CHAPTER ONE,
the prison.

It had been two months since Aiden Walsh was reunited with the group. She hated to be with them all without her big brother there.

Shane.

A day didn't go by where her mind didn't wander to her brother. She missed him. She developed a habit where she would clutch his chain tightly whenever she felt like she needed strength or reassurance.

The group hadn't found a place to stay since the farm, Aiden of course had been moving the six months she was alone.

She couldn't come up with how the hell the group managed to sneak their way back into her life.

As of right now, Aiden watched Daryl pick the feathers off of an owl. She heard footsteps approaching the living room they sat in and saw Carl walking in.

She watched as he used a can opener to open a can of dog food. Rick walked over and picked it up, reading the label before throwing it in the fire place.

The clatter causing Daryl to flinch. Aiden rested her hand on his arm. It's okay.

Suddenly, "Psst." Aiden looked out he window and saw walkers coming their way. Everyone rushed out of the little house and to their respective vehicles. Daryl shrugged off his crossbow and Aiden slung it over her back as the two straddled his motorcycle and the caravan was off.

»

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off. We'll never make it south." Maggie said to the group where they stood around the SUV and looked at the map.

"What would you say? That was about one-hundred fifty head?" Daryl asked.

"That was last week. It could be twice that by now." Glenn stated.

"This river could have delayed them. If we move fast, we might have a shot to tear right through here." Hershel said.

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out here." T-Dog said.

"So we're blocked." Aiden concluded.

"Only thing to do is double back at 27 and swing towards Greenville." Rick proclaimed.

"Yeah, we picked through there already. It's like we spent the winter going in circles." T-Dog said.

"Yeah, I know. I know. At Newman we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet. We came keep going house to house. Need to find some plays to hole up for a few weeks."

"Alright. It cool if we get to the creek before we head out? Won't take long. We got to fill up on water. We can boil it later." T-Dog asked Rick.

"Knock yourself out." He replied.

Aiden shot a mean glance Rick's way before walking off.

»

Aiden had her gun raised while Rick cut the fence open that was surrounding a prison. She watched as Lori climbed inside, followed by T and then herself and Rick.

Daryl and Glenn quickly closed it. The group jogged along the gravel path and stopped beside a guard tower. "It's perfect. If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers. We'll take the field by night." Rick said.

"So how do we shut the gate?" Hershel asked.

"I'll do it. You guys cover me." Glenn said.

"No. It's a suicide run." Maggie said to her boyfriend.

"I'm the fastest." He said.

"No, you're not." Aiden scoffed.

"No, you, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there. Pop 'em through the fence. Daryl, go back to the other tower. Carol, you've become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don't have a lot of ammo to waste. Hershel, you and Carl take this tower. I'll run for the gate." Rick said. "Aiden, you stay with Lori."

Aiden had already came up with a plan in her mind. Glenn handed Rick the clips and Rick prepared to run. As Lori opened the gate for Rick, Aiden snatched the locks and bolted.

"Aiden!" Rick yelled after her, throwing his arms up. "What the hell!?"

Daryl cursed. "Fucking stubborn ass." He shot a bolt at a walker getting way to close to his girl.

"Thank you!" He heard her yell. He rolled his eyes and continued to shot the walkers.

Aiden stopped when a bullet hit the ground in front of her. She looked up at Carol. "Sorry!" She called.

Aiden kicked a walker into the closed area and shut the gate, locking it. She shot a walker and opened the door the guard tower beside her. She aimed her gun and saw no walkers inside. She slammed the door shut and climbed to the top.

Aiden smiled snidely as walker after walker dropped, she aimed her gun at the walkers and soon enough every walker was down.

Aiden smiled when she heard everyone cheer.

»

Aiden sat on top of the overturned bus while her and Daryl kept lookout. "You know, we could sneak into that guard tower and uh... get jiggy with it." She smirked.

Daryl's mouth dropped. "Did you really just say "get jiggy with it"?" He asked her.

Carol walked over and handed her two plates of food, "thank you, Carol."

"You're welcome," Carol replied then walked back over to the group.

"Here. Carol brought some food." She handed Daryl his plate. "I'll probably just give my portion to Lori." She said.

"Guess little Shane has quite the appetite." Daryl said. Aiden looked down at her hands.

"Guess they do. Shane had the biggest fucking appetite I'd ever seen. Ate nearly half of Thanksgiving dinner when I was in fifth grade. He was twenty and the biggest asshole, kept stealing my food." Aiden laughed lightly and rolled her right shoulder. "That rifle has mad kickback, dude." She said.

Daryl knelt down behind her and began to massage her shoulder. "Oh. What else can those hands do?" She asked him.

"Shut up." He muttered. "Better head back."

"Guess we should." Aiden said. "But hey, big guy, they guard tower is still a suggestion." She winked. He blushed lightly.

"Climb." She didn't listen and just jumped off. "Idiot." She heard Daryl mumble.

"I heard that, ya great lump." She said to him. Daryl snorted and placed his hand on her lower back, leading her to where the others sat.

The two walked over to hear the Greene sisters singing.

They finished and Hershel spoke. "Beautiful."

"Better all turn in." Rick spoke up. "I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've got to push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary." Rick said.

"An armory?" Daryl asked.

"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's office would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine." Rick stated.

"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'd run out before we make a dent." Hershel spoke.

"That's why we have to go in there... hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. Those assholes don't stand a chance." Rick said the last sentence to his son. He stood and walked off. Lori stood and walked after him.

Aiden and Daryl made themselves comfortable on the ground. Aiden's back facing Daryl's.

"Goodnight." She whispered to him.

»

Aiden stood beside Daryl, "Ready?" Rick asked them and unhooked the fence.

Aiden, Daryl, Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog all made their way inside the fence and got into formation, in a tight circle.

The others yelled and rattled on the fence to get the attention of other walkers. Aiden quickly stabbed a walker and shoved it to the ground.

"Don't break rank! T! T!" Rick yelled as T-Dog broke away and grabbed a shield off the ground.

"Shit!" Rick hissed and pushed himself against the wall, followed by T and Maggie.

Aiden's eyebrows rose when she saw two walkers in body armor step out from behind the dumpster, followed by two more behind the wall.

She heard the gate slam close, signaling that Rick and Daryl successfully closed it.

Aiden growled when one of the armored walkers approached her. "Eat shit!" She hissed and Daryl turned to her and saw her struggling to hold it off of her. Daryl quickly stepped in and pulled it off of her and stabbed it in the back of the head.

"You good?" He asked her. "It didn't get you?"

She took a deep breath, "I'm good."

Glenn began to run back to the others. "Stop." Rick said suddenly.

"Well, it looks secure." Glenn replied.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there. And that's a civilian." Daryl pointed at a female walker.

"So the interior could be overrun with walkers outside the prison." T-Dog said.

"Well, if there's any walls down, what are we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place."
Glenn asked.

"We can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in."

They followed Rick into a cage and Daryl opened a metal door.

They were met by a bared door and Rick pushed it open.

Aiden looked around at the messy common area and the blood splattered walls. Papers were stern, water dripped from the ceiling.

Maybe this place could be home.

»

They had secured the cellblock and Aiden has been given a pair of keys by Rick.

Aiden and Daryl had put their stuff in a cell across from the perch. "Home sweet cell." Aiden mumbled.

Daryl grabbed her waist and kissed her. Aiden kissed him back and the two pulled away. "You sure that walker ain't scratch you?" He asked her.

"Daryl, I'm fine." She mumbled.

_______________________________

word count: 1,650
episode: seed

first edited character of grief!! i'm so excited to edit this book and so forth.

welcome to grief! this is book two out of the five. this is season three - season four and i'm PUMPED.

aiden hates rick but i mean do you really blame her? he killed her brother.

this hatred is gonna last through every single book but it does dwindle down at some point in this book. but the loathing will always be there.

my heart. oh i love daryl and aiden so much gosh.