CHAPTER THIRTEEN,
the flu.

"Good morning, Miss Walsh!" Several people called out to her as she walked up to Daryl.

It'd been five months since Andrea and Merle were killed, since the Governor disappeared, since the group at the prison grew and now? It was thriving.

Aiden nodded back at the people. She stood in front of her boyfriend and looked at him expectingly.

"You be careful on that run, do you hear me?" She said with raised eyebrows. Daryl nodded.

"I will, don't worry, Aid." Daryl reassured her. He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her into him. He pressed his lips onto hers.

Glenn wolf whistled from behind them causing the two to pull apart blushing and Aiden groaning. Glenn was always around when Daryl and Aiden snuck a kiss and every fucking time he wolf whistled. The couple grew used to it and it was kind of their thing now. But that didn't mean it was any less embarrassing.

"It's not like you and Maggie don't make out." Aiden scoffed.

»

Aiden stood between the two fences with her army green handled machete in her hand. She stabbed the walkers through the fence, there was getting to be too many. And the last thing they wanted was for the walkers to get into the prison.

Karen stood a little ways down from her, stabbing the walkers through the fence. Aiden's eyebrows suddenly furrowed. "What the hell," she muttered to herself, her head cocking to the side. In front of her, was a walker. But this walker had trails of blood down its face, starting at its eyes.

"Karen, you see this?" She called out to the older woman. Karen looked over at her and then glanced at the walker.

"Yeah, what the hell?" Karen quizzed. She eyes the walker before Aiden stabbed it in the eye. She yanked her machete out of its eye socket and grimaced down at it.

"I ain't ever seen something like that before. Only in movies." Aiden stated.

"Me either."

»

The group returned without Zack that evening. Aiden had been informed by Sasha everything that happened.

Bob crashed into a shelf of drinks and that resulted in the shelf falling on him and trapping him. Walkers then began to fall through the roof of the Big Spot and soon a helicopter did. Zack was the only one lost in the run.

Daryl had gone to tell Beth, who was seeing Zack.

"How'd she take it?" Aiden asked Daryl once he walked back into their cell.

"She didn't even cry." He stated and took off his boots.

"You need a day off, babe." Aiden told him and Daryl glared at her.

"I'm fine." He climbed into the bed beside her. The two had made their cell much more homely. They had pushed both the mattress together to make a larger bed. They had a curtain up for privacy and they had a small desk in the corner of the room. The desk held their clothes, some weapons, and stop it sat a couple books, the pictures Carl found Aiden, and her and Payton's police badges.

The wall had a couple drawing and paintings the kids made them because to the people from Woodbury. Aiden and Daryl were like celebrities.

But they were never unprepared. Under their bed was two backpacks full of supplies incase they ever needed to leave.

"Dare?" Aiden asked after five minutes of them being in bed, "are you still awake?"

Her only response was him grunting.

"You think we'll ever have kids?" She asked. Daryl turned towards her with a scrunched up nose.

"You want a kid?" He asked her.

"I mean, this place is safe enough and we've been together for what- since the farm? Could we even count that?" Aiden mumbled.

"I never really saw myself havin' kids." Daryl said. "But, I guess, one day we'll have a kid."

"You would really want one?" Aiden asked him.

"Yeah." Daryl sucked in a breathe and sat up. "Sit up."

Aiden obeyed and day up. "Uh- so, I've her thinkin' a lot here lately and after today I decided now is the time." Daryl said and pulled two rings out of his pocket. Aiden's jaw dropped.

"Are you asking me to marry you?"

"That's what I'm askin'." Daryl blushed.

"Yes, Dixon, I'll marry you." She grinned. Daryl leaned in and kissed her.

Daryl slowly crawled atop her and began kissed down her neck. Aiden laughed, "it tickles." Daryl laughed against her neck.

»

Aiden sat on her and Daryl's bed toying with her new rings when she heard the gunshots. She shot up, grabbing her machete from the desk and taking off towards where the noise was coming from.

Cell Block D.

The people from Woodbury.

Her jaw dropped at the chaos. Walkers were everywhere. "Holy fuck."

A high pitched scream rattled Aiden to her bones. She looked to her left and saw a walker trying to get at one of the kids. Aiden knew her name as Ellie. Aiden quickly pulled out her pistol and fired a bullet into the walkers head.

She quickly ran towards the little girl and grabbed her up by her arm, "let's get you to Karen."

Aiden and Ellie both ran over to Karen, "keep this kids safe." Aiden said to her and ran off to help the others.

Aiden let a bullet pierce another walker before yelling from people to get into their cells and shut the doors. Suddenly she felt a hand at her hair. She grunted at the grip of the walker. She felt it pulling itself closer to her neck. Aiden tried to pull herself from its grasp but this motherfucker was strong. She felt the teeth just inched from her skin before it was ripped off of her. Daryl threw the walker against the wall and bashed its head against the concrete wall.

Daryl quickly turned to her and grabbed her face with one of his hands, he tilted her head to the side. "You okay?"

She only nodded.

After several minutes of screams, death, and pure panic all the walkers were dead. "

"Oh, it's Patrick." Daryl stated as him, Rick, Glenn, and Aiden stared down at the walker that attacked Glenn.

»

"Patrick was fine yesterday and he died overnight." Carol said to the council. "Two people died that quick? We'll have to separate everyone that's been exposed."

"That's everyone in that cell block. That's all of us. Maybe more." Daryl said.

"We know that the sickness can be lethal. We don't know how easily it spreads. Is anyone else showing symptoms that we know of?" Hershel asked.

"We can't just wait and see. There's children. It isn't just the illness. If people die, they become a threat." Aiden spoke up.

"We need a place for them to go. They can't stay in D. We can't rush going in there to clean it up." Hershel said.

"We can use cell block A." Carol suggested.

"Death row?" Glenn's nose scrunched up, "I'm not sure that's much of an upgrade."

"It's clean. That's an upgrade. Think that'll work for Dr. S?" Daryl asked Hershel.

"I'll help Caleb get it set up." The conversation was cut short when they heard coughing from outside.

The six stood and walked outside the library and saw Tyreese and Karen.

"You don't sound so good." Carol said to her.

"I'm just taking her back to my cell so she can rest." Tyreese informed them.

"Tyreese, I don't think that's a good idea." Hershel said to him.

"Why? What's going on?" Karen asked them worriedly.

"We think it's a flu or something. That's how Patrick died." Glenn replied.

"And Charlie." Aiden added.

"Judith was in that cell block. She's vulnerable. Anyone that may be sick or even exposed should stay away." Hershel walked forward.

"It killed Patrick?"

"She's gonna be okay. Now that we know what Patrick died from we can treat it, right?" Tyreese asked.

"Don't panic. We're going to figure this out. But we should keep you separated in the mean time. We'll have Caleb take a look at you. I'll see what we have in the way of medications." Hershel said.

"David from the Decatur group, he's been coughing, too." Karen told them.

"I'll get him." Glenn said and started to walk off before stopping, "there's some empty clean cells in the tombs, right?"

"Yeah, we'll need you there."

"Come on. Let's get you settled." Tyreese, Karen, and Sasha all walked off.

"We'll have to call another meeting." Hershel said to the remaining three.

"Alright. I'll get to burying them dead ones." Daryl said.

"I'll help you." Aiden said.

"You two wears gloves and a mask." Hershel told them sternly.

________________________________

word count: 1,456
episodes: 30 days without an accident & infected

and that's that! the first edited chapter of act two! i added a little more to a couple scenes before they were all so short.

happy thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it!! i hope you all pigged out on turkey and mashed potatoes.

the first chapter of act two and it sucks ass. but daryl proposed to aiden. so now they're husband and wife and i couldn't be happier.

we all know what happened after he proposed 🤭😉.

but aiden & him discussing kids made me go:🥰🥺🥰🥺🥰🥺🥰🥺