I'm rewatching season 3 and I forgot the annoyance that I felt with Andrea. Gal sees so many red flags and stays there. She shouldn't have chosen a warm bed over Michonne, she's a queen. Anyway, it's really kicking off, let's get into it.
Disclaimer I don't own The Walking Dead just my ocs and plotlines
Callie's POV
It was the next morning when herself, T-Dog, Daryl, Rick, Hershel and Noa gathered around the common room table with a lot of gear they found. It has already been a productive morning, and a small group of them is going to go deeper into the prison to try and find the cafeteria and infirmary. Those were the goal for the day. Then they can start going on runs later on in the week.
"Not bad." Daryl comments.
Rick nods. "Flashbangs, CS Triple-Chasers, not sure how they'll work on walkers but we'll take them."
Daryl lifts up a helmet and dead skin drips out.
"That's disgusting." Noa gags and even Callie had to scrunch her face up in disgust. It's taking every fibre in her being to not throw up.
"I ain't wearing this shit." Daryl puts down the helmet, looking at it like it burned him.
T-Dog picks up a glove where dead skin drips out again. "We could boil them."
Daryl gives him a look. "Ain't enough firewood in a whole forest, no. Besides, we've made it this far without them?" Daryl grabs a baton and starts swinging it like it was a golf club.
"The shield is helpful." She points out to T-Dog who was holding the riot shield and he presents it proudly.
He grins and nods. "Be able to withstand a bunch of 'em."
Noa picks up a bullet proof vest. "Now this will be in handy."
Daryl nods. "Shit yeah." He knocks hard on the vest to test the durability since it has been a while.
Just then Carol arrives. "Hershel?" She calls and he looks at her. She just gestures with her head.
Rick narrows his eyes. "Everything alright?" The concern was still there for his wife, even after everything.
She nods her head. "Yeah, nothing to worry about."
Hershel walks over and they head inside.
Rick looks withdrawn, the happy look on his face disappearing with one of worry.
"I'm sure she's fine." Noa assures the man and he smiles at the Greene.
Tabby's POV
She was hoping they would find the infirmary today, she didn't know how much longer they could survive on cough drops and pepto. It was good for the small bugs, but what happens if one of them gets shot or badly injured. Like when Connor stepped in the bear trap? Or even when Carl was shot accidentally by Otis.
It was such a long time ago that everything at the farm happened. She missed it. Taking a walk on the fields, seeing the sunrise. Hot water. She almost groaned at the thought. Maybe the prison will have its own propane system? That would be a dream. She needed a hot shower. Her period started and they have some tampons, but they need more. There are a lot of women in the group, and they need the products. She did not want to walk with blood stained underwear if she leaks.
"Tabby?" She looks up at Beth. "Lori needs to see you."
She nods and heads over to Lori and Carol's cell, where Hershel was inside. It was quiet and she was concerned.
"It's the baby, I think I lost it." Lori whispers, tears in her eyes.
"You haven't felt it moved?" Hershel asks her and she shakes her head.
"Nothing." Lori says and Tabby was about to ask a question when she continues on. "And no Braxton-Hicks. At first I thought it was exhaustion and malnutrition."
"Are you anemic?" Tabby asks her.
Lori nods her head shaking. Her hands were gripping the mattress tightly. "If we're all infected, then so is the baby. So what if it's still-born? What if it's dead inside me right now, what if it rips me apart?"
She closes her eyes at that thought. She had already put down one baby. She couldn't put down another. She could still feel the blood dripping from the knife onto her hands every day.
"Stop." Hershel chastises Lori after taking a look at Tabby. "Don't let your fear take control of you."
Lori nods her head. "Okay. Let's say it lives, and I die during childbirth-
"That's not going to happen." Hershel interrupts her.
"Why not?" Lori cries. "How many women died in childbirth before modern medicine? If I come back, what if I attack it? Or you, Tabby, Rick, Carl..." she trails off. "If I do, if there is any chance, you put me down immediately, you don't hesitate." She starts crying. "Me, the baby, if we're walkers, you don't hesitate, and you don't try to save us, okay?"
"There will be precautions, and we'll make sure nothing happens." Tabby assures the crying woman. Hershel nods in agreement.
Lori nods, smiling at those words of assurance. "It might have been better if..." she trials off.
"If what?" Hershel asks her.
Lori looks at the man. "If I never made it off the farm."
Hershel gives her a look. "You're exhausted. Frightened."
Lori nods her head. "Yeah, that's true. My son can't stand me. And my husband, after what I put him through."
"We've all been carrying that weight. All winter." Hershel reminds the woman.
It has been a difficult winter, dealing with an estranged marriage due to choices.
"Carl is an early teen now. He's gonna be angry all the time." Tabby tries to joke with Lori who chokes a laugh, sobbing at the same time.
"I tried to talk to him. He..." she trails off, talking about Rick.
"He'll come around." Hershel finishes for her.
"He hates me." She corrects Hershel. "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 hands!" She cries.
Tabby did feel sorry for Lori in that moment. She thought her husband was dead and sought comfort. It wasn't her fault Shane flew off the handle and tried to kill Rick.
"You know who doesn't give a shit about that?" Hershel asks her and Tabby looks at Hershel amused. "This baby. Now let's make sure everything's alright."
Callie's POV
They were preparing and arming themselves ready to head deeper into the prison.
Herself, Noa, Daryl, Jeremy, Rick, Maggie, Glenn, T-Dog and Hershel were going in. Hershel was going to have a med-pack in case one of them got injured. It was easier to have him with them, and Tabby back in the cells. She would rather them be prepared for anything. It was a plan to have more hands to fight walkers and carry anything they find back to the group, instead of the chance they had to make two trips.
As Carl was trying on a helmet, she notices Lori watching them. She looks at Rick who was looking doubtful and she nodded her head to Carl. Not him. The words were said between them.
Rick nods and takes the helmet off Carl's head. "You won't need that. I need you to stay put."
"You're kidding!" Carl exclaims angrily.
"We don't know what's in there. If something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing. I need you to handle things here." Rick tells Carl calmly.
Carl looks hesitant but finally settles. "Sure."
Damien smiles at him. "I need you here, I need all the muscle I can get."
Carl nods eagerly at being wanted.
Rick nods gratefully at Damien. "Great. Let's go."
They leave the safety of the cells and Carl locks the door behind them. T-Dog opens the gate to the corridors and they walk inside, engulfed in the darkness. Her hand tightens around the machete.
Her foot hits something and they shine a light and see a walker. She kicks it again and finally notices the small hole in its head. Shot dead.
Rick gives her a look, one that she could tell from the light shining near her eyes. She nods. She's okay. The words passing without speaking.
They were about to turn a corner when Glenn shakes a can and she notices Noa flinch at the sound and her hand grabs Callie's free one. The sound was echoing throughout the corridors so she didn't blame Noa flinching from the sound, it sounded scarier than what it should be.
He sprays the wall, an arrow pointing back to where they came in from. After he was finished, Noa let go of her hand.
"Sorry." She whispers.
They were walking slowly and trying to not make any noise. But it felt like the quieter they tried to walk, the louder it was.
The occasional shake of the spray can went off and the spray as they navigate through the tunnels. It just felt like a maze.
"Ah!" They hear Maggie squeak as she jumps in fright. They turn their light to her and see Glenn right in front of her, both of them panting nervously.
Rick and Daryl took the lead, and as they turned a corner they back up.
"Go back!" Rick hisses urgently.
They begin to run back, herself, Noa, Glenn and Maggie in the lead, meanwhile, Jeremy, Hershel, T-Dog, Daryl and Rick hot on their trail.
Maggie runs into more walkers and Glenn grabs her, Callie skids but Noa grabs her hand quickly.
"This way!" Rick shouts over the noise of walkers growling for their next meal.
Just as they were catching up to the men, they are cut off by more walkers.
"Shit!" She curses and grabs Noa back, to put more space between her and the walkers. She down even think before running down another corridor that they haven't been down, and with walkers hot their trail, they didn't cast a look back. She manages to see a small cupboard through the bouncing of the flashlight and drags Noa inside and shuts the door quickly and as quietly as she could.
Noa quickly shuts off the flashlight and they're engulfed in darkness.
She could hear Noa breathing quite heavily and she covers her mouth with her hand. The glint of Noa's eyes shines at her. She was nervous. They both were nervous. A couple of close calls already and they haven't even found the cafeteria yet. She didn't even notice how close they were until then. Their bodies pressed together. She swallows thickly. Her hand lowered with the machete had to be squeezed awkwardly to the side, so she didn't accidentally cut Noa. Her other hand, on top of Noa's mouth, she could feel how warm the breath was and how fast it was going. She was panicking.
She tries to assure her but before she could the snarls of walkers went past, and the noise became loud. She closes her eyes tightly, taking a moment. If it all comes down to it, she would have to fight for their way out.
It wasn't long until it went silent. It was eerie. She didn't even realise her hand was still on Noa's mouth when she felt a ghost of a hand cover her own and she jumps.
"We need to find the others." Her words cut through the silence and she nods at her. But neither one of them moved, their hands on top of each other. Callie swallows thickly again, it felt incredibly hot in there. Yeah, it was the heat. Definitely the heat. She tells herself before removing her hand, breaking the tension.
She carefully opens the door, her hand tightening around the machete handle.
She quickly looks around and checks both sides, they were clear.
"Hey." Noa calls out gently, the whisper echoing making it seem like a yell.
Callie walks to the right, where they came from, Noa close behind her. They walked down another corridor and see Glenn.
"Psst." She calls out and he looks over. The light shining on him from Noa, they could see him smile and they see Maggie.
They join together and just then a scream erupts and they run to the source. Oh fuck. Someone has been bit. They turned a corner and see Rick shoot a walker and Hershel on the floor, his leg missing a chunk.
"No!" Noa cries.
"Daddy!" Maggie screams.
Walkers started coming.
"Shit! We gotta go!" She yells at Rick, who picks up a panicking Hershel. He was hyperventilating, probably from the shock of getting bit. Jeremy helps Rick with Hershel and the pair support him.
"Daryl!" Rick yells and Daryl immediately shoots at the walker behind him the man.
She grabs Noa's hand and goes towards the end of the corridor when more walkers appear.
"Fuck!" She curses. "Get back!" She yells and they had to run while supporting Hershel.
"Go! Go!" Rick urges and they manage to find a door. But it was a dead end.
"T!" She yells and he works his way to the front, his riot shield in hand. He grabs the pliers and cuts through the chain.
"Come on!" Glenn yells nervously and she looks back to see the walkers almost on top of them. Fuck, they're running out of time.
The door opens and Daryl urges them inside.
"Oh god!" Hershel exclaims, panting nervously as Rick, Glenn and Jeremy help him rest on the ground.
"Shut the door!" Rick yells and T-Dog and Daryl slam it shut with great difficulty as walkers start to bang on it.
She looks at Jeremy. "Help them with the door." She orders and he quickly goes, the three men holding the door with difficulty as the weight increases on the other side.
Hershel was screaming in pain at this point and Rick begins taking his belt off. She was opposite Rick and his eyes met hers. Oh no. There was no way in hell he was going to do what she thinks he's going to do.
"Hold him down!" Rick barks at a distraught Maggie and Noa, and Glenn. She holds down the other leg. "Only one way to keep him alive."
Daryl comes and helps hold Hershel down, she quickly notices the door having a pole through it, a small block that will buy them time. Jeremy and T-Dog were still holding the door, in case something happens.
Just then Rick grabs the axe that he cast aside, and lifts it before bringing it down onto the leg. She has no choice but to look as she was directly opposite the axe. Hershel passes out from the pain as Maggie holds onto his head, not looking at the sight of her dad's leg getting chopped off.
Rick looks disgusted before bringing down the axe again and the noise it was making made Callie numb. She had to numb it, otherwise she would puke in the corner and that would be of no help.
He manages to cut it off and she just stared at the amputated leg on the floor.
"Oh!" He exclaims. "He's bleeding out." He comments and she notices Jeremy quickly discarding his flannel and tosses it over to her, she wraps it around the stump, blood immediately seeping through the fabric and onto her hands.
"Fucking hell." She mutters.
Daryl was next to her and she notices him tense up.
"Duck." He warns and Rick does so and Daryl immediately stands, his crossbow ready.
She looks up and notices five men, prisoners.
"Holy shit." One of them exclaims at the sight of them.
Amy's POV
It had been an hour or two since the group went into the tombs and she was worried about Jeremy. Well she was worried about everyone, but Jeremy was her rock in all of this. After everything that has happened, losing her best friend, the loss of the farm, losing her sister, losing Dale, getting raped. Jeremy has been her rock through it all, he has been so patient with her. He has made sure she's comfortable with everything and has only initiated a couple of kisses, but all the rest, he said it will take time and doesn't want to push her. He's so sweet, Andrea would be happy with her choice. She knew she was when Andrea first saw them, but now, maybe Andrea would've given her blessing for marriage since their parents are gone.
She wonders where Andrea is now, is she dead? Is she alone? Is she with a group? She hopes she's okay. She has looked at a map and saw that they're not too far away from the farm. Maybe she could ask Callie for permission to go back and see. She needs to know.
"Hey." She jumps and looks back at Harriett. "Sorry." She apologises and holds up a hat. "Richie found this a few days ago, and forgot to give it to you."
She hands over the hat and it reminded her of Andrea's, the stupid one that she wore down the quarry when they went fishing, and when she shot Daryl.
"Thank you." She smiles and hugs the girl.
"Honestly that boy is forgetful." Harriett moans and Amy laughs at that.
"He's a sweet boy." Amy concludes and Harriett nods.
Amy could see the mother part of Harriett, she guessed that it was after their parents died, Damien became the protector and she became the mother to her two youngest siblings. The girl was younger than her, she was 18 years old, and being a mother. She hoped one day she would be a good mother.
Just then they heard noises from inside.
"Open the door! It's Hershel!"
"Oh my god!"
"Daddy!" They hear Beth scream.
Earlier
"Who the hell are you?" Daryl snaps at the five men.
"Who the hell are you?" One of them retorts back.
They won't get very far with that conversation.
Her hands were shaking as she was holding the flannel on the stump, well what was a flannel, it was a red mess at this point. Her hands were covered in blood.
"He's bleeding out, we need to get him to Tabby." She tells Rick who nods in agreement.
"We gotta go back!" He looks at Maggie. "Help Callie put pressure on the knee! Hard!"
Maggie practically falls next to her and helps hold it.
The blood was dripping everywhere so she was glad of Maggie's help.
"Come on out here. Slow and steady." Daryl threatens the five prisoners and they do as he says.
"He's still breathing." Noa mutters and Rick nods his head. They were ignoring the problem with the prisoners, they had a big issue at hand, so she was trusting Daryl to handle it.
One of them makes eye contact with her. He looks down at the stump and the amputated leg. "What happened to him?"
Daryl narrows his eyes. "He got bit."
"Bit?" The man repeats and takes out his gun.
She sees T-Dog pull out his gun at the threat. No one was killing Hershel.
"Whoa, whoa, easy now. Nobody needs to get hurt." Daryl's finger was ghosting over the trigger of his crossbow.
She wish she could grab her gun but it would be useless now, she was needed for Hershel.
"I need you to hold this, as hard as you both can." He tells her and Maggie.
"Y..yes." Maggie says, she was a mess.
She looks at Noa, whose eyes were red, she wishes she could just hug her at this time.
Glenn charges past the prisoners. "You got medical supplies?" He didn't even wait for an answer before going in the room where the prisoners were.
"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" The tallest prisoner asks.
With all the talking, it attracted more walkers as Jeremy was holding the door.
"How many?" She asks.
"A couple." He answers, probably a lot less weight than before which is why he was able to hold it without T-Dog's help.
"Who the hell are you people anyway?"
One of the prisoners with his arms crossed was looking at them warily. "Don't look like no rescue team."
Rick tries to pick up an unconscious Hershel, and her and Maggie were trying to keep as much pressure as possible. "If a rescue team's what you're waiting for, don't!" He yells at them.
Glenn wheels a table past the prisoners and as close to them as possible.
"Come on, I need a hand here!"
Glenn and Rick pick up Hershel, grunting at the dead weight. "One, two, three!" They manage to lift him onto the table with a thud,
"Holy Jesus!" One of the men exclaims at the sight of the amputated leg on the ground.
"The door!" Rick yells and Jeremy takes the barricade out of the handles.
Another one of the men looked at them like they were insane. "Are you crazy? Don't open that!"
"T!" Jeremy calls his attention and just as he opens the door, T kills the walker that comes in.
They wheel Hershel out of the room.
"Daryl!" Rick yells back and she looks back to Daryl following them.
What a crazy hour it has been.
And I'll leave it there. Poor Hershel! A little longer chapter than usual and there will be more to come. Hope you guys enjoyed!