A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S3Pt2 - New Beginnings

It's been over 7 months since we've been on the road, but Rick still believe there was a place for us. But we needed to settle down, and fast, because Lori's due date was getting closer. I still trusted Rick and wanted to believe him, but with the way things are going, it feels impossible.

~~~~~~~~~~

We found an abandoned house in the woods and Rick signaled for us to search it. Rick kicked open the door and Carl shot two walkers in the hallway. We split up, and Daryl and I checked upstairs. Every room I checked was clear and Daryl nodded at me that his were too. We gathered together in the living room and needed to rest. We were all exhausted at this point and tensions were high. I sat down by the window and moved my hand around, trying to minimize the pain that never goes away. Carl came back from the kitchen with two cans of dog food. We watched him as he opened the can and Rick grabbed one. He saw what it was and threw the can at the wall in frustration.
We've been starving and scavenging for months, but eating dog food was a new low.
It was quiet for awhile when T-Dog whistled at us.
"Guys, walkers." He said and nodded towards the window.
We left the house around the back and came face to face with a few walkers. We killed them silently with knifes and shovels. Daryl and I got on his bike, and we followed the group's car away from the house.
Several miles down the road, Rick honked his horn and we pulled over. The car was running low on gas, and we needed to discuss our plan.
"Rick." I said walking up to him.
"Yeah?" He said, but not really paying attention to me.
"How about you and me go scan the perimeter. Maybe we'll find a place to stay for a couple days." I suggested.
Rick looked at me and nodded in agreement. He told Hershel we would be back and we started walking into the forest.
"I'm going with you." I heard Daryl say behind us.
"No, I need you to stay here. They need you." Rick said and nodded towards the group.
I grabbed Daryl's hand and he kissed my cheek.
"We'll be back. It's okay." I told him.
He nodded and turned around, and me and Rick walked into the woods.
About a few minutes in we found train tracks and agreed to follow them. The tracks kept going on forever but we reached a place in the forest where we could see the valley below us. And in the valley we saw a prison. It was huge, surrounded by fences, and convenient. The only down side was that the prison yard was full of walkers, and who knew what was inside.
"We could make that work." Rick said. "Right, Kelley?"
I nodded but couldn't speak. I had a eerie feeling about this place and remembered something about my past.
"What's wrong?" Rick asked, picking up on my mood.
"Where are we at exactly?" I asked. "When you looked at the map, where are we?"
"West Central Georgia. Why?" He asked.
I nodded my head but didn't say anything.
"Let's go tell everyone." I told Rick. "This is the only chance we got."
Rick nodded and we walked back towards the road. I kept my head down and thought to myself.
"Wasn't dad sent to a prison in western Georgia?" I asked myself. "I swear he was..."
We got back to the group and Rick called everyone over. They gathered around in a circle and waited.
"Kelley and I were scouting, and we found a place. A prison, to be exact. I think it's the best chance we got." Rick started.
"It looks promising but it's going to take a lot of work. Walkers fill the prison yard and we don't know what the inside looks like." I said. "I agree with Rick here, but it's not going to be easy."
Everyone started speaking at once but Rick quieted them down.
"I know it's been hard and we're exhausted. But we need to do this. It's the best shot we have." Rick persuaded.
"I'm in." Daryl said and raised his hand.
"Us too." Glenn and Maggie said.
Everyone else raised their hands and Rick smiled with confidence.
"Alright. Let's rest up tonight. We're going in tomorrow." Rick said and walked off.
I stood there silently, still lost in my thoughts. I didn't know what to expect, and it scared me. Daryl saw my concerned look and walked up to me.
"Kell, what's wrong?" He asked.
"Huh?" I asked and shook my head. "Oh, nothing."
Before Daryl could react, I nodded my head and walked away.
Sure, he knew about my family and I told him about my abusive dad. But I wasn't ready to explain this to Daryl. I wasn't ready to accept that he was once here, and I sure as hell wasn't ready to face my father one more time, if the odds became a reality.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was the next morning and everyone packed up their supplies. Before we headed out I wrapped my hand, just to give it support because it always hurt now. We drove a few miles away, and parked the car and bike at the edge of the forest. We snuck around to the least infested side, and Rick cut the fence to let us slip through. Once we were in, Glenn and Daryl quickly tied the fence up. Walkers crashed up against the fence on both sides, but we were protected. We jogged to the front gate that was closed, and a watchtower was right next to us.
"It's perfect." Rick said. "If we shut that gate, we'll prevent more from getting in. Then we can pick them off, be in the yard by tonight." He said and pointed to the gate that separates the cellblock yard from this yard.
"How do we shut the gates?" Hershel asked.
"You, Maggie, and Beth, draw the walkers over there." He said to Glenn. "Daryl and Kelley, take that far tower and give extra fire. Hershel, Carol, and Carl take this tower." He said and sighed. "I'll go for the gates."
Everyone nodded and ran to their places, and we started killing walkers. Lori opened the gate for Rick and he started running through the yard. We laid down cover fire for Rick so he could focus on getting to the gate. I noticed a walker in Rick's blind spot. I shot it and he looked up at me and nodded in thanks. He kept running and eventually made it to the gate. He pushed away a few walkers and closed the gate, hooking it closed. Walkers started backing him into a corner but he ran into another guard tower. He was safe.
"He did it." I said.
"Yeah, he did." Daryl said and waved his hand. "Light em up!" Daryl yelled out.
We killed the remaining walkers until there were no more. Everyone started cheering and we met together at the gate. Lori opened it and we walked into the yard. It was huge, close to the size of Hershel's, and the grass was overgrown.
"We did it." Glenn said and disbelief.
Maggie hugged him and kissed him and everyone else hugged each other.
"We did it." I thought.
For the rest of the day we gathered all the bodies and put them in piles that we'd burn tomorrow.
It was night time and we were all sitting around the fire. We ate the last pieces of meat we had left over, but it wasn't much.
"If we dig a canal under the fence, from the river, we can bring in fresh water." T-Dog planned.
"If the soils any good, we can plant some seed. Tomatoes, cucumbers, soybean." Hershel said.
He looked over at Rick concerned and sighed.
"That's his third time around." Hershel pointed out. "If there's a compromise in the fence, he would've found it by now."
I nodded my head in agreement. I looked over at Lori and saw she finished her food. I handed her my bowl but she tried to deny it.
"Take it Lori." I said and gave her the bowl. "You need it more than me."
She hesitated but took it anyways and began eating. I grabbed another bowl of meat, stood up, and walked over to Daryl. He was by the front gate, sitting on top of a flipped over bus. I climbed up the side and Daryl helped pull me up. I sat next to him and handed him the bowl.
"It's not much, but I know if I didn't bring anything you wouldn't eat." I said.
He took the bowl and looked at me.
"Did you eat?" He asked.
"A little." I said. "But you need to eat."
Daryl held out the bowl in front of me and I sighed. I rolled my eyes and took a piece of meat. Daryl chucked at me and started eating too.
"Thanks." I said and kissed his cheek.
Daryl grabbed my face and kissed my lips. I pushed him back and swallowed my food.
"I had food in my mouth!" I exclaimed.
I laughed and kissed him softly. He then grabbed my face again and kissed me.
"You're being flirty. Wanna screw around?" I joked.
We laughed and Daryl stood up. He turned around, bent over, and was about to climb down the bus ladder.
"Even better." I said and smacked his butt.
"Stop." He smirked and climbed down.
He waited for me at the bottom and once I reached the ground he grabbed my hand. He kissed my head and we walked over to the group. We heard Beth and Maggie singing and felt relaxed. I sat in Daryl's lap with my head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my shoulder.
"We better turn it." Rick said. "We have a big day tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.
"I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win, but we have to push a little bit more." Rick said. "Most of these walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Seems like this place fell pretty early. The supplies can still be intact. They have food, weapons, medicine. This place could be a goldmine."
"We're dangerously low on ammo." Hershel said. "We'll run out before we even make a dent."
"That's why we have to go in there now... Hand in hand. And after all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." Rick said.
We all nodded and everyone got ready to sleep. I looked up at the sky and it was beautiful, even peaceful. I heavily sighed and sat up. Daryl rubbed my back and played with my hair.
"What's wrong baby?" He whispered in my ear.
"This place..." I said. "I'm just nervous. I really want this to be good for us."
"It will be." Daryl said. "We just have to push a little bit more. Like Rick said, hand in hand."
Daryl grabbed my hand and I looked is him. Our hands were intertwined and he kissed my hand. I nodded and closed my eyes as I leaned back into him.
"Hand in hand... Together."