The Walking Dead (Fanfic)

Chapter 31

A bright light was what I opened my eyes to. As my vision became clear, I saw Carol crouched above me with a flashlight in her hand. "What's your name?" she asked me, as she helped me sit up. "Aideen Smith." I muttered as a wave of nausea hit me. Closing my eyes, I leaned against the concrete wall. When I opened my eyes, my gaze fell on Hershel. I saw his chest rising and falling, a wave of relief settled in my chest. I also noticed that his leg was now wrapped in clean bandages.

Carl crouched beside me and handed me a bottle of water, and a bowl with beige mush in it. "Where'd you get this?" I asked him before taking it gratefully. "The prisoners that were in the cafeteria, they had a bunch of food. So, my dad and the others are helping them clear out a cell block. in exchange for half of the food, and it was a lot of food." he finished explained, I looked over to Carol who nodded.

"Now eat that and drink that whole bottle of water. You just passed out. I think you're exhausted and dehydrated." Carol instructed before she got up and left with Glenn. Maggie sat next to me and watched her father. "Beth's tearing all of my dad's clothes. Well, all of the right leg of the pants. She did it because, his alive and that's thanks to you." she said, her eyes furrowed. "Don't thank me, it was the least that I could do."

We sat in silence as I ate the food that was given to me. I ate everything in the bowl before I stood up and walked to the recreational room, just outside of the living courters. I sat there for a while, just trying to gather my thoughts.

"Aideen!" I heard my name being cold, I stood up and ran to the others. Everyone was standing around Hershel. I weaved through the crowd and saw Hershel's eyes were open. He was holding his daughter's hand, and I found myself smiling. Suddenly I hear footsteps approaching, I turned to see the others had returned. 

"Hershel stopped breathing but Aideen saved him, but then she passed out." Carl explained to his father, Glenn confirmed what Carl was saying, was true. Rick handed the keys to Carl and walked in. "Still no fever." Lori told him. I walked out of the cell to Daryl, I wanted to hug him but decided against it. "You, okay?" he asked me as he raised his hand to my face, cupping my cheek. I nodded before clearing my throat. "Are you?" Daryl nodded in response.

"Aideen, come here for a sec." Rick called out to me, I walked back into the cell and watched Rick crouched beside Hershel, who was still laying down. I crouched beside Rick, and noticed Hershel has his hand stretched out to me. I grabbed his hand and held it. He didn't say anything, but I knew it was his way of thanking me. "Glad your back, Santa." I joked, which caused a chuckle to arise from everyone.

I got up and walked away, leaving Beth and Maggie to have some time with their father. Daryl was leaning against the wall, opposite to the cell. I leaned against the wall next to him, our shoulders touched and so did our hands. With a deep breath, I laced my fingers with his. "You did good, Darlin'." Daryl mumbled without looking at me, and I smiled. 

The rest of the day passed in a blur; I was exhausted. All I remember was stumbling up the stairs and crashing into my bed. 

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My eyes shot open as I tried to catch my breath, another nightmare. After a few moments, I collected myself. You would think that after having so many nightmares it would become easier, but it didn't. I dragged my tired body out of the bed before dressing in other clothes and tried to make myself look decent even though I really wished we had showers. I reminded myself to take my gun holster and tie it to my thigh, before placing my gun in it. My hunting knife, followed as I tucked it behind my back.

Leaving my cell, I realized how quiet it was. Daryl wasn't in his bed, but I could hear the echoes of snores coming throughout the living courters. Doing my best to remain quiet, I made my way downstairs and out to the doors. Every creak of the gates and door, echoed through the prison which made me wince, but finally I was outside. The sun was just peaking over the horizon. I walked through the caged corridor and out the gates to the field.