TWD - Chapter 509: “An Accidental Tragedy” (Patreon)

The warehouse was unusually dark, with only a few shafts of light streaming through the skylights high above. The smell of blood in the air was growing stronger by the second.

The interior was spacious, filled with abandoned shelves and shipping containers. A thick layer of dust covered the floor, but a messy path had been trampled through the middle. The trail of blood drops Boone had spotted earlier stood out starkly against the dust, winding deeper into the warehouse.

The five of them advanced cautiously, following the blood and tracks, with Boone in front reading the trail.

“The fight happened here.” Boone stopped beside a pile of overturned wooden crates and pointed at the floor with the muzzle of his gun.

Several shell casings lay scattered nearby. Fresh knife and axe marks scarred the crates, along with spatters of blood.

“They were ambushed. The attackers came from over there.” He pointed toward the shadows beneath a row of tall shelves off to the side. “They moved fast.”

As they pushed farther in, the blood grew heavier and the drag marks more obvious.

Eventually, Sasha and the others reached a relatively open area deep inside the warehouse. It appeared to have once been a loading platform.

At the center of the platform were four walkers...

No. It was difficult to even call them whole walkers anymore.

These were almost certainly members of Alexandria’s Kenneth Squad. Their clothes were still recognizable, but their bodies had been subjected to horrifying dismemberment and mutilation.

In addition to the kind of bisection at the waist Sasha’s squad had seen before, one body had been hacked in two diagonally from shoulder to thigh, its entrails spilled across the floor.

Another had been decapitated, its head placed neatly on an overturned metal drum. Both eyes had been gouged out, leaving only dark, empty sockets.

The last had been hacked almost into mince, pieces scattered around the platform.

Blood had soaked deep into the concrete, forming a huge dark-red stain. The stench was so overpowering it made them dizzy.

Except for the one hacked to pieces, the other three victims, including the severed head, had turned into walkers. Their mouths worked open and shut. The one severed at the waist and the one cut diagonally dragged what remained of their bodies slowly toward the group.

But even more chilling than the carnage were the unmistakable signs of ritual.

Symbols had been carved into every mutilated body with a sharp object. They were crude, malicious marks. Alongside the repeated “W” were twisted lines none of them could make sense of.

In front of the severed head, several items taken from the dead had been arranged with disturbing precision: a small knife, a water bottle, and a pendant that appeared to contain a family photo.

The surrounding walls and shelves were smeared with frantic graffiti painted in blood. Along with the “W” were fragments of English words such as “pain” and “rebirth.”

“Holy shit...” Kango muttered.

Zach’s face had gone pale, his hand clenched tightly around the grip of his gun.

Boone fought back the urge to vomit as he crouched at the edge of the bloodstain. He rubbed a little blood that had not completely dried between his fingers, then carefully studied the jumbled footprints and drag marks across the floor.

“At least five or six people, maybe more.” Boone pointed to several clearer shoe prints. “They stayed here for a while. Moved things around, set all this up... then left with their loot through there.”

He pointed toward a small side door at the far end of the warehouse that had been smashed open. Dense mountain woods lay beyond it.

Sasha frowned. “Sweep the area one more time. Stay alert. There could be traps left behind or... something else.”

She had no idea whether these lunatics had decided to leave them any “surprises.”

Tyreese and the other three quickly spread out while Sasha kept watch with her weapon ready.

The raider group did not appear to be large, but they were vicious beyond reason.

They had ambushed Alexandria’s unsuspecting team, killed them, and then taken the time to arrange this ritualistic display.

What did that mean for Alexandria?

It meant Sasha’s warning had not been an exaggeration.

These people were already dangerously close to Alexandria. Against a group of inhuman lunatics like this, Alexandria’s wall and comfortable way of life might as well not exist.

Before long, the inspection was complete. Sasha gave a signal, and the squad began to withdraw, all of them struggling to suppress the nausea and horror crawling through them.

They stepped out of the warehouse and back into the sunlight. The air outside was relatively clean, but the smell of blood and the images inside refused to leave them.

Aaron emerged from cover to meet them. The moment he saw the terrible expressions on Sasha and the others’ faces, dread settled over him. His voice trembled. “Did... did you find them? Kenny and the others...”

Sasha looked into Aaron’s eyes, full of fear and one last shred of hope. After a moment of silence, she nodded to Tyreese.

Tyreese stepped forward and placed a hand on Aaron’s shoulder, speaking as gently as he could. “Aaron, listen. Kenny’s squad... every one of them is dead. But walkers didn’t do it.

“It was a group of extremely dangerous people. The scene is... bad. You can go inside and see for yourself.

“We need to return to Alexandria immediately. The community has to go on high alert right now.”

Aaron went inside, but came back out almost immediately. All the color had drained from his face. Aaron nearly collapsed, but Tyreese held him up.

Boone moved beside Sasha and lowered his voice until only she could hear. “Sasha, the tracks are fresh. They haven’t gone far. They could still be in the mountains nearby. We... can’t stay here.”

Sasha drew a deep breath. “Regroup. We’re pulling out. Full speed back to Alexandria.”

...

In the living room of the Alexandria Community Center, Deanna and Reg had already been waiting. Deanna’s two sons, Spencer and Aiden, had also hurried over after hearing the news.

When Sasha’s squad pushed through the door, Deanna immediately noticed that Aaron looked even worse than when he had left. His lips trembled so badly he could barely form a sentence, and a terrible feeling settled in her stomach.

In the end, Sasha was the one who spoke. “Deanna, your team has been confirmed wiped out. Their bodies were dismembered, and a ‘W’ mark was left at the scene.

“I recommend that Alexandria immediately go to the highest level of alert, reinforce all defenses, ban non-essential trips outside, and suspend all operations beyond the perimeter.”

When she finished, the silence in the room became suffocating.

Deanna and Reg looked stunned. Spencer and Aiden, after their initial panic and shock, immediately pushed back, trying to hide how badly the news had rattled them.

“A ritual? One ‘W’?” Spencer gave a derisive snort, though there was a tremor beneath his voice. “Captain Sasha, that sounds a little too much like a horror novel.

“Are you sure they didn’t run into a walker horde? Or maybe some den of deranged drifters? There are plenty of lone wolves out there who aren’t right in the head.”

“Exactly!” Aiden immediately agreed. “We’ve lived here this long, and our patrols have never run into anything serious. At most, a few stray walkers and some harmless drifters.

“All this talk about crazed raiders and ritual slaughter is pure exaggeration. Kenny and the others... maybe they were just unlucky and ran into a huge walker horde, and that’s why...”

He stopped there, but the implication of an “accidental tragedy” could not have been clearer.

Nothing was more terrifying than the unknown. Faced with the possibility of an unfamiliar group of madmen, Aiden would rather cling to an explanation he already understood.