We led the prisoners outside so they could see what had become of the world we knew. Following behind Daryl, I did feel a little bad for their lack of knowledge. I wasn't sure why they were in this prison in the first place, but even if they had murdered someone, the reasoning behind it would determine if they could survive in this world or not. Rick was behind them as they opened the door, sunlight flooding my eyes. Squinting, I stayed close to Daryl as we walked outside. The sound of insects rang through my ears in the heat.
"Damn this sun feels good." One of the prisoners said with a sigh. I shielded my eyes with my hand, watching their reactions to being outside. To seeing the dead prisoners that littered the grounds.
"Lord, they're all dead." I heard the mustache guy mumbled.
"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences." The lead man walked toward the basketball area. We walked down the stairs, following them.
"You never said. How the hell'd you get in here in the first place?" The short guy asked.
"Cut a hole in that fence, over there by that guard tower." Daryl pointed to where we had first made our entrance.
"That easy, huh?" The shorter man seemed bummed by Daryl's answer.
"Where there's a will, there's a way." Daryl's gruff voice pierced my ears.
"Easy for you to say." Shorty mumbled. I rolled my eyes again.
"So what is this, like a disease?" The bigger man was poking one of the dead with a stick.
"Yea." Rick replied. "And we're all infected." The four turned to look at him.
"What do you mean, 'infected'?" Mustache asked. "Like AIDS or somethin'?"
"If I was to kill you, shoot an arrow in ya chest, you'd come back as one of these things." Daryl spoke up, giving an easy explanation. "It's gonna happen to all of us." I glanced over at him, catching his eye. That was something I never wanted to hear him say.
"Ain't no way this 'Robin Hood' cat's responsible for killin' all these freaks." Long hair announced. I was getting sick of his shit.
"Must be fifty bodies out here." Another agreed.
"Where'd you come from?" Long hair asked, turning to Rick.
"Atlanta." Rick replied.
"Where ya headed?" More questions.
"For now, nowhere." Rick challenged. The man nodded.
"Guess you could take that area down there," he pointed, "near the water. Should be comfortable."
"We're usin' that field for crops." Rick let him know we owned this place.
"We'll help ya move your gear out." Long hair offered.
"That won't be necessary." Rick's voice was firm. "We took out these walkers, this prison is ours."
"Oh, slow down cowboy." Long hair said.
"You snatched the locks off our doors." Shorty stepped up beside long hair. His tone was quite annoying, and it took all I could do not to lose my temper.
"We'll give you new locks, if that's how you want it." Rick's tone made me crack a light smile.
"This is our prison. We were here first." Long hair argued.
"Locked in a broom closet?" Rick chuckled, then his face was serious. "We took it, set you free. It's ours. We spilt blood."
"We're movin' back into our cell block." Their leader argued.
"You'll have to get your own." Rick stood his ground.
"It is mine. I took out personal artifacts in there," he drew his gun, "that's about as mine as it gets!" I lifted my gun, aiming at his face. Daryl had his crossbow up, and T-Dog was ready to shoot as well.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa... Maybe let's try to make this work out so everybody wins." Mustache stepped between Rick and long hair.
"I don't see that happening." Beady Eyes said. You gained a new nickname. His eyes were black and reminded me of a rat's beady eyes.
"Neither do I" Rick agreed.
"I ain't goin' back in that cafeteria for one long minute." Beady Eyes argued.
"There are other cell blocks." Mustache offered.
"You could leave." Daryl sneered. "Try ya luck out on the road."
"These three pussies can do all this," Beady Eyes started, completely ignoring the fact that I was there, "the least we can do is take out another cell block."
"With what?" The Jolly Green Giant asked behind him.
"Atlanta here, will spot us some real weapons. Won't ya, Boss?" Beady Eyes asked.
"How stocked is that cafeteria?" Rick asked, looking at Beady Eyes. "Must have plenty of food, five guys lasted almost a year."
"Sure as hell don't look like anybody's been starvin'." Daryl grumbled, his crossbow still aimed at Beady Eyes.
"There's only a little left." Beady Eyes looked back at Rick.
"Well, we'll take half. In exchange, we'll help clear out a cell block." Rick offered the deal.
"Didn't you hear him?" Shorty snapped, causing me to point my gun at him. His tone was pissing me off. "There's only a little left." He glanced at me.
"Bet you got more food than you got choices." Rick argued with a calm tone. "You pay, we'll play. We'll clear outta block for you, then you keep to it."
"All right." Beady Eyes seemed to finally agree.
"But let's be clear. If we see you out here, anywhere near our people, if I so much as even catch a whiff of your scent, I will kill you." Rick was in the man's face, and all I could see was dominance fighting with dominance. I did not like Beady Eyes, and something in the back of my mind told me to shoot him and Shorty. Right then and there.
"Deal." Beady Eyes agreed. We followed the prisoners back into the prison. As I shut the door behind me, I felt a hand on my arm. Looking up, Daryl's face was close to mine.
"Dunno what we're gettin' ourselves into. Stay with the others." He growled softly.
"No way!" I protested. "Done got this far, I ain't sittin' out for shit." I argued, stepping closer to him. I grabbed the back of his neck with my hand and kissed him hard. I felt him kissing me back, and I pulled away. "You're here, I'll be fine." I kissed his chin and brushed past him.
"Figured ya ain't gone listen!" He called. "Do ya ever?"
"Hell no!" I called back, without so much as turning my head. I could hear T-Dog snicker in front of me. Jogging forward slightly, I pushed his right shoulder. "Shuttup, T!"
"You two argue like a married couple." T laughed, throwing his arm around my shoulder as we walked. "I remember the day Randall escaped, we were loading up the car... You an' Dixon out there in the front yard kissin' an' shit-"
"Shuttup, T!" I heard Daryl growl behind us. I giggled.
"I think you're good for him." T-Dog whispered as we kept walking.
"Think he's good for me." I whispered back. I gave T a squeeze, and we crept back into the tombs. We made it back to the cafeteria area quickly, killing any walkers we ran into. Which weren't many. The prisoners walked ahead of us, leading us into the room we had just been in only hours earlier.
"Pantry's back here." Beady Eyes called, as we followed them into the room.
"You never tried to break outta here?" T asked, sounding curious and skeptical.
"Yea, we tried to take the doors off." Big man number two replied. "But if you made one peep in here, yea. those freaks would be lined up outside the door, growlin', tryin' to get in. Window's got bars on there that He-Man couldn't get through."
"Bigger than a five by eight." Mustache mumbled.
"Won't find me complainin'. Doin' fifteen, my left leg could barely fit on one of those bunks." Big man number one spoke up. I saw Rick trying not to crack a smile.
"Yea, they don't call him 'Big Tiny' for nothin'." Big man number two said. So, we gotta name for one. Even just a nickname'll do. Big Tiny... I tried not to laugh.
"We done jerkin' each other off?" Beady Eyes was waiting in the pantry doorway. "Sick of waitin' back here." We followed them into the back area, and I had my gun ready. Just in case. It was pretty cramped back there for all of us, and if anyone so much as gave me a strange look, I was ready to blow them to hell.
The pantry was loaded. I glared at Beady Eyes as we looked around at all the food they had. Canned food, bags of bread crumbs. I couldn't believe all the food in front of us, and that son of a bitch said they had a "little" left. Daryl walked into the pantry, clicking on his flashlight, looking around. He walked up to Beady Eyes, and I could tell by the way he walked that he was challenging him.
"That's what ya call a "little bit" of food?" Daryl's voice was on the edge of sarcasm.
"Goes fast." Beady Eyes complained.
"Mmhmm." Daryl brushed past him, looking at the shelves of food.
"Now, you can have a bag of corn, some tuna fish-" He started, and I snorted.
"We said half, that's the deal." Rick turned to look at a closed door. "What's in there?" He went to open it.
"Don't open that." A warning from one of the prisoners. Too late, Rick opened the door, letting an awful smell of rotten shit escape. I ducked away from the pantry, holding my arm over my face. I could hear Rick coughing and Beady Eyes laughing.
"He wanted to know!" Beady Eyes chuckled darkly. I heard Rick shut the door, but I stayed away. I was not going back over there for a while.
"Can't wait for my own pot to piss in." Mustache announced. I looked over at him, and realized that I didn't feel threatened by him. Really, none of them made me feel threatened except Beady Eyes and Shorty.
Rick and T-Dog carried the food back, while Daryl and I brought up the rear. Keeping my gun tight in my grip, I walked quietly back to our part of the prison. Daryl leaned against the wall as Rick and T took the food into out cell block. I walked over beside him and leaned next to him. Inching closer, I felt his arm touching mine. He lifted his arm up and over my shoulder, allowing me to rest my head against his neck as we waited for Rick and T to return.
His skin was warm against the side of my head, and I felt my whole body relax at his touch. The prisoners were standing there awkwardly, trying not to look over at us. Shorty kept glancing over, like he expected us to do something. Feeling weirded out, I snuggled a little closer to Daryl, but not too much. I didn't want to scare him away. There was only so much affection he could take, and I understood that. But I wanted it all.
"Okay everyone." Rick walked through the cell block, locking it behind T-Dog. He looked over at us, just as I was pushing myself away from Daryl and off the wall. He gave us a slight grin, before suiting up with his serious face. He and T had an armful of weapons, and they laid them out on the table. Beady Eyes picked up a double headed crowbar.
"Why do I need this," he held it out with one hand, and grabbed his gun with the other, "when I got this?"
"You don't fire guns." Daryl instructed. "Not unless your back's up against a wall. Noise attracts 'em. Really riles 'em up."
"That ain't somethin' you wanna get caught up in." I said, glancing at Rick.
"She's right. We'll go in two by two. Daryl run point with T and Spencer, she'll be the exception and make three. I'll bring up the rear with you." Rick pointed his machete at one of the prisoners. "Stay tight, hold formation. No matter how close the walkers get. Anyone breaks ranks, we could all go down. Anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a walker. End up with an axe to the head."
"And that's where you aim. These things only go down with a head shot." Daryl said gruffly.
"Ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man." Beady Eyes said, his voice cocky.
"They ain't men." T spoke up, his tone serious. "They're somethin' else."
"Jus' remember. Go for the brain." Rick said, and I could tell he was trying to stress that it was important.
"Don't get the brain, they keep comin'." I said, raising an eyebrow. "I will let you get eat. Don't think that Imma save your stupid asses if you don't do as we say."
"Yes ma'am." Beady Eyes said, but his tone was disgusting. He looked me up and down, then gave Daryl a sneer. Shaking my head, I started to walk over toward Daryl, when Rick stepped in my way.
"You're sure you wanna do this, Spencer? Nobody's askin' you to do this." Rick said, his hand on my shoulder.
"I know. I wanna. Ain't stayin' in that cell block feelin' helpless. Ain't gonna talk me out of it. Trust me, Daryl tried." I grinned.
"Sure did. Hard headed as shit." Daryl mumbled from behind Rick. I kept grinning, and Rick shook his head.
"Okay then. Glad to have you down here with us, honestly." Rick patted my shoulder as I walked past him. Daryl handed over a crowbar, and I pulled my big hunting knife from my belt.
"Ready?" Daryl asked, his face hard to read. He actually looked... Kind of worried.
"Ready as I'll ever be." I mumbled, following him into the hallway. I was in between T and Daryl, the prisoners and Rick were behind us. We crept through the darkness, and I was holding onto Daryl's vest as we rounded a corner.
"Man, it's too damn dark in here." One complained.
"Shh." I growled.
"Man, gotta hold it up high out in front of ya." Daryl fussed, as Big Man number two stayed close to us. "You're gonna hear 'em before you see 'em." We kept going, rounding another corner, leading us into another hallway.
"It's comin'!" Mustache yelled. Great goin', dim wit.
"SHHH!" I looked over Daryl's shoulder. He inched forward, holding up his hand, ready to show them what to do. I could hear the snarling of the the walkers, as the first one stumbled his way around the corner. Another wasn't too far behind him. Daryl held up one finger, then just as he held up two, the prisoners ran forward yelling. It was like a war call, as they yelled, running toward the walkers. Stunned, I watched them attack the walkers.
No head shots. They just began stabbing and beating them. Shorty and Big Man number two had one on the ground, beating it with their weapons. Big Tiny was holding one, while Mustache did everything except stab it through the head. I looked at Daryl and shook my head in disbelief. Glancing over at T-Dog, his expression almost made me laugh. He was looking at me as if he was thinking, "Really?"
Without hesitation, I walked forward, my knife in my hand. I stabbed the walker Big Tiny was holding, and then I turned and smashed my crowbar through the head of the walker on the floor. The prisoners looked down at the dead walkers, then at me. Readying my crowbar for the next corner, I glared at the prisoners. Daryl was smirking, and I heard Rick chuckle.
"That's how you kill 'em, sissy boys." I muttered, walking toward the next corner. Daryl jogged forward catching up with me.
"Look, you gotta do this the right way or you're gonna get us all killed." He said coldly. "Don't pull that shit 'gain." They were silent as we continued on, deeper into the prison. We came around another corner, leading us toward a room. A walker was heading our way, and Daryl had his crossbow aimed at its head. "It's gotta be the brain. Not the stomach, not the heart." He shot the walker, and it dropped. "The brain." Another one came stumbling toward the doorway.
Big Man number two lurched forward and popped him in the skull. The walker dropped. "Like that?"
"Uh, huh." Daryl mumbled. Another was making its way toward us. Mustache let out a strange growl/yell, and shoved his weapon through its head. Rick jumped forward and took the third one.
"Stay in tight formation." Rick instructed. "No more prison riot crap!" We stayed behind them, ready to help if needed, as more walkers came through the doorway. Daryl shoved me behind him, against the wall. I stayed put, watching as the prisoners attacked. Not bad, dim wits... Then I heard a yell. Looking over I noticed Big Tiny was missing. Rick ran around the corner, and I heard three gunshots pop off.
"FUCK!" I growled, pushing Daryl toward the corner of the hall. Running around the corner, we saw Rick was examining Big Tiny's back with his flashlight, and I could see the gash from what looked like scratches.
"I'm telling you, I don't feel anything." Big Tiny assured. "It's just a scratch."
"I'm sorry, man." Rick's voice was final. He knew what the outcome would be, just as Daryl, T, and I did.
"I can keep fightin'!" Big Tiny argued.
"You cut that old-old guy's leg off to save his life." Shorty tried.
"Look at where the bite is." Rick tried to reason.
"GUYS!" The big man yelled. "I'm fine! Just... I'm fine. L-Look at me. I'm not changin' into one of those things."
"Look, man, there has to be somethin' we can do." Big Man number two stepped in. "Why don't we jus' lock 'em up?"
"Quarantine him!" Mustache piped up.
"We gotta do somethin'!" Shorty was panicking. "Why you just standin' there? We gotta save him!"
"There's nothin' we can do." Rick admitted.
"You son of a bitch." Shorty was mad.
"I wo-" Suddenly I heard a crack, and Big Tiny was on the floor. Beady Eyes looked at his double headed crowbar, then at Rick. He began beating away at Big Tiny, and I could hear the crowbar smashing into his skull, blood splattering everywhere. Daryl glanced at me, his arm shooting out to sweep me behind him again. Brains and blood spilled onto the floor. Brain matter stuck to the crowbar, and splattered onto the wall. Beady Eyes finally stopped, blood covering his face, chest, and arms. Breathing hard, he walked away.
Following behind him, I stepped around Big Tiny, trying to force myself to keep my eyes straight ahead. I didn't want to look, I didn't want to see, although I'd already seen enough. The metallic smell of blood seeped into my nose, and I walked a little faster, Daryl right behind me. Rick hung back, waiting for us to catch up to him.
"You see the look on his face?" Daryl's gruff voice was quiet. "He makes one move, jus' gimme a signal." I looked at Rick, who said nothing as we walked forward. We came into a laundry area, and I could hear the snarls and growls of walkers on the other side of a door across the room. Daryl and I followed Rick toward the door, but Daryl turned toward me. "Stay behind me, Spence."
"Got it." I whispered, holding onto my crow bar. T-Dog shut the door we had just walked through and Daryl tossed the keys at Beady Eyes' feet.
"I ain't openin' that." He protested calmly.
"Yes you are." Rick demanded. "'Cause you wanted this cell block. You're gonna open that door, just the one, not both of them. 'Cause we need to control this." Beady Eyes sighed and grabbed the keys from the floor. He looked at Shorty, then walked over and began unlocking the door. Everyone began fidgeting, trying to hold a stance to prepare for the walkers. The door clicked loudly, and Beady Eyes turned to look at us.
"You bitches ready?" He asked, taking a moment before yanking the door. Daryl moved forward a bit, but nothing happened. The door was still shut. He yanked it again, but it didn't budge. "I got this." He mumbled, before swinging both doors open. Shocked for a moment, I stepped back, preparing myself for the worst.
"I SAID ONE DOOR!" Rick yelled, his voice furious.
"SHIT HAPPENS!" Beady Eyes yelled back, turning to fight off the walkers. Everyone began trying to kill them as quickly as possible. I dodged around Daryl and shoved my crowbar through a walker's head, as T-Dog shoved one against the wall, stabbing it through the forehead.
"I SAID STAY BACK!" Daryl growled, grabbing my shirt and swinging me behind him. I looked over to see Beady Eyes swing his weapon, nearly hitting Rick with it. The two looked at each other for a moment, and it was like slow motion. Beady Eyes stepped forward, grabbing a walker and stabbing it in the back. He pushed it forward, and I saw Rick go down, the walker on top of him.
"RICK!" I screamed, and Daryl ran forward yelling. I was right behind him, and I hit a walker in the face with my crowbar, knocking half of its head off. Jerking my head, I saw Daryl stab the walker on Rick, right through the skull. He pulled it off, reached out, and they grabbed hands. Sharing a look, that bond clear between them, Daryl pulled Rick off the floor. Killing the last couple of walkers, we waited a moment, making sure no more came stumbling through the door. Beady Eyes looked at Rick.
"It was comin' at me, bro." He muttered, looking at Rick as if he would just forget the whole thing.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Rick said, and there was something in his tone. "I get it. Shit happens." The two just stared at each other and the room became thick. Eerily silent, no one moved or said anything. Then, before I could blink, Rick's arm shot out. Beady Eyes went to his knees, Rick's machete lodged into the top of his head. Shorty ran forward with his baseball bat.
"NOOO!" He yelled, watching Rick kick Beady Eyes in the chest, kicking him off the machete. He lurched forward, attempting to attack Rick with the bat, but Rick kicked him in the leg, knocking him on his back.
"Easy, now." Daryl growled, aiming his crossbow at the man. Shorty looked terrified, and took off running.
"I got 'em!" Rick called, running after him. I looked at Big Man number two, who was still holding his axe. I pulled out my gun, preparing myself for whatever I had to do. Carl, Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Lori... Hershel... Carol... T, Rick... Daryl... Sam..
"Man, get down on ya knees!" Daryl growled, and the man held up his hands, doing as he was told.
"We don't have no affiliation with what just happened!" Mustache cried. "Tell 'em Oscar!" Ah, so he does have a name. I pointed my gun at Mustache.
"Stop talkin', man." Oscar said, and I looked over at his face. I lowered my gun. Daryl looked at me, his eyebrow raised slightly. I shook my head. T-Dog had his gun pointed at Mustache, and I just walked over to Daryl. We said nothing, just kept watching the guys, waiting for Rick.
"Maybe I should check-" I started, but Daryl cut me off.
"No fuckin' way! Over my dead body! Rick's fine." Daryl growled, giving me the glare from hell. Just as I was about to say something, Rick came marching in, right up to Oscar, drawing his gun.
"We didn't have nothin' to do with that." Oscar said calmly.
"Yeah," Rick breathed sarcastically, "you didn't know? You knew. Daryl! Let's end this now!" Rick turned toward Mustache, shoving his gun in the man's face.
"Sir, please! Please listen to me! It was them that was bad, it wasn't us." Mustache tried. I looked away, not wanting to see more brains splattering around the room.
"Oh, that's convenient!" Rick snarled.
"You saw what he did to Tiny!" The man was in tears. "He was my friend! Please... We ain't like that. I like my pharmaceuticals, but I'm no killer! Oscar here," he blabbered on, I could barely make out what he was saying, "ain't ever good at it neither...We ain't the violent kind, they were!" I tried to tune him out, but I couldn't. "Please, I swear to God! I wanna live!" I looked over to see Daryl holding his big knife to Oscar's throat. Rick swung around, pointing the gun at Oscar's head.
"What about you?" Rick asked.
"I ain't never pleaded for my life. And I ain't about to start now. So you do what you gotta do." Oscar said. Without a word, Rick looked over at me, and I looked at him. Pleading almost. Saying nothing, Rick walked over to Mustache, and pulled him from the floor. Daryl did the same with Oscar, and we led them into the cleared cell block. Rick pushed Mustache in, after Daryl unlocked the door. The smell was awful, but I felt like it was a normal scent these days. Dead bodies littered the floor.
"Oh, man..." Mustache whimpered, looking around. "I knew these guys. They were good men."
"Let's go." Rick said suddenly, and I looked at Daryl.
"So you just gonna leave us in here? Man, this is sick." Oscar looked horrified.
"We're lockin' down this cell block. From now on, this part of the prison is yours." Rick explained. "Take it or leave it. That was the deal." Rick walked back the way we came.
"Ya think this's sick?" Daryl asked. "You don't wanna know what's outside."
"Consider yourselves the lucky ones." Rick muttered, his footsteps walking away from us.
"Sorry about your friends, man." Daryl stepped forward, and I could hear the sincerity in his voice. He followed Rick, and I walked behind him. I could hear T-Dog telling them to burn the bodies outside as we walked away. Hope this don't come back an' bite us in the ass...
Okay you guys ! That was the big chapter 40 ! Not much Sam and their mother action has gone on, but that will change soon. We will be seeing a lot more of Sam, so do not worry. I really love Daryl's protective side over Spencer, I think it adds a cute little touch to their relationship.. I hope you all enjoyed this, and I will try to be updating again soon. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Happy New Year ! You guys rock ! Thanks A GAZZILION for all the FREAKING AMAZING REVIEWS/FAVORITES/FOLLOWS/READS ! I cannot express enough how much the support for my stories means to me. Thank you all so much.
~Kaila