By evening, Oscar had restored part of the power in Block C.
In several cells in Block C, along with the guard office Rick and the others were using as a command room, the light bulbs flickered a few times before actually giving off a dim yellow glow.
"That's great!" Lori's face broke into a relieved smile, and she quickly brought out the heated canned stew with Beth and the others.
Everyone sat down together and ate the hot meal under the faint light.
They were all so exhausted they could barely lift their arms, but looking at the life they had now, they felt, deep down, that there might really be hope ahead.
The prison was beginning to feel a little like home.
Rick watched everyone relax, and the heavy stone pressing on his heart finally eased a little.
There was still a long road ahead, but at least they had found their footing with this first step.
That evening, Carol was struggling to fold a bundle of old sheets that had been washed and dried, preparing to hand them out to everyone.
Her movements were much quicker than before, and her eyes no longer kept darting away.
Just then, a figure wandered over. It was Axel.
He had that self-satisfied, slightly frivolous smile on his face, the kind he clearly thought was charming, and he was holding a bag of hardtack.
"Carol?" Axel leaned against a nearby pillar, tilted his head, and looked at her as he offered the bag. "Been on watch all day. Take a break? Want some? Thanks for saving me before."
He was talking about the cleanup operation yesterday, when Carol had killed the walker that attacked him.
Carol paused, but she did not take it. She only lowered her head and continued folding the sheets. "No, thank you."
Axel had been gently refused, but he was not discouraged. He took a bite of the hardtack himself and looked Carol up and down.
Moonlight fell across her newly cut hair, which was cut short for convenience and looked almost too cropped, exposing the clean line of her neck.
Axel clicked his tongue as if he had discovered something interesting. He lowered his voice, speaking with a self-assured familiarity and a hint of testing the waters.
"That haircut's pretty neat. I used to know a few girls who liked keeping their hair short like that. Real cool, real tough. Those girls, well... heh, they usually liked hanging around other girls."
He winked at her, the implication obvious. "Are you also...?"
Carol's hands tightened sharply around the folded sheet.
She lifted her head and looked Axel straight in the eye for the first time. The eyes that had always seemed timid now looked as if they were covered with a thin layer of ice.
Carol did not angrily scold him, nor did she shrink away in embarrassment. She answered him openly and firmly.
"My hair is short because it makes it easier to survive. It isn't for other people to look at, and it definitely isn't for you to guess who I like."
She held the folded sheets to her chest and stood up, her gaze sweeping over Axel's face and that teasing smile of his. "I'm living on my own and protecting my daughter. That's enough. Please don't say things like that again."
With that, Carol carried the sheets and walked toward the cellblock where she and Sophia lived without looking back.
Axel stood frozen in place, hardtack in hand, the smile on his face completely gone.
He scratched his messy blond hair and muttered awkwardly, "Damn. Why get so mad? It was just a joke..."
Axel realized he might have hit a nerve. He curled his lip, stuffed the hardtack into his mouth, and walked away in disappointment.
Lori and Maggie happened to see the whole thing while checking the supply stores nearby.
Lori frowned and whispered, "That Axel talks too much."
Maggie gave a cold snort. "If he dares say that to Beth, I'll put a few holes in him with my pitchfork."
...
Late that night, the generator was temporarily shut down to save fuel, and the prison fell into silence.
Rick finished the final patrol of the day, making sure every guard post was manned.
As he passed through a yard lit bright by moonlight, he heard soft voices.
Rick stopped and looked over.
It was Carl and Sophia.
The two children were sitting side by side on a low concrete platform.
Moonlight fell over them, lining them with a soft silver glow.
Sophia held a worn cloth doll Carol had remade for her from old clothes, while Carl held a small stone and idly scratched at the ground.
"My mom said this is going to be our home from now on," Sophia whispered.
"Yeah," Carl answered, stopping his scratching. "It's pretty good here."
"Those... those monsters can't get in, right, Carl?"
"Of course not." Carl puffed out his chest. "We've got my dad, and Glenn, and T-Dog. They'll protect everyone."
He paused, his voice dropping a little. "And Calista and the others will come back too. They're even stronger."
Sophia seemed a little more at ease and gave a soft "Mm."
The two children were quiet for a while, gazing at the bright moon in the sky.
"The moon is so bright," Sophia said softly. "Just like it was at the farm."
"It's not the same." Carl shook his head, speaking with an old-for-his-age seriousness. "The farm didn't have walls this high."
Listening to the children's innocent yet slightly heavy conversation, Rick felt as if something had gently struck his heart.
Warmth rose in him, mixed with a faint ache.
What comforted him was that the children could finally sit in a relatively safe place, look at the moon, and whisper to each other instead of being constantly uprooted and on the run.
The trust and imitation in Carl's words made him feel the weight of being a father, along with a trace of pride.
But right after that came a deeper worry.
Calista's invitation before she left was still echoing in his ears.
"When we come back, if you're willing, you can come with us to Rock Fortress. Its defenses and resources are better than this prison, which still hasn't been fully cleared."
Rock Fortress.
A place that sounded more stable and more powerful than the prison.
It had a more professional team and more abundant resources. Maybe it could even give Carl, Sophia, and the other children an environment that felt more like the world before.
Going with them seemed like the safer, wiser choice.
Rick's gaze swept again over the high walls, the barbed wire, and the sturdy cells outlined beneath the moonlight.
This was a place they had taken back bit by bit from the mouths of walkers.
This small community was slowly taking root, struggling but stubbornly alive.
[Should we give this place up?]
Rick wrestled with the thought.
[Go to a completely unfamiliar place and depend on another, stronger group? Calista is trustworthy, but what about her team? Would that place really be better than the home we built with our own hands?]
He knew very well that the prison was not absolutely safe, and Calista's warning about raiders had not come out of nowhere.
But this place, at least, was somewhere they could control for themselves.
If they went to Rock Fortress, would they end up as dependents living under someone else's roof?
In the moonlight, Carl and Sophia were still whispering, with the occasional faint laugh drifting over.
Rick looked at that brief scene of peace and, in the end, did not go over to disturb them.
He quietly turned around and continued toward his own cell.
Rick knew that before Calista and the others came back, he had to make up his mind. He also had to lead everyone in making this "home" stronger.
Whether they stayed or left in the end, strength was the only capital that gave them the right to negotiate and choose.
...
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