The drive back to the farm felt completely different from the drive there, this time, nobody questioned whether the prison would work. They had seen it with their own eyes.
Merle drove while Gray rested against the passenger door, occasionally glancing out toward the empty roads passing by.
By the time the farm finally came into view, the sun had already started setting.
People immediately started stepping out of the farmhouse and tents the moment they heard the truck approaching. Carol looked relieved seeing everyone return safely, while Carl nearly ran toward Rick before Lori stopped him.
Glenn was the first one to ask questions. "So?! How bad was it?"
Rick jumped out of the truck, smiling for the first time in days. "It works."
"What do you mean it works?" Andrea asked.
Gray climbed out slowly while stretching his sore shoulders. "It was overrun, but we cleared one cell block already."
Dale blinked. "Already?"
Shane nodded. "Place is huge. Fences, towers, secure doors..." He looked toward the farm. "Hell, it's safer than this place already."
Excitement slowly spread through the group while Gray explained the rest of the plan. "We're not moving everybody immediately," he clarified. "We still need to clear the remaining cell blocks, and clean out all the bodies."
"We also want Hershel's people to come with us," Rick added while looking toward Hershel and Maggie. "The prison has enough space for everybody."
Hershel stayed quiet for a few seconds before finally speaking, "This farm has been in my family for generations. I'm not about to abandon it."
Rick exchanged a glance with Gray while Shane stayed quiet beside them.
After a second, Rick nodded respectfully. "We understand."
Gray didn't argue either, though internally he already started thinking of ways to convince Hershel later. The prison was safer, and once the fences here eventually failed, the farm would become a death trap. Still, now wasn't the time to push.
Eventually, the excitement around the prison settled down, and people returned to their usual routines. Dinner was prepared while the sun slowly disappeared behind the trees.
Gray had just finished eating near the RV when he noticed Glenn sitting by himself, looking unusually nervous.
Gray walked over and sat beside him. "You look like somebody just told you the world's ending again."
Glenn gave a weak laugh before rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh... Lori asked me to grab some stuff earlier when Maggie took me into town."
Gray immediately understood. "Let me guess...Abortion meds?"
Glenn nearly choked. "What the hell?! How did you know that?!"
Gray smirked slightly. "Magic." his expression softened slightly. "Don't tell anybody."
"I wasn't planning to," Glenn muttered quickly. "Trust me, I don't wanna be involved in that mess."
Gray nodded. "Good. Keep it to yourself for a few days. I'll handle it."
As Glenn walked away, Gray leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. 'Great...If Lori handles things like in the show, Rick and Shane will be at each other's throats soon enough. And that is the last thing the group needs right now...I'll have to keep an eye out for that.'
For the rest of the evening, Gray mostly stayed inside his tent watching more episodes of The Walking Dead.
By the time he finally stopped, he had finished six more episodes. "...This is getting weird now," he muttered while staring at scenes of the prison arc he was literally about to live through.
Eventually, exhaustion won, and he finally went to sleep.
The next morning, the farm became busy almost immediately. This time, they were bringing a much larger group to the prison. T-Dog, Jim, Morales, Andrea, Shane, Rick, Merle, Daryl, and Gray all prepared weapons, tools, and supplies near the vehicles.
Amy approached Gray while he loaded magazines into his vest. "So I'm really not going?"
Gray looked toward her apologetically. "Not yet. It's still too dangerous," he looked towards Andrea, who was giving him a mean look, "Besides, I think your sister might shoot me if you came with us."
Amy crossed her arms slightly, clearly disappointed.
Gray smiled faintly. "Once things settle down, I'll help you practice dealing with walkers properly. Then maybe."
That seemed to cheer her up slightly. "Promise?"
Gray nodded. "Promise."
Soon afterward, the group split between two pickup trucks and finally left the farm behind again. The roads toward the prison remained mostly clear, though they stopped several times along the highway to siphon gas from abandoned cars.
By the time the prison finally came into view again, everyone had gone quiet, a few walkers still wandered outside the fences, aimlessly stumbling near the entrance.
This time, they handled them silently, Daryl buried a knife into one walker's skull while Rick and Shane handled the others with hatchets and crowbars, no gunshots, no noise.
Once the area outside was clear, they reopened the gates and entered the prison again.
The moment T-Dog, Jim, Morales, and Andrea saw the mountain of bodies scattered throughout the yard, they froze.
"...Jesus Christ," Andrea whispered.
Jim slowly looked around the courtyard. "You guys did all this yesterday?"
Merle immediately smirked. "Damn right we did. Mostly me, though."
Daryl instantly ruined it. "Gray killed most of 'em."
Merle looked offended. "Why you always gotta ruin my moments?"
Gray ignored them while leading everyone back toward C Block, inside, they dropped off their backpacks and supplies before bringing out the shovels and tools they had packed.
Gray quickly divided everybody into groups. "Group one handles cleanup," he explained. "Drag bodies outside the fences, start digging fire pits, and keep the area clear." He pointed toward T-Dog, Jim, Morales, Andrea, Daryl, and Merle.
Gray continued. "Group two clears the rest of the prison." That left Rick, Shane, and himself.
Merle immediately started complaining. "Aw hell no. Why am I on corpse duty?"
Gray looked directly at him. "Because if a walker grabs somebody while they're dragging bodies, I trust you and Daryl the most to react fast enough."
Merle paused for a second before shrugging. "...Fine."
Before the cleanup group headed out, Gray stopped them one final time. "Stay alert at all times," he warned seriously. "Walkers could wander in from anywhere. Keep your guns on you even while working, and if anything happens, come and get us."
Only then did the two groups separate, with flashlights available, Gray, Rick, and Shane moved deeper into the prison, the showers and infirmary became their first targets since they were smaller enclosed spaces.
The beam from Gray's flashlight swept slowly across the dark hallway while Rick checked the corners carefully. Blood stains covered the walls, and abandoned medical equipment littered the floor.
A sudden growl echoed from one of the side rooms. Shane reacted first, shoving the door open before a walker could stumble out completely. CRACK! His crowbar crushed its skull instantly.
Another walker emerged from behind a tipped-over hospital bed, only for Rick to bury his hatchet directly into its forehead. Ten minutes later, the infirmary and showers were completely cleared.
Only two walkers, still, nobody lowered their guard.
Gray slowly swept his flashlight deeper into the dark hallway ahead of them before speaking quietly. "...Now comes the fun part."
The deeper sections of the prison felt completely different from the outer areas, the air smelled rotten. Their flashlight beams barely cut through the darkness ahead, every corner looking like something could lunge out at any second.
Rick tightened his grip around the revolver while Shane kept his own Glock raised. Gray walked slightly ahead of them, rifle ready, his flashlight mounted beneath the barrel with tape illuminating the hallway in short, controlled movements.
Every few steps, another corpse appeared on the ground, some clearly dead, others... harder to tell.
"Jesus," Shane muttered quietly while stepping around a body in a correctional officer uniform.
Gray immediately spoke without lowering his rifle. "Watch the floor."
Rick frowned. "Think some of them are still active?"
Gray nodded slowly. "If you're not sure, put one in the head."
The three men continued deeper into the block, the hallway opened into another section of cells.
Three walkers suddenly stumbled out from around the corner. Rick fired first. One dropped.
The second and third walker lunged forward-BANG! BANG! Gray's bullets pierced directly through their eye socket before they could even reach them.
They kept moving, every room had to be checked manually, every cell, and every corner. Some walkers were trapped behind locked doors, while others wandered aimlessly in the darkness.
Gray started making full use of Deadshot's Marksmanship now, the prison's darkness stopped mattering. Whenever a walker appeared, his rifle snapped toward it almost instantly.
Even shots through narrow openings between cell bars landed perfectly.
The deeper they went, the more dangerous it became, bodies littered entire hallways now, some missing limbs, some motionless, and some of them pretending.
Shane stepped over another corpse near the showers without thinking much about it, the moment he passed it...The walker's hand suddenly shot forward and grabbed his ankle.
"SHIT!" Shane lost his balance instantly and crashed onto his back.
The walker lunged with a rotten snarl, jaws opening only inches away from Shane's legs. BANG! The walker's head exploded apart.
Gray stood at the opposite end of the hallway with smoke rising from his rifle barrel.
For a second, nobody moved, then Shane checked himself, breathing heavily. "...Jesus Christ."
Rick immediately helped him back up.
Gray walked over calmly while reloading. "I literally just said not to trust the bodies."
Shane rubbed the back of his head before glaring at the dead walker. "Yeah, yeah... learned my lesson."
Gray's expression became serious again. "From now on, if you aren't sure it's dead, put a bullet in its head first. Don't take chances."
Neither Rick nor Shane argued after that.
The prison had already proven that it only took one mistake, and about thirty minutes later, the hallway split into several different sections. Gray stopped and reached into his backpack before pulling out his final noise maker.
Rick looked toward the metal can. "Last one?"
Gray nodded. "Might as well use it."
Without hesitation, he lit the fuse and tossed it down the far hallway, a few seconds later...BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! The explosions echoed throughout the cell block, and growls immediately answered back.
Several walkers stumbled out from side rooms and cells deeper inside the hallway, drawn directly toward the noise.
The moment the walkers emerged, Gray started dropping them instantly, Rick got rid of the stagglers, and Shane kept an eye behind them.
Within less than a minute, the hallway became silent again, and eventually they found a double door locked with some handcuffs.
Rick grabbed the cuffs and frowned. "Looks like somebody locked this place down."
Gray looked at the door, 'the prisoners have to be inside...' he thought. After a few seconds, he replied. "Leave it for now."
Shane raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"We still haven't cleared the rest of the block," Gray answered. "No point trapping ourselves in there yet."
Reluctantly, they moved on, the next two hours became a slow grind of clearing cells, showers, storage rooms, and hallways. The deeper they pushed, the more careful they became.
Every body got checked, every corner got cleared, and by the end of it, all three men were exhausted and drenched in sweat.
Finally, they returned to the chained doors. Rick rolled his shoulders tiredly before gripping the hatchet tightly. "Let's finish this." CLANG! The first strike shattered one of the cuffs, and a second hit broke the chain completely.
The doors slowly creaked open, and the cafeteria inside remained silent, no walkers or movement. Rick stepped inside first with Gray beside him, while Shane covered the rear.
Trays and trash were scattered everywhere, and then they heard movement from the kitchen area, all three men instantly raised their weapons.
Five men slowly stepped out from the shadows, dirty, wary, but very much alive. One of them, a Hispanic man holding a revolver, stared at them cautiously before finally speaking. "...Who the hell are you?"