Broken (A Walking Dead/Daryl fanfiction)

Chapter 11

After the incident with Jared, my ex, I ran out the front door towards my brothers apartment. He was on the other end of the complex so it didn't take me long to get there. I also knew that Jared would know exactly where I would run off to, so I prayed that Jess was home. My back felt wet and sticky from the blood and my legs wanted to buckle with every step.
"Get back here Vi!" Jared yelled from behind me. I pushed my legs to the very limit and reached my brothers place fairly quickly.

That's what this felt like. The sheer panic of running back to the prison. Soft gun shots rang out and I pushed my legs faster. I was leaving Daryl behind, but I had to get to the fence first so I could unlock it. Walkers were crowding around the compound, but luckily no where near the gate. I grabbed the key from my pocket as soon as I reached the fence. Harley and Scout were whining in anticipation. Scout had a small limp, but looked to be doing better. The moment I unpicked the padlock and flew the gate open Daryl appeared and ran through. Walkers started to notice, and as soon as I slammed the gate shut and locked it up again, a walker bashed against it. Harley and Scout growled with their ears back, but I took off running. They quickly followed their master and I soon reached the prison. Most of the group we brought yesterday are waiting outside.
"What's going on?" I asked someone. They looked at me a bit fearfully before answering.
"A group went to clear a cell block for us. Something must have went wrong." I nod my thanks to her and commanded my dogs to stay with the group outside. They whined a bit but followed my orders. I ran into the familiar cell block and heard voices from another. I ran through that entrance and tried to get my eyes to focus in the dark. I heard screaming further down the corridor and took off running. I came face to face with a walker, but he didn't live long. I continued running before I heard doors close.
Damn, how will I find them now? I asked myself. I heard more walkers and decided to take them out since I didn't know what else to do.

After taking down about 5 walkers, I heard the squeaking of doors opening again. My breathing picked up in anticipation and I went searching for my group again. I heard more loud voices coming down the end of the hallway I was currently walking down. Jogging further, I saw Carl walk out of a door, holding a small bundle in his arms. My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. I then saw Maggie, a look of shock clearly written on her face. Like she couldn't quite wrap her head around what happened. A small wail came from the bundle and I smiled. Lori had her baby! Carl and Maggie turned toward me and I instantly knew. Lori didn't make it.
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The 4 of us walked out of the prison cell block and into the burning sun. Maggie told me what happened along the way, and I could feel my face turn more green every second. We spotted Rick and the others. Rick turned toward us and saw the bundle in Carl's arms. He smiled quickly and started to walk forward. He then saw all our faces, and he stopped just as fast. Time seemed to stop as Ricks face twists into a mix between anger, pain, and misery. His knees buckled under him and he cried on his knees. Carl started crying too and walked up to his father, still carrying the baby. I spotted Daryl who had a look of sorrow in his eyes. I sighed and scratched my head. We're loosing too many people.
"Hershel lost a leg. He got bit. Rick had to cut it off." Daryl came up to me. My jaw nearly hit the floor as I looked into his eyes. He was telling the truth.
"Shit." I mutter before heading back into the prison. Daryl follows me inside. I head to Hershel's cell and find Carol sitting with Hershel. He's still passed out and he looks pale. His new stump has bandages wrapped around it, which have been bled through. 
"I'll watch him for a bit Carol, go see how Loris baby is?" I ask. The look on her face told me she didn't know and she went running out of the cell before I could explain. I walked in and put the back of my hand on his forehead. I heard Daryl's footsteps before I saw him out of the corner of my eye.
"The fever hasn't set in. He's a little warm, but nothing to worry about." I pick up his wrist and check his pulse.
"Slow, but he did lose a lot of blood I can imagine." I say. Daryl grunts behind me. I grab the sheets that are sitting on the top bunk and start ripping up new bandages. Once I have enough, I slowly peel away the bandages that are wrapped around his leg. The bleeding hasn't stopped completely, but it is slowing. Once I have all the dirty bandages off, I place the clean cloth on the stump and begin wrapping it to keep it in place. Small spots of blood begin to show, but not near as much as the previous bandage. 
"If the infection didn't get stopped by the amputation, the blood loss may kill him instead." I say to Daryl, looking up to him this time. He looks straight at me with worry written clear as day on his face. He holds out his hand to me, and I place mine in his. 

"There's still hope though." I say. He gives my hand a squeeze before pulling me close to him. I curl into his chest and sigh. 

"Don't ever leave me." I mutter.

"I ain't goin' anywhere." He grunts into my hair. I chuckle and hug him tighter, nuzzling my head into his shoulder.
Then I hear a cough from outside the cell and reluctantly pull away from Daryl. I see Glenn with a slight smirk on his face and his arms crossed. 

"How's he doing?" He asks. Maggie and Beth turn around the corner and stand at the entrance of the cell. 

"I'm no doctor, but in my opinion he could be doing worse. His skin is pale, and his heart rate is slow, but steady. He probably lost a lot of blood. I'm not going to say he'll make it, but I don't think we should give up hope either." I say as gently as I can. Everyone knows Beth to be sensitive, and she absolutely adores her father. She steps into the cell and around me to stand by Hershel's bed. She begins to softly run her fingers through his hair. 

"How's Rick?" I ask, turning my attention to Maggie and Glenn. Maggie looks away and Glenn hangs his head. 

"He's heartbroken. He handed the baby to Carol and just wondered off into the prison alone." I sighed and closed my eyes. 

"I know how that feels." I admitted. "He'll get through it. He has to." I say. Maggie and Glenn nod their heads in agreement. We all sit in silence, listening to Hershel's breathing. Eventually, I stand to let Maggie sit with her father. Daryl and I leave the cell, and head down to the main gathering room where Carol and Carl stand. The baby is quiet for a moment, so I take the chance to lean over Carol's shoulder and look at her. She's cute, just like every baby. Her eye's are closed so I can't see if they're blue like Rick's. 

"She needs formula." Carol says, looking up at Daryl and I. I turn to look at Daryl and meet his eyes. 

"We'll go on a run now. We'll take the truck. Be back before sunset." 

"Can I come?" Carl asks, looking up at my with big round eyes. 

"I need you here. With your dad not here and Hershel passed out, I need you to keep a watch out, okay?" I say, placing my hand on his shoulder. He nods his head, disappointed but satisfied with the new position. I whistle a low tone and Harley and Scout come into the room. Scout is still limping, but looks better than before. 

"We'll take Harley with us. Scout will stay here. His foot is damaged but he can still alert you to danger just in case, okay?" Carl brightens just the tiniest bit at that, and nods his head while rubbing Scout's ear. 

"I'll see if Maggie will look at his foot." He says, leading Scout up the stairs. Satisfied, I motion for Daryl to come with me, and we exit the room, with Harley trotting behind us. 

Hello people! If you're even reading this lol.
I really want to skip the whole disease and people dying thing. Is that ok with everyone? Is it not? Let me know either way. I just don't really want to write it cause I find it rather boring. So um...yeah. Something big is happening next chapter. Hope you guys like it!

Song- Just Keep Breathing by We The Kings
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-B