Broken strings---➤ Daryl Dixon

20

I don't dare to move. We don't know who these people are, they're clearly prisoners based on the uniforms they wear. They continue to stare at us until one finally speaks, "Damn."

The rest of us snap back into action, raising our weapons. Except for Rick who is trying to stop the bleeding from Hershel's leg.

"Maggie, help Rick, I've got this covered," I tell her as I slowly move to stand next to Daryl, whose concern is the strangers standing in front of us. Glenn and T-dog check out the prisoner's supplies, which seem to be a lot, including a trolley to carry Hershel. The men seem quite confused about why we are here and what's going on.

Eventually, Rick is ready to move Hershel back to our cell block, we make our way out of the room, killing any estranged walkers, and leaving the prisoners behind.

I decide to run up ahead, killing any walkers that pose a threat, as well as keeping notice of any lying on the floor that may look dead. I'd rather not also have my leg chopped off.

"Carl?" I shout from a distance as I approach the gate. "Carl open the door, it's Hershel!"

The boy comes into view and he calmly finds the key to unlock it, I see his eyes go wide as the others come into view. My urgency gains the others' attention.

"Dad?" Beth cries out as we help lay Hershel down onto a bed. Rick explains how he got bit and so in an attempt to save him he cut his leg off, however, this is uncharted territory. He may also die of blood loss at this rate. A sinking feeling weighs in my chest. Carol and Lori start helping as well and so I take a step back. I place a hand on Beth's shoulder and she turns to me and hugs me whilst trying not to cry. People are shouting but I just hold onto Beth, "It'll be okay," I mutter.

From the corner of my eye, I watch Daryl raise his crossbow, I turn and spot the prisoners from earlier. I bite the inside of my cheek, this can't end well.

The prisoners move forward slowly, I notice how one of them, maybe their leader, has a gun. Daryl doesn't flinch, the sharp edge in his voice matching the set of his jaw. "Today's your lucky day. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go."

The exchange escalates quickly, The 'leader' pulls out his weapon. T-Dog joins the standoff, his gun trained on the prisoners.

"Everyone needs to calm down." Rick interjects, trying to ease both sides. I have my bow in my hand as I move away from Beth, but I stand in front of her. Rick continues to explain that the world has essentially gone to shit. The prisoners seem fairly surprised. I suppose they've been locked in the cafeteria this whole time.

The prisoners seem to argue amongst themselves about what they should do. I can tell they still don't quite believe us, so we take them out to the courtyard so they can see the walkers for themselves.

Unfortunately, as there seems to be nowhere to go, the prisoners want their space back, to which Rick isn't happy about. They go back and forth, covering which areas they want or feel entitled to. I lightly push my thumb into the end of an arrowhead, it doesn't break the skin, and the feeling eases my building anxiety.

Their leader firmly states that they won't go back into the cafeteria and so Rick slowly negotiates some of the food the prisoners have, in exchange for a different cell block. Which seems reasonable, but I'm not sure how comfortable it will be.

I trail behind the others as we walk back to the cafeteria. The prisoners show us their food storage, which is a lot more than they let on but Rick stands his ground and we begin to section out what we can take back to our cell block. As I bend down to pick up another box of cans, I feel a hand slap against my ass. I drop the box and pull out my knife, turning to come face to face with the prisoner's creepy leader. I hold my knife steady and wish I could cut out his eyes.
Daryl moves beside me with his crossbow aimed high, square at his face.
"Hey. Watch it." Rick warns, his hand hovering over his gun.