Serena woke up to the sounds of soft voices coming from a few cells down from hers. She yawned and raised her arms above her head and stretches. Not a bad night's sleep after having to lay on wet grass or a concrete floor for months. A real bed—a roof over her head—and a loyal group of survivors who she felt can be trusted. A rare refuge in this new chaotic world ruled by the undead.

It was early morning and the sun was just rising, illuminating most of the cell block. She pushes herself to sit up and rubs her eyes. Once her feet touch the floor, her vision refocuses on a half empty plastic bottle of water by her feet. Then, an unpleasant realization dawns on her. They are rapidly running out of supplies. If they can't get to the cafeteria soon, they will either have to go on another run or come up with another plan—and fast!

After taking a swig of water to satisfy her dry mouth, Serena runs her fingers through her wavy dark brown hair and sighs, wondering what they are going to do once they run out of food and water. She worries not about herself, but about Lori and her unborn baby. She knows a pregnant mother needs a great deal of vitamins and nutrients in order to sustain a healthy delivery. Down the hallway, she can now make out the faint whispering of Lori and Hershel talking about something she can't quite understand.

Serena knew the discussion was unpleasant the moment her head peaked into the small jail cell. Lori was in tears and Hershel's hand was resting on her shoulder, comforting her sobbing. Both of their heads turn to her the moment she walks into the darkened room, clearly disrupting a personal exchange between them. Just then, Hershel unexpectedly stands up and walks straight towards her. Serena's body freezes in place, worried that she may have overstepped some sort of boundary.

"Hey—can I talk to you?" The older man asked softly, guiding her outside and into the hallway. At this point, Serena thought he was going to reprimand her for eavesdropping on a private conversation. But when Hershel spoke again, his words instantly made her feel at ease.

"I need you to stay here where it's safe," Hershel spoke softly. "And look after Lori. She's been through a lot with everything that's happened recently."

"Of course, but why me?" Serena asked. She did not want to sound rude, but surely there are others in the group who knew Lori better than she did. "Don't you all need my help?"

"Don't worry about us. We've done this many times before. You are the most experienced medic amongst us. We need you here—in case things go wrong for us in there," he begged as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, looking down at her with pleading eyes. "Please."

Serena nodded, "Ok. I'll do my best."

"Thank you, Serena. We're all counting on you," he said with a smile. Hershel has been nothing but comforting and welcoming since she joined this group. He always vouched for her when some of the others wanted her to leave. She owes him dearly and will do whatever she can to help him and the rest of the group.

***

Serena joins Lori's side by the railing, looking down at the rest of the group gathering their weapons. An unsettling feeling washing over her as she watches them prepare for a messy encounter with another herd of walkers. She hopes she can still be useful from here.

"So—you ain't comin'? Daryl barked up at her, resting his crossbow over his right shoulder.

Serena opened her mouth to speak, but Hershel interrupted her, "Actually—I asked her to stay here—just in case."

"That's a good idea," Rick agreed with a nod before turning his attention to his son. "Carl, I need you to stay here as well."

"But I can help," Carl protested.

"I know," Rick ordered, handing his son a pistol and the keys to the cell block. "But I need you to look after things while we're gone—you think you can do that?"

"Yes, dad," he gave into his father's demands as he grabs the gun and the keys.

***

With an angry grunt, Daryl sucked on his teeth bitterly as he dashed over to the metal gate, turning his back to Rick and Carl. He was still quite annoyed about the meeting yesterday, how Rick always weighed in so heavily on how the group should handle everything.

To make matters worse, he found it more difficult than normal to fall asleep that night. He couldn't get the images of Serena out of his head. She was a beautiful, graceful, samurai out in that field yesterday. How she twirled and spun around with her machete, taking down the herd without showing fear.

He's not sure why this new girl has affected him in such a way. Yet there was something captivating in watching her inner toughness and mental focus. And now it was very clear that there was something beneath her smiles and casual nature. He had to grudgingly admit to himself that he has now developed a modest amount of respect for her.

Sleep did eventually take him, though it was intermittent. He was tortured by dreams of the dark-haired woman, whirling her way through a squirming horde of walking corpses. He kept picturing her standing next to him in the courtyard, those big brown eyes as she gazed at him. But he knows she hates him. Probably for the best. Intimate relationships aren't necessary for survival, at least this is what he keeps telling himself.

***

As the group got ready to move deeper inside the prison, chaos ensues as they get separated. This didn't help in calming Daryl's nerves, especially when he hears Hershel calling for Maggie, which is drawing more walkers to their location. Daryl hisses with frustration as he stomps on the skull of a walker that fell over.

Daryl rounds a corner with T-dog and there's a crowd of corpses separating them from the rest of their team. The two of them start killing walkers as fast as they could in order to get to them. When Daryl notices Hershel on the ground, he chokes out the old man's name as he kills the last walker with a bolt from his crossbow.

A chunk of flesh was missing from Hershel's leg, blood pouring out onto the floor as the old man kept crying out in pain. Maggie was frantic, but the group manage to drag the old man through a pair of double doors. To everyone's surprise, a few prisoners survived and have been locked inside the cafeteria for months. T-dog and Daryl focus on the inmates and aim their weapons at them.

"Don't move, assholes!" Daryl snarls at the men while Rick comes up with a hasty and desperate decision to safe Hershel's life.

***

Back at the cell block, all was quiet but tensions were high. Serena could hear the soft rustling of fabric as Lori shifted her weight on one of the beds, as well as low voices back and forth as Beth conversed with Carl on the first floor.

Without the use of an ultrasound, all Serena could do is check Lori's vitals, look for any swelling and the position of the baby in the womb. These were just some of the routine prenatal check ups for any pregnant mother. For Serena, it was second nature.

After reassuring Lori that her baby appeared healthy, Serena went to sit alone in her bunk, anxiously fidgeting as she waits for the task force to return. She doesn't know how long it's been since she saw them leave.

It's probably been only a few minutes since she saw Carl lock the gate behind them. Her hands were trembling from the stress. The uncertainty was killing her and she couldn't sit still any longer. The moment she moves to stand up, she hears Rick shouting his son's name as the metallic gate swings open violently.

Serena watches the team rush into the cell block in a panic, carrying an unconscious Hershel who somehow managed to lose his leg. She doesn't have a lot of knowledge about amputations. Some patients would come into the ER with missing fingers or toes, but never a leg!

She has the basic understanding—stop the bleeding, control the heart rate, and finally reattach the missing limb if possible. But this was unexpected. Without the necessary resources or supplies, saving the old man's life would be one of the biggest challenge of her life.

"How did this happen?" Serena calls out as she dashed down the stairs with Lori.

Rick's head whips around at them and he snaps out, "He was bitten!"

Once inside the cell, the sheets, floor, and metal posts of the bunk were already soaked and smeared with blood. Hershel was laid on the bottom bunk, his leg missed under the knee, his pants ripped out of the way, his skin was sweaty and pale. Maggie and Beth clung to one another, their red eyes were wide like saucers as they wept.

"We found survivors," Rick says in a daze as Serena's body stiffens up, unsure of what to do. But her instincts kick in once Carol spoke.

"We need more blankets!" Carol calls out as she runs to grab clean sheets from another cell. Serena moves to place her fingers on the man's neck, checking his pulse. She closed her eyes and counted the thumps. His pulse was weak but regular. She stepped back to briefly look over her shoulder, seeing all the faces that is crowding the room, all staring at her. What she saw was the concern they shared for this man, and the love in the cell was palpable.

"How bad is it? Will he be okay?" Beth cried in a reedy voice.

"His pulse is steady but weak. We have to stop the bleeding. Raise his leg up. We should get some fluids into him, keep him hydrated," Serena announced, resting his leg up on her shoulder as blood dripping down her back. Lori and Carol quickly returned carrying bed sheets. They hesitated for a moment, but then moved to hand Serena the blankets and followed her directions.

"Carol, come here," Serena shouts as she wrapped Hershel's leg with a clean sheet. "Put pressure here," she instructed and points to the end of the missing limb. Once the leg was firmly swathed with bedding and wrapped with a belt as a tourniquet, Serena moved to sit on her knees by his side and drew a long inhale.

"What do we do now?" Lori asked.

"We wait and hope for the best," Serena answered.