'The Walking Dead' season 7 return date, news, spoilers: Who followed Rick and Aaron back to Alexandria?

Who was the mysterious person in boots that was watching Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Aaron (Ross Marquand) the whole time?

Previously, in episode 8 of "The Walking Dead" season 7 titled "Hearts Still Beating," Rick and Aaron went on a mission to retrieve supplies and weapons from a boat to bring back for Negan (Jeffrey Dean Moran) in Alexandria. The task seemed impossible as the waters surrounding the boat were filled with walkers, and the small boat that Rick and Aaron had to use had many holes.

But the two came out alive and successful from their mission and went back to Alexandria with a lot of loot for Negan. As they left the boat, a mysterious figure was shown to have been watching them the whole time. No other details were given from this person, except for his boots.

In the post-credits scene in episode 8, it was revealed that the mysterious person in boots had followed Rick and Aaron back to Alexandria.

According to Independent, the biggest guess to who the mysterious person is that he is a member of the Whisperers. Based on the comic series, the Whisperers are a group of survivors who uses roamer skin to disguise themselves.

The idea of the Whisperers coming into the show was recently teased by series creator Robert Kirkman at the New York Comic Con panel last October.

"I always wanted to show how different people have survived. These people are so beaten down by the zombie apocalypse they have tried to abandon all humanity," said Kirkman.

After the topic of the Whisperers came up, there were even speculations that Rick might be turning into a Whisperer.

But from a recent show of "The Talking Dead," host Chris Hardwick asked Kirkman who the mystery man in boots is.

"All I can say is that those boots, you'll definitely recognize those from earlier - they're connected to that boat scene - and you know, that's a big part of what we're dealing with when we come back next half of the season, so we'll be revealing that soon. It's going to be a great half season," Kirkman explained.

"The Walking Dead" season 7 returns on Feb. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on AMC.