Maggie was holding the baby, who had begun to cry. Daryl walked away from me, and I just stumbled my way over to Beth and Hershel. The older man touched my arm, his eyes sincere, searching mine. I gave him a nod, but I still felt sick. Everything was like a blur and I couldn't believe what had just happened. I wondered if I was having another one of those sick dreams.
"Rick..." I saw Daryl waving his hand in front of Rick's face, asking him if he was with us. The sheriff looked as if he were looking right through Daryl, his face coated with disbelief and hurt. "Rick!" Maggie was handing the baby over to Carl, who took her in his arms.
"Let me see the baby." Hershel called to Carl, who started toward us. Daryl was right beside him, his face full of concern.
"What we gonna feed it?" He asked, his crossbow limp in his hand. "We got anything a baby can eat?" Carl reached Hershel, who began looking her over.
"The good news is, she looks healthy." Hershel said. "But she needs formula. And soon or she won't survive." I began to panic.
"No! We gotta go get some! She can't just die!" I protested, looking at her small face.
"Nope, no way." Daryl agreed. "Not her. Ain't losin' nobody else, I'm goin' for a run."
"I'll back you up." Maggie's face was firm.
"I'll go too." Glenn offered.
"Okay, think where we're goin." Daryl called Beth to the side, and mumbled to her about Carl. She nodded her head, and I faintly heard her say, "I'll look out for him.", before Daryl began barking orders. "You two get the fence! Too many pile up, we got ourselves a problem! Glenn, Maggie! Vamonos!" I saw Rick grab the axe and start walking away from us.
"Stop!" I called to him, but he never looked back.
"RICK!" Maggie yelled, but he kept going, and I watched him disappear into the prison.
"Get the gate!" Daryl called, and I started toward where Rick ran off to. "Hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa." Daryl was at my side, grabbing my arm.
"She's in there." I could barely get the words out.
"Best let him go." Daryl said surely.
"Can't just let him go in there alone!" I argued, trying to move around him.
"Spencer, stop." Daryl blocked my path. "He wouldn't ever hurt anyone, but he ain't himself right now. Let him go." I looked at his face, seeing the seriousness in his eyes. I nodded, backing away from the fence. "Be back in a little bit. You gonna be all right here?"
"Yea." I nodded, walking toward Hershel. "Go, the baby needs formula."
"All right." Daryl walked over to Sam, saying something to him, before heading back down toward the fence. "Come on! We're gone lose the light!" Maggie and Glenn jogged off toward the gates with Daryl. I just stood where I was, not moving. I could hear Daryl's motorcycle start up, then I heard it driving away. Glenn caught my eye, as he walked over to me.
"You okay?" He asked, and I struggled to keep myself together.
"Fine... Didn't go with 'em?" I asked, looking toward the direction he'd come from.
"Daryl had to take the motorcycle, not enough room for me." Glenn's voice was laced with worry.
"They'll be fine." I said quietly, turning on my heels to walk toward the prison. "We gotta go in, make sure it's safe."
"It is. For now. I... I guess I'll start digging the graves." Glenn's voice was low, and I glanced back at him.
"Why bother?" I asked blankly, and Glenn tilted his head sideways, his eyes cutting slightly.
"Because it's what we do." He replied, shifting his weight.
"You're right. Go dig... Guess we gotta get the bodies out, yea?" I asked, looking at the ground.
"Spencer-" Glenn started, but I cut him off.
"I'm fine!" I called, not looking back. I walked past the others and into the prison cautiously.
"Spencer!" I heard Sam's voice, followed by footsteps. "Wait up!" I stopped, allowing him to catch up. "Hey, hey... Let me look you over."
"Sure." I stayed still while he stared at me, his eyes worried.
"You're really okay?" Sam asked, watching my face.
"I'm fine." I replied, letting out a sigh. "It ain't me folks should be worried about."
"Well, I do. Worry... Look, Spence, I know I ain't been around much. Been tryin' to keep Mama off your back. Ya know? It ain't easy, she's a spoiled bitch." Sam admitted. I let out a dark chuckle.
"So let's feed her to the walkers." I mumbled, staring him dead in the eyes.
"You don't mean that... Don't say that." Sam shook his head.
"Always defendin' her." I growled, turning to walk away.
"No!" Sam grabbed my arm, spinning me back around. "Ain't defendin' her, Spencer. I am sayin' that for you! I don't wanna see you become one of those people. One of those, cruel hearted people. You ain't like that. You ain't."
"I've lost too much, far too much, for anything you say to make it better, Sam. And Katherine? I would trade her just to have the others back. Even just one of 'em." I whispered with honesty. I was trying to keep from breaking down and I knew Sam could see that.
"I tried, Spencer. I tried so hard to keep you safe when we were kids." Sam shook his head. "Wasn't gonna let you be there alone. Hell no. I stayed. I stayed to keep you safe. I was afraid if I left, he'd kill you."
"He would've. Or I'd have killed him." I said surely. Taking a look around, I felt the day closing in on me. Sadness flushed through my head, guilt, pain. I could feel my eyes tearing up, but I couldn't move. "They're really gone." I whispered. Sam stepped toward me, grabbing me in a hug. I let him, but made no movement. I blinked back the tears, trying to keep myself from having a mental breakdown. It was not the time nor place.
"Hey... Sorry to interrupt." Glenn had come around the corner, his face tired. Dirty. We all were. Sam let go of me and I looked at Glenn. "I'm going in there to get Rick."
"I'm comin' with you." I nodded, grabbing my big knife from my boot.
"You sure you wanna do that?" Glenn asked, his face concerned.
"I can go." Sam offered, but I shook my head.
"He needs us." I looked at Glenn. "He needs who he knows."
"You're right, let's go." Glenn began walking toward the door that Rick had ran into. I stayed right behind him as we entered the prison. Stepping lightly, we made our way across the room, into the hallway. Glenn's flashlight hit the first walker, and I saw half of it's head was gone. Ignoring the smell, I kept my eyes on the trail of dead walkers that littered the hallway. Least we're goin' the right way... We stepped over the dead bodies, and when we rounded the corner, Glenn stopped abruptly. I nearly ran into him, and I looked around him to see why he stopped.
"Rick?" Glenn's voice was barely above a whisper, and he started forward. Rick was holding the blood covered axe, his back to us. He didn't move, and Glenn kept walking toward him. "Hey, everybody's worried about you.. You shouldn't be in here. Come on out." Glenn was saying as Rick half turned around.
"Rick?" I started to step forward. His face was blank, like we weren't even there. He almost looked... Angry. Glenn stepped closer, walking around to stand in front of him.
"Rick, you don't have to do this all by yourself. Okay? Our cell block's cleared. We just close off all the doors again. Rick, why don't you just come on out with me. Okay?" Glenn touched his arm, and Rick sprang forward, pinning Glenn to the wall.
"RICK!" I shrieked, running forward, grabbing his shoulder. He turned quickly, slinging me to the floor, before grabbing Glenn and shoving him toward me. The back of my head throbbed in sharp pains, and I winced. He walked away, and I could see his shadow disappearing.
"Get up, get up." Glenn held out his hand to me and I took it. He pulled me up off of the floor. "Are you all right?"
"Am I all right? Fine, you okay?" I asked, still shocked at what had happened, my head throbbing.
"Yes, I'm okay. Let's get back to the others." Glenn turned to go back the way we came.
"Right." I mumbled, grabbing onto his shirt sleeve, as we made our way over the dead bodies. We exited the building and headed back to our cell block. Hershel and Carl met us at the big metal door, and I glanced at Glenn.
"Anything?" Carl asked, looking up at us.
"Found him. He's fine. Just takin' out a little anger. That's it." I said quietly, and Carl nodded, walking back toward one of the cells. I looked at Hershel. "He attacked us."
"He what?" Hershel looked from me to Glenn.
"Glenn touched him, and he shoved him up against the wall. Shouldn't have touched him." I mumbled, putting a hand to my head.
"You did too!" Glenn fussed.
"Only 'cause I thought he was gonna hurt you!" I protested, grabbing the back of my head.
"Spencer?" Hershel's eyes were burning into mine with concern. "What happened?
"He didn't hurt me on purpose. Slung me off of him. Think I hit my head on the wall." I admitted. "It's fine."
"Better let me have a look." Hershel fussed, and I nodded. I followed behind him into a cell, sitting on the bed. "Lean forward a bit."
"It really ain't that big a- Ouch!" I muttered, as he pressed the back of my head.
"Got a small bump, nothing too serious. But it could be. Do you feel sleepy at all?" He asked, allowing me to lean back up.
"No." I replied truthfully, shaking my head. "Just dull throbs." Hershel pulled out his flashlight, shining it in my eyes.
"Doesn't look like you have a concussion. You should be okay. Let me know if it feels any worse. It will be sore."
"He didn't mean to." I mumbled, feeling bad.
"I know." Hershel stood on his crutches. "Gotta take care of my kids."
"Thank you." I gave him a smile as I stood, and we left the room.
"You good?" Glenn asked as I came out of the doorway.
"I'm good." I flashed him a thumbs up.
"Think I'm gonna head down to the guard tower and wait for them to get back." Glenn said.
"I'll go with." I nodded, and we left the cell block. Once outside, I could see the sun beginning to set. Walking down to the tower, I saw Axel and Oscar standing by the fence. They said nothing as Glenn opened the door to the tower, and I walked inside. Once up the stairs, we exited onto the guard tower balcony, looking over the prison yard. I rested my hands on the rails and looked out at the gate. "Walkers every fuckin' where."
"They heard the alarms, the gunfire. They can't get in, but they want to." Glenn mumbled, looking down at the things.
"Jesus, how'd things get so bad?" I asked, my eyes shifting out toward the woods.
"The world went to shit?" Glenn countered, looking over at me. "You know, I'm really glad you joined us. That day on the road. I never thought I'd care about people the way I do this group. You're my best friend."
"And you're mine... I just wish... God, T.." I glanced down, before looking back up at Glenn. "How bad was it?"
"Bad..." Glenn looked out toward the woods. I said nothing, just kept my eyes on the path leading down to the prison. The sun had set, and the darkness enveloped around us. I wanted to sit down, but I felt restless, knowing I wouldn't relax until Daryl and Maggie were back. There were so many things that could go wrong out there. So many walkers, and only the two of them out there trying to find supplies.
The stars were bright in the sky, and I wondered how it could be so beautiful in such an ugly world. I didn't understand it at all. I wanted to believe that heaven existed, and that Cheyenne was up there with Sophia. Jacqui, Jim, Patricia... Now Lori and T were there, too. Carol... Maybe Cheyenne wasn't alone. I wanted her to be at peace. But then I thought about this world... And what if they were just gone? Just gone, erased from time. What if there was no heaven and they were just dead?
The sound of a motorcycle pulled me from those thoughts. I knew that engine anywhere, and as it grew louder, a light appeared coming down the path. Glenn looked down at Axel and Oscar, yelling "Guys, they're back!", before lifting his gun. I could hear the prisoners yelling, distracting the walkers. I pulled my gun and shot a walker close to the gate. I heard it open, and I took off for the tower stairs.
Once to the bottom, I opened the door, running up toward the prison. Daryl had stopped the motorcycle, and Maggie was already off. Glenn greeted her, and I ran up to Daryl, who was climbing off of the bike. Throwing my arms around him, I never knew how good it felt to hear another person's heart beating against my chest.
"Jesus." I whispered, holding onto him tight. His hand cupped the back of my head, and I winced. Stepping back, Daryl tilted his head.
"What happened?" He asked gruffly, immediately scanning over me with his eyes. He stepped forward, looking me over and I laughed.
"I'm fine. Bumped my head." I said quietly.
"Bumped ya head? How? Hershel look at it?" Daryl was still eyeing me with worry.
"Glenn and I went after Rick-" I was trying to explain.
"Ya what?" His voice rose slightly.
"We wanted to check on him, make sure he's okay... Glenn touched his arm, and he shoved him up against the wall. So I jumped in, and when I grabbed his shoulder...he slung me away. I fell and hit my head, but I'm fine... He didn't mean to." I replied, grabbing Daryl's vest. "He didn't mean it, he's not himself."
"I know." Daryl nodded, letting it go. "Come on, we gotta feed this baby."
Sorry for the update wait ! This chapter is a little short, but there is gonna be a lot going on soon. Michonne is about to come into the mix, the Governor... It's going to get a little crazy.. Merle ! He will be in there too, of course..
I would like to give a huge THANK YOU SHOUT OUT to all my READERS/REVIEWERS/FOLLOWERS/FAVORITERS ! YOU GUYS ARE FREAKING AWESOME ! Seriously, if it wasn't for all the positive feedback, I wouldn't be where I am with my fanfiction page. It makes me so inspired and happy to see others enjoying my writing ! So I thank you all !
Feel free to drop by my story 'Torn' and check it out ! Thanks guys !
~Kaila