The next day we used Hershel's truck and the truck we used to carry Daryl's bike all winter to moved the bus away from the entrance.
"Okay, let's get the other car in. We'll park 'em in the west entry of the yard." Rick said.
"Good. Our vehicles camped out there look like a giant vacancy sign." Daryl commented.
"After that we need to load up these corpses so we can burn 'em." Rick finished.
"Gonna be a long day."
"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use their help." Carol asked.
"Up in the guard tower." Daryl answered.
"Guard tower? They were just up there last night." Rick said.
"Glenn! Maggie!"
We saw Glenn pop up and he walked out onto the platform, shirtless, as he zipped nad buttoned his pants.
"Hey, what's up, guys?" Glenn asked.
We laughed, "You comin'?"
"What?" Glenn asked and we laughed harder.
"You comin'?" Daryl repeated.
Glenn looked confused and looked at Maggie.
"Come on, we could use a hand." Daryl said.
"Yeah, we'll be right down." Glenn replied.
"They're like rabbits." I laughed.
"Hey, Rick." T-Dog said.
We turned around and saw the two remaining prisoners walking in the courtyard.
"Stay here." Daryl told me and I stayed with Carol as they walked to them.
Eventually, they brought the two prisoners to the entrance of the gate and locked them out.
"Are you serious?" Rick asked T-Dog, "You want them living in the cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons. You want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?"
"I never stopped." T-Dog answered. "Bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves."
"I don't know. Axel seems unstable." Glenn said.
"After all we've been through? We fought so hard for all of this, what if they decide to take it?" Carol asked.
"I have a five year old in there. I don't feel comfortable with them around Jamie." I said.
"It's just been us for so long. They're strangers. It feels weird all of the sudden to have these other people around." Maggie said.
"You brought us in." T-Dog replied.
"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot boy in your arms. Didn't give us a choice." Maggie responded.
"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn said.
"They're convicts, bottom line."
"Those two actually might have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog told Rick.
"I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with them. They're degenerates, but thy ain't psychos. I could have been in there with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys." Daryl said.
"So are you with me?" T-Dog asked.
"Hell no. Let 'em take your chances out on the road just like we did."
"What I'm saying, Daryl-" T-Dog started.
"When I was a rookie I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. The kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial, suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence and then, two weeks later, shot another girl. We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." Rick said.
After that, we got to moving the walker bodies into one big pile in the middle of the field.
"Move the cars to the upper yard." Rick told us when we were done, "Point 'em facing out. They'll be out of the way but ready to go if we need to bail."
I ran over to the silver truck and got in before driving it into the courtyard. Once I parked it, I went with Glenn, Rick, and Daryl to get fire wood.
"Should I take her out?" Glenn asked when we got outside the fence, pointing his gun at a walker.
"No. If that armoury hadn't been picked clean, we could spare the ammo." Rick answered.
"I'll start makin' runs. The sooner the better." Daryl said.
"We'll throw as much wood as we can in the dog run." Rick said.
"Won't the fire attract more walkers?" I asked.
"Yeah, maybe we should bury them." Glenn agreed.
"We're behind a fence. It's worth the one time risk to get rid of the bodies for good." Rick told us. "I don't want to be planting crops in walker-rotted soil."
We grabbed a bunch of fire wood and went through the hole in the fence, "Looky here."
"He is one tough son of a bitch." Glenn said when we saw Hershel walking with crutches.
We threw our wood to the ground to watch.
"All right, Hershel!" Glenn yelled.
"Shh. Keep your cheers down." Daryl said, pointing to the walkers on the other side of the fence.
"Oh man, can't we just have one good day?"
With Hershel was Lori, Carl, Beth, and Jamie. Rick and Lori were looking at each other and I smiled, maybe they can get back to normal with their marriage. Anyone could see the tension between the two, and Rick wouldn't even look at her. Then I saw something move behind them.
"Walkers!" I screamed before I started running towards the entrance to the field.
"Get out of there! Now!" Rick yelled as we ran.
"The lock! Hurry up!" Rick yelled when we got to the door.
Glenn threw the keys at Daryl and he threw them to me, and I threw them to Rick. As Rick undid the lock, I saw Carl, Maggie, and Lori run into the cell block, and Jamie was with Hershel and Beth.
"Out of my way." Rick told the prisoners as we came to the second entrance.
"Come on, come on!" Daryl yelled.
Once Rick got it open we sprinted towards the courtyard. We got the gate open and we started shooting the walkers.
"Mommy!" Jamie yelled.
"What the hell happened?" Rick asked.
"The gate was open!" Beth answered,
"Where's Lori, Carl, everyone else?" Rick asked.
"Maggie, Carl, and Lori went into C block." I told Rick before killing another walker.
"And T was bit." Beth said.
"Anyone else?" Rick asked.
"I couldn't tell." She replied.
"Stay put." Rick ordered.
"Those chains didn't break on their own." Glenn told us. "Someone took an axe or cutters to 'em."
Rick looked back at Axel and Oscar who were walking into the courtyard.
"You think they did it?" I asked.
"Who else?" Rick responded before alarms went off.
"What's that?" Glenn asked. "Oh, you got to be kidding me!"
The blaring of the alarms were drawing the walkers from outside the prison to the outer fences.
Rick, Glenn and I used out guns and shot the speakers before Rick ran to the prisoners, "How the hell can this be happening!?"
Oscar held up his hands, "It has to be the backup generators."
"Well, how do you turn those one?" Rick questioned.
"There's three that's connected to the diesel tank, okay? Each one controls a certain part of the prison. The hacks shut 'em all off when the prison was overrun." Oscar answered.
"Can someone open up those main gates electronically with full power?"
"I only worked in there a few days." Oscar replied. "I guess it might be possible."
"Come with us!" Rick said.
We ran into our cell block and it had walkers. We ran around, killing them.
"We just took out five of 'em in there." Daryl told Rick as we walked over to him.
"There were four of them in here, but no sign of Lori or any of them." Rick said.
"They must have been pushed back into the prison." I said.
"Somebody is playing games!" Rick yelled. "We'll split up and look for the others. Whoever gets to the generators first, she 'em down!"
Rick, Daryl, Oscar and I ran through the tombs and we finally came across the generator room.
"Daryl, get the door!" Rick yelled.
Oscar and Daryl kept the walkers from the door and Rick and I looked around the room for the generator.
"How do you shut these down?" Rick asked.
"Go help 'em. I got it." Daryl told Oscar and he ran over to us.
"Right here." Oscar told us and we unscrewed the generator.
"Ah!" I turned around and was face to face with a small man in a prison jumpsuit with a hatchet.
He knocked me and Oscar to the ground and went after Rick. I quickly stood up and Rick was pinned to a cabinet. I felt my pants for my gun, but it wasn't there. I looked around and found it on the ground. So I did the next best thing, I kicked the guy behind his knee and he buckled a little. Rick was able to then push him away and into another set of cabinets, but the man elbowed him away. Rick took out his gun and he kicked it away. I punched the guy and he punched back and I fell to the ground again. Rick tried to get his gun but the guy tackled him. I heard the moans of walkers and I looked to see the door was open and Daryl was taking down the things before closing the door again.
The guy got up again and was gonna go for me with his hatchet, but Oscar threw an empty fuel barrel at his head before pointing his gun towards Rick and the guy. I crawled away and stood over by Daryl.
"Shoot him! We can take back this prison." The guy said. "What you waiting for? Do it! It's our house! Shoot him!"
Oscar moved his aim and shot the guy in the head. He turned the gun around so the butt of the gun was held towards Rick. Rick took it and nodded at him before turning off the generator.
"You okay?" Daryl asked, his hands on my upper arms.
I nodded, "Fine."
"Let's go." Rick said.
I grabbed my gun from the floor and we left.
We were walking back through the corridors, and stopped when we heard footsteps. We had our weapons ready, and Axel and Glenn walked out. We walked farther and we heard moans and saw two walkers eating from a body. Rick shot them and I realized who it was.
"T-Dog." I whispered.
Daryl bent down and picked up a scarf. Carol's head scarf. Once we found our way out, we ran back into the courtyard.
"Hershel!"
"Mommy!" Jamie ran down the steps and over to me and I picked him up and he cried into my shoulder.
"You didn't find them?" He asked.
"We thought maybe they came back." Glenn said.
"What about T? Carol?" Hershel questioned.
"They didn't make it." Daryl answered.
"That doesn't mean the others didn't." Rick replied. "We're going back. Daryl, Vi, Glenn, you got with-"
Rick was interrupted with the sound of a baby crying. We all looked back at the door into the cell block and saw Carl and Maggie. And Maggie was holding a baby. Where was Lori? Rick walked towards them and dropped his hatchet. Maggie started crying and Rick shook his head.
"Where is she? Where is she?" Rick asked.
Rick walked past her and towards the door, "No... Rick, no!"
Rick stopped and looked at his son before letting out sobs that broke my heart and I cried into Jamie's hair and Daryl came over to hug us.
"No!" Rick cried.
I turned away and watched as Rick collapsed on the ground with grief.