⌜ chapter two ⌟

The group's sitting in the field that they cleared earlier in the day, but it's dark now. They have a fire burning and they're eating what some of the others caught before they found the prison.

"Mm." Glenn muses. "Just like Mom used to make." He says, and a few of them laugh.

"Tomorrow we'll put all the bodies together." T speaks up. "Want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of fresh water."

"And the soil looks good. We could plant some seed, grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans." Hershel says.

"Beautiful. I love innovative thinking." MJ smiles at the two men as she gets to her feet. "I'll be back." She says as she grabs some food and heads over to where Daryl's standing on the overturned bus. He's keeping watch on the area outside the fence.

She makes it to him and slides the plate up before climbing up herself. Daryl slings his crossbow behind his back and then offers her his hand, she takes it and he pulls her up.

"Brought you some food, Ponch." She picks up the plate. "Eat up. Sorry there's not much there."

"I guess little Shane over there has got quite the appetite." He says as he starts eating.

"Don't take it out on that poor baby 'cause its dad was a dick." She says.

"You tense up on the rare occasions his name comes up." Daryl says, and she scoffs as she looks down. "What is it?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing."

"Don't you start lying to me now, woman."

She sighs as she looks at him. "Rick ever tell you about what happened that night?"

He shrugs. "Just what he told the group."

"The only people Shane ever cared about was Lori, Carl, and that baby."

"There more to the story?" He asks, and she nods.

"A little bit, yeah." She turns to face him, arms crossed over her chest. "It wasn't just about getting Rick out of the way. He wanted to kill me too. Thought my family was a threat, said he'd get rid of us all if he had to." MJ tells him, and he scoffs.

"He couldn't take any of you."

"Not in a fair fight." She shakes her head. "I don't think he ever fought fair."

"He ain't around anymore. Why's it bother you so much?" He asks, and she smirks.

"It's stupid." She says. "I like to think that people are still good — that not all of them turn into monsters. I don't like when they prove me wrong. I hate seeing the evil in those who have the choice to be something better than the monsters we fight."

"That ain't stupid." Daryl says. "It's human."

"You mean there's something semi-normal about me?" She asks jokingly. "Who would'a thought?" The thought brings a smile to her face, and his entire thought process stops as he looks at her.

"Better get back." He says suddenly, turning to get off the bus.

"I love the stars." MJ says as she looks up at the night sky. "It can be pretty romantic, don't you think?"

"I don't do romance." He says as he starts to climb down.

"Oh, come on. Where's that heart of gold I'm so fond of?" She teases.

"Come on."

She chuckles and lets him help her back to the ground. "Hey, wait for me." She grabs the back of his poncho to make him slow down to her pace. He looks back at her and sees that she's looking up at the sky again as they make their way back to the group.

A small smile crosses Addy's lips as she sees her best friend and Daryl. They're walking slowly, and she's still holding onto the back of his poncho. He's clearly amused by her fascination with the night sky.

Addy can see the connection that the two of them have, even if they won't admit what's obviously there. It's been a long time since she's seen MJ so content in another person's company. They don't have to talk to each other, they can just be in the same space and it's a perfect moment. No awkwardness or annoyance. She's happy — or as close to it as she can get in this world.

The blonde looks at the knife in her hand, one of two. They're both small, pure silver, and have three hearts in the handle. They were a gift from Dean. He was always one for gifts that could be used for some kind of benefit. That's not to say he never gave her flowers or the necklace she never takes off.

He could be really sweet when he wanted to be, though not many people got to see that side of him. Addy and Dana saw it the most, and of course MJ and Ellie did too. Sam knew it was there, but he had a different kind of relationship with his brother. More tough love. Dean is definitely a one of a kind, kind of man. And Addy misses him like crazy.

Beth's singing The Parting Glass as Daryl and MJ near the group. "Oh, I love this song." She speeds up, and Daryl watches amused as she plops down next to Jack again. She lays on her back with her head on his lap as she looks up at the stars.

"...And all the harm
E'er I've ever done
Alas it was to none but me
And all I've done
For want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me
The parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all..."

Then Maggie joins in.

"...Oh, all the comrades
That e'er I had
Were sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts
That e'er I had
Would wish me
One more day to stay
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise
And you should not
I'll gently rise
And I'll softly call
Good night and joy
Be with you all
Good night and joy
Be with you all."

"Beautiful." Hershel says, and Jack looks down at MJ. She has a small smile on her face and her eyes are now closed.

She likes when Beth sings, and even more when Maggie joins. It's not the same as professional singers, and it's not the kind of music she used to listen to, but it gives her a second to just stop and remember what life was like before the world turned. She misses how things used to be, but she's also grateful for what she has now. She's glad that she's not alone.

"Better all turn in." Rick says, finally back after checking the fence three times for any potential weak spots that walkers could exploit to get to them. "I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow."

"What do you mean?" Glenn asks as MJ looks over at her partner.

"Look, I know we're all exhausted. This was a great win. But we've got to push just a little bit more." He says as he looks around at the group. "Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early. It could mean supplies are intact. They'd have an infirmary, a commissary."

"An armory?" Daryl asks.

"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away. Warden's office would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine."

"We're dangerously low on ammo." Hershel says. "We'd run out before we make a dent."

"That's why we have to go in there...hand to hand." He says. "After all we've been through, we can handle it. I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance." He looks over at MJ. "You up for it?"

"One condition." She says. "No, two."

"What?"

"Whoever you and I take in there with us, it's completely voluntary. They decide if they go in or not, we don't tell them." She says, and he nods.

"Done." He says. "The other?"

"You actually wake me up so I can take watch while you get some sleep. We need you rested as well as everyone else." She tells him.

"Deal." He agrees and then stands up to walk away from them.

—

"Ready?" Hershel asks Rick, and he takes off one of the clamps on the gate.

Rick opens it, and T-Dog's the first one through the gap, followed by Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, Rick, and MJ. Hershel closes the gate as the group moves into the area, killing walkers as they advance. They keep in formation — their backs to each other so that they don't have any blind spots as they move through the area.

The others outside the gate are trying to get the walkers attention, drawing them away from their friends. The few that wander in their direction get killed as the group stabs them through the chain-link fence.

MJ uses her machete to kill a walker as the others each use their own makeshift weapons — a knife, a piece of rebar, different long pieces of metal.

"Don't break rank!" Rick yells when T-Dog gets out of formation.

"We need that!"

"T!" MJ looks over her shoulder at him.

He picks up a police shield like they used to use if there was a riot or any danger of an explosion — things like that. They continue to the entrance of the prison.

"Shit." Rick quickly presses himself against the wall when he sees another gate that needs to be closed. There's a ridiculous number of walkers on the other side.

The others follow his lead and then they see two helmeted guards come out from behind a dumpster. Then two more dressed exactly the same come from the area that they need to close off. Daryl tries to shoot one, but the arrow just bounces off of the mask of the helmet.

They're having a hard time with the walkers in masks. Rick calls for Daryl, and they go to shut the gate so that no more can get through.

One of the walkers takes MJ down, and she's fighting with it on the ground. It's on top of her, and she's struggling under the weight of it. She gets her hand on the mask and pushes its head up. She then drives her machete up into its head from under the jaw. It stops fighting against her, and she pushes it to the side, forcing it off of her.

Maggie kills another the same way and then the others start doing the same. MJ groans as she pushes herself up off the ground, then she pulls her machete out of the walker's head.

"That's disgusting." MJ says as she looks down at her tank top. It's covered in blood from the walker. "This is why we can't have nice things." She says, and Maggie stifles a laugh. "Hey, you don't look much better. I don't know what you're laughing at, sister."

They look around at all of the dead walkers and then start to head back for the others at the gate. "Stop." Rick tells them.

"Well, it looks secure." Glenn says.

"Not from the look of that courtyard over there." Daryl points past the gate that he and Rick shut. "And that's a civilian." He points at a walker that he killed.

"So, the interior could be overrun with walkers from outside the prison." MJ sighs.

"Well, if there's walls down, what are we gonna do?" Glenn asks. "We can't rebuild this whole place."

"We can't risk a blind spot." Rick says. "We have to push in."

"Who leads?" MJ asks.

He shrugs. "You're already covered in walker guts." He says, and she looks at him.

"You sayin' I stink?"

"Your words, not mine." He jokes, and she points at him with her machete.

"This is why I like Glenn more than I like you." She says as she starts walking. "He's nice to me."

"He's nice to everyone."

"Such an ass." She mutters, and he chuckles as they follow behind her.

Their small group then heads into a gated stairway, and she raises her machete as they near a door. She looks at Daryl and nods, telling him to open it. He does exactly that, but nothing comes out at them. They're met with a barred door.

MJ slowly moves in, and she pushes the door open. The group follows her inside and they all remain quiet as they look around. They're in a small common area outside of cellblock C. Rick goes up into the guard post and gets a set of keys.

He makes his way back down and then unlocks the entrance to the cellblock. They go inside and find someone who was shot in the head when it all started. Daryl and MJ head up to the second floor to check the cells up there.

Rick checks to make sure that the entrance on the other side is locked and then he goes up to join the other two. They hear something clang and turn in the direction it came from. Daryl's leading the way with his crossbow raised, and MJ's right behind him.

A walker reaches through the bars of one of the locked cells, and they move closer to the railing so that it can't touch them. They move past it and then another pops up at the next cell. The two men look between each other and then at MJ. She raises her machete and kills the second one as Rick goes back to kill the other.

"Hey, Maggie." MJ leans over the railing to look at her. "That other gate was locked right, the one by the guard post?" She asks.

"Yeah." Maggie nods.

"Alright. Can you and Glenn go bring in the others? We'll take care of getting these two out of here." She motions to the two dead walkers behind her.

"You got it." Glenn says as they start out of the cell block.

"Thank you." She calls after them, still leaning over the railing, and Maggie smirks as she glances over her shoulder.

Daryl turns to face MJ and then quickly shifts his head to the side when he sees that she's bending over the railing, making her backside stick out. Rick starts laughing, having seen Daryl avert his gaze so he wouldn't stare. MJ looks at him, confused.

"What?" She asks as she stands up straight.

"I didn't say anything." Rick walks away from them, and she looks at Daryl, who immediately starts moving toward the walker to get it out of there.

"And you guys say that I'm weird." MJ mutters as she goes to start getting rid of the other one, pushing it over the edge of the walkway, under the railing.

https://youtu.be/3kVVn80pFOc