—  ZOE HAD BECOME USED TO RUSHING away from a certain area at this point, whether she and the group would find someplace they thought was safe, that was all ruined when a group of walkers would come and ruin it. So, when the group had to rush away from the house they had found, once again, she didn't feel anything, and neither did Nate, they simply followed the others in attempt to find their next safe place. The car ride was silent, while the couple sat hand in hand.. They didn't feel like they needed to talk, with the two of them practically being able to read each others minds at this point, having spent so much time together.
After trying to figure out which direction the group should be going in, to try and avoid the two herds that threatened to trap them in, Rick and Daryl had headed off for a hunt to see if they could find a reliable source of food, mostly for Lori and the unborn baby, when they stumbled across an abandoned prison that looked like it hadn't been touched since the outbreak had first occurred.
Everyone was sceptical at first, not wanting to waste their already low supplies on getting into the prison and taking the walkers inside out, but when Rick had explained what he thought the prison could bring, they eventually all agreed. Zoe still went with what her father always suggested, just like she had always done, even before the outbreak. She may not be on best terms with him, or her mom for that matter, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever they were going through, so Zoe tried her best to ignore the two of them when she had a chance, knowing more problems would arise if she didn't.

So, at the moment, the group were silently trekking through the woods and towards the fence outside of the prison, staying back as Rick got his pliers out and cut a hole in the fence for everyone to get through, making sure to make as little noise as possible with the amount of walkers around. Everyone stood around in a small circle, with their backs to each other, sticking close, except when a walker would come too close, and someone on the outside would quickly deal with it. When Rick finally got the gate open, one by one, the group would make their way through, before Glenn quickly shut it off with a strong wire of their own, before they all jogged through the gated area, getting to the main entrance.

"It's perfect." Rick spoke up, looking at the field in front of him, picturing a perfect place for him and the group to reside in without the fear of being overrun again. "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." He explained.

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

Zoe looked at the gate her father was referencing, and knew that it wasn't a stretch for her to run their quickly and shut it, after all, she was great at track when she was in high school before the outbreak, one of the best in her team. "I can do it. I'm fast, I'll be able to get in, shut the gate, get to safety in no time." She explained to her father, wanting him to be able to trust her with something big like this.. She knew she could do it.

Nate looked at his girlfriend like she was crazy, not wanting her to go into that field on her own, it was incredibly dangerous and he didn't exactly want to loose her. The farm had been a close call, and he never wanted to be that close to loosing the love of his life again. "No way, it's too dangerous." He spoke up instantly, causing her to roll her eyes at him and his protectiveness.

"You guys can cover me, I can do this, dad." She told Rick, looking straight at him and no one else. As much as she loved Nate, this wasn't his choice, and if she wanted to help out the group by shutting the gate, she was going to do so - the fact that she knew she could do it, made her want to do it that much more.. When her father didn't reply, she sighed, "I'm the fastest and you know it." She told him, crossing her arms.

Rick sighed, seeing the looks that both Nate and Lori were sending him, the two of them obviously not wanting Zoe to go into their, especially on her own, but what she said was right, she was the fastest. "Glenn, Maggie and Beth, draw as many as you can over there, pop them through the fence." Rick spoke up, pointing to an area, while Zoe kept her eyes on her dad, hoping that he would let her do this, "Daryl, Nate, 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." He instructed, before looking back at his daughter with a nod, "Me 'n Zoe will run for the gate." He said.

Zoe smiled in accomplishment, turning around to give Nate a peck on the cheek, before he reluctantly followed his brother, hating the fact that he was about to let his girlfriend risk her life like this. But he knew she wanted to do it, so there was nothing he could do. She instantly pulled out her machete and stretched her arms, getting ready to go in, before Glenn handed Zoe what she needed to shut the gate, causing her to nod in appreciation at him, before he rushed off to get the walkers attention with the others, leaving Zoe, Rick and Lori on their own.

Once Zoe looked at her mother, she smiled at the woman, letting her know that she was going to be okay, she could do this. Back at the farm, she hadn't been able to show her true colours and help out as much as she wanted to, but over the last few months she felt like she had finally earned her place in the group, and she was finally happy with what she did for them, this being one of them.. Rick nodded to Lori, indicating for her to open the door, allowing the father-daughter due to rush into the field, Zoe with her machete and pistol in her holster, while Rick had his pistol out, hoping to avoid confrontation.

She ran in front of him as he shot the walkers around them, clearing a path for the girl as she ran towards the gate in order to get it shut, stopping the other large group of walkers from getting in, shoving her machete through a couple of brains as she did so, splattering her face in new blood. As she shoved her machete through one more head, she felt a breeze from besides her, causing her to look over, only to see an arrow in a walkers head, who was too close to her. When she looked up at the tower, she noticed Nate looking in her direction, causing her to smile up at him, before rushing off once again.
It wasn't long before Zoe finally reached the gate, her father close behind her, as she brought her foot up and kicked a walker back roughly, who was in the way of getting the door shut. Once the walker had gone flying backwards, Zoe quickly unclipped the device in her hands and clipped either side of the gate and the fence to stop the gate from opening once more. When she finally did it, she jumped back when all of the walkers began banging against the fence, trying to get to her.

"C'mon." She heard her dad say, as he grabbed her arm and gently pulled her back towards a tower behind them, one that they could lock themselves in so they wouldn't get overrun. She followed alongside of him as he opened the door for her to enter first.. Seeing a walker already in there, she was quick to raise her machete and bring it down onto their skull, before pulling it back out again and moving so her dad could shut the door, and when he finally did, they were safe. This was when the rest of the group began shooting all of the other walkers dead, taking over the field for themselves, before finally succeeding and leaving their spaces to enter their new and improved home.

Zoe ran down the tower when Nate entered the field with the rest of the group, before laughing at the space they had to be able to roam around in without the worry of a walker jumping any of them. In an instant, Nate was as Zoe's side, picking her up and swinging her around as the two laughed in victory, feeling the happiest they had felt in months. Once he put her down, they engulfed in a long kiss, before pulling apart and resting their foreheads together with huge gleams on their faces at the fact they had cleared out the field in such little time.. This could be their new home. And they could finally catch a break.
 
 
 
 
 
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The night before had been the happiest the group had felt in months, since the farm had been overrun, they all didn't know if they would find another place like it, but this prison was pretty damn close to it. They sat around the fire and ate what Daryl had caught the day before, only for Rick to interrupt that happiness and relaxation, to reveal that he wanted to take the courtyard and the inside of the prison. It had been a reach, as they were low on ammo, but with Rick's speech at how the group could do it, they were quickly convinced. The second Rick had said there would be an infirmary inside, Zoe knew that she wanted to take the prison for themselves, if anything could help her mom, she was going to do it, no questions asked. It had taken the rest of the group a bit of convincing, but in the end, it had worked.. Which led them to where they were now, standing in a tight circle in the courtyard, eyes peeled at the walkers around them.

Even on low energy, due to the lack of food Zoe had received, she was ready as she could ever be. Over the past few months, Zoe would eat the bare minimum so that her mom could eat more to keep herself and the baby healthy. As much as Lori protested, Zoe wouldn't take no for an answer, which is what she did last night, as well as Rick - the two of them making sure Lori, and the baby's safety came before their own.

The small group ventured into the courtyard, each of the group member taking down a walker when one would come near, not using their guns, but their knives or anything sharp, in Zoe's case, her machete, which she used on a daily. Nate stayed close to her, holding his own knife in hand, as the two kept their guard up at the monsters around them, as they ventured forwards, Zoe nearly tripped over a dead walker on the ground, but luckily, Nate had caught her before she had fallen, keeping even closer to her after it happened. He knew that she hadn't been getting nearly enough food as she should be, but she was a stubborn girl, and when she had her mind set on something, there was no changing it, so he couldn't change her mind that she should eat more. Her love for her mother beat everything.

"Get right!" Rick yelled, as more walkers came out from around the corner, indicating that there were a lot more than the group had expected. Even with the others yelling at the other side of the courtyard behind the fence, it didn't stop the walkers from surrounding the group inside. When one walker tried going for Zoe, she sprung forwards and shoved her machete through the prisoners forehead, sending it crashing to the floor, before she yanked her weapon back out, and moved backwards to the circle. "Don't break ranks!" Rick yelled, when Zoe had ventured off to kill a walker, and T-Dog had rushed forwards to pick up a riot shield. "Hey!" Zoe saw that T-Dog had knocked the walker in front of him to the floor, so without thinking, she rushed forwards to shove her machete through its skull. "Zoe!" Rick yelled even angrier at this point.

Pulling her machete back out of the skull, she rushed back towards Nate, who pulled her back in annoyance at the fact she was so willing to break the circle and get hurt. It seemed that ever since the farm, the girl had been trying to prove herself, and he hated it. She had already proved herself over and over again, she just couldn't see it. Rick opened the door to the building, before he saw an open gate, and tonnes of more walkers on the other side, he quickly ushered the others back, all of them ducking behind the wall, panting as they were all out of breath. It made Zoe wish that she hadn't worn her long sleeved top, as she was so hot. Her thoughts on her top had halted when the group saw some walkers in riot gear, their helmets looking impossible for them to get to the skulls.

"Shit." Zoe mumbled, just as another walker in riot gear came walking out of the door and towards her and Maggie. Zoe swung her machete as hard as she could towards the walkers skull, but even with her full strength, the blade didn't even make a dent in the helmet, sending her stumbling backwards, almost falling over, before Maggie kicked it back to help Zoe out.

They were all circling the group who were staying back by the door, three walkers on each Maggie, Zoe, Glenn and Nate, the four of them struggling to keep them back. That was, until Zoe shoved her machete through the walkers chin when it had gotten too close to her. This made it possible to finally put it down, allowing her to step back and catch her breath, as the others had seen exactly what she had just done, copying her actions themselves, finally being able to take out the riot gear walkers. That took the last of Zoe's energy, as she leant her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breathe from the attack of the riot geared walker. Nate saw this, and instantly rushed to her side, practically holding her up as she breathed in and out slowly. "You okay?" He asked her quietly, as the others had their attention on their surroundings, seeing how secure it was for them.

Zoe replied by holding her thumb up, finally being able to stand on her own once she had caught her breathe. "Walker caught me off guard." She told Nate, looking up at him. The two were soaked in sweat and blood, as they looked at each other, having not seen themselves clean in so long. Although, to Zoe, it made Nate look incredibly hot.

"Stop!" Rick shouted out, stopping Glenn as he went to open the gate for the others.

"It looks secure." Glenn replied, shrugging, not seeing anything wrong with the area they had secured.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there." Daryl reasoned, as Zoe and Nate joined the others. "And that's a civilian." He said.

Zoe looked over at the walker on the floor that was indeed, not a prisoner, and she sighed at the sight, hating to think that the prison may be not as secure as they all thought. "So the interior could be overrun from walkers from outside the prison." T-Dog explained, hating to admit it.

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

"If there's a blind spot, we can't risk it, surely?" Zoe asked her dad, knowing as much as him, that they couldn't just push this thought away because they thought they were safe. With Lori pregnant, they just couldn't risk it.

Rick nodded at his daughters statement, seeing how much she had grown since the farm, and being proud of her. "You're right. We have to push in." He said, causing the others to sigh in exhaustion. But after today, they could relax in peace, so it was all worth it in the end..

The next part of the prison they entered watch pitch black, with the only light being from the door they opened, until they shut it, and only one window was illuminating the room. They all slowly walked into the area, wary of their surroundings, as they checked for any walkers. Rick had taken it upon himself to collect the keys for the cell block from the tower, while the others waiting downstairs, ready to enter. All quiet as ever, they entered the cell block that was empty, filled with dead bodies of the prisoners that had been shot dead in their cells. It was a horrible sight, but with a slight clean, Zoe knew that this could be a safe place to sleep and set up their main camp.

It didn't take long to kill the remaining walkers that hadn't been shot through the brain, and clear them out for the others to enter. Zoe and Nate had instantly found their room on the upper floor, where no one else had taken their own cell. Zoe sighed once she entered the cell, seeing a bunk bed, and not exactly wanting to sleep on it. Nate saw this, and smiled when an idea came over him, "Hey, help me with this." He told Zoe, pulling both of the mattresses off of the bunk beds.

Zoe looked towards him with a sight smile, "With what?" She asked.

Nate simply smiled in mischief, before he grabbed the bunk bed frame and pulled it out of the room and to the corner of the hallway where no one would enter. He then grabbed another mattress from the cell next to them, before entering their cell once again, pulling all of the mattresses and making up a double bed of mattresses on the floor. Zoe laughed at the sight, watching as he sorted everything out, before she grabbed the bedding and placed it down on their makeshift bed, now happy that she didn't have to sleep away from him. For the past few months, the two had slept in the car, where they could actually see each other, and a bunk bed wasn't like that, so it didn't exactly excite her when she saw they had to sleep in one. However, this new bed that Nate had made on the floor, was perfect, and it actually allowed the two to finally sleep side by side and have enough room to do so.

Nate grabbed Zoe's hips and pulled her down onto the floor of their mattresses, earning a small squeal to come from the girls mouth as she crashed down onto Nate's body, who clung onto her with a smirk. "How's this for a bed?" He asked, earning a laugh from Zoe as she practically cradled him.

She stroked the side of his face gently, pushing his curled hair out of his eyes so she could look at how beautiful he was. "I love you." She whispered, looking lovingly into his eyes, not ever wanting to look away.

Nate leaned up, bringing his lips to hers, before he flipped over, Zoe now underneath as he pinned her down. "I love you."