<3rd Person Pov>
Two groups were ready. Rick, Shane, and T-Dog formed one, while Itachi, Daryl, and Glenn formed the other. Together, the six of them stepped into the tombs, set on finishing what they started and making sure nothing had been left behind.
At the first cross-section, they split, left and right. Each hall was checked corner to corner, and any walkers left were put down. When both sides were finished, they regrouped and moved forward.
The next cross-section came, and they repeated the process. Sweep, check, return. Step by step, they pushed deeper until they finally arrived at Block D.
They found a trail of walkers cut to pieces, left mangled across the floor, filling the entire corridor until it stopped at Block D.
T-Dog froze, staring at the stretch ahead. "Ain't no fuckin' way you three did all this."
Daryl grunted. "Damn right we didn't." He looked towards Itachi. "He did."
Glenn stared at the corridor, his voice breaking. "That's… that's not even possible."
T-Dog didn't take his eyes off the bodies. "Impossible? Tell that to him. He just proved you dead wrong."
Shane cut in. "Stop gawking, we should head back first."
Rick gave a small nod. "He's right. Let's move back."
As the group started to move back, Shane followed, though his eyes dragged back once more to the stretch of bodies behind them.
The group returned to Block C, weapons still in hand. Eyes turned their way as they stepped inside.
Rick spoke up before anyone could ask. "The tombs and Block D are sealed. From here on, nobody goes past that point, and nobody goes near Block D alone."
Andrea asked. "If Block D's safe, why can't we go there?"
Itachi answered calmly. "The inmates will stay there for now."
Carol shifted, her voice uncertain. "We're really letting them stay here? With us?"
Itachi gave a small nod. "Yes… However, the sections will remain locked down, so they can't move around freely. And there's an office near Block D that should still hold their charges and behavior files, everything we need to know about them."
Rick picked it up without pause. "Tomorrow we'll try to secure another block and dig up their records. For today, everyone gets some rest."
The group started breaking apart, each drifting back to what they'd been doing before. Some went to set up their cells, others unpacked clothes or food, and a few just sat down together, talking and sharing a few laughs.
Itachi went to the cafeteria to let the prisoners out, giving them the go-ahead to move into Block D and start setting up and cleaning the place. As he was leaving the block, T-Dog kept staring after him.
Jacqui noticed and turned his way. "Something wrong?"
T-Dog shook his head slowly. "Nah… just thinkin'."
Jacqui didn't press him and headed back to their cell, starting to set everything up.
Across the block, Rick was in his own cell, unpacking his bags, when Lori stepped in, stopping just past the doorway.
He looked up. "Something wrong?"
Her voice came fast. "Yeah. Carl's walking around with a gun."
Rick's hands paused mid-motion. "He what? Did he steal one?"
"No," she snapped. "Itachi gave it to him. And now he won't give it back."
Rick blinked once, the surprise fading almost as fast as it came. As he went back to unpacking. "If he trusts Carl with it, so do I."
Lori stared at him, her voice rising. "That's it? You're fine with it just because he gave it to him? For God's sake, he's twelve!"
Rick's voice rose. "Yes, precisely because he gave it to him. Look around you, Lori. Everyone here's still breathing because of him."
Lori shook her head. "You can't seriously believe that—"
"I do," Rick cut in. "He told me we should move here, and what did I do? I hesitated. And while I was hesitating, the farm got attacked by a horde. Even then, he was the one who spotted it first. Can you imagine what would've happened if we'd only noticed once the house was already surrounded?"
Lori opened her mouth to argue, but Rick didn't slow down. "He told me about the infection too. I waited, kept it quiet… if I'd told everyone sooner, Dale might still be here with us."
He took a breath, shaking his head. "While we were busy holding on to what's gone, hoping there was still somewhere safe out there, he was out there building it. We didn't have to lift a damn finger, Lori. He cleared the block with Daryl, had people clean it, and all we had to do was walk in."
He looked Lori straight in the eyes. "And today… it finally hit me. He's not just surviving in this world like the rest of us, he's built to thrive in it."
Lori's voice rose, frustration breaking through. "That still doesn't give him the right to hand a gun to our son." She turned and walked out before Rick could say another word.
Rick started to move after her but stopped halfway, standing there for a moment in silence. After a few seconds of hesitation, he let out a slow breath and went back to unpacking.
Outside his cell, the rest of the group was already settling in.
Jimmy walked down the row with a backpack slung over his shoulders, heading towards Beth's cell. Before he could step inside, Hershel's voice came from behind him.
"Son, how about you let me stay there with her for now?"
Hershel didn't wait for an answer, already walking towards Beth's door. Jimmy froze for a moment, his eyes drifting towards the cell just a few doors down, before he shifted his bag on his shoulder and headed for the empty one instead.
Maggie watched the exchange from inside her cell, a faint grin pulling at her lips. "Serves him right," she muttered under her breath.
Across from her, Glenn lay on his bunk, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in his own head.
She glanced his way. "You're okay over there?"
Glenn blinked and sat up a little too quick. "Yeah… sorry. What were you saying?"
Maggie studied him for a moment. "What's wrong? You've been awfully quiet since you got back."
Glenn rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry… just had a lot on my mind."
She sat down beside him. "Like what?"
"When we arrived at Block D, the hall was full of bodies everywhere," he said quietly. "Just cut through, like somebody walked straight down the middle and everything just dropped." He paused. "And he did it all alone, and I still can't wrap my head around it."
Maggie asked curiously, "Who?"
Glenn let out a breath. "Itachi. You'd have to see it for yourself to understand."
She didn't say anything after that, just sat there, letting it sink in.
Further down the row, Patricia and Otis were finishing up their space, spreading out their things and trying to make the cell a little more livable.
Patricia arranged a few small flowers along the cell, stepping back to look at them.
"Looks nicer already," she said. "Makes it feel a little cozier, don't you think?"
Otis came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Anywhere's fine by me, long as you're here."
Patricia let out a quiet laugh and turned in his arms, kissing him softly.
A few cells down, Carol sat on the lower bunk with Sophia between her knees, running a brush carefully through her hair. Carl sat nearby, his back against the wall.
"Hold still, sweetheart," Carol said gently as she worked out a small tangle.
Sophia huffed. "It's pulling."
Carl glanced up, grinning faintly. "You think that's bad? My dad tried to cut my hair once for my birthday. I looked like I lost a fight with the lawn mower."
Sophia giggled, covering her mouth. "He didn't!"
"Oh, he did," Carl said, smirking. "Mom almost cried when she saw it. After that, he wasn't allowed anywhere near my hair."
Carol laughed quietly, shaking her head. "That sounds about right."
Sophia tilted her head. "Who're you sharing a cell with?"
Carl shrugged. "My mom."
Sophia grinned. "Lucky. I got my mom, too."
Carl smirked. "Yeah, well… she still treats me like I'm five."
Carol gave a soft chuckle. "That's just what moms do, honey."
A few cells over, Jenner was checking the small stack of equipment he'd managed to save, making sure nothing had cracked during the move. while Jim helped him sort everything out.
"You ever done lab work before?" Jenner asked, glancing over.
Jim smirked faintly. "Closest I got was fixing tractor engines."
Jenner smiled. "Not too different then."
Jim let out a small laugh. "Yeah, except mine don't explode if I mix the wrong thing."
Jenner's lips twitched into a grin. "That's debatable."
Jim raised an eyebrow.
Jenner set down a vial, still smiling faintly. "Let's just say I once tried to mix up a substitute for engine coolant. Thought I could improvise the chemical balance with a few things from my lab."
Jim's eyes widened. "How'd that go?"
Jenner exhaled, half a laugh slipping out. "The engine caught fire before I made it out of the driveway."
Jim chuckled, shaking his head. "Guess even scientists ain't safe from bad ideas."
Jenner let out a laugh. "Apparently not."
Not far down the block, Andrea sat cross-legged on her bunk with a pistol in pieces spread out in front of her. She squinted at the slide, clearly trying to remember how it fit back together.
Amy lay on the upper bunk, her head hanging over the side as she watched her sister. "You sure that's a good idea before bed?"
Andrea didn't look up. "Relax. I've got it."
"You said that last time," Amy said, grinning, "and you woke up with the spring stuck to your back."
Andrea smirked. "That was practice."
Amy laughed. "Uh-huh. Practice for what? Carrying things without a backpack?"
"Oh, shut it," Andrea muttered, focusing back on the pistol. She turned the slide, tried to line it up, then frowned when it wouldn't click into place.
Amy grinned wider. "Need help?"
Andrea shot her a look. "From you? Not a chance."
After another try and a quiet sigh, she shoved the pieces into her backpack. "I'll deal with it tomorrow."
Amy chuckled softly. "Sure you will."
Andrea rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the faint smile tugging at her lips.
By the time Itachi returned, the block had already started to settle. He moved quietly down the row, heading to his own cell. The sounds of conversation faded soon after, and the prison grew still as everyone finally turned in for the night.
--------------------------------------
🧪 Author's Note:
Thank you all so much for the support — over 1400+ power stones!
Sorry for missing yesterday's update; I'll be dropping an extra chapter today or tomorrow to make up for it.
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!