HEART FOR BRAINS • the walking dead

016: three down

Maggie waved over at them, shaking her head in disbelief as she watched Hershel. Rio waved over at Daryl and went to shout something when Carl turned around and shouted.

His face dropped as he called. "Walkers look out!"

"No!" Rick shouted, him and Daryl running around the fences.

Carl was quicker than Rio, he pulled his gun from his holster aiming at the closest Walker.

Lori shot first, knocking one down as Hershel escaped.

"Get out!" Daryl screamed over to them. "Get out of there! Now!"

A Walker came closer and Rio stabbed it, plunging his knife through the monsters head.

"Get your gun out!" Someone shouted to him. He complied, kicking away the next Walker as he loaded his pistol. It stumbled back far enough for him to load his gun, putting two rounds into its head. More and more came, almost cornering them in the yard. A gate to his left opened as Rio took down his third Walker.

Maggie, Carol and T-Dog burst through, guns ready and ablaze. They shot down more walkers, bodies dropping twice as fast now.

"That gate is open!" T-Dog exclaimed as he shot down another. Rio looked over to him uncertainly from where he was stood up on the tables, hitting a Walker across the head with his gun.

"Lori! here!" Maggie shouted, signalling to an open gate. She grabbed Carl and they ran over, leaving everyone else behind to fight.

She tried to yell at Rio to come with them but he stayed put. "I've got it." He called back, trying to reassure her. Maggie looked between him and Lori. She didn't waste any more time getting her out of there, Carl tried to stay back too but Lori made it non-negotiable.

Walkers clawed at them as they escaped, Rio putting them down with the help of T-Dog.

Carol ran towards the herd, shooting them as close as she could from where they were emerging from. The courtyard seemed to have walkers flooding in from everywhere.

One came up close and Rio grabbed its collar, pushing it to the ground before shooting it. Another came too close and Beth yelled from where she was hid. Her and Hershel stood upon the steps, enclosed by the fencing.

The Walker turned around towards them and the boy shot it again.

T-Dog ran to Carols side, downing walkers before pulling the gate shut. Rio turned to shoot more walkers but instead heard a scream.

An old walker in prison uniform was latched onto T-Dog's shoulder, clinging as the man tried to shake it off.

"No!" Carol screamed. Rio watched from the other side of the yard as she shot it. His mouth hung open and his chest heaved.

He couldn't watch for long. More walkers surrounded the yard and Rio kept shooting. He didn't know how much longer he could, wasn't sure how many bullets he had left.

There was about five left when Rick, Daryl and Glenn burst through the gate. Rick shot two walkers down instantly. Rio running over to them as he did so.

Glenn slashed one with his machete and Rio shot one beside it.

"What the hell happened?" Rick shouted, turning away for just a second.

"The gate was open!" Beth yelled in response. Daryl shot one down with his crossbow.

"Where's Lori, Carl... everyone else?" Rick asked again.

"Maggie led Lori and Carl into C block." Hershel told him, pointing to to the way they'd escaped through.

"And T-Dog was bit." Rio added, picking a bolt out of a walkers head and angrily stabbing it through another's. He handed it back to Daryl who wiped it in his shirt.