Chapter 1: Safety Behind Bars
The prison was a beautiful site. The people were scattered across the yard, sitting in lawn chairs, enjoying life, playing games, all while the walkers stared at them hungrily through the gates. Rick watched his happy community as he stood on the catwalk. He always kept his Colt Python on hand, yet he couldn't remember the last time he had to use it. It had been four months since the people of Woodbury moved into the prison, and the prison was in full repair. Hershel walked outside, onto the catwalk to speak with Rick. "Hey." Rick greeted simply.
Hershel smiled. "It's quiet today." he said.
"It's quiet everyday." Rick said. Hershel chuckled. "I see you finally shaved off the beard."
"When Maggie made me that peg leg, she made me promise to shave before the wedding."
Rick laughed. "I think I liked you better with it."
"I'm still the same person. But unlike my leg, I can definitely tell it's gone."
"So only one ghost following you around?" They both laughed that time.
Hershel's smile faded, though, as he remembered why he came outside in the first place. "They're not back." he said.
"They'll be fine."
"We don't know that for sure. We have to put a stop to this. It's not healthy for them to be doing this every day."
"Daryl won't stop until he avenges his brother," Rick assured him, "and Michonne won't stop until she's avenged Andrea."
"The weddin's tonight. They can't miss that."
"Good luck talking them into staying."
Hershel changed the subject. "I haven't done my shot today." he said. The group had loaded up on supplies over the past few months. Every day, each member of Rick's original group was to fire a single shot at a walker, to make sure they never lost their edge.
Rick nodded and handed Hershel the rifle propped up against the fence. Hershel aimed at the nearest walker and fired.
(Cue Opening Credits)
The walker was persuing its prey as it shambled through the forest. An arrow went through its head, leaving its mission unfinished. Daryl pulled the arrow out of the head and reloaded it into his crossbow. He knew that a lone walker never moved so fast, unless it was chasing something. He looked around for tracks. He saw, in the mud, what appeared to be the tracks of a coyote or a fox. He followed the trail until he heard the sound of whimpering.
Daryl looked into a small burrow to see a dog and two puppies. The mother was the one whimpering as the pups hid underneath her coat. Daryl laid his crossbow down and pet the dog. She stared at him, with tears of pain in her eyes. "'Find anything?" he heard Michonne ask.
Daryl moved out of the way to show her the moaning dog and her pups. "What's wrong with her?" she asked.
Daryl turned the dog over to see a bite on her leg. "She's bit." he said.
"We should take the little ones back to the prison."
"'Ain't no room."
"You can take them back on the motorcycle by yourself. We're not that far away; I can walk back by myself."
"What about this one?" he asked, talking about the mother.
"I don't think I have the stomach for that. Do you think you could..."
"Yeah. Yeah, I got it." Daryl assured her, "Take these little guys back to the bike real quick. They don't need to see."
Michonne picked up the pups and put them in her bag that she was carrying. Daryl took out his knife and looked at the dying mother. Her eyes were yellow, just like a walker's. Just like Merle's were the last time Daryl saw him. Those memories flashed before Daryl's eyes. He could see Merle coming toward him, gnashing his teeth. Daryl began to cry again as he plunged the knife into the dog's heart, putting her out of her misery. Daryl picked the body up and carried it back with him.
Daryl made sure that he regained his bravado before making it back to Michonne. They had parked the motorcycle next to an old gas station. "I actually still think there's room." Michonne said. "But if you want to bring her back, I'll probably have to walk."
"We're not bringin' her back."
"I don't see a shovel around here."
"Cremation." he said simply. Daryl set her inside the gas station. "We picked this place clean, right?" he asked.
"Yeah. How are we gonna' do it?" she asked as she walked in.
"I got some matches." he told her. Michonne walked outside and picked up a gasoline container they had collected earlier that day.
She handed it to Daryl. He poured a small amount on the body and lit the match. Michonne went ahead outside as he dropped the match. Daryl walked outside and got on the motorcycle. "You sure they'll be alright in this thing?" he asked.
"I'm watchin' over 'em." Michonne said as she sat behind him. The bag containing the puppies was lain in between the two of them as Daryl started the motorcycle and drove off.
Maggie was standing in the warden's office of the prison, trying on different dresses the group had recovered from a shopping mall a few weeks before. Carol was sitting at the desk, watching her. "I like that one." Carol said.
"This ugly blue thing?" Maggie questioned in a fuss. All of the dresses Maggie had tried on looked great on her, but Maggie remained stubborn.
"Maggie, we don't have that many. You're going to have to pick one."
"Ugh! Fine." Maggie said grudgingly as she ruffled through the pile of clothes laying on the couch, looking for the best dress.
Glenn walked in the room. "You're not supposed to see the bride." Maggie scolded him.
"'Got any more clichés?" Glenn asked sarcastically. Carol laughed.
"It's a tradition, not a cliché." Maggie corrected him.
"Well, traditionally, you don't get married in a prison." Glenn said playfully as he kissed Maggie. Carol got up awkwardly to leave then.
"Shut the door behind you, Carol." Maggie said as Glenn groped her.
"Come on, Tyreese!" Sasha encouraged him as he benched. They spent most of their time in the gym nowadays. Tyreese screamed as he lifted it up in the air one last time. He sat it behind him with a grunt.
"Your-turn." Tyreese said in between breaths.
"I don't wanna' get sweaty before the wedding." she lied with smirk.
"You are so lazy!" he exclaimed, smiling back at her. "I can't believe we're goin' to a wedding tonight."
"I know what you mean. Who woulda' thought. A prison became our home, our haven, our life."
"And we'll die protecting it." Tyreese said confidently. Sasha's smile faded.
"If he ever comes back, I can't promise that I would stay here, Tyreese."
"Hey," Tyreese turned her face towards his, "The Governor is long gone."
The streets of Atlanta were barren as Philip, Caesar, and Shupert walked down them. Few walkers remained, at least compared to how many there were when the plague had begun. "I don't think anybody's here." Caesar said.
"We've been everywhere else." The Governor said angrily. "The only other place that still has people is the prison. We've been all over the state,searching, searching for four months straight. There must be others."
Shupert mumbled something. "What was that?" The Governor interrogated him.
"Nothin'." Shupert lied.
"Oh no, you said somethin'." The Governor claimed menacingly as he got closer to Shupert. "So what was it?"
"He said it's time to move on." Caesar told him.
The Governor looked at them both spitefully. "We did move on. We left Woodbury."
"We mean...we think we should leave Georgia."
"We're not leavin'. We're not leavin' until Rick and Michonne and Andrea and all the rest of them are rotting in the ground! We can't let them win." The Governor said.
"They already did win." Martinez said. He was tired of putting up with the Governor.
The Governor remained nonchalant at Martinez' comment. "Well, if that's how you feel-"
BLAM
Martinez fell to ground, dead. The Governer lowered his gun. "Now, what was it you said?" The Governor asked Shupert sarcastically.
"Is there anything you would like me to do,Governor?" Shupert asked in an obviously spiteful manner, with a look of pure hatred towards the Governor.
"Just follow me."
Rick was still standing on the catwalk as Karen approached him.
"Hey." he greeted.
"Hey." she replied.
"Has Carl spoken to you anymore?" Rick asked her.
"No. I don't think he likes me. He thinks I'm replacing Lori."
"He'll warm up to you eventually." he assured her.
"How can you be sure? We've been here for four months, Rick. Carl hasn't warmed up to anyone from Woodbury."
"I caught him smoking the other day."
"What?" Karen asked, shocked.
"He must've grabbed them while we were on a run, or even worse, stole them from somebody here."
"What did you say to him?"
"Nothin'. Carl doesn't listen to me anymore. I was hoping you might be able to get through to him."
"He's your son. If he doesn't listen to you, he sure as hell won't listen to me."
"I don't know what to say to him anymore! Carl's not...he's not the same anymore."
"Does he have any role models? Someone to look up to. Maybe Daryl?"
"Daryl...Daryl could only teach him more of the same. He's more far gone than Carl is. All he does is obsess over killin' the Governor."
"What about Michonne? Glenn? There must be someone who can talk to him."
"Used to...he'd talk to Beth a lot. I never see them together anymore, though."
"See if she can help him, then." Karen told Rick.
"I'll talk to Maggie...see if I can get the message through."
"Good luck." Karen said before kissing Rick and walking back inside.
Daryl's motorcycle could be heard from a long distance. Carl and Beth ran to open the gates. Daryl rode in quickly. As soon as he parked, Daryl dismounted and walked straight back inside the prison with Carl following closely behind him. Michonne let the two puppies out of the bag.
"Oh my gosh, they're so cute!" Beth exclaimed as she started petting them.
"We found them in the forest. Their mother didn't make it." Michonne told her.
"Aww...I can take care of them. Unless, of course, you wanted them." Beth said politely.
Michonne could see how happy Beth was. "They're all yours." Michonne told her.
Beth hugged her. "Oh, thank you, Michonne!" she exclaimed. Michonne remained awkwardly silent.
Beth picked up the puppies and walked off. "What the hell is that girl so damn happy about all the time?" Michonne asked herself.
Michonne had gotten to know everyone at the prison, including the Woodburians. Everyone, that is, except Beth. Beth had always been so easy going. She always did everything without question, with a big smile on her face. And when things got hard, she'd sing a song. Michonne would admire Beth if she wasn't so confused by her.
Carl walked onto the catwalk. "Dad." he called to him. Carl was almost as tall as Rick at that point.
"What is it?" Rick asked.
"I gotta' show you something. It's important." Carl told him.
Rick couldn't believe that Carl actually wanted to talk to him. "What is it you want to show me?"
"Just follow me." Carl said.
Daryl was alone in the gym, training. When the group had taken everything from Woodbury, Daryl made sure to grab every photo of the Governor he could find, and used them for target practice on a daily basis. Daryl loaded his crossbow, backed up as far as he could, and fired.
Bullseye
"Do you ever actually worry that you're losing you're touch, or do you still get a kick out of shooting that thing?" he heard Carol ask him as she walked in the gym.
"'Guess it's...just outta' habit." he said.
"The wedding's staring soon. Are gonna' change clothes?" she asked him.
"I'm not goin' to no wedding." he said bluntly.
"And why not?"
"'Cause I'm busy."
"Doing what?"
"What the hell do you want, anyway?" he questioned her.
"I want you to come back to us. Quit going on these useless runs."
"I'm not gonna stop 'till the Governor's dead."
"He's gone, Daryl."
"How the hell 'you know that?!"
"I'm not talking about the Governor."
Daryl looked down at the floor without a word.
"All you do is chase a ghost-to avenge a ghost! Merle's gone, Daryl. Let it go. All you do is go out to chase a maniac who's probably dead! And that night...when we... I told you I loved you and you just got up and left me!"
"I don't need this." Daryl said harshly before walking past her, and outside of the gym.
Carl led Rick to the back of the prison. "The walls are coming down." Carl said as he pointed to the cracks. That part of the prison had been completely destroyed long before Rick's group ever got to the prison. They had patched it up the best they could, but Carl was right, it was about to collapse again.
"Damn." Rick said. "Don't tell anyone else. We'll start on this tomorrow. I don't want anyone worryin' about it during the wedding."
"But Dad-"
"Don't tell anyone. This is supposed to be a happy occasion."
They started walking back. "It should be starting soon." Rick told Carl. They were walking past the gym when they heard sobbing coming from inside.
"Hold on." Rick told Carl before walking into the gym.
Carol wiped her face and stopped crying quickly. Rick sat next to her on the bleachers and comforted her. "Hey, what's wrong?" Rick asked.
"Daryl left again." she told him.
"He'll be back." Rick said.
"I don't want him to be back! I want him here! With me..." she said before crying again.
"Come with us. The wedding's starting soon." Rick said.
Carol nodded and got up. The three of them walked back. When they entered the cafeteria, the wedding appeared to have already happened
"By the powers that aren't quite vested in me, I now pronounce you, husband and wife." Hershel said before Glenn and Maggie kissed.
Everyone in the room clapped.
The reception was a loud one. Sasha and Beth carried in the old record player from the warden's office. They all danced to Make Your Own Kind of Music by Cass Elliott. Carl sat alone in the corner. Rick took the liberty of dancing with Carol in Daryl's absence. He had hoped it would make her feel better and it seemed to work to a certain extent.
The party was cut short, though, when a loud screech was heard. The group turned to see Rowan fighting off a walker that had attacked her. "Walkers!" Glenn shouted. Everyone began to panic and run.
"Everyone remain calm!" Rick shouted.
"Everybody! Get outside!" Tyreese shouted. The whole group ran in different directions. Some were killed quickly while others were able to escape. Carl punched Rick as hard as he could.
"This is all your fault!" Carl scolded. Rick looked around to see the community and home he had built falling apart.
He became extremely dizzy. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled before collapsing.
"Rick!" Carol shouted
(End Credits)