A/N: My apologies for the wait. I have everything planned out for this fic, I swear. I just haven't been in the mood to write it I guess.
Daryl was already well aware that getting up and walking probably wasn't his best choice. He felt groggy and weak, his back still hurt, but he was sick of well, being sick. He was sick of doing nothing but lying around. And now that there were walkers coming in from somewhere… Truthfully, he didn't want to be alone. But he didn't want to be locked in that jail cell either.
The trio stayed close together, everyone armed. Daryl only had his knife and with the way he was feeling, he highly doubted he'd even be able to take out a single walker if it came down to it. But it looked like that wouldn't be a problem though as they rounded the corner. Tyreese must have dispatched a few more walkers before exiting through the door that was still left open a crack, daylight filtering through.
"Tyreese?" Carl called out to the man as he approached the door, gun raised. He glanced back at Daryl and Maggie, Daryl providing him with a nod. The kid slowly pushed the heavy door open and stepped outside with caution.
Daryl followed behind Maggie but mostly found himself staying in the doorway. Tyreese had immediately caught their eyes, the man sitting on the ground with his back propped up against the wall just outside the door. He was clearly distraught, holding his head. Maggie stooped down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. And that's when Daryl noticed what must have stopped Tyreese in his tracks.
"They must have been playing, ran through this door to go outside and met their death. Never had the chance to close the door back up…" Tyreese muttered. "They didn't know any better."
Daryl tore his stare from the two children of Woodbury who had been ripped apart by walkers. They were completely unrecognizable by this point and the sight had a wave of nausea hitting Daryl. He tried to shake it off as he gripped onto the doorframe, Carl quickly making sure to support him.
"What do we do?"
Karen had led the way toward the building that Michonne had spoke of in hopes for any medical supplies they could possibly salvage. Rick wasn't about to completely give up all hope. Not everything had been burned down. And when Karen announced that it was still standing, a wave of relief washed over the man.
The four entered into the building right off the bat and were surprised to see that it had practically been unscathed. Rick started grabbing a little bit of everything he could get his hands on: a few prescription bottles, different medications, bandages, gauze, sterile equipment, and what was necessary to run a few IVs.
"I'm gonna step outside and keep an eye out. Looks like you three have everything under control," Michonne stated. Rick only nodded in gratitude at the woman's intelligence. He had been so flustered in finding this stuff that he had completely forgotten just what they could be dealing with. And with that, Michonne stepped outside.
"I can't believe he didn't come back for all of this. This is practically a goldmine—assuming he was the one who burnt this place down," Glenn suggested.
"He may not have been," Rick replied. "But Michonne's right. We need to keep an eye out. Probably best we get out of here as soon as possible."
Karen grabbed the backpack they had brought with them from the prison in which they could toss all of the supplies into. They wasted no time in doing so, collecting the scattered remains of anything that could prove to be useful. With the way things had been scattered about, it left Rick wondering if someone truly had hit this small building before them.
They had just crammed the backpack full, barely getting the zipper to shut before Michonne poked her head back in.
"We need to start moving," Michonne started. She must have caught the horror on their faces because she added, "Walkers. They're starting to make their way over. Last thing we need is to get boxed in."
Rick nodded as Glenn grabbed the bag and threw it over his shoulder. They each prepared themselves as they exited the building with their weapons in hand. There were quite a few walkers now roaming the abandoned streets of Woodbury but only a few had noticed them and gotten pretty close.
Michonne took care of a couple of them that had gotten in their way, maneuvering her katana with ease as she decapitated one and stabbed the other straight through its skull. The rest they had ignored and just kept moving for the Hyundai.
Carl kept a hold of Daryl by his arm as he felt the hunter shift. He had most of his weight supported by the doorframe and Carl was starting to feel a bit uneasy—with the new discovery and Daryl's lack of strength. He didn't want to insult him by keeping a hold of him but Daryl hadn't made a fuss about it.
"Maybe I should have stayed back…" Daryl mumbled.
"You need to stop being so damn stubborn." Maggie shifted her stare towards him and almost as soon as she did, Daryl seemed to slip into unconsciousness again, his body starting to fall forward. Carl had tried his best to keep him upright but Maggie's assistance was what ultimately stopped him from hitting the ground.
Carl exchanged glances with Maggie before they each looked down at Tyreese. They had just received their confirmation that Daryl was indeed in no shape to be up and moving and Tyreese had yet to move since they found him.
Carl cautiously glanced back toward what was left of the two children, wondering how they even made it over here in the first place. His first thought was that whoever their parents were, they were careless. But then it occurred to him that those kids may not even have their parents anymore. But that didn't explain the ignorance of their actions, running outside without being armed or letting someone know. Perhaps Carl had just grown up a lot more than the other kids that were still standing.
"How about you come back in with us for a moment? We can figure out what to do and how to go about all of this," Maggie offered Tyreese.
Tyreese looked back up at what was left of the children before tearing his stare away and nodding. He got back to his feet and upon noticing that Daryl was unconscious, he grabbed hold of him and fully supported his weight while Maggie and Carl led the way back into D Block. They made sure to close the door back up on their way back.
Carl and Maggie stayed just outside of the cell as Tyreese got Daryl situated back on the bed.
"I better go check back in with C to let them know—" Maggie stopped abruptly. "…To let them know we're okay. When we heard the gunshots, we feared the worst."
Carl realized then that she was mostly talking to him seeing as Tyreese had been with her when the gunshots had occurred. He also realized she was trying to be careful with what she said and how she said it, neither of them too sure how Tyreese was taking the death of the two children. Carl had almost felt numb to it all and he assumed Maggie was just about the same.
Maggie left to return to C Block while Carl stayed put with Tyreese and Daryl. He wasn't sure if there was anything he could say, or should say, so he stayed quiet. He briefly wondered how things were going in Woodbury with his dad and the others.
"I guess we could get the walkers piled up," Carl suggested. He figured it would keep them busy. Tyreese only nodded, remaining silent.
The two pulled the single walker out of Daryl's cell and started working on a pile a little further down, dragging the bodies toward where they had started coming into the cellblock. They were down to the last two before Tyreese spoke up.
"I had a daughter before all of this…" he began. "I can't imagine how this is going to work out. These people came here looking for a safe place and now this… There's gonna be an uproar. I just hope the others make it back soon—for our sake and Daryl's."
