#deadwalkprison

But it was not only the thought of encountering a herd  that weighed heavily on Chloe's mind. A herd, it was quite possibly to outwit and wait to pass. But a living breathing human whose heart was full of malice because the world had changed them was a different story. The possession of a backpack full of medical supplies would be trigger enough for someone desperate. 

So, it was with a heavy sigh that Chloe pushed the thoughts of herds and bandits to the back of her mind and stepped out into the Georgia light. It was late when the thought had crossed her mind. She had been thinking of Cassandra, a fellow resident, whose husband was a vet technician. Cass had never told her where the office was, but she had told her the name. The address was easy enough to get from a yellow pages book in the administrative office at the prison. And, when she had run the prospective trip to the office by the council, she was sure to make it clear that she wasn't looking to go it alone. Word at been put put, she just hoped she'd had some, if only one, taker.

"Hey," Chloe called out to the back of someone's head as she ambled over to the SUV she had been told to take, "Are you my partner in crime?" she asked chuckling a bit.

Since his arrival, Lincoln never dare step foot aside. He couldn't risk getting injured, leaving his sister alone. His thoughts in his last moments would be wishing for his sister's happiness and safety, but mostly having regretted leaving her in the first place.  But it was moments like this, him alone with his thoughts, looking at the stars, he thought maybe the risk was worth it. He would wish for an adventure   

"Okay, I don't why I'm doing this," he muttered, keeping focus on one star. He sighed, knowing he was wasting his time. He knew, way deep down, no one was listening. If there really was someone up there, this apocalypse would have come to an end a long time ago, considering how many times Lincoln prayed for the happy ending. "But I thought maybe you could help me...I dunno."

That was a lie.

By chance, Lincoln noticed a four leaf clover. He was never one for superstitions. He always believed things happened for a reason, but you could change your fate.  Still, he tugged on the clover, pulling it up to his nose, and clamping his eyes shut.

"Starlight, star bright," he began. "The first star I see tonight. I wish I may. I wish I might  Have the wish I wish tonight."

Like a moment from a movie, wind blew through his brown hair as he muttered those last words. It was almost as if he hadn't muttered what followed a million times before: "Bring my Mom back to me... Please."

Wanting to spend some time in the good ol' outdoors, Ronnie had left the prison earlier than usual that morning. Leaving notice with whoever it was that had been watching the fence during the AM shift - some actually cute looking boy with no sense of humor, a sad fact that she'd learned the hard way. She'd spent the morning walking along the road, keeping her eyes open for anyone - or thing - that could possibly make its way out of the woods. 

Eventually she found herself in a town she had yet to come by, and seemed satisfied at the fact that it was a change of scenery. Not that that was much, mind you, as Ronnie noted that their only seemed to be one building in the neighborhood that had more than a third floor. Tomahawk in hand as she walked through the deserted streets, Ronnie had been glad when she'd discovered that no one had taken her favorite weapon from the armory. 

After maybe an hour or so of exploring that led her nowhere, the faint sounds of the undead began to reach her ears. The moans were faint, though the fact that she was even hearing them indicated that she could be heading in the wrong direction. Stopping to see if she could tell which direction the sounds were coming from, Ronnie noted that there was definitely more than one of them, and quickly moved toward one of the abandoned stores that littered main street.

It wasn't long until the dead came into view, but what shocked her more was the person that ran in front of them. Outnumbered four to one, they seemed to be making a dash, and a large smile flitted to Ronnie's face. She hadn't killed a walker in days - not in the fun way, in a way that didn't involve a fence between them, and so she stepped outside, eager to plunge the metal of the tomahawk between one of their skulls. Their attentions were focused on the individual as they moved ahead, and Ronnie took advantage - running towards it, she swiftly kicked at the back of its knee, forcing the corpse to fall to the ground. With her short stature, it was easier to get a shot at their skull this way, and she paused for only a moment before continuing. 

Moving towards the next zombie, she saw out of the corner of her eye that the individual had taken out one of their own. Wanting to get the third, she all but sprinted to it, jamming the metal into it's skull.

Breath heavy, she turned to the only other living individual in the area, stopping only to wipe the blood of the walkers on one of their shirts. "You're welcome, by the way."

It was unfortunate, though, that Chloe wasn't in the intern locker room and it wasn't intern year. She was at the prison and it was worse than intern year. But, regardless, she still  needed toothpaste. Something so easy to get in the world they lived in before had become a luxury item. And, as she stopped at one of the cells in her block, she grabbed the curtain, wiggling it a bit in attempt to let its inhabitant know she was outside.

"Hey, yeah, sorry to bother you. I don't know if this is kind of gross to ask, but, do you have any toothpaste?" the woman asked, slowly drawing back the curtain.

With nothing to really entertain them around the camp, Braden found himself going to bed every night usually before ten. Though he felt like a grandpa in the early hours of the night, he was thankful when he woke before sunrise, allowing him to get some work done before the days heat came to an ultimate high and left many unable to do what they had to. Though capable, even he preferred to lift in the cool hours of the morning. 

That's how he found himself almost done with his days assigned tasks at only eight o'clock in the morning. The emptiness and quiet allowing him to work at whatever pace he wished, he'd worked in silence. As time wore on, people began to stir and rise, and the sounds of morning finally reached his ears. 

By the time was lifting his last few loads, most people were out and about; eating breakfast, getting to work, chatting. Noticing someone coming up towards him, he motioned hello with a tilt of his chin upwards, "Hey."

Ever since Liev and Everly had the fortune of bumping into some people from the prison and being allowed to return here around four or five months ago (he had long since stopped counting the days), he has always done his best to pull his own weight as well as the weight of others. He volunteers for almost any task that needs to be done because Liev feels as though it is his duty not only to keep the prison secure but to make sure it is running as efficiently as possible. And if the Russian-American was really being honest with himself, he needed tasks to complete everyday because laying around all day doing nothing tended to send his thoughts in a darker direction as he would often ponder the fate of his family in New Jersey. Therefore, Liev always rose early (far earlier than Everly and half of the prisoners) and enjoyed the rare moment of silence at dawn before determining what needed to be done for the day. And today the fence needed some work, so as per usual he had volunteered himself to take care of it.

The fence in and of itself was in perfect condition, but walkers had started piling up in one area of the fence and it was honestly making him nervous. If they busted through the outer fence it would totally compromise their security and the thought of Everly or anyone in the group getting attacked was enough to churn the apple he had eaten earlier in his stomach. Therefore, Liev was trying to alleviate the problem by taking a crow bar and killing as many walkers through the fence as he could. Not so long ago, he had moral crises after killing walkers as he would often think about how they had once been mothers or fathers and probably had gone to a normal job just like him everyday before their life came to a horrifying end. Now, however, Liev was completely numb to the task and only saw these things as dead beings who were a threat to him and everyone he cared about. He had once killed a mountain lion who had tried to eat his dog and he had to remind himself that this was basically the same thing. Walkers had no humanity left in them.

After killing a dozen or so walkers, Liev decided to take a break as the summer sun was already starting to beat down on his shoulders. Unable to bear the heat, he removed his grey button up to reveal a black undershirt and grabbed his water bottle. Moving away from the crowd of walkers and drawing quite a few in his direction, Liev sat down on the uncomfortable gravel and leaned up against the inner fence. He watched feeling numb as what used to be an elderly woman snapped at him through the fence with flesh stuck in her teeth. Closing his eyes to get the image out of his mind, Liev took this time to silently pray.

She had always loved to read. As a kid, her father would grant her one chapter a night of whatever book they were "working on". When she was a little girl, he would read to her. As she got older, and was learning to read, they would alternate who read each night. 

The woman couldn't help but smile to herself as she slid the book back into its proper slot on the shelf with Tolkien's other works. It didn't matter a whole lot that the books in the library didn't follow the tedious Dewey decimal system but, somehow, it mattered to Chloe. When the book was safely tucked away where Chloe knew she would find it again, she scanned the shelf with her eyes. Locating the third and final book in the series, the brunette grabbed it, pulling it out of its "home". 

"Alright," she spoke to the book, "You're coming with me."