Note: Studying is finished so now I get to spend more time writing...I've had a shitty day so you get 2 chapters...Enjoy! (p.s. I'm not good at writing an accent like Daryl's so there isn't much of that, plus it's a bit easier to read when it's not all redneck-y...)
"No shit, Sherlock," I retorted as Glenn hurried over to see if there was anything we could use on Hershel.
"AJ," Dix warned.
"Whatever. We need to get him back where we can finish this up. The lighter in my pocket isn't big enough to heat up a blade to cauterize the wound. I have a small hand held blow torch in my backpack."
I reapplied the shirts and used the sleeves on Rick's shirt to tie it around his knee in place. Since the belt was wrapped and secure, I tucked the end in under the double wrap of the belt. It should hold until we got back.
"T-Dog, help Glenn with Hershel. Daryl, AJ take point and I'll bring up the rear."
I stood up to grab my Bowie and machete, glad that I left my bow back at the cell block. Hershel was quickly lifted from the bloody ground. Dix moved over and helped me move the things from the door. I raised my machete and was ready to attack once the door was open.
"Wait. We want to help. We can help clear the way. The five of us have been stuck here for months," one guy with long straggly reddish hair said.
Rick shared a look with Dix and agreed. The prisoners came out and took up positions. While standing around a group of guys in my bra would normally have not been a big deal, the fact most of these men had been locked up and sex deprived was kinda creeping me out. Dix shifted so he was closer to me and that one of the prisoners would be the one to open the door.
"Go and aim for the head."
The door opened and we rushed through. It didn't take much time to clear the hallway immediately in front of us. One of the inmates went completely off the handle and was beating the walker but not killing it. I rolled my eyes and slammed my machete down into its head. He glared at me with a twisted smile before moving on. We hurried to our cell block following the arrows on the wall. Dix unlocked the door to the large open area and with Rick's command, T-Dog and Glenn hurried through with Hershel. Carl was quick and opened the door to the cell block with the set of keys that he had.
"Oh, Daddy," Maggie cried as she saw Hershel.
Now that Hershel was safe, Rick, Dix and I turned to face the prisoners.
"You can stay in here tonight and we'll clear another cell block for you tomorrow."
"Come on, man. I was housed in that cell block for nearly 6years. You ain't keeping me from my own bed," one prisoner said stepping closer to the entrance of the cell block.
Since I was near, I swiftly brought my machete up to his neck.
"Make any kind of move towards that door and I will slice through your neck. You've gotten a free show from me with not having a shirt on but that I don't care about. You will stay in here until we clear a cell block or you can die. I don't give a fuck. It's your choice," I threatened.
The man stepped back and I lowered my weapon. I walked passed him and nearly cleared the group of inmates when I found one standing in my way. It was the man who smiled at me. Dix was quick to raise his bow but all the man did was leer. He moved to the side and as I walked away, I felt his hand on my ass.
"I wouldn't sleep if I were you," he said.
I swung and brought my machete down onto his neck. The bolt that slammed into his head was also a nice touch.
"Would anyone else like to threaten me or my group because like I said, I don't give a fuck about what happens to you?"
The rest of the inmates backed up and the three of us went into the cell block. Carl locked the door while Rick hurried to Hershel's side. Dix followed me to my cell and I dug out another shirt from my backpack. Absentmindedly, I rubbed at my side as I tried to look for the hand torch.
"AJ."
"I'm fine, Dix. He's not the first I've killed."
"Maybe not but he was human."
"His humanity left a long time ago," I replied as I walked past him with the torch.
Between Lori and Carol, Hershel was in good hands. I checked on the inmates through the door and then paced to the end of the cell block. Rather than heading back, I took the stairs and paced up top. The cells that the others were sleeping in were becoming homey and didn't seem so bleak. After my fifth or sixth lap in front of the cells, I dropped down and hung my legs over the edge. I leaned up and rested my arms on the lower bar of the railing swinging my legs back and forth.
"AJ, are you alright?" T-Dog asked.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm just in the need of something to do. I can't just stand around and not do something. When I was with my group, we were constantly moving. The only time we didn't was during the winter and we had holed ourselves up in this large mansion. It had been ransacked and shit but it gave us shelter and actual beds to sleep in for once. I kept busy there by running around the house or mock-fighting with the guys."
"Have you always been like this?"
"Doctors diagnosed me with small case of ADHD when I was in grade school. Unfortunately I've been without meds for months. I still check every pharmacy in case there's something but most often the meds were swiped for a quick fix. Is there another way out of the cell block than going by the inmates?"
"There's a back way that goes down a hallway before it leads outside."
"Awesome. I'm going to go outside and do something. Can you let me out please?" I asked, hopping up and bouncing on my toes.
T-Dog got the keys and came with me. We made sure we had weapons just in case we found some walkers. The sun hit my face and I was thrilled. I spread my arms and twirled for a few minutes before jogging around a bit. The entire time, the muscular black man watched me.
"You should do something with the bodies. If we dragged them down to a corner somewhere and burn them, they'd be out of your way. Tidy the entire area so when you come out here, you won't immediately think of the undead and surviving. It'll be like going to a park when you were a kid because of the open space and the picnic tables. Oooo, a picnic sounds great. I wonder if those inmates had access to food. Of course, they'd need food because they survived. You should split up what's left. I won't take much when I leave. I'll make sure that Hershel is alright before I go though. He's an old tough son of a bitch."
"Ya rambling, AJ."
I turned around and saw Dix leaning against the door frame.
"It'll stop by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. These pouts of hyperactivity don't usually last long but the last time I was off meds was with Travis. I wasn't going to take the risk of the meds hurting him so my doctor said I could come off of them but if things got bad, then I would have to go back on them.
"So do you think we should burn them? Dig a pit, toss them inside, and fwoosh, light the fuckers up? I'm sure they have shovels somewhere in the prison. We could find a spot near the fence to antagonize the other walkers and let them watch the pile burn. Probably shouldn't do it in that small field because it looks to be good planting soil. Maybe if you do a run into the nearest town or something, you might find some seeds that you could plant. Hmm, I'm going to run through and see if there are any places that we need to close up or something."
I caught the look that T-Dog gave Dix but chose to ignore it. I weaved through the courtyard and other open areas. I hit a few snags where the gates were closed but I peered through the fence and tried to spot any areas that needed to be closed. There was an area that looked as if the building blew up but it couldn't be accessed from the outside. We'd have to check it out by going through the building. Taking my time to work my way back, I thought about what had happened the last couple of days. I was thinking of Dix when something stumbled out of an open door.
"Awesome. Come here. Come on. That's a good walker," I chanted as he staggered over.
I swung out with my foot and caught him in the side of the knee. He collapsed but still tried to grab at me. I kicked him in the chest until he was flat on the ground and plunged my Bowie through his forehead. What little hair he had left was now splattered in his blood as I pulled my knife free.
"Wonder if there's more of you in there. Probably but I'm not dumb enough to go in there alone. Now if Dix was here, we could go patrolling and get some wall action in. Hmm, wonder how long Dix has been with the group since he seems like Rick's second in command. Wonder if Dix was with Merle when this went down and if he was, then what happened to Merle? Didn't quite hate the man but also didn't get all goo-y inside either."
