Chapter 70

**- Xenon -**

"Let's just kill 'em and be done with it." Daryl suggested, his gun still pointed at Oscar, ready to pull the trigger.

"Nah, they're good." I shook my head, and I got the same 'are you a dumbass look' from him.

"That wasn't the deal, Xenon." Shane gave me a look. "They cannot be trusted, and they've already shown their true colors."

"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." I shook my head. "The bad elements are dead now. These two deserve a chance to make themselves useful, show us we can trust them. Don't you?" I extended my hand for him to shake.

"Yeah..." He grabbed it and I helped him up. Daryl and Shane were still unconvinced but opted against saying anything for now.

After securing the cellblock, we went back to the outer fences by the cars, to get something to eat and rest. Amy and Andrea came down from the tower eying the two prisoners with wariness.

"What happened?" Andrea asked.

"They were right... Andrea." Jim said sullenly. "One of the prisoners tried to kill Xenon in the chaos..."

"Is he dead?" Amy asked angrily.

"Yeah." I nodded my head with a grimace, and they quickly got the message. I wasn't comfortable killing people; it brought me no joy. But I felt no remorse for killing either which was disconcerting, yet I couldn't care less. I will kill as many as I had to to survive.

We made some small talk, introducing the two new additions until Shane brought up the subject of weapons. Now that we were a pretty big group of people, everything ought to be regulated, which I could not agree with more. I suggested that he takes responsibility for the weapons, as we'd all feel safer knowing they are in his tender care. We chuckled, but the underlying meaning didn't escape anybody.

"Should one of us go check on the others now?" Glenn proposed, earning glares from Daryl, Shane and every one of us with a speck of common sense. "What?"

"What is he talking about?" Randall asked with confusion.

"How about you mind your goddamn business, kid." Daryl snarled at him.

"Cat's out of the bag now, so why bother..." Shane shook his head wryly.

"Yeah." I nodded in agreement. "Back to your question though. They've got more than enough people and guns to protect themselves. We've still got a lot of work to do over here. I think we should finish preparing this place first, then we can bring them here."

"That's right. We can't do much back there. This place needs some serious work though." Shane added.

**- Narrator -**

The group began by clearing the cellblock they'd be using as living quarters. Removing the rotting corpses was their top priority at the moment: the stench it releases is unbearable.

Their group consisted of twelve people currently at the prison, thus it didn't take them too long to clean up the first cellblock. They piled the dead bodies in the other side of the prison, a part they haven't cleaned yet but locked up, before they lit them on fire. They knew there was an exit from that side they could use to transport the remaining, they just needed to kill the walkers first.

They discussed whether it is a good idea to clear the whole prison, since leaving the walkers there would also provide them security from that blind spot, knowing nobody can get through that place without making a ruckus, but it was ultimately decided that it isn't truly worth it.

If an enemy was motivated to ambush them from that side, they could use silencers to kill the walkers, or just melee their way with numbers.

The next step was unloading everything they had in the vehicles. Food, guns, tools... And more importantly, finding the correct placement for them. They had room to spare, but everything needed to be placed strategically. They decided to use the cafeteria to stock food, since it had a dedicated area for that specific task, not to mention it was the ideal place to eat in. At least, until they've set up tables somewhere else, but they had none at the moment.

The place desperately needed cleaning, but it wasn't urgent just yet. For now, it did its job and that's what mattered the most. The kids might find it unbearable, but it will be less so with time.

Glenn and Jim were told to start cleaning the second cellblock with Dave, Randall, Axel, and Oscar so that they could store the guns in the "armory". Speaking of the armory, they were uncertain if this prison had any or if it would still be loaded with weapons, but there was only one way to answer that question, and they needed more time to get that work started again.

By sunset, they had finished a significant portion of their work done, but they could only stop for the day. They were hungry and exhausted, and could barely move any longer. They got something to eat before each claimed a cell for himself. The main group purposely took ground cells next to each other, leaving the new members no choice but to take the rest of the cells on the upper floor. It was a pretty clever strategy Daryl came up with: if the new members got those cells, and left them at night for whatever reasons, the others would immediately be aware of it. Why? Footsteps could easily be heard on the metal platform on top of the stairs.

"One more thing." Shane announced to everyone. "This place will be locked down at night for security purposes, so get all your stuff from the cars before you get to sleep."

"Shane and I will be standing watch tonight." Daryl added. "We'll switch tomorrow."

Dave went back to his quarters with a frown on his face, partly because of the exhausted state his body was in, but also because of the lack of progress integrating the group. His initial calculation seemed to be off by a significant margin, Xenon's presence not helping his case at all. He firmly believed that Daryl would not be much of a problem: the others didn't truly take him seriously. Xenon on the other hand...

He could not understand how a group of adults could let some sixteen-year-old kid boss them around. They seemed to hold an immense amount of respect for him and his thoughts, for what reason he could not fathom. He found out first hand that he is highly capable: the way he handled the prisoners was very impressive, albeit accepting the last two was rather dumb on his part. He could tell that Xenon had killed people before... And that made him the most dangerous out of a group shackled by their 'humanity'.

The most disconcerting thought yet was the group being influenced by Xenon's distrust towards him. At first, he seemed to be making good progress towards gaining their trust, yet Xenon's repetitive displays never ceased to remind them that he was an unknown factor. It was most obvious with Shane, someone who definitely supported his inclusion in the group at first, yet who seemed undecided about them lately. It seems his original plan ought to be delayed significantly, otherwise, it'd be doomed to fail.