"Carol!" Austin smiled, hugging her tightly. "I thought you got eaten."
"Still stuck with me." she hugged him back.
"Thank god. Thank god." Rick hugged her tightly next.
"How?" Hershel wrapped one arm around her while using the other to stay up right.
"Solitary." she hugged him back.
"Poor thing fought her way into a cell." Daryl spoke toward Rick. "Must have passed out. Dehydrated."
Bath walked over with the baby in her arms, Carol gushed at the sight. She looked back at Rick, seeing the look on his face and knew that Lori didn't make it. Austin pulled Carl into his side more, rubbing his arms. Carol cried as she hugged Rick, who was trying to keep it together.
"Wanna hold her?" Austin suggested, rubbed Beth's back. "It helps."
Carol nodded with a sniffle, accepting the baby into her arms.
"I don't think she's a threat." Austin spoke about the new woman that Hershel was treating wounds for. "She just seems like a hard ass, probably feels like she has to be."
"We still don't need to trust her." Rick shook his head.
"This is Maggie and Glenn. Why are we even debating?" Bath asked in disbelief when Rick broke the news on what she'd told them.
"We ain't. I'll go after them." Daryl said confidently.
"Well, this place sounds pretty secure." Rick informed them. "You can't go alone."
"I'll go." Beth agreed.
"Me, too." Austin added. "Glenn's like my best friend."
"Me, three." Axel stepped forwards, looking to Oscar.
"I'm in." the tall man agreed.
Rick looked to Beth and Austin. "You two stay. Hershel and Carol need protection, Carl can't do it on his own with the baby."
"Take my gun." Austin pulled it from his waist band. Rick looked hesitant. "Take it. I have my knife if I need it. You don't need to run out of ammo if it comes down to it."
Rick grasped it, latching onto his hand at the same time. "Thank you."
Austin walked down the prison some as he heard talking in Beth's cell. "You are good with her. You got a little sister?"
"No." Beth said in return.
"How old are you anyway?" Axel asked here, Austin rose his eyebrows as he stood outside of the cell.
"Seventeen." she said in return.
"Seventeen. Interesting." he hummed.
"Yeah." Austin came around the corner, giving him a heavy stare down. "Real interesting."
"May I speak with you?" Carol came up by his side in no time, focused on Axel.
"Me?" he looked oddly. "I'll be right back."
As he walked off, Austin glared as he as he walked away. "Don't go anywhere alone with him, Beth."
"Excuse me?" she looked up at him.
"I'm not trying to tell you what to do." Austin rose his hands in surrender. "But the dudes clearly a creep, he was totally trying to make a move on you."
Beth looked over as she handed the baby to him. "I wasn't making a move back."
"I'd hope not, he's like four times your age." Austin agreed, smiling down at his sister, seeing his moms eyes on her. "Tell her, Little Lady. Tell her he's four times your age."
Beth laughed, leaning on his shoulder as she looked down at her.
"Finally got Judith to sleep?" Hershel asked as Austin came from the cell once the sun went down, Beth and Carl cleaning the guns. The name was canon after Carl ran it by Rick, Austin loved it and knew Lori would too.
"Daryl is right. She is an ass kicker." he shook his head, sitting at Beth's feet and resting an arm on one of her legs. "Are we still good on formula?"
"We have enough to last us another month." the older man nodded to him.
Carl inhaled. "I'll take Carol for some more at the end of the week."
"Your dad and the others will be back by then." Beth reassured him, rubbing Austin's back from his he leaned on her.
"You don't know that." he looked over at her.
"Well, I for one am offended you want to take Carol instead of me." Austin gave him a look as Carl hid a grin. "Is it a C name sort of thing? Are you against A names? Because we come first in the alphabet."
"B comes right after A." Beth pointed out.
"Then C." Austin looked at Carl. "So, theoretically speaking, Beth and I should be high up on the good guys list."
There was a distant scream, Beth looked over quickly. "What was that?"
"Is someone in there?" Austin stood up, pulling his knife from his waist band, much easier and smarter now.
"It was from inside." Hershel said confidently.
"Was it Carol?" Carl looked alarmed.
"She's out keeping watch in the guard tower with Axel." Hershel shook his head slightly.
"What if they came back in for something?" Beth looked alarmed. "What if they're in trouble?"
"Let's check the tower, see if she's there." the older man tried to relax her.
"How could anyone else get in?" Beth gapped.
"It's okay, Beth." Austin reassured her with a nod of his head, rubbing her shoulders.
"The tombs are filled with walkers that wondered in from outside." Hershel added in, the scream sounded again. "Someone else could have done the same thing."
"I don't care, I need to check it out. They sound really hurt." Austin shook his head, walking off the steps. "Carl, come with me."
"Boys, I can't let you go down there." Hershel stopped the two from going too far.
"My father would go." Carl said back, cocking his gun.
"He'll be with me." Austin gave Hershel a reassuring look, then looking to Carl with a stern one. "By my side, at all times. Do not wonder anywhere else, understand me?"
"Understand." Carl nodded his head.
"Be carful!" Beth called as the two walked off, Austin leading the way as Carl helped get the doors open.
"You got the light?" Austin whispered as Carl turned it on, causing the beam to light up the part of the hallway that it could. "Keep it straight, okay?"
"Okay." he nodded, the screaming getting closer as Austin followed the noises. "It sounds like a woman."
"I know." he agreed with his younger brother, pushing the creeking door open. The growl of a walker echoed, Carl fast with his gun. "Good going, little dude."
"Thanks." Carl exhaled, the two hearing growling again, the screaming closer. Austin hurried through the door, seeing a whole group of people together, trying to fight off a few walkers around them.
"Duck, lady!" Austin came up behind the girl, stabbing over her head to get the walker. Carl shot at one, the last one being killed by the man in the group. Austin looked to the sobbing woman on the ground. "We can help you."
"Hurry!" Carl yelled, Austin helping to lift the woman as they hurried down the hall they came. "Austin, which way did we come in!"
"Keep going straight then take a left at the danger sign!" he called over the woman's cries. "It's okay, sweetheart. We're gonna take care of you."
The man helping Carl loosened his grip, Austin struggled to help the woman move faster. "Let me take her!"
The man helped Austin with the girl.
"I'll cover you!" the one Austin stabbed over the head spoke, running forward and hitting the two walkers behind them. She turned back around. "Look out!"
Carl shot the walker behind him. "You have to leave her!"
"No way!" the man on Austin's other side yelled.
"We got her, keep us covered!" Austin called, getting a better grip on the girl as they hurried down the hallways again.
As Carl got the gate open, Austin knew the girl needed medical attention. "Hershel! Beth!"
"Donna!" one of the men called out as Austin helped lower her into the ground. "Is she dead?"
Austin checked her pulse, sighing. "I'm sorry."
The man cried out. Carl walked forward with his gun. "I'll take care of it."
"Woah. Woah, kid." the man that helped Austin rose a hand at him.
"She doesn't have that long." Carl said to him.
"Who the hell are you?" the girl on the stairs asked. "How did you get in here? Who are you with?"
"We don't have time to answer all these questions." Austin looked back at her. "We can help you though."
"First things first." Carl looked down to the dead woman.
"No, we take care of our own." the man shook his head.
"Carl." Austin whispered to call him off, giving a shake of his head.
He grabbed a hammer as the crying man gapped. "No, Tyrese!"
"I gotta do it." Tyrese shook his head. "Look, just take Ben and lean against the wall. It'll be quick."
Austin frowned, backing off to give space. The man laid a bandana over the woman's face, the remaining of the group crowding together to cry. Austin hesitated. "Wait."
He looked up at him, the boy handed him the little gun from his waist band. "It's only got one bullet in it, but it'll be faster and less gruesome."
Tyreese stared, grasping it. "Thank you."
"Austin." Carl pulled on his arm. "We can't trust these people. Not till Dads back."
Austin hesitated, nodding as he followed him out of the gate and locking it shut. The woman looked over. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"It's only temporary until we can trust you guys." Austin reassured her with a shake of his head.
"Kid, did you just lock us in here?" Tyrese walked closer, Beth joined Austin in a matter of seconds.
"This room is secure. You'll be safe." Carl reassured them with a shake of his head. "You have food and water."
The woman walked over with a stern look. "Open this door."
"I'm sorry." Austin shook his head. "We can't. Not yet."
"We're not animals." she begged. "Don't do this."
"It's not forever." Austin held the bar with a nod at her. "We've had bad people before, we just need to take caution."
"You can't just leave us in here!" she hit the bar, Austin stepped back. "Open this door! Open it! Now!"
"Sasha!" Tyrese cut in. "Back away from their door and let the man go. Look around. This is the best we've had in weeks. His house. We got other things to do."
Tyrese looked to Austin. "We don't want any trouble."
"I believe you." he promised. "Only temporary."
"Shouldn't we help them?" Beth spoke up as she looked to Austin.
"We did." Carl shook his head.
•
kylie speaks
what do y'all think austin's
big three are? i feel like cancer
is definitely in there somewhere.