━━━Wildfire
A quiet gasp leaves Grace's lips as the gunshot rings throughout the tiny room. Grace tightens her grip on the tiny infant, bringing it closer to her chest. Carl rushes up the stairs, pistol in his hand and his head lowered.
"Follow behind me carefully, okay?" Grace's voice wavers out and Carl slightly nods his head, not even daring to lift his head up.
Carl follows carefully behind Grace as she leads the way out through the maze of halls.
She pushes the heavy door open and it creeks loudly. The bright sun gleams down into her eyes and she squeezes them shut for a moment, getting blinded for a moment
. Grace slowly opens them again, meeting Beth, Maggie, Hershel, Glenn, Daryl, and Rick gaze in the courtyard.
The tears snap right back into Grace's eyes as she meets Rick's heartbroken expression. The infant cries out quietly and Rick stumbles over to her. The axe slips out right Rick's hand and clatters on the ground.
"Where- where is she?" Rick asks weakly, his voice barely above a whisper. Grace's body rattles and she shakes her head. Rick walks past Grace and she grabs onto his forearm.
"Rick, you can't!" Grace's voice breaks as she speaks. Rick easily slips out from her weak grip and gazes down at Carl, a broken expression across his pale face.
"Oh, no. No!" Rick sobs out. The hot tears burn his cheeks as they stream down and Maggie rushes over to Grace. Rick stammers over his words and collapses on the ground, hoarse sobs leaving his lips.
Grace's stomach twists into uneasy knots and she inhales sharply. "P-please, take her," Grace stutters out and Maggie nods her head.
"It's okay. I got her," Maggie reassures Grace with a tiny smile on her face. Maggie carefully lifts up the baby from Grace's arms and takes her into her own. Grace's body loosens for a pure moment, but her throat starts to strain.
"Rick! Rick, you with me?" Daryl waves his hand in front of Rick's face. Rick pants heavily and keeps his eyes locked on the concrete in front of him.
"Let me see the baby," Hershel demands, a hint of concern laced in his raspy voice. Maggie carries the baby over to her father and Hershel carefully takes the infant into his arms.
"What are we gonna feed it? We got anything a baby can eat?" Daryl asks, knitting his eyebrows together.
"The good news is she looks healthy, but she needs formula soon or she won't survive," Hershel informs the group and Daryl's eyes widen.
"Nope. No way. Not her. We ain't losing nobody else, I'm going for a run," Daryl swings his crossbow over his shoulder.
"I'll back you up," Maggie speaks up with a stern voice. Rick marches over to the axe and swiftly picks it up from the ground. Grace's heart skips a beat as Rick storms over to the gate leading into the prison.
"Rick, don't!" Grace calls out, but the door slams shut. Her body shudders from the sudden loudness and she gulps. Grace's eyes glue onto the ground below her and her breath shudders.
Glenn's eyes widen and he slowly walks over to Grace, extending his arm out towards her.
"Hey, Grace?" Glenn calls out and Grace snaps her head up.
"Y-yeah?" Grace stutters out, meeting Glenn's soft and kind gaze. Grace's bottom lip trembles and Glenn inhales sharply. Glenn frowns widely as he takes Grace into his comforting, soothing embrace.
Grace rests her chin on the blade of Glenn's shoulder, gripping him tightly. Uneven breathes leave her lips and her body trembles against Glenn's.
Daryl's motorcycle engine roars loudly and Glenn lets out a tiny sigh. He watches as Maggie rides off with Daryl on his bike, out of the prison.
"Did we lose anyone else?" Grace speaks up, pulling away from Glenn's embrace. Glenn inhales sharply and glances away from Grace.
"Carol and T-Dog..." Glenn mumbles out, almost afraid to speak. Grace's eyes widen and they instantly fill up to the brim with tears. She gulps and bites down on her bottom lip harshly.
"I can help you, you know...dig the graves," Grace suggests.
"Grace, you don't have to," Glenn shakes his head.
"Let me help you, please," Grace begs him, gazing up at him with glistening eyes. Glenn runs his tongue over his bottom lip and hesitates to nod his head.
Sweat trickles down Grace's spine and she pants heavily as the sun beams down on her. She shoves the shovel deeper into the ground, her muscles aching and throbbing. Glenn glances over at Grace and brings the back of his hand up to his forehead, wiping off the sweat.
"You know when the evacuations started, T-Dog drove his church van to the house of every senior he knew, just in case they needed a ride. He saved my ass a thousand of times. He was the best," Glenn speaks up and Grace stops shoveling for a moment.
"He was. You know I spent months out on the road trying to figure out what his real name was. He finally told me, right before we found the prison," Grace comments and Glenn lets out a tiny chuckle.
"Theodore Douglas," Glenn comments and a smile tugs on Grace's face.
"I couldn't believe it," Grace shakes her head. Axel and Oscar; two of the prisoners they found trapped inside, start to approach the duo and Grace cocks an eyebrow.
"Hey, listen, we're real sorry for your losses," Axel lowers his head with shame, speaking with kindness.
"What can we do to help?" Oscar asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
"We need one more grave."