Chapter 29

Even so, Lina and Daryl still went to the watchtower.

For Daryl, this place was not much different from a cage, but at least it was far from the crowds, and he didn't want to be teased anymore.

Lena took out a handkerchief and wiped Daryl's face. The two of them were filthy, and the blood from the zombies had almost ruined their coats.

"I'm definitely going to take a shower after I'm done with work tomorrow," Lina said, taking off her dirty coat. Luckily, the clothes underneath were still relatively clean.

"Are you staying tomorrow?" Daryl hugged Lina and kissed her cheek.

“No, I’ll go in with you,” Lina said, kissing Daryl’s lips before he could object.

Since then, they've been constantly on the road and haven't had time to think about these things. They've even rarely kissed. Finally, things have calmed down, and Lina can finally enjoy some time alone with Daryl.

They didn't do anything, just kissed, hugged, and snuggled together, drifting off to sleep.

They were too tired to do anything else.

Lina slept until dawn, stretched, and Daryl woke up groggily. The watchtower was quite tall, so the sunlight streamed into the glass first.

"I'm going to the river to wash up and see if I can find anything for breakfast," Lina said, putting on her coat. A good night's sleep had put her in a good mood.

“I’ll go see if I can find anything, and maybe gather some firewood.” Daryl moved his neck and shoulders.

Lina leaned over and rubbed his shoulder, then kissed the corner of his mouth, since his shoulder was numb from hugging her.

Daryl led Lina to the water's edge and, after confirming that the area was safe, left to go hunting.

Taking a cold shower like that would definitely keep her in bed during her next period. Lina could only wet a handkerchief and wipe herself down, and even that made her shiver from the cold.

Foreigners are much more resilient; they were still wearing thin clothes, like short sleeves, while Lina was already wearing long sleeves and a jacket.

Of course, it's still hot at noon and when you're working, but it's really cold in the mornings and evenings.

After quickly washing up, Lina followed Daryl's trail and found him.

“Not much,” he said, holding up a squirrel. “Too little.”

Looking at the squirrel, Lina suddenly remembered their first meeting. "My title as the squirrel killer is in jeopardy," Lina joked.

Daryl glanced at Lina sideways without saying a word.

“I dug up some purslane,” Lina said, shaking her clothes, which she used as a large bundle to hold a lot of wild vegetables.

“We can also set some traps and see if there are any fish later.” Lina pulled Daryl’s hand and walked back.

Walking back to the prison, she saw Rick and the others standing in the yard in disbelief.

"You did this?" He pointed to the iron gate, where Daryl and Lina had cleared out all the walkers. Last night, Lina and Daryl had gone inside and hung up the inner door as well.

“That’s right,” Lina said smugly to Rick, “A surprise~”

Rick glanced helplessly at Daryl, who shrugged. He couldn't do anything about it; if she wanted to do it, he'd just go along with it—it was that simple.

“Then you two take a break today,” Rick said with a headache.

“No! I’m fine, I want to go with you,” Lina said, looking at Daryl.

“I’m fine with it too,” Daryl said.

T-boy stripped the guards' uniforms off the zombies, which would at least provide some protection.

"It looks disgusting," Lina said, jumping away in disgust.

"It'll be usable if we boil it," T said, suppressing his nausea.

“I don’t think we have that much firewood,” Daryl said, looking at the firewood in his hand, which he was going to use to roast squirrels!

“Give these to Patricia,” Rick said, glancing at the squirrel and firewood in Daryl’s hand.

Daryl nodded.

“Let’s go inside and discuss it,” Rick said thoughtfully; he always needed to think things through.

Lena sighed and pulled Daryl back. She gave everything to Patricia, who would help make breakfast. Patricia would now take over the logistics, and Carol, Beth, and Amy would also help.

The remaining people mostly do physical labor, and their work isn't easy either.

“Put your clothes down by the door. We’re planning to fetch some water to wash them later,” Patricia said with a gentle smile.

"Thank you for your hard work, Pat, I love you." Lina kissed her cheek and handed her the wild vegetables and squirrel. "Daryl has some firewood, wait for me." Lina ran to get the firewood and saw Herschel being called away by Carol.

It must be because of the child.

Lina thoughtfully handed the firewood to Patricia.

"What's wrong?" Patricia asked, puzzled, noticing Lina's distracted state.

"No, I was just thinking about Lori and the baby. She seems a little uneasy," Lina said worriedly, wondering if Lori would be able to have a safe delivery this time.

“Don’t worry, Herschel and I will do our best.” Although Patricia was also worried.

After finishing a pot of wild vegetable and meat soup, it was better than nothing; at least we could drink something hot. Everyone started preparing to find a restaurant.

Rick handed the key to Carl, easily making the child believe he had a great responsibility. Lina couldn't help but laugh at Carl's smug little expression.

"What's wrong?" Daryl came over and put a piece of armor on Lina.

“Hey! I’m not wearing it.” Lina’s face twisted in disgust.

“Hey girl, save that for Daryl tonight,” Moore said slyly.

“Shut up,” Lina glared at Moore, then looked at Daryl pleadingly. She really couldn’t forget those disgusting images.

“No, there’s no room for discussion.” Daryl forcefully put the breastplate on Lina, who let him do as he pleased, feeling utterly hopeless, until he felt safe.

well.

The prison was dark, and the flashlights had limited range. Lina was pulled behind Daryl, and she kept an eye on the corpses at her feet, quickly finishing them off. Perhaps her caution infected the others, and they all followed suit.

Soon they encountered a group of walkers around a corner. Rick told everyone to back off, but the darkness was unsettling, and they scattered.

Daryl and Moore grabbed Lena, who was running around, and pulled her back. They then followed Rick and the others into a house.

Lina clutched her neck, and finally her feet landed firmly on the ground.

Those two bastards grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her in alive.

“Where are Glenn and Maggie?” Rick asked.

"They hid in a small doorway behind us." Lina saw it and was about to go over when the two guys pulled her up into the air!

Lina glared at Daryl and Mor.

Lina led the way; she had just counted the turns and doors, which was why she remembered the route.

Continuing her habit, she kept adding insult to injury; she didn't want Herschel's leg to be cut off.

“Maggie?” Herschel whispered.

“Dad?” Lina heard Maggie’s voice, and so did Herschel. Herschel walked past Lina and stepped forward, but Lina shoved him aside and stabbed the zombie beside his leg with her knife.

Herschel fell to the ground, startled.

Maggie and Glenn also rushed over, and Rick and the others rushed forward, looking at Herschel nervously.

"Now you know how important finishing blows are, right?" Lina breathed a sigh of relief; she had passed this hurdle.

However, the noise of Herschel falling still attracted the attention of the horde of zombies, and in their panicked escape, they accidentally walked into the restaurant.

As soon as they entered, T-boy and Daryl blocked the door, and then Moore and Glenn pushed some things in front of the door to block it.

"Be careful." Lina looked into the kitchen, Rick pulled out his gun, and Daryl raised his crossbow, watching the people inside warily.

“Come out,” Daryl and Rick said warily toward the kitchen door, while the curly-haired man pointed his gun at Rick.

“You don’t look like a rescue team,” Axel said.

“There’s no rescue team left,” Lina said, glancing warily at Curly.

“Today is Georgia’s lucky day. You lot have been pardoned and can prepare to leave,” Daryl said.

"What's going on with you guys?" Curly asked.

"It's nothing, you can just leave now, that's all." Lina drew her knife and pointed it at him.

"Hey! Girl! Watch out!" Curly-haired guy gave Lina a very unfriendly look.

"This is our prison," Curly said, looking at Rick. "Why did you barge in like that? What's going on outside?"

“Walkers are everywhere,” Rick said, pressing down on Lina’s knife. “This place isn’t yours to call the shots anymore.”

“This is my territory, I’m in charge. I can go wherever I want,” Curly said.

"Is that so?" Lina sneered. "Want to see the walkers outside?" She made a move to pull the door open.

"Hey!" Curly-haired guy nervously pointed his gun at Lina, "Stop her!"

Lina stood in front of the door, looking at them defiantly.

"How long have you been stuck in the cafeteria?" Rick asked.

"It's been ten months, hasn't it?" Curly-haired man said hesitantly.

“There’s been a prison riot,” the big black man said. “It’s worse than Attica,” Axel said.

“Have you ever heard of people turning into cannibals, dying and then coming back? That’s insane,” the short Black man said.

Lina's eyes were fixed on him; he was doomed.

She didn't notice that Moore had been watching her, but soon he seemed to realize something and quietly went around to the back.

Daryl glanced at Moore without saying a word, and Rick saw it too; he was still hesitating.

“A prison guard locked us in the cafeteria to protect us, told us not to move, gave me this gun, and told me he would be back soon,” Curly said.

“292 days have passed,” Oscar said.

“According to my calculations, it’s 294…” Axel was harshly reprimanded by Curly and told to shut up.

Rick gave them a briefing on what was happening outside, which the lucky ones found hard to believe.

“You can see for yourselves,” Rick said with a sneer, gesturing for Moore not to make any rash moves.

These people looked outside in fear, not daring to take a single step.

"Get out," Curly decided to kick these people out first.

“No, you’re not the one who calls the shots now,” Rick said calmly. Moore took two steps forward and held a knife to Curly’s neck. Daryl and Glenn quickly picked up their weapons and pointed them at the other four prisoners. Rick took Curly’s gun.

“Let me have a proper talk now.” Rick raised an eyebrow at Curly.