N/A Hey everyone, sorry for the update delay I wanted to get this chapter up on Friday afternoon but my mom didn't pay the internet bill so I was kinda out of options but to wait.

When Daryl held that baby last episode… I bet every fangirls ovaries exploded. lol it was too adorable.

Freshbuzz fun fact: "Norman Reedus says that Daryl sees Carl as a little brother. They get along because Carl is an adult-like child and Daryl is a child-like adult." I love Daryl and Carl's relationship. Carl needs someone like that in his time of need and it's not like Daryl doesn't have the experience or anything…

And he found Carol… alive (To my misfortune. Sorry, I don't like her much anymore).

Anyways, I just started a new story based on the show Supernatural. I just recently got into this show a couple months ago and it's my top favorite beside The Walking Dead, I deeply encouraged anyone who loves those types of shows to watch it. If you are familiar with the show please check it out!

Reviews please!

"Who the hell are you!?"

"Who the hell are you!?

One of the prisoners retorted at Daryl as he approached the five figures that stood behind the window of wire without fear. Rick struggled about on the ground as Hershel was beginning to bleed out, his severed leg lying inches from his body. Harli and T-Dog continued to lean up against the doors to prevent the ravenous Walkers from breaking in.

"He's bleeding out, we have to get him back! Come around here, put pressure on the knee! Hard! Hard!"

"Harli go help! I got the doors!"

T-Dog said through gritted teeth and she glanced over at him. He nodded and she jumped off the doors and ran towards Hershel,

"Here, use this!"

She peeled her thin sweatshirt off her sweaty skin and handed it to Rick. He took it with haste and shoved it against the wound, Maggie pressing it tightly against the mauled flesh,

"Come out here, slow and steady…"

Harli glanced over her shoulder, seeing Daryl backing up towards them as the prisoners slowly filed into the room the small group occupied.

"What happened to him?"

The Spanish inmate asked while walking in, his eyes set on Hershel's condition. The other inmates followed in behind him, their eyes on the same thing as well. Daryl kept his crossbow aimed steady, just in case one of them made a wrong move,

"He got bit."

"Bit?"

The Spanish prisoner pulled a gun out of the lip of his pants and Daryl lurched forward, his eyes set on the gun. T-Dog had shoved the stoke in through the two door handles and jumped forward, raising his gun.

"Woah, woah, woah easy now. No one needs to get hurt."

"I need you to hold this, Maggie. As hard as you can."

Rick mumbled and Maggie nodded. Glenn jumped up and ran through the door the prisoners entered through,

"Got any medical supplies!?"

"Who the hell are you people anyway!?"

The Spanish prisoner asked, his eyes holding confusion and a hint of fear.

"Don't look like no rescue team."

"If rescue's what you're waitin for, don't! Come on we gotta go! Harli! Maggie, grab his legs we gotta get him up! Now! Come on!"

Glenn rushed in with a make shift metal gurney and Maggie and Harli glanced at each other, nodding before they heaved Hershel's legs, and Rick, his torso, lying his body down. Rick spun the rolling tabletop around towards the door,

"T! The door!"

"Don't open that!"

"We got this!"

Harli ran forward and yanked her knife from its sheath just as T-Dog yanked the stoke from the door and tore them open. He rammed the riot walker against the wall and plunged the stoke up through its jaw. Another came through and Harli rammed her knife into its skull, kicking it to the ground and waving for Rick,

"Come on let's go!"

"Daryl, Daryl!"

Rick shouted for him to follow as he rushed through the door, following Harli and T-Dog into the darkness.

Harli clicked on her flashlight and rushed through the hallway, hearing the squeaking wheels behind her. Her hand flicked the flashlight back and forth to the walls, trying to catch a glimpse of the white arrows that would lead them back to the cell block. Her vision quickly caught the silver eyes of a Walker and she gritted her teeth, ramming it into the wall and thrusting the bloody blade of her knife in through its eye.

The caravan of disordered survivors rushed passed her with Hershel's body and she felt a hand on her arm pulling her back along with them as they went. The light of her handheld friend jumped in front of her, seeing the angel wings of Daryl's vest staring her in the face. They came to the crossroads of the hallways,

"Go, go, go quick!"

A few Walker's snarled and Rick turned the gurney around quickly,

"This way, this way!"

Daryl turned and a Walker approached him quickly. His finger pressed the crossbow finger out of sheer impulse and planted the bolt in the Walker's head. Running up quickly before it dropped to the ground, he yanked the bolt from its brain and waved for the others,

"Come on! This way! Go, go, go!"

Harli noticed a shadow darting after Daryl and she ran up, tackling the Walker to the ground. She quickly found her knees and stabbed it's brain, feeling another hand on her arm, this time T-Dog, bringing her back to her feet,

"Nice job!"

The group grew silent and they made their ways through the blistering cold and dark corridor, following the arrows as they went. Harli head voices behind them and looked over her shoulder, Rick hearing them as well,

"Stop, stop!"

They all halted and held their breaths, turning and following the path of Rick's finger as her pointed behind them. The shadows of the prisoners danced across the walls and soon emerged as their actual figures. Daryl pushed his group forward quickly as they continued to move back to their cellblock, Hershel's fragile condition dwindling by the second.

Daryl jumped forward as they finally came to the door and opened it with a key swiftly. He shoved the door open with his shoulder and waved his hand, Rick pushing the gurney through and towards the other gate,

"Open the door! It's Hershel! Carl!"

"Harli, you come with me!"

Daryl shouted and Harli stopped and turned, giving one last glance at Hershel before he descended into the cell block. She turned her head and saw Daryl quickly heading back into the tower room where they had just came from. Her legs moved quickly as she ran through, seeing him with a leg up on a bench and loading his crossbow,

"What are you doing?"

"Prisoners are following us, they're bound to come through that door any second. Draw an arrow and stay behind me. We gotta protect this group."

"Sounds like a plan."

Harli yanked her bow from her shoulder and reached up over her back, sliding a wooden arrow from her quiver and docking it,

"Think you can take a livin mans life?"

Daryl's raspy voice asked in almost a whisper as he took aim with his crossbow. Harli pulled the arrow back and aimed as she heard the footsteps approaching slowly through the darkness,

"I guess we're both gonna have to find out."

Slowly, the Spanish prisoner's body hit the light as his eyes instantly went to Daryl, their eyes interlocking as her stepped further into the sunlight, his fellow prisoners not far behind. They glanced over at Harli as they walked in further and Daryl narrowed his eyes,

"That's far enough."

The prisoners stopped and looked at him, their eyes wide with chaos and confusion. The Spanish prisoner glanced at Harli and her arrow waiting to be released, then back to Daryl,

"Cell block C… cell four, that's mine gringo. Let me in."

"Today's your lucky day fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia, you're free to go."

"Whatchu got goin on in there?"

"It ain't none of your concern."

"None of my concern?"

He yanked his gun back out and Daryl's muscles tensed and he stood up straight, steadying his aim. Upon seeing the gun, Harli's heart leapt into her throat and she stepped forward, her hand shaking from the sudden adrenaline. The prisoner looked over at Harli, a smirk crossing his face as he pointed his gun at her,

"Who the hell is this? The little puta of the group?"

"You're gonna pay her no mind. You so much as look at her the wrong way you're gonna be fixin to have an arrow between the eyes and dead before you hit the ground."

"You sure talk tough, but can you back it up?"

He pointed the gun back at Daryl and Daryl couldn't help but smirk to himself. The largest prisoner stared down at his gun toting friend,

"Chill man… dudes legs all messed up. We're free to go now… why we still in here?"

"Man's gotta point."

Daryl retorted and the other dark skinned prisoner looked over,

"I gotta check on my old lady."

"A group of civilians breaking into a prison where they got no business bein. Got me thinkin there's no place for us to go."

"Why don't you guys go find out?"

"Maybe we'll just be goin now…"

Daryl's angry voice seemed to startle the smaller man with the long mustache, only the Spanish prisoner stood his ground,

"We ain't leavin!"

"You ain't comin here neither!"

T-Dog came out of nowhere with his gun blazing, startling Harli to the point where she aimed her arrow at him. He glanced at her for a moment and returned his gaze to the prisoners, as well as Harli as she took a deep breath.

"This is my house, my rules, and I go anywhere I damn well please!"

The prisoner shouted while stepping forward and pointing his gun,

"You're outgunned here her Tomas, let's just go back to where we were!"

"I ain't goin nowhere! These assholes ain't come in here and take over the place!"

His voice got louder and echoed off the walls. He tried his best to intimidated Daryl, T-Dog, and Harli, but he couldn't come close to the danger they had faced every day for the last eight months.

"You'd be smart to take your friends advice. You shoot one of us, you'll all be dead."

"Shut up bitch! Don't think because you're a woman I won't plant a bullet between your eyes!"

"Now that's the straw there bro!"

T-Dog jumped forward, as well as Daryl,

"I ain't gonna say it again! Turn your happy asses around and get the hell out of here!"

Daryl's voice threatened loudly towards the small group of prisoners and a couple stepped back from the deadly tone in his voice, his eyes set. Only Tomas wasn't thrown off so easily,

"Why don't you make us you stupid redneck!?"

"You're just askin for an ass whoopin!"

T-Dog shouted and Tomas pointed his gun at T-Dog, then back to Daryl when he saw him taking a few steps towards him,

"There ain't nothing for you here why don't you go back to your own sandbox and play in the dirt-!?"

"Hey, hey, hey! Put your guns down and relax! There's no need for this!"

Rick rushed in quickly, staring back and forth from his own group members to the prisoners. Tomas hesitated for a moment and looked past Rick, then back to his disheveled appearance.

Rick began to break the apocalyptic news to the prisoners and they couldn't believe what their ears were hearing.

o.o

Rick and the others led the prisoners out into a courtyard to show them the full extent of what they were missing in their ten months locked up in the prison. Without knowing anything that happen from the outside, they were a bit stunned as they stepped into the courtyard, seeing corpses littering just about every foot of concrete.

"Man… does that sun feel good on the skin."

"All these men are dead?"

"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences."

Rick, Daryl, Harli, and T-Dog walked into the sunlight behind the group of prisoners as they studied their surroundings, taking it all in.

"Keep on your guard."

Rick mumbled to them as they broke apart. Andrew looked over at Rick,

"You never told us… how the hell'd you get in here?"

"Cut a hole in that fence over there."

Daryl pointed out to the fence they had entered in and Andrew looked over, following his gaze.

"That easy huh?"

"Where there's a will, there's a way."

"Easy for you to say…"

Andrew looked to the ground and kicked a stone, Daryl watching him closely. The largest prisoner, Big Tiny, poked at a Walker's body,

"So what…? Is this a disease?"

"Yeah… you could say that. And we're all infected."

All the prisoners stared at him with a bit of shock, the smaller man with the mustache, Oscar, looked over at Daryl,

"What do you mean infected? Like AIDS or somethin?"

"If I were to shoot you, an arrow to the chest, you'd come back as one of these things. It's gonna happen to all of us."

"You get bit by one of them, it's all over unless bite you on a limb, then you can say bye-bye to that precious appendage. That's what we had to do to our friend back there."

Harli said her first word since leaving the tower room and the prisoners looked to her,

"You seem awfully familiar…"

Big Tiny asked and Harli looked to him. Her eyes lowered for a moment and she looked back to him, then to the other prisoners,

"I used to work here. It was an off and on thing and I spent most of my time at the main branch."

Tomas narrowed his eyes, staring at her as his memories tried to function. Axel looked over at her,

"You worked here? Who the hell are you?"

"Waldgrave… Dr. Waldgrave."

She heard snickering and looked over to Tomas, seeing a smile crossing his face,

"Oh yeah… Waldgrave… you're the bitch who got carved up by Reaper. Funny how fast things can fly through a prison when a woman's blood gets spilt."

"Best mind your tone. That 'bitch' is capable of taking on all five of you alone."

Rick defended and Harli only looked down and avoided the gaze of the prisoners in shame, catching the eyes of Daryl and T-Dog as she turned away. Tomas continued to snicker to himself while staring at the bodies around him,

"Ain't no way this Robin Hood cat is responsible for killin all these freaks."

"Must be fifty bodies out here."

Andrew followed in Tomas' footsteps and he turned back to Rick, his black eyes curious,

"Where'd you come from?"

"Atlanta."

"Where you headin?"

"For now... nowhere."

Rick faced that Latino prisoner as he approached and Tomas looked to Daryl, then back to Rick,

"I guess you can take that area down there by the water… you should be comfortable there."

"We're using that field for crops."

"We'll help you move your gear out."

"That won't be necessary. We took out these Walkers, this prison is ours."

"Woah, slow down there cowboy."

Rick and Tomas argued back and forth, Andrew walking up behind Tomas,

"You broke down our doors and stole our locks."

"We'll give you new locks if that's how you want it."

"This is our prison, we were here first."

"Locked in a broom closet. We took it, set you free, it's ours… we spilled blood!"

Rick's lip curled in resistance at his foe. Tomas was unfazed by Rick's attempts and only smiled,

"We're movin back into our cell block."

"Get your own."

"That's cellblocks mine! I still got personal artifacts in there it's about as much mine as it gets!"

Tomas yanked his gun back out forcibly and pointed it at Rick, but without the consequence of Daryl and Harli's crafty arrows pointing at his head, T-Dog's pistol backing them up and aimed at the other prisoners. Rick only stared at Tomas and Oscar and Andrew jumped forward,

"Woah, woah, let's make this work out so everyone wins!"

"I don't see that happening."

"Neither do I."

Tomas and Rick were like two pit bulls set on each other, waiting for one another to make the first move so they could rip each other apart.

"I ain't goin back in that cafeteria for one more minute."

"There are other cell blocks."

Oscar vouched and Daryl butted in as well,

"You could leave… try your luck on the road."

Harli looked to Rick,

"We could always try and bargain."

Rick glanced into Harli's green eyes as they flickered, then looked back to Tomas as he too, glanced to Harli,

"If these four pussies can take out all these freaks… then we can clear out our own cell block…"

"With what?"

Big Tiny asked and Tomas narrowed his eyes at Rick,

"Like the bitch said, we bargain. Lenny here will spot us some real weapons… wontcha boss?"

"How stocked is that cafeteria? Five guys like you lastin almost a year?"

"Sure as hell don't look like they've been starving."

Daryl nodded towards Big Tiny, who exchanged glances with him before looking back at Rick,

"There's only a little left."

"Well then, we'll take half. In exchanged, we'll help clear out a cell block."

"Didn't you hear him? There's only a little left!"

"Bet you got more food than you've got choices. You pay, we'll play. We'll clear a block out for you and you keep to it."

"Alright."

Tomas nodded in agreement and Rick stepped forward, almost in Tomas' face,

"But let's get one thing clear. If we catch you out here, anywhere near our people… if I catch even one whiff of your scent… I will kill you."

Tomas smiled, undeterred from Rick's threats,

"Deal."

The prisoners led Rick, Daryl, T-Dog, and Harli back to the cafeteria, weaving through the dark corridors once again. Harli stayed close to the boys, her fears of the prisoners beginning to cloud her mind once Tomas had brought up her history. Seeing those black eyes staring through her made her completely uneasy and stirred up some of her more daunting memories.

"The pantry's back here."

Harli squinted her eyes for a few moments as the sun barred through the window in the kitchen and became overbearing once she escaped the dark once again. She stayed close to Daryl once entering the room and walking towards the pantry,

"You never tried to break outta here?"

"Yeah we tried to take the doors off. But if you make one peep in here, those freaks would be lined up at the door growlin and tryin to get in. Windows got bars on them that He-Man couldn't get through."

Axel looked back at T-Dog and Oscar meekly looked over to them as well,

"Bigger than the five by eight."

"Don't got me complainin. I'm doin fifteen and my left leg barely even fit on one of those bunks."

"You know, they don't call him Big Tiny for nothin."

"We done jerkin each other off? I'm sick of waitin back here."

Tomas leaned against the doorway in annoyance. They all looked at him and exchanged glances with each other before proceeding to the pantry in the back room. The four walked in and stared at the large pantry as if it were Christmas and a miracle send by God himself. The prisoner watched them walk in with caution, standing casually about the foods.

"This what you call a little bit of food?"

"Goes fast."

Daryl walked up to Tomas and brushed past him, knocking their shoulders against each other as if they were sizing one another up. Daryl brushed past him and turned on his flashlight, staring at the many foods around him,

"You can have uh… bag of corn, some tuna fish,"

"I said half. That's the deal."

Rick's persistency annoyed Tomas. Rick turned to a giant metal door,

"What's in there?"

"Don't open that-"

It was too late and Rick opened the meat freezer, gagging and coughing while quickly shutting the door. The rotted meat inside wafted through the air and Harli and T-Dog covered their noses, Harli gagging,

"That's worse than a Walker…"

"No doubt…"

T-Dog replied to his female friend and they returned their attention to the prisoners, who laughed at Rick's ignorance.

"How we gonna get all this food back?"

Daryl asked while walking out of the pantry, staring at Rick,

"Just make a few trips, it shouldn't be a problem."

Harli looked over her shoulder at the abandoned kitchen, seeing tossed kitchenware, pots, pans, and dirty sinks plaguing the chrome. Her eyes caught an object and she turned, walking over and grabbing the rolling cart. Upon hearing the wheels turning on the concrete, Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl turned,

"Why don't we use this thing?"

"Thank God for Harli…"

o.o

"Alright, let's look at your guys' weapons."

The prisoners threw their weapons on the table, all except Tomas, who had his gun. They looked at each other and then to Harli as she threw some of their own melee weapons on the table,

"These are all we have."

Harli looked up to Rick and he nodded, looking back to the prisoners. Tomas grabbed a crowbar and studied its iron features, his black eyes glancing to Rick,

"Why do I need this… when I have this…?"

He pulled the small revolver from his waistband and held it up as if he were showing off.

"Ya don't fire guns… not unless your backs up against the wall. The noise attracts em… really riles em up…"

Daryl glanced across the demeanors of the prisoners, stealing a couple glances of Tomas as he stared at Harli. He gritted his teeth silently as his jaw muscles tensed, baring through his tan and dirty cheeks. He looked down at his female companion, seeing that she was trying her best to avoid any gaze from the opposing prisoners by slightly hiding behind him and Rick. He saw a large lump bob about in her throat and she gazed up at him, her green eyes shaking with some sort of fear.

She knew prisoners better than he did and she knew the consequences of turning your back on them for just a split second, the things they were capable of, and the mental states that they acquired over the many years of the brig. They could easily try to overpower them, steal their guns and weapons, take Harli, and try and over take the rest of the group.

Daryl would die protecting Harli from a fate like that.

"We'll go in three's. Daryl will run point with T and Harli on each side… and I'll bring up the rear with you."

Rick pointed his machete and Tomas and Andrew,

"Stay tight and in formation, no matter how close the Walkers get, anyone breaks rank, we'll all go down. Anyone runs off… they could get mistaken for a Walker, end up with an axe to the head."

"And that's where you aim… the head. These things only go down with a headshot."

Daryl's raspy voice echoed through the room and Tomas only smiled while looking at the rest of the prisoners,

"You don't need to tell us how to take down a man."

"They ain't men… they're somethin else."

T-Dog walked up and stared at them, Tomas narrowing his eyes as their eyes locked. Rick walked forward,

"Remember, go for the brain."

The prisoners grabbed up their weapons as Daryl walked around Rick to start off through the cold halls of the prison. Harli felt his rough hand grip her softly and pull her along with him, T-Dog following up behind to cut her off from the prisoners and take position as they entered the darkness through the barred doorway.

Daryl glanced back at her as he clicked on his flashlight,

"Don't worry, I got you."

Harli took in a much needed breath and clicked on her flashlight as well, his voice sending a wash of relief flooding over her body. Trying to gain her focus on the task at hand, and as they entered the red zone, she pulled her hatchet from her waistband and gripped it tightly.

She followed her guardian angel through the narrow hallways until they opened up big enough to fit the entire group. She stayed next to Daryl and felt the rest of the group pull up behind her, their breathing rough with anticipation.

"Come on man it's way too dark in here."

Axel didn't bother to be quiet as he aimed his words towards Daryl. Daryl looked back at him,

"Hold it up high, right in front of ya. You'll here em before you see em."

Daryl looked back forward as the sound of gurgling Walker's began to echo throughout the walls around them. Harli took another deep breath and pulled her flashlight down as a shadow of a Walker stumbled across the concrete walls,

"It's comin!"

Oscar shouted with fear in his voice. Everyone quickly hushed him in attempts to save themselves from any unwanted Walkers from coming out of nowhere.

The Walker's finally rounded the corners and their eyes widened and mouths opened, letting out a ravenous snarl. Reaching their arms out they stumbled forward quickly towards them and Daryl lifted his hand on a countdown for the prisoners to get some practice.

With incredibly loud shouts, the prisoners ran forward towards the Walkers and began beating on them with their weapons. Daryl had sucked Harli's body against the wall to avoid the stampede and the four sane group members watched the frenzied prisoners. They thrashed the Walkers about, knocking them to the ground and beating, kicking, and stabbing them all they could.

Harli looked over at Rick and they each exchanged glances with T-Dog and Daryl, their faces muddle with disbelief at what they just witnessed.

"I never seen anything like that before…"

Harli looked at them and they looked at her in return, their faces saying the same thing. The prisoners huffed and puffed as they stared down at the Walker's they had just mutilated, their hands, clothes, and faces bloody. They stared back over at Harli and the others,

"How was that?"

Tomas huffed with a smug smile. Rick tilted his head and glanced at the Walkers, then back to Tomas,

"I suppose you got the job done. But that's not how we handle things around here; you'll end up getting yourself and the others killed that way."

Tomas only shook his head and huffed, rolling his eyes,

"Whatever. Let's just get this show on the road."

Rick looked to Daryl, nodding for him to get in front of the pack quickly before they set off again. Harli followed him while Rick and T-Dog stayed in back, Daryl motioning for everyone to follow him. They rounded a few more corners and found themselves in a more open and lighter room.

Daryl rose his crossbow when he heard snarling coming from around the corner, a stray Walker staggering forward upon smelling them enter the room.

"You gotta aim for the head, not the heart, not the lungs."

He pulled the trigger and the bolt flung from his crossbow into the dead brain of the Walker. Letting out a hiss, it fell to the ground with a thud, attracting more as they came through the two openings to the door. Daryl nodded for Harli at another approaching Walker and she quickly darted forward like a Viper, striking quickly to the head with the sharp edge of her hatchet, jumping back towards the group as more began to walk towards them.

"You hear me? The brain!"

Daryl called and Axel launched out, throwing an axe blade into the head. Oscar followed behind, shoving the edge of his baseball bat into the decaying face of his foe. Rick walked forward and shoved his machete through the face of another, stepping back into the group,

"Stay in tight formation no more of that prison riot crap!"

More and more Walkers flooded around the corners and Harli jumped forward along with the other prisoners. She slammed her hatchet and knife into the heads of the staggering corpses. They were dropping faster than they were flooding in with the help of the many survivors that occupied the room. They were all careful not to hit each other amidst the chaos as they swung their large and heavy weapons about.

The Walker's diminished and Harli practically jumped out of her skin when three gunshots pounded through her ears, making them ring in such a tight space. She turned around once the madness subsided to see everyone staring at Big Tiny, blood cascading from his shoulder. He stared at the blood from his fingers, looking to Rick for an answer.

Rick clicked on his flashlight to look at the damage, staring back at Andrew behind him, who examined the wound as well.

"I'm tellin you… I don't feel anything, it's just a scratch!"

"I'm sorry man…"

Rick bowed his head and looked at the ground,

"I can keep fightin!"

"You cut that old guys leg off the same as-!"

"Look at where the bite is!"

Rick argued with Andrew and Big Tiny rolled his eyes,

"Stop it! I'm fine! I'm fine… look at me! I'm not changin into one of those things."

"Look man, there has to be something we can do. Why can't we just lock him up?"

"Quarantine?"

"We gotta do somethin! Why you just standin there we gotta save him!"

Big Tiny's prison mates vouched for him the best they could and Rick only shook his head,

"There's nothin we can do…"

"You son of a bitch!"

Big Tiny went to speak but Tomas hit him over the head with his crowbar. The large prisoner dropped to the ground and Tomas hovered over his body, slamming the crowbar into the head of his former comrade, one blow after another. Blood splattered everywhere and the sound of the mashing brain matter, skin, and bone crunching all together was appalling.

Harli covered her mouth and turned to advert her eyes from seeing the devastation. Her head landed itself against Daryl's chest and he looked down, putting a hand on her shoulder. He stared at Tomas as he lifted himself after his last blow, blood staining his clothes and face as he huffed from exhaust.

Harli didn't have a problem with mutilating the dead, but live humans were a completely different story.

Everyone stared at Tomas with disbelief and his black eyes only grew darker. He stepped off of Big Tiny and turned, walking down the hallway in which they had abolished the Walker threat.

"Come on everyone, let's keep movin."

Rick said while walking after Tomas with T-Dog in tow, the prisoners staring at each other before pursuing after them. Daryl and Harli followed after shortly, Daryl looking down at her as they stepped along,

"You alright? Never seen you get squeamish like that before."

"I'm fine… it's just… I'd rather not see a living man mutilated in from of me with brains flying everywhere…"

"I know what you mean…"

"These guys… can we trust them?"

"I don't know, but I want you to stay close to me. I see the way that Tomas guy looks at you and I don't like it. It's not like any stare you should give to a woman. He's off his rocker."

The two noticed Rick had fallen back with them and he looked down at Harli while keeping a watchful eye on Tomas,

"You alright Harli? You're lookin pale."

"I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Wanting to be the last thing Rick and Daryl worried about, Harli looked forward to warily watch the prisoners in front of her. She heard Rick and Daryl begin to whisper among themselves,

"You see the look on his face?"

"He makes one move…"

"Just give me the signal."

"Keep a close eye on him… and her."

Rick glanced down to Harli and then back to Tomas,

"You better believe it…"

They stopped briefly while T-Dog opened a door and the group flooded into the brightly lit room. Piles of laundry and clothes littered the room and some doors to the washers and dryers lied open. They stared around warily, making sure no Walkers were occupying the premises. They saw a pair of double set doors on the other side of the room and made way.

Rick stopped in front of the doors just behind Tomas. Daryl and Harli walked in behind him, Daryl tossing the keys on the ground as they slid next to Tomas,

"I ain't openin that."

"Yes you are. It's you on this cell block… you're gonna open that door, just the one, not both of them. We need to control this."

Tomas huffed and picked the jingling keys up from the ground, staring at Rick, and then back to the door. He shoved the keys into the lock and jiggled it before it unlocked, the group getting ready as they heard the ravenous corpses behind the white doors.

"You bitches ready?"

Tomas looked back for a moment before returning his attention. He yanked the door, but it wouldn't budge on the first try. Using whatever strength he had. He yanked the door handles more vigorously,

"I got this."

With one last pull, the two white doors exploded open, and along with them, came a huge pack of Walkers,

"I said one door!"

"Shit happens!"

Tomas retorted back to Rick and the Walker's began to lunge at everyone. The group broke rank and the Walker's flooded into every square foot of the room the survivors would allow.

Harli yanked out her knife. With hatchet in one hand and knife in the other, she began to swing her arms in corresponding movements and Walker's began to plunge to the ground. Carefully watching the prisoners around her, their swinging weapons, and trying to pay attention to the starving Walkers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tomas grab and Walker and shoved him onto Rick. Rick fell to the floor, as well as his machete, and the Walker bit at him with an insatiable appetite. Harli's eyes widened and she jumped to the side in order to aid him, but a Walker grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She turned just as its teeth aimed for her skin, but the stoke that came from T-Dog's hand plummeted into its brain,

"Watch your back Daryl's got him!"

Harli heard a snarl and swung her knife, shoving it through the side of a Walker's head. She tore the blade from its decaying flesh and it dropped to its knees. With a loud thud, it fell to the floor and she looked up, seeing no other Walker's stumbling in the eat them.

Harli looked over as Rick and Tomas finally approached each other after the attack. Tomas shook his head and lied through his teeth,

"It was comin at me bro…"

"Yeah… yeah I get it. I get it… shit happens."

Rick's blue eyes stared into Tomas' black ones, a long pause between them and the stale air made everyone on edge.

Without a second thought, Rick drew back and with a full force, plunged his machete into Tomas' head.

o.o

Harli lied outside in the courtyard across a bench, her hands behind her head and her green eyes staring up at the clear, night sky. The moon glistened with pure radiance down on the desolate prison, shining through the windows to give a sense of hope and light.

Harli closed her eyes and sighed to herself, feeling the depleting warmth of the air caressing her skin as a soft breeze cozied through the prison yard. Her stomach grumbled with content from being full for the first time in ages. Her body sat in an aura of bliss with no aches or pains from lack of hydration and nutrition, as if she were in heaven.

Who knew that a place of hell and misery such as a prison could become the safe and secure heaven that everyone wished for?

"Sittin out here by your lonesome again?"

Her torso shot up and she looked over her shoulder to see Daryl approaching from the gates. For the first time in Harli's eyes, Daryl's trusty crossbow wasn't draped around his shoulder.

"What're you doin out here?"

"Makin sure your ass didn't run off again."

"Please… I'm not that stupid. I learned my lesson the last time."

Daryl jumped up on the bench and sat next to her,

"So, what are you doin out here?"

"What? I can't come out here and relax? I have to have a reason?"

"Everyone's gotta have a reason for somethin. You can't just sit out here and be doin nothin."

Harli sighed glanced over at him, a smile growing on her face,

"Well… I'm winding down from today. A lot happened. We cut off Hershel's leg, he almost died, twice, we dealt with the prisoners, found some food and medicine… for once, we actually had a semi good day."

She stared out in the trees and Daryl looked over at her, chewing on his lip and then glancing down at the ground. He looked out into the courtyard towards a watch tower, cracking his knuckles,

"Somethin's been eatin at me all day."

"What?"

"What Tomas said when we took em all outside, about you getting "carved up by Reaper"… what'd he mean by that?"

Daryl looked over at her for an answer and he noticed Harli staring at the ground. She then reached for her shirt and lifted the edge of it up her stomach a few inches. She dug her thumb into the lip of her pants and pulled the edge down, the moonlight shining on her tan skin. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the prominent scar that plagued her perfect skin. He took a deep breath and composed himself, seeming a bit shocked about the scar he had just seen, not thinking that a person like her would having something as ugly as that.

"I never really told anyone about this before. The only one who knows about it was my old partner I worked with…"

"What happened?"

She leaned back on her hands and sighed, staring at the concrete before locking eyes with him,

"I was working a case with this prisoner, his name was Goyer. He wouldn't respond to the other doctors so I went in, thinking I could take on a psychotic serial killer whose victims were women. He did respond to me, but not in the way we expected. Somehow he had snuck in a make-shift razor… or a knife I couldn't tell. It all happened so fast, I just found myself on the floor with him standing over me."

"The cops didn't do nothin?"

"Oh, they did Goyer was just so fast and unpredictable that it just surprised everyone. He managed to cut through my hip and severe an intestine as well as a fallopian tube in my ovary… after that I wasn't the same around prisoners. But I couldn't show any fear or weakness or I wouldn't be able to work."

Daryl looked down, not expecting a story like that to come from her lips. His jaw tightened as anger began to boil under his skin and his head turned when he felt a cool hand sliding across his shoulders and fingers crawling up his neck,

"Don't look too mad about it."

She laughed to herself and Daryl only shook his head, taking a much needed breathe to let his anger subside. Her tingling fingers played around his hairline on the back of his neck and he closed his eyes,

"But the scar, you don't look back and regret your stupid mistakes?"

He asked while looking over. Harli only shrugged her shoulders softly and sighed with a smile, glancing over at him,

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?"

Harli's hand slowly pulled itself off Daryl's shoulder and back on her lap, much to his silent discontent,

"I don't really see scars as a weakness from the past, but much like a lesson."

"Says you… they're ugly in my eyes."

Harli stared over at him knitting her eyebrows. He looked over and shook his head,

"Not yours."

"Nice save…"

She smirked and shook her head,

"I hate them. I got so many I lost count. The way I see I'm just one big scar."

Harli looked back at him and saw that he avoided eye contact with her. She felt his shame radiating off him and let out a long, internal sigh,

"I don't see them as ugly."

He looked back at her and she smiled again,

"They aren't a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. They show that you overcame obstacles in your life and that you survived long enough to tell their each individual story. You may see yourself as one big scar, but I see you as a strong man with nothing but good intentions."

Daryl's lips twitched and began to chew on the inside of his cheek nervously. He felt a cushion of hair on his shoulder and looked over to see Harli leaning her head on his rough shoulder,

"That's why I want to thank you for watching out for me today. I wanted to leave each moment the situation started escalating, but you managed to keep me moving and I eventually faced my fears."

She looked up at his blue eyes, his uncertainty boiling in the pools of water as he blinked,

"Not to sound cheesy or anything, but you being there made me feel a lot better."

Daryl scoffed and shook his head with a crooked smile, looking away and off into the trees. Harli laughed to herself too and leaned forward again, placing her lips on his warm skin in a soft kiss. Daryl's skin tingled and he looked back at her, the smooth darkness managed to hide his little fluster. It was the first time in months that they had any type of intimate contact, even as little as the kiss on the shoulder. They didn't have time for that then because their minds were linked to other things and focused mostly on the survival of the group. But now that they were in somewhat of a safe vicinity, the more important things were dwindling in their eyes.

Harli went to grab under Daryl's arm but he flinched and his body arch away. But it wasn't a bad flinch, more like a "don't touch me there" flinch. Harli snickered in her head that caused a smile to erupt on her face,

"Daryl? Are you ticklish?"

Daryl's eyes narrowed and he went to look away,

"No."

"That wasn't a pain flinch."

Harli reached her hand back under her arm and he drew back again, putting up his finger in warning,

"If you tickle me, I'm not gonna be responsible for your injuries."

Harli only laughed to herself and bounced off the bench to her feet. She nodded her head back towards the prison and waved her hand,

"Come on, we should get some sleep. We've had a long day and with our luck Rick's got more stuff for us to do tomorrow."

Daryl huffed and stood to his feet and they both walked back towards the prison entrance. Daryl wrapped his arm around Harli's neck and put her in a headlock, proceeding to rub her head with his knuckles softly and chuckling to himself. Harli grabbed at his hands and yanked off his arm, punching him in the shoulder and shoving him away,

"Ugh! Daryl!?"