What a Wonderful World

Although I was completely tired, I offered to help the small group clear out the walkers in the next section. There wasn’t nearly as many there had been in the yard. But I still knew that they would need all the help they could get. Plus, I was feeling loads better and thought I was almost over the sickness. Which meant I was stuck living in this world just a little longer.
Everyone that wasn’t going inside the second fence, lined up along it. Eagerly watching the group that was risking their lives. And they were going to kill as many as they could from where they were. I gripped my knife in my hands, knowing that we had to be quieter than yesterday. There could be more walkers hiding in different places. More places that we couldn’t exactly see right off the bat.
“Stay close,” Daryl mumbled to me as Rick was getting ready to open the gate.
I didn’t have time to think that much into it because the gate was open and we were shuffling inside. We stayed in a tight circle formation, our backs facing the inside it. We wacked our knives and other varies objects into the walkers that surrounded us. It was walker after walker it seemed. But with Daryl literally right beside me at all times, I did feel a little better. Not to mention safer.
Just as we were about to round the corner, Rick stopped us. We all got up against the wall, confused as to why we were stopping. But the look of distress on Rick’s face said it all. There must have been quite a bit of walkers hidden on the other side of that wall. But just as I thought that, a few of the walkers dressed as guards came towards us. Daryl tried to shoot at them but failed because of their armor.
The circle formation was broken as we all started to try and get these walkers down. But the armor was in the way. Just as Rick was closing off the next part of the fence, one of the walkers was right up on me. I struggled to get it keep it at bay. It pressed itself up against me, causing me to fall on the ground hard on my back. As the walker fell with me, I managed to rip its mask off. So I stabbed my knife through its skull. And it was dead.
The walker was torn off of me to reveal Daryl hovering above me. He practically picked me up so that I was on my feet. He quietly asked if I was okay as the others were making sure that all the walkers in our area were truly dead. I just nodded a few times, trying to calm my racing heart. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I didn’t know if that would weird him out. But I didn’t care at that moment.
Right as he was walking away, I grabbed his wrist and asked, “You okay too?”
He gave me an unreadable look, squinting his eyes for he was in the sun. He stood there for a while, like he was trying to figure something out. What it was I had no idea. I had just asked him a question. But for second I thought maybe it did weird him out. Just as Rick was calling us over, I dropped my hand immediately. As I was pushing pass Daryl he said, “Always am.”
Just as Glenn was about to let the others in, Rick stopped him. He said that it could be still dangerous since there was civilians roaming around. This meant that the prison could be overrun with walkers from the outside because of a wall that could be down. My hope was starting to falter. But we pushed forward.
We made it inside the prison. It was dark and dirty. But hey, we kind of matched it. We all looked rough since we were splattered with blood and guts from the herd outside. No one dared to say a word as we inspected the room that we were in. I watched Rick climb the stairs to the guard perch just in case he needed back up. He came back down with a set of keys. This meant that we could move on to the next section.
There were no walkers in that small section it seemed. Just two locked in their cell on the second level. As soon as that was taken care of, we were cleaning up the large room with a few cells. I helped T-Dog drag out the bodies until they were outside. The smell was awful. It made me want to gag. As we were doing that, the others were brought in, carrying our stuff inside.
Everyone was kind of hesitant at first about sleeping in cells like the prisoners that once resided this place. Hell I was too. Daryl announced that he would not be sleeping in a cell. Instead, he would be sleeping in the guard perch. I rolled my eyes, thinking about how stubborn he was. But then my mind went back to the guard tower outside.
“Hey, Rick,” I called as everyone was settling in their cells.
He turned towards me, looking exhausted. He was doing everything he could to protect us. And I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that he and Lori were having their problems. Everyone could tell. But I knew that everyone appreciated what he did as the leader of our group.
“What about the guard tower?” I asked when I knew I had his attention, “I could stay out there.”
He look off somewhere else like he was thinking, “You think that would be safe?”
“I think it would smart. Have someone on watch for most of the night. I could lock it and maybe even set up a walkie-talkie if we could find some. I don’t know I’m just brainstorming here,” I fired off my thoughts as they came to mind, hoping to give some sort of help to him.
He nodded a few times then replied, “We’ll talk about this some more later. For tonight, pick out a cell in here.”
Then he was turned away from me to do whatever he does. So I picked up my bag and a bottle of water and went up the stairs, almost tripping over Daryl as he was sprawled out on the landing. I just gave him a small smile before taking the cell on the very end, away from everyone else.
The cell was dirty from the walkers that had been in here. I didn’t care at the moment, but knew that I needed to clean it up a bit. With my bag still on my back, I kicked all the loose trash out the door. Then I stripped the sheets that were a little smelly from only God knows what, and mopped up the pools of blood that were inside. Just as I was about to grab the other sheet, a hand came in and took it.
Daryl was suddenly there beside me on the floor, scrubbing out the blood from the concrete. I gave him a look, then went on soaking up the blood with my sheet. After a few moments in silent, Daryl stood and looked down at the floor.
“It’s as good as it’s gonna get,” he noted with a sigh.
I nodded in agreement, standing and pulling the sheet to drap over the door to the cell. This would give me some privacy if I wanted it. I then ripped off a few clean parts of the sheet and sat down with the water bottle, noting how dirty Daryl and I both were. I patted the bed beside me, indicating I wanted him to sit beside me. When he did, I dampened the rag in my hands and lifted it to his face. He quailed away asking what the hell I was doing.
“Just shut up and let me get that gunk off your face. You look terrible,” I said in annoyance.
This made him shut up and let me wipe away the blood from his skin. I couldn’t help but feel his eyes watching my every move. As if I was going to snap and hurt him or something. I guess we’ve been in this world for too long already. It was hard to trust anyone. But I wanted him so badly to trust me. That realization made me blush.
“Ya gonna stay in one of those guard towers then?” He asked out of nowhere. He must have been listening in on my conversation with Rick.
I just shrugged a bit with my shoulders, finishing up with his face, “Maybe. Up to Rick really. Think it would be smart.”
He agreed with me as he took a clean rag from beside him and starting to clean my face. I’m sure I was red as a tomato at how gentle he was being. I could feel my insides churn at his touch. It made me feel things I hadn’t felt in a very long time. The only touch from a man I had gotten recently was abusive. This was totally different.
“Get some sleep,” I mumbled when he was done. I wanted so badly to touch him one more time. And I was afraid if he stayed for much longer, I wouldn’t be able to control myself. “We gotta busy day tomorrow.”
Nodding a few times, Daryl stood and with one final look at my now cleaned face, he was out the cell, closing the door behind him. I relaxed a bit, laying on my back and pulling a blanket over my aching body. Sleep came quite easily that night since I didn’t get much the night before. Which I was thankful for if I was going to help out the next day. Lord knows Rick needed all the help he could get.
Morning came way too early for my liking. But I pulled myself off the bed and quickly pulled on a different, cleaner shirt than what I had been wearing. After pulling my boots onto my feet, I tied back my long hair into a French braid to keep it out of the way. I put my gun and knife in their holders (which I had found on a run not too long ago) and walked down the stairs to find Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Hershel standing around a table filled with weapons. They must have found the armory.
I picked up a shotgun, not exactly expecting the weight of it. Wanting something more than just my one handgun and knife, I set it aside. Maggie handed me one of the vests that the guards were wearing. I hesitantly put it on, hating how it reeked of walkers. Then I strapped the shot gun to my back and made sure that I had everything.
We walked out of the cell block and into a dark, damp, isolated part of the prison. It reminded me of a cave in a video game that Mason and I used to play. It was quiet besides the sound of leaks and our footsteps. I stayed sandwiched between Daryl and T-Dog, making sure to keep my eyes open and myself aware of anything that could be flagged as a danger. The smell of spray paint filled my nostrils. I glanced over at Glenn who was marking arrows on which way to get back to the cell block. It was smart.
There were bodies everywhere. But they had long been decayed telling us that they had been killed a good while ago. I found myself edging closer to Daryl and holding my flashlight up higher for him to see in front of us. We creeped towards in the end of the long hallway, suspense filling my body.
Before we could round many corners, Rick was signaling for us to back, meaning that there had to be more walkers than we could take. So we turned on our heels and sped away trying to get back to the cell block. But there were walkers coming from that way as well. I gasped softly and darted in the opposite direction. I must have been faster than what I thought because all I could see was walkers and no one that looked alive and familiar. I panicked and kept running, trying to figure out what to do. So I found a small storage closet and hid inside. I was alone.
I heard the moans of the dead and the shuffle of feet right outside the door. I lifted my knife up ready to see if any walkers could get through that door. But as it opened, a crossbow was aimed at my face. I relaxed as a few bodies were shoved into the closet with me. But I didn’t see Maggie nor Glenn. My body was up against Daryl’s as he looked me over and gave me a look to ask if I was okay. I just shrugged him off, not in the mood for his clinginess at the moment. I was worried about the couple that was absent from sight.
“Where’s Glenn and Maggie?” I whispered to Rick, who was probably about to ask the same thing.
We composed ourselves then headed out the door. Before I could get too far, Daryl’s hand was gripping the back of my vest to bring me beside him. I gave him a pissed look. I didn’t need him to babysit me. For the first time, I was unhappy with Daryl. I just huffed and continued to follow Rick who was ahead of everyone else.
Just then, we heard an awful cry from somewhere behind us. We quickened our pace and the scene before me left me speechless. Hershel was on the ground with a walker feasting on his leg. Rick tore his gun from his waist and killed the walker with one bullet. But that meant that the herd that we were avoiding would be on us soon.
So I stood guard and readied the shotgun that I was glad that I brought. As Glenn and Maggie caught up to us, I started to fire the shotgun into the walkers that were coming nonstop. They got Hershel up and started carrying him down the hallway that no walkers came from. T-Dog ripped the handcuffs off the door that was at the end, revealing a cafeteria.
I threw my back against the doors, helping T-Dog and Daryl. I then ripped the weapon from T-Dog’s hand and shoved it through the handle. That would help a bit. I then ran over to where Hershel was being held down. Rick had taken his belt and put it around Hershel’s shin above the bite. I was told to hold it tight, so I did. Rick then lifted a hatchet and started to chop into Hershel’s leg.
After he had passed out from the pain and Rick had successfully cut off the leg, Daryl told us all to duck down. Confused, I peeked over to where he was looking. Five men were standing on the other side of the cafeteria watching as in shock as Daryl had his crossbow raised. I suddenly felt like I could throw up.
It was hard getting Hershel back to the cell block. It all happened so fast that I could barely remember it. I just remember Rick yelling that we needed to get back. I also remembered Daryl trying to figure out what the hell was going on with those prisoners.
After Hershel was on top of a table that Glenn scored from inside the kitchen, the door was open and we had to leave. Looking back at Daryl who still had his crossbow aimed at the prisoners, I quickly reached and pulled at his shirt to get him to follow us. Once we were outside the room, we booked it back, trying to keep Hershel alive.
I grabbed the keys from Daryl’s pocket, surprising him, and ran to the door to unlock it. Then I ran ahead and unlocked the door to the actual cell block. As most everyone was safely back inside the cell block, I remained on the other side with T-Dog and Daryl, waiting for the group of prisoners to emerge.
When they did, Daryl already had his crossbow raised. What seemed like the leader of their small group had a gun clutched in his hand, causing me to raise the shotgun I held. As he and Daryl spoke with threatening tones, I noticed one of the prisoners sizing me up. He was the shortest of the group. Maybe stood a little taller than me. But I felt uncomfortable under his gaze. I knew what it meant. Because it was the same stare Philip would give me. I told myself that I was a stronger person than before. But that didn’t stop my heart beating so fast I thought it was going to quit altogether.
Daryl must have noticed because he stood in front of me and started shouting for them to just leave. Annoyed by his outburst, I got out from behind him silently still having the shotgun raised. The shouting made Rick come in, gathering all of our attention. While Rick was trying to converse with them, Daryl nudged me back a bit.
“Go back with the others,” He whispered to me, not taking his eyes off the group before us.
I just shook my head, “Not a chance.”
I was seriously starting to get annoyed with Daryl and his demands over me. I could take care of myself for Christ’s sake! Rick took the prisoners outside to show them the truth that they had been hidden from. Before I could follow behind them, Daryl was pulling me back.
“What the hell is your problem?” I hissed at him.
He still had a tight grip on my upper arm, “I said ta go back with the others.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, not letting my voice falter, “I can take care of myself, Daryl. I don’t need you to be my babysitter.”
“Yeah, well maybe if ya weren’t so Goddamn useless, I wouldn’t have ta babysit ya all the damn time,” He scoffed out, leaving me shocked.
My eyes widened, feeling the hurt find its home inside my heart. Did he really think that I was useless? That made what Carol said make sense. If he looked at me like I was going to break, then it must have been because he thought I was weak. I took a few steps back away from him, feeling my tough exterior wane. As I creeped back, I lifted my head to look him in the eyes. He didn’t look sorry at all.
“Go to hell,” I breathed as I turned on my heels and went back inside the cell block before locking the door.
Annoyed and heartbroken, I slumped on to the stairs. I wasn’t useless. He didn’t mean that. He couldn’t have. I save his life the first time we had met. I led all those walkers away from the house while they got out. I gathered all the supplies that got us through the winter. That was me. I wasn’t useless.
The others came back with large bags and cans of food. I would have been happy to see this if I wasn’t so angry at Daryl. Speaking of which, I didn’t see him. He must have stayed with the prisoners to keep them accounted for. I was kind of happy about that because I didn’t think I could have handled being near him at that moment. Rick and T-Dog then left again to help clear out a cell block for the prisoners.
With another sigh, I went to go check on how Hershel was doing. Carol and Lori were watching over him, reporting that they didn’t have any medical supplies at all. That’s when I got the bright idea I knew would prove how freakin’ useless I was.
“I’ll go look for the infirmary,” I spoke softly, slicing the silence in half.
“What?” Lori barked, “No, Cor. It’s too dangerous to go alone. Wait for Rick or Daryl and they can go.”
I stayed my ground, “He needs it and I can do this. Even if you tell me no, I’m still gonna go. Hershel is my main priority.”
“Daryl isn’t going to like this,” Carol whispered after no one else said anything. The others had gathered around the cell door behind us. Probably wondering why Lori seemed so concerned. My cheeks grew hot as she said that. Not because she was talking about Daryl caring for me, but because I was mad at him still.
“Don’t tell him then,” was all I muttered before heading out of the cell and grabbing supplies to go into the prison.
I had my knife, hand gun, shotgun, bullets, and a flashlight. I was ready. After checking a map I found in the guard perch, I headed in the right direction. My mind was still wrapped around what Daryl said. The anger and the taunting in his voice sent chills up my spine. Stupid redneck. I could have cried if I wanted to. But I just took a deep sigh and thought that I was going to be okay. I didn’t need stupid Daryl Dixon anyways.
Just as I was five minutes into searching for it, I head footsteps behind me. Spinning around with my knife raised, I came face to face with Carl.
“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered at him, relaxing a bit. But not too much because now I had to look after him.
“I’m coming with you,” he said proudly.
I looked at him like he was nuts, “Uh, no you’re not. You’re mom barely let me come and I’m an adult.”
After he gave me his disappointed look, I understood how much this would mean to him. It meant the same thing to him as it did to me. He probably felt useless too, seeing as he was the youngest in our group and no one truly trusted him to go on runs or clear out walkers. I then sighed and hesitantly put my hand on his shoulder.
“Fine,” I mumbled, “But you stay close and don’t try to be cocky and get us killed.”
He bobbed his head up and down, a smile plastered on his face. We continued to walk along the prison, looking for the door that would give us something to help Hershel. A walker came into view and I picked up my pace and nailed it right in the head. It fell to the floor. Carl and I moved on, stepping over corpses as we went.
After another five minutes, we came across a large door that read, ‘INFIRMARY’ on it. I pried open the door easily but stayed alert when we entered the room. It was a small room that held four hospital beds that looked way more comfortable than what we had back in the cell block. Before stuffing the bag I had with things I thought we would need, Carl and I made sure the room was cleared. Thankfully, it was. Bandages, antibiotics, ointments, even a pair of crutches, were all we decided to take. We would go back when we had the time to get everything else. Before we left, I picked up a few candles and a lighter and stashed it in my bag.
We got back with no problem. I had told Carl to tell no one that he went with me. It would just be easier that way. I ran back into the cell block, silently thankful that the others weren’t back yet. I threw down the bag in front of Carol. She let out a gasp, diving into the bag of goodies Carl and I had put together.
“Coraline, that was reckless and stupid of you to go alone,” Lori said, her voice stern.
I gave her a stunned look, not believing that she was about to make a big deal about this. I just scoffed at her, shaking my head and walking out before heading up to my cell. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with this. I got the supplies and all I needed was a thank you. I knew it was a bit reckless to go alone, but it needed to be done. Hershel probably wasn’t going to last until Rick and the others got back.
I pulled out one of the candles from my bag and places it in a small, empty can of corn then lit it. The light danced around the cell, bringing in more light than just the sun that barely peeked through the windows. It was hypnotizing. Just so that I almost didn’t hear the door to the cell block open then close signaling that they were back.
Wanting to see how Hershel was doing, I stepped out from my cell and leaned against the railing. I peered down at the group that was piling into the cell that held Hershel. There was a cry, then some breaths of relief. I supposed he was okay. A small smile found its way on to my lips knowing that I probably saved his life by going to the infirmary.
But just as I was patting myself on the back, my eyes locked with Daryl. His face was unreadable and he was climbing up the stairs. Not wanting to talk to him at all, I made my way back into my cell and sat on the bed, twirling Mason’s dog tags between my fingers. Just when I thought he would bypass my cell, he let himself in and stared down at me as if I was a child.
“Yer damn stupid, ya know that?” He spat at me, obviously angry with me.
I didn’t get it. I really didn’t. Why was he so angry at me? But I honestly wasn’t in the mood to argue with him and pry him for answers. I was tired and just wanted to be alone since everyone just wanted to yell at me about how stupid and useless I was. I couldn’t handle any more insults from another person I cared about.
“Please go away,” I said with a weak voice.
Daryl shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably like something changed in his attitude. He suddenly didn’t seem that angry. Maybe it was because he could tell how upset I was about this whole damn thing. He inched closer until he was kneeling in front of me. Normally, I would be freaking out at how close he was to me. I just didn’t have it in me this time.
“Ya just can’t run off by yaself all the damn time,” He said in a more soft tone.
Still playing with Mason’s dog tags, I didn’t even look at him, “Why do you even care?”
“Ya ain’t my blood,” He whispered to me, causing me to look up at him, “But yer my problem. Yer my family now. We’re all family now so we look out for one another.”
He was so close to my face I could make out all the secret freckles on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose that I hadn’t noticed before. They were barely there and almost unrecognizable with how tan he was. I wanted to reach out and run my hands through his dark hair. My eyes flickered to his lips then up to his eyes again. But then I realized that his was Daryl and he had no feeling for me. He just thought I was useless.
Retreating back to my cold and weak posture, I whispered, “You think your blood is useless too?”
“I didn’t mean that and ya know it,” He said, a hint of annoyance in his tone, “Was just frustrated with ya being so damn stubborn.”
I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit because it was rich coming from him, “You say that like you’re not the king of stubbornness.”
A smile was painted across his lips which made my stomach do flips. God, he was beautiful. Somehow deep inside me, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him for long with that smile and those blue eyes. It was just bound to happen.
Daryl went on to tell me what happened with the prisoners. He said that only two were alive now. The thought of those prisoners being so close to us made me shiver. Especially with how they looked at me. I knew that they would look at Maggie and Beth the same way. It made me uneasy. But then Daryl changed the subject to Hershel and how he was alive and awake.
“I’ll go get ya some food,” He announced as he stood, “Ya look like ya gonna break.”
My mind skipped back to Carol’s words. It was the exact same thing she had said to me. Suddenly feeling confused, I just nodded to him without a word. I needed to speak to Carol about this. As soon as he was gone, I raced to her cell that was on the other end from mine.
“Carol,” I said breathlessly.
She was in there, eating whatever food she had found. Lori was in there too, chowing down and getting some much needed nutrition. She looked as if I had startled her.
“What does everyone think is going on between me and Daryl?” I asked straight to point.
She glance over at Lori who was avoiding eye contact with me then said, “You guys obviously care about each other. And I think Daryl feels comfortable around you more than anyone else.”
I waited for her to continue because she was obviously leaving something out. Once she realized that I was waiting for her to add more to what she had said, she sighed.
“You both have feelings for each other that you’re scared to admit to anyone. The sexual tension is killing us all just so you know,” She muttered the last part in her food.
I just stood there awkwardly, regretting that conversation completely. I then turned to Lori who was watching and listening quietly. She must have sense me looking at her because she lifted her head and stared back.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” I said softly, “It was stupid of me to go alone. I just wanted to help out.”
I didn’t let her reply for I was already walking back to my cell where Daryl was wanting for me. He had two servings of what looked to be corn and green beans. They looked a little questionable and cold but I didn’t care at the time. I just crawled on to my bed and pulled the food onto my lap. Daryl asked where I was which I replied that I was apologizing to Lori. I forgot to mention how apparently I wasn’t the only one who noticed the sexual tension between the two of us.
“What’s your favorite color?” I asked out of nowhere. We had finished our food and had discarded the cans. Daryl had been sat on the floor, his back resting against the frame of the bed, trying to explain how to sharpen a knife with a rock.
“Red,” He said without hesitation.
He then looked up at me as if he was waiting for me to tell him mine. His eyes beamed up at me and I could see the light of the candle dance over them. Seeing him sitting there, sharpening my father’s knife, I felt my heartbeat speed up. Something about that moment changed everything. I suddenly looked at Daryl as if he was the world. I wanted to see him happy and see him healthy. In that moment, I knew that I had potentially fallen for Daryl Dixon. Biting the inside of my mouth I simply replied, “Mine’s blue.”