Chapter 025

The woman who wielded a katana and a basket full of baby supplies and toys rests in the locked holding cage. She scowls at Rick, her brown eyes narrowed as she keeps them locked with his blue ones. In her eyes, she truly didn't ask for help, yet here we are with her locked away in a cage — unsure on what to do next. Beth had offered her some water and a granola bar, yet neither of those had been touched. Rick had paced in front of the cell after ordering Carl to stash away the basket of baby supplies, muttering a few things under his breath as he rubs at his eyes.

      I stand from my seat at a table, carefully placing Thalia in the hands of her big sister before I start walking toward the woman. Her eyes snack from Rick's, narrowing in on mine as I open the door and kneel down in front of her. "Look," I say, forcing the words to come out of my throat in case this woman doesn't know sign language. Her eyes seem to soften as she stares at me, noting that I was not in the slightest angry at her. "We have a man who can help you with this. I know you didn't ask for it, but it's the least we can do to prevent an infection. We have the supplies, more than enough to spare. I just want to know where you got the baby stuff."

      "The supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy and a pretty girl." The woman says slowly, as she looks away from me and toward the others. She seems rather defeated and I don't blame her, seeing as the type of situation she is in. Glenn and Maggie had dropped these supplies but why? "Were they attacked?" I ask, as I bring her attention back toward me. I know that if Rick asks her these questions, he'd be more harsh with her so I took over.

      "They were taken."      "Taken? By who?"      "By the same son of a bitch who shot me."

      "Hey, these are our people. Tell us what happened now!" Rick snaps as he pushes past me, pressing his hand on the woman's wound. My eyes grow wide at his actions, watching as the woman hisses as she kicks his hand away. "Don't you ever touch me again." She seethes, her brown eyes narrowing at the man once more as she pulls her leg up to where he couldn't touch the bullet graze. "You'd better start talking," Rick threatens as he kneels down next to her. "Or you're going to have a much bigger problem than a bullet wound."

      "Find 'em yourself."

      Rick pulls out his gun instantly, angered by her words and unwillingness to help. I step between the two, my back toward her as I stare down at my leader. He had never acted so rash until recently, after the death of his wife — but you can't use that as an excuse as to why you murdered someone for no reason. "Rick," I sign after forcing the man to look down at me. "You can't kill her, put the gun down and let's try to have a calm discussion with her. She is our only hope in finding Glenn and Maggie."

      "Now you," I say as I turn around to face the unnamed woman, my hazel eyes narrowing at her brown ones. Kneeling down in front of her once more, I point toward Hershel as he uses his crutches to make his way toward us with a medical kit. "That pretty girl, her name is Maggie. That's his daughter, her big sister. The young Asian is one of ours, basically his son in-law. Now he can fix you up, but you've got to tell us where they are. Lead us there, help us find our people."

      "There's a town; Woodbury. About seventy-five survivors," She explains after she had taken a deep breath, having nodded at my words. I share a glance with Hershel as he struggles to kneel down, before looking back toward the woman. "I think they were taken there. That'd be my guess anyway."

      "A whole town?"

      "It's run by this guy who calls himself the Governor — pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type."

      "He got muscle?"

      "Paramilitary wannabes," She explains with a nod, a tiny shrug of her shoulders as well. Feeling rather unease by her words, I fold my hands in my lap as I begin to pick at the dead skin around my nails. "They have armed sentries on every wall."

      "Do you know a way in?"

      "The place is secure from the infected. But we could slip our way in."

      "This is Hershel," I inform, pointing at the much older man who had sat down next to the woman. I watch as the woman gives him a small smile, silently greeting him. "He will patch you up."

      Forcing a sigh past my lips, I force myself to stand to my full height, offering a final smile toward the injured woman. Tilting my head to look at Rick, I motion for him to follow me as he does the same to the others. I walk out of the holding cell, toward Sophia who still sat at the table, her brown eyes cast down to Thalia's sleeping frame. The second T-Dog and I made our way through that door with Thalia in my arms, she stepped into the roll of big sister. She scooped up Thalia with such gentleness that I forgot this world even held.

Sophia looks up at me, worry and concern flashing across her face as she peers past me and toward the unknown woman. I shake my head, dismissing her questions she failed to voice. Gently scooping up Thalia into one arm, I wrap another over Sophia's shoulders as all of us begin to make our way toward the inner-part of the cellblock. As we reach the cells, we all gathered around to discuss the plan we needed to make to save Glenn and Maggie.

"What are we gonna do?" Axel asks as he folds his arms over his chest, his eyes flicking between all of us. He was knew to this type of stuff, we all kinda were — but only one answer was certain. "We save our people," I reply matter-of-fact, my hazel eyes locking with his blue ones for a moment. He nods, silently agreeing with me despite the fear on his face at my words. "And she's going to show us how to get in and out without causing a fuss."

"It's Glenn and Maggie, there isn't much to discuss. We gotta bring them back." Beth states worriedly, as she stares at Axel almost shocked that he even asked that question. I look over toward her, offering a small smile before I look toward Rick. He was biting his inner cheek, his hands on his hips while in deep thought. "We'll leave in twenty," Rick announces as he looks up from the floor, his eyes flicking between all of us with ease. "Daryl, Oscar, T-Dog and the girl will come with us. Katherine, you and Hershel will hold down the fort here."

"I can be an extra set of hands." I say, attempting to offer myself up to tag along. Watching as Rick glances over at Daryl, I could see the panic settling into my husband at the mere thought of me going. "No," Rick dismisses as he looks back at me, shaking his head a bit as he tries to come up with some sort of excuse not to let me go. He seemed to have calmed Daryl's panic at the very simplistic answer. "If things go south, God forbid if anything happens to Daryl — Sophia and Thalia need you. Carl will need you too."

"It's not me he needs Rick," I say softly, lifting Thalia gently so her head rests on my chest. Glancing over toward Carl, I watch as he shifts from one foot to the next uncomfortably. "He already lost his mother. Don't let him lose his father too."

Turning on my heels, I walk up the steps to the catwalk, before turning into the cell that Daryl and I share. Kneeling down, I place Thalia into an old laundry basket, resting her on neatly folded blankets. Sitting down on the bed, I allow my eyes to stay glued to my daughter — watching as she sleeps peacefully, oblivious to the dangers this new world brings. A year in and we still learn new things, dangerous things and things you'd never even think of.

This world is a dangerous place, between the walkers and the living — you're stuck just trying to survive. Those living can be, and seem to be more dangerous than the dead and that scares me. A shadow is appears on the floor next to the worn down basket, causing me to look away from Thalia and toward the person. Daryl stands in front of the cell, his crossbow tossed over his left shoulder with ease.

      I watch as he sits the crossbow next to the bed before he sits down next to me, causing the already thin mattress to dip a little more. Leaning into his arm, I rest my head on his shoulder as I look back toward Thalia. She jumps a bit in her sleep, a startle reflex as Hershel calls it, before settling once more. "Are you okay?" Daryl asks after he took his hand in my view, gaining my attention instantly.

      "I'm fine, Dare," I reply, forcing a small smile on my lips as I turn to look at the man. He raises a brow at me, clearly not buying the whole act I tried to throw at him. "I'm worried. About Glenn and Maggie, the others, you. Rick's right, things could go south. Then I am all that's left for Sophia and Thalia."

      "I can't make promises that I'll come back to you guys," Daryl states as he looks away from me, his eyes glancing down to our sleeping daughter. His chews on his cheek, trying to figure out the right words to say. "I can't say for sure that we'll bring Glenn and Maggie back either. But I hope you know that I'll try my damnest to come back to you, Sophia, and Thalia."

      "Yeah, but sometimes that just isn't enough to erase the worries. Not in this world at least," I explain, allowing a low sigh to pass my parted lips as I turn to look away from my husband. The concrete floors of the prison need a good mopping with how dusty and dirty they seem to be. "At first we thought it was just the walkers we needed to worry about. Now it's the living, those that are just surviving. I know that came to light at the farm, but it's becoming more and more true the more we survive. We already have one daughter who's adjusting to this world, one who was born and raised in the previous world who is learning to adjust to this one. Thalia won't get the chance to know what our world was, she won't get the chance to be a kid before she is learning to defend herself from walkers and people."

      "That's why Rick wants to build a life here. He wants to build a community here where we can get back to what we were." 

      "But how? After all we've been through, all we've done and will do. How could we just go back to living like those things don't exist?"

      "We'll find a way, we always do." Daryl says before he wraps an arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his side with ease. Sighing at his words, I rest my head on his chest as we lean back. Relaxing in his arms, I wrap an arm around his before cuddling closer. I know he has to leave soon, but for now we'll relax and pray to whatever God there is that they bring Glenn and Maggie back.

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      Cradling Thalia in my arms, swaying gently to try and silent her cries as she latches to my left breast - my eyes stay trained on the Cherokee that is pulling away from the prison. We had said our goodbyes to Daryl and the others, praying silently that they bring themselves, Maggie and Glenn back safely. Sophia stands next to me, fear and worry plastered on her face as she too watches as they drive away. She is terrified that something will happen to Daryl and the others and she has every right to be.

      Placing an arm over her shoulders, I motion for her to go into the prison, causing her to nod as she begins to walk over toward Carl who held his sister. I watch as the two walk together, they didn't talk, they didn't even look at one another — the worries of today clouding their every thought. I only sigh at the sight, following after them once the Cherokee Volkswagen disappears into the trees, driving down the dirt path. Entering the prison, I am greeted with Hershel who sits at a table with Beth, who know holds the youngest Grimes.

      Beth gently cradles the baby, a bottle in her hand as she begins to silent the child's cries. Sitting down next to them, I watch as Carl closes the gates door, locking it with ease before he attaches the set of keys to his belt loop. Watching as he and Sophia walk further into the cell block, I have no doubt the two are going to their shared cell to read comics — something they did often to fill the silence that loomed in the air. Looking down at Thalia, I carefully pull her from my nipple, before holding her upright in hopes to get a good burp out of her.

      Once I do, I ease her to my right breast in hopes to empty it as well. She latches greedily, using her tiny hands to beat against my flesh. Smiling down at the baby, I rub her cheek gently before looking up toward the others. Axel walks in from the actual cell block area, leaning against the wall furthest from us as he picks at his prison uniform.

      We really need to find that man some different clothes.

      Feeling a thump on the table, I turn to look toward Hershel and Beth, the duo already looking at me.

      "They finally settled on a name for the baby," Beth says as she looks down at the child in her arms, who happily sucks away at the bottle. Raising a brow with a slow head nod, I allow the teen to continue. "Carl offered up the name Judith, after a third grade teacher. Rick seemed to like it, so they named her Judith."

      "I think that's a pretty name; Judith," I state, looking down at the young Grimes who has her eyes closed. She has grown a lot in the last week, just like Thalia had — the two seeking to share a birthday. "It's way better than what Daryl calls her. Ass Kicker definitely was not it."

      "I like when he called her sweetheart," Beth explains giddily as she recalls the nickname, smiling at the memory of it. Daryl and Maggie had just gotten back from their run, Daryl quickly scooping up the young girl and feeding her a bottle. I wish I had been here to see it, but seeing how he loves Thalia - I believe every bit of what they said. "Who knew such a tough guy could have such a gentle and sweet side of him. Of course, you already knew that though."

      "He's definitely sweet once he allows that tough guy act to fail." I admit, slightly nodding my head at Beth's words as she continues to feed Judith. Hershel nods his head in agreement, as he turns his head to watch Beth burp the newborn. Bidding a silent goodbye, I stand up from the table and begin walking toward the cells. I want to busy myself until the others get back, so I might as well clean up a bit.

      Walking up the stairs, I turn to the right before walking into Daryl and I's cell. Placing Thalia into her makeshift bed, as she had fallen asleep using me as a pacifier, I adjust my shirt to get it sitting right again. Sitting down on the bed, I grab my bag before I begin to pull all of my things out of it.

      It is time to make this prison a home.

____Word Count: 2,781date completed: September 30, 2025

Welcome back! Sorry that it took so long to finally get an update out. Between sicknesses and a surgery, it's been a rough month. I do want to apologize for this chapter being on the shorter side — but as we dive deeper into the prison's storyline and what I have in store for The Dixon's and the rest of the group, the chapters will definitely be back to our normal length.

Also, the next chapter we will be introducing a NEW character, multiple new chapters actually.... but a new character that isn't apart of the original cast and a pre-existing character. The new character is basically taking over Carol's storyline's a bit, but not completely. Now enough about that....

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please feel free to leave any comments, a vote anything.

What are your guys' thoughts on this chapter and predictions for the upcoming ones? Who do you think this new character will be?

Lots of love,crimson rose