They were creeping their way in, following Michonne into the compound. It was dark and they had to be silent. If they were caught, they would be killed, for sure, and their cause for going there would fail. Who knew if Maggie or Glenn was even still alive?

They crept in to an empty storeroom. Michonne had said that she was questioned there by the Governor. They peeked out the window; there were people still out on the streets.

"I thought you said there was a curfew," Daryl asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

"The streets are packed during the day. Those are stragglers," Michonne said.

"Fuck, we can't stay in here," Brandy grunted.

She didn't really trust Michonne. She was saying things that weren't adding up. Maybe this was a trap. Brandy would for damn sure keep an eye on her.

"They might be in his apartment," Michonne said.

"We ain't got time for 'might' and 'maybes', lady." Brandy said, stepping towards Michonne, keeping her hand on the trigger of her gun. It was clear that the others were questioning her as well.

"You said you could help us," said Rick, looking Michonne up and down.

"I'm doing my best."

She gritted her teeth at him. Rick narrowed his eyes and nodded for the others to follow him for a moment.

"If this goes south we're cutting her lose."

"We should just do it now," Brandy whispered.

"Right now it's the blind leading the blind," Daryl said. "We should split up."

Before Brandy could protest, they heard someone knock on the door. They scattered, hiding behind a curtain.

"I know ya in here, I saw ya movin from outside," he said, looking around.

When he got closer, Rick jumped him and shoved a gun in his face. Daryl zipped-tied the man's hands behind his back. He said he didn't know where Maggie and Glenn were. Brandy believed him. He looked like nothing more than the community maintenance man, but they didn't take any chances, gagging him and knocking him out.

"Come on," Rick ordered, leading the way. They stayed out of the reach of the lights atop the fences, keeping close to the wall.

"Over there, that looks like a warehouse," Daryl said, pointing to their right.

"What if they ain't in there?" Brandy asked, holding her AK-47 tightly against her chest.

"That's where they kept the kept the Walkers," Michonne whispered.

"We have to go in there," Rick said, pushing on along the wall.

They slipped into a back door and ran down a dirty hallway of the warehouse. They stopped when they heard talking. The sounds were muffled, but there was a tiny window that looked on to the other side. Maggie and Glenn were there, with bags over their heads and guns to their backs. Daryl readied a flash bang and threw it as they were leading them out. The choking smoke filled the room, giving them just enough time to grab Maggie and Glenn and run out. Their captors started to fire on them, but they were already out of the door by the time they could see. Brandy yanked the bags off of their heads so they could see. They sought cover in an unlocked building.

"Ain't no way out back here!" Daryl said.

"Shit! We gotta come up with a plan, they gonna be lookin through every house for us," Brandy panted, peeking out the window.

"Where's that woman?" Maggie asked.

They looked around and Michonne was gone. Brandy wasn't worried about her at all. The only people she had to worry about were her own. Brandy tried to think of a way out, but Glenn's voice distracted her.

"Daryl, this was Merle," he said.

Brandy looked over at him and then to Daryl. She thought that Daryl's brother was dead.

"He did this. I saw him face to face. He threw a Walker at me."

Daryl was shocked. He couldn't believe what Glenn had just said.

"So… my… brother's the Governor?" he asked, his eye wide.

Brandy kept looking at him; his eyes were glancing around nervously even as the others continued to talk.

"Come on, we gotta go," Rick said, helping Glenn up, and finally Daryl spoke.

"Hey, wait, if Merle's around I gotta go see 'um." His tone was completely different than it had ever been. It had lost its roughness, now pleading to see his only remaining family.

"No, not now, we're in hostile territory," Rick said, stepping towards Daryl.

"He's my brother, he ain't gonna-" Daryl tried to beg, but Rick wouldn't have it.

The look on his face was wrenching, and Brandy understood every bit of it. She would have given anything in the world to see her brothers again, and that very thing was being denied to Daryl at that exact moment. But look what his own flesh and blood had done. He had kidnapped Glenn and Maggie, and if they hadn't gotten there sooner, he would have killed them.

"Daryl, I need you," Rick said, looking at Daryl. "You with me?"

There was a pause, and at first Brandy thought Daryl would abandon them for his own blood. He nodded.

"Yeah, I'm with ya," He finally said to Rick. Brandy let out a small, relieved sigh.

"Daryl, I'm glad you stayin' with us, but we need to find a way outta here and fast," Brandy said, shifting nervously from side to side. She didn't even want to imagine the shit that this Governor would do to them if he got his hands on them.

"I'll send out a few flash bangs, get ready to shot," Rick said to them.

Brandy checked her magazine and made sure she was ready for a fight. They all crouched down by the door, huddled close, waiting for Rick's signal.

"One, two, three!"

Rick pulled the door open and Daryl threw the flash bangs out into the street. When there was enough smoke they snuck out, keeping tight formation. One of the guards on the gate turned around and saw them. Gunshots rang out. Brandy pulled the trigger or her AK, ignoring the kick that slammed in to her shoulder. She hit one in the chest and he fell off of the fence. A bullet flew past her head, just missing her.

"Go! Take cover!" Rick yelled, pointing to an alcove of a building.

"You guys go ahead, I'm gonna lay down some cover fire!" Daryl said.

"No, we gotta stay together!" Maggie protested.

"Daryl, no, you can't go out there alone!" Brandy begged, looking at him.

"Don't worry, I'll be right behind you," he said, trying to reassure them.

"I'm comin' with you! I ain't letting you go alone!"

She wouldn't have it. Brandy gripped her gun tightly. Daryl saw the look on her face. She had made up her mind, and he couldn't convince her otherwise. She crept out right alongside him. He threw out a flash bang, and she shot at whatever moved through the smoke. She knew there was a possibility that she might hit a civilian, but at this point she didn't care. Both of them took cover behind a bench, aiming at any smokey silhouette that was in front of them. There were gunshots narrowly missing them. Daryl shot one of the guards and dropped him; his aim was better than hers. She had hit one man in the arm, but it didn't stop him from continuing to shoot at them.

"Daryl! Brandy!" they heard Rick yell behind them, but they didn't stop shooting.

"Brandy go, I'll cover you!" he yelled at her.

"No! I said I ain't fuckin' leavin' you!"

Just then Daryl almost dropped his gun and let out a groan.

"You alright!?" Brandy asked, glancing over at him.

"Yeah, it just grazed me," he said.

Suddenly he heard something hit her head from the back, and she slumped forward. He thought she had been shot, but before he could react, he heard the sound of some slamming into his skull, and it went black…

Daryl let out a grunt and his eyes rolled open. He was propped up against a wall. He was in the warehouse where Maggie and Glenn were being held. He tried to move, but his hands were tied behind his back. The pain in his head was throbbing. He shuffled his feet on the ground, but his ankles were tied as well.

"Fuck…" he grumbled, as he looked over to this right and saw Brandy lying on the floor. She was tied up as well.

Her hair was matted with blood and her mouth was hanging half open. He couldn't tell if she was alive or not.

"Brandy."

He called her name and watched for face for any signs of movement.

"Brandy, god damn it! Get up!" he said, growing more and more concerned that her head injury had done more then knocked her out. "Please get up…" He sniffed.

Brandy wrinkled her brow and let out a pained grunt.

"Daryl…" she whined, peeking her eyes open to see him.

She tugged on her arms but she couldn't move.

"Is you hurt?" she asked him, as she tried to undo the binds that held her ankles together.

"Just my head," he said. His voice was shaking.

Brandy looked up at him, and didn't see the face of the defiant man that she had grown to know. For the first time, he was scared. She had never seen that look in his eyes. Vulnerable, like a young boy who was about to be beaten by his fathers hand… not knowing if one blow would be the one to kill him. He had been strong all this time. He had showed no fear when he had shot his bow at her, when they first met. He showed no fear at the CDC, or when he had ran off to find Sophia, or when the farm went up in to flames, or the months they had been on the run. Daryl was fearless to her, an unstoppable force, but his strength was gone then.

"Daryl… we'll get outta here," Brandy said, nodding her head.

He had been strong for all of them. He had saved her life more than once, and she knew that he needed her in that moment. She had to be strong, even though she wanted to cry and scream. She knew that it was her turn to be the fearless one.

The door opened and both of them froze. Three men walked in. One of them was holding Daryl's crossbow.

"Lookie here," one of them said, before he closed the door and locked it.

He looked over at Daryl, pulled out a knife, and walked over to him.

"I see the resemblance," he said with a laugh, no doubt talking about Merle. He lifted his knife and sliced Daryl across the cheek with it.

"Don't fuckin' touch him!" Brandy yelled. She would not lie there and let them torture him.

The men all looked over at her and let out laughs, mocking her bravery. They turned their attention towards the young woman, who tried to shuffle away, but one of them grabbed her by her bound ankles and yanked her closer to him.

"Oh wee, you are a cute one," he said with a smile, looking down at her. "What's yer name, honey?" He licked his lips.

"None of yer fuckin' business," Brandy hissed.

He balled up his fist and socked her in her face.

"Stop it!" Daryl yelled, but they ignored him, all of them focusing on Brandy, hovering above her like vultures that saw prey.

Brandy felt blood pool in her mouth from the blow. She could hear them laughing at her.

"She's hot," one of them said.

"Yeah, but I wished we woulda been able to fuck the other one," another said, making reference to Maggie.

Brandy couldn't help but feel rage run through her. She lifted her head and spat at them, hitting one in the face with it.

"You fuckin' bitch," he said, hitting her once again.

"Leave her alone!" Daryl yelled, his voice cracking. Brandy's attacker looked over at him.

"Is this your bitch, huh?" he asked, snatching Brandy by her shirt and lifting her up.

Daryl shuddered at how she looked, her face bruised and bloody.

"She is isn't she? I bet this makes you really mad," he chuckled, looking back down at Brandy and grabbing her face tightly. "Just imagine how he's gonna feel when he watches what we're gonna do to you." The other men laughed at his words.

"What… you gotta rape women because nobody would fuck yo ugly ass willingly?" Brandy cut.

Daryl was shocked at her defiance of them. The man pushed her over and put his boot on the side of her head.

"So you think you're funny, huh?" he asked, as the other men snatched at her clothing. One of them had a knife and was cutting her shirt off, purposely nicking her with the blade on her back.

"No! Stop!" Daryl yelled, trying to pull out of his binds, but it did nothing.

"We'll have you screaming like a little piggy!" one of them said, gathering a "seweee!" pig call from another.

"I won't give you da satisfaction," Brandy said, as best as she could with a boot on her face.

They yanked her shorts down, and Daryl couldn't watch. He turned his head and closed his eyes tightly. He couldn't protect her. Her story about how she was almost raped the first week out on her own came back to him. This was her worst fear, and it was happening right in front of him, and he couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

There was a bang at the door. The men stopped just shy of violating Brandy. One of them hurried to the door and yanked it open.

"Their ready for them," the messenger said.

The main aggressor zipped his pants back up and leaned over Brandy.

"You're gonna watch him die, and after that you're gonna wish you could join him," he whispered to her, before putting a bag over her head.

Brandy felt them cut the ties at her ankle and stand her up. One of them pulled her shorts back up, after taking a moment and touching her. She felt them bush her out of the door, and she felt someone next to her. Brandy knew it was Daryl. She could hear his rapid breathing as they staggered, being lead by the Governor's men. And in that moment, she was just happy that she got to feel him again, maybe for the last time, even if it was just her shoulder brushing against his arm. She was grateful for just that.

They were outside now. She felt the summer breeze on her skin and the gravel under the soles of her shoes. She heard someone talking in the distance, and as they got closer his voice became clearer.

"I'm afraid a terrorist would want what we have! Wanna destroy us! And worse, because one of those terrorists is one of our own!"

The voice had to be the Governor. There was a gasp from whatever crowd was listening to his words.

"Merle! The man I counted on, the man I trusted! He lead them here!" the Governor continued.

Brandy's heart was racing, banging in to her chest. She was confused by what the Governor was talking about.

"It was you lied! You betrayed us all!"

Brandy felt the warmth of Daryl's body be pushed away ahead of her, and a few seconds later she was pushed too, but this time she felt a gun at her back.

"This is one of the terrorist, Merle's own brother!" the Governor yelled, and the bag was removed from Brandy's head to see an arena. The Governor had Daryl by the arm, and there was another man standing there as well. It had to be Merle. The listeners let out gasps at the sight.

"What should we do with them, huh!?" he asked his people, and they yelled, "kill 'um!" and "to the death!" like wild animals lusting for blood sport.

"No!" Brandy screamed, going to run towards them, but she was yanked back and the gun dug deeper in to her back ribs.

"Daryl! No, please!" she screamed, knowing that her begging wouldn't be heard.

Her eyes fell on a blonde that sat in the front row of stands. She couldn't believe it. It was Andrea. She was right there, and alive at this place that had taken some of her own, and now was ready to kill them, in league with monsters. Brandy knew that if they saw the next sunrise, she would never forgive her…