— HERSHEL WAS OKAY, AND IT WAS a huge relief to Nate and the rest of the group, that the old man had pulled through. They couldn't loose another one of their group, not after the prison, and definitely not after Sophia and Andrea.. The prisoners hadn't been a problem since Rick had sorted them out, even after one of them had tried to kill the man, he gave them sympathy and let the last two surviving stay in the prison, but away from the rest of the group. Nate was sure that the prisoner who ran off hadn't made it, so that gave them one less prisoner to worry about.
He and Daryl could have easily been trapped here at the beginning of the apocalypse, and they could have easily been the two prisoners on the other side of the prison. Their lifestyle before everything went to shit was probably worse off than it was now - he, Daryl and Merle just weren't meant for the world, but they were meant for the apocalypse. Call them crazy, but it's just how it was. Not that the two brothers agreed with T-Dog that the prisoners should be allowed to bunk with them, because Nate sure as hell didn't want them near his girl. Zoe meant everything to him, in his whole lifetime he had never met someone quite like her, she was a one of a kind. He would go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe. So, when the prisoners came up to the group and asked if they could move from their cell block because they didn't like it, Nate completely backed his brother in terms of not wanting them near them. Like Daryl said, they all took their chances out there, now is their turn.

The prisoners currently stood with the cars, in between the entrance, locked up, as they didn't trust them, and now, they were just waiting on Rick's decision on whether he was going to let them stay with them or not. "Are you serious?" Rick asked T-Dog as Daryl came back over after locking them up at the entrance, "You want them living in a cell next to you? They'll just be waiting for a chance to grab our weapons. You want to go back to sleeping with one eye open?" He asked, unsure as to why T-Dog was putting his trust in these two men that they didn't even know.

"I never stopped." T-Dog told Rick, sticking with his gut that they could trust these guys. Now was a world that they shouldn't be judging each other for what happened before the outbreak - the world was different now. "Bring them into the fold. Now, we send 'em off packing, we might as well execute them ourselves." He told the others. Nate wasn't a murderer, but he would be happy to send the prisoners on their way. Their group, their family, was right here, and them two men weren't apart of it, and never will he. He knew that T should face the facts and realise that not everyone in this world is good.

"I don't know. Axel seems a little unstable." Glenn spoke up for the first time, agreeing with Rick.

"They both seem unstable. Can't trust 'em." Nate agreed, nodding at Glenn's statement.

"After all we've been through?" Carol cut in, "We fought so hard for all this. What if they decide to take it??" She asked.

"It's just been us for so long." Maggie also spoke up, agreeing with the others - it seemed like T-Dog was the only one who wanted to give the strangers a chance.. "They're strangers, it feels weird, all of a sudden having other people around." She said.

"You brought us in." T-Dog challenged.

"Yeah, but you turned up with a shot girl in your arms. You didn't give us a choice." Maggie defended, remembering back to the time that Rick had come running onto their farm with his daughter in his arms, barely alive at the time. Thinking back to them days seemed so far back, but in reality, it wasn't that long ago - time just went fast in this new life, and they couldn't do anything about it.

"They're useless. They can't even kill walkers." Nate spoke up again, remembering back to when they had tried to clear out a cell block for them, but they treated it like it was some prison riot - they weren't fit for this world, and if they took them in, it would be a loss for them - they didn't need it. Especially now with Lori and the baby, they needed all the help they could get, and these guys would just hold them back, and that put Lori and the baby at risk. Nate could tell that Rick didn't want to take them in, but he was just too good of a guy to come out and say so. Zoe was the same - they were too nice for their own good.

"They're convicts. Bottom line." Carol added.

"Those two might actually have less blood on their hands than we do." T-Dog then added in.

"They made that choice when everything was normal. We do what we need to, to survive. There's a difference, T." Nate told the man, not knowing why he was sticking his neck out for two complete strangers.

"I get guys like this. Hell, me and Nate grew up with them." Daryl spoke up for the first time since the debate started, "They're generates, but they ain't psychos. Me 'n Nate could have been in there with them just as easy as I'm out here with you guys." He said, as Nate glared at him slightly, knowing this wasn't helping their case to kick them out.

"So you're with me?" T-Dog asked, taking Daryl's words in and thinking that he was on his side.

"Hell no." Daryl refused, as Nate relaxed slightly, "Let 'em take their chances out in the road, just like we did." He said.

T-Dog began to defend the prisoners once more, and Nate had had enough at this point, he was about to walk away, only for Rick stop him by speaking up. "When I was a rookie, I arrested this kid.. nineteen years old, wanted for stabbing his girlfriend. Kid blubbered like a baby during the interrogation, during the trial, suckered the jury. He was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, and then two weeks later, shot another girl." He explained. "We've been through too much. Our deal with them stands."

The group had parked the cars facing the back of the prison, in case they needed a quick getaway, and they then split up, making a run of the perimeter and making sure there were no gaps in the fences so any walkers or others could get in. Rick had also decided that it would be best to find out a way to move to bodies and burn them, so they didn't have to plant their crops in walker rotted soil, so they needed all of the wood they could get to be able to start the fire. Nate was on his way back with Daryl, Glenn and Rick, with multiple logs of wood, when they all saw that Hershel was out and about, and walking with some crutches. Something that cheered the four men up greatly - Hershel was a great man that deserved the best. Even with Hershel being able to walk with his one leg, Nate couldn't take his eyes off of Zoe as she walked besides him, ensuring that he wouldn't fall down, with her mom on the other side.

Lori looked like she was going to pop at any moment now, and they all needed to be ready. He was just glad that they had managed to find this prison in time, as it was a lot better than giving birth on the run, travelling constantly from one house to the next. "Lookie here." Daryl spoke up, having seen the group up ahead first.

While Glenn chuckled in delight at the sight, Nate smiled up at his girlfriend, admiring how she looked with the sunlight beaming down on her face, and how happy she looked that Hershel was currently walking, basically on his own. He knew how much she needed this, and he was glad that Hershel had pulled through and woken up. "He is one tough son of a bitch." Glenn said, admiring his girlfriends father. "All right Hershel!" He yelled, not thinking that he could be gaining the attention of the walkers around them, which is something they didn't need right now, especially with Hershel finally getting back on his legs.

"Shh." Daryl hushed him, thinking the same as Nate, but he didn't want to ruin Glenn's fun, so he simply stayed silent. "Now, keep it to yourself." He said.

Nate patted Glenn's back as they looked back to multiple walkers heading towards them, causing the two boys to sigh in annoyance. "Can't we just have one good day?" He asked.

"Not if they're around." Nate sighed, handing Glenn the pliers so he could close the hole in the fence to stop the walkers and anyone else from getting into the prison. "Come on, we gotta see Hershel in action." He said to him. Nate walked up closer to the fence to get a better look at the others up by the courtyard, and a wide smile spread across his face, at the sight. Right now, life couldn't get any better for him and the rest of the group, they had found a new place to live, which was secure, safe and they were actually happy. Since the farm, they hadn't had much to be happy about, but when this baby will be born, Nate felt like everything was going to change.

But, as quickly as it came, it quickly changed..

Walkers came out from every direction of the prison courtyard, and the group were surrounded. Nate was concentrated on Zoe's face as she smiled down at him in glee, and he saw as it quickly changed into fear, having seen the walkers coming for her family and herself. His smile instantly faded, and he took off alongside Rick, and Nate sprinted behind the man as fast as he could as they rushed through the gates to get to the courtyard and to their family and friends. "Get out of my way!" Rick yelled to the two prisoners, as they stood, confused at what was going on. Nate couldn't even concentrate on the two men as he ran forwards, the only thought in his mind was if Zoe was okay. The last he saw her, she was rushing into the prison building with her mom and Carl behind her, so he hoped that she was safe with them, but what if something had happened inside of the building as well as the courtyard? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to the girl he loved and he wasn't there to save her..

When Nate saw that Rick was shaking too much to even handle the keys, he instantly took them out of his shaking hands, unsure if it would offend Rick, but at the same time, he didn't care, he just wanted to get to Zoe and keep her safe. It seemed that Rick didn't care either, as he just wanted to get to his family just as much as Nate did. He finally got it open, and when he did, the others followed behind, and they all sprinted as fast as they could up to the prison, not even thinking twice about the two prisoners they had locked in the entrance behind them.. They got up to the gate in no time, where they all instantly began shooting the walkers around them, Nate using his trusty bow.

"What the hell happened?" Rick asked Hershel and Beth, who both stood safely behind some bars, where the walkers couldn't get to them.

"The gate was open!" Beth answered with a panicky voice, shaking from fear of all of the walkers.

"Where's Lori? Carl? Zoe? Everyone else?" Rick asked them.

"Zoe led Lori and Carl into the C block." Hershel told Rick, pointing in the direction.

"And T was bitten!" Beth added, having seen the scene go down with T-Dog.

"Anyone else?" Rick asked instantly, worried that his family had been bitten or worse, killed.

"I couldn't tell." Beth answered, feeling awful that she couldn't tell Rick what had happened with his family, his pregnant wife, she glanced over at Nate who was taking his anger out on a few walkers, and felt just as bad.. They just hoped they would be able to find them all, and soon.

——

Lori was dead, Zoe had killed her own mother, all the time her little brother was yelling at her to stop, that she was killing their mom, and Zoe knew that, she knew what she was doing, and she didn't have a choice. Like her mom said, if was either the baby, or none of them at all, so Zoe picked the baby. She felt awful, who wouldn't? She had literally cut open her own mother. Hearing the words 'you're killing her' coming out of your brothers mouth in screams, broke her heart, and she wished that she never had to hear it. She gently pulled her sibling out, trying her hardest to look at the baby, with the amount of tears streaming down her face, she was surprised that she could even see at all. What was even worse, was that the tiny baby wasn't even moving, and she genuinely thought that she had not only killed her mom, but her little sibling, too.

She looked up at Carl through her teary eyes, having experienced the worst moment in her life, she couldn't do this alone, and she couldn't even look down at her now, dead mother on the floor. As she was cutting, the feeling of her mother going limp beneath her was something that was going to haunt her forever - she will never get over this. "Carl." Zoe sobbed, when the baby wasn't moving, but with one tiny tap, the wailing started. Zoe and Carl had a baby sister, but she couldn't even celebrate the moment now that her mother was dead and she couldn't even see her own baby. The girl cried out in relief when she heard the cries, that her sister was alive - if she was okay, that was something she didn't know yet. They needed to get back to Hershel, and quick. That is, if he was even alive. "We need to go." She said, standing up, wrapping her sister in Carl's jacket.

"We can't leave her here." Carl cried, standing up urgently. He couldn't believe that his sister had been the one to kill their mother, and he didn't know what to think about it. It wasn't her fault, was it? "She'll turn." He told her. How could she want to leave their mom? Their mom who she had killed, who she had taken the life from - how was he suppose to look at her the same after today? Zoe didn't know what to tell him, she had the baby, she needed to keep a tight grip on her, she needed to keep her warm in this jacket. She moved the baby to the side, and didn't even get to place her hand on her gun before Carl sobbed again. "No." He told his sister. He couldn't let her do this.

Instead of insisting that she could do it, Zoe didn't have any energy left in her after delivering this baby. She pulled her sister closer into her arms as Carl turned away from her with a sour look on his face, he knew that he had to do this. By the look on his face, Zoe gathered that he needed to do it alone, so she turned away with the baby, trying to be as quiet as possible, and began to climb the stairs, slowly due to her exhaustion. She reached the door within seconds, but instantly had second thoughts about letting her little brother do this alone, so she turned around, but before she could, she heard a gun shot..

She couldn't believe that her younger brother had to be the one to shoot their mom so she didn't turn into a walker. She couldn't believe that she let him, he was only a kid - she felt guilt like she had never felt before. She felt awful. When Carl came back round the corner, he didn't have any emotion on his face and he just stormed past her, not even giving his newborn sister a look. Zoe just couldn't believe it - she knew for a fact that this was going to be a breaking point for the two of them. From this point on, they were changed, and that was something they couldn't change..

It didn't take them long to find their way out of the prison and back into the open air, and the sunlight. Zoe felt like she had been stuck in that basement for hours, when in reality it probably hadn't even been one hour. The basement had been so horrible that Zoe felt like the life had been sucked out of her and that she would never get that back. She knew that Carl felt the same way, as he dragged behind her with his gun still in his hand, dropping to the floor. He couldn't bring himself to even look at his sister, and when they finally reached the courtyard, where everyone else was standing, waiting for their arrival.

The second Zoe opened the gate, everyone turned around quickly, and looked relieved to see her and Carl, but when they all saw that Lori wasn't with them, and a newborn baby was in Zoe's arms, with blood all over her torso and hands. The baby was quietly crying in her arms as she walked forwards slowly, only looking at her father, who already had tears in his eyes at the sight of his children. She tried to speak, but her words came out as stutters, unable to say the words. How could she tell her father that his wife was dead?

Nate stood besides Daryl as his heart sank at the sight of her, he knew what this meant, he knew what she was about to say, and he wanted nothing but to be there for her. Rick dropped his axe on the ground as he walked forwards, and Nate let him, staying back, waiting for the right moment. Rick shook his head at his daughter as he watched her sob, and as he saw the baby in her arms along with the blood. "D-dad.." She stuttered, now crying more than ever as he couldn't even approach his daughter in fear of what she was going to say.

"W-Where is she?" Rick stuttered, "Where's mom?" He asked.

Zoe sobbed again, unable to answer, and when he tried to walk past her to find her mom, she couldn't allow him to see her like that. "Wait, dad!" She sobbed, grabbing his arm and stopping him, causing him to finally break down. He dropped his gun, bringing both of his hands up to his face, finally allowing himself to break down at the fact his wife was dead. His children were left without a mother, and he couldn't even be there at the time.

"Aw, no! No!" Rick sobbed, taking a look at Carl who was trying his hardest not to break down alongside his dad.

Zoe looked back at Nate the second she heard her fathers sobs with a heartbroken face, still clinging onto the baby for dear life. He didn't even think twice before jogging up to her and gently bringing her in for a hug, all the while she sobbed something along the lines of 'I didn't want to' and 'I had to', and since the moment he met her, he had never seen her this upset, and it completely broke his heart. He hated it. Zoe completely broke down, nearly falling into his arms, causing Daryl to quickly approach the two and gently take the small baby out of the girls arms, knowing that she had just gone through a lot and needed Nate. The second Zoe knew that her baby sister was in safe hands and okay, she broke down into Nate's arms, allowing him to coddle her.

She couldn't even block out the sounds of her fathers sobs in the background as she gripped onto Nate like her life depended on it.

Her life was over.