Highway To Hell

Chapter 21

"There ya go. Nice and easy," I say as Hershel uses his crutches to get up the steps. I stand behind him in case he falls while Lori and Beth are on either side of him. Carl opens the door and we help Hershel out the door. The stubborn old fart had insisted on going for a walk his first time using the crutches. For some reason, it reminds me of Bobby and brings a smile to my lips. 

   When we get to the outside stairs, Lori tries to go down first and be the one to support Hershel if he falls. I gently push her out of the way. "The last thing we need is for both of you to take a spill. I got him," I tell her. She nods, moving out the way. He gingerly tries to go down the steps, the three of us supporting him. He loses his balance and I place my hands on his chest to prevent him from tipping forward. "You got this." 

   "Damn right I do," Hershel says, making it to the bottom. I laugh and Beth chastises his language. "You cleared all those bodies out?" he asks as we walk through the courtyard. "It's starting to look like a place we could really live in." 

   "Hey, you watch your step," Lori says, hovering close to him. 

   "All right, Hershel!" We look in the direction of the shout to see Glenn, Daryl, and Rick at the cut in the fence. Carl and I wave to them. 

   "You're doing great, daddy," Beth says. 

   "Maybe it's time for a break?" I suggest. 

   "Oh, would you three give it a rest? I'm fine," Hershel says. 

   "That mean you're ready to race Hershel?" Carl asks, giving a cheeky grin. I shake my head. 

   "Give me another day. I'll take you on," Hershel replies. 

   "You're both ridiculous. Come on. Sit down. You can enjoy the fresh air and sunlight while not risking breaking the one good leg you have." I regret the words as soon as they escape my mouth. 

   "Don't you mean the one leg I have at all?" Hershel quips, saving me. I let out a laugh, but the sound of growls draws my attention to behind him. My eyes widen. 

   "Walkers! Look out!" Carl yells, seeing the same thing. I pull my gun and knife. 

   "Beth! Get your dad somewhere safe!" I don't bother with trying to be quiet, I start firing my gun, covering Hershel and Beth as they make their way to a little fenced in area. The others start firing, too, but there's so many. I notice that the area we'd closed off the day we took the courtyard was wide open. How could that happen? "The gate!" I yell. "Lori! Carl! Get inside now!"

   "Lori! Here!" Maggie shouts, leading them back into the cell block. T-Dog makes a break to close the gate and Carol follows. I keep shooting until I run out of ammo. 

   "Fuck," I mutter, tossing my gun aside. Screams draw my attention to T-Dog and Carol. My jaw drops and I freeze for a second as I see a walker bite down on T's shoulder and rip the flesh from his body. "No," I whisper. How could this be happening? Everything was fine. We should have at least been safer than we were on the road. I faintly here people screaming my name, but I can only focus on Carol and T-Dog disappearing into a door. I feel numb. I can't protect anyone. Why can't I do the one thing I was raised to do?

  The screaming becomes clearer just as fingers tangle in my hair. I blink and see teeth coming for my face. Rancid breath bathes my face. A gunshot goes off and the walker's head flies back. I'm fully snapped out of my daze and notice I'm all but surrounded by walkers. I roll backwards onto my feet, bringing my knife up to slam into the closest walker making a dive for me. 

   More gunshots go off and the walkers fall around me one by one. I look back to see Rick, Glenn, and Daryl running into the courtyard. 

   "What the hell happened?" Rick demands.