CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: AFTERMATH!
Bodies littered the floor as Alex stepped through the doors of the cell block. She could hear voices coming from just through the metal doors, and she squared her shoulders, relaxing her body and her face. Her mind slipped into a calm, focused state, and she finally stepped over the threshold. Long hair and Rick stood face to face, engaged in a seemingly heated discussion.
Glen nodded as she passed, frowning when she ignored him. "Alex?"
Mustache and Muscles stood further back, talking amongst themselves, but Weasel hovered around Rick and Long hair.
She noted that the big guy was nowhere to be seen. Long hair grimaced as he twisted his head to look at her, his hand clutching a bloody spot between his ribs.
He smirked, looking back at Rick. "Looks like your bitch came to look for you-"
Alex swept past Rick and kicked Long hair straight between the legs, then stomped on the back of his knee as he buckled, dropping him to the floor in front of her. His mouth flapped open, and she drew her arm back, smashing her metal studded fist into his nose. His head snapped back, and she punched him again and again, kneeling over his prone body.
His arm swept up, shoving her off, and he rolled onto his side, breathing heavily and clutching his face. The knuckle dusters had burst through the skin in multiple sections, and his eye was already swollen half shut.
Easily, she climbed to her feet, stomping down on his skull. The thud of it connecting with the floor drew a snarl from her lips, and she stomped down again and again, imagining stomping straight through his head.
"Stop!" She vaguely heard Rick yell.
"Alex-What?" Glen hovered behind Rick, neither man sure of whether or not to grab her. "You'll kill him."
The scum on the floor was unrecognizable, and she finally took a step back, breathing heavily, staring at his ruined body. Her eyes were cold, teeth bared in a sick rage. She tugged the Beretta from her shorts.
"No!" Rick stepped forward grabbing her shoulder, and she turned, fixing a dead-eyed glare on him, as well as her weapon. "Alex, wait…" He stepped back, raising his hands. "We can talk-"
Without a word or batting an eye, Alex pointed the gun at Long hair's caved in face. His one half open eye stared at her, and blood bubbled from his lips as he pleaded. She squeezed the trigger.
The gun shot echoed through the otherwise silent room as everyone stared in horror at the scene.
"No!" Weasel screamed, raising his baseball bat and advancing. Rick drew his own gun and stepped between them.
"Easy, now," he said. Alex turned her gun on him, her eyes hard and cold.
Trembling, Weasel turned, racing from the room. Alex moved as if to give chase, but Rick stepped into her path. Glen turned to Mustache and Muscles.
"Uh, g-get on your knees-Or something." He shot a nervous glance back at his friends. "Don't make me tell you twice."
Both men complied.
Alex released a breath, staring down at the carnage at her feet. She allowed Rick to take her gun, and slipped her hands into her pockets.
"What the hell, Alex?" Rick put his hands on her shoulders and bent to look her in the face. "We were working out a deal. We could have made it work."
Alex met his eye and pushed her hair out of her face, smearing the scumbag's blood. "No. Not after what he did." She stared at him, giving no room for argument, and Rick straightened, burying his hands in his hair.
"Because he tried to kill me? Alex-"
"Fuck you." She clenched her fists at her side. "This is not about you." She finally loosened her hold on her emotions, and a tear tracked down her gore splattered cheeks. "He went after Jake. He-He's a fucking monster, and I only want to kill him again." She grit her teeth and hardened herself again, turning her dead gaze onto the two men kneeling across the room. "We made a mistake in not killing them the first time."
"Wait," Mustache cried, following her train of thought. "We don't have no affiliation to what happened. Tell 'em, Oscar!"
Muscles let out a deep, bone-weary sigh. "Stop talking, man."
Rick looked down at Alex, worry on his face as he took in her expression. "I'll handle it," he said. "I'm going after the other guy. T, Glen, watch these two, Alex-Just…give me some time…"
She stared blankly at him, but stepped back. "You're the leader." She paused, looking at the prisoners. "You're going to regret your decision, Rick."
Daryl was silent as he wiped the gore from Alex's arms, chest and face. She stared into space between them, rage still simmering behind her eyes. She chewed on her lip, slowly uncurling her fingers as he tried to take the knuckle dusters. Her fingers were gashed and bleeding, mixing with the rest of the gore.
He swallowed hard, then cleared his throat, and finally, her eyes fell on his face. "You think I went too far?"
"No." He sighed. "I was thinking 'long the same lines." He dipped his rag in the water bucket, then wrung it out.
She slid her eyes to the gray wall behind him. "I just wish I'd killed him slower." Her body trembled, and she ground her teeth, fighting back an onslaught of sobs, tears spilled down her cheeks and she swiped them away. "Jake's…" her voice broke and her shoulders shook… "He's just a little boy."
Daryl dropped the rag, slid onto the bed, and pulled her onto his lap. She buried her face in his chest and cried, trying to keep quiet. He didn't say a word, just held her, stroking her hair the way she often did to comfort Jake. Slowly, she composed herself and looked up at him.
"I don't know what to do…Daryl, there are three more of them-One of them running around God knows where…And Jake-He's-"She swallowed hard. "He's gonna need help getting through this. What do I say to him? How can I help him?" More tears threatened to burst from her, and she took a deep breath, pulling out of his arms. She stood, pacing, rubbing the split skin of her knuckles. "What do I do?"
"We'll figure it out. Whatever it takes." He held his hand out to her. "Come on, let's finish cleaning you up. You don't want him to see you like this."
Alex frowned but took his hand, allowing him to pull her back onto the bed as he picked up the rag.
"What's wrong with you?" said Carl, dropping onto the foot of Jake's bed. Jake curled his legs to his chest and didn't move, facing the wall. "Come on, man. Let's go outside. Beth and Maggie are making mashed potatoes, and we could-"
"Go without me." Jake's voice sounded odd, almost like it didn't come from him. He clamped his teeth shut against the strange sound, missing whatever Carl had just said.
"You sick?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. Well, how about later, when you feel better, we go explore the prison? We could maybe start making a map or-"
"Your mom will kill you." Jake shivered at the thought of going back into those halls. Bile burned his throat.
"Yea, well, she needs to learn that I'm not a little kid anymore." He reached over and yanked the pillow out from under Jake's head. "And we can take care of ourselves. Don't worry about her-"
Fury sparked across Jake's mind as his head bounced down on the hard mattress. He jerked upright and shoved Carl roughly from the bed.
"Hey!" Carl hit the floor with a thud, and he glared up at Jake, who climbed out of bed, trembling. He scrambled to his feet, clenching his fists. "What's your problem?"
"You're so stupid!" Jake kicked the bottom bunk.
"No, you're the stupid one! Whatever, man-I'm tired of babysitting a little crybaby like you, anyway."
Jake strode forward and swung his fist, connecting with Carl's cheek. With a howl of rage, Carl leaped toward him, and they dropped to the ground, kicking and punching every inch of one another.
"Hey! Stop it!" Beth screamed, the first to arrive on the scene. The boys ignored her, and she turned pleading eyes to Lori, Carol, and Maggie, who jogged toward them. "Stop them!"
"What's going on?" Lori asked, dragging Carl back and shoving him toward Carol, who put her hand on his shoulder to keep him from returning to the scuffle.
Jake smacked her hand away and rose, trembling, to his feet. He swiped blood from his lip and cheek and turned on his heel.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, young man," she snapped. "Don't walk away from me-"
"Don't touch me!" Jake balled his hands into fists and glared up at her, who sighed and stepped back. "Just stay away from me. All of you!" He turned again and stormed up the stairs.
He heard Beth sobbing as he climbed and gritted his teeth, trembling.
"You need to do something about that boy of-" Lori trailed off as Alex's cold eyes flicked toward her face. Daryl wrung out the rag and glanced up. "What happened? Where's Rick?"
"Why don't you go find him," said Alex, fire still simmering under her skin.
Daryl shrugged. "He went after one of the prisoners."
Lori bit her lip and turned her gaze to the bars into the prison. "And Glen and T?"
"Watching the other two."
"Two? I thought there were four of 'em…"
Daryl sighed and dropped the rag back into the bucket. "There were."
Footsteps thundered up the hall, and the door swung open. Rick, Glen and T-Dog entered, looking worn. They paused at the scene in front of them.
"What's-" Rick began, his eyes moving to Alex, who sat blankly on a table, still half covered in blood.
"Carl and Jake got into a fight," said Lori. "That boy is unhinged."
Alex tensed and glared at her.
"Lori, that's enough," said Rick, scowling. "They're boys, they're gonna fight. I'll go talk to Carl. Just, wait for me in Hershel's cell.
Jake sat on the floor of the top landing, back against the wall and knees to his chest. He stared out the window, watching two prisoners dragging bodies out toward a bonfire in a fenced yard. His hand rubbed his shoulder, tracing the bite mark from the long-haired man. The taste of stomach acid filled his mouth, and he trembled, pressing his fist against his burning eyes.
"What are you doing out here?' said a soft voice as a body sat down beside him.
Jake's lip trembled and he slid sideways to lean against Alex's arm. The scent of copper drew his attention, and he looked at her, finding her coated in dry, flaky patches of blood.
"What happened to you?" He sniffed and swiped his arm across his blood crusted nose.
She shrugged. "Same as you."
He went silent, staring at her. "Did you…?" His throat tightened, and he returned his gaze to the window. "Is he dead?"
"Yeah." She hugged him against her and set her chin on the top of his head. "There are worse things than walkers in the world."
Jake sniffed again. "I punched Carl." His body shuddered lightly, and he swiped at his eyes. "And I yelled at Lori."
Alex sighed. "I heard. You feel bad about it?"
He nodded. "I shouldn't have done it."
"You're growing into a good man."
They looked up as Daryl climbed the stairs and smiled. His shoulders visibly relaxed, and he grinned back.
"You two look like a horror show," he said, setting his crossbow on the window sill. "All covered in blood like that."
Jake snorted, dropped his face into his knees, and laughed.