Authors note: Season 3 Episode 1 "Seed." Thank's to everyone for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. Here's the next chapter everybody, enjoy. Reviews are welcomed. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead, It solely belongs to AMC and Robert Kirkman. I only own my own my character Shadow.

Is This What We've Been Searching For?

Eight and a half months… That's how long we've been on the road, going from place, to place, to place. Heck, it felt a lot longer than that as the days turned into the nights or sometimes it felt like we had no nights at all. We were all tired and hungry, desperate for that safe heaven that Rick keeps trying to find.

We all knew it was going to be a longshot, but I think the thought of something out there is what's been keeping us alive this long. We know it might be out there somewhere, it's just the matter of where it is and if we'll actually be able to find it. Maybe, just maybe, our luck will turn around and we will find that spot to hunker down for a longer time than we have.

We found our next spot, which was a decent sized house, partially isolated by some woods that were around. We pulled up the drive way and we all broke off into groups. We barely even had to say much, we've been doing this for eight months, we know our tactics by heart.

Glenn and Maggie got the perimeter, clearing any walkers they find. While Rick, T-dog, Daryl, myself, and Carl were going to clear the house. The others stayed outside by the vehicles just in case things didn't work out and we could make a quick getaway.

We went to the front door of the house and Rick kicked the door open with his foot. With his colt, that now had a silencer on it, he shot the first walker in the head. As we walked in further, T-dog took another walker out, stabbing it effortlessly. I followed Daryl into one of the rooms, having my pistol ready for anything. We looked around and as Daryl went up to an adjoining door, it opened, revealing Rick with his colt and flashlight.

With a slight sigh of relief from the three of us, Daryl and I headed upstairs along with T-dog to check out the bedrooms. T-dog took the first room, while Daryl and I took the second room. Daryl took the lead, heading inside the room, it's walls painted red. I noticed the owl perched on top of one of the wooden chairs by the window and I could see Daryl getting ready for the kill. It was truly a beautiful creature, but we needed food to eat. Daryl moved closer to the bird and fired his arrow into his little feathered body.

Daryl picked up the bird and took a look at me. I nodded to him with a smirk and we left the room. As we headed downstairs, Daryl started to pluck the feathers from the dead owl. We made our way into the front room and I saw Maggie and Glenn piling the bodies by the staircase. Everyone started to move in and took up some spots in the room.

I took a seat next to Daryl, watching him continue to pluck our next meal. Carl came into the room and placed two cans on the ground, which seemed to be of dog food. We all watched as the boy got his can opener and started to open one of the cans. It was horrible, did we really resort in to having to eat dog food? Yeah, we were all desperately starving, but has it really come to this.

Rick noticed what his son was about to dig into and he grabbed it from him. Rick looked at the can tediously before throwing it at the wall. I noticed Daryl jump a bit at the sound and he looked at the area Rick threw the can. Everyone was quiet, not knowing what to say, and honestly there wasn't much to say. We all stayed to ourselves and continued to figure out what was next.

"Psst," T-dog said lowly and nodded towards the window.

We all knew that that was our signal to leave, so we all grabbed our stuff and headed out the back door. We all ran for the cars, looking around to make sure there were no walkers close by. Daryl and I got to his bike and hopped on. He started it up quickly, taking off down the road soon after and the rest of our group followed close behind.

After a little driving, we all stopped on the empty road, getting ready to regroup and make a new plan. We all got out of our vehicles and gathered around the Hyundai. Maggie and Glenn pulled out the map and we started to discuss where to go next. I was standing next to Daryl, leaning my arm against the hood of the car, so I could peer over his shoulder.

"We got no place left to go," T-dog said.

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south," Maggie said.

"What would you say? That was about 150 head?" Daryl asked.

"That was last week. It could be twice that by now," Glenn said.

"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through there," Hershel chimed in.

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way," T-dog said.

"So we're blocked," Maggie said.

"Only thing to do is double back at 27 and swing towards Greenville," Rick said.

"Yeah, we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles," T-dog said.

"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet. We can't keep going house to house. Need to find someplace to hole up for a few weeks."

"All right. Is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? Won't take long. We got to fill up on water. We can boil it later."

"Knock yourself out."

Everyone started to split off and I followed Daryl over to his bike, where he was getting himself ready to head out into the woods.

"Can I tag along?" I questioned him.

He smirked down at me as he looked through his stuff and said, "Course… Just keep up."

I chuckled at him with a roll of my eyes and he huffed out his own little laugh. He started to reload his crossbow and looked up at Rick, "Hey, while the others wash their panties, let's go hunt. That owl didn't exactly hit the spot."

I followed Rick and Daryl into the woods, following some old wooden train tracks. I kept my hand on my knife, just in case anything came our way. We got to an open spot on the train tracks and saw a huge prison that looked to be overrun. There was a small canal down by the prison too, and overall that would be an awesome place to have, but it wouldn't be possible to take back from the dead.

"That's a shame," Daryl said as he looked at it.

We watched it for a bit before we headed back to the cars. Rick started telling everyone about what we saw and told everyone we were going to check it out. I wasn't too sure if this was a good idea, but if we can overtake that prison, we could have that safe haven we've been searching for.

We got over to the prison without a problem, all of us watching our backs since there were a few walkers hanging outside the gates of the prison. Glenn and Maggie disposed of the nearest walker and we all continued to keep ourselves aware of everything around us.

"Watch the backside," T-dog said.

"Got it," Lori said.

Rick cut through part of the fence with the bolt cutters and we all made our way inside quickly. Once we were all in, Glenn and Daryl closed the fence back up with some red wire that we had. We all looked around in the small, fenced in area we were occupying, and looked at the prison field that was filled with dozens of walkers. We made our way through the area and to a gate at the far side of where we came, which led to the field.

"It's perfect," Rick said as he eyed the place, "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked.

"I'll do it. You guys cover me," Glenn said.

"No. It's a suicide run," Maggie said with concern.

"I'm the fastest."

"No, you, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there. Pop 'em through the fence. Daryl and Chloe, go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl take this tower," Rick said.

I grabbed my gun and Followed Daryl and Carol towards the guard tower. We went up top and got ready to take out these walkers. We aimed our weapons and as soon as Rick headed out on to the field, we started to take them out one by one. The walkers were dropping like flies as we continued our task. Carol shot a round off and it just barely missed Ricks feet.

"Sorry," I heard her say.

I held back my chuckle and continued to fire my own rounds into the dead below. Rick made it to the gate, shutting it and locking it tight. He made his way into the guard tower on the field and Carol said, "He did it."

"Light it up!" Daryl yelled.

As we continued to kill the last of the remaining walkers, I couldn't help but think that this could be great. Maybe we'll finally have time to relax and not have to think about where we are going to go next. We just might be able to make something out of this place and create a life here.

We killed the last few and we all made it down to the gate to see what we accomplished. It was amazing and this field has so much room, who knows what we can do with it.

"Fantastic," Carol said with a wide and happy grin.

"Nice shootin'," Daryl said.

"Yeah," she said looking back at us and then went over to Lori who was by the gate, "You okay?"

"I haven't felt this good in weeks," Lori said with her own smile.

"Oh! Oh! We haven't had this much space since we left the farm."

I heard T-dog laughing behind us and he said, "Whoooo!"

Night fell upon us and we were all gathered around a small fire that we made. We were eating some food we had and basking in the glory that we had a whole field and a place to lay our heads. Rick was going around the fence of the field, making sure there wasn't any breaches in it. Daryl was on top of the bus by the entrance, pacing back and forth, keeping watch. I felt someone nudge me with their elbow and I looked over to the woman who was sitting next to me.

"Why don't you take this to Daryl?" Carol asked as she handed me a bowl.

"Yeah, I guess I should… He won't eat if I don't," I said.

"I figured as much. I would bring it myself, but you're closer to him."

"I think he's getting along with everyone… He's practically Rick's second now."

"Yeah… But you two have more of a… I guess a special connection."

I nodded slowly and said, "All right, I'll be back in a bit."

She smiled at me and patted my back, before I got up and walked over to my friend. I walked across the field and climbed up the ladder to the prison bus. I placed the bowl on the top and Daryl reached out a hand to pull me up. We smiled at each other and I picked the bowl back up to hand it over to him.

"Carol thought it would be a good idea to bring you some food. We know you won't eat at all if we didn't bring some to you," I said with a smirk.

"I guess Little Shane over there has got quite the appetite," he said.

I let out a short chuckle, pushing his shoulder lightly, and said, "You're horrible, Daryl."

"Pfft," he chuckled and started to eat, "How comes Carol didn't bring it 'er self?"

I shook my head and said, "I don't know… She claimed we have a "Special connection"."

"A special connection? What the hell does that mean?"

"I have no clue… I mean, I guess our friendship is slightly unique."

"Yeah… Guess so."

I decided to change the subject and looked at his weird poncho he collected a little while back, "I can't believe you're still wearing that stupid poncho."

"Come on, it ain't stupid… This thing is comfortable and it keeps me warm and if I remember correctly, ya liked it when ya were cold that one night."

"That's because it looks more like a blanket than a poncho."

"Yeah, well… I like it," he smirked and said, "Maybe I won't let ya borrow it again since ya insulted it."

I chuckled and asked playfully, "Are you really gonna let me freeze?"

He sighed with a small smirk and said, "Nah… I couldn't do that to ya."

"Want to head back with me?"

"Yeah, I'll go down first."

I nodded and watched him climb down the ladder. Once he reached the ground, I went down too. At the bottom Daryl helped me and I felt sort of uncomfortable, even though he wasn't even being romantic. He nodded up the way and started to walk towards the group, not even noticing the way he touched my back as he helped me down. I ignored the stupid thought of having something between us and followed close behind him.

When we got to the group, Beth was singing a sweet song, "Of all the money… E'er I had… I spent it in good company… And all the harm… E'er I've ever done… Alas it was to none but me… And all I've done… For want of wit... To memory now I can't recall… So fill to me… The parting glass… Good night and joy be with you all," Maggie started to sing with her sister, "Oh, all the comrades… That e'er I had… Were sorry for my going away… And all the sweethearts… That e'er I had… Would wish me… One more day to stay… But since it falls unto my lot… That I should rise… And you should not… I'll gently rise… And I'll softly call… Good night and joy... Be with you all… Good night and joy... Be with you all… I had some.

"Beautiful," Hershel said.

"Better all turn in. I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow," Rick said.

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've got to push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary."

"An armory?" Daryl asked from where he was standing next to me.

"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine."

"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'd run out before we make a dent," Hershel said.

"That's why we have to go in there… Hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it," Rick looked over at Carl with a smirk and said, "These assholes don't stand a chance."

Rick walked away and Lori followed after him. We all made up our spots on the ground, getting some rest, so we're ready for the morning. Daryl set up his small space close to my own, always making sure he's by me in case something went wrong. I got comfortable in my spot and drifted off to sleep, thankful for the first time in a long time, that we might make it through the night without worrying to much about an imminent threat lurking around us.

The next day came around and we got ready to head into the prison. The group going in consisted of Rick, Maggie, Daryl, T-dog, Glenn and Myself. We got in formation, making sure not to break rank as we made our way through the gate. We moved through and started stabbing each walker that came close right through their head.

"Daryl," Rick said to him, making sure he got the other walker near us.

We kept killing the walkers, staying in the tight formation we made.

"Get tight! Get tight!" Glenn yelled.

We pushed forward and killed several more walkers. T-dog started to make it over to some riot gear and Rick said, "Don't break rank!"

"We may need that!" T-dog said.

He grabbed the riot gear, and a walker was coming towards him.

"T!T!" Rick yelled.

T-dog hit the walker with the riot gear, knocking him down and Maggie stabbed the walker through the head.

"Maggie! Maggie!" Rick yelled some more.

She fell back into our formation and we continued on.

"Almost there," Rick said as we got further into the yard.

Rick checked one of the doors we were passing and there was nothing in it. We were about to move further, but Rick pushed himself against the wall, motioning for us to stay back. As we stayed hidden from more walkers, two more walkers came out from behind a dumpster. They had riot gear on, so they must have been prison guards. A couple more came out from behind the place we were hiding, and Daryl moved closer to them, shooting his arrow at one of them, not even making a dent to his face mask.

He backed up and then Rick and T-dog went after them. Another walker came out of the door Rick checked seconds before and it had a gas mask on its face. We tried to go at them, but it was no use. We killed a few other walkers around, trying to avoid the armored walkers.

"Daryl!" Rick said as he pushed the one riot gear walker back.

They headed for the gate that was opened and closed it quickly.

"We're good," I heard Rick say.

One of the riot gear walkers came at me, so I pulled the face mask up a bit, so I could stab him up through the neck, and it worked.

"See that?" I asked with a grin.

Maggie got this crazy look in her eye with an eerie grin and killed her own riot gear walker the same way. Everyone took out the last remaining suited walkers and the yard was finished. We went to go back to the group and Rick said, "Stop."

"Well, it looks secure," Glenn said.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there," Daryl said as he pointed towards the area and then pointed to a dead female walker on the ground, "And that's a civilian."

"So the interior could be overrun by walkers from outside the prison," T-dog said as he leaned against the wall.

"Well, if there's walls, then, what are we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place," Glenn said.

"We can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in," Rick said.

We followed Rick through a rusty gate and went up some stairs. Daryl pulled open the sliding door and Rick went inside. We all headed inside, sticking close to one another. We kept our guard up and looked around the destroyed room. Rick went up the stairs towards the watch guard's area and grabbed the keys.

We opened up the gate to the cell block and headed inside. We checked each cell to make sure there weren't any walkers. Rick and Daryl checked the upstairs while the rest of us checked the downstairs. We only found a few that were still alive, but all in all, it turned out pretty good.

Glenn, Maggie, and I went outside to grab the others and led them back to the cell block we cleared. As we walked in, Rick, Daryl, and T-dog were still moving the bodies.

"What do you think?" Rick asked as he walked down stairs.

"Home, sweet, home," Glenn said.

"For the time being…"

"It's secure?" Lori asked.

"This cell block is."

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.

"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary."

"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked.

"I found keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too."

"I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the perch," Daryl said from up top.

I chuckled inwardly to myself, of course Daryl wouldn't want to sleep in there. I guess I understand his reasoning's, not wanting to feel trapped and useless.

Everyone went to go find their own rooms, and I went upstairs, so I could be closer to Daryl. He followed me into the cell I picked and said, "Ya really gonna sleep in here?"

"Yeah, why not?" I asked as I put my stuff by the bunk bed.

He shrugged and said, "I don't know how ya can sleep in here?"

"It's not that bad, Daryl… And what other choice do I have?"

"Guess ya right…" he bit at his thumb and said, "Ya know if ya need me I'll be just outside your cell."

"Yeah…. I know, I know… My handsome protector."

"Shut up…" he said with a roll of his eyes, "I'll see ya in the mornin'"

"See you in the morning."

He patted my shoulder and went out to the perch, getting his little spot set up. I watched as he laid down on one of the uncomfortable mattresses from one of the bunks and placed his strange looking poncho behind his head. As he looked up to get comfortable, I prayed it was dark enough that he didn't see me watching him.

I quickly hoped into bed and let out a soft sigh. I made myself as comfortable as I could get in this bottom bunk, which wasn't that bad actually. I smiled to myself and was happy to finally have a stable place to hunker down. This is what we've been looking for and we finally found it. I just hope nothing ruins are new found luck.