Chapter 64

- Shane -

Shane wasn't overly worried about their next move. The group had experience dealing with walkers now, therefore, they were ready to deal with a group of walkers in a controlled environment. Controlled, as in they wouldn't have to deal with a big hoard at once. Instead, a small pack at a time. He was minding his own business, cleaning his gun by the trees when Lori approached him.

"Are you busy?" He looked at her with half an eye. He did not wish to speak to this particular person. Their relationship had soured a lot since her Rick came back. He understood she blamed him for tricking her but also understood that she was only convincing herself of that, to avoid the fact that she cheated on her husband. But he was growing tired of it. He admits he screwed up to some degree, but she wasn't blameless either. He never forced himself on her, and never lied to her either. The hospital was overrun. Rick was in a coma in the same hospital, unable to move. Ergo, Rick was dead. Anyone would've made the same conclusion.

He regretted everything that's happened between them. Rick was like a brother to him, and he truly wished to take care of his family at the time. Seducing Lori was never his intention, but one thing led to another, and suddenly their relationship shifted from friends to lovers. He would never forgive himself for it and hoped to all the gods Rick never knows. He can barely look him in the eye as things are.

"Not really, I'm just cleaning my gun. How can I help you?" Shane answered, not taking his eyes off from his task. Silence met his question, however.

"The cold shoulder, huh?" Lori muttered.

"I didn't catch that."

"Are you doing this to spite me?" Lori asked angrily, stomping her foot on the ground. Shane stopped and turned his head to her with a frown.

"Excuse me?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "The hell are you talking about?"

"Oh please. Don't play innocent with me. Are you seriously going to leave Rick and Carl out here by themselves, because of some grudge you have with me?"

"I don't know where this is coming from. And I'm not leaving anyone behind. We've made clear it's only gonna take a day. Then we'll come back here. You're not a very good listener." Shane's expression turned cold. "And don't you dare use Rick and Carl to guilt-trip me into this. You know they mean the world to me."

"Then why are you abandoning them!" She hissed furiously. "And don't give me that one day crap! You know how bad things can go in a few hours, let alone a whole day! We'll be left out here by ourselves!"

"We're leaving you weapons and ammo! Besides, what else do you want me to do? The decision wasn't mine, everyone agreed to it." Shane's temper was flaring. "Besides, weren't you the one who said to keep my distance from 'your' family? That's exactly what I'm doing, what else do you want?" Lori was lost for words, but she was angry nevertheless. Yet, she knew there was nothing she could do to change his mind. She just walked away.

- Xenon -

I was about to propose we head to the prison, but Daryl suggesting it first was a happy coincidence for me. It's not a good thing to always go against the current, even though I would be right to do so. I am not sure how much they trust my judgment, and unless I tread carefully in the early stages, they could develop resistance to my calls, thinking I'm just doing it to boss them around, which is obviously not my intention. It came from Daryl this time, and I just happened to vehemently agree with him.

I was taking notes of everyone's reaction to it. The most obvious of them is Lori, who looked like she just swallowed a turd, but she looked like that most of the time when she doesn't get what she wants, and the pregnancy is not helping her.

Quite frankly, I don't understand why she thinks she gets a say in anything that the group decides. Her contributions are practically nonexistent, so as far as I'm concerned, her opinions are irrelevant. Problem is, it appears as if she is speaking for both herself and her husband each time, so it's hard to turn them down that way. Not to mention, before Rick found us, she was getting chummy with Shane, so it's guaranteed he'd take her side.

Speaking of which, I don't know how their relationship has been since then. Not that I care about their personal life, mind you, but I'd prefer avoiding Shane going dark, as a certain white-bearded 'old goat' likes to say in certain fan-fictions for some reason.

Rick, on the other hand, seemed to understand the bigger picture, that we're not abandoning anyone, only securing a safe haven for everyone, including his own family.

Andrea and Amy's responses are to be expected. Andrea was very active in the TV show, refusing the knit by the fire while the men fought for her, something I respect immensely. They are placing themselves in significant danger this way when it isn't even asked of them. Evidently, that's assuming our group holds on forever, something I seriously doubt. Getting used to this new world as early as possible can never be a bad idea.

Jim, Glenn and Theodore are not the kind to shy away from hard work, from what I've observed. They think of how hard a task is but always consider the benefits as well. They do understand that any of us could die once we reach the prison, but they understood it was a necessary sacrifice. As for Dale... He was Dale. I can't say I like the guy, and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

We woke up early the next morning, having made most of our preparations the previous day. We didn't have much to prepare, as we only had to make sure the weapons are loaded and ready to use, and our stuff was packed. We departed without wasting time.

- Narrator -

It was ten in the morning when a group of cars pulled over on a road close to Meriwether County Correctional Facility. It held a significantly large area: Two large green fields, where inmates would usually spend the majority of their time, if the basketball field on the side and the workout equipment were any indication, along with several structures on the side where the inmates and staff could stay. Four tall towers, positioned strategically to overlook everything from above. Three layers of fences, creating two paths, most likely to keep the staff safe from the inmates, while close enough to monitor them.

"We'll walk from here. We don't know what the situation is like, so better be safe than sorry." Shane told the rest, getting several nods in responses. They only had to walk for a few minutes before reaching a vantage point up a hill, from where they could see more than enough of the prison.

"That's a lot of space we can work with." Glenn remarked with a bit of excitement.

"We could use the fields to grow crops and raise livestock, so food won't be a problem." Jim added.

The group was quite impressed with everything and were all the more eager to conquer the place from the occupying walkers.

"Let's move the cars to the entrance." Xenon commented. "As you can see, the prison is on lockdown. We don't have to fear walkers coming to get us outside. And the noise will help attract them to that side of the fence, so we could go in from the other side." They easily agreed with him, as they could see the merits of doing so.

"What about the walkers outside?" Shane frowned. "Once we park there, we'll get swarmed." There was a large crowd outside of the prison, attracted by the sound coming from inside the fences, but having no way to get in.

"We should deal with them first." Xenon nodded. "We could go in right away, but the cars would provide us with cover just in case we needed it. We can run circles around them if position them well, Or set up a gap between the cars to control how many walkers we can fight at the same time."

"That's actually a good idea." Jim mused out loud. "We should do that. No need to take risks. We go on the offensive first, finish off walkers as we fall back. then use that gap to guide them. It should be feasible." Once a plan of action was clear, they moved on to the cars to do as they said. They weren't afraid of being surrounded. Most of the walkers outside were gathered on one side of the fences, where the noise was the most important.

They drove pretty fast towards their destination and got out quickly to get into position, forming a human wall towards walkers. Most of them were nervous, as this is the first time they would be doing something like this.

"Take one out and get back in position." Xenon warned them for the last time before contact. They were each equipped with an axe as it gave them bigger reach. "Once there are too many of them, we go back to plan B." Which was using the cars to control the flow.

They now had the walkers' undivided attention, who got excited at the sight of their next meal. They weren't all packed in a single location, thankfully, which is the reason why they've decided the best tactic was to charge in, without giving them the opportunity. They can theoretically take out eight walkers at once, assuming they each succeed on the first try, which is why they've agreed to keep the front of the horde at five walkers. Once it exceeds that number, they would go to plan B.

They were unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching them from the top of the hill, exactly where they had been standing minutes ago. James was a tall man wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans slightly stained with blood. He had an unkempt beard, hair arranged in a pony tail, thick eyebrows above his blue eyes, a crooked nose that was most likely the results of several punches to the face, accentuated by the minor scars next to it.

"They've got mad skills, I'll give them that." said Kevin, his partner who looked ten years younger than him. He had black messy hair and roguish features. His brown eyes were drifting to the two women of the group through the binoculars. "And those blondes are hot~."

"Yeah... They don't look like dumbasses though." James said gruffly. "We gotta play this one smart."

"And they're armed to the teeth." Kevin remarked. "Maybe we should look for another group."

"Nah, we got this." James chuckled. "You just gotta play the part. See that prison?" Kevin nodded. "It's the best place we can use as shelter. And they've got here first. Now, if we wait until they've established themselves there, they may answer kindly to our presence. But if we help them take it..." James said vaguely.

"They're more likely to trust us." Kevin nodded with a smile. His binoculars never leaving his prey. "I call dibs on the younger one."

"Yeah, right." James snorted, shaking his head in amusement. "Priorities though. Guns first, pussy later."