𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍

𝟑𝐱𝟎𝟒

WE kept true to our word. We were playing clean up and moving the cars inside the prison.

"Okay, let's get the other car in. We'll park 'em in the west entry of the yard." Rick told T, Daryl, Carol, and I as we got out of the cars we just moved.

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

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

"Gonna be a long day." T-Dog sighed.

"Oh yeah." I sighed in agreement.

"Where's Glenn and Maggie? We could use some help." Carol asked.

"Up in the guard tower." Daryl answered a pointing at one of the guard towers.

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

"Well then you already know what there doing." I muttered. T bumped my shoulder playfully, hearing my comment.

"Glenn! Maggie!" Daryl shouted.

We all saw Glenn open the guard tower with his shirt off while he was buttoning up his car pants.

"Hey, what's up, guys?" Glenn yelled.

All five of us laughed at their disheveled appearances.

"You coming?" Daryl asked as we all started laughing harder at the delivery of his joke.

"What?" Glenn asked.

"You comin'?" He asked again.

Glenn looked back at Maggie with a confused look on his face before looking back our way.

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

"Yeah, we'll be right down." Glenn yelled back before Maggie and him went back into the guard tower.

We were all starting to walk to the gate before T stopped us.

"Hey, Rick." He said.

Rick looked back to see where T had his eyes set on while we all turned too. We saw the other prisoners walking up to the gate and watching us. Rick's smile had been wiped clean off his face as he strided toward the prisoners.

"Come with me." Rick told us as T, Daryl, Carol and I followed.

"That's close enough. We had an arrangement." Rick reminded the prisoners as the were walking towards us.

"Please, mister. We know that. We made a deal. But you gotta understand...we can't live in that place another minute. You follow me? All the bodies, people we knew. Blood, brains everywhere. There's ghosts." The Caucasian man plead his case. While he was talking, Glenn and Maggie walked out of the guard tower.

"Why don't you move the bodies out?" Daryl questioned?

"You should be burning them." T-Dog said.

"We tried. We did." The Caucasian man said.

"The fence is down on the far side of the prison. Every time we drag a body out, those things just line up. Dropping the body and just running back inside." Oscar informed us.

"Look, we had nothing to do with Tomas and Andrew. Nothing. You trying to prove a point? You proved it, bro. We'll do whatever it takes to be part of your group. Just please, please...don't make us live in that place." The Caucasian guy pleaded.

"Our deal is not negotiable. You either live in your cell block, or you leave." Rick asserted.

"I told you this was a waste of time. They ain't no different than the pricks who shot up our boys. You know how many friends' corpses we had to drag out this week? Just threw 'em out, like. These were good guys. Good guys who had our backs against the really bad dudes in the joint, like Tomas and Andrew. We've all made mistakes to get in here, chief. And I'm not gonna pretend to be a saint, but believe me, we've paid our due, enough that we would rather hit that road than to go back into that shithole." Oscar stated.

Rick then looked back at Daryl, wanting his say on the matter and Daryl shook his head no.

Daryl locked them up behind the gate while we all waited until he walked over to talk about what their fate was going to be. Made me think of when we all stood around and decided Randall's fate.

"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 want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?" Rick questioned T, as he wanted to give the prisoners a chance, much like Dale wanted to with Randall.

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

"I don't know. Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn chimed in.

"Wait his name is Axel? Really?" I questioned with my eyebrows raised.

"Yeah." Glenn answered.

"Ara." Rick said getting my attention.

"Sorry." I said.

"T, your my best friend and I'd support you on anything else but this. We don't know them and I don't know about you, but I don't particularly like having a walker pushed on top of me." I continued looking at T.

Glenn looked at me surprisingly. I mouthed that I would explain to him later.

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

"It's just been us for so long. They're strangers. I don't-. It feels weird all of a sudden having these other people around." Maggie input.

"You brought us in." T-Dog stated to Maggie referring to when we first got to the farm.

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

"They can't even kill walkers." Glenn added.

"They're convicts, bottom line." Carol stated.

"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog said while looking at Rick.

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

"So are you with me?" T asked Daryl.

"Hell no. Let 'em take their chances out on the road just like we did." Daryl answered.

"What I'm saying, Daryl-." T was about to say until Rick interrupted him.

"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 then two weeks later, shot another girl. We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands." Rick told us while specifically looking at T. Then, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and Carol followed while T, Maggie, and I stayed.

I walked up to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"You know I've still got your back right?" I asked him.

He then put his hand on my shoulder also before nodding his head.

"Alright. Let's go." I nodded before the rest of us walked behind Glenn, Daryl, Rick, and Carol.

"Move the cars to the upper yard. Point 'em facing out. They'll be out of the way but ready to go if we ever need to bail." Rick told Carol, T, Maggie and I as Daryl tossed Glenn the keys to unlock the gate.

"We'll give the prisoners a week's worth of supplies for the road." Rick said.

"Might not last a week." T told him.

"It's their choice." Rick stated.

"Did they really have one?" I heard T-Dog ask as we all kept walking.

Rick and T were a little behind us now as they stopped and talked. I hadn't been able to hear their conversation anymore. The rest of us all got started on the tasks we were assigned.

I got into one of the cars and drove it inside the gate as the others followed with the other cars. Glenn closed the gate behind us.

Carol, Maggie, and I had been parking different cars as T was our traffic guide. As we got out of the car we saw Hershel walking on crutches with Beth, Lori, and Carl helping him. I tapped Maggie and pointed in the direction of her dad. She's started smiling and laughing.

"Go papa Greene!" I exclaimed in encouragement. I was so glad that he was up and about. He really had me worried there for a second.

Maggie turned to me and laughed before hugging me. I hugged her tightly relishing in the warmth of her presence.

"All right, Hershel!" Glenn yelled with a smile on his face.

Everyone had been happy and content. We were all smiling and gleaming at one another. It was good for that one brief minute...before it wasn't.

"Walkers! Look out!" Carl yelled as walkers were coming at him, Beth, Hershel, and Lori. The rest of us sprinted into action. The furthest away from the chaos had been Daryl, Glenn, and Rick.

Maggie got out her gun while I got out my sword and we all hurriedly ran over there. Lori pulled out her own gun and was shooting down walkers along with Carl. Beth and Hershel hurriedly got somewhere that had been safe.

"The gate is open!" T exclaimed from beside me as he shot down another walker and I stabbed another.

"Lori! Here!" I heard Maggie yell as she opened up the gate to the other side of the prison. Carl and Lori followed her while I was with T and Carol.

Carol and I ran after T as we attempted to dodge a bunch of walkers to get to the gate. Carol and T were still shooting and I was doing my best to cover both of them. We all made it to the gate and T was doing his best to lock it as Carol and I were shooting and stabbing the herd. While Carol went to open another door to lead us out, and I was taking out as many as I could, I missed one.

I heard T let out a loud scream as a walker bit into his shoulder.

"No!" I shouted before stabbing the walker in the head.

T had successfully locked the gate to prevent any walkers from getting in. Carol then yelled for us to hurry as she opened the door. I grabbed T and put his shoulder around my neck as we hurriedly ran towards the door.

As we were walking down the hallway, I looked at T who had been sweating profusely. We've gotta get him back before he turns. We'll find a way, I know we will.

"I'm sorry. I failed." I whispered as tears welled up in my eyes.

"No. Don't do that. You didn't see it either." He reassured me as he grunted in pain.

"Yes I did. When you saved us in the beginning, we promised that we would look after each other. I broke my promise to you and I'm sorry." I croaked.

"No, do not blame yourself for this Ara. You wanna know how you could make it up to me before I go?" He groaned.

"Your not going anywhere, we're getting you back to the cell block and we're gonna find a way." I asserted determinedly.

"Do you wanna know how you could make it up to me?" He said ignoring my sentiments.

"How?"

"Admit your feelings for Daryl. Y'all two have been pining over each other all winter. Everyone sees it but you two. Tell him how you feel. Our time in this world is limited. I don't want you to regret anything. Be happy. Just make me this last promise kid."

I stayed silent as my lips quivered in sadness at the thought of losing T. He was the one dying and he was worried about my happiness.

"You promise?"

"I promise." I sniffled.

Then all of a sudden an alarm started blaring as we were running down the hallway.

"There's a set of double doors that will lead to a corridor that'll get you back to our cell block, Ara knows where it is." T said as he had forced himself to run by himself fearing he was slowing me down.

"You should stop." Carol cried to him, also worried about his safety.

"I'm getting you guys there!" T exclaimed breathlessly.

"T, we could just take a minute. You gotta slow down." I told him anxiously.

"Why? Sit here and wait to die? Uh uh. I'm not stopping." T said as he continued to hold on to his shoulder and push through.

"We'll do what we have to. You're not becoming one of those things." Carol said.

"I can't ask that."

"It's the pact, remember?" Carol reminded.

"This is God's plan. He'll take care of me. Always has. He's gonna help me lead y'all out of these tunnels." T staggered determinedly as he led us around a corner.

As we're getting further and further down the corridor towards our cell block, T let us help him.

"We're almost there." T said as we hit a corner and a bunch of walkers showed up.

Carol tried fire her gun but no bullets came out. She had emptied her clip already.

"I got this." I said about to walk over there and put them down myself, so they could get through the rest of the way.

"No. No I do. We're close. We're close!" T panted as he got out of our grip and ran at the walkers.

"No!" Carol and I yelled simultaneously as T-Dog pushed himself  on top of the walkers.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" T yelled at us as we just stood there in fear with tears streaming down our face. We then ran over to the door that led us out of the hallway. We turned back around and looked at T getting bit into by the walkers.

"Go! I'm dead!" He yelled before the walkers bit into his neck as we ran out the door.

T-Dog was gone.

He saved me and I couldn't save him.

So like I don't claim this episode. It was so freaking sad. T-Dog's death was looked over by so many people because Lori died in the same episode. T-Dog was a beloved character and he was a fighter. I for sure loved his character.

I love you guys 3000. See you next chapter.
-brayla❤️❤️