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TO MAKE IT ten years in the world's heinous apocalyptic state, a person had to be one of two things - a fighter or a monster. If there were no morals to uphold, no promises to keep, loved ones to honour, no consciences. . . the world would be child's play. It was only hard when a person possessed those things, when they wanted to stand out as something better amongst the decaying flesh and debris.
Leo Jang wasn't a monster. He'd undeniably done monstrous things but he felt them. He was buried beneath a mountain of his unjustness and it crushed him daily.
If he was a monster, pain would not be a consequence of acting inhumanely.
Crouched behind a fallen tree branch, Leo's eyes were fixated on a herd of Walkers that were circling over and over as if they were sheep being led by a canine. It was. . . disturbing. If this was evolutionary then it would only be a matter of time before they obtained the ability to behave not just animalistic but human.
Aaron and Jesus were on either side of him, equally plagued with confusion.
The soft padding of paws against the grass alerted them that Daryl had rejoined them. He stood over them with a grim expression, scratching at his stubble. "There's 130-140 of 'em."
Leo kept his eyes focused on the Walkers, desperate to understand when such a big change in their behaviour had occurred. He no longer saw Walkers on a daily basis, but it was still a monthly occurrence - could a change this big really take place in so little time? And if so - what did it mean for humanity? "37. 137 of them."
"You ever see 'em do this before?" Jesus asked Aaron. His voice was laced with curiosity more than it was fear - though, fear was probably a rarity for someone who could fight as well as he could. Not just fighting but everything. He'd never found something he wasn't good at and Leo would be eternally envious of that.
"No," Aaron replied with a worried edge to his tone. "Never."
Jesus nudged Leo's shoulder, letting out a faint laugh. "You've got an answer for everything, right? Care to explain?"
Leo set his hands on his knees, shoulders slumping in defeat. "I can't. I don't. . . nothing explains this. If it was a more human-like behaviour then I could question if there was a semblance of who they once were left over in the brain but it's. . . they're acting like farm animals and I don't know why."
Daryl merely huffed - he had no interest in understanding the dead. "Rosita's backtrack goes right through 'em. We should get the horses, circle round. Then we'll pick it up on foot."
Aaron's brows arched with uncertainty. He gestured to the Walkers. "What about them?"
"What about 'em?" Daryl lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug.
