Survival Guide: To Surviving the Living Dead 101

Rule #17

Don't Give Up

Don't give up. No matter how hard it gets, never give up. Always keep going. It'll be hard to keep your head held high and keep hope alive but one day it'll be worth it. I wanted to give up. I wanted to just stop trying to find my way back. I was losing hope that I would find my way back on my own. I was losing hope that anyone would come find me. They probably thought I was dead. That's how I was feeling as I sat on the bed.

It had gotten pitch black in here which could only mean It was dark outside. So I found a relatively clean cell and locked myself inside. I couldn't sleep, my stomach was growling and I was thirsty. A couple walkers had found me and reached through the bars. Their growling would attract more so I took care of them. Then I took care of any others that came by. I was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. I was completely and utterly exhausted. Hope was slowly dying and I was starting to give up. When the cell and halls started to get just the smallest amount of light, I just stayed where I was. I didn't have the energy to try finding my way back.

Daryl

When Maggie came out of the cell block, crying baby in her arms and Carl close behind, we were shocked. But Lori wasn't with her and Rick went into a meltdown. What really stood out to me was that YN wasn't with them either. I saw her go into the prison with them. I asked Maggie where she was and she told me she led the walkers away from them so she could get Lori somewhere safe. That made Rick go deeper into shock. His wife died giving birth and his sister was missing.

Maggie and I left right away to go find formula and other things for the baby. When we got back from our run it was already getting dark out. Beth made up a bottle and I fed the baby, not something I ever thought I'd do. Later that night I told them what my plan was. Carol and YN were both missing. I had to find both of 'em.

The next day Oscar, Carl, and I went through the prison looking for 'em. I told Carl about when I was younger and how my mom died. The kid had just lost his mother and his dad wasn't doing so well. I told him how I went to play with the other kids in the neighborhood, and when fire trucks and sirens rushed by us everyone got on their bikes and rode off. I had to run towards the sirens, not having a bike. When I got there I saw my house go up in flames. My mom fell asleep with a cigarette in between her fingers and caught the mattress on fire. She was burnt to a crisp.

We came along Carol's knife in a walker and went searching for her. After so long I just told Oscar to take Carl back. I need time to myself. When they felt I slid down the wall and sat there in front of some utility closet. The walker that had Carol's knife in its neck was in front of the door. I was stabbing the tip of the knife into the concrete floor when I noticed the door moving. I ignored it at first but it kept moving which pissed me off.

I got up and moved the dead walker, opened the door ready to kill another before I looked down to see Carol. I quickly picked her up and rushed back to the cell block. Everyone came to see her. She got to meet little ass kicker. That's the name I gave the baby, Carl was still trying to come up with a name. When we told her Lori didn't make it she gave Rick a sad look. "Where's YN?" She asked. Rick just walked off after that. "Imma 'bout to go lookin' for her." After making sure she was okay I went back into the tombs to search for YN.

YN

After taking a few deep breaths I stood up and walked to the door. I looked around to make sure no more walkers were nearby before sticking my hand through the bars to unlock the door. I pushed as hard as I could until I got the door open far enough to slip through. I continued the way I was going, twisting around corners. The next corner I walked by was beside a utility closet.

I walked around the next corner where there were more cells. The cells were completely empty, the prisoners in them must have been left out, probably now wandering around in the prison. When I came around the next corner I ran into a hard chest and screamed when hands grabbed a hold of my arms to steady me. "Hey! It's just me. Yn, calm down woman!" I stopped trying to get away to see Daryl. "Oh, my god, Daryl." I threw my arms around his neck, feeling him stiffen under me before relaxing a little and wrapping an arm around my waist. The exhaustion quickly took over my body and my knees buckled. "Whoa. Easy." Daryl leaned down and lifted me up bridal style and walked back to the cell block.

When we got back almost everyone was in the common area. "Aunt, YN!" Carl came running over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Hey, kid," I said, hugging him back. The sound of a baby crying had my head snapping up. Beth walked in with a little huddle in her arms. "Oh, my god." She walked up to me and let me see the baby. She was so beautiful, "what's her name?" I asked. "I haven't come up with one yet," Carl said, as I took the little girl in my arms.

"How's Lori doing?" I asked. Everyone went quiet and looked down at the floor. They didn't need to say anything for me to know that she didn't make it. I handed the baby back to Beth and knelt in front of my nephew. I put my hands on his cheeks so he would look at me. The unushered tears in his eyes started to fall and he wrapped his arms around my neck, burying his face into my hair. "It's okay. I'm here, okay? I'm not going anywhere. I'm so sorry, buddy."

I looked up at Daryl, "where's Rick?" I asked. "He's in the tombs. He's been going back to the boiler room where you left us," Maggie said. "He's also been killing walkers in the tombs, too," Glenn said. I nodded my head, "so he's not doing so great." They all shook their heads. "I should go find him," I said. "Nah. What you're going to do is eat and then rest," Daryl told me. Carl moved away from me and wiped his eyes. "I'll go find him and bring him back," Glenn said, standing up.