THE WALKING DEAD:
TO LIVE AGAIN
Chapter 1
The iron door to Cell Block C slid open and Rick Grimes stepped out into the cold morning air. The grounds of the West Georgia Correctional Facility were quiet except for the ghostly breeze and the raspy growls echoing from the walkers along the courtyard fence. Rick adjusted the fit of his jacket, walked down the staircase and across the courtyard, with the palm of his right hand resting on the grip of the Colt Python revolver strapped to his waist.
Yesterday the Governor and his army attacked the prison, but Rick's plan of luring him into the tombs – the name for the prison corridors overrun with walkers – succeeded. Once the Governor was inside, Rick's group used a few smoke bombs, the prison's alarm system, and the walkers, to chase him out of the prison, and if they were lucky, out of their lives.
But maybe they weren't so lucky.
Hours before the Governor attacked, Rick had sent his young son Carl, his infant daughter Judith, Hershel Greene and his youngest daughter Beth, into the forest nearby for their own safety. Carl was shocked by his father's decision, and insisted he could help defend the prison. But Rick wouldn't budge, and Carl became sullen and refused to speak to his father as he prepared to leave with Hershel and the others. Their car sped away into the woods, leaving Rick standing in a cloud of dust.
They returned minutes after the Governor fled. Hershel took Rick aside and said Carl killed one of the Governor's men. A man? Hershel said he was barely older than Carl. The boy was following Hershel's orders to surrender when Carl shot him. Rick asked Carl if it was true that he killed a boy and Carl said yes.
But the shocking thing was that Carl said he killed the boy because he wasn't going to take a chance that he would come back and kill them. Like how the walker came back and killed Dale Hovarth, or how the prisoner Andrew came back and killed his mother Lori. Or how the Governor came back and killed Merle Dixon. Carl practically dared Rick to follow the Governor back to the town of Woodbury and kill him before he returned and killed them all.
It scared Rick to hear Carl talk so calmly about killing other people, but he knew that in this situation, his son was right.
Rick, Daryl Dixon, and Michonne drove to Woodbuy with the intention of ending the war. On the road, they saw that the Governor had slaughtered his own army only a few miles away from the prison with Karen as the lone survivor. Once Rick and his team arrived at Woodbury, they discovered it was empty except for Tyreese Williams, his sister Sasha, and the town's women, children and elderly. Wherever the Governor disappeared to, he went alone. What could one man do them?
Rick immediately thought of Shane Walsh. Bad as it was having the world go to shit with the dead coming back to feed on the living, it was worse having his high school friend and partner with the King County Sheriff's Department screw his wife Lori, while he lay comatose
In Harrison Memorial Hospital. Or how a frightened Lori confessed the unborn baby might be Shane's, or how Shane risked the group's stay at Hershel's farm by gunning down the walkers he kept inside the barn, or how Shane lured him into the woods to be murdered. After he killed Shane, nothing was ever the same between him and Lori, or between Carl and Lori.
Rick shivered. One man can do a lot.
Rick stopped in his tracks and cursed at the sight of Glenn Rhee asleep inside the Dodge Ram 150. Glenn volunteered to stand guard last night, and had parked the truck on the courtyard for use as a makeshift sentry box.
Rick looked at Glenn for a moment; the Young Korean had set the seat back and covered his chest with a sleeping bag. A prison riot helmet was on the passenger seat, and an M4A1 rifle was lying atop the dashboard.
"Glenn," Rick said angrily.
No response.
Rick opened the truck's door, and slammed his fist on the horn. Glenn sprang awake with a cry, threw off the sleeping bag, and reached for the M4A1, but Rick pushed him back onto the seat. Rick grabbed the carbine with his other hand and put the barrel to Glenn's chest.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" Glenn screamed, with his eyes closed tightly.
"Good Morning," Rick said angrily.
Glenn's eyes shot open; he looked up at Rick, and exhaled in relief. "Oh, Rick. Thank God."
Rick glared at Glenn's frightened reaction. "Fall asleep on guard duty?"
"I…I…," Glenn panted as he looked around the truck's interior. Finally, Glenn realized he had indeed fallen asleep and lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Rick."
Rick almost reprimanded Glenn, but he noticed the young man's ashamed expression and he reconsidered. Rick stepped away from the truck and looked at the walkers along the fence line. "See anything last night?"
Glenn shook his head. "No."
"Hear anything?" Rick asked.
"No," Glenn muttered, looking up. "Just those walkers growling and shaking the fence; too bad it's not electrified."
Glenn climbed out of the truck and dropped the sleeping bag to the ground. He was wearing the riot gear from the prison armory.
"Alright, go inside," Rick ordered. "You better get something to eat because we've got a lot of work to do."
Glenn blinked. "Doing what?"
"Rebuilding the prison," Rick answered. "First, all those walkers have to be put down. Then we need to replace the main gate; the towers have to be rebuilt, and we have to do something about the collapsed wall out back."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Glenn said bashfully.
Someone whistled behind them. Rick and Glenn looked over at Cell Block C and saw Maggie Greene and Daryl Dixon walking towards them. Maggie wore a jacket. Daryl wore his leather biker vest, a denim jacket with leather sleeves, and torn pants; his Stryker Strykezone 380 crossbow slung over his shoulder, and he was smoking a cigarette.
"Good morning," Maggie smiled, with a kiss on Glenn's cheek.
Glenn blushed. "Good morning."
Daryl grunted.
"Did you see anything last night?" Maggie asked.
"Glenn glanced at Rick and lowered his head. "No. I—"
"You're both in time for the news," Rick said, while slinging the M4A1 rifle over his shoulder. "Glenn was just telling me that we should start rebuilding the prison today."
Maggie looked at Glenn, impressed. Glenn looked at Rick, who shrugged.
Glenn blushed again. "Yeah. Well, Rick would've thought of that sooner or later."
"You Asians do anythin' else besides thinkin' up new ways to work harder?" Daryl asked in a cloud of cigarette smoke.
"Hey, Daryl, I was out here all night in the cold and with the walkers," Glenn said angrily. "I'm not in the mood for your jokes…"
Maggie slipped her arm around Glenn's and began to pull him towards Cell Block C. "It's alright, Rocky, how about some breakfast?"
"Huh?" Glenn asked bewilderedly. "Uh, sure."
Maggie and Glenn walked towards Cell Block C while Rick grinned and looked at Daryl. "You're good at pushing buttons."
Daryl nodded and watched Glenn and Maggie walking across the courtyard. "Yo, Adrian!" he shouted.
Glenn turned around and pointed at Daryl, "Screw you, man!"
Daryl grinned and gave Glenn the Finger.
Maggie pulled Glenn inside the cell block and the iron door slid shut. Daryl took another drag on his cigarette.
"Seriously, we need to refortify this place," Rick said. "If the walkers don't tear the fences down, a group just like the Governor's will."
"You think he'll come back?"
Rick shifted the weight of the M4A1 rifle on his shoulder. "I don't think so. He killed his own people. He didn't return to Woodbury. It looks like he's not coming back."
"Michonne thinks he will."
"We've got to protect ourselves from the walkers first. Besides, how are we supposed to find him?"
"For Michonne, there ain't much 'we' involved."
Rick shook his head as he and Daryl began walking along the fence line. The walkers, excited by the smell of live flesh, rattled the fence wildly.
"If Michonne wants to look for the Governor, fine. We've got enough here to keep us busy for the next few days."
"You'll have to count me out, at least for a while," Daryl said before taking a drag off his cigarette.
Rick stopped and looked at Daryl. "You're going with Michonne?"
Daryl blew out the smoke and shook his head, "No. I've got personal business."
Rick looked at Daryl, puzzled.
"I'm goin' to get Merle and give him a decent burial."
Rick remembered the events leading to Merle's death: He had led a successful rescue mission into Woodbury for Glenn and Maggie, but unintentionally wound up rescuing the Governor's former lieutenant Merle Dixon. The group argued whether or not to let Merle join them in the prison. That's when Merle bragged that Andrea Harrison, the woman Rick had given up for dead when the Greene farm was overrun by a herd of walkers was alive and in Woodbury.
A few days after the rescue mission, Andrea appeared at the prison. The reunion wasn't cordial, but she was determined to broker a peace between Rick and the leaders agreed to a meeting at a feed mill and negotiate Andrea's proposed treaty: the prison would stay on one side of the river; Woodbury would stay on the other.
But the Governor would have none of it.
The Governor wanted Michonne, a mysterious woman who, during the rescue of Glenn and Maggie, put down his daughter-turned-walker, and stabbed out his right eye. If she wasn't delivered to him, there would be war. A war Rick had no wish to fight. He had lost Lori. He couldn't bear losing Carl and Judith.
The choice was obvious: A stranger's life in exchange for the lives of his children and a group of people he had known for over a year.
So Rick went to Daryl's older brother and repeated the ultimatum. But for all of Merle's racism and self-centeredness, he was disgusted with Rick's decision. But the idea grew in Merle's head and his love for his little brother won over his own judgment. Merle kidnapped Michonne, left the prison, hotwired a car, and drove her to the feed mill to make the trade.
But Merle couldn't make the hard choice either. He let Michonne go, and drove on to the feed mill.
Daryl had gone to stop Merle, and when he returned to the prison, he wept and told Rick he found a field littered with dead bodies with multiple gunshot wounds and walkers feasting on them.
Merle was one of those walkers. Daryl put him down.
War was declared and Rick's group won. But there was one final loss: when Rick and his team went to Woodbury to kill the Governor, they found a sickly Andrea with a dead walker in a warehouse. When Michonne put her hand to Andrea's forehead, she was shocked by the temperature. Then Andrea slowly revealed a walker bite on her shoulder. The bite and its meaning devastated all of them. Andrea said she was glad Michonne found her old group, and that she didn't want anyone to die. Andrea asked Rick for his gun, and with Michonne holding her hand, she took her own life.
Rick shook his head. Merle and Andrea: two more lives lost due to his bad judgment.
"I understand," Rick told Daryl. "You want any back up?"
"No. This is somethin' I have to do myself."
"When are you leaving?"
"Today. I won't have my brother lay in a field any longer. I'm just goin' to say bye to the others before I go."
"Be careful."
Daryl nodded, took a drag on the cigarette, blew out the smoke, and walked back to Cell Block C. Rick resumed his patrol; the walkers behind the fence growling at him as he walked past.
•••
Beth Greene, cradling baby Judith in her arms, entered the common room of Cell Block C. Her sister Maggie and Glenn—who was still wearing his riot armor—sat at a table eating a bowl of oatmeal. Sasha Williams was walking to a table with a bowl in one hand, and a cup of coffee in the other. Carol Peletier stood behind a folding table, stirring a ladle inside a pot atop a hot plate.
Beth sat with Maggie and Glenn. "Good morning."
"Good morning, Beth," Maggie said. Then she smiled and gently patted Judith on the cheek. "Good morning, you little rug rat," Maggie said playfully. "Can you say 'Good morning'?"
Judith cried happily and waved her arms, and Maggie laughed in amusement. Glenn smiled at Judith's antics and resumed eating his oatmeal.
"Is daddy awake?" Beth asked.
"He woke up half an hour ago," Maggie said. "I brought him breakfast. I thought he should rest after spending last night checking the new arrivals for any illnesses or injuries."
"So how was last night?" Beth asked.
"Oh, last night. No trouble at all," Glenn mumbled with a mouthful of oatmeal. "Just staring at dozens of rotting faces until the crack of dawn."
"No," Beth corrected with a grin, "I mean how waslast night, Maggie? Did you manage to fall asleep all alone?"
"Shut up, you brat!" Maggie laughed as she playfully slapped Beth's shoulder. Glenn and Beth laughed too, Judith waved her arms happily, and the old people looked quizzically at their young companions. Carol, amused, shook her head and continued serving oatmeal.
"So do you think Rick decided what we're going to do now?" Beth asked.
"Don't ask me," Maggie smiled, "ask your future brother-in-law."
Glenn blushed, but sine Maggie was so proud of him, he decided to continue the lie Rick had started. "Well, last night, as I stood guard, I realized that we have to take back the fence line, replace the gate, and rebuild the towers."
"And what did Rick say?"
Glenn, knowing how badly he was at lying, decided it was best not to elaborate further. "He loved the idea. He'll probably announce it to the group later today."
Sasha appeared at the table and sat on the empty seat. "Excuse me for eavesdropping, but I think those are great ideas."
Now Glenn's guilt was gnawing at him, and he wished he'd just admit that Rick was the one who came up with those ideas. "Thanks," he said remorsefully.
"Okay, so we follow through with Glenn's plans, but what about the biters?" Sasha asked. "There must be over a hundred of them out there."
Glenn, Maggie, and Beth exchanged confused glances over Sasha's question.
"'Biters'?" Glenn asked Sasha bewilderedly.
""Biters"; that's what the Woodburians call the dead," Sasha explained.
"We call them "walkers"," Maggie said.
"Oh, that sounds better," Sasha nodded. "But how do we kill them?"
"Knives and clubs would take most of the day a lot of strength," Maggie said. "I don't think these old folks are going to be much help."
Glenn shrugged. "Then we'll have to shoot them."
"Can we afford to waste the ammo?" Maggie asked.
"We could use the guns the Governor's army left behind," Sasha suggested. "They're all automatic. We could put down those walkers quick."
"Those guns are in the tombs. We'll have to go through dozens of walkers to get them." Glenn said.
"We still need those guns," Sasha reasoned.
"I'll tell Rick about the plan," Maggie said. "If he agrees, Glenn and I will go collect those guns."
Instantly, Glenn placed his hand atop Maggie's. "No. It's too dangerous. The last time we went into the tombs we almost got swarmed and your dad got bit. Rick had to amputate his leg for God's sake."
"We know what to expect now. Besides we need those guns."
"They're not worth risking your life" Glenn argued.
"I'm not afraid of doing my share for the group," Maggie countered.
"Uh, let me ask Tyreese if he'll go with Glenn," Sasha suggested. "When we were in Woodbury, the Governor asked him to draw a map of the tombs."
Glenn turned to Sasha, surprised. "What?"
Sasha raised her hands in calm. "I swear it's not as bad as it sounds. Tyreese knew you guys were good people, and he wasn't going to help the Governor kill any of you. The map Tyreese drew was good, but the route he marked was wrong. It led straight into Cell Block D, that's Walker City."
Glenn looked at Maggie, squeezed her hand, and looked back at Sasha. "Alright, we get Rick's approval first. If he says yes, Tyreese and I will go into the tombs.
"Do I have to shoot walkers? I don't want to shoot walkers," Beth said shyly, hugging Judith.
Maggie gently took Beth's hand. "Honey, you need to try. You're not a good shot."
"Don't feel embarrassed, kid," Sasha smiled. "Tyreese is a lousy shot, too. He couldn't hit a walker if it was breathing on him."
Glenn laughed at Sasha's joke. Beth smiled shyly and bounced Judith on her knee, and Maggie glared at Glenn.
•••
Carl Grimes awoke to the sight of the top bunk of his cell, so he rolled onto his side and stared at his meager possessions on the metal desk screwed into the wall. The
duffel bag, school supplies, textbooks, comic books, and sheriff's deputy hat reminded him of home. If this were home, dad would go buy some paint cans and brushes, and together they'd repaint the ceiling. After that, he and dad would throw the football at the park. Finally, they'd pick up mom and they all would eat dinner at the King County Café. But they lost their home when King County was overrun by walkers. Then they lost mom while bringing Judith into the world. How long would they have Judith before she got sick, or starved to death, or before a walker bit her?
Carl got out of bed and put on his shoes. He placed his dad's sheriffs' deputy hat atop his head, buckled his gun belt around his waist, and took the Beretta 92FS pistol out of its holster. Carl ejected the magazine, and checked its capacity: 14 rounds; 'one in the pipe'. That was a phrase he heard Shane say during gun training last year. Carl's eyes burned with rage and his grip tightened on the pistol.
Last year, a criminal's bullet left dad comatose. Shane drove Carl and mom to the hospital for every visit, encouraging them to stay positive. Days later, Shane drove Carl and mom out of King County as the walkers overran the town. Carl always liked Shane, but once they settled into camp outside Atlanta, Georgia, with other survivors, Carl sometimes felt Shane was trying too hard to be like dad. The way Shane sometimes looked at mom also made Carl feel uneasy.
Then dad surprised everyone by returning from the dead. Carl was elated, but soon felt there was tension between the three adults in his life. Wherever the group went: the camp outside Atlanta, the CDC, or Hershel's farm, there was always tension between the three of them.
The only bright spot was when mom admitted to Carl that he was going to be a big brother.
Now mom was dead, just like Shane, and Carl knew the reasons behind the tension between his parents and Shane.
Mom and Shane had screwed around, and dad might not be Judith's real father.
Carl slammed the magazine back into the Beretta, holstered it, and ran out of his cell.
"Carl," a kindly old voice called.
Carl stopped and walked back to the cell where the voice had called him. Inside the cell was Hershel Greene, seated at the metal desk, and reading his Bible. He gently closed the Bible and looked at Carl.
"Good morning," Hershel said.
"Good Morning, Hershel," Carl said.
"Where are you running off to at this early hour?"
Carl thumbed over his shoulder. "I'm going outside to put down the walkers at the fence."
"Is that something that needs to be taken care of immediately?"
"Someone has to do it."
"I believe that someone is your father," Hershel said gently.
"He won't do anything," Carl said bitterly, "he'll forget about those walkers just like he'll forget about…"
"The Governor," Hershel interrupted.
"Yeah," Carl nodded.
Hershel pointed at his bed. "Sit down, son. Let's talk awhile."
Carl stepped into Hershel's cell and sat on the bed. Hershel turned around on his chair, his one leg dragging across the floor.
"Your father knows the walkers have to be put down," Hershel said. "But Carl, I believe he won't ask you to help do that."
"How do you know?" Carl asked. "Haven't I proven myself?"
"You have; numerous times over. But now it's time to put down your gun and resume your childhood."
"Are you kidding?!' Carl shouted. "The Governor tried to kill all of us yesterday! He wants this prison. He wants what we have. And he'll be back!"
Hershel leaned forward and put a gentle hand on Carl's shoulder. "The Governor won't be back. He's alone now. A man can't survive in this world alone. He's gone, Carl. He can't hurt us anymore."
Carl glared at Hershel for a moment. "Are you saying this because of that guy I shot?"
"He was just a boy, Carl, like you."
"He wasn't anything like me! I've never broken into someone's house looking to kill everyone inside it!"
"He was a scared boy with a gun, Carl," Hershel said gently. "He was trying to surrender."
"You told him 'Drop it, son,' but he didn't listen did he?" Carl argued. "He was coming at me. He was waiting for his chance to kill us, Hershel. Then he would've killed Judith and Beth. I wasn't going to give him that chance."
Hershel shook his head. "No, Carl. He wouldn't have done that. If Rick was there he'd tell you the same thing."
"If my dad was there, he'd have let the guy get away, just like he did with the Governor.
Hershel lowered his head and mulled over his thoughts. He looked up at Carl and sighed. "We didn't need to kill the Governor, Carl. We didn't need to kill his people. All we needed to do was frighten them, and it worked.
"We've all lost so much of who we are; especially you, Carl: your home, your friends, and your mother. You can never get them back, Carl, but there's one thing you can: your childhood."
Carl's jaw dropped in disbelief. "We're surrounded by walkers, there's a nut out there who wants to kill us. But you want me to stay in my cell and play Xbox?"
"I'm not saying that at all," Hershel replied. "I'm saying that you don't deserve to spend each day expecting to kill so you can stay alive. And you don't deserve to live each day in mourning."
Carl bowed his head. "You're wrong, Hershel. I'm sorry, but you're wrong."
Hershel placed a hand on Carl's shoulder, "Tell you what, son: until I'm proved wrong, can you give my advice a chance?"
"I'll try, but don't get mad when I say 'I told you so'."
Hershel laughed. "Can I ask you to learn humility too?"
"No," Carl said flatly.
Hershel chuckled and patted Carl's shoulder. "I appreciate your honesty. Now why don't you go get some breakfast; Carol knows how to cook a good bowl of oatmeal."
"Anybody can cook oatmeal."
"Let me give you one last bit of advice: never critique the cook."
Carl smiled a little. "I know I can do that."
"Good," Hershel grinned. "Now, one last thing…"
Hershel reached for something on his desk.
"What is it?" Carl asked.
Hershel faced Carl, an empty bowl and spoon was in his hand.
"Could you take this bowl back for me? Maggie told me to stay off my feet, or rather, my foot."
"Sure," Carl said as he took the bowl in his hands.
"Thank you."
Carl stepped out of the cell and walked out of the cellblock. Hershel got out of his chair, lay on his bed, closed his eyes, and waited for sleep to pass over him.
TO BE CONTINUED
