Steph, Glenn and Axel made their way back through the decrepit hallways, heading outside. They didn't speak. Steph was still on high alert, as she imangined the other two were also. They turned a corner and came face to face with Rick, Steph almost putting her knife in him before he held his hands up to identify himself. The 6 of them continued towards the exit. They passed T-dogs body, mangled and torn. They stood for a moment, but no-one knew what to say. Daryl picked up a scarf and looked concerndly at Rick, recognizing it as Carols.
They ran out into the bright light of the courtyard, hoping to find the others gathered there. They weren't. Hershel and Beth were still there, and after a quick discussion, Rick told them that they would be going back in to look for the others. He began giving orders, but he was cut off by a cry, that only a baby could make.
They all watched, stunned, as Maggie and Carl came down the stairs, Maggie with a baby in her arms. She was visibly upset. Carl was expressionless. Steph watched Rick drop his axe. He walked over to the newborn, with a look of absolute disbelief. "Where... where is she?" He asked Maggie.
Realization hit Steph at the same time as it hit Rick. Everybody stood out in the yard, fresh dead walker bodies scattered between them, while Rick collapsed and sobbed.
_._._._._._._._._
Maggie and Daryl were going out on Daryls bike to look for supplies for the baby, Hershel had told them that she needed formula a.s.a.p. Rick had gone back inside the prison, alone, wielding nothing but an axe, with his eyes glazed over. Steph asked Maggie what she could do to help. "Help Glenn." Maggie replied in exasperation. She turned to say goodbye to Glenn but stopped herself and looked at Steph. "Don't leave until we get back." She said. Steph nodded in reply. "Promise me." Steph nodded once more. She and Glenn watched the bike leave.
They started digging graves. Bandit sat patiently beside the grave Steph was working on. "I'm glad you came back." Glenn said, stopping to look at Steph. "Thank you." He nodded sincerely. Steph didn't know what to say. Axel and Oscar approached them and informed Glenn they had spread the walkers out, to help ease the pressure against the fence. "Need help?" Axel offered. Glenn said nothing. Axel and Oscar expressed their regret over the loss of Glenns friends. "They were family." Glenn corrected. He gave the shovel to Axel and gestured to Steph to do the same to Oscar. "I need two more." He said, and began walking over to Hershel who was waiting at the fence separating the yard from the courtyard. Steph gave her shovel to Oscar, glanced at Axel, and started behind Glenn. "Steph, wait." Axel said. "Tell me you know what happened to my Annie. Is she alive?" Glenn turned around. "You two know each other?" Glenn asked, surprised. Axel nodded. "Axel is my un..." She paused. "He's my dads brother." Glenn walked back over and pointed at Axel. "He's your uncle?!"
Steph nodded. "I had no idea he was here. When he was sentenced, the prison was full. He was transferred across state to another." "They transferred me back. Bout a month before everything happened. So I could serve out my final weeks nearer to home. Been here a bit longer than anticipated." Axel said.
Glenn pulled Steph aside and told the men to start digging. "Is Axel going to put us at risk? Tell me." Steph thought for a second. "I don't know. I don't think so. He's not the citizen of the year, but he's harmless." "Why is he in here?" Glenn asked. "Axel had a thing for pills. When his wife left him, he got worse. But pharmaceuticals aren't cheap to come by, so he tried to rob one of the liqour stores in town. He didn't even have a gun, he couldn't afford one. He spent everything on drugs after Annie left him. So he used a water pistol. It was a total fail. Axel isn't made for crime."
Glenn left Steph and went over to talk to Hershel. Steph didn't know if she was helping by telling Glenn about Axel. Her dad hadn't been close with Axel, who was his younger brother, so Steph hadn't been either. Axel had come round and asked for money a few times when Steph was younger and her dad had sent him packing. Cut the bad fruit off the tree, Steph remembered him telling her. After Axel had robbed the store, he had hidden at Stephs fathers house. Steph had already moved out at this stage, so she wasn't there. The police found Axel, but didn't believe anyone was stupid enough to try to rob someone with a water pistol, so they searched the house and found Stephs fathers' .38 which "matched the description." Axel went down for armed robbery.
Steph walked past Glenn and Hershel and started clearing the courtyard of the fresh bodies. The group had already done this once. Rick was still inside. She didn't know how he would react to her being back. She dragged the bodies into a pile, not knowing how they usually dealt with them. Beth, Carl and the baby had gone back into the cell block. Glenn went inside to find Rick.
_._._._._._._._._._._
Later, when night had fallen, everyone gathered in the cell block waiting for Maggie and Daryl to return. Steph had told Maggie she wouldn't leave, but she felt out of place. She sat at one of the far tables and pulled apart her shotgun. She cleaned the barrel, cleaned every piece thoroughly. Axel sat down next to her. "Axel, now's not really the time..." She said. "I need to know. My wife, my boy. Are they alive out there?" Steph sighed. "I don't know. Nobody has heard from them since they left." She started piecing her gun back together. The others were watching and listening. "What about Ray?" Stephs father. "Dead." Steph replied. "And Madison?" Stephs mother. Steph nodded. "How do you know?" Axel asked. "I was there, alright? I saw them. After the chaos died down, I went to find them. They never made it out of the city. They were still bumping around in their own house, for godssake. They had turned weeks earlier. They're dead, so are Brian and Stacy." Stephs older brother and sister both lived in the city too. "And so are Annie and Dallas, probably. Everyones dead. Alright? Or undead." She was absolutely stone-faced as she described her dead family.
Everybodies eyes were on Steph, her voice had gotten loud. The baby was crying, but everyone still heard every single word she said. Steph showed no emotion, except irritation at Axels interruption. Axel had a look of anguish on his face. He was clearly upset, He'd just learnt his entire family was gone. He put his head his hands. Steph didn't offer comfort.
Axel looked up at Steph after a few minutes, remembering something."What about that feller you were seeing, what was his name?" Steph didn't answer. She didn't look up from her gun. "You two were together for a long time, weren't you?" Axel pursued. She didn't reply. "Is he still with you?" Axel asked, not noticing Stephs growing anger. "I can't remember what his name was." Steph slammed her gun on the table, hard. A loud metallic bang echoed around the room. She stood up. "His name was Ethan." She said, her face was flared with rage. She pointed at him with her gun. "Don't ever mention him again." And she walked out of the building.