A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.
Chapter Four-The Courtyard
Glenn looked over the Colt .45 from Danielle's backpack. She had brought her bow, the Colt and a hunting knife. She also had about fifty rounds of ammo and a dozen arrows.
"Not much of a stash," he said. Danielle chuckled. "I mean, how far were you thinking of going if we didn't let you stay?" Danielle set her bow down.
"I couldn't take that much. I was going to have to tie Abigail to my back and she's not…she wasn't…a little girl anymore. I had the bag that had the water and then this. It couldn't be too heavy. Plus, I couldn't grab that much from the armory without anyone noticing. This was standard issue for the group going on supply runs. There were always five in a group, all with a bag like this plus we had cars." She took the Colt from him and slid it in her holster. "I had my granddad's Henry rifle when I left Atlanta. I can't remember if it got lost or taken. Everything is such a blur." Glenn nodded.
"I know what you mean. It seems like this has been going on forever and it's only been two years since the first report." He put on the body armor vest he used for prison clear outs. "You sure you don't want to wear one?" She shook her head and pulled on her glove.
"Weighs me down and I can't move as fast. But thanks." Glenn laughed.
"You and Daryl have a lot in common. He won't wear it either." Danielle looked over her shoulder where Rick, Oscar and Daryl were going over a map of the prison they had recovered from the warden's office.
"I don't think he'd be too happy to hear about any similarities between the two of us." Glenn glanced over and then grabbed his knife and metal pipe.
"I think they're about ready." Glenn and Danielle joined the group gathering by the door. Rick faced everyone.
"I know we've been talking about doing this for a while but we've been putting it off. We keep running across civilian walkers in the back courtyard and we haven't been able to secure it, for obvious reasons. Now that we know we have an enemy not that far away, we need to make sure that we have this place locked down." He pointed to Daryl.
"Daryl's leading a group up to the second floor of the admin building. Once there, you'll have a clear view of the inner courtyard and should be able to see the back side of the prison. We've cleared to the warden's office but we need to clear further down to the end and we haven't been back for a few days. If there is a significant breech, it could be filled with walkers so be careful. Once you're secure, drop a flash grenade out the window. That's the signal that you're in. Try to take out as many walkers as you can from above and we'll finish it. Cover us and once the courtyard is clear and secure, we'll signal you to join us and then we'll move on." Rick nodded to Maggie and Glenn.
"You two go with Daryl. Danielle, Oscar and Axel, you're with me." Danielle started to protest but Daryl spoke first.
"I don't need two people who can't shoot that good. If you're going in on the ground, you need the manpower there." He nodded at Danielle. "You're with me." Everyone was quiet and Danielle didn't move. Rick leaned over and spoke quietly.
"Do you think that's a good idea? I think it's better to keep you separate…" Daryl shook his head.
"Nah it's fine. She can shoot straight and it'll be easier to move in with two people." He picked up a rifle off the table and handed it to Danielle. "That'll work better than that Colt when we get up there. Come on." Carl unlocked the door and Daryl, Danielle and the others quickly headed out. They made their way through the hallways to the door that led to the secure walkway, used to transport the prisoners from the cellblock to the admin building for everything from parole hearings to release processing. They opened the door and moved in single file. They encountered two walkers and Daryl and Rick dispatched them quickly. They continued the sweep of the lower floor.
"It looks clear," Rick said, keeping his voice low. No one responded, still on alert. When they got to the staircase to the second floor, Daryl motioned for Danielle.
"Let's go." Rick handed him the flash grenade.
"Remember, once you get to the end and it's secure, use this and we'll go to the courtyard." Daryl nodded then he and Danielle walked slowly up the stairs.
The warden's office was at the top of the stairs, the door open. A quick sweep revealed it was just as they had left it. Most of the doors had windows which allowed for enough light to see down the hall. Daryl kept his crossbow at the ready and Danielle had her hunting knife curved into her body, ready to strike. She walked two steps behind him, watching his back as he checked the other offices. They found one walker, probably a secretary of some sort based on her dress but everything else seemed clear. There were a number of bodies, mostly guards but a few were probably civilian employees. All had been shot, some multiple times. A few looked like suicides. Danielle tried to breathe through her mouth but couldn't help but gag on the smell.
"It was a massacre," she whispered. Daryl didn't respond and kept his eyes focused.
At the end of the hallway was a solid door with a sign that read "Conference Room". The hallway branched out, one side leading away from the courtyard and the other leading to another staircase. Daryl looked at Danielle when they reached the door.
"When I give the signal, you open that door and be ready." She nodded and closed her hand around the doorknob. He looked her in the eye, counted to three and she pushed the door open. Immediately, they heard the telltale sounds of walkers.
"Shit!" Daryl backed up as two walkers pushed forward. He took one out with the crossbow and dropped back to reload. Danielle stabbed the other in the eye, dropped it and kicked it aside. She moved into the room, turning quickly at the growl to her right. She dropped that walker but didn't see the one that was behind her until it was almost on her. She backed up and tripped over the body, dropping her knife. The walker fell on her, growling and snapping. The smell of rotting flesh filled her nose. She grabbed it by the throat and fumbled for her knife. Her fingers sank into the rotting flesh and she fought the urge to vomit. Her fingers finally found the blade and she grabbed it, slicing through the meat of her hand but she barely felt the pain. She knocked the walker aside and flipped the knife over to grab the handle. With both hands, she drove the blade through the walker's skull. She paused for a moment to breathe and started when she heard footsteps behind her. Daryl walked cautiously over to her, put his boot on the walker's skull and wrenched the knife free.
"You alright?" She shook her head. He reached down and lifted her injured left hand. She had sliced through her palm and three fingers. The cut to her palm was deep.
"I'm ok. I didn't get its blood on my hand." Daryl frowned and helped her to her feet. Looking around, he saw a carafe in the center of the conference table. Lifting the lid and sniffing it, he decided the water inside was good enough for first aid.
"Come here. Let's get you cleaned up." She walked over to him and held out her hand. He poured the water over the cut and she hissed as the pain hit. She gritted her teeth and allowed him to finish cleaning her wound and bandage it with a piece of his shirt. Once the bandage was tightened, she flexed her hand. It hurt but she could stand it long enough to do what they needed to do. Daryl watched her closely.
"Can you still shoot?" She nodded and reached back, unhooking her bow off the quiver. They looked around the room, verifying it was clear.
"Looks like they were trying to hide in here," Danielle said. Daryl nodded.
"Probably. Someone was either scratched or bit before they got in here. With the door shut they couldn't get out." He walked over to the windows on the far wall. "We have a clear view of the courtyard." Danielle shut the door and joined him. The courtyard was filled with walkers.
"We don't have enough arrows between us to get them all," she said. "We're going to have to use the guns." He nodded and they both laid down their bows. Daryl tried to open the large window but it was sealed shut. He looked around the room and saw a small television on a cart. He picked it up and carried it to the window.
"Back up." Danielle did and Daryl threw the television through the glass. Using the butt of their guns, they cleared the broken shards and positioned themselves at the window. Danielle looked over to the back wall. She could see a fence was torn down and it looked like the back side of the building had been blown open. She nudged Daryl and pointed it out. As they looked, they saw that a door on the building was ajar and another walker pushed through it. They could see a handful of walkers beyond the broken fence.
"That's how they're getting in," Danielle said. "How are we going to secure that?" Daryl looked around and shook his head.
"I can't see how from up here. Glenn's pretty good at that stuff. He'll figure it out." He brought his shotgun to his shoulder and she did the same with her rifle.
"Don't shoot unless you've got a clean headshot," he said. "We don't want to waste ammo. We'll take out those that we can then throw the grenade." Danielle looked down.
"We've got a blind spot right below us."
"We'll let them deal with that when they come through the door. They'll be prepared for it. Let's get the ones we can." With that, they both took aim and started firing.
Once the grenade went off, Rick and the rest of the ground crew went into the courtyard. A couple of walkers were right outside the door but the majority of the remaining walkers across the courtyard. Rick turned and looked up to the window, signaling Daryl and Danielle to join them. A minute later, they came out the door. Danielle raised her bow and took out a walker coming around the corner and then ran over to Rick.
"There's part of the fence that's down over there and one of the buildings is partially destroyed. We can probably secure the building but I don't know what we can do about the fence." Rick raised his gun and shot another walker.
"Take Glenn and Oscar with you. See what can get done. If you can't find a fix in five minutes, get back here." She nodded and ran off with Glenn and Oscar. Rick, Daryl, Axel and Maggie moved forward.
"How'd she do?" Rick asked, raising his gun to take out another walker. They seemed to be coming from the direction of the unsecured building.
"She did alright," said Daryl. "She's hurt pretty bad. Sliced her hand up when we ran into some walkers." Maggie looked worried.
"Did she get bit?" Daryl shook his head, raised his crossbow and shot another walker.
"No but if those walkers smell that blood, they're in trouble."
Fighting their way through a group of walkers, Glenn, Oscar and Danielle made it to the downed fence. A bomb must have gone off nearby or been dropped from above. The backsides of the buildings were charred and one of the towers had collapsed on the fence. Oscar saw it first and swore.
"There's no way we can fix that." Glenn surveyed the damage and saw he was right. They'd need heavy equipment to lift that fence. The only thing they could do would be to try to block it off…but with what?
"Glenn!" Danielle's voice shook him from his thoughts and he almost missed the walker heading towards him. There were a number of them climbing through the broken fence. Danielle pulled her colt and fired but realized there were too many.
"We need to go back! We'll have to figure something else out!" Glenn and Oscar turned quickly and the three ran to find Rick and the others.
Rick and Maggie carried filled sandbags to prop against the busted door on the damaged building while Axel held it closed against the walkers pushing against it. The sandbags had been used as a barricade, probably whenever the riot broke out at the prison. When the last one was in place, Rick motioned for Axel to let go. When he did, the door held though they could hear the walkers banging on it.
"That should hold it," Rick nodded. "Now we just have to wait for Glenn." The met up with Daryl who was covering their backs and headed back to the courtyard. There were a few new walkers and they quickly took them out. Rick looked around for Glenn and the others. It had been longer than five minutes.
"Something must have happened," he said. They started in the direction Danielle had indicated and stopped when they heard gunshots. Suddenly, Danielle ran around the corner, followed close behind by Oscar and Glenn.
"Get inside! They're right behind us!" Not having to be told twice, Rick opened the door to the admin building and the group made it inside just as a large group of walkers turned around the corner. Breathing hard, Rick leaned against the door.
"What happened?" Glenn put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath.
"That fence is a total loss. There's no way we can fix it." Angry, Rick kicked the door.
"Dammit! That means the whole backside is vulnerable, not just from walkers but anyone else who decides to come in here!" He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to figure out what to do.
"We need to tighten up what we can," said Oscar. We know what buildings we cleared and we know what we can secure. We just need to beef up our defenses there." Maggie nodded.
"He's right. We can lockdown our section. We have the cafeteria, the infirmary and the armory. You can't get better than that."
"Exactly," Glenn said. "We just have to defend what we have." Daryl and Danielle nodded in agreement. Daryl started back down the hall.
"C'mon. Let's go." The group followed.
Back in the cellblock, Axel headed to the cafeteria with Carol and Beth to fix dinner. Maggie, Glenn and Oscar went out to walk the fence. Daryl sat with Danielle as Hershel stitched her hand. She tried not to move but couldn't help but flinch as the needle passed through her flesh. Hershel made the last stitch and wrapped her hand with gauze.
"You'll need to change that bandage a couple times a day at least. And watch it for infection." Danielle smiled at him.
"Thanks." Hershel smiled back, patted her arm and got up from the table. She flexed her hand and she could feel the stitches pulling in her skin. She looked at Daryl.
"I don't know how I'm going to grip my bow until these come out." He looked at her hand and then pulled her knife from the sheath on her hip. Inspecting the blade, he whistled.
"Sharp as this is, you're lucky you didn't cut deeper." He laid the knife on the table, stared at it for a minute and then looked at her.
"You did good today. Better than I thought you would." She smiled.
"Thanks. I'm just sorry we couldn't finish what we set out to do. It seems like it was a waste of time and ammo." She looked up as Rick joined them, holding the baby. Judith was wide awake and waving her fists, hitting her father. Her little face bunched up and she started to cry.
"I think she's hungry," said Danielle, smiling at the baby. Rick nodded.
"Carl's fixing her bottle." As if on cue, Carl walked in with the baby's formula. Danielle held out her hands.
"Do you mind if I feed her?" Rick hesitated and then handed her the baby. Immediately she flashed on the moment Abigail was born. She shook away the memory and took the bottle from Carl. As soon as the bottle was in her mouth, Judith stopped crying and locked eyes with Danielle. Carl smiled.
"She likes you." Danielle laughed.
"She likes whoever is giving her something to eat is more like it." Daryl leaned over and stroked Judith's cheek before giving her his finger to hold.
"How's the little Ass Kicker doin?" Danielle looked at him.
"Ass Kicker? You nicknamed her Ass Kicker?" Daryl grinned at the baby.
"She likes that name. And she earned it because that's what she is." Judith stopped drinking. Danielle set the bottle down and put the baby to her shoulder, rubbing her back.
"Maybe on the next supply run we can find a rocking chair," she said. Daryl laughed. Carl stood up.
"I can take her." Danielle handed him the baby. He held her with one arm and picked up the bottle with his free hand. Daryl started to stand up.
"You be careful now. Don't be carrying her all over like that." Carl wrinkled his nose up at him as both he and Rick walked back to the cell area, leaving Daryl and Danielle alone. The tension was almost palpable. Danielle stood first.
"I better go figure out a different place to sleep tonight since the perch is off limits." She kept her back to Daryl. "I'll drag a mattress out and sleep on the floor down here." She started to walk away when she heard him get up.
"You can sleep wherever you want. I don't care." He started past her but stopped when she touched his arm.
"Daryl," he turned his head slightly. "You're a better man than your brother. You have to know that." He looked up and met her eyes for a moment then looked away. He stepped out of her reach before answering.
"Thanks."