Hello! Thank you for joining me for the next chapter! I have to say that I was shocked by the decision they made with removing a certain character (I won't spoil it for those who are up to date on the show). I'm curious what they'll do with that tomorrow. Anyways I won't ramble any longer, enjoy!
Abby sat in the commons area immediately next the C cell block, which she resided in with her family, rocking Judith gently back and forth while she spooned broth into her own mouth. It had been a month since Abby had stepped back from her duties as group leader, as the spring moved into the heat of summer. She still looked after the security of their group but now she had much more time for her family and friends, leaving her a lot less stressed and much happier. Especially now that she was officially married to Daryl, or at least as official as things were these days.
"You're a natural, you know. You'd make a wonderful mother." Hershel said from where he sat across from her on the other side of the round metal table.
Abby looked up at him and smiled sadly. "Thank you. I always did want my own kids but when I was married to Martin, he never did. Now that I'm with Daryl, we both want kids, its just…" She paused and looked around.
"You're unsure that you want to bring life into this world." Hershel finished for her, to which she nodded. "It's up to the two of you, of course but you shouldn't let the state of the world stop you from having your own children. Think about it, the world has had many big problems in the past, from plagues like the bubonic plague or small pox to world wars and natural disasters. Whatever it is that brings the dead back to life, is just another plague, one that humanity was grossly unprepared for. If humanity stopped reproducing because of the state of the world, we'd have died off a long time ago."
Abby sighed. "I know, I've thought that myself but—it'd still be nice to have a little more stability…safety. I'm scared that this safety we have right now, will be short lived and we'll be out there surviving once more. Then if I'm pregnant? Look at how much we struggled with Lori!"
"Yes, but we did find shelter when we needed it, we were always provided for. We always had just enough." Hershel replied, undeterred.
Abby sighed. "This conversation only works if you get us both willing, Daryl is much more worried about the potential risks then me, partly because of me. If you thought Rick handled losing Lori poorly, I think Daryl would be even worse." Abby said as she looked down at Judith once more. "Then there's Rick, he might fall apart again and this time he might not come back from his despair, if he lost me."
Hershel sighed. "You have a fair point. If something were to happen to you, losing Daryl and Rick in the process would be detrimental to us but don't you know that something would happen to you. Plus, we have two doctors now, a roof over our heads. Even if something does happen in the future to our home, you should take advantage of the safety we have now."
Abby opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by door that lead to the outside, banging loudly against the wall. Judith started crying, startled by the loud noise and both the two adults turned to look at whom was rushing in the door, surprised to see it was Beth.
"I'm so sorry!" She said as she glanced at the now screaming Judith. "I was just so excited!"
Abby smiled slightly as she brought Judith up to her shoulder and started patting her back as she stood so she could sway and pace the floor. "That's fine, Beth. What is it? What got you so excited?"
Suddenly Daryl rushed through the same door Beth had just entered. "Babe, there's a horse out there!" He said indicating for her to follow him.
Beth pointed at Daryl. "That! That's why I was excited! Let's go catch it!"
With Judith still in her arms, Abby followed Daryl and Beth outside. Daryl led them to where you could see clear across the field outside the fence then indicated for the man standing guard to hand him his binoculars. Daryl handed them to Abby and pointed in the direction that he'd seen the horse.
Daryl took Judith from her and almost instantly Judith stopped crying. Abby gave him an amused look as he lifted her to his shoulder and started rocking her, then turned and looked through the binoculars in the direction Daryl had indicated. When she spotted the horse, she let out a whistle. It was a beautiful chestnut quarter horse, more than likely belonged to someone and hopefully had been broke.
"Do we have any rope?" Abby asked.
Maggie suddenly trotted up with a huge grin on her face. "You mean like this?" She asked happily.
The three women grinned at each other. "We'll handle this." Abby said to Daryl.
They then ran down the gravel road that lead to front gate, got the guards to open up for them, then ran around the outer edge towards where they'd seen the horse. When they saw it again, they squatted down to make a plan.
"Has either of you ever roped anythin' before?" Abby asked, to which both girls nodded in confirmation. "So have I but its been a long time for me. We'll try an' walk up to it, hopefully it hasn't gotten too wild yet."
"Bethy, you're smaller maybe it'll less threatenin' by you. You should try an' get close." Maggie suggested.
"Good idea. I'll try an' get between it an' the forest, Maggie you try an' prevent it from going away from the gate." Abby said and both girls nodded their head in approval.
They parted ways then, with Abby heading for the forests edge. She watched as Beth slowly approached the horse, making her presence known to it but trying to not appear threatening. The horse lifted its head as she approached, ears perked straight up, stomping on the ground in nervousness, as it watched her. At first Beth tried to talk to it quietly and when this seemed to help settle the horse down, she started singing softly as she continued to approach it.
When she got within reach of the horse, she held out her hand for it to sniff and it smelled her at first, then put its muzzle into her hand. Beth smiled then, rubbing first its soft muzzle, then worked its way up to its cheek, then down to its neck. She then took a fistful of mane, still singing to its softly, raised her other hand slowly which was holding the rope. She brought the other hand around to the other side of the horse's neck, causing it to stomp and tense as it got a little more nervous. She used that hand to strokes its neck for a few moments before slowly sliding the end of the rope over top of its neck. Still holding the mane, she slowly reached up to grab the end and pulled it down to meet with the other part of the rope.
She slowly tied the rope into a noose, then slid the rope up to its ears and made an improvised rope halter. Abby and Maggie smiled at each other as they slowly approached the now captured horse. It shied away from Beth as they approached but she was prepared for it to react, so the horse only managed to sidestep to the side. As Abby had predicted, the horse was at least used to being handled, for as Beth took a step in the direction of the gate, it followed her willingly.
The three women smiled happily at each other as they walked back to the gate but said nothing. Once they were safely within the prison's fences, Beth and Maggie squealed happily and hugged each other. Abby grabbed the rope from Beth as Daryl, still holding Judith and Hershel walked up to them.
"Didn't think you'd actually get it." Daryl said in astonishment.
Abby smiled at him brightly, then turned back to the horse and studied it as Hershel approached it. It shied away from him slightly, probably uncertain of his crutches but let him touch it as he ran a hand down its back, then down each leg. Abby immediately bent over and lifted a foot for him, being one legged, even with a false leg, made it very difficult for him to do it himself. He inspected each foot then moved on to the teeth.
"All things considered, he's in reasonably good condition. A little skinny but otherwise seems healthy." Hershel informed them.
"I wonder if its been broke?" Maggie asked.
"Only one way to find out." Abby said as she wrapped the lose end of the rope around its neck then tied to the improvised halter. She grabbed a fistful of mane, the stood beside it, facing towards its rear. Abby tensed up, counted to three, then flung herself up, legs first, and over the horses back. As she'd intended, she landed on its back, a leg on either side, straddling the large beast. The gelding shied away, even trotted forward a few steps but Abby had strong legs and good balance, so she managed to stay on as she pulled back on the rope, bringing it too a stop.
Abby grinned wickedly. "I haven't done that since I was sixteen!" She exclaimed, as she situated herself further forward in a more comfortable spot.
"Don't look like it's been that long." Beth smiling happier than Abby had seen in a while.
"Daddy said you used to do barrel racin', that true?" Maggie asked.
"Yes ma'am, but like I said, I was sixteen. Now let's see what this boy knows!"
Abby touched her heels gently to the gelding's side, and it started walking forward. She then tugged the reins to the side, making it turn then pulled back and it stopped. She continued to pull back and the gelding reluctantly started backing up.
"He seems to at least know the basics, that's good." Hershel remarked as he watched her moved the horse around.
Abby then dug her heels in a little harder, sending then the horse into a trot. She tapped her in the side a couple more times, and like a guard dog being released from its leash, the horse surged forward. Abby grabbed on to the mane to steady herself as she let the gelding run and before she knew it, they were on the other side of the field. Abby slowed the horse to a trot, turning it around, then sent into a gallop once more. As she approached the three once more, she pulled back hard and the horse skidded to a stop.
The horse threw its head back, stomping it feet and pulled at the rope in Abby's hand, clearly wanting to run more as it bounced from foot to foot. Abby patted its neck to settle it down as she grinned down at the group. As she looked at them, she noticed that a group had gathered in the courtyard, watching what she was doing while Rick and Carl trotted towards them. Abby slid off its back as they came to a stop with the rest of the group.
"I can't believe you caught a horse!" Rick said with more enthusiasm then Abby had heard from him in a long time.
"Technically Beth caught him, I was just the stupid one to get on." Abby replied, smiling at him happily.
Rick took Judith from Daryl, then walked over to the horse with her. "From watching you, he seems well trained." Rick commented as he petted the gelding's neck.
"I'll add a saddle and bridle to our next supply run." Daryl said as he walked up to Abby and casually put an arm around her neck.
"We should let the kids name him!" Beth suggested.
"That's a good idea but how are we supposed to keep him?" Rick asked. "We can't just let him run around in here, if he don't wanna be caught, it'll take forever to get him!"
"For now, we can just get an extra long rope and peg it to the ground. It should be enough to keep him where we want him. We could eventually make a fence for him, maybe a mobile one so we can move it around the field so he can graze." Hershel suggested.
"We should probably keep the kids away from him until we know him better. We don't need them getting trampled by a frightened horse." Maggie suggested.
"Good thinking." Rick said nodding in approval.
In the middle of the day, Abby paced around the walkway of one of the guard towers, watching the horizon, when she heard the hatch door bang open. Abby glanced into the interior of the tower and saw Daryl emerge from the floor. She smiled as she waited for him to come out and around the walkway to her. Daryl looked at her, frowning, he looked like he was concerned about something but was obviously trying to hide it.
"You seen Merle?" He asked her.
"Nope, he missin'?" She asked in return.
"I certainly can't find him, no one's seen him either." Daryl sighed in frustration. "Glenn said he was tryin' to take a bunch of guns this morning an' wanted to storm Woodbury, take revenge."
Abby frowned. "What for? An' why is this the first I'm hearin' about it?"
"I just heard 'bout it too. He told Glenn that with most of the innocents now livin' with us and there being just a bunch of assholes livin' there, he thought they were a threat that needed to been removed. He knew you wouldn't wanna do anything so no one else would, either." Daryl replied angrily.
"So, you think he went ahead an' is doing it anyways?" Abby asked frowning.
Daryl nodded. "Glenn managed to stop him with the help of Maggie an' Michonne but he still might've found some of the guns we got stashed around the other watch posts."
"I didn't see him leave but if he left this morning, then I wouldn't have. Probably snuck out through the break in the fence or through the hole in the back side of the prison."
"I'm guessing through the back of the prison. We ain't got no guard back there, he could get out unobserved." Daryl rubbed the stubble on his face with one hand. "I'm gonna go take a look, see if I can find his tracks."
"I going with you. If you find his tracks, you're gonna run after him and I don't think you should go a lone." Abby said firmly.
Daryl looked at her like he wanted to say no, but he recognized the determination on her face and knew that even if he refused her help, she'd follow anyways. "Fine, lets get some gear and let's get goin'. He's likely got several hours on us."
Half an hour later, Abby followed Daryl through the tombs to the section of prison that had crumbled, likely due to either a tank or rocket launcher or a bomb of some sort probably during the outbreak. Abby had grabbed her sniper rifle and her pack that carried their basic necessities at all times in case they needed to make quick exit, which Daryl now had slung across his back. Abby informed Rick and Hershel what was going on before they left, leaving the whole prison on high alert, in case things went south.
Daryl held out his hand and helped her down the pile of rubble as the picked their way down, earning a happy smile from Abby, before turning to the forest that lay particularly close to the prison at the back and studied the ground carefully for tracks. Daryl spotted something after several long minutes, then sighed in frustration as he crouched down to gently brush leaves and debris aside.
"These look like Merle's tracks but they're too deep for even his huge ass." Daryl said, indicating a foot print in the dirt heading the direction of the river.
"Probably like you said, packing a lot of heat." Abby suggested as she looked over his shoulder.
"What's that dumbass thinkin'?" He mumbled to himself in disbelief. "Come on, gonna need some of that Marine endurance to catch up with him."
Abby chuckled. "I'll be fine, if you recall, you can hardly keep up with me."
Daryl smirked at her ever so slightly, too irritated with his brother to find her comment more then mildly amusing. Daryl stood up, then walked a few feet, watching the ground before trotting into the woods. Abby trotted after him, pulling her pistol with its silencer still attached, and kept a close watch on their surrounding while Daryl focused on finding the tracks on the ground.
They moved at the same pace for a long time, only stopping briefly to check their bearings and make sure they could still see the tracks they were following, before continuing on. They stopped to survey a bridge that would get them across the river but would take them from the protection of the trees. When they saw no hostiles, whether living or undead, they carefully approached. They walked across the bridge slowly and while they did find recently killed walkers as they crossed, they weren't attacked.
"Those walkers couldn't have been killed more than an hour ago." Daryl said once they'd crossed the bridge. "We're catching up."
They paused for a moment to find the tracks once more but this time, Daryl couldn't find any that were recent or belonged to Merle.
"Maybe he's stickin' to the road?" Abby suggested. "Found a working car?"
Daryl inspected the road more carefully but after a moment of scanning, shrugged. "That's impossible to say, with the road being as clear as it is, I can't see nothing. Dammit, Merle!"
"Well we can only assume he's heading for Woodbury, we're almost there. Let's just head for that, maybe we'll find him along the way." Abby said trying to sound hopeful.
Suddenly a loud boom sounded off in the distance, making Abby and Daryl turn in the direction the sound had come from to see a huge column of smoke rising from the horizon. As the watched, a second explosion went off, this time sending a huge fire ball up into the sky.
"Was that…?" Abby started to ask but Daryl took off running before she could finish asking the question.
She followed him as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, cutting through the trees, dodging around walkers, vaulting over fallen trees until he skidded to a stop, down the residential street that led into Woodbury. The two of them stopped to gawk as the whole town was engulfed in flames, the gate gone and parts of the fence missing giving them a view of the center of town, where a huge crater now sat along with a large quantity of metal shrapnel that now littered the ground.
"Did—Merle do this?" Abby asked aghast.
Daryl ignored the question and walked into the town, as far as the flames would allow him. "Anybody alive in here!" Daryl shouted, scanning the town around him.
An anguished shriek erupted as a person emerged from a burning building, body completely engulfed in flames. Even from this distance Abby could tell there was no saving the person, so she lifted her rifle to her shoulder and put the person out of their misery.
"Andrea! Amy!" Daryl shouted, anxiety starting to rise.
Abby scanned the windows with her rifle, looking for signs of life but saw nothing. Daryl had started pacing, looking like he wanted to run into a random building and start looking for people, so Abby grabbed his arm and turned him towards her.
"We have to go; the heat is getting too intense. There is no one is alive!" She said firmly.
"I-I…what if…" Daryl gave her an anguished look, letting the emotions he'd only let her see, come to the surface.
Abby grabbed his hand and forcefully pulled him out of the town, down the road until the heat of the flames faded to a mild warmth on their skin. She turned back to him, putting her hands on either side of his face.
"If Merle did this, then it ain't yer fault!" Abby said softly but firmly.
"I was supposed to be keepin' an eye on him!" Daryl replied, bending his head forward slightly and putting his head against hers.
"Merle has a mind of his own, you can't control people if they don't want to co-operate." Abby said as she rubbed the back of his neck.
Daryl wrapped his arms around her, burying his face into her neck, hiding the tears that had started to form.
"Well ain't this sweet!" A familiar voice said from the bush.
They both turned, startled by the voice, guns raised as Merle limped for out of the tree.
"Merle?" Abby asked shocked.
"You do this?" Daryl asked instantly angry, veins popping on his neck and forehead.
"Trust me, this was a good thing. You have no idea." Merle said coolly. "But no, someone beat me to the punch. Was close enough that the blast knocked me on my ass."
"You woulda murdered innocent people!" Daryl shouted at him taking long strides to get up in his face. "Would you kill Andrea and Amy? Our own people?!"
"One, they were your people. Two, they were already dead." Merle retorted coolly.
Daryl's fist balled up like he was about to take a swing at his brother but Abby grabbed his arm and held it firmly. "What you mean they were already dead?"
"You notice how every other pansy assed resident of Woodbury ended up in the prison, except Andrea and Amy? They were the reason why Andrea stayed, to look after them. Yet when everyone but a handful of assholes left. they stayed? Why?" Merle reasoned staring Daryl in the eye. "You know why I came out here? Why I wanted to destroy this place? Cause they were plannin' on destroyin' us!"
"How you figure?" Daryl growled menacingly.
"Caught one of their people, interrogated him and boy that little bird could sing! He told each and every detail as he knew it, of how they were gonna destroy us and let me tell you; it woulda worked! Andrea tried to stop 'em, managed to kill a few of 'em but they got a hold of Amy then interrogated those poor girls to death. Trust me, I saw their corpses walking around over yonder." Merle said pointing behind him. "They got them in cages by the pit, prolly plannin' on releasing them inside our fences, in attempt to soften us before their main attack."
Abby looked over Merle's shoulder to where he had indicated. "Why torture them?" Abby asked quietly.
"Amy's been with you from the start. Andrea, she was involved with the scavenging, knew enough 'bout Rick and you, sweet heart, that they wanted to learn what she knew." Merle said shrugging as he limped over to a dead car and leaned heavily against it.
"I don't like standin' out here, discussing this. Let's go back and we can talk more there." Daryl said finally getting a hold of his anger.
Merle sighed. "You should just go back little brother, but I ain't goin' with you."
"Why the hell not!?" Daryl growled.
"I can't go back, baby brother an' you know it." Merle said tiredly. "I ain't welcome there, nor will I ever be. I ain't like you."
"You plannin' on surviving on yer own?" Daryl sneered. "You think you'll last long, by yerself?"
Merle shrugged. "Maybe I'll find another community, more my speed, one that don't instantly hate me or have a history with. Maybe I'll head out of state, go somewhere else."
"We can work things out Merle. You were doin' good!" Abby said seriously.
"Don't pretend like you're gonna miss me, sugar. It'll be a relief for you when I'm gone." Merle sneered but Abby shook her head sadly.
"We might not see eye to eye, Merle, but yer family." She stepped forward then shocked him as she wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him.
Merle held his arms out and stared down at her in shock, then looked away, looking awkward as she stepped back. Merle let out a sigh.
"You got a good one there, Daryl. Don't fuck it up again." Merle said then looked at Abby. "You look after him, he's a lot more fragile then he looks. He's a Dixon but he's a softy an' yer just makin' him softer. The two you together, tho', will probably survive more than one of you could alone."
"You ain't leavin', man." Daryl growled.
"Whatchya gonna do? Team up together an' knock me out so you can drag my ass back to the prison. You certainly ain't gonna do it on yer own, Daryl." Merle sneered.
"What about the people who attacked this place?" Abby asked indicating the burning Woodbury.
Merle chuckled mirthlessly. "They got you, you don't need me for shit. Besides, that place is so well hidden, doubt these bastards knew ya'll exist."
"You don't know that." Abby pointed out.
Merle finally straightened up. "We're just spinnin' tires in the mud." Merle said as he shifted the pack on his back, then walked towards the trees on the other side of the road and the opposite direction of the prison. "Later, ya'll! Maybe I'll see you again!"
"Merle!" Daryl shouted but Merle didn't turn, waving as he walked away. "Merle!"
Abby touched his arm. "He won't change his mind right now, maybe he'll come back on his own in a few days."
Daryl shook his head angrily. "No he won't."
You know, I had originally killed Merle off but then I changed my mind, so I had to rewrite a few things, both in this chapter and a few future chapters, I have bigger plans for him. And no, I don't intend on keeping everyone whose died, alive, I know it may seems like that. I just want to kill them my own way, mwahaha. Some are going to survive though...only three that I can think of for certain that have died in the show. I hope Andrea and Amy's death wasn't anti-climatic...I know how much some people love Andrea. Haha.
-Shockra
