Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 71 (Before and Now)

Now...

"I know this sounds insane... But this is an insane world. We have to come for them, before they come for us. It's that simple."

Rick's voice boomed over the thousands upon thousands of walkers roaming around the cliffside before them. It was more walkers than any of them had ever seen in one place. Their growling echoed against the rocks and seemed to get louder by the second. They watched as more walkers became attracted to the noise and rolled down the cliff to join the impossible-sized herd.

"This is where it all starts tomorrow," Rick began. "Tobin gets in the truck. Opens the exit, and we're off. He hops out, catches up with his team at Red, staying on the west side of the road. Daryl gets on his bike..."

A loud clank and creaking of metal made CJ point across the herd and call out. "You see that?!"

Everyone watched as the truck blocking the walkers' path towards Alexandria began to fall. After a few seconds of the metal creaking, the rocks broke apart and the truck fell from the cliff, opening the exit.

"It's open! We gotta do this now!" Rick announced, and everyone started to rush to get ready to move. "Tobin's group; get moving. GO!"

"No, Rick! We're not ready!" a man, Carter, called back.

Rick ignored him. "Sasha, Abraham!"

"Damn straight, we'll do it live!" Abraham called back as he and Sasha ran for the car.

"You meet Daryl at Red. Let him take 'em through the gauntlet," Rick instructed.

"Yeah, we'll meet him at red!" Sasha confirmed.

"Go!" Rick shouted.

CJ came to stand beside Daryl, both of them with their weapons trained on the gap between the two trucks in front of them. They heard as Glenn and his group began to move out whilst everyone else rushed to prepare for their parts of the plan.

"You be careful, alright?" Daryl asked her over the noise, his eyes trained on the gap in the trucks.

"You too," she replied. "Guess I'll see you at home."

"You better."

"Rick, this was supposed to be a dry run," Carter persisted and Rick continued to ignore him.

"CJ. Daryl."

"They're comin'!" Daryl yelled as the first walker started to break through the gap. He brushed his hand along CJ's back as he ran around her to his bike.

Carter grabbed Rick's arm. "Rick, we haven't even gone through the whole plan-"

"You wanna walk, you walk. We're finishing this," Rick cut him off, walking away. "Tobin! You hit it on my signal! They're headed for home. We don't have a choice!"

"Get ready to hit the flares!" Rick ordered. "NOW!"

He slammed his hand down and the flares went up into the air, clouds of smoke following the loud bangs, attracting the walkers to all head the same way.

"Tobin! Hit the truck!"

Tobin started moving the truck to make the gap bigger to let the walkers out. Rick, CJ, Morgan and Michonne all made a run for it down the road. Daryl revved his bike's engine and began to drive away to lead the walkers away as they flooded out by the hundreds.

Before...

After the meeting, Rick, Daryl and CJ took Morgan to the house. Rick explained that Morgan was the man who saved him way back at the started when he woke up from the coma. The last time they had seen each other was when Rick went to King County with Carl and Michonne to look for guns back during the war with the Governor.