Carl didn't even allow himself the time to think—he just ran. He pulled his gun from the holster on his leg and shot down a couple walkers whose attention had been drawn to Daryl's cell after the one walked into it. Of course after firing his gun, he drew all of their attention to himself. He managed to slip past most of them, shoving their grabbing hands off of him until he reached Daryl's cell. He shot a walker that tried to squeeze in with him as he pulled the barred door shut with a click locking him in.

Carl prayed Daryl had been awake and he was thankful when he turned to see that he was. Daryl seemed to have just barely got a hold of the walker that was trying to attack him, using the sheet to keep it from tearing into his flesh as Daryl had it wrapped around the walker's head. Carl took aim and shot it in the head as its body dropped completely onto Daryl at that point. With the added weight of the walker, Daryl collapsed back down onto the bed from his half laying, half sitting position.

"Daryl—" Carl pulled the lifeless body off of him, the weight crashing to the floor. There was a bit of blood splatter from the shot Carl took but other than that, Daryl seemed unscathed.

Daryl wiped the dark blood off his face and cringed. He caught his breath before looking over at Carl. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know—they're getting in somehow." Carl glanced back toward the bars. The walkers were all lined up and pressed against them, their arms reaching in toward them. "I pulled the door shut so we're locked in here… Are you okay?"

"Define okay…" Daryl mumbled. He slowly sat up and braced himself on either side before turning his attention to his right shoulder and wiping at it.

"You weren't bit, were you?" Carl stepped forward to get a better look at his shoulder for himself. It looked a little red.

"No, used the sheet. Kept him from biting directly." Daryl sighed, "Had that call been any closer, I'd have been walker bait… Thanks, kid."

"Don't mention it." Carl slid his gun back into the holster and crossed his arms. "I'm sure the others heard the gunshots. They'll be here shortly. No point in wasting the bullets and creating more noise than necessary."

Carl had been so focused on staring at the walkers just on the other side of the bars that he didn't realize Daryl had gotten up. He caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye before he noticed Daryl was getting dressed.

"Hey—should you even be up?"

Daryl scoffed. "I ain't just gonna hang 'round in my underwear waitin' for the entourage. Need ta get up and movin' eventually." He sat back down on the edge of the bed to slip his pants back on followed by his shirt. He grabbed the top bunk to get back on his feet and finish pulling his pants up the rest of the way before buttoning them.

Carl could only smirk. Even though Daryl still wasn't back to his normal self with the sickness and all, he was pretty damn close.


Rick had brought the Hyundai to a halt about half a mile away from the gates of Woodbury. After some discussion, it was decided best to leave a little space between the vehicle and abandoned town in case the noise had drawn in more walkers or anyone else's attention. The last thing they needed was to be swarmed by a herd. Just going to Woodbury was bad enough.

They had to dispatch a few stragglers along the way but it was easily manageable. Though when the gate to Woodbury came into view, Rick swore he felt his stomach drop. The gate was no longer standing operational—it looked as if someone had plowed right through it.

Glenn and Michonne visibly tensed up beside him, Karen at a loss for words. That's when they all noticed the smoke lingering through the air from a fire that had smoldered out. Someone had returned to Woodbury and someone had tried to burn it to the ground. It almost gave Rick that eerie feeling that the Governor was closer than he thought.

"Maybe we should go back. We don't know what's in there," Karen tried.

"The damage looks like it's already been done. I don't think we're going to have any surprise guests waiting for us. The fire's already out," Glenn observed.

"This was our one shot…" Rick muttered, running a hand through his hair and sighing. What were they supposed to do now? They couldn't just turn back and return to the prison empty handed. Daryl's life counted on it.

"There might still be a chance. Not everything was burned. I say it's worth a shot." Michonne turned to Karen, "Where did he keep all the medical supplies? That building might be standing."


C Block fell quiet at the sound of the first gunshot. When three more rang out after the first, everyone rushed into hiding who was unable to wield a weapon. Those that were capable had grabbed up their guns and knives ready for an attack.

Beth hurried into Rick's cell where all of Judith's things were kept, the baby hugged to her chest. The rest of the group formed a small huddle of the sorts.

"Those gunshots sounded like they came from D Block," Hershel voiced his opinion. "Daryl doesn't have anything but his knife and crossbow."

Tyreese immediately stepped up. "I'll go check it out."

"I'll go with you," Maggie volunteered. "Carol, you should probably run out and check the guard tower. You have your gun?"

Carol nodded. "Always."

"Then it's settled. Everybody get back in here as soon as possible. I'll try to manage everyone in here in the meantime." Hershel declared just before they split up. Carol headed outside to collect whoever was on watch from the guard tower while Maggie and Tyreese pushed on to D Block. Tyreese had his hammer while Maggie carried her machete in the holster dangling from her belt. She also had her gun if things got too hairy.

The pair approached the door to the cellblock and took a deep breath, unsure of what they were about to face. Tyreese pulled the door open and led the way, hammer raised, but froze soon after once he saw what had been the cause of a few gunshots.

"Oh God—Daryl!" Maggie ran toward the cluster of walkers swarming the cell door with Tyreese in tow.

"He's okay!" Carl's voice rang out just as the pair began to take down the walkers. That was when Maggie noticed Carl was inside the cell with Daryl, both of them unharmed, and the door pulled shut. Carl must have come to the rescue in the nick of time.

Tyreese took care of the last two walkers bashing their heads in with his weapon of choice before he walked back toward the cell. He noticed the dead walker on the ground inside the cell with them before turning his gaze to the boy."You two alright?"

Carl nodded, answering for them. "Close call but we're okay."

Tyreese grabbed the keys from off his belt to unlock the door. Rick had handed them over before he left with the others to return to Woodbury.

"How did walkers get in here in the first place?" Maggie questioned. She looked Carl over through narrowed eyes. She almost had a feeling this had something to do with him considering he was up to no good earlier.

"No clue. I just came in here and saw them." Carl seemed to narrow his eyes back at Maggie.

"I'll go see what the problem is. They have to be coming in from somewhere down there, right?" Tyreese glanced down at the opposite side of the cellblock.

"Just be careful. And don't try and be a hero. If it's too much, get back here," Maggie reminded him. Tyreese nodded before he took off out of sight. She turned back to Daryl and seeing that he was okay, she sighed in relief. Maybe Carl was telling the truth. How would he have been able to lure that many walkers into the cellblock by himself without somehow alerting someone first? She was just thankful he made it to Daryl on time.

A few minutes passed and Tyreese still hadn't returned. Maggie was beginning to get antsy. "Carl, stay here with Daryl. I'm gonna go see what's taking Tyreese so long."

"You ain't goin' alone," Daryl protested. He was fully dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, his stare locked onto Maggie.

"Well, you're not coming with me. You need to stay here. Don't make me lock you in there," Maggie threatened. She received a glare from Daryl at those words.

"He's been cooped up all this time. We'll keep an eye on him," Carl insisted. He exchanged glances with Daryl and Daryl gave him a little nod.

Maggie bit her tongue. She really didn't want Daryl up and about in his condition but Carl had a point. Daryl would go crazy if he was confined to that cell any longer, especially with everyone going to investigate the walker situation without him.

"Fine, but stay close."