The trees were still.
I've spent enough time in silence to know when it means something. When it signals a moment about to turn. The forest east of The Right Arm always felt like a warning, but today it felt like judgment.
Daryl led the way with his crossbow tight to his chest. Kara moved in the rear, her steps precise. And between them, Martinez walked with his wrists loosely bound and his eyes locked ahead.
Beside him, Graves kept his rifle low, but I knew better. He could raise and fire that thing faster than most folks could blink.
He didn't talk much, and he sure as hell didn't trust Martinez.
Neither did I.
Woodbury had been too quiet since the Governor's capture.
Too quiet meant movement.
Marks on trees. Gear stashed too close to our border. Reports from runners saying they'd been watched.
We weren't stupid. The Governor had loyalists—zealots, even. And with their leader locked in our cell, they were bound to do something reckless.
We just decided to beat them to it.
But that wasn't all.
I had bigger plans.
Take out the threat. Absorb the people.
That couldn't happen while the Governor breathed.
"Cut up left," Martinez said after about an hour. "You'll see a fallen pine at a fork. There's a drainage tunnel beyond it."
Graves narrowed her eyes. "How convenient."
"It's a forward cache," he added. "They use it for recon and quick drops."
I stepped beside him. "You sure?"
He didn't blink. "Yeah."
I gave Graves a nod. He stepped ahead and took point, watching for traps.
Under the old concrete was a tarp-covered pit. Inside: three rifles, medical kits, fuel, rations. Fresh, sealed, and marked with a red "W" inside a circle.
Same symbol they etched into our trees.
"They're prepping for something," Kara said.
Daryl nodded. "Something big."
"They're going to try and take him back," Martinez muttered.
I stared at the bag.
"No. They're going to try to start over—with him in charge again."
Not happening.
We set up near the ridge.
Graves took first watch, leaning against a tree, eyes never leaving the dark.
Martinez sat across from me.
"You believed in him," I said, poking the fire with a stick.
"Yeah," he replied. "We all did. At first."
I looked up. "And now?"
He glanced at Graves before answering.
"I stayed too long. That's on me."
I nodded.
"I've made worse mistakes," I said. "But I fixed them by making harder ones."
At dawn, Daryl spotted smoke.
We moved in slow.
Ten people. Light gear. Three clear soldiers, the rest civilians. No sign they knew we were coming.
"They're a satellite group," Kara whispered. "Part of the main effort. Probably waiting for orders."
I studied them through my scope.
"We don't wait."
Kara disabled the perimeter traps with Graves at her side.
Daryl took flank.
I came down the center with Martinez at my side—his hands raised in warning.
"Drop your weapons!" I shouted. "You're surrounded. No one has to die!"
Two of them dropped their gear immediately.
One didn't—and Graves put a round through his leg before he got a shot off.
When the smoke cleared, we had three loyalists tied up and five civilians on their knees.
Martinez didn't run.
I faced the group.
"You're not prisoners," I told them. "But you're not going back to Woodbury either."
A woman with a med kit spoke up. "Then what do we do?"
"You start over," I said. "With us."
Graves stood beside me as we packed up gear.
"You really think we can trust them?" he asked.
"No," I said. "Not yet."
He looked at me sideways. "And Martinez?"
I looked at him across the camp, sitting quietly, flanked by Kara.
"We trust him just enough to use him. After that—we'll see."
Graves nodded.
"And the Governor?" he asked.
I stared out toward the forest.
"He dies."
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