Broken Bars

Sick

I awoke to distant screams.

Daryl threw my arm off him and raced out of the cell, his crossbow dangling from his arm. Andrea followed him, holding out her hand to stop me from following. "Keep an eye on Judith and the kids!" She yelled.

I picked Judith up from her crib. She was crying, clearly disturbed from her sleep by the sounds of people shrieking. God, it sounded like a massacre. Where was all the screaming even coming from?

"What's going on?" Sophia by the stairs. She lunged up them towards me. "Mom just said I had to stay here."

"I don't know," I replied honestly. I could only think of the worse. What if walkers had gotten into the prison? Or worse, one of the elderly survivors had died overnight? We could lose half the population in a matter of hours if it wasn't taken care of.

I hated being unable to help. I know I had talked about wanting a role within the prison, but I hadn't expected to be confined to a safe area whilst the others took care of walkers. It felt like I was back on those stupid crutches again.

The screams slowly began to taper off. Some became closer, whilst other seemed to be cut short. I bit my lip, rocking Judith as we waited for someone, anyone, to show up and tell us that everything was going to be okay. Where was Rick and Carl? What the hell was going on?

Someone raced inside. Her face was bright red as she huffed, aiming to catch her breath. "Walkers- walkers in Cell Block D!"

My blood ran cold. Josie had been in that block this morning. She visited every morning to see one of her friends, a girl called Danielle.

I tried to pass Judith to Sophia, who backed away. "Liz, you can't-"

"Josie is in there, I have to-"

"We might need you here!"

"Sophia, I-"

"Liz!" She yelled. I held Judith close to my chest. The baby snuggled into the side of my neck, her cries stifled as she comforted herself with the smell of my hair. It came natural to her. Sophia's eyes were brimmed with tears. "Just trust everyone else. They've got it under control."

Though I dropped my shoulders, the muscles in my body remained tense. It felt like I was drowning slowly, waiting for somebody to come and pull me to the surface. It was okay. Daryl wouldn't let anything happen to Josie. Nobody would. We were a family. Rick, Andrea, Carol... they'd all kill others before they let anything happen to my sister.

The doors banged open again. Maggie and Carl entered hurriedly, carrying a limping Michonne between them.

I stood at the top of the stairs. "She okay?"

"She got caught outside on a snare. We managed to get her inside before she got overtaken," Maggie explained. "You heard about what happened?"

"Someone just came in and told us there were walkers in Cell Block D," Sophia added. She came down the stairs with a series of thumps and tended to Michonne's bruising ankle. Carl passed her the bandages, his face turning pink. Normally, I would tease them about it. But right now wasn't the time to make fun out of school crushes.

Maggie crossed her arms. "There's been some sort of viral infection outbreak in Cell Block D. Rick saw us outside, told us not to get too close."

"An infection?" I repeated, aghast. As if the walker infection wasn't enough to deal with?

She just nodded. "Whatever it is, its lethal, and contagious. Rick thinks anyone who's been in Cell Block D recently may have caught it. That includes everyone who went to help clear the walkers. He wants us to avoid him and the others for now, until he can figure out if the infection spread."