The Fear (The Walking Dead / Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 23 - Picking Them Off

Rick, Daryl and I found our way to a train track and followed it along. It was quiet for the most part, not wanting to scare away any possible food. As we walked, the trees to our right began to clear up until we stood with a clear view of what we had been walking beside.

"That's a shame." Daryl said, nodding over to the prison with high wall, fences and lookout posts that was swarming with walkers.

"Maybe not." I stated. "We could shut the gate up the back, trapping anymore of them and then pick off the ones in courtyard. Rick?" I turned to our leader who was nodded.

"Let's go get the others." He turned on his heels and wasted no time, not wanting to loose the daylight.

Daryl and I went to follow, but a slight movement in the corner of my eye drew my attention to a squirrel that was clinging on to the side of a tree. I tapped Daryl's arm and pointed towards the animal before he raised his crossbow and fired. I waited until he had picked it up before walking after Rick. We found one more squirrel on the hike back.

Rick explained what we had found to the group and what the plan was and before long we were gearing up and heading back to the prison. Rick used a pair of bolt cutters to get through the chicken wire on the outside fence. There were two of them that created a boarder around the yard.

Carl went through first followed by Lori. "Hurry." Rick was saying as we each began to crawl through the gap in the fence. Once we were all on the other side, Glenn tied the chicken wire back together with some rope.

We now stood in the pathway or gap between the two fences as the walkers from the yard saw us and began to make their way to the fence, hoping for a feed. Daryl took the lead, jogging down the path until we came to the front gates beside a guard tower.

"If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."

"So how do we shut the gate?" My dad asked.

"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn offered.

"No. It's a suicide run." Maggie stated.

"I'm the fastest." Glenn informed.

"No. You, Maggie and Beth draw as many as you can over there and Kat and T-Dog you do the same in the other direction." Rick pointed back down the path, away from the run towards the second gate. "Pop 'em through the fence. Daryl go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl take this tower. I'll run for the gate." We all nodded in agreement and set about our orders.

Maggie, Beth and Glenn went further down the path in the same direction we had just been heading in while T-Dog and I went back the way we came. Daryl and Carol walked with us for a while before heading up to the guard tower. We made noise on the fence by clanging my machete and T-Dogs metal rod and yelling.

Within seconds we had walkers piling up as we took them out through the fence. Rick waited until a lot of them had been drawn to us or the other group before getting Lori to open the gate so he could run. He went straight up the gravel path, shooting walkers as he went. With the shots being fired from the guard towers the walkers on the fence began to turn, looking to find where the noise was coming from before their sight landed on Rick.

He made it to the gate though and shut it, trapping the walkers on the other side, but when he turned back around there were to many beginning to crowd him for him to safely run back. So instead he opened up the door to another guard tower that was inside and ran up there.