LOYAL [TWD] (third book to TROUBLE)

the plan

Snow an ice covered the fields. 

Daryl, Yumiko, Magna, Eugene, and Ezekiel stayed on tight watch as the group traveled. But, Daryl was certain the Whisperers wouldn't risk these conditions. Kelly made a joke about them hibernating in their skin caves- the visual made Gabriel gag.

Ahead, Sakiko, Rosita, Kelly, and Connie looked to be gossiping. Sakiko said they were the 'flavor pack' of the crew. Rosita agreed and the women laughed. Nanami was happy to see Sakiko looking a little more like herself.

"This is it," Daryl directs.

The group eases to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the quarry.

"This is.. Maybe half. Maybe a little more," Daryl explains.

Alpha had led Daryl to this quarry before the pikes. There were hundreds, thousands even, of walkers filling the area. Now, it was nearly bare.

"They took some with them," Carl figures.

"They're not making any noise," Rosita points out, "You were right, Nanami. They're frozen."

"How'd you put two and two together?" Eugene wonders.

"I saw a few when I was on the road. Then, a few heading to Alexandria and others saw them going to Hilltop. I think because they're.. you know.. dead.. that they're ice cold. The weather doesn't kill them, it just freezes them."

"Rosita, Sakiko," Carl names, "Bomb time."

Sakiko and Carl trade a look of tension. But, she nods and follows Rosita to the side where others had brought the explosives.

"We're heading in," Nanami states, shedding his pack off.

This was Nanami and Carl's plan. But, everyone listened and followed. 

The group was really the old crew. Those from the prison, on the road, and select Alexandria, Hilltop, Oceanside, and Kingdom people.

Jerry was helping get the ropes ready with Cyndie. When it was time, they tied them around Nanami and Carl.

"Hey," Sakiko calls, grabbing Nanami's arm- a TNT in the other.

"Yeah?" Nanami asks.

Sakiko frowns and tugs her brother into a hug. Nanami returns the sentiment, patting her back.

"I love you. Be safe," Sakiko whispers.

"I love you, too," Nanami pulls back, "Don't die."

A tear builds in Sakiko's eyes at the old Dixon saying. She nods and blinks her emotions away. 

"You ready?" Nanami asks Carl.

"As ever," Carl nods, heading to the edge of the cliff.

Sakiko and Rosita finish up the bomb wiring and place the two sets in Nanami and Carl's backpacks.

"Be careful down there," Daryl advises.

"Just remember, no sudden movements. Don't drop the sticks, set them down. And if one goes off.. Just hold your shit and pray," Rosita adds.

"Noted," Carl agrees.

Jerry and Martinez ease Nanami's rope down the cliff. Siddiq and Gabriel do the same for Carl.

Nanami only glanced up one time to see Sakiko and Daryl side by side, watching as he was lowered into the madness below.

When Nanami is halfway down, Sakiko kneels on one leg and pulls her bow and arrow out. Her eyes scan the quarry.

The walkers were frozen. If there were any Whisperers down there, they'd be the only ones moving. It would be easy to spot them and Sakiko was a good shot. 

A team of Eugene, Magna, Yumiko, Luke, Jules, and Siddiq head to the other side of the quarry. They needed eyes everywhere. 

Finally at the bottom of the bound ropes, Carl and Nanami help each other out of them. It wasn't even actual ropes- it was twine that the Oceanside people always found washing up on shore. But, it worked.

The ground cracks under their boots as they walk through the herd of walkers.

They'd done this dozens of times. Walking through a herd was becoming normal and inevitable. But, there was something so different about this time. The walkers were frozen. If Nanami listened hard enough, he could hear them growling under the ice.

It was unsettling, to say the least. But, Carl and Nanami push forward.

Nanami signs to Carl- something everyone had begun picking up on because of their love for Connie. They nod and go in separate ways.

Nanami kneels carefully, placing a stick of dynamite on the ground with caution. As he stands straight, someone begins walking toward him. He spots the knife in their hand and panics. There were still Whisperers in here.

Before he could take his knife out, an arrow flies through the air and nails the person in the side of the head. The body falls and Nanami looks up to see Sakiko loading another arrow in her bow.

This was a smart plan, Nanami reminds himself, shaking off the close call. Or, at least it was a plan.

He pushes forward.

There are another two or three sticks laid out before there's another movement. This one was a walker- it's bottom half was frozen but top half still reaching for him. Nanami eases his knife out and stabs it, catching it before it slumps over. Gently, he kicks at the ice around the walker's legs and lays it on the ground. 

"Nanami!" Carl hisses, sounding distant.

Nanami looks just in time. It was like a domino effect. One walker was similar to the one he'd just killed and had knocked over one of the frozen ones. Then, as the frozen one falls, it bumps into two or three more. He takes a big step over and catches one right before it falls on the stick of dynamite. He lays it down to the side and takes a deep breath.

This was ridiculous. Nanami hated the Whisperers but this was too much even for someone as sick as them. He and Carl weren't even halfway through the quarry.

There are a few more Whisperers still around that Sakiko, Daryl, Connie, and Carol take out from the cliff's edge.

Maybe they could make this work. It was getting dark. Nanami was beginning to lose feeling in his fingers from the cold.

Then, there's a scream from above.