Standing at the fence outside of the prison Taylor took a deep breath. He was a bundle of nerves mainly because he had agreed to be one of the ones going in to take out the walkers with Rick. Maggie had agreed and there was no way in hell he was letting her go if he wasn't going either. He was afraid if she went alone that something would happen to her and he couldn't lose her like he had lost Natalie.
"Ready?" Hershel asked as he stood beside Rick at the fence.
After Hershel asked Rick that, Taylor took an even deeper breath as the gate was open and T-Dog stepped in, killing the first walker. Going in with everyone else after that, Taylor stayed on alert watching around him to make sure no walkers got too close to bite or scratch him.
As the group continued at a slow pace their backs to each other in a circle formation Taylor lifted the knife he wielded and soon began to take down walkers that would cross his path. It was as they walked he could hear the others on the other side of the fence making noise to draw walkers there so they could also kill them off, much like they had done yesterday when they had taken the yard.
Watching as Rick who was in front of him knocked down a walker Taylor noticed the walker wasn't dead and as Rick moved on Taylor bent down and stuck the knife in the walkers head before moving on.
"Don't break rank!" Rick yelled as T-Dog ran over to pick up a shield that had belonged to one of the prison guards. After that he watched as Maggie ran over to the walker T-Dog had knocked down with the shield and he called out for the girl who soon joined the group again. They were now almost to the main doors of the prison. "Almost there," he told the group that had came with him.
As he went to open the door he turned when he heard moans and saw another gate on one side of the prison that was open and full of walkers. A bunch of walkers that could come out after them. Putting his hand up for the group to be quiet he stayed leaned against the wall for a bit.
Taylor who was breathing heavy by now leaned against one of the walls beside Maggie and as he turned his head he watched as two walkers dressed in full out riot gear came out of one of the alley ways of the prison before two more came out just a bit closer to where the group was.
Seeing Daryl fire his crossbow he saw the arrow bounce off the face mask and land on the ground. He almost wasn't sure if there was going to be a way to kill those guard walkers. As he stood there after that Taylor made a face seeing one of the guard walkers come out of the door that had him and Maggie on one side of the column and T-Dog and Rick on the other.
Backing away slowly he watched Maggie start to go after that walker as he turned to take care of one of the prison inmate walkers that had been coming close. He knew that after today he'd be feeling it tomorrow but everything they were doing right now was for their group. For their family.
After he had taken care of the prison inmate walker Taylor stood up and turned to help Maggie with the guard walkers now and as he did he watched as Maggie took her knife and stuck it through the walker's neck which seemingly killed him.
"See that?" Maggie asked as she turned to face T-Dog and Taylor who were now just staring at her.
Once Maggie had spoke Taylor grabbed one of the guard walkers and watched as T-Dog stuck a knife through its throat. After it had died he dropped it in time to see Daryl do the same to one of the guards right as Rick kicked the remaining guard walker down on the ground.
Making a face Rick took the face shield off the walker Taylor almost threw up at the sight as the walkers skin peeled away and he just lay there basically skinless still trying to get at Rick. Once Rick finally put down that walker Taylor watched Maggie go to kill one more walker and then he looked around to see the yard around them full of dead walker bodies and everyone here in the group was now covered in blood and guts.
As the group headed towards the gate where the others where Taylor heard Rick say stop and he turned to face the man, "Looks secure," he spoke knowing it seemed safe enough right now.
"Nothing will lead to that courtyard over there," Daryl said pointing to one of the courtyards. "And that’s a civilian," he spoke pointing to one of the dead walkers on the ground that they had just killed.
T-Dog who had heard the last thing Daryl spoke rolled his eyes, "So the interior could be over run by walkers from outside the prison."
"Well, if there’s walls down, then, what are we gonna do? We can’t rebuild this whole place," Taylor said knowing there was no way they could just rebuild a prison. They didn't have the means or the way.
Rick who had let the others talk, finally spoke revealing his plans, "We can’t risk a blind spot. We have to push in," he nodded knowing they had to go inside of the prison first.
Hearing Rick, Taylor sighed but eventually followed everyone else inside the prison. It was darkish inside and things seemed a mess but he could at least tell they were near a cell block. Chewing his lip nervously he walked around the part they were in checking for walkers and as he walked near where Maggie was he saw Rick going up into the guard tower like thing in this cell block.
As Rick went up Taylor moved closer to Maggie and kept his knife raised just in case he needed to use it. In case there was a walker up there in that guard tower thing. Though when Rick came down safely and also carrying a set of keys Taylor followed him to the doors that were blocking them off from the main cells, doors which Rick unlocked.
After they were unlocked Taylor stayed close to Maggie as they began to check out the cells, making sure there were no walkers in them. Seeing a few dead bodies in some he just made a face knowing they'd have to clean them out before everyone could actually sleep in here. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Walking into the block where the cells where Avery watched as T-Dog carried out one of the last dead bodies and she made a face as she looked around her. It was gross but she was sure the storage units they had stayed in sometime over the winter had been a lot worse than this prison seemed to be.
"What do you think?" Rick asked as he came down the stairs from the second level of cells and looked at the group that was coming in.
"Home sweet home," Glenn replied sarcastically as he walked beside Jessica as they looked for a cell to sleep in.
Rick laughed at Glenn's words, "For the time being."
"It's secure?" Lori asked as she looked around, one hand resting on her swollen belly.
Rick nodded at his wife's question, "This cell block is."
"What about the rest of the prison?" Zac asked from where he stood towards the back of the group of people who were obviously still taking in their surroundings.
"In the morning, we’ll find the cafeteria, and the infirmary," Rick answered knowing they all just needed to rest for the night before doing anything else.
Beth made a face as she looked towards Rick, "We’ll sleep in the cells?"
"I found the keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too," Rick said as he looked down at the keys in his hand that he had found on the dead guard that had been in the tower when they came in the prison.
Daryl shook his head, "I ain't sleeping in no cage," he said not wanting to sleep in a cell. "I'll take the perch," he nodded before walking up the stairs and laying his stuff down in a corner at the top of the stairs.
Following behind Daryl, Avery headed upstairs and chose the cell across from where Daryl put his stuff. Once she was in her cell she put her stuff away and sat on the bottom bunk bed letting her head lean back slightly. Yesterday and today had been taxing and to know that some of the group was going out again tomorrow was enough to make her feel as if things would never settle down even when they had shelter, though at least Avery understood the need to go out tomorrow.
"You feeling okay?" a voice spoke and Avery turned her head to see Daryl standing in the entry way to her cell. "I mean I know you were feeling sick again this morning."
Avery nodded her head as she remembered this morning vividly. She had been the first one awake thanks to her intense need to get sick and she had gotten sick. She had wound up getting sick three times but eventually it had settled and at this moment she was feeling a bit better.
"I am feeling better now," she finally answered him as she stood from the bed and went over to him. "I think whatever I had passed," she nodded hoping that it had indeed passed.
Daryl gave her a smile and then looked around to see if anyone else was around. Not seeing anyone around he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.
Kissing Daryl back Avery smiled on his lips some and when she pulled away she slipped her arms around his neck, "Better be careful doing that. Someone could see us kissing," she teased before pulling him into another kiss.
"Stop," Daryl muttered against her lips feelings his cheeks get warm as she teased him and he knew he was blushing. He swore eventually this girl would be the death of him. Pulling away from the kiss he chewed on his lip as he looked at her. "You're going to have to get a damn sheet to put in front of your cell door little girl."
Avery rolled her eyes when Daryl called her a little girl, "I wish you'd stop calling me that," she said knowing she had always hated the nickname he had given her back at the quarry. "I'm a woman I think you know that better than anyone else," she teased. "But why am I going to need a sheet?"
"So I can be with you," Daryl answered as he looked down into her eyes. He knew it had been three weeks since their last time together and he missed being with her. He missed being inside of her because it was those moments he felt the most connected to her. It was then that he knew she was his woman even if he still couldn't call her a woman for some damned reason.
"The others could hear us," Avery spoke as she locked eyes with him.
Daryl just sighed, "We're experts at being silent," he shrugged knowing no one had heard them at the house three weeks ago and that place had, had thin walls as well.
Avery laughed at his words, "I'll see what I can do about that sheet," she nodded before pulling him into another kiss. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Following behind Maggie as they claimed one of the cells on the lower level Taylor watched as Maggie sat down on the bottom bunk bed.
"I’m so exhausted, I don’t even care," Maggie said to Taylor as she watched him sit down beside her. Today had been tiring on her and she knew tomorrow would probably be just as tiring and taxing on them but at least right now they could rest for a bit.
Giving Maggie a smile Taylor reached out and grabbed her arm gently, "Let me see you," he said before checking one arm and then the other before gently touching her back and checking it.
Maggie gave Taylor a confused face. "What are you doing?"
"Checking for scratches," Taylor answered as he continued to check her back. He just wanted to know that she was safe. After he had checked her back he smiled, "You're okay," he nodded before pulling her closer and kissing her shoulder and neck gently.
Maggie smiled some at Taylor's gestures and she slipped her arms around his neck feeling him slip his arms around her too. "I love you," she whispered before giving him another smile.
"I love you too," Taylor told her as he returned the smile. "I love you and how bad ass you have become," he said trying to joke slightly though the way she had handled the walkers had been pretty damn bad ass. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lucy who was carrying a backpack on her shoulders looked at Kate and Alice, "We're going to have to make camp somewhere soon," she said knowing it would be getting dark before long. "We've been walking for hours now and we need to rest for the night."
Hearing Lucy, Kate nodded and she veered off the road, going into the woods. As she walked she kept her eyes out for walkers and she was glad when she didn't see any.
Lucy followed Kate and she smiled in relief when Kate eventually came to a stop in the middle of the woods. Taking the backpack off her shoulders she unzipped it and got the tent out. "Want to help me set the tent up Alice?" she asked as she looked at her friend. "Kate can start the fire while we set the tent up."
"Okay," Alice nodded as she looked at Lucy. Walking to where Lucy was she helped her friend set up the tent though neither said anything to the other. "So how long do you think it will take us to get to Woodbury?"
"Probably two days maybe three at the most now that we are walking," Kate answered as she came back from gathering wood. "Unless my girlfriend plans on walking faster," she teased as she winked at Lucy before bending down to start the fire.
Alice raised her eyes at Kate's words, "Girlfriend? I didn't know you two had put a label on your relationship," she smiled knowing they had both been hesitant too especially since Kate was married and there was a slim chance she could always run into her husband again.
Kate was about to protest that they hadn't but then she knew she had just called Lucy her girlfriend and maybe deep down that was what she wanted. She wanted Lucy to be her girlfriend. "I guess we just did," she said as she caught Lucy's eye and saw her smirking.
"Yeah I guess we did," Lucy said once she had finished putting the tent up. Walking to where Kate was still fooling with the fire she helped her and eventually it started. "All you needed was a bit of a fiery touch," she teased referring to herself as the fiery touch since she was a natural redhead.
Watching Lucy and Kate together Alice frowned more but she sat down in front of the fire, "What if you find your husband?" she asked after some silence. "Will Lucy still be your girlfriend then?"
"My husband is dead," Kate answered certainly. She had thought Zac was dead now since three months after being away from him and maybe that was what had made it easier to be with Lucy. Made it easier to want to be comforted by someone else and if she thought Zac was alive it would just make her feel guilty but she wasn't sure if it would make her give Lucy up. Lucy had been her anchor now through the biggest loss she had suffered and she felt like she was so tightly woven to Lucy now. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Jessica sat in the cell she was sharing with Glenn. It was morning now and she chewed on her lip, "Do you want to go with the group today?" she asked him as she raised an eyebrow.
"I thought about it," Glenn admitted as he gave her a look. He had been cutting out on doing too much for the group. He knew Jessica was still afraid of losing him and he didn't want her worrying about him.
"Can you stay with me please?" Jessica asked as she leaned in to kiss his cheek. "The next time the group does something risky you can go but I want you to stay with me today," she nodded not sure she liked the thought of him going around in some dark prison. She wasn't like Avery who could always rely on Daryl coming back. Jessica feared losing Glenn still and she knew that probably made her weak.
"You promise I can next time?" Glenn asked as he gave her a sheepish smile.
Nodding Jessica laughed at his smile, "I promise." _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Zac stood around the table as he examined the stuff they had found while trying to get into the prison yesterday. Most of it looked like typical riot gear that a guard would wear and it almost excited him to see it.
" Not bad," Daryl spoke as he looked at the stuff on the table. The stuff they had taken off the walker guards.
"Flashbangs, CS Triple-Chasers. Not sure how they’d work on walkers, but we’ll take them," Rick said as he held some of the items in his hands.
Picking up one of the helmets Daryl made a face seeing walker skin was still inside of it, "I ain’t wearing this shit."
Zac picked up a pair of gloves that also had walker skin still stuck to it and he made a face as he held it out from his self, "We could boil them," he suggested.
"Ain’t enough firewood in a whole forest, no!" Daryl shook his head standing firm in his decision. "Besides, we’ve made it this far without them right?"
Before Zac could say anything back he turned as he heard footsteps and he saw Carol coming into the room.
"Hershel?" Carol asked as she looked at the man who Lori had asked to see.
"Everything alright?" Rick asked looking at the woman who was sharing a cell with his wife.
Carol nodded, "Yeah, nothing to worry about," she said giving Rick a smile. When Hershel walked towards her she lead him to the cell she shared with Lori.
After Carol had left Zac smiled some as he saw Beth walking to the main doors of where their cells were. Walking to her he gave her a bigger smile, "How are you?" he asked knowing they hadn't had a chance to be alone since finding the prison.
Beth shrugged, "I'm okay, just getting used to sleeping in a prison," she laughed as she looked up at him slightly since he was a bit taller. "If I can I may slip into your cell tonight," she whispered afraid anyone including her dad could hear her. "I miss just being near you," she confessed though she did miss the other stuff they did, even if they hadn't had sex yet. It was something she felt she wasn't ready for and Zac seemed to respect her wishes.
"Are you sure?" Zac asked her as he moved a bit closer. "I mean the prison is kind of close quarters."
"Not as close as the storage units were and we were able to sneak around there," Beth grinned before kissing his cheek quickly. "Stay safe on the quest into the prison today," she told him before walking off. She,Lori,Carol,Jessica,Glenn,Carl, and Avery were all going to stay behind while everyone else went to go find the infirmary and cafeteria. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Taylor stood inside the area with the main cells. Hershel had finished talking to Lori a bit ago and now the group was getting ready to head out. He had to admit he was scared but at least the group had a lot of people so maybe that would keep anything too bad from happening.
Rick who had been helping T-Dog put on a vest smiled some as he saw Carl trying on one of the helmets. Once he had finished helping T-Dog he walked over to his son, "You won't need that," he said before taking the helmet from him. "I need you to stay put."
"You're kidding," Carl said as he looked up at his dad. He had wanted to go out with everyone.
Rick shook his head, "We don’t know what’s in there. If something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing," he said joking some towards the end. "I need you to handle things here."
"Sure," Carl smiled agreeing when his dad put it like that.
"Great, let’s go," Rick said as he soon lead the way out into the corridors.
Following behind Zac and T-Dog, Taylor heard Carl shut the main door and he kept his attention ahead of him. Eventually he felt his heartbeat pick up as Daryl unlocked a door that lead to the other parts of the prison and Taylor followed behind the people in front of him as best as he could as they began their way deeper into the prison's labyrinth of corridors and hallways. It was so dark in here that even with flashlights they couldn't see that well still.
Holding his flashlight he made a face as he looked at the dead walker bodies that littered some of the hallways. When they reached the end of one hallway Taylor got out the can of spray paint he had been given and spray painted an arrow that would help them find their way during later trips.
After he did that he turned around and bumped into Maggie who let out a tiny scream. Putting his hands on her shoulder he shushed her and then continued to follow the rest of the group down another hallway.
Rick who had been leading the group was about to round another hallway when right as he did he shined his flashlight and saw a group of walkers heading their way, "Go back, go back!" he said harshly as he backed up and the group took off running back the way they had came.
Taylor who was leading the way with Maggie kept running until they rounded one of the corners and came face to face with walkers and they turned around with the rest of the group trying to find a way out down another hallway. Right after they rounded another corner though Taylor grabbed onto the back of Maggie's vest as more walkers came out blocking their way of catching up with the rest of the group.
"In here!" Taylor said frantically as he pulled Maggie into a room and shut the door. The walkers couldn't open the door so luckily they were safe.
Rick who had found a place to hide crouched down with everyone else, noticing that Taylor and Maggie were gone, "Where is Taylor and Maggie?"
"We have to go back!" Hershel insisted knowing he wasn't going to leave his daughter behind.
"But which way?" Zac asked not sure when exactly they had lost Taylor and Maggie.
Standing up after Zac asked what he did Rick soon lead the group down the halls to go find Taylor and Maggie.
"Maggie? Taylor?" Hershel called out as he turned to look down one of the hallways. Not getting a response he turned and kept going.
Not hearing the walkers outside the door anymore Taylor opened the door that he and Maggie had been hiding in and turned to look around him, "Rick?" he called out not seeing the group either.
"Dad?" Maggie asked after she had stepped out of the room where they had been hiding.
Hearing Maggie saying dad, Hershel turned around to follow the voice, "Mag? he asked as he continued down the hallway where the voice had came from, stepping over dead walkers as he did so. "Mag?" he asked again as he walked over one walker but right as he put one foot down he felt hands around his leg and then the walker took a bite which made him fall down and scream.
Maggie who had heard the scream took off running with Taylor and right as she rounded the corner she saw Rick shoot a walker and her dad laying on the floor, "No! No, daddy! No!"
Taylor ran to Hershel and with Rick's help they both picked the man up right as walkers who had obviously heard the gun shot came towards where they were. Once they both had a hold of Hershel, Taylor heard Rick call out for Daryl who got in front of the group to take care of the walkers in front of them and as they turned around with Hershel,Taylor felt his eyes widen when he saw walkers behind them too.
"We’re blocked!" Rick hollered before turning and going back the other way and eventually they turned down another corridor though he could hear the walkers following them.
As they went down this new corridor Taylor kept his grip on Hershel even when they made it to a room that had double doors. Watching T-Dog break the chain that had been on it before opening the doors he and Rick soon lead Hershel inside. Going towards the middle of the room he helped lay Hershel down as Rick hollered for Daryl to shut the door so no more walkers could get in.
Standing up once Hershel was laying down Taylor watched T-Dog put something between both door handles to keep it closed and he went towards one of the backpacks to grab a bed sheet. They had came prepared in case something like this had happened. It was something they had all agreed to as a group over the winter if any of them had ever gotten bit.
Holding onto her dad Maggie felt tears going down at her cheek as she tried to calm her dad who kept saying oh god over and over again. Watching as Rick took his belt off Maggie held her dad's face in her hands and when Rick grabbed for an axe she tried not to look.
"Only one way to keep you alive," Rick spoke as he looked down at Hershel who Maggie was holding down and trying to console.
Reaching out for Hershel, Taylor too helped to hold him down as Rick took the first swing. The sight of blood made him a bit queasy and he did his best to ignore it as Rick who was beside him kept chopping the leg until it was off.
"He’s bleeding out," Rick told the group after he took a moment to compose himself from what he had just done and the sight of the leg and blood.
Daryl who had been on the floor to help hold Hershel down turned away for a bit after the leg had been cut off and when he turned back he made a face seeing four people standing up behind a window in the room, "Duck," he said to Rick as he stood up and picked up his crossbow.
Holding his crossbow and flashlight towards the men he just looked at them as they looked back at them and advanced closer.
"Holy shit!" One of the men behind the bars on the other side of the room spoke as a man with a crossbow and flashlight advanced towards them.