51—Finding the Prison pt. 4
That night, the group slept soundly for the first time in a long time. They had an actual place to stay, a place with big fences and walls to protect them from the walkers and other dangers!
After eating the squirrels and rabbit Daryl had hunted for them, and putting out the fire, the group had gone to sleep knowing they'll be able to have a real place to live in the next morning.
Once the sun came up, everyone woke up, got their weapons ready, and followed Rick's instructions on how they'd take down the walkers inside the gate. Half of the group would stay along the fence and kill the walkers leaning up against it; the rest will huddle together and collectively kill the walkers near the entrance of the prison. It would be quick, the group would be able to kill the walkers quicker, and they'd be able to settle into the prison without wasting any precious ammo or getting themselves injured.
Lori, Beth, Carol, Carl, and Selena stayed along the fence where the walkers were leaning up against it. They would handle killing the outside walkers while Rick and the others handled the ones on the inside.
"No using our guns. We're running low on ammo and we need to save it," Rick had instructed. "We know how to use our knives. We've got plenty of weapons to take down these walkers. Stay close and be careful."
Rick and the rest of the group huddled into an awkwardly shaped circle, their various weapons ready for the walkers inside the gate. Rick took down the lock he'd placed over the gate the night before and Hershel pushed it open before joining Carol and the others alongside the gate.
The circle quickly moved in, killing the walkers heading their way. A lot of the walkers were in prisoner uniforms, the skin having rotted after being exposed for so long and having been dead for such a long period.
The further the group went toward the prison, the more things there were—large, plastic, bulletproof shields that were probably used by the prison guards—and other things that were too filthy to tell. T-Dog picked up one of those bulletproof shields and slammed it against a walker before Maggie shoved a machete through its head.
"We're almost there," Rick exclaimed.
Looking over a corner, Rick quickly leaned against the cement wall with a silent curse. He motioned the others back.
Aibileen stayed close to the wall, but watched anxiously as Daryl quietly and slowly walked forward with his crossbow ready. Walkers dressed in police riot uniforms stumbled from around the corner, before one of them noticed Daryl aiming his crossbow at them. His arrows couldn't break the helmet's plastic face protector and none of the group's knives or other weaponry seemed to break through any of the protection the walkers were wearing.
Damn it, Aibileen thought, shoving one of the walkers away from her. As for any of the walkers that weren't in the riot uniforms, they were taken down easily. It was just a matter of figuring out a way to kill them.
Looking over, Aibileen saw a walker giving Maggie a hard time. She rushed over and grabbed at the walker, hoping to get it away from Maggie. While it was distracted with Aibileen, Maggie managed to lift the walker's head up a little and shove her machete from underneath the police helmet and kill it.
The rest of the group caught onto that and killed the rest of them quickly.
The other prisoner walkers were locked into another section of the gate, scraping against the chain linked fence. Once all the walkers that were on their side were killed, they headed back to where Carol and the others were, waiting by the gate for their return.
"Wait," Rick said, looking around.
"It looks secure," Aibileen said.
They were covered in walker blood; out of breath and looking around anxiously for any walkers that they probably missed.
"Not from the looks of that courtyard over there," Daryl pointed out. "And that's a civilian."
He pointed to the body of a walker wearing civilian clothes, laying in a pool of brownish red blood.
"The interior could be overrun by walkers from outside the prison," T-Dog said with an exhausted sigh.
"That ain't good," Aibileen sighed, running a walker-bloodied hand through her hair.
"If there's walls, what're we gonna do?" Glenn asked. "We can't rebuild this entire place."
"We can't risk a blind-spot. We have to push in," Rick said.
Rick quickly walked over to another opening, the rest of the group following.
Walking through another opening, and up some stairs, the group stopped near an opening that led through the side of the prison. Once the steel door was opened, the small group was greeted with the semi-darkened inside of the prison. Papers and other things littered the cement floors; bloodstains were smeared all over the walls but there weren't any bodies; metal tables and chairs were rooted to the floor; a watchtower was in the center of the room but there was a blood splatter on the bulletproof glass.
The light from outside just barely lit the inside of the prison.
Seems like this place did fall pretty early, Aibileen thought warily. At least it's abandoned. That's a plus.
Aibileen stayed close to where Maggie and Glenn were, keeping her knife raised in a defensive position.
Rick walked up the steps leading to the watchtower, keeping his machete ready. The rest of the group spread out, just in case there were any walkers that might show up. As Rick walked down the watchtower steps, holding a ring of keys in his hand, he opened a barred door leading to a cellblock.
The group spread out, checking each of the cells on the lower levels for walkers.
All they found were filthy cells; cells that had bodies—already hit through the head—and a bunch of useless junk.
Rick and Daryl inspected the upper level of the cellblock, and that was when the snarls of the walkers came through.
When their snarls came to a sudden stop, Glenn, Maggie, and Aibileen stood anxiously on the bottom level as Rick and Daryl dumped the two walker bodies onto their level. They landed with a sickening splat, blood splattering as they landed.
"I'll go get the others," Glenn murmured, not before helping T-Dog take the walkers to the lawn.
Aibileen and Maggie shared a look, unsure on what to do next.
"I guess we just...pick a cell," Aibileen said with an uncertain shrug.
"I guess so," Maggie agreed.
Maggie and Aibileen looked through each of the cells, a little hesitant on which ones they wanted. After about a minute, Aibileen settled for the one that looked the most decent. No blood, only a little filthy.
"What do you think?" Rick asked once the others showed up.
"Home sweet home," Glenn sighed.
"For the time being."
"It's secure?" Carol asked.
"This cellblock is," Rick said.
"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.
"In the morning, we'll find a cafeteria and infirmary," Rick explained.
"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked.
"I found some keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too," Rick added.
"I ain't sleepin' in no cage," Daryl said. "I'll take the perch."
Aibileen watched as Daryl set his stuff down, getting himself comfortable. He glanced over at her and she looked away. She knew there were some things she just couldn't make the huntsman do, and if sleeping in one of the cells was something he didn't want to do, Aibileen wasn't going to make him.
The rest of the group found themselves a cell and settled in.
Sitting on the lower bed of her cell, Aibileen looked around with a sigh. The prison was going to be her new home. Never in her life would Aibileen Martin have guessed that a prison would be her new home. She never would've guessed that the dead would've come back to life, either.
Aibileen laid herself on the bed, finding it strangely comfortable. Draping an arm over her eyes, she let out a long sigh. It would take some getting used to, living in the prison.
Sure beats all that jumping around, she thought solemnly. Carefully sitting up, Aibileen draped her legs over the side of the bed.
"Aibee?"
Looking over, Aibileen saw Carol standing at the entrance of her cell, holding a bag. Standing up, Aibileen walked over to the short-haired woman and gave a small smile.
"You forgot your things," Carol said, handing the bag over.
"Thank you."
Carol gave Aibileen a smile and a nod before heading back to her cell.
If there was one thing Aibileen noticed, it was that the little nickname she had gained was slowly spreading around the group. She had been called 'Lee' in her teenage years, but never had anyone ever called her 'Aibee'. It was a unique nickname, and one she couldn't really see herself getting used to. But she learned that it wasn't worth the effort to fight others over something as meaningless as abbreviating a name.
Later in the day, Rick had called the guys to the lower level. Daryl came down from his perch and looked at the limited weapons and protection Rick had managed to gather from around the cellblock. It wasn't much, but it sure as Hell would have to do.
"Not bad," he murmured, looking at some of the flashlights and guns.
"Flashbangs, CS Triple Chasers," Rick murmured, looking at the weapons. "Not sure how they'll work on walkers, but we'll take it."
"I ain't wearin' this shit." Daryl looked at the armor Rick managed to salvage with disgust. The huntsman knew that it'd be important to wear some kind of protection, Rick had said they were going to inspect other parts of the prison. Besides, if Daryl knew any better, and if Aibileen had been there, she'd give him a talk about how much his safety meant to her.
When Carol summoned Hershel from the small group of men, Rick watched anxiously. While he'd never openly admit it, he was worried about his wife. Lori's pregnancy wasn't an easy one, and raising a newborn in a world full of fear was awful.
Daryl kept himself busy, inspecting the weapons before Rick decided that they should probably head out.
After finding some cleaner armor from around the cellblock, everyone gathered near the entrance of their cellblock and watched—helping, even—as the people preparing to leave did some last minute adjustments to their protection and inspected their weapons.
"Ya sure ya don't need anythin'?" Aibileen asked Daryl.
Daryl glanced over at her, taking a moment off of inspecting his crossbow. When Aibileen found out that Daryl wasn't going to be wearing any of those police vests, she felt her stomach twist into knots. She knew that Daryl was tough, she knew he could handle a difficult situation, but if it involved walkers, she didn't want to risk him getting bit or scratched.
"I'm good," he murmured.
"I'll still worry," she said softly.
Daryl nodded. "I know."
Sliding her arms around his waist, Aibileen gave Daryl a hug. She decided not to join Rick and a few of the group members on the inspecting mission. She was going to take some time to relax and help Selena, Carol, Beth, Lori, and Carl in their little home.
"Just be careful anyway," she murmured, resting her head on his chest. Despite the numerous times Aibileen had given Daryl hugs or kisses on the cheeks, he still stiffened slightly under her touch. But lately, she realized that he wasn't so defensive when it came to her touching him. She even noticed that he would hug her back sometimes.
Daryl rested a hand on the small of her back, him giving a silent sigh.
"I promise," he murmured.
Pulling back, Aibileen looked up at him and nodded, smiling softly. He returned her smile, keeping his hand on the small of her back for a moment longer before heading out with the others.
Crossing her arms over her chest, Aibileen watched as the guys disappeared. Carl shut the barred door behind them, locking it with the keys Rick had given him.
"They'll be fine," Beth assured them.
Aibileen chewed on her fingernails, feeling a little anxious. She knew that the guys would—hopefully—come back safely. They were well armed, they knew how to take down walkers. But there was no telling how many walkers were in the rest of the prison.
"What can we do 'till they come back?" Aibileen asked softly. She looked at the others. The only thing that could keep Aibileen occupied, distracting her from the worry that was knotting in her stomach, would be to find some kind of work.
"All we can do is wait," Carol said. "They'll be able to handle walkers. The last thing they need is us worrying about them."
That's all I can seem to do right now, Aibileen thought, but she was going to take Carol's advice anyway. Having the guys and Maggie come back to the rest of the group, worrying their asses off, that wouldn't be a good sight.
Running a hand through her hair and giving an audible sigh, Aibileen nodded.
The last thing they need is us worrying about them.
Author's Note:
I hope this update was decent enough. I realized that, while trying to follow to show for this story, I'd follow it a little too much, and so I'm going to try and not be so dependent on the show so much while writing this story. There'll still be some of the show in the story, so don't worry!
Also, in the prison arc, the development of Aibileen's and Daryl's relationship will go further. Maybe you guys can give some suggestions on how that could happen.
I don't own 'Walking Dead' or its characters. I only own my characters and my fillers.
Leave a helpful review, please!
Thank you.
Susan Strong
