Walkers started pouring out from deeper inside the prison, at least a couple of dozen of them flooded into the courtyard toward the noise.
Rick's eyes widened slightly. "...Holy shit."
Gray didn't waste a second, opening the door for the guard tower. He started climbing. Once he reached the top platform, he rested the rifle on the metal railings and took aim. BANG! The first walker dropped.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Three more bodies hit the floor. Gray didn't want to repeat what he did two days ago, this time, he took his time aiming and shooting. Around every 3 seconds, a shot rang through the courtyard. He moved with terrifying precision, every shot dropped a walker with a clean headshot.
The prison courtyard slowly transformed into a graveyard, walkers fell one after another faster than the others could even process what they were seeing.
Rick lowered his revolver slightly while staring upward. "...How is he doing that?"
Merle barked out a laugh. "Boy shoots like a damn machine!"
Daryl narrowed his eyes while watching another line of walkers collapse. "...Show off."
From the top of the tower, Gray barely even seemed focused anymore, his movements looked automatic, breath, aim, and shoot, repeated over and over again until he finished a magazine. Seeing as the courtyard looked a bit emptier, he got down.
Merle whistled lowly while looking around. "Jesus Christ... You sure you ain't some kinda robot, boy?"
Gray laughed while reloading his M4. "Nah. Just practiced a lot."
"Bullshit," Merle replied immediately. "Ain't nobody shoot like that naturally. You're teachin' me later."
"Sure," Gray smirked.
Daryl snorted while Rick shook his head with a tired smile. Shane finally looked toward the inner courtyard gates. "Alright, enough screwing around. We still got work to do."
Gray nodded and stepped forward first this time. "Let's clear the yard before we head inside."
The remaining walkers were shambling around the corpses, and unlike before, Gray didn't immediately start mowing them down from a distance. Instead, he moved slowly around the courtyard like a soldier clearing a combat zone, step, aim, BANG!. One walker dropped. He kept moving calmly between the bodies while the others spread out beside him.
Rick and Shane quickly joined in, firing controlled shots while Daryl used his crossbow to silently pick targets off one after another. Even Merle started landing decent hits with his rifle.
Walkers stumbled out from deeper inside the prison, only to be immediately dropped. Gray stayed near the center, shooting the most while letting the others handle the rest.
Merle glanced sideways after dropping a walker himself. "Okay, I definitely need them lessons now."
Gray chuckled lightly without looking away from the sights of his rifle. "Later, Merle."
After several more minutes, the outer courtyard finally went quiet. Bodies covered nearly every section of grass and dirt road around them.
Rick lowered his revolver and exhaled slowly. "That's the most walkers I've killed in one place."
"And we're still not done," Shane muttered.
Ahead of them stood the final gate leading deeper into the prison complex. Gray stepped toward it carefully and slowly pushed it open. The loud metal creak echoed throughout the prison.
Immediately, distant growls answered back. Dozens of walkers turned the corner farther inside the yard. "...Still got company," Daryl muttered.
At least three dozen walkers wandered deeper inside the inner prison grounds, several of them still wore damaged riot gear and correctional officer uniforms.
The moment Gray saw the armored walkers, his expression sharpened. "Don't waste arrows on those," he warned. "And don't let those things get close."
Without hesitation, he raised the M4 first. BANG! The first riot walker dropped after the bullet pierced directly through the visor gap. BANG! BANG! Two more armored walkers collapsed.
The others immediately focused on the normal walkers, while Gray prioritized the armored targets. The prison echoed nonstop with gunfire and crossbow bolts.
Eventually, the number of walkers began to thin.
Once only a handful remained, Shane lowered his shotgun slightly. "Save the ammo." Everyone switched weapons immediately.
Rick buried his hatchet into a walker's skull while Daryl drove his knife upward through another's jaw. Merle laughed like a maniac while beating one down with an axe.
Gray sat down near some of the benches since he was still sore and chose not to push it.
Finally...Silence. Nothing moved anymore. The five men stood in the courtyard surrounded by corpses. Daryl was the first one to notice something, "These ain't all prisoners..."
Rick looked over. Several walkers wore civilian clothing, torn hoodies, jeans, and random everyday outfits.
Shane frowned immediately. "How the hell did civilians get in here?"
Gray looked around the prison calmly. "Means there's probably a breach somewhere." 'I already know there's a huge hole the opposite way we came in, but they can figure it out later...'
Merle spat onto the concrete. "That's reassuring."
Rick glanced toward the fences uneasily, but Gray immediately waved it off. "We'll deal with it later," he said. "Right now, clearing the prison matters more."
The group finally approached the cell blocks. C Block stood dark and silent ahead of them. Rick slowly pushed the doors open while everyone raised their weapons.
Near the entrance, they found a dead correctional officer slumped against the wall with a ring of keys still attached to his belt.
"Guess we got lucky," Shane muttered while taking the keys.
They moved cell by cell carefully, several walkers were still trapped behind locked doors, growling and weakly slamming against the bars.
The group handled them quickly and methodically. One by one, the cells were cleared.
Eventually, Rick stopped near the center walkway and slowly looked around the block. The prison suddenly started feeling...real.
Secure doors, elevated walkways, metal bars, and protection. Rick smiled. "This could actually work."
Shane leaned against the railing while breathing heavily. "Hell of a lot better than sleeping in tents."
Gray smiled. "I told you guys this place would be perfect," he continued, looking around at how filthy it actually was. "Cleaning this place up is gonna suck though."
After resting for a while, the group wanted to continue, but Gray stopped them. "No," he said.
Rick looked over. "No?"
Gray pointed deeper into the prison where darkness completely swallowed the hallways beyond C Block. "We stop here for today."
Merle frowned immediately. "Boy, we just got started."
"And we're already pushing our luck," Gray replied calmly. "Further inside, it's gonna get darker. None of us brought flashlights."
Rick looked deeper into the prison himself and reluctantly realized Gray was right. The deeper hallways were almost pitch black already, despite it still being daytime outside.
Shane crossed his arms. "Last thing we need is walkers jumping us in the dark."
Daryl nodded once in agreement. "Can't hear shit properly in tight hallways neither."
Merle groaned dramatically. "Fine. Ruin all the fun."
Gray smirked lightly before gesturing around the cell block. "Besides, clearing C Block already gives us enough space for everybody."
Rick slowly looked around again, and excitement slowly started building on his face again. "We should head back right now and bring the others," Rick said immediately. "The sooner we move in, the better."
Gray immediately stopped him. "Not yet."
Rick frowned. "Why not?"
Gray leaned against the railing while thinking carefully. "Because I don't just want our group here."
"What're you talking about?" Shane asked.
Gray looked toward them seriously. "Hershel's family should come too."
Merle raised an eyebrow. "The farm people?"
Gray nodded. "Think about it. Hershel's a vet. Otis used to work as an EMT. Patricia knows basic medical care, too."
Daryl quietly added, "And they know farming."
"Exactly," Gray pointed toward him. "This place has enough land around it for crops later, and if we reinforce sections properly, we can even bring the farm animals here eventually."
Rick slowly started to see the bigger picture: a prison wasn't just a shelter anymore, it could become permanent. "I doubt they will leave their farm, they will need convincing."
Gray nodded along, "Leave that to me," afterwards he motioned for them to follow him back outside.
Once they stepped into the courtyard again, Gray pointed toward the outer fences where several walkers were already slowly shambling against the chain-link fencing. "See that?" he asked.
Rick nodded.
"Those fences won't hold forever if enough walkers pile up," Gray explained. "We'll need reinforcement. Extra layers. Maybe sheet metal later if we can find some."
Gray continued walking through the prison yard while talking. "We also need cleanup crews. There are bodies everywhere, and if we leave them rotting around the prison, this place is gonna smell like death permanently."
Shane grimaced while looking around at the piles of corpses. "Burn pits."
Gray nodded. "We burn everything outside the fences."
Rick crossed his arms while processing everything. "So your plan is to prepare this place first... before moving everyone in."
"Yeah," Gray answered simply. "We bring a few more people next time, clear the rest of the prison, clean the yards, reinforce the fences, and once this place is secure..." He looked around the courtyard one more time. "...then we move everybody."
Silence followed for a few moments before Rick finally nodded. "Alright," he agreed.
Shane sighed. "Makes sense."
With the decision made, the group started locking down C Block before leaving, every cleared cell was secured again, making sure nothing inside could wander out later.
Afterward, they began dragging the corpses from inside the block back into the courtyard. It took nearly another hour.
By the end of it, sweat covered everyone, while several large piles of bodies now sat outside waiting to be burned later.
Rick wiped his forehead tiredly while staring at the disgusting piles. "...We're definitely bringing more people next time."
"No argument here," Shane muttered.
Once everything was secured, the five men finally headed back toward the pickup truck.
The prison gates were chained shut behind them. "Are you sure this will hold? What if people get in?" Merle asked
"It's fine, we have the keys for the cellblocks, and we locked everything. If people get in, it will only be the courtyard." Gray continued, "Besides, it's only for one day. Tomorrow, we will come back with more people and cleaning supplies to get the cell block ready."
Merle shrugged, "You're the boss."
This time, Merle drove while Gray rested silently in the passenger seat, still sore from the school incident and the prison clearing.
As the truck slowly disappeared down the empty road leading away from the prison, none of them noticed the hidden figure watching from deep within the treeline.
The stranger remained completely motionless until the sound of the truck finally disappeared into the distance.
Only then did the figure slowly step backward into the woods once more.