I spent the rest of the day strolling throughout the entirety of the settlement.
I would occasionally stop by one or more of the settlers to see how they were doing, all the while checking if they needed anything important so I could pay attention to it next time I went out scavenging after the Woodbury debacle was settled.
That was a good decision to make.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have known that Annette needed new sprinklers, fertilizer, and seeds for the greenhouse.
Jim needed spare parts; Carol and Jenny were running dangerously low on cooking utensils and cleaning supplies; Lori and the Harrison sisters desperately needed hygiene products.
I mentally noted all of that for later, making a mental checklist as I finally headed back inside the farmhouse.
I was on my way to the kitchen to grab that long-overdue cup of coffee when Morgan caught up with me in the hallway.
"Zephyr," Morgan said. "Daryl's on the radio."
"Let's not keep him waiting then," I said.
I didn't hesitate. I immediately turned around and went straight for the comms room with Morgan in tow.
The comms room was just a little room that we had refurbished into a central communication hub for the settlement, with all the radio equipment I scavenged from all the military checkpoints spread out across Atlanta.
When I got there, Rick and Shane were already inside, standing around the wooden desk.
Rick was holding the radio receiver in his hand.
When he saw me step through the doorway, he handed the radio straight over to me.
"This is Zephyr speaking, over," I called in the moment I received the radio.
A moment later, the radio sputtered with heavy static.
Then Daryl's gravelly voice came scraping through the speaker.
"This is Daryl speaking. Zephyr, thought we'd check with you first. We're comin' back. We already got everything we set out for. No reason to keep staying in this god-forsaken place."
I didn't reply immediately.
My mind kept retrieving everything that I knew about Woodbury thanks to my meta-knowledge, comparing it with what Michonne had told us and what the Dixon brothers had discovered out in the woods.
There wasn't much difference between any of it.
The Governor was a maniac, his town was a gilded cage, and his lieutenants were actively hunting anything that threatened his little empire.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I keyed the mic and replied.
"Alright. See you guys back at the farmhouse. Though make sure to mask as much of your tracks as you possibly could on the way in."
"Roger, over and out," Daryl replied, and the line went dead with a click.
I put down the radio onto the desk and turned to Morgan.
"Morgan, you go tell Jenny and Carol to prepare the Dixon brothers' share of the brisket and cornbread. They're coming back today."
"Alright, I'll let them know." Morgan nodded once, turned on his heel, and stepped out of the room.
Next, I turned to Rick and Shane, who were still leaning against the wall.
"You guys go and see if Dale needs some help with the lookout."
"You got it," Rick nodded, while Shane just grunted his agreement, adjusting his gun belt.
I watched them leave the comms room before I headed out as well, finally going to get that cup of coffee I've been craving.
A couple of hours passed before the front gate's heavy locks clanked open.
Daryl and Merle have returned.
Their clothes were covered in dirt, dried sweat, and burrs from trailing through the thick brush, but both of them had their weapons slung over their shoulders and looked as sharp as ever.
As soon as they stepped past the container line, the rest of the group came out to greet them.
"Get your ugly mugs inside," I called out from the porch, leaning against the wooden railing. "Food's waiting."
Merle grinned. "Now that's the best damn thing I've heard all week, boss man!"
By the time we all gathered in the kitchen for dinner, the smell of reheated brisket, gravy, and sweet cornbread was practically driving the Dixon brothers insane.
Carol and Jenny had set aside two massive plates loaded to the brim.
The moment the plates hit the table, the Dixon brothers tore through the food with a ravenous hunger.
They didn't bother using forks half the time—they just grabbed the brisket with their bare fingers, shoveling meat and potatoes into their mouths like they hadn't seen a hot meal in a month.
"Damn!" Merle barked between bites, wiping grease off his chin with the back of his sleeve.
"Never thought I'd get to eat brisket ever again! Hell, this is better than what we used to get at the joints back in the day!"
"Shut up and eat, Merle," Daryl grunted, though he was chewing just as fast, practically swallowing a whole piece of cornbread in two bites.
"Don't choke, boys," Carol said with a gentle laugh, refilling their water glasses. "There's still plenty left in the pot if you're still hungry."
"You're an angel, woman," Merle mumbled, pointing a greasy knife at her before shoving another piece of meat into his mouth.
The rest of us sat around watching them finish, letting them get their fill before we brought up business.
The table was full, but the air in the room was heavy.
Everyone knew why Daryl and Merle were back.
The honeymoon period of finishing the perimeter was over, and it was time to deal with reality.
Once Merle slammed his fork down on a clean plate and Daryl leaned back against his chair with a heavy sigh of satisfaction, I stood up from the head of the table.
I looked around at the faces staring back at me.
Carl, Sophia, Duane, and the Morales kids were yawning, their eyelids drooping from a long day of running around.
"Alright, listen up," I said, my voice cutting through the quiet hum of the room. "Take the kids to sleep. Carol, Lori, get them to bed and get back."
Lori nodded immediately, taking Carl by the hand, while Carol ushered Sophia, Duane, and the younger ones down the hallway toward the bedrooms.
Once the kids were cleared out and the hallway doors were pulled shut, I looked at everyone. Rick, Shane, Hershel and his family, Morgan and his wife, Dale and the Harrison sisters, Glenn, T-Dog, Jacqui, Dr. Gale, Dr. Jenner, Michonne, and the Dixon brothers.
"We're calling a meeting," I said, my voice dropping low and sharp. "Right now."
(To be continued...)