A/N: First of all let me say I'm so thrilled with your response. Your support keeps me going. Also, do you recall how I said that I wanted your input and that it can change how I direct the story? Well I was not kidding. I got quite a few post asking me to please not kill Merle (trust me; he was headed for the grave). So after racking my brain for an alternative; Merle will now get a reprieve. It's kinda like a stay of execution from the governor (pun intended). Anywho; I hope you like the new direction that I'm going; it's gonna be a challenge, but I'm up for it. BTW…there was a guest that asked some interesting questions…I believe you are catching on to a later plot point *wink*. So...PLEASE let me know what you think, it can change the direction of my story. Plus you have the self-satisfaction of knowing you saved the life of an innocent kitten *meow*
Merle sat on the floor of the cell ripping apart his third mattress. He was trying to deal with his new situation as best he could, but it was not going well. He felt alienated from his brother; the one person he had come to this hell hole for. Also, there was Beth. God help him. He wanted to do right by her, be the person she believed him to be; but he was all too aware that it was a lie. He was haunted by the things he did in the name of self-preservation. Oh he could keep up the facade for a while, but eventually he would screw up. He would lose his temper and say something horrid that he couldn't take back. Maybe she would find out that he was a murderer and leave. If, by some miracle she did stay and he managed to keep it together there was the issue of everyone else. Beth was a sweet young woman and running around behind everyone's backs would not work forever. Once the rest of the group found out, that would be the end of it. He did not want to hurt her, but he wasn't able to pull himself away. She was a black hole that would lead to his destruction, but he was already caught up in her gravity. There was no escape. He was just going to have to find his own escape; and that meant scoring some meth. This was a prison after all; so there had to be some good stuff hidden in her somewhere.
"What are you doing?"
Merle glanced over his shoulder to see Rick standing in the door way looking down on him; as always.
"Oh, just looking for a little vacation. Some o the best stuff I ever had came from a mattress."
"The governor wants to trade; he'll leave us be for Michonne."
Merle raised an eyebrow, this was an interesting turn of events.
"You know he anit just gonna kill her. He's gonna take her out piece by piece." Rick did not respond, which just confirmed that he was aware of what the Governor would do. "Well you just as cold as ice officer friendly."
Rick ignored that statement and continued. "No one can know about this, so far it's just me, Hershel and Daryl that are involved."
"Well I'm honored to be invited into your inner circle; but what you want is someone to do the dirty work,"
"Are you gonna help or not?
Merle thought for a moment. Yea, this could work. If all goes wrong he would just end up dead. At this point that might be the best option.
"You're gonna need wire, not rope or anything she can chew through." And with that he began to plan how to get Michonne out of the prison and deliver her up to the Governor.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTW DTWD
Beth woke up that morning feeling better then she had in a while. Things were not great, but she was sure that they would make it somehow. In a strange way, Merle had given her the one thing that she hadn't realized she was missing. He had given her hope. How different she would have felt had she know how the day would go. Things were quiet, so she decided to find Merle. She went looking for him and as she approached his cell, she heard voices. It wasn't that she was trying to listen in, the prison was no exactly sound proof, but she heard it none the less. She decided to wait until Rick left and she headed over to talk to him.
"Hi there." She stood quietly in the doorway.
Merle sighed, this was the last thing he needed.
"Hello yourself; I'm guessing that you heard all that."
Beth nodded. "You know you can't do this."
"Darling, this is the only move we got. We have to do this."
"NO we really don't. If we hand over Michonne, we are no better than him. Please tell me you won't do this."
Merle shook his head. He would have to choose his words carefully.
"Rick won't go through with it no how. He aint got the stomach for that sort o thang. Don't go worrying you're pretty little head over it."
She stood for a moment and watched him. It was then that she realized that he was going to go through with it no matter what. Beth walked away and started toward her room, she was not sure what to think or feel. Part of her felt foolish for thinking that he could change; but there was also a part of her that realized what he was planning on doing was really more about a misplaced desire to protect his brother and the group. She reached her room and laid down on her bed her face was already wet with tears.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTW DTWD
Merle was focused on driving; trying to shut out all the conflicting voices in his head. He knew that this was their best chance, but it didn't feel right. All the shit he did for the governor, his anger over the shift in his relationship with Daryl, the feelings he was trying to deny even existed for Beth; it was all swirling around in his mind.
"You don't have to do this you know." Michonne's voice broke through his muddied thoughts. Merle refused to answer.
"We can turn around right now, we can just go back."
It was such a simple statement, and there was some truth there. The option was still on the table for him to turn back to the prison. Oh sure he'd catch hell, but he could still show that he was not the monster they believed him to be. Merle knew that would never work. He simply didn't belong there. He never really did. Beth was collateral damage; and he would break her heart one way or the other. However; he might be able to do something for his brother and Beth after all. His kneejerk reaction pretty much summed up the hopelessness that he felt over his current situation.
"I can't; don't you get it! I can't"
He cut her loose as quickly as he was able.
"I got something I gotta take care of alone."
He drove off quickly before he could change his mind. He only prayed that he would be able to take out the Governor and make his efforts mean something.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
Beth took a hand gun and a large knife with her. She took a deep breath and steeled herself before descending into the tombs. Walking slowly, her senses were hyperactive, every shadow making her jump. Rounding a corner, she noticed a walker ambling in her direction. Beth stood her ground and waited for the walker to come close enough for her to kill. With a strong thrust, she shoved her knife into the walker's temple. Before she had a chance to pull her knife free; she felt clammy fingers wrap around her wrist. She suppressed the scream that was spring loaded at the back of her throat. She fought to get away, when her training came into play and she twisted her hand so that her thumb was pointed away from the creature and she pulled down and away. The walker stumbled backwards before lunging for her again. Quickly she pulled her knife from the gooey remains. As it came for her she slammed the knife into the walker's eye. The walker collapsed onto her; leaking a rancid pool of gore down her chest and shoulders. Shoving the corps aside, Beth began to vomit. She finally calmed her stomach and took long slow breath through her mouth and out her nose to avoid the smell that was threatening to make her dry heave. Once she had composed herself she began to walk. Taking one small step at a time, she continued down the corridor. She was following the drag marks and trying to keep an eye out for any stray walkers, but so far she only had the one run in. Gaining confidence, she rounded the corner and walked into a small crowd of walkers. She immediately froze, as they approached, the walkers did not seem to pay her any mind. She was initially confused, but then she remembered the walkers ignoring Michonne while she walked up to the gate of the prison. Michonne was covered in walker gore, so Beth now realized that she smelled like them, like death. It made her stomach crawl, but it was keeping her alive…so she couldn't complain. Slowly, she shuffled down the hall, hoping to pass the small group and continue. She navigated through the maze without any more issues. Once she reached the outer wall and was able to look out she was able to see two small figures far into the woods. Her plan was to stop him before he was too far from the prison. Now she had two options; she could just go back inside and let it play out or she could try to follow them and get close enough to stop them. Well, never let it be said that Beth Green is a quitter.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTW DTWD
Carol was checking all of Beth's usual haunts, but she was nowhere to be found. It was not like Beth to forget when it was her turn to watch Judith, but she had been preoccupied lately. She began to get concerned and decided to employ Daryl's help. He was talking to Rick when she approached.
"Hey guys, not trying to interrupt, but I can't find Beth. I thought that she might be training with Merle. Have you seen either of them today?"
Rick and Daryl exchanged knowing looks and Daryl responded. "Yea, I got an idea."
The guys went to a make shift tool room where she knew that Merle spent a lot of down time tinkering. Daryl walked over to a far corner where there were drag marks and some wire on the ground. Daryl looked back to Rick.
"He's gone through with it."
Rick shook his head. "There's nothing to do now but wait."
Carol was confused, so Daryl let her in on the plan. The color drained from her face.
"Oh dear God; I think Beth found out and went after him to stop him. I haven't seen her all day. The two of them have become close since he's been training her and all. Oh I hope I'm just over reacting."
Daryl began to scan the room and softly cursed under his breath.
Carol froze and shook her head vehemently. "No please no."
Daryl looked up at Rick and pointed to what he found. "Cowboy boots…No one else wears them here."
Rick put his hands to his face. "God in heaven; Hershel will never forgive us."
Daryl lost no time grabbing his gear and heading out. "I'll bring her back; I got this."
He stopped to pick up a few things and headed out to find his brother and Beth; hopefully both of them would be alive and well once he got to them.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTW DTWD
Beth was trying her hardest to follow them, but she was certain they would head for the road. She was smart enough to navigate to the road and she looked for signs of Merle and Michonne to see which direction they went. They were not trying to hid their tracks, so it wasn't too difficult for her to spot. They were nowhere in sight, but she was certain they could not be too far ahead. She tried walking faster to gain some ground; after all how fast could he move when he had a woman as dangerous as Michonne captive. Her hopes were almost dished completely when she noticed the blue car like a dot in the distance, but the walkers were still focused on the car, which allowed her to check for keys in the remaining vehicles. She was able to find an old beetle and luck was on her side as it turned over for her. She headed out to follow, but she was not entirely sure that she would find him at all. She had never been to this meeting place and she wasn't sure she could find it. She kept driving, whispering fervent prayers as she continued on her way when she noticed a large open field with abandoned buildings surrounding it. She carefully pulled in and decided to get out and continue on foot.
Once she exited the car; she began to make her way to the buildings. It was quiet and she was starting to doubt that she was in the right place when she noticed the governors men. Staying low and moving very slowly, she tried to get as close to the group as she could. She could hear voices, but they were still too far away for her to understand what was being said. The silence was broken by the sound of a radio blaring music. Beth was as curious as the governors men and she crept around behind them to see what was going on. As she moved closer, she was able to see the large herd of walkers that had followed the noise as well. The governors men began to fire on the walkers when she noticed that they were being shot at as well. Smiling to herself, she now understood what was happening. The only problem she could see was how in the world was he getting out of here. Fear griped her heart as she realized that he was never planning on returning, this was a suicide mission. In a panic, Beth tries to find where he is shooting from. As she scans the crowd of men being fired on, the governor points to one of the buildings. Staying low and moving as fast as she dared, she makes her way to that building. She can hear the fight before she is able to see anything. She slips into the back and makes her way toward the fight. She drew her pistol and started breathing slowly, hoping to remember all of her training. She could see two men holding someone on the ground and another was standing in front of them. He must be the governor as he was sporting a black leather eyepatch. She heard Merles voice carry through the building.
"I aint begging ya."
The governor pulled out his hand gun and pointed it where she assumed Merle was being held down. Without thinking about her safety, the fact that she would alert the governors men and any stray walkers to her location, or any other consequence, she fired at the governor. The governor looked right at her and she was frozen. She could almost feel the hatred and venom radiate off him like heat waves off the pavement in the summer. Beth was certain that she was going to be caught and killed when the man on Merle's left dropped to the ground with an arrow protruding from his chest. Merle seized the opportunity and shoved the man that was holding him into the governor. He grabbed the gun from the dead guy and turned to open fire, but by this time chaos and set in and most of the remaining men were headed for the vehicles outside. Beth realized she needed to move fast. Obviously Daryl was here and maybe Michonne, but that would not hold off the men remaining if they regroup. She ran out the back and continued to stay low, desperately searching for Daryl or Merle. She noticed a flash of lime green in the distance and made a bee line for it. That could only be Daryl's arrows. She ran with a focus, which was unfortunate as she did not notice the governor running up behind her; that is until he had her around the waist with the barrel of his gun pressed to her temple.