Chapter 28

Let's discuss Daryl for a moment; people want to know why he doesn't notice that Bella seems to like him or why he doesn't make a move. Daryl had a shitty childhood, from being beaten by his father, his mother dying, to their house burning down. He probably learned at a young age other families weren't like his and avoided most people to bring less attention to it; and the people that should've paid more attention to it just turned a blind eye to him. Other kids probably made fun of him for not dressing nice or being clean all the time and the only touch he really received was his father's hand when he would hit him. He became self-reliant from an early age. Then hanging out with Merle after he returned from the army and Merle's friends probably didn't help matters considering most of Merles friends were junkies. He doesn't like people to get close enough to hurt him, and he would never think a girl like her would be interested what so ever in him (in the current world or before). He has a soft spot for kids because he was treated so poorly as a child; he doesn't like people mistreating woman because his mother was beaten by his father too. As far as his sexual history goes, he's not a virgin but it wasn't the best of experiences either; I'll get to that later on in the story. So Daryl has no self-worth and doesn't really know shit about women (like not to discuss their weight …or any other common women clichés) he only watch TV occasionally in hotels with Merle so he just doesn't know those kind of things, he has avoided anything like that because he feels he doesn't deserve a life like other people had due to his upbringing. People in town probably treated him like shit just because his name was Dixon, so in his mind it's basically Once trailer trash, always trailer trash, so he never bonded with anyone besides Merle since they had the same upbringing (even though Daryl tried to hide his scars from Merle). He doesn't really understand Bella's traumatic experience and the shock that followed because his whole life has been a traumatic experience and he is pretty numb to doing things that need to be done, the way he's done his whole life. (Not killing people his whole life, but he did what he needed to survive like he has had to do his whole life so he doesn't really understand what the big deal is; in his mind it's I did what I had to do, Me VS him mentality) As for Bella, she second guesses everything because of a fear of rejection due to Edward. She knows she likes to spend time with Daryl and that he's a hunka hunk of man candy to her, but she's also scared of scaring him away by being too forward because let's face it, he is pretty skittish. He's getting closer to her though, without even realizing it; whether he notices or not, he likes spending time with her around too. Plus she smells better than Merle…So on with the story..

Thank fuck for that, cuz I didn' know what we were gonna do if she didn' snap out of it. She limped her way over to the cliff face next ta the tree, runnin' her hands along it. When she moved some Spanish moss over, I finally noticed it; a door camouflaged into tha rock face.

BPOV

The swan in the tree reminded me of Jasper. Anytime he would give me a gift, usually books, he would always draw a swan on the first page and sign his initials. It was so beautifully detailed, detail only a vampire could acquire while probably hanging upside down from the limb above. The image of him hanging in the tree drawing with his granite fingers made me smile. The smile felt foreign on my face as I tried to recall the ride over here… it was all fuzzy like I dreamed it. Shaking off the feeling of dread I had, I looked to the direction the swan was facing, to the cliff face. I hobbled over there in an intense amount of pain, but it was easy to ignore due to the excitement I felt. Feeling along the rock face, I could tell the difference as soon as my fingers touched the steel door. No matter how beautiful the detailed painting made it blend, it felt so different from the cliff.

I couldn't stop the smile from coming to my face once more as I tried to figure out how to open it. It reminded me of those cheesy movies about treasure hunters with puzzle doors and traps. At the very bottom corner was what appeared to be a handle, similar to the one on my truck, I pulled it and the door started to slide into the rock. It was on an L shaped rail and slide back then to the side. And holy shit, Alice must have had a blast doing that much shopping… Big 50 gallon totes lined the rock wall on the inside, each with their own labels. Small lights flickered slightly along the top of the walls, but lit up enough to make out the room. Off to the side was a cot and low and behold on the top of it, a medical boot for me. Thank you Alice! Limping over and falling onto the cot, I started to undo the ace bandage to put on my boot while I watched the shocked faces of everyone as they entered the cave like room.

Shock seemed to be the main emotion, not that I could blame them, Alice always did like to shock and awe. There seemed to be a tote for everyone, labeled by name, then others full of medical supplies, labeled by purpose. She even had gotten those vacuumed sealed memory foam mattresses for the bunks in the prison. Totes labeled sheets, towels, blankets, soaps, rice, beans…. It went on and on. Baby furniture still in boxes wrapped in plastic sat next to the mattresses and different types of medical machinery next to those. I couldn't see the totes that were behind the first row to even know what was in those. How we were even going to manage taking all this stuff back I had no clue… while they ooo'd and awwww'd, I went back to putting on my medical boot that went up to my knee when a slip of paper fell out.

There is a jeep with a trailer covered in brush about 200 yards down the cliff face further west. It will probably take some tweaking to get it started. There are barrels of fuel with stabilizer in them on the trailer already. Two trips will still be required since the fuel takes up over half of the trailer.

The small post it is what really grabbed my attention:

Don't open the other door until you come back alone.~ Alice

I pulled it off and crumpled it into the bottom of my boot sliding my foot in. When I looked up Daryl was looking right at me. He never said a word as I put on my boot and got Ricks attention to give him the paper about the jeep. His eyes widened and he started to ask "How…" then clamped his mouth shut gathering the others. They left to go look for it, T-dog as the lookout, Glenn hoping to fix any mechanical issues and Rick just because he wanted to see. Daryl had finally stopped staring at me and started to look around, passing over the totes quickly, staring at the walls. The walls that still had some finger marks in them from being carved by hand, literally. I knew he made the connection as he ran his own hand along the marks and stood back in disbelief. The inside was framed in with steel I beams to help support the rock above with rivets that were also probably pushed in by hand.

He eventually shook off his disbelief and went over to a case of water. He took out two bottles and brought me one. "Thank you Daryl" came my parched reply as I fiddled with the label then swigged some down. He said nothing still as he looked around some more, his eyes eventually falling on what I didn't want him to notice, but knew he would. The other door Alice said not to open yet, in the dimly lit corner near the end of my cot. The guys pulled up in the jeep and started to load up the totes one by one. Daryl was still looking at me then the door and back to me as I slightly shook my head no. He slightly nodded and went to help everyone else not saying a word.

The second row of totes seemed to surprise everyone once again as I leaned over to get a better look, I saw why. Guns and Ammo was on about 4 different totes; Knives and Holsters on another. Once they had the trailer full and everything strapped down, we started to make our way back towards the prison. They were in the jeep, Daryl in the very back leaning against the roll bars and I followed on the horse. It was fairly easy to keep up since the terrain limited their speed to be able to keep all the totes intact. I thought about what Alice's note said as I rode.I was very interested in what was in the other room but figured it wasn't any of Rick's business what was back there. I really wanted to read what was to come from Alice but would have to wait longer. I chugged the rest of my water trying to shake off what I was pretty sure was shock, from earlier.

I could barely recall leaving the prison and the ride over earlier and I didn't like the feeling at all. We passed a dead one laid out on the ground with an arrow hole in its forehead; I stared at it in confusion, wondering if it was me that shot it down but dismissed it immediately as I inspected my arrows. I had cleaned them all up while I was stuck inside the prison and they were all still pristine. Looking up, I caught Daryl's eyes once more as he observed me, taking notice of everything like he usually did. He must of killed the zombie. I just couldn't figure out how I made the ride over to the bunker alive since I don't even recall seeing a zombie…

We arrived back at the prison midafternoon. Everyone rushed out when the gates were opened to see our prize. As lids were flying off totes and the girls were gushing over their new clothes, I rode over to the barn to put the horse away. As I was about to attempt to slide out of the saddle, Hershel appeared, "That's quiet the load you all have there." He said holding up his hand to halt my movement, grabbing a stool off to the side and setting it up for me. "You know," he paused holding out his hand for me, " if you don't go easy on that leg, you'll be back on bed rest. Though that new boot will help a lot more than the Ace bandage." He scolded slightly. Blushing slightly, knowing he was right, I answered him respectfully with a "Yes sir". Together we brushed the horse down and put her in the stall they had built. It was very calming after the day I had had. Hershel didn't seem to be treating me differently, but maybe he didn't know what happened this morning. But once again I assumed something and was proven wrong.

"You know, it was a brave thing you did this morning. You could have saved Daryl's life," he started as I interrupted him, "But he didn't need my help. He had it under control…. I helped kill that man, he hadn't done anything to me…. I…I…" I blubbered out. He raised his hands stopping me, "I know you care for Daryl," he smiled slightly as my face burned hot enough to roast marshmallows on, "Protecting people you care for is part of life Bella. Did you ever think about if his weapon malfunctioned what could have happened? You know I don't condone killing people for no reason, but you thought you were saving him. Everyone here saw that," he tried to reason as I once again interrupted him, "I know everyone saw, they all stared at me this morning in horror…" I started as he held up his hand, stopping me. "In disbelief maybe, but not horror. It's not every day they see someone die in front of them. They were worried for Daryl too. It's also not every day they see a 100lbs girl throw a knife from 20ft to save someone else either." He said firmly.

I thought about what he said and somewhat agreed and somewhat disagreed with him. "145lbs last time I checked, Daryl said I'm heavy" I mumbled out, defending my weight. Emmett used to joke around that I wasn't a 100lbs soaking wet and that the wind would blow me away. He burst out laughing which made me smile. We continued to brush the horse down, "Aw, yes, Daryl." He said pausing slightly, losing his smile, "He doesn't mean to be so blunt you know? Things are very literal with him…" He paused as I nodded with my head down "I know some of why he acts the way he does, I'm sure you noticed when stitching him up" he said softly. I nodded slightly, not really liking talking about Daryl behind his back, "My father had a heavy hand too. I resented him and was full of rage at a young age. At Daryl's age I was well on my way to becoming much the same as my father, living my life in a bottle. I had way less common sense than Daryl and a temper that could light up like a match." He paused, looking down ashamed, "Then I met Maggie's mother. It took a long time and a lot of faith before I even began to change… Daryl is a good man, just a little rough around the edges. Now getting him to believe that, well that's the difficult part" he said patting my back as he put up the horse brushes. Catching his arm before he left, I pulled him in for a small hug "Thank you Hershel." He smiled once more and headed off to go look at the totes they had unloaded from the trailer.

I walked back over to the jeep to see if they were ready for the second trip to find them already piled in ready to go. Daryl was in the back looking down right pissed the fuck off looking at his boots and Glenn was looking anywhere but me. Not a good sign, "All right, are you all ready to go back?" I asked, still no one looked at me. Rick staring straight ahead answered "Yea, WE are" with too much emphasis on the 'we' part. "We as in?" I asked accusingly, I was getting pretty pissed off myself. He finally turned to look at me, "We think it's better," he stopped as Glenn interrupted him "YOU! You think it's better, not WE" he said loudly from the passenger side still looking away from me. Rick continued "Yes, I think it's better if you stay behind and help the women unpack the containers. With your current condition, you can't really help us anyway and we can find our way back without your help," He said shifting the Jeep into drive and heading off.

My teeth clenched so hard, I thought for sure I was going to break a few of them. Stay behind and help the women?! Who the FUCK does he think he is?! My muscles started to shake with the strain I was exerting to keep from flipping the fuck out in front of everyone. As I turned away from everyone, it seemed some luck was on my side as they all seemed to be too engrossed in the new things that no one paid any attention to me as I made my way to the cell I had be staying in. The angry tears had started to fall and I was trying to rein it all in before someone saw. In the cell behind the sheet that still covered the bars, I lost some of the composure I had managed on the way over and knocked over all the shit on my table and grabbed the pillow and screamed into it. After beating the shit out it, it too promptly flew across the cell into the wall. I knew I would end up staying at the bunker for sure now, or I would kill Rick myself, so I rolled up my blanket and made sure I had all my shit in my pack. I wiped my face the best I could and tried to gain some composure. As soon as I was about to leave the cell, Sofia came running in and stopped dead in her tracks.

She was holding up a new jacket that still had the tags on it but slowly lowered it as she took in the state of my cell. I guess it did look pretty bad; cards were everywhere, like a game of 52 card pick up, along with some papers and a few books. The small table itself knocked onto its side with the extra chair she would sit in to play with me on its side up against the wall. Then she looked at me and what was sure to be my snotty, splotchy, tear stained face and gave me a hug. It was a long hug, long enough to make the tremoring muscles calm and to get my breathing under control. She didn't say one thing about what was going on, but said "Thank you for my new clothes Bella! Isn't this jacket beautiful?" I nodded at her trying to find my voice, "You're welcome Sofia, but it's not really from me. I just knew where to find them. But you enjoy all of your stuff and maybe even decorate your cel… I mean room." "Alice said you would say that" she said plainly, like it wasn't anything at all or she had known Alice her whole life. "W-what?" I asked shakily. "Alice, she wrote me a letter! I found it in my jacket pocket. She said you wouldn't take credit for something she had put together but the credit should really go to you. She said you have been helping us a lot and you would find what she wanted you to find, that you have more things to do and a lot of it would not be easy. Thank you Bella for everything!" she said as she proceeded to give me another hug, leaving me flabbergasted.

"Uh, Sofia, what do you think about Alice?" I asked her carefully. "She's so pretty! I know she's special, special enough to be able to help us even though she's dead" she said simply. Like it wasn't weird as fuck for a dead person to be giving you advice…. She turned back to me "She also said not to tell anyone about her yet, because other people wouldn't understand besides you. So she is like our secret" she stated smiling at me like a loon at the thought of sharing an important secret with me; I couldn't help but smile back at her through the tears that had returned since talking about Alice. "Do you know that I won't be here at the prison all the time, but I won't be far?" I asked, making sure to prep her for the inevitable. "Yes", she said softly looking down, "but Alice said you would come see me and that we could even hunt together sometimes" she said brightly. "Of course I will come visit you, things are just… um… complicated right now" I said at a loss for words.

"I know, Mr. Rick is acting a little crazy, but Alice said he will get better." I rolled my eyes thinking about Rick and doubting Alice for the first time in a long time. Then an envelope was shoved in my face. "She also said to give you this and that I should go back to my mommy while you read it. Thank you Bella, I love you" she said with a hug and walked out before I could even think to respond. Come on Alice, have some good advice for me, I thought as I ripped it open:

Bella,

I know Rick is pressing your buttons, but a day will come when he does respect you. But if you didn't notice, today isn't that day. Today started off difficult for you and it's only going to get worse. Thomas really was a bad man Bella, he was in jail for 'involuntary manslaughter' but he killed them with purpose. I couldn't tell you not to throw the knife… in some visions Daryl's string broke and he was stabbed in the neck, and then stabbed repeatedly while Andrew held him down before Rick and Glenn killed them both. Then they had to kill Daryl before he came back…. The farther the visions are out the more difficult the little details become… I'm sorry you felt like that this morning, but killing people is something this world is going to require to protect your group. He was a terrible person, in multiple other visions, he killed Rick and Glenn too. You did the right thing. I have a new bow string in Daryl's tote. It's going to take him forever to change it, because God forbid someone give him anything… not to mention his underwear needs replacing but without Sofia's interference with the laundry soon, he wouldn't have opened them…off topic… Something is going to happen before the guys get back. Andrew gets out somehow and he will start killing people without your interference. He will be headed for C block and you have to keep the group safe. Your boot should give you enough mobility to move pretty well, which by the way you have a hairline fracture in your Tibia. You are lucky Glenn helped you off the horse earlier or you would have snapped it the rest of the way. 6 weeks in the boot Bella! 6 weeks! It only comes off when you're sleeping or bathing.

Andrew will kill people if you don't stop him, and he will try to kill you. I know dead ones get in the yard somehow so be prepared for that. Everyone else needs to be locked in C-block to avoid any unnecessary deaths. You can do this, he is much the same as Tomas. You can let the other 2 prisoners out to help you, to prove themselves to the group that they are good. Once everything is said and done, Rick is going to demand things that he doesn't have the right to demand. Everyone needs to know the truth about when you die, whether it is from a gunshot or sickness you rise back up as a dead one. He knows this from the CDC but failed to pass the news on. When everyone is busy, you slip out and head for the bunker. Take a few days to relax and to read the letter I left there. Daryl won't tell anyone about the other door so you're ok there.

Get in the right mindset Bella, Andrew will be difficult. You're strong, you can do this. Next letter is still under your bed in the bunker.

Love,

Alice

Fuck…. Really Alice, I thought, getting up after tightening my boot up and slipping off my pack. I stretched my tense muscles and headed for the common area. Stopping at one of the boxes labeled guns and ammo, I took a small bag, dropping in extra loaded clips for my guns. Then grabbed 2 of the .45 pistols and some ammo for those and dropped them in another small bag along with a couple of knives and threw them over my shoulder. Sliding an extra knife in my boot, I pulled a fuming Maggie to the C-block doors. "What the hell do you want?!" She asked me, not quite yelling but pretty close. "Look, bitch, I don't have time to have petty arguments with you so listen up and shut your cake hole! You want to keep your family safe? Lock these fucking doors once I step out and don't let anyone follow me! NO SHUT UP!" I yelled as she tried to interrupt once again. "I don't fucking like you or how you treat people, but this is a fucking matter of life and death. Got it? Lock the fucking doors to protect everyone and stand guard. Don't let them down and I'll do my best to not let them down either. There isn't a place in this kind of world for the bullshit between us, its life or death now and even if I don't like you I don't want you to die. Now grab a fucking gun and LOCK THIS FUCKING DOOR!" as soon as I finished Carl burst through the doors looking petrified. He ran straight to his mom without a fucking word and didn't say shit. I should've known he would be involved somehow….. how do you not keep tabs on your kid in the zombie apocalypse is beyond me. DAMMIT. Running my hand down my face, I looked at them all; from Dale, to Hershel, to Amy and Beth, Lori and Carl, Patricia, Sofia and Carol, then finally to Maggie, "Lock the door" I stated as I pulled it open. She actually nodded for once without a scowl and I heard the chains go around the doors.

Stepping out into the empty yard felt strange, like the theme song from The Good The Bad The Ugly should be playing or some shit. Andrea was the only person missing and she should've been in the tower watching over everything but I didn't see her. Go figure, probably sleeping on the job. I cautiously made my way over to D-block, hearing shouting inside. I drew my gun and yanked the door open. Andrew had gotten out of his cell and was beating one of the other prisoners. As soon as he saw me he pulled the other man in front of him like a hostage so I couldn't shoot. He pulled him to the other door and ran out after throwing him down. I went to the open cell door and yanked the key out. "How the fuck did this get in here?!" I mumbled more to myself than anyone else. The man still locked in his cell answered me though, "The kid, the kid had it." Well motherfucker… Fucking Carl. Fucking Rick, and Lori… FUCK!

I went over to his cell and asked "You want out of there and to prove to these people you both are good?" He said yes immediately. "Good," I said unlocking the cell door, "Help him get on his feet and strap the fuck up because shit is going to hit the fan in a minute." I told him tossing the bag with the guns and knives in it. He looked at me in disbelief, scared to reach for the guns in the bag. "I know you both aren't like the others. You are good and they will know it once we are done, no more being locked in a fucking cell for you" I said firmly, hoping they wouldn't lock him back up. "Your right, I am only in here for robbery at a gas station, I just needed money for my mother because she was sick. It was just a water pistol… I know it was wrong but I wasn't getting enough from my job to pay for her surgery" I smiled a little at the thought of robbing someone with a water pistol, almost like that movie Chase with Charlie Sheen where he kidnaps that girl with a Butterfinger or Snickers… but then I remembered I had shit to do, "Well that's not a water pistol, so get ready" as I turned to the doors.

Outside I saw Andrew trying to get into C-block. But as soon as the D-Block door shut he ran around the building out of site. Quickly following him, I noticed where he was headed. It was one of the blocks we had not cleared yet that was barred and chained shut. He was behind a concrete pillar, banging on the door, getting the attention of all the dead inside. When I peeked around to try to get a good shot off, all I could see was him using the bar we had on the door as a pry bar trying to break the chains or the lock. I couldn't take a shot or risk breaking them myself so I would have to do this up-close and personal. I had just started to creep around the side of the building when the doors came open and the dead poured out.

I was about to fire my first shot when a shot fired next to me. The prisoners had made their way out to help and were shooting the dead. "Head Shots!" I yelled as I opened fire. I was trying to keep track of that sneaky little shit Andrew but couldn't find him in the chaos. I was on my 3rd clip for both guns when I finally saw him slink out from behind the door and run into the dark hallway. Motherfucker… Holstering my guns and pulling out a knife I stepped inside. I walked in the dark listening for anything and everything… I couldn't use a light even if I had one or he would know where I was. So slinking along the wall as quietly as I could with this big ass boot on was my only option. It was just like the time we went to the cafeteria when we were clearing out the prison, dark and terrifying, only this time I didn't have Daryl. Trying to stab the zombies as they came at me was slightly quieter than shooting my gun and it wouldn't give my location away with the flash. Not to mention I was running low on bullets after going through all my extra clips already. My breathing started to pick up as I started to panic. My eyes had adjusted the best they could and I was reliant only on sound and the small flares of light from the windows in the offices along the hallway, which were few and far between. I had just passed the last light I could see in the hallway, finding a dead zombie with its face smashed in.

He must still have the bar from the door as his weapon. I was just about to take another step when I heard, just barely, the sound on metal scraping on the concrete floor. Right as he swung the bar I rolled missing it and stabbed him in the leg. When I went to get up, he hit me right across the shoulders with the bar sending me sprawling down the hallway. Fuck that hurt! I also heard my loaded gun slide away from me as I reached down and felt the broken leather of my holster. He heard it too and went for the gun as I crawled into a nearby office for cover. He fired off two shots to where I was when I fell only to find it empty. Only two shots left. I picked up a vase and threw it out into the hallway; he fired two more shots. Bam, done , empty. Or at least I hope I was counting right or I was about to get shot.

I waited for him by the door of the office as he slowly crept in. Gripping my knife, I widened my stance and lunged for him. I got him in the upper shoulder as he countered and pointed the gun and pulled the trigger. The click of the empty chamber was music to my ears, "Somebodies not counting" I said as I lunged again. For someone that had been stabbed twice already, he was still surprisingly strong. He punched me right in the gut and twisted my hand so the knife went flying across the room. I'll admit, he got a few good hits in as I could feel the blood pouring from my busted lip. "You fucking Bitch!" he shouted, being loud as fuck drawing the attention of some of the dead in the hall way. He shoved me towards them as I struggled to pull my knife from my boot. I stabbed a zombie just in the nick of time as he was about to chow down on my forearm. Stabbing another one, I made my way back towards Andrew. There was no way he was getting away now. If he was to get away now, no telling what kind of hell he could bring to the prison. It was now or never as I used my good leg to jump at him. I stabbed him in the artery in the thigh, then a lung, and then the jugular. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder and looked over after he was for sure dead from bleeding out to find out the bastard stabbed me with a letter opener. I could hear more dead getting closer to the door and rushed to close it.

As I went to move the desk in front of the door the best I could something grabbed my leg. Fucking Andrew had already zombiefied due to my dumb ass not stabbing him in the head too. FUCK. I couldn't catch a damn break as I tried to find the knife I had just set down. I had no choice but to rip the letter opener out of my shoulder and stab him in the eye. Feeling the blood pour down my side and chest, I moved the desk just enough to keep the door from opening all the way, then sat in the chair to try and patch my wounds. There wasn't any medical supply in the drawers but I did find some kind of dress shirt and tied that around my shoulder the best I could. The only thing I could do now was wait. There were too many of them out there. I could hear them all bumping into the walls and groaning, looking for what made all the noise. As quietly as I could I looked around the office, more like felt around since I couldn't risk opening the blinds and drawing more of them to the light around the door. There wasn't anything in the office, no food or water, no gun… not even a pack of fucking gum.

After finding my knives, I sat back in the chair to rest my leg for a bit trying to decide what to do. Of course the window had bars on it and I wasn't about to try to file my fucking way out with a letter opener either. So waiting until I didn't hear so many of them sounded like a good plan, but I was also worried that they would chain the doors to keep more dead from coming out into the yard. I no longer heard gun shots which really worried me. Either the prisoners got over taken or they had found a way to close the doors to stop the outpour into the yard. I was starting to panic at the thought of being trapped in here in the dark when I heard a body hit the floor outside the office. "She's gotta be 'round here, look at all tha blood, Swan?" Daryl whispered quietly. Getting up from the chair I whisper out the door, "I'm in here" as I struggled to move the desk. I was getting tired now that the adrenaline was wearing off and could only move it enough to crawl over the desk and squeeze out the door way. Glenn's voice sounded from the hallway as well as he quickly flashed a light in my direction then turned it off and rushed to help me down.

"You just couldn't wait for us to get back before you get into trouble, could you?" Glenn whispered jokingly as he let me lean on him. "Oh you know me" I whispered back tiredly. I was so thankful for them. As we reached the door, Daryl tapped on it three times and suddenly they were opened, blinding me with the sunset. I turned to look at both of them, "Thank you both for coming in there, I was starting to get concerned about how to get back out." I said honestly, because let's face it, I was about 10 minutes from a full blown panic attack. I tried to smile at them but it turned into grimace as my lip split back open. I must have looked like shit because they both grimaced in return. "How did you guys find me?" I asked as we walked toward C block. "You mean besides the trail of dead bodies?" joked Glenn, "Oscar and Axel told us what happened when we pulled up to all the chaos in the yard" he said. "They are pretty good guys, I don't think they deserve to be locked up anymore" I stated, trying to keep my word to them. They both nodded in agreement. In reality, I didn't have any control whether or not they decided to lock them back up besides giving my opinion on the matter.

As soon as we entered C-block we were surrounded by people all wanting to know what happened. To my surprise, Daryl nodded at the prisoners to come into C-block with the rest of us. Hershel was already trying to tend to the wounds he could see, the one on my lip and shoulder, the dress shirt I just happened to find, was white, so I bled through that. I asked Glenn for my pack and he happily ran off to grab it. I had a feeling things were going to go south quickly so I wanted to be prepared. Hershel was putting a few butterflies on my lip when the shit hit the fan in the form of one Rick Grimes. "What the hell do you think you were doing? Giving prisoners guns, going after Andrew instead of closing the doors to keep the dead in? You can't just do whatever the hell you want around here!" He shouted pacing back and forth. "Hey now, let's all take a step b…" Hershel started, before Rick shut him down, "NO, this is between her and I. I want some answers and I want them now! I am tired of dancing around the subject with you! Now let's start with over a week ago? What happened with Randall?"

Well, they all needed to know that so I answered him with the same story I told Daryl. How Shane had saved me in the end and all the shit with Randall and Jimmy. "And how did you know about the farm or the place you took us today?" he demanded. "You're welcome by the way for that! I just knew, just like quarry and Atlanta. I just knew. That's it" I said as calmly as I could. "NO!, That bullshit isn't going to cut it anymore. Start telling the truth!" he shouted while getting in my face. Daryl stepped up behind me but I waved him off, I could handle Rick. "Oh, the truth you say? Like the truth you failed to tell everyone?! Shit they need to know, living in this world?! The truth from the CDC? How we're all infected.. If you die you rise, whether it is from a gunshot or cancer; we all have it. Unless someone kills the brain stem, you come back. So you want to talk about telling the truth, let's start with you." I told him loudly, trying to control my anger.

Everyone started to mumble and talk to Rick at the same time "Is it true?!" I took the opportunity to slip out and start walking when I heard "Hey Swan, wait up." Stopping, I turned to face Daryl. "You leavin'?" he asked fidgeting with his bow strap. I nodded slightly before answering him "Yea, for a while at least. I'll be around, you know where to find me. You could come if you wanted. You know to get away if you wanted too… but with all the shit going on in there, I think they are going to be looking to you more" I said waving my good arm in the direction of C-Block. "I think Rick and I need space before we kill each other…" I said softly. He nodded and looked down. "Ya need any supplies? We took everythin' out of there" he asked kindly. "No, but thank you Daryl. I'm sure there is what I need on the other side." I stated the last part quietly. "I wasn't looking for trouble today, but someone was going to die if I didn't do what I did. I wasn't going to let that happen…" I said looking in his ice blue eyes. "You can come visit anytime you want. I'll be around here every now and then to see Sofia and the others. And I'll still be hunting, so hopefully I'll see you out there." I said with a half-smile with the part of my lips that weren't all fucked up.

"You want me ta walk ya there? You got pretty messed up today…" he trailed off as shouting could be heard from inside. "Thank you Daryl, but I will be fine…. It seems like they need you inside. Thank you again for coming to get me today" meaning every word I said. I bravely walked over to him and gave him very short side hug, then turned to leave without looking back at him. "See you later Daryl. Don't forget to change that bow string soon" I said with a blush as I thought about how rock solid his stomach was and the warmth he radiated. Andrea was back up in the tower as I walked through the gate and closed it myself; turning west, I headed for the bunker.

So, really long chapter. Supernatural reference to Cakehole and deadpool "somebody's not counting "