Chapter 30

BPOV

Waking up the next morning had been an experience. It was a relief to wake up and not see any bars, but the lights were dangerously low as I rushed to find the tote marked candles. I lit a candle quickly setting it aside, and then found the items I needed to light the oil lamp. After getting that going, I had relaxed some, but I really didn't want to be fumbling around in the dark if the lights were out. I guess falling asleep with the lights on hadn't been the brightest idea as I had probably drained whatever charge the solar had provided, but I had nightmares about the dark hallways of the prison with the dead roaming… it still terrified me. Flipping the light switch down, I realized it turned off the big upper lights and lit the small amber ones close to the floor instead so it was never completely dark.

The next couple of days I had spent moving shit around and organizing what I did have. I myself had a nice supply of dried food along with lots of MRE's, canned goods and even some sweet treats. I had organized everything, going through every tote thoroughly, not wanting to miss anything. A new set of the same custom boots Alice had had made for me was a very thrilling surprise. I hadn't expected another pair, but I had really grown attached to them. New arrows and a fresh supply of ammo were among other things that I was relieved to see. Then I had come across a few cases that surprised the fuck out of me… they had some new 'Toys' in it, was my way of putting it, along with a note that said 'for later' that made me pout in disappointment. I was now in possession of a bazooka along with a few other awesome things, like a long range sniper rifle.

Even if those things were for later, Jasper's gift had been for now I remembered, glancing down to my thigh. The beautiful blue steel shined, making me smile at being blessed with such a wonderful reminder of my friend. The next morning, after getting the lamp lit, I pulled out the beautiful wooden box. On top, a letter from Jasper, in his beautiful elegant script;

Isabella,

This is something that is very special to me, one of the few things that I have and remember from my human life. This was gifted to me as I rose to the rank of Major even though it wasn't typically for them to do so at that rank. It's a LeMat revolver. I have modernized it to take modern ammunition, 9 rounds of .357 and a single shot shotgun 20GA shell. I hand carved the holster that goes with it. I was never able to use it while I was human as Maria took me soon after it was gifted. How I managed to keep this along with the buttons from my coat all those years in Maria's army is a miracle in itself. I know you will take care of it and remember me when you use it.

With much love,

Major Jasper Whitlock

PS: Just because I didn't use it as a human doesn't mean I haven't tried now, especially since I modernized the firing mechanism. It's very accurate; just a word to the wise, have some caution using the 20GA. It's got some zip to it.

The double thigh holster was beautiful; it had swans with big beautiful wings that filled the space along with Jasper's signed initials; the open space between pouches on the belt had church bells carved into it, making me think of Charlie and his nickname for me. The snaps appeared to be made from the buttons of his uniform I observed, slipping in the LeMat and my other pistol into their new homes. There were pouches on the hips for extra ammo and what appeared to be a grenade pouch. Awesome! On the back of the straps around my thighs, one read 'Hells' and the other 'Bells'. It was a great gift to receive as my other pistol and broken holster were still in the uncleared building. I was starting to feel claustrophobic as I put on my old boot on my good foot, leaving my new pair for when my other leg was healed. I needed to go outside and hopefully see the sun.

I had no way of knowing what the weather was going to be anymore, with no natural light what so ever in here or a window. Fixing my hair in the mirror, I noticed what Alice had said about my wounds healing slightly faster. Slightly was an understatement as my lip was healed all the way up except for a little scratch. There was no bruising present anymore and the letter opener wound was already scarring over. Shaking off the shock about my weird ass body, I grabbed one of the 2 gallon gas cans and went to a fuel drum to fill it with the nozzle already hooked to it. I was going to find the well before I went hunting so I could find it when needed. I didn't know what the situation with the generator was so I might as well top it off while I was there.

I'm not proud to say that it took me well over 30 minutes of tromping around to find the trap door that was dug into the ground, similar to a water tight storm shelter. It was the best way for them to have done it because any type of building out here would have been really noticeable. After filling the generator, I closed the trap door and rearranged the ground cover to hide it once more. Looking around to map the location in my mind so I could find it a little easier next time, I headed out stopping at the bunker to drop off the gas can, switch out maps and lock the door. Being outdoors was so refreshing as I breathed in the midday air; only to have my peace interrupted by some of the dead.

I started to put them down with my bow when the last one dropped before I could fire. A bolt stuck straight in its forehead, making a small smile come to my face. Yanking it out I turned to find him standing in the dense tree line, "Thanks Daryl" I told him walking up to hand his bolt back. He was looking at me kind of strange and I almost fidgeted under his piercing stare before I realized why. My lip, I remembered, had healed up already the way no normal persons should. With a small grimace, I looked down the rest of the way to him, slightly embarrassed of my freak like nature. Thinking of anything to get the attention off of me, I asked "Are you hunting?" It seemed a little late for him to be unless he was tracking something big.

"No, uh…" he stated rubbing the back of his neck while staring at his boots, looking all kinds of uncomfortable, before slightly looking back at me "Sofia 'n Carol pretty much shov'd me out tha gates ta come see if you were ok" he finished while fiddling with the bolt still in his other hand. Smiling with a slight blush, "I was just coming to find you and go visit with them too" I told him bravely. His head snapped in my direction fully before looking around us, "Somethin' a 'matter?" he asked turning his gaze back to me, probably looking for any signs of distress.

"No, no. Nothing is wrong. I was just wondering if you were going hunting this evening or in the morning…" now it was my turn to stumble over my words "and um, I was wondering if I could meet you somewhere and go too." The last part of that was rushed out, a small blush covering part of my face, with no way to hide it in the midday sun and my hair back in a braid. "Oh and to give you this" I said pretty much shoving the map at him to get him to look at anything but me. He seemed slightly flustered too, making me feel a little better.

"What's this?" he asked while looking at the folded map. We started walking in the direction of the prison before I answered him, "It's some stuff for the prison. Stuff they will need for the winter time. You'll probably need the jeep and trailer to pick it all up." He nodded before shoving the map in his pocket, "Did'n ya give 'em enough already?"

"It's stuff to keep everyone warm" I mumbled out, not really wanting to talk about what Alice had left. "So about hunting…" I trailed off. I felt like I was becoming needy and desperate for an answer and really didn't want to sound that way to Daryl. "I got stuff ta take care of later, but I'm goin' in the mornin'…" he trailed off for a moment, "I can be where we jus' met up, in tha mornin', if ya wanna go." He said looking away from me. "Ok! I'll be there" I answered, with probably way too much enthusiasm, and a smile that I was trying desperately to control from becoming a dopey looking grin. I really loved hunting with him; sometimes we would talk softly about random things and other times we were silent, but it didn't matter what we did, I was just happy to spend time with him.

We arrived at the prison gate quicker than I would have liked, I looked at him with a smile before we parted and he gave me some advice "Stay 'round someone ya know for now", before turning and walking away before Beth, Amy, and Sofia engulfed me in a large hug. Well, how mysterious of him… I was sure it had something to do with Rick and the others that didn't trust me yet, but I let those thoughts slip away as I spent time with my friends and enjoyed the rest of the day.

Look, some happy Bella time. Little fast forward and recap in the next chapter, plus some DB. Don't hate me! You all are awesome! Thank you for the reviews.

I noticed no one was like "oh no! Lori is going to die?!" after the last chapter... how cold of you all ... hahaha jk jk