When the Dust Settles

7. Prisoners

And as the tension was defused, and eventually the prisoners buckled to our demands, my gaze met Daryl's from across the room. The angle of it, now, was new-not quite as guarded, a little appreciative. Skittered my heartbeat, that spark that fizzled between us.

"Alright," Rick said, breaking the moment, "let's get to work on cleaning out that next block. Daryl, Y/N, you're with me."

I nodded, and my heart surged with adrenaline. "Let's do this." As we had begun to amass goods and formulate a plan of action, I could feel Daryl still near me, his protection instincts coming into play. Stepping out into the hall, the air was heavy with the anticipation of what was to come. "Just stick to the plan," he said in a hushed tone, softer than before.

"I will, believe me," I said now full of confidence. The deeper we went into the prison-the place of so many perils-the surges of adrenaline started again.

As we moved up toward the next block, that old surge of determination kicked back in. "Keep in mind, we're not just clearing for us; we're doing this for them too," I said, nodding toward the prisoners, who were now watching us with a mixture of hope and trepidation.

The leader among them is a bit of a hothead-at first, I felt it was just by accident, but it keeps happening. I shoot him a glare and he smirks. As we get closer the tiny one says "we should introduce each other". Rick "we wont be seeing eachother anymore so its not nessicary". He shrugs "so we want to know the people that helped us, Im Axel". The others introduce themselves and the lead is standing with his arms crossed.

Axel "this is tomas". Tomas glares at him "Did I tell you to introduce me".

I cocked an eyebrow at the little dance unfolding before me. "Looks like you got a real winner in your crew," I said with half a joke, but honest to goodness, the tension was palpable. Axel shrugged off Tomas' glare without worry. "Hey, everybody deserves a little recognition, right? We're all in this together now."

Rick shook his head; he was riveted on the matter at hand. "Let's keep moving. We don't have time for social hour." As we trudged along, I couldn't help but know Daryl kept staying near, to stabilize me in all this madness. Every once in a while, I'd catch him looking my way, some silent communication brewing between us.

Tomas grumbled, falling into step beside me. "So, you really think we can handle this place? It is looking like it has been through hell." I met his gaze, projecting confidence as best I could. "We can make it work if we work together and stick to the plan. Just stay sharp and listen to Rick and Daryl."

Across the table, Daryl gave me a swift, approving look. But in that look, he showed even more gravity. "Yeah, listen to her," he supported, his expression serious. "You follow our lead, you stay alive."

Tomas snorted but nodded reluctantly. "Fine. But if you think I'm just going to sit back and let you do all the work—"

A loud crash came from the other room at any second, before he could get it out; we were frozen. My heart racing, I turned to Daryl, who was already eyeing his surroundings. Rick motioned for us to be quiet and nodded. "Let's check it out, but be ready for anything."