Chapter Fourteen

The prison was quickly beginning to look like a home. There was water stored locally in a tower, shelter and security provided by brick walls and iron bars, and food if you knew where to look for it. It was a comfort to know that when Daniela went back she'd be greeted by people she loved and that loved her. Well... mostly. Oscar and Axel, the two remaining convicts were still there. She didn't have any real problem with them, they both seemed nice enough, but they weren't privy to the rules of the new world, and that made them unpredictable.

She'd been singled out as the person most likely to be sympathetic to their situation. She didn't know why it kept happening, she was half convinced someone tattooed 'soft' on her forehead while she slept, or maybe she was just painfully predictable. They approached her when she was laying out in the grass doing the closest thing to sunbathing she could manage in a year. A shadow crossed her face blocking her from the sun's warming rays, and she scowled cracking one eye open.

Axel looked down at her with his hands in his pockets and his dirty hair hanging in his face. "My name is Axel." He offered, "and this is my buddy Oscar." he gestured to the tall black man behind him. There'd be trouble if Rick or Daryl caught them alone with her, especially this close. They'd been given pretty explicit instructions to steer clear of any of their people.

She closed her eye again, "I know."

He shifted on his feet, moving out of her way, she felt her face soften somewhat. "Listen, I-" he started. "Can we talk about this agreement? We can't live in there like that."

Daniela sat up and shielded her eyes with her hand so she could look at him fully. "You talk to Rick about that."

"I know that, I was just wonderin' if you could put in a good word with the others. You're the first one that's given us the time of day." Axel said, wringing his hands. He was awfully nervous for a hardened criminal.

"Yeah, why is that?" Oscar asked.

She sighed giving up on the idea of sunbathing all together. She stood brushing the grass off her clothing and fixed Axel with a piercing stare when his eyes lingered too long on her chest. "You're not a threat, I know that. Besides I could kill you both before you got a good hit in." Axel took a step back, it wasn't necessarily the truth, but they didn't know that. "And if I couldn't, he could." She said pointing to Daryl who was strolling down the hill with a fierce scowl, his crossbow in hand.

Axel and Oscar backed up immediately putting a dozen feet between them and her. Daryl looked at her then shot them a look charged with the threat of violence. "We didn't mean any harm." Axel raised his hands up. Daryl looked over to her and she shook her head, a miniscule movement, meant only for him. His scowl relaxed a little.

"You ready to go?" He asked ignoring Axel.

She picked her bow up off the ground and slung her quiver across her shoulder, "Let's go."

Daryl strolled for the gate and she lingered behind a moment, "Listen, I get it, I really do, but a word of advice? Don't mention it to Rick. Right now he'll see it as you going back on our agreement, and he won't take kindly to that. You gotta give him time."

She turned away and jogged for the gate.

She stepped carefully through the brush, placing her boots down in the soft beds of rotten leaves to muffle her movement. It took enough focus she nearly walked into Daryl crouched in front of her. Her knees knocked against his back and she was pretty sure she kicked dirt and leaves into his boots, but he made no move to acknowledge her. His arms tensed as he squeezed the trigger of his crossbow and a small body fell from the tree.

He turned to glare at her, "You call that sneaking?"

"Sorry not all of us had the benefit of being raised by wolves." she huffed, but her tone was light; teasing.

"It's a miracle you ain't dead yet, with lead feet like that." He said as he walked over scooping the squirrel off the ground. He yanked the bolt out and held it in his teeth while he added the body to his already impressive sash of dead squirrels.

She shrugged, she couldn't really contest it. "It's a good thing I have you around then."

She brushed past him, this time bothering to look up every couple of feet or so, Daryl close behind her. It put her on edge, like having your boss watch over your shoulder while you work and grunting every so often to let you know you were doing it wrong. "What'd they want anyway?" He asked cutting through the silence.

"They want to move into our cell block." she murmured.

She felt him bristle at the thought. "What'd ya say?"

"I told them that's Rick's decision."

"What's yours?" He asked.

She straightened and turned to look him in the eyes. His face was unreadable, she sighed. "You actually want my opinion or are you just looking for an excuse to call me gullible?" He snorted, and she glared at him before turning on her heels to keep moving. "I think we should let them."

"You lost your mind?" He grumbled, "Or you just forget what happened with Randall?"

"Nothing happened. That's the problem, we'll never know if I was right because Shane killed him." Out of all the things that man did, she hated him the most for that. He robbed them of a chance to trust people.

"What if they kill everyone while we're sleepin'? You wanna be responsible for that?"

"People can't prove themselves unless you give them a chance to." She said. He didn't argue, she counted that as a victory.

She heard the shuffle of a rabbit moving through the underbrush and she held her hand out to signal to Daryl she was going to try for it. She nocked an arrow and walked slowly towards the moving bush. A furry little head popped out of the leaves and looked at her.

"Puta Madre!" She cursed as the skunk lifted its tail and gave her a face full. She reflexively drew and fired as she stumbled backwards over a tree root and landed on her ass. She sputtered and coughed choking on the smell. She wiped the oily liquid from her stinging eyes with the sleeves of her shirt.

Daryl was hunched over shaking and she was worried for the jackass for half a second before realizing he was laughing. He straightened and saw the look on her face setting off another laughing fit. She wanted to be angry but she couldn't help the smile breaking out across her face. She'd never heard anything so beautiful in her life.

"I'm glad you're having fun." She snarked. "This will take forever to get out."

Daryl coughed and wiped his eyes as his face returned to normal. "That's never coming out." He grunted and stepped over her. He reached around in the bush pulling out the dead skunk, her arrow protruding from it's back. He yanked the arrow out and started to tie it on alongside the other game. She gaped at him.

"What?" He grunted, "Skunk's good eatin'."

He offered her his hand and he pulled to to her feet. He made a noise and covered his nose and mouth with his arm backing up putting distance between them. "Gee, you sure know how to make a girl feel special." She muttered.

His eyes were smiling even if she couldn't see the lower half of his face. He gestured with his free hand for her to go ahead. "Andalé."

She scowled. She was already regretting teaching him spanish.

Carol slid the gate closed behind them and her nose wrinkled in disgust as Daniela went past her. Up the hill a little ways Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and T were talking to the convicts. Rick didn't look happy. She jogged up the hill to meet them and before she got a word out they recoiled. Rick's brows furrowed and his eyes watered.

"Oh man, what is that?" Glenn said muffling his voice with the back of his hand.

"That's dinner." Daryl answered from behind her holding up the rope with all the squirrels and the skunk. Everyone stared and her and she rolled her eyes and walked on. As much as she wanted to make a case for Axel and Oscar, no one was going to listen to her smelling like sulfur and burnt rubber.

Up inside the interior fence Lori and Beth helped Hershel walk around on a set of homemade crutches. She smiled in greeting, and to their credit they did their best to cover their disgusted reactions. "You get anything?" Lori asked while breathing through her mouth.

"Half a dozen squirrels and a skunk." Lori made a face, "Yeah I know," Daniela continued, "I'm heading inside to clean up right now, you want me to bring you some hot water when I'm done?"

"Would you? Lord knows I need it, my ankles are the size of grapefruits right now." Lori rested a hand on her belly.

She nodded her head and then looked at Hershel. "I didn't expect to see you up and about so soon."

"There's not a lot that can be done from a cot in a jail cell unfortunately." His tone was light, he was feeling much better. "I'd appreciate it if you could help me draw up some plans for the farm later, Maggie said you have a good head for numbers."

Daniela frowned, "I don't know much about farming, but I'd be happy to look over it for you." Hershel nodded, satisfied. She said her goodbyes and headed inside to clean up.

Rick guessed there was only a month or so of water left in the tower, if they were careful. So instead of turning on the faucet and standing under the stream of water in the showers like she wanted to, Daniela stood in the kitchen where they first freed the prisoners a few days ago. Normally she'd be worried about literally being caught with her pants down, but she figured after spending ten months in the same room they wanted to be in the kitchen even less than they wanted to be in the cellblock full of corpses.

She filled the industrial sink with a couple of inches of tepid water then dumped a few scoops of baking soda and dish soap into it. She scrubbed every inch of herself until her skin was red. Thankfully her bra and underwear had been spared. She didn't have another bra, and this one was barely holding itself together as is. She plucked at the dingey grey material, it used to be white, or maybe pink? They'd have to go into town for some new clothes once they were settled.

She felt a prickle on the back of her neck, giving her the distinct impression she was being watched. She turned towards the closed set of double doors. They hadn't moved any, and the hallway outside was silent. She moved closer to the door pressing her ear against the cold metal. She thought she heard the sound of retreating footsteps. After a deep breath to steel herself she pulled the door open and peered out into the empty hallway.

"Hello?" she ventured. He voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't bring herself to shout, some habits were impossible to break. When no one responded she closed the door again as goose bumps rippled across her bare skin. Whoever or whatever was down here, she had no intentions of being alone with them for long.

Daniela changed into a clean set of clothes stuffing the ruined ones into a plastic bag. The silence was nearly unbearable in her solitude, and she dreaded the long dark walk back outside. She should have asked Lori to keep her company. As she opened one of the doors the lights flickered and the heavy kitchen appliances hummed to life. She blinked in surprise, maybe Rick wanted to test the generators? She thought he'd give them all a warning first. Just a moment passed before the siren started.

Something was wrong. She shoved the door open and started running. The halls were bathed in red light flashing rhythmically in time with the blare of the alarm. Underneath it all she heard the slightest whisper of a snarl. Walkers. They shouldn't be inside the prison, unless the gates were breached.

She heard it again, accompanied by more and the sound of pounding footsteps. Her heart leapt into her throat, urging her to run back the way she came, but walkers rarely moved that fast without something to chase. She leaned her head around the corner to see Carol, nearly a dozen walkers in tow right behind her.

"Carol!" She yelled getting the attention of the older woman and all of her companions. She dropped her things and Daniela darted her hand out grabbing Carol firmly by the wrist and half-led half-dragged her back towards the kitchen. She forced herself to keep her eyes ahead, motivated by the chorus of snarls and snapping teeth right behind her. The walkers were fast but they didn't take corners too well giving the women just the lead they needed to get through the doors slamming them behind them.

Carol held the door as the walkers banged against it and Daniela frantically looked around for anything to prop against it. "They're getting through!" Carol grunted under the strain as bone white fingers poked through the opening. Daniela gave up the search and threw her shoulder into the door forcing it closed. The fingers caught in the door tumbled to the ground. The sheer force of the bodies pushing against the door had her feet sliding on the concrete. She exchanged a glance with the woman beside her. Sweat beaded on Carol's forehead, they weren't going to hold out for long.

The siren cut off suddenly filling the kitchen with only the sound of the walkers bearing down on them. Her boots squeaked against the door as they lost an inch. Daniela looked around the room for anything in reach that could give them the edge they needed, but she found nothing. An idea sparked in her mind and she fumbled with her belt. She lost another inch to the walkers by the time she pulled it loose from her the belt loops. She threw her bruised shoulder against it again this time crushing a hand in the gap. She couldn't close the door fully, but it was enough that she could loop her belt through the handles and pull it tight. It bought them time.

"I'll hold the door, you search the kitchen for anything we can use!" Daniela grunted when Carol took her weight off the door and she was forced to bear the brunt of it. The walkers could smell and hear them through the gap in the door and it whipped them up into a full fledged frenzy. They were hitting against the door wildly now, almost throwing Daniela. A walker wedged its face in the gap and pushed forwards peeling back its own skin revealing bone. Blood and pus ran down the edge of the doors pooling around the door handles as rotten teeth snapped inches from her face.

"Carol!" She screamed through gritted teeth.

She came back out of the kitchen wielding two big knives, meant for chopping. Carol thrust the end of one into the head of the walker and passed the second knife to Daniela. The gap was half a foot wide now and Daniela had to keep her belt taught, otherwise they risked letting all of them through at once. A walker lunged forward biting down on the leather belt. She tried to stab it in the head but another one grabbed her wrist forcing her to drop the knife. The snarling got louder and Daniela's heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. Carol slashed at the arms grabbing onto her shirt.

She put her full weight against the belt, bracing one leg against the door, but she felt her grip slipping as he hands grew slick with sweat. Rotten teeth gnawed and frayed the leather and they braced themselves. The narrow strand of leather stretched into a narrow thread, as it was about to snap shots rang out and the walkers started dropping. A bolt lodged itself in the skull of the one gnawing on her belt and it fell. It was quiet and she pulled her belt out of the door and it swung open from the weight of the bodies pressing against it. At the end of the hall stood Glenn, Rick and Daryl. "Oh thank god." Carol breathed rushing to pull Daryl into a hug.

Daniela stepped over the bodies of the walkers, "What happened?"

Rick looked behind them and his shoulders slumped when he realized they were alone. "There's been a breach, Hershel and Beth are still in the courtyard, stay with them, keep 'em safe. We gotta press on."

"I'll go with you." Carol said. Daniela gave her arm a squeeze and nodded to Daryl before making a break. They would be okay, they had to be.

Daniela stood with Hershel and Beth inside the fenced in walkway leading back to their cellblock. She gripped the butcher knife in her hand so tightly her knuckles ached. "They'll be back soon." She said for what felt like the tenth time. Beth and Hershel gave no indication they heard her, both pressed firmly against the fence waiting for any sign of life. It was probably for the best, she was saying it for her own benefit as much as theirs, and even she couldn't get by on faith alone.

She figured this was one of the worst things about the new world; the waiting. Not knowing when the people you cared were coming back, or if they were coming back at all. Closure was a luxury now. Sometimes people never come back and you never know what happened. Never know if they're still alive trying to get back, never know if they were hurting and needed you. And waiting to know whether you'll know was one of the most agonizing experiences Daniela could imagine.

A rusty door creaked open and they piled out, first Rick, then Glenn, Carol, Daryl, Oscar and then Axel. "Hershel!" Rick called out.

"You didn't find 'em?" Hershel said easing the gate open.

Glenn ran his hand through his hair, "We thought maybe they came back out here."

"What about T?" Daniela asked.

"He didn't make it." Carol answered, her voice breaking over the words. T Dog was gone.

"That doesn't mean the others didn't." Rick said, hi voice tinged with desperation, "We're going back! Daryl and Glenn, you come with me…"

She heard it then, a pitiful sound, barely above a whisper.

The baby cried again and Rick turned to look as Maggie and Carl emerged from the catacombs, both covered in fresh blood. Carl cradled a bundle of blankets in his arms. Maggie started to cry, and realization hit Daniela like an icy blade to the heart. Rick took a step forward then stopped, lowering his gun.

"Where..?" He started, his voice raw, "Where is she?"

Maggie didn't respond, tears flowing freely down her face. Daniela's own eye's started to sting. Rick made to go back in, but Maggie stopped him, "No, Rick. Don't!"

He crumbled then, fell to the ground, a man completely broken by the world.

Daniela thought she'd get used to loss. You see enough people you love die and you become numb to it. But Daniela felt it, felt every damn one of them like holes in her very being. She reached out for them and she felt herself tumbling headfirst into the place they used to fill. Agony wasn't the right word, it was a dull ache she felt in her bones, so deep she couldn't remember what it was like to be without it.

Daniela stood suddenly, nearly toppling the chair over. She looked around her cell and started gathering up supplies. Food, water, extra clothes, extra ammo. She stuffed them down into her bag and grabbed her bow where it sat propped against her bed. She cast one last glance into her cell and lingered near the desk. She slid the pad of paper and a pen over scrawling a quick note on the top page; an old world courtesy and a new world necessity. She tore it out and set it on the table tucking the notepad and pen into her jacket pocket.

She glance over her shoulder as she crossed the field, if someone saw her they'd try to stop her. She was worried it would work. Glenn worked on the far side of the field, digging graves for their friends. She sped up and started pulling the gate open. "Hey wait!" Glenn called. She pretended not to hear him. She slipped through the gap and closed the gate behind her. The noise got the attention of nearby walkers which started ambling her way. She hear Glenn curse under his breath. "Hey! Over here!" He yelled, banging his shovel along the fence to get their attention.

She took her opportunity and made a break for the woods, she stabbed a walker that was blocking her path and sprinted for the tree line. Once she was in, it was an easy enough task to leave the walkers behind her. Whatever Daryl might say, she could at least conceal herself from the undead. She walked heading nowhere in particular, straying from the path when she needed to duck down out of sight.

She had no plans besides the vaguest sense of Go. She needed to be somewhere else, anywhere else. The prison was supposed to be safe, just like the farm. How was she supposed to be happy there? If it meant building a life on top of their friends bones? But tt wasn't the prison that killed Lori and T Dog, it wasn't really even the walkers, they were a loaded gun in someone else's hand. Andrew was the reason her friends died. Anger flared in her gut and she made no effort to stamp it out. He was gone, shot by one of his own and here Daniela was having to live with his choices.

Daniela halted when she heard something crashing through the underbrush. She ducked into a crouch and peered through the woods. She couldn't believe her luck, only a dozen yards down stood a wild pig. If she brought that back, they wouldn't have to go hunting for a week at least. How she was going to carry home a pig that was bigger than her she didn't know, but she'd figure it out. She nocked an arrow and drew back, wincing at the way her bow creaked when she did. The pigs ears twitched but it hadn't seen her yet. She let go and the arrow went flying.

Nothing could have prepared her for just how human a dying pigs cries were. A chill shot down her spine as it squealed and crashed across the forest floor. Not a kill shot then. Stupid, Daryl told her the arrows only had the piercing power for small game. She drew her knife and followed it, she had to end it's suffering. She followed the dark trail of blood and the pitiful wailing, no doubt scaring off any other game she might have stumbled across. Daniela wasn't the only one drawn by the sound, a few walkers staggered out from behind trees and gave chase, the pig was slowing down, they converged on it. She cursed to herself and turned to leave when she heard voices. She ducked down and weren't her people.

More walkers ambled past her hiding place and it occurred to her that she was stuck, in between a small herd of hungry walkers and people, she wasn't sure which one she'd rather face. Instead of choosing, she threw her pack into the nearest tree and clambered up after it. She hauled herself and her bag higher into the tree where the leaves were thickest, thanking god for the muted colors of her wardrobe.

Someone gave orders, telling them to fan out and kill the walkers. She watched as a small group of men armed to the teeth snuck up on them. They attacked at once, and as brains and blood went flying, she had to admit it was impressive. "Yo Martinez!" A voice called. The name needled at the back of her mind, it sounded familiar. "Take a look at this, seems like we got an archer."

Daniela cursed herself, the arrow in the pig was a dead give away. She moved to a lower branch so she could get a better look at the leader. Her foot slipped in the moss and her feet went out from under her. She grunted desperately scrabbling for purchase as she dangled precariously over a twenty foot drop. She swung her legs up wrapping them around a branch, and her breathing came out on short bursts. "You hear that?" one of the men called.

The leader snapped and they fanned out. She held her breath as she felt her grip slipping on the branch. A man walked directly below her scanning the ground around him. She felt as her quiver began to tip and she could do nothing as one by one the arrows slipped out plummeting to the earth. "Hey!" He barked looking upwards.

They recognised each other at the same time.

"Mierda."

"Fuck me."

Daniela pulled herself back into the tree quickly and scrambled further up it. She glared down at Martinez as his men surrounded the tree, several guns trained on her. She was a sitting duck.

"Ain't that the one-"

"No way she's the same-"

You sure-"

"Hey Chica, long time no see!" He called up at her.

"Vete a la mierda!" She spat at him.

He chuckled and turned to one of his buddies, "Yeah it's the same one." She didn't know how she was going to get out of this one, if they were strangers maybe she'd have room to negotiate, but not with these people who tried to kill her all those months ago. She didn't see the kid among them.

"I'm gonna need you to come down now." Martinez called up to her. She hesitated, and he said, "look either you climb down yourself," He cocked his gun, "Or you come down the express route."

She shifted grabbing her bag, and her bow, carefully picking her way down to the lower branches until it was only a ten foot drop. From here she could get a clear head count, which sent any hopes she had of escaping right out the window. "Throw your bow down, gently, or we'll light you up." Daniela tossed her bow to Martinez who caught it easily passing it to the man beside him. "The bag next, then you."

Daniela held her bag and scanned the faces below her. Bingo. She threw her bag as hard as she could at the cripple, some old white guy missing his hand. It hit him square in the face and she dropped out of the tree next to him. Pain lanced up her leg from her the fall but she forced herself forward with the momentum of the drop. She got maybe two steps before pain exploded at her scalp. The crippled had her by the hair. She grabbed at his hand and twisted around to face him. The last thing he expected was for her to rush him so she used the bit of leverage she gained to headbutt him square in the nose as hard as she could. It worked, his grip loosened as fresh blood poured from his nose.

"Bith!" He yelled grabbing for her.

She darted out of his reach only to run head first into Martinez. He raised his hand and brought the butt of his gun down on the top of her head.

Daniela groaned as consciousness returned to her. Her head felt like it'd been split open and she was already motion sick. She sat up suddenly ignoring the way her vision swam. She was tied up in the backseat of a military truck alongside the cripple. Dried blood clung to his upper lip and dark bruises were beginning to form under his eyes. She tried to scoot away from him on the bench seat but he grabbed her roughly by the arm with his good hand.

"Not so fast Princess." He said in a harsh southern accent. Her eyes were drawn to where his right hand should have been, instead there was a metal prosthetic in form of a very sharp looking knife. "Admiring the hardware huh?" he said holding it out for her to look at. She could help but flinch as he brought it up to her face. "Made it myself."

She could see her own terror reflected in the blade. She turned away from it instead looking outside the truck to try and get her bearings. The truck's brakes squealed in protest as the slowed to a stop. She heard the horrible groaning of a heavy metal gate swinging open. The truck rolled through and she tried not to gape at the guards on top of the walls as they passed through. Even more shocking were the buildings, bright windows stark against the dark faces. People milled in the street and a pair of children raced to keep up with the truck. She turned back to her captor, "Where are we?"

He grinned and leaned in close, his rancid breath ghosting across her face.

"Welcome to Woodbury Princess."

Notes:

Puta Madre - son of a bitch

Vete a la mierda - drop dead/ go to hell