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

S3Pt3 - The Prison Tombs

The sun was shining early that morning and Rick gathered me, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog to clear out the prison yard and first cellblock. Hershel opened the gate for us and we started killing the walkers with our knifes. We were staying in a circle so we could see all sides. We approached another tower and it was clear. Rick peeked around the corner and instantly stopped us.
"There's too many. We need to close that gate." Rick whispered.
"How?" Maggie asked.
"I can do it." I said.
I saw Daryl hesitate but Rick agreed with me. I was about to make a run for it when four walkers wearing full body armor stepped in front of me. I instantly pushed it away but another grabbed me. Everyone jumped in and started pushing them back, but we couldn't kill them. With the helmets on them, we couldn't hit their brains. The other walkers saw us and started coming after us.
"Kelley!" Rick yelled and tackled a walker.
I quickly ran past the armored walkers and reached the gate. I pulled out my gun and shot a few walkers so I could pull the gate shut. Once I did, I locked the gate with a clip and chain. The walkers pushed against the at me, but I knew they couldn't get through.
"Kelley!" I heard Daryl yell at me.
I turned around and one of the armored walkers pushed me against the fence. I slapped and pushed it away but it was heavy. Thinking quickly about what to do, I lifted up the walker's chin and shot it. I got sprayed with blood and the walker slumped down to the floor.
"You see that?!" I yelled out.
Glenn grabbed one walker and pulled its head back, and Maggie stabbed it under the chin. Daryl and T-Dog took down one, and Rick killed the last one.
We looked around and the court was cleared out. Rick walked up to me and grabbed my shoulder.
"Good quick thinking." Rick said.
I nodded and followed him into the cellblock. Once inside we checked all the cells but they were empty. For once, everything was clear. In the cellblock, there were a couple tables in front of a watchtower. There was a closed gate that led into a dark hallway, and another gate that led to the cells. Rick looked up in the watchtower and saw a body leaning against the window. He walked up the stairs, stabbed the body just in case it wasn't really dead, and found keys to the cellblock. He opened the gate to the cellblock and everything was still clear.
"It's clear. Let's bring the group in." Rick said and T-Dog left to go get everyone.
Once they arrived, everyone sighed with relief.
"Home sweet home." Glenn said sarcastically.
"It's better than out there." I said.
"So, it's secure." Lori asked.
"This cell block is. Tomorrow we'll go search more of the prison." Rick explained.
Lori walked up to Rick and held his shoulder. "Thank you."
Rick just nodded and walked away. I assumed tensions were still high with them.
"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asked.
"I have a set of keys the guards had to the cells." Rick said.
"I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the perch." Daryl said and walked up the stairs.
I followed him but walked to the end of the cells on the far right, away from everyone. In the cell there was a twin sized bunk. I threw my bag and guns on the top and sat down on the mattress.
"Not too bad." I thought. "I guess this is what dad had in here."
I was lost in my thoughts and anxiously rubbed my hand that was now aching. Daryl caught me off guard when he hit the wall and stood in the doorway.
"Jesus!" I yelled and looked at him. "Daryl?"
"Sorry Kell." He said.
I shook my head and stood up. Daryl walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"I thought you were sleeping on the perch." I said.
"I don't want you to be alone." He said.
He put his stuff on the top bunk next to mine, and looked at me. He sighed and took out a rag from his bag. He sat me down and began wiping the blood away from my face and neck. I closed my eyes and tried to relax.
"You're still beautiful." He said and brushed my hair back.
I slightly smiled and he caressed my cheek. I opened my mouth to speak but couldn't find the right words at the moment. I just sighed and held his hand.
"I love you." Daryl said. "Whatever is going on in your head right now, I want you to know I love you."
I looked into his eyes and smiled. I felt better after he said that, like I fell in love with him all over again.
"Okay..." I nodded. "Okay."

~~~~~~~~~~

Earlier the next morning we found the armory to the prison. We took weapons out in duffel bags, and once we were back to the cell block we started taking inventory.
"Not bad." I said and held up a heavier pistol.
I put my old one on the table and kept the new one.
"Flash bangs. CS triple chasers." Rick said as he picked one up. "Not sure how they'll work on walkers but we'll take them."
We were finishing organizing when Carol called Hershel over to the cells.
"Everything alright?" Rick asked.
Carol nodded and walked away with Hershel. We packed our bags, grabbed a few more weapons, and prepared ourselves to go into the "tombs". A few minutes later, Hershel came back, and Rick, myself, Daryl, T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, and Hershel left to explore. The hallways were dark and it was impossible to see a few feet in front of you without a flashlight. Glenn had a bottle of spray paint, and pointed arrows towards the way back, just so we wouldn't get lost. A little bit deeper into the tombs is when we started to hear the moans. We turned the corner and a dozen of walkers faced us and started chasing us. We ran away and ended up splitting apart from each other. We hid in a storage closet and stayed quiet for several minutes until the moans got quiet. I saw that everyone was here except Maggie and Glenn.
"Where are they?" Hershel whispered.
"We have to go back." I told Rick.
"Which way?" Daryl asked.
Rick stood up and quietly opened the door, and was checking if the hallway was clear. He waved at us to follow him and we followed the arrows back.
"Maggie. Glenn." Hershel whispered behind us.
He must have heard something because he walked off. We turned the corner and looked back, but we didn't see Hershel. But we heard the screams. Instantly we turned around and ran to find Hershel, only to find him in the floor with a walker biting his ankle.
I automatically shot the walker, and we saw Glenn and Maggie show up.
"No!" She cried.
Rick and Daryl slung Hershel's arms around their shoulders and we started to run back. But walkers showed up in front of us.
"Shit." I muttered and turned around.
The group was following me at this point, and I was in charge of getting us somewhere safe. Several more turns later, we came to the end of the hallway with a set of doors that were chained shut. T-Dog worked on cutting the chains off, but it was taking too long. Glenn and I turned around and started shooting the walkers that were getting closer.
"T, get that door open now!" I ordered.
A few seconds later we heard the chain fall to the ground and we ran inside. We closed the doors and placed a crowbar between the handles. The walkers banged against the door but it didn't open. Rick and Daryl laid Hershel down on the ground, and he was groaning in pain.
"What do we do?" Maggie cried.
"There's only one way to save him." Rick said and grabbed his hatchet.
I ran over to Hershel's head and rested it in my lap. He was hitting Daryl's back weakly, and Rick positioned his axe. Rick raised the axe and began chopping away at Hershel's leg, right about the bite. About halfway through, he passed out and Rick finished separating the infected limb.
"He's bleeding out." Rick said, and looked at his blood covered hands.
"Obviously Rick." I thought.
I looked over at Daryl's belt and got an idea. I reached over, unbuckled it, and used it to tourniquet Hershel's leg. The bleeding slowed down, and my idea worked. Daryl looked up real quick and whispered "Duck."
He stood up and aimed his crossbow. We turned around and saw Daryl pointing it at a group of five guys dressed as prisoners.
"Holy shit." One of them said.
Before I could get a good look at them, I heard Hershel groan and looked down at him.
"We need to get him out of here." I said loudly.
"Do you guys have any supplies?" Glenn asked and ran around them.
They didn't answer, but Glenn came back with a metal table with wheels. We lifted Hershel on top of it and wheeled him away. Daryl walked behind us and kept an eye on the prisoners until we were out of their sight.
Back at the cellblock, everything became a shit show. We laid him on a bed in a cell and everyone was working at once.
"Daddy." Beth cried, but Maggie held her back.
"Oh my god." Lori said and held her stomach.
"I need bandages! Get everything we have!" Carol ordered. "His leg needs to be elevated."
"Carl, go get pillows and blankets from my cell." Lori said.
Carl left and came back quickly. I helped pack his leg with gauze and then checked the tourniquet. I was taking Hershel's vital signs when I heard yelling from the cellblock. I looked up and panicked, and Carol saw it.
"Go." She said and grabbed my hand. "We got it from here."
I nodded quickly and ran out of the cell. I ran out to see us aiming weapons at the prisoners and they were aiming back. And I knew the person holding their gun.
I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me and became frozen in place. Everyone looked at me as it got silent. I walked forwards cautiously to get a closer look, but I was right. I knew that prisoner.
"Dad?"