*WARNING: Please be advised that this chapter contains mature content and strong language.*
Chapter 26
Quinn's POV
Beth and I were mixing some oatmeal together for dinner while Hershel held the baby. I heard footsteps approaching and Rick appeared at the gate. He eyed the baby as he walked in. He made his way over and gently lifted her out of Hershel's arms. He brought her to his chest and we walked out of the prison for some fresh air.
"She looks like you," he said to Carl.
A huge grin appeared on both of their faces. We sat in silence, looking out into the courtyard. Rick handed the baby to Carl as he eyed something down below.
"Quinn, come with me."
I shot Hershel a questioning look but followed after Rick anyways. He pulled his gun from his holster as we jogged down the dirt path.
"You see her, too?"
"What the hell?" I whispered, now drawing my own knife.
A dark skinned woman stood at the gate in the mix of all the walkers, holding a red basket of baby formula. She stared at us as she shook in fear. There we stood, only a fence between us. She had walker guts all over her, but her thigh was bleeding bad. The walkers were starting to catch her scent.
Carl ran down to us, keys in hand. She slowly backed away but the walkers kept moving in closer. She drew her sword and stuck it between the walker's eyes.
"Should we help her?" Carl asked.
Rick tapped my shoulder as he started walking back to the front gate. "Back me up. She could be a threat."
I followed behind him. All of the sudden, she fell down, probably from blood loss or dehydration. Two shots rang out and the walkers that were inches from her face fell.
"Carl," I said, outstretching my hand.
He tossed me the keys and I unlatched the gate, pushing it open. Rick cursed under his breath as he held his Python up. More shots rang out, the walkers around us falling.
"I got the formula," I called as I jogged over to the basket.
I stuck my knife into some of the walkers while Carl and Rick handled the girl. Rick checked her for bites before throwing her arm over his shoulder and hoisting her up.
"Is she bit?" Hershel asked as we made our way back over.
"Gunshot," Rick answered.
I slid the gates shut and locked them behind us.
"Carl, get a blanket," Rick ordered as we entered the prison. "Beth, water and a towel."
"Right here?" Carl asked.
"Yes," I answered as I helped him lay out the blanket. "She's not comin' in the cell block."
Beth handed me a water bottle and I drizzled it over the woman's face. Her eyes fluttered open and she started panicking.
"It's alright," I said. "Hey, hey. Look at me," I said, trying to stop her hand from swatting me away. "Who are you?"
She flung over on her side and tried to reach her katana. Rick quickly pushed it away with his foot.
"We're not gonna hurt you unless you try somethin' stupid first," Rick assured. "Alright?"
"Rick," Daryl said from inside the cellblock. "Who the hell is this?"
"You wanna tell us your name?" Rick asked.
The woman sat up slowly but didn't answer, just stared.
"You wanna tell us your name?" Rick repeated quietly.
"C'mon in here," Daryl continued. "You're gonna wanna see this."
Rick nodded. "Carl get the bag." He pulled me to the side, out of hearing range. "I need you to stay in here with her, keep an eye on her. Try to find out how she found us and what her name is."
"I can try. She's kinda like Daryl; stubborn as hell."
Rick nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Do your best." He made his way back over and picked up her katana. "We'll keep this safe and sound. The doors are all locked, you'll be safe here. Quinn's gonna stay with you, keep you company. And we can treat that." He gestured to her wound.
She didn't seem amused by this offer. "I didn't ask for your help."
Rick shrugged as he walked away. "Doesn't matter. We can't let you leave."
Daryl swung the gate closed. I sighed, wondering what he wanted to show Rick.
"We can tend to that wound for you," I started. "We'll give you a little food and water and send you on your way, but you're gonna have to tell us how you found us, and why you were carrying baby formula."
She was quiet for a few moments, but looked like she was thinking.
"The supplies were dropped by a young asian guy," she started. "He was with the pretty girl."
Glenn and Maggie.
"What happened?" I asked. "Were they attacked?"
Through the gate, I saw Rick turn from Daryl and Carol. He slowly wandered over, listening in closer.
"They were taken."
"Taken? By who?"
"By the same son of a bitch who shot me," she snapped.
"Hey!" Rick shouted as he and the others entered. "These are our people. You tell us what happened. Now!" He grabbed her wound.
"Don't you ever touch me again!" she yelled.
"Better start talking," Daryl warned, coming closer with his crossbow raised, "or you're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound."
"Find 'em yourself," she spat.
"Let's all just calm down," I said.
I pushed Daryl's crossbow down while her and Rick had a stare off.
"You came here for a reason," Rick pointed out.
"There's a town," she started, defeatedly. "Woodbury; 'bout seventy-five survivors. I think they were taken there."
"A whole town?" I asked.
"It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor; pretty guy, charming, Jim Jones-type."
"He got muscle?" Daryl asked.
"They're military wannabes. They have armed centries on every wall."
"You know a way in?" Rick asked.
"Place is secure from walkers, but we could slip our way through."
"How did you get here?" Rick asked.
"They mentioned a prison," she answered matter-of-factly. "Said what direction it was in, said it was a straight shot."
"This is Hershel, father of the girl who was taken. He'll take care of your wound."
Rick eyed Daryl and I before walking out of the room. I looked at Daryl and we followed.
___
"How do we know we can trust her?" Oscar asked.
"This is Maggie and Glenn, why are we even debatin'?" Beth asked.
"We ain't," Daryl mentioned. "I'll go after 'em."
"Well, this place sounds pretty secure," Rick notified. "You can't go alone."
"I'll go," I said.
"Me, too," Axel spoke up.
"Count me in," Oscar agreed.
___
"I got the flashbangs and tear gas," Daryl said as I placed shotguns and rifles in the trunk. "Never know what you're gonna need." He swung his vest on.
I made my way down to the gate.
"Wasn't this place overrun?" the woman asked.
"It was," I answered, grabbing a picaxe and a machete.
"And you guys cleared it out all by yourselves?" She grew a smug smirk. "Just a few of you?"
"There were others," I said quietly, "but yeah, pretty much."
I made my way back up to the car, placing the weapons into the trunk before closing it. I opened the back door and saw Hershel eyeing us.
"We ain't comin' back without 'em," I assured.
He smiled as I got into the back seat with Daryl and we drove off through the gate.
___
We pulled over to the side of the road under command of the woman.
"They have patrols," she informed. "We're better off on foot."
"How far?" Rick asked. "Night is comin'."
"A mile, maybe two."
A walker limped towards us but we didn't bother with it as we veered off into the trees.
"I know what you did for me," Rick started, "for my baby while I was...workin' things out. Thank you again."
I shrugged. "It's what we do for each other."
"Down," Rick instructed quickly as at least a dozen walkers took notice of us. "Formation. No gunfire."
We all started putting the walkers down, but they just kept coming.
"There's so many of them," I said, backing up.
When Daryl did a quick one eighty turn and sunk his knife into a walker's head, I then realized they were behind us, too.
"This way," Rick ordered.
We all huddled down and made our way through a little path in the woods.
"In there," I said, pointing to a shed.
We flung the door open and ducked down.
"Get the door," Rick instructed.
The girl shut the door and leaned against it.
"Keep it down, keep it down."
"That smell," Daryl informed. "It's loud. Gotta be a fox or what's left of one."
My eyes were finally met with a dog-like creature.
"Guess Lassie went home," Daryl remarked.
I shook my head, smiling. Even in the midst of a walker attack, he's still cracking jokes.
The walkers were beating against the door and windows. We couldn't stay much longer. I heard Rick whistle lowly and my head snapped over to a body-shaped figure underneath a blanket. Rick and Daryl made their way over to it. I held my gun up and trained it on the bed. Rick slowly grabbed the sheet and yanked it off. A man jumped up, shotgun in hand.
"Who the hell are you?" he snapped.
"We don't mean any harm," Rick assured.
"Get outta my house!" the man shouted.
"Okay, okay. We will, but we can't right now," Rick said, holding his hands up.
"Now!" he yelled.
"Shut him up," I snapped.
"Get out!" the man yelled. "Right now!"
"There are walkers outside," Rick said, voice rising.
"I'll call the cops," the man warned.
"I am a cop," Rick notified. "Now I need you to lower the gun. Don't do anything rash. Let's just—let's just take this nice and slow, okay?"
The man cocked the gun and shoved it in Rick's face. "Show me your badge."
"Okay, it's in my pocket," Rick noted. "I'm just gonna reach down, nice and slow."
Rick knocked the gun out of the man's hands, the trigger accidently being pulled. I quickly ducked to dodge the bullet.
"Let me go!" the man ordered. "I'll kill you!"
"Shut up!" I hissed.
The man bit Rick, making Rick let go. He ran towards the door. The woman stuck her sword into the man's chest, making him fall to the ground instantly. I quickly walked over to the window, staring out through the wooden boards.
"Help me with the body and the door," Rick commanded.
Daryl and Rick lifted the man's body as I got ready to fling the door open.
"Check the back," I ordered the woman.
She made her way over to the back door. "It's clear."
"One, two, three."
I swung the door open and they threw the body into the crowd of flesh-eating monsters. I quickly shut the door and Daryl locked it, our hands touching as we did so.
I looked up at him and our eyes met. He quickly averted his gaze and grabbed ahold of my hand, pulling me to the back door. We ran out of the shack, sneaking past the walkers and continuing onto our destination to find my bestfriends.