A/N: Ahh, I love the smell of writing in the morning. Spring break has finally arrived, so I got the chance to sit down at the keyboard for something other than research papers for a change! Anyway, I am sorry about how slack I've been, I hope to get a couple more chapters up this week and then I'm not sure after that. Summer is fast approaching, however, and then I'm going to go on a writing binge! So I hope you enjoy this chapter and, as always, thanks for staying with me through all this. Please read and review!

The advice of 'not breaking rank' and 'aiming for the head' lasted a total of thirty seconds into our expedition. The prisoners all began running towards the first group of walkers that confronted us and hit them everywhere except the head. The four of us just looked at each other for a moment before stepping in to take care of the walkers. There weren't many so it didn't take long, and we were moving along again within a minute. The next group we came across was a little larger. Daryl reiterated the point of aiming for the brain and this time, the inmates managed to be helpful in killing the walkers.

I used Daryl's knife to kill two walkers and then heard a scream followed by a series of gunshots that made me jump. The sound vibrated off the metal walls, magnifying it. Daryl grabbed my arm and we ran around the corner to see Rick staring at Tomas with Tiny behind him. With the dead walker at Tiny's feet I could only assume it had attacked Tiny and Tomas had shot it repeatedly. An assumption that was supported by Rick's expression. Tiny took his hand away from his shoulder and there was blood. I sighed and turned around, running a hand through my hair. Rick examined him quickly, but we all knew.

"I'm telling you, I don't feel anything. It's just a scratch," Tiny said, fear etching its way into his voice.

"I'm sorry man," Rick said, genuinely upset at the situation.

"I can keep fighting!"

"You cut that old guy's leg off the save his life," Andrew interjected.

"Look at where the bite is," Rick said, gesturing to Tiny's shoulder. There was no way to amputate.

"Guys, I'm fine!" Tiny yelled. "Look at me, I'm not changing into one of those things."

"Look, man, there has to be something we can do," Oscar reasoned. "We could just lock him up."

"Quarantine him!" Axle added.

"We gotta do something. Why you just standing there?" Andrew began to grow angry and I tensed.

"There's nothing we can do."

"You son of a bitch!" Andrew yelled but stopped when Tiny cried out and we all turned. Tomas had whacked him in the head with a pick ax, and stabbed him several times with it; blood gushing everywhere. I turned from the scene, hating the look of satisfaction the man wore. It wasn't supposed to be that easy to kill someone. We recovered and walked down the last hallway that led to the heavy metal doors that would open to the cell block. Rick threw his keys on the floor in front of Tomas.

"I ain't opening that."

"Yes you are. If you want this cell block, you're gonna open that door. Just the one, not both of them because we need to control this," Rick commanded. Tomas debated internally for a moment and then grabbed the keys, walking over to the door.

"You bitches ready?" He asked and yanked on the door. Nothing happened. It was stuck. "I got this," he said and yanked again, harder, and opened both doors, letting in a steady stream of walkers.

"I said one door!" Rick yelled as walkers poured in.

"Shit happens!" He called back. We all fought. I was backed into a corner and had to kick a walker back to stop him from biting me. In the process I fell to the ground, a bad position to be in. I was able to spring up quickly, however, and kill the closest walker. As I surveyed the room, I saw Tomas shove a walker onto Rick and almost didn't see one approaching me from shock. I killed it and saw Rick take care of the threat. Soon, all the walkers were dead and we were breathing heavy, the adrenaline still running in our veins.

"It was coming at me, bro," Tomas said to Rick as way of explanation. I could tell from Daryl's posture that it was taking all of his self control not to put a bolt in his skull.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I get it. Shit happens." Rick shrugged and the two stared at each other for a tension-filled minute. Then, Rick raised his machete and buried it in Tomas's skull. It took us all by surprise, but Andrew immediately started fighting with him, before running away. "I got him!" Rick called and ran out of the room.

"Get on your knees!" Daryl ordered the other two prisoners who obeyed.

"We didn't have no affiliation with what just happened. Tell him, Oscar," Axle rambled.

"Stop talking man," Oscar told him. We kept weapons trained on them, unsure of the threat they posed.

Rick came back in a few minutes later, with no Andrew. He looked stone faced and pointed his gun at Axle's head.

"We didn't have nothing to do with that!" The man swore.

"You didn't know?" Rick scoffed, showing he didn't believe that at all. "You knew. Daryl, let's end this now." But he didn't, because Axle was groveling for his life, swearing he and Oscar had nothing to do with the attack.

"What about you?" Rick asked Oscar, who had been silent up until this point.

"I a'int never begged for my life. And I a'int about to start now. So you do what you gotta do," he said with a calm that convinced me he wasn't guilty. Apparently Rick agreed, because he let both of them stand, and led them into the cell block that was going to be their new home. I stayed outside, not wanting to see anymore bodies today.

Rick, Daryl, and T came back out and the four of us linked arms and made our way back to our cell block and our family.

...

It looked like Hershel was going to be okay. He had stopped breathing earlier, but Lori saved him. We were all crowded in the cell he was in, watching him, waiting for some sign. Then we got one. His eyes opened up and he looked around at all of us. I smiled in relief as he took his daughters' hands and gave them a weak smile. I turned to leave so they could have some time alone. I jumped up on one of the tables, swinging my feet gently, lost in thought.

"You okay?" Daryl asked me. He was leaning against the opposite wall, watching me curiously.

"As okay as any of us are," I told him, rubbing my forehead. He pushed off the wall and walked over to me slowly, joining me on top of the table.

"This could work. We could be safe here," he said, looking around at the metal walls that should have been oppressive, but that we found welcoming.

"We could finally have a home," I added with a smile, looking up at him. I earned the ghost of a smile in return and he wrapped his arm around me and I leaned into him, both of us contemplating what the future held but being content in the moment.