A/N: This chapter is going to be a little different. You'll see what I mean as you go on with it. What happened at the end of the last chapter will be slowly revealed so be patient. It's told from the point of view of someone outside the group.

Chapter Fourteen: The Murder of Gene Gavin

"Once you start integrating yourself into the world, you realize that people are nasty, mean creatures. They're worse than zombies. People try to crush your soul and destroy your happiness, but zombies just want to have a little nibble of your brain."

― J. Cornell Michel, Jordan's Brains: A Zombie Evolution

Fire and chaos.

The former music store owner crept quietly through the town in ruins with his weapon in hand and prepared for the worst. He slipped into a dark, narrow alleyway between two buildings as his eyes darted around at town inhabitants fleeing for their lives as the dead invaded their home.

He licked his dry lips as he watched the flames engulfing the building he began to call home when the world went to hell. Determination filled his face as he checked his gun for bullets before hiding it in the waistband of his pants.

He was now a man on a mission.

Life was finally getting somewhat easier in this new world and he was not about to let one man change his fate. He would be the author of his own life story and at this point in his story his only goal now was to survive and thrive. He needed to get into the armory if there was going to be any hope of him getting out alive with what he wanted. He prayed that his family was safe in all the chaos.

He sucked in a deep breath, willing himself to be as brave as his brother was, before pulling out a dagger and dashing through the crowd of walkers, using his weapon to ward off any that ventured too close. He recognized some of the faces as community members who were alive a few short hours ago.

This isn't how it ends.

"Help," he yelled pathetically as he neared the building, hoping they would take pity on him. "They're everywhere."

He heard the barricades move and the entrance to the armory, which also served as the residence of Gene Gavin, and he felt relief wash over him. He recognized the dark skinned dreadlocked woman with the bright eyes who stood in the doorway beckoning for him to come quickly before the undead followed him into their place of refuge.

"Thank you," he said breathlessly as he slipped past her and into the building. She had Daryl, the man he had not so kindly referred to as the greasy-haired hillbilly in his head on numerous occasions, with her. "I thought I was a goner."

Daryl ignored him and she simply gave him a weary nod, glancing behind her at the door that led to the weapons room. From the low voices seeping into the hallway, he could tell that was where all those who made it in was convened.

"Crazy, what happened out there, huh?"

She barely acknowledged his attempt at small talk, simply moving her head slightly as she strolled away from him, her impressive sword over her shoulder and a gun in hand. He followed slowly after her keeping his footsteps light. He could feel the hunter and his crossbow behind him.

When he entered, amount of people in the weapons room surprised him. Many of them, to no surprise, were part of the last new coming group. The ones whose presence ultimately led to Woodbury's apparent demise. They all looked up when at their entrance.

His eyes scanned the room until they landed on the man he was looking for.

Check.

"There are still others out there. Hell, my wife and two of my kids are still out there," Hershel Green said agitatedly.

"I'm sure they're inside and safe Daddy," his older daughter, Maggie said, walking up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"We need to do something though," the man named Morgan said with a sigh. "We can't stay in here forever and something tells me they won't be leaving too soon."

Rick Grimes, their audacious leader, finally spoke up, stepping away from the shelf he was leaning against. "We need to get to the cars. The place is overrun and there's no salvaging that gate. Our only hope is getting out of here."

"What about my family? The rest of your group?"

"We'll get them. I promise you."

"I have an idea." The whole room turned to look at him.

Hershel regarded him with impatience. "Well?"

He licked his lips, his heart hammering in his chest as he spoke up. "We're going to need some of those walking corpses from outside."

"Why?" the sword wielding woman asked.

"If we're going to bypass them, we have to become like them," he explained.

"How the hell is being a walking corpse going to help us?" Daryl questioned angrily.

"Wait," the woman, whose name he finally remembered was Michonne – such and odd name – stopped the hunter from going off on a pointless tirade. "I'm thinking, at least I hope, he means something more along the lines of camouflage."

"Yes," he said with a snap of his fingers. He was beginning to like this woman. "They're driven purely by their senses, so if they can't tell us apart from the others like them, then they can't attack us."

"So, what? We have to catch one? How on earth are we going to do that," asked Anthony, the resident Woodbury weasel. "How the hell are we going to do that?"

He watched as Michonne exchanged a look with Rick before unsheathing her sword. "Lore a couple close and then they can say goodbye to their brains."

Rick stepped toward him, a semi-automatic weapon in hand. "Phillip, right?"

"Yes," he answered, holding out his hand to shake the man's own. That was who he was now. "Phillip Blake. I showed you to your apartments a few days ago. What you did out there was brave, Braver than any soldier I've ever seen."

Rick cleared his throat, his eyes darting uncomfortably around the room and lingering on his young son, seated in a corner near Michonne with his knees pulled to his chest. "These people, they mean a lot to me."

"I can see that."

"Let's get these walkers," he said, looking back at the people behind himself.

They ended up holding the door ajar and managed to catch the attention of two or three of the walking corpses. When they approached two got arrows to their head and one had a lengthy sward driven through its skull. It was a nauseating sight.

Their ultimate goal was to mask their own scent with the scent of the dead. They gathered sheets from The Major's bedroom and started working on dissecting the corpses in the main entryway of The Major's residence, away from the eyes of the children. Michonne got to work on tearing head holes into the sheets while Rick dug into the blood and guts with gloved hands, smearing it all over the formerly white sheets.

"This is so disgusting," Michonne said, wrinkling her nose as she put a sheet over her body. Rick continued smearing the gory disguise over her sheet and their interaction gave him some pause. Something was happening there. From their subtle interaction, he could tell that there was intimacy between them.

Once they were all, including the children, sufficiently covered Rick stood up, ready to continue their mission. "Michonne, Morgan, Daryl and Glen should try to get to the cars and lead the others with them. Phillip and I should probably head back to Hershel's to get Anette and the others."

"What about Lori?" Hershel asked.

"She's probably at your place," Phillip said quickly. "She's over there a lot, isn't she?"

"She's not there now." Hershel shook his head. "Last we saw her, she said she was going…here. Something about handling something at home. She honestly seemed a little spooked."

"Well she's not here, is she?" Phillip said impatiently. The old man was beginning to annoy him. "She must be somewhere else."

"We'll check other houses along the way," Rick said, grabbing a red handled Machete from a nearby shelf and examining it carefully. "We should also save our bullets. Don't use guns unless you have to, they'll just draw more of those things out."

Michonne lightly bumped her shoulder against Rick's, getting his attention. "Be safe out there." Her eyes quickly darted to Phillip before flitting away.

"You too," he responded in a low voice. "Okay, let us go first. If we make it at least halfway without problems, you need to follow and head to the cars." He looked down at his son who stood slightly behind Michonne along with Duane. "Stay close to her, alright? Everything will be fine. Just move slowly and stay together."

The boy closed his eyes, nodding his head in understanding. "I'll be brave. I won't be scared."

"It's okay to be scared. You can be scared and brave at the same time." He kissed the boy's head. "Just follow their lead and it will be over before you know it. I know you can do this. Love you son."

"Love you Dad."

"I'll see y'all in a few." Morgan swung the front doors open, allowing Rick and Phillip to exit. The man breathed a sigh of relief because he was getting closer to his end goal.

Phillip Blake was there for one man and he had no intention of leaving until the said man was taken care of. He needed to right some wrongs and secure his future in this world without a Woodbury.

The two men began shuffling slowly through the chaotic streets amongst the dead and to their relief, they went unnoticed. Rick glanced behind himself as they made their way down the overrun street, watching as his family and friends followed suit, hand in hand, exiting the Major's residence and moving in the opposite direction toward the vehicles.

Phillip and Rick walked in silence until they arrived at the Greene's door. Rich pulled out the machete and Phillip withdrew his pistol with a silencer attached. Rick raised a brow at the weapon, but did not otherwise comment.

He raised his fist and starting banging against the door. "Anette! Carol! Lori!"

They were met with silence at first and Phillip could almost see the resignation begin to set in on the man's face. Suddenly, the door wrenched open, revealing the gray-haired woman named Carol. "Thank goodness you're alright," she said, breathlessly stepping back for them to enter before they were followed.

"We have to get out of here," Rick said as he entered. "Is everybody here?"

"It's just me Anette, Otis, Patricia, and the kids."

"Shane? Lori?"

She shrugged, looking nervous. "I haven't seen them."

Rick let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, you're gonna need some sheets alright? Me and Phillip will get some of the dead. This is the only way to get past them. We have to smell like them and move like them is we want to make it out of here alive. Fires have broken out and there are already too many of the dead out there." He turned to Otis who emerged from the other room. "You're going to have to lead everyone to the cars. The others are already on their way."

While the others gathered sheets, Rick and Phillip got started on "catching" corpses. Once they had three in their possession, they dragged them back into the house and started chopping at their guts as they did before. Anette and the children were absolutely disgusted. Beth started crying and Sophia hid behind her mother, whimpering softly.

Rick approached the distraught child, kneeling next to her. "Hey. Sophia?" She peeked up at him with one eye. "Listen to me. We're going to be alright, okay? But we need your help, so can you do something for me?"

"What?" she asked in a small voice.

"See Otis over there?"

She nodded.

"He won't let anything happen to you and neither will your Mama. All you have to do is walk and stay as quiet as you can, but you'll be okay because you've got all these good people with you and you all will protect each other so we can get out, okay? Can you do that?"

She sniffled, rubbing her eyes. "I think so."

"Okay." He looked up at Carol. "Wanna help her get covered with her sheet? We have to be quick. Don't get it on your skin."

Once all the inhabitants of the room had covered themselves in blood and guts, Rick led them to the door allowing Otis to step out first, followed by Anette and the others. He told Otis to tell the others to head out of Woodbury once the cars are full. He and Phillip would follow. "You can go with them if you want," he said to Phillip. "I need to check to see if there are any others."

"Like Lori?" Phillip asked, making no move to leave. "No, I'll stay with you."

Once everyone was out of the house Phillip and Rick followed after them, surveying the destructed town for any signs of life. Some of the guardsmen were bitten and some were shot after The Major made the call for the gates to open, but many, like Phillip, who wasn't even part of the guard, managed to narrowly escape with their lives.

Phillip remembered seeing Major Gavin's Humvee speeding away with Johnson driving and Greely in the front passenger seat after Detroit's stabbing and the final fatal shot was fired.

As they neared the center of town, they passed a house next to the burning house with the dwindling flames overrun that was overrun with the dead. The doors were wide open, windows were broken and loud snarling noises emanated out into the street. Phillip shut his eyes, feeling the heaviness of guilt as he looked away and continued walking.

He would not let this world break him. He couldn't be weak anymore.

Weakness got people killed in this world.

"In here," Phillip said in a loud whisper as they passed the house across from the armory where earlier he hid in the alleyway. Many of the buildings were wide open and the dead were busy feeding. "I think I heard someone."

He started towards the door, knowing Rick, with his uprightness, would follow. Instead of knocking, he pushed the door open, entering the house with his gun drawn. "Hello?"

He heard Rick shut the door behind them as he also entered, weapon at the ready. "What exactly did you hear?"

"Sounded like somebody crying for help." He moved through the room with a catlike prowl. "Maybe it's Lori I'll check upstairs, you stay and check the rooms down here."

Rick gave him a long look before nodding slowly, but he made no move to follow the instruction until Phillip began ascending the stairs. Once Phillip was upstairs, he moved through the rooms with determination, making sure to make strong deliberate steps with his booted feet. His perusal of the rooms revealed nothing, of course, and soon he was returning downstairs to find Rick standing where he left him.

"Nobody down here."

"Well that's a shame," Phillip said, lowering his gun. "I could have sworn I heard something. It was almost as if something was calling out for me to enter. I guess we'll have to try somewhere else, huh?"

"I think we should head to the cars. Doesn't seem to be much left here."

"Maybe," Phillip hummed. "But before we do that..." He raised his pistol once again. "We have to take care of something first. I will be heading back to the cars, but you won't be."

Rick stared down the barrel of the gun before raising his eyes to meet Phillip's. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why do you think?" Phillip laughed maniacally. "Because. You. Are. A. Murderer. You ruined Woodbury. All you had to do was wait and be smart, but you just had to push him over the edge. You just had to get Detroit killed. You just had to take that fucking gun and shoot The Major in the head in front of everybody."

"I'm not the one who opened the gate and let the walkers in," Rick sneered. "And when you kill me, what would that make you? Sure as hell won't be a saint. Gavin ruined Woodbury."

"He does this all the time," Phillip spat. "His men had this under control until you went and shot him in the fucking head and caused all that chaos and confusion. That's how Gavin leads. Through fear. And once everybody was scared enough, they would have gotten rid of the dead. Just like the time after Nick died."

"That's ridiculous. People would have gotten killed."

"And a lot less would have died if you did not shoot Gene Gavin!" He bellowed. "My family's gone because of you and your impulsiveness. I know they are. That house we just passed with all the dead tearing at those people? That's where they would have been. The one burning next to it? That was my home!"

"I'm sorry that happened, but that's not my fault. That's on him, not me. I wasn't going stand by to let that man terrorize me and my family and the people who live here. I did what I had to do and what I had to do was kill him," Rick said with conviction. "Now, I don't want to have to kill you too. So, put down the gun and maybe we can let this all go."

Phillip laughed, rubbing his forehead. "You're a good man Rick, but good men like you get people killed and they never truly stay good. You turn into the worst of the worst or you die. Those people out there don't need a good man. Look how easily you trusted me."

"Why do you want to avenge a man that let in the walkers that killed your family? He's the reason they're dead."

"Avenge him?" Phillip threw back his head in laughter. "This isn't about him. I hated Gene Gavin, but he was what Woodbury needed. We were surviving and somebody would have eventually gotten rid of him in a less chaotic way. They would have been a hero and that somebody would have been me. You did this! Our home is gone because of you."

"This place is filled with nothing but delusional fucking psychopaths." Rick shook his head. "Okay, don't put down the gun Phillip. The longer you go on with this rant the less likely it is that I'll die today. Trust me on that one."

"I'll tell your people you died nobly. You went down like a hero and I tried to save you, and I barely made it out alive. Then, I'll become their leader because they will need one. They don't need another man like you and Gavin to ruin their only chance. But don't worry, I'll tell your girlfriend you said good things before they got you. We'll rebuild Woodbury together and maybe we'll even get together once everyone puts up a vote for a brave man like me to lead. I'll bet she's excellent in bed."

Rick clenched his teeth. "Don't talk about her," he spat in a low growl. "So, what? You're planning to be Woodbury's next dictator?"

"Not a bad idea." He tilted his head, as if in thought, a maniacal grin on his face. "But I was thinking more along the lines of a governor or something. Put some false idea democracy into the mix."

"As much as I'm enjoying hearing about your little plans, I'd rather be with my people right now. My son is waiting for me to come back and I am going back because I made him a promise and I keep my promises." Rick took a step back and Phillip waved the gun frantically moving closer to Rick until the mouth of the gun pressed forcefully against Rick's chest.

"I already told you you're not leaving here today. Not if I have anything to do with it."

"Okay," Rick said, nodding. "Well you'll have to stay here with me. The walkers might come searching though, because I don't have a silencer like you."

"What?" The confusion on Phillip's face quickly morphed into one of horror as a loud bang rang through the room and he felt a searing pain in his thigh. His eyes widened and Rick quickly pushed his hand away as a bullet from his silenced gun discharged hitting a nearby window.

Rick knocked the gun out of his hand and gave him a swift kick to the abdomen as he doubled over in pain. Rick then reached down to pick up the gun, putting his own away and pointing it at Phillip's head. "The only person staying here is you. I'm going to walk out that door and you'll stay right here to become walker food."

"Fuck you."

He fired another bullet into Phillips's leg and the man shouted in pain until he felt something large and heavy hit him on the back of his head. His ears were ringing and his head felt tingly as the world went black.

"Shut up." Rick stood over the bleeding, unconscious man contemplating his next move. It was only a matter of time before the walkers would start drawing toward the source of the noise. He grabbed his machete moving towards the door without a backward glance at Phillip.

Luckily, the walkers were moving toward the alley near the house where the bullet had broken the window. He shuffled out of the house moving as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself. When he arrived at the far side of Woodbury, where the cars were parked he was relieved to see the RV.

Before he could fully lift his hand to bang on the door, it flung open and a pair of feminine hands pounced at him, pulling at his sheet leading him into the vehicle. He was met with a tight embrace. "I'm so happy you're alright."

"I'm fine," he said, rubbing Michonne's back comfortingly. "I'm okay. Everything is fine now."

"We heard a gunshot," Glenn said. "Where's Phillip?"

Rick didn't respond to Glen's question hoping he would take a hint. Michonne pulled away and Carl replaced her, clutching at his father for dear life.

"We found Andrea and a few others on the way to the cars," Glenn explained. "They got out already, but we wanted to wait for you."

"Shane and Lori?"

"Didn't see them. We were hoping they would be with you."

Rick nodded in understanding as Michonne pulled at the sheet lifting it over his head to discard of it. He was in an almost trancelike state.

"Something happened out there?"

Rick glanced down at his son. "I'll explain later."

Other than the men who were with Gene Gavin that evening, nobody knew that he was the one who fired the two shots that killed him. They didn't see the hidden gun coming and they didn't expect to see the man clutching at his stomach in pain before another bullet entered between his eyes.

Even though he was a cop, he never killed a man before. The King County sheriff's department didn't see too much action. He didn't know what came over him that night, but seeing Major Gavin stab Detroit, an innocent man, to death in cold blood was enough to send him over the edge. A man like that was too dangerous to lead let alone live in the new world. In that moment, he did the only thing he could think to do, which was to remove the threat before he could consume them.

It was purely survival instinct and he had no regrets whatsoever.

"Let's get out of her. Go find the others." He wrapped an arm around Michonne's waist, not caring who was watching as he led her further into the RV, past the Greene's and a couple familiar but unknown faces.

The RV pulled out of the burning community driving down the deserted Georgia road save for the few wandering walkers.

Thanks for reading! I had so much fun writing this this morning. How was it? Liked it? Let me know in your review.

Also, check out my AU story 'The Farmer's Wife' if you haven't done so already. I'm working on the next chapter and hopefully it will be out soon.