The Dead Walk the Earth

Chapter 17 - The Prison

The group, save for Rick, Daryl, Carl, and T-Dog, stood outside a house the previously mentioned were working on clearing. They stood there, waiting in silence for them to finish a job they'd done a hundred times. Charlie found herself playing with the plastic skull ring that sat on her middle finger,"Why do you keep that?" Beth, who Charlie had become very close with during their travels, asked her.

She looked up at her, pulled out of thought, "It was a gift from my friend. She wasn't the richest person in town but it was my birthday and she insisted on getting me something. Finally, I told her she could get me something from a bubble machine for all I cared. Well, she did and brought me this. I guess keeping it just makes me feel comforted like she's still with me somehow." Charlie told her.

She smiled and nodded, "That's nice, to keep that." she replied before they heard a whistle which signaled the house was safe for entry. They joined the men who had entered just in time to see Daryl and T-Dog come downstairs, Daryl holding an owl that appeared to be dead. Maggie helped Glenn move the bodies of the walkers found inside while they filed into the house. Lori, who was now incredibly pregnant, entered behind Charlie.

Everyone set the things they'd been carrying down in the living room, people doing various things. Carl then entered, having previously been in the kitchen and set down two cans that were pretty obviously dog food. Everyone, save for Daryl who was busy taking out the feathers of his owl, watched as the kid opened up the can. The feeling was obvious, no one wanted to resort to eating the dog food, but no one wanted to die of starvation either. In a literal man eats man world, any food was good food.

Rick, however, felt differently; He took the opened can of dog food from his son and threw it in the fireplace that stood before him. The loud bang it made grabbed now even the attention of the busy redneck and all watch as Rick, eyes wide and nervous posture, stood before everyone. No one said a word. The eerie silence that took hold of the group was interrupted when T-Dog, who stood near the window, grabbed their attention and nodded outside. Walkers. A collective internal sigh moved through the group as they gathered everything once again and made for the vehicles they'd still managed to keep.

Charlie threw her bag in the back of one of the cars and hopped on the bike with Daryl, who already had the engine running, and they took off in the lead, three cars following behind them. A feeling of defeat took over once again, having the sanctuary of that last home being just as short-lived as the rest. The walkers they could handle, but only in small amounts. That big of a group, nobody having eaten a solid, fulfilling meal since Hershel's farm, combined with the fact that everyone got almost no sleep made them vulnerable and therefore unable to fight against even the weakest of walkers with that great a number.

Charlie sat behind Daryl with her hands clasped around his waist and, feeling Charlie's obvious energy, he placed a hand over hers to try and comfort her. It didn't help. They stopped a far distance away from the house they were just at and gathered around the car like they had done so many other times and pulled out a map of the surrounding area. The map, taken from Dale's RV when they still had it and him, was already marked up with tons of red; Areas they had already been to.

"We got no place left to go." T-Dog pointed out.

"When this heard meets up with us, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south." Maggie declared.

Daryl leaned on the car, "What'd ya say, 'bout a hundred fifty ahead?" he addressed Glenn.

"That was last week, could be twice that by now," Glenn told him. Charlie sighed in the place next to Daryl.

"This river could've delayed them. We might have a shot." Hershel offered.

"Yeah but, if this group joins with that one they could spill out this way." T-Dog motioned to more red on the map, signifying where we last saw the enormous herds.