The start

Not a normal Herd

We head straight for the trees but it was too late. The herd was already in the field. Daryl stops in the woods as we watch the herd.

"You put that herd around 140, right?" Jesus asked.

"Yeah." Daryl says as he walks up behind them.

"Looks like more than double that now." Jesus says as he takes the goggles off.

"Could be a different herd. Or it merged with another one." Aaron thinks.

"Can't fight it. We're out numbered." I stare at them. They were in circles again. Daryl's timer goes off as some of them broke off to get it.

"Ain't gonna be there very long. Don't matter how big it is as long as it's going the other way. Come on." Daryl says as we head back on track. We were getting closer from the looks of it. The storm was also starting to pick up. We finally reached the barn that Aaron and Jesus said Rosita hid Eugene.

"Let's go in." I said looking up at the sky.  I could see a strike of lightning in the sky lighting up the dark barn. Followed after was thunder which I could feel in my chest.

"Go on, boy. Go find him." Daryl tells dog as he hops into the barn sniffing for Eugene. We all climb in as they look around. Dog barks and sits on the pile of hay that was bunched up.

"Move. Good dog." Daryl tells him as they kick the pile of hay.

"Here." Jesus reveals a hatch.

"Eugene? Are you in there?" Aaron calls out.

"Affirmative." I could here his voice. I sighed in relief as I went to barn doors to keep an eye out. They open the hatch showing Eugene holding a knife up. He was shaking and quivering. Something spooked him.

"Give me your hand. Eugene, Eugene,  you alright?" Aaron asked as they pulled him out of the hole. He was clutching his leg.

"I took a bad step and dislocated my knee. There was a herd on our six, and Rosita was forced to stash me here." Eugene stuttered out. He was still scared.

"Well, if it's dislocated, we can just pop it back in," Daryl started as he went to walk over and pop it back in place.

"No. We have to get out of here. The herd that followed us here is on its way back." Eugene stops Daryl and tells us.

"I saw their tracks. They're gone." Daryl tries to assure Eugene but he wasn't believing it.

"No, it's not. It's already been through here twice. It's looking for me. We have to get away before it comes back." Eugene tells him.

"Eugene, whats got you so scared?" I asked looking at him closely.

"This wasn't a normal herd." He whispered.

"What do you mean?" Aaron asked.

"When, When they passed us by, we could hear them. They were. They were whispering to each other." He said shakily.

"You mean they were talking?" Aaron asked.

"I-I know how it sounds. But Rosita heard it, too. She'll corroborate." Eugene quivered. Walkers talking? Thats crazy talk. Maybe he was dehydrated or something.

"Yeah. We should get him back." Daryl says as we head for the doors. Dog started to bark. We look out the window and see the herd.

"There's no way that's the same herd." Daryl shook his head.

"They got us cut off." Aaron says as he takes a look.

"No, no, no, no. No, no." Eugene started to freak out as Jesus helped him up off the floor.

"So we'll backtrack, we'll go around 'em. Old Route isn't far. It's the straightest shot back to the horses." Daryl suggests.

"Lead the way." Aaron says as he helps Jesus with Eugene. We head out of the barn and straight for the woods back to where we came from. Aaron hands Eugene off to Daryl as he checks on the herd to see how far away they are now. I led the way. We stopped at the broken down car which was half way there to the horses and bike.

"You're gonna get me," Eugene started to say but then cries out in pain.

"Put him here. We need to wait up for Aaron." I tell the boys as they put Eugene on the hood of the car.

"Come on. It doesn't make any sense. They shouldn't have doubled back like that. And they definitely shouldn't have followed us all the way to the barn." Jesus thinks as he was trying to catch his breath.

"I do have a theory to posit. The walkers are evolving." Eugene says as he rubs his leg.

"Oh, that's bullshit." Daryl breaths out.

"Is that even possible?"  I asked as I was catching my breath.

"They're dead, they're not evolving." Jesus shakes his head not wanting to believe it.

"Being dead hasn't exactly stopped them from perambulating ad infinitum, though, has it? They're not dead in any sense that makes sense. It takes an impact to the cranium to stop them, which means the brain is alive, degraded as it may be. And if it's alive, it can change. Maybe even start to remember things, too, like how to talk." Eugene tries to argue his point.

"What?" Daryl asked looking speechless.

"It's not any crazier than the dead being alive in the first place. If they can learn to talk, maybe they can learn strategy and how to hunt." Jesus considers this. Its crazy to think walkers could speak.

"They're right on our asses. We've gotta get to the horses fast." Aaron comes running out of the woods and joins up with us.

"You have to leave me behind. I'm slowing you down and tiring you out. Every time we stop, the dead get closer." Eugene tells us as I shake my head.

"We're not doing that."

"No! We came out here to find you. We're not going home without you." Jesus pleads.

"You don't have a choice." Eugene tries to argue back.

"It's not your call. The numbers actually work for us. We can split up. You three get him back to the horses. I'll wait for the herd to get here, then I'll draw them off in the other direction. Then I'll ditch them and meet you back at the Hilltop. " Jesus tells us.

"We're stronger together." Aaron says.

"That doesn't help us. Our only way out of this is to avoid a fight." Jesus yells.

"No. If anyone stays, it's gonna be me.  Go. Hell, I'll probably beat you back. Go with them." Daryl says as he walks over to me.

"No, I'm not leaving you." I shake my head.

"You need to lead them. They can't do it alone if they are both carrying him." Daryl says as he pushes me lightly toward the boys as they grab Eugene.

"Then I'll lead the walkers. They need some one stronger to trade off carrying Eugene." I take his hands off me.

"No. I already called it. Get back to the bike and then come find me and Dog if you don't see me. Give me a kiss and go. The herds getting closer." He says as he throws his crossbow on his shoulders and grabs my arms. He wasn't giving up.

"I'll find you. I promise." I kiss him.

"Counting on it." He mumbles over top of my lips as he kisses me one last time. I walk over to the boys and led off.

"Dog!" Daryl calls for him as we go our separate ways. We survived a lot over the years. We've been through a lot together and separate. We always find our way back home to each other. He's gonna make to the bike before me. He will. He has to.