Chapter 28
"Come on! Over here!" I yell banging on the fence trying to bring the walkers' attention to those of us safely outside the fence
"Here! Here!" Beth yells from next to me
I spare a glance behind me where Penny is sitting with Anneliese in her lap – something I rarely let her do – but I'd rather them both be far away from the fence. I'd actually rather have all 4 kids over there, but I couldn't deny that both Carl and Jackson are more than capable of screaming for walkers to come to the fence and stabbing them in the face when they get close enough.
It's not taking the group inside the fence long to move through the yard to get to the gate that they want to close, and we can just barely hear them yelling orders at each other as they move farther from us and closer to their – our goal.
"I can't see them. Can you see them?" Lori asks anxiously when all the walkers in our area are dead and the only sounds are distant, but not too distant groans
"Back there?" Carol asks looking in the direction of the yard opposite of ours
It's no more than 3 minutes before the sounds of walkers and fighting cease and the group starts to slowly walk back towards us, before they stop about midway seem to discuss something and start to head inside the cellblock
"What are they doing?" Lori asks
"I'm not sure, they might be going to make sure the inside is secure before brining all of us in" I tell her moving to pick Anneliese up out of Penny's lap
"We could've helped with that" Carl protests
"Maybe. Or we could've gotten in the way. The more people we try to cram in there before knowing if it's safe and before knowing if we'll have to make a quick exit the more at risk everyone is" I tell him, and he doesn't say anything back just stares at the door the others went through.
It's not long until Glenn and Maggie come back out of the door
"Cell block is clear and secure for now" Glenn tells us
"Rick said to bring the bags and all in that we'll set up inside for now and discuss further once everyone is together" Maggie explains
And with that everyone sets about grabbing their respective bags and following Maggie and Glenn back into the prison yard and into the cellblock that they've cleared – Cell Block C.
The inside is quite frankly filthy and smells vaguely of death. The first room we go in seems to be some sort of communal area with a few tables, a few cells and an elevated enclosed guard's desk.
The second room seems to be more of a literal cell block, cells lining the bottom floor and steps leading up to a second just as lined with cells.
"What do you think?" Rick asks walking down the stairs towards us
"Home sweet home" Glenn says cutting a glance at the body T-Dog is dragging out of the cell block
"For the time being" Rick says
"It's secure?" Lori asks looking around
"This cellblock is." Rick answers
"What about the rest of the prison?" Herschel asks
"In the morning, we'll find the armory and infirmary" Rick tells us
"We'll sleep in the cells?" Beth asks
"I found keys on some guards. Daryl has a set, too."
"I ain't sleeping in no cage" Daryl says from where he's standing on the second level "I'll take the perch" he says gesturing to the open space at the top of the stairs
Everyone starts to break off into cells to claim them. Beth and Herschel in a cell on the first floor, Maggie, and Glenn in another one leaving one empty between them. Lori and Carol head to one on the second floor, almost at the end of the row. And I bypass Daryl on the perch to herd the kids into the first cell on the row.
"Carl? Did you want to share a cell with Jack and Penny, or did you want to bunk with your dad?" I ask
"With them. If that's okay?" he says
"Fine with me" Jackson says so I nod
"Alright y'all can figure out who gets top bunk and who gets bottom. I'm gonna steal a mattress from another cell to put on the floor for Penny" they both nod and start to figure out who gets which bunk while I leave the cell
"Where ya sleeping?" Daryl asks from where he's pulling a mattress out of a neighboring cell
"With you"
"Alright, I'll get a second mattress then. What bout the kids?" he asks
"All 3 are gonna bunk in the first cell. Unfortunately, I think little miss Anneliese will be bunking with us"
"There'll be plenty of room" he says pulling the second mattress out of the cell
"After you get those two onto the perch can you get a third one and bring it to the kid's cell for Penny?" I ask
"Sure" he says pecking my lips as he moves past me with one of the mattresses.
By the time I rejoin the kids in the cell they've decided that Jackson will take the bottom bunk and Carl the top one.
"Daryl's gonna bring a mattress for you to sleep on Pen" I tell her
"Where are you gonna sleep Mama?" she asks
"I'm gonna sleep right out there on the perch with Daryl and Anne" I tell her pointing to where Daryl is settling the second mattress next to the first one against the farthest side of the wall and railing.
"You're not going to be far?" she asks worriedly
"No, not too far and you can always get me if you wake up" I tell her smoothing a hand down her hair
"Mattress delivery for Miss. Penelope" Daryl says as he hauls her mattress in through the cell door making her laugh
"Thank you. Penny what do you say" I prompt
"Thank you!" she chirps
"Here let me take this one so you can help these three get settled" Daryl says reaching for Anneliese after he places the mattress on the floor
It doesn't take long to get all the kids settled before I join Daryl on the perch
"This is nice" I sigh as I lay down on the bed
"Sure is" Daryl says from where he's sitting next to me, a sleeping Anneliese in his arms
"Gen!" Rick calls from the bottom of the steps
"And there goes the niceness, you couldn't pick somewhere with 4 walls" I grouse at Daryl making him huff a laugh as Rick gets to the top of the stairs
"Gen, do you think you could help me out with food storage and setting up a place to cook?" he asks
"Yeah, sure. Daryl, come find me when she wakes up" I tell him pushing myself up off the bed to follow Rick back down the steps
"We only have about 2- or 3 more-days worth of food, maybe 4 if I stretch it"
"Tomorrow we'll find the armory and infirmary, we'll do a run the day after that" Rick says running a hand over his face
"I can write a list of things that are most important" I offer
"Yeah, yeah that's a good idea"
"Why don't you go take a nap or something? You look exhausted"
"Nah I'm fine, I'm gonna go walk the perimeter"
"Be careful"
"Always am" he tells me
I don't watch him leave instead, I start going through everything and writing what we need the most down on a notepad
"Where's he going?" Glenn asks joining me at the table
"To walk the perimeter"
"I swear he thinks the fence will just disappear" he jokes
"He's just being cautious"
"What are you doing?"
"Making a list of the most important things to get on our next run"
"Condoms"
"Glenn!"
"Not necessarily for you!" he laughs
"You're horrible" I tell him
I've just written the last thing on the list when little babbles pull my attention to the doorway, where Daryl has just walked through holding a wide-awake Anneliese
"Someone was looking for their Mama" Daryl says handing her over to me
"Did you have a good nap?" I ask tickling her sides, making her squeal
"Glenn, you and T-Dog wanna help drag the walkers to a pile so we can burn them?" Daryl asks
"Yeah, I'll go grab T" Glenn says hopping up from his seat
"Be safe" I tell Daryl pecking his lips
"Always, what are you gonna do?" he asks
"Force the children to do chores and then make dinner"
"Sounds like fun"
"Yes, loads and loads of fun" I tell him rolling my eyes, but let him pull me into his arms for a few seconds
"Be good" he tells Anneliese kissing her forehead when Glenn Maggie and T-Dog come into the common area
Once I round up the children and divvy out tasks it doesn't take long to get done what I wanted to, we found a broom in a storage closet and started sweeping the common area floor and the cell block floor.
I started making a simple dinner of beans and rice and it's just about done cooking by the time Rick returns from his perimeter walk and the other three return from their body sorting.
"Can y'all go tell the others that food is ready?" I ask Carl and Jackson and they barely acknowledge me before running off to do as I asked.
"How's the fence?" I ask Rick passing him a bowl
"Fine for now, some weak spots but they should hold 'til we have other things taken care of"
"Good, and y'all?" I ask Daryl as I hand him a bowl
"All in a pile, just waiting to be burned tomorrow during the daytime"
By the time dinner is cleaned up and Anneliese is fed and settled again it's dark out and all of the kids are getting ready for bed.
"If you wake up and need me, I'll be right there with Daryl, okay? That goes for all of you." I tell all 3 kids and they all nod
"Alright it's lights out – literally the sun has decided it's bedtime so climb in; we have an early morning tomorrow."
"Don't we always?" Jackson sarcastically asks
"Yeah, it's what happens when you rise and fall with the sun. Goodnight, sweet dreams, I love you"
"Love you, goodnight" Jackson responds
"Goodnight, Gen" Carl says
"Night Mama Love you" Penny says around a yawn, and I can't help but smile as I turn and walk the 10 feet to mine and Daryl's bed.
Daryl is already laying on the side closest to the stairs with Anneliese lying next to him, sound asleep and I waste no time crawling up into the empty space on the other side of her
"They settled?" he whispers
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Pen ended up over here with us"
"Bound to happen while she gets used to the prison"
"One day we'll have a bed with no children" I muse making him snort
"Night Genevieve"
"Goodnight, Daryl, I love you"
"I love you too" he murmurs leaning over to peck my lips
By early morning, Anneliese took it to mean wake Mama up 3 hours before the sun is up and refuse to go back to bed. At some point Penny did join us on the bed between Anne and Daryl, and neither her nor Daryl move when I head down the steps with Anneliese.
By the time everyone else is beginning to wake up Anneliese and I have made and had breakfast, swept the common area floor two more times, stacked some cups, practiced balancing and attempted to crawl.
"Good morning" I greet Daryl as he walks in carrying Penny, the boys and Rick trailing behind him
"Morning, how long have y'all been up?" he asks
"3 hours"
"Well, someone will nap good later" Rick says reaching over to take said someone from me so I can dish out the breakfast mush of oats and a can of fruit for everyone else
"Yeah, with any luck I can catch one too"
"I'm sure Carol or Beth could watch the boys and Penny for a few hours so you two can sleep"
"I'll talk to them about it" I tell him handing him a bowl and shooing him away so I can give everyone else their food
By the time everyone has been served, Beth and the kids are at one table with Lori and Carol, and Maggie, Glenn, Herschel, T-Dog, Daryl, and Rick are at another. I join Daryl and steal his coffee as Rick continues to outline his plan for the day
"Looking at this map the armory is here and the infirmary is here, so we should hit the armory first then the infirmary, but we may need to double back in between. Gen I want you to stay here with the kids, Beth, Lori, and Carol. Herschel will be coming with us because he knows what is needed from the infirmary. If for whatever reason you need to leave the cell block, you get in the SUV that will hold you all and drive a mile northeast to the pink house we passed on the way here, that's where we'll know to meet you"
"Aye-aye captain" I tell him getting a displeased look in return.
"Alright no jokes" I mutter under my breath taking another sip of coffee
"You won't need that" Rick says taking the riot helmet from Carl "I need you to stay put".
"You're kidding" Carl says looking mad – as he always does whenever anyone tells him no
"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. Now that don't mean that you don't listen to your mom or Gen ya hear? You listen to them, and you hold down the fort"
"Sure"
"Great. Let's go" Rick says handing Carl his keys
"Be careful. Please" I tell Daryl leaning up for a kiss
"I will, you too remember SUV to the pink house if anything goes wrong."
"I know. Love you."
"Love you too"
Without any further conversation Daryl, Rick, Herschel, T-Dog, Glenn, and Maggie head out of the cell block and further into the prison; Carl shutting and locking the door behind them.
We all stand there for a minute before I clap my hands
"Alright no use standing here doing nothing, Carl you and Jackson tackle the breakfast dishes, Penny you help Beth and Carol with whatever chore they would like your help with, and Miss. Anneliese you will be taking a nap with Ms. Lori" I stage whisper to the infant strapped to my chest
"Gen no, if anyone needs a nap here it's you."
"I respectfully disagree, you're exhausted- "
"We all are"
"You're pregnant, the baby likes to cuddle while napping, I just had coffee so I can't sleep now. C'mon take a nap for like an hour"
"Fine. One hour." She insists holding her arms out for Anneliese
"Thank you, if she wakes up and you want to keep napping just yell"
"OPEN THE DOOR! ITS HERSCHEL!" Rick's screams echo through the cellblock
"CARL!"
"GEN!"
By the time I run down the steps Carl is unlocking the door and it swings open just in time for Rick, Glenn, and Maggie to push a cart in with Herschel on top of it, missing half of his leg
"Jack! Your sisters upstairs now!" I snap out rushing to help
"He got bit" Daryl tells us
"Oh my god he's gonna turn" I think Beth says
"Did you cut it off?" Lori asks
"Yeah" Rick bites out
"Maybe you got it in time" Lori says going to put her arms under Herschel to help lift him to the bed, but I slide over next to her and give her a nudge towards Beth
"Ready? One, Two Three" It takes Rick, Glenn, Carol and me to lift Herschel from the cart to the bed
"Oh God" Carol says as she sits down next to Herschel's leg and starts unwrapping it
"I need bandages"
"We used everything we had" Glenn pants
"Well get more. Anything" Carol orders
"Carl, go get the towels from the back right next to my bed" Lori directs
"Is he gonna die?" Beth asks
"No, no, no, no" Lori hushes her "He's gonna be okay. He's gonna be okay" she says pulling her into her arms.
"You think you can stabilize him?" Rick asks
"We need to keep his leg elevated, get some pillows." And Rick goes to do just that
"He's already bled through the sheets" Maggie points out
"What can I do?" I ask Carol crouching next to her
"Help me get this cloth off and keep it up, you got a belt?" she asks
"Yeah"
"Take it off, put it around the top of his thigh as tight as it will go" I do as she says and crouch back down helping her pull the cloth off Hershel's leg
"Maybe we can burn the wound to clot the blood, I can start a fire" Glenn suggests
"No, please don't do this" Beth begs
"No. The shock could kill him. It's not gonna stop the arteries from bleeding." Carol tells him as Lori takes the towels from Carl and hands them to us, Rick handing me a few pillows which I stuff under his leg.
"We need to keep it dressed and let it heal on its own" Carol says.
"Hey, this is my house, my rules. I go where I damn well, please" an unfamiliar voice yells from the common area pulling everyone's attention
"What was that?" Beth asks
"Prisoners, survivors." Rick answers
"What?" Glenn huffs
"It's all right. Everybody stay put." Rick says with a placating hand, motioning for Glenn to join him as they walk towards the common area, where I assume T-Dog and Daryl are. Carl running behind him to lock the door connecting the two areas
Glenn walks back into the room after taking off his riot gear and takes up a position at the end of the bed, Carl lingering in the doorway where Lori joins him
"It has to stop eventually, right?" Carol asks handing me another soaked through towel
"It's slowed down quite a bit already." I tell her
"If we can get him through this- "
"When we get him through this" Lori cuts in
"We'll need crutches" Carol continues as if Lori hadn't even spoken
"Right now, we could use some antibiotics" I say
"And painkillers, some sterile gauze" Lori adds
"If only the infirmary was closer" I whisper
"We'll find it" Lori says joining me and Carol on the floor next to the bed
"You gotta be worried sick about delivering the baby" Carol says to her
"Look at me. Do I look worried?" Lori asks brushing a hand over Hershel's head
"You look disgusting" Carol tells her making Lori huff a laugh
"So do you"
"We'll get through this" Lori whispers, whether to herself, to me and Carol or to Herschel I don't know
Who knows how long we've been sitting on the floor next to the bed refreshing rags applying pressure. Beth went somewhere and Maggie followed Glenn out into the hall to talk to him. Lori managed to get Herschel's vest off of him without jostling him too much and it's long gone quiet in the common area.
"Food's here" T-Dog's voice rings through and I hear Carl unlock the door as Lori rises to join them
"What you got?" Carl asks
"Canned beef, canned corn, canned cans" T-Dog answers making me and Carol laugh
"There's a lot more where this came from" he adds as we watch him, and Rick walk through with arms full of bags and boxes
"Any change?" Rick asks stopping at the cell door
"Bleeding is under control and no fever" Lori reports
"But his breathe is labored and his pulse is way down" I add
"Take my cuffs, put them on him. I'm not taking any chances" Rick tells Glenn
"I'll be right back" I tell Carol following after Lori and Rick as he moves away from the door, and she follows him
"So, what about those prisoners?" Lori asks when Rick starts heading towards us
"We're gonna help them clear out their own cell block, and then they'll be there, and we'll be here"
"Living beside each other" Lori states
"I'm not giving up this prison"
"Do they have guns?" Lori asks
"I only saw one" Rick says refusing to look either of us in our face but just being able to sense the are you serious looks
"Yeah, I don't know if its gonna work" he continues after a second
"Well, what are your options?" I ask
"Kill them"
"If that's what you think is best" I say and I'm a little shocked to see Lori nodding along with me
"You say this now" Rick says looking at Lori
"Look, I know that I'm a shitty wife" and all of a sudden I should not be part of this conversation "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. So, do whatever you gotta do to keep this group safe. And do it with a clear conscience."
I don't know who looks more shocked as she walks away, me or Rick
"She's right you know? You do what you have to keep us and ours safe" I tell him after a minute, and he nods before walking away heading back the way he came in
I notice Maggie has shooed Glenn and Carol out of the cell, so I take the minute to run up to the second landing and check on my three.
"You guys, okay?"
"Yeah, what's going on?" Jack asks
"Herschel got bit, but Mr. Rick might've been able to save him in time" I tell them bluntly
"Is he gonna die?" Penny asks
"I hope not"
"I hope not too, Bethy would be sad" she says
"We all would be sweet pea, Jack? I'm gonna go mix up a bottle for the baby for when she wakes up and give it to you. I want y'all to stay in here for now, okay?"
"Okay Mom"
It's only been about an hour and I'm back in my spot next to Herschel's bed with Lori and Carol, Beth and Maggie are standing behind us, Glenn in the doorway when a door at the end of the cell block creeks
"I thought you were organizing the food?" Glenn asks letting us all know that it was Carl that came through the door from…somewhere
"Even better" he says walking in the cell with a duffel bag
"Check it out" he tells us placing the bag on the floor and we waste no time looking inside
"Where did you get this?" Carol gasps
"From the infirmary. Wasn't much left but I cleared it out" he states matter-of-factly and oh boy I can feel Lori looking at him from over my shoulder and if she doesn't kill him I might
"You went by yourself?" Lori asks as Carol opens the gauze and starts to wrap Herschel's leg
"Yeah."
"Are you crazy?" Lori asks
"No big deal. I killed two walkers"
"Two walkers?!" I snap out
"Alright. Alright do you see this?" Lori says gesturing to Herschel "This was with the whole group."
"We needed supplies, so I got them" Carl snips back at his mother
"I appreciate that, but- "
"Then get off my back" Carl yells at Lori
"Carl! She's your mother you can't talk to her like that" Beth cuts in
"Give Glenn or me the keys and go chill with Jackson and Penny" I tell him
"But- "
"No, we'll continue this conversation later, you're not in trouble but we have bigger things to deal with right now. Go." I order and watch as he pulls the keys off his belt and thrusts them into Glenn's hand, and we can all hear his boots echoing off the stairs as he stomps up them
"I'm sorry I shouldn't have intervened" I whisper to Lori
"No, he listens to you. Thank you"
"These bandages will help prevent infection" Carol tells us
"Its good, good that he taught you all this stuff" Glenn says
"He didn't teach me everything" Carol mumbles looking over at Lori
"I need your help with something" she says to Glenn
"Now?"
"Yeah, now"
"What is it?"
"Not here" Carol says going to move out of the cell
"I can't leave Herschel" Glenn protests
"This is important"
"Carol I can't- "
"Go on. We got it" Lori tells them
"No way" Glenn tries to protest
"We'll be fine" Beth tells him
"We're not gonna be gone long" Carol says
"Rick said for me- "
"We're fine" Maggie tells him
"All right" Glenn says following after Carol
Carol is still gone doing whatever it is she left to do, Glenn with her. Lori is upstairs resting with the kids and I'm sweeping the floor for the hundredth time while Maggie sits next to her father and Beth stands outside the cell.
"Somebody help! Somebody!" Beth's voice rings out suddenly and I don't even process moving before I'm in the cell
"Please help!" she says as I push by her to look at Herschel and it doesn't take longer than a second for me to figure out that he's stopped breathing
"Fuck" I mumble under my breathe before tilting his head back and opening his mouth
"Please work" I whisper as I cover his mouth with mine and give him two rescue breaths before moving to do chest compressions, Beth sobbing behind me.
I count out my compressions and after 30 I move to give him 2 more rescue breaths, just as I cover his mouth, he makes this awful gasping sound and his uncuffed arm wraps around my neck and I can't help the scream that leaves my mouth
"No! Gen!" someone yells and there's hands on me pulling me away from his grasp
As I stumble back into Maggie's arms, I notice that Hershel's eyes are normal and he's making snore like sounds
"It's okay" Lori says, and I notice her out of the corner of my eye pushing the gun in Carl's hands down and wrapping her arms around him
"Thank you" Maggie whispers continuing to hold me to her