Solitary: The Walking Dead

Chapter Twenty-nine.

I see them when I sleep.

The sun had gone down and everyone had gone to bed, Iris sat and the stairs outside with a cigarette in her hand and looked out into the darkness. "Can't sleep?" Hershel says from behind her, she looks up at the man and shakes her head. "I've never been very good at sleeping" she confesses, looking back out.

Hershel sits on the step next to her "ever since I was a little girl I had nightmares... my mama would come in and stroke my hair till I fell back to sleep... and then she left but the nightmares stayed and they got worse" Iris explains, Hershel sits in silence, listening to the woman talk.

"the nightmares weren't the only thing that got worse when she left... the training... the punishments... they all got worse too, worse than before she left" Hershel looks down at the woman with sorrow in his eyes, he hadn't realised it was this bad.

"I see them when I sleep" she says, taking a long drag of her cigarette "who?" "Shane... my dad... the governor" she says, pausing after each name almost as though they didn't want to come out. "What are they doing in your dreams?" Hershel asks "usually it's just memories of my dad, my child hood" "and Shane?" "No one really knows this but... before the world ended. I really loved Shane. We were close and I like to believe he loved me too... but now my dreams of him start out with the love but turn into whoever he turned into when I found him again."

Iris explains, the two stay silent for a minute before Hershel speaks up "the governor?" "I always dream that he shows up and... he kills the people I care about but leaves me to live without them." The man looks over to Iris, spotting the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. And silence falls over the two again.

"Why are you up?" Iris asks the man "I noticed you were gone, and then I came out here and found you" "thanks for listening to me ramble" she says standing "anytime".

Iris went back upstairs to her cell, leaving Hershel to go to his cell. For the rest of the night she lay in bed thinking while Bear snored from the floor next to her.

After hours of laying there and watching the sun come up from the windows, she decided it was time to get up and go outside. "Mornin" Iris says walking up to Carol, before she could respond a gunshot echoes through the prison.

Iris grabs her gun from its holster and runs back inside, with everyone else close behind, when they make it to the cause of the noise they see walkers attacking everyone.

Iris starts shooting them, running up the stairs and leaning over the bannister to get a better angle. Iris grabs her knife out and waits for Daryl and Glenn to meet her at the top of the stairs. All together they start clearing out the cells, a walker grabs Glenn and Daryl quickly shoots it with his crossbow.

"It's Patrick" Daryl says looking down at the boy, "that's all of 'em" he says looking around at all the bodies on the floor, they finish clearing the upstairs cells and Iris and Daryl walk over to Rick.

"No bite. No wounds. I think he just died" Rick says to the two doctors, "horribly, too. Pleurisy aspiration." the doctor says looking at the body on the floor, "choked to death on his own blood. Caused those trails down his face." Hershel says.

"I've seen them before on a walker outside the fences." Rick says "I saw them on Patrick too" Daryl adds "they're from the internal lung pressure building up, like if you shake a soda can and pop the top. Only imagine your eyes, ears nose and throat are the top"

"Excuse me" Iris mumbles, turning and walking out of the cell, down the stairs and outside. She sits on the floor and leans her back against the wall, reaching into her pocket and grabbing out her cigarettes, with shaky hands she picks one out and lifts it to her lips, lighting it and inhaling the smoke.

"You okay?" Daryl says sitting down next to her, "'m fine" she says looking up at the sky, she holds out her cigarette offering the man a drag, which he takes. The two sit in silence for a few minutes while they share the cigarette.

After they finish smoking they head inside to the meeting room and join everyone around the table "Patrick was fine yesterday, and he died over night. Two people died that quick?" Carol asks "we'll have to separate everyone that's been exposed." She adds.

"That's everyone in that cell block. That's all of us. Maybe more." Daryl says "we know that this sickness can be lethal.we don't know how easily it spreads. Has anyone else shown any symptoms that we know of?" Hershel asks "we can't just wait and see. There's children. It isn't just the illness. If people die they become a threat." Carol explains.

"We need a place for them to go. They can't stay in D. We can't risk going in there to clean it up." "We can use cell block A." "Death row?" Glenn asks, "im not sure that much of an upgrade." He adds "it's clean thats an upgrade. Think that'll work for dr.s?" Daryl asks "I'll help Caleb set it up" Hershel says, the group stop and get up when they hear a woman coughing.

They all walk out to see Karen coughing as she walks with Tyrese "you sure?" Carol asks "you don't sound so good" Iris adds as the couple turn around, "we're just taking her back to my cell so she can rest" Tyrese says "Tyrese, I don't think that's a good idea" herschel says "why? Whats going on now?" Karen asks.

"We think it's a flu or something. Thats how patrick died" Glenn says, "judith is in that cell block... shes vulnerable" Iris says "anyone that may be sick or even exposed should stay away" Herschel explains "it killed patrick?" "she's gonna be okay. Now that we know what Patrick died from, we can treat it right?" Tyrese asks. "Dont panic. We're going to figure this out. But we should keep you separated in the meantime" Herschel says.

........

The groups separated off to do their own chores, Daryl and Iris cover their faces with their bandanas and start moving the bodies down to the field and burying them. As the two dig Rick walks over to them "glad you were in there" Daryl says to the other man "wasnt much use without my gun" "no, you were... all this time you've been taking off, you earned it. We wouldnt be here without you." Daryl explains.

"It was all of us." "no, it was you first. You gonna help us figure this out?" Daryl asks "i screwed up too many times. Those calls you gotta make, i start down that road. I almost lost my boy, who he was... whatever else this place needs im here for it." Rick explains.

"Like i said, you earned it. For what its worth, you see mistakes. I see when the shit hits, you're standing there with a shovel." Daryl says climbing out of his hole, "Rick! Daryl! Iris!" Maggie screams, Daryl quickly grabs Iris's hand and pulls her out of the hole before grabbing his crossbow and we all run over to the woman at the fence.

A large group of walkers are pressing themselves against the fence as it slowly starts to fall, behind those walkers were more walkers making their way towards the breaking fence. "Shit" Iris mumbles grabbing her knife from her belt and she starts stabbing walkers in the head "the noise drew 'em out and now this is starting to give" Maggie explains as she stabs walkers.

Iris would get rid of one walker only for another to take it place before it had even hit the ground, "are you seeing this?" Sasha shouts from further down the fence, Rick and Daryl stop for a minute and look at what the woman is talking about, "what is it?!" Iris asks as she continues to get rid of walkers, but before she could get an answer the fence started to fall above her.

Iris drops her knife and focuses on trying to hold up the fence, Rick and Daryl hold onto the fence either side of her, "everybody back! Come back now!" Daryl orders and everybody stops and moves away from the fence. "The fence keep bending in like that, those walkers are coming over it." Sasha says "daryl get the truck. I know what to do" Rick says.

Together Rick and Daryl go outside the fence in the truck, using the piglets they draw the walkers from the fence, giving the others time to put some reinforcements on the fence. As Iris works she notices Ricks face as he cuts the piglets.

"Hey" Iris says walking over to Rick as he breaks down the pigs enclosure, the man doesnt say anything "can you stop for a minute?" she asks, stepping closer, Rick stops and looks at her as she reaches out and wraps her arms around his waist hugging him tightly, "i'm sorry you had to kill the pigs" she mumbles into his chest. Rick hugs her back, closing his eyes and feeling comforted.