Beauty in Death - The Walking Dead

-three-

The Prison

The car ride was a quiet one. Rick was glad that they had decided to bring one of the larger cars out on this run; they never would have fit six people into the Subaru Outback.

But Rick was also a bit worried; the Governor hadn't tried anything in a couple of weeks, but that didn't mean he wasn't done trying to take the prison back. Rick hoped that he wasn't dragging three more innocent people into his quarrel with the Governor.

Liz seemed trustworthy enough, she was a single mother trying to keep her two daughters safe from the world. That's part of the reason why Rick decided to let her come back with them, she reminded him of Lori.

Her girls seemed to keep mostly to themselves, they were shy. They'd probably warm up to them when they were more comfortable. Rick decided to worry about that once they'd actually gotten back to the prison and introduced them to everyone.

When they pulled up to the entrance to the prison, Rick honked the horn and Chloe saw a woman with short, brown hair approach the gate and quickly pulled it open. Rick drove through the gate and the girl closed it again behind her.

Rick pulled into the prison courtyard and got out of the car. Daryl and Glenn followed his lead, Liz got out of the car, but Chloe and Kacy hesitated. How many people were at this camp anyway? What if they didn't actually want them here?

Glenn noticed they hadn't gotten out. "You guys can get out, we don't bite." He smiled. Chloe and Kacy glanced at each other, and then climbed out of the car and went to stand with their mother.

Kacy stood behind her mother, trying to hide herself from the strangers at the prison. Chloe, on the other hand, was standing side-by-side, if not in front of, her mother bravely.

There were a couple of other people outside, they were coming to greet Rick and the others. The girl who had opened the gate for them walked over to Glenn and kissed him, smiling as she did. She glanced over at Chloe, Kacy, and Liz. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Glenn.

"Rick's gonna explain," he said softly. She nodded in response and grabbed his hand almost in a protective manner.

Rick looked from Liz to Maggie. "Maggie, this is Elizabeth Bradbury," he introduced her. "This is Maggie."

Liz stuck her hand out. "Please, call me Liz." She smiled. Maggie took her hand and shook it.

"And these are her daughters, Chloe and Kacy," Rick continued. "They're gonna be staying with us for a little while."

Maggie nodded. "Alright," she replied. "Everybody else's inside."

So, Rick led them inside. Chloe looked around, it seemed spacious. But it also creeped her out a bit, it was a prison, after all. "So... this place has been completely cleared?" Liz asked as they walked down the halls toward Cell Block C.

Rick nodded. "For the most part," he replied. "We cleared this cell block, and all the way to the cafeteria. The rest of the prison is blocked off by gates."

Kacy leaned over to her sister. "This place is kinda creepy, isn't it?" She asked quietly. Chloe nodded in agreement.

"Definitely."

Rick grabbed a key from his belt and unlocked a sealed cell like door that led into a common area. There were several metal tables bolted to the ground in this room, and another cell door that led to the actual cells. It was open, though.

There was a man standing in the corner, his right hand was no longer there and instead replaced with a long blade. Liz felt a bit uneasy with him just standing there, but Rick seemed unfazed.

"Everyone?" Rick called out. It took a moment, but one by one, people began to file into the common area. Chloe saw a young woman with blonde hair come in carrying a baby. She didn't look any older than twenty five, and the baby didn't even look six months old! The girl was bouncing the baby up and down, shushing her quietly.

There was also an older man on a pair of crutches accompanied by an older woman. A woman with a stone cold expression also came into the room. Following them was a young boy, he looked to be Chloe and Kacy's age. When he saw them and their mother, he looked at Rick and raised an eyebrow.

"Who're they?" He asked.

Rick held a hand up, he would explain in a second.

Once everyone was standing in the room, Rick began. "Daryl, Glenn, and I were out on a run today, and while we were there we found these three." He gestured behind him to the unfamiliar faces. "This is Liz Bradbury and her daughters, Chloe and Kacy. They're gonna be staying with us for a little while. This is Hershel, Carol, Beth, Michonne, my son Carl and daughter, Judith." He glanced behind him at the man with the hand-blade. "And that's Merle."

Chloe looked from Rick, to Beth and then to Judith. They weren't... together, were they? Not that there was anything wrong with a bit of an age gap between couples, but this one seemed a bit, extreme, considering Rick also had a son about Chloe's age.

The older woman called Carol took a step forward. "Are we sure that's a good idea?" She asked, eyeing Liz and her girls a bit suspiciously. "Did you ask them–?"

Rick nodded. "I asked her the three questions, her answers checked out."

Merle scoffed. "This ain't gonna end well. I bet we all know the real reason Rick brought them back—"

"Just shut up, would ya?" Daryl cut him off. Merle shut his mouth, it seemed the only person Merle listened to besides himself was Daryl.

Hershel spoke next. "Of course they're welcome to stay if they want to," he began, "but what about our little... predicament with you-know-who?"

Predicament? Chloe thought. What did that mean?

Rick sighed. "I was worried about that, too," he said. "But he hasn't done anything in a while. Maybe he's given up."

"You know as well as the rest of us that that isn't true," Michonne spoke up. Her voice was cool and serious. Chloe figured this woman meant business, she didn't seem like the kind of person to stop and smell the flowers. Not to her, anyway.

Liz took a small step forward. "I hate to ask, but what exactly do you mean, 'predicament?'"

Rick hesitated a moment. "There's a man called the Governor. He runs a community a few miles from here called Woodbury. Recently, he's been causing a bit of trouble for us."

Liz wished he had mentioned this before they got into the car with them. Why would these people willingly being in three more people, two of them children, to a potentially dangerous situation. Rick seemed to read her thoughts, however.

"I understand if you want to take your daughters and go," he said. "I wouldn't blame you, but just know that we're handling the situation."

Liz glanced from him to her girls, who were looking at her. They had been on the road for so long, she wasn't sure how much longer they could last out there. Would it be safer to take their chances on the road or stay here at the prison, with other people?

To say that this was a difficult decision was an understatement.

"If you want to think about it—" Rick began.

"We'll stay." Liz looked over at him. "And not only will we stay, I'll do whatever I can to help you with this Governor."