CHAPTER SEVEN

Andie kills the walker that was heading straight for Daryl, and he looks at her as the last body drops. Her gaze meets his for a moment, then she turns around and walks away from him. The teenager hasn't said a word since their conversation last night, and he'd be lying if he said the silence didn't make him uneasy.

The two of them cleared the courtyard with the help of Rick, Glenn, T-Dog, and Maggie. Now their leader wants them all to press on, heading inside the prison building. T-Dog shuts the door behind them as they slowly make their way into C block.

The group looks around the common area for any signs of walkers before Daryl makes his way toward the cell block with Andie not far behind. Rick then moves up the steps of the guard tower to make sure the body there is actually dead, and he finds the keys that'll allow them to enter the rest of the block.

They see dead bodies in the cells — men who either killed themselves or were killed before they had a chance to turn. Andie sees Daryl walking up the steps, and she follows after him, not wanting him to go alone; he's supposed to have someone there to watch his back.

There doesn't seem to be any threat in any of the cells where the doors are open, but then they hear a noise come from the opposite end than they're on. They turn to see a few closed doors, and they make their way over as quietly as they can while still moving quickly.

A walker reaches through the bars and tries to grab Daryl, but he presses himself against the railing as he keeps moving forward. Andie pulls her knife out and steps toward the cell door, and she watches it fruitlessly reach for her. She stabs it in the head, then looks over to see Daryl do the same thing to the walker one cell over.

Rick gives the keys to Daryl before telling Glenn and Maggie to bring the others into the cell block. He then starts telling T what he wants him to do while Daryl and Andie start pulling dead walkers out of the cells and pushing them over the edge to the floor below. They need to clear the infected bodies out of the cell block so that their group can actually live there.

"What do you think?" Rick asks the group as T-Dog starts pulling one of the bodies toward the exit.

"Home sweet home." Glenn mumbles before walking into a cell with his things.

"For the time being."

"It's secure?" Lori asks, and he nods.

"This cell block is." Her husband tells her.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asks; he's one of the last to enter.

"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and infirmary."

"We sleep in the cells?" Beth asks.

"Would'a been better if we could find a Holiday Inn, but this'll have to do." Andie smirks from the top level, and the blonde chuckles as she looks up at her. The older girl sees that Daryl's eyes are on her now too, so she offers him a small smile.

"I found keys on some guards." Rick tells them. "Daryl has a set too."

"I ain't sleepin' in no cage." Daryl says, walking toward the steps. "I'll take the perch." He then goes to lay down there.

T-Dog finds his own cell, and Glenn and Maggie share. Beth and Hershel find a couple close to each other, and then Carl walks into his own. Carol's sharing with Lori because she's been helping so much during the pregnancy since they left the farm. Rick sits on the floor not far from the steps, and he looks up to find Andie still standing in the same spot as before.

"You should get some sleep, kid." Their leader says, and she looks down at him. "You've earned it."

"What about you?"

"Soon." He promises, and she nods.

"I put your stuff in the cell at the top of the stairs." Carol tells her, not having to talk very loud for the teenager to hear.

"Thank you." The brunette smiles, then she walks over to the cell nearest the perch — it just so happens that Daryl's sleeping directly outside. She knows Carol did that on purpose.

Andie pulls her stuff from the top bunk and sets it on the floor, then she drags the mattress down. Daryl sits up when he hears her moving things, and he sees her pulling it out of her cell.

"No reason you should sleep on concrete." The younger girl says, and he gets to his feet so that he can help her arrange it.

Instead of dragging it to the perch where he was laying before, they close the cell door next to hers and lay the mattress there. No one picked a cell down that direction anyway, so he won't be in the way there.

The brunette offers him a small smile before turning back toward her cell, but he reaches out and grabs her hand before she can walk inside. "Are we alright?" He asks, his voice low, and she nods as she squeezes his fingers.

"Everything's fine." She smiles before letting go of his hand and walking into the cell to get some much-needed sleep.

—

"Oh, God." Andie turns her head when she sees the goop spilling out of the clothes that T-Dog's holding up. "What the hell is that?"

"We got 'em off some dead walkers." He tells her, and her nose scrunches as she makes her way over to them.

"And why did you bring them here?" She questions. "Are you trying to make me vomit again?"

"We could use the gear."

"I'll stick with the blunt instruments and sharp objects. And — oh, yeah — the bullets." She smiles sarcastically at him. "But you have fun playing dress up and getting whatever diseases are festering in th—" Andie screams when he swings a glove at her, sending some of the goop flying her way.

The teenager ducks behind Daryl, holding onto his bicep to keep him in place as she hides behind his back. Hershel's shaking his head at them as Rick suppresses a laugh, and Daryl turns his head to try and see her as she clings to him.

"You better sleep with that nasty shit as security. Because the second you're without it, I'm coming for you." She says, and T-Dog starts laughing.

"Hershel." Carol gets their attention as she steps out of the cell block and into the common area where they're all going through the stuff that the men found on their run to the armory.

"Everything alright?" Rick asks, and she nods as she looks at him.

"Yeah. Nothing to worry about."

"Anybody else feel a chill?" Andie asks, suddenly inspecting Daryl's arm.

"The hell are you doing?" The older man asks, and she looks up to meet his gaze.

"Lookin' for goosebumps. I could feel that cold shoulder all the way over here."

"Knock it off, Andie!" Carol calls, having heard the whole thing.

"Yes, ma'am!" The teenager smirks, her dark eyes still on Daryl's bright blue ones, and he chuckles as he shakes his head at her.

"Is Lori alright?" Rick asks, and Andie looks over at him. Her expression falls, and she nods as picks her knee up to rest on the bench of the table. "Now you're giving me the cold shoulder?"

"No, uh..." She clears her throat, eyebrows furrowed as she refuses to meet his gaze. "She's just been a little worried...that's all."

"About what?"

The brunette takes a deep breath as she finally looks up. "All the things expecting mothers worried about before the world went to hell in a handbasket. But now...modern medicine isn't exactly advanced anymore. There's a lot that can go wrong during childbirth. And we have a lot of downtime lately...lots of time to imagine all those things that can go wrong."

"Everything's gonna be fine." Their leader says, looking away from her.

"You don't know that, Rick." Andie shakes her head, and his jaw tightens. "She's scared, and her fears are founded. All the things she's afraid of — they're real possibilities, and she's smart to be afraid... Smarter to be prepared. And she doesn't get to hide from it like you do."

"You think I'm hiding?" He questions as he looks at her, and she nods.

"Yeah, I do. Maggie and I easily could've helped Daryl, T, and Glenn with this run, but you told us to stay while you left." She shrugs. "And I'm guessing you'll be leading the group farther into the prison while I'm benched again. You wanna keep me out, that's your call, Coach... But at least be real with yourself — and with your wife — about why you always have to go."

The three men watch the teenage girl as she turns around and disappears back into the cell block, and T-Dog shifts uncomfortably on his feet as he glances at Rick. Their leader, however, turns his gaze to Daryl.

"You wanna tell me why I have her sitting on the sidelines?" Rick asks, speaking softly enough that she can't overhear him. "Coach?"

After the others leave, Andie's left in charge of watching the remaining members of the group. It isn't a grueling job. Carol's sitting with Lori in their cell, and Carl's talking to Beth — he's developed a bit of a crush on the blonde. That leaves Andie pacing back and forth, not liking that she's suddenly on the outside of the scouting group while Hershel's with them as they search for the cafeteria and the infirmary.

"Open the door! It's Hershel!" Rick's voice echoes through C block, and the teenager whirls around. "Andie!"

"Oh my God." Carol mutters as Andie opens the door, and they quickly wheel the older man through on a silver table.

"Daddy!" Beth yells as she runs over to them.

Andie grabs Beth and pulls her out of the way as Glenn and Rick rush into Hershel's cell. Lori's waiting there, preparing to help Carol treat the wound.

"He got bit." Rick tells them as they start to move an unconscious Hershel onto his bed.

"Oh my God. He's gonna turn." Beth starts to panic.

"Did you cut it off?" Lori asks, and Rick tells her that he did. "Maybe you got it in time."

Andie's still standing outside of the cell, her hand clenching and unclenching as she thinks about the very real possibility that Hershel won't survive this. Even if Rick did stop the infection from spreading, he could still bleed out.

The brunette turns her head when she sees movement out of the corner of her eye. Daryl's still in the common area, and something out there seems to be holding his attention. There's no growls of the dead, which piques her interest as to what's keeping him away from the others. She knows how much he cares for this group, so he should be in here watching over Hershel.

She walks over as he reloads his crossbow, then he places his foot on the bench at the round table as he aims the bow at the exit to the rest of the prison. And that's when she hears the footsteps growing closer.

Andie pulls her knife from the sheath on her hip as she walks into the common area, and Daryl glances at her. Both of them turn their attention to the group of men that are now walking in from the dark hallway that leads out. The first is a Hispanic man, followed by three black men, and then a white man.

"That's far enough." Daryl tells them.

"Cell block c." The Hispanic is the first to speak up. "Cell four — that's mine, gringo. Let me in."

"Today's your lucky day, fellas." He says, ignoring what he said. "You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go."

"What you got going on in there?"

"None of your business." Andie says, and he smirks as he looks at her.

"I wouldn't mind getting up in your business." He takes a step toward her, and Daryl stands up straight as he aims the crossbow at his head.

"I have high standards. You don't meet them."

"You don't even know me...but we can change that."

"You really should pull your head out of your ass. I think the lack of oxygen is making you a little delusional." The brunette says.

"Why don't you tell your little redneck boyfriend to put the arrow down?"

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?"

"What did you just say to me?" He questions as he steps forward again, and Daryl quickly places himself between the two of them.

"Chill man." The biggest of the prisoners interjects. "Their dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we free now. Why are we still in here?"

"The man's got a point." Daryl says.

"Yeah, and I gotta check on my old lady." One of the other guys says.

"A group of civilians breaking in to a prison you got no business being in — got me thinkin' there ain't no place for us to go." The Hispanic man says.

"Why don't you go find out?" Daryl suggests, keeping his crossbow aimed directly at him.

"Maybe we'll just be going now." The white guy says.

"Hey, we ain't leaving."

"You ain't coming in either." T-Dog says as he makes his way over, gun drawn and aimed at the angriest in the group.

"Hey, this is my house, my rules. I go where I damn well please." He says as he pulls his own gun from the front of his pants and points it at T.

The situation continues to escalate, and by the time Rick makes it back to the common area, they're all yelling at each other. Daryl nudged Andie back behind him, and she grinds her teeth as he keeps talking.

"There ain't nothing for you here! Why don't you go back to your own sandbox and—"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Rick cuts Daryl off as he places himself between both groups. "Everyone relax, there's no need for this."

"How many of you are in there?" The one who seems to be the leader of the prisoners asks.

"Too many for you to handle."

"He couldn't even handle who's standing here." Andie mutters as she moves to lean against the back wall.

"You guys rob a bank of something?" He questions as Rick turns away from the irritated brunette. "Why don't you take him to a hospital?"

Their leader glances between Daryl and T before he speaks again. "How long you been locked in that cafeteria?" Rick asks.

"Going on, like, ten months."

"A riot broke out." One of the other prisoners says — the big guy. "Never seen anything like it."

"Attica on speed, man." The white guy with a big, bushy mustache adds.

"Ever heard about dudes goin' cannibal?" Another asks. "Dying, coming back to life? Crazy."

"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria. Told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back." Their leader says, holding up his gun.

"Yeah, and that was two-hundred, ninety-two days ago." The big guy says.

"Ninety-four according to my calcula—"

"Shut up." The leader cuts off the guy with the big mustache.

"We were thinking that the Army or the National Guard should be showing up any day now." The one who's been the quietest speaks up.

"There is no Army." Rick tells them.

"What do you mean?"

"There's no government, no hospitals, no police. It's all gone." He explains.

"For real?" Mustache asks, and he nods.

"Serious."

"What about my moms?" The big guy asks.

"My kids? And my old lady?" The quiet one asks. "Yo, you- you got a cell phone or something that we can call our families?"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Daryl questions.

"No phones, no computers." Rick tells them. "As far as we can see, at least half the population's been wiped out. Probably more."

"Ain't no way." The leader of the prisoners says.

"See for yourself." He points toward the exit, and they all start walking.

Daryl turns and steps into Andie's path, not letting her follow after Rick and the others. Her jaw tightens as she looks up at him. Her expression's hard, angry; he can see it in her eyes. She knows that he has no intention of backing down, so she turns around and heads up to her cell.