"I think we should stay. The prison is fortified and we know the layout. If they're going to attack, this is the place to make our stand." Glenn stated, looking at Rick and the others who had gathered around to discuss their options.
Daryl leaned on his crossbow, quietly listening to them.
"I think we should take our chances and leave here. If that maniac comes, we're trapped." Carol said, worried that they could surround the prison.
"What do you think Hershel?" Rick asked, looking to Hershel for some wisdom.
"Originally, I thought moving would be the best idea, but from the intel Glenn and Maggie were able to give us, I don't they don't have enough people to surround the building. They're walking into a death trap. I think we're safer here, but we need to scout outside in case they have people watching the prison." Hershel reasoned, looking at Tyreese for input.
"Honestly, I don't know anything about this guy, so I'm relying on you guys to tell me what you need from us." Tyreese offered, knowing that his input was relatively useless. He didn't know anything about this, "Governor".
"I think we should go after that son of a bitch and kill his ass three ways ta Sunday." Daryl spat out, sick of listening to everybody chattin' away while Katelyn sat as his prisoner.
"This is bullshit!" He swore, throwing his hands in the air in frustration, "God knows what he's doing to her. I say we just go in there and kill him, then we don't need to leave."
Rick sighed. He knew how upset Daryl was, but the safety of the group was Rick's first priority.
"What's goin on?" Tyreese asked, not understanding what was going on.
Hershel filled him in, "Daryl rescued a girl recently and she got taken by the Governor. Now she's being held by him."
"She wasn't taken! You fucking gave her to him." He shouted, incensed that no one seemed to be as worried as he was.
"Calm down. That's his daughter. He isn't going to hurt her." Rick tried reasoning with Daryl who snorted in response.
"You're not listenin'! Look what they did to Glenn…and Maggie...not to mention that he's keeping that walker kid of his, thinkin she's alive. He's a nutjob!" Daryl was incensed now. He knew that she was in trouble and not being able to do anything about it was driving him nuts.
"Okay, okay. I'm hearin' ya, but we need to decide what to do as a group." Rick tried again.
"Man, fuck that! I'm goin' after her. Now you can all sit around here talkin' if ya want, but I'll be leaving at dark." Daryl spit on the floor for emphasis, then turned around to go sit, grabbing his crossbow on the way.
Rick watched Daryl sit down, dropping his head down to take a deep breath. In his head, he knew exactly what Daryl was saying, but he had to think of the group and he knew how dangerous this was.
"I'll go." Tyreese spoke up, "If this son of a bitch is as bad as you say he is, then we can't leave her there. The more we have, the safer we are."
Daryl looked up when he heard the new guy talk. He nodded in acknowledgement, part of him feeling relieved that someone with balls had joined the group.
"I'm goin'." Maggie said, stepping away from Glenn who let out a sigh when Maggie stepped forward.
Rick and Hershel looked at her in surprise.
"I'm not letting that bastard keep her. I know exactly what he'll do to her." Maggie spat out through clenched teeth, her fury evident on her face.
"I'll go." Glenn stepped forward, quietly uttering those words. Though Glenn was an even tempered guy, Hershel could see the seething anger under the surface after being tortured at the hands of Merle, not to mention what the Governor did to Maggie. He wasn't about to let that slide.
Rick shook his head in exasperation. He knew that he was going to have to do this in order to keep the group protected. He couldn't have Daryl running off on his own.
"Shit." Rick muttered, "I'm goin too then."
Daryl nodded in acknowledgement.
By the end of it, everyone had volunteered to go.
##############################################################################
Katelyn raced as fast as she could across the forest floor, looking over her shoulder frantically to make sure she wasn't being followed. She did her best to dodge the sharp rocks that lay scattered on the ground, but she must not have seen the one buried under the leaves.
She knew her foot slid across the jagged edge of the sharp rock jutting out before she actually felt it. Cringing, she waited for the pain to hit and wasn't disappointed. Backing up, she leaned against a rock outcropping, letting the throbbing leave her foot. It was dark, so she couldn't see, but she felt the blood running down the bottom of her foot.
"Dammit!" She swore softly under her breath, not wanting to attract the attention of anything that might be in the woods.
Putting her foot down on the ground with determination, she began to run again. Not seeing the obstacle in her path, she collided, full force with a walker that had seemingly come out of nowhere. Stunned from the collision, she shook her heck to clear it before noticing the creature she had knocked down. Scrambling backwards to get out of its reach, she jumped to her feet while the walker was only able to move slowly to stand.
Running again, she kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure she left it behind. Making her way down the hill, she splashed into the stream below. The gurgling water drowned out most of the sounds but luckily the moonlight was shining enough for her to make out the multiple forms moving toward her.
In a panic, she began scrambling backwards but then felt something grab her arm. Screaming, she yanked away her arm and bolted past two walkers coming right for her. Trapped, however, by the multitude in front of her, she came skidding to a halt and frantically search around her for an option.
She hadn't escaped her father just to end up eaten by walkers.
That's when she saw the low hanging branch of an oak tree. There was only one walker in the way. Looking down for a second at her cast, she ran straight for it, stiffening her arm at the last second to clothesline it in the throat with the hard, fiberglass exterior, flattening the walker and giving her a free shot at the tree.
Not being able to grip with both hands was going to present a problem, however, so she raced as fast as she could at it, trying to launch herself off the ground to hit the branch with her stomach. It wasn't high enough to protect her, but it would give her a way to climb into the higher branches.
Leaping as high as she could, she nearly knocked the wind out of herself trying to reach the lower branch, landing on her still-broken ribs. She nearly cried out in pain, but didn't have time, so she grabbed the offshoot branch to pull herself up, just in time.
Hands reached for her as she wrapped her forearm around the next branch and hauled herself up. Higher and higher she climbed, hoping that eventually the foliage would cover her enough that the walkers would forget she was there and move on.
Shaking from the pain and exertion, Katelyn sat in the higher branches, safe for the moment.