While most of the crew were busy treating the wounded and loading them up to be moved to the prison or making an inventory of the remaining supplies of Woodbury and accounting for the remaining Woodbury residents, the first number of walkers had already started drifting in from the tree line.
Not many. A dozen, maybe fewer, stumbling out of the woods in loose twos and threes, drawn by the noise that had carried a lot further than anyone would've liked. Jack spotted the first ones from up the water tower and didn't wait for anyone to sound an alarm.
"Contact, walkers on the east side," he radioed and added. "It's a small group but might grow if left alone. Somebody get a team and clear them out."
"Copy that. Those who are free, meet me at the front gate."
T-Dog was the first to respond and announced his intent. He then called out to two fighters who looked like they just finished whatever they were doing and brought them with him towards the destroyed front gate.
Not long after arriving there, Daryl also appeared with his brother Merle, then Tom appeared with Shepherd and joined them.
Seeing the two coming together, Daryl raised an eyebrow, while Merle smirked looking at them. Tom and Shepherd acted like they didn't notice them and just looked ahead.
"Man, it hasn't been a day, but someone had already started making their moves huh" Merle chuckled, smirking.
T-Dog just shook his head. "Come on, let's clean them up quick before more shows up."
They exited through the destroyed gate and headed east where they met the first walkers just coming out of the woods, and Daryl dropped it clean with an arrow as they were moving and retrieved the bolt along the way. T-Dog took the second one down with an upward swing of his hammer as they ran past them and Tom kicked the following third walker to the ground and finished it with a stab of his metal spear.
The group eventually slowed down to a walk and kept a close eye on their surroundings while making their way towards the noise of walkers ahead of them.
They can see walkers moving towards them in the distant open plain, but they just ignored them since it would be a while before they reached the wall.
Along the way to the eastern wall, they encountered more walkers, either alone or in a small group, following whatever thread of sound or scent still lingered in the air. A woman in a torn cardigan, missing most of her lower jaw, nearly caught T-Dog's sleeve before Merle put her down from behind. Then a small group of walkers appeared on top of a small embankment and rolled down from it when they tried to take another step forward.
Daryl and the others quickly headed towards them and killed all ten of them before they could get up.
"I think this is a good time to retreat and abandon this place," Shepherd said when she saw that there're more walkers ahead of them.
"Yeah" Daryl said, turned around and lightly smacked Merle's chest. "Let's go!"
Not long after they turned around, several molotovs started arching up from the other side of the wall and landed in the midst of the growing walker herd.
The bottles broke into pieces and fire quickly spread through the ranks of the walkers and lit them on fire.
Daryl and the others quickly returned and reported what they saw outside.
"Yeah, we already know. Instead, go help the others in loading up the supplies. We need to leave this place as soon as possible before it gets overrun." Michael said as he lightly tapped Daryl's shoulder.
They quickly moved and started moving the supplies, Michael wasn't an exception. Everyone was doing what they could do to help.
There was the occasional gunshot, but the militia mostly used molotovs and relied on the wall to keep the undead at bay.
Every vehicle that could be used was used and loaded up with supplies, and before long, the small convoy grew from two vehicles to ten, two of those are not even working but will be pulled by the larger cars.
As time trickled by, more and more walkers started to appear to surround Woodbury.
In another ten minutes or so, the entire compound would be surrounded, and their escape would prove more difficult than it initially was.
"We'll leave in five minutes! Everyone is to regroup at my location. So, finish whatever task you have at hand and come back here." Michael radioed, and everyone who heard him responded to confirm.
Everyone quickly hastened their movements. They loaded the last batch of supplies onto the back of the truck. Some started making head count, while some made their way towards the destroyed gate and cleared the debris, they used to block the wall and at the same time, cleared the walkers in the immediate area to make escaping easier.
One minute left before the five minutes is up.
Michael stood before the door of the school bus that carried all of the Woodbury residents, and behind it, there's a white SUV full of supplies that's going to be towed using a sturdy rope.
"Is everyone here?" Michael radioed to everyone carrying a radio.
[Team 2 is accounted for] Rick responded through the radio.
[The same goes for Team 3] Jack said.
Michael looked around him before jumping onto the hood of the school bus. He looked around the area to make sure there's no one left behind, and only when he confirmed that there are not more human activities within the area did, he make his way inside the school bus and sat behind the wheel.
"Move out!"
He radioed and soon the convoy started to move and made their way out of Woodbury. Though they slowed down when they reached the gate where most of Team 1 were busy repelling the walkers and picked them up.
The convoy pulled out of Woodbury with little to no trouble. Their exit was easy since the heavily wounded were quickly moved out ahead after the initial treatment, and that they are to be properly treated in the Prison where it has better equipment.
Michael rode behind the convoy, and the bus was quiet except for the hushed voices. Everyone was either sleeping or looking out at the passing scenery in daze.
Everyone is physically and mentally exhausted.
"Finally, some peace and quiet in the days ahead." Daryl said from the seat behind him, arms crossed, eyes half-closed.
"Yeah. Everyone worked hard today," Michael said, though he didn't have the energy to put much weight behind it.
Daryl huffed something that might've been agreement and let his head fall back against the seat.
The journey so far was peaceful but somewhere along the way, someone suddenly started quietly crying — not loud, not dramatic, just the kind of exhausted, delayed grief when the realization of what happened today and an uncertain future for them hit.
"Think Rick's gonna be alright?" Daryl asked, eyes still closed.
Michael glanced at him. "Which part of today are you asking about?"
"All of it, I guess." Daryl shifted in his seat. "Man fought a whole war today and he's still got a war waiting for him when he gets home."
Michael didn't answer right away. He kept his eyes on the road, on the back of the vehicle ahead of them and thought about Shane sitting in that cell back at the prison, awaiting judgement from Rick.
"He'll handle it," Michael said finally. "One way or another."
"That supposed to be comforting?"
"Wasn't trying to be comforting. Just honest."
Daryl huffed again, quieter this time, and let the conversation drop.
Behind them, the settlement shrank into the distance — smoke still curling up from the last of the fires, the water tower standing tall over an intersection full of the dead and somewhere out there, unaccounted for, a wounded man and the driver of a sedan who'd passed a stranger on the road without either of them knowing how close they'd come to something else entirely.
Michael watched it all disappear in the side mirror and said nothing.
Since the convoy had grown bigger, the journey took them longer this time. Dusk was already approaching when they reached the Prison.
Somebody up on the wall spotted the convoy. A shout went up, relayed down the line, and by the time the lead truck rolled to a stop at the outer gate, Glenn could already hear the sound of the old locking mechanism starting to grind as the wooden gate slowly opened inward.
"We're back," Daryl said, sitting up straighter compared to when they were still on the road, some of the exhaustion draining out of his voice.
Michael didn't answer. He knew people were already gathering at the front— waiting to see who'd come back, and who hadn't, and what exactly they'd brought home with them this time.
The gate finished opening.
Michael took a slow breath, and the convoy rolled forward into a chapter of their lives.