<3rd Person Pov>
The group was already gathered in the house by the time the sun had dipped low. Rick and Shane sat at the table in silence, both of them carrying fresh bandages across their faces. Shane's left eye was swollen and bruised black, but he didn't say a word, just pushed food around on his plate.
The quiet broke when the door creaked open. Itachi stepped inside, Sophia riding high on his shoulders, giggling as he carried her in. Her laughter was bright, cutting through the stillness in the room. He set her down gently beside Carol.
Carol brushed a strand of hair from Sophia's face, smiling softly. "And what were you two up to?"
Sophia perked up immediately, her eyes bright. "He taught me a new game! I have to get to the finish line without making a sound. If I make noise and he catches me, I lose."
Carol chuckled. "And did you win?"
Sophia hesitated, glancing shyly up at Itachi before looking back at her mom. "…No." Her cheeks flushed, but then she grinned again, clapping her hands together. "But I got really close!"
Carol's smile widened just seeing Sophia so happy. A few chuckles rippled through the group at Sophia's pride.
Carl, though, didn't laugh. He only stared, his eyes shifting from Sophia to Itachi, a flicker of envy crossing his face. Rick caught the look, his brow tightening ever so slightly.
"Why don't you play with them next time?" Rick asked in a gentle tone.
Carl blinked, surprised, then nodded quickly as a smile crept over his face.
But Lori, sitting stiffly at Rick's side, frowned. "I didn't agree to this."
Rick turned to her sharply. "And since when do I not get a say in what my son can and can't do?"
Lori froze, her mouth parting. "That's not what I meant…"
Rick exhaled hard, shaking his head. "Just let the kid play, Lori."
The room went quiet. Forks clinked softly, but no one spoke, eyes darting between the two of them. But strangely, Shane never looked up. He just kept eating, without sparing a glance.
Then a sudden pop! cut through the tension. Everyone's heads turned towards the end of the table.
Jacqui sat there, wide-eyed, caught with a wine bottle in her hands and the cork dangling at her side. She blinked at everyone staring and raised an eyebrow. "What? Never seen a lady have a drink before?"
Before anyone could answer, she tipped the bottle back and took a long, deep swig.
Daryl smirked from across the table. "Hell, look at ya. Puttin' the rest of us to shame."
The group broke into laughter, the tight mood easing all at once.
Otis disappeared for a moment, only to return with his arms full of more bottles, placing them down on the table with a grin. "So, who ordered three more?"
Half the table shot their hands up without hesitation.
Hershel chuckled, though he shook his head. Then, after a pause, he moved to a cabinet near the counter. From it, he pulled out a dark bottle of whiskey.
"This one," Hershel said, setting it down on the table, "is from my private shelf."
Daryl gave a low whistle. "That's some good shit right there."
Hershel shot him a look. "Language."
Daryl just smirked, said nothing more, and slid his glass forward. Hershel poured him a drink without hesitation, then turned and filled Rick's cup before the man had even asked. One by one, he poured for T-Dog, Glenn, Jenner, and Jim.
Daryl noticed Itachi sitting empty-handed. With a grunt, he snagged another glass, held it out for Hershel to fill, then slid it across the table towards him.
Daryl met Itachi's eyes. "Ain't no fun sittin' sober while the rest of us drink."
The group drank and laughed. Stories and jokes bounced around the table, filling the house in a sweet rhythm.
Amy and Itachi sat side by side, talking and sharing small stories. Amy laughed, while Itachi answered with a smile from time to time.
The warmth of it all shattered in an instant when a crash echoed from upstairs. The sound of breaking glass.
Beth's voice rang out. "Get out!"
Every head at the table turned upward. The laughter died at once, silence swallowing the room.
A few seconds later, Jimmy made his way down to the group. Just smiling awkwardly, as every eye turned his way.
Hershel shifted in his chair, his gaze moving towards his eldest daughter. "Maggie, dear, would you go check on her?"
But Maggie was already pushing back from the table before her father had even finished speaking. She just nodded once and went upstairs.
Hershel just stared at Jimmy for a moment before finally gesturing towards the table.
"Come eat something."
Jimmy sat down slowly, keeping his head low as he tried to avoid eye contact with anyone at the table. Everyone understood not to ask questions, so they simply carried on eating and enjoying the moment.
Then T-Dog glanced towards the dark windows, lowering his voice a little. "Just makin' sure—someone's takin' second watch after me, right?"
Itachi immediately looked toward Ricks, who seemed just as stunned by T-Dog's words. Without a word, Itachi pushed back his chair and headed straight for the door, slipping outside into the night.
The farmyard was quiet, nothing but the hum of crickets and the faint rustle of trees. His eyes swept the darkness, searching for anything out of place.
Behind him, footsteps stumbled over the porch. Amy followed. "Is something wrong?"
Itachi didn't answer. He just kept staring into the shadows until his eyes shifted, the black bleeding into red.
Amy froze at his side. Her lips parted slightly as she stared at him. She didn't say a word, just stood there with her mouth slightly open, caught between awe and disbelief.
Itachi's eyes suddenly flicked to the right. Amy followed his line of sight, peering out into the dark fields, but she saw nothing. Just an empty field.
Then his voice cut through the silence."A horde is coming."
Amy immediately rushed back inside without asking another question.
A second later, the sound of panic erupted, chairs scraping, glass breaking, voices rising all at once as everyone poured out of the house.
Otis snatched up a nearby rifle, bracing it against the porch rail as he lifted the scope, scanning the fields. He froze after only a few seconds, his face draining of color.
"Mother of God…" he muttered. "There are hundreds."
Rick immediately looked towards the others. "Get the guns—now!"
Shane was already up, sprinting for the cars, shotgun in hand.
Patricia lunged to help Hershel as the old man staggered, still stunned by the news. "Hershel—come on," she urged, hauling him to his feet. "I'll— I'll get the girls."
"I'll inform the girls. Don't worry," Hershel mumbled.
Daryl was across the yard before Rick had even finished.
"Glenn—come here!" he shouted.
Glenn didn't hesitate. He shot up from his chair and sprinted toward the vehicle, boots pounding the dirt.
Carol stood frozen for half a heartbeat, eyes on the dark horizon. "Maybe they'll pass, just like on the highway."
Rick's gaze stayed pinned to the fields. The first hints of movement blurred into shapes, then into a slow, obscene swell of bodies. A black tide rolling across the plain.
He swallowed hard. "They're heading straight for the house," he said, each word tight with urgency. "That many… that size—it'd flatten the house."
Someone—T-Dog, maybe, or Jim, nobody could tell—let out a curse. The clatter of metal echoed as people reached for weapons, checked magazines. It was a chain reaction.
Itachi guided the children towards the armored car as it rumbled closer to the house, herding them quickly inside. He scooped up a stumbling Amy and lifted her in with ease, setting her down in the passenger seat beside Daryl. He placed a rifle taken from the bag Shane had brought back into her hands.
His gaze shifted to the back seat where Carl sat wedged beside Sophia, wide-eyed and frozen. Itachi studied him for a heartbeat longer before drawing out a pistol and holding it towards him.
"Only use it if you really need it."
Carl stared, stunned, as he took the weapon. Then nodded with sudden determination. "I will."
Amy looked at Itachi wide-eyed. "Wait, I can hel—"
He swung the door shut before she could finish.
Daryl didn't wait. He slammed the car into gear and drove it closer, swinging it into position for Glenn to prepare his shot.
One by one, the rest of the vehicles pulled up alongside, forming a rough line across the yard. Rifles were laid out along the hoods, each weapon set and ready to open fire.
T-Dog shook his head, a wry grin flicking across his face.
"Hell of a time to be fightin' a horde drunk."
Andrea shot him a sharp look. "Oh, shut up—just pray we get out of this in one piece."
Before the quiet fell heavy again, all eyes snapped back to the fields.
Then the first shapes began to emerge from the dark fields, staggering and swaying, dozens of them, and behind them an endless swell.
"Here they come…" Rick muttered.
Glenn didn't hesitate. He squeezed the trigger, and the gun roared to life, a thunderclap of fire and steel that lit up the night sky. Tracers ripped across the field, tearing through the dead like wet paper.
The barricade erupted in fire. Rifles cracked, shotguns boomed, as the night flashed with bursts of light.
Amid the chaos, Itachi fired in a steady rhythm, each bullet finding an eye, a skull, a kill, never wasting a round.
The Greene family joined the line. Hershel raised his old hunting rifle, Patricia clutched a pistol tight, and Otis fired steadily from the porch, each shot dropping another walker. Maggie stood firm beside her father, pistol in hand, firing into the mass. Together, they began thinning the horde.
Bit by bit, the swarm faltered. The endless moans grew scattered, as the bodies piled higher in the fields. Each burst from Glenn's mounted gun carved open another gap, and Itachi's steady shots finished stragglers before they could get close.
At last, the final walker toppled to the ground. Smoke hung over the yard, thick with the stench of blood and gunpowder. Silence followed, only the ringing in their ears and the hammer of their own hearts reminding them they'd survived.
Glenn lowered his hands from the mounted gun. "That was easier than I thought…" he muttered, half in disbelief.
A few tired laughs and nods followed from around the line, but Shane's voice cut through quickly. "Don't get cocky. We only got through this because Itachi spotted them early. If they'd been any closer, we could have been overrun."
Rick gave a firm nod. "He's right. We got lucky tonight. If we weren't this well-armed, it could've gone bad fast." He scanned the group. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll talk about what comes next. For now, we need to stay alert more than ever."
Hershel stepped forward, his face drawn but resolute. "Then you'll all sleep inside the house. It's about time anyway."
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🧪 Author's Note:
I didn't want to drag out the fight with the walkers this time. The group has more people, they're better armed, and it wasn't a surprise attack—they spotted the horde way before it reached them. Because of that, I didn't see a long, drawn-out battle making sense for this chapter.
But let me know what you thought! Did you like this approach, or would you have preferred a bigger fight?
🖤 Thanks again for reading!