Chapter 10:
It was dark when Amber's eyes opened. They felt stuck together from all the tears she seem to contain the night prior. Merle hadn't been at all what she had expected he would be. She had hoped that for Daryl she would be able to bring him in. But the idea of living in the same proximity as Merle Dixon was beginning to seem impossible.
Her arms hurt, her wrists were bleeding. The dried blood felt weird on her bare arms as she hung high above the ground. And as she began to come back to life she became more aware of what was around her. One of those things was a rifle leaning against a desk. The same gun that Merle had beaten her with only hours before. Had it been hours? She wasn't sure anymore just how long she had been in Woodbury. Time seemed to slide by as she fell unconscious. The last thing she remembered was the Dixon brother hitting her hard across the face when she refused to tell him where Daryl was.
But after the first time he had shown his true colors she had decided she would side with Glenn. Telling him where Daryl was meant telling him where everyone was. People who wouldn't be ready for what would hit them if the Governor found out where they were.
Glenn lay against the wall, a dead walker at his feet. And he sighed, a small tear falling down his face. He didn't cry much, but he had done the one thing he should not have done. He told them where the prison was. He had told them to protect Amber. But as he sat there alone and in pain he realized he shouldn't have. But what would Rick have done? Or any of the group if they knew what Merle and the Governor had planned on doing to her?
Hitting her, making her feel pain was one thing. But rape? That wasn't something he could allow, especially if all he had to do was spill the prison's location. He only hoped his people would be ready for what the awful leader would send their way. And in the back of Glenn's mind he hoped that Maggie would be okay.
They'll come here. That's all Rick could hear in the back of his head as Daryl drove their small car towards the town. "They have patrols." Michonne said, making Daryl pull over against the forest. "It's best to head in on foot from here." She slung her sword over her shoulder and grabbed her pack.
"How far?" Rick asked her, eyes on the sky above them. "Nights not far behind us."
"A mile, maybe two." The groans of walkers rang out behind her. But they had more to worry about. Amber and Glenn had been gone for at least two nights. This would be the third for them.. If they were still alive. Rick couldn't bare to think what that would mean for his people. He had to push on. Save them.
As they moved through the forest Rick took up next to Daryl. This was how it had been recently. The two together. Trusting each other. Always thinking. "What you are doing today. What you do everyday.." Rick said, not making eye contact. "Thank you." Daryl didn't have to risk his life for these people.
"It's what we do." Daryl said, thinking only of finding Amber alive. He didn't care about what that meant for himself. He didn't matter, not now. He had to find her.
Rasping grew louder around them, "Down." Daryl said, motioning to the ground below. The small team fell to kneel as they tried to stay out of view of the grouping of walkers that began to trample not far down the hill nearby. They grew so silent as they waited.. Hoping that the herd wouldn't catch on.
"Formation! No gunfire." Rick said as the herd caught on to their presence in the wood. The group moved towards the dead, taking out each one together. Not leaving anyone behind or unprotected. But following what normally worked for them wasn't always what worked.
"There's to many of them." Daryl grunted, moving back towards Rick.
"This way." And without much thought, Rick lead them through the only clear spot. Running was sometimes the only way out.
"It didn't have to be like this." Merle soothed the hanging girl. She was as gorgeous covered in blood as she was not, this was the first thing he noticed upon her eyes opening. Something about her was different. He couldn't put his finger on it. But what did it matter now? He had the location of Daryl. He could leave Woodbury and find him. He could leave this girl behind.
Amber felt hot, every part of her body in searing pain. They had taken everything from her, and now all she had left was the thought that the others would make it in time to get her out of this place. But would she ever truly leave? Or would a piece of her always be stuck here..
She had done what she had to do. Made sure everything was as it should have been with only minor changes. She could have told the others, brought them along with her. But so many things would not be the same if she had done that. So many friends would have died. Or worse. What they didn't do to her could have been done to any of the other women if they had ended up here. At least this way she had saved them from it.
"No it didn't." Amber slurred her words, dizziness taking over her mind as she fought to stay conscious. "But this is the way it was supposed to be."
"Ain't none of this personal sweet heart. You don't know me, I don't know you. I just needed to find my brother is all." He ran his good hand down her waist softly, lifting her shirt along with it. A large black bruise already had begun to show itself. He would say it was the biggest he had seen in a long while and he wondered if she may be bleeding internally. But he wasn't so sure he cared much at the moment, "The time has come for me to pick up and get outta here. This place won't last. They never do."
As he spoke the last few words Amber became fogged once again by the blackness. And she allowed it to take her this time, hoping that when she woke up she would be back home asleep on her couch.
"This is it." Michonne said, "This is how I got out the first time." It had been a long night for the small group as they huddled for warmth in a small shed nearby. But now was her chance. She could get back in, take Lori and Carol out of Woodbury.
"Alright, what are we waitin' for?" Daryl said, kneeling down and looking through the hole.
"Let's go." Rick nodded to his friend. But as he turned to look at Michonne he saw that her face had changed. She looked angry, ready for revenge.
Amber groaned as her chains fell through the rough ceiling above her. She hit the floor hard, her muscles tensing. She whimpered loudly, trying her best to keep quiet. She shimmied up onto her hands and knees and began crawling forward towards the large rifle that leaned against the desk. She gripped it tightly, hugging it to her chest as she leaned herself back against the old piece of wood.
His hands ran up her bare thighs. He had been so close.
Her eyes clamped shut, tears falling from her as she hugged the weapon. This was her chance to get free. Her chance to get Glenn out. But the words the Governor had spoken to her kept running through her head over and over. How close he had been to ruining her; destroying everything she was.. She wasn't so much thinking about Glenn.
Before she knew what hit her she felt her hands touch the metal door, sliding it open. She looked out into the hallway. There were guards, she knew that. She could hear one in with Glenn. She tip toed towards his cell door and moved it open. Raising the weapon on the guard she pulled it together. "Drop the gun." Her voice was cold, commanding even as she held the rifle on him.
Glenn lay against the wall, bleeding from most places as he looked up at her.
She watched as the man placed his weapon on the floor and she moved. Without thinking about she did the only thing she knew to do. She hit him hard with the butt of the gun, knocking him straight to the cold concrete below. Then she hit him again. And again.
Glenn stumbled up, grabbing the gun from the dead mans hand. He then pulled a knife from his side and handed it to Amber. Their eyes met for a moment, a glimmer of understanding lay there. "We need to go, now." Glenn told her.
"You need to find the hole." She stammered, taking the knife and shoving it into her holster. "There's a spot in the fence on the left side. Go out the building and head there." She leaned forwards and began rifling through the dead mans pockets.
"We are both going." He told her, watching as she pulled bullets out of his pocket.
"No." She shook her head. Then she reached out and handed the ammo to Glenn. "I need to do something first. I'll meet you there."
It hadn't been easy; talking Glenn into splitting up. But she had felt that staying together meant if one of them got caught then they both did. This way one of them had a good chance of getting out. It also meant she had a good chance of fixing a huge wrong.
She knew where she was headed, seeing it a million times on the show back when she was in her own world. Wherever that was now... If it ever really was.
The door was closed and loud giggling came from inside it. Andrea.
She twisted the knob and walked right in, not worrying about what was going on behind it. She already knew. That horrible woman was sleeping with the Governor. She was an idiot, a person Amber had been hoping would learn her lesson. But did she ever really figure it out? Who could be sure.
As she moved inside she prepared herself. As they lay together, laughing and moving under the sheets Amber raised her gun. "Get out of the bed." She said loudly, kicking the edge where his foot stuck out. "Now."
The laughing died away as the two love birds realized what was happening. The governor sat up and looked at Amber. Andrea was a different story.
"Amber?" She said, forgetting what she had been doing and swinging her legs off the bed. "What are you doing here? Where are the others?" She small blonde girl at the foot of their bed swayed a little, her eyes moving oddly as she tried to stay awake. "Are you alright?"
"She's fine." The Governor said, putting his hand out to stop her. "Aren't you Amber?"
"You know her?" Andrea asked, her eyes going from one to the other. "What is going on here?"
"What's going on is simple. This man is a cruel, heartless.. " The room twisted a moment and she staggered on her feet, grabbing a hold of a dresser beside her. "Pig."
"What are you talking about?" Andrea asked her, confused.
"PIG!" Amber spat, taking a shot at his feet. The gun sounded and the Governor jumped, avoiding the bullet.
"Put the gun down Amber. We can talk about this." Andrea pleaded, holding her hand out to stop Amber.
"I've just about had enough here." The man said, grabbing his own weapon.
"He tried to rape ME!" She spat again, this time aiming at his head. "He let Merle beat me." Her words were a whisper now, tears streaming down her face. The next shot hit him right in the side of his chest, knocking him against the head board roughly. "He tried to kill Glenn." Her eyes grew wild as she watched him begin to bleed out on the white bed sheets.
Andrea jumped towards the man, covering his wound with her hands. "SOMEONE HELP!" She called out loudly. Clearly the blonde girl they had found wandering the farm was crazy. There was no other explanation.
The doors swung open, guns clicking loudly. Then Amber fell unconscious again, her head throbbing right before she hit the floor.