Avery who had been standing on the porch of a house they were going to check out jumped slightly when Rick opened the door a little too loudly. She had been lost in her thoughts. It had been three weeks since she had last been with Daryl and it had also been three weeks since they had been able to stay anywhere overnight without having to move. The herd they were running from kept getting bigger and it was moving faster now too.
Watching as Rick and T-Dog handled the two walkers that were standing right at the doors she followed Daryl inside, keeping her gun up just in case they came across anymore walkers as they checked the house out. When they got to one of the rooms Avery watched Daryl slow some as a noise came from the other side of one of the doors and Daryl raised his crossbow.
Holding her gun a bit tighter Avery moved closer to him and the moment the door on the other side opened she was relieved to see that it was only Rick who they had heard. After that Daryl put down his crossbow some and just shook his head. Avery too put her gun down and she continued to follow behind him as they maneuvered their way around Rick to keep checking the house out.
Following Daryl upstairs eventually Avery looked behind her to see that T-Dog was also coming up the stairs as well though once they made it up the stairs T-Dog went in one direction while she followed Daryl in the other. When they made it into one of the rooms she raised an eyebrow as she saw an owl perched on a chair in the room and as she saw Daryl walk towards it with his crossbow held up higher she knew he was probably going to shot it.
The moment he did she felt her stomach turn and she bent over slightly trying to keep herself from getting sick. This wasn't the worst thing he had killed and yet just seeing him kill it was enough to make her want to get sick and find the nearest bathroom.
Daryl who had picked up the owl turned around to face Avery and he looked at her confused when he saw her bent over, "Are you okay?"
"Just felt sick all of a sudden," Avery shrugged as she stood back up. Her stomach was still churning but she didn't feel the need to go find the nearest toilet as bad as she had before. "I think it's beginning to go away now."
"You probably just need to eat," Daryl told her as he walked past her to leave the room. "I just hope this owl can feed everyone," he said as he examined it as he left the room
At the thought of eating the owl Avery again felt her stomach churn more and she leaned against nearest wall trying to get her shit together. Taking deep breaths she closed her eyes. She hadn't gotten sick since this whole thing started and she really hoped this wasn't happening now, though Jessica had been sick last week and she had ridden with Jessica and Glenn a lot.
Shaking her head when she felt well enough to walk out of the room Avery headed down the stairs and when she made it down she watched as she saw the rest of the group coming in and she followed them all into the living room. Once in the living room she walked over to where Daryl was in one of the chairs and sat down in front of him.
Feeling Daryl nudge her with his leg Avery looked up at him to see him holding some of the owl out to her. Taking it from him she made a face as she put it in her mouth and began to eat it. All the while she could feel her stomach doing somersaults and she had to think of anything she could that wasn't food. If she thought of food she'd literally throw up.
After she swallowed she looked up seeing Carl come in the room and sit down beside Beth which just made her smile some. She was sure the youngest Grimes boy had a crush on the blonde and she was sure Beth was dating Zac though neither had admitted to it or even done anything around the group yet to out themselves but Avery had noticed they'd go missing around the same times or sometimes Beth would do watches with Zac, usually when Hershel was already asleep and she was sure on one occasion she saw Beth sneaking out of Zac's room. Though no one else seemed to know or suspect. If they did they never said anything anyway.
Seeing Carl lay some cans on the floor she raised an eyebrow as she watched him opening the cans too. From where she sat she could see it was dog food. She guessed at this point the owl was seeming more appetizing because the thought of eating dog food just made her stomach churn even worse than the owl had.
Looking at Rick as he moved from the window he had been standing at Avery watched as he went to Carl and picked up one of the cans Carl had been opening. When Rick threw it she jumped slightly and looked down at the floor. Obviously Rick wasn't desperate enough to eat dog food or have the group eating it either.
Being brought out of her thoughts when T-Dog made a noise to get the groups attention Avery stood up and as she did she made a face seeing a group of walker's coming onto the property. Running outside along with everyone else she watched as they got into cars and she followed behind Daryl getting onto the back of his bike.
Slipping her arms around his waist she held onto him tight as he rode away from the house with the rest of the cars following behind him. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Getting out of the car he had been driving Zac sighed. They were in the middle of nowhere on some Georgia back roads and he wasn't even sure how long they had been driving since they left that house but it had felt like forever. Then again most things now days felt like forever.
Shutting his car door he watched as Beth got out of the passenger side with a weapon in her hand and she walked around the car. She along with Carl where going to be watching for walkers. Walking to the main car where most of the group was Zac came to a stop beside T-Dog who was looking down at a map.
"We’ve got no place left to go," T-Dog spoke as he examined the map more. They were quickly running out of options and places that they could go to for shelter.
"When this herd meets up with this one, we’ll be cut off," Jessica added in as she looked down at the map and pointed to the places where they had run into the herds at. "We’ll never make it south."
Daryl leaned against the car as he looked at the group members, "What do you say, it’s about 150 head?"
"That was last week, could be twice that now," Glenn answered as he looked back at Daryl.
"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through this," Hershel spoke knowing they could maybe get past it.
Zac shook his head as he too pointed to the places where Jessica had earlier, "Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way," he told Hershel as he looked at the older man.
"So we're blocked," Jessica muttered before running a hand through her hair.
Looking down at the map now Rick pointed with his hands as he told the group what they could do, "Only thing to do is double back at 27th and swing towards Greenville."
T-Dog shook his head no at that suggestion, "We picked through that already, it’s like we spent the winter going in circles."
"Yeah, I know," Rick nodded as he turned to look at T-Dog. " At Newnan we’ll push west. Haven’t been through there yet. We can’t keep going house to house," he said as he eyed Lori who had stayed in one of the cars. It was nearing her due date and he knew they needed to find somewhere before she gave birth. "We need to find some place to hold up for a few weeks."
After that Zac watched as T-Dog asked if they could go to the creek and fill up on water. Water that they could boil later. After Rick agreed Zac went to his car to get some jugs to put water in. After he had them he shut the trunk, surprised to see Taylor standing beside him.
"Figured I'd come too," Taylor said as he gave Zac a smile and took one of the jugs.
Smiling as Taylor took one of the jugs Zac followed him and a few of the others down to the creek, "You rarely do this type of stuff," he said knowing that usually Taylor didn't like going on runs or doing anything that required a lot of work. Taylor was more the stay at home type...if they had a home that was.
"Maggie may have said she finds it hot when I do things for the group," Taylor confessed as he felt his cheeks getting hot. "And you kind of have seemed sad these last few days. I have been wanting to ask if you are okay."
Zac groaned, "I really do not want to know what Maggie finds hot or not," he teased as he rolled his eyes. At Taylor saying he had seemed off he sighed, "I have just been thinking of Kate lately I guess," he frowned as he mentioned his wife.
"Do you think she is still alive?" Taylor asked once they made it to the creek.
"I..I don't know," Zac answered honestly as he bent down and opened one of the jugs. "I hope she is but then again I also hope she isn't if that makes sense," he said as he put the jug under the water to get some water in it. "If she's alive then that means she has probably had our baby and I wasn't there to see it and I'll kick myself for not going after her but if she's dead then that means the baby probably is too and that makes me sad but at least then I won't have the guilt of not going to look for her."
Opening the jug he had Taylor bent down as well, "You shouldn't feel guilty either way. If you had went back you could have gotten yourself killed and anyway Rick shot down that idea," he said remembering that both Daryl and Zac had wanted to go back for Andrea and Kate and Rick had said no. "If Kate is alive what will happen if we run into her again?"
"What do you mean?" Zac asked watching as Taylor put his jug in the water to get water in it as well.
"I mean are you going to get back with her or stay with Beth?" he asked his voice going softer at his question so no one else could hear.
Zac froze as he heard Taylor's next question. He hadn't expected that anyone knew of him and Beth. They had been trying to keep it a secret for as long as possible, especially since she was only seventeen. "How...I...You know?" he asked keeping his voice low now.
Taylor nodded his head yes, "I think everyone knows but Hershel is blind to it," he said as he pulled the jug out of the water and closed the lid on it. "But you don't have to worry. I'll keep it a secret that you confirmed it to me," he said before walking away and back towards where the cars were.
Watching Taylor leave Zac pulled his jug out as well and put the lid back on. As he stood up he followed behind Taylor in silence. He was surprised that Taylor knew and he was also conflicted on what his answer would be. While he loved his wife and he was sure he always would Beth was slowly working her way into his heart and under his skin and he wasn't sure he was ready to give that up. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Standing outside of a prison that Daryl and Rick had came across when they had went hunting for food while most of the group was at the creek, Jessica watched as Rick cut the fences with a pair pf pliers. As he did that she saw a walker coming towards the group and along with Glenn she ran over to kill it.
"Watch the back side," Rick spoke through gritted teeth to the group that was still behind him. He had finally cut a whole in the fence and the group members needed to get in safely.
Lori nodded, "Got it," she told him as she kept an eye on the back as everyone else moved inside. Slipping under the hole eventually as well Lori turned to see that T-Dog was still behind her and Rick was telling him to hurry.
Jessica crinkled up her nose as she now stood on the other side of the fence. After everyone got through she watched as Glenn and Daryl tied the hole in the fence back together so no walker's could get through. It was after they got the fence all tied up that everyone started to run towards one of the main gates around the prison courtyard where there were zombies. Tons of them that she knew would need to be taken care of before they could eventually get inside the courtyard safely.
When they made it to main gate she bent over to catch her breath and collect herself for a few seconds.
"It's perfect," Rick spoke as he eyed the prison in front of them. It really was the perfect place for shelter and for Lori to give birth. "If we can shut that gate," he said as he spotted an open gate near one of the guard towers, "prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers," he told the group as he pointed to the walkers in the yard. "We’ll take the field by tonight."
Hershel who had heard Rick's plan just looked at him, "But how do we shut the gate?" he asked knowing it would be no easy task with all of the walkers in the yard.
"I'll do it," Glenn volunteered as he felt Jessica behind moving closer at his words. "You guys cover me."
Jessica shook her head after Glenn spoke, "No," she stated her voice still coming out a bit labored from running. "It’s a suicide run."
Turning to look at Jessica, Glenn sighed, "I'm the fastest."
"No," Rick said as he pointed to Glenn and Jessica. "You, Jessica ,Zac, and Beth draw as many as you can over there," he said pointing in one direction of the yard. "Pop them through the fence," he said knowing they could at least get good head shots if walkers came close to the fence.
Looking at Daryl, Rick pointed to the another tower, "Daryl, go back to the other tower," he said before spotting Avery as well. "Avery you’ve become a pretty good shot, take your time, we don’t have a lot of ammo to waste," he spoke as he walked closer to her and leaned in. After he was done talking to her he walked to where Hershel was. "Hershel, you, Taylor and Carl, take this tower," he said referring to the tower that was actually on the side of the fence where they were.
"Alright," Carl spoke as he nodded and soon ran with Hershel and Taylor to the tower they were supposed to go in.
Running to the gates Jessica started yelling for the walkers as she tried to get their attention. When some would come over she'd use the knife she had and stick it through the holes in the gate. It was a process that was repeated numerous times and each time she did it she couldn't help but glance in the yard where Rick now was. She just hoped and prayed nothing happened to him.
Standing on top of the guard tower with Daryl, Avery held the rifle in her hand and looked through the scope as she saw Daryl shoot an arrow at one of the walkers. It was after that, that she started to fire the rifle making a face at the kickback on it. It was different then what she was used too because she hadn't used a rifle much.
After one of her shoots she made a face as Rick skidded to a stop and she knew she had almost shot Rick. "Sorry," she called out to him before watching as he took off again.
Jessica sighed as she tapped on the gate some more when one of the walkers who had been close to it turned away. She knew he was being attracted away by the gunfire.
"He did it," Avery told Daryl as she watched Rick go inside the tower after he had closed the gate. Maybe they actually could take this yard.
At Avery's words Daryl soon yelled out to Taylor,Carl, and Hershel, "Light it up," he said knowing they had to take care of the remaining few walkers in the yard.
After hearing Daryl yell light it up Jessica put her knife away and reached for her gun. Putting it between the holes in the fence she started to fire watching as everyone else around her did the same. With everyone shooting at these walkers now their mission to take the yard was soon becoming a reality.
Eventually before she knew it all of the walkers where dead and she put her gun away. Walking to the towers she watched as Avery and Daryl came back and Carl, Hershel, and Taylor came down from the tower they had been in.
"Fantastic!" Avery smiled feeling almost like she was on a high from all the shooting they had done today and the progress they had made.
Daryl smiled some as he walked behind Avery, "Nice shooting."
"Yeah," Avery nodded as she continued to walk to the main gate. Getting there she saw that Lori had it opened and she gave the woman a smile as she walked into the yard, "You okay?" she asked her with an eyebrow raised.
"I haven’t felt this good in weeks," Lori answered Avery. It was half a lie and half the truth. Lately she just felt as if everyone hated her and as if she was a burden to the group. They all knew now about her affair with Shane and she felt as if they blamed her for Rick murdering his friend.
"Oh! Oh, oh! We haven’t had this much space since we left the farm!" Carol laughed as she walked behind Avery and Daryl.
Jessica too laughed at Carol's words and turned to look at Glenn. Seeing him putting down a walker who had obviously not been shot in the head she just laughed. Today had been a really good day for their progress. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Taylor smiled to himself as he sat beside Maggie at the campfire they had made in the prison's yard. After the day they had he was tired and also just a bit hungry. Eating food from the bowl he had he closed his eyes, "Mmmm… Just like mom used to make," he sighed as he opened his eyes. He had been joking but the thought of his mom had made him a bit sad. It was hard to believe just how long she had been gone now.
Turning to look at Maggie he saw her smile and he gave a smile back. As he smiled at her though his mind went to Natalie. She too had been gone for so long and he found he was beginning to forget little things about her. Things that usually made him happy when he thought of her. That was why he vowed that he'd never lose Maggie no matter what.
"Tomorrow, we’ll put all the bodies together," T-Dog said as he looked at the others who sat around the campfire with him. "We want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we’ll uh have plenty of fresh water."
"The soil is good, we could plant some seed, grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans," Hershel added in before looking at Rick who was walking around the main fences that were farther up near the prison. "That’s his third time around. If there was any part of it compromised, he’d have found it by now."
Looking at Lori after her dad spoke Beth smiled, "This will be a good place to have the baby. Safe." _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Avery who had gotten away from the rest of the group walked to where Daryl was standing on top of an overturned vehicle. He was on watch and she knew if she didn't bring him food he'd never eat. Making it to the vehicle she climbed up but let out a groan finding it difficult. It was after her groan that she saw Daryl hold his hand out and she took it allowing him to pull her up.
Once she was on the vehicle she handed him the food, "That’s not much. But if I don’t bring you something, you won’t eat at all," she told him as she voiced her thoughts from not too long ago.
"Guess little Shane over there’s got quite the appetite," Daryl joked referring to Lori's pregnancy.
Avery just laughed at his words, "Don’t be mean," she spoke as she shook her head. "Rick’s gotten us a lot further than I thought he would, I’ll give him that," she nodded knowing that after Shane had died she may have been wary on how Rick was going to do without Shane. "Shane could never have done that," she said knowing that Shane probably never could have done what had been done today.
Looking away from Daryl she heaved a sigh and reached back to scratch her neck some. It was bothering her now after using the rifle.
Daryl watched Avery as she scratched her neck, "What's wrong?"
" It’s that rifle, the kickback. I’m just not used to it," Avery admitted as she finally started to massage her back.
"Hold on," Daryl told her before putting the bowl with his food down. Licking his fingers off he reached out to turn her around after and soon he began to massage her shoulder. When she turned to look at him he couldn't help but blush as he realized how affectionate with her he was being so publicly. He still hadn't got used to the whole public aspect of their relationship even if he could do the private stuff very well.
Moving his hands off her he sighed, "We better get back," he said knowing they should head back to the campfire.
Avery shook her head and turned around to face Daryl again, "It’s pretty romantic," she teased as she moved in and acted like she was going to kiss him. "Want to screw around?"
Daryl just laughed at her words which in turn made Avery laugh, "I’ll go down first," he told her as he started to get off the vehicle.
"Even better," Avery muttered sarcastically.
Turning his head to playfully glare at her he shook his head, "Stop," he said before getting off the vehicle and reaching up to help her down.
After she was done from the vehicle she walked back to the campfire in silence beside Daryl. She was feeling sick again after eating but she was doing her best to not show it.
When they finally made it to the fire Avery smiled as she heard Beth singing a song that she believed was called Parting Glass. Sitting down she smiled more when Daryl sat beside her. It was when she sat down that she heard Maggie start to sing along with her sister. Avery hadn't known either Greene girl could sing until tonight. Maybe that was why Taylor and Zac liked them.
Rick who had finally came back to the group bent down and watched as Carl handed him a bowl of food. Taking it he held it out to Lori who told him that she had some already but he kept it held out to here anyway until she took more. She was pregnant and needed all the food she could get.
"Beautiful," Hershel said after Beth and Maggie got done singing.
"Better all turn in," Rick told the group as he stayed bent down. "I’ll take watch over there, we’ve got a big day tomorrow."
Taylor looked at Rick feeling confused by the man's words, "What do you mean?"
"Look, I know we’re all exhausted.This was a great win," Rick said knowing what they had done today was good progress. "But we gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners, looks like this place fell pretty early," he revealed telling the group what he had noted on his numerous times around the main fence. "Could mean the supplies may be intact.They have an infirmary, a commissary."
"An armory?" Daryl asked from where he sat.
Rick looked over at Daryl, "That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden’s offices would have info on the location," he answered as he looked at the rest of the group again. "Weapons, food, medicine, this place could be a gold mine!"
"We’re dangerously low on ammo," Hershel told Rick as he looked at the man from across the campfire. "We’ll run out before we make a dent."
"That’s why we gotta go in there," Rick nodded slightly, "Hand to hand. After all we’ve been through, we can handle it, I know it," he said sounding confident. "These assholes don’t stand a chance," he smiled as he looked down at Carl before standing up and walking away.
After Rick walked away Avery sighed and reached for her backpack. Pulling out a sleeping bag she stood up and unfolded it. Once it was unfolded she eventually slipped inside and laid down. As she closed her eyes she felt an arm go around her and she smiled as she reached out to put her hand over Daryl's arm. It was at least a small baby step in tons of other small baby steps but he was coming around slowly it seemed to being affectionate with her in public. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Waking up in the backseat of a car, Kate groaned as she turned to look at Lucy sleeping beside her. "Luce," she whispered to get the other woman's attention. "Lucy baby time to wake up," she said as she leaned in to kiss the woman's neck softly.
"Gross," Alice muttered from where she had been in the passenger seat. "Just fucking gross."
Kate turned to look at Alice and she rolled her eyes, "You never heard any of us complain when you and Viv would be all lovey dovey in front of us."
At the mention of Viv, Alice went silent. She had almost wished Kate hadn't brought the woman up. Three weeks had passed since her death and she still had not come to terms with that fact.
"I'm sorry," Kate frowned after Alice had went silent after she mentioned Viv. She knew she shouldn't have. She hadn't even been able to speak Zac's name out for months after she had been parted from him. "I shouldn't have brought her up."
Alice shook her head, "You weren't thinking," she smiled trying not to dwell though her mind was beginning too. "Lucy isn't going to wake up any time soon by the way. She took my watch last night so that I could sleep."
Groaning Kate eventually slipped out of the backseat and got out of the car. Getting in the driver's side she turned on the car, "She'll only get an hour of sleep. We have just enough gas to drive an hour then we're going to have to walk on foot the rest of the way to Woodbury," she nodded knowing they had been following signs for Woodbury since last night.
"Good luck waking up her up," Alice muttered as she buckled up as Kate took off from the side of the road they had been parked on.