The prison had barely begun settling down.
Only thirty minutes had passed since Michael's convoy returned from Grady Memorial Hospital.
What was supposed to be a discussion about an alliance had ended with nearly thirty survivors being brought back through the gates instead.
There hadn't been much time for anything since then.
The newcomers had been shown temporary rooms and told to get some sleep. Questions and introductions would have to wait until morning.
Tomorrow's assault on Woodbury took priority over everything else.
Everyone needed rest.
Most of the prison residents had already gone to bed.
The hospital survivors were exhausted. Many had fallen asleep almost immediately after reaching their assigned rooms. Others simply lacked the energy to stay awake any longer.
The prison wasn't asleep yet.
But it was getting there.
A cold wind drifted across the prison yard.
High above, two sentries quietly scanned the darkness beyond the walls.
For several minutes, nothing moved.
Then one of them suddenly leaned forward.
"Vehicle."
The second guard immediately turned.
Far down the dirt road, a pair of headlights bounced through the darkness, slowly making their way toward the prison.
Neither man recognized the vehicle.
Not from this distance.
Both guards raised their weapons. Nobody was expected tonight.
Especially not after Michael and the others had already returned.
The vehicle eventually slowed to a stop outside the gate.
Its engine continued idling.
For several seconds, neither side moved.
Then a familiar voice suddenly echoed through the darkness.
"Open the damn gate!"
One of the guards blinked. "Daryl?"
"Unless there's somebody capable of copying my voice, then yeah."
The tension immediately eased. The second guard lowered his weapon.
"Open it!"
Chains rattled.
Wood groaned.
The massive gate slowly swung inward.
The car rolled through before the gate immediately began closing behind it.
Daryl climbed out first and the guards visibly relaxed the moment they saw his face.
Then another man stepped out from the passenger side, and several weapons immediately came back up.
Merle noticed. His grin widened. "Aw, come on."
Nobody looked amused.
"I ain't even done anything yet."
One of the guards muttered something under his breath.
Merle immediately pointed at him. "See? That's profiling."
Daryl rolled his eyes.
"Shut up."
The older Dixon snorted before glancing around the prison.
"Huh."
Daryl immediately frowned. "What?"
Merle looked around.
Most of the prison was hidden beneath the darkness.
The outer walls were little more than black silhouettes against the night sky.
The distant cell blocks sat far beyond the yard.
A handful of torches burned somewhere deeper inside the compound.
Otherwise...
Nothing.
The prison was quiet.
The only sounds came from beyond the walls.
Crickets and the wind rustling through the trees, and with the occasional distant groan of a walker.
Merle scratched his beard. "Place actually looks bigger up close."
Daryl snorted. "It's dark, dumbass. You can't see shit."
Merle shrugged.
"Can see enough."
Then the rear door opened.
A third man climbed out.
The guards who had just started relaxing immediately became alert again.
Compared to Merle, this one was a complete stranger.
One guard looked toward Daryl.
"You wanna explain?"
Daryl pointed toward Shane.
"Friend."
Shane raised an eyebrow.
"Friend?"
"Closest thing I got."
Merle barked out a laugh. "That's depressing."
For the first time all night, Shane actually smiled.
The guards exchanged confused looks. None of them understood the dynamic between the three men.
Even so, nobody lowered their weapons.
One guard finally spoke. "I apologize, but we need you three to stay here for now. We can't let you pass this point."
Daryl nodded. "Go ahead and tell someone. We'll wait."
One of the guards immediately headed toward the inner compound.
Silence settled over the yard once again.
The guards remained watchful, their weapons never leaving Shane.
Shane just ignored them.
Instead, he looked past the gate and into the darkness beyond.
He couldn't see much since the darkness swallowed most of the surroundings.
But he didn't need to.
The way the guards had handled their arrival told him enough.
Even Daryl's presence hadn't been enough to get them through all the way.
They were not just merely survivors assigned for night duty, they were also trained how to handle situations beyond their authority.
Compared to Woodbury, the place felt surprisingly organized.
A bitter thought crossed his mind.
'They must hate me now.'
The people who once relied on him for protection no longer needed him.
Life had continued, and he hadn't been part of it.
"You nervous?"
Merle asked.
"No."
"That's a lie."
Shane ignored him.
Merle nodded. "Thought so."
Several minutes later, hurried footsteps echoed through the yard.
Glenn emerged from the darkness carrying a torch and accompanied by the guard earlier.
Half-awake.
Half-annoyed.
"What happened?"
"We're back."
Daryl answered.
"No shit. I can see that."
When Glenn finally got a good look at the people standing there, his entire body froze.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"That's the look I wanted to see."
Merle grinned. Glenn didn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on Shane.
"What the fuck?"
"Good to see you too." Shane replied.
Glenn continued staring.
Then looked at Daryl.
Then back at Shane.
Then back at Daryl again.
"What the actual fuck?"
"Yeah." Daryl nodded. "That about sums it up."
"You're dead."
Shane shrugs. "So, I've been told."
Glenn stared at Shane for another second.
Then he combed both hands through his hair.
The farm.
The barn.
The endless arguments.
The days before occupying this place.
Everything came rushing back.
"Oh God."
"There it is again." Merle said.
"What?" Shane asked.
"That look."
"The f*ck are you talking about?"
"The one that says a whole lotta people are about to lose sleep." Glenn replied.
For once, Shane didn't have a comeback, because he knew exactly who Glenn was talking about.
Rick.
Lori.
Carl.
Michael.
Then Glenn suddenly looked toward Daryl.
"Wait."
"What?"
"You were supposed to regroup with us at Grady. What happened?"
Daryl gestured toward Shane. "You're lookin' at it."
Glenn stared for another second.
"Yeah. I'm starting to realize that."
Then his expression hardened. "We thought you got captured."
Daryl folded his arms. "Could've come looked."
Glenn blinked.
"Outside the protection of the wall?"
"Yeah."
"At night?"
Daryl opened his mouth, then stopped.
"..."
Glenn pointed at him. "Exactly."
Merle frowned. "Hold on."
"Nobody went after him?" His expression darkened slightly.
"No."
The older Dixon's eyes immediately narrowed. "You just left him out there?"
"No."
"What kinda answer is that?"
Glenn sighed. "We wanted to go look for him."
That got Daryl's attention.
"What?"
"Michael wanted to send a search party."
The yard grew quiet.
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because Michael shut it down and prioritized everyone's safety. The city wasn't exactly safe during that time."
Daryl frowned.
"Why? Did something happen?"
"Yeah, but that's another story." Glenn shrugged.
"He figured sending people out there when night was approaching was a good way to get somebody killed."
Nobody interrupted.
"The roads were already dangerous before. The Woodbury situation made them worse, and nobody knew where you really were to begin with."
Glenn looked directly at Daryl.
"If we'd gone out there and Woodbury spotted us moving around after dark, we'd have driven straight into an ambush."
He paused briefly. "Hell, it might not even have been Woodbury. Could've been another group for all we know."
Even Merle couldn't immediately argue with that.
The reasoning was solid.
Glenn continued. "Rick agreed, and Rosita too."
"The plan was to wait until sunrise."
"If you still weren't back by then..."
He didn't finish the sentence immediately.
Everyone understood what he meant.
"...then we'd assume Woodbury really got you."
The silence lingered.
"At that point," Glenn continued, "the attack would've gone ahead anyway."
Daryl looked away.
"..."
That sounded exactly like Michael.
Practical.
Annoyingly practical.
"I still don't like it."
Merle muttered.
"Neither did Michael."
Glenn replied.
"He was pissed on the drive back, but he chose to trust you. After all, everyone knows you can survive even without us."
The yard fell quiet again.
For the first time since Glenn arrived, Shane spoke.
"Would've really happened if somebody hadn't gotten lucky."
He jerked a thumb toward Merle.
The older Dixon immediately grinned. "Damn right. My luck today was shooting through the skies."
Glenn nodded. His eyes shifted toward Shane.
"Most of them thought you were just running late."
Daryl pointed toward Shane. "Turns out it was worse."
"Hey."
Shane protested.
"I had to spend the whole damn drive listening to you and Merle."
Merle immediately pointed at him. "See?"
"What?"
"That's gratitude."
"F*ck you."
Despite himself, Glenn snorted.
For a moment, it felt like the old days again, giving each other shit.
Then reality caught up with him. His eyes drifted back toward Shane. The humor disappeared.
Because Shane was still standing there.
Still alive.
Still real.
Glenn slowly pointed toward him.
"Stay here."
"I wasn't planning on going anywhere."
"Good." Then Glenn looked toward the guards. "Keep an eye on him."
Several of them nodded.
Without another word, Glenn turned and started jogging back toward the inner compound.
The distance seemed longer at night.
Back near the gate, the three men watched him disappear into the darkness.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Merle glanced toward Shane.
"You know..."
Shane immediately sighed.
"Don't."
"If Grimes wanted you dead, you'd already be dead."
"I ain't worried about Rick."
Merle raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
Shane was silent for a moment.
"...No."
A smirk spread across the older Dixon's face.
"Still." He scratched his beard. "Rick ain't the one I'd be worried about."
Shane immediately groaned. "I'm serious."
"That's what worries me."
Daryl snorted.
Merle pointed toward the prison.
"Rick'll yell at you."
"Michael'll probably stare at you."
Shane winced. "That one might actually be worse."
Merle barked out a laugh.
"Then there's Lori."
Shane immediately closed his eyes.
"Merle."
"What?"
"Shut up."
Merle chuckled to himself.
For the first time all night, Shane genuinely looked nervous.
The wind drifted through the prison yard.
Tomorrow, the prison will march on Woodbury.
Tonight, an old ghost had returned home.