Finally arriving in the main courtyard with Rick,Taylor, and Daryl, Zac came to a stop briefly behind Rick who had turned to look in a caged in area where Beth, Hershel, Avery and Glenn had safety at. It felt nice to at least know Beth was safe as well as another one of his siblings. It just meant less worry for him now.
"What the hell happened?" Rick asked as he looked at Beth.
"The gate was open!" Beth answered Rick though her eyes landed on Zac who she was glad to see was safe.
"Where's Lori, Carl, everyone else?" Rick asked knowing he hadn't see where they had all went too.
Avery spoke up then as she looked at Rick, "Maggie and Jessica led Lori and Carl into C block."
"And T was bit," Glenn added in after Avery had spoken.
"Anyone else?" Rick asked wondering about Carol.
Beth shrugged her shoulders at that, "I couldn't tell."
Rick nodded his head at the four people in the cage who at the moment were safe, "Stay put," he told them knowing they shouldn't come out and risk their own lives, not while they still had walkers coming in, walkers that were being taken down by Taylor and Daryl.
After Rick had told them to stay put Zac followed behind him as they made their way to where Taylor and Daryl where, putting down walkers in the process.
Running to meet Rick once Rick had finished talking, Taylor looked at the man as he shook his head, "Those chains didn't break on their own," he informed him knowing there was no way they could have broken on their own. "Someone took an axe or a cutter to them."
It was after those words had been spoken by Taylor that all the men turned around when Oscar and Axel came into the main courtyard.
"You think they did it?" Zac asked curiously as he saw the look that passed Rick's face when he saw the two prisoners. It was a clear judgement that he saw them as guilty.
"Who else?" Rick asked right as a loud alarm started blaring from speakers all around the prison, attracting more walkers to them.
Taylor looked around apprehensively as the alarms went off, "What's that?"
Daryl just grunted out a response, "Oh! You gotta be kidding me," he muttered wondering just what else could go wrong.
Looking around a bit more Rick soon reached for the keys, "Zac!" he called out throwing the keys to Zac before he started shooting at the speakers outside, the other men soon joining him in helping with that and when he got to the speakers near the cage where some of his people where he warned them to back up and once they had, he shoot those speakers as well.
It was only after that, that he turned and moved a bit closer to Oscar and Axel, holding his gun on them. "How the hell can the be happening?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Oscar spoke as Rick held a gun on him and Axel. "It has to be the back up generators."
"Well how do you turn those on?" Rick asked a bit harshly as he kept his gun trained on the two men.
"There's three that's connected to a diesel tank, okay? Each one controls a certain part of the prison. The hatch shut them all off when the prison was overrun!" Oscar explained as he looked at Rick.
Rick raised an eyebrow at that, "Can someone open up the main gates electronically, with full power?"
"Well, I only worked in there a few days...I..I guess it might be possible," Oscar answered knowing it could be possible.
"Come with us!" Rick growled before turning and heading inside the prison. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There's a set of double doors that will lead to a corridor that will lead you back to the cell block," T-Dog spoke loudly over the alarms to Carol who was behind him.
Carol shook her head as she looked at T-Dog, "No, you should stop!" she yelled knowing he had been bit and he should just stop walking so they could prevent him from being a walker.
"I'm getting you there!" T-Dog told Carol knowing he was going to make sure she was safe.
"You should stop!" Carol said again as she got a bit closer to T-Dog.
T-Dog just looked at her as he shook his head, "Why?" Sit here and wait to die?" he asked before screaming out in pain slightly.
Carol frowned when she heard T-Dog scream in pain. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep you from becoming one of those things.
"I can't ask that," T-Dog told her honestly.
"It's the pact, remember?" Carol asked knowing the whole group had made that pact during their time on the run this winter. They'd do what it took to prevent the others from becoming a walker, much like they had done when amputating Hershel's leg.
T-Dog shook his head at that, "This is God’s plan… He’ll take care of me, always has. He’s gonna help me lead you out of these tunnels." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Running beside Maggie as they lead Carl and Lori down the dark corridors, Jessica kept a tight grip on her gun. "Can you keep up?" she asked as she turned her head to see that Lori had fallen behind some.
"Something's not right," Lori said as she felt Maggie come to give her support.
"Are you bit?" Carl asked clearly concerned for his mom.
Lori shook her head at that as she made a face at the pain, "No, no, no, no, no," she muttered out. "I think the baby's coming!"
Hearing that the baby was coming Carl panicked slightly, "Mom?" he questioned as she leaned against the wall for support as well as using Maggie.
When a herd of walkers came and Carl raised his gun Jessica shook her head as she looked at him, "There's no time," she told him as she turned to lead the way down another corridor knowing they had to get somewhere for Lori to have this baby.
Walking a bit faster Jessica swallowed hard as she saw a herd approaching them again.
"In here," Carl spoke as he spotted a room and opened the door.
Following Carl into the room Jessica watched as he shut the door or well tried to though it wouldn't shut good enough and so he just gave up and they went farther into the room and away from the door, Maggie helping Lori as they did so.
When they finally came to a stop again though and stood there for a bit, Jessica looked at Maggie with a worried expression on her face as Lori once again cringed from the pain and she knew that couldn't be good. If Lori was having contractions they weren't very far apart. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Going on top of the gate where the Governor was hitting golf balls at walkers they kept coming close, Merle let out a whistle as he saw the golf ball that the Governor had just hit, hit a walker square in the head, "Pretty good."
The Governor smiled as he turned to look at Merle, "We should visit Augusta. Take only the women and let them play. It'll be historic."
"And break decades of tradition," Merle added as he shook his head.
Getting out another golf ball, the Governor put it down on the green and the swung, hitting it out into the air, "Absolutely."
"I don't know, some things are worth holding onto," Merle mused not sure if they should give some things up. "You know, I was thinking of taking Tim and Martinez out on a scouting mission later on this week."
"For what?" the Governor asked skeptically as he looked at Merle.
Merle looked down as he ran a hand over the back of his neck, "Blondie and the Hanson lesbian, they said my brother was still alive."
"Eight months ago," the Governor added in reminding Merle of that fact. "You can track with the best of ‘em, it’s like a needle in a haystack."
"They told me uh...where I can find them," Merle said as he finally looked up again as the Governor still kept playing golf. "Where I can find the farmhouse they where holed up in."
"He could be anywhere," the Governor said knowing Merle had to know that.
Merle shook his head as he sighed, "I know my brother. If he's out there, I'll be able to find him."
"What if someone gets hurt doing this search?" the Governor questioned curiously. "Look what almost happened to Crowley last time."
"Then I'll go on my own," Merle offered.
"I get what you're feeling," the Governor spoke honestly as he looked at Merle. "I really do, but I can’t risk it, I need you here. This whole place would fall apart without you."
Merle sighed feeling he was losing a battle here, "This is my brother."
Stopping his game of a golf for a minute the Governor eyed Merle for a bit. "I’ll tell you what, huh? You get more concrete information, I’ll go with you myself. Alright?"
At that Merle just nodded his head and climbed down from the gate as the Governor went back to his game of golf. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After taking down a walker in their cell block, Rick looked around for any signs of his wife or son, "Lori! Carl!" he called out though he got no response and after he had hollered for them he heard Zac, Daryl, Taylor and the two prisoners catch up with him.
"We just took down five of them in here," Daryl told Rick as he shook his head.
"There were four in here, but no signs of Lori or anyone," Rick informed them as he sighed.
Taylor chewed his lip with that comment because he was worried for Maggie who had been with Lori. "They must have been pushed back into the prisons," he theorized knowing that had to have been what happened, at least he was hoping it was.
"Somebody is playing games!" Rick growled as he paced back and forth. " We’ll split up and look for the others. Whoever gets to the generators first, shut ‘em down!" he yelled out as he ran out of their cell block as they all went in search of the generators. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What are those alarms?" Lori asked as she now held onto some chains hanging off the walls as she stayed hunched over in pain.
Maggie shook her head at Lori's question, "Don't worry about that," she said knowing Lori had other things she had to worry about right now.
"What if it attracts them?" Carl asked as he looked up at Maggie.
Ignoring Carl, Maggie looked at Lori, "Lori, let's lay you down," she said as she put her hands on Lori's back again.
"No," Lori told her as she shook her head. "The baby's coming now."
"We have to go back to our cell block to have Hershel help," Carl spoke knowing they needed him here for this.
"We can't risk getting caught out there," Jessica admitted before looking at Lori. "You're gonna need to give birth to this baby here."
Lori groaned as a contraction hit her and she sighed, "Great," she muttered as she pulled on the chain again and began to breathe harder.
"What is she doing? Can't she breathe?" Carl asked once again panicking slightly.
"She's fine," Jessica reassured him as she too went to put her hand on Lori, "Come here, let's get your pants off," she told the woman as both she and Maggie began to help Lori take her pants off. "You're gonna need to help deliver your baby brother or sister," Jessica said as she eyed Carl. "You up for it?"
Looking at Jessica warily, Carl raised an eyebrow, "Do you guys know how?"
"Dad taught me," Maggie added in after they had finally gotten Lori's pants off. "But trust me, it's my first time," she said as she started to examine Lori to see how far along she was. "I can't tell..."
Groaning again Lori breathed through her pain as best she could, "I gotta push," she spoke hearing Maggie tell her okay. "I gotta push, I gotta..." she stated as she bent over farther, starting to push like she felt she needed too and it was then that she felt Jessica put her arms on her to support her.
"Somebody!" Lori yelled out as she pushed as hard as she could before coming back up. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she spoke as she looked between Jessica and Maggie.
Maggie nodded her head and stepped a bit closer, rubbing Lori's back, "You're doing great, Lori. Just keep doing it, your body knows what to do. Let it do all the work," she said right as Lori yelped out and that made Maggie bend down just to check and make sure things were okay. "You're doing great," she said again right before Lori grunted out and Maggie shook her head.
"Lori, stop don't push," she spoke up as she looked at Jessica feeling scared. "Something's wrong," Maggie sighed as she pulled her hand out and it was covered in blood. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holding onto T-Dog to support him as they walked down the corridors, Carol came to a stop as she saw two walkers heading their way and she moved her arm, raising her gun as she began to fire at them though nothing had happened and it was then that she knew she was out of bullets.
"Go back!" Carol yelled at T-Dog as she inched further back from the incoming walkers. But instead of listening to her, T-Dog ran past her heading straight towards them. "No!" she hollered out trying to stop him.
Once he had the walkers pushed towards the wall Carol just stood there for a bit in shock as he kept yelling for her to go and eventually she ran to the closet door but stopped as she turned to look at T-Dog who again told her to go because he was dead. Feeling a lump form in her throat she watched as a walker bit him in the arm and he muttered he was dead again before screaming out as the other walker bit him in the neck.
It was then that Carol turned and ran away through the open door with tears in her eyes. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You mean to tell me you decided to stay another day?" Kate asked as she eyed Andrea as they stood out on a street in Woodbury. Andrea had just got done seeing the Governor one last time and then she had tracked Kate down telling her that she was going to change Michonne's mind so they could just stay one more day.
"Don't you want too?" Andrea asked honestly as she looked at the woman in front of her. "I know you like this place too."
Heaving a sigh, Kate nodded her head, "I do but I keep thinking of how Lucy and Michonne won't like this one bit," she said knowing Lucy had wanted to get out of here and already wasn't happy with how long they had stayed here.
"They won't but we talked them into staying before, we can do it again," Andrea said sounding much more optimistic than Kate felt.
"What made you change your mind?" Kate asked as she ran a hand through her hair.
Going silent at that Andrea blushed because she wasn't sure how to tell Kate she had changed her mind all because the Governor had told her his name was Phillip. It had been progress with him since the first night when he had refused to tell his name.
"I just did," Andrea finally spoke before turning to leave.
Once Andrea was gone Kate just stood there and watched her leave, somewhat dreading having to tell Lucy they were staying longer, even if the idea of staying longer was one that Kate liked. She just hated arguing with the woman that she loved, the woman she had relied on during the most difficult months of her life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Running through the corridors with Daryl, Rick, and Oscar after the group had split up Zac slowly came to a stop as they came to a door and Rick shot at an oncoming walker before opening the door and they all went inside the room. It was when they were in the room that he watched as Rick went looking at the generators and he and Daryl held the door shut as walkers kept banging against it.
"How do you shut these down?!" Rick called out as he came to a stop in front of one of the generators.
"Go help him!" Zac hollered out to Oscar watching as the man walked off towards Rick while he and Daryl kept holding the door shut.
"I got it," Oscar spoke as he reached Rick and pointed at one of the buttons. "Right here," he said as Rick messed with it before heading away to another generator.
Though it was when Rick headed away to another generator that Oscar watched in horror as Andrew appeared behind Rick and tried to hit him with an ax though his ax went into one of the machines instead as Rick ducked out of the way in time and then he just watched as they kept fighting even after Rick's gun fell.
Hearing the commotion where Rick was, Zac turned to look at Daryl as the door kept getting hit on with more force from the incoming walkers and both of them shared a look and a nod before moving away and letting the door open, watching as the door opened and two walkers came in. Walkers that Daryl was able to kill before shutting the door again
Oscar just watched the fight progress even more between Rick and Andrew and when both men stood back up Oscar picked up some object and hurled it at Andrew, hitting him in the face and while that distracted the men for a second Oscar reached down and picked up the gun that Rick had dropped, holding it on both men.
"Shoot him! We can take back this prison. What you waiting for, do it! It’s our house, shoot him!" Andrew yelled as he looked at Oscar.
Looking at both men one last time Oscar moved the gun slightly and made the shot, hitting Andrew right in the head and as he stood there for a few more minutes holding Rick's gun he slowly turned it around and handed back to Rick right as he watched Daryl and Zac approaching him, having been ready to strike if he had shot Rick.
Giving a nod to Oscar, Rick took his gun back and then went back to the generators which he eventually shut off, silencing the alarms.
"Let's go," Rick spoke as he looked at the other men. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Helping Maggie lay Lori down on the floor Jessica chewed her lip as she looked at Lori and then to Carl who seemed to be panicking slightly again.
"Mom? Carl questioned as he went to one side of his mom while Jessica got on the other side. "Mom, look at me, look at me," he told her as she began to close her eyes on and off. "Keep your eyes open."
"We have to get you back to Dad," Maggie said as she looked down at Lori from where she sat at Lori's feet.
Lori shook her head as she began to feel weak, "I won't make it," she told Maggie knowing she would never make it back.
"Lori, with all this blood, I don't even think your fully dilated yet, no amount of pushing is going to help," Maggie muttered as she tried to reason with Lori.
"I know what it means, and I’m not losing my baby. You’ve gotta cut me open," Lori told Maggie honestly knowing there was no other option.
Maggie shook her head no at that, "I can't."
"You don't have a choice," Lori retorted knowing it was the only option and when she heard Carl say he'd go for help Lori looked at him. "No!" she stated knowing he needed to be here.
"Look, Carol’s the one that practiced that, Dad only taught me the steps Lori, if I…" Maggie sighed as she began to get chocked up, knowing what would happen if she did this.
"Please," Lori pleaded as she locked eyes with Maggie.
" I have no anesthetic, no equipment…" Maggie continued trying to think of every excuse not to do this.
Lori looked at Carl briefly, "Carl has a knife."
"You won't survive," Maggie stated honestly knowing Lori would die if she did this.
"My baby has to survive.....Please," Lori pleaded as her breathing got even heavier now. "My baby for all of us.....Please, Maggie! Please," she said seeing Maggie shake her head no and so she tried one more time. "Please."
Looking at Maggie, Jessica felt her heartbreaking especially as her mind went to her sister who had just found out today that she was pregnant. It was then that it hit her how much Avery might have to go through and that this pregnancy could be a death sentence for her and then she thought of Kate and she couldn't help but wonder if maybe Kate had survived long enough to give birth and if so if that had been when she died. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You mean she changed her mind?" Lucy asked harshly as she and Kate sat in their room. Kate had just told her about Andrea wanting to stay another day.
Kate looked away from Lucy's glare, "She did," she confirmed as she timidly looked back up. "Only for one more day though."
Lucy scoffed at that, "That's what she says," she muttered not sure if she believed they'd leave tomorrow either. "I swear if you two have it your way we'll be here forever."
"It's only for one more day," Kate spoke as she moved from where she was sitting and walked over to Lucy, reaching out for her hand so that maybe she could calm her some and talk some sense into her, let her see that one more day wasn't so bad.
Standing up before Kate could touch her Lucy sighed, "I feel you've been saying that every day so far," she stated bitterly before walking out of the room and leaving Kate behind. She just needed time to herself, time to process this and not long after she had stepped out into the hallway she looked up as she heard the door across the hall open and she saw Michonne step out, seeing that Michonne looked equally as pissed off. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You see my old C-section scar?" Lori asked after Maggie had pushed her shirt up.
Beginning to cry, Maggie shook her head again, "I can't.." she stated as her voice wavered slightly.
"You can. You have to.." Lori told her knowing it was the only way for her baby to survive. "Carl?" she asked as she turned to look at her son and once she did she gave him a faint smile. " Baby, I don't want you to be scared, okay? This is what I want. This is right. Now you-- you take care of your daddy for me, all right? And your little brother or sister, you take care…"
"You don't have to do this," Carl told his mom as he looked down at her, a lump forming in his throat.
"You're gonna be fine… You are gonna beat this world, I know you will. You are smart, and you are strong, and you are so brave! And I love you," Lori told him as she felt tears going down her cheeks now.
Carl nodded as he looked down at his mom and began to cry, "I love you too."
Smiling at that Lori reached up to wipe away some of his tears, "You gotta do what's right, baby. You promise me, you'll always do what's right. It's so easy to do the wrong thing in this world. So don't… so if it feels wrong, don't do it, all right? If it feels easy don't do it. Don't let the world spoil you. You're so good," she muttered through her tears, hearing Jessica and Maggie both crying as well. "You're my sweet boy! The best thing I ever did! I love you! I love you. You're my sweet, sweet boy, I love you," she told him as he leaned down to hug her one last time.
When he pulled away Lori looked at Maggie again, "Maggie, when this is over you're gonna have too.." she started but was stopped by Maggie shushing her. "No, you have to do it, it can't be Rick," she stated knowing Rick couldn't put her down. "Alright, alright. It's alright..." she stated as she watched Carl hand Maggie his knife and she reached for Carl's hand. "Goodnight, love."
"I'm sorry..." Maggie spoke through her tears as she held the knife and slowly began to cut Lori open, hearing Lori scream out in pain.
"What are you doing to her?" Carl asked his voice rising slightly before he watched his mom's head just fall to one side as her eyes closed shut.
Ignoring Carl's words Maggie worked on trying to get the baby out. "Jessica, give me your hands," she spoke seeing that Jessica was frozen in fear or sadness or both. "Jessica, please," she said again seeing Jessica finally come too and stick her hand where Maggie had instructed her too. "Keep the site clean, okay? I cut too deep, I’m gonna cut the baby," she continued as she kept working to get the baby out of Lori. " Okay… Okay, come on, I see it, I see the ears. I’m gonna pull him out. I can’t tell if this is the arm or the leg. Okay, I’m gonna pull the baby out."
Nodding her head Jessica just looked at Maggie, "Okay..Okay," she stated her voice cracking both times but she watched as Maggie pulled the baby out and she could see Carl watching as well.
Once the baby was out in Maggie's arm Jessica moved away slightly holding her breath as the baby just lay there in Maggie's arms motionless, not crying or moving but Maggie began to tap the baby trying to revive it and each time Maggie tapped it Jessica felt her breathing stop even more.
Finally though the baby let out a tiny cry before moving and Jessica was able to breathe again and it was after that, that Jessica watched Carl give Maggie his vest so she could wrap the baby in it.
"We have to go," Maggie spoke up as she stood up, holding the baby close to her chest.
Standing up as well Jessica looked at Carl who seemed to hesitate.
"Well, we can't just leave her here," Carl spoke as he looked at his mom. "She'll turn."
Reaching for her gun Jessica saw Carl shake his head no, "No," he said before showing Jessica his own gun.
"Carl..." Jessica trailed off feeling uneasy about this.
"She's my mom," Carl argued as he looked up at Jessica and Jessica finally sighed before turning to walk off with Maggie.
Following behind Maggie, Jessica watched as she opened the door they had came in earlier and the moment the door opened Jessica heard the familiar moans of the walkers and Maggie stepped back in, closing the door. It was after the door had closed that they both heard a gunshot echo and moments after that Carl came walking towards them, emotionless as he eventually went past them and they both just wordlessly followed behind him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zac walked through the corridors with Rick, Daryl and Oscar again though this time now instead of looking for generators they were looking for the rest of their group and eventually as they heard a noise near them all the men leaned against the wall and stopped ready to attack if it was walkers but when the people got near Zac watched as a flashlight lit up the place and they came face to face with Taylor and Axel who had went the other way when they had split up in search of the generators.
No one said anything though, instead they remained silent as they continued down the dark corridor where at the end of it, they found two walkers feasting on a dead body that was on the ground. After Rick took down the walkers though and the group was able to get closer, Zac paused when he realized the body the walkers had been eating was T-Dog.
Looking away from that, Zac had to compose himself briefly before he looked around again and this time his eyes landed on Daryl who had spotted a scarf in the floor and as Daryl picked it up and some light hit it, Zac realized it was the head scarf Carol had been wearing this morning.
Again they remained in silence though as they eventually went down some more corridors and headed outside the prison.
"Hershel!" Rick yelled as he saw Hershel and Beth standing outside of the cage now and Avery and Glenn on the stairs.
"You didn't find 'em?" Hershel asked as he looked down at the group of men.
Taylor shook his head, "We thought maybe they came back out here."
"What about T, Carol?" Avery asked as she moved from the stairs and closer to where Daryl was.
Daryl shook his head, "They didn't make it."
"That doesn't mean the others didn't," Rick said as he turned to look back at Daryl. "We're going back! Daryl and Zac, you come with me.." he started only to hear a baby's cry coming from somewhere near by and he turned around seeing Maggie opening the gate and heading out into the courtyard with a baby close to her chest, Jessica beside her and Carl not far behind.
Standing there frozen Avery watched as the scene unfolded with Maggie carrying a crying baby and Jessica and Carl with her and she swallowed hard not seeing Lori anywhere in sight as the reality of things hit her. Lori was dead and as she watched Rick ask where Lori was after he had dropped his weapons to the ground, Avery figured Rick was piecing it together too.
Frowning as Rick started to head into the prison only to be stopped by Maggie who told him not too, Avery felt her hand fall to her stomach almost instinctively as it hit her that in a few months this could be Daryl. In a few months she could leave behind a child and the man she loved and that thought scared her shitless.
Zac who had remained silent watched as Taylor went to go comfort a crying Maggie and it wasn't long after that, that Rick who was clearly now grieving fell to the ground and as he fell Zac felt tears come to his eyes but he did his best to blink them back, but they escaped anyway.
He couldn't help crying though because they had taken a big loss today. Three people and...and Lori's death during childbirth just seemed to be the thing that rocked everyone the most and in the end it only made him think of Kate. It was a reminder that she was gone and that she had been pregnant and if by some chance she had indeed survived after the farm, she could still be dead now. She could have died in childbirth like Lori had.
But if she had died during childbirth it also could mean his child could have lived..a baby, his baby could be out there somewhere and he'd never know it and that killed him all over again. The thought of his child being raised by strangers, it was just as bad as the thought of Kate dying during childbirth. Neither thought he wanted to be thinking of but as Rick's cries got louder it was hard not to get lost in his own sadness and thoughts.