𝙏he groups that had broken off returned with walker heads that they could try and pass off as Gregory. Rick was speaking as they lay the bodies on the side of the road. "We're gonna take a look around, try to get a feel for how many people are in there. We like how it looks, we go in. A couple of hours before dawn. The guards outside'll be tired. Everyone inside'll be sleeping. We don't like what we see, we head back, make a new plan. They don't know who we are. We'll keep Jesus in the shadows." He shrugged. "This is how we eat. This is how we eat. We roll out at midnight."
He left the center of the road, speaking briefly to Carol before he made to check the heads that had, making sure that one looked enough like Gregory for it to work. She winced as she watched him punch one in the face, forcing its nose into a new position. Whatever they had to do to make it work, she supposed.
At midnight, they set out. Adalyn squeezed the handle of her knife until her knuckles turned white. It was pitch black outside as she watched Andy pull up in front of the building. The woods were eerily silent.
Lights went on at the sight of the approaching vehicle, bathing Andy in red light. "Stop right there!" a man's voice shouted. "Announce yourself, asshole!"
"It's Andy from Hilltop! It's done!" Andy answered.
"Step out!" instructed the man.
Andy stopped the car. He stepped out with his hands raised. "Is that it?" the man called.
"Yeah!" Andy answered. He held the walker's head in his hand.
"Bring it here, shit brain!"
The door opened. Two men exited, guns drawn as Andy approached. He held the head out, earning a scoff from one of the men. "I don't want the bag, needle dick."
Andy hesitated, opening the bag. He drew the head out, presenting it to the two men.
"Will you look at this shit?" the first man noted with a chuckle. "Will you look at this shit?"
The second man stepped forward, examining the head closely.
Andy awkwardly held up his bandaged hand. "He broke my hand. I broke his nose," he said. "That's why he looks that way."
The second man took the head in his own grip, turning it over. Then, he looked at Andy, who looked petrified. He held the head up, moving the mouth as he took on a high-pitched, nasally voice. "Little bitch broke my nose. Wah." The second man broke into laughter as Andy relaxed a fair amount, smiling weakly.
The second man threw the head aside. Then, he clasped Andy's shoulder, smearing the walker's blood down his shirt. "Okay, looks like you learned. I'll get your guy, you'll go home, and you bring us more stuff next week, hmm?" he smacked Andy lightly on the cheek.
The first man started whistling 'Happy Birthday' quietly, watching the second man go back inside the outpost.
And then Daryl crept out from the woods and slit his throat. He dropped, and Daryl stabbed him in the head, making sure he wouldn't turn.
Everyone else came running in, weapons ready. Aaron, Abraham, and a man named Heath dealt with the guard's body. Andy took his gun. They hid once more as the second man came back out, leading a beaten and bruised man with him. Craig, Adalyn assumed. "Well, well, well," the man was saying. "Look who it is."
