Andrea had growing suspicions about what Phillip's true intentions were for Rick's group. Then Milton told her about the deal they had made and showed her the room that he had set up to torture Michonne. In that moment, she knew she had chosen the wrong side. All of her effort to stay neutral and to make both parties reach a compromise meant nothing. She knew she had to get out and warn Rick, NOW!
She had hoped she would make it to one of the walls unnoticed, but Martinez saw her and confiscated her gun and ammo. 'Shit!' she thought to herself. She still had her knife, though. She could use that to fight off any walkers she met along the way.
As soon as Andrea turned around, however, she was face-to-face with Phillip. She had to look this man in the eye while he lied to her and she pretended not to know. This man, who had taken her in and not only gained her trust, she had given him her heart and body, was going to kill the only family she had left in this world. She wanted to jump on him and stab him in the heart, over and over. All she could do was smile and lie right back to him.
She knew that the new people, Tyrese and Sasha, were guarding the southern wall. She figured their ignorance of how Woodbury was run would be to her advantage. She gave them some story about Martinez needing their help with a pack of walkers. They weren't as ignorant as she thought. Realizing they weren't going to leave, Andrea climbed up to the perch and started to go over anyway. They tried to stop her but, taking her knife out, she showed them she was determined to leave. She tried to give them fair warning that the Governor wasn't what they thought but didn't stick around to get them to leave with her. It was going to be at least a day's walk, maybe even two, and she needed to get as much distance between her and Woodbury before they found out she had left.
While she ran, she thought back on the last few months. After the farm was overrun, there were so many moments when she thought, 'This is it, I'm going to die!' Just weeks before that she had wanted to; she had welcomed death. But she had come so far since then, become so strong. She didn't want it to end now, not like this. And then, there she was. This dark figure looming over her with two mutilated walkers at her side. Michonne had saved her and kept her alive and how did she repay her?
'You chose a warm bed over a friend,' Michonne's words echoed in her head.
'I didn't know. I didn't see,' Andrea argued with the voice.
'I did. I saw it. You didn't want to see it!' Michonne hissed. 'I told you, you were under his spell from the moment you laid eyes on him. Now look at you. Running for your life. Running for mine.'
Andrea shook her head, trying to get rid of the voice. Snapping back to reality, she heard the truck before she saw it. She immediately ran for the cover of the woods, hiding behind a group of trees just in time to see the pick-up drive by. It didn't stop or even slow done. She breathed a sigh of relief but then a hand grabbed her. A walker was clawing at her from between two of the trees and more were closing in on the front. She was already so worn out but she knew she had to warn Rick and the others. She put down three of the walkers and started running again.
She eventually came to a large, open field. She didn't want to be caught out in the open but knew she would have to risk it if she wanted to make the best time. The sun would be setting, though. Soon she would have the cover of darkness. As she walked, her thoughts drifted again. Had any of it been real? Had he ever been Phillip with her? Or was he always just the Governor? She knew the answer to that. She knew she should have listened to Carol and slit his throat in his sleep. She knew that now. Maybe she knew it then. But she was selfish. She wanted him and she didn't want anyone else to die. She thought she knew best. She didn't want to see. It was Shane all over again.
She was halfway through the field now. Then, Andrea heard it, another engine. She turned and saw the truck on the road along the field. She tried to get down in the tall grass but it was too late. The truck made a sharp turn and started coming right for her. 'Shit!' she thought and started sprinting for the woods. If not for the soft soil and bumpy terrain, he would have caught up to her for sure. But she made it to the trees just in time. She didn't even look back to see if he had gotten out to chase her on foot. She knew he hadn't when she heard the engine rev and get farther away.
It was getting dark when Andrea came to a group of large mill buildings. She just couldn't run anymore, and she didn't know if she had enough in her to fight, so when she heard the truck coming up to the buildings she knew she would have to hide. She went into nearest building, not knowing what would be inside. But she knew what was outside so she was going to have to take her chances. She could hear the truck getting closer but as tried to move further into the building she knocked over some junk that went clanging on the floor. "Shit!" she berated herself, aloud this time.
The headlights were on the building now. She would have to take her time and move quietly. The engine turned off and she heard the door open. Then the whistling started. She tried not to let it unnerve her as she kept moving. Then, a walker was behind her. She had to kill it but the noise it made was so loud! 'Keep moving!' she yelled in her mind.
She heard his voice, pleading with her to come back with him to Woodbury. But there was no sign of Phillip in his voice. She knew what he was and what he was here to do to her. And when she did not reply, she heard the smashing of the windows, so loud against the silence of the night. She saw the spray of glass as he broke each pane so it would be impossible for her to get around him without the crunch of it beneath her feet. 'Hide.'
Andrea his behind a box, listening to the Governor whistle and drag a shovel on the ground. She tried not to breath, fearing it would give her away. Even the pounding of her heart was so loud in her ear, she thought that he must be able to hear it too. She just stayed as still as she could until the sound of walkers distracted him. She got up and made for a stairwell when he found her.
"Time to go home," he said.
With a look of contempt she opened the door and stepped behind it. He thought he had won as he went to pursue her but then a pack of walkers came out of the stairwell. They grabbed and clawed at him and she watched as he tried to fight them off. But she didn't stay to watch him be ripped apart. She made her way outside and doubled back to the front of the building. She got in the truck, keys still in the ignition, and pulled away, finally able to breath.
It was still dark when she pulled up to the gates of the prison but, with the threat of the Governor, there was always someone on watch. She tooted the horn a couple times and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Carol and Daryl come to the gate.
"I need to talk to Rick and Michonne, NOW!" she said as she hopped out of the vehicle.
Once inside, Andrea explained everything that had happened: the Governor's plan for Rick's group, for Michonne, and how he had come after her. She told them that even if the Governor had been killed, Martinez and the rest of the men at Woodbury could still be on their way. They needed to be prepared for anything.
She apologized to Rick, she just didn't want a full out war. And she apologized to Michonne for being a fool. "I know where I belong, right here with you," she told them. They smiled, she smiled back.
"Get some rest," Rick said. "You've been through a lot today. There's still plenty of bunks to choose from."
As Andrea laid down, her whole body screamed in pain. It was worth it, though. She couldn't help but faintly smile. She had fought her way here and was alive. She was safe. With the Governor gone, maybe Woodbury wouldn't attack the prison. But even if they did, she saved her family from an ambush and her best friend from being tortured. For now, they were safe behind these walls. That comfort was what finally let her close her eyes and drift to sleep.
It felt like she had just closed her eyes when a light forced her to open them again. It wasn't terribly bright but compared to the darkness and dankness of the rest of the room it was enough to disturb her. Everything was blurry. She tried to lift her hands to rub her eyes but something was holding them back. She tried again but then she heard the sound of metal clinking and felt something cold and hard against her wrists. Panic started to well up in her gut. She squeezed her eyes closed and opened them a few times, trying to get a clearer picture of where she was. Finally, she realized the room she was in was the exact same room that the Governor had intended to torture and kill her friend in.
That's when she remembered. She had never gotten in the truck. She had just kept walking, wearily to the prison, thinking she was safe now. Thinking, surely, the walkers had torn her pursuer apart. She remembered just barely stepping out of the trees with the prison in view. She remembered seeing Rick and as she began to wave to him, someone covered her face and everything went dark.
She hadn't stopped anything. She hadn't killed Phillip. She hadn't warned her friends. She wasn't safe at the prison. She had failed. She didn't know why she wasn't dead. She didn't know what excruciating cruelty he had planned for her. She just knew that he was going to attack the prison, kill everyone she cared about and torment Michonne until she begged him to kill her. To Andrea that realization was worse than any physical torture he could ever do to her.