<3rd Person Pov>
With the first door secured, the three pressed on, step by step through the narrow halls. When they reached the next junction, a rusted door hung slightly ajar. Itachi raised a hand, and the others stopped. He eased it shut, slid a key into the lock, and turned it until it clicked. He nodded once, and together they moved on to the next door.
Not far ahead, a prison guard walker staggered out of the hall, its uniform hanging in tatters. Itachi stepped forward, driving his blade clean through the head before it could even react. As the body crumpled, he crouched beside it and searched for anything useful. He found a ring of keys in its pocket and slipped them into his pouch while Rick and Daryl kept watch down the corridor.
Door by door, they pressed on, moving through each junction with the same pattern. Itachi checked the handles, locking what was unlocked while Rick and Daryl kept the path covered. Lock after lock, kill after kill, the three pushed deeper and deeper, sealing every corridor until only the way forward remained.
They reached the double doors marked for Block D, the paint on the wall still spelling it out in faded black letters. Itachi stepped forward, keys in hand, moving to lock it for now. But as he neared, a low groan carried through from behind the doors, another joined it, then another, and another. More kept adding in, one after the other, until the sound became a chorus.
As the doors started to open, Itachi rushed in, throwing his shoulder against them to hold them shut. Daryl was there a moment later, Rick right behind him, all of them straining to force the doors closed. The effort lasted only seconds before the pressure grew too much, driving them back and leaving them to face the doors as they opened fully.
A tide of bodies spilled out, guards and inmates alike. Fifteen, maybe more, crammed into the corridor at once.
Rick and Daryl froze as the horde funneled towards them. Pulling a trigger wasn't an option. If the tombs connected to Block D are open, the shots would drag every walker from there straight into the fight. And if any walkers are still alive behind them in the tombs, they could be cut off and surrounded in an instant.
Rick's voice cracked through the panic. "We have to get out—now."
Rick and Daryl started to fall back, but Itachi stepped forward instead, sword in one hand, kunai in the other.
The first walker lunged toward him, but his blade met its head first, splitting it clean through the forehead. Before the body could fall, he shoved it forward with a hard kick, knocking it back into the horde and staggering the ones behind it.
He didn't back away. He dove straight in. The sword cut across the head of the next walker in line. As it dropped, he turned his wrist and slashed the one beside it, the blade carving through the side of its head in the same motion.
Another stumbled close on his right. His kunai shot forward, stabbing straight through its eye. He ripped it free, twisting his body, and brought the sword down in a vertical chop that split the skull of the one pressing from the left.
From there, his speed only grew. The more the hall filled with bodies, the faster he dismantled them. Walkers fell in waves, each step forward leaving another corpse at his feet. Strikes blurred together, too fast to follow, and from behind, Rick and Daryl could only watch in stunned silence—what they saw was a predator finally set loose.
As the last walker dropped, Itachi stood among the piles of bodies, blood dripping from his sword and kunai. He wiped them clean with a flick, slid both back into their sheaths, and without a word stepped through the doors into Block D. Behind him, Rick and Daryl remained rooted in place, stunned by what they'd just witnessed, until instinct finally forced them forward.
They made their way through Block D in silence, moving cell by cell and corridor by corridor. Every door was checked, every lock tested, and anything that could be sealed was shut tight. The halls leading deeper into the tombs, toward Block B and the other sections, were closed off one by one until only a single route remained back to Block C. By the time they finished, D stood cleared and contained, and every path but their own was cut off.
Daryl looked over at Itachi, still stunned. "Hell, you human at all? Or just some kinda vampire walkin' 'round with us?" he muttered, only half joking, but not able to shake the thought.
Rick slid down against the wall until he was sitting on the floor, eyes fixed on the boy in front of him. "I was wondering the same," he said quietly. "You already seemed more like some superhuman before… but this—this is insane."
Itachi glanced his way, calm as ever. "You've seen me fight before."
Rick shook his head. "Not like that. Before, the dead weren't all on you. Maybe a couple at a time, maybe scattered. But this…" He gestured weakly at the heap of bodies in the hall. "This was all of them, and they never touched you once."
Daryl grumbled under his breath. "Got my ass beat for nothin'"
Itachi only smirked at that, which pissed Daryl off enough to make him ready to go at him again, but Rick cut in before it could spark.
"Save yourself the trouble," Rick said, a half-grin tugging at his mouth. "That's one fight you'd lose twice. And we need to get back to the others. Hershel should be here by now, and the tombs still need sweeping. This time we do it in groups, make sure every walker's down and every door is locked."
"We'll see 'bout that," Daryl muttered, pushing off the wall but letting it drop. Itachi smirked faintly and turned toward the hall ahead.
They made their way back towards Block C through the tombs, still on guard but finding no walkers and hearing nothing. When they reached the doors, T-Dog opened them right away.
Daryl shot him a look."Looks like somebody didn't drop the damn key this time."
T-Dog's expression soured, shame flickering across his face. Rick stepped in before it lingered.
"Don't take it to heart, he's just blowing off steam." T-Dog gave a short nod and let it go, saying nothing more.
As the three stepped inside, people began gathering around. Rick spotted Hershel with his family, safe and intact, and gave a quick nod in greeting. Hershel returned it, nothing more needed.
Amy was among the first to approach Itachi. "So… how'd it go?" she asked, in a curious voice.
Itachi smiled at her. "Better than expected. We managed to clear the tombs and Block D."
Amy smiled back. "Well, all that matters is that you got back safe."
Before Itachi could answer, Rick's voice carried over the block, cutting through the warm moment.
"Alright, listen up," he called out. "We're splitting into groups of three and sweeping the tombs again. Every corridor, every door, anything we might've missed, we find it this time."
Lori's voice cut in. "You just got back, Rick. Do you really have to run straight out there again?"
Rick didn't look at her. "If we missed even one entry point, the tombs could be crawling with walkers from other sections by tomorrow. We need to make sure it's secure while they're still relatively empty."
There were no objections. One by one, people started gathering what they needed, checking weapons and gear as they prepared to head into the tombs.
--------------------------------------
🧪 Author's Note:
Thank you all so much for the support — over 1000+ power stones!
And no, the next chapter isn't just about them re-entering the tombs. I'll be glossing over that part, so don't worry :D
Let me know what you thought about this chapter — did you enjoy it, or not so much? Your feedback always helps to improve the story.
🖤 Thanks again for reading!