"you can't be everything you wanna be before your time." - billy joel

the sun had fully risen, casting long shadows as we trudged through the woods. the quiet was oppressive, everyone lost in their own thoughts. we reached a break in the thick trees, revealing a massive field just beyond. daryl stopped in his tracks, staring out at the open space before him. "god damn it!" daryl shouted, his voice filled with frustration. "what?" i pushed through the group to stand beside him, and when i saw it, i understood. an empty field. no horde. no whispers. nothing. the whisperer carol and aaron had met had lied to us.

"fuck!" i shouted, the rage bubbling up in my chest. "hang on," aaron said quickly, trying to calm us down. "this doesn't mean mary lied to us. they were protecting this place. they put a trap out there as a deterrent." "yeah, probably from some hunter a decade ago." i shot back, my tone bitter. "no, that thing was rigged more recently than that, and you know it." aaron argued, stepping toward me. i squared my shoulders, my temper flaring. "you wanna stand around and figure it out?" "look," aaron said, trying to reason with me, "the herd could've been here last week or even yesterday. we had an obligation to check this out."

"no, she lied," i snapped, turning on my heel. "time to find lydia." without waiting for a response, i started walking, my frustration fueling each step. the group had no choice but to follow. we continued through the trees, but my mind was racing, clouded with anger. i tried to focus on tracking, on the faint footprints in the dirt that i couldn't even be sure belonged to lydia. all i could think about was the herd—how, if we had found it, lydia could've helped me use it to clear out alpha's people, making it easier for negan to take alpha's head and bring it to me.

"lydia would've taken the river downstream. back to our side." daryl called out, leading the group. i hung back, eyes scanning the trees, hoping for any sign of a whisperer—someone we could use, someone who could give us information. the first whisperer was dead, the second one a liar. i needed anything to point me in the right direction. "hey! isa, come on!" daryl called out again. "you go on, i'll meet you." i muttered, not wanting to be around anyone right now.

"nope, we stay together." daryl replied firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument. but as i glanced through the trees, my eyes locked on something. or someone. my heart raced as i spotted alpha, standing just beyond the clearing, watching us. a slow smirk crept across my face before i took off running, bolting toward her. "i'm gonna fucking kill you!" i shouted, the words tearing from my throat as i sprinted after her. alpha turned and ran, weaving through the trees, heading toward a cave-like structure hidden deep in the woods.

i hesitated momentarily at the entrance, the darkness inside swallowing everything whole. then i followed her in, my blood boiling. the rest of the group was behind me, their voices calling out my name, but i didn't care. i was so close.

the tunnel was pitch black, but i could faintly make out alpha's shadow darting deeper into the cave. suddenly, my foot caught on something, and i tripped, tumbling down a steep incline. rocks scraped my skin as i rolled, landing hard at the bottom, the wind knocked from my lungs. i lay there, gasping, clutching my chest.

echoes filled the cave—growling, moaning, the unmistakable sounds of the dead. i forced myself to stand, wincing from the pain, and looked around. the rest of the group had fallen with me, landing in various states of disarray. as i scanned the darkness, a cold hand reached up from below, grabbing my arm. i jumped back, my heart pounding, and looked down. that's when i saw it. the horde. hundreds of walkers all packed into the cave, shuffling below us. "well, shit." i muttered under my breath.

we were surrounded, trapped in a cave with nothing but rock, more rock, and the endless sea of walkers below. there was no easy way out, and the only thing separating us from certain death was the ledge we had landed on. daryl, carol, aaron, and the others all scanned the cave, their faces mirroring my dread. "any ideas?" i asked, my voice shaky. daryl looked over at me, his expression grim. "yeah. don't fall." 

their flashlights sweep across the cave walls, scanning every ledge and crevice, but all they see is a sea of the dead. "uh, hey guys?" jerry says, his voice laced with tension. he points his light upward, revealing a small torch flickering above them. isa squints and sees alpha standing there, her face shadowed but unmistakable. all of isa's pent-up rage boils over.

"fuck you!" isa screams, her voice echoing through the cave. alpha, unbothered, turns and walks away, leaving isa seething, her breath coming in heavy gasps.

"we could try to get up there." magna says, pointing to a higher ledge. daryl nods and crouches down. jerry joins him, both men bracing themselves as they lift magna, but she struggles to find her grip on the slick rock.

"i can't get it." magna grunts, her fingers slipping as she loses her hold and falls back. jerry catches her before she hits the ground. "damn, you okay?" jerry asks, helping her back to her feet. "i almost had it." she mutters, rubbing her head, frustration clear on her face. "nah, it's too high," daryl replies, shaking his head as he glances up at the ledge. "groundwater's deeper in here. that water's coming from outside." he adds, nodding toward the water creeping into the cave.

"i don't see a way across." carol says, sounding winded. "wait, go back." aaron says, his eyes narrowing. daryl swings his flashlight back, and the beam lands on a series of small rocks, just high enough to stay out of the walkers' reach. "we could use those to get across." aaron suggests. "nice." daryl agrees, examining the layout. "wait, for real?" kelly asks, her voice trembling. isa feels the same fear gnawing at her gut, but she hides it.

aaron nods, and kelly sighs. connie, noticing her sister's anxiety, pulls her into a side hug and signs something reassuring. "all right, you ready?" aaron asks the group. "let's go." daryl says, taking the first leap. he lands on the rock, steadying himself before turning to help the others. isa lingers, her nerves getting the best of her. the rocks are slippery, and the churning mass of walkers below feels far too close.

she finally takes her jump, but a cold, rotting hand grabs her foot mid-leap. isa screams as she slips, panic flashing across her face. daryl reacts in an instant, grabbing her arm and pulling her up before she can fall into the sea of walkers. "holy shit!" isa exclaims, her heart hammering in her chest. "you okay?" daryl asks, his grip still firm on her. "yeah." she mutters, though her voice betrays how shaken she is. they continue to leap from rock to rock, slowly making their way across the cave until they finally reach an opening.

daryl finds a discarded torch on the ground, lighting it to illuminate their path. the group follows him through the tunnel, the flickering light casting long shadows on the jagged walls. at a fork in the cave, daryl stops and hands the torch to connie.

"okay, i need you to stay here. keep everyone together." he says, his voice calm but firm. connie nods, understanding the gravity of the situation. as daryl strikes a match and heads left into the tunnel, aaron speaks up, his voice echoing in the confined space. "should i even ask how we're doing on food?" jerry shakes his head. "not great."

"food? how long do you think we'll be down here?" kelly asks, clearly panicked. "hey, don't worry," jerry says, trying to comfort her. "the walkers got in here somehow, so there's a way out." isa turns to carol, noticing how pale she looks. "you okay?" "yeah, just a little winded." carol replies, her breathing shallow. "my mom was claustrophobic," isa says softly. "just take deep breaths. pretend you're outside." carol nods, following her advice.

the tension builds as magna speaks up, her voice sharp. "why didn't you think of this before you got us all trapped down here?" "didn't expect you to run after me." isa snaps, her frustration rising again. "hey, it's not the time for this." aaron says, stepping between them. "why not?" magna retorts, her voice laced with anger. "seems like we have plenty of time." "i didn't ask you to come with me!" isa shouts, stepping closer to magna.

"what the hell were you thinking? running off like that? of course we were going to follow you!" magna yells back, getting in isa's face. before things can escalate further, daryl steps between them, his voice sharp. "hey! we don't have time for this shit. we got in this mess together, we're gonna get out of it. now, follow me. i think i found a way out." he breaks them up, and the group falls into line, moving deeper into the cave.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.