The four of them crouched and dug a bit of the topsoil away before they managed to get the gate open enough to let Eugene through.
"Get him out of here," Anna heard Jesus instruct. "Go, I got this!"
Aaron squeezed through the gate and they turned to watch as Jesus took out walker after walker with a mix of his martial arts and swordsmanship. Anna's brows shot up as he jumped up, kicking one walker in the chest and launching himself at another, using his sword in a graceful display of lethality.
"Show off," Anna smirked.
"Jesus!" Aaron called. "Come on."
Jesus turned to them and started to walk casually toward them, easily slashing one walker out of the way before he went to swing at the second. Time seemed to slow and Anna's eyes widened as the walker ducked Jesus's swing. It slid behind him, pulling a long blade, and stabbed Jesus through the back, the tip of the blade protruding from his chest.
"No!" Aaron screamed. "No!"
The walker let Jesus fall to the ground as Aaron rushed back inside. Anna followed close behind as a group of walkers sprinted out of the mist. She swung upward with her spear, striking one beneath the chin before she brought the spearhead around to slash at another's face. The first walker groaned, scrambling to its feet. Anna smacked him down again, running her spear through its head.
She looked around to see the others had handled their own walkers, and Daryl had arrived and was inspecting one of the walkers. Aaron was knelt over Jesus. She approached cautiously, her hands trembling as she stared down at Jesus's still form. He was dead. Just like that.
"Hey," Daryl called to Anna. "Come here."
Anna and Michonne stepped over to him.
"These walkers… what are they?" Michonne asked.
Daryl tilted the walker's head to the side, revealing a lace up the back. He took his switchblade from his boot and cut away at the string, pulling at the hair. It came off without much struggle. It was something grotesque, a twisted Halloween mask. Daryl turned the walker over, showing a very dirty but very human face.
"What the actual shit," Anna said.
Dog began to bark and Anna looked around, searching for the cause.
"They're trapped," came a loud whisper. "Circle 'round."
"Don't let them slip by," came another whisper. "Keep them together."
Anna readied her spear, glaring at the figures appearing in the mist.
"You die now."