TWD - Chapter 494: The Nail (Patreon)

Joe grinned, pulled an even rougher sketch from the inside pocket of his jacket, and spread it across the table.

“My initial plan has two stages.” Joe traced a finger across the drawing. There was still grime under his fingernails that no amount of washing seemed able to remove, making Calista’s brow twitch.

“First, we clear the summit. I’ll take ten people, no more than that. We’ll go up the hunters’ trail on the back side of the mountain and stay off the road. People like us can move through the mountains quieter than walkers.”

“Last time I was there, I counted maybe twenty or thirty walkers near the summit. We won’t use guns. We’ll slip in with knives and spears and take them down one at a time. No noise, no drawing in more of them.

“Once the summit is clear, stage two is locking down the road.”

His finger followed the winding mountain road.

“Five hairpin turns. We put two layers of traps at every bend. One obvious, barbed wire with tripwire mines. One hidden, spikes buried in the ground or rigged in the trees. We pile wrecked cars across the road and leave only one narrow lane through. Then we scatter broken glass and nails across it to shred tires.”

Joe looked up with a grin.

“Once that’s done, nobody’s getting up there unless they bring a tank or they’re willing to climb over their own dead. And we can come down whenever we want. We’ll know where every trap is and exactly how to get around them.”

Calista listened.

There was nothing elegant about Joe’s plan from a military standpoint. If anything, it was crude.

But it was practical. Extremely practical.

It came from a hunter’s instinctive understanding of terrain, prey, and the most efficient way to kill.

“How many people do you need?”

“Ten to clear the summit, but I pick them myself. I want people who’ve spent real time in the woods. People who can climb, find their way around, and aren’t afraid of the dark.

“Eight for the trap crew. They’ll bring wire, detonators, and parts from wrecked vehicles.

“Eighteen total,” Joe said with complete confidence. “Three days.

“Day one, we clear the summit. Day two, we set up the roadblocks and defenses. Day three, we check everything and patch any weak spots. On the fourth day, you can send the helicopter over.”

“When do you start?”

Joe glanced at the sky outside the window.

“We pick the team and gather supplies today. Leave after dark. We’ll reach the foot of Black Rock Mountain State Park around midnight and move before dawn.”

“Do it.” Calista made the decision immediately. “Joe, this is your first time leading a team on your own, and this is the first operation for that mountain. Make it count.

“I don’t just want an outpost. I want a nail driven into Georgia’s doorstep, something that makes anyone trying to cross it stop and wonder whether the soles of their feet are tough enough.”

“A nail...” Joe repeated, then smiled.

He lifted his chin in farewell, turned, and left the room.

After the door closed, Calista remained silent for a moment before going to Leah’s office and telling her about Joe.

“What do you think of him, Leah?” she asked when she finished.

Leah considered her words.

“He’s not a soldier. He barely even seems like a team player. But he has his own rules for survival, and... he knows exactly what he is and what he isn’t. He isn’t greedy.”

“Greedy people die fast.”

Calista walked to the window in Leah’s office and watched Joe cross the training ground. His shoulders shifted slightly as he walked, like someone accustomed to carrying weight or constantly guarding his flank.

“The role he chose lets him prove his value without competing with Rick and the others. That’s smart. Or maybe he’s just naturally shrewd.”

“And you’re comfortable giving him the helicopter?”

“Not really,” Calista answered without hesitation. “But what worries me more is having a complete blind spot in the direction of Georgia.

“We need eyes. We need early warning. Right now, Joe and that mountain are the cheapest option with the fastest payoff. As for the helicopter...”

She paused.

“The pilot is one of ours. I’ll have Oliver and Allen Miller install a tracker and a basic remote lockout system. Joe can use the helicopter, but it’ll stay under our control. And he sure as hell won’t be able to take it and disappear.”

Leah understood.

It was still a transaction. Still a form of taming.

Freedom, but with a leash attached.

...

There was no moon that night.

Three modified trucks fitted for quieter operation cut their engines and stopped in a dry riverbed along the southern foothills below Black Rock Mountain.

Joe jumped from the cab of the first truck, his boots crunching against the gravel.

The rest of the team climbed out behind him.

Ten people in total.

Their clothing was a mismatched assortment, and not all of them belonged to the Defense Force, but every one of them looked capable and ready.

Along with their weapons, each carried rope, grappling hooks, short-handled axes, and bulging supply packs.

They had been chosen according to Joe’s exact instructions:

“No show-offs. I want people who’ve actually lived in the mountains.”

Joe swept his eyes over the group.

Daryl had his crossbow on his back. Merle was chewing on something, looking as unconcerned as ever.

The other seven were capable people as well. Two had been hunters before the apocalypse, three had worked in mountain patrols or as forest rangers, and the remaining two were wilderness drifters who had only recently been brought into Rock Fortress.

“All right, everybody. One last review,” Joe said quietly. “We’re taking the back trail. It’s not on any map. It’s steep, but it keeps us away from anyone who might be watching the road.”

He unfolded a hand-drawn map and illuminated it with a flashlight covered in red cloth.

“Here. First steep climb. Loose rock all over the slope, so watch your footing.

“Here, we cross a mountain stream. The rocks are slick, so stay close together.

“And here, there’s an old bear den. It’s been empty for years, but there could be walkers holed up inside. We go around it.”

The team gathered around the map.

No one said anything. They simply nodded.

“About three hours to the summit. We need to be in position before four in the morning.” Joe folded the map. “Everyone check their Walker Disruptors?”

A faint series of clicks followed as the team checked the black boxes hanging from their belts.

These were from the first batch produced on the new production line.

“Good.” Joe looked over them one last time. “This isn’t a battle. It’s a hunt.

“The prey is walkers. But the real problem is making sure we don’t alert any living people who might be hiding somewhere on that mountain. Keep it clean. Keep it quiet. Move.”

The ten of them disappeared silently into the forest.

Joe led from the front.

Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the faint starlight was enough for him to make out the trail.

The mountain path was every bit as difficult as expected.

Calling it a trail was generous. In reality, it was little more than tracks worn into the ground by wild animals.

At times they had to crawl over fallen trees. At others, they edged along narrow stretches beside sheer rock.

But these were people who knew the mountains, and they moved through the terrain with ease.

Only once did someone knock a loose stone free.

Joe immediately raised a hand.

The entire team froze.

They waited until the sound of the stone tumbling into the valley had completely faded before moving again.

Three hours later, they reached the ridge.

It was a little after three in the morning when the outline of Black Rock Mountain State Park’s summit appeared ahead of them.

The stone observation tower rose against the sky like a black middle finger, jutting brazenly toward the stars.

The wooden lodges around it crouched in the shadows, unnervingly silent.

Joe gave a hand signal.

The entire team dropped low.

He pulled out a pair of night-vision binoculars and carefully surveyed the area.

Joe had to admit, ever since joining Rock Fortress, he had never gone into an operation this well equipped.

Calista might not invest as many resources in him as she did in her longtime subordinates, but even what she was willing to spare right now was more than enough for him to take the position he wanted.

The observation tower’s door stood half open, with faint shadows shifting inside.

Most of the lodge windows were shattered, revealing nothing but darkness beyond them.

And in the open area outside, seven or eight walkers wandered aimlessly.