When the dead rise to feast on the living, it becomes nearly impossible to keep yourself, and your family, safe from anything.
For Daryl Dixon, that statement couldn't have been more true. As the apocalypse turns the world into a cruel, cruel place...
It wasn't long before Dad and Maggie returned from their formula run with a bag full of powdered milk. It didn't look like much, but after they got back, Maggie told Glenn that there was another store she and Daryl passed on the way back and couldn't go to because his bike was low on gas. So, they were the ones to go out that time in search of more formula and items for the baby.
But, I thought she would be okay for awhile, because no more than three minutes after Dad returned, he had her in his arms, and was feeding her from a bottle. He had a genuine grin on his face as he looked from person-to-person in the room, his eyes gleaming with a happiness I hadn't seen him have in a long time.
"She gotta name yet?" he asked Carl.
"No... I was thinking maybe Sofia? Then there's Carol, too. Andrea, Amy, Jacqui... or, Lori... I don't know," he admitted, shaking his head. I looked over beside me, and saw that he was looking at the ground. Even through the faint light shining in from the prison window, I could still see the tears in his eyes.
I frowned, and placed a hand on his back, rubbing his shoulder gently. He lowered his head further, then came around in front of me and threw his arms around me. I was a little taken aback, but I wrapped my arms around him regardless, and let him rest his head on my shoulder. I knew he needed someone right then.
He stayed there for a minute or so, until Dad spoke up.
"You like that, huh? Lil' Ass Kicker?... Right? That's a good name, right?" he said as Carl pulled apart from me. I heard him laugh quietly, despite the tears in his eyes and on his face.
Dad continued to feed the baby, talking softly to her and smiling through every minute of it. I was grinning at him the whole time; it was amazing to think how much he had changed since the beginning of everything. He was better, in a way.
Actually, maybe in every way.
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When nighttime fell on us, Glenn and Maggie still hadn't returned from their formula run.Dad had gone into the tombs with Carl to make sure everything was safe, so that only left me, Hershel, who was just then learning to hop around on his handmade crutches, Beth, and the two inmates, Oscar and Axel. Rick was still down in the boiler room somewhere; I hadn't seen him since Glenn and I went down there earlier in the day.
I didn't want to be cooped up in the prison any longer, so I went outside and sat down, just looking up at the stars and thinking about things. It was a quiet night, save for the endless chirping of crickets and other various insects. The world was always quiet then; there were no cars, planes, or other people to make noise; it was frighteningly quiet at times.
And then, it wasn't so quiet anymore, because a loud banging from the exterior fence immediately caught my attention. I rose into a standing position, and squinted my eyes as I looked down to the fence. From afar, it was hard to tell, but I thought I saw a person banging on the fence with a weapon. Also, it seemed to be carrying some sort of basket in their other hand.
I knew it was dangerous, but I ignored my gut and ran down to the person anyway.
When I got closer, I could see that it was an African American woman. When she saw I was coming, she stopped banging on the fence, and clasped a hand to her upper right thigh. It didn't take me long to realize she had been badly injured.
"How did you find this place? How did you get hurt?" I asked her, preparing to open the gate.
"A brown-haired woman and an Asian guy... they said something about a prison. They had this with them," she said. Then, she tilted towards me the basket she was holding. I peeked in, and was surprised to find that it contained a surplus amount of baby formula.
"Where are they now?" I questioned.
"They were taken to a town called Woodbury... they were kidnapped by the same asshole who gave me this," she said, gesturing to her gunshot wound. I knew she needed medical attention quickly, so I gave her a nod and slid open the gate.
"If we help you, get you fixed up, can you show us where they were taken?"
She gave me a nod, and I allowed her entry to the person. She took a few steps forward, limping horribly, and I put an arm under her own to support her. She immediately jumped away from me, looking at me dangerously.
"It's okay... I'm gonna help you walk," I said, getting slightly worried.
She narrowed her eyes at me, but allowed me to help her walk anyway. Eventually, she put her own arm around me for support as we walked uphill.
Before we even got to the prison door, though, Beth and Hershel came outside, guns raised and pointed at the new face.
"No, hey, it's okay," I told them, putting my hand up. "She knows where Glenn and Maggie are, and she's gonna take us to them. But, we have to help her first." I gestured to her gunshot wound, and Hershel immediately understood.
"Are they okay?" Beth asked, lowering her weapon.
"As far as I know," the woman responded, her face remaining blank.
That seemed to be good enough for Hershel and Beth, because they allowed her into the prison and Hershel immediately began tending to her injury. I stayed in the room with them, partly because I had nothing else to do and partly because I wanted to make sure the woman didn't try anything.
"What's your name?" I asked as Hershel stitched up the wound.
"Michonne... and yours?"
"I'm Sidney. That's Hershel, and his daughter Beth. Maggie is his other daughter, and Glenn's her boyfriend," I informed.
She gave a slight nod, and winced as Hershel put in another stitch.
"Thank you, for bringing the formula to us. Um, Rick, he's kinda the leader around here, it's his baby. His wife passed away during labor, just earlier today... he's not right in the head, right now, so don't be scared if he pulls a gun on you when he sees you."
She chuckled dryly, picking at a loose thread on her shirt. "I'm used to it," she muttered, looking over at her gunshot wound. I frowned, letting out a sigh.
"Who shot you? Do you know their name?"
Her eyes turned cold, and she exhaled menacingly. She snarled out a name, and I had to ask her to repeat it to make sure I'd heard correctly. She looked into my eyes, and said in a clear, dark voice a name that almost made me pass out right then and there.
