"Okay, let's get the other car in. Park them in the west entry of the yard." Rick ordered.

Ryan and I exited our car and went to Rick's side. He got us up bright and early to start organizing the prison. At least its yard.

It won't be long before the corpses start rotting even more than they already are. We need to burn them and start using the field for other purposes.

"Good. Our vehicles camped out there look like a giant vacancy sign." Daryl commented.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing. The more deserted this place looks, the lesser the chances of anyone bothering us.

Though someone might think to move in and find themselves in a pickle. I'm fine with either choice when it comes to the prison.

"After that, we need to load up these corpses so we can burn 'em." Rick retorted.

I put my hand on my hips and looked around the yard. There must be over twenty corpses here and those are just the ones I counted. This will take us the whole day, if not more than that.

Perhaps then the stench of death will leave the air. Ryan wiped a bit of sweat from his face as he surveyed the yard. It was a lot of surface to cover.

"It's gonna be a long day." T-Dog said.

Ryan hummed in agreement as I pulled out a hairband. My hair has grown a bit more than I was comfortable with. As soon as shit settles, I'll have to cut off some of it.

It's already at my elbows which I find extremely irritating. I pulled it into a ponytail as I took a deep breath. My appearance is the last thing I should be focusing on right now.

"We should call Glenn and Maggie. The more hands we got, the quicker this'll be." Ryan said.

That's a good idea, we need more hands on deck. Those two, even though they're extremely obnoxious with their displays of affection, are one of the strongest members of this group.

It didn't surprise me that it was Ryan who thought of them. He and Glenn had this weird friendship where they talked about their feelings and old video games. I mostly tuned them out because I didn't understand the nerd talk.

"They're up in the guard tower." Daryl said.

I raised my eyebrows at the revelation. Why would they go there? Isn't it creepy up there? I mean, they can see all the bodies and the prison which ain't that pleasant to see. Besides, I don't recall them being on watch yesterday.

"The guard tower? They were just up there last night." Rick said.

"Glenn, Maggie." Daryl called.

Everything became clear once the door opened and a shirtless Glenn came out. He was in the process of zipping up his pants and I could see Maggie's shadow in the tower.

The guard tower is actually a great place to have sex at. It's far away from the rest of the group and you have enough time to get dressed if someone comes to find you. Why didn't I think of that?

"Hey. What's up, guys?" Glenn called out.

A chuckle left Rick's lips and I turned my head to see a wide smile on his face. It was one that was rare to see these days.

Daryl looked at me and we shared an amused look. Mostly because we had to stay quiet in the cell while Glenn and Maggie went in the guard tower.

"You comin'?" Daryl asked.

"What?" Glenn said.

Ryan and I chuckled at Daryl's choice in words. It was difficult for Carol and T-Dog to keep in their laughter. Glenn was so easy to make fun of, especially when it came to more, uh, mature topics.

"You comin'?" Daryl repeated the question.

Glenn turned to Maggie with a confused expression on his face. A giggle left my lips which attracted the attention of both Rick and Daryl.

I can't recall the last time I found something so amusing. Glenn and his love life certainly wasn't a topic I ever wanted to know about, but it's a small group. Everyone knows everything. Well, almost everything.

"Come on, we could use a hand." Daryl demanded.

Ryan went ahead of me and I followed him. We were going to pile up the bodies so it's easier to load them in cars and then burn them.

Everyone else seemed hesitant to do the dirty work so it was up to us to do it.

"Yeah, we'll be right down." Glenn replied.

Ryan went to the farthest corpse and motioned for me to help him. He held its arms while I held its legs. We moved it closer to the road when I noticed Rick, Daryl and T-Dog went to confront the prisoners who came outside.

I went to follow them, but Ryan grabbed my elbow.

"Leave them be, Josephine. You don't have to be included in every fight that happens." Ryan said.

I furrowed my eyebrows as he bent down and started dragging another corpse to the pile. A huff left my lips as I grabbed the legs of another walker copying his actions.

I'm not included in every fight and that's what bothers me. If I want a bigger role in this group, I have to be there all the time.

I have to be part of every conflict so I can evaluate the danger that my family is going to be in.

"I wasn't with them when they cleared out another cell block. Rick got attacked and he could've been killed. If I was there, I could've prevented it. I could've kept the group safe." I retorted.

I could've kept Abby and Ryan safe, but saying 'group' makes me feel nicer than I really am. I'd do anything to keep my siblings safe.

They're the only people who I know I can count on. I'm not going to sit back and let something happen to them if I could've prevented it.

"And they survived without you. Just because you're my big sister doesn't mean you have to babysit everyone else. They're more capable than you give them credit for." Ryan protested.

I shifted uncomfortably as I glanced at the prisoners once again. T-Dog and Daryl seemed enough backup for Rick. I've just always had to rely on myself to do the difficult tasks.

Letting someone else take control over things that concern me isn't something I'm comfortable with. I'm in charge of keeping my family safe, not Rick. Even if he is our leader.

"I should be enough to protect you. Dakota isn't here anymore so I'm the oldest now. Keeping you safe is my responsibility. I-I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you or Abby-"

He cut me off by putting his hands on my shoulders. His eyes bore into mine as a stern look formed on his face. He has grown so much since all of this happened.

Hell, I could even see a hint of a beard forming on his face. I'm supposed to be his big sister and yet he's the one who looked older. He had to grow up fast, all of us did.

"Nothing is going to happen to us. Rick'll make sure of it. I trust him with my life. So should you."

-----

"Are you serious? You want them living in a cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons. You wanna go back to sleeping with one eye open?" Rick asked.

What T-Dog was suggesting is insane. We can't let those prisoners stay in the same cell block as us. They had one chance and they blew it.

How long are we going to turn a blind eye to their scheming? We kept them alive and we gave them a place to live in. They've had a good day.

"I never stopped. Bring them into the fold. If we send them off packing, we might as well kill them ourselves." T-Dog argued.

"I'll happily kill them before letting them sleep in a cell next to any of us." I snapped.

Murder is never something I avoided when it came to protecting my family. These guys were criminals for God's sake. They could kill us all in our sleep and we wouldn't even notice.

I am not going to let that happen to anyone in our group. We've been through too much crap already. It's about time we got a break.

"I don't know. Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn pointed out.

Axel was the white one. He was either a complete coward or he just put on a good show. Either way, I wasn't a fan of cowards nor liars.

If they don't like the cell block, they can hit the road and find a better place. We taught them how to kill walkers, that's more than they deserve.

"After all we've been through, we fought so hard for all this. What if they decide to take it?" Carol asked.

We would fight back, of course, but if they make a trap we could lose. It's better to just make them leave. This prison is ours now.

We fought way too long for a place like this while they waited in a cafeteria stuffing their faces with food.

"It's just been us for so long. They're strangers. It feels weird all of a sudden to have other people around." Maggie mumbled.

We did spend an entire winter together trying to survive after the farm. This group has been together for a long time. We can't allow strangers to infiltrate it and then kill our members.

"You brought us in." T-Dog reminded Maggie.

Ah, the good old days. If it wasn't for the Greene family, we would've wandered for a long time. Perhaps Shane and Andrea would be alive.

So we've gained a lot from living with them for a month. No more drama between Shane and Rick. Though if he hadn't killed Shane, Rick might've been more cheerful.

"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot woman in your arms. Didn't really give us a choice." Maggie explained.

Rick's eyes connected with mine for a second. I smirked at him knowing it was him who carried me to the farm.

We're all here thanks to me and my ability to get shot for no apparent reason. Rick gave me a stern look, but I only raised my eyebrows in return.

"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn pointed out.

Technically they can, but they're extremely slow and need someone to help them do it. We weren't perfect at first either, but they'll learn when backed into a corner. I don't even know why we're debating this.

"They're convicts, bottomline." Carol said.

"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog replied.

We kill walkers because we have to and people when they try and kill us. I'd hardly call that irrational.

We're protecting ourselves from danger and that's what everyone should be doing. No matter how much blood ends up on our hands.

"I get guys like this. Hell, I grew up with 'em. They're degenerates, but they ain't psychos. I could've been in there with them just as easily as I am out here with you guys." Daryl spoke up.

My hand darted to hold his. He intertwined our fingers as some of the group noticed. This didn't mean anything, I was just trying to comfort him.

I'm still not going to have a relationship with Daryl. That isn't me. It never was.

"So you with me?" T-Dog asked.

I tilted my head to observe Daryl. It never crossed my mind that he would be the one to want to let the prisoners stay.

What I liked about him was how much he understood the dangers in this world and that we should protect ourselves from them.

"Hell no. Let 'em take their chances on the road. Just like we did." Daryl retorted.

There's the man I like. When we couldn't get along, this was the one thing we had the same opinion on. Strangers were dangerous and it was best to keep our distance. It was the only way to truly keep the group safe.

"What I'm saying, Daryl-"

"When I was a rookie, I arrested this kid. Nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. The kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial, suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence and two weeks later, shot another girl... We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." Rick explained.

A wide smile spread on my lips just as Daryl and Rick passed by me. Carol looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. Glenn and T-Dog noticed me smiling as well and all of them looked confused by my sudden grin.

"Goodbye Ranger Rick, welcome Rookie Rick." I said.