Glenn huffed as he continued to dig two new graves. Lori and T-Dog, how could they be gone? How did the group allow this to happen? He sniffled as he rammed the shovel back into the dirt. Airi and Sophia were still missing, but Daryl insisted since they found no evidence of them yet that they must be holed up in the prison somewhere.
The Korean man didn't want to admit it to the hunter, but he was planning on digging two more graves. Walkers now flooded the tombs, making it near impossible for anyone to survive in there alone. Sure they could be together, but he personally knew Airianna would stupidly throw herself into danger to protect the little girl of their group.
Not to say he or anyone else wouldn't as well, but their survival chances greatly lowered due to this fact.
Not to mention Eren had become inconsolable when Daryl and Maggie took off to find baby formula for their newest member as if he knew both his parents were gone. Not even Beth could cheer the wailing toddler up, which only seemed to dampen the teen's mood even more.
He paused when he heard footsteps coming toward him and climbed from the hole to face the two prisoners left standing, Oscar and Axel, "How's the perimeter look?"
Axel pointed to the furthest fence, "We got the walkers spread out, need help?" Glenn ignored his offered and resumed his digging. "Your friends, they...they were good folks."
He eyed the inmate, "They were family."
"I think I had one friend like that my whole life," Oscar muttered. "You got a whole group. Sorry you lost them."
Glenn glanced past the pair and locked eyes with Hershel. He sighed and passed the shovel to Axel as he started up to the courtyard, "I need two more," He walked up the hill and stopped on his side of the fence, "Rick?"
"Still inside."
Glenn nodded his head, "Okay, I'll get him. Any sign of Airi and Sophia?"
Herschel shook his head.
"A third of our group in one day," Glenn muttered.
The older man nodded, "Cause of one asshole."
The Korean man looked away, "Part of me wishes we killed all the prisoners on sight.'
"Axel and Oscar seem like good guys," Hershel mentioned.
"You know, when the evacuations started, T-Dog drove his church van to the home of every senior he knew just in case they needed a ride. He saved my ass a thousand times," He sighed. "He wasn't just a good guy. He was the best."
"He got bit closing the gate. If he hadn't done that…"
"It could've been Maggie," Glenn finished. "It's wrong, but...I'd trade any number of people for one of ours any day."
Hershel gently grabbed Glenn's hand through the fence to offer some form of comfort. He smiled weakly at the older man before he wandered to the gate to reach the cell block, aiming to find Rick and speak with him. He wandered into the cell block and was met by the mixed crying of Eren and Lori's baby. Carl held his sister close as he tried to shush her while Beth hugged Eren. He passed the miserable kids with a quick wave as he stepped into the tombs.
He carefully passed multiple decimated walker bodies as he shined his flashlight through the darkness. He lifted his gun up as he got closer to the boiler room Maggie and Carl said they hid out in and frowned at the increase in walker bodies he found. Glenn stalled when the turned the corner and caught sight of a blood-soaked Rick gripping an ax in his right hand.
"Rick?" He muttered as he slowly approached the leader. "Everybody's worried about you. You shouldn't be in here." The ex-sheriff craned his head towards Glenn and eyed him as if he had never seen him before, "Rick, come on. You don't have to do this all by yourself. The cell blocks all cleared, we'll just close off all the doors again," He took a step closer to the panting man. "Rick, just come on out with me."
He lightly touched the man's chest and Rick violently swung him into the wall. Glenn grunted as his breath was knocked out of his lungs and fearfully eyed the crazed man. Rick gazed into the Korean man's eyes before he flung him off the wall and threw a bundled piece of fabric at him from his left hand. Glenn felt a chill down his spine as he recognized the dark green flannel shirt that Airianna was wearing earlier that day.
Rick lamely gestured at the shirt, "Daryl needs to know." He then stormed back down the hall towards the boiler room, leaving Glenn alone in the carnage he had left behind. Glenn mournfully picked up his friend's bloody shirt and brought it back with him as he exited the tombs.
As he reentered the block Carl and Beth moved towards him, but the boy stopped in his tracks when he noticed the shirt in Glenn's grip, "Where'd you find that?"
"Rick gave it to me," Glenn whispered. "He found it somewhere in the tombs."
Beth frowned, "What do we tell Daryl when he gets back?"
"The truth," Carl responded.
She tilted her head in agreement, "Glenn could you hold Eren for a sec?"
"I don't know Beth, you're better with him," Glenn stumbled as he tried to think of an excuse.
"He just won't stop crying," Beth begged. "I can't handle both of them. She's just hungry, but maybe you can get him to stop."
Glenn opened his arms and the teenager passed the toddler. Eren's wailing lessened once he was in Glenn's arms and the occupants in the room sighed in relief. The man smiled at the boy as he wiped the tears off his small face and moved him to keep his left arm clutching Airi's shirt.
Eren made grabbing movements at Glenn, "Want mama," He fussed more when Glenn remained quiet. "Want mama. Mama!" He flinched as Eren wailed in his ear harshly.
"It's...It's okay Eren," He stuttered out. "We'll find your mom, I promise." He dropped the fabric in his free hand onto one of the tables and enveloped Eren with both his arms.
The child sniffled, "Fia?" Glenn cringed at the boy's name for Sophia, who they had also yet to find.
"No...just pizza boy," Glenn reluctantly replied. Eren poked Glenn's face with his chubby hand before he started to squish the man's cheeks together. Glenn leaned away from his tiny palms, but relaxed when the toddler let out a large yawn. "Finally wore yourself out."
Beth came back into the common room and he passed the now sleepy child over to him, "Thanks, Glenn."
"No problem," He swept from the room before she would ask more from him and moved to the guard tower he cleared with Maggie to go on watch. He closed his eyes once he sat at the top and tried to listen to the things around him. He could hear Axel and Oscar still digging the graves, the distant growling of walkers, Hershel hopping around on his crutches, and the cellblock door opening. He figured Hershel went inside to join Beth and Carl. He let his thoughts wander as the day disappeared and night fell over the prison.
How the hell would he tell Daryl his wife was gone? Would he expect more than her shirt? Would he snap like Rick?
The revving of the motorbike's engine pulled Glenn from his woes and he called down to the inmates by the gate, "They're back!"
Axel and oscar distracted the walkers by the outer gate so Maggie and Daryl could slip in quickly. He flew down the tower and gripped Maggie tight when she hopped off the bike. He then quickly led then inside and Maggie ran in with the powdered formula to prepare some with Beth. Daryl motioned for the crying baby and Carl reluctantly passed her into his arms.
"How she doin'?" He asked softly. Carl shrugged his shoulders and watched in awe as Daryl swaddled the infant close to him, calming her slightly until Maggie passed him a bottle of milk. He then lifted it gently to her lips, smiling when she began to suckle on the nutrients. "Come on, come on."
The group collectively sighed at the silence that washed over the room. Daryl looked up at his friends with happiness caked on his face as he fed the small child, recalling his past memories of doing the same to Eren.
"She got a name yet?"
Carl shook his head, "Not yet. I was thinking maybe...Sophia?"
Daryl scoffed, "Calling two girls Sophia will get old pretty quick," He glanced at the group, hoping to see mirth on their faces but narrowed his eyes at the sadness and guilt floating in their eyes. "What is it?"
"We haven't found Sophia yet," Glenn shamefully admitted. "Rick found…"
"Rick found what?" He snapped back.
"We could name her Lori," Carl cut in to diffuse the tension. "Or Carol, Andrea, Jacqui, Amy, Patricia,...Airianna? I don't know."
"Not namin' her after my wife, Airi'll only like a middle name matching," Daryl grunted. He turned away from the sorrowful looks from the group and back to the little girl. "Yeah...You like that? Huh? Little ass-kicker. Right? That's a good name, right?"
Carl and a few other chuckled at his joke.
"You like that, sweetheart?" He muttered to the baby as he rocked her in his arms. Beth then stepped forward and motioned to the girl so she could hold her as well. Daryl painstakingly moved the infant into the teenager's arms, reminding her to burp her once she was done eating. He nodded to the group and moved towards the cells to check on his child when a familiar shirt caught his eye. He could feel the air grow tense as he lifted his wife's shirt up with his fingertips.
"Rick found it," Hershel gently said. "Out in the tombs."
"Found a body?"
"Daryl," Glenn whispered. "There were so many walkers...We may not find one."
The hunter gripped Airi's shirt so tight his knuckles started to pale, "We'll find one." He then tossed the fabric to the ground in disgust. He strode from the common room and jumped up the stairs to his family's room, going to his knee when he caught Eren sleeping soundly on the little bed Airi made for him. He laid down next to his little man and leaned his head against his, silently letting his tears fall.
The next morning he woke his boy up before the others and carried his sleepy form out of the cellblock and out to the fields. He wandered the grass as he searched for his prize and gently picked a small bouquet when he found them. He laid the small bunch of baby's breath and Cherokee roses by one of the small graves.
"We'll find her, buddy. One way or another," He whispered to Eren.
He then shuffled back inside and grabbed some of the fruit Beth was mixing together. He sat on one of the metal tables as he hand-fed his tired son. He watched as the others clambered into the room as well to join Eren in eating breakfast. Carl waved at the little boy in Daryl's arm as he collected his own food. The group silently ate their portions as they sat in silence, but many paused in their eating when Rick slowly walked from the tombs into the cell block.
Daryl eyed the unhinged man with apprehension, "Everybody okay?"
Maggie nodded at their leader's words, "Yeah, we are."
"What about you?" Hershel asked.
"I cleared out the boiler block," He absently admitted.
"How many were there?" Daryl quietly asked.
Rick shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. A dozen, two dozen? I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl."
"Rick we can handle taking out the bodies," Glenn offered. "You don't' have to."
"No, I do," He argued. "Everyone have a gun and a knife?"
Daryl nodded his head as he shifted his grip on Eren, "Yeah, we're runnin' low on ammo, though."
"Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon," Glenn added. "Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula."
"Cleared out the generator room yesterday," Ruck turned to the hunter. "Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well."
"Good, good."
He suddenly strode out of the room, leaving the group alone once more as he made his way back to the boiler room. Daryl sighed at his grief and hoped their sweep through the prison halls would give him some hope or peace of mind. He waited for Eren to finish his munching to get ready for the sweep. Hershel rose to go speak with Rick while Beth came up to Daryl and offered her arms to collect Eren.
He sniffed at the blonde, "What?"
"I can watch him, and Carl's sister," She suggested. "While you clear the halls."
He grudgingly passed the boy over to Beth, kissing him on his small forehead and ruffling his hair as the girl wrapped her arms around his body. He settled in her arms, and Daryl signaled to Oscar and Carl to prep for their job. He collected his crossbow and his hunting knife and waited at the barred door to the tombs for the inmate and Rick's son. They both met up with him at the door and they quickly descended into the depths of the prison.
The trio moved through the halls, passing through D block and into the solitary block. They scanned the dead bodies left in the wake of the previous day, double-checking each one they passed. Oscar gestured to a door slightly swinging, but a heavy walker body blocked it from opening fully, "Must have missed it."
Daryl shrugged as he kept his eyes on the ground for any signs of their missing group members, "It's probably just one or two of 'em. Don't look they got much fight," He stepped away from the inching door to glance further down the hall. "We'll take care of it on our way back." He whistled at Carl, who had been absently leaning against a nearby wall. The boy jumped slightly but fell into step with the Dixon. He spared the boy a look as they slowly turned the corner, "You know, my mom, she liked her wine. She liked to smoke in bed. Virginia Slims." Carl furrowed his brow at the man's words, "I was playing out with kids in the neighborhood. I could do that with Merle gone, and Airi hadn't moved just yet. They had bikes, I didn't. We heard sirens gettin' louder."
The boy looked to the ground as Daryl continued.
"They jumped on their bikes, ran after it. You know, hopin' to see something worth seein'," He explained as he peered at the empty cells around him. "I ran after them, but I couldn't keep up. I ran around a corner and saw my friends lookin' at me. Hell, I saw everybody lookin' at me. Fire trucks everywhere. People from the neighborhood. It was my house they were there for." He motioned for Carl to pause as he dipped his head around the corner and found three dead walkers near another door leading to a new section of the prison, "It was my mom in bed burnt down to nothin'. That was the hard part. You know, she was just gone. Erased. Nothin' left of her. People said it was better that way."
Daryl locked eyes with Carl, "Just made it seem like it wasn't real, you know?"
Carl sighed, "I shot my mom. She was out. Hadn't turned yet. I ended it, it was real," He glanced away from the hunter. "Sorry about your mom."
He grunted, "I'm sorry about yours."
They moved through the hall but paused when Oscar slipped into one of the cells, "Now that's what I'm talking about."
"What you need slippers for?" Daryl asked.
"You know, relaxing. Putting your feet up at the end of the day," He joked.
A sound behind Daryl drew the awareness of all three of the males and they all fired on the walker stumbling towards them. Daryls' bow hit its mark and the corpse fell to the ground, finally dead. Daryl kicked the thing's leg but stalled when he noticed a small knife stuck into the neck of the creature.
"That's Sophia's knife."
Carl's face brightened at the mention of the blonde girl and asked where it came from," Must be from down the hall," Oscar replied. "Whole other half of the prison is down there."
The three spent the next few minutes combing through the rest of the tombs, Carl glumly giving up and stating they turn back when they reached the door labeled 'Administration' with still no sign of his friend. He muttered how there were too many walkers behind them for Sophia to make it past them by herself. Daryl ignored his depressed mutter but conceded anyway. He sent Carl back to C block and he worked with Oscar to move the dead bodies out of the halls one at a time. Dragging took most of the daylight and they decided to burn the pile the next morning to avoid detection from the walkers past the fence. He wandered back to the tombs for a final sweep, letting Oscar turn in and grab some dinner. He waited until the tall man had gone back to C block before he slipped into the tombs through the door he had seen T-Dog drag Sophia and Airi through the past day. He started to track the path the three took, hoping to find a better sign than Airi's shirt. Some definitive proof of her survival or demise.
He passed through a set of double doors and turned a few corners to where they found T-Dog's body. He glanced around and passed through a metal door down the corner passed the man's body, assuming he threw himself at the walkers to give the girls a fighting chance. He caught sight of a broken bracelet on the ground he recognized as Sophia's and he swung his head around to eye the fork in the hall. He walked to the left hall, closer to wear the bracelet had dropped but groaned when he ended up back near the solitary cells.
He grunted at the still swinging cell door in the hall when his body tensed.
He slumped to the floor outside of the swinging door and allowed his tears to fall down his face as he fiddled with the pocketknife he gave the small girl during the winter. He should have protected her better. He should have been there for her and Airi. What if they were both in there?
The swinging continued and he growled at the haunting noise, flinging to his feet to find out once and for all. Hel steeled his nerves as he closed in on the door, shoving the dead body blocking the door away. He gripped the handle with his hand, slamming it open with his knife raised.
He froze when the slumped form of Sophia entered his vision, her tired eyes looking up at him. He lowered his blade and lightly gripped her chin, smiling when she weakly turned up the corners of her lips. Daryl swept the small girl into his arms and gently carried her back to the cell block. Beth gasped in surprise when he walked through the doorway with the blonde girl and led him to their shared cell. He placed her down on the lower bunk and she leaned into his touch before she succumbed to sleep.