Full Time Job

I was sitting with Beth, Carl, Vinny, Hershel, Carol and Lori in the large grassy prison yard, trying to ignore the anxiety that was shaking my nerves. The smell of burned walker flesh crinkled my nose… there were two large fires of bodies burning on either side of the yard billowing black smoke high above the prison fences. Vinny was sitting on Beth’s lap as they sang together. Over the last few months on the run, Beth and I had grown closer and Vinny loved being around her. I was the youngest sibling in my family, before the outbreak, and I never knew what it was like to have a little sister. I guessed that it was a little like having Beth around.

Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Rick, and T-Dogg left over an hour ago to clear the inner prison yard, and we were all starting to worry. Lori was pacing the small concrete path that we were congregated around, until Hershel made her sit down. He was worried that all of the stress and moving around would trigger an early labor. Without any real medical equipment, Hershel continued to emphasize the importance that Lori had as natural of a birth as possible.

The weather was warm, and I slid out of my hooded jacket. I placed it with the pile of our supplies and packs that were waiting to be moved, as soon as we had a place to move it to. When I turned to walk back towards the group, I saw Glenn walking towards us from the entrance to the prison. He was alone. My heart started to race when I wondered where the others were. As he walked towards us, he didn’t appear to be upset, like he would if any of them hadn’t made it. I relaxed a little more when Glenn addressed the group.

“We have a cell block cleared out, and we need to start moving our supplies.” When he made eye contact with me and read the anxiety on my face, he added, “Everyone’s fine. They’re waiting for us inside…” I took a deep breath and it felt like the weight was finally off my shoulders. Everyone was fine, and everyone especially included Daryl.

Beth brought Vinny over to me as I was slinging Daryl’s and mine and Vinny’s packs across my shoulder. She smiled, and left to help Hershel lug their things into the prison.

“Can I carry something, Zia?” Vinny asked, and I smiled down at him. I opened up my pack and handed him his toy gun, and he placed it in his pocket and we walked hand in hand behind the group that was approaching the prison. I looked around us as we walked. There was double the amount of walker bodies in the inner fenced area than there were in the field that we had cleared yesterday. I wondered how our guys managed to take them all out and everyone be ‘just fine.’ Either our guys were getting very good or they were just very lucky.

The heavy door creaked as Glenn held it open for each of us to pass through. He ruffled Vinny’s curly brown hair as we walked by. The small hallway led us to the gray, drab, derelict institution, and it reminded me of the nursing home my great aunt was in before she passed away. It may not have been the prettiest place, but it was secure. We walked through a set of giant iron bars, and met Rick and the others, who were piling up dead walker bodies near the door. The place was trashed… but, it was the safest place that we had ever been in. Daryl whistled down to me from the second floor cat walk, and I smiled up at him. I lugged our packs and led Vinny up the metal stairs that led to the second floor of cell blocks.

He pulled the packs off my shoulder and smiled down to me, and I fought the urge to kiss him as we heard Beth’s voice below us.

“Do we sleep in the cells?” she asked. I watched down on the group as they looked around the cell block.

“I ain’t sleepin’ in no cage,” Daryl grunted, “We’ll take the perch…” He carried our things over near the officer’s station. Vinny tugged at the hem of my shirt.

“Zia, can I play with my cars, please?” he asked politely and I nodded, pulled his small toys from our pack, and he sat on the office floor of the small room, pushing the tiny cars along the lines of the tiles. Daryl walked out of one of the cells, lugging three mattress pads over to me, and spread them out on the metal floor in front of the second floor perch.

I was spreading our quilt and sleeping bags over them, and sorting through our packs when Daryl sat down on the top step of the stairwell that was near our bed. He set his crossbow and hunting knifes near our bed and relaxed for a few minutes.

“Zia, I’m hungry,” Vinny whined, and I felt a pang of guilt as I answered, “We’ll eat soon, sweetie. I promise, just sit tight for me for a little while longer, okay?”

“Okay,” he answered glumly and I ignored the pain in my stomach from hunger also. Daryl abruptly stood up and walked down the steps. I watched from the perch as he sat next to Rick, who was leaning against the outer wall of the cell block. He looked annoyed. I hoped that he hadn’t finally gotten tired of taking care of us, as he had said before, it was a full-time job.

“Vinny, stay here and play with your cars, I’m going to be right down there with Mr. Rick and Daryl…” I instructed clearly. He nodded and continued to push his cars around the tile lines on the office floor. I walked slowly down the steps and slid down the wall, sitting next to Daryl and Rick… I listened as Daryl was slightly arguing a point to Rick.

“I mean, when I was a kid, I spent ninety percent of the time hungry... I can’t do it to that little boy, man. We need to go hunt, or find the cafeteria…” Daryl said quietly. He pulled my hand in his as I sat down. Rick exhaled deeply.

“I’m hungry too, Daryl… we all are… I don’t want any of us to be hungry either, but we need to rest. We will eat tomorrow.” Rick answered decisively. Most of our group had already claimed a cell and were already either laying down or sleeping. We were exhausted and Rick was right, they needed to rest. I slowly stood up and left them to talk more. I yawned sleepily as I climbed the steps to the place where we would be sleeping.

I spread out across the mattress pads, thankful that they were actually pretty comfortable. I laid on my side and watched Vinny playing in front of me. I let him play for a while, before pulling him into bed with me as the room was growing darker from the setting sun. Not long after, I felt Daryl lay down on the mattress behind me and sling his arm around his waist. The room was quiet, save from Hershel’s loud snoring that we had all grown accustomed to.

The next day, Daryl and I were standing on the catwalk of the cell block, and I could not stop laughing at him while he was trying to teach me how to throw a punch.

“Hold your hand like this, Princess, or you’ll break your wrist, hold it straight too…” he said, maneuvering my hand into the correct position. I giggled, and swung at him, as he laughed, dodging my punch and the momentum crashed my body into his. He steadied me and we were laughing again when Rick called for Daryl to join him as he stood below by the gate with T-Dogg, Glenn, Hershel, and Maggie. Daryl smirked at me and quickly walked down the steps to where they were standing.

I sat down by Vinny, who was playing with his cars near our bed, and watched as Daryl walked back up the metal stairwell. He pulled his crossbow around him and tucked a few of his hunting knifes into their sheaths and buckled them to his belt.

“We’re going to find the cafeteria, and some food,” he started. I frowned slightly and he noticed… he was getting ready to ask me what was wrong when Vinny asked him if he could join them.

“I need you here to protect your Zia,” he answered and stood up. I stood up next to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He bent down slightly and kissed me sweetly.

“C’mon Daryl,” Rick called from the barred iron door that led to the rest of the prison. He looked at me apologetically and slowly slid my arms off his neck.

“I’ll be back soon,” he whispered and kissed me on the cheek again before he turned and left with Rick and the group. Lori, Carol, Beth, Vinny and I were the ones who stuck behind, as usual. Carl sulked by the iron door, angry that he couldn’t join the group. I helped the women that stayed behind clean up the cell block. The men had removed the walker bodies that morning, alleviating the smell of rotting flesh. After the place was cleaned up, we sat around the institutional looking metal table with attached stools that sat outside the cells. Lori was rubbing her baby bump and Carol was sewing a patch in a pair of her jeans. Beth and Vinny played together on the cleaned concrete floor next to the table.

“You alright, Gia?” Carol asked, looking towards me with her concerned mother’s eyes. “…You’ve been quiet today…” she added and I sighed.

“I’m alright … It’s just that, well… nevermind… it’s stupid,” I said fumbling with my words and shaking my head as Carol and Lori were both studying my face.

“It’s not stupid…” Carol started, concentrating on the needle that she was pushing through the sturdy denim fabric.

“Well, of all things to be upset about,” I chuckled, “I just …miss Daryl. He’s always off risking his life and I’m not saying I’m not grateful because I am… I just am sick of sitting here and constantly worrying about him…” I shook my head. Lori patted the back of my hand.

“I know how you feel… Just be thankful that Daryl loves you. My husband does the same thing, but he doesn’t even talk to me anymore. I understand, I’m not proud of the things I’ve done…” Her voice cracked a little, as emotion seeped through her words. “…but he’s still my husband. I love him. All I’m saying is that I know how you feel.” I pulled her hand in mine and looked directly in her eyes. I knew Lori for a few months now, and I cared about her. I wasn’t around when she did the things she was talking about. I only heard about what happened between her and Shane from Daryl.

“Rick loves you. He wouldn’t be here if he didn’t.” I answered, and she cracked a half smile.

“Trust me… No matter how hard it is, or how distant you feel from each other, when they’re gone, you will never be the same.” Carol added, focusing on her needle work. I immediately felt guilt.

Carol’s entire family was gone. She suffered more than the two of us combined.

“I’m sorry Carol, I’m not meaning to be…” I started but she interrupted me.

“Don’t worry about it, dear. I’m not trying to be sour. Just be thankful that you have someone to sleep next to every night.” She looked at me solemnly. I nodded slowly and I looked incredulously at Lori as she started to chuckle.

“Carol, we need to find you a man. C’mon…there’s plenty of fish in the sea,” she said sarcastically and the three of us burst into laughter. I instinctually reached for the pendant on the necklace that Daryl had given me, and started to panic a little when I didn’t feel it in the spot it was always in around my neck. I stood up and ran up the steps, and began tearing through our packs.

“What’s wrong?” Carol called up to me, as I frantically searched for the necklace.

“I can’t find my necklace… the one from Daryl…” I called back, emptying every pocket of my back pack. When I didn’t find it in mine, I tore into Daryl’s pack and started to feel more panicky. I searched and re-searched the blankets that covered the mattress pads that we had slept on last night. I sat quietly for a minute, trying to remember the last time I remembered having it on.

I strained, thinking hard, and started blushing slightly. The last time I remembered touching the necklace around my neck was a few nights ago, before we had gotten to the prison. Daryl and I were making out in the cab of his pick-up truck. The memory of him hovering over me, kissing my neck, brought the butterflies back to my stomach and I quickly stood up from the mattresses on the floor and walked quickly down the metal stairwell.

“Did you find it?” Carol asked, looking up at me and pulling the needle and thread towards her as she stitched her jeans.

“No, but I think it’s in Daryl’s truck. I’m going to go out and get it.” I said quickly, pulling one of the handguns from the stash in one of the cells. The ladies looked at me incredulously as I checked the magazine to be sure it was full. I clicked the magazine back in the gun, and pushed the barrel into the back of my waistband. I also took the hunting knife that Daryl gave me that I hadn’t needed to use since we got to the prison.

“You can’t go, Gia, it’s not safe…” Carol said as I buckled the knife sheath to my belt.

“I can… the cars are parked right outside. It’s clear. I’ll be right back.” I answered. “I’ll be fine.” I said firmly.

I knelt down by Beth and Vinny, who were playing together on the floor. “Beth, I left something super important in Daryl’s truck. I need to go get it; can you please watch Vinny for a few minutes?” Beth looked at me suspiciously.

“Do you have to go right now?” she asked and I nodded. She shrugged, but agreed to stay with my nephew. I smiled at Carl who was still pouting when he opened the outer door for me. When I moved to open the door to the outer hallway that led to the prison grounds, the door swung open and Rick, Daryl, and Glenn were carrying Hershel into the cell block. My stomach turned when I realized that his ankle and foot had been hacked off, and he was bleeding profusely. I watched, frozen in horror as they carried him into a cell and Carol, Lori and Beth quickly ran in to help.

It took a moment to realize that a group of men followed them into our cell block, all wearing blue jump suits. As soon as I had realized they were there, I felt a pair of arms restrain me and I grabbed for the gun in my belt. I spun around, wrenched myself from his grip and punched him hard in the face, just as Daryl had taught me earlier. I pointed the gun towards the inmate that had just attacked me, realizing that I was surrounded by four guys, all of which had their hands raised in front of them, surrendering.

“Back up!” I ordered, motioning for the men that stood behind me to stand with the others. I heard Rick’s deliberate, firm voice behind me as he instructed the men to stay where they were. I felt Daryl slowly grab my hand and pull me backwards, through the door, before he walked through the same door way, holding up his crossbow.

“You have to help us clear a cell block, or spot us some weapons… this is my cell block!” one of them said. He had long dark hair and a mustache. The whole group that wasn’t attending to Hershel watched them from the other side of the bars.

“The one talking is the one that grabbed me,” I whispered quietly to Maggie. He was staring wickedly towards Maggie and I, who were standing with Carl at the gate. Daryl took a step towards him, shoving the tip of his loaded crossbow in his face.

“Don’t take offense, man… We haven’t seen a woman in almost a year…” He started, and Rick wrenched the outer security door to the cell block open and Daryl ordered the four of them out of the cell block. After they had left, Maggie and I quickly turned around and I scooped up Vinny who was pulling on the hem of my shirt. I moved in a daze and watched through the barred cell as Carol was working on Hershel’s leg. The mattress that he laid on was soaked in blood. My stomach was in knots.

“What happened?” Carol asked as she worked frantically to stop the blood that was flowing from his leg.

“He was bitten,” Maggie started, teary eyed. “…Rick had to cut off the bitten part of his leg, it was the only chance that he had…” She and Beth wrapped their arms around each other, sobbing into the other’s shoulder. I pulled Vinny to one of the tables and sat him on my lap, away from the cell that everyone was crowding around.

“Is Mr. Hershel going to be okay?” he asked, still staring towards the crowded cell.

“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. We sat quietly for a while, staying out of the way. Our gaze was pulled away from the bustle when I saw Carl rushing into the room, his arms full of medical supplies. He dumped them into the room with Hershel, and Lori was instantly furious that he had left the safety of the cell block. He stormed from the room, and took his usual spot by the gate, waiting for Rick to return. Vinny was getting tired, so I laid down with him for a few minutes so he would fall asleep. The room was pretty quiet, save the instructions that Carol would give every once and again from Hershel’s cell below. After Vinny was sleeping, I walked back down the metal stairway and Carol, Beth, Glenn and Maggie were sitting around the table. The room was dead quiet. I sat on the bottom step of the stairwell, waiting quietly for the guys to return.

After more than an hour, we heard the outer security door to our cell block open, and T-Dogg walked in, his arms were carrying a large cardboard box full of huge cans of food. Rick and Daryl followed behind, toting a large amount of food into our cell block.

Rick announced that we had gotten the food in exchange for helping the other inmates clear a cell block. I knew that it didn’t come at a price, just based on the fact that Rick’s clothes and face were covered in blood. Hershel was still hanging on, and Daryl sat next to me and pulled my hand into his.

“Where’s Vin?” he asked, running his thumb over my fingers.

“He’s sleeping…” I answered, and the group quickly surrounded Hershel’s room. I walked hesitantly behind Daryl and we stood by the door and watched as Hershel slowly opened his eyes. He grabbed Rick’s hand, a symbol of solidarity, and all of us celebrated internally, knowing that he would most likely pull through. Today was a success. Carol started bustling around, sorting through the food. She pulled a few cans and some rice grains, and lugged them over to the table Daryl and I were sitting at, as well as a large canister of water.

“Daryl, would you mind coming outside with me while I build a fire and get this food cooking?” he nodded and I stood up when he did.

“I’m going to come with you; I have to get something out of the truck.” I added, and quickly asked Beth to keep an eye on Vinny. He usually napped for a few hours, and she graciously agreed. I walked out with Carol and Daryl, carrying the small bag of rice grains that Carol had portioned out of the larger bag. Daryl was telling us about the inmates that we had run into, how Rick killed the one who had attacked me, and how the rest of the prison was crawling with walkers. I was thankful for the iron bars that surrounded our cell block.

We walked outside and the setting Georgia sun slightly blinded us as we walked into the prison yard. Carol and Daryl were building a small fire, chatting lightly, and I peered around the yard. I could see walkers along the outside of the far fence, but the yard had continued to remain clear. I started walking towards the truck, slinging the door open and climbing inside when I approached it. I checked along the floorboards, frowning when they were bare. I started feeling in between the seats and felt immediate relief when I felt the dainty chain that was tucked into the seats. I exhaled dramatically and carefully pulled it from the truck seat cushions. I sat in the truck quietly for a few minutes after I had returned the necklace around my neck. I was thinking about Hershel, and how he was with the whole group and he still was nearly killed. It was stupid of me to think of going by myself. I rolled the small diamond pendant in between my fingers and my thoughts were interrupted when Daryl opened the door to the truck.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked, smiling crookedly at me.

“Nothing,” I answered and hopped down from the seat onto the pavement next to him. We started to walk back over towards Carol and Daryl asked, “Gia, why were you plannin’ on leave the cell block earlier?”

“How’d you know I was planning on leaving?” I asked and he stopped walking and turned my shoulders to face him.

“Because, you were strapped, and opening the outer door to the cell block?” he asked, impatiently. “…and because Carol told me…” he finished, staring at me intently.

“I left this in the truck,” I said, holding the pendant in between my fingers as it nestled safely around my neck.

“…And you couldn’t wait for me to get back?” he shot back angrily.

“Daryl, why are you so mad? Nothing happened…” I answered, and he shook his head.

“What about that dude that grabbed you in the cell block?” he asked again, and I smiled. “I handled that,” I answered and he smiled with me.

“I saw that… Good swing…” he chuckled, and pulled me into a hug. We continued to walk towards Carol, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“Just don’t do stupid shit like that anymore. Don’t go runnin’ off without me. Please. I don’t want to have to worry about you more than I already do…” he said seriously. I looked up at him and answered, “I didn’t know if you were going to come back. I sit there, worrying about you all day, and this is the only thing that I have that is from you. I needed to have at least that…”

He was quiet for a moment. “Don’t worry about me, Princess, I can handle it.” he answered, and chuckled again. We approached the fire that Carol was standing over, stirring a large stock pot full of rice and vegetables. I sat next to Daryl on the bottom step of the stairwell that was near the fire, and we talked lightly with Carol as she finished cooking.

That night, we slept warm with full stomachs, thankful that everyone again survived another day.