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end of beginning

IRIS TWIDDLES WITH HER DAGGER.

She could hear Rick and Daryl talking to the group of prisoners ― Tomas, Big Tiny, Andrew, Oscar and Axel. He was teaching them the basics when it came to killing walkers, which included giving the men silent weapons, which brought a twist to her stomach. They couldn't trust strangers on the best of days, and these particular strangers happened to be in lock up before this apocalypse had even happened.

Rick still didn't want her to come with him to clear out a second cell block for the prisoners to live in, and he was firm in his decision that Iris was somehow more needed back at the cell block where there are more than enough people to take care of Hershel and monitor Lori's pregnancy. Rick needed extra hands if he was going to avoid a coup (even if that wasn't going to happen, it couldn't help to be prepared) and Iris was right there, ready to help. She leaned her head against the wall, hoping that Rick would see reason before they set off.

And if he didn't, Iris would just sneak in there anyway.

She sighs and pulls her hair into a ponytail behind her head, sticking her bobby pin back over her forehead, clipping her grown out fringe out of her eyes. Her natural curls had begun to show over the last few months, which Iris guessed was a consequence of the lack of products that she used to use which kept it straighter. She had grown to love how the curls looked against her back, longer than it had ever been, and she couldn't believe she ever went through a phase where she could straighten it every single day. It was just as thick as it was before, heavy and difficult to maintain, but it was part of her identity and her past; hair held memories and Iris didn't want to forget what life used to be like in place of the feral, cruel new world.

Her dagger was still stained with blood from the walkers they had taken out both to get into the prison and to get to the cafeteria. Things had happened so fast that she hadn't had time to even clean her blade, something that she always did religiously before, hating when the pretty detailing was covered in blood and guts. After so long of nothing really happening, Iris had almost forgotten how things could turn from good to bad in the blink of an eye, and the pure amount of things that had happened since finding the prison had practically given her whiplash.

Everything was spiraling out of control, and Iris needed a chance to breathe before she threw herself into yet another fight.

She closes her eyes.

Takes a breath in.

A breath out.

She was strong. She was capable. She had grown and changed and adapted. She had a family that she was an irreplaceable part of, one that she would do anything to protect and defend from any threat, big or small. She had fallen in love, in a world of ruins. A love that was overwhelming and earth shattering and all consuming, a love that made her a better person for experiencing it. A love that she could not afford to lose, not for something like over trusting a group of strangers to stay in their cell and stay away from them. It wasn't enough for her. She could handle the storm that was brewing despite feeling like she's standing right in the middle of it because she had everything to fight for. She knew that even the worst of storms had to come to an end eventually, and there would come a moment where everything could be quiet.

But that time was not now.

"Why do I need this, when I've got this?" Tomas, the prisoner who was leading the others, the one who had the gun in the cafeteria, asks. Iris can't see him, but she can imagine the expression on his face, probably staring at Rick or Daryl with raised eyebrows. He gave Iris a bad feeling, and she couldn't stop her mind from wandering what he had done to receive his prison sentence in the first place.

"You don't fire guns." She hears Daryl respond. Based on his tone, she could gather that the archer wasn't very happy about their situation either, but if Rick wanted to try and give them the benefit of the doubt, they would. But Daryl's reservations were yet another warning sign, and Iris was not staying behind in the cell block while Rick, Daryl and T-Dog risked their lives. "Not unless your back's up against the wall. Noise attracts them, really riles them up."

"We'll go in two by two." Rick orders. "Daryl will run point with T, I'll bring up the rear with you."

Iris listens to them planning, knowing that they would have to trust at least two of the prisoners to take out walkers by themselves, which did not bode well for her. Glenn had told her to be careful, and she wasn't planning on anyone dying tonight. Rick would understand that.

"Where do you want me?" Iris asks, pushing herself off of the wall that concealed her, crossing her arms and staring at Rick with unblinking and stubborn eyes. "In the middle?"

Rick looks up instantly when she speaks, sighing in frustration and bringing a stressed hand to his temple, massaging it between his finger and his thumb. The group of prisoners shrug it off, more interested in the pile of weapons on the floor than her, but Rick's reaction was telling. Daryl gives her a small smile, and Iris could've sworn she saw a hint of pride in his eyes. T-Dog mirrors his expression, grinning wider and giving her a small salute of gratitude. Iris smiles at the both of them, grateful for their support and belief in her.

"Rick." Iris repeats, stepping closer. "I can help you. Just let me."

"Iris..." Rick starts, the rejection obvious in his voice, but before he can list all of his reasons that she shouldn't come, he is cut off.

"She could be useful." Daryl suggests. His voice was low, as if he didn't want to admit it. Daryl may have been a lone wolf in his past, but he could not keep up that image around her. Iris and Daryl had spent countless hours in the woods, hunting for food, and even in the silence, Iris had started to understand him more and more. Daryl was loyal, perhaps one of the most loyal members of this group, and he would never admit it, but he saw them all as family. "She helped us clear the first cell block. She's good."

The corners of her lips curl up into a smile, honoured that Daryl would say all of that about her. She looks at Rick with wide, almost puppy-like eyes, knowing that Rick valued Daryl's opinion and he would genuinely take it into consideration.

Rick sighs again, taking his hands away from his face and bringing them to his hips. He stares at Iris for a moment, looking like a father would as he realises he can't stop his child from growing up, clearly weighing the risks in his mind. Eventually, he nods, making eye contact with her as he speaks firmly. "Okay. But be careful, Iris. I mean it. It's dangerous out here."

"I know." Iris says, and she stands up a little taller at his permission. Both she and Rick knew that she would've done this with or without his blessing, but knowing that she had his approval made it feel so much more special. She nods at him, trying to fight the smile that kept threatening to grow larger. "I'll be careful. Always am."

Rick massages the crook of his neck, taking in a breath as he looks away from her. Iris just hopes that he understands why she had to force his hand, and if things go south, he might appreciate her presence. He looks back at the prisoners. "Stay tight, hold formation, no matter how close the walkers get. Anyone breaks ranks, we could all go down, anyone runs off, they could get mistaken for a walker, end up with an axe to the head."

"And that's where you aim. These things only go down with a head shot." Daryl adds.

"You've gotta kill the tissue in their brain that's making them reanimate." Iris explains.

Tomas scoffs. "Ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man."

"They ain't men. They're something else." T-Dog says, shivering as he remembers all of the times they had taken out walkers in the past. Iris remembers what Dr Jenner had shown them at the CDC, how the infection spread throughout the brain, incurable and unstoppable.

"Just remember, go for the brain." Rick repeats, trying his best to get it through their heads.

Iris bites her lip. She had a real bad feeling about this.

𖤓𖤓𖤓

The flower wreath pin was shimmering in his hands, the golden glint catching his eye as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It was reflecting like glitter despite there being little to no light in the stuffy cell, like a flicker of hope that couldn't be snuffed out by any amount of darkness, a beautiful symbol, one that he felt honoured to have been gifted. It was truly beautiful, something that he had admired since first setting eyes on it, knowing how important it was and how much history it carried. The fact that it had survived so much pain and suffering and still shone like the sun gave him hope.

That was the tradition of the flower wreath, he supposed. To pass on the gift of eternal life, to pass on love. And what was a life without a little bit of hope?

He runs his thumb over the cool metal one more time before carefully refastening it to his shirt, patting it to make sure it was attached properly. Lori, Carol, Beth and Maggie were crowded around him, all of them keeping vigil over Hershel's unconscious form on the bed. He was stable, had been for hours, but he hadn't stirred. It was probably for the best, they had a severe lack of pain meds, and at least in his unconsciousness, he didn't have to feel the pain as much.

No one really knew what to do, but doing anything while Hershel was in this state felt almost like a disservice, so all five of them sat in resolute silence, just waiting for something that none of them knew was even coming.

Glenn was trying to distract himself from thinking too much about Iris, the worry creeping through his mind anyway. The little room didn't provide much in terms of distraction, and staring at Hershel's severed stump did not make him feel any better about Iris being out there right now

Iris didn't trust the prisoners as far as she could throw them, and Glenn knew that no one could stop her from going on the mission to clear out the cell block. Iris needed to see for herself what the prisoners were like under pressure, and as much as it felt like she was going to age him ten years from stress alone, it was important to her.

Just as important as it was that one of them needed to stay behind in case anything happened to Hershel.

Iris was stubborn. Glenn had known that about her from the day they met. But she was stubborn because she cared so much about the people she loved, at her core, she was a protector. He knew that she was terrified that she was becoming someone she didn't recognise anymore, but from his point of view, she could never change because she was fiercely protective, in more ways than one.

She was different now, they all were. It was an inevitable consequence of the world that they lived in. Iris was stronger and more experienced, matching Rick and Daryl's capabilities when it came to the walkers and perhaps even more so when it came to people, and Glenn fell more and more in love with her every single day since the moment Atlanta fell. She thought she was losing herself, but that was impossible.

As long as she had people around her, people who loved her, people who needed her, Iris Grimes could never lose herself. She was still the sweet and caring girl who was desperate to save her nephew as the world was ending and she had only become stronger since; she was a protector, a fixer, and most of all, a lover.

He wanted to marry her one day.

It wasn't just a fleeting impulse, it wasn't a decision that he had rushed into. Iris was his whole entire world, and he wanted nothing more than to make her his wife. It didn't matter to him that there were no more churches, no more official ways to get married. As long as he had Iris, that was all that counted. The only thing he was waiting for was a ring, and he didn't have one from lack of trying. Every single house he had tried, he'd come up empty.

He thought that he was screwed when Iris had come across him searching in jewelry boxes in one of the bedrooms, and he was a terrible liar. He had tried to play it off, but Iris had made the joke that he was looking for a ring, and from that day, it had become a running bit whenever they cleared out the houses they broke into. She thought that it was just a joke, but little did she know, he was deadly serious.

In all honesty, the moment he had a ring to give her, he wasn't going to hesitate.

He brushes his thumb over his ring finger, wondering what it would be like to have a ring on it. To be forever intertwined with one person, linked through their love and their hearts. He wanted it more than anything in the world, the whole package. He wanted to be able to call himself her husband, move forward through life laced together forever.

"Is he going to wake up soon?" Beth whispers, breaking the carefully crafted silence like a knife.

There was a moment of pause following her question. No one knew how to answer. It was a massive unknown, and suddenly Glenn was glad that Iris wasn't here for it. He sits up straighter. "Yeah. He will. Soon."

"Soon." Lori echoes, taking Beth's hand in hers. She shoots him a grateful look, and Glenn just smiles sadly.

There was a clang on one of the doors, and Glenn crooks his neck up, wondering if Iris had returned. It was Carl, with a bag trailing behind him and a bold grin on his face, walking into the already tight cell. Something was going on with him, he was acting way too strange for someone who was only supposed to be sorting out their food supplies. Iris was usually the one who could reign Carl in, he was at the age where he didn't want to listen to his parents and Iris was closer to him in age and she could reach him at a level that Lori and Rick just couldn't. In her absence, he knew she would want him checking that Carl was doing okay.

"Thought you were organizing the food." Glenn says, looking at Carl and trying to figure out what his excited expression meant.

"Even better!" Carl exclaims, dropping the bag on the floor and looking at his mother in excitement. "Check it out!"

Carol and Lori exchange glances and reach forward, opening the bag. Glenn's eyes widen when he realises that the bag was full of medical supplies: gauze and bottles of pills and bandages. It was like a gift sent down from God, one that they could use to help Hershel heal even faster.

"Where did you get this?" Lori asks, handing Maggie a bunch of bandages and a bottle of painkillers. Carol and Maggie immediately start applying the new bandages to Hershel's stump, carefully dressing his wound and monitoring his pulse.

"Found the infirmary. Wasn't much left, but I cleared it out!" Carl says, bouncing on his heels.

"You went by yourself?" Lori asks, the panic rising in her tone as she stares at her son in disbelief.

"Yeah." Carl shrugs, as if it was no big deal. Glenn sighs, not wanting to overstep while Lori was trying to talk to Carl, but uncomfortable feeling the tension rise.

"Are you crazy?" Lori exclaims, looking at Maggie and Carol in shock.

Carl scoffs, holding his hands out as if he'd done something as simple as walking to the grocery store. "No big deal, I killed two walkers!"

Glenn runs a stressful hand through his hair.

Lori sighs, her pupils wide as saucers. She points at Hershel, not ripping her gaze away from Carl. "Alright, do you see this? This was with the whole group!"

"We needed supplies, so I got them!" Carl yells, shaking his head. Glenn understood what was going through his mind, and if Iris was here, she'd probably find the perfect way to mitigate the problem, but Iris wasn't here. And Glenn didn't know if Lori would recognise that he was just trying to help if he butted in now. Neither Carol nor Maggie nor Beth spoke either, watching the situation unfold with wide eyes.

Lori sighs, struggling to put into words what she was trying to say. "I appreciate that, but..."

"Then get off my back!" Carl yells, cutting her off with a sharp exclamation, averting his gaze away from Lori in anger. It was one of the first times Glenn had seen Carl act like that, but he supposed it was only a matter of time before he started to act like the teenager he was becoming.

"Carl!" Beth reprimands. "She's your mother, you can't talk to her like that!"

Carl stares at Beth, clapping his mouth shut in shock at her firm words. Beth was usually so sweet and low tempered that it was strange for everyone to hear.

Lori sighs. "Listen, I think it's great that you want to help but..."

Carl shakes his head, turning around to walk away. He is out of sight before anyone can call to stop him, his stomps echoing through the corridor.

Glenn buries his face in his hands.

𖤓𖤓𖤓

Iris stares at Tomas as they walk down the dark corridors, watching his every movement from behind as they search for walkers along the passage. He was holding a hammer in his hands, and Iris watches as his fingers curl around the handle, his head moving left and right as he looks at his peers. Iris couldn't help but find everything he did suspicious, even if she knew that was kind of crazy of her. Tomas was the clear leader here, the person that the others looked to for direction and for stability. The mistrust likely went both ways, but they needed this prison to work. For Lori, for Hershel, for every single one of them. Tomas could end up in a power struggle against Rick, and they couldn't afford another loss. She saw the warning signs, she had experienced the warning signs firsthand. She didn't trust any of the men, the memories of what had happened with Randall and the group he was with back at the farm, and she didn't want a repeat of those events. Never again.

Her neck twinges.

"Man, it's too damn dark in here!" Big Tiny exclaims, holding his flashlight out as he tries to light up the hallway with what little light they had.

Daryl sighs. "Gotta hold it up high out in front of you. You're gonna hear 'em before you see 'em."

There was no preparing the men for what it was like to kill a walker for the first time. Iris still remembers her first time, in the shop, before she even realised what the walkers were. She had acted out of pure instinct then, and she probably would've lost her life once she came back to her senses if it wasn't for Glenn and T-Dog appearing at just the right time.

"It's coming!" Axel exclaims, staring out into the distance. Iris squints her eyes, seeing a shadow illuminated by the light in their hands. It staggers towards them, tilting its head as it smells them out, followed by a second walker, just as hobbled over as the first. The two walkers smash into each other as they walk, and their mindless wander turns into a warlike rampage.

"Shhh!" Daryl scolds, his hands tightening on his crossbow, ready to take on the walkers in their path.

"Slow and steady." Iris whispers, raising her blade in front of her face, her eyes moving from Tomas' form in front of her to the walkers that were stumbling towards them.

The five prisoners, however, did not take things slow or steady.

They all rush forward, screaming and bellowing as they attack the two walkers, failing to do the one thing they were told and aiming for anywhere except for the head. Axel repeatedly stabs one of the walkers in the chest, yelling a battle cry at the top of his lungs and ultimately doing nothing to actually kill the walkers. Their noise was probably only attracting more walkers towards their vicinity.

Iris rolls her eyes, feeling the rage rise in her body, as she stares at the prisoners in disbelief. They seriously cannot be this stupid.

"Hey! Stop!" She yells, walking forward and yanking a walker out of Tomas' grip, stabbing it in the head and dropping it to the ground. "One instruction! Just one!"

"It's gotta be the brain!" Daryl adds, raising his crossbow and shooting the second walker in the head. "Not the stomach, not the heart, the brain!"

"I hear you, the brain." Axel raises his hands. Iris rolls her eyes.

A third walker staggers towards them, turning the corner as it becomes aware of their presence. Oscar takes a look at Daryl before he turns around and stabs the walker in the head, letting it fall to the ground. "Like that?"

Daryl nods. "Uh-uh."

More walkers start to pile around them, at least a dozen or so, circling them like rabid monsters ready for feeding time. Both Axel and Rick lunge forward, killing two of them instantly. Out of all of the prisoners, Axel and Oscar seemed to be the ones that picked up on their guidance the most, and Iris could at least respect that.

"Stay in tight formation, no more prison riot crap!" Rick yells.

This time, they really did work as a single group, staying in formation as they became one, killing any walker that got close to them and protecting each other from attack. Iris catches a walker that went right for T-Dog, pulling it back and diving her knife into its skull. Rick and Daryl take on three at once, their experience in the field unmatched as they effortlessly took out any walker in their path.

In the struggle against the walkers, Iris didn't pay attention to any of the prisoners, focused purely on the adrenaline running through her system as she took out walker after walker, flexing her jaw with the effort.

Almost all of the walkers were on the ground, their brain's destroyed, and all that were left were just two: both of them advancing towards Big Tiny who was backed into a wall, his eyes wide in fear as he stared at the ravenous creatures.

Rick stabs one of them in the head, and Iris can only watch as the other one snarls, snapping its teeth and sinking them into Big Tiny's shoulder. Iris gasps, her hand going over her mouth as she winces in sympathy. She may not have trusted the prisoners, but to go out like this was awful and terrifying and achingly lonely.

Tomas takes out his gun and shoots, getting the walker in the head. Iris twists her neck up a little, bracing herself for the sound of the shot and the thump of the walker slamming into the ground.

Rick sighs, staring at Big Tiny in defeat. Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Iris knew exactly what was coming, that hope was lost. They had seen it time and time again, and Iris couldn't help but think that poor little Sophia was bitten in the exact same place. She shakes her head, biting her tongue.

Big Tiny catches their somber expressions, his breaths becoming shorter as he realises exactly why they were staring. "I'm telling you! I don't feel anything, it's just a scratch!"

"I'm sorry man." Rick says, shaking his head.

"I can keep fighting!" Big Tiny insists.

Andrew scoffs, holding the bloody baseball hat in his hands. "You cut that old guy's leg off to save his life!"

"Look at where the bite is!" Rick yells, pointing at Big Tiny's shoulder as he looks between Andrew and the others. Andrew rolls his eyes, clearly not seeing that there was nothing to be done.

"Guys, I'm fine!" Big Tiny repeats. "Just... I'm fine. Look, look at me, I'm not changing into one of those things."

"It doesn't happen that quick." Iris says softly, putting her knife back on her belt. "It's slow. Painful."

Oscar steps forward. "Look, man, there's gotta be something we can do, we could just lock him up!"

"Quarantine him!" Axel exclaims.

Iris facepalms, not saying anything as T-Dog lightly touches her arm, silently telling her to let Rick handle it.

"We gotta do something! Why are you just standing there!" Andrew yells. "We gotta save him!"

"There's nothing we can do." Rick repeats, his voice betraying the genuine sympathy that he must've been feeling.

"You son of a bitch!" Andrew yells, the veins on his head popping as he strains.

Big Tiny holds out his hand. "I'm alri..."

He never gets a chance to finish his sentence.

Tomas raises his hammer, bringing it down callously onto Big Tiny's head. As he drops to the ground, Tomas climbs on top of him, hitting him again and again and again. Big Tiny's flesh pulses, splitting apart with ease as the hammer dug into his body, his guts spilling out onto the floor like he was nothing but an animal being brought to slaughter.

Iris gasps, her breaths uncontrollably leaving her lungs.

When Tomas turned around, his face was covered in blood, dotting his face yet he didn't even flinch or make a movement to wipe it off. He walks away, the stain of the friend that he had just brutally murdered remaining on the ground, and he didn't say a single word.

𖤓𖤓𖤓

"Carl."

"Leave me alone." The teenager says, turning around from his position on his bottom bunk, crossing his arms as the hat on his head fell off.

Glenn shakes his head, walking further into the room despite Carl's resistance, sitting down on the end of the bed and looking at the young boy in sympathy. This world was hard for even grown adults, and Glenn couldn't imagine what it was doing to Carl. He had already gone through so much, mourning his father, losing his best friend, getting shot, having to shoot Shane even if he was a walker when it happened, and having to deal with the worry and fear surrounding his mother's pregnancy.

It wasn't surprising that he was acting out.

Glenn knew that kids picked up on a lot more than adults gave them credit for. Carl was a smart kid, more resourceful than most. He had seen that firsthand many times since Carl had come into his life. Carl must be worried out of his mind about Lori and how she was going to safely have this baby. Everyone was worried, even if no one would voice it. He'd overheard Iris praying at night, whispering to the stars for them to guide Lori through a delivery safely. Carol had taken him walker hunting so she could practice doing a C-section if Hershel still wasn't awake to talk her through it, as if she was expecting a natural labour to go wrong. Rick and Lori hadn't talked much, not in months, but practically the entire reason they were even here in this prison was because of his determination to find a safe place to have this baby.

Carl was trying to help in his own way, and Glenn saw so much of Iris in the way he acted, it was almost uncanny.

He clears his throat, looking at Carl's face again, turned away from him. "Carl."

"If you think you have to talk to me, just cause you're Iris' boyfriend, forget it." Carl says, turning around to look at him. "You don't."

"Hey, I thought we were friends." Glenn replies, trying to keep a lighter tone in his voice. "We were friends before I started dating Iris, weren't we?"

"I guess." Carl admits, sighing as he sits up. "You were okay."

"Okay, ouch." In truth, Glenn was coming to talk to Carl because he knew that Iris would want him to. But that didn't mean he couldn't try and bond with his kind of nephew, especially when he was clearly feeling alone. He shuffles closer. "That was pretty brave, you know. Going to the infirmary."

Carl shrugs his shoulders. "My mom doesn't think so."

"It's your mom's job to worry about you." Glenn smiles. "My mom used to worry about me too. I was the youngest and the only boy, and that made her even more protective of me growing up. She would lose her mind if I came home with even a scrape."

"Really?" Carl asks, looking a little intrigued.

"Yeah." Glenn chuckles, feeling a pang in his chest as he thought of his mother. "And I was a pretty reckless kid, so I had scrapes and bruises pretty much all the time. You know, if you'd asked, I would've come with you."

"You would've?" Carl asks, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Hell yeah." Glenn responds. "It would've been safer, you know? It was a great idea. You really did help."

Carl nods, his expression falling a little. "I'm not a kid anymore. I can't be."

Glenn nods, scooting closer to Carl. He caught the subtext in Carl's words. He wasn't a kid anymore, but he deserved to be. It wasn't fair, that his childhood was robbed from him in such a brutal, masochistic way. One day, he was just eating pizza at his aunt's house, watching The Incredible Hulk and debating how realistic it was, and the next, the entire world fell apart and he lost the one thing that every child should have: his innocence.

"Did you ever read comic books?" Glenn asks, raising his eyebrow as he hastily changes the subject. Sometimes, distraction worked better than always talking about what was going wrong.

Carl lights up a little, and Glenn revels a little in his small victory. "Yeah. All the time. Iris got me a whole bunch for my birthday last year."

Glenn smirks, knowing that his efforts were about to pay off. He stands up, sitting on the chair opposite the bed as he holds his hands out. "So did I. Used to stalk the comic store growing up, waiting for new releases, and then I'd read them over and over again. Probably still got all those stories stored up here." Glenn taps the side of his head.

Carl sits up even straighter, putting his hat back on his head. He smiles a little, his woes temporarily forgotten. "Can you tell me some?"

Glenn leans in, faking a mysterious gaze as he looks Carl in the eyes. "Well, there was this one time, Professor X had run into a very particular problem at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters..."

𖤓𖤓𖤓

Iris was still shaking from adrenaline as they followed Tomas down the halls towards their new cell block. She couldn't stop her mind from racing, replaying the moment that Tomas killed Big Tiny again and again in her mind. She'd seen mercy killings, and that vicious display was far from it. It was almost sociopathic, the way that he had brought that hammer down until there was nothing left of Big Tiny's head.

If that was how treated his friends....

Iris dreaded to even think it.

"You see the look on his face?" Daryl whispers. Iris looks up at him, relieved that she wasn't the only one to see it. She glances at the back of Tomas' head, noticing how unbothered he seemed by the event. Even Shane had struggled with the idea of killing a human being.

Rick nods, moving closer to Daryl and Iris as he speaks. "He makes one move..."

Daryl nods. "Just give me a signal."

"Glad we're all on the same page." Iris whispers. "I don't like this at all."

T-Dog was up front, leading them to the entrance of the cell block. This one was different to Cell Block C, it was behind a large room that contained linen sheets and seemed to be a place for prisoners to do laundry. It was still and untouched, and Iris imagined the influx of prisoners and guards that would've once walked through here. There were two doors towards the back of the room, which Iris assumed lead to the actual cell block.

She walks closer to the doors, noticing how they were bolted shut, which was a small miracle, because as soon as she got close, she started to hear growls and scratches on the doors from the other side.

The room was filled with walkers.

Daryl looks the doorway up and down, taking the keys from his belt and throwing them on the ground. They land beside Tomas' feet, who takes one look at the doors and shakes his head. "I ain't opening that."

"Yes, you are." Rick replies, his eyes hardening. They should all be back in their own cell block, looking after Hershel, finally resting in the security of the place that they had claimed for themselves, but nothing ever seemed to be that easy. "If you want this cell block, you're gonna open that door. Just the one, not both of them. Because we need to control this."

Tomas sighs and picks up the keys, walking towards the doors with the correct key in his hand. Iris grips her dagger, that same bad feeling creeping down her spine as she stayed on high alert.

"You bitches ready?" Tomas asks. Before getting any kind of response, he puts the key in the lock, twisting. However, it doesn't open right away. He tries again, straining from the effort and turning around to glare at Rick. "I got this."

After a couple more seconds of trying, the lock finally clicks and Tomas braces himself, pulling open both of the doors with force, a sick smile on his face. Walkers pour into the room, uncontrollably, outnumbering them as Tomas backs away, already attacking walkers with his blood stained hammer.

"Shit!" Iris exclaims, stabbing a walker as it backs her into a wall.

"I said one door!" Rick yells, his rage and frustration coming off of him in waves as he stabs and pushes walkers to the ground.

"Shit happens!" Tomas yells back, and they were too preoccupied by the amount of walkers that were in their way to form any kind of response.

Iris grits her teeth, feeling them grind together as she takes out walkers, moving away from the wall and towards the middle of the attack, her hair whipping over her face as she moves with intention, weaving through the walkers with flexibility and practiced skill.

She grunts as Tomas takes out a walker right next to her, swinging his hammer so hard that he almost clocks her right in the face. She ducks last minute, kicking a walker by the legs and taking it out on the ground. She stands up to see Tomas staring at her, shrugging his shoulders but smirking at her. She bites down her rage, and Rick immediately steps in front of her, getting between her and Tomas as he moves to fight another walker.

Tomas stabs a walker in the chest, throwing it in Rick's direction as another attacks him from behind. Iris gasps as Rick gets pulled down, but she is distracted when a walker pulls at her hair from behind, causing her to scream and get Daryl's attention.

The tracker runs over, shooting Iris' walker with his bow before stabbing the walker that had Rick pinned, sighing as he helps Rick up. Iris runs over, looking everywhere for any more walkers, but they are all dead and gone, leaving nothing but their group still standing.

Rick tilts her head, walking towards Tomas questioningly. The prisoner scoffs, and brushes it off. "He was coming at me, bro!"

Iris watches Rick as he stares Tomas down, seeing the thoughts build in his head. For a split second, Rick looks at Iris, and she sees just from his eyes what he was planning to do, seeking forgiveness. Iris nods her head, biting her lips as she crosses her arms, and it was all Rick needed in that moment.

"Yeah." Rick says. His voice sounded different, bitter, unlike the rational man that she had always known. A chill runs down her spine. "Yeah, I get it. I get it. Shit happens."

Tomas stares at him for a moment longer, his face still covered with blood and his expression showing a total lack of remorse. He was trying to psych Rick out, show his supposed power and strength off. But it wasn't going to work.

Rick lifts his knife and stabs Tomas right in the skull.

AUTHORS NOTE

❥ Welcome back to Doomsday!
❥ This chapter was quite full! We finally get Glenn's POV for the first time in act two, which is so exciting and I loved writing it!
❥ My favourite part was writing Glenn's POV about the ring running joke, and especially seeing him with bond with Carl was soo 🥺
❥ We're getting into the first chunk of the first arc of this season, which I have started to outline to be a little more detailed, and I am very excited as to what's coming!
❥ Chapter posting will likely keep fluctuating for a while, but just know I'm always working on writing whenever I can, and this story is my pure pride and joy. I'm currently watching season eight of the show and oh my god the ideas floating around in my head are insane!
❥ If you enjoyed, please vote and comment <3