THIRTY ONE. inhale and exhale

The prisoners had made their introductions on the way to the courtyard. Adeline was shy of doing the same, considering she was weary of their every move. She was tempted to question exactly why they were put into prison in the first place. But for some reason, that knowledge was to the least of her brothers worry. When on the road, the siblings could only agree on one thing - keeping the group safe and alive. Adeline struggled with getting her mindset in the right place to be able to work alongside him, to keep him alive when he killed the man she loved.

She found herself talking to him when it was in order to save Hershels life - but every time she caught a glimpse of hope in his eyes that their relationship was actually fixed, she regretted speaking a single word to him. When it came to her brother, forgiveness for what he had done was the last thing on her decaying mind. She strongly believed forgiveness was far down the line, nearing impossible. But the group hoped that sooner or later, she would put aside their differences and talk to him.

Boots padded against the concrete stairs, sunlight peeking out of the open door that the prisoners made their way out of. When stepping foot into the light, the first thing her eyes were greeted with was the rusted grate that caged around the staircase. Adeline crossed her arms over her chest uncomfortably and stood next to T-Dog, the two of them walking down the stairs with similar looks of weariness on their faces.

"Damn, this sun feels good." Oscar, one of the prisoners, rejoiced in the warmth. Spreading his arms out, he craned his chin to the blue sky and avoided looking at the dead bodies littering the courtyard.

Axel on the other hand, took notice of every single body against the concrete. "Good lord. They're all dead." He commented, not even acknowledging the sunlight that he had failed to receive for almost a year straight.

The cocky one with the gun that Adeline felt cautious towards, Tomas, swung his arms out and popped his bones. "Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences." He spoke, looking around at the walkers that clang helplessly to the metal rings of the fences.

"You never said," Andrew, the shorter and smaller one of the bunch, spoke while turning to face Daryl. "How the hell did you get here in the first place?" He inquired, his hands wrapped around a random keyboard he had found on the ground.

Daryl motioned towards the tower while Adeline watched his movements from her position next to the stairs, "Cut a hole in that fence over there by that guard tower." He informed- his crossbow swinging by his legs.

"That easy, huh?" Andrew retorted, causing the redneck to shrug and look to him with squinted eyes - "Where there's a will, there's a way." He spoke nonchalantly.

Big Tiny poked at one of the dead walkers on the ground with the pipe he held, its skin squishing nastily from the touch. Scrunching his nose, he turned his head to Rick who stood by the stairs, "So what is this, like a disease?"

"Yeah," Rick answered while looking around the courtyard with squinted eyes. "and we're all infected."

The sudden information caused the prisoners to look up from wherever they stood, sending confused expressions to the survivors who stood in a place of calamity with the words. They were used to it, although they had the same faces when Rick told them. "What do you mean infected?" Axel retorted, furrowing his eyebrows. "Like AIDS or something?" He continued.

"If I was to kill you, shoot an arrow in your chest, you'd come back as one of these things." Daryl spoke up, eyes shifting to Adeline who tiredly leaned against the cage surrounding the stairs. "It's gonna happen to all of us." She added, her voice raspy from the lack of water.

Tomas furrowed his brows and looked to the survivors with disbelief, "Ain't no way these Robin Hood cats are responsible for killing all these freaks. Must be fifty bodies out here." he continued while turning to face them. "Where'd you come from?"

"Atlanta." Rick answered curtly, his face turned to the ground before he moved it to look at Tomas. The mention of the city caused Adeline to shift on her feet, memories flashing around her mind of the people they had lost.

"Where you headed?" Tomas continued, walking closer to them with squinted eyes. Rick turned on his feet and met the prisoners eyes, "For now, nowhere."

Nodding, he looked down to the courtyard and motioned towards a small section. "I guess you can take that area down there near the water. Should be comfortable." Tomas offered, causing a scoff to splutter from the woman's lips at his words.

"We're using that field for crops." Adeline swallowed her frustration and eyed the man, she propped her foot up against the grate and kept her sharp stare glued to him.

"We'll help you move your gear out, lady." Tomas continued, expecting to get a rise out of the woman only for her brother to step in.

"That won't be necessary." Rick spoke, "We took out these walkers. This prison is ours." He asserted with a rough tone while keeping his hand at the hilt of his gun.

The prisoner took a step closer, "Slow down, cowboy."

"You snatched the locks off our doors," Andrew started, stepping to stand next to Tomas with his attempts at an intimidating face.

"We'll give you new locks, if that's how you want it." The leader assured - raising the melee he had in his hand as he talked. Tomas threw his arms out, "This is our prison. We were here first."

With a conniving smile, Rick stepped forward and eyed the prisoner. "Locked in a broom closet? We took it, set you free. It's ours. We spilled blood." He seethed, his sister shifting on her feet and placing the palm of her hand on one of her throwing knives as the prisoners moved.

"We're moving back into our cell block," Tomas spoke with an assuring tone. From what Daryl had told them, the same cell block he was talking about was the one their group was stationed at. Their proclaimed home.

"You're gonna have to get your own." Adeline recommended from behind her brother - pushing her body off of the cage around the stairs and moving to stand closer.

The prisoner moved his eyes to her, "It is mine. I've still got personal artifacts in there. That's about as mine as it gets," Tomas sneered, untucking the gun from the front of his jeans which resulted in Daryl raising his crossbow towards the man. T-Dog unholstered his pistol, moving closer to the siblings who stood side by side with unfazed faces at the prisoners attempts at a threat.

Axel was quick to jump in, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Maybe let's try to make this work out so everybody wins." He hushed, all of them circled in together with sharp eyes towards each other. Daryl stood next to Adeline, his body positioned in front of hers slightly, noticing as her hand slowly inched its way to her machete.

"I don't see that happening." Tomas articulated, his voice itching at the woman's nerves and causing her to grow more frustrated by the second. "Neither do I," Rick chided calmly, eyes sharply set on the man before them.

"I ain't going back in that cafeteria for one more minute." The prisoner continued, his friend stepping closer to the survivors - "There are other cell blocks." Axel reminded calmly.

Daryl tightened his grip on his crossbow, "Or you could leave." He implied with a sharp tone that cut through the tense air. "Try your luck out on the road."

Tomas breathed deeply, sparing a look that lasted no longer than five seconds to his friends. "If these four pussies can do all this, the least we can do is take out another cell block." He suppressed his wants and eyed the four of them.

"With what?" Big Tiny inquired, their vacancy of weapons becoming a problem when killing walkers.

"Atlanta here will spot us some real weapons. Won't you, boss?" Tomas questioned, causing Adeline to shift on her feet and and look to Daryl with reluctant eyes. He had the same expression wavering over his, hidden behind his crossbow.

Rick shared the same look, "How stocked is that cafeteria?" He interrogated the prisoners. "It must have plenty of food. Five guys lasting almost a year?"

"Sure as hell don't look like anybody's been starving," Daryl commented, shifting the sights of his crossbow to Big Tiny who looked down to the concrete.

Tomas eyed the survivors, "There's only a little left."

"We'll take half." Rick dealt, nodding his head. "In exchange, we'll help clear out a cell block."

"Didn't you hear him?" Andrew snapped, his eyes sharpened into a glare. "There's only a little left."

Adeline curled her hand around her machete, "I bet you've got more food than choices." she spoke in a sarcastic tone; waiting for one of them to make the wrong move.

Rick agreed with his sisters words, "You pay, we'll play. We'll clear out a block for you, then you keep to it."

Nodding reluctantly, Tomas eyed them. "Alright." He agreed, allowing Adeline to let her machete slid back down into its sheathe and remain by her side.

"But let's be clear," Her brother started back up, "if we see you out here anywhere near our people, if I so much as even catch a whiff of your scent, I will kill you." Rick assured with an assertive tone, a cocky smirk lacing his sisters lips at the snarled nose of Tomas.

The prisoner shifted on his feet at the man's close vicinity, "Deal." He spoke reluctantly - a weight lifting off the survivors shoulders. A relief that they didn't have to kill him to keep what they fought for.

After getting the food, they realized it was ten times more than just a little left. Returning back to the cell block, hands full of cans and supplies that will keep them going for a while, Adeline checked in on Hershel and made sure she was free to go. The bleeding had slowed down, the sterile gauze she had left over saving his life. Rick attempted to ask her to stay back just in case anything happened to the old man, but before she could argue back - Carol assured that she had it covered.

Standing in front of a small metal table, they watched as the prisoners picked up the melee weapons they had laid out for them on the surface. Adeline crossed her arms over her chest, chewing on her bottom lip while tapping her boot against the floor impatiently.

"Why do I need this?" Tomas started, motioning towards the crowbar he had picked up before untucking the gun from his jumpsuit, "When I got this?" He boasted.

"You don't fire guns, not unless your back's up against a wall. Noise attracts them." Daryl spoke from beside Adeline, his hand curled around the strap of his bow. "It really riles them up."

"We'll go in two by three. Daryl will run point with T. I'll bring up the rear with Adeline and you." Rick instructed, motioning towards Big Tiny who nodded his head. Just as Adeline went to reject his idea, she caught the eyes of the man next to her which resulted in a memory flashing through her mind.

A MONTH ON THE ROAD.

Pushing open the door, Adeline made her way out of the building they had decided to camp in overnight. Winter struck the group hard, the heat of the fire leaving her body as she stepped outside into the cold. Her body trembling as almost an immediate reaction, hands curling around her arms in attempts to keep herself warm.

The chuckles coming from inside faded away, the first night they had where they could let their guard down and be a family again. But not for her. Adeline had began to feel excluded, the sympathetic stares that were constantly sent her way building up only to break her down. Without the warmth of her husbands arms, she feared she would always go cold.

The jacket she wore was his own, one she had packed in her bag. Most of their items were left in the farms wake, their wedding pictures they had packed - his clothes, his hat, everything that yelled him. But his jacket was the only thing she had left, and she held onto it like someone was trying to take it away. The grief crawled up her spine every second when calamity welcomed her, reminding her of what she had lost and what she had to live without.

"Thought you hated the cold?" The familiar southern drawl of Daryl Dixon pulled through her mind, his body keeping watch from atop one of the cars.

Adeline shrugged her shoulders, climbing onto the hood of the vehicle and sitting next to the man. Their legs hung off of the edge, his body scooting over slightly to give her more room. "I do. But I like it more than being in there."

"You can't ignore him forever." Daryl muttered, careful of his words. For the past month, he saw how easily she broke when someone said the wrong thing. He saw the fire of anger in her eyes, and he found himself not wanting to be on the receiving end of her hatred.

Avoiding his eyes, she curled her fingers around the cold metal of the cars roof and sighed deeply. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself a minute to calm down. "I know." Adeline admitted reluctantly, her body trembling from the snow that danced from the sky. "I'm just not ready... not right now."

"Alright, you'll know when you are." He assured quietly, his voice raspy. Daryl looked over to the woman, noticing the slight shake of her body from the cold. Carefully, he pulled the poncho over his head and placed it over hers in one swift movement. "You two work better as a team, anyways."

PRESENT

Keeping her mouth shut, she remembered the eight words Daryl Dixon had spoken to her and allowed her brother to continue on with his words. Rick eyed 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." He spoke with a stern tone.

"And that's where you aim." Adeline spoke up, backing her brothers words. "Unless you want them to keep coming, you hit the brain. That's the only thing that'll kill them." She informed, her fingers curled around her machete.

Tomas rolled his eyes at her words, "You ain't gotta tell us how to take out a man." He assured, looking to his friends with a cocky face. T-Dog stepped forward, "They ain't men. They're something else."

"Just remember to go for the brain." Rick breathed, grabbing the prison keys off of the table before allowing Daryl to lead them out of the room.

A few minutes passed and the survivors found themselves walking the dark corridors with strangers, flashlights raised high and weapons ready for an attack. Adeline went without her riot vest this time, the item left in the cafeteria when Hershels leg was amputated. She stayed next to her brother, the handle of her machete wrapped tightly in her grasp.

The slight shuffle of feet alerted Axel, "It's coming!" He yelled - an immediate Shh! leaving Ricks lips at his loud words that bounced off of the walls around them. The familiar snarls and growls from walkers caused the group to stop in their step, careful eyes watching as two stalkers rounded the corner up head and caught sight of them.

In the blink of an eye, the prisoners broke rank and charged after the walkers. Adeline, Rick, Daryl, and T-Dog watched with unimpressed eyes as they held the walkers arms behind their backs and started slicing at their stomachs and punching them. Aiming for every place except the head, the woman ran a gloved hand over her face and sighed deeply at the sight.

"Should we?" She started to question, looking at the men on either side of her. T-Dog pursed his lips and shook his head, "Let's just give them a second..." He replied, a nod coming from the woman while they waited.

When two minutes passed and the walkers remained alive, the survivors stepped up to the plate. Adeline unsheathed her machete and stepped forward, pulling Axel away from a walker (which he had stabbed in the stomach at least fifty times) she sent the sharp blade into its head. When it fell limp, Big Tiny released its strong hold on the stalker and allowed it to fall to the floor as the three other survivors took care of the other.

With one swift shot of an arrow, they were moving back down the corridor. Turning a corner, one walker stumbled through a doorway and neared them. "It's gotta be the brain." Daryl reminded them, "Not the stomach, not the heart - the brain." He pressed, one of his arrows imbedding itself into the head of the walker which killed it.

Axel nodded as another walker stumbled through, "I hear you. The brain." He repeated, Oscar stepping forward to send his weapon into the stalkers head. It fell dead, the man turning to look back at the survivors with wide eyes - "Like that?" He questioned.

"Gold star for you," Adeline spoke in a monotone voice, two more stalkers coming through the doorway. Axel took care of the first, leaving the last one for Rick who stepped through the group and roared his knife into its skull.

"Stay in tight formation. No more prison riot crap." Her brother instructed, Adeline staying towards the back with Big Tiny who held his pipe to his chest as more walkers filtered through the doorway.

The men in the front took care of the stalkers, a sudden loud growl to her right causing her to turn her head and spot four walkers nearing them. "Oh shit," Adeline muttered, shoving her elbow into the man's arm next to her who nodded reluctantly and followed after her.

Raising her leg, she kicked her foot into one of the walkers chest and sent it flying to the ground. Hurriedly, she roared her machete back and imbedded it into the brain of one of the other walkers. When it fell to the ground, her blade was stuck in its thick skull which pulled her to the floor with it. A grunt left her lips, body falling right next to the one she had kicked over.

It's hand reached out to her bare arm, the only thing she wore being the tank top covered in blood. Before it's nails could scratch her skin, she was quick to pull one of her throwing knives out and set up. Sitting her knees on both sides of the walker, she slammed the small blade into its forehead repeatedly until it reached its brain and killed it.

Loud gunshots rang out from above her, causing her body to flinch and cower towards the dead walker as the bullets landed into the last walker who had just attacked Big Tiny. One of the bullets whizzed into the concrete by her head, a burning anger roaring through her as she slid her throwing knife into its sheathe and tugged her machete from the skull of the other walker.

The cold metal of her husbands necklace clashed with her blood stained skin as she raised up, sharp eyes cutting into Tomas who lowered his gun and looked to her. "Work on your aim, dumb ass." Adeline seethed, sliding her machete into its sheathe and stumbling back - her heart racing in her chest.

Glancing over to Big Tiny, she caught sight of the scratch marks that poured with blood on the back of his shoulder. He cupped the wound, fingers dripping with blood as the whole group took notice of it. "It's just a scratch, I barely even feel it. I'll be fine." He assured, turning to face the group.

Rick raised his flashlight, examining the wound on the man's back. "I'm telling you, I don't feel anything. It's just a scratch." Big Tiny repeated, turning away from the bright light on his back. "I can keep fighting."

"You cut that old guy's leg off to save his life," Andrew spoke up, standing next to Adeline who leaned against the wall tiredly. She looked to him, "Look at where the mark is. You can't cut that off." She told the prisoners.

"Guys, I'm fine!" Big Tiny yelled, glancing to the woman. "Just... I'm fine. Look at me, I'm not changing into one of those things." He assured, the survivor lowering her head in denial at his words.

Oscar shifted on his feet, "You're a doctor, right? There has to be something we can do. We could just lock him up, quarantine him." He listed - the group around them avoiding their eyes.

"We gotta do something. Why you just standing there? You gotta save him!" Andrew yelled you Adeline, Rick stepping forward at his words. "There's nothing she can do. She's tried it before." He informed the prisoners.

"I'm alri-" Big Tiny started, but before he could finish his sentence - a crowbar was swung into his head. Adeline flinched at the sudden movement, blood splattering across her face as Tomas bashed the man's head in repeatedly in front of her. The crimson decorated his and hers skin, body stumbling away from the wall and towards Daryl in fearful shock.

The redneck pulled the woman behind him, noticing the look of shock glazing over her eyes. Tomas finished, sharing a looming stare with Rick that she would notice from a mile away. Insanity. The same one that took her husbands familiarity away from her - the same one that ruined her life. And the way he stared at her brother, caused her to fear that Tomas would attempt the same thing Shane did. To try and kill him.

Pulling the group back together, Adeline snapped out of her shocked stage and shakily wiped away at the blood that splattered her face. Daryl walked alongside her next to Rick, handing her his red bandana which she grabbed thankfully and rubbed down her face to rid of the blood. Her boots padded against the concrete ground, hand curled around her unsheathed machete just in case the prisoner tried anything.

"You see the look on his face?" Daryl questioned her brother. voice lowered and out of range for Tomas. "He makes one move, just give us a signal." He continued, including Adeline in his words who nodded slowly and handed the bandana back to him.

T-Dog creaked a door open, leading them into what looked like a laundromat. A sign hung above a set of double doors on the other end of the room caused Adeline to realize they were about to venture into CELL BLOCK D. Making sure the room was vacant of walkers, the only thing that remained was the echoes of snarls and growls on the other side of the door.

Rick threw the keys at Tomas's feet, the man looking down at the metal and furrowing his blood stained brows. "I ain't opening that." He rejected, stepping away.

"Yes, you are." The leader pressed, "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." Rick continued while keeping his flashlights light pinned on the doors.

Bending down, Tomas picked up the keys and reluctantly looked to the group before walking towards the doors. Twisting the metal into the locks, Adeline took notice of how Andrew stepped away from the doors after the look Tomas had given him. Furrowing her brows, she turned to the man who unlocked the doors - "You bitches ready?" He questioned, sharing a look with them.

In one quick tug, he slung both of the doors open and stumbled towards the back of the room. "I said one door!" Rick yelled, a dozen walkers filtering into the room towards the survivors.

"Shit happens!" Tomas yelled, pushing through the group and swinging his crowbar into the head of a walker.

Adeline cursed underneath her breath, stepping in between her brother and the man. With a rushed swing, she took down two walkers at once as her blade cut through their brains. Roaring her leg, she sent her boot into ones chest which caused it to fall to the ground where Daryl sent an arrow into its head. Having no time to say thanks, she kept swinging her machete into the walkers brains that neared her.

Stepping forward, she turned her head back just in time for Tomas to take a strong swing towards her brother with his crowbar. Her guard was torn down by a feeling of anger, the prisoner wrapping his hands around her arms and shoving her into her brothers body which sent the two of them flying back into the concrete ground.

A cry of pain ripped through her as the blade of her machete sliced through her jeans and into her thigh, Rick carefully rolling her body off of his. Another walker was sent stumbling towards the two of them, landing on top of her brother as she sit up and scooted back into one of the washers behind her.

Before she could get one of her throwing knives out to take down the walker on Rick, Daryl rushed over to the siblings and sent his knife into the head of the stalker. Pulling it off of her brother, he helped Rick up to his feet and rushed over to Adeline who cupped her hand to the bleeding wound on her thigh.

"Rick!" She called out, her arm thrown around Daryls shoulder as he pulled her up from the ground. Turning around to face his sister, he noticed the machete in her hands extended out towards him. Rick looked at her eyes, following her stare who was glued onto Tomas who had their back to them.

Nodding in confirmation, he curled his fingers around the handle of the machete and turned away from his sister. Stalking over to Tomas, the man's chest heaved up and down while he shrugged his shoulders - "I pulled her away from them, bro." He breathed, glancing back to Adeline who kept her hand pressed to her newfound wound.

Rick eyed him, "Yeah, yeah... I get it." He mumbled, tightening the grip on his sisters machete as he shifted on his feet. "Shit happens." He mocked, hurling the sharp blade back before sending it into Tomas's skull.

The dead prisoner fell to his knees, which left Rick to kick his body off of the blade and turn to Andrew who charged towards him with his bloodied bat raised high. Sending his boot into the short man's chest, he fell to the ground before crawling to his feet and running out of the room.

"I got him." Rick assured, taking off after the boy.

-- AUTHORS NOTE...

ehehkelekekeksoe so... adelines machete may be very familiar in this book. if you remember, there's a shit ton of iconic moments with a machete and as u can see ;);) shes about to find some red tape for the handle SLWKSK