Chapter Twenty-Two - Operation: Prison Break

The following day.

Micheal, Daryl, Shane and Rick were preparing the things they will need for today's operation.

"So Otis is coming with us?"

"Yeah, he knows the way to get there without us having to walk all the way there."

Shane looked at Rick while he handed over the bag of shotgun to Michael.

"No need. These two are enough for me." Michael declined as he preferred using two handguns, two identical Glock to be precise.

A few minutes later, everyone was already finished with their preparations.

"Alright, let's head out!" Shane drove and stopped the bus beside the four people and opened the doors for them.

Michael and the others quickly got on the bus and Shane drove it away under the watchful gaze of the crowd.

"They're going to be fine, right mom?" Sophia looked up to her mother, worried.

Carol looked at her daughter and smiled. "They're gonna be fine. They're people who can handle themselves, especially Michael. You told me before how heroic he was when he took down those walkers, right?"

Sophia softly nodded and smiled in response. "Yeah, he was really strong. Those walkers didn't even stand a chance at all. He was like a superhero, mom!"

The others who hadn't left yet heard what Sophia said and immediately stopped in their tracks. They had been extremely curious about what happened that night, but refrained from asking the little girl about it since they thought that it might bring back unwanted memories.

Dale and Glenn exchanged a knowing look, and the latter quickly approached the mother and daughter.

"Wow, you must really like Michael huh?" Glenn crouched down to Sophia's eye level while ignoring the burning gaze coming from Carol.

Sophia smiled wide. "Yeah~! One day, I want to become like him too. To never be scared of walkers again."

"That's amazing, but can you tell us more about what happened that night?" Glenn displayed what he thought was his brightest smile. Though it looked crooked in the eyes of others.

"Okay, but I want that chocolate." Sophia smiled while eyeing the chocolate bar on Glenn's chest pocket.

Glenn chuckled and picked up Sophia in his arms and handed her the chocolate bar. "Okay, how about you tell us all about it under that tree?"

"Okay!"

Carol watched as Glenn brought Sophia away and a small smile broke her expressionless face.

'My baby has grown.'

She was reminded of the days that followed her rescue. It made the already reserved girl even more aloof, and she thought of the nights when Sophia would wake up in the middle of the night while covered in cold sweat, shivering.

She just didn't expect that her little girl would suddenly break out of her shell today and without any hint of indication at all.

If Michael knew what was going on in her mind, he'd probably assume that Sophia is having thoughts of ending herself.

It was a good thing that the chance of that ever happening is extremely low. Everyone has been keeping a close eye on her ever since that incident on the highway.

*****

Over an hour later, the group arrived before the gates of the prison.

"It's overrun." Shane looked at the walkers aimlessly walking through the prison grounds.

Michael tapped him on his shoulders and got down from the bus. "At least we wouldn't have to deal with people."

"Are you sure about this?" Rick looked concerned since dealing with people is a little easier than walkers.

Michael gave them a reassuring smile. "We'll clear the path towards the guard towers first. From up there, you and Shane will cover our backs. Daryl and I will take the field and personally deal with those walkers."

"I have no problem with that." Daryl doesn't mind the challenge.

Shane looked hesitant on this arrangement. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, just cover our blind spots. We don't want walkers suddenly sneaking up behind us." Michael responded with a nod.

"What about me then?" Otis pointed to himself.

The others turned to look at him. Michael pointed at the bus. "Keep watch on the bus. Alert us for any potential threats approaching this place."

"Got it." Otis slung his rifle over his shoulders and slowly climbed up the bus under the worried gaze of his companions.

"You can still keep watch inside the bus." Rick looks concerned. He was afraid that Otis might slip and fall down and cause more problems for them.

"No worries. I got this man." Otis grunted. He actually managed to climb on the roof of the bus after some difficulty.

"Let's go."

The four ran towards the fence while the nearby walkers who noticed them quickly gathered towards their direction.

Shane took out the bolt cutter they brought with them and carefully created a hole on the fence while the three killed the walkers that gathered around them.

"We're through." Shane was the first one to go through the fence, followed by the others.

Michael helped Daryl patch up the hole with a coil of wires the latter carried with him. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, the walkers in prison clothes gathered towards them.

The group made their way towards the gate. Arriving there, Rick saw the possibility of the group building a camp here.

"I think it's perfect." Rick surveyed the walker infested yard before turning to Michael. "We need to shut that gate over there to prevent more from filling the yard. Can you two do it?"

"Sure" Daryl answered confidently.

"That was the plan, but it seems like we need to alter it a bit." Michael nodded while thinking about something.

'I thought this place would still be operational since we came early. Seems like this place fell quite fast.' He came to that conclusion when he saw the progress of the decay on the walkers.

"Instead of coming with me. Take a spear with you and lure some of the walkers in the corner. I'll Do this myself." Michael took immediate command and instructed Daryl of the change of plan.

"Alright, I have no problem with that." Daryl quickly went to a corner of the outer perimeter fence of the prison and started creating some noise to lure the walkers towards him while Rick and Shane quickly ascended the guard tower beside them. Both were armed with a Remington and Scoped M4 respectively.

Michael took a deep breath and unsheathed his machete. The two men at the tower watched Michael as he opened the gate with a slide before closing it behind him.

With no hesitation at all, Michael quickly made a mad dash towards the inner gate while decapitating the walkers along the way. He was so fast that Shane and Rick even questioned if they were even needed at the tower.

"How the heck is he so fast?" Shane voiced his thoughts out while making his bullet count and took down another walker by a headshot.

"Beats m– what the heck is that guy doing?" Rick's thoughts were interrupted when he witnessed Michael breaking through into the main courtyard and abandoning the original plan!

"I knew that guy was crazy!"

Shane and Rick quickly turned their attention onto the walkers gathering behind Michael from the outer yard and started shooting them.

"You're all..my experience points! Mine!" Michael laughed as he grabbed one of the walkers by its shoulder and threw it towards the walkers that gathered into a small group.

He then split a walker's head open, followed by a slash that decapitated another, then it was quickly followed up by a shoulder shove towards the third walker that tried to grab him.

It was mostly the same combo he performed during the night when he got swarmed by walkers after he found Sophia.

It was simple and precise.

It was the most suitable way he could think of in dealing with these mindless undead.

"Let's go down and help him!"

"No, we should stay put and follow the plan. There might be some slight changes, but the plan is still in effect."

Rick was about to go down, but Shane quickly stopped him.

"Shane!"

"If what happened that night was real, then Michael can take care of himself."

Rick raised his voice at his best friend. Shane did not even bother turning around to look at him and continued shooting down the walkers below. Though his words reminded Rick of what happened that night. He grudgingly resumed his duty, but this time, he lent Daryl a hand on clearing the walkers on his side. He still plans to go after Michael, but with Daryl on his side.

"I didn't know that guy actually has a crazy side to him." Daryl soon also noticed what was happening and could only let out a hollow laugh.

'My brother really has a knack for having crazy friends.'

After a while, the three people on the outer perimeter eventually managed to clear all the walkers at the yard and quickly went after Michael.

They didn't see him past the inner gate, but they saw the numerous walkers lying "dead" in his wake.

"How is it possible for one man to do this?" Shane shivered at the thought that there's actually someone out there who can fight his way through these many walkers.

Rick and Daryl remained silent. They too were wondering how a lone man was able to do this.

The trio cautiously began exploring the prison. The starting with A Block, the brick building situated at the middle of the prison.

Like those outside, the inside of the building wasn't so much different. Just numerous decayed bodies sprawled all over the floor.

"Man.." Daryl could only utter a single word to describe his amazement. The other two shared his sentiments.

Rick hurried above the sentry room through the stairs on the second floor and discovered the dead body of a prison guard.

"Over here." Shane called out to them with his handgun pointed ahead the dark corridor, the path illuminated by the torchlight on his other hand.

Daryly quickly followed after him with his crossbow. Rick also quickly descended the stairs and caught up to them.

"Clear."

Shane peeked from the corner and saw that it was the same as the previous corridor that had a few walkers sprawled on the ground.

"He really didn't even need our help at all." Daryl remarked looking at the wake that Michael left on the corridors they passed through.

"Stop!"

"What are you doing?!"

Bang! Bang!

The three were cautiously following the trail of dead bodies when they arrived at a corner and saw a door. It was followed by the voices of multiple people yelling and two consecutive gunshots from beyond the door

The trio didn't even hesitate as they quickly rushed towards it.

Blam!

Shane slammed his shoulder against the door as it swung open. The three men saw Michael standing over two dead prisoners with bullet holes on their heads.

There were also three prisoners huddled together standing opposite from Michael and were looking at the newcomers in shock after they had burst through the door.

"D-don't! We have nothing to do with this!" The short and blonde haired man with a mustache hurriedly explained while raising his hands.

"Ye..yeah. It was their idea." The tall dark skinned man did the same while their other companion just remained silent and kept staring at them.

"What happened?" Rick pointed his handgun towards the three prisoners and asked.

Daryl just snorted while aiming his crossbow at those three. "Just say the word."

"Man, we're innocent!" the blonde haired man cried out.

Shane chuckled. "You three don't look innocent to me."

Michael stretched his neck muscle before turning his attention to Rick. "These two suddenly tried to kill me after I discovered them here. Ungrateful bastards."

"Why would they do that?" Rick was curious.

Michael gestured with his chin. "At the back, there's sufficient food supplies to last us through most of the winter months."

When the three heard that, Rick looked surprised while Shane and Daryl exchanged a look.

"You three better stay put." Daryl warned as he walked past them and towards the back.

Daryl saw the abundant food stored at the back of the cafeteria and his face broke into a grin. "Jackpot."

"How is it?" Shane asked when Daryl came out from the back.

"It's a good idea that we brought the school bus with us." Daryl chuckled.

Shane slightly lowered his gun and looked at Rick with a smile. He quickly went to the back with Daryl, with Rick trailing behind the two.

"Hahaha!"

Michael smiled hearing the joyous laughter at the back. He slowly turned his attention towards the three prisoners as his face turned solemn.

Witnessing how Michael had easily taken care of their two companions earlier. The blonde haired guy gulped out of nervousness. "Wh..what's gonna happen to us?"

"If you behave well, show your willingness to contribute to our group and most importantly, your loyalty to the group." Michael raised three conditions for them. He paused as he looked at the three of them one by one. "If you can do those and even go beyond that, I'll vouch for you three to my companions in the back."

The blonde haired guy repeatedly nodded his head. "I..we..we can do that, right guys?"

"Yeah, as long as you don't kill us." The tallest dude among them also showed his willingness while the other dark-skinned man had a stare down with Michael.

The blonde haired dude noticed what was happening and immediately elbowed his friend. "He agrees too. Sorry about that, he doesn't talk a lot."

The man slowly stepped forward and with an uncomfortable smile, he offered his hand to Michael. "By the way, I'm Axel. This giant here is Big Tiny, and that serious looking one is Oscar."

Michael just looked at Axel's hand. "Go and help us transfer those supplies outside."

He had just uttered those words when Daryl came out carrying two bags of flour over his shoulder and overheard what Michael said and looked at the three. "You three gonna stand there all day? Go and help."

Michael looked at Daryl and reminded him. "Don't worry. I've cleared all of the walkers in this block."

"Got it." Daryl went back out first with a torch light on his mouth.

Rick also appeared with a bag of corn. "Are you sure about those three?"

"Let's discuss what we'll do about them after we move all of these supplies." Michael nodded and with a smile. "Including A Block, I've already cleared this Block of its walkers. I'm planning to clear rest, what do you think?"

Rick remained silent for a moment while Shane and the other three walked past them with supplies in their hands.

He slightly tilted his head to the side, seemingly unsure. "Wouldn't it be better to do it with us? I'm not doubting your abilities since you single-handedly managed to clean this place by yourself. But..I think it's still safer if we do it together."

Michael stared at Rick for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders. "Sure, why not? Let's then move these supplies first before tackling the rest of the tasks."

Rick smiled in relief with a nod to him before heading out. He really worries about Michael a lot.

There were a lot of supplies at the back. Even more when Rick and the group initially got here.

It took them almost an hour, or maybe even longer if Otis didn't drive the bus onto the yard.

"That's the last one of them." Otis placed two peanut butters on the dashboard and looked at the supplies that were evenly distributed throughout the bus to manage the weight.

"Alright." Shane went and grabbed one of the spears leaning against the bus, since Oscar and Big Tiny already had their own weapons. He handed it over to Axel. "Here, take it. You're joining us on clearing the remaining Blocks. Otis, you stay put."

"Okay." Otis prepared to climb the bus when Rick quickly advised him.

"Don't. Just go up on that tower. It's better there."

Otis looked back at them, then looked up at the nearby tower. He shyly chuckled. "Right, why didn't I think of that?"

Watching him, Michael could only close his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

'Man, you better make my efforts in saving you worth it.'