Hey everyone, hope you are all well! Still wondering about doing the prequel to this, so if anyone wants it or thinks it is a good idea let me know! This chapter Daryl is very protective, but you also get to see a little of how protective Callie is of him too. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm hoping to get the next one up tomorrow! Keep having to make up what I think is going on at the prison when it gets to the Woodbury parts of season 3, so bear with me!
Hope you enjoy this new chapter, and as always, I love you all to bits and bobs!
Elly xxx
Callie looked over at the inmates and her hand gently gripped Daryl's leg as he walked over to them, his crossbow aimed and ready to shoot. "Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked, and Callie stood up next to him, walking just behind him.
"We've gotta go back, he's bleeding out. Put pressure on the knee hard, push, push" Rick said, and Maggie moved across to help her father. Callie stayed with Daryl, looking over her shoulder at Hershel and the others.
"C'mon outta there, slow and steady" Daryl said, and Callie's fingers twitched over her knives. She watched as each of the 4 inmates walked out, shocked and some horrified - a hispanic looking man, a southern man with a moustache that Callie found comical, a small and a big tall African guy.
"What happened to him?" the hispanic man asked. "He got bit" Daryl answered, his eyes and crossbow still trained on their heads. "Bit?" the hispanic one asked, reaching for his gun and pulling it out.
T-Dog held his own gun up and Callie stepped forwards, her hands gripping the knives. "Woah, woah easy now" Daryl said, bringing his crossbow up and nudging Callie back with his elbow. She glared at the man and he looked from her eyes to Daryl's.
"Nobody needs to get hurt" Daryl said as the man moved his gun from T-Dog to Daryl and back again. Callie stepped forwards again, still met by Daryl's elbow pushing her back.
"Do you have medical supplies?" Glenn asked, and pushed past the men into the room. Callie kept one eye on him as he moved around the room the inmates were in, her hand still poised over the knives.
"Woah, where you going?" the big man asked, and the hispanic man's eyes lowered to the knives attached to Callie's belt. She had left her throwing knives back in the cell block with the others, and the men suddenly took a step back as Dixie stood in front of Callie, snarling at them.
The door behind them banged with the weight of walkers pushing on it to frantically get in. "Who are you people anyway?" the man with the gun asked, and Callie looked over at T-Dog, caution in her eyes. He looked back at her with the same look, and the two of them looked back to the group.
"You don't look like no rescue team" the moustache man said, and Callie spluttered at the thought of their group being a rescue team. Daryl nudged her again and she shut up sharpish, ignoring the glare from the 4 inmates. "If a rescue team is what you're waitin' for dont" Rick said, heaving Hershel up.
Glenn tipped everything off a table trolley, and Maggie and Rick heaved Hershel up. "C'mon we gotta go" Rick said, looking towards the door. They pulled Hershel onto the trolley and the moustache man looked away in horror as the stump of Hershel's leg spurted blood at the sudden movement.
"Let's go" Daryl growled to Callie, and she whistled for Dixie to follow. T-Dog got rid of the walker trying to get in, and Callie moved out behind T-Dog. "Daryl" she said, and Daryl slowly backed out of the door, following after her.
"C'mon this way, go back" Rick shouted as they ran back towards the cell block where the others were. "Daryl" Rick said, and Daryl shot the walker in front of them, retrieving his arrow as quickly as he shot it. "C'mon, go" Daryl said, and the others rushed around the corner, Callie watching the back for walkers.
"Call, let's go" Dary said with urgency, and pulled her forwards, Dixie running ahead. "Stop, stop" Rick said, and the group stopped as they heard something behind them. Callie spun around, Daryl pushing her back behind him and her hand itching over her knives. Daryl pushed her hand down, still looking forwards and she sighed slightly.
"Go, go, go" Daryl muttered, and the group ran back towards the cell. Daryl opened the door, dragging Callie in with him before anyone else. Rick and the others poured in after them. "Open the door. Carl, it's Hershel" Rick shouted, and Carl opened the door.
T-Dog shut it behind the group and him, Callie and Daryl stood in the room waiting for the inmates to arrive. Daryl reloaded his crossbow, one leg perched on the table in front of him. Callie stood next to him, his shoulders pressed against hers as they watched the door in anticipation.
The men walked slowly into the room, looking around nervously, Daryl's crossbow still aimed at their heads. "That's far enough" he said, and the men stopped walking as they got passed the door.
"Cell block C. Cell 4 that's mine Gringo" the Latino man said, and Callie scoffed at his comment. "What you smarting at" the man asked and she looked up at him. "The world is ending and you're worrying bout a cell block?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.
"Today's your lucky day fellas. You been pardoned by the state of Georgia you're free to go" Daryl said, kicking gently at Callie's shin as a warning. "What you got going on in there?" the man asked.
"Aint none of your concern" Daryl answered, and the man reached for his gun again. "Don't tell me it's not my concern" the man answered and Daryl took a step forwards, his body in front of Callie's. "Man, chill. That dude's leg is messed up, we're free now, why we still in here" the big man said.
"Mans got a point" Daryl said, Callie moving next to him, her eyes kept on the men. "Group of civilians breaking into a prison you aint got no business bein' in. Got me thinkin' there aint no place for us to go" the hispanic man said. "Why don't you go find out for yourself" Daryl answered.
"Maybe we should just go now" moustache man said. "We aint leavin'" the hispanic man answered. "Well you aint coming in" T-Dog said, holding up his gun. Daryl stepped forwards, his crossbow aimed at the mans head.
Callie watched as the man turned around, and as soon as his gun was early touching Daryl's forehead, Callie's knife was pushed against his throat. The mans eyes locked on hers and he smirked. "You might break a nail" he said sarcastically. "Don't try me" Callie answered, and Daryl pushed her back.
She reluctantly put her knife back onto her belt, and looked up at the man. "Count yourself lucky" she said, and Daryl glared at her. She looked down at the floor and kicked at a stone as they continued talking.
"This is my house, my rules and I go where I damn well please" the man said, and Callie caught eyes with Daryl. He shook his head, and looked back towards the others. "Seein' as they're my rules, how's about you give us your little lady and we leave you be" the man said.
"The hell did you just say" Daryl asked, walking towards the man until they were almost touching. "Dary, enough" Callie said, one of Daryl's hands on her chest keeping her back. "Now here's the thing, I don't like guys like you and don't think I won't tear your face off. You don't talk to her again" Daryl said angrily.
"He didn't mean it" moustache man said. "Nah, I meant it" hispanic man answered, and Daryl pushed his crossbow further towards the guys head. The inmates who were by the door stumbled forwards as a lone walker slumped in to the room.
Callie's hand immediately flung the knife towards it, whizzing it through the air and hitting it right between the eyes. The hispanic man looked behind him at the walker, as the knife had just missed his head as it flew through the air.
Callie stomped past Daryl and the man to retrieve her knife, the other inmates staying away from her. "Ever talk to her, think about her or even damn well look at her. I'll get you" Daryl answered and Callie walked back towards him.
Rick walked in through the door, one hand wrapped around a shotgun. "There's is no need for this" Rick said. "How many you in there?" hispanic man asked, and Daryl lowered his crossbow slightly, gently taking Callie's hand in his and looking her over for cuts or scrapes.
"Too many for you to handle" Rick answered, and Daryl pulled Callie into his chest. "You guys rob a bank or somethin', why don't you take him to a hospital?" the man asked, his gun now aimed at Rick.
The group looked from one to the other, and Rick finally spoke up. "How long you been locked in that cafeteria?" he asked. "Going on like 10 months" hispanic man answered, shifting. Daryl gently nudged Callie towards the cell block and nodded as she looked back at him.
She wandered into the cell block and past the block Hershel was in, noticing he was well looked after. She sat down on the edge of the stairs, Dixie at her feet and waited, her mind swimming with what had just happened.
"Call" she heard Daryl call, and she shot up, jogging over to him. "We gonna help them clear out a cell block, get half their food supplies" Daryl said. "I aint happy bout you comin' but we need you" he continued, and Callie nodded, tightening the strap around her jumpsuit that held her knives.
"Carl, would you keep an eye on Dixie?" she asked, and Carl nodded, walking over to the snoozing dog. Callie smiled, grabbed a few extra knives and headed off with Daryl and the group.
"In there's the pantry" the hispanic man said. The group had walked back through the prison to where they found the inmates, and Callie looked in through the window. "You never tried to break out of here?" T-Dog asked as they walked into a filthy room.
"We tried to take the doors off. But if you made one peep in here, those freaks would be lined up growling on the other side of the door tryna get in" the big man said, and Callie looked up at him. He looked harmless, and reminded her of a friend she had before everything happened.
Daryl noticed and moved towards her, standing between them. "Windows got bars on them that even He-Man can't get through" he continued. "They 5 by 8" moustache man said. "Hear me complaining. Door 15, my left leg couldn't even fit on one of those bunks. They don't call me big tiny for nothin'" the big guy said again and Callie snickered quietly.
"You guys done jerkin' each other off" the hispanic man said and Callie glared at him. Daryl gently pushed her forwards, his body close to hers as they moved into the pantry where the food was kept.
Callie's eyes scanned over the bags and boxes of food, amazed by how much there was. Daryl walked in, his face pushed up close to the hispanic man's. "This what you call a lil bit of food?" he asked moving in. "Goes fast" the man answered, and Callie noticed the moustache man edging closer towards her.
She clocked Daryl staring back at him and shook her head, telling him to stay where he was. "You can have a bag of corn... Some tuna fish" the hispanic man said. "We said half, that's the deal" Rick interrupted, stepping forwards. "What's in there?" Rick asked, pointing to a door. "Don't know" the big man answered.
Rick opened the door and recoiled at the smell, coughing. The hispanic man laughed and Callie gripped her hand over one of her knives, eager to give him something to moan about. Rick picked up half the food and handed boxes to Callie, who let go of the grip on her knife and took them.
She walked behind T-Dog and in front of Rick, carrying boxes back to the group. "What you got?" Carl asked as he opened the door. "Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans" T-Dog answered and Callie smiled, giggling lightly. "There's a lot more where this came from" T-Dog continued, and Callie walked into one of the cells and put the boxes down.
Dixie ran up to her and jumped up, his tail wagging furiously and his tongue lolling out to one side. "Hey boy, miss me?" she asked, and giggled as Dixie licked her face. She noticed Lori and Rick talking, so she made her way into the other room where Daryl was standing with the inmates.
"You any good with those?" moustache man asked as he looked down at the knife Callie's hand was wrapped around. "You any good with that?" Callie answered as he picked up a pick axe. He twirled it in his hands and nearly stabbed himself in the face, and Callie smirked, Daryl squeezing her sides.
"Why do I need this... When I got this?" the hispanic man asked, taking his gun out his pocket. "You don't fire guns, not unless you're back's up against a wall. Noise attracts them, really rounds em up." Daryl said darkly, his voice sending shivers down Callie's spine.
"We'll go in two by two. Daryl will run point with T and Callie, I'll bring up the rear with you" Rick said, pointing to the short african guy. "Stay tight hold formation, no matter how close the walkers get. Anyone breaks ranks we can all go down, anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a walker. End up with an axe to the head" he continued.
"That's where you aim. These things only go down with a head shot" Daryl said. "You aint gotta tell us how to take out a man" hispanic man said, smirking at the group. "They aint men. They're somethin' else" T-Dog said. "Just remember you go for the brain" Rick said, and the inmates each picked up a weapon.
Daryl and Callie caught eyes and he nodded to her. They set off, T-Dog, Daryl and Callie at the front of the group and the others behind them. Daryl wasn't comfortable, Callie could tell, but she knew why she had been put at the front - if needed she could take out a group of walkers alone in seconds.
Daryl moved round corners first, signalling for the group to move on. "Why is it so damn dark in here" one of the inmates asked. "Hey hold it up higher" Daryl said, and the man held the torch light up higher. "You'll hear 'em before you see 'em" he said, and they continued moving forwards slowly.
"It's comin'" moustache man shouted, and Rick shushed him. Daryl stopped the group as they heard the groans of the walkers, and they watched as a group of them shuffled round a corner.
The inmates suddenly ran forward, screaming and attacked the walkers. Callie stood back, one hand on her knives, and watched as they went crazy, stabbing the walkers in the stomachs and chests. She caught eyes with Rick, who was watching the like they were mad men.
Callie caught everyone else's eye, and they all watched as the inmates went crazy, beating up walkers. She sighed and rolled her eyes at them, and they finally walked on to the next corridor. "It's gotta be the brain. Not the stomach, not the heart. The brain" Daryl said, shooting a walker with his arrow.
Another stumbled round the corner and the big man whacked it with an axe round the head. "Like that?" he asked, and Daryl nodded. Moustache man was next, and he jabbed one in the head with the crowbar and let it slump to the floor. Rick took down the last one and headed back to the small formation.
"Stay in formation, no more prison riots" Rick said, and more walkers stumbled round the corner. Callie flung a knife through the air, hitting one between the eyes again. The inmates went up one at a time and took down walkers, and Callie turned around and noticed the big man had gone missing.
The group shot round the corner and over to where the man was, hearing shots from a gun. Daryl pulled Callie close as they ran round the corner, and watched as the big man held onto a cut. Callie looked from Rick to the man, and back again.
"I'm fine. Look at me, I'm not changing into one of those things" big man said. "Look man, there has to be something we can do. Lock him up" another man said. "Quarantine him. There's gotta be something" moustache man said, and Daryl wrapped an arm around Callie's waist as they watched.
"There's nothing we can do" Rick said. "You son of a bitch" the small african guy said. "I" the big man started. Callie's hand gripped onto Daryl's shirt as the hispanic man whacked the axe around the big mans head, killing him.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Daryl asked Rick as they walked through the prison. "he makes one move" Rick said. "Just gimme a signal" Daryl answered, and Callie gently gripped onto his hand. He squeezed it back as they walked on, pressing his lips gently against her temple.
The group walked slowly into a room, which looked to be the laundry room. Callie stayed close to Daryl, his hand wrapped firmly around her arm. They heard snarling behind a door, and Daryl threw his keys at the hispanic man.
"I aint openin' that" he said. "Yes you are. You want this cell block, you open that door, just the one. Not both of them cause we need to control this" Rick answered. The man sniffed once and picked up the keys. Everyone braced themselves as he undid the lock, and Daryl pushed Callie behind him.
"You bitches ready?" the man asked, and yanked at the door. "I got this" he said as he yanked at the door, and pulled both open. "I said one door" Rick yelled as the walkers poured into the room. "Was an accident" the man answered, and Callie glared at him. She noticed a walker heading for moustache guy, and whipped a knife through the air, catching the walker before it got him.
She watched as the hispanic guy took a swing at Rick, missing. The two of them caught eyes before returning to smashing at the walkers. She saw him move to one of the walkers and pushed one onto Rick, making him fall to the ground.
Callie sprung out from her spot and pushed the man out of the way as she flung a knife deep into the walkers head, ignoring the sudden wave of pain to the side of her head. She pushed the body off Rick and helped him up, and he nodded in gratitude.
"Was comin' at me bro" the hispanic man said as the last walker was taken down. Rick nodded, looking down to one side. Daryl pulled Callie in to his side, his hand gripping at her jumpsuit so she couldn't go anywhere.
"Yeah, yeah I get it. I get it. Shit happens" Rick said, and Daryl gently tucked a finger under Callie's chin, his eyes scanning over a purple bruise down one side of her jaw and onto her neck. "The hell happened there?" he asked, and Callie looked over at the hispanic man.
Daryl went to lunge forward, fuelled by anger, but before he could wring his hands around the guys neck, Rick plunged his machete deep into the mans head. "No" one of the inmates shouted, and Callie gripped onto Daryl's hand.
The man took a swing at Rick, before being kicked to the ground. He scurried off down the corridor, and Rick followed, telling the others to stay behind. Daryl aimed his crossbow at one of the remaining inmates' head. "Get down on your knees" he said, and Callie rubbed her neck and the bottom of her jaw.
The pain radiated through her head, but she ignored it, noticing Daryl taking his frustration out on the remaining two. Rick returned without the guy, and aimed his gun at the african man's head. "We had nothing to do with that" he said, and Callie heard moustache man, Axel, call him Oscar.
"Daryl" Rick said, and aimed his gun to Axel's head. "Sir please, listen to me. It was them that was bad and not us" Axel pleaded. "Well that's convenient" Rick said. "You saw what he did to Tiny. He was my friend, please. Don't let him do this" he continued looking towards Callie.
"Keep her outta this" Daryl growled, one of Callie's knives against Oscar's throat. "What bout you?" Rick asked. "I aint never pleaded for my life and I aint bout to start now" Oscar replied. Rick pulled the gun away from his head after a while, and made them stand up.
Daryl walked over to Callie, gently pulling her along next to him as they walked back towards the cell they had cleared. Rick pushed the inmates into the cell block and Callie stayed in the corridor, looking for walkers with T-Dog.
Daryl and Callie walked ahead of the others back to the cell block they were in, and sat her down, his eyes scanning over the bruise on her neck. "Son of a bitch lucky Rick got him before I did" he said, and Callie winced slightly as he washed it down. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cuddled into his shoulder, happy he was ok.
She heard a clanking in the next room and walked over, looking inside. She smiled at what she saw - Hershel was awake.