The rest of the winter was harsh on everyone. Food became scarce, Daryl spent more and more time hunting, only to come back empty handed. Walkers kept him on his toes, often interfering with his hunting. I worried about Lori often, wondering if the baby was going to be okay. If any of us were going to be okay. We had been reduced to skin and bones, tired faces, and exhausted minds.
It wasn't quite spring yet, but the Georgia heat was bearing down on us that day. I looked around as we walked up to a random house. Rick burst through the door, and immediately, him and T-Dog began taking out the walkers inside. Carl was behind me as we followed them into the house, Carl veering off with Rick, me staying with Daryl. I had my gun raised slightly, knowing it would be safe to pull the trigger. Rick and Daryl had managed to rig silencers on our guns.
We crept quietly along, reaching a door. Daryl looked back at me through the dim house, his face telling me to get ready. I gave him a nod, as he reached for the door. Footsteps on the other side stopped him, and we listened. He raised his crossbow, and I aimed my gun at the door. The footsteps stopped, and the door flew open, Rick standing there.
"Hn." Daryl gave a slight chuckle. Rick looked at us, relieved, then turned to continue through the house. Daryl headed upstairs and I followed, T-Dog right behind me. We crept up the creaky stairs, and separated to check the bedrooms. I stayed near Daryl, as we walked into a room with red walls. A noise caught my attention, and I saw the owl perched on the chair, his large eyes watching us with curiosity.
Daryl's crossbow's quiet thwip made me jump, and the owl fell over. Trying not to think about how hungry I was, I watched as he picked up the dead animal and began plucking it's feathers as we made our way back downstairs. Rick's quiet whistle gave the cue for the others to come inside the house, it was safe for now. For now.
I watched as a very pregnant Lori walked by Rick, who was standing in the doorway. He seemed to look right through her, as if she wasn't even there. Her face fell slightly, and I immediately turned my attention to Carl, as I heard him shuffling through the cabinets. We hadn't had any food for days, except the few scraps of meat that Daryl caught in the woods.
Carl and I walked into the living room of the house we were currently settling into and sat on the floor. I watched as Daryl, who was across the room from me, plucked the feathers from the owl carcass. Carl grabbed a can opener from one of the bags, and began opening the dog food he had found, Lori and Beth watching with sad faces.
I hung my head. This really what it's come down to? Survivin' off owls and dog food? Lord have mercy on us. Please. Footsteps interrupted my somewhat prayer, and I looked up to see Rick in front of Carl. He took the can of dog food away from his son and walked toward the fireplace. When he threw the can into the empty fireplace, Daryl jerked slightly, the loud clang throwing him off. Everyone tried to look away, tried not to accept how desperate we all were for a meal.
"Psst." T-Dog snagged our attention, nodding toward the window. I caught Daryl's eyes as he stood, and I stood from my spot on the floor. Glancing over at where T had been, I saw walkers making their way toward the house. Rick pointed toward the back door, giving us the signal to get out of the house. Drawing my gun, I followed behind Daryl as we made our way out of the back door.
We jogged toward the cars, Daryl waving the "come on" to the group to hurry. We didn't have much time, we never had much time. Glenn opened the back of his vehicle, and threw stuff in. I saw Maggie run over to the shed and grab something, a walker not too far behind her. Come on, Rick. Time to go! My mind shouted.
Daryl grabbed my arm and we jumped on the motorcycle. He started the engine, and without hesitation, he took off. The others were following behind us, Daryl leading the group away from the walker infested area. They seemed to be straggling out of the woods, the sound of our vehicles drawing them out to see if they could catch a meal. Just what we need.
Daryl kept going until we reached an empty space of back road. He pulled off to one side and the others stopped their vehicles, but kept them straight forward and ready to go if need be. Everyone filed out of their vehicles, and we waited for Rick's instruction. He said something to Carl, who was standing watch, while Maggie spread out the map for us to look at.
"We got no place left to go." T said, his voice tired. Maggie began pointing to the map.
"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south." Maggie informed, studying the map.
"What'dya say, it's about hundred fifty head?" Daryl looked at Glenn.
"That was last week. Could be twice that by now." Glenn shook his head with worry.
"This river could've delayed them." Hershel stated. "If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through th-"
"Wait, wait. If this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way." T-Dog interrupted.
"So we're blocked.." Maggie said, sounding defeated.
"The only thing to do is double back, twenty-seven, swing toward Greenville." Rick instructed, his brain obviously ticking.
"Hell, we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter goin' in circles." T spoke up again, sounding a little frustrated. I put a hand to my head, just listening to them try to figure out a plan.
"Yeah, I know, I know. At Newnan, we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet. Can't keep goin' house to house. Need to find some place to hole up for a few weeks." Rick said, looking toward his vehicle, where Lori sat watching us.
"All right. Is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? Won't take long, gotta fill up on water..." T-Dog was speaking, but I walked away toward the vehicles. I saw Daryl talking to Rick, and they announced they were going hunting, but wouldn't be too far.
I walked down to the creek with T, Maggie, and Glenn. The water ran along, the trickling noise it made felt so foreign in my ears. T-Dog and Glenn collected water, while Maggie and I separated ourselves from them, walking further along the creek bed. She looked at me, her eyes full of worry. I must have looked the same, because when I looked back at her, her face fell at my expression.
"What's on your mind?" I asked quietly as we walked.
"Just wonder if we're ever gonna make it somewhere safe for Lori." Maggie admitted. "Safe for us."
"What's safe? Define that word for me." I mumbled, looking ahead at the woods surrounding us.
"That's sad, isn't it? We don't even remember what it feels like to be safe." Maggie whispered.
"I do... I just don't wanna. Wishful thinkin'. Makes me depressed." I offered a half ass grin. Maggie chuckled lightly and kicked a rock.
"I think the group has gotten closer." She said, squinting in the sun.
"Yea, except Rick and Lori." I muttered, immediately regretting my decision to open my mouth.
"Maybe they'll fix whatever broke between them... Or at least come to terms with it, and try to be okay with each other." Maggie offered, giving me a sideways glance.
"Sure hope so. For Carl's sake, anywa-" I was cut off by a whistle. It was a sign that we were needed back at the road. Fear flooded through my body, as Maggie and I ran back down the creek bed toward T and Glenn. They saw us and took off for the road. We came out of the woods, looking around for walkers. Instead, Rick and Daryl stood there, looking like they had just won the lottery.
"What is it?" Maggie breathed, looking at the two.
"Think we found a solution to our problems." Daryl smirked, looking over at me. I was breathing hard from running, and I shot him a slight glare. Thought walkers were comin'. Damn, don't do that to me.
"And that would be?" Glenn asked, looking from Daryl to Rick.
"A prison... Now, it's got some walkers. But if we all go in hard, and work together, we can get inside the gates without too much trouble. I need everyone to work together on this, can you do that?" Rick looked at all of us. "This could be it. That safe place we wanted."
"Hell, let's do it." I spoke up, walking over to stand beside Daryl. "Be nice to kick some ass, instead of runnin'."
"Okay, but we need to do this quietly as possible 'til we can get in the safety of the gates, understood?" Rick looked around for any questions. Then he began planning out what we were to do, as we all listened carefully, mentally preparing ourselves to go to war with the dead.
Rick cut the fence with the wire cutters. Glenn and Maggie tag teamed a walker that came too close, killing it quickly. Looking around, I raised my gun, preparing to take aim if needed. The walkers weren't catching on yet, they seemed to be oblivious to the fact that we were sneaking into this prison. If they all attacked at once, we'd be in a world of trouble.
"Watch the back side!" Rick growled out.
"Got it!" Lori called, keeping her eyes on the woods behind us. I had my gun raised, watching for any signs of walkers coming too close. I felt Daryl's hand grab my shirt at the waist, and he pulled me toward the fence. The kids were already in, so I slid through quickly, Daryl sliding in behind me. He waited for Rick to usher in Lori and T-Dog, then Glenn and Daryl began securing the fence. The walkers had taken notice of us and were coming to investigate.
Once the fence was secure, Daryl led us along the inner fence, heading toward the entrance of the prison. I had a bag slung over my shoulder, which had mine and Daryl's clothes, along with some personal hygiene items, and some of his arrows. A few knives as well, I liked to keep our things close, just in case.
The sun was hot, beating down on us as we ran on. Daryl had his crossbow ready to shoot if needed, and I had my gun in hand. Keeping my eyes on the walkers that surrounded us on both sides of the gates, I began to wonder if this was really such a good idea. Well, Rick... You got us in... Partially. My heart was pounding from the adrenaline coursing through my body as we kept running.
We made it into another gated area, where the towers were accessible. Walkers huddled at the fence on all sides of us, snapping their jaws and snarling. They were hungry, but we were just out of reach. I noticed Rick staring through the fence at the prison. It did look wonderful from where I was standing. Possible food, plenty of shelter... Just gotta get to it and get the walkers out...
"It's perfect." Rick said, turning to us. "We can shut that gate..." I lost him there, as I looked at the gate. His voice floated back to me. "...We can pick out these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."
"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked.
"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn offered.
"No. Suicide run." Maggie shot down his plan.
"I'm the fastest." Glenn argued.
"No. You, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there." Rick pointed away. "Pop as many as you can through the fence. Daryl, Spencer, go to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time, we don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl take this tower."
"All right." Carl said proudly.
"I'll run for the gate." Rick mumbled, and I shot him a grin at his tone. He offered a slight chuckle, as I took off with Daryl and Carol for the tower, prepared to do what I had to do. Whatever I had to do to keep the group safe.
From the tower, I could see and hear Maggie, Glenn, and Beth screaming at the walkers. They were killing them through the fence, and I had to admit that Beth had certainly toughened up quite a bit since I met her. Feeling proud of her, I raised my gun and looked at Daryl. He nodded, so I aimed at the closest walker and fired. It dropped.
The yelling, the gunfire, the walkers... The noise was almost deafening, but yet it seemed so quiet up in the tower. Besides Carol's gun popping off from around the corner, which was enough to make one's eardrum burst, but we were used to the gunfire by now. I kept popping off rounds, taking my time to get accurate shots. As Rick ran, a bullet hit the ground directly in front of him. I grimaced slightly at what could have been a disaster. Rick looked up at our tower, sending a harmless glare toward Carol.
"Sorry!" She called, as she continued to fire. I kept my eyes on Rick, trying to shoot the walkers that started walking towards him. He reached the fence, and by this point, I was on my toes. Daryl gave me a look, and I breathed, taking another shot. Rick closed the fence, kicking a walker away, then chained it. He grabbed up his gun, and kept firing, opening the door to the tower he was near. After popping off a couple of rounds, he disappeared into the tower.
"He did it." Carol said, her voice proud.
"Calm down, girl." Daryl whispered to me. I felt my heels touch back onto the tower floor, and I gave him a smile. "Light it up!" Daryl called, signaling with his hand to continue firing. We kept shooting, and I could have sworn I saw Rick laugh from his tower. The last walker hit the ground, and I looked at Daryl.
"Well, we cleared the yard before dark." I said quietly. Daryl chuckled, and kissed me on the forehead, before turning to leave the tower. Yea, Rick. We did all right. I followed behind Daryl and Carol back to the tower we left the others at. Everyone met back up, faces full of smiles and relief.
"Fantastic!" Carol grinned, as Hershel and Carl appeared from the tower door as we walked up.
"Nice shootin'." Daryl agreed, and Hershel followed between us, resting his hands on our shoulders. I smiled, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of my chest.
"You okay?" Carol asked Lori, as we walked toward her by the gate.
"Haven't felt this good in weeks." She smiled, grabbing Carol's hand briefly.
"Good." Carol assured, as she walked on. As I walked by her, I stopped, touching her arm. She looked at me, her smile widening a bit. Giving a little squeeze, I let her go and continued on into the open space.
"Oh..." Carol began laughing. "Ohh! We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" Carol laughed again. Glenn killed a walker that was still alive and trying to get up.
"WOOOOOOO!" T-Dog called, laughing. Giggling, I walked over to Glenn and threw my arm over his shoulder.
"Look at what we did... We did it.. Rick did it." I smiled over at Rick, who was watching us all.
"Don't he always?" Glenn smiled back at me.
"Always." I laughed, running over to Maggie and Beth, swooping them into a hug. The girls laughed, hugging me back. "Beth, I'm so proud of you!"
"Me too, baby girl." Maggie kissed her forehead. "You've stepped up."
"Thanks.. I've had great teachers." Beth smiled, her face a little flushed. Letting go of my friends, more like family, I ran over to Daryl. Jumping into his arms, I took him by surprise, but I felt his hands on my waist.
"Never been so happy to hug someone... My crossbow wieldin' hero." I mumbled teasingly against his neck. He snorted.
"Crazy girl." He growled playfully, and I smiled against his skin. Yea, it felt good being okay for the first time in a long time.
Thank you for pointing that out ! I fixed it ! I couldn't hear it that well, and I had to keep rewinding because on Demand sucks doing play/pause ! If you see typos, POINT THEM OUT ! I will fix ! Hehe !
OH SWEET BABY JESUS THEY'RE IN ! Haha ! I finally got my hands on the first episode of the third season (thank you Charter on Demand !), so it's a work in progress ! I love how Spencer has changed Daryl into being a little more softer with her than he used to be. He kind of just lets her love on him without being like, "uh get off me !" Haha. The Dixon we all knew in the first season would have been like, "no bitch. Just no..." hehe...
THANK YOU TO ALL THE AMAZINGLY POSITIVE FEEDBACK I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING ON THIS STORY ! I know I torture you guys with the long update waits, and I do apologize for that. But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter... READERS/REVIEWERS/FAVORITERS/FOLLOWERS... THANKS A GAZILLION ! I ALWAYS GREATLY APPRECIATE THE AWESOME SUPPORT FROM YOU ALL. YOU GUYS ROCK FANFIC !
~Kaila