Rick burst in to the front of the abandoned house, shooting a Walker through the head as soon as the door swung open wide enough. T-dog followed close behind, stabbing the other through the head with a broken scrap of metal. The Walker was pushed against the window, glass shattering behind its head.
Daryl held his crossbow up ready as he headed into the room opposite where Rick and T-dog had headed. Rio followed after him with his gun loaded in his hands, Carl right behind him.
Rio followed Daryl around the room as they scrounged the house for supplies. The boy kept dropping his arm as he looked through cupboards, not seeing any potential danger but Daryl constantly reminded him to keep his guard up.
He walked towards what he assumed was another cupboard, his gun held high when the doorknob began rattling. Daryl noticed, walking over and pushing Rio backwards. He aimed his crossbow, ready for a Walker to spring upon them and pushed the door open.
A man stumbled back and faced them, torch shining in the pairs eyes. It was just Rick. The room must connect through two doors. Rio let out a sigh, slightly disappointed it was only him. He could've got him, shown Daryl that he was better than he though. Daryl lowered his crossbow and Rick lowered his gun letting out a small unsteady laugh. They both turned away.
Once they walked back into the room they'd just picked over Rio headed out.
"Where are you going?" Daryl asked him.
"Upstairs." He replied.
"Be careful."
"Always am." Rio smiled a cocky smile back at him before using the door frame to swing himself into the hallway. He stumbled into the wall.
"Like hell." He heard Daryl mutter. The boy was considering going back in the room just to argue with him but held himself back. He liked arguing with Daryl, it was funny, they never meant anything. Not really.
He jogged upstairs, careful to be light on his feet as nearly every staircase they climbed these days creaked like hell. Or the rotting wood just crumbled under their weight.
Carl stood on the landing, hand reaching out for the door handle of a bedroom. Rio saw the opportunity to sneak up on him.
"What're you doing?" He asked, jabbing the boy in the sides, making him jump.
"What is wrong with you?" Carl hissed, turning around.
"It's funny." Rio replied, taking his hands off of Carl's sides. He crossed his arms, smiling at him.
"No it's not!"
"Sure it is."
"Okay, whatever." Carl gave up easily, Rio saw him bite back a smile. "Let's go in here."
The door creaked as Carl pushed it open. They looked around the empty room, Rio stood just behind the boy. "You know, I think I'm finally taller than you." He whispered.
"No you're not." Carl protested, straightening up. Rio knew he was trying to make himself look taller.
"Yeah, dude I totally am," Rio brought his hand to his forehead and pushed it over Carl's head, waving it back and forth. He looked to the other boy as if to say 'see?'
Carl turned to him and signed 'quiet down' as they headed towards the next room. He'd memorised some signs the pair had deemed useful like, quiet, walker, are you okay, yes, no, shit, bitch, idiot and some more. All the really important stuff.
'sorry' Rio signed back before whispering. "I'm right though, I can see over your head."
"And I can see over yours." Carl repeated the gesture.
"Okay, maybe we're the same height then."
"Yeah, we're the same." They walked around the next room together, not really paying attention to the insides.
"That just means I'm growing more than you."
"No that does n—." They fell silent as the caught sight of a Walker in the corner of the room. Carl pushed Rio behind him which made the other boy roll his eyes. He aimed his gun and shot the creature through the head. It fell to the floor instantly.
"You're welcome."
"My hero." Rio deadpanned, exiting the room. They jogged back downstairs, heading into the kitchen to look for food. Rick joined them soon enough, turning over every cupboard and shelf. Carl looked through all the tins.
Daryl walked into the room, holding a presumably dead owl in one hand, a small hoodie in the other. His crossbow was slung over his back.
"Here." He threw the hoodie at Rio, "Found this."
"Thanks." He replied, holding it in his hands, it was dark blue and red striped.
"Try it on, I think it might be a bit big." Daryl sighed.
"It'll be fine, I've grown." Rio shrugged it on as everyone began pooling into the house. He left the kitchen and walked into the hall to find Rick moving the bodies out of the way. He stepped around him, stopping to mumble 'hi' to Rick and T-Dog who waved a hand at him.
Daryl headed into the living room, where everyone had decided to sit. "Fit?" He asked as he got comfortable, plucking the feathers off of the owl.
"Yeah, yeah. It's a bit big but it fits." He admitted. It seemed like he hadn't grown as much as he'd thought. Rio pulled the hoodie off again, folding it up in his rucksack. It was summertime, too hot for hoodies in the daytime, although the nights were quite different. For now, shirts were enough. At least Rio thought so, Carl had about three layers on.
Daryl raised his eyebrows at the boy but the moment was cut short by Carl running over, two cans in his hand. He dropped to the floor besides Rio and dug through his rucksack looking for a can opener.
Dog food. Carl had excitedly brought back two cans of dog food.
Rio bit the side of his cheek. He was hungry, really hungry, but he didn't know if he could bring himself to eat it. Maybe Daryl would share some owl. That sounded a bit nicer.
Everyone stared at him with sorrowful eyes as he desperately tried to get the cans open. Rio tried not to feel sad for him, he knew Carl hated when people felt sad for him.
Rick walked over, taking the can from his sons hand and reading the label. He walked over to the other side of the room before throwing it. The can clattered and everyone looked over at the scene. No one said anything, not for a while.
Carl just looked up at him.
T-dog alerted everyone of an incoming group of walkers, heading towards the house. Everyone let out a collective sigh before grabbing their belongings and heading out the back door.
They hurried over to Daryl's motorcycle and the cars, filling the boot up. Rick followed Daryl's motorcycle away as the dead banged on the car window, trying to get in. Rio sat next to Beth, who jumped almost every time they slammed their hands against the window.
Further along the road they stopped, all jumping out of their vehicles. Maggie spread the state map over the hood of the car, someone holding down each corner.
"We got no place left to go." Glenn exclaimed solemnly.
"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south."
"What would you say? That was about 150 head?" Daryl asked.
"That was last week." Glenn answered, "It could be twice that by now."
"This river could have delayed them." Hershel added, optimistically. "If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through here."
"Yeah," T-dog interjected, pointing to different marked areas on the map. "But if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way."
Rio liked when they'd include him in their 'meetings', he'd stand besides Daryl or Glenn and pretend he was an adult. Pretend he was as grown up as he thought he was. Sometimes he also found them really boring. He'd rather be told what to do and when do it than be there whilst everyone's deciding.
"So we're blocked."
"Only thing to do is double back at 27 and swing towards Greenville."
"Yeah we picked through that already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles."
"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newnan we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet."
Rio squeezed between two people, heading over to Carl who was stood further down the road. He aimed his gun at nothing, just keeping guard of the cars.
"Need help?" Rio asked, pulling his pistol from the back of his jeans.
"I heard you that time."
"I wasn't trying to scare you."
"Yeah, right." Carl scoffed, turning to see his father and Daryl heading out. They were going hunting, the owl hadn't exactly hit the spot.
Rio stayed with the other boy as they waited. Rick and Daryl arrived back not long after, empty handed but full of hope. The boys rushed over to them before Rick announced that he'd found a new place, somewhere they could all stay.
"It- it needs a bit of work but we can do it."
"Where is it?" Glenn asked, stepping forward.
"The prison."
"Prison?" Lori questioned. "You want us to stay in a prison?"
"Look," Rick sighed, "It won't be the same as if it were before. It's full of walkers but it's not too much to handle. We can clear it. It'll be the same as staying anywhere else."
***
Rio and Carl knelt down besides Rick and handed him a pair of pliers. He began to cut the fence of the prison as everyone else held off the walkers that slowly approached them.
Glenn pinned a Walker to the fence a few inches away from Rio, and held it there with the blunt end of a shovel. Maggie hurried over and brought her hammer down on the creatures head. He stumbled back to the group just as Daryl instructed everyone to watch the backside.
Lori replied, "Got it."
Daryl headed over to Rick who, by now, had created a large enough hole in the fence. Rio slipped through straight after the older man, everyone following behind. Once Rick was inside, Glenn and Daryl shoved the broken fence together, holding it still so Rio could tie it up with an old wire.
Walkers continued to growl all around but Rio struggled to hear it, his hearing aids died months ago. It was something he didn't mention but everyone knew. He didn't think about it and just focused on threading the wire through each loop of the fence. He hastily handed the wire to Glenn when he finished, the older boy tying it up.
Rio startled as a Walker banged against the newly tied fence. He stumbled back into Carl who just pulled him into the rest of the group. They started running.
They ran down the path, blocked by more wire fencing until they reached another gate. This was the gate to the yard.
"It's perfect." Rick said, walking forward. He looked over to the guard tower where another gate sat next to it. He pointed at it. "If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by tonight."
"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked.
"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn volunteered, Rio and Maggie both turned to him instantly.
"No it's a suicide run." Maggie protested.
"I'm the fastest." Glenn tried to reason.
"Well actually I am." Rio mumbled to himself, apparently louder than he'd anticipated.
"Absolutely not." Maggie and Daryl said at the same time.
"I wasn't suggesting that I go." Rio shouted, "I was just stating that I'm actually the fastest."
Daryl pulled the boy away from the fence by his collar, just incase.
Rick shook his head anyway, giving completely new orders. "You, Maggie and Beth draw as many as you can over there." He said to Glenn, pointing at a path further down. "Pop 'em through the fence."
"Daryl, go back to the other tower." He continued. "Carol you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste."
He walked over to Hershel, "You and the boys take this tower." He pointed to the one in this area.
"Alright." Carl nodded, already making his way over. He rattled the doorknob before just barging it with his shoulder. They ran up the stairs to the top of the guard tower, shouting apologies as they overtook Hershel.
The two reached the top, dropping their bags and loading their guns. Rio walked over to the edge, holding out his pistol.
He watched as Lori opened the gate for Rick and then as he ran out into the yard. They all shot at walkers getting in the way as he hurried towards the inside guard tower.
Rick reached it, running towards the gate and booting a Walker away as he locked it. He grabbed his gun off of the floor and started shooting at the walker's on his side who'd now noticed his presence. Rick entered the guard tower, running up and shooting them from above.
They all continued to shoot, yelling as the yard started emptying. Walkers were dropping everywhere, staying there was looking possible.
Carl ran off first, as soon as he caught sight of his father taking down the last Walker.
"Fantastic!" Carol exclaimed once they all met back up.
"Nice shooting." Daryl complimented her. She flashed a coy smile back.
Carol headed over to Lori, who still stood by the gate "You okay?"
"I haven't felt this good in weeks." She replied, smiling at Carol as she grabbed her hand.
"Good." The other woman gave it a squeeze before they headed out to the yard. Rio followed eagerly, almost bouncing on his feet.
"Oh." Carol exclaimed once again. She let out a loud laugh and Rio turned to smile up at Daryl who was trailing behind. The boy shot his two thumbs up to which he just smiled back at. He was exited, even if he didn't show it.
"We haven't had this much space since we left the farm." Carol ran through the yard, ignorant to the walkers that lay on the ground. They all were, Carl was running around after her and Rio decided to follow.
T-dog let out a loud "Whoo!" from the back of the group and Rio jumped up. Carl laughed at him before the other boy grabbed his arms, making him celebrate too.
***
Rio watched as Daryl kept guard, standing alongside the barricaded gate. Maggie was cooking something next to him and the heat from the fire warmed him from the night chill. He slipped on the hoodie that Daryl had found him earlier, now needing it.
"Mmm. Just like mom used to make." Glenn joked as he took a bite of his food. Maggie cracked a smile at him before leaning over to Rio.
"Hungry?" She asked.
Rio looked down at her hands, and the food she was offering. "Starving." He replied, reaching over Glenn to grab some food. Maggie smiled as she watched him eat it as fast as he could, not bothering to tell him to slow down.
"Thank you." He mumbled. She grabbed the dish from his hand, placing it besides the fire.
"No problem." She smiled back, leaning into Glenn's side. Glenn slung his other arm over Rio, pulling him in too. He laughed before curling into the two of them.
Some time passed where they all just sat around the fire, chatting among themselves, before T-dog spoke up. "Tomorrow we'll put all the bodies together. Wanna keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of fresh water."
"And this soil is good. We could plant some seed, grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans." Hershel suggested.
"I wish we could grow apples." Rio whispered, voicing his thoughts.
Maggie let out a short laugh. "We'd have to be here hell of a long time to do that."
"I know." Rio sighed drowsily.
"You're so tired." Glenn teased, looking down at Rio.
"No I'm not." He protested.
"Oh my god, your like a baby, you won't even admit that your tired."
"Shut up." Rio whined, hiding the smirk on his face. Glenn messed up his hair and Rio reached up to try and do the same, the man just swatted his hand away.
"That's his third time around." Hershel said. Rio turned his head to see what he was looking at. Rick. It was Ricks third time around the yard. "If there was any part of it compromised, he'd have found it by now."
"This'll be a good place to have the baby." Beth said, smiling at Lori. She slowly faced away from her husband and turned to the girl. "Safe."
"Do you have any leftover food?" Rio asked Maggie.
"No, you ate the last of it all." Glenn answered instead, smiling at his own joke.
"I didn't, did I?" Rio asked, eyes widened.
"No he's teasing, you want some more?" She asked, leaning down to dish out another portion.
"No, I was gonna take some to Daryl." Rio reasoned, slipping out from the couple's embrace and punching Glenn's arm playfully when Maggie wasn't looking.
"Here." She said, handing him a bowl and some food.
"Thanks." Rio replied, taking it and heading off. He walked around them, pulling a face at Carl when the other boy looked over at him. He just rolled his eyes.
Rio headed over towards where Daryl was keeping watch, on the side of a toppled truck, pushed up against the gate. He tried climbing up it with one hand before he almost dropped all the food.
Daryl stuck out a hand, pulling the boy up. He was still too small for what a thirteen year old should be. Stupid apocalypse stunting his growth.
"Here." Rio picked up the food he'd left on the side of the truck and handed it to Daryl. "You need food."
"And you need sleep."
"I'm not even that tired, why is everyone saying that."
"Probably because you can barely keep your eyes open."
"Hmm." Rio didn't disagree. He sat down, swinging his legs over the side of the car, waiting for Daryl to sit next to him. He did.
"How are you feeling?" Daryl asked, taking a bite of the food. "'Bout the prison."
"Excited." Rio smiled. "'ve never been to jail before. Can't say the same about you though."
Daryl gave him a shove. "How would you know if I've been to prison?"
"You just seem like you would've, before the outbreak." Rio laughed to himself. "I bet Rick would've hated your ass."
"What do you think I was doing before all this happened?"
"I don't know, you won't tell me."
"And it will stay that way."
"What? You won't even tell your favourite kid?"
Daryl scoffed, finishing his food and placing the bowl besides him. It let out a loud clang. "You are not my favourite kid."
"Well, your options are Beth or Carl." Rio smirked, "I can go get one of them up here if you'd prefer."
"Nope." Daryl lazily slung an arm over his shoulder.
"See, you love me really."
"Don't push it." He warned, jokingly.
"Okay." Rio mumbled, leaning on Daryl. They stayed there for a while and just when Rio thought he was about to fall asleep Daryl shook him off.
"We should go down."
Rio let out a groan.
"Thought you weren't tired." Daryl said, raising an eyebrow. Rio could hear the smirk in his voice.
"I am now." He grumbled as they reached the ground. Daryl picked him up and slung him over his back, holding his legs tight.
"Hey," Rio complained in between laughs. "I'm not a crossbow. Put me down."
"Yeah, you're much more annoying." Daryl retorted. Rio laughed again, kicking his legs and waving his arms about until he put him down, just before they reached the fire.
He jogged over to Carl, who was lying on his stomach, aimlessly picking at the grass. Beth was singing and soon Maggie joined in. Daryl sat down besides Rio.
The boy grew embarrassed as he looked around, realising no one else had thought to clap when the sisters had finished their song. Beth giggled at him.
"Beautiful." Hershel admired his girls.
Rick spoke straight after. "Better all turn in. I'll take watch over there." He nodded to where Daryl was positioned earlier. "Got a big day tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.
"Look I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win, but we've got to push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary."
"An armoury?" Daryl asked from besides Rio.
"That would be outside the prison itself, but now too far away. Wardens office would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine."
"Jackpot." Carl whispered to Rio, who nodded along with him, hopefully.
"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'd run out before we made a dent." Hershel argued.
Before Rio could even feel sad from that realisation, Rick spoke back. "That's why we have to go in there... hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it."
He turned to the two boys as they talked, smiling down at them. "These assholes don't stand a chance."
Rio smiled back at him and then Rick got up, leaving the group to head towards the gates once more. Lori walked after him and Rio just turned on his back.
"Are you tired?" He asked Carl, half hoping the other boy would say yes.
"No," he replied, turning to face Rio. "Are you?"
"Nope." Rio lied.
***
I had to split this chapter in half it was like 7k words ‼️‼️