"Ready?" Hershel asked. Rick nodded. He and Lori then open the gate and Rick leads into the courtyard with T, Daryl, Maggie and Glenn.

They all started stabbing walkers in the head, moving forward. In the meantime, Hershel, Carl, Hedley, Carol, Lori and Beth try to draw the walkers to the fence in order to stab them through the wire.

The others kept killing walkers until the first courtyard was empty.

"Almost there!" Rick announced. They walk and they see another courtyard filled with walkers. They hide behind a wall. Two walkers come out of a vehicle, they're dressed as guards, helmets on. Two others came out from behind the wall, Maggie kicked one. They try to kill them but they won't go down, not while their helmets were still on.

Rick walked towards the courtyard filled with walkers in order to close it. He pushed a guard on the floor. "Daryl!" Daryl rushed forward to help him.

Suddenly, Maggie killed one of the guards but forcing her knife under the lower jaw and upwards. Glenn and T-Dog look at her impressed.

She smiled, "You see that?"

The boys follow her lead and soon the guard walkers go down.

The courtyard was now filled with bodies.

"Looks secure." Said Glenn.

Daryl shook his head, "Nothing will lead to that courtyard over there." He pointed to a body, "And that's a civilian."

T-Dog frowned, "So the interior could be overrun by walkers from outside the prison."

"Well, if there's walls, then, what are we gonna do? We can't rebuild this whole place." Glenn said.

"We can't risk a blind spot. We have to push in." Said Rick.

They all walked towards a door leading to the prison. Daryl opened the door.

***

They winded up in an empty cell block and started looking out for walkers.

They kill the walkers inside before carrying the corpses out of the cells. The second half the group comes in, being led by T-Dog.

"What do you think?" Rick asked them.

Glenn smirked, "Home sweet home."

"For the time being."

Lori looked at her husband, "Is it secure?"

"This cell block is."

Hershel frowned, "What about the rest of the prison?"

"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria, and the infirmary."

Beth looked at the metal bars, "We'll sleep in the cells?"

Rick nodded, "I found the keys on some guards. Daryl has a set too."

Daryl from the second floor growled, "I ain't sleeping in no cage. I'll take the perch."

Hedley ran up the stairs to see Daryl. He started bouncing, hands flapping, making Daryl grin, "Ya happy, kid?"

Hedley hummed, nodding almost violently.

"Ya gonna share a room with Carl?"

Hedley shook his head.

"Ya ain't bunkin' with me." Daryl said, crossing his arms, "Ya can have ya own room now. So, pick one."

Hedley looked around then walked into the cell closest to Daryl's porch. The Cell was small with a window, bunk beds and a toilet and sink. The boy looked around before climbing up in the top bunk. Daryl was at the doorway, leaning on the bars.

"Cozy?"

Hedley made an unsure noise.

"Ya can decorate it any how ya want." Still seeing the unease, the archer said, "And I'm only a few feet away."

"Hedley!" Carl called as he ran in, "This is so cool, right?!"

The only boy tilted his head, eyes still wandering around the room that was now his. He spotted a spider on the wall and reached for it. The spider crawled on his palm, making its way up his arm.

"Ew, spider!" Carl said, scrunching his face.

Hedley shook his head, looking appalled by the reaction. With one hand he flipped through his cards and showed it to Carl. 'Good'.

"Spiders are good?"

Hedley nodded.

"If you say so."

Daryl snorted, "Bug boy."

Hedley didn't react to the comment, he just put the spider back on the wall and watched it climb in silence.

Soon, they went back downstairs, towards the table area just outside the cells.

Daryl, T-Dog, Hershel and Rick put on a table all the useful things they found.

Daryl hummed at the stash, "Not bad."

Rick agreed, "Flashbangs, CS Triple-Chasers. Not sure how they'd work on walkers, but we'll take them."

Daryl picked up a helmet, there's walker skin mushed in it. Daryl made a face, "I ain't wearing this shit."

T-Dog picked up gloves in the same condition. "We could boil them."

"Ain't enough firewood in a whole forest. Besides, we've made it this far without them right?" Carol arrived, asking for Hershel. When the older man left, Hedley and Carl went towards the bundle and Carl picked up one of the helmets. Rick took it off him, "You won't need that, I need you to stay put."

Carl groaned, "You're kidding!"

"We don't know what's in there. If something goes wrong, you could be the last man standing. I need you to handle things here."

Carl sighed, "Sure."

Rick ruffled his hair then gave him his pair of keys to the block.

Hedley remained where he was, next to Daryl. The archer raised his eyebrow at the boy, "Nah. Ya stayin' too."

Hedley got his cards out with a look of irritation. 'Hedley'. 'Help'.

"Ya can help by stayin' 'ere. Now go."

Hedley crossed his arms.

Maggie chuckled, "Gonna have to try harder than that, Daryl."

Daryl rubbed his forehead, "I need ya to stay 'ere and help Carl keep things up, 'kay? Be the archer while I'm gone?"

Hedley thought for a second before nodding, giving Daryl a hug before walking into the Cell block. Carl locked it and the boys watched as they left their sights.

It wasn't long until they were back.

"Open the door! It's Hershel! Carl, come on!" It was Rick, wheeling a bleeding Hershel, foot clean off. Carl opened the door. "Oh, my god!" Carol gasped before helping Rick.

Beth cried, "Daddy!"

"Go, go, go, go! In there!"

Hedley put his hands over his ears, humming as the chaos grew. The smell of iron was overwhelming, and it was worse when he couldn't see Daryl.

"Cell block C. Cell four, that's mine, gringo. Let me in." Said a voice from outside the block. "Today's your lucky day, fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia, you're free to go." Daryl's voice echoed.

Hedley went to him, freezing when seeing new people, all in prison uniforms.

"What you got going on in there?" Asked one of them.

"Ain't none of your concern." Said Daryl.

One of the men pulled out a gun, making Daryl move closer, crossbow raised.

"Don't be telling me what's my concern."

"Chill, man." Said the biggest one. "Dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we're free now! Why are we still in here?"

Daryl gruffed, "Man's got a point."

"Group of civilians breaking into a prison you've got no business being in, got me thinking there ain't no place for us to go!" Said the man with the gun. He was the one who spotted Hedley in the back, "You even brought kids?"

Daryl looked over and yelled, "Get outta here, kid!"

Hedley didn't like it when Daryl yelled at him. He whimpered, hands going back over his ears, rocking back and forth.

"Shit."

"What's wrong with him?" Said one of the smaller inmates.

The one with the gun smiled, "Kid's a retard."

Daryl stepped forward towards the inmate and aimed his crossbow right at his eye, "Wanna watch ya mouth, asshole."

"Why? I'm just glad he ain't my kid. You his dad? Hillbilly redneck, probably inbred him s'why he's like that-"

Just as Daryl was about to pull the trigger, Rick walked in, voice stern, "That's enough."

T-Dog came out and lifted Hedley onto his hip, letting the boy cuddle into him before going into the cell block with him.

Back in, T-Dog quickly set Hedley down before reaching into the boy's backpack and taking out the headphones. He put them on the kid, but Hedley was still rocking, whimpering and he even began to tug at his hair. T grab his arms gently but firmly to stop him from doing any serious damage. Hedley sank to the floor, whining and crying out as he began to shed tears.

"You're okay. You're okay, Spider Monkey. I've got you." T said calmly, bringing the boy back into his embrace, almost squeezing him as he knew he liked the pressure. "You're okay. They aren't near you. They can't hurt you."

Slowly, Hedley started to quieten down. He held onto T-Dog, humming a tune in the back of his throat as the man rocked him soothingly. And before they both knew it, Hedley fell asleep.