Disclaimer: I do not own TWD but cannot wait for its return tomorrow!

A/N: Thank you for all your patience.

xxx

CH 28- Tomorrow's Children

xxx

Beth made her way through the halls of Grady. Night had fallen; it was well past midnight. Beth had studied the officer's watch schedule and knew Wallace was on guard. The thing about Wallace was—and Beth knew very well—he liked to sleep during his guard believing that Dawn was exaggerating when she said someone could try and escape during the night. Beth blessed Wallace's ignorance as she hurried through the halls he was supposed to be watching.

She quietly arrived at the brook closet and brought out the duffle bag from its hiding place under dirty rags. She hauled it over her shoulder and closed the door behind her. Beth could feel the sheets of tallies pulsing in the pockets of her old jeans. She was finally going to go find her daughter.

Beth looked over her shoulder and she made turns into different isles. She stopped right before she made a left turn into a different hall just as one of the officer's lead one of the residents down the hall.

"I told you, Murph. No drinks before bed 'cause then I gotta walk you to the bathroom. You don't want Dawn to get mad at us both, do you?"

"I know, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Beth pressed her back against the wall, hoping that they continued straight down the hall instead of making a turn. To her luck, they did. Once they turned another corner, Beth exhaled and continued on her way.

It didn't take her long to reach the elevator shaft. She set her duffle bag down and hurried to a vent along the ground. She knelt down and carefully unhinged it and reached inside, pulling out a rope made out of sheets. She took it and hurried back to the shaft.

Beth peered down. She could barely hear the shuffle of moving corpses. The cold must have been slowing them down. She took in a deep breath and reached a little lower where she could feel a thick pipe running across the wall. It was sturdy enough so she could tie the sheet rope and make her way down. She tied the sheet and stood.

"Beth."

Beth froze instantly at the sound of her name. She slowly turned around to see Steven there. He stood, still dressed in his day clothes.

"Steven, what are you doing here?" Beth demanded.

Steven had a solemn look upon his face. "Beth, I know what you're doing and it isn't worth it."

Beth frowned instantly at him. "I have to. You know I do."

He stepped forward, "No, you don't. You don't have any business out there."

"I have to find my daughter." She said firmly, "You wouldn't understand."

Steven grabbed a hold of Beth's wrist and pulled her away from the shaft. "She's long gone, Beth. You have to learn to let her go."

Beth was instantly aghast. She yanked her wrist free from Steven's grasp. She shook her head. "No, I'm not going to listen to you. My girl is out there. I know she is." She turned to reach for the sheet again when Steven stopped her.

"I'll scream." He said, "I'll alert Dawn and all the others."

Beth met his eyes. If only looks could kill Steven's eyes would be dripping blood and he'd be gasping for air. "You wouldn't."

"Try me." He challenged her. "You know Dawn won't forgive another escape on your part."

Beth knew Steven was right. If he alarmed Dawn, she'd never get away. She'd deserve a good beating and then she'd be tied to a bed for the rest of her life. There would be no escape and she'd lose all her chances to see Charlotte again.

"Now, give me the bag and let's forget all of this ever happened, huh?" Steven slowly reached for the duffle bag.

Beth acted quickly and kicked the bag down the shaft. It fell down and landed with a soft thud.

Steven stood straight, looking at Beth straight in the eyes. He sighed. "Its for your own good."

Beth scoffed and pushed past Steven. "You don't know what's good for me." She gave him one last rueful look as she retreated back down the hall, leaving him standing there, wondering if he had done the right thing.

xxx

Charlie was feeling well enough to explore the rest of the cellblock. Daryl had chosen not to tell her that the cell she was so drawn to belonged to her mother. Charlie was really touchy about the subject and wouldn't talk about it. After seeing her disillusioned, Daryl too was beginning to doubt his faith that Beth was still alive. Perhaps they were just chasing a ghost.

Charlie and Carl sat out in the quad, outside of cellblock C. It had been weeks since they had arrived and the prison had managed to hold its own. They had a few walkers trickling in from open fences and gaps in broken down walls but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle. The weather had been forgiving. The sun had risen from behind the gray clouds and melted the snow. Spring was just settling in.

Daryl stepped out of cellblock B, he and Rick had just finished clearing it out. They were successful and were able to find more supplies left behind by the Woodbury people. During the winter, they had explored the portions of the prison that were reachable. The tombs were infested with walkers so they kept the doors locked shut. They scouted deeper into the prison, towards the back walls where Tyreese, Sasha and their people had first entered through. The grounds were buried underneath feet of snow. A single rotting hand stuck out from the snow. However, with the incoming storms, they were forced back into their cellblock to wait out the horrid weather.

Daryl spotted Charlie and Carl playing together in the warm sun. Carl sat on a rusting metal bench while Charlie stood in front of him. They were playing an odd game of slapping each other's hands.

Charlie giggled anxiously anticipating for Carl to move his hands. He looked at her and smiled. "C'mon."

Charlie jumped from one leg to the other, nervous. "Okay!" She giggled and quickly removed her hands from underneath Carl's in means to slap his hands but he moved too fast for her.

"Awh!" She pouted and bit her bottom lip. "Okay, okay, my turn!"

Rick was the second one to step out of cellblock B. He stood by Daryl's side. "So how's everything out here?"

"Calm enough." Daryl answered.

"Michonne back yet?"

"Not yet."

Rick nodded. "All right." He then looked up to where Carl and Charlie were. "We should head back inside. Being out here for very long isn't safe."

Daryl nodded in agreement.

"Carl," Rick called out, "Take Charlie inside."

"C'mon, kid." Carl knelt down and let Charlie hop onto his back. Once she held on tightly, Carl stood up, hauling her up on his back. "And away we go."

Once Carl and Charlie were inside and out of earshot, Rick turned to Daryl. "The weather is clearing up."

"Hmm." Daryl said in agreement as both men surveyed the land. The fences were still down but with the snow thawing, they had to decide if they were going to stay hunkered down at the prison or continue on with their plans to return to the farm.

Rick looked to Daryl. "What do you think?"

"'Bout what?"

"This place has been good to us so far. You think we should risk going back to the farm?"

Daryl pulled his eyes away from Rick and looked around the prison grounds. He had thought a lot about it over the span of the last few winter weeks. The prison had been safe and he was sure they could secure it and take it back fully. However, every time he stepped inside a prison cell and saw his daughter asleep in a dirty old bunk, a piece of him died. He didn't want his girl to grow up in an enclosed place that used to house prisoners. He didn't even like being in the cells himself but he slept inside of them, for her.

He looked back to Rick, sure of his answer.

xxx

The hot sun had melted the feet of snow on the prison grounds uncovering countless of walkers once frozen beneath. The hand that once stuck out of the white dawn now rested on the thawing ground. As the sun's rays hit the dead, rotten flesh, thawing it slowly, its fingers twitched. The body slowly reanimated and its eyes flashed open.

xxx

Once Charlie was back on safe ground, she hurried to the cellblock but stopped right before she reached the entrance when she realized that Carl wasn't following after her. He never went into the cellblock.

"Carl?" Charlie spoke.

Carl took a seat at one of the round tables. "Yeah?"

"Ya wanna see somethin' I found?"

He smiled softly. "What'cha find?"

"Come and I'll show ya."

Carl looked at the cellblock. He hadn't been able to enter it since they had arrived. Michonne, Rick and even Daryl himself had tried to talk to Carl about it but Carl said he would when he was ready and so far, he wasn't so they didn't try to force him.

"Uh, I don't—"

"C'mon!" Charlie ran over to him. "Was if I says please?" She asked remembering that it was a magic word—or so Carl had told her once.

"Charlie—" Carl looked at the child's pleading eyes. She had Beth's eyes. He sighed. "Ok."

Charlie grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the cellblock. Once at the entrance, Carl stopped suddenly. Charlie let go of his hand and hurried inside. He watched as Charlie hurried up the stairs that lead to the cells on the second floor. Daryl didn't like her poking around and moving things that belonged to the dead. Carl steadied himself and took a deep breath. No one had tried to force him into the cellblock, till Charlie had asked him to.

He looked down, feeling ridiculous for not being able to follow her. Carl closed his eyes and forced himself inside. He made his way across towards the stairs, ignoring the cell that belonged to him and his father. He gripped onto the railing and up the stairs. It felt so strange being there.

Carl found Charlie in one of the cells. He noticed whom it belonged to as soon as he stood in its entrance. He saddened almost immediately. Charlie was sitting on Beth's lower bunk. In her hand she had a journal and was skimming through it. Carl took a seat next to her. "What is that?"

"S'a book...I think. Somebody wrote stuff in it." She said, "Was it say?" Her blue eyes overlooked her mother's handwriting.

Carl took the journal. He couldn't bring himself to read it. He looked to Charlie. "Do you know whose cell this is?"

Charlie shook her head. "No."

Carl didn't have the heart to tell her the cell belonged to Beth nor did he want to read her personal journal. Even if she were dead. He wouldn't do that. Instead he stood and placed the journal back on the desk. "I used to know them…"

"Was happened to 'em? They get eated?"

"Don't know." Carl answered, "They're just gone."

Charlie nodded accepting his words and nothing else was said of the matter. "C'mon, I wanna show you something." Carl stood from the bunk and placed the journal back on the table. Somehow he knew that if Beth found out he had read her journal, she would have rung him up to dry.

"Kay." Charlie stood and followed after him.

Carl led her down to his cell. He knelt down in front of his bunk while Charlie stood in the entrance of the cell, watching him cautiously. Carl reached into the bottom of the bunk and pulled out a dusty backpack.

"Was that?" She asked stepping closer.

"This used to be my room." He explained, "I had all kinds of things in here." He reached into his backpack and laughed. "Holy shit!" Carl brought out a series of comic books from inside his backpack and sat down on the bottom bunk. "Check these out, kid."

Charlie climbed onto the bunk and sat next to Carl.

"Now these I can read to you."

xxx

When Michonne arrived, she met with Rick and Daryl by the table. They were waiting for her to discuss their next move. They were running out of supplies and the area was cleaned out. Winter was over and now they had to discuss what would be their next move.

"I agree with Daryl." Michonne said, "This place was a home once but—" She overlooked at the broken down building, "I think we have over welcomed our stay."

Rick nodded, accepting Michonne's opinion just as she had accepted Daryl's. They were the adults in their tiny family and therefore had to make the decisions together. It was the best way.

"Carl isn't happy here. He won't even go in the cells. I don't think this place is good for him—or for Charlie."

Neither of them noticed the faint black mass that was gathering from behind the weakened fence that lead to the rest of the courtyard.

"I agree." Rick said.

"Same." Daryl chimed in.

"So, we'll gather our things and head out first thing tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a plan." Michonne said.

It was then all three of them stopped when they heard the sounds of groans and wheezes approaching. They quickly jumped off the table and spun around to see a large group of walkers crashing through the fence.

"Looks like we'll be heading out sooner." Michonne said softly as she unsheathed her katana.

Walkers burst through the fence towards them. Daryl instantly looked to the door heading to the cellblock where Carl and Charlie were; it was left ajar. His heart almost jumped out of his chest. He instantly ran to the door only to be blocked off by a wall of walkers.

"Charlie!" He shouted when a walker discovered the half open door and went inside followed by another

xxx

Meanwhile, inside, Carl read out loud to Charlie unbeknownst of the chaos outside. He laughed along with her at the shenanigans of the comic book character. Carl instantly heard the growling of walkers and quickly jumped to his feet. He hurried out of his old cell came to a stop when he saw a handful of walkers burst into the cellblock.

"Shit!" He spat and hurried to the gate. He crashed against it, closing it shut before the walkers reached it.

Carl jumped back when the walkers collided against the gate and reached their hands through, reaching out for him.

"Carl?" Charlie stepped out from the cell. Her eyes widened when she saw the walkers gathering at the gate.

"Stay back!" Carl ordered her as he pulled his gun out from behind his belt. He aimed, his hands shaking steadily. He wouldn't let them get her too. Carl pulled the trigger.

xxx

The shot of the gun from inside the cellblock rang through the walls. Daryl's heart stopped immediately.

"Carl!" Rick shouted as he attempted to make his way to the door.

They dodged and struck walkers as they tried to make their way into the cellblock. Walkers kept filing out from between the gates, pushing them further from the door. Two walkers came towards Daryl. He kicked the closest walker, sending it crashing against the second. Daryl took his machete and sliced his way through the walkers. His entire vision was red.

"Rick! We need to get out of here!" Michonne said as she slashed one walker after the other, spilling guts and brains along the prison grounds.

"We need to get Carl and Charlie!" Rick called back, "Daryl!" He shouted through the heavy sound of growling walkers for he was the closest to the door, "Get to them now! We'll clear the front!"

xxx

Charlie hid behind Carl as he shot the walkers down. He shot four more rounds when his gun clicked. The remaining walkers continued to bang against the gate. Carl looked around to see if there were any other exits. The windows were high and barred down. They were locked in. He glanced down to Charlie whose eyes tore from the walkers to look up at him.

It wasn't fear that filled her eyes for she was a brave child, but worry consumed her for their family out in the quad.

xxx

Daryl dashed into the common room, closing the door shut behind him. He spotted the crowd of walkers that had gathered against the gate. How he wished he had his crossbow. Two walkers turned around at the sound of the door closing. They spotted Daryl and made their way to him. Daryl hurried over, slicing the machete across their heads. When the two walkers dropped fully dead on the floor, a third and a fourth followed soon.

"Charlie!" He called out her name.

"Daddy!" She called back.

A relief swarmed over Daryl as soon as he heard her voice.

"Carl!"

"We're okay!" Carl called back. "I'm out of ammo!"

Daryl whistled at the last remaining walkers. They turned around, drawn in by the high pitched sound and pulled away from the gate. They lunged towards Daryl. Daryl pulled out the gun Rick had given him and shot them down. After, he heard the sound of the gate opening.

"Daddy!" Charlie ran to him.

Daryl knelt down and picked her up, relieved to see both her and Carl alive and well. "Are ya'll ok?"

"Yeah. We're fine." Carl answered for him, "Where's my dad and Michonne?"

"Outside, we're being overrun."

"Shit." Carl said under his breath and dashed to the corner of the common room where he had set up his sleeping bag. He grabbed his pack and dug through it for more bullets.

"Charlie, go get yer pack." Daryl set the girl back down. Charlie instantly headed to their shared cell to collect their things. She grabbed her knapsack and put it on. She then grabbed the Duffy bear Carl had given her and raced back to her father's side. Daryl wasn't pleased to see the bear. He didn't like Charlie to travel with things she didn't need but the damn thing had calmed her nightmares and she wouldn't part with it. Once Carl reloaded his gun, he swung his pack over his shoulders and nodded to Daryl and they made their way to the door. "I'll go first, clear the way." Carl said as he held his gun upward, ready to aim and shoot.

Daryl secured Charlie in his arms, "At three."

"One. Two. Three!" Carl pushed open the door.

xxx

Out in the quad, Rick and Michonne fought to clear out the walkers but there were too many of them. They pushed the back from the door that lead to cellblock C where Daryl had disappeared. There was no way of knowing if he had made it to Charlie and Carl.

Michonne hopped onto the table, striking walkers as they reached for her feet. Rick pulled out his gun, shooting at walkers that closed in on him from a distance. He used his axe to bring down the ones at arm's length.

It was then the door opened. Carl was the first to step out. He shot the walkers left and right, making a clear get away for Daryl and Charlie.

"Hold on tight." Daryl spoke into Charlie's ear, "Don't let go."

Charlie nodded against him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She had secured the Duffy bear in her pack, its head was sticking out of her knapsack. Daryl held on tightly to Charlie with one arm as he sliced walkers with the other. He just didn't feel right without his crossbow but he did what he could to keep his girl safe.

Michonne jumped off the table, clearing a way for she and Rick. He followed after her and the two went in the same direction as Daryl and Carl.

"Carl!" Rick shouted through the chaos, "Get to the woods!"

Carl ran past the tank when he was stopped short by a crowd of walkers that emerged from around the wall.

"Go back!" He shouted.

Daryl thought on his feet. He detached Charlie from her tight grip around his neck and heaved her onto the tank. "Get to the top!" He ordered. Charlie didn't argue with him and climbed to the top of the tank until she reached the hatch at the top.

Charlie looked around them. Walkers swarmed the entire quad. She hadn't seen so many of them since that day in the highway when they had to hide under the cars to keep from being seen. But now, they had been seen and there was nothing left to do but fight and stay alive. Her heart pounded wildly against her chest as she watched her family fight off the walkers. There were so many of them scattered across the grounds. A small group of them had gathered around the side of the tank, growling and snapping their teeth up at Charlie. Their arms reached up to her in desperation.

xxx

Sasha was the first to step out of the van and over looked the road that overlooked beyond the forest ahead of them. She squinted her eyes from the bright sun. They had been on the search for their missing comrades and the mysterious child for weeks but they had found no one. Not even a single lead. It had been hard with the treacherous weather and they hadn't been able to cover much ground. There had been discussions of dropping the search all together until the snow cleared. Carol said they were putting themselves in danger for looking without any leads or clues as to where they could be.

Maggie wasn't so keen on giving up so easily. She told the group if they didn't want to help, they didn't have to but she wasn't going to give up on her sister so easily—not again.

Tara was the next one to hop out of the van, followed by Maggie and Glenn. Glenn stepped in front of the hood and placed his map over it. "Well, we searched all of this area…" He muttered mostly to himself.

Tara met up Sasha on the road. Carol and Tyreese had stayed behind at the farm to care for Judith.

Tara placed her hands on her hips and squinted her eyes from the sun. She studied the road ahead of them. "Looks like we're going in circles."

"We might just be." Sasha replied. She pulled out her canteen and handed it to Tara so she could take a drink. Tara took it graciously and drank from it.

Maggie looked from the two women to her husband. "How's it looking?"

"Well," Glenn began, "We can take this highway here but if we go too far it'll lead us to Atlanta."

Maggie sighed heavily. The search was lasting longer than she would have liked. A part of her was starting to think that the child had been a mirage. The other part of her would have believed her if it weren't for the photo or the fact that Glenn had seen her too.

Glenn glanced up to study Maggie's expression. He could see the growing disappointment and desperation in her eyes. Glenn opened his mouth to speak when the sound of gun shots rung in the near distance. All four of them looked up to see.

"What was that?" Tara asked as she looked from Sasha to Glenn and Maggie.

"Sounds like its coming from the prison." Sasha pointed towards the forest.

Every single one of them knew the area well and of course where the prison sat. All four of them raced to the road where they could get a better view of the prison. From a distance they could see the grounds covered in walkers. It looked just like the day the Governor had attacked. More gunshots rung through the air.

"Holy shit." Tara said under her breath, "There are people down there."

Glenn brought out his binoculars and scanned the prison grounds.

"What do you see?" Maggie asked.

Glenn's lips parted for a moment. "You won't believe me."

xxx

"Carl!" Rick shouted as he continued to fight his way through the walkers. Carl was pinned against a wall, fighting off the walkers that surrounded him. Rick ran over to him, pulling off a walker that had latched onto his arm.

Rick threw the walker down and smashed its head.

"Dad." Carl said out of breath. The both of them were covered in blood.

"We need to get out of here."

"Where's Michonne? I'm not leaving without Michonne." Carl said.

Rick scanned the grounds. Michonne was over by the tank with Daryl, fighting off the walkers that had gathered to reach out for Charlie.

One of the walkers had managed to pull itself onto the tank. It climbed up to the top, reaching for Charlie who had her back to it, unbeknownst to its approaching hands. It reached up. Charlie felt the tip of its fingers brush the back of her knapsack and spun around.

"Daddy!" She cried, pushing herself further away from it.

Both Michonne and Daryl looked up the sound of her cry. "Charlie!" Daryl called out to her, his heart beating in his ears.

"Go!" Michonne called out, "I'll cover you!" She stabbed a walker through the neck, pulled her katana back and sliced it through the skulls of two other walkers. The bodies fell around her like flies.

Daryl didn't hesitate and climbed on to the tank to rescue Charlie from the walker. He kicked at the walker's face, kicking it off of the tank. The walker grabbed a hold of Daryl's foot, and slid halfway down the tank.

"Agh!" Daryl lost his footing and slid down with the walker.

"Daddy!" Charlie grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him back up. The machete had fallen out of Daryl's grasp on to the small crowd that had gathered around them.

"Charlie, let go, girl!" Daryl ordered as he tried to kick the walker off but it had a tight grasp on his boot.

"No!" Charlie cried, tears filling her eyes as she struggled to keep Daryl's hand in her own two, "I ain't gon let ya go!"

Daryl's hand slowly slipped out of her grasp when the walker pulled him further down. Daryl released his hand from Charlie's grasp before he took her down with him. The walker climbed on top of Daryl as they struggled together on top of the tank's side skirt right above the track. The walker grabbed Daryl by the vest, pulling him forward so he could take a bit out of him. Its teeth snapped inches from Daryl's face.

Daryl took a step back, his foot slipped down the tank's mudguard and fell back on to the ground with a heavy thud. The air was instantly knocked out of him. The walker fell at its side.

Charlie instantly scrambled towards the front of the hatch to get a better view of where Daryl had landed. The majority of the walkers were still reaching for her.

"Daddy!" Charlie called out to Daryl but Daryl did not budge. He was out cold. "Daddy get up!

The walker slowly sat up and turned to Daryl. Charlie's eyes widened as she watched the walker ready itself to take a bit out of her father. Right before its teeth could reach Daryl's neck, a bullet went straight through its skull, sending blood splattering across the dirt. The walker fell limp at Daryl's side.

Charlie looked up to see four strangers with guns approaching quickly. They shot at the walkers that surrounded the tank.

"Dad!" Carl grabbed Rick and pointed out to the yard.

Rick stopped striking a walker through the skull long enough to see Glenn, Maggie, Sasha and Tara make their way across the yard in a straight line. They shot their weapons all every walker in sight.

Rick let out a breath of disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Michonne too stopped right when a bullet went through the skull of a walker she was about to strike down. She looked up and stopped immediately. They all stood still until the fire ceased and every single walker in the perimeter lay fully dead on the ground.

Carl walked around to tank and stopped when he met eyes with Maggie. He froze, not believing his eyes. It was them, it was really them. Rick and Michonne joined his two sides, also in disbelief.

Charlie scrambled down the tank. She slid off the mudguard and landed on the pile of dead walker bodies with a soft thud. She picked herself up and ran to Daryl's side.

Maggie froze when she saw the girl. Her hand gripped tightly around Glenn's. It was then she remembered her sister and looked around but Beth was nowhere to be seen.