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Field Of The Dead

Glenn and Carl kneeled on the ground, each with a stick of chalk. They were drawing a map of the prison.

"Now you said you found Tyreese's group here? We secured this." Glenn placed a finger on different points of the map.

"Well, he thought he came through here." Carl showed us.

Glenn sighed. "That means there's another breach. Now, the whole front of the prison is insecure. If walkers just strolled in, then it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men." I didn't blame him for being so stressed. With Daryl gone and Rick not being fit, Glenn had taken up the leadership role. I loved him, but he wasn't a leader. He thought with his heart, not his head. He wanted to attack the Governor now, make him pay for what he did to Maggie. He wanted to do it himself. But there was a reason we hadn't already done that.

Hershel wanted to leave the prison altogether. We didn't have the numbers to fight an army, or the weapons. I didn't think either of them were right. People died for us to live in this prison. If we left, their deaths would be meaningless. The conflicting ideas put Glenn and Hershel at odds, something Maggie didn't want to see.

It seemed like everything was going wrong. The tombs were full of walkers, the threat of the Governor was hanging over our heads and we didn't have a leader capable of making the tough decisions. It didn't comfort me that all these problems were starting to affect the group. I knew Maggie and Glenn were having problems, and Carl was concerned for his absent dad. Not only that, but Daryl was still gone. We were falling apart.

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"Hey, you okay?" I had been looking for Carl for a while now. Glenn had given everyone a job to do, splitting us up across the prison. I had been told to organise the food and weapons we still had with Carl, but he disappeared. I eventually found him sitting underneath the walkway with his gun, squinting at the sun. His head turned up when he saw me coming.

"Come on, we're supposed to be checking out the supplies." I said, but he stopped me before I span around.

"Do you think my dad's gonna be okay? He's been outside for a while now. I don't know what he's doing." It made sense that he was worried about Rick. We sat back down on the bench.

"Your dad...he's been through a lot. I would be more worried if he woke up every morning with a smile on his face. He's gonna be okay." I comforted him.

"He gave me this gun. 'No more kid stuff.' That's what he said. He said my mom was gonna die, and him. Everyone else, too." He brushed a finger across the barrel.

"He was right. Everyone dies eventually, you know that. In a world like this, it just gets a little worse."

He sighed. "I just didn't expect it to be so quick. She knew what having a baby could mean, I knew it too. But why did it have to happen like that? Not in a nice bed surrounded by her family, but in a cold boiler room with walkers right outside the door." He had been acting like everything was okay, but our conversation now made me realise how much it still hurt him.

I reached out and placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "Carl-"

I never got to finish. A few feet away, I watched as Axel's body went limp, blood leaking from the bullet wound in his head. Carol screamed in horror as he hit the ground. I saw Beth standing outside and Carl followed me as I ran over, pulling her down behind a stack of planks. I gripped my gun, peaking over to see where the bullets were coming from.

I saw Michonne hiding behind the run down bus, shooting a machine gun at the figures outside the fence. I could see a man holding up his weapon, a bandage over one eye.

Bullets were flying from a hundred different directions. Outside the fence, up on the watchtower, somewhere in the trees. I shot at the tower, but it was too far away and my gun was more useful for close range. I stood and ran to a wall, encouraging Carol to come over to me from where she was hiding beneath Axel's body. Maggie emerged from the cell block carrying several bigger guns, handing them to me, Beth and Carl. We provided cover fire while Beth got Carol, dragging her to the wall.

A white van zoomed from the trees, driving straight into the gate and bringing it down. It parked in the middle of a field, the hum of the engine the only sound as the guns ceased. It felt like we were waiting a long time, until the door swung open, dozens of walkers falling out into the field. They roamed around the van before spreading out, being drawn to something in particular - Hershel, taking cover in the tall grass. I could see him firing as they got closer, successfully taking a few down.

Shots came from the tower again and I aimed my gun, the person falling dead before I could pull the trigger. From behind me, Maggie lowered her gun. With a final rain of bullets, the attackers left. We didn't wait another second before heading the field, taking down every walker in sight as they surrounded Hershel. The gun I was using was different than the others. This one fired enough shots to cut a walker in half, allowing me to be less accurate in my aim. I still took care, though, when I saw Michonne swing her sword at the dead brains. In any other situation, I would admire her skills, but I had a job to do now. Glenn returned in his car, helping the woman carry Hershel. We watched from the gate as the few remaining walkers spread around. I could see Rick in the distance, fighting off a couple with two other figures. I thought we would be safe, but with the open gate and all that noise, more and more walkers surrounded us. We were completely trapped.

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RIP Axel