𝙴𝙿𝙸𝚂𝙾𝙳𝙴 𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚈-𝚃𝚆𝙾 - 𝙾𝙽𝙴 𝙳𝙰𝚈
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚢
After a good night's rest, it was time to clear out the rest of the walkers in the prison yard. This would ensure the groups safety and security.
"Ready?" Hershel asked. Rick unlocked the gate and opened it before Daryl, Madelyn, Glenn, T-Dog and Maggie all went inside to the kill the walkers. Rick was also with them. The group stayed close together to be safer. Maggie, Glenn, T-Dog and Rick were using knives and Daryl and Madelyn were using their arrows to kill the walkers. The rest of the group were making as much noise as they could to distract the walkers from the group clearing the yard.
Once the yard was cleared, everyone started to make their way back until Rick stopped them. "Stop." He said.
"What? It looks secure." Glenn said.
"Not from the look of that courtyard over there." Daryl said. "And that's a civilian."
"So, the interior could be overrun from walkers from outside the prison." Madelyn said.
"So, if there's walls down, then what are we gonna do?" Glenn asked. "We can't rebuild this whole place."
"We can't risk a blind spot." Rick said. "We have to push in."
Everyone followed Rick to the door that led inside the prison and crept in quietly. It was quite dark so the group stayed together. There was trash all over the floor but nothing too bad. Rick crept up to the watch tower and found a dead guard who seemed to have been shot in the head. He also found a set of keys that unlocked the cell block. The cell doors were all open and there were a few dead prisoners on the ground.
Rick and Daryl went to check upstairs whilst everyone else checked the downstairs. Madelyn was close to the stairs when she felt a hand grab her arm and a growl. She turned around and found herself face to face with a walker.
"Oh my god!" She exclaimed, getting everyone's attention, including Daryl. This walker was a pretty big guy which meant it had a strong grip. Madelyn tried to free her arm as everyone tried to help her. Daryl heard Madelyn's cries and quickly ran downstairs in a panic.
"Madelyn!" He exclaimed, getting his crossbow ready. Madelyn growled and grabbed an arrow that was attached to her crossbow and after much struggling, she managed to push it into the walker's brain, killing it. She gasped as she stepped back, breathing heavily.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" Maggie asked.
"I'm fine." Madelyn panted.
"Are you bit? You better not be bit." Daryl said in a panic as he ran over to her and checked her arms.
"I'm fine, Daryl. I'm fine." She said.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again." Daryl said, caressing her face.
"I guess now we're even." Madelyn said, making Daryl look at her confused. "Remember, when Andrea shot you?"
"Whatever." Daryl mumbled. Once the prison block was clear, the rest of the group was allowed inside to settle down.
"What do you think?" Rick asked the group.
"Home sweet home." Glenn said.
"For the time being." Rick said.
"It's secure?" Carol asked.
"This cell block is." Rick said.
"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked.
"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary." Rick said.
"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked.
"Found keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too." Rick said.
"I ain't sleeping in no cage." Daryl said before everyone saw Madelyn whisper something in Daryl's ear. "Fine, I'm sleeping in the cell, but we'll need an extra sheet."
"What for?" T-Dog asked.
"Need to cover our cell. Privacy." Daryl said, making Madelyn blush slightly as everyone laughed. Everyone went off to their cells to get some rest and sleep for a while.
"Our first time is gonna be in a prison cell. Who would've thought?" Madelyn asked as she lay down on the bed.
"I don't care where it is, as long as it's with you." Daryl said as he put his and Madelyn's stuff down and turned around to see Madelyn had already fallen asleep. She was exhausted. Being on the road all winter had exhausted everyone. Even as she slept, Madelyn looked beautiful. It was a sight Daryl wanted to see for the rest of his days. Daryl smiled to himself before going over to the bed and pulling out the diamond ring he always kept on him. He grabbed Madelyn's hand and held the ring up to it. It suit her very well.
"One day." Daryl said to himself before putting the ring away and laying down next to Madelyn, pulling her closer to him before falling asleep.
🧟♀️ 🧟🧟♀️ 🧟
It was now a couple of hours later and the group were well rested and ready to scope out the rest of the prison. When Madelyn woke up, she saw Maggie, T-Dog, Hershel, Rick, Glenn and Daryl put on black protective gear.
"What's going on?" Madelyn asked.
"We're going to check out the rest of the prison." Glenn said.
"I'll come with you." Madelyn said.
"No, you stay here. I can't have anything happen to you." Daryl said.
"Daryl, I can take care of myself." Madelyn said.
"I know you can and you've proved it. But Beth, Carl, Lori and Carol will be here alone. You're the best protection for them." Daryl said.
"He's right." Rick said, approaching the two. "Carl's a kid, Lori's pregnant, Beth barely knows how to use a gun and Carol's still learning. We need you here to protect them in case anything goes wrong. You're one of our best fighters. Can you do that?"
Madelyn sighed and nodded. "You got it." She said.
"Thank you." Rick said before going to talk to Carl.
"Be careful." Madelyn said to Daryl.
"You know me. I'll be fine." Daryl said. "Now, give me some sugar."
Madelyn smiled and gave him a kiss before the group left. "Please stay alive." Madelyn whispered to herself. She looked up and saw Lori looked a little upset so she went to talk to her. "Hey, are you okay?"
"I felt like I lost the baby." Lori said.
"What, how?" Madelyn asked.
"I hadn't felt it move. I even talked to Hershel about it. At first I thought it was exhaustion or malnutrition." Lori said.
"You're anaemic?" Madelyn asked, making Lori nod.
"If we're all infected then so's the baby." Lori said. "So, what if it's still born? What if it's dead inside me right now? What if it rips me apart?"
"No, don't say stuff like that." Madelyn said. "I'm sure that's not the case. And if Hershel said that's not the case then you need to believe it."
"I know. But let's say it lives and I die during childbirth." Lori said.
"That's not going to happen." Madelyn said.
"Why not? How many women died in child birth before modern medicine?" Lori asked, the fear blatantly obvious in her voice.
"Lori...."
"I know it's going to happen. Giving birth to this baby is going to be my death sentence and...I'm okay with that." Lori said. "If I come back, what if I attack it? Or Rick? Or Carl? Or Hershel? I want to be put down if that happens. It would have been better if I never made it off the farm."
"No, don't say that. You're exhausted, you're scared." Madelyn said.
"Yeah, that's true." Lori said. "My son can't stand me and my husband after what I put him through."
"What do you mean?" Madelyn asked.
"When everything happened, I thought Rick was dead and that killed me inside. I didn't know what to do. I needed comfort and Shane.....he comforted me." Lori said.
"Oh...I see." Madelyn said. "But Rick loves you. He'll come around."
"He hates me. He's too good a man to say it, but I know." Lori said as she teared up. "I put him and Shane at odds. I put that knife into his hands. Shane's dead because of me. My husband had to kill his best friend because of me."
"You need to move past it, Lori. Rick will always love you." Madelyn said.
"I see you and Daryl and it reminds me of me and Rick when we were younger." Lori said. "You're lucky."
"I never thought I'd find love after what happened to my husband but anything is possible, Lori. Just remember that." Madelyn said with a soft smile, making Lori nod.
"Open the door! It's Hershel!" Rick yelled. Madelyn quickly ran downstairs and opened the door, seeing everyone pushing a table with Hershel on it, his leg covered in blood.
"Oh my god." Madelyn gasped as they came inside. Everyone led Hershel inside and laid him down on the bed.
"What happened?" Carol asked.
"He got bit." Rick said.
"Oh my god, he's gonna turn." Beth said.
"Did you cut it off?" Lori asked.
"Yeah." Rick said.
"Maybe you got it in time before the infection spread." Madelyn said as everyone helped Hershel onto the bed.
"We need bandages." Carol said.
"We used everything we had." Glenn said. Hershel's freshly amputated leg was covered with towels and he was losing a lot of blood at a rapid rate.
"Well, get more, anything!" Carol said.
"Carl, go and get the towels from the backpack next to my bed." Lori said, making Carl go to get them.
"Is he going to die?" Beth asked.
"No, no. He's going to be fine." Madelyn said to Beth, giving her a hug.
"You think you can stabilise him?" Rick asked Carol.
"I need to keep his leg elevated." Carol said. "Get some pillows."
"He's already bled through the sheets." Maggie said.
"We can burn the wound to clot the blood." Glenn suggested. "I can start a fire."
"Oh no, please, no." Beth said.
"No, the shock could kill him." Carol said. "It's not gonna stop the arteries from bleeding. We need to keep it dressed, let it heal on its own."
Madelyn left the cell to find Daryl, seeing him pointing his crossbow towards the door that was open.
"Daryl, what are you-"
"Shhh." He said. They both looked at the door and saw a man peeping through.
"Um...who are you?" Madelyn asked.