"Rick wanted to go back for you... but he didn't have a chance when I ran in first."
The stale air stood still around a small town, papers upon papers littering the ground around the small town. Cars sat abandoned by their people, windows broken and dents plaguing their painted bodies from the unwanted damage sustained. Crows pecked at one another and some even fought over the human meals that decayed on the concrete all around the houses front yards. Finally, a small breeze carried the grotesque wafting scent of the withering bodies in and around every crevice of the town.
Amongst the small set of tree just on the edge of the forest, and old red house stood old and proud through the shrubbery. A few windows were broken and clouded, the siding of the stiff building cracked and worn from old age. A set of white double doors stood shut on the top of the porch firmly as the stairs descended into the overgrown grass below the foundation. Footsteps suddenly rushed from the roadway a few feet from the building, their sounds muffled from the subtle lawn that stretched across the houses front yard. The boots of the many living survivors slammed up the hard steps with loud pounds as they ascended to their temporary refuge.
The double white doors exploded open and cracked against the walls, a Walker not having a chance to turn and see its killer once it soon dropped to the floor with a bullet in its head. A scythe whirled around violently and sliced the neck of a Walker clean while its head thumped to the floor and rolled quickly to a stop.
Reagan rushed around Rick as he pulled the trigger to his silenced pistol vigorously, her aim set on a Walker swaying in the doorway to the kitchen. She tossed her scythe against the wall and swiped her own pistol from her belt, raising it and feeling the recoil of its deadliness blast back in her hand. Rick looked over her shoulder as T-Dog and Carl came in last, Daryl already making his way around the corner and towards the back rooms of the house. Reagan turned to the adjacent hallway and disappeared behind its walls, her ears picking up movement behind her.
Her gold eyes turned to see Rick putting down a Walker behind her, his blue eyes moving up to face her and she knew she was telling her to watch her back. The two exchanged quick nods to each other and Rick pushed past her after directing Carl to the kitchen, Carl heeding his father's moves and gripping his own pistol tight. Reagan watched Rick move past him and she looked up a set of stairs that led to the second floor, noting the entrance quickly before moving into an open closet.
The darkness consumed her eyesight and she easily yanked a flashlight out from the back of her pants, clicking it on as her eyes relished in the illumination. The ball of light at the end of the strain flicked around by the influence of her hand, her eyes darting around the closet to see the white wire racks practically empty. But then her eyes fell upon and old, withered door and she stared curiously, moving towards it slowly while raising her gun. Using her flashlight hand, she placed her fingers on the handle and turned it lightly before yanking it open rapidly.
She jumped back a few feet and shined her flashlight up just in case something jumped out at her, but her eyes soon stared down the arrow of a makeshift crossbow bolt pointed directly between her eyes. Daryl attempted to stare back through the bright light of the flashlight, his eyes squinting as he lowered the crossbow in his hands. They stared at each other for a few brief moments, the only thing they both could hear were the sounds of their tired breathing. Reagan pouted and let out a sharp huff of relief, Daryl cocking half a smirk from her startled state and stepping out of the doorway back the way he came.
Reagan rolled her eyes and turned around, clicking the button on her flashlight off and retreating back to the entry way to the house. Her eyes darted around the room and she saw no one but soon heard a couple pairs of footsteps moving up the stairs to rid of anymore plagued Walkers. Reagan stepped through the double doorway and quickly descended down the steps, her eyes keeping a lookout on the houses surroundings just in case any stray Walkers decided to crash their party. Finally, her gaze set on the vehicles parked by the shed and the three women sitting safely inside.
Lori, Carol, and Beth all stepped out of the silver Dodge simultaneously, their faces dirty and weary from a few days past. At the sight of Reagan, the women knew that the coast was clear and their hands immediately grabbed their belongings. Reagan pulled up the back door the Hyundai and shouldered a few duffels, exchanging a quick look to Lori as she helped. Her golden eyes soon moved down to Lori's prominent belly, seeing her belly button pushing against the dirty white fabric of her shirt. Reagan's skin crawled when she heard a snarl and whipped around seeing a Walker sliding out from behind a tree. Her trigger finger was quick with the respectable aim she took in a split second, the Walkers head cocking back as a bullet rushed through its skull.
Reagan turned and pressed her hand against Lori's back, pushing her along and staying in front of the three women to keep them protected in their trek to the house. Her attention was caught when she heard Rick's familiar whistle, signaling to her that the house had been completely cleaned out. As they all turned the corner, Rick stood against the wall of the doorway, watching as Reagan brought his wife around to him safely.
Rick gave a stern nod of thanks to Reagan and she returned a small smile to him, stepping into the house and tossing the duffels onto the ground. She rolled her shoulder and groaned, digging her fingers into her tired muscles in hopes that the ache would go away. The double doors behind her were closed by Rick's hand and everyone began to flood into the main living area that was occupied by a small fireplace. Everyone sat in a circle and sat quietly amongst each other, not a living word being spoken to break the air. There was so much fatigue and anguish that radiated off everyone's body it was almost suffocating as Reagan stepped in and sat down on the window ceil, her elbows digging into her knees as she hunched over.
Her eyes glazed over each and every one of her fellow survivors faces, and slowly, she stopped at Rick's tense back a he cautiously kept watch out the window. A hard lump rolled down her throat and she quickly averted her gaze and it fell upon Daryl, who sat on a small book desk plucking the feathers of a dead owl. His attention was too focused to notice that Reagan was staring at him with a bit of disgust at the creature as the corner of her small nose tugged in a scrunch. But she had to face the facts; better to eat what you can or go hungry and die.
The growl of her stomach made her a bit self-conscious and she pressed her hand tightly against her abdominals, trying to rid of the annoying sound. As if on cue, Carl strutted in from behind the corner leading to the kitchen with a pair of cans in his hands. A small smile of triumph formed on his lips as he sat on his knees, greedily grabbing the can opener and beginning to open the cans. Reagan eyed him curiously, wondering what kind of food lied in wait as Carl continued to pry the metal open. Everyone stopped what they were doing and watched with tiresome hunger at what waited under the can's lid, Carl finally prying the top off.
Rick slowly turned from the window, the curtain he held falling from his hand, and stepped towards his adolescent son. His soft boot steps caused Reagan to look over and watch him move across the room to curiously find out what Carl was doing. Rick's hand reached down and he slipped the can into his fingers, giving one last look at Carl before his blue eyes set on the can in his dirty hand. His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed upon seeing a dogs face staring back at him on the label, the strong scent of the canned dog food wafting into his nostrils. Rick stepped a couple of feet back and whirled around on his heel, tossing the dog food as hard as he could into the fireplace.
A couple of the group members, including Reagan, jumped at the abrupt sound of the can exploding against the concrete. They stared at Rick and he turned to meet all of their gazes, his eyes then setting on the creaky floors below him. He let out a few deep breaths and stepped back, everyone bowing their heads and returning to unpacking their belongings.
T-Dog let out a soft whistle and Reagan was on her feet in seconds, staring out the window he had looked through and seeing a group of scattered Walkers making their way towards the house. T-Dog handled his fire stoke quickly in his hand and Reagan was across the room instantly with her scythe in her hands.
Everyone ran out the back door in minutes, their belongings packed and ready to go as they were on the move once again. Reagan was first out the door alongside Daryl, his crossbow already aimed and firing at a stray Walker. A couple stepped in front of the vehicles and Reagan easily swung the nifty blade of her trusted weapon, the heads of the Walkers rolling across the grassy ground. They all worked around the intense shrubbery until they final arrived at their vehicles, bags and weapons being tossed inside safely.
Reagan jumped into the passenger's seat of the silver Dodge, T-Dog manning the controls, and slammed her door shut, noticing more Walkers getting closer by the second. The loud engine of the truck roared to life and Reagan stared through the windshield, seeing Daryl already rolling down the road on his blacked out motorcycle. Reagan's chest jolted against the seat as T-Dog slammed the accelerator down to the floor, the Dodge's tires spinning against the dirt and lurching once finally catching the asphalt of the road.
.:o:.
T-Dog pulled the truck to a stop on the hidden highway, the red and silver Chevy's taillights disappearing as it had been shut off. Reagan jumped out of the passenger's seat, as well as Carl behind her, and the two rushed up to the Hyundai parked in front. Reagan joined the group all huddled around the hood as Maggie rolled out the map that they had been so accustomed to following for the past few months.
"We got no place left to go." T-Dog shook his head while shouldering his rather large backpack's strap on his shoulder. Maggie held her hands against the maps edges to keep in from rolling up and her finger quickly darted to the map,
"When this herd meets up with this one we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south."
"What'd you say?" Daryl leaned on the windshield of the car while staring at Glenn thoughtfully, "Bout a hundred and fifty head?
"That was last week... could be twice that by now." Reagan mumbled while staring hard at the map, her thumb trailing across her bottom lip. Hershel pointed at an erratic blue line slithering through the map,
"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast we might have a shot to tear right through this."
"Yeah but if this group joins with that one then they could spill out this way." T-Dog was quick to reply to the older man and Maggie sighed with annoyance,
"So we're blocked."
"The only thing to do is double back to the twenty seven and swing toward Greenbull." Rick's fingers darted in the direction he explained and T-Dog shook his head while rubbing it with his hand,
"Yeah but we-we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles!"
"Yeah I know... I know." Rick nodded and turned to face his African American counterpart fully, "At new noon we'll push west... we haven't been through there yet."
"We can't keep goin' house to house." Reagan shook her head and her brown eyes trailed over to Lori, who sat in the passenger's seat of the Chevy tiredly, "We need to find a place to hold up for a few weeks at least." Rick followed her gaze and stared at his wife, agreeing with Reagan in the sense that she knew Lori was due at any point of day at this point in time.
"Alright. Is it cool that we get to the creek before we head out?" T-Dog tossed his bag up while staring at Rick, "It won't take long, we gotta fill up on water."
"Knock yourself out." Rick replied and as everyone walked away to gather their belongings, Reagan walked towards the front of the car, staring back at Lori in the truck,
"She can't take much more of this moving about." Reagan shook her head and stared at Rick as he continued to look at his wife. Rick then faced Reagan,
"What else can we do? Give birth on the run?"
"Do you see a way around that?" Reagan tilted her head and sighed, "She has to be drawing near to birth here anytime. I wish I could gather more information about her pregnancy but I can't."
"I know that..." Rick nodded his head at her, "But we don't have a choice at this point. I'm doin' the best I can."
"I know you are... just don't stress out about it too much." Reagan warned and Rick gave another soft nod to her in agreement.
"Hey..." A raspy voice called softly behind Rick and the two looked over to see Daryl securing a bolt in his crossbow, "While the others are out washin' their panties... let's go hunt." He rose himself and checked over his crossbow quickly as Rick walked past him to retrieve his rifle, "That owl didn't exactly hit the spot."
"Try to bring back something a little more appetizing other than another nasty possum this time, Watch Dog."
"I'll make sure to bring back some road kill for you." Daryl replied quickly to Reagan's smart mouth, "Now why don't you turn your little ass around in a tight circle and waddle your ways on outta here before you curse my hunt or somethin'."
"Yeah, whatever." Reagan scoffed and turned around with her arms crossed, stepping back towards the vehicles as Rick passed her with his rifle wrapped around his back. A small, smug smile lit up on her cheeks; she always had fun in smarting off to the backwoodsman.
"Yo Reagan! You gonna help us out!" T-Dog called and Reagan's eyes snapped to him to notice some water bottles and jugs in his arms. She quickly moved over towards him and took a few of the jugs from his arms to take her half of the load,
"Of course, T. Let's just make it quick, we don't want to sit here for too long."
"I hear that." T-Dog turned around with her and Reagan saw that Glenn and Maggie were already descending into the forest.
As Reagan piled water into the jugs she held, she sighed to herself and wiped her wet hand across her forehead. The water cooled her burning skin and she looked around the water's edge, making sure no Walkers decided to burrow out of the shrubbery. Her shoulder twitched and her fingers pulled down the V collar of her shirt while her brown eyes stared down at the bulleted scar on her skin. Her fingers trailed over the sensitive spot reassuringly and the annoyance of her twitch disappeared under her touch.
It had taken Reagan longer to recover than she first thought, but when her entire house was completely burned away, it was obviously a major setback. For the rest of the winter, she moved with Rick's group on the path to survival much to her dismay, but she learned to deal with it. Eventually, she grew quite fond of the group and even when she got better, she decided to stay with them. Without a set foundation to return to at the end of the day, Reagan didn't think it was a good idea to travel alone anymore.
After regaining Rick's trust in the few months that she was with his group after the compound was burnt to the ground, Reagan finally became a full-fledged member in the group. With her particular set of skills, and the way she worked around her weapons, she was one of the most sought out fighters of the entire group. Daryl was known as Rick's right hand man and Reagan soon became his left hand when the time came to it. Daryl and Reagan were swift and deadly when they worked together, clearing out an entire house of Walkers within minutes. But that didn't mean they had to like or enjoy each other's company.
Lori had been placed in Reagan's care, and with Reagan being a nurse in her past life, it was a wise decision. Reagan protected Lori, checked on her health when it was needed, and did everything she could to make the queen bee comfortable. Reagan didn't protest against her position and oddly enjoyed being in Lori's company. Even if the two didn't see eye to eye with one another sometimes, they understood each other. Reagan knew what it was like being pregnant and the joys that it could bring; the biggest being that of bringing a new life into the world.
"Hey Reagan, I think the bottles full." Reagan was snapped out of her thoughts when Glenn's voice flooded into her ears. She looked over her shoulder to see him standing on the bank behind her and then she looked back at the bottle, seeing it still dipped in the water and overflowing. She pulled the bottle up and capped it,
"Here... I'll take that." Glenn reached down and took it from her hand. Reagan stood to her feet and stretched her knees of any aches,
"Thanks Glenn."
"Are you done?"
"Yeah." Reagan nodded with a smile and checked all the plastic containers in her hands, making sure they were all filled.
As the four stepped up the small hill towards the road, Reagan's eyes caught the familiar sights of Daryl and Rick standing back by the vehicles. Her brow furrowed lightly as whatever group was left by the cars huddled around in a small circle, Rick's lips moving in words inaudible to their ears.
"They're back already?" Maggie asked a bit skeptical and Glenn looked to her,
"Maybe they got caught up with Walkers?"
"I don't think so." Reagan said and the young lovers stared over at her as she nodded at Daryl, "He's got somethin'... guess the hunt was cut short."
"I was wonderin' when ya'll were gonna be back." Rick turned to face them as they stopped and set the water bottles down on the hood, "We found somethin'."
"Something?"
"What kind of something?" Reagan asked curiously after Glenn and Rick stared at her,
"Something safe."
.:o:.
"A prison? Seriously?"
"Yeah, seriously." Daryl replied as he and Reagan jogged through the forestry down a path through the shrubs. The rest of the group was only a few yards behind them and the two were sent forward to eradicate any threats.
"That place is pretty big." Reagan mumbled more to herself than Daryl as she finally saw the prison beyond the tall fencing of its perimeter. A snarl cackled around Reagan's side and she whirled around, the scythe spinning in her fingers until the blade sliced off a Walkers head. Her ears picked up the familiar sound of a silent ping and looked over to see Daryl reloading his crossbow quickly.
"Hurry towards the gates and keep your eyes open!" Rick called to all the ears around him, Reagan and Daryl slowing to let the rest catch up so they could take formation.
They all burst through the forest out into a grassy clearing just a couple hundred feet from the first set of fences. Reagan swung around to the back flank next to T-Dog, holding up the rear and left side with her medium ranged weapon. Walkers meandered about the fence line, and as they caught the appetizing scent of Rick's people, their heads slowly turned into the direction followed by their bodies.
The group finally reached the fence and Rick took the front while shoving the head of his bolt cutters into the wired fencing. With a few snaps, he began to open a makeshift door with the trusty tools, everyone behind them keeping their eyes open as the Walkers approached. Glenn had rammed a Walker up against the fence with his spade, and with the help of Maggie's hammer to the head, the Walker slid down the barrier and to the ground in death. Reagan looked over her shoulder, seeing Lori had been surrounded by the others, and quickly returned her eyes to her surroundings.
"Watch the backside!" T-Dog called over the Reagan and her brown eyes flicked to him briefly,
"I got it! Go, T-Dog!" Reagan noticed that everyone had already begun to flood into the makeshift door that Rick had cut open. T-Dog gave her a quick nod and grabbed his backpack from the ground, turning, and leaving Reagan to watch the rest of their backs as they climbed into the barrier for safety.
"Reagan, hurry!" She heard Rick's quiet voice to her call from the fence and with one last look as Walkers stumbled down the fence line, she whipped around and put her scythe in first. Her body was quick to follow as her small frame squeezed through, her shirt getting caught momentarily on a piece of jagged wire protruding out.
Daryl and Glenn shut the edges of the fence once Rick was through, Glenn's nimble hands worked quickly with a wax covered wire to tightly keep the fence shut. As Reagan turned around, a mass of Walkers slammed up against the fences, her eyes noticing that almost all of them were wearing prison outfits. Her gaze moved up the path leading to the upper gates and she mentally cursed to herself upon seeing an endless sea of countless Walkers.
Just as Glenn finished tying off the door, a Walker slammed up against it and Glenn jumped back, not knowing whether or not it would hold against the undead's brute strength. But once Rick saw that the fencing was holding, he turned around with the heavy gun bag on his shoulder and began his descent down the wire corridor. Daryl backtracked in front of him and then turned around, he and Reagan leading the pack and keeping a close eye on the Walkers that were crowding around the perimeter. Everyone's legs jumped into a jog and they easily made their way across the dirt without much complication.
"Jesus they're all over the goddamn place." Reagan eyed as many of the Walkers slamming up against the fence as she could as they quickly rushed by. Her boots slammed annoying on the gravel below her feet, her scythe resting on her shoulder as they neared the end of the perimeter guarded by a tall tower. Her gold eyes stared up at the abandoned tower briefly before returning her gaze to a gate through her blonde bangs, Daryl rushing forward to shove it open with the lead.
Daryl lowered his crossbow as he pulled the squealing gate open, taking cautious aim just in case a Walker was in the square barrier of wire. The group behind both he and Reagan slowed to a walk and Reagan curled her fingers into the fence, staring out at the concrete walls of the prison above them. Walkers in to prison yard, who had not yet taken notice to their appearance, slowly sauntered through the tall grass blindly.
"It's perfect." Rick breathed behind her and Reagan turned, seeing everyone's eyes staring out at the building. Rick then pointed to a gate at the end of a dirt runway out next to yet another guard tower, "We can shut that gate... preventin' more from fillin' the yard. We can pick off these Walkers and take the field by night!"
"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked while eyeing his leader and Rick looked back off into the prison yard in deep thought.
"I'll do it." Reagan vouched and all eyes turned to her, "You guys can cover me."
"I'll go with you." Glenn offered and behind him, Maggie shook her head,
"No... it's a suicide run."
"We're the fastest... and Reagan has a long ranged weapon that can take out many of them all in one swing." Glenn eyed Reagan briefly before looking back at Rick,
"No..." Rick turned back to Glenn with the shake of his head, "It won't matter how many Reagan's scythe can take out all in one shot. If they crowd around her, or corner her, the range of her weapon will be virtually useless." Glenn took a deep breath and ran his hand through his thin black hair. Rick then caught Glenn's attention again as he pointed back from where they came, "You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there. Pop 'em through the fence! Daryl, go back to the other tower!" Rick then turned to Hershel and Carol standing next to him as he began to formulate a plan, "Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time... we don't have that much ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl take this tower!"
"Right." Carl nodded and was quick on his feet as he ran towards the guard towers door while Hershel grabbed a rifle from the gun bag.
"I'll run for the gate..." Rick stared at the fence above them and as he heard the snarls of the Walkers around them getting louder, he looked right to left at the numerous crowds. Rick reached down and grabbed his trusty action bolt rifle and slipped the strap over his shoulder. As he turned, he saw Glenn handing him a pair of double snap clips attached to each other by a thick chain.
Reagan heard the loud shouts of the rest of her group slamming their weapons up against the fences. She smiled once she saw Walkers slamming up against the barrier and the others pierce the Walkers faces with their weapons through the welded wire. Her eyes returned to the task at hand as Rick walked up to Reagan and Lori, Reagan's fingers latched onto the gate and ready to pull.
"You sure you wanna go by yourself? I can still cover your ass." Reagan asked one last time and Rick looked to her with his blue eyed gaze,
"You'll do better back here with your rifle. I can tell your arms are already getting tired from swinging that thing around... you're not as conditioned as you used to be." Rick said and Reagan nodded in agreement but inside her mind was boiling with irritation. It wasn't irritation caused by Rick's words, but irritation caused by the fact that Reagan still hadn't recovered completely from the chest wound she so gallantly received over five months prior.
Rick leaned down and prepared his legs for the sprint, and with one last look at Reagan, he nodded to her and Reagan's arms yanked the fence back.
Rick was like a racehorse being released from their gates and he rushed around the overturned bus, his legs pumping back and forth to maximize his speed. Reagan shut the gate quickly behind him and immediately rushed to the gun bag, ripping out her trusty AR-15. She turned just as the rain of gunfire blasted through the air, seeing Walkers in the courtyard falling left and right. Reagan knelt down next to Lori, who had her own little revolver propped in her hand and aiming at the closest Walkers to her. Reagan's ears rang as the Lori's small revolver blasted right next to her, her light brown eyes watching a Walker fall to the ground motionlessly,
"Good shot." Reagan cocked a smile and looked up at Lori, who did not look down at her but smiled to herself at Reagan's words. Reagan then pressed her gun's flank into the pit of her shoulder and slid the barrel through one of the openings of the welded wire fence.
Her red dot sight immediately fell upon a Walker and Reagan quickly steadied the gun quickly, her finger pulling the trigger. The Walker fell with a well-aimed bullet to the back of the head just as she watched Rick pass it in her sights. Reagan then turned to another Walker closing in on Rick without his notice, but as Reagan pulled the trigger, she missed entirely as a crossbow bolt slammed itself into the Walkers skull.
"That asshole..." Reagan growled in her throat and looked up at the tower off to her left briefly, seeing Daryl docking another bolt in the channel of his crossbow quickly. She knew Daryl knew somehow that she had aimed at that particular Walker and he wanted to steal the glory of Rick nodding back at him in thanks for watching his back.
Shots popped off in all directions and blood splattered out of the Walkers heads upon the bullets impacts. The shouting echoes of the guns would most surely draw in more Walkers from the outside, but that was of no one's concern at that time and moment. Back and forth with expert scoping precision, Reagan downed every single Walker in her sights, clearing them out faster with each pull of the trigger. She quickly dropped the empty clip out of her gun and shoved one back in, her eyes noticing that Rick had finally made it and clipped the gate shut. Before returning to her fire, she made sure Rick had gotten into the guard towers safely, and after she slid her barrel back through the wired fence, she heard Daryl shout from his tower.
"Light it up!" His raspy voice echoed and without having anymore hesitation or concerns of hitting Rick, all the guns that were out sent out a massive shower of bullets upon the prison yard.
Rick had finally made it to the top of the guard tower and ripped the rifle off his back. He rested his foot on one of the rods of the rails and took aim with the bolt action rifle. Through the sharp scope, her began to pick off the Walkers in the courtyard just as his group did, wanting to take the pleasure of mowing down the corpses without any remorse. As he popped off a shot, Rick smiled and shook his head while unloading the gun and reloading it quickly, knowing that finally they could have somewhere safe worth fighting for.
Reagan pulled her AR from the fence just as the echoing sound of Rick's rifle put the last Walker down, a smile crossing her cheeks as she got to her feet. She stared at all the prison Walkers bodies lying on the ground, her body becoming oddly relieved when she knew that this place might be promising.
"We did it..." She heard Lori breath tiredly beside her and Reagan smiled over at her,
"Unbelievable, huh?" Reagan laughed under her breath and the two women turned upon hearing the guard tower doors fly open.
"Fantastic!" Carol laughed as she and Daryl came rushing around from behind the guard tower.
"Nice shootin'." Daryl said to everyone as they crowded around, staring out at the guard tower that Rick has disappeared into.
"You okay?" Carol asked as she passed Lori once Reagan opened the gate to let everyone in,
"Haven't felt this good in weeks..." Lori rubbed her stomach unconsciously and the group entered the cleaned out prison yard, their eyes moving over every inch of the open space.
"We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" Carol laughed cheerfully as she jogged about the grass fields, carefully avoiding the bodies of the Walkers scattered about.
"Didn't think somethin' like this was out here." Daryl looked around the courtyard and his eyes soon fell upon the prison standing tall behind the fences that Rick had just mended.
"I think the last thing we all expected to find out here was a damn prison." Reagan continued to hold an amused smile at what she had just taken part in. A loud shout of happiness sounded behind the two knights as they both stopped and turned halfway to see T-Dog with his fists raised in the air in triumph.
.:o:.
Darkness was soon upon them after the group settled in the prison yard, all their bags and belongings set out around in a circle. Their vehicles sat behind the overturned bus from when they had driven in more safely after the Walker massacre. A low, but warm fire flickered in the middle of the group's encirclement and a thick wire case of an old fan sat in the middle where their food had been cooked. The survivors ate the wild animal humbly, and for an odd reason, it tasted better than all the other wildlife that Daryl had killed before. They all had a chance to stretch out and lounge on their pillows and blankets, finally managing to relax for who knows how long.
Reagan sat on her padded blanket, her hand running a grinding stone over the blade of her scythe. The grinding stone scraped against the blade with a few loud crackles, Reagan making sure she wasn't annoying anyone next to her. A cool breeze fluttered over her hair and a few strands of her long blonde locks bounced out from behind her back and rested on her shoulder.
"Mmm... just like mom used to make." Glenn stared at a thin bone in his hand and reached his arm back, tossing it as hard as he could out into the jungle of thick grass.
"Tomorrow we'll pull the bodies together." T-Dog's deep voice was next to speak amongst his group, "We wanna keep 'em away from that water. Now, if we build a canal under that fence we'll have plenty of fresh water."
"This soil is good..." Hershel observed the dirt he had picked up in his hand and sprinkled it lightly back into his palm, "We can plant some seed. Grow some tomatoes, cucumbers... soy beans." Hershel then dropped the soil back to its home on the ground and straightened his old spine, staring out at the prison above them. But he wasn't staring at the prison itself, but that of Rick continuing to walk back and forth in making sure that the perimeter would not be breached.
"That's his third time around..." Hershel pointed with a bit of concern in his voice, "If there was any part of it that were compromised, he would've found it by now."
"What'd you expect of him?" Reagan said without looking up to everyone and only keeping her eyes on grinding out the blood stains on her scythe. She could feel all eyes on her, "After all that we've been through in the past months, all the close calls that almost killed us all, I don't blame him." Finally, her eyes reached up to everyone else's and they flickered in the soft firelight, "Just let him do his thing..."
There was silence amongst them all and it was broken when Reagan's grinding stone slid back against the steel of the old scythe. Her eyes briefly moved up to Rick's position on the fence line, her hand stopping as she looked back down onto the blade. She sighed and tossed the weapon aside, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. Her gaze turned to her right towards the overturned bus in front of the fence, seeing Daryl moving back and forth across the long vehicle, his keen eyes keeping watch over the group.
"This will be a good place to have the baby..." Reagan heard Beth's cute voice direct towards Lori and Reagan was soon brought back to the encirclement, "Safe." Beth said lastly and Lori smiled at the young girl,
"I'll do a check up on you tomorrow." Reagan pulled Lori's attention to her, "You're gettin' pretty big... it's only a matter of time before that sucker pops out."
"Hey Reagan, there's only a bit of food left, aren't you going to eat?" Glenn asked from her side and she shook her head while looking at the bowl of food being offered to her.
"No thanks... I'd rather go hungry than eat another damn possum again. Sorry for my picky eating." She apologized with a smile and silently glared over at Daryl from atop the bus, noticing that there was now tow people standing on in.
'Ignorant woman.' Reagan thought to herself as she looked into the fire knowing that it was Carol on the bus. Reagan didn't like her much, and never did since they met, mainly because she was a woman who didn't know how to defend herself.
"Bethy..." Hershel's southern voice managed to bring Reagan's mind back to reality, "Sing Patty Riley for me... I haven't heard that I think... since your mother was alive."
"Daddy, not that one, please?" Maggie shook her head with a bit of sadness. Hershel tilted his head,
"How about... Partin' Glass?" He asked thoughtfully while looking over at his youngest daughter, Beth meekly shaking her head softly,
"No one wants to hear."
"Why not?" Glenn asked and Beth looked over at him in silence for a few moments to deliberate. Finally, she let out a small sigh and nodded,
"Okay..." Beth's eyes darted back and forth from everyone staring at her, her hand rubbing her pant leg nervously.
Reagan stared thoughtfully at Beth as her beautiful, silky voice flowed like a river amongst everyone that listened. It reminded Reagan of the times she had to sing lullaby's to her dearly departed son, but over time, her singing voice had lost its touch. But Beth's singing brought a new sense of relief, a new sense of hope to everyone that Reagan could see a new, fresh look in everyone's eyes. And like a contagion, Maggie joined in with her sisters singing in the last verse, Beth smiling when she heard Maggie's help.
Reagan could hear footsteps from over Beth's singing and looked over her shoulder, seeing Carol and Daryl approaching. Over the other side of the group, Rick emerged into the firelight from the darkness, staring at the fire as he knelt down in between Carl and Lori. Carl handed him a bowl of food and Rick took it from his sons hand, staring at it heartily, but ultimately passed it along to Lori. Lori shook her head, saying she already had some, but Rick was stern and didn't back down from offering her the food. Lori sighed in defeat and took the bowl, plucking the food out of it and eating it to fuel both hers and the baby's survival.
"Beautiful..." Hershel exclaimed with a smile under the thicket of his white whiskers after his two daughters finished their singing.
"We better all turn in." Rick's voice drew everyone's attentions to him and he nodded towards the corner of the fence line, "I'll take watch over there. We got a big day tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" Glenn asked off to the side and Rick fumbled with his fingers for a moment before speaking,
"Look, I know we're all exhausted..." His eyes moved back and forth from each face of his group, "This was a great win. But we gotta push just a little bit more... most of the Walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early, could means the supplies may be intact. They have an infirmary... commensary-"
"Armory?" Daryl's' gruff voice asked with curiosity and Rick nodded at him,
"That'll be outside the prison itself but not too far away. The warden's offices would have info on the location." Rick looked back to everyone around the fire to further their motivation, "Weapons, food, medicine... this place could be a gold mine!"
"We're dangerously low on ammo..." Hershel voiced with the shake of his head in a bit of skepticism, "We'll run out before we can make a dent."
"That's why we're gonna have to go in there... hand to hand." Reagan pressed herself to one knee and glanced over at Rick, "Isn't that right?"
"Yes." Rick nodded in agreement and continued his plans as he stared at the weary, tired faces of his counterparts, "After all we've been through... we can handle it. I know it." Rick fell into a brief silence as his hand bounced on his knee, his eyes moving down to Carl, "These assholes don't stand a chance."
With that being said, Rick rose to his feet and began his trek to where he would stand watch for the night. Reagan also stood to her feet, reaching down and shouldering the strap of her rifle, "It's my turn to take watch on the south side... I post up on the bus." She grabbed her blanket and scythe from the ground, giving a reassuring nod to everyone as they stared at her in silence.
She could see the anguish on all their faces as she stepped away from them, noticing that Lori had also stood to her feet and pursued after her estranged husband. Reagan's head whipped around in front of her and her rifle's stock bounced annoyingly against her back with each step she took. The bus slowly came into arms reached and she went around the back of it, staring at the ten foot steel underside of the bus in which she would have to climb. She tossed her scythe up to the top, hearing it slam down on the side of the bus loudly to signal that it was safe atop. Taking a dirty under-pipe with one hand, her feet jumped onto another and slowly, she crawled her way up to the top of the bus.
Her rump met with the coldness of the buses steel and she let out a sigh, tossing the blankets over her shoulders and tightening it around her chest. Her AR lied quietly on her lap and her gold eyes stared out into the darkness that consumed the forest line behind the fences. She could see black, shadowy figures of Walkers moving about the thickets of grass behind the strong fences of the perimeters. Her eyes kept a close eye on them tiredly as her mind imagined how exactly the next day would pan out for them.