Hey Everyone! Here's the first episode of season 3! This will be leading off from the prologue, so if you haven't read that yet, please do! Enjoy!
Two walkers stand idly inside an abandoned house. Nothing seems amiss until the front doors to the decrepit building burst open. Rick, now sporting a silenced pistol, takes out the first walker, while T Dog follows close behind with a fire poker in hand, and takes out the other one. The pair are soon followed by Daryl with his crossbow, Grant with his machete, and Carl also carrying a pistol with a makeshift silencer. The five of them silently search the house for any more signs of threats. Daryl and Rick each reached for their knives when they both opened the same pantry door from opposite ends, nearly killing each other. Daryl gave Rick a smirk and they both relaxed a little. Carl found a lone walker in the downstairs bathroom and quickly took it out with his pistol. Meanwhile, Daryl, T Dog, and Grant searched the upper floor of the house to make sure there were no more walkers, combing the bedroom and bathroom. Once the lower floor was clear, Rick and Carl opened the door to let Maggie and Glenn in. On the top floor, Daryl spotted a lone compy, perched on a chair eating some indiscriminate piece of something that he couldn't make out. Daryl lined up his Crossbow all the same, hoping for a quick meal. A bit later, after they were sure the house was cleared of all hostiles, Rick whistled for everyone else to come in the house. Zach led the charge with his pistol in hand, followed by the newcomers: Kayla, Gerry and Nima. Next came Carol, Jacob, Beth, and a very pregnant Lori. Hershel and Billy brought up the rear, and made sure they weren't followed. Rick shut and locked the door once everyone was inside.
Meanwhile, Carl and Zach searched the kitchen. Zach, being a bit taller than Carl, searched the upper cabinets after climbing on the counter and managed to find a lone can of wet dog food, while Carl found an identical can in the lower cabinets. The two of them looked at each other and sighed, wishing they had found something a bit more on the fit for human consumption side of things. Everyone gathered in the living room for a much needed reprieve, and sat in a circle on the floor. Lori had a jar of peanut butter she ate from, and Daryl had finished skinning the compy he had killed earlier. Carl and Zach set down the cans of dog food and everyone had less than pleased looks on their faces. Zach handed a can opener to Carl who cracked open both of the cans. Rick walked over and picked up one of the cans, saw what was in it, and angrily threw it into the fireplace, causing a visible reaction from everyone. Jacob and Billy looked at each other, and to Dr. Grant with concern. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Before they could do anything else, they heard the unmistakable call of a velociraptor, and Kayla looked out the window and could see a group of dark tan raptors searching. She gave a quiet whistle and gestured to the back door. Everyone frantically gathered their things and piled into the cars, as a group of raptors snarled and chased after them...
(Intro)
Later
A half a day or so later, the survivors stop in the road to come up with a new gameplan. Rick walked Carl to the end of the road.
"Fifteen. You're on point," Rick said. "Zach's got the other way," Carl nodded and Rick rejoined the rest of the group who was looking at a Georgia state map.
"We got no place left to go," T Dog said.
"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south," Maggie said.
"Not to mention the Raptors. They're migrating," Grant said, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Not just them," Gerry added. "How many times have we run into that T Rex?"
"Too many. And it's too damn close every time," Kayla said.
"What about the walkers? That was about 150 of them?" Billy asked.
"That was last week," Glenn said. "It could be twice that by now,"
"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through there," Hershel said, pointing to a wide-mouthed river on the map.
"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way," Jacob said. He drew two imaginary circles on the map. Nima looked at him and nodded in agreement.
"So we're blocked. Mierda," she swore under her breath.
"Only thing to do is double back at 27 and swing towards Greenville," Rick said.
"Yeah, we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles-" T Dog said. Rick cut him off slightly.
"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet. We can't keep going house to house. Need to find someplace to hole up for a few weeks.
"All right," T Dog sighed. "Is it cool if we get to the creek before we head out? Won't take long. We got to fill up on water. We can boil it later," he didn't wait for an answer before moving.
"Knock yourself out," Rick said, not seeming to care either way. Hershel pulled him aside as the rest of the group dispersed.
"She can't take much more of this moving about," Hershel said, looking towards Lori.
"What else can we do? Let her give birth on the run?" Rick asked. Hershel paused and put his hand on Rick's shoulder.
"Do you see a way around that?" Before Rick could respond, Hershel walked away and Daryl approached him.
"Hey, while the others wash their panties, let's go hunt. That compy didn't exactly hit the spot,"
Woods
Rick and Daryl marched through the woods looking for any sign of food.
"What do you think about our newcomers?" Rick asked. Daryl simply shrugged.
"They been alright so far. Only been a few months but they seem like they know their shit. Billy vouches for 'em. That's good enough for me," he said. Rick nodded in agreement.
"Might still be early to tell, but they've been pulling their weight so far. Grant knows his stuff. Harding's been helping Hershel where he can. Carl likes Nima and Kayla's a hell of a shot," he said. There was still an air of unease to his words, but less so than when they first met. Daryl grunted in amusement. Rick looked at Daryl with a smirk.
"I think she likes you," he said. Daryl grunted again and shook his head.
"Nah. She don't swing that way," Rick chuckled slightly and they continued on their forest search until they eventually reached an overlook and saw a potential safe haven: It was a prison. Complete with a ten foot tall fence, barbed wire, and numerous walkers. As they got closer, it was the walkers Daryl noticed first.
"That's a shame," Rick looked on as well, seeing the fenced in prison as a potential safe haven for their group.
Later, the scene cuts to the group huddled around Rick who was cutting a section of the fence with a pair of pliers. Gerry pinned a walker against another part of the fence while Jacob stabbed it in the head.
"Watch the backside," Rick called.
"Got it," Zach said, his gun ready and scanning the tree line. Rick pried the fence open as wide as he could, letting everyone inside the prison yard. Lori struggled to get inside without bending over too much, and Gerry assisted her. Everyone else funneled in, save for T-Dog who grabbed their bag of supplies off the ground.
"Hurry. Hurry!" Rick said, ushering him in. Once everyone was inside, Glenn and Daryl used some landscaping wire to tie the portion of the fence shut. The group was inside the outer perimeter fence. All that stood between them and the walkers dressed in prison uniforms, was a single chain link fence. Daryl and Rick led the group in a half-sprint through the outer fence towards the main prison gate that separated the two fences. Everyone stopped to catch their breath when they reached the gate.
"It's perfect," Rick started. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off 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 said.
"No," Maggie said. "It's a suicide run," Glenn looked at her, breathing heavily.
"I'm the fastest," Glenn replied. Rick shook his head.
"No, you, Maggie, Beth and Nima draw as many as you can over there. Pop 'em through the fence," the four of them nodded.
"Daryl, you and Kayla go back to the other tower," Daryl and Kayla nodded and looked at each other.
"Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste," Rick said. Carol nodded and readied her gun, following Daryl and Kayla. Rick turned to Hershel.
"Hershel, you, Carl and Jacob take this tower,"
"All right," Hershel said, walking to the tower. He turned to the remaining group members.
"Billy, you and me'll run for the gate. The rest of you, keep 'em off us. Conserve your ammo. Make every shot count," Rick said. Everyone nodded and readied their weapons. Billy handed the Marlin to Grant, who gave him a good luck pat on the shoulder and Zach readied his pistol. Gerry pulled out a sawed off shotgun from his bag and cocked it. Billy handed Rick a set of tools for the fence, and the two of them got into position. Meanwhile, there were a series of shouts and calls, all trying to distract the walkers. Glenn plunged a large piece of pipe into a walker's head, while the others trapped and stabbed walkers along the fence. On the other side of the outer gate, Grant and Gerry were doing the same thing; luring walkers to the fence to kill them. Zach provided ranged support, picking off walkers that got too close to the others.
Once it looked like enough walkers had been cleared, Billy and Rick readied themselves to run for the main gate of the prison.
"You ready?" Rick asked. Billy shrugged.
"Nope. Let's do this,"
Lori opened a small gate to let them through, and Rick and Billy drew their guns. There were walkers fast approaching them. Rick fired at one, and Billy gunned down another, one by one, and began thinning the herd, but not without help. In one of the towers, Hershel, Jacob, and Carl picked off the farther away walkers, to give Rick and Billy some room. In the other tower, Daryl took out a walker that was getting too close to Rick. Carol and Kayla took out two walkers that were closing in on Billy, who gave them both a thankful nod, and Kayla winked back at him before lining up another shot. Despite Rick calling her a good shot, Carol nearly grazed Rick's leg with a stray bullet. He looked up at her, annoyed.
"Sorry," she said, reloading. Meanwhile, the walkers began to disperse from the fences. Hearing the gunshots, they began to make their way towards Rick and Billy. The rest of the group tried in vain to keep their attention. Meanwhile, Rick and Billy had made it to the inner prison yard gate, and Rick grabbed the carabiner from his pocket. There were a significant number of walkers advancing towards them. Billy turned to Rick.
"Get the gate! I'll distract them!" he called. Rick nodded as Billy ran to the other side of the gate.
"Over here, shitheads!" He banged on the fence with his knife. It seemed to work, as Rick had enough room to loop the carabiner around the gate, and attach it to the fence it was connected to. For the meantime, the walkers were sealed in. Billy killed a few walkers with his knife and backed away, catching his breath. He didn't have very long, as the walkers in the field were quickly advancing on them. Rick killed a few of them before he called to Billy.
"In here! Now!" Rick opened the door to the tower connecting to the gate, and the two of them ran inside, with the sounds of walkers pounding on the door. Carol looked on with a smile, from the other tower.
"They did it," she said. Daryl nodded.
"Light it up!" he yelled to everyone, making a circle motion with his finger. They obliged him almost immediately, as gunshots rang out through the prison. One by one, the walkers began to drop like flies in the field. Rick and Billy, now at the top of the tower they had barricaded themselves in, smiled at each other, with Rick even giving a cheerful laugh, before he gunned down another walker. At the fences, everyone had their guns drawn, even Lori, and picked off more walkers. Finally, Rick took down the last walker in the field, and smirked. This was perhaps the biggest moment of hope they'd all had in a long time.
Later, everyone regrouped to celebrate their small, but meaningful victory. There were smiles and hope filled eyes all around.
"Fantastic," Carol said, meeting up with Hershel, Carl and Jacob.
"Nice shooting," Daryl said, looking at Carl.
"Yeah," Jacob said, nudging Carl playfully. "I think you took out more than I did," Carl smiled, as a cheerful Zach, Gerry and Grant rejoined them. Carol opened the large gate for Lori.
"You okay?" she asked.
"I haven't felt this good in weeks," Lori replied with an exhausted, yet genuine smile.
"Good," Gerry said. "Hopefully this will help with the baby," Lori smiled at him but said nothing. Spirits were soaring as everyone entered the fields.
"Oh! We haven't had this much space since we left the farm!" Carol called. Zach looked around the fields with a smile, but looked a bit sad after the fact. Jacob caught up to him after talking with Grant.
"Hey, bud. You good?" he asked. Zach nodded with a smile, and holstered his pistol.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about everyone else who should've been here with us. Jim, Sophia, Dale, Andrea. Wu," That last name hit like a freight train. Jacob didn't have the heart to tell Zach he found the Indominus Claw on Wu's body. He smiled at him somberly.
"Yeah. Me too buddy. But remember what I told you; people-" Jacob couldn't finish his sentence before Zach interjected.
"People die. I know, Jake. And we carry on in honor of them," Jacob paused for a moment then smiled at him.
"You're growing up too fast, kid. C'mon. Let's enjoy this for the night," Zach gave a small smile himself, and the two of them rejoined the others.
Night; Field
That night, Daryl was on guard duty at the gate, while Rick checked the fences for any signs of a breach. Everyone else was gathered around the campfire, cooking and eating what appeared to be a raccoon.
"Delicious," Grant said, with a tinge of sarcasm, throwing a rib bone out into the field.
"Just like mom used to make," Glenn added in agreement. Zach had fallen asleep by the fire, and Jacob propped him up with a jacket as a makeshift pillow.
"What's the plan going forward? I don't imagine we'll be in this field forever," he said. T Dog nodded.
"Tomorrow we'll put all the bodies together. Want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of fresh water," he said.
"Good a plan as any," Nima said, laying back, facing up towards the stars. Kayla ripped off a chunk of meat from the raccoon and scarfed it down.
"Beefin' up the defenses of this place might be a good start. Keep someone on watch, add some sharp shit to the fences or something. Keep the bigger ones out," she said, tossing a bone into the fire. Grant chuckled, but nodded.
"Fences didn't stop them in Jurassic Park," he said. Kayla snorted.
"Or the second park," Glenn added.
"You got a better idea?" she asked.
"Not at the moment," Grant said, twiddling his thumbs. "But we'll figure something out,"
"Now that you mention it," Maggie started. "I haven't seen any in hours,"
"Doesn't mean they're not here. There could be dozens of nests inside that prison," Billy said. Most everyone nodded in agreement.
"The soil is good," Hershel started. "We could plant some seed. Grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans," Gerry spotted Rick circling the fences again.
"How many times around is that?" he asked. Everyone looked towards Rick.
"Three, by my count," Jacob said.
"If there was any part of it compromised, he'd have found it by now," Hershel added.
"This'll be a good place to have the baby," Beth said, turning to Lori. "Safe,"
Meanwhile, Carol walked over to the overturned bus Daryl was keeping watch from, and hopped up next to him. She handed him a few pieces of Racoon meat.
"It's not much, but if I don't bring you something, you won't eat at all,"
"Yeah, I guess Little Shane over there has got quite the appetite," Daryl replied.
"Don't be mean," Carol said with a smirk. "Rick's gotten us a lot farther than I ever thought he would, I'll give him that,"
"Mm-hmm," Daryl nodded with his mouth full.
"Shane could never have done that," she said. She paused for a moment and winced, grabbing her shoulder blade.
"What's wrong?" Daryl asked.
"It's that rifle. The kickback. I'm just not used to it,"
"Hold on," Daryl said, setting his crossbow down. He motioned for Carol to turn around and gave her back a massage. Carol turned back at him and blushed, prompting Daryl to sheepishly stop his massage.
"Better get back," he said.
"It's pretty romantic," Carol said. "Want to screw around?" she was only half joking. Daryl blew a raspberry and they both laughed.
I'll go down first," Daryl said, beginning the climb down the side of the bus.
"Even better," Carol joked. Daryl just rolled his eyes.
"Stop,"
Later, back around the campfire, the air was somber, but hopeful. Hershel turned to Beth with a smile on his face.
"Bethy, sing Paddy Reilly for me," he said. "I haven't heard that, I think, since your mother was alive," Maggie looked rather sad.
"Daddy, not that one, please," she said. Hershel nodded and turned back to Beth.
"How about 'Parting Glass'?" He asked.
"No one wants to hear," Beth said, shaking her head. Jacob shrugged.
"I know a few songs. Uh, Green Day is my favorite. Know anything by them?" he said, rather sheepishly. Beth gave a small smile, and nodded.
"Really?" Hershel asked with a chuckle.
"I don't just listen to country, daddy," she said. She turned back to Jacob.
"Do you know: 'Last Night on Earth?' I've always liked that one," Jacob nodded with a smile.
"My girlfriend's favorite," he said, with a sad smile. Beth began singing and Jacob joined her.
"I text a postcard sent to you,
did it go through? Sending all my love to you," Jacob sang, in a slow tempo.
"You are the moonlight of my life every night
Givin' all my love to you," Beth joined in, and the two of them began to sing together.
"My beatin' heart belongs to you
I walked for miles till I found you
I'm here to honor you.
If I lose everything in the fire,
I'm sendin' all my love to you," by this point, Rick, Carol and Daryl had rejoined the group around the fire and were listening to the serenade.
"With every breath that I am worth
Here on earth
I'm sendin' all my love to you
So if you dare to second guess,
You can rest, assured that all my loves for you
My beating heart belongs to you
I walked for miles 'til I found you
I'm here to honor you,
If I lose everything in the fire,
I'm sendin' all my love to you," Zach had woken up by this point and watched proudly as his big brother sang.
"My beating heart belongs to you,
I walked for miles 'til I found you
I'm here to honor you,
If I lose everything in the fire,
Did I ever make it through?" As Jacob and Beth sang the last line in harmony, they were met with smiles from the group.
"Beautiful," Hershel said.
"Haven't heard that one in a while," Grant added.
"Yeah," Jacob said, looking rather sad. "Me either,"
"Better all turn in," Rick said. "I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow,"
"Big day?" Nima echoed. Rick nodded.
"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've got to push just a little bit more," he said. He was met with tired looks, but he continued.
"Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary,"
"An armory?" Kayla asked.
"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away," Rick replied. He continued.
"Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine," Jacob looked skeptical and stroked his beard.
"Not a lot of ammo left," he turned to Grant. "Even with what you guys had to spare. We'd run out before we could even make a dent," he said. Grant and Nima nodded in agreement.
"That's why we have to go in there. Hand to hand," Rick said.
"After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance," that last part he said to Carl, who nodded along with him. After giving his speech Rick got up from the fire, leaving everyone to stew on his words. Lori followed him shortly after.
"Psst," she whispered. "I appreciate everything you're doing. And we all do, but it's been a death march and they're exhausted. Can we just enjoy this for a few days?" Rick just shrugged.
"Baby will be here in a few days. There's no time for a picnic," he said.
"No, but it's time to get the house in order," she replied.
"What do you think I'm doing?" Rick asked, with another shrug.
"Your absolute best," Lori said, almost instantly regretting her words.
"Don't patronize me," Rick said, walking away from her.
"I'm not," she said, catching up to him. "I'm just saying the baby is about to be here - and we need to talk about-"
"About what?" Rick asked, cutting her off.
"Things we've been avoiding-"
"You want to talk? Talk to Hershel," Rick spat, cutting her off again.
"I'm doing stuff, Lori. 'Things.' Isn't that enough? I'm still here," Lori was sweating, and a look of guilt washed over her face.
"You're right. I'm sorry,"
The Next day, the woman with the Katana, Michonne, combed a pharmacy looking for supplies. The very same pharmacy that Maggie had almost died in. There was a velociraptor carcass rotting in the corner of the room, being fed on by several walkers. She quickly dispatched them and grabbed whatever meds she could find, before leaving with her two chained walkers in tow.
Prison; exterior
Back at the prison, the group was preparing for an assault on the inner prison yard. Hershel readied the gate, while Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, T-Dog, Billy, and Nima drew their close combat weapons.
"Ready?" Hershel asked, grabbing the carabiner on the gate. Rick nodded and the assault team funneled in, the walkers quickly closing in around them. One of them was getting too close and Rick turned to the others.
"Nima?" he said, gesturing to the walker. Nima didn't say anything but nodded, and cleaved her machete into the walker's skull. One by one, the group thinned the walkers in the main gate, decapitating them and otherwise. Meanwhile, the rest of the group banged on the fence and called out to the walkers in an effort to distract them and kill them through the fence. Jacob stabbed one right through its eye, and Zach did the same with his knife, but got it stuck in the walker's skull. He was about to pull it out when another walker grabbed him through the fence.
"J-Jake! Help!" he called, punching the walker in an effort to release its grip, to no avail. Jacob looked over with panic, but calmed down when he saw Grant grab the walker's arm, and slice it clean off, before stabbing the walker in the temple.
"You alright, Zachary?" Grant asked, checking him for bites. He handed Zach's knife back to him. Zach nodded, out of breath.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Thanks," he said, rather embarrassed. Grant gave him a small smile.
"You might wanna sharpen that," Grant replied with a chuckle, going back to the other side of the fence with Kayla and Jacob. Zach nodded again and went back to distracting the walkers.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard, everyone else was still hacking and slashing at the horde of walkers.
"Get tight! Get tight!" Glenn called, noticing the group was breaking formation. Everyone silently obliged him while killing more of the undead. As the group neared the cell block, T Dog, out of the corner of his eye, noticed a riot shield on the ground, and broke from the group in an attempt to run and grab it.
"Don't break rank! T!" Rick called in vain.
"We may need that!" T said, successfully grabbing the riot shield. Billy also bent down and grabbed a closer one.
"He's got a point!" Billy called over the sounds of the dead. "Gonna be more inside!" Rick didn't say anything as they killed the last of the walkers they could see, and inched towards the door to the cell block.
"Almost there," Rick said. But when they approached the door, around the corner was another infestation of the undead, inside of a not-so-secure section of fencing. It wasn't until what they saw next made them all panic a bit.
"Oh, shit," Nima said, as two walkers kitted out in body armor turned the corner. Daryl shot an arrow at one of them, but failed to pierce the helmet that the walker was wearing. He, Rick, Nima, and T Dog grabbed their weapons in an attempt to break through the armor of the walkers. Billy audibly gasped when a walker wearing riot gear and breathing apparatus emerged from the door they were all standing next to. He attempted to jab his knife into the gas mask, but the walker kept coming. Instead, he kicked the knees out from under the walker, and Maggie held it down while Glenn drove a metal rod into its skull.
Back at the exterior fence, anxiety was rising as Rick and the assault crew disappeared from everyone's view. Lori walked up next to Jacob and Carol, her face sick with worry.
"I can't see them. Can you see them?" She asked. Jacob scanned the area and finally saw them.
"Back there! By the cell block door," he said.
"Are those walkers wearing body armor?" Carol asked. Jacob swore under his breath.
"Fuck,"
Prison yard; exterior cell block
Rick was struggling to take out the armored walkers, while T, Nima, and Daryl did their best to keep the walkers off of Rick.
"Daryl!" Rick called, tackling an armored walker to the ground. He quickly realized that trying to take them all out in the open was going to get them killed. Daryl and Rick each killed another walker, and then Rick kicked a walker back into the open fence area while Daryl did his best to secure it shut.
"We're good!" Rick called, after making sure the carabiner was tightly fastened.
Meanwhile, Maggie, Billy and Glenn were beginning to get overrun by more of the armored walkers. Maggie held the walker back and shoved her knife up underneath the helmet, causing it to drop dead to the ground.
"See that?" she said with a proud, yet nervous smile. Billy and Glenn obliged her by doing the same, while Nima and Daryl killed the last one. It looked like they finally had a moment of reprieve. Glenn started to run back to the others but Rick stopped him.
"Stop,"
"Well, it looks secure," Glenn shrugged.
"That courtyard says otherwise," Nima said, pointing to where they had just come from. Daryl nodded in agreement.
"And that's a civilian," he added.
"So the interior could be overrun by walkers from outside the prison," T Dog said.
"Or worse," Maggie added.
"Well, if there's walls down, what are we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place," Glenn said with a frustrated shrug.
"We can't risk a blind spot," Rick said. "We have to push in," everyone looked frustrated, but agreed and followed Rick to the cell block entrance. When Rick opened the inner prison cell door, they heard the squeaks of compys running away frantically. Nima and Billy looked at each other worriedly.
"There's definitely dinosaurs in here," Billy said.
"Hopefully nothing bigger than them," T Dog said. Rick shushed them both and kept walking forward with everyone close behind. He had everyone fan out as they searched the cell block for threats. Rick went up in the guard tower and grabbed the cell keys off of a long dead prison guard. When they finally reached the main cell block, the upper levels had a few walkers still in their cells, but were quickly taken out.
Later
The scene cuts to Daryl dropping the last walker from the upper cell on to the ground level as part of cleaning the place up. Everyone had now come in from outside.
"What do you think?" Rick asked.
"Home, sweet, home," Glenn said.
"For the time being," Rick replied.
"Is it secure?" Grant asked.
"This cell block is," Rick said. "No dinosaurs yet, aside from a few compys,"
"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.
"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary," Rick said.
"We sleepin' in the cells?" Kayla asked, skeptically.
"I found keys on some guards," Rick said, nodding. "Daryl has a set too,"
"I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the perch," Daryl said. Everyone dispersed and went to claim a cell. Lori walked up to Rick with gratitude in her eyes
"Thank you," Rick didn't look at her and just walked away.
Meanwhile Carl followed Beth into one of the cells.
"Pretty gross," Beth said, looking around at the wet, yet dusty room.
"Yeah, remember the storage units?" Carl asked. Beth smiled at him and sat on one of the bunks.
"It's actually- it's actually comfortable," she said. "Check it out," Carl smiled sheepishly and started taking his bag off to climb the top bunk, before Hershel walked in behind him.
"You find your cell yet?" he asked. Zach overheard the conversation and a coy smile filled his face.
"Y-Yeah, I was just making sure Beth was safe," Carl said, embarrassed.
"See you tomorrow," he said.
"See you," Beth said. She looked at Hershel and chuckled as Carl left the room. Once out of earshot, Zach swung his arm around Carl's shoulder.
"Somebody's got a crush!" he said quietly in a sing-songy tone. Carl lightly punched his arm.
"Shut up," he said with an embarrassed smile. Zach shook his head also smiling and joined Jacob in a cell that he'd already picked. Jacob was sitting on one of the bunks looking at a partially torn picture of him and a very pretty looking girl. She had brown hair and a beautiful smile. Jacob was wearing sunglasses in the picture, and Zach recognized the location as right in front of the mosasaurus lagoon in Jurassic World. Jacob smiled sadly and put the picture in his backpack. He looked over and was a bit surprised to see Zach standing in the doorway.
"Oh," he said. "Hey bud," he smiled softly at Zach.
"Is that...Ava?" Zach asked. Jacob sighed, but nodded.
"Yeah. I haven't thought about her in a long time. I tried to reach her after the world fell apart. I called her, what, maybe thirty times? But she didn't-" He paused for a moment.
"I hope she's out there, somewhere. Safe," Jacob said.
"I hope so too," Zach said, sitting on the bed next to his brother. "She was always so nice to me. She always got me Jolly Ranchers whenever I was with you both because I told her they were my favorite. I miss her," Jacob chuckled but then looked sad, and gave Zach a pat on the back. He pulled the picture back out.
"Me too, Zach," there was silence for a few minutes before Jacob spoke back up again.
"We took this picture together almost a month after I started at the park. I wasn't gonna be able to make it back to Maine for our fourth anniversary so she surprised me by flying herself out to see me. Turns out she contacted Claire about it and she gave me the day off to spend with her," Jacob said with a chuckle. "She knew I was terrified of the mosasaur but insisted we take this picture anyway," he paused for another second.
"It-It's probably the last thing I have of her," Jacob wiped away tears and Zach looked at him sympathetically. Jacob turned to face him.
"I'm alright bud. Why don't you get your stuff unpacked," Zach nodded as Jacob put the picture away.
"Hey Jake?" Zach asked. Jacob looked at him.
"I think we're gonna be okay here," Zach said with a smile. Jacob nodded to him and gave a smile back.
"Me too kid. Me too,"
Maggie and Glenn's cell
When the two of them entered the cell, Glenn noticed a giant blood splatter on the wall but Maggie seemed to move right past it
"I'm so exhausted, I don't even care," she said. The two of them sat down on the bed and Glenn started touching Maggie's arms.
"Here, let me see," Glenn said
"What are you doing?" She asked. He gently turned her towards him
"Checking for scratches," the two of them laughed lightly and looked as if they were happier than they had been in months.
Grant, Harding, and Billy's Cell
Grant set his pack down on one of the bottom bunks and took a swig from his canteen, and made an audible sigh of relief after he took a drink. Billy was already laying on the top bunk above Grant's bed, and Harding was on the opposite bottom bunk, storing his shoes underneath it. He layed back on the bed with a groan.
"Long day, huh?" Billy asked, not looking down from his bunk. Harding snickered.
"Long couple of months. Can't remember the last time we just took a minute to relax,"
"Yeah, well, between the dinosaurs and the walkers, they don't make it easy," Grant said.
"No kidding," Harding said. "I know we had to keep moving, for Lori's sake especially, but it would have been nice to stay in one place for more than twelve hours these past few weeks. And I know Rick's kept us alive. Hell, he and Daryl found this place, but-" Harding trailed off.
"That farm must've been nice," he added after a few more seconds. Billy sat up and nodded.
"It was. For a while. And then everything happened with Shane, and just like that, it all fell apart. All it takes is one bad apple to spoil the bunch. I can't imagine how Hershel must've felt,"
"From what I've heard from folks, it sounds like Rick was the right choice to lead over this Shane guy," Grant said. Billy nodded vehemently.
"Definitely. But..."
"But?" Harding asked.
"Are we sure we aren't just delaying the inevitable here?"
"What do you mean?" Grant asked, looking up at him. Billy shrugged and sighed.
"I mean that-that this place could fall. Just like the farm did. All it takes is one walker, one raptor. One bad apple. And-and that fence might keep out the walkers, but it's not gonna stop a forty foot long T. Rex from barreling through, or a pack of raptors from scaling it in the middle of the night and slaughtering us all while we sleep. And maybe I'm just being a pessimist but the thought is never far from my mind. Not in the world we live in now," that last part, Billy looked at Harding as he spoke. Billy sighed once more and laid back again. Grant got up from his bed and looked at Billy, leaning against the wall next to the bed.
"I won't pretend to know what you went through before you found us Billy. And I'm sorry that it took so long. But you have my word in this: whatever we do, and wherever we go, we do it together. That's how we survive," Grant said with a smile.
"He's got a point," a voice said. It was Kayla standing in the doorway with Nima. Billy smiled and chuckled.
"Now you sound like Rick," Billy said. Grant chuckled and awkwardly patted Billy's leg from below.
"Well, maybe that's why he was made the leader then," everyone laughed as the camera pans away from the cell block, leaving everyone to their moments of peace.
Deer Cooler; Overrun Town
Michonne quietly stepped on the porch of the rundown deer cooler. She heard the sounds of stomping not too far from her and ducked behind a post out of view. She scanned the town for the source of the stomping and witnessed a carnotaurus drinking from a puddle. It didn't seem to care that the walkers around the place were practically right on top of it. A few of them got too close though, and Michonne winced when she saw the dinosaur swipe its tail and send a few of them flying. After which, Michonne breathed a sigh of relief as the grumpy dinosaur stomped off in the opposite direction. Once the area was clear, she entered the deer cooler and was greeted with her chained walkers acting as guard dogs. Going into the actual cooler, she had a moment of panic when she didn't see Andrea or her other companion, Barry. She quickly made her way towards the back and was semi relieved to see Andrea lying down in a dimly lit corner of the room.
"What are you doing out here?" Michonne asked.
"I needed some light," Andrea said weakly. Michonne looked around the room again.
"Where's Barry?"
"Hunting. He said he thought he saw some ducks an hour or so ago,"
"Of course he did," Michonne said, under her breath. She got Andrea to sit up and pulled out aspirin and a bottle of water.
"Take this," she said. Andrea obliged her and slumped back against the wall.
"How is it out there?" Andrea asked. Michonne shrugged.
"Aside from that Carno that's been hanging around here, it's the same. Quiet,"
"You're lying," Andrea replied. Michonne ignored her and stored the water bottle.
"We should go in a few days," Andrea just looked at her for a moment.
"They're coming," she said. She wasn't sure if she believed it herself.
"You and Barry should go," she continued. Michonne shook her head with a frown.
"No," There was the sound of a door shutting quietly, and Andrea and Michonne both looked to the back door of the cooler, and Barry stepped in, setting his bow down on the counter. He had a single duck swung over his shoulder, and hung it up on one of the racks once meant for deer. He stared at the two of them for a minute and shrugged.
"What did I miss?" he asked, his thick French accent very noticeable in the quiet room.
"She wants us to leave her here," Michonne said stoically. Barry turned and looked at Andrea but said nothing.
"Yes. And you should, I'll hold you back. Go," Andrea said. Barry and Michonne looked at each other with concern.
"I can take care of myself," Andrea spoke up. "I saved your asses all winter, didn't I?"
"It was fifty-fifty," Barry joked. Andrea chuckled a bit but began coughing violently. Michonne pulled out the water again, but Andrea slapped it away much to the surprise of Barry and Michonne.
"Andrea-" Barry started. But Andrea cut him off.
"I won't have you dying for me. Good soldiers won't leave your post. Screw you," Michonne just sighed and stood up, trying not to take offense to what Andrea had said.
"We'll go in a few days," she said, starting to leave Andrea be, and Barry followed behind her. But Andrea started to speak up again.
"If we stay," she paused. "I'll die here," Michonne said nothing but opened up the door to the cooler, and yanked the chain of her two guard dog walkers, and motioned for Andrea and Barry to follow, much to the surprise of both of them. Barry sighed and grabbed the duck and his bow.
"So much for a few days,"
Prison: Cell Block
In the cell block, Rick, Hershel, Daryl, T Dog and Kayla were gathered around a table with weapons and other prisoner deterrents they had managed to scrounge together from the surrounding guard towers.
"Not bad. Flares, Flashbangs, CS Triple-Chasers. Not sure how they'd work on walkers, but we'll take it," Rick said, holding the grenades up to the light for closer inspection.
"We know they work on dinosaurs, at the very least," Hershel said. Rick nodded in agreement. Daryl inspected the body armor, wincing in disgust as he touched one of the slime and viscera filled helmets. He wiped his hand off on his pants.
"I ain't wearing this shit," he said. T Dog shrugged.
"We could boil 'em," Daryl shook his head with disgust.
"Ain't enough firewood in the whole forest. No," he said. Kayla shrugged.
"Hell, we made it this far without 'em, right?" she said. Daryl nodded in agreement.
"Any ammo up there? I'm down to my last few rounds," she asked Rick.
"A box or two. Not enough to comb the whole prison. We'll need to get into that armory somehow," Rick replied. Suddenly, Carol came out of one of the cells.
"Hershel," she gestured towards the cell.
"Everything all right?" Rick asked. Carol nodded
"Yeah. Nothing to worry about," Hershel followed her into the cell where Lori was sitting on one of the beds looking distraught. Harding was already taking her vitals.
"It's the baby," Lori started. "I think I lost it," Harding silently took her blood pressure from a patchwork first aid kit they had found months ago. Lori continued talking with Hershel.
"You haven't felt it move?" Hershel asked. Lori shook her head.
"Nothing. And no Braxton-Hicks," Harding blew a raspberry and shrugged.
"Her vitals are normal. Blood pressure's a tad high but I think that's typical of all of us at the moment," he said. Lori nodded at him in thanks, and he sat in a chair opposite them. She continued.
"At first I thought it was exhaustion or malnutrition,"
"You're anemic?" Hershel asked. Lori nodded but blew off the question.
"If we're all infected, then so is the baby. So what if it's stillborn? What if it's dead inside me right now? What if it rips me apart?"
"Stop. Don't let your fear take control of you," Hershel said. Lori began tearing up.
"Okay. Then let's say it lives and I die during childbirth," she said.
"That's not going to happen," Harding said, leaning forward in his chair.
"Why not? How many women died in childbirth before modern medicine? If I come back, what if I attack it? Or you? Or Rick? Or Carl? If I do, if there is any chance, you put me down immediately," Lori said.
"Whoa, Lori-" Harding started, but Lori kept talking, looking at both of them.
"You don't hesitate. Me, the baby if we're walkers, you don't hesitate and you don't try to save us. Okay?" Lori said, crying. Harding and Hershel looked at each other sadly.
"It might have been better if-" Lori started
"If what?" Hershel asked.
" I'd never made it off the farm," Hershel shook his head.
"You're exhausted, frightened," he said. Harding nodded in agreement.
"And likely close to labor. It's not an easy time, Lori,"
"Yeah, that's true," Lori conceded. She continued. "My son can't stand me. And my husband, after what I put him through-" she trailed off.
"We've all been carrying that weight. All winter," Hershel said.
"I tried to talk to him. He-"
"He'll come around," Hershel said, attempting to reassure her.
"He hates me. He's too good a man to say it, but I know. I put him and Shane at odds.
I put that knife in his hand," Lori said, sobbing.
"You know who doesn't give a shit about that?" Hershel said. "This baby,"
"Now let's make sure everything's alright. Give me a hand, Gerry?" Hershel asked. Gerry nodded and grabbed the first aid kit.
Cell Block; later.
Lori looked down from above to see everyone gearing up to take the rest of the prison. Everyone was donning body armor and Carl was getting some on too. Though, it wasn't exactly the right size, as the helmet slipped off his head as he chuckled while looking at Beth.
"You won't need that," Rick said. "I need you to stay put,"
"You're kidding," Carl said, frustrated.
"We don't know what's in there. I already talked to Jacob. Zach's staying behind too. Something goes wrong, you two could be our last line of defense," Rick said. He gestured for Zach to come over too. Zach nodded and speed walked towards Rick.
"I need you two to handle things here," Zach and Carl both nodded.
"Sure," Carl said.
"I take this door, you watch the other side?" Zach asked. Jacob smiled in Zach's direction after getting his own body armor on, though he didn't see it.
"Yeah," Carl said, feeling a bit defeated.
"Great," Rick said. "Let's go,"
Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, T-Dog, Jacob, Harding, Nima and Kayla all funneled out the cell door as Rick locked it behind him. Beth, Carol, Lori, Grant and Billy stayed behind to guard the cell block.
Prison interior
A bit later, the group came to a corridor. Rick quickly unlocked the cell door blocking their path and they came to a junction. He motioned for Jacob, T-Dog, Harding and Nima to take one path, while everyone else followed the other. Jacob nodded, and he and T-Dog led the group up front. They both had their knives drawn and flashlights out. There was unease among the group as they searched for any signs of walkers. They eventually came to a hallway, and Jacob nearly tripped over a dead body. But it wasn't a walker body. He knelt down for closer inspection and saw leaves, dirt, and most alarming: eggs. They were coming out of the chest cavity of the body.
"What-what the hell is this?" Jacob whispered. Everyone turned to see what he was referring to and both Gerry and Nima's eyes widened with fear.
"Dios Mio. Is that?-" Nima started.
"It is," Gerry said, fear in his voice.
"Well what's-" T Dog started. Suddenly, they heard eerie clicking and snarling sounds. Jacob pointed his flashlight down the hall towards the source of the sound, and when he did, giant beady white eyes recoiled and hissed at the light source. Jacob audibly gasped and the creatures started running towards them.
"Troodons! Run!" Gerry called. Everyone obliged him and began running back towards the junction.
Meanwhile, the other group had been combing another section of the prison. There were dead bodies left and right, but they soon came to a dead end. A dead end filled with walkers. They quickly started advancing on Rick, Hershel, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie and Kayla.
"Go back," Rick said. Everyone obliged him and started backtracking.
"Fuckin' move! Walkers! Go back, now!" Kayla called.
"This way!" Rick called, leading them away. In the struggle, Glenn and Maggie got separated from the rest of the group. Daryl led Rick, Hershel and Kayla into some sort of closet, where they took a second to reorient themselves, but discovered they were down two people.
"Where's Glenn and Maggie?" Rick asked.
"We have to go back," Hershel said.
"But which way?" Daryl said with a nod. Hershel quietly opened the door and began searching for them.
Troodon controlled prison section;
Jacob looked behind him after they had been running for several solid minutes, and didn't see the Troodons behind them.
"I think-I think we're clear,"
Back with the rest of the group, Hershel began calling out for his daughter and Glenn.
"Maggie? Glenn?" Hershel called in a whisper yell. In another section of the prison, Glenn and Maggie could faintly hear Hershel calling for them.
"Rick?" Glenn called.
"Dad?" Maggie called. Hershel began following the source of the voice, and wandered off alone.
"Mag? Mag?" Before Hershel could call her name again. He heard an odd hissing sound as he walked by a vent. Before he could react, he looked down and saw a beady-eyed dinosaur chomp down on his leg, and rip it to shreds. Hershel called out in pain and fell to the ground.
Everyone in Jacob's group heard the sound of the screaming and rushed in the same direction. When they reached the source of the sound, Rick pulled out his gun in an attempt to kill the grotesque dinosaur. It dodged and weaved and was about to bite down on Rick, but a flare came flying from around the corner, scaring off the dinosaur as it scurried into the vent. Harding looked down at Hershel and saw the bite.
"Oh god," Hershel wailed in pain and Maggie was inconsolable.
"Daryl!" Rick called, trying to get Hershel up.
"Oh, God, help me! Oh, God!" Hershel called in pain. Hershel's cries of pain and agony brought both a horde of walkers, and a rather large group of Troodons.
"Go! Go! Back!" Daryl called.
"We're blocked! We have to go back!" Jacob called, knifing a walker in the chin. Rick led them back to the closet they were hiding in earlier.
"Go! Go! Get in! Shut the door!" Daryl called. T-Dog and Kayla held the door while everyone else, Harding in particular, tended to Hershel.
"We need to get this dressed! Get him back to the cell block," Rick said. Harding shook his head.
"That won't work," he said, fearful.
"What do you mean?" Rick said, standing up. Harding didn't answer right away so Rick yelled again.
"Harding! What do you mean?!"
"He-he-he was bitten by a Troodon. A venomous dinosaur. Their bite causes paralysis and eventual brain death," Harding stammered.
"So-so what the fuck do we do?!" Glenn called.
"We need Carfentanil to counteract the venom but-" Rick cut him off.
"We need a solution, now!" Harding frantically looked around but before he could say anything, Nima spoke up.
"Cut it off," she said, blurting it out as if she didn't mean too.
"What?" Kayla said. There was more banging coming from the door.
"Whatever you're gonna do, do it now!" Daryl called.
"I got bit by one of these things, and it almost killed me. We don't have what we need to get that shit out of him. So we stop it from spreading," Nima said.
"N-no! He'd bleed out before we-" Maggie started. Nima grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye.
"Maggie, your father will be paralyzed and brain dead by nightfall unless we do this! Is that what you want?" Nima said. Maggie shook her head vehemently and turned away crying.
"Do it," Nima said, turning to Rick.
"Hold him down," Rick said. Jacob and Nima nodded and held Hershel down, while Rick used his belt as a tourniquet and wrapped it around Hershel's leg.
"Only one way to keep you alive," Rick began hacking at the lower half of Hershel's leg, just above the Troodon bite. Rick gave a big sigh after he finished the emergency amputation, and Hershel passed out.
"He's bleeding out," Rick said in between breaths. Daryl looked up after the whole ordeal was over, and saw a group of people; living people, behind a grate, and raised his crossbow at the men.
"Duck," he said. Having just watched the bloody ordeal, the prisoners all looked dumbfounded.
"Holy shit,"
END
Hey everyone! Happy Jurassic June! Sorry this took me so long, I had some things going on in my personal life, but I'm glad to get the first official chapter of season three out to you! I've been really looking forward to adding Troodons into the story for a while, and I figured what better way than to have Hershel lose his leg to one! It was also nice to see Grant and Rick's group working together, especially with Nima and Harding, as I feel they deserve more of a spotlight than I'd given them in the past. And for those of you asking about the Nublar six, I have some big plans for them, so don't worry! I'll share more details at a later date, but I'd like to keep the plans a surprise for a while! As always, thanks for reading!
~JPfan