Safe haven | Rick Grimes

092. I DIDN'T HEAR HIM

Chapter ninety two

"I didn't hear him."

It was training day at Oceanside. A waterlogged walker washed up on the shoreline, rotted branches tangling through its decaying ribs. Before it could completely drag itself onto the sand, a katana blade pierced through its skull.

Judith stood over the body, ripping the sword free in one fluid motion as Caroline, young Daryl, and little Rick kept watch beside her.

"Watch your ranks! Watch your files!" Aaron's voice boomed over the crash of the waves.

Behind the children, a disciplined vanguard of militia fighters marched past in tight, synchronized lines. Rick, Caroline, young Daryl, and Judith sprinted over to join the moving formation, finding their places right beside their mother as the entire battalion headed down the sweeping beach.

Further down the shore, Jerry and Ezekiel stood guard by the rusted hold of a sunken ship. Cyndie and Rachel walked directly up to the metal cargo door, banged hard on the iron to draw the dead inside, and rapidly backed away. The front lines of the militia advanced, locking their massive wooden riot shields together to form an impenetrable wall.

Ezekiel unlatched the heavy lever and threw the door open. Three snarling walkers stumbled out into the sunlight.

The shield-bearers smoothly opened a gap in the wall, letting Cyndie and Rachel slip through to the safety of the back lines before slamming the perimeter shut again. Ezekiel and Jerry immediately forced the cargo door closed behind the targets to cut off the rest of the herd.

"And halt!" Aaron voiced, his command ringing out across the sand. The entire line ground to a synchronized stop. "Drop!"

The shield wall dropped smoothly onto one knee, opening the line of sight for the rear guard.

"Archers!" Aaron voiced.

Caroline and young Daryl raised their weapons in perfect unison with the other marksmen. The sharp twang of Caroline's bow and the mechanical snap of Daryl's crossbow echoed over the surf, their arrows dropping the three walkers instantly into the wet sand.

"Retrieve!" Aaron voiced.

The shield wall parted just enough for Cyndie and Rachel to sprint out, yank their arrows from the bodies, and dart back into formation before the gap was locked down tight.

"Right! And march!" Aaron commanded.

Ezekiel and Jerry threw the cargo door open a second time, releasing three more snarling dead into the trap. The front ranks shifted their shields to clear a path as Cyndie and Rachel retreated through the center, before locking the wall back into place.

"And halt!" Aaron voiced. The formation stopped on a dime as Ezekiel and Jerry slammed the iron door shut once more. "Spears!"

The front line of spearmen stepped forward through the shields, their long wooden pikes leveled.

"Thrust!" Aaron voiced.In one powerful, synchronized surge, the spearmen drove their blades straight through the walkers' skulls, completing the drill with flawless precision.

A rogue walker burst from the brush on the left. Alden reacted instantly, hoisting his spear and throwing it with deadly precision to drive the blade straight through its skull. Near the sunken ship, Jerry and Ezekiel threw the metal cargo door open a third time, releasing a larger cluster of four snarling walkers into the surf. The shield-bearers opened a quick gap, allowing Alden to retrieve his spear and slide back into formation before locking the line down.