Chasing Amy (Daryl Dixon/The Walking Dead)

Chapter 41 - Irony

By the time I'd woken the next morning, the cellblock was alight with the brightness of the intruding sun.

I was still in my clothes from last night, which just reminded me of what had been done and said in the early hours of the day.

Sadly enough, I had no idea what time of day it was, no conception of time... Which basically screwed with my head every time I woke up, leaving me confused and in a sleepy stupor.

It took me a while to actually muster the energy to get up from my bed, before stretching out my arms ahead of me as I pulled myself to the side of the mushy mattress. This whole cell didn't have a very pleasant scent to it... A mixture of mould and... Well, the dead.

For my first night in an actual bed, I had an awful sleep.

As I stepped from the bed, I noticed the blood spot again, smeared all over the floor. Images of me fumbling around in the dark flooded into my mind, of me probably stepping all over this dark patch of human blood.

I'd have to clean that up, and soon.

I could hear faint whispering from outside my cell, the sound carrying in the emptiness, so I quickly stepped past the stain and towards the cell door, my stomach rumbling loudly. We hadn't eaten in a while, a long while.

Or, it felt as though we hadn't eaten in a while. I'd consider a day without proper food a while, especially since my stomach felt like it was going to cave in on itself.

There was barely anyone outside, besides Carl, who was sitting against the concrete wall, right up close to the gate.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, my voice echoing through the silent building. I could see inside the cell where Carol and the rest were sitting, now in silence.

Carl lifted his head slowly, meeting my eyes with his blue ones.

"My dad and the others are clearing out the other side of the building." He answered. By "others" I'd assumed Daryl, T-Dog, Glenn and Maggie...

"Where's Hershel?" I asked suddenly, looking over to where Carol and Lori were sitting on the bunk, whilst Beth sat in the floor in front of them, smiling upwards.

"He went, too." Carl stated this as though it were the obvious. "I had to stay back, but only because I am supposed to be watching guard."

I slowly nodded, looking back around the empty building.

"How long was I asleep for?" I asked, hiding the smile that was creeping its way onto my face as Carl stared up at me solemnly.

Sometimes his serious attitude reminded me a little of Rick, in a humorous way of course, but it often left me feeling just a little rude whilst holding back laughter.

"About an hour longer than everyone else..." Carl answered, adjusting his hat. His cheeks were red with embarrassment as he continued to ramble. "My dad managed to clean those suits, so they're wearing them down there."

"Well, I'm glad I'm not down there. Those things'd stink." I said, grinning half-heartedly. "Thanks, Carl."

He nodded firmly, before ducking his head back down to stare at the ground.

I didn't particularly want to go back into my cell, but there really wasn't much else to do.

Against my better judgment, I began to walk towards Lori and Carol's cell.

"Do we have any water left?" I asked Carol, who was sitting closest to the cell door.

"Not clean water. We have that unfiltered stuff from the river, we just didn't have time to boil it." Carol looked up, "There might be a chance we can get the water system running here, and soon."