𝙋anic. That was all Adalyn could hear coming from the walkie. Rick's voice, Daryl's voice, everyone talking all at once, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on.
"Half of them broke off. They're going toward Alexandria," Rick was saying, and the statement sent a chill down Adalyn's spine.
"Towards you?" Abraham asked over his walkie.
"We ran ahead. There's a horn or something," Rick answered. "Loud, coming from the east. It's not stopping."
"I'm gonna gas it up, turn back," Daryl said.
"We have it. You keep going," Rick said.
"They're gonna need our help."
"Gotta keep the herd moving."
"Not if it's going down, we don't."
Rick wasn't having it. "The rest of that herd turns around, the bad back there gets worse. Daryl?"
"Yeah, I heard you," Daryl answered.
Adalyn kept silent. In all honesty, she wanted to turn back. Make for Alexandria and see if all of the others were all right. Whatever that horn was, it was bad, and she wanted to know what happened. But arguing with Rick wasn't worth it.
Daryl seemed to hesitate as they drove. He slowed slightly, glancing at Adalyn. "Hey, we gone five miles out yet?" he asked.
"About," she said. "Why?"
"Next intersection we're gonna spin around and go back."
"We're supposed to go another fifteen," Adalyn stated.
"Yeah, I'm gonna change that. Five's gonna have to work."
"We're supposed to go out twenty miles. That's what Rick said. That's the mission. You turn back if you want, but we won't be able to take care of them on our own. We need you."
They were approaching a sign advertising Alexandria's houses.
Daryl looked ahead, then back at Adalyn. "I got faith in you. Tell Abraham and Sasha."
And then he was speeding ahead.
Adalyn could hear Sasha and Abraham yelling, confused as all hell. She turned on the walkie with a sigh. "He's circling back to Alexandria," she told them, not waiting for a response before she continued, "I'm gonna fall back toward the middle. You both keep going, I'll deal with stragglers."
"You want to get in the middle of that shitstorm?" Abraham asked her.
"It's the best option," she said as she slowed the car to a crawl, seeing Abraham and Sasha disappear into the herd. She rolled up the windows most of the way to try and contain the scent of her.
Walkers thumped against the sides of the car, but they seemed mostly uninterested. She kept silent, turning off her walkie for good measure. If she wound up dying in the middle of this so-called shitstorm, she was going to make sure she didn't look like an idiot while doing it.
