Chapter Twelve: Barricade

Author's Note: Hello, again. I've decided to continue writing. Obviously, my story is going to differ from the storyline of the show. Once the show returns from its break, I'll try to weave the two stories together again. I'm sort of looking to the graphic novels for inspiration.

Thank you to all of you who read and review. I read all of your reviews. And I love you all.

Enjoy.

0o0o0

Our meal was interrupted, after Riley's outburst, by screaming coming from within the prison. Carl went to investigate, and brought back four living people and a dying woman. Carl locked us in the cell block, separating us from the new additions.

Once they had shot their dying member, they took her outside to bury.

"What do we do?" Carol asked, feeding Judith.

"What do you mean? We let them stay." Carl replied.

"We're already stretched thin as it is. Should we really let them stay?"

"What's our other option?" Beth asked, sounding worried. "Are you saying we should kill them?"

"I'm not saying that." Carol said calmly.

"They can live in the cell block that got cleared out for us." Axel suggested, still shoveling food into his mouth.

"I think we should let them stay here. We can keep them locked up until we trust them, but we shouldn't make them leave." I said finally. "I mean…part of me is saying that in order to survive, we have to be greedy, but…what if you guys had been greedy when I came along? I'd be dead in the woods."

"Cheyenne is right." Hershel replied. "I gave your group a chance on my farm, and I don't regret it even after the attack. It was the best thing I could have done for my family."

"I'll make them something to eat." My mother said quietly, standing up.

"I'll help you." I told her, following her to the food.

"You need to rest. You haven't taken a nap today." My mother insisted, turning to face me.

"I'm fine, Mama."

"Cheyenne-"

"Mama, this isn't our house in Macon. This is a prison…a prison surrounded by walkers that want to eat us. All of us." I snapped.

"Cheyenne Louise," my mother replied sternly, "it was your choice to have unprotected sex with Daryl. Getting pregnant was a risk that you took. Now you owe it to that baby to rest when you get a chance to."

"Amen." I heard Riley mumble from behind me.

I marched past my mother, heading out to the prison yard. When I reached the outside, I collapsed against a wall, sinking to the ground.

"Cheyenne?"

I opened my eyes to see Carl standing a few feet away from me.

"What is it, Carl?" I asked.

"Are you okay?" He asked, coming to stand by me.

"Honestly? No. I'm not okay."

Carl sat down next to me. He took off his dad's hat, setting it in his lap.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just worried…about a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"I'm worried about Daryl. I know why he had to go to Woodbury. I would be crushed if something happened to Glenn and Maggie. I know that Daryl is strong and skilled, and so he needed to go and help bring them back. I still worry about him, though. Whenever he leaves me behind, I still worry that he might not come back." I said, tears rising in my eyes.

"Daryl will come back. You're right. He is strong and he is skilled. He's beaten the odds before. I know he'll do it this time too."

"How do you know?" I asked, looking down at Carl.

"He has two really good reasons to make it back." Carl replied, looking into my eyes.

I smiled, tears falling down my cheeks.

"How'd you get so smart? When did you grow up so fast?" I asked, touching Carl's cheek.

"I had to. That's the world we live in."

"Carl?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you glad that you have Judith? I mean…is she a burden?"

Carl furrowed his brow.

"No way. Judith is the last piece of my mom that I have. I'd do anything for her." Carl told me passionately. "I love my sister."

I wiped my tears away.

"Are you glad to be having a baby?" Carl asked, his brow still furrowed.

"Of course I am. I'm very glad to be having a baby. I always knew that I would be a mother one day, but I just pictured that day being different. I didn't imagine having a baby in an abandoned prison on a planet consumed by walkers. I'm still trying to adjust to that." I replied honestly.

"Cheyenne, I'll protect you." Carl said, suddenly getting on his knees and facing me. "I'll keep you safe when Daryl isn't around. I'll keep your baby safe the way that I keep Judith safe."

Carl didn't look like a little boy anymore. He looked like a young man. There was a seriousness in his eyes that only older, wiser men had. I knew that he truly meant what he said. I knew because I could hear it in the conviction in his voice and see it in his eyes.

I nodded in reply to Carl.

"Let's go inside. It's going to be getting dark soon. You should lay down." Carl said, getting to his feet.

"Okay."

Carl offered his hand to me. I took it, and he gently pulled me to my feet.

"Carl?"

"What?" He asked, looking up at me as we walked hand in hand.

"I think that I'm going to have a son. If I do, I hope that he's just like you." I said, smiling.

0o0o0

I awoke in the middle of the night to the sounds of multiple feet shuffling. I could hear many voices talking at once.

"Daryl?"

I slowly got out of the bottom bunk, and went out into the cell block.

The new people were standing at the bars, looking on with anxious expressions. Everyone was crowded around one of the cells.

"Cheyenne, what's going on?" My mother asked from the top bunk.

"Stay there, Mama." I told her, walking to the end of the block.

Carl, who was standing in the huddle outside of the cell, noticed me first. He met me halfway.

"What's going on, Carl?" I asked, trying to keep my composure.

"Glenn and Maggie are back. Hershel is patching Glenn up now." Carl's voice softened. "Merle, Daryl's brother, was in Woodbury. Daryl stayed behind to find him. Michonne brought Glenn and Maggie back, but my dad stayed behind to get Daryl and bring him back."

I felt frozen inside and out. I hadn't realized it until Carl yelled, and reached out for me, but I had swayed. I shook the terrible fear off long enough to lean heavily on the wall, but it quickly returned.

"Carl…" I said through my teeth.

"What do you need Cheyenne?" He asked worriedly, his hand wrapped around my wrist.

"Carol. I need Carol." I told him, trying to breathe normally.

Carl let go of me, dashing down the block to retrieve Carol. While I waited for her, I carefully moved away from the wall and made myself calm down. I breathed in and out like a normal person. I shook out my arms, trying to shake the fear off of me.

"Cheyenne? Cheyenne, what's wrong?" Carol asked frantically, quickly coming to me.

"I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Carol asked, confused.

"I need you to do it. I need you to cut the baby out of me." I told her seriously, watching her face change.

"Cheyenne, what are you-"

"I have to go to Daryl, but I can't do it with this baby inside of me. You need to perform a C-section so that I can go to Woodbury."

"Cheyenne, it doesn't work like that."

"I'll do it myself, then." I snapped, turning away.

"Cheyenne." Carol grabbed my wrists, pulling me to her. "Honey, I know you want to go to Daryl, but you can't. Even if I performed a C-section, you would still need time to recover. It's a major surgery, Cheyenne. Your stitches could rip open, and then you'd be bleeding in the woods."

"What am I supposed to do? Sit here and knit?"

"You have to stay here and be strong for your baby. If you stay here and worry or if you go out there after Daryl, you're risking your life and your baby's life." Carol said gently, squeezing my hands. "Let me go and get an update on what's going on. Go wait with your mother."

Though I wanted to do many other things, I went back to where my mother was waiting for me. I explained what had happened. We both sat together on my bunk, waiting for news of what was going to be done.

"Cheyenne."

I looked up to see Carol standing in the opening to our cell.

"What's going on?" I asked, standing.

"Michonne Axel, and Glenn have volunteered to go back to Woodbury to help Rick and Daryl."

"Glenn can't go back. Isn't he hurt?"

"He had mostly facial wounds. Merle…well, Hershel cleaned Glenn's face and stitched him up. He's going to be fine." Carol assured me.

"I can't let him do that. If something happens to him…" I shook my head.

"Carl wants to go, but he doesn't want to leave you or Judith. I would go, but if you go into labor, I need to be here just in case…"

I left the cell, hurrying to where Glenn and Michonne were collecting their things. Maggie looked like she was on the verge of crying at any moment as she watched.

"Glenn, you can't go." I told him, trying to sound like an authority figure.

"Cheyenne, I have to go. Daryl and Rick need our help." Glenn replied.

"Glenn, please don't go. If something happened to you…please don't go." I begged.

Maggie began to cry from beside Glenn.

"I'll go!"

We all turned towards the outside of the cell block. Tyreese was standing at the bars.

"No, Tyreese." Sasha, his sister, said from beside him.

"I'll go in the kid's place. All I want in return is for your group to allow our people into the cell block." Tyreese said, gripping the bars. "I think we've proven that we aren't a danger to you. Let us out, and I'll go in the kid's stead."

"That might be a good idea." Michonne said quietly. "Glenn is hurt, and might slow me down."

"I'm fine." Glenn insisted, frustrated.

"We have to make a decision. We have to make one now." Carl said.

Everyone was silent.

Carl went to the bars, producing keys from his pocket. He unlocked the gate, letting the new people through. They slowly wandered into the cell block.

"You, come with me." Michonne pointed to Tyreese, then to Glenn. "Glenn, give him your weapons."

Suddenly, Maggie hugged me.

"Thank you for saying something." She whispered in my ear.

"I wasn't going to let your man die so that I could have mine." I whispered back, returning her hug.

By the time Maggie and I let go of each other, Michonne, Axel, and Tyreese had gone.

"I hope you're happy." Sasha said, her voice quivering with tears she was holding back. "If something happens to my brother, that's on you people."

Sasha stormed into an empty cell, Allen and Ben following close behind. I could hear them comforting her quietly as she cried.

"We all need to get some sleep. Everyone go to your bunks. We'll talk in the morning." Hershel said, already hobbling towards the cell he shared with Beth.

Everyone slowly dispersed, tired after a long and trying day.

0o0o0

In the morning, Carol and my mother had breakfast made by the time everyone wandered out of their cells. Allen and Ben joined us, but Sasha remained in her cell. Carol took her a plate of food, but returned to our circle without Sasha.

"Glenn, tell us what happened." Hershel said, all of us wanting to know.

"Merle came out of nowhere at the store Maggie and I stopped at. He pretended to be forgiving, he even dropped his gun, but the redneck had another one in his belt. He fired it at the truck and grabbed Maggie, so I had no choice but to do what he said.

At Woodbury, Maggie and I were put into separate rooms. Merle tried to get me to tell him where the prison was by beating up on my face, but I didn't tell. Then, he released a walker into the room. Luckily, I was able to kill it…but it came pretty close to biting me."

"Then what happened?"

"The Governor tried to get Maggie to tell. He…" Glenn became quiet, and looked down at his food.

"He threatened to rape me." Maggie said simply, also looking at her food.

"Oh my god." My mother gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oh, Maggie." Carol murmured, holding a hand out across the circle as if to touch her.

"When the Governor threatened to shoot Maggie in front of me, I told him where the prison was."

"Shut up, Glenn." Maggie muttered, turning to glare at him. "It was me and you know it."

"She had no choice-"

"Nobody doubts that." Hershel assured Glenn.

"So the Governor knows where the prison is? That means he'll be coming here, or he'll be sending people here." Carl got to his feet. "We need to be ready for that."

"Hold your horses, Carl. What exactly do you think we should do?" Hershel asked.

"We need to get ready. We need to close up all the gates. We need to find a way to block off the open wall of the prison. People need to practice using their weapons."

"We need to conserve ammo in the event of an attack." Glenn argued.

"Fine. Then everyone should practice with their melee weapons."

"Are we sure that Woodbury will even try to attack us? Michonne said that the people there don't wander outside of the walls around their town." Carol said.

"If the Governor was willing to have Merle kill Glenn and Maggie in order to find out where the prison is, I'd say that he intends to take the prison." I replied.

"We need to barricade the open wall of the prison. That's our first priority." Carl said.

"I agree." Glenn nodded.

"Okay. Everyone needs to scatter throughout the prison. Bring chairs, tables, anything that could be used to barricade the blown wall." Hershel said, using his crutches to get up.

"Cheyenne, you stay here. You can take care of Judith while the rest of us gather up stuff." Carl said, motioning to Carol.

"I will." I told him, taking Judith from Carol.

I held Judith all morning while the group barricaded the blown wall. Allen and Ben even helped. Sasha still refused to come out of her cell.

When the afternoon rolled around, the group stopped for a lunch break. Carl fed Judith a bottle while everyone sat around eating their lunch.

Suddenly, there were sounds from outside of the cell block. I turned just in time to see Rick come through the gate. I stood, along with many of the others, as Daryl entered the cell block.

"Daryl!" I cried, running to him.

Daryl dropped his crossbow to the floor as he threw his arms around me. I shed silent tears as we held each other.

Once I was sure he was really there, I released him.

"Cheyenne, I-"

I interrupted whatever Daryl was going to tell me when I smacked him across the face.

"What in the hell were you thinking? How could you stay behind in Woodbury? What if you had been killed? Does your brother mean so much more to you than your child?" I asked him in a flurry.

"I'm all my brother's got, missy."

I stepped sideways to see the source of the voice. An older man with thinning, dark hair had entered the cell block. His face and clothes were dirty. When I saw the bayonet in place of a hand, I knew exactly who the man was.

"Merle?"

"You son of a bitch!"

Glenn flew past me, tackling Merle to the floor. Rick and Daryl acted quickly, pulling a struggling Glenn off of Merle. Merle was laughing on the ground, his lip split open by whatever blow Glenn had landed on his face.

"What is he doing here?!" Maggie cried, wrapping her arms around one of Glenn's from behind.

"We all got out together." Rick said, turning towards the group.

"Where's my brother? Where's Tyreese?" Sasha asked, finally coming out of her cell.

"…we got separated from Michonne and Tyreese."

"I knew it." Sasha said, shaking her head. "I knew you motherfuckers were going to leave him out there to die!"

"Calm down, Sasha." Allen said quietly, walking towards her.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Allen!" Sasha cried, tears streaming down her face. "My brother's all I have. Had."

Sasha stomped out of the cell block.

"I'll go. Stay here, Ben." Allen told his son quietly.

Allen followed after Sasha, leaving Ben standing with Riley.

"What happened at Woodbury?" I asked Daryl, trying to bring a sense of calm to the group.

"I was captured by the Governor's men. They put a bag over my head. The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of this arena with my brother." Daryl turned towards Merle, who had gotten up off the floor. "The Governor was going to execute us in front of all of Woodbury, but Andrea-"

"Andrea?" I asked, confused.

"Andrea is alive. Michonne found her just outside of Hershel's farm. They were together until they were taken to Woodbury. Andrea stayed even after Michonne left." Daryl explained. "Anyways, Andrea asked the Governor to give us a stay of execution. In the meantime, Rick, Michonne, Axel, and Tyreese were able to infiltrate Woodbury and get my brother and I out of there."

"Where's Axel? Is he with Michonne and Tyreese?" Carl asked.

"No. He got shot leaving Woodbury." Rick replied.

"So…what now?"

"Merle isn't welcome here." Glenn snapped, pointing a finger in Merle's direction. "If he's allowed to stay here, then Maggie and I will leave."

"You two will do no such thing." Hershel said, hobbling over to his daughter and Glenn.

"Glenn, we need some time to work things out. We have two people missing and a possible retaliation from Woodbury on our hands." Rick said.

"Rick, Maggie almost got raped because of that redneck!" Glenn exclaimed angrily.

"I know. I know, Glenn." Rick said calmly, taking a step towards Glenn.

"Right now we need to finish the barricade. Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, Beth, and Carol, come with me. The rest of you figure out what we're going to do about Michonne and Tyreese." Carl said, motioning for the people he had named to follow him.

Not surprisingly, those people followed. Carl had become one of our leaders.

"Now, we know that we were separated from Michonne and Tyreese when we were leaving Woodbury. That doesn't mean they were captured. They could be on their way here right now." Rick said, creating a circle with Daryl and Merle.

"You could do what you did with me and just…leave them to die." Merle suggested sarcastically.

"Knock it off, Merle. I already told you that we all came back for you, and anyways, Rick risked his ass to save you and I from Woodbury." Daryl replied quickly.

"In the event that the Governor would send his people to attack Woodbury, I want as many people as possible here at the prison. I suggest that we wait until morning to go out and look for Michonne and Tyreese." Rick said.

"Or, we could leave those Negroes to their own devices." Merle said. "Fuck 'em. That black broad tried to kill me out in the woods and ya'll don't even know that other Negro. What's his name? Tyson?"

"You really are a son of a bitch. If it weren't for Michonne risking her life to come here in the first place, your group would have killed Glenn and Maggie. As for Tyreese, he selflessly volunteered to go on a search and rescue mission, a search and rescue mission to save your sorry ass, in place of Glenn." I retorted angrily, approaching the small circle. "They deserve a little more than that."

"Oh, hush up, preggo." Merle replied, waving a hand at me. "Men are talking."

"Back off, Merle." Daryl growled, glaring at his brother.

"Sorry, baby brother. I didn't mean to hush up your preggo, old lady." Merle smirked, holding up his hands in surrender.

"If Michonne and Tyreese aren't back by dawn, we'll head out to look for them." Rick said, ending the discussion.

Judith began crying from inside the cell Carl had left her in. Rick hurried to her side.

"My, my. So this is the vessel you chose for your seed, little brother?" Merle asked, appraising me with his eyes.

"Shut up, Merle." Daryl muttered, turning away from his brother.

"Not so fast, Daryl," Merle caught Daryl's elbow, "we have much to discuss."

"Though you might not think so, this child," I motioned to my belly, "takes precedence over you. Go and find a KKK meeting to attend, or better yet, start your own club. I have things to discuss with Daryl."

Merle whistled as Daryl and I headed out of the cell block in the direction of the prison yard.