Authors note: Part of Season 3 Episode 1 "Seed" and full Episode 2 "Sick." 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.

There's Always Problems

The next day was here, and we were looking through some things we collected from the yard. There were some pretty decent items that we'll be able to use and help us out if we're ever in danger.

"Not bad," Daryl said as looked at the items.

"Flashbangs, CS Triple-Chasers. Not sure how they'd work on walkers, but we'll take it," Rick said as he looked at the flashbang and CS Triple-Chaser in his hands.

Daryl pick up one of the helmets and some walker fluids leaked out it, "I ain't wearing this shit."

I gave it a disgusted face and T-dog lifted a glove that also leaked out the disgusting green and brown fluid.

"We could boil 'em," T-dog said.

"Ain't enough firewood in the whole forest. No," Daryl said with disgust and he pick up a baton, swinging it a bit, "Besides, we made it this far without 'em, right?"

"Hershel?" Carol called out as she entered the room.

"Everything all right?" Rick asked.

"Yeah. Nothing to worry about."

Daryl picked up a flashbang and shook it in his hand. I shook my head at him and continued to look through the stuff we got.

A few minutes later we headed back into the cells and got ready to go venture the rest of the prison to find the infirmary and cafeteria. Carl was putting one of the helmets on his head, and smiled at Beth. I thought it was cute how he had a little crush on Beth, and It's crazy to see how he's grown in just eight months. What a world to grow up in though.

Rick took the helmet from his son and said, "You won't need that. I need you to stay put."

"You're kidding," Carl said.

"We don't know what's in there. Something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing. I need you to handle things here."

Carl nodded with a smirk and said, "Sure."

"Great," he handed his keys over to his son and said to the group who was venturing out, "Let's go."

We started venturing through the dark tombs of the prison, trying to find our way around. We all had our flashlights out, looking each and every way to make sure nothing was going to pop out at us. There were several dead bodies about and the whole thing felt like an eerie horror movie. As we rounded the corners, Glenn would mark an arrow down on the wall with a white spray can, so we knew how to get back.

Maggie shrieked and we all quickly turned to look at her, but she only ran into Glenn. I let out a soft sigh, thankful everyone was okay, and we continued further down the halls. Every turn we made seemed to pump my adrenalin faster, not knowing what could be around the next corner.

Glenn kept spraying, making sure to keep marking our path, and so far everything was going good. We rounded our next corner and Rick said, "Go back. Go back! Move!"

We all fell back, and went back the way we came. We rounded a couple of corners and Rick said, "This way. Come on, this way!"

We made it into a small area, but Glenn and Maggie weren't here. We all crouched around in the small room and Rick asked, "Where's Glenn and Maggie?"

"We have to go back," Hershel said.

"But which way?" Daryl asked.

We all got up, and Rick slowly opened the door once the coast was clear. We all went out into the hall and started searching for the couple.

"Maggie? Glenn?" Hershel called out quietly.

Hershel started going back, hearing something and then he screamed out in pain. We all ran to him and a walker had bitten part of his calf. Rick shot the walker in the head and Maggie was crying out in a pain and shock at what happened to her dad.

Walkers were starting to come down the hall we were occupying, so Glenn and Rick tried to grab Hershel quickly. Daryl went a bit closer to the mini herd and shot one of the walkers down. There were to many to take, so we quickly scrambled down the hall, so we could get Hershel to a safe place.

"We're blocked! Get back! Get back! Go! Go!" Rick yelled.

We went down another hallway, Daryl taking the rear to fend off the incoming walkers. We made it to a door that was locked with handcuffs and Rick said, "Break 'em open. Open the door!"

T-dog broke the handcuffs and we quickly scrambled inside. Daryl and T-dog closed the door behind them, trying to hold it shut, so the walkers wouldn't bust through. T-dog put his fire poker through the doors handles, so it would hold, and so far it was doing the trick. T-dog continued to hold the door, while Daryl made his way over to where we were on the floor.

Rick pulled back Hershel's pants, revealing a gruesome bite mark that was bleeding rapidly. Rick started to take off his belt and said, "Hold him down."

We held him the best we could and Rick wrapped his belt around Hershel's leg, making a makeshift tourniquet and pulled out his hatchet.

"All right. Only one way to keep you alive," he said and then started to hack Hershel's leg off.

It was gruesome, and we didn't even know if it was going to work, but we don't have many options right now. Rick finally got part of Hershel's leg off and said, "Oh! He's bleeding out."

I felt Daryl tense next to me and I followed his eyesight, which landed on some men in prison uniforms, staring back at us from a back room. He grabbed his crossbow and said, "Duck."

He popped up and pointed his weapon at the five prisoners in the back. He made his way around us to get closer to the threat and one of the prisoners said, "Holy shit."

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the prisoners asked.

"He's bleeding out. We gotta go back," Rick said and looked at Glenn, "Come around here and put pressure on the knee. Hard, hard! Push, push."

Maggie took over and Glenn picked up some stuff to see if anything would be useful.

"Why don't you come on out of there? Slow and steady," Daryl said to the prisoners.

They started exiting and a guy with long raven hair asked, "What happened to him?"

"He got bit," Daryl said.

"Bit?" the man asked, pulling out his piece.

T-dog and I both pulled out our guns, aiming them at the prisoner.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy now. Nobody needs to get hurt," Daryl said.

"You have medical supplies?" Glenn questioned as he went into the back.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" another prisoner asked.

The walkers were starting to rile up some more outside because of the commotion we were making and the prisoners looked nervously at the door.

"Who the hell are you people, anyway?" the long hair prisoner asked.

"Don't look like no rescue team," a prisoner with a handlebar mustache said.

"If a rescue team is what you're waiting for, don't," Rick said to the group and then started to lift Hershel up, "Come on, we gotta go! Now! Come on! I need a hand here."

Glenn got a metal cart with wheels from the backroom and they tried to get Hershel up and on to it.

"One, two, three, go!" Rick said as he and Glenn lifted Hershel carefully onto the cart.

"Holy Jesus!" mustache man said as he turned away from the gruesome sight.

"T, the door," Rick said to him.

T-dog went to open the door and the smaller prisoner said, "Are you crazy? Don't open that!"

"We got this," T-dog said as he removed the fire poker from the handles.

He killed the armored walker that stumbled in easily with the poker and they started to leave the room. I followed after, keeping my gun handy and Daryl slowly followed, keeping his eyes trained on the prisoners.

"Daryl. Daryl!" Rick called out.

We quickly made our way down the dark halls, making sure we kept our eyes alert for any threats that might be around. We started heading one way and Rick whispered loudly, "No, no, no. Back, back!"

A walker was coming up on us and Rick said, "Daryl."

Daryl easily took the walker out with his crossbow and then pulled his arrow out from his head. He turned back to us and yelled, "Come on! Go, go, go."

They pushed the cart forward and I followed behind them, Daryl quickly taking the back after T-dog and I passed. We went down the next hall way and heard the prisoners following us.

"Stop! Stop," Rick said.

Daryl pointed towards their shadows and I heard them saying, "Follow the flashlight. Come on, let's go."

"Go, go, go," Daryl said while waving us forward.

We got to the cell block and Daryl opened the front gate to the common room. They wheeled Hershel in and Maggie said, "He's losing too much blood."

They rolled him to the gate to the cells and Rick yelled, "Open the door! It's Hershel! Carl! Come on."

They got him inside and I stayed behind with Daryl and T-dog, waiting for the prisoners to show up. T-dog hid behind the wall while Daryl placed an arrow into his crossbow and propped his arm up onto his leg that was on the seat of the table. He gave me a quick side glance before he looked into the scope of his bow.

I made sure I held my gun steady, watching the door just like the other two guys in the room. The prisoners made their way inside and looked at us with caution.

"That's far enough," Daryl said to the men.

"Cell block C. Cell 4… that's mine, gringo. Let me in," The long haired men said as he walked a little further inside.

"Today's your lucky days, fellas. You've been pardoned by the State of Georgia. You're free to go."

"What you got going on in there?"

"It ain't none of your concern."

"Don't be telling me what's my concern," he said as he pulled out his pistol.

Daryl stood up and moved a bit closer, keeping himself trained on the prisoner. The biggest prisoner spoke up and said, "Chill, man. Dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we're free now. Why are we still in here?"

"The man's got a point," Daryl said.

"Yeah, and I gotta check on my old lady," The balled prisoner said.

"A group of civilians breaking in to a prison you got no business being in… got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go," the long haired guy said.

"Why don't you go find out?" Daryl said with anger on his face.

"Maybe we'll just be going now," mustache man said.

"Hey, we ain't leaving," The long haired guy said still not taking his eyes of Daryl.

"You aren't coming in either," T-dog said as he came out from behind the wall with his pistol out.

The long haired guy pulled his gun on T-dog and said, "Hey, this is my house, my rules. I go where I damn well please."

Everyone started to go back and forth with each other, neither side backing off from the fight.

"There ain't nothing for you here. Why don't you go back to your own sandbox?" Daryl said getting more aggressive by the second.

Rick came out and said, "Hey, everyone relax. There's no need for this."

"How many of you are in there," the long hair guy asked.

"Too many for you to handle."

"You guys rob a bank or something? Why don't you take him to a hospital?"

We all looked at each other, wondering just how long they were locked in that cafeteria.

"How long have you been locked in that cafeteria?" Rick asked.

"Going on like 10 months," the long hair guy said.

"A riot broke out. Never seen anything like it," the bigger one said.

"Attica on speed, man," mustache man said.

"Ever heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy," the tiniest one of the group said.

"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria. Told us sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back," long haired guy said.

"Yeah, and that was 292 days ago," the bald guy said.

"94 according to my calcula…" mustache man was cut off by the long haired guy who said, "Shut up!"

"We were thinking that the army or the national guard should be showing up any day now," the bald guy said.

"There is no army," Rick explained to them.

"What do you mean?" the long haired guy asked.

"There's no government, no hospitals, no police. It's all gone."

"For real?" mustache man asked.

"Serious."

"What about my moms?" the bigger one asked.

"My kids? And my old lady? Yo, you got a cell phone or something that we can call our families?" the bald guy asked.

"You just don't get it, do you?" Daryl asked with annoyance.

"No phones, no computers. As far as we can see, at least half the population has been wiped out. Probably more," Rick told them.

"Ain't no way," long haired guy said with disbelief.

"See for yourself."

They took the prisoners to the yard and I stayed in the cell block with the others. They were still trying to stop the bleeding from Hershel's wound, but it wasn't looking to good. I felt extremely bad for Maggie and Beth because their father is the only family alive besides the two of them.

I leaned against the cell wall as I watched the two woman try to stop the bleeding and it wasn't looking to good.

"It has to stop eventually, right?" Carol asked as she switched towels with Lori.

"It slowed down quite a bit already," Lori said.

"If we can get him through this…" Carol started before getting cut off by Lori, "When we get him through this."

"We'll need crutches," Carol finished.

"Right now we could use some antibiotics and painkillers, some sterile gauze. There's got to be an infirmary here."

"If there is, we'll find it. You've gotta be worried sick about delivering the baby."

"Look at me. Do I look worried?"

"You look disgusting."

Lori chuckled and said, "So do you," she turned back to Hershel, feeling his forehead and said, "We'll get through this."

A little while later Beth left the room to take a breather, I guess. Then Maggie went out to talk with Glenn. I decided to hang around the cell, just in case Lori and Carol needed some backup, but it looked like they were doing fine so far.

A few minutes later I heard Carl open the gate to the cells, and I heard T-dog say, "Food's here."

"What you got?" I heard Carl ask.

"Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans. There's a lot more where this came from."

I went to the door way of Hershel's cell and watched Rick and T-dog carry in some food. Daryl wasn't with, so I figured he stayed behind with the prisoners, making sure they didn't try anything. Glenn and Lori joined me at the front of Hershel's cell and watched them come in. As Rick passed by he asked, "Any change?"

"Bleeding is under control and no fever, but his breath is labored and his pulse is way down and he hasn't opened his eyes yet," Lori answered.

Rick turned to Glenn and said, "Take my cuffs, put them on him. I'm not taking any chances."

Glenn took the cuffs and went into the room, so he could handcuff Hershel to the bunk. I thought that would be a smart idea, we have no clue what the outcome is going to be, so it's better to be safe than sorry.

From a distance I listened in on Lori and Ricks conversation that they were having under the stairs of the cellblock. I kept my eyes on Hershel, Glenn, and Carol, just so it didn't look like I was eavesdropping.

"So what about those prisoners?" Lori asked.

I was wondering the same thing. It seemed like they let us have some of their food, but every deal comes with a price. I'm surprised they even agreed to it, they didn't seem too keen on working with us especially the leader of the prisoners.

"We're gonna help them clear out their own cell block, and then they'll be there and we'll be here," Rick said.

I figured as much, but I guess we don't have many options. The only other way to settle things would be to kill them because I don't think they would go down without a fight if we tried to kick them out.

"Living beside each other," Lori said

"I'm not giving up this prison," Rick said.

"Do they have guns?"

"I only saw one," he sighed and continued, "Yeah, I don't know if it's gonna work."

"Well, what are your options?"

"Kill them."

"If that's what you think is best."

"You s… you say this now…"

"Look, I know that I'm a shitty wife and I'm not winning any Mother of the Year awards, but I need you to know that not for one second do I think there is malice in your heart. You're not a killer, and I know that. I know that, so… so do whatever you gotta do to keep this group safe. And do it with a clear conscience."

I heard Rick walking away and I stayed put, continuing to watch Glenn and Carol work on Hershel. I wasn't quite sure if we should kill them, but if they give us a reason to, then by all means we should take them out. But I think Rick is making the right call either way, I stand behind his choices.

Just a bit later, Maggie returned to the cell, and she saw her dad handcuffed to the bunkers post. She looked confused and asked, "What's going on?"

"We had to," Glenn said.

"It's just a precaution," Carol said.

"You think maybe I could have a minute alone here?" Maggie asked through tears.

"Yeah, you want me to…?" Glenn started, but she shook her head and said, "No, just by myself."

"Of course," Carol said as she walked out.

I decided to sit on the stairs and wondered if Hershel was going to pull through. He's a tough son of a gun, so I'm sure he'll make it and will be back up in no time. Hopefully we can find some supplies and stuff, so we could make that happen.

While I was sitting around, waiting for any change in Hershel or for the guys to come back from helping the prisoners, I heard a noise coming from the back of the cells. I decided to go investigate and found Carl about to leave through the back gate.

"Carl!? What are you doing?" I whispered loudly.

"I want to go find the infirmary. I want to help," He said.

"You can't just sneak off by yourself. You could get hurt out there."

"But Chloe, we need medical supplies. I can get it."

"I can't let you do that Carl."

"Then come with me."

"We should stay here. It's hard enough going out as a group, with the two of us, it's even more dangerous."

"If you don't come, then I'm going by myself."

He started to leave, but I grabbed the gate and said, "Fine… I'll go with you. I don't want you getting hurt."

He gave me a half smile and I followed him out into the hall. We made our way through the windy hallways of the prison. We came around one corner and a walker stumbled towards us, growling menacingly, reaching his arms out to grab a hold of our flesh. I pushed him into the wall and stabbed him easily with my blade. He dropped to the floor and Carl whispered, "Nice."

I nodded to the boy and whispered, "Let's keep going."

We went down just a few more halls and reached the mid-size infirmary. Carl opened the door, walking into the room first. He had his gun out in front of him, ready for anything that could be lurking in the semi-dark room. I shined my flashlight around the room and spotted a walker close by. Carl took it out easy with his silenced pistol and I let out a sigh.

We didn't see any more walkers in the room, so I said, "Let's try to collect everything we can quickly and get back to the cellblock."

Carl nodded and said, "We can use that bag to put everything in."

I looked at the mid-sized black duffle bag he pointed out and said, "Okay, be careful."

"You too."

We went around the room quickly, grabbing every item we could find in the room. After a good few minutes of searching, we came to the conclusion that we pretty much found everything that was left in the room. We got a decent amount of bandages and other medical supplies, so hopefully they'll last us for a bit. And this stuff will definitely be good for Hershel's leg.

Carl grabbed the black bag and we started to make our way back to the cellblock. Thankfully on our way back, we didn't run into any walkers and got back to the cells safely. Carl opened the gate and then locked it behind us. Going on this short run with Carl made me relies how much he's growing up and how much this world has changed him, but I guess it teaches him to be brave.

I followed him further into the cell block and Glenn looked over at us from where he was leaning against the wall of the cell block door.

"I thought you were organizing the food," Glenn asked.

"Even better," Carl said as he went into the room and dropped the bag on the ground, "Check it out."

Carol gasped and Lori asked, "Where did you get this?"

"From the infirmary. Wasn't much left, but we cleared it out," Carl said.

"You two went out alone?"

"Yeah."

"Are you crazy?"

"No big deal. I had Chloe, and we killed two walkers.

"You... all right, do you see this? This was with the whole group."

"We needed supplies, so we got them."

"I appreciate that, but…" Lori started to stay, but Carl cut her off, "Then get off my back."

"Carl! She's your mother. You can't talk to her like that," Beth said.

"Listen, I think it's great that you wanna help…" Lori started to say, but Carl shook his head and ran off.

Lori sighed and got up, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me towards the front grate.

"Why did you take my son out there?" she asked me.

"Listen Lori… I found him about to sneak off and I figured it would be better to go with, than to have him leave on his own," I said.

"Why didn't you just stop him? Or come tell me?"

"He wouldn't have listened; he would have just tried again later. He's a brave and tough kid. He knows how to defend himself, and I was right there with him. I would have gone down first because I wouldn't have let anything happen to him."

She huffed as she ran her fingers through her hair and said, "I guess your right… Thank you for looking out for him. I know you were good on the force when you worked with Rick and… Shane. It's just… he's my son and I don't want him to get hurt."

"I understand, Lori… I really do. I'm sorry I went out there with him without your approval, but I think I did the right thing."

She nodded her head and said, "Yeah… No… you're right. I'm glad you went with. I appreciate it."

I nodded my head and we went back to Hershel's cell where Carol was finishing up bandaging Hershel's leg.

"These bandages will help prevent infection," Carol said.

"It's good. It's good that he taught you all this stuff," Glenn said.

"He didn't teach me everything," she said before looking over at Glenn, "I need your help with something."

"Now?"

"Yeah, now."

"What is it?"

"Not here," she said as she went to leave the cell.

"I can't leave Hershel," Glenn said shaking his head.

"This is important."

"Carol, I can't…" Glenn started to say, but Lori cut him off, "Go on. We got it."

"No way."

"We'll be fine," Beth said.

"We're not gonna be gone long," Carol mentioned.

"Rick said for me…" Glenn started again, but Maggie said, "We're fine."

"All right."

They left the cell and the rest of us stayed with Hershel to watch his progress.

Beth, Carl and I were outside of Hershel's cell, while Maggie stayed by his bedside. We noticed something was wrong because we noticed Maggie shaking her father slightly. Beth walked quickly into the room and yelled, "What's happening? Do something! Somebody help! Somebody! Please help!"

I went into the room, pulling Beth away from her father so I could administer CPR. I wasn't an expert at CPR, but we took a few classes on it during our training in the police academy. I saw Lori come into the room and she watched me carefully as I applied the first few steps of CPR.

I breathed into Hershel's mouth, giving him oxygen, then I gave him some chest compressions before going back to give him more air. When I did that, Hershel came back to life and tried to grab at me. I pulled away and with Maggie and Beth's help they got me all the way back. We all looked wide eyed at the man in front of us, hoping he came back as an alive person and not as the dead.

Hershel laid back down on the bunk bed and fell back to sleep, snoring peacefully. I let out a relieved sigh, knowing that that was the scariest experience of my life. Maggie and Beth were still pretty shaken up while I stood next to them, and I didn't blame them, they were so close to losing their dad. I'm glad I was able to step in and help, not to mention I was glad I wasn't eaten alive either.

A little while later, the guys came back from their journey with prisoners.

"Hershel stopped breathing. Chloe saved him," Carl said.

"It's true," Glenn said.

Daryl came over to me and patted my shoulder, and I gave him a half smile. Rick walked into the cell and Lori said, "Still no fever."

Hershel started to make a gasping sound and Maggie went to him, hoping he was starting to come around. He stopped soon after going back to breathing steadily and everyone dropped their shoulders in defeat. Just then Hershel's eyes started to open and Maggie called, "Daddy?"

"Daddy," Beth said going to his side with a small chuckle, "Daddy."

Rick started to uncuff Hershel from the bunk bed and Hershel continued to look around with wide eyes. He reached out for Rick and Rick took his hand, dropping to his knees to get closer to Hershel. I felt someone take my hand and they squeezed it lightly in their own. I looked up at Daryl who was leaning against the wall of the cells door and he gave me a small nod. I squeezed his hand back and went back to looking at Hershel.

Lori got up from where she was and left the room, so Rick handed Hershel's hand over to Beth, so he could go after his wife. The rest of us stayed with Hershel, watching him slowly come back to himself, even though it will take a while until he's fully back to what he was.

It was night time and we all went into our separate cells to get some shut eye. Maggie and Beth were going to keep an eye out on their dad during the night, but he seemed to be pretty stable once he opened his eyes. I'm sure he'll be back up before we know it and maybe we'll actually get some crutches for him, so he can move around freely.

I heard boots coming into my room as I was placing some stuff into my bag and looked over to see Daryl.

"So ya saved Hershel's life?" Daryl asked as he leaned against the post of the bunk bed.

"All I did was administer CPR… Anyone could have done that," I said with a shrug.

"Yeah, but you got to 'im first. Ya had some quick action."

"I guess so. My first aid training from the academy kicked in and I jumped into action."

"I'm glad ya did Shadow," he sighed and said, "Heard ya went out with Carl to the infirmary."

"Yeah… It's no big deal. We got some supplies and we got back fine."

"What if ya didn't?"

"Come on Daryl… I already had to explain myself to Lori, don't make me have explain myself to you too."

"Shadow, ya could have gotten hurt or worse."

"I wasn't going to let Carl try and sneak off again without anyone knowing. I just decided to tag along, so he would be safe."

"I know, and that's nice of ya, but what if somethin' happened?"

"Daryl, we're fine and nothing happened," I scrunched up my face and asked, "Do you think I can't handle myself."

"Nah, I didn't mean it like that. Things are unpredictable just like what happened to Hershel. And knowing you, ya would have done anythin' to save Carl and sacrifice yaself for 'im."

"I probably would of… But I can handle it okay. I've had you to teach me many different things, I've had police training, and I've had everything we've encountered until now, to help make me stronger. You have to trust that I know what I'm doing."

"I never doubted ya one minute. I just don't want ya to get caught up in somethin' that ain't in ya control. I care about ya shadow, and ya know that"

"I know… I know. I care about you too. But trust me, I'll be fine."

He nodded and said, "Okay."

"What happened with the prisoners?" I asked.

"Went to help them clear out their own cell block, things went bad and one of 'em got scratched."

"What did you do with him?"

"The leader of their little group took 'im out without a single thought. Fuckin' beat the hell out of his head. Didn't trust the guy, so we made sure to keep an eye on 'im."

I nodded and said, "Then what happened?"

"We made it to the next area and Rick told the guy to open one door. The fucker opened both doors and the walkers started to spill in. He made a few cheap moves on Rick, trying to get 'im killed and once we finished getting rid of the walkers, Rick took his machete to the guy's head."

"Oh jeez…"

Daryl nodded and said, "Did what was right. Then the smaller one tried to go after Rick, but Rick knocked 'im down easily, sendin' 'im scrambling through the halls. Rick chased after 'im and left 'im outside for the walkers."

"How about the other two prisoners?"

"Their gonna have the other cell block. They can't be anywhere near us though or we'll kick 'em out."

"Think it's a good idea?"

He shrugged and said, "I think Rick made a good deal. Don't trust 'em 100%, but they seem better than the others. We'll just have to see what happens."

"Yeah… I guess so."

He nodded and patted the bunk softly, "Guess I'll see ya in the mornin', Shadow."

"See you in the morning Daryl. Goodnight" I said with a smile.

He gave me a small smile back and said, "Night."

He left my room and I turned out my light before getting into bed. Today was a very eventful and crazy day, and hopefully we won't have this much excitement for a while. I don't think we'll be able to take much more of it.