---
The silence in the lodge hung like a dense fog, palpable and stifling, laden with the unsettling echoes of Zack's grim demonstration. On the scarred wooden table, the hand-drawn map and the ominous can of diesel loomed like a harsh verdict, a cruel testament to a skill and lethality that left everyone, especially Kenny, reeling in disbelief.
Kenny's gaze was riveted to the stark items, then hesitantly drifted upwards to Zack's unyielding, ice-cold expression. The flickering embers of rage in Zack's eyes, a wild inferno fueled by his hatred for Carver, now mingled with an unexpected emotion: an uncomfortable, grudging respect. It was painfully evident that while Kenny had resorted to bluster and bravado, Zack had taken decisive action. The humiliation clawed at Kenny's insides, a bitter pill that lodged uncomfortably in his throat.
Luke broke the silence first, his voice barely a whisper, reverberating with awe. "How... how did you do that? You vanished for two hours. Their camp is a mile away, through the dark woods..."
"It doesn't matter how," Zack replied, his gaze unwavering, still fixed on Kenny. "What matters is that it's done. We have intelligence now. We can forge a real plan."
The power dynamic within the room had completely transformed, a shift so profound that it seemed to upend the very foundation of their group. Zack was no longer just a kid; he had ascended to the role of the most dangerous, most capable individual among them, a realization that settled heavily over the others. From the far side of the room, Sarah watched Zack, her fear melting away, replaced by wide-eyed awe. He resembled a hero summoned from the pages of one of her father's dark novels, both formidable and magnetic. Clem, sensing the shift in Sarah's gaze, instinctively draped herself closer to Zack, her small hand resting protectively on his arm, her expression a mix of admiration and wariness.
Kenny finally exhaled a long, tremulous breath, the fight steadily seeping from him like air from a deflating balloon. He glanced from the icy depths of Zack's eyes to Clem's bright, hopeful face, and then back to Zack's steely resolve. With a defeated sag, he sank into a chair, the words escaping his lips like ashes blown away by the wind. "Fine," he rasped, each syllable tasting of bitterness in his mouth. "Fine. We do it your way."
---
The planning session that followed was a tense, quiet affair. Zack, using the map he'd drawn, laid out a cold and efficient strategy. It was not the plan Kenny wanted.
"This is our target," Zack said, pointing a finger at a large, circled complex on the map. "Howe's Hardware. From what I overheard, it's their main base. Fortified. Well-stocked. That's where he's holding them."
"So we go there now!" Kenny interjected, slamming his fist on the table.
"No," Zack said, his voice cutting and sharp, silencing Kenny instantly. "You go there now, you die. We know their patrol routes, not their internal defenses. We don't know their numbers. We are unsure of their command structure. Attacking now is suicide."
Zack's plan was methodical. It was about patience. He proposed a two-man stealth mission—himself and one other—to infiltrate the perimeter of Howe's, to observe, to learn. "We watch for a full day. We learn their weaknesses. Then we strike. Fast, quiet, and brutal. We get our people, and we disappear."
"A full day?!" Kenny exploded. "My family is in there! We don't have a full day!"
"Your family is alive because Carver wants them alive," Zack countered, his voice like ice. "He's using them as bait. As long as he thinks you're coming for them, they're the most valuable things he has. The moment we attack recklessly, they become liabilities. And you saw what he does to liabilities."
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Walker? or Zombies? (Walking Dead Game x Strong OC)
FanfictionA legend just died and was reborn into the real world that was full of Walker? And he once said, "What the heck, I just reborn to the normal world!? Where is my fantasy Isekai?!" Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead game or series and Left for D...
