Chapter 32 - Locked In

West Georgia Correctional Facility

It didn't take long for Rick to want to continue clearing through the prison. It was like he couldn't sit still and the idea of resting made him uneasy. None of them complained though, they could understand Rick's paranoia. If the walkers outside were any indication as to what was inside, then it was better that they dealt with it quickly before anything disastrous happened.

With the same crew as before, plus the addition of Hershel who insisted on coming with, Rick left Carl in charge at Cell Block C and they ventured further into the prison. It was nearly pitch black in the hallways and all they had was a spray can which allowed them to leave a trail to get back. They stuck close, nearly shoulder to shoulder and Tess had her machete at the ready, with her bow across her back; just in case.

It was eerily quiet as they crept through the halls and it made Tess wonder what had happened to all the prisoners. So far, most of the walkers they had come across since entering the prison had been guards and civilians, with the odd prisoner now and again. Not nearly as many as she would have thought. As they slowly approached a T-junction in the hallway, she could hear noises coming from the left side. It was the sound of shuffling feet and groaning and was the tell-tale sign of walkers.

As surreptitiously as possible, Rick edged around the corner to take a look and immediately leapt back in fear as he came face to face with a hallway full of walkers. Tess immediately knew by the look on his face that they were outnumbered. In such tight quarters, it wouldn't take much.

"Back! Back! Walkers!" Rick shouted at them, knowing they'd already been spotted and they needed to get out of there quickly. They began tearing back down the hallway but in the darkness and chaos it was difficult to see where they were going and soon enough they were faced with another corridor of walkers. The noise seemed to have drawn them in and Tess spun around so quickly that she nearly slammed into the person behind her. They couldn't allow themselves to get cornered, it would only mean death.

Tess continued to turn back the way she had come when she felt herself being sharply tugged backwards and off to the side. Immediately she began to panic, thinking the worst, and tried to jerk herself free but whatever had hold on her was much stronger and was able to pin her against the wall. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she didn't even have the time to react before a hand was covering her mouth and she finally looked up to see that it was Daryl that had pulled her into the dark alcove and away from the walkers.

She looked up at him with wide eyes, panting to catch her breath but trying to remain as silent as she could. He was keeping a watchful eye on the hallway, making sure they were far back enough to not be spotted. Tess, unable to move her head under his hand, strained to look to her side, watching the walkers scramble past, none the wiser. She hadn't even noticed how close they were until now, her chest ever so slightly touching his and his hand firmly but not uncomfortably placed against her face. If this were any other time and place, she didn't know how she'd react.

Gradually, the walkers disappeared and Daryl looked away from the hallway and down at her. He gave her a look that she didn't recognize. One he'd never given her before. If it weren't so dark, Tess would've been able to see him turning red as he pulled away his hand from her face and leant back to give her room without making it appear like the little space between them bothered him. Tess felt herself begin to breathe a little easier, whether from the walkers leaving or Daryl no longer being mere inches from her face, she wasn't entirely sure.

"You okay?" Daryl whispered to her and she nodded back.

"Yeah, thank you." She hadn't even noticed the alcove while running past it but she was grateful that he had, otherwise who knows where she would have ended up. Suddenly they started hearing footsteps again, solitary this time and Daryl moved in front of her once more, like he was trying to shield her and Tess felt her back press up against the wall again.

A lone walker in a prison jumpsuit staggered past, the lower half of its right leg twisted clean around, causing it to limp. Tess tried to imagine how on earth that could have happened when she heard the sharp release of Daryl's crossbow and the walker fell dead. They both waited with bated breath, straining to hear anything else coming their way but for now, it sounded like they were alone.

"We should go find the others." Tess spoke softly, still keeping her voice low just in case. Daryl didn't seem to need any encouragement and exited the alcove before she could even finish her sentence. Tess tried not to overthink it and let it bother her but she childishly felt a little jilted. Daryl just wanted to get out of there before he did anything stupid.

They had to backtrack a little bit to where they'd run into the second group of walkers but eventually they ran into Maggie and Glenn. Both of them looked a little shaken up but none the worse for wear. Tess hugged them, relieved to see that they were okay and Daryl, in typical fashion, kept his distance.

"Did you see where the others went?" Maggie asked them nervously, anxious to get back to her dad and make sure he was alright. Tess shook her head, unable to offer much help.

"They can't be far." Daryl assured them all. "We should keep moving. Don't know what else is wandering around out here." It was a bit of a haunting reminder but warranted nonetheless.

It didn't take long for them to close in on the rest of the group. They passed a set of doors that led into a cafeteria and took a couple more turns before they landed their eyes on Hershel who was on the opposite end of the corridor. Maggie audibly sighed with relief and Tess felt much lighter knowing that they'd rejoined with everyone else. Hershel's face lit up in a smile and they began to move to meet him halfway when his face contorted in agony and he screamed.

Tess felt her heart plummet and the weight of it drag her down as she witnessed what had appeared to be a dead walker, chomping down on Hershel's leg. The four of them raced to help him in absolute horror of what they were seeing. Rick was by his side much faster than they were and he killed the walker, cradling the old man as he fell to the floor.

Maggie was screaming and Tess could faintly hear it over the sound of her heart thumping in her ears. Hershel's calf was mangled and seeping, blood drenching the floor below him. Their cries and shouts and the smell of blood was only drawing the walkers back and they had to get out of the hallway if they all didn't want to meet the same fate.

"There's a cafeteria just back this way!" Tess exclaimed over the commotion. The men hauled Hershel up, carrying him as she led them back through the prison and to the double doors that she'd spotted earlier. They crashed through them, Tess only doing a quick scan of the room before turning her attention back to Hershel.

"You gotta cut it off, Rick, it's his only chance." Tess trembled as she spoke, the thought of it making her want to throw up. She knew she couldn't do it herself and she felt terrible for putting the responsibility on Rick but it needed to happen and it needed to happen now. Rick knew she was right and even though Hershel shook his head in refusal, it had to be done.

"Only one way to keep you alive." Rick told him and Tess had enough forethought to quickly place the hilt of her knife in Hershel's mouth.

Rick began hacking away at his leg. The sickening sound of metal slashing through flesh and bone made Tess recoil and she flinched every time she saw the blade of Rick's hatchet make contact. Hershel ferociously bit down on her knife and then passed out from the shock. With shaking hands, Tess tentatively took it back, unable to miss the now noticeable grooves left in it from his teeth. As Rick tourniqueted Hershel's leg, Tess saw movement out the corner of her eye. She was on high alert and didn't need to think twice about drawing her bow in that direction. Almost in sync, Daryl had done the same thing. Five figures appeared from the back room but they were alive, like them.

"Holy shit!" The blonde, mustachioed one of them cursed in surprise.

Tess kept a tight grip on her bowstring, tempted to just release and be done with them but Daryl didn't seem to be moving either. Their appearance was unexpected and neither of them knew what to do.

"Who the hell are you?" Daryl growled at them suspiciously.

"Who the hell are you?" One of the shorter men with long dark hair and tattoos snapped back. Tess scowled at him fiercely. He gave her the same kind of vibe as the Tony and Dave had given her back at Hatlin's bar.

"He's bleeding out, we gotta go back!" Rick called to them, ignoring the prisoners.

"What happened to him?" The tattooed man asked. It was clear by his tone that it was out of curiosity and not concern.

"He got bit." Tess spat at him, her patience wearing thin. The man's eyes narrowed at her, like he wasn't used to women taking that tone with him.

"The hell you say to me?" He hissed back dangerously. Tess was letting her anger get the better of her now. They were wasting time with these men when they needed to be getting Hershel back to Cell Block C.

"You deaf or just dumb?" Her response only antagonized him further and he pulled a handgun from the waistband of his pants, pointing it in her direction. T–Dog jumped into the altercation, drawing his own gun too and Daryl did his best to deescalate the situation.

"Woah woah woah! Nobody needs to get hurt." He turned to her, clearly annoyed and pushed her back.

"Go help Rick." He commanded her sternly and she knew she had pissed him off.

With a final scathing look at the prisoner with the gun, she abided and put her bow away in place of her machete so that she could help get Hershel out of here. Walkers were clawing at the door and even though the prisoners didn't seem to know what was going on, they knew that what was on the side of the door was dangerous.

"T, give me a hand." Tess called him over and he joined her at the door. Rick and Glenn had Hershel up on a table now and Maggie was doing her best to stem the blood flow.

"Are you crazy?!" The tallest prisoner shouted at them, "Don't open that!" Tess fought the urge to roll her eyes and stayed focused on the task at hand.

"We got this." T-Dog assured them and they both hauled the doors open, slashing at the walkers as they fell through the doors.

With the doorway clear, T-Dog went back to help Rick and Glenn with carrying Hershel on the table and Tess remained up front, taking down any walkers that got between them and Cell Block C.

—

After nearly twenty minutes of painstaking work, they finally had Hershel bandaged up and as stable as they possibly could. Carol had taken charge of the situation and it really showed how much she had grown and changed from the timid woman she once was. Maggie and Beth kept a watchful eye over their father as he remained unconscious, waiting for him to come to. Either still as himself or as the one thing they all feared most. No one knew if they had been quick enough in removing the affected area or even if it would work at all regardless; they just had to wait and see.

The prisoners had followed them back to Cell Block C and were standing on the other side of the locked gate, trying to catch a glimpse of the commotion. Their mere presence still made Tess angry. So far, only the man with the tattoos had really spoken up and Tess hadn't been able to form much of an opinion about the others but she knew for a fact that she didn't trust him. He behaved sly and hostile and it didn't take much of an imagination to figure out what he had been imprisoned for.

Tess sat at one of the tables facing the gate that Daryl stood guard at. She could tell that the prisoners were starting to get antsy and she watched as the leader of the pack rattled the door impatiently.

"That's far enough." Daryl warned them, raising his crossbow for good measure.

"Cell block C. Cell Four. That's mine, gringo. Let me in."

"Today's your lucky day fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go." Daryl dismissed him unkindly but he was ignored.

"What you got going on in there?" The man asked.

"Ain't none of your concern." Daryl warned him again and he was met with hostility and a gun being drawn.

"Don't be telling me what's my concern."

"Chill, Tomas. Dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we're free now! Why are we still in here?"

"Man's got a point." Daryl agreed as he glared at Tomas.

"Group of civilians breaking into a prison you've got no business being in, got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go!" Tomas squared up with Daryl from the other side of the gate.

"Why don't you go find out, huh?" Tess growled back at him, storming up to Daryl's side. She knew he didn't need her assistance but she'd had enough of listening to Tomas' bullshit.

"Brave new world out there. Tough guy like you should have no problem getting around."

"You got some cojones lady-"

"You have no fucking idea." She interrupted him, seeing red.

"There ain't nothing for you here, why don't you go back to your sandbox?" Daryl raised his crossbow higher, elbowing Tess back in the process and she stepped back with a huff.

"Hey, hey, hey! Everyone relax, there's no need for this." Rick ran up to diffuse the situation. Tomas turned his attention to him,

"How many of you in there?"

"Too many for you to handle."

"You guys rob a bank or something? Why don't you take him to a hospital?" Rick and Daryl shared a wary look. It was obvious these men really had no idea what had happened to the world.

"How long have you been locked in that cafeteria?"

"Going on like ten months."

"A riot broke out. Never seen anything like it."

"Attica on speed, man." The scrawny blonde man commented anxiously.

"Ever heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy."

"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria, told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back."

"And that was 292 days ago."

"We were thinking that the army or the national guard should be showing up any day now."

Tess couldn't stand there and listen to them explain themselves to these convicts anymore. As she heard Rick inform them that there was no army, government, hospitals or police anymore, she left the room. She knew she told Carl just yesterday that killing people wasn't the answer but if it were up to her, Tomas would be dead already. Everything about him screamed distrustful and it bothered her that the others seemed to want to give them a chance.

She briefly passed by Hershel's cell to see how he was doing but by the looks of things, Carol was still trying to stem the blood flow. There wasn't any assistance she could offer that would be more than what they were already doing. For starters, they didn't have any of the right tools and she wasn't nearly confident enough in her abilities to try to do anything. What they needed was an infirmary; which she was certain the prison had. They just had to find where it was located. But if their recent trip into the bowels of the prison was any indication as to what would lie between them and there, then she couldn't risk going out on her own. As desperately as Hershel needed supplies, it didn't warrant her getting killed along the way either.

Tess sat in her cell, waiting. For what, she didn't really know. She knew that Daryl and Rick had left the cell block with the prisoners because she could no longer hear them arguing. Whatever it was they were doing, she hoped they were safe. So, perhaps she was waiting for them to come back so that she knew. It made her nervous how quick Tomas was to always pull his gun whenever he heard something he didn't so much as like the sound of. It hadn't made her nervous before when she'd been the one to antagonize him but she felt in control of the situation then. Now, that she didn't know where Daryl and Rick were or what was happening, she was concerned.

Today had started out so promising. Why did this always have to happen? It felt like they couldn't catch a break. Tess was terrified at the thought of them losing Hershel and she knew it was nothing compared to what Maggie and Beth must be feeling. If Hershel didn't make it, what would that mean for Lori? They would only have Carol and while her first hand knowledge was valuable, Hershel had actually delivered babies; even if they were of the four-legged kind. He had to be okay. He needed to be.

"You should really stop doing that."

Tess froze and looked up to see Daryl who had silently approached her cell. She frowned at him, confused but noticed he was looking down at her hands where she'd been anxiously picking at her nail beds. She'd broken the skin without noticing and they'd begun to bleed. The sight of it disgusted her and she tucked her hands under her legs in shame.

"I know." She mumbled in reply, wishing she could stop the nasty habit.

"Rick, T and I are gonna go clear out one of the other cell blocks for the prisoners." Daryl told her quickly, almost nervously. Tess' frown deepened as she stood, surprised.

"What? Why?"

"What else are we supposed to do?" Daryl shrugged. Tess grit her teeth, thinking of a few other options but knowing she was letting her anger get the best of her. Only two of the prisoners had really shown themselves as troublesome and that didn't warrant killing them all. They were together by necessity, not by choice.

"That Tomas guy is trouble. I don't trust him and I don't think we should be giving him the chance to cross us." Tess told him grimly, shaking her head in disapproval.

"You made that pretty clear."

"So what is the point? You know how this is going to end."

"Cause we ain't murderers."

"No, we're not. But we don't know that they're not. We have a responsibility to protect our own people."

"I know that. I'm trying." Daryl sounded hurt, like he'd failed them, failed her, in doing so. Tess' face fell. She never realized that he felt like he wasn't doing a good job. It was the first time she'd ever witnessed Daryl show some semblance of vulnerability and she knew she had to tread lightly.

"I didn't mean it like that." She assured him gently and stepped closer. "You've done more for all of us than anyone could've asked for. I don't doubt you. I never have."

Daryl gave her the same look as he had when they were standing in the alcove, scanning her face with intent eyes. She didn't know what he was thinking, he looked stoic but his eyes were darker and he almost came across frustrated. Tess chalked it up to him being distrustful and she wished he would believe her. She felt the sudden urge to hug him and nearly did so but it was like Daryl had read her mind and he stepped away.

"I should go. The others are waiting." He spoke barely above a whisper and left before Tess could even respond. It felt like a dismissal and her chest ached as she watched him leave. If she weren't such a coward, she would have done it anyway but she was afraid. Afraid of being rejected and afraid of ruining whatever friendship they were starting to regain.

And Tess thought she was beginning to understand why.

—

The last thing Daryl wanted to do was walk away. He could hear Carol's voice in his head telling him to just be honest with himself but that was a rabbit hole he wasn't willing to go down. He wasn't afraid of much, never had been, but the thought alone petrified him. He didn't feel like himself around her anymore. She continued to elicit entirely new emotions from him that he didn't know what to do with. It was too much and denying them made it easier for him.

"Hey, there you are- Where are you going?" Carol stopped him on the stairs, having missed him coming through.

"I was just leaving." Daryl didn't mean to be so clipped with her and thankfully she didn't seem to take it personally.

"You guys going out again?" She asked him nervously. After the morning they'd had, she was a bit shaken up.

"Gotta clear out another cell."

"You're doing it for those prisoners aren't you?"

"They gotta stay somewhere and they have food that we need."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Daryl knew she was just being cautious and was concerned for their safety but he didn't need two women pestering about it. He let himself be angry, not caring if he sounded like a jerk.

"What is with you women? We've got this." He scolded her and left her dumbstruck at the bottom of the stairs.

—

Tess wasn't able to sit still and wait. She occupied herself as best she could, checking in on Hershel, fetching water from outside and finally helping Carol with the new set of medical supplies that Carl had surreptitiously snuck away to find. Her mother had scolded him harshly for going out on his own and rightfully so but Tess quietly felt proud. Carl was a brave kid. Far braver than her.

With Hershel's wounds now better dressed, all they could do was wait to see if he woke up. Left with nothing else to do, Tess resorted to cleaning to keep herself preoccupied. The mess didn't bother her but it was an excuse to keep herself busy. One which didn't go unnoticed by Carol.

She had suspected that Daryl had been referring to Tess when he complained about 'you women'. It didn't take much deductive reasoning to figure out that he'd just left from speaking to her when she happened across him. The only question was, what had she said to upset him? Not that it was any of her business, she knew that, but she cared about them both so she incidentally felt nosy. Carol made a short stop at her room before climbing the stairs again to where Tess was doing her best to tidy the upper cells.

"You don't have to do all that on your own, you know?" She told Tess as she watched her square away one of the empty cells.

"I know but it's the least I could do right now." Tess replied, feeling a little useless.

"He's going to be okay, Tess. You shouldn't worry." Carol knew all too well that the woman in front of her was worried and trying not to show it.

"I know." Tess nodded absently, assuming she was talking about Hershel. "He's a tough old man and you've done an excellent job at helping him." It was true too, she didn't just say that to assure Carol that she believed her. Carol smiled back graciously,

"I wasn't talking about Hershel."

"Oh…" Tess stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Carol, blushing. "That obvious, huh?"

"It was just a feeling." Carol replied pertinently, hoping she hadn't embarrassed her.

"I know he'll be fine. They'll all be. I just don't trust those men."

"Rightfully so, I'd say. But they will be able to handle it."

"No, you're right. Stupid to worry about it, really."

"No one can blame you for worrying but don't let it run you ragged. Take it from someone who knows." Carol gently smiled at her and Tess tried to muster a smile back, knowing her advice came from a good place.

"Was there something you needed from me?" She asked, certain that Carol didn't come up just to see her and chat.

"Not really, no. I just wanted to give you something." Carol proffered her a thin book, The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Tess tentatively took it from her with a perplexed look. She didn't recognize the book and from the cover it looked like a children's short story.

"I used to read it to Sophia but I think it's more for us than for the kids. I thought it might help take your mind off of things for a while."

Tess was touched by the gesture and smiled down at the worn book cover. It depicted a small boy standing on what looked like the moon or a meteor. She opened the front cover and there on the inside, written in blue pen were the words; To our star and all our flowers, love Mommy and Daddy. It was far too personal an object for her to accept and she tried to hand it back to Carol. As much as she appreciated the offer, she couldn't accept it.

"I'm sorry, Carol but I can't take this from you. It's too much." Tess shook her head, the book weighing like a heavy tomb in her hands. Carol simply placed her hands over hers and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I wouldn't give it to you if I didn't want you to have it." She told her and stepped back. "Read it and if you want to give it back to me afterwards, you can." She left the room before Tess could argue further, leaving her to thumb through the pages of the book with hesitancy.

—

Tess initially struggled to focus on the book enough to read but as she forced herself through the first few pages, she was delighted by its whimsy and thought-provoking nature. She began to understand what Carol meant when she said it was better suited for 'us'. At face value it was a charming story about a young boy's adventures as an airman and his discovery of the Little Prince but it was much more than that too. It was an observation of people and life.

She took her time to read it and admired the playful illustrations, thumbing through the pages of the book for about an hour until she heard a commotion coming from downstairs. Tess could hear Beth and Maggie shouting for someone to help them and she darted out of her cell, the book skittering to the floor.

"Maggie?! What's happened?" Tess ran into the room to see Beth frantically shaking her father.

"He's stopped breathing. Tess, he's not breathing." Maggie's face was flooded with tears and Hershel's chest was indeed no longer moving.

"Okay. Beth you need to move." Demanded Tess, trying to get around her but the girl began to protest.

"What?! No! He can't die!"

"We're not gonna let him but you need to move. Maggie, please." Maggie pulled her sister away and wrapped in her arms. Beth tried to fight against her but stilled as Tess began compressions on Hershel's chest.

Tess did around four sets of compressions and breaths, her shoulders and arms aching from the effort, before beginning to think that she was fighting a losing battle. The longer this went on, the less likely they were going to get Hershel back. By the fifth set, Maggie and Beth had run out of tears and were sitting on the floor, grimly awaiting the worst. Tess didn't want to give up on them or Hershel and as she reached the end of the compressions, she felt an overwhelming sense of joy as Hershel shuddered back to life and began breathing again.

She collapsed back, exhausted and allowed Maggie and Beth to swoop in and cradle their father in relief. This small success felt like a bright ray of hope and Tess was confident that Hershel would pull through. There was no knowing when he'd wake up but he would and they'd all be there when he did; she was certain of that. Tess sat quietly outside Hershel's cell for another hour or two, making sure she was nearby if she was needed. Lori and Carol lingered inside, checking his bandages and condition regularly. Hershel's breathing remained normal and nothing irregular happened for the rest of the afternoon.

As it began to grow dark inside Cell Block C, the tell-tale screech of the cell block door opening, alerted them all to Rick, T-Dog and Daryl's return. Tess jumped up to her feet and waited for them to come into the living quarters, feeling anxious and wanting to make sure they had all returned in one piece. Rick had a stern look on his face and Tess could see splatters of blood on his arms and chest. Blood that looked bright and red and far too healthy to have come from a walker. It didn't bode well. He seemed distracted and didn't acknowledge her much as he entered the cell behind her to check on Hershel.

"You guy's okay?" Tess asked T-Dog as he followed along behind.

"Yeah, we're good. Those assholes were more trouble than they're worth, I'll tell you that much." He grumbled back to her and stood in the corner by the doorway of Hershel's room.

Tess waited for Daryl to come in as well but after about thirty seconds of him not appearing, she couldn't stop herself from checking the common area. He had sat down at one of the tables and appeared to be fixing something on his crossbow. Tess couldn't tell if anything was broken or if he was just fiddling with it for the sake of having something to do. He looked angry or upset, which one, she couldn't tell because they both looked so similar on him.

"What happened?" She asked him gently, hoping he wasn't still upset with her. Daryl was hesitant to answer. Not because he didn't want to admit that she had been right but because he didn't want her to start overthinking about Andrew, Tomas' crony that had run away. Daryl didn't know for certain that he was dead and neither did Rick; it was just an assumption.

Truthfully, he didn't really want to talk about it at all right now. He felt frustrated and angry but he refused to let his emotions get the better of him. The safer option was just to walk away. And so he did.

—

Hershel finally came to that same evening. He woke to his daughters incoherent cries of joy and they all breathed a deep sigh of relief, knowing that he was okay. Tess looked on from the doorway as Hershel hugged Beth and Maggie, a gentle smile on her face. All felt right again. There was hope that things would get better and Tess and the others gave them their privacy and turned in for the evening.

Tess snuck outside for some fresh air. She was exhausted but more than anything right now, she wanted to get out of the prison. Today had been really shit. She was incredibly thankful that Hershel had woken up but it was naive to think they were now out of the woods. There was still some level of risk that he wouldn't be okay but she counted her blessings and could only hope that he'd continue to improve. They needed him, not only for Lori but for the strength and morale of their group, too.

It was cold outside and the nearly-full moon was the only source of light. Tess took a seat on one of the outdoor tables and looked out over their new home. There was potential here. She envisioned the yard turned into arable land with livestock and crops. They could bring in more people and make a real community out of the space they had. This could be their safe haven. Tess was determined to do whatever necessary to protect it.

That was why she was so against giving Tomas even the hint of a chance. There was too much at stake for them to trust that a man like him would change his ways. She didn't want to stop seeing good in people but they had to come up with a way to determine who they could allow in and who they would have to turn away. It was too dangerous to risk dissension from within while everything was still so fragile.
A low creak from behind signaled to her that someone else was venturing outside. Tess peeked over her shoulder curiously and frowned when she saw Daryl. He appeared to slow when she spotted him and she turned away, expecting him to walk away from her again. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve the cold shoulder but she wasn't going to grovel simply because she had cared and worried about him. She was open to the idea of sulking, though.

The months that had gone by where they'd be so close, yet so far from one another had made her realize that she definitely had feelings for him. Especially after today. She didn't know what to do with what she felt or if there was even anything that could be done at all. Daryl didn't strike her as the relationship type and she wasn't one hundred percent certain if she wanted that anyway but the thought of having to pretend that she didn't feel a certain way about him made her feel uncomfortable. She didn't want to lie to herself or to him but for the sake of keeping him around, she'd suffer in silence if she needed to.
Tess felt the table shift under Daryl's weight as he sat down beside her, mimicking her position. She thought she should say 'hi' or apologize or do something but instead she waited for him to make the first move. After some time, he spoke up,

"Tomas is dead." He told her quietly and she looked over at him, surprised.

"What happened?"

"Rick killed him. You were right. He couldn't be trusted."

"I wish I wasn't."

"I know."

It was a short interaction but it kind of felt like a truce.

"What about the others?" Tess asked, curiously.

"There's only two of them left now. Axel 'n Oscar. They're in their own cell block, like we agreed."

Tess frowned, trying to figure out what happened to the other two. Had Rick killed them as well? Daryl seemed to sense her unasked question and continued,

"One of 'em got scratched and Tomas killed him without a second thought. The other one, Andrew… he got away."

"What do you mean, got away?" Tess responded, feeling anxious at the prospect of him possibly still wandering the halls of the prison.

"He ain't coming back. He's as good as dead if he ain't already." Daryl assured her and she scanned his face, looking for any hint of uncertainty. She trusted him and if he looked at her like he was now and told her that the grass was blue and the sky was green, she'd believe him.

Tess nodded slowly but didn't look away. Neither did Daryl. She wanted him to know how she felt, it didn't feel right bottling it up inside but it also felt like far too scary a thing to say out loud. There was a time when she thought she had more than just platonic feelings for Nate but this was different. There was no mistaking how she felt about Daryl. Sometimes she thought they looked at each other a little too long to just be friends but perhaps that was only because she didn't want to look away.

Daryl gave her that same dark, frustrated expression that he had already given her twice today and it made her feel like her stomach was jumping through hoops. She didn't know what to make of it. No one had ever looked at her like that; not really. On the odd occasion when she'd pick up a bad mistake after a night of drinking, she'd see something similar but it was never that.

"I wish you wouldn't look at me like that." She mumbled weakly and stood up from the table. Daryl blinked, confused, not aware that his face had betrayed him in any way.

"Look at you like what?" pried Daryl, cautiously, leaving the table as well. Tess flushed, she hadn't planned on saying that out loud. Her heart raced nervously in her chest and she considered walking away without providing an answer.

"Like I'm not just a friend to you." She admitted, feeling like a nervous teenager.

Daryl looked at her strangely. In truth, he was confused. He didn't know if that was her way of saying she only wanted to be friends or that she was wishing they were something more. He couldn't find the right words to ask her or explain himself either.

Tess took his silence as his answer and shook her head. She felt stupid.

"Y'know what, forget it. It doesn't matter. Goodnight, Daryl."