My Damaged Protector

Chapter Sixteen ~ Killer Within

When I woke up the next morning, my head throbbed, most likely from the events of yesterday as well as not eating anything before bed. I quickly changed into a new pair of light wash and torn jeans with one of Daryl's old flannels buttoned and tied up, so I had easy access to my gun and knife. Carol handed me a bottle of water and a bowl of oatmeal when I joined the group, giving me a soft smile as I sat and ate it quickly.

Once I finished eating, I placed my dirty bowl into the wash tub and headed out to see why the cars were being moved outside. The air was warm against my skin, instantly making me feel ten times better than I did before breakfast. I squinted against the sun and slowly made my way down to Rick, Daryl, and T. Glenn and Maggie walked down the ramp from the tower with bright red cheeks, taking glances at the three men. The prisoners were walking up to us, Rick taking the two men and I stopping by Maggie.

"-blood, brains everywhere. There's ghosts." Axel said, his arms crossed.

"Why didn't you move the bodies out?" Daryl asked, his hands on his hips.

"You should be burning them." T put in.

"We tried. We did."

"Fence is down on the far side. Every time we dragged a body out, those things just lined up. We're dropping the bodies and running back inside." Oscar said.

"Look. We had nothing to do with Tomas and Andrew, nothing." Axel glanced back at me. I backed up towards Daryl but kept listening. "You tryin' to prove a point? You proved it bro. We'll do whatever it takes to be a part of the group but please, please, don't make us live in that place."

"Our deal is non-negotiable." Rick said flatly. "You either live in your cell block, or you leave."

"I told you this was a waste of time." The other prisoner said to Axel. "They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys. Do you know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw them out. These were good guys. Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes like Tomas and Andrew. Now we've all made mistakes to get in here chief, and I'm not going to pretend to be a saint, but believe me, we've paid our dues, enough that we would rather hit the road then go back in that shit hole." A wave of silence fell over the group and I glanced at Rick and Daryl, trying to read their expressions.

Our little group stepped away from the two men. Daryl locked the gate between us and came to my side to join the discussion.

"You want them living in a cell next to you?" Rick asked the group. "Do you want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?"

T-Dog was the first to defend himself and the two men. "I never stopped. Bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well be executing them ourselves." T stated, squinting against the sun light.

"I don't know. Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn comments, referring to the blonde.

"After all we've been through? We fought so hard for all of this, what if they were just to take it?" Maggie whispered. "It's been just us for so long. They're strangers, it feels weird having other people around." Maggie crossed her arms and shifted from foot to foot.

"You brought us in." I pointed out. A lot of us probably wouldn't be here if it weren't for the Greene family.

"Well, you turned up with a shot boy, and you were passed out. Didn't give us much of a choice." She winked, playfully rolling her eyes at me.

"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn added. The way they attacked the walkers in the halls was almost enough to convince me they were super dangerous. "They're convicts, bottom line."