Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.
302
Isabell watched Daryl from her spot with the others around the campfire. He was pacing the overturned truck in front of the front gate, keeping watch over the entrance. Isabell was relieved he wasn't being as obsessive as Rick. The man had made his way around the entire fence line nearly three times since everyone had already relaxed. They'd built a fire and managed to find a few squirrels for a somewhat decent meal.
Isabell looked down in her bowl. There were a few pieces left that she wanted to finish, but Daryl had been on that truck since they got to the prison. He hadn't eaten since his owl earlier in the morning. Isabell sighed, trying to push herself up from the grass.
"Want me to get it to him?" Carol asked, already standing.
"Nah." Isabell insisted. "I gotta talk to him about something. Thanks, though." Isabell smiled at her friend. She made her way down the hill and to the underside of the vehicle. Isabell whistled when she got there, getting Daryl's attention. She placed the bowl on the side of the truck and grabbed his hand to help pull herself up. Isabell grabbed the bowl and handed it to him. "Figured you were hungry, you gotta eat. It's all that's left."
Daryl took the bowl from her, taking a piece with his fingers and tossing it in her mouth. "I guess little Shane over there has got quite the appetite."
"Stop it." Isabell laughed quietly. "We don't know that."
Daryl scoffed. "Okay."
Isabell's eyes found Rick, across the way. "Can't believe we found this. That we've come this far."
"Mhmm." He agreed, focusing on the food. "How's your shoulder?"
"It's okay," Isabell admitted. "Could use some attention, if you don't mind." She turned her back to him, moving her long, low ponytail out of his way and to her front.
Daryl put the bowl down and licked his fingers, getting the mess off of them. He put her thumbs right along her shoulder blade, putting a hard pressure underneath.
Isabell let out a soft moan as Daryl's fingers moved. "How do you always know exactly where to press?" She felt Daryl take another step towards her, and she lost her breath.
"Just payin' attention." He whispered, close to her ear. "You're noisy when you feel good."
Isabell felt the heat rise to her face. "D?" she questioned, turning to face him. "I miss you."
"Izzy, now ain't the time or place." Daryl took his step back, embarrassed to have shown her such public affection.
"Yeah," Isabell said, regretfully. "Never really is anymore, huh?"
The pair sat in silence for a moment before Daryl spoke. "Wanna tell me what this mornin' was about?" Daryl asked, killing the good mood Isabell had was feeling.
Isabell sighed, she looked away from him and over to the group. "I had a dream about Harley. Like shit never hit the fan. Garrett brought her home after that weekend. You and her, in the kitchen, makin' breakfast." Isabell clenched her fists, looking back at Daryl. "Just hit pretty hard when I woke up and remembered that's not how it is."
"Oh." Daryl looked away from her.
"Yeah."
Daryl cleared his throat. "We'd better get back." He said, earning a nod from Isabell.
"Are you sure?" Isabell asked quickly, almost immediately wanting to backtrack. "I mean, I know how to make you feel good, too."
"Iz," Daryl said, knowing she should know the answer. "I'll go down first to help you out."
"So, you do wanna?" Isabell smirked, raising her brows.
"Stop." He said, sternly, but Isabell saw his smile. He climbed down and reached back up for Isabell.
Isabell sat on the edge of the car and slid off with Daryl's hands around her waist to help her out. Daryl pulled back from her once she was safely on the ground, but Isabell held him by the poncho. "You against kissin' me when nobody's lookin'?"
There was a low grumble in the depths of Daryl's throat. He pressed forward, crashing his lips down onto hers. He was urgent and Isabell instantly knew that he missed her just as much as she missed him. The winter months on the road proved hard for the couple having no alone time. Of course, things were different because they were always running for their lives. Still, the time together is something that Isabell and Daryl's relationship had always strived on.
When the two pulled apart, they leaned the foreheads together."Ya happy now?" Daryl asked her.
"Yeah. That'll do." Isabell told him. "For now, at least."
Daryl put an arm around Isabell's shoulder and led her from around the truck. "I love ya," he told her quietly as they approached the others. Beth was singing a song for the group, a good ending to a hard day. Maggie joined in with her sister with a beautiful accompaniment. Rick had also finally found his way back to the fire away from the fences.
"Beautiful," Hershel commented on his daughters when they had finished their tune.
"Better all turn in," Rick suggested. He gestured back to the truck Daryl and Isabell were just on. "I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.
"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win, but we've got to push just a little bit more." Rick explained. "Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary."
"An armory?" Daryl asked.
Rick nodded. "That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far. Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine."
"We're dangerously low on ammo." Hershel reminded everyone. "We'd run out before we make a dent."
"That's why we have to go in there. Hand to hand." Rick said, "After all we've been through, we can handle it. I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." After getting no argument from the group, Rick got up and walked back to his post.
Lori stayed sat for a moment before getting up and following her husband.
Isabell saw this and pulled out of Daryl's grasp. She walked over to Carl where her bags were and got his attention. "Did you get enough to eat, bud?"
"Yeah." the boy said, fishing through his backpack.
"You want help with your sleeping bag?"
"I'm good," Carl told her, smiling up at her.
Isabell smiled back and offered Carl her fist to punch. "Of course you are. Night, kid."
Carl punched her fist with his own. "Night, Iz."
The blonde picked up her bags and made her way towards Daryl who had found a spot a little farther from the group. She rolled out the sleeping bags and the pair laid down on them, staring up at the stars. There was a slight breeze in the air and Isabell closed her eyes to enjoy it. "Hey, Daryl?"
"Yeah?" He asked, fluffing his bag up as a pillow.
"Do you ever dream about that kind of stuff? With Harley?" Isabell asked daringly. She looked over at him to judge his reaction. When all she got was a shrug, Isabell nodded knowing that she had reached Daryl's wall. "I wanna help clear the prison tomorrow."
"Mkay." Daryl's eyes stayed closed with his response.
"Really?" Isabell questioned. "No argument?"
"You can handle yourself." He mumbled.
Isabell nodded once, smiling to herself. "Yes, I can." The woman took a deep breath and turned on her side towards Daryl, reaching out an arm to touch his shoulder, having a little bit of physical contact with him. Isabell closed her eyes and enjoyed the sounds of the world around them. She was almost asleep when Daryl's voice woke her again.
"I dream about her all the time."
The sentence hit Isabell like a truck when she heard it. She swallowed the sad lump in her throat and closed her eyes again, a small tear escaping.
Daryl reached his hand up to grab hers from his shoulder. He held it tightly in his until they both fell asleep.
The group was up just as the light hit the sky. They had all been informed on how this takeover was going to go, taking a little bit of the prison at a time. Isabell kept close to the back of the circle formed to bring up the rear for any surprise walkers. She stayed close to Daryl and Maggie being sure that all their angles were covered and no one was going to get hurt.
Rick approached the gate with Hershel, pulling the carabiners out from the gate that kept it closed. He slid the gate open and everyone walked through it, weapons in hand. Isabell held her machete in one hand and her hunter's knife in the other. Her bow was wrapped around her shoulders with her quiver hanging from her belt, just in case.
Everyone moved in the tight circle, taking out walkers as they came close. Keeping together was the way they were going to stay alive.
"Get tight!" Rick shouted when they started to spread too much, but with those words, everyone went right back to how they were supposed to be.
Isabell whacked her machete into as many walkers as she could get her hands on. It had been a while since she'd been in the thick of it. The winter was hard for her and with the sun finally bearing down the heat that she thrived on, she was feeling herself again.
T-Dog side-stepped out of the circle, spotting a riot guard's shield a few steps away.
"Don't break rank!" Rick warned.
"We need that!" T-Dog insisted.
"T!" Rick shouted, warning the man of the walker closing in on him.
"I got this," Maggie whispered, Isabell hearing it. She broke rank, taking care of the walker that had nearly attacked T-Dog.
"Maggie!" Isabell shouted, "Back in line!"
Maggie rushed back to get in her spot between Isabell and Glenn. She looked to Isabell for a second.
Isabell smirked at her, shaking her head, but ultimately approving of her bravery.
"Almost there!" Rick told the others. They were going further into the recreational area. They couldn't see past the high walls of the prison, so they were carefully hugging the wall. Rick opened the door against the wall, finding nothing inside and peeked around the corner. "Shit." He whispered, quickly putting his back against the wall and warning the others to do the same.
Isabell kept her back to the others to keep an eye on the backline but was glancing over her shoulder to see what was happening. She saw in front of them, two walkers headed towards them dressed in riot gear. "Psst," Isabell whispered, gaining Daryl's attention. She gestured towards them.
Daryl held his crossbow and took slow steps forward with it aimed. As he did, two more came out from around the corner. Daryl straightened up and fired a bolt at their heads, only the helmets were stopping them. He backed up. "Guess we're doing this the hard way," Daryl said to Isabell.
Isabell nodded, tightening her grip on the weapons in her hands. She kept taking out walkers that got too close while Rick and Daryl handled getting the fence closed. Finally, they'd taken all of the walkers out in the courtyard, including those wearing helmets.
Isabell sighed with relief at the sight of all the walkers on the ground around them. The ones behind the fence would be a problem for another day.
Glenn made his way back towards the gate to let the others in but Rick stopped him. "Well, it looks secure." Glenn reasoned, wondering why he was stopped.
Daryl took a step towards Isabell, pointing his finger back towards the fence they'd locked all the walkers behind. "Not from the look of that courtyard over there. And that's a civilian." He said, pointing to a woman walker in plain clothes on the ground.
T-Dog leaned against the support steel. "So, the interior could be overrun from outside the prison."
"Well, if there's walls down, what are we gonna do?" Glenn shrugged. "We can't rebuild this whole place."
"We don't know there's walls down. So we go in." Isabell suggested.
Rick nodded. "Can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in." He led the way in through the caged entrance. Daryl right beside him.
Isabell took up the rear, closing the door behind them with T-Dog. Once inside, she stayed close to Daryl, checking the right side of the common area of the prison. Isabell spotted the door to the cells and peeked inside. There didn't look to be any movement going on, but they had yet to make any noise. She looked up at the overhead platform and saw Rick holding a set of keys.
Rick made his way back down and opened the cellblock door after finding the key for it. The group moved quickly, but quietly going from cell to cell to make sure what was in them was dead. The only problem they came upon was the few cells on the top floor, but those walkers were locked inside and were easily taken out.
Isabell went with Glenn and Maggie to get the others and their bags. She came back to find that Daryl, Rick, and T-Dog had been working on clearing the block of the walkers. Isabell joined Daryl on the second floor, still holding the bags, unsure of where they'll be settling.
Rick came down the stairs from the second level. "What do you think?"
"Home sweet home." Glenn cheered, claiming a cell for him and Maggie.
"For the time being." Rick clarified.
Carol looked around. "It's secure?"
"This cellblock is."
Hershel brought up the rear of the group. "What about the rest of the prison?"
"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary."
"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked, her voice wary.
Rick nodded to her, "I found keys on some guards. Daryl has a set, too."
Daryl grumbled from the second floor. "I ain't sleeping in no cage." He insisted to the group. "We'll take the perch." Daryl took his bag from Isabell to lighten her load and get them set up.
Isabell dropped the last two of their bags against the wall. "Could we get a couple mattresses out here? Maybe not sleep on the ground for once?"
Daryl nodded and led the way to the cell in the far top corner. He and Isabell each grabbed one of the mattresses from the bunk bed and dragged them out to the perch.
Isabell rolled their sleeping bags out on them and laid down. She sighed feeling something other than the hard concrete against her back. Isabell fluffed her bag of clothes behind her head, using it as a pillow. "Feels good, doesn't it?" she asked Daryl.
"What?" He asked, looking over at her.
"Not worrying about being attacked while we sleep," Isabell said, her whole body just relaxing as she said the words. "Maybe we'll get some real damn sleep."
Daryl snorted a quiet laugh. "Maybe." He took his arm out from behind his head and held it open for Isabell.
Isabell gave him a questioning look. "Yeah?"
"C'mon," Daryl said like he would be changing his mind any second.
Isabell smiled at Daryl and quickly shifted herself so she wrapped around his side. She sighed, enjoying being this close to Daryl, hearing his heartbeat through his shirt. "You smell." Isabell joked, liking the gesture regardless.
"Yeah, you ain't no peach, either." Daryl kissing the top of her head was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep.
They were going further into the prison to find more of it. Exploring the dark halls could mean finding food or medicine. Isabell was ready to be a part of that team, too. Even when Daryl handed her a bulletproof vest they'd gotten off of one of the riot walkers, she agreed to go. Isabell appreciated that he wanted her safe. She wouldn't question him on her safety anymore.
Clearing the halls of the prison meant using a similar tactic to the one they used to clear the outside of the prison. The only difference was that now it was dark and the halls were closer quarters. It could be potentially messier. Daryl and Rick took the front lines, unlocking doors as they went. Isabell held up closer to the back with Glenn and Maggie. Glenn spray-painted arrows on the walls so they knew which way to go to get back.
At first, anything they came upon was already dead. They kept going further into the halls until they started being pushed back by a large group of walkers.
Isabell panicked, feeling unsafe. She hurried to get closer to Daryl, not wanting to be separated from him. They hurried through the halls, trying to get back. Being ambushed in a dark, unfamiliar hallway was not on anyone's to-do list for the day.
Daryl opened a door and checked inside, clearing it before shoving Isabell inside. Daryl joined her, followed closely by Hershel, T-Dog, and Rick.
Isabell's heart dropped. Glenn and Maggie.
"Where's Glenn and Maggie?" Rick asked, looking at Isabell in particular.
Isabell shook her head, taking in deep breaths from running. "I-I don't know. I'm sorry I freaked. I should have stayed with them."
"No, it's okay. They're smart. They're okay." Rick insisted.
"We have to go back." Hershel insisted, worried about his daughter's safety.
"But which way?" Daryl questioned.
Rick shrugged but made the decision to go back for them. They all went back out into the hallways, whispering for Glenn and Maggie, trying to find out if they were hiding in a room as they had been. The walkers were clear, so as long as they weren't too loud, there wouldn't be a problem.
Just as that thought had passed through Isabell's mind, she heard a loud scream. She turned back to see who was screaming. "Hershel," Isabell said aloud, noticing that the man was no longer following behind them.
The four of them hurried quickly towards the shouting. What they found was Hershel on the ground and a walker having a hold on some of the skin from his leg, pulling at it like string cheese.
"Oh shit!"
"No!" Rick said, quickly shooting the walker in the head to kill it.
Maggie and Glenn came from around the corner in front of them and nearly screamed herself. "No!" She said, going to her father's side.
Rick lifted one of Hershel's arms over his shoulders and tried to pull him up to stand. "Daryl! Isabell!" He said, warning them of the oncoming walkers.
Daryl stepped forward, his crossbow already ready. Isabell sheathed her knives and unwrapped her bow, using it to take down walkers with Daryl from a distance until they could get Hershel up and out of the hallway.
"They're comin' from this side!" T-Dog called from behind them.
"We're getting cornered!" Isabell shouted, letting one of her arrows fly. Thankfully, Glenn and Rick had stood Hershel up and were already heading in the direction that Glenn and Maggie had come from. Daryl and Isabell stayed in the back, making sure they weren't getting too overwhelmed with walkers.
Everyone was screaming and Isabell was lost in it. She tried her best to focus on the walkers in front of her even with everything happening. Isabell and Daryl were side-stepping backward, following them through the hallways when they stopped.
"Open the door!" Rick shouted.
There was a loud clanging and then they were moving again.
Isabell pushed herself inside and knelt down next to where they had laid Hershel, setting her bow just above his head. She wanted to say that the man would be okay, but they all knew better. Isabell eyed Rick, looking to him for what to do.
Rick sat up, shaking, but reaching for the belt holding up his pants. "Hold him down." He said quietly to Daryl who had joined Isabell's side. Rick looked at Isabell, nodding his head.
Isabell realized what he was doing. "Okay." She said, taking a deep breath. "Maggie, focus on Hershel, okay? Just keep your eyes on him."
Rick wrapped the belt just below Hershel's knee, using it as a tourniquet. "Only one way to keep you alive." He said to Hershel, reaching for his hatchet. Without thinking too much about it, Rick slammed the hatchet into Hershel's leg. He kept hacking until the infected part was separated from the rest of him.
"Oh!" Rick said in awe of what he had just done. "He's bleeding out."
Isabell looked at Rick. "We need to get out of here and back." She said urgently. As she had, she noticed something move behind him. Isabell slowly moved her hand to her back where her gun sat in its holster.
"Duck," Daryl said to Rick, catching what she saw. He and Isabell quickly got to their feet, each aiming their weapon at the people who were in the same room as they were.
People. Not walkers.
Shit.