❪ 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 ❫

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝖾𝗇 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━
the prison fence. ╱ season three, episode seven.

TOBY WAS NEVER a huge fan of new surroundings, he was always on edge, worrying that the next stop will be his last. Especially with how high stakes this new task is, the anxiety bubbles in his stomach harshly. The fact that the place they are going to is a prison, is extremely daunting for the young boy. None of them had a single clue as to who resided in this place. There could be the inmates that never ended up leaving along with whoever from this group was there as well.

There was some part of him that didn't think they were bad, Andrea talked so highly about them, so they shouldn't be so horrible. But it's been eight months, people can aggressively change in that amount of time, especially in this world. They might've been totally different when Andrea was with them, and now they could be complete monsters. There were so many possibilities swimming through Toby's head. But he knew what he needed to do.

There was no option to walk away. He needed to go there with his head held high, he needed to do this for his sister. He needed to save her, and right now this was his only option. And this unfamiliar group needed to know that three of their people have been taken, it's their right to know. He just hoped they wouldn't be trigger-happy, they had no solid in. The only thing that can persuade their case is the shopping basket full of baby formula tightly grasped in Toby's hand.

The trip to the prison left sweat to build up on Toby's hairline, it felt like a million degrees today and the never-ending road ahead of them was frustrating to the young boy. He wanted to get this over with, and with the road never letting up, it was harder for them to do that. The lack of wind left silence to wash through the air, each step they took felt like an eruption of noise. He prayed that no biters would hear their movements, but that wasn't the case as the garbled groans of the dead fell into his earshot.

But to Toby's surprise, not one of the dead came their way, but he heard them, they sounded like they were all around them. There was anxiety bubbling in his stomach, subconsciously making the boy grip his bat tighter. He made brief eye contact with Michonne, hoping to get an answer from her as to where the noise was coming from. But all he got in return was a small shrug.

It all became crystal clear as soon they hit a dirt road, the trees were suddenly very dense and piled into each other. The sound of the dead became more and more apparent as they pushed forward. Toby could visibly see Thomas get more anxious as they got closer to the prison, he knocked the shopping basket against the boy's side, making the younger Emerson glance up at him. Toby attempted to give him a comforting smile, hoping it would ease the clear tension on his shoulders, but a tight-lipped smile was all he got in return. Toby let out a huff, becoming more and more worried that this plan was going to get one of them killed.

But all of those thoughts instantly disappeared as the prison fences came into his view. The three veered off into the outskirts of the woods, just on the edge of the forest, so they can have a clear view of the front gates. The long barbed fences intimidated Toby, how the hell did they take this place for themselves? There were biters lingering on the fence, a few different groups of them rooted in different places along the fence. He knew the place wasn't deserted by the different cars that were parked in the small fenced-in field that led up to the prison itself.

There was an unclear idea of the upcoming plan, but Toby knew it was just going to involve Michonne. No matter how much he protested, there was no way the woman was going to let him help. Dropping their things on the ground below them, Toby let out an exhausted breath, wiping the moisture off his forehead as he glanced at Michonne hoping she would share the plan of attack.

"Okay here's the deal," Michonne started, her words hushed as she stared at the expectant boys in front of her. "Before I found you two I got caught up in some biters, but they completely ignored me,"

"I'm confused," Toby stated, his eyebrows furrowing at the vague information he was getting, "Why did they ignore you?"

"When I was killing a biter, I sliced into its front and a bunch of its insides got on me, it must've masked my smell, they assumed I was one of them,"

The older boy nodded, and it all began to click, "Oh, so that's why you smell like shit,"

"Yeah right," Michonne snarked, a small glare falling over her features, her stare directed at the boy, who had a guilty look on his face. There was a part of the woman who wanted to pester the boy more, but she knew it was better to move on, "Since they see me as one of them, I'm bringing the formula up to the gate and getting their attention,"

There was a hesitance swirling through Toby's viens as he wavered, "Are you sure this is a good idea? What if they smell the blood from your gunshot wound?"

"If that happens, I'll kill them," Michonne concluded. She short answer didn't satisfy Toby, but he knew nothing would be changed, if this was her plan, there was no inch of it that was going to be different.

The woman bent down to grip the shopping basket, and as she pushed through the bushes, she sent them one last glance. The two boys stood next to each other, both having a look of nervousness flooding their features, but she only sent them a small nod in return as she began her trek to the prison fences. Toby stood at the edge, eyes tracking her every movement, fearing that one small thing could signal to the dead that she was not like them. He kept a tough grip on the gun that he pulled from his waistband, worried that it would have to be used at any moment.

Michonne had reached the fence, her stare not moving from the prison. The basket of baby formula was tight in her grip, as she stayed unmoving in her place. Toby's stomach violently twisted as he watched a man pass through the gates at the top of the prison, eyes clearly glued to Michonne. Toby tensed up, getting an actual view of one of the people from his sister's group. He wondered what the man's place was in the group, but it was very apparent by the way he walked. He was important, it was clear that he was the leader.

They both stood on opposite sides of the fence staring at each other, the tension and confusion were apparent even fifty feet away where Toby stood. There was nothing that was said by the two, only furthering the anxiety that was building up in Toby's lungs. He wanted to scream out, telling Michonne that this was a mistake, that they needed to get the hell out of there, it didn't feel good, like something bad was going to happen. But something stopped him, a small part of him needed to have this play out. Within the prison fence, he watched a few others from the group began to pile onto the green, watching the small scene between the two.

But the feeling he had quickly dissipated and got replaced by an astounding amount of fear when he watched Michonne visibly cringe as she reached down to her injured leg. The act was quickly picked up by the dead around her as she put her bloody hand back onto the fence, the smell of fresh crimson alerting them of her injury.

Michonne backed away, limping as she dropped her bag and the baby formula. She unsheathed her sword, eyeing the biters that were beginning to swarm her. Toby's stomach dropped watching her struggle as even more biters came into view. Anger rose in his veins watching the group behind the fence just watching.

"Shit," Toby hissed, jumping into action, and quickly put his backpack on as his eyes jumped to his little brother, "Put your pack on, we need to help her, those assholes don't seem to be doing a damn thing,"

"Toby, I don't think it's a good ide-"

"Thomas, I need to do this, I can't let her do this alone," Toby started, kneeling on the ground so he could make better eye contact with his brother, "If you wanna stay here you can, but you can also come with me, do whatever is comfortable for you,"

"I wanna help Michonne," Thomas concluded, his words strong as she straightened up, losing the look of fear that was once swirling through his eyes.

"Okay, perfect," The older boy nodded, eyes quickly flashing to the woman who was now kicking a biter back, but more and more began crowding her. "Grab your bag, we need to go now,"

Toby watched the boy hurriedly slot his arms through the straps, and before Thomas could even comprehend what was happening, Toby began dragging him out of the woods and towards the woman in need. With his heart thudding roughly in his chest, and adrenaline flowing through his veins, the boy rushed forward, immediately swinging his bat and hitting a bitter roughly in the back of its head.

A look of surprise rose on the face of the man behind the fence, watching a random teenage boy and child rush out of the bushes. The teenage boy wasted no time as he swung again and again at the biters around the woman, slowly killing them off one by one.

Toby didn't know what came over him, but anger fueled his strength and each one of the biters was crumbling to the ground with just one swing. He felt invigorated as if nothing could stop him. He could feel eyes from the people inside the fence, but he paid them no mind, not caring if they watched his every movement, that's something he couldn't afford to worry about right now.

He broke out of the haze he was feeling, and his eyes flashed to Michonne, and a good thing they did because the woman was instantly thudding to the ground, eyes rolling into the back of her head. Toby's heart dropped, fear making its way past the adrenaline as biters put their attention on the injured woman, hoping to get the chance to rip her apart.

"Fuck," Toby breathed, moving towards the woman, pulling out his gun, and quickly shooting down the biters that tried to surround the unconscious woman. Thomas stood to the side of Michonne, his knife pulled out and aimed at the biters, in an action to protect her. Toby ground his teeth in frustration, eyes now jumping to the older man who stood behind the gates with a glare, the boy wasn't having that stare, "Hey asshole, you mind opening the gate and helping us out before we get ripped apart?"

The words seemed to knock some sense into the man as he began striding for the gate entrance. There was now a young boy at the fence, watching them, almost examining them, but there was an antsy emotion swirling in his eyes. Toby would soon understand the fear-like emotion in his eyes as a biter soon got a rough grip on his shoulder.

Toby let out a grunt, trying to push the biter away, but it was seconds away from digging its teeth into his neck, but a shot rang through the air, hitting the biter that was in Toby's space, the dead person was now dropping to the ground. Toby looked around his confusion, but the bullet in question came from the gun that the boy behind the fence had tightly in his grip.

There was an appreciation from the older boy, but that quickly went away when gunshots rang out into the air as the man and the boy rushed out of the gate entrance with annoyance as they began shooting down the biters that surround the three strangers. With the dead under control, Toby dropped to his knees examining the woman that was still very much unconscious. Fear thudded in his chest watching the man coming closer to them, Toby had no idea what was coming next.

"Is she bit?" A rough southern drawl came from behind the fence, Toby's eyes jumped up finding an older man with whisps of white hair holding onto crutches with a missing leg?

The people around them stared expectantly, awaiting an answer. The boy had no time to dwell on the lack of an appendage as he glanced at the old man, "She was shot,"

The man on crutches was about to open his mouth to say something, but the man in front of Toby aimed his gun at him. There was a warning glance on his features, Toby knew that if he did anything that was remotely questionable, he was going to get shot.

"Grab your shit, and let's go,"

As the gruff words were said, Toby barely had time to register them as the man threw Michonne over his shoulder, her sword tightly in his grip. The boy wanted to argue, to tell him to let go of her, but there was a chance they could help her, Toby had no clue how he could do that on his own.

Toby swallowed his harsh comments, gesturing to Thomas to follow him as they all rushed through the gate. There was a mix of relief and unease as he heard the gate close behind them. They were away from the dead, but now they were locked in with strangers that could kill them at any moment. There was distress climbing up his throat but he ignored it, knowing that it wasn't what he needed right now.

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THE ONLY THING that could accurately describe the prison was dreary and cold, the cloudy sky outside only added to the low temperature that flowed through the cement walls. Toby wanted to grimace, as he scanned the place around him, but he stopped himself, knowing that people were watching him like a hawk. He hated the stares, they made him want to scream out, but he swallowed the screams, which would only hurt them more than help. The leader was quick to bark orders to others in the group, his tight grip still holding Michonne as her limp body dangled lifelessly.

Their weapons and bags were instantly confiscated as soon as they entered the cellblock, Toby felt bare, vulnerable even, as his bat and gun were not in his grip any longer. The glare never left his features as he watched a blonde girl run to get a water bottle and a towel for the leader. The boy wavered back with his brother by his side, a slightly overwhelming feeling fell over him as his eyes fell on the new people that began flocking to the scene with prying eyes.

Toby watched as Michonne was laid down on a blanket, her sword dropped next to the man that was kneeling over her. A protectiveness washed over the boy as he began making his way over to them, hating how close this stranger was to the woman. A small groan erupted from Michonne, Toby wasn't hesitant about his next movements as the man was too close to her. But someone stopped him.

Anger began thudding in his chest as he stared into the blue eyes of a blond boy he had never seen before. Normally, he would've shoved past the stranger, but when the boy ghosted his hand against the gun resting in his thigh holster, so Toby just rolled his eyes in annoyance and stepped back.

The boy seemed about his age, maybe a little bit older. He stood a few inches taller than him, and Toby absolutely hated it. He hated feeling small. There was a warning look in his eyes, and Toby wanted nothing more than to push his luck, to get on the boy's nerves a little bit, but Michonne's state stopped him. Water was now getting drizzled on her overheated body as she became more and more conscious of the setting around her.

"It's alright, it's alright," The man reassured the woman below him, Michonne stared up at him with an overwhelmed emotion falling over her features, but her attention flashed between him and the others around her, "Hey, hey, look at me, look at me...who are you?"

The woman didn't respond, her breathing getting more and more shallow as her situation was visibly setting in. Her eyes jumped to the sword that lay a few feet away from her, she quickly jumped to grab it but the man just held her down and kicked the sword further away from them.

Toby was moving towards the commotion with irritation in his bones, trying to shove past the idiot blond that stopped him in the first place. In a second the Emerson boy was grabbed by his bicep, the grip confining and slightly aggressive. Toby grunted trying to rip his arm away from the taller boy, but the blond's grasp wouldn't let up.

"Fucking let go of me," Toby hissed, eyes slitting as his gaze never left the boy next to him.

The blond's grip didn't cease, and it only further pissed off the brunet. Usually, the tone of Toby's voice would make anyone waver, but the boy never faltered, and it made Toby more frustrated. "Not a chance,"

Toby felt his anger finally boiling over, he clenched his fists by his sides, readying himself to take a swing at the blond who had a hold on him. But the leader's voice caught his attention, "Danny it's fine, let him go,"

The tight grasp vanished completely as the blond took a step away from him. Toby released a huffed breath, his irritation still bubbling in his stomach, as he rubbed his arm, gaining circulation back in his arm after the constricting grip was released. He wanted nothing more than to give this asshole guard dog a piece of his mind. But he got stopped by the older man whose eyes jumped at him, the steely glance made Toby freeze in his movements. "Look, we're not going to hurt you, unless you try something stupid first, alright?"

The last of his words were directed more at the brunet boy, the boy wanted to spew out a frustrated dig, but the impending burst of his anger fizzled out when he felt the presence of his little brother by his side. Looking down, he noticed the stress and slight fear that roamed across his smaller features. Toby swallowed everything that had to do with his anger and focused on his brother, giving the boy's shoulder a small squeeze.

"Rick," The unfamiliar voice comes from further inside the cell block, a grungy man came through the door, gazing immediately at the three strangers that scatter the space. "Who the hell are these people?"

The words from the strange man caused the leader—Rick—to turn his attention to the woman below him, "You wanna tell us your name? Their names too?"

The silence was all the man got in return, there were a few eyes that gestured to the stoic teenager, but Toby just straightened up, giving the strangers the best glare he could come up with. Rick turned his attention to the boy, ready to force the names out of him, but the unfamiliar man erupted the scene.

"Y'all come in here,"

Rick sent him a questioning glance and he rose up from his kneeling position, "Everything alright?"

"You're gonna wanna see this,"

The man paused, almost assessing his surroundings as if he was planning what he was going to do in his head, "Go ahead, Carl get the bags,"

All of their group filed further into the cell block, but not before getting one more glance at the three strangers who never left their spots, still very unclear of what they should do. This was uncharted territory, none of the three knew what they should do, and they had no idea this is how it would end up. Toby didn't have a good feeling about this, it all felt strange to him. They were very threatening, but there was no movement to incapacitate them, there was just the stripping of their weapons. Toby was annoyed nonetheless, watching the leader have a tight grip on Michonne's sword and his bat.

"We'll keep these safe and sound," Rick announced to the older survivors, he expected an answer in response but all he got was silence in return. "The doors are all locked, you'll be safe here. And we can treat that,"

Michonne took a deep breath, almost as if she was holding back the words she really wanted to say, their lack of escape becoming immobilizing to her, "I didn't ask for your help,"

"Doesn't matter if you didn't, your boy did," The man replied, pointing towards the young boy who stood with a slightly guilty emotion wavering on his features. Michonne sent him a small glare, but Rick's heavy words caught their attention as he stalked off, "Can't let you leave anyhow,"

The booming of the cell door shutting echoed through the boy, leaving his stomach to drop in fear. He was already hesitant, but now that they were fully trapped and could go absolutely nowhere, panic began to settle in. He looked at Michonne, finding the same expression on her face, but it was quickly pushed away as she struggled to get up from the floor.

Toby was quick to be by her side, his grip delicate as he grabbed onto her arm to help her up. The woman instantly rejected the touch, insisting that she could do it on her own. But the painful grimace on her features told a different story. "Let me help you up,"

His gentle tone caught the woman off guard, not expecting that to come from the boy in front of her. Looking up at him, his soft gaze broke her and she immediately gave in, getting relief now that she wasn't using all her strength and overexerting herself. Toby sat her down on the metal seating that one of the dread steel slab tables had to offer.

Thomas was quick to jump in, playing nurse better than Toby could ever do. There was a fit of small jealousy blooming in his chest, watching how kind and caring his younger brother could be. He felt as if there was something wrong with him, why couldn't he act like that? Why did he have to be so cold?

He ached to be so openly generous, to have that type of openness, where he could be kind to anyone no matter the circumstance. But that wasn't who he was, he couldn't trust easily. He couldn't be open to someone unless he truly trusted the person, and sadly for him, trust is even harder to come across these days, so he's closed off and brash for a good amount of the time.

Toby heard a small commotion from where most of the strangers retreated, turning his attention away from Thomas and Michonne, he sneakily made his way over to the cell door. He furrowed his eyebrows, watching a few of the people shed tears as they embraced. The loving and welcoming gestures confused Toby, but the gurgling baby that rested in the blonde girl's arms brought a missing piece to the puzzle. Maybe the baby's mom passed.

Toby didn't dwell on it much, knowing that this moment was not his to experience. He felt like an intruder, this moment wasn't his, and he shouldn't be spying on them. In a way it felt disrespectful to him, he wouldn't want someone to be observing him if he was in this vulnerable state. So he walked away, hoping and praying that they wouldn't be trapped in there forever. And if the strangers were planning to not let them go...well they would just have to escape now wouldn't they?

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✿❣︎ 𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙍'𝙎 𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀 ❣︎✿

heyyyyyyy :)

what's up!!!

we finally are starting to meet
the group!!!! literally so fun and
so fresh!!!

also a slight Danny and toby
interaction?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Sorry
it wasn't much but they'll become
more intertwined i promise!!!
you just gotta wait it out.

also get ready for some fabulous
angered toby in the upcoming
chapter, Toby isn't gonna have
the best time getting interrogated
by them. but they'll become more
interested in toby for his
snarkiness. so you're welcome.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!!