Chapter Twenty-Three

Ingenuity

The news of Glenn waking up circulated throughout the prison like wildfire. Rick exited the infirmary, leaving Anna and Maggie with a now conscious Glenn, and made his way to the cell block his family and friends had made home for themselves. He couldn't shake the smile off his face, knowing that his friend was alive and awake. His condition was still serious, and he required a lot of rest to re-cooperate and gather his strength, but the entire group would understand and pick up his role. As long as the group worked together, they were invincible. Rick knew that that wasn't true: none of them were invincible, and he knew that anything could happen to any of them, but he believed that when they were together whether it be within the prison grounds or in the woods, they worked like a brand new vehicle. Everyone had a role, and together, they worked well. They understood each others strengths and weaknesses, and worked to ensure that those with weaknesses and it was one of their strengths, they supported them. As the group dynamic changed, which it did most of the time, they evolved.

He came to the cell block and opened the door. The sound of chatter filled his ears, and he smiled when he saw that Carl and Sophia were sitting on the ground and on top of blankets. They were deep in conversation, and talking about one of their shared interests: games. The children before him were no longer children, and it scared him to know that their childhood and their innocence had been taken away from them. They would grow up into resentful adults; not resentful towards him, Lori or Carol, but resentful to the world. The world was supposed to be theirs, where they were supposed to go to university, fall in love, exchanged vows with the person they loved, have a family of their own and then grow old. Life for them would forever be changed, and even if the world did somehow restore itself, and humanity began to thrive, it still wouldn't give them the opportunities the adults within the group had. It pained him to know that they would have to run from danger for the rest of their lives, and would eventually turn into one of them. At the end of it all, they didn't get to choose.

At the sound of the door closing behind him, all eyes turned to him. Lori came out of the cell with her hand placed upon her growing bump; Hershel and Beth were sat on the stairs that led to the other cells; T-Dog was sat in his cell cleaning his weapon; and Carol and Daryl were talking near the stairs. They all simultaneously stood up, afraid that Rick's appearance brought bad news. They had all been thinking about life without Glenn, and neither of them were able to. He was such an essential part to the group that life without him scared them. But they knew that as time went on, and days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, that the group dynamic would change. Some would die, some would leave, and others may join the group. The world had changed, and so they had to change with the world.

"He's awake," Rick said, his words bringing comfort and happiness to each individual. He watched as they all hugged amongst each other, knowing that the reason why their smiles were so bright was because each of them shared a special and separate memory with Glenn. Glenn, to them, wasn't just a friend. He was a brother, an uncle, a brother-in-law and a son-in-law. He meant the world to every single person within the group, and his survival meant the world to them.

"How is he?" Lori asked, stepping forward to wrap her arms around Rick. Rick welcomed the hug, and as he wrapped his arms around her, he felt her bump touch his stomach. It made him uneasy, knowing that the paternity of the child was questioned. He wanted nothing more than to be the father of Lori's unborn child, and he knew that he kept his distance regarding the journey that couples go through when they're expecting a child. He should've been excited about the new arrival and addition to the group, but he wasn't. It was horrible to think that his wife, who he had loved for so long and who had given him the greatest gift possible in the shape of their first born, had been with another man. And not just another man but his best friend, Shane. What if Shane was the father of the baby? What if the baby was just a constant reminder of that? Would he accept the baby as his own, knowing that Lori would need him more than ever once the child was born? He wasn't sure.

"He's weak, but he's awake," Rick answered. "I was speaking with Anna in the infirmary when he took a turn for the worst. Thankfully Maggie wasn't there and was getting Anna some food. He was struggling for air, and he was starting to go into shock, and Anna took initiative and quickly injected him... in the heart."

"What?" Lori asked, her eyes narrowing. Rick watched as the group's attention became focused on him even more.

"It was the only way we could ensure that it would get into his system before the inevitable happened," Rick replied.

"She was right to do so," Hershel said. "She's smart. Not many people know to do that."

Rick nodded at the older man. "She didn't want to waste time and look for a vein. He went into shock, which Anna said would be expected due to the new blood being added to his system. And then he opened his eyes."

"What will happen now?" Carl interjected, an unrelenting smile on his face.

"He'll stay in the infirmary for a few weeks or until he's ready to move around," Rick said. "His recovery is going to be slow, and without a hospital, he's going to need us all to help him out. But it looks good. He's awake, and that's all that matters."

"Can we go see him?" Carl and Sophia said in unison.

"Soon," Rick replied. "Let's allow him to wake up properly. He's slightly confused at the moment, but we'll go see him once he's ready."

Rick left the cell block at that moment, leaving the remaining members of the group to excitedly prepare to see Glenn. He walked down the corridor towards the infirmary and came to a stop when he saw Anna sat outside on one of the chairs eating from the bowl of oatmeal. She was eating slowly, oblivious to the fact that she had company.

She was grateful for the portion of oatmeal that Maggie had given her. She hadn't eaten much over the past few weeks, and her stomach, although it had decreased in size over time, no longer had a dull rumble every time there was a moment of silence. She knew that this would be the last proper meal she would have for the next few weeks as she made her way to Washington, and she was savouring every last spoonful of it. Once the last spoonful of it had entered her mouth, she placed the bowl onto the chair beside her, and pulled her backpack up from the floor. She pulled her journal and pen out, and allowed her backpack to fall gracefully onto the floor.

Anna began writing. She needed to write not only for Washington to know what she had gotten up to for the past few months since leaving the CDC, she had to write for herself. She needed to remember things, whether it be how many people she saw that day, what she had eaten, what had happened to her, or any dangers that arose. It had become almost compulsory to write things down, and it had quickly become a comfort to her. She would sit at the end of the day, before the sun disappeared, and she would write about anything she wanted. Usually it was just her rambling on, with the journal becoming a friend to her over the time she had started doing it, but she didn't care if parts of it didn't make sense upon later reading.

"I know you're there," Anna said, finishing up her writing. She had only made a quick note about what had happened with Glenn. She didn't elaborate with the fact that she had used some of the blood she was supposed to take to Washington with her. No one would know. If it meant Glenn's safety and the group's safety, the Washington base didn't need to know.

Rick came out of the shadow. "You're good."

Anna placed the journal and pen back into her backpack. Rick came forward and took a seat on the row of chairs opposite her. "I thought that they should have a moment together. I couldn't take being the third wheel for much longer."

Rick smirked and nodded. "Thank you."

Anna shrugged. "He did it all."

"But if it wasn't for you, being in the woods and finding Sophia and Carl, and taking that chance with Glenn... we would be saying goodbye to all three of them."

Anna redirected her gaze from Rick to her hands, where she was picking the skin from around her thumb. "It's okay."

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Rick asked, seeing all her belongings lined up in front of her.

Anna glanced down at what Rick was motioning towards and kicked herself. She thought she was being discreet. Anna nodded. "I have to get to Washington."

Rick nodded. He wanted to approach the subject of her staying with the group but he knew she would decline the offer. He didn't give out offers to join the group to just anyone. They had to prove themselves to him and the others, and Anna had proved herself to them all. She had brought Glenn back from the brink of death with a possible cure. She was important to the group. She could potentially give the group answers to the questions they all had.

"You can stay," Rick said, cursing himself for asking. "Here. At the prison. We have room for you. You'd be a great asset to this group."

Anna stared at him for a moment. She could see the desperation in his face. Did they need her more than they had originally thought? Did she need them more than she initially thought? It was tempting. The group worked well together, from what Maggie had told her. They were good people, she knew that. She could see that as soon as she got to the prison and saw everyone. They were good people, and the world needed that.

"I have to get to-" Anna began but was cut off.

"Washington," Rick said. "We could help each other."

"Can I think about it?" Anna asked. "It's not a yes, but it's not a no. It's just... I'm not used to being around others."

"That's okay. As long as you think about it," Rick said. "Stay here for a few days, get a decent nights sleep, and see how it goes."

Anna gave him a nod. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Is there any possible way I could freshen up a little?" Anna asked. "You always know you should when you can start to smell yourself."

Rick smirked and released a husky chuckle. "Sure. We have showers just down there," he said, pointing down the corridor. "There's towels already in there."

"Thank you," Anna said, standing up and applying her backpack to her body.

"It's okay," Rick said. "I should warn you though. The water is only warm for five minutes, and then it gets shockingly cold."

Anna smirked and nodded. "Noted."

Rick watched as Anna walked down the corridor towards the showers.

The rest of the day was spent with the group spending time with Glenn. Once Maggie had left the infirmary, and made her way towards the cell block, the group split into twos to visit Glenn. The excitement within the group had reached its peak at being able to see their friend. To them, he looked pale and sickly but compared to how he was, when he was brought back to the prison after the incident, he looked a lot better. For Maggie, it was nice to hear his voice again. She didn't realise just how much his voice calmed her and made her feel better, it was like her comfort blanket.

Anna was sat in the cell block, watching as it was Carl's and Sophia's turn to see Glenn. They had sat with her when she came back from the showers, and they had played a few card games as the rest of the group went to see Glenn. Their visit had been kept last which meant that Glenn, in Maggie's words, could prepare for their excited hugs and squeals of delight. It was nice to see how the children cared about Glenn. To them, he was like a brother to them. They were able to go to him and speak about anything that was worrying them, and Glenn was the mediator, speaking for the children around the adults.

She absentmindedly reached for the back of her head, and thought for a moment. When she had been in the shower, she had found that her scalp had healed which had caused her to panic slightly. She had never known a wound to heal at such an accelerated speed before. Some people healed quicker than others, but she was more of the latter. She bruised like a peach. She thought of the possibilities that could've caused it to happen and maybe Lilly, the woman who had patched her up at Woodbury, had stitched her up to a high standard to the point where the wound had healed. But it was only a few hours ago when Rick had entered the infirmary and asked her about the wound, and she was pretty sure that it looked bad and the wound was still there. The confusion began to set in.

The other thing she could think of, which had been plaguing her mind for an hour or so, was the blood that had been injected into her when she was ill at the CDC, and the same blood that she had given to Glenn just a few hours ago. Would that have any effect on her body, causing her to heal quicker than she had anticipated? And if so, would Glenn experience the same? She knew that she would have to watch out for Glenn's wound, which would mean that she would have to stay with the group for a few more days to keep an eye out on Glenn.

Her attention was brought back to reality when Carl and Sophia re-entered the cell block, bright smiles etched across their faces. They made their way towards her, which caused the majority of the group to watch them with furrowed brows. They came to a stop in front of her.

"Glenn wants to meet you," Sophia said, happily.

"He said he wants to put a face to a name," Carl added.

Anna glanced over at Rick who was stood with Hershel. He nodded, with a soft smile on his face. She stood from the bench and made her way towards the infirmary, aware of the eyes boring into her as she made her exit from the cell block. The walk to the infirmary was a relatively short one, but for Anna, in this moment, it seemed like it was the longest walk of her life. She came to the doors to the infirmary, and took a deep breath. She pushed open the door and was welcomed to Glenn sat up in bed, with a fresh bandage wrapped around his chest and protecting his wound from potential invisible threats in the air.

"Hey," Glenn whispered, his voice hoarse and croaky.

"Hi," Anna responded. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, I'm good," Glenn said. "I've heard a lot about you."

"I've heard a lot about you too," Anna smiled softly.

"The kids speak highly of you," Glenn said. "They said that you took all the walkers down with your bare hands."

"That's a slight exaggeration," Anna chuckled gently.

"I thought it was," Glenn replied, smirking. "You can't beat their imagination. They're good kids, funny as hell."

"I can imagine," Anna said.

"I should thank you," Glenn said, coughing. He winced as he pulled his stitches. "For taking the chance you did. You saw the opportunity and you took it, so thank you. I really mean it."

"No worries," Anna said. "Everyone deserves a second chance, and your time wasn't up."

"Rick mentioned something about you staying here, and that you're thinking about it," Glenn replied. "We could help you get to Washington. For what you've done for us, we'll help you get there."

It was an offer that caused fear to grasp her heart. These people... the people she met the night before would help her in a way unlike anyone had ever helped her. Rick and Glenn had obviously spoken about repaying her, by helping her get to Washington, for what she did. It was a big reward, but it was one that left her on edge, and one she hardly deserved. All it was was she was in the right place at the right time. Unlike what happened with The Governor, she was actually welcomed into the group with the promise that she could help Glenn. She had helped him, and now, they were willing to help her without a second thought.

An uneasy feeling washed over her and she swallowed the bile that rose to her throat. People who got too close to her always got hurt. She was cursed.