A Glimmer of Hope

A Long Day

It was nice to have a new place to call home. A few of us were excited to keep clearing out parts of the prison. I know there was so much to discover.  There was a small creek nearby with enough running water to maybe get some sort of irrigation system going. The possibilities were endless. 

It's funny to think that only around a year ago, there were prisoners that wanted nothing to get out of here, but we were so happy to be inside. 

Daryl, Maggie, Glenn, Rick, T-Dog, Hershel and myself decided to try to clear out the area closest to us; following the corridors, Glenn was marking the direction we should head to return if we got lost and turned around with spray paint on the walls. It would really help if we got separated.

Daryl really didn't want me to go on this with him, he told me that he worried about me too much. I told him to keep his eyes on his own paper, a nice way to tell him to mind his damn business.

We started down the first corridor without an issue. A few walkers here and there to take care of, nothing we couldn't handle. It was harder to keep our formation in this tight a space with little light but it was something we planned for, carefully. Rick was ahead of everyone leading the way, while three of us were watching the front, and three of us watching the back.

I was always next to Daryl, honestly more for his comfort than my own. I would rub his elbow on mine occasionally to let him know that we were okay. I caught a quick smile from him in return. He was so concentrated. There was something about seeing him in 'battle mode' as I called it. It really turned me on.

Concentrate.

The following corner we rounded, we ran into trouble and had to turn back. In the confusion and shuffle, we broke rank and Hershel got left behind. Daryl and I looked at one another when we heard a blood curdling scream.

We ran as fast as we could down the next corridor, where we found Hershel on the ground, he had been bitten on his Achilles tendon.

No. Not Hershel. Maggie's dad. The man we were depending on to deliver the baby for Rick and Lori.

We all picked him up as fast as he could. I had one leg, Rick had his top half, T-Dog had his other leg, which was spewing blood everywhere. Daryl was covering us as we tried to find a door that we could get into to help Hershel quickly. 

We found a set of double doors and went in quickly. We didn't stop to look around but for dead bodies, we set Hershel on the ground of what looked like the cafeteria. I looked up at Rick, who had his hatchet in hand already, knowing what he would have to do. Hershel was screaming, crying Maggie was holding his head in her hands, doing what she could to comfort her father.

"I'm gonna have to take the leg," Rick said quickly, mostly aloud to himself.

He removed his belt, tied it below Hershel's knee. I couldn't believe what was going to happen. But we had to do what was necessary to keep one another alive. 

He took his hatchet, looked Hershel, who was moaning in pain. Maggie was still cradling his head. He said, "There's only one way to keep you alive," quickly, then started hacking away at his leg. He made quick work and removed the bottom part of his leg, just below the knee.

We all were frozen in place, in awe, for but a moment at what had just taken place in front of us. I looked at Rick immediately, who had taken the brunt of it for the group. To save one of his family. He was breathing heavily, looking what he had done. He said, "He's gonna bleed out."

Just then, five men dressed in prison jumpsuits stood up from behind what looked like a cage. 

Daryl caught onto it first, always aware, no matter what. Thank goodness he was on our side. I laughed at the thought of anyone crossing Daryl or anyone he cared for, for that matter. It just wasn't a good choice.