Chapter 7
Layla took a deep calming breath as she reached outside. The whole ordeal with the inmates had shaken her some. She couldn't stand men that treated women like that, she had enough of that growing up with her perverted father after her mother had died. It wasn't until she was 13 when her grandparents took her in that she got an escape. She was just glad today for Daryl's calming presence; he really was a strong man.
"Layla." She heard her southern savor call out from behind her. He had walked out and found her with her face tiled toward the sun taking calming breaths. He had watched her for a few moments before calling out to her.
"Yeah?" Layla replied turning slightly to see Daryl walking towards her, crossbow in hand.
"Are you ok?" he ask and she nodded.
"Bullshit. I can tell you're not." He snorted and she rolled her eyes. He was far too perceptive for his own good.
"What do you want me to say. Yeah I'm shaken, and I feel a little dirty now. And yes it reminded me of my childhood I have worked hard over the years to forget. But I'll be ok." She said. He looked at her for a moment before giving a nod. Satisfied that she was a least ok.
"You anit dirty though. So get that shit out of your head. He's dead and he's staying that way." Daryl told her before walking off to walk the fence. Smiling Layla nodded to herself at what he said and joined him in patrol. Neither saying much after that.
"How's he dong?" Layla ask Carl a few hours later when she went back inside the prison. .
"He stop breathing a while ago but mom saved him. Them he opened his eyes for a few minutes. He's been doing ok since then." Carl told her and she nodded before slipping off to her cell to get some much needed rest after a long hard day.
Two days later they decided to move the cars into the gates.
"Okay let's get the other car in a move them to the west entry of the year." Rick said.
"Good. Having them out there looked like a giant vacancy sign." Daryl commented.
"After that we need to load up the walker bodies to burn them." Rick also pointed out as they looked over all the dead bodies in the yard. Layla sighed. It was going to be a long ass day and it was already starting to get hot.
"It's going to be a long day." T dogg had voiced her thoughts exactly.
"Hey where's Glenn and Maggie. We could probably use their help." Carol ask walking up to the group.
"Up in the guard tower." Daryl pointed out and they all looked over towards the tower.
"The guard tower. They were just up there last night." Rick said and Layla snorted in amusement. Daryl sent her a smirk.
"Glenn. Maggie." Daryl yelled up towards the tower. A few seconds later they could see them jump up and Glenn popped out buttoning his pants with no shirt on.
"Well. Sookie, Sookie now." Layla whispered to Carol who laughed.
"Hey guys. What's up." Glenn ask.
"Ya coming." Daryl ask and Layla laughed at that.
"Oh I bet he did." She commented.
"What." Glenn yelled down.
"Ya coming." Daryl yelled again and Glenn was silent like he didn't know how to answer that question.
"Come on we can use a hand." Daryl finally told him.
"Ok will be right down." He said and they all laughed before heading off to get started.
Layla went and drug a walker body out from in front of the gate where they planned to drive the cars when she heard a voice.
"Hey ma'am." She turned to see both the other alive inmates walking towards them. Groaning not wanting to have to deal with the inmates today after the hell they already put her through she turned and whistled to the others.
Turning from where they were walking toward the cars Daryl saw the other two inmates standing close to Layla and he growled.
"Hell no." he said as they jogged up to meet them.
"Stay away from her." Daryl said getting between Layla and the inmates and putting her behind him.
"We anit mean no harm sir." The white inmate Axel replied stepping back from them a little.
"We had an agreement." Rick told them.
"Please mister we know that." Axel said just as Glenn and Maggie decided to join them.
"We made a deal. But you got to understand, we can't live in that place another minute. You feel me. All those bodies. People we knew. Blood, brains everywhere. There's ghost." Axel continued.
"Why did you move the bodies out." Daryl ask. Hands on his hips.
"Should be burning them." T dogg told them.
"We tried. We did." Axel told them.
"Fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we take a body out. Those things just line up. Dropping a body and just running back inside." The other inmate Oscar said.
"Look we had nothing to do with Tomas and Andrew. Nothing. We'd never do that to anyone. Or a lady." Axel said walking towards them. Daryl glared at him and he made sure to keep away from Layla.
"You trying to prove a point. You proved it bro. We'll do whatever it takes. To be part of your group. Just please, please. Don't make us live in that place." Axel said.
"Our deal is nonnegotiable." Rick told them.
"You either live in your cell block. Or you leave."
"I told you this was a waste of time. They anit no different than the pricks that shot up our boys. Do you know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw them out like trash. These were good guys. Good guys that had our backs in here against guys like Tomas and Andrew. Now we've all made mistakes to get in here, chief. And I'm not going to pretend to be a saint, but believe me we've paid our dues. And we'd rather hit the road them go back to that shit hole." Oscar explained.
Layla had to admit. She felt bad for them. She didn't trust them. Not after what Tomas did to her, or tried to do but she felt bad for them.
Rick looked back to Daryl for his opinion and he shook his head no. He didn't trust them either, especially after the other day.
Sighing they locked the inmates up between the two main gates to let them out on the road once they were done moving the cars around.
T dogg tried to talk the others in to letting them stay.
"Are you serious? You want them living in the cell block next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons or worse. You saw what happen with the other inmates. You want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?" Rick ask him.
"I never stopped. Bring them into the fold. If we send them packing we might as well kill them ourselves." T dogg said.
"I don't know. Axel seems alittle unstable." Glenn commented.
"After all we've been through. We fought so hard for this place. What if they decide to take it." Carol ask.
"It's been us for so long. It feels weird having other people around besides Layla and she was different." Maggie added.
"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn said.
"There convicts bottom line. Look what their friends tried to do." Carol said.
"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands then we so." T dogg said.
"I get guys like this. Hell I grew up with them. There degenerates but they anit psychos. I could have been in there just as easy as I am out here with you guys." Daryl said.
"So you're with me." T dogg ask.
"Hell no. Let them take their chance out of the road just like we did. Look what his asshole friends tried to do to Layla and Rick. What if they want to finish the job." Daryl said to T.
"But I don't think they're like that." T argued.
"You willing to bet the women's lives on that?" Daryl ask and T couldn't answer.
"What do you think Layla?" Carol ask. Layla had just been standing next to Daryl listening to what everyone said.
"I don't think I have the right to an opinion on this. I just joined myself. You all could tell me to hit the road at any time and would have the right too and I wouldn't blame you. I'm a stranger too." She replied.
"That aint going to happen." Daryl told her and she gave him a small smile.
"We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." Rick said and they all broke away to get back to work.
