"Morgan."

Morgan . . . that was the man that saved Rick when he woke up from his coma, the person he'd spoken about when he finally found his family. When we were in the middle of the war with the Governor, Rick had met him again in Kings County and said that he was different, changed. I wondered if he had still been that way.

I racked my mind on something to do, a way I could help in this situation, but really all there was to do was watch. Watch as Rick reunited with someone he met at the beginning of all this, and a few metres from that, watch Deanna cry as she hugged Reg.

Isaac must've noticed my gaze change, because he said, "He needs to be put down soon."

I knew he was right, but stepping in and doing that was never going to be our problem, though I knew why Isaac's mind was on it.

"They'll figure it out," I told him, and turned my head to meet his eyes. "Are you okay?"

He thought for a moment and nodded. "I will be. Who . . . Do you know who that is?"

"I know of him," I said. "When Rick came out of his coma and the world had . . . you know. He met Morgan in the beginning weeks, and Morgan helped him. When we were fighting the Governor we needed more guns so Rick went back to his hometown, he knew which stores and houses had guns, and Morgan had taken all of them."

"Why not bring him back then?" Isaac asked. "If Rick already knew him."

"He wasn't . . . he wasn't all there," I finished.

He nodded and thought for a second, raising a brow. "Hang on . . . coma?"

"Rick was shot as a policeman before the dead started walking." I hadn't realised until seeing the confused look on his face that Isaac had never heard the stories from the beginning, what happened to us back then. All he really knew about us was the prison before he arrived. "He woke up in the middle of it and when the group went to scavenge Atlanta, they found him and brought him back. He saved them."

I left out the details of how, knowing that telling a story of Rick covered in walker guts probably wasn't going to help him right now. In all honesty, I didn't know a lot of what happened in Atlanta that day, just bits and pieces from what the group said when they returned.

The big thing was Rick finding Carl and Lori after everything they'd been through, the fact that he was able to find them and adapt to the new world in the span of days was something that could only happen in miracles.

I'd never get that same luck with my own dad.

Isaac was still holding my hand, cold against my own. The nights were becoming a little chillier, not enough for me yet, but the others were starting to show it in what they wore. Almost everyone had a coat on now. The fire was enough for me.

"I think I'm going to turn in for the night," Isaac said after a while. "Are you coming with me or are you gonna stay here and help them?"

I thought for a second. "I don't know—Glenn still isn't back, and we might have to go look for him."

Isaac nodded, and he gave a look that seemed like he'd forgotten that detail. "Then I'll wait with you."

"You don't have to," I said. "There's a lot going on."

"No, if Glenn's hurt then he might need help," Isaac said. "I should be doing something, getting more involved. I can help."

I nodded, not wanting to argue. If he wanted to help then that was to do with him, not me. I needed to wait for Glenn, then I could turn in for the night. I wasn't going to sleep if he wasn't back here safe, all I could do was think about him in trouble.

Still, my heart warmed at his gesture. "Are you going to be okay in your room?"

"I slept in there last night," he shrugged.

I winced. "Sorry. You could have taken my room last night, if you needed it."

"I know, I just had to get used to mine again so I just made myself do it." It didn't matter, I would have had him in my bed for as long as he needed, even if that meant forever. "I want to stay up with you for now anyway, wait for Glenn." His voice went quiet as he said, "I want to kiss you goodnight."

"I want that too," I whispered back.

We would have had more chances just to be together and hang out if everything calmed down, but after tonight, I'm glad he wasn't letting the deaths get to him too badly. Once I found out if Glenn was alive, then we could take some time before going back to our houses to just be with each other.

"Let's walk down to the front gate," Isaac said. "We can see if he's come back, that is, if he's gone anywhere. He could just be checking in on Tara."

"Then maybe something happened to her," my headshot to look at him.

Isaac squeezed my hand. "We'll go take a look on the way past, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay."

Utter silence fell as we walked down the road we had taken on the night of the party, down the way we walked after my attack. I could see people in the distance, walking home, but nobody said anything ahead of us.

As we neared the infirmary, Maggie came rushing out of the building. "Ace, Glenn is back. He's hurt, but he's back."

Hurt?

Hurt how?

"Wh-what—?" I took a breath. "What happened?"

"He said he got winged by a ricochet when he and Nicholas were killing walkers," Maggie said. "But he's okay, he's going to be just fine."

I let out a sigh, and nodded. "Okay. That—that's good."

"Is Tara okay?" Isaac asked.

"She's just woken up, she's okay too," Maggie said.

Isaac nodded. "Can we go in and see them?"

"Of course," she said, waving her hand for us to follow.

Eugene was already in there, talking to Tara who was sitting up in the bed awake while Rosita looked her over. It was a shock to see her awake after the other night while she was out. Isaac was ahead of me, and Tara smiled at us as we entered the room.

"Hi," Isaac waved to her. "How are you?"

"Doc here says I'll be alright," she said.

I scanned the room until my eyes landed on Glenn who was leaning back against one of the counters in the infirmary, who smiled when I finally looked at him. I ran over to him immediately and smashed into him.

"Glenn."

"I'm okay," he winced. "Just, take it easy, alright."

I pulled back and looked at the blood that soaked into his jacket, reaching for his shirt to inspect it. "What happened to you? Why were you out there?"

He pulled my hand away. "Nothing, it just happened. Don't worry about it."

Looking over my shoulder, I met eyes with Nicholas who immediately turned his head, cowering away. I stepped towards him, "God help me if you've done something, I'll—"

"Ace," Glenn stopped me. "I'm fine, just leave it alright."

"What happened at the meeting?" Maggie asked, changing the subject.

"Walkers got in and Rick was killing them, he was starting to convince them, saying that they needed help. Pete came in with a sword and killed Reg," Isaac said quietly, getting shocked looks from everyone in the room. "And Deanna let Rick kill Pete."

"What?" Tara asked.

"It's a long story," Maggie told her, "just focus on resting for now, alright?"

"Daryl and Aaron brought someone back who knew Rick before," Isaac added.

"Morgan," I said. "Met him before you found him in Atlanta and took the guns from him at the prison. He's here now."

Glenn nodded, pushing himself up onto the bed so he was sitting down. "Is he staying?"

"Don't know, I'll find out now," I shrugged.

"Make sure to get some rest," Maggie said, putting a hand on Isaac's shoulder as she moved past him to see Glenn. "Both of you, go home, alright."

"We will," Isaac said.

I stood around, my eyes on Nicholas, before she nodded us out of the room. Glenn tapped my arm, holding onto it, his hand sliding down to mine as I took a few steps away, my eyes never leaving Nicholas until we were out of the room.

Me and Isaac walked around the pond in the way we had gone before, passing our spot but not going there. My chest was heaving as I thought about it, why had Nicholas shot so close to Glenn that ricochet could even hit his arm?

"Something happened," I said. "Glenn's holding out."

"I saw that too," Isaac agreed. "Maybe he doesn't want to get Nicholas exiled."

"Nicholas should be dead if he did something to him," I told him. "Glenn won't do it, he won't choose to kill or exile him. If Nicholas tried to kill him and then Glenn just, he's letting him get away with it—he's too good."

"It's Glenn," Isaac said.

"I know. That's the problem."

As we made it to the junction, my mind was left swirling. If this all hadn't gone down tonight, I would have done something myself. But I couldn't act out, we couldn't risk Deanna changing her mind about us, even after what Pete has done.

Glenn told me he'd talk to him, and I don't understand how they made it out of the community when neither of them were allowed to leave. Did they scale the walls? I calmed down, I knew I'd have to speak to Rick about it.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't seen any of the community—hadn't taken in where we were. I didn't even notice that I was walking ahead of Isaac, who called from behind me as I stormed off, "Uh, Ace?"

"Yeah," I called back.

I heard his footsteps quicken behind me before he grabbed my hand, and pulled me back around to face him. "What about that kiss?"

"I don't know, what about it?" I smiled.

Isaac grinned, shaking his head before lowering his head to mine. I wrapped my arms over his shoulders, and I felt his hands on my waist, squeezing there. This. This was what I wanted—needed—to distract me from everything.

He pulled back, barely, his face still mere centimetres in front of mine, close enough for me to do it again if I wanted. But I didn't, I held him, my arms not faltering from over his shoulders, and his hands only slipping down to my hims.

"You know, people are going to start figuring this out," I whispered. "Kissing here. Holding hands at the meeting?"

"Maggie already knew," Isaac said. "She, uh . . . she saw us after the party. Here, actually."

I pulled my head back a little, squinting at him ever so slightly. It was late when we came back from the party, I hadn't expected anyone to be around to see that, I thought they'd either be in bed or back at Deanna's house.

"We don't have anything to hide," he said, noticing the look on my face.

"I know," I tilted my head. "I just wanted this to be just about us for a while."

"It still is," he promised. "This is never going to be about anyone else, just us."

"Good," I smiled.

"Okay," he kissed me again, before pulling back. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," I smiled.

When I finally let my arms fall, my hands running down the front of his shoulders, I stepped away. I was smiling up until we each stopped at our own door, looking at each other before we entered our houses at the same time.

The house was dark.

"You're back," Carl said, from the window, the first time I noticed him there. "What took you so long?"

"A lot happened at the meeting, I'll explain it now just let me get inside—"

"I mean out there," he stood up and walked over. "How long does it take to say goodbye?"

That wasn't what the question meant, he may not have even been asking about the kissing. It was more to say you're with him? Not something I really wanted to talk about with someone I thought of as my own little brother.

I sighed. "Carl."

"When did it start?" He asked.

"That is none of your business," I told him. "And it doesn't matter if you don't like him."

"It's not that I don't like him," Carl said. "We don't talk, I don't think anything of him."

"Well, I do, so drop it," I told him. "It's been one long shit day, and for a moment out there, I was actually happy for a second, alright?"

Not even thinking anything of Isaac was harsh, but it didn't matter what Carl thought of him. Isaac had saved my life, in the prison, from the Claimers. It was even starting to feel like having him around now was the only thing keeping me above the water.

Carl just rolled his eyes. "What happened at the meeting?"

I stared at him for a second, ignoring the tone as he switched topics.

"Your dad wasn't there, he killed some walkers that got inside," I said. "When he showed up, it seemed like he was starting to show them. But then Pete came with a sword and when he was pushing Reg away, he—" I took a breath. "Deanna told Rick to kill Pete."

"He had to die," Carl said.

Hearing him say that reminded me of when I used to take care of him and Sophia back in the Atlanta camp. Carl was one of the people to say that Ed was a bad man, at least that as a child, he didn't like him. I didn't know what to say to help him then, because I didn't know how to help them either. If Shane hadn't done anything for Carol, what did that mean for the rest of us?

"And the man, the one you met in Kings County," I said. "Morgan?" Carl nodded his head, telling me he remembered him.

"He's here."

Carl was there the day they met Morgan. I should have asked what he was like back then, if he remembered much from being out there during the war so soon after his mother passed. I thought going back to his home town would have been too much for him, and I didn't want to bring it up again.

"Is he—?" Carl trailed off, his eyes drifting away as he thought of a word.

"He seems . . . fine," I said. "Normal."

He was there last time, Morgan shot at them, and I doubted Carl had forgotten why. He wasn't all there in Kings County, turned by isolation and the loss of his son. I, too, thought he might be the same when he came here.

"Okay," he shrugged. "Is that all?"

I raised a brow. "You need more?"

"No," he shook his head. "As long as he made them listen."

I just nodded, because before everything else happened, he did make them listen. Deciding not to worry Carl about what happened to Glenn, I just kicked my shoes off by the front door and moved to sit on the sofa.

"You should go to bed," I told him.

"And you?"

"I'm older."

"Does dad know about you and Isaac?" Carl asked.

"Carl," I looked back over my shoulder.

Carl clenched his teeth, breathing out slowly through his nose. "I don't want him to hurt you again."

"What do you mean again?" I asked.

"You weren't even talking when we first came here, you couldn't look at each other," he reminded me. "And now, what? You're kissing?"

He looked disgusted.

I sat forward in the seat and turned even further around so that I was facing him. "We weren't talking because of what I did—said. That was my fault. I hurt him. But we spoke about it, and he helped me through some stuff."

"What?"

"Carl," I tried again. "Please."

"I could help you," he said. "Whatever's been making you sad recently, I don't want that."

"I don't want it either," I told him. "But it's my problem, not yours. I'm working on it."

Carl turned around to the stairs. "Just because he's helping you, doesn't mean I have to like him."

"Go to bed," I told him again as he disappeared up the stairs.

I listened to the pounding of his feet as he went up stairs, and I would have shouted for him to keep it quiet because Judith was asleep, if that didn't defeat the point. Carl was quiet as he reached the top, and I heard his door close behind him.

Breathing out a sigh, I leaned my head back on the sofa. Waiting. I needed to see what was going on with Morgan, with Alexandria. I'm not sure why, I'd never really felt so in the dark until I came here. Back at the prison, I was told what was happening.

The door opened behind me, and I looked back to see Rick enter the room.

"What did you do with Morgan?" I asked, standing up to meet him.

"I put him in the cell they had us in," he said, nodding back down the street to the apartments. "We don't know each other, not really. I need to know that I can trust him, after what he was like last time. This will work for now."

"Okay," I nodded. "Glenn's back, hurt but back."

Rick frowned. "Do you know what happened?"

"Maggie said he was out with Nicholas and a ricochet got him in the shoulder," I said. "I don't buy it. Why were they even out there? Deanna said that they weren't allowed until she figured out what to do with them."

Rick was nodding as I spoke, agreeing. "You think Nicholas did something."

"I wouldn't put it past him, but if Glenn doesn't come out with it then there isn't really much we can do about him," I said.

"There isn't," he agreed, coming to sit down on the sofa with a flop. "God, I need a shower."

"Yeah." There were no more words between us; I could have asked what Rick would have wanted me to do if he didn't arrive, because until he spoke to them, it didn't seem like Deanna had changed her mind, but we were past that. Rick had to tell me more, but that was a problem for another day. "They were going to do it, you know? They were going to kick us out."

"I know."

I took a walk the next morning, walking along the fences. Even though the walkers got in because someone left the gate open, I just wanted to ensure everything was holding up. There was nothing else I could do besides pushing on areas that may have been weak, only to find out that Reg had done his job and the walls were stronger than ever.

It made sense though, he was a professional, not just some kid trying to piece together information from any book or maths lesson they could remember. I'd learnt a lot, but nothing could really beat an actual higher education.

Eugene was on the gate—obviously more reliable than Gabriel. Despite my sarcasm, this wasn't his job, and I had no clue why he'd be allowed to watch the gates. I rolled my eyes as I walked up to him when I saw him opening the gate as a car rolled in. What? We weren't expecting anyone to come back.

"What the hell are you doing?" I called out.

A man followed the car in, and as Eugene turned to me, he closed the gate behind him. Now we were just letting strangers walk in? One way to get us all killed, I thought as I marched over to him. I'd start hitting Eugene before the strangers.

"Holly left me to do this job which I denied and said she'd be back in two ticks, and it has been five ticks with still no sign of Holly," he began explaining like he knew what I was going to say. "I had to do it either way. A run group came back, said they've been out there for weeks and I didn't want to get my ass beat, as he put it," Eugene gestured to a man with dreads and glasses.

I stopped, looking at the crew: three men (including the one that closed the gate) and a woman. The fact that these people didn't even threaten to pull out a gun made me feel safer, but I was still a little cautious. Not being cautious meant I had to trust Eugene's judgement.

"Then maybe you should stop talking to me," I muttered.

"He been annoying you too?" The man extended a hand as he grew near. "I'm Heath."

"Ace," I answered. "I'm probably going to have to look at that car at some point. Not today, but you know. I don't know what you came across out there, I should just check to make sure it's okay, write down the parts I need."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not a problem with me. One of the others will bring it in, and then we have to talk to Deanna about what happened here."

"It's going to be a long story," I warned him.

"I guessed," Heath gave a nod. "Good meeting you."

"You too," I said.

Heath began walking to Deanna's as the others pulled the car around and parked it with the rest of them. They gave me a look before following after him, leaving me standing on the gate with Eugene as we watched them leave.

"They seemed like reasonable folks," was his excuse.

I just looked back at him over my shoulder, and Eugene swallowed under my gaze. Good. Instead of saying anything, I just decided to walk away. I would never forgive him for what he did, I didn't think, but there were bigger matters at hand.

Gabriel's betrayal, for a start.

He went to Deanna and told her we were dangerous, that we would be the fall of this place. I could do the same, I could go to her and tell her about what he did. Gabriel locked his own flock out of his church, refused to save them and killed them all because he was scared. I could go to him and make sure he never opened his mouth again.

Clenching my teeth, I made my way back to my house. I didn't know how to make the wall any stronger if it even needed to be stronger. Reg was an architect, a professional—he wasn't just trying to piece together knowledge while he tried to survive.

As I got back to the house, I saw Daryl outside, wiping off a motorbike with a rag and I frowned. He must've found that on the road. His eyes flickered to me when he saw me coming, and he straightened up before raising his hand as a wave.

"Rick's gone out with Morgan." He wiped his hands with a rag and looked up from his bike. "They're taking Pete out there, Rick and Deanna didn't want him buried in the community."

I nodded, even though it seemed a little . . . I didn't want to think it was insensitive, because Pete had tried to kill Rick and was the reason I got locked away the night before last. I don't know, it just seemed wrong. And then I felt bad for feeling that—I was sick of these choices already.

Chewing my lip, I inspected his bike. The body was the "Where'd you get that?"

"Aaron gave it to me," he shrugged. "Had it in his garage, didn't know what to do with it."

Again, I only nodded as a reply.

He raised a brow. "Ya wanna take a look at it?"

"No."

"Somethin' to do if you're bored," he said.

While my face didn't show it, I was content where I was. "It's just kind of nice not to be doing anything for a while."

"I get that," he agreed.

I sat on the stairs.

Daryl went back to work, just doing basic maintenance from what I could tell. I remembered back to when Aaron offered that I use his garage, he said he had to clear it out first before he would give it to me. It must've been the bike taking up his space.

I would probably take him up on his offer, start actually making a list and going on runs to begin maintenance on the cars. There was a house across the street that had a garage, but from what I could tell, Aaron's space was bigger—although it did come with Aaron. Tough choice.

Daryl stopped working and straightened up, looking down the street as Rick rounded the corner, his face serious as he walked over to us. "I know how this place survived as long as it has."

Rick called a meeting and told everyone what he found out there—a quarry blocked off on either side that held thousands of walkers. We'd seen a herd on the roads when we got here, but it was small compared to the likes of Atlanta.

This was big.

Scary.

"My team," Heath said. "We saw it early on. Back when we were on one of those first scouts, finding out what was around here. There was a camp at the bottom. The people, they must have blocked the exits with one of those trucks back when everything started to go bad.

"No one's been back since?" Maggie looked over her shoulder at him.

"DC, every town worth scavenging are all in the other direction. And I never really felt like having a picnic next to the camp that ate itself," Heath said.

"So all the while the walkers have been drawn by the sound," Michonne said. "And they're making more sound and they're drawing more in."

Isaac cringed beside me, crossing his arms and tightening his shirt around his back. This was necessary. Even as his face contorted, he was still listening. Good thing was, there were so many people that I doubt he'd have to get too involved.

"And here we are," Rick said. "Now what I'm proposing, I know it sounds risky, but walkers are already slipping through the exits. One of the trucks keeping the walkers in could go off the edge any day now. Maybe after one more hard rain. That exit sends them East. All of them—right at us."

Absolute silence fell among the room.

They were beginning to understand, the reality of it all weighed down their faces as they looked at Rick. I was even shitting myself. But Rick was right—this was how they survived. Any threat to them had been trapped at the bottom of a pit, and now it was trying to get out.

"This isn't about if it gives, it's when," he continued. "It's gonna happen. That's why we have to do this soon."

Carol stood up. "This is soon. I don't even have another word for it. This is terrifying—all of it. But it doesn't sound like there's any other way."

So she was still masking then, acting like she was a weak and feeble woman. She still had a gun in her possession, not that it mattered too much anymore. I was going to retrieve my own to keep once things calmed down and Rick was training everyone to use one. While they may not have chosen to carry, they needed to learn.

"Maybe there is," a man, Carter, said. "I mean, couldn't we just build up the weak spots? I could draw up plans. I worked on the wall with Reg. Construction crew—we can try and make it safe."

"Even if we could, the sound of those walkers is drawing more and more every day," Rick said. "Building up the exits won't change that."

"It's a pressure bomb," I told him. "It's going to get out one way or another."

"We're gonna do what Rick says," Deanna cut in from the window. I'd forgotten she was even standing there, because she'd been in silence since Rick called the meeting and brought us into her house. "The plan he's laid out."

Rick nodded as he started up again. "I told you all, we're gonna have Daryl leading them away."

"Me, too," Sasha said. "I'll take a car, ride next to him." Rick looked at her, as if to ask if she was sure, and she said. "Can't just be him. I'll keep 'em coming, Daryl keeps 'em from getting sloppy."

"I'll go with her," Abraham said. "It's a long way to white-knuckle it solo."

"We'll have two teams," Rick continued the plan. "One on each side of the forest helping manage this thing. We're gonna have a few people on watch from now on: Rosita, Spencer, and Holly. So they're out," he said. "So who's in?"

His eyes were on me first, and I nodded. "Yeah, course."

"I—" Isaac stopped himself, like he was trying to refrain from making a mistake. "I could try."

"You don't have to," Rick said. "Think about it, we got a lot we need to do first."

He nodded, but I could see the look on his face. I clenched my teeth and turned to Rick, feeling the embarrassment radiating off of Isaac, and I hated that he'd made him feel that way in front of everyone. I couldn't really say anything with everyone around, but Rick could tell from the glance, I noticed the way he looked away.

"Me," Michonne said.

"Me too," Martinez gave a nod.

I could see Glenn whispering something to Maggie, talking in her ear as they glanced between Rick and Deanna. The concern on his face, the way his eyebrows creased told me that he was probably trying to convince her to stay.

When Maggie agreed, Glenn looked up. I'm in.

"I'd like to help as well," Gabriel lifted his hand.

"No," Rick was quick to respond. "Who else? We need more."

I knew he was mad at Gabriel because of what he'd said to Deanna before the meeting, the way he sold us out and made them think we were dangerous. It was one of the reasons they were definitely going to exile us, send us away. He hated us that much and now he wanted to help? I felt just as pissed off as I could feel Rick was behind me.

"There's got to be another play," Carter tried again. "We can't just control that many."

"And what is your solution, Carter?" I asked.

He didn't say anything.

"I said it before, walkers herd up, they'll follow a path if something's drawing them," Rick said, waving his hand as demonstration. "That's how we can get 'em all at once."

"So, what? We're supposed to just take your word for it? We're all supposed to just fall in line behind you after—" He didn't stop himself fast enough.

"After what?"

Carter's voice was quiet as he said. "After you wave a gun around screaming, pointing it at people. After you shoot a man in the face. After you—"

"Enough!" Deanna stopped him, turning around.

He went silent.

"I'll do it," Heath raised a hand.

"Me, too." Francine.

"Whatever you need," Tobin said. "I'm in."

"Now who else?"

It was maybe thirty seconds before anyone spoke up, and just before they did, I could see the subtle shake in Glenn's head to the person opposite him. Nicholas raised his hand, ignoring the look. "I'll go. We have to do this. I need to help."

I shot up straight, immediately turning to Rick. No, I begged. Tell him no, we can't trust him out there with something this big. Rick, however, ignored my stare and asked, "You sure you can handle it?"

"You need people," Nicholas said.

Rick nodded in agreement. "We'll make this work. We'll keep this place safe. Keep our families safe, we will."

"The plan. Go through it again," Carter demanded.

"Man, he just said it," Daryl snapped.

"Every part again," he ignored him. "The exact plan."

"We'll get a map," Rick said. "I'll show it to you."

Most others left after the meeting, but true to his word, Rick retrieved a map and began pointing out the quarry and how it was going to make its way to Alexandria. I didn't understand how, after everything, Carter could still argue with this. We gave him valid reasons for moving the herd west to be the only option, and he still argued.

Walkers got in the walls (all be it a small problem for someone like me who can kill them.) The people here should have been shitting themselves, because a group that didn't know what they were doing was a group that would get torn apart if something like that happened again.

It happened to us, and we learnt to survive.

Rick placed the map down on the table outside, and inspected it for a second, still formulating his plan. I didn't blame him, he only discovered the herd today and we were all still a little unfamiliar with the territory.

"Marshall and Redding," he finally decided. "We force them west here."

"How?" Deanna asked.

"We block it off so they can only go one way, west, away from the community," he said.

Carter, of course, asked the big question. "Block it off with what?"

"Cars," Rick said simply. "We'll use the RVs, some of the bigger trucks, park them end to end.

"We'll be drawing them away," Michonne realised. "They're gonna keep moving."

"Yeah, but that many? Just bouncing off some sedans?" Carter was in disbelief. "And then when they start slipping through and the ones that walk away start distracting the rest and you stop drawing them away?"

"Man's got a point," Heath said.

"We got plates," Eugene's voice grated through my skull (twice in one day . . . yikes.) "The big-ass metal ones from the construction site. We can use them to fortify the whip wall, it'd help disperse the force of impact and direct the walkers clean. Like a pool table. Eight ball, corner pocket."

"That's an army out there," Carter pointed to the fence. I didn't know which one of them had annoyed me more at that moment. "And what happens when this doesn't hold? And they push on through. The curve in this hillside is gonna send them right back east—right back here. You seriously want to risk that?"

"No," Rick said. "So you need to help us to make it hold."

Morgan, shockingly, stepped in next. "These walls, you built them, so you've already done the impossible."

Guess Carter didn't do much of the grunt work because I didn't see him on the construction site.

"Just give me your plans and I'll do it myself," I crossed my arms.

"Either way, we start work tomorrow," Rick said. "We need to be ready."