Chapter 14-The prison

Rick's P.O.V

"Carol!" Rick shouts as he looks around the streets of Alexandria. He looks at Glenn, who is staring at him.

"Rick, what happened?" Maggie asks as she runs up to him with Gavin, Morgan, and Tobin.

"Carol's gone. She took some supplies, a bag, and she ran, she must have climbed the walls," Rick says. "Get search parties together. We need to find her, bring her back."

"Rick," Morgan says. "She left on her own accord. If this is what she wants, we can't drag her back."

"No, she's not thinking clearly. I'm going after her. She couldn't have gotten far," Rick says as he looks at Glenn, who nods.

"Let's go," Glenn says as they run towards the gate.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl drove his bike towards the prison and stopped on the path leading towards it. He climbs off his bike and looks at Rosita. "We only ever saw the smoke," She says as she looks at the prison.

"What's the plan here, Dixon?" Abraham asks.

"We clear the field enough for us to get the vehicles into the courtyard. We can block that part off," Daryl says. "Once we get this area and the cellblock cleared, Michonne, Sasha, and Tara will start mapping towns to scavenge. I'll bury Hershel."

"Okay, we all know the plan," Abraham says. "We stay within eyesight of each other. We don't know if anybody is in there," They nod as they walk towards the prison. Daryl shoots a walker with his crossbow as Michonne cuts one's head off, and Deanna stabs one in the head. The group slowly goes through the woods until they get to the top.

"How in gods name? Did you stop this tank?" Abraham asks as he looks at it.

"I threw a grenade down the barrel," Daryl tells Abraham, who laughs. "We'll move the cars up here, facing the road. If we need to get out quickly, we need to be able to just go."

"We aren't going to be able to prevent walkers from getting in," Tara says.

"I know. We'll keep someone on watch with Sasha's gun. They'll shoot any walkers that get too close," Daryl says as he looks at the woman, who nods. "Let's get the cars up here."

Glenn's P.O.V

Glenn and Rick walked through the woods, and Rick tried to track Carol. "Bad time for Daryl to leave," Rick says.

"If we don't find her, what are we going to tell Daryl?" Glenn asks.

"We won't have to tell him anything. We're going to find her," Rick says.

"Rick, she left," Glenn says, making Rick stop and look at him. "She left, and even if we do find her, Morgan was right. We can't drag her back. We can't knock her out and handcuff her. Even if we did get her to come back, the odds are that they'll vote for us to kick her out when the others gets back. Maybe Carol leaving on her own was for the best."

"Let's go," Rick says as he continues to walk, and Glenn sighs as he follows him.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl stood down in the field, digging a grave for Hershel. "Who was he?" He turned around and looked at Merle, who was looking at him.

"Maggie's Dad. After one of his hands shot Carl, he let us stay on his farm. We lost Dale, Sophia and Shane on that farm, but Hershel was a good man. He was the best man I had ever met, he wanted this place to work, and even after losing his leg, he still held onto hope. Even in the end, before the Governor killed him, he still had hope. I saw him smiling, even though he knew he might die. He smiled. You know, throughout your life, there are people who make you who you are. Hershel was one of them. He made me who I am now. I keep fighting, so he is never forgotten. As long as I'm breathing, a part of Hershel is still alive."

"Who were the others?" Merle asks, making Daryl look at him again. "Who else has made you who you are, baby brother?"

"Dale, T-dog, Hershel, Glenn, Maggie, Carol, Rick, a man named Tyreese, you, and Maggie's sister...Beth," Daryl says after a pause. "You guys set up in there?" He asks to change the subject.

"Yeah," Merle says. Daryl nods as he continues digging. Merle looks at the knife on Daryl's hip that is smaller than his other one. "Where'd you get that?"

"It's Beth's knife," Daryl says. "Go. I got work to do."

Tara's P.O.V

Tara stood by the tank staring at Alisha's body. "You know her?" She turns around and looks at Paula.

"I was with the Governor when he attacked the prison," Tara says. "My sister, and niece, we were with the Governor, and Alisha was in the camp when we found it. We were together. I knew she didn't live. He told us lies about this place and these people, but I realized that he was wrong. I just realized it was too late after he killed Hershel. If I knew what he was, I would have put a bullet between his eyes when he found us."

"You wanna bury her?" Paula asks her.

"No, we'll burn her with the Governor's body," Tara says before she walks away.

T-dog's P.O.V

T-dog walked into a cell and looked at the picture of Lori, Carl, and Rick sitting on a stand. He looked at Abraham as he walked in behind him. He looks at the picture. "That's Judith's Mom?" Abraham asks T-dog, who nods.

"I got the story from Glenn the day after I got back. She died during childbirth, and Carl was the one who put her down," He says.

"Jesus," Abraham says. "That kid is one strong son of a bitch."

T-dog nods as he puts the picture in his bag. "I bet Carl will want this back."

"Come on. We're going with Merle and Sasha to check the cafeteria," Abraham says. T-dog nods as he follows him.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick and Glenn walk out of the forest and look at the road where there are a couple of cars. They walk around the cars until Glenn stops. "Rick," Glenn says as he looks at a window of a car towards the back. Rick looks at him as Glenn reads the message. "Don't come looking for me. I don't want to cause any more problems. Live your lives, beat the saviors. I hope you are right, Rick. Tell Daryl this was my choice and don't come looking and that I love him. Goodbye, Carol," Glenn reads. "Let's head back."

"Glenn-"

"Rick, you can read that. She doesn't want us looking for her. She doesn't want us to risk our lives to find her. We have people at home to protect. Let's go," Glenn says as he walks towards the woods. Rick stares at the message before he follows Glenn.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl lays Hershel's body in the grave and starts to shovel the dirt back onto the body. He turns around and looks at Rosita as she walks down to him with a shovel and two water bottles. "How's it going up there?" Daryl asks.

"Good, Abraham, Sasha, T-dog, and Merle found the food, and Deanna, Gabriel, and Noah are getting the weapons gathered. Michonne, Negan, Tara, Laura, and Paula are gathering the supplies from the other cellblocks," Rosita tells him as she holds the bottle of water out to him. He looks at her. "I haven't seen you drink anything since you start digging. It's almost a hundred degrees, Daryl. Drink."

Daryl nods as he takes the bottle and takes a drink. "Thanks," Daryl says. "I don't need any help."

"Good thing is I don't need permission," Rosita says as she starts shoving the dirt onto the grave. Daryl looks at her for a moment before he starts helping.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick sat in his house, staring at the wall as Carl walked in. "Jessie's outside. She wants to talk with you," Carl tells him.

"Let her in," Rick answers after a moment. Carl nods as he walks away. After a moment, Jessie walks in.

"Sam's okay," She says. Rick looks at her. "She broke my nose. Denise looked at me and said it should heal soon."

Rick nods as she sits down. "You got your wish, she's gone, and we're not looking."

"That's a good thing, Rick. She threatened my child. How can you be okay with her being here?" Jessie asks.

"Because I know, Carol. She would have never done that."

"People change."

"I know, I've changed. I've killed more people than anybody in these places. Maybe aside from Negan, Dwight, Paula, Laura, and D.J," Rick says. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Carol. None of us would, not even you because we would have never come, and that herd would have killed all of you. She saved our lives at Terminus, and because of that, we were able to find Alexandria and stop that herd. You owe Carol your life, too," Rick says. "If she ever comes back, she'll be welcomed," Rick says before he stands up and leaves, and Jessie sits there alone with her thoughts.

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl put a cross on the ground and looked at Rosita. "Thanks," He says. "Not just for this, but everything."

"We're partners, aren't we?" Rosita asks Daryl, who nods.

"Yeah, we are," Daryl says as he looks at the grave. "We failed him."

"No, you didn't. If the stories I heard about Hershel are true. He would have been proud of all of you."

"They are. A lot of people have died since the start of this shit, some deserved it, but Hershel, he didn't deserve to die. He should have been able to watch his daughters grow up, be a grandpa," Daryl says.

"A lot of people deserve that future," She says. "The best way you can honor Hershel is by making sure others get that life."

Daryl nods as they walk towards the prison.

Night

Daryl stood in the watch tower, watching the walkers. He looked at the stairs as Abraham walked up them and stood by him. "When I found Glenn outside here. I never imagined this is what this place looked like," Abraham says. "A lot has happened since I found Glenn," Abraham says.

"It has been," Daryl says. "You ever think this is where you'd end up when Glenn punched you?"

"He told you that?" Abraham asks with a chuckle.

"No, Tara did. While we on watch after Terminus," Daryl says.

"I was an ass," Abraham says. "Tomorrow, we'll go on the first one. You, me, Rosita, Sasha, Michonne, Negan, Deanna, and Gabriel. The time that asshole pulled his weight,"

Daryl nodded as they stood in silence.

Thanks for reading. So Carol is gone for now, but she will show up soon. The next few chapters will be scavenging, and we will check in with Ezekiel, the saviors, and others inside of Alexandria. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.