𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 || 𝘋𝘙𝘖𝘞𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘐𝘕 𝘚𝘞𝘌𝘈𝘛 𝘈𝘕𝘋 𝘉𝘓𝘖𝘖𝘋
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[ ᴡʜᴇɴ ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ᴄʜɪʟᴅ, ɪ'ᴅ ꜱɪᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴏᴜʀꜱ
ꜱᴛᴀʀɪɴɢ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴏᴘᴇɴ ꜰʟᴀᴍᴇ
ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪɴ ɪᴛ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ᴘᴏᴡᴇʀ
ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴀʀᴇʟʏ ᴛᴇᴀʀ ᴍʏ ᴇʏᴇꜱ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ]

   "WHY DO I get the feeling you said something to Tommy?" Roland blinked tiredly at Emily, who stood at the doorway of the cell. Beth sat at a stool beside the bed, folding their clothes and sorting them accordingly.

He glanced at the blonde, noticing the amused smile on her lips that practically said, "This is your problem. Not mine."

Having gotten no sign of help from Beth, he turned to Emily with a blank expression. "I do not know what you're talking about," Roland feigned innocence. Sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes as Beth placed a grey t-shirt beside him. Letting her hand grab his forearm, brushing her delicate thumb over the scar that scaled quite a large margarin of his skin. "Maybe you should stay away from him. Maybe this is that chance for you."

"I don't want to be a dick, but your brother is younger than me," Emily started. "Tommy is my age. I think I can get along with him better."

"You think or you do?" Roland raised a brow, standing to his feet and slipping his shirt off. Not even showing the tiniest amount of surprise when he was greeted by the girl's deadpan expression.

That protectiveness for Emily had grown over time for Roland. It wasn't something he could just surrender now that there were more people to help. He felt an obligation to protect her and that may be the very problem with what he was faced with. Accepting the fact that she should be allowed to adventure further out and make connections she had stripped away from her when he killed everyone in Mandy's camp. But that didn't change the fact there was a connection as to what they both saw in that house all those months ago.

Sighing, he approached. "Alright, look," he crouched in front of her, hands finding their spots on her shoulders, "we have no way of knowing if that note was left for him, 'kay? Now, as far as I know, he's been faithful to the group while I was gone and I trust their judgement. But what I do not trust, is him. Because if he left that group before, he will leave us to save his own ass."

"We don't know that-"

"And that's why I don't want you near him," Roland said, eyes sharpening. "If we don't know who he is, then we watch and wait. If he shows any sign of being a working member of this group, you have my permission to talk and do whatever the hell you guys are willing to do."

Standing to his feet, he tapped Emily's cheek. "But for right now, stay by Beth, Carol, and Carl," he told her, grabbing the grey shirt handed to him before and slipping it on. "Who knows, maybe you'll learn a thing or two."

"I've learned enough on the road." She crossed her arms over her chest tightly, lips pushed out in a slight pout.

"Well, you'll learn a whole lot more from the ladies that I trust with my life," he replied, smiling.

Brushing past the girl, the trio moved down the steps to where a group was getting ready to push further into the prison. Spotting him, Glenn walked over with his pistol, handing it to the man. "You coming with us?"

"I don't got anything better to do," Roland replied. "Besides, Emily knows her way around a gun and the same goes for everyone else here. I'm needed out there."

The group made their way out, Roland patting Carl's head and pressing a kiss to Beth's cheek before following the others. With the other set of keys, they entered and locked the entrance to the hallways and proceeded forward. Dust, blood, and bodies filled the halls that were pitch black with the rare dim lighting of the sun peeking through stained glass.

Glenn proceeded to spray paint arrows, a path to help get back to the others. Roland held his pistol and flashlight tight in his grasp, peeking into the cells that were wide open. But when he heard the sudden gasp from Maggie, he spun around and saw Glenn had bumped into her. Both looked at Roland who had his flashlight pointed at them in question. Maggie gave a nod, allowing Roland to proceed forward with Daryl and Rick, checking the cells to make sure of no walkers.

They continued to move forward, the crackling of the spray can made Roland cringe from the possible attraction it could cause.

"Go back! Go back! Move!" Rick ordered, backing up as a group of walkers in jumpsuits stumbled toward them.

"Move!" Roland ushered Glenn and Maggie back, keeping a firm hand on Hershel's shoulder as they quickly moved down the ever-winding and unforgiving paths. The growls of the walkers bounced off the narrow halls as Rick called the group to follow.

Breaking behind, Roland followed Glenn and Maggie. But as they were approaching a junction, a group of walkers came from the hall to their left, blocking them off from the others. "Come on! In here!" Glenn yelled, pulling Maggie in with Roland slipping inside before pulling the door shut.

Roland stood by the door, keeping it pulled shut as he allowed the pair to catch their breath. Moving in the dark was getting them nowhere. Eventually, they were bound to run into trouble. After all, this was a prison and prisons were made to keep people in. And they were bound to start doing loops and getting lost with the lack of light sources.

When the three were ready, they stepped out, finding only shadows and the faintest sight of sunlight from barred windows. "Rick?" Glenn called out softly, looking both ways from either end of the hall they found themselves in.

"Dad?" Maggie called out as well.

The trio moved carefully down the corridors. Eyes seeking to find figures in the shadows that may resemble their group.

"Mag?" Hershel's voice called out, making the three look in the direction it seemed to come from.

Then came a scream and that put the trio in a sprint. Running down the winding corridors before a gunshot crackled out, disorientating Roland for a few seconds. Rounding a corner and finding Hershel on the ground with a chunk of flesh missing from his heel.

"Daddy!" Maggie cried.

"Get him up!" Roland yelled, spinning around to find Walkers coming from the other end of the hall. "We gotta move! Daryl!" Roland and Daryl took a few walkers from the end of the hall as the others lifted Hershel and made their way forward.

Only to stop as the path became choked up with Walkers. "Let's go!" Daryl grabbed the younger Grimes by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him back to keep near to the others as he covered the back.

Stopping at a dead end, they found a door with cuffs keeping the doors shut, blocking anyone from coming in or out. "T, open the door!" Rick yelled.

T-Dog pushed to the front of the group and broke the cuffs, shoving open the door and ushering the others inside. "Shut it!" T-Dog, Daryl, and Roland took their place with keeping the doors shut. Feeling the jolt of force from the other side as the pile-up of walker bodies grew more each second.

Roland, noticing Daryl grabbing what seemed to be a toasting fork, pulled his pistol and shoved it in the gap between each door and fired a few shots. Hoping that it might drop a few walkers and could lessen the force of each push by the walking corpses. But when Daryl got the item between the handles, he stepped back with a pant.

"Only one way to keep you alive." Roland turned around just as his father brought his axe down on Hershel's leg. A shiver ran down his spine with each impact the blade made into the flesh. And eventually, Roland was staring at the dismembered limb.

It'd felt like so long since he saw something real like this. And real in the sense that it was a living person instead of a walker. Walkers were lifeless creatures that were rotting from the inside out. If Roland had the chance, he would cut a dozen walkers to pieces until he could walk straight. But he'd never seen a human be broken apart like Hershel has. It left a nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Roland!"

The boy snapped his eyes up to his father, watching him jut his head to the side. Looking, four prisoners were in the other half of the room.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me."