A/N: Update number two! Please read and review!
So once it had been 'decided' that the prisoners would have to hit the road, supplies were assembled for them to take along, after all we weren't complete monsters. Yet. Then, Glenn, Daryl, Rick, and I headed out of the fences to do a sweep and see what sort of perimeter we were dealing with. We climbed out of the hole we had cut in the fence. There was a single walker standing with her back to us, but otherwise the cost was clear.
"Should I take her out?" Glenn asked.
"No. If that armory hadn't been picked clean, we could spare the ammo, referring to the fact that we had not found anything of use in the armory.
"I'll start making runs," Daryl said. "The sooner the better." Glenn and Rick walked ahead and I hung back with Daryl.
"You were pretty restless last night," he said, squinting in the sun.
"Bad dream," I responded vaguely but I knew he knew what I meant. Some nights I could fall back asleep after the dream, but others, like last night, I tossed and turned all night.
"They're getting worse," he said, taking me slightly off guard. The dreams were getting worse, that was true, but I hadn't said anything about it. My look must have been enough to prompt him to continue. "I heard you calling out the other night. You sounded terrified but you wouldn't wake up. Scared the hell out of me." He looked down as he said the last part, embarrassed by his admission.
"I'm..." I started but he cut me off.
"If you say 'I'm fine' I am going to drop kick you right here," he said making us both smirk a little at the thought. "You don't always have to be 'fine', it's okay to not be okay."
"Wow, Dixon, you are just being a big ol' softy today." I knew I shouldn't tease him about it but I was uncomfortable with the intensity of his words.
Our conversation was interrupted when Glenn cried, "Look." Pointing back to the prison courtyard. I followed his line of sight and saw Hershel walking out on crutches with Lori, Beth, and Maggie very close behind him. I smiled broadly at the sight.
"Way to go Hershel!" The small Asian boy cheered.
"Hey. Keep your cheers down," Daryl chastised, gesturing to the few walkers in the field who had taken notice of the outburst.
"Can't we have just one good day?" Glenn pleaded with a sigh and I gave me a wry smile, clapping him on the shoulder.
When I turned back toward the prison, my heart sank. Dozens of walkers were in the courtyard, coming up behind our group. I felt the blood leave my face and all I could do was watch as Carl, Lori, and Maggie all drew their guns.
"No!" Rick yelled and started running. That was enough to kick me into survival mode and my legs started moving without me telling them to. I had caught up with Rick in no time, actually pulling ahead of him as we reached he second set of gates where the prisoners were. We blew pass them and waited for Daryl and Glenn to pass through before locking it back.
I pulled out my gun as Rick still called for Lori. I didn't see any of the others so I started firing rapidly. I knew I didn't have a lot of ammo left, so every shot counted. Our only real chance was getting to the gate above the stairway and lock ourselves in. As I looked that way, I saw Hershel and Beth standing in that very gate, looking on.
"Did you see Lori?" Rick called to Hershel as we cleared a path to them. I didn't hear Hershel's response, however, because Glenn fired his gun right by my left ear, making me fall to my knees and clutch the side of my head.
"Adeline!" Glenn called out in concern and yanked me to my feet. I was still gripping my ear but took a handle on my gun. My whole world was ringing and I felt extremely disoriented. Then I felt a strong grip on my waist and turned to see Daryl watching me with a mixture of confusion and worry. I took my hand away from my ear and there was blood coloring my fingers.
Then I heard a high pitched wailing noise, making me grip my ears again. Once I saw the confusion on everyone's faces I realized I wasn't the only one hearing it. And neither were we. Walkers began piling up on the fence, more coming from the woods, attracted by the sound.
"What is that?" I screamed over the noise, my ears still ringing from the gunshot. I realized I was swaying a little and nearly fell over as I turned to try and see what was causing the alarm. I caught myself with my hand but still had to remain crouched for a minute. I saw Rick talking with the prisoners, presumably about what could be causing this, but all I could hear was ringing in my left ear.
Glenn and Rick started running towards the door with the inmate Oscar, but Daryl came over to help me up and half-carried me as we followed the others. The dizziness began to subside as we ran so he was able to let go and I could hold my own. He quickly filled me in on where we were going.
"One of the prisoners used to work in the generator room and thinks he may know how to shut off the alarms." I nodded in understanding, ignoring the burst of pain it caused.
The hallways were now illuminated every few seconds by a flashing light, which was good because we could see, but was bad because it also attracted walkers. A group of them came out of one of the adjoining hallways, catching us slightly off guard. I pulled my knife out, figuring it would be better in the enclosed space, and attacked the ones closest to us.
We were close enough to the generator room that we decided it was best to just break for it and shut the walkers out. And that is just what we did. Daryl and I held the door shut while Oscar and Rick tried to turn off the generators. The task was not an easy one, all of the walkers were pushing against the door, making it impossible to close all the way, leaving us to just keep it shut enough to not let them through. When Rick went to unplug one of the machines, a man jumped out and lashed at him with an ax.
"Rick!" I yelled, but he was okay. The two of them were grappling on the floor.
"We have to get this door shut. Open it on three, I'll kill the ones jamming it up, then you slam it," Daryl ordered and began counting, stepping back to pick up his crossbow and aim it. "Three!" He called and I yanked the door open, making sure to keep a grip on it so I could close it again. "Now!" He shouted and I threw my entire weight against the door, slamming it.
Oscar had picked up Rick's gun and was aiming it at him. I raised mine in answer, but the lack of weight led me to believe it was empty. Luckily, I didn't have to find out, Oscar shot the other man, who I now saw was Andrew, the other inmate who had been with Tomas. The shot made me wince and grab my ear again, the ringing returning with a vengeance. Oscar still had the gun lifted, making us a little nervous, but he flipped it around and offered it to Rick, who took it with an odd look in his eye. Then he walked over to the generator and pulled a couple levers, making the alarms stop.
"Let's go," he ordered and started walking back toward the door. I put my gun away, it would be of no use without any bullets, plus I felt another gunshot was unnecessary torture to my ears.
We dealt with the group huddled outside the door and headed down the hallway to get back out to the courtyard. As we went to turn a corner, we heard the wet sounds of walkers eating flesh and I cringed. A closer look revealed it was T-Dog, or what was left of him. I bit my lip and turned away as Daryl and Rick dispatched the two walkers. Then Daryl leaned over and picked up a piece of cloth that I recognized as Carol's scarf. I balled my hand into a fist, wanting to punch something. With a shake of his head, Rick turned to leave as we said a final goodbye to two of our friends.
The sunlight seemed even brighter after being in the dark prison. Hershel and Beth were still in their same spots and Rick called out to them.
"You didn't find them?" Hershel called, looking worried.
"We thought maybe they came back," Glenn voiced the hope we had all carried. Beth just shook her head.
"What about T? Carol?" Hershel asked and images of the gruesome scene flashed in my mind.
"They didn't make it," Daryl said sadly. I noticed that with every word, Rick's eyes were going a little bit wider, now he almost looked wild.
"That doesn't mean the others didn't," he proclaimed. "We're going back. Daryl and Glenn you come with..." He started but something made him stop. Everyone turned around and I copied them, trying to hear what they heard. Then I saw it. Maggie was walking out, holding a small bundle in her arms, covered in blood and visible shaking. Rick walked toward them, already shaking for the news he knew was about to come. "Where-Where is she?" He asked but Maggie couldn't answer him.
The scene broke my heart; Rick sobbed until he fell over onto the pavement, Carl had silent tears sliding down his face but he wouldn't look up. Maggie was sobbing as well, clutching the baby like a life line as Glenn went over to her. I took a step forward, wanting to help, but realized I didn't know what to say or do, so I stayed where I was, watching the people I cared about hurt and not being able to do anything about it.