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Chapter 26

There was no doubt about it. The prison would be our home. At least we would try to make it our home. There was no doubt in Rick's mind. He wanted this more than anything, it's been a long time since I'd seen him this eager and set on something. A goldmine. That's what he called it. This place could be a goldmine.

T-dog, Daryl, Rick, Glenn, Maggie and I. We all headed through the gate into the courtyard. Hershel and Carl closed up behind us and watched as we went in. No use of firearms, only when necessary, the noise alone would attract every single Walker surrounding the prison. We walked through the courtyard within a circle, our backs turned to the centre, to secure a good protection.

I could hear the others yelling in the back, luring the Walkers from the courtyard to them, which bought us some time and space to take care of them without being overrun.

I caught Maggie struggling with a Walker wearing body armour, probably a former prison guard. It was impossible to give them a blow to the head, making my crowbar useless. Maggie's quick thinking turned the odds in our favour. As I pulled the Walker back from her, she pushed its head up and stuck her knife into its throat, pointed upwards so it would hit the brain.

Maggie breathed heavily as I released the Walker and it hit the ground. Her face beaming with joy at her new found solution on killing the armoured ones.

T-dog, Glenn and the others followed her example and soon enough the four prison guards were taken care of.

I don't know exactly how long we were in there, but there wasn't a single thing moving, except for us and the Walkers locked within another courtyard. Guards, inmates, and even civilians. We all stopped and glanced down at the woman on the ground.

"We can't risk a blind spot…" Rick said, "We're going in."

Terrific…

The inside of the prison was dark. Pitch black. We traversed down the corridor and reached an open space. Large windows provided the room with some light. We each headed down a direction quietly. I didn't find much except for a few dead Walkers, former inmates. The following room was a row of cell blocks. Several Walkers were locked up behind the bars, their arms reaching out, moaning as we passed them. Maggie, Glenn and I went back outside to get the others, while Rick, Daryl and T-dog took care of the undead inmates.

"Looks too good to be true doesn't it?" Maggie said as we walked through the courtyard, surrounded by the dead Walkers.

"I'm worried about the civilian we spotted." Glenn sighed.

"Me too…" I agreed. Rick was right, we couldn't afford a blind spot and this prison was huge. If a civilian was in here, there were sure to be more, which meant there was probably an open spot in the prison. The question was where?

I waved at Sophia who stood between Carl and Hershel.

"Where are the others?" She asked me as Hershel opened the gate for us.

"Inside and they're fine," I smiled, "Go grab you bag, we're moving in."

Sophia quickly scurried off, followed by Carl. Hershel waited until they were out of sight before speaking, "Anything we should know before going inside?"

I exchanged glances with Maggie and Glenn. Maggie cleared her throat and looked at her father, "Lots of places left to check." She said.

"We're not sure if the prison is safe." Glenn added, "But the block we're in now seems secure enough."

"I think we'd better inform the others about moving in." I said, interrupting the conversation.

Hershel nodded, "Sounds like a plan." He looked at his daughter and Glenn, "You two go on ahead."

With a confused look on both their faces they walked off.

"You seem worried." Hershel said as soon as the two had left.

"I don't really enjoy…" I nodded in the direction of the prison, "being locked up. I mean it's nice to have a safe haven, but…I don't know, Hershel."

"Nothing is handed on a silver platter?"

"And this platter looks more like platinum." I answered.

"For now it is our safest bet." He placed his hand on my back and together we walked through the gate.

::::::…::::::

The bed wasn't too uncomfortable. Way better than sleeping on the back of the motorcycle or on hard floorboards. One thing was missing from this cell though. I glanced through the iron bars at Daryl's back. He didn't want to sleep in a cell. Instead he decided to sleep on the perch, the space connecting the staircase with this row of cells.

Maggie and Glenn had their own cell next to mine, followed by Rick, Lori and Carl. Hershel shared his cell with Beth, Carol with Sophia and lastly T-dog, who had his own private cell…like me.

I lay back on the thin mattress and closed my eyes. How I've missed this. If I wasn't careful I'd fall asleep right on the spot. There were still places to clear. Could this really be a safe place for all of us? Rebuilding what we had on the farm. That was a nice bed…

A soft and indistinguishable sound of shuffling entered the cell. Daryl stood next to me, holding the mattress from the top bunk. He didn't say a word. He simply watched me.

"Take it." I said to him, referring to the mattress. He gave a quick nod and pulled the whole thing down. Silently he walked out of the cell and spread the thin pad in front of him.

I placed my feet on the floor, got up and grabbed hold of the iron bars of the cell. I stood there watching as Daryl set his bed up. When he was done, he turned around and came towards me.

"You know there is room for two in here." I smiled meekly at him.

I watched him peeking over my shoulder into the small, yet spacious enough for two, cell.

"It's not you." He said firmly, resting his eyes on me.

I looked up at him, "I know."

I only wished there was a better way to explain why he didn't…why he didn't want too…I sighed.

He moved a couple of inches and placed his hands on the iron bars as well, right below mine. I lowered my hands and wrapped them around his.

The thing was I never really knew how Daryl would respond to my touches. Sometimes he'd stay and give in, but sometimes he would retract or literally move away. Now I was sort of hoping he was going to stay, leaving his hands within mine. I could feel them twitch. I leaned my forehead against the bars.

"Daryl, I,-"

"I'm right here." He whispered. I stared into his eyes.

"Me too…"

Lord, how I wanted to kiss this man. Kissing him would lead up to more than just the one. Now was not the time.

::::::…::::::

"We'll do a quick check. Come right back when it's cleared." Rick said to me.

"Tell me again why I'm not in on this little expedition?"

"I feel better knowing you're with them." He explained. I crossed my arms over my chest as Rick pulled the vest over his head.

"I don't." I retorted.

He grinned and turned his attention to Carl, who also looked very eager and ready to join his father. Unfortunately that would not be the case.

I walked over to Daryl, who stood next to the door of the cellblock, "I'll kick your ass if something happens." I said under my breath.

"Noted." Daryl said, the corner of his mouth tilting upward.

Stupid man.

Carl waited next to the door. His eyes fixed across the room to the dark corridor where he had last seen his father. Sophia was on the ground next him, along with Beth. Lori and Carol were inside one of the cells, talking about the baby. Lori was scared. Scared something was wrong with her unborn child or that something would go wrong during the delivery. I understood too well how she felt, other than that these were no good conditions for a child to be born in. Everything was unsanitary, no medical equipment to help with the delivery. The only expertise there was around here, was good old Hershel, and whatever knowledge he had passed to Carol.

"I hope they come back soon." Beth said aloud. She was feeling uneasy with both her father and older sister out there roaming the prison.

"They will," Carl assured her, "Dad's with them."

"Don't forget about Daryl." Sophia added. She looked up at me and smiled.

I chuckled.

Loud shouts erupted from across the open space. They were coming back. The cell door flung open and a cart was wheeled in. Rick called loudly to Carl to open the door.

"It's Hershel!"

Hershel…

I caught a flash of the farmer as the men pushed him in. Sophia had jumped up and thrown her arms around my waist. Having dealt with injuries before everyone moved quickly, and soon Hershel was placed on a bed, with Carol and Lori taking care of whatever was wrong with him.

Where was Daryl?

I removed Sophia's arms from my body and pulled her with me. I spotted him as soon as I had walked through the door opening. I also stopped when I saw he was aiming his crossbow at the corridor. Walkers?

I pulled Daryl's gun from my holster and aimed it at the same spot. Sophia stood closely behind me, probably holding one of her knives in case she needed to use it.

I breathed through my nose, not trying to think of Hershel. What had happened in there, would he be alright? What if he got bit?

A man appeared. Immediately followed by another one, and another, and another…soon there were five men standing in the room. Judging by their outfits, these were no guards.

"Today's your lucky day fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go." Daryl said to the man standing at the front of the group.

"What's ya got going on in there?" the man asked. His eyes landed on Sophia and me, "Your family, gringo?"

"Ain't none of your concern." Daryl told him, not for one moment did he move. His entire demeanour focused on the inmates before him.

I nudged Sophia with my hip. I tried to tell her to go back to the others. Luckily she didn't object and quickly headed back to the cellblock.

The man's eyes followed her for a minute before focusing his attention back on Daryl. His hands moved and he pulled the gun from his waistband. Daryl shifted his positioned, but the guy never raised the gun.

"We ain't leaving." He sounded determined.

Out of nowhere T-dog appeared from behind one of the pillars, his gun raised and aimed at the inmate, who immediately had raised his at the sudden appearance of T-dog.

"You ain't coming in either."

"This is my house, my rules…I'll go where I damn well please!" The inmate responded.

"Put the gun down, nice and easy." I ordered him as I stepped next to Daryl.

The man huffed at my at my sudden interference, "I bet you are." He stepped forward.

Daryl followed his example, "You take one more step,-"

"Or what?!"

"You willing to find out?"

"Bring it on, gringo!"

"Just put the gun down. Nobody needs to get hurt." I tried again.

"Listen to her, we're outnumbered anyway." One of the others said to the guy with the gun.

"Are we now?"

"You saw for yourself. And there's even a kid in here." The other guy continued.

"Shut up!" The inmate took another stepped and moved his aim from T-dog towards Daryl and me.

"I ain't gonna tell you again! There ain't nothing for you here." Daryl said with anger and threat in his voice.

They both started yelling at one another, at that moment something moved past me in a flash. Rick Grimes.

"Hey, Hey! Everyone relax!" Rick shouted at the men, "There is no need for this."

He turned his head, "Go back to the others." He said to me.

I shifted my eyes from Rick to Daryl. He nodded. I walked backwards and swiftly ran back to the cells. As soon as I walked through the door I was met by Sophia, who immediately wrapped her arms around my. She was crying. I spotted Glenn standing next to the cell where the rest was.

I gently stroked Sophia's hair, and simply let her cry. It was one thing to see all of the Walkers being killed brutally on a daily basis, but it was a whole other thing when someone you cared for was severely injured.

I pulled Sophia with me to the staircase and set her on the steps. I crouched down and wiped the tears from her stained cheeks, "talk to me."

She sniffed and stammered a bit before forming a full sentence, "What if he dies?"

I breathed in deeply, "Let's hope he doesn't."

"But…but what if he…becomes a Walker?"

I stood back up and sat down next to her. I pulled her close and kissed her hair, "you know what happens…"

I could feel her head nodding against me.

::::::…::::::

"I'm coming with you."

"I need you with the group. If something happens, if Hershel turns,-"

"They'll be fine without me." I said, "You need extra help. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."

Rick sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Daryl is not gonna like this…"

I smiled.

Rick was right. Daryl was not pleased at all when he saw me and Rick walking into the room where he, T-dog and the other inmates were standing. He kept his mouth shut. The only reaction we got from him was an angry glare, thrown at both Rick and I. Now we were walking through the corridors, clearing out this block for the inmates to live in. The trade was, we'd clear the area and then get a share of the food which was stored in the prison.

After the prison survivors had their first encounter with a group of Walkers, which they pounded on like mad as soon as they had spotted them, Daryl and Rick gave them a quick lesson in what was the best and only method of killing a Walker.

"The brain, right?" one of the inmates said. I believe his name was Oscar.

"Right." I told him. He moved forward and wacked the tool he had in his hands against the Walker's head. It dropped to the ground, instant kill.

"I think I got this."

The joy of knowing, and being able to kill these undead creatures did not last long. More and more Walkers rounded the corner. It was getting difficult to stick together as Rick had ordered us to. I stood next to T-dog taking care of two Walkers in front of us when a couple of gunshots sounded. I cracked the skull of the one in front of me and followed T-dog to the location of the shots.

"I don't feel a thing." The man known as Big tiny said to Rick. His suit was unbuttoned and the left part of it lowered, "It's just a scratch."

"Shit…" T-dog cursed under his breath.

"I'm fine!" Big tiny said again, trying his best to reassure us, "Look at me, I'm not changing."

"That doesn't matter." I said aloud.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Oscar said with a frown.

"There is nothing we can do." Rick said to confirm it once more.

The Hispanic man, Tomas, moved quickly and brutally smashed Big tiny's head in with his double sided pickaxe.

I cried out as the big man hit the ground and Tomas whacked his head again, and again. Blood splattered everywhere, hitting the wall, Rick, and the other inmates. Tomas took a deep breath, raised his head and stared intensely at Rick. His face completely covered with Big tiny's blood. I held on to T-dog, who looked as sick as I felt.

What have we gotten ourselves into?

R&R :)