Lottie

The Prison

Lottie battled hard but it was as if the arm had locked around her. She couldn't see their face, she could only see Daryl and Rick ten feet away from her, crossbow and revolver raised.

"Let her go!" Daryl shouted angrily, walking a couple steps forward.

"Never!" The man shouted back. "The Governor wants her!" He pushed the barrel of his gun harder into the side of Lottie's head and she winced in pain.

The others watched from a distance. Clinging to the metal fence surrounding the prison.

Lottie's eyes were streaming with tears, she couldn't hold them back. She was so close to getting home, they were right there in front of her. She was so desperate.

"I'm gunna take her back now." The man said slowly, stepping backwards, Lottie only went along with it so he wouldn't pull the trigger.

Daryl made a sudden step forward aiming his crossbow right at the mans head and the man stopped. Lottie looked into Daryl' eyes which too held tears and then turned her head to look at Rick who had moved a little more to the side of them, and with the man watching Daryl, Rick was out of his sight.

Rick was motioning something to Lottie. He held three fingers up and then ducked his head. It took her a few seconds to realise, but as she thought she finally understood him, she nodded.

With his left hand Rick held up three fingers and locked his eyes on Lottie's captor. Lottie locked her eyes on Rick as he lowered one finger. Out of the corner of her eye Lottie could see Daryl trembling with anger as the man holding her laughed and made evil comments. Rick lowered his second finger. Lottie now began to muster up the little amount of strength she had left.

Rick lowered his final finger. "Hey!" He screamed and the man turned instantly to face him.

Lottie dropped her head as low as she could get it, pushing her shoulders hard against the mans arm, forcing it down slightly, allowing her more space and suddenly...

Bang.

Finally releasing her, the man fell backwards in a bloodied heap with a bullet hole in his head and Lottie fell forward onto her knees. Daryl threw his crossbow to the side and ran desperately to Lottie. Kneeling down in front of her, he wrapped his arms around her as they both burst into tears.

Lottie threw her arms around Daryl. "I thought I'd never see you again!" She cried.

"No one else thought you were alive, everyone tried to convince me you were gone!" Daryl said back, gaining control of his tears.

The two of them looked at each other and smiled, Daryl pulled Lottie to her feet. It was at that moment that Daryl noticed the huge bruise covering most of Lottie's jaw and cheek, she promised Daryl she would explain later. Then she walked over to Rick, pulling him into a big hug too.

"Thank you." She said, trying to hold back her tears again.

"You're still part of this group, we weren't gunna let him take you away again." Rick confidently said. "We've lost enough people, and we're glad you're back."

Rick and Daryl walked Lottie through the first set of gates, up the slope, through the last gate and into the large courtyard where the others were waiting. The group stood in front of her, silent. Lottie noticed a few people missing. No Lori, no Patricia.

No one moved, everyone just watched her in shock. Daryl was right, apparently no one expected her to be alive. No one except Daryl, who had grasped her arm firmly and walked her through the crowd and into the prison.

She entered a large and dark room with high ceilings. In the centre was just a round and metal table. The edges had work tops with bits of cut up food strewn across them. Daryl pulled her through some iron bars into the actual cell block. The wall on her left housed cells which had been decorated to each persons taste. In front of her, half way down the room was a set of metal stairs that ascended to the upper floor of cells, which could all be seen from the bottom floor thanks to the open room and again the high ceiling. Her right side shone slightly from dark and dirty barred windows climbing the wall to the outside.

Daryl took Lottie up the creaking metal stairs, turned back to face where they had entered and walked to the end of the walkway. His cell, the final cell, was dark as the light couldn't reach it and had not been decorated. It was empty except the bunk bed on the right-side wall and the sink by the cells metal bar door.

In silence Daryl pulled a mattress from the bunk bed and pushed it against the walls in the far left corner, happy with its place he pulled the second one down next to it. He attempted to make it homely by placing a blanket over the mattresses and he placed two pillows at the top-end.

When he finished he walked back to Lottie at the cell door, he gently held her bruised and painful face in his hands and his eyes started to well up again. She pulled him into a long and meaningful hug, embracing him as she once again burst into tears. She was finally safe, she was finally home.