I Am Bulletproof
Chapter Twenty Five: A Loaded Gun
Rick called all the adults into another cell block and briefed them on the situation with the Governor. It really seemed as if he wanted to step down from his position of group leader; If he did that would put Daryl and/or Glenn in charge. Merle and Michonne were glaring the hell out of each other, and Glenn didn't seem too happy to be in the same room as the older Dixon. Maggie had told me Glenn blamed Merle for the things that happened between her and the Governor. It could have been so much worse for Maggie, and I was going to let Glenn know that too. He needed to get over it, and fast. Because Merle wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
"Julie and I have come up with an idea." Rick changed the subject. "If we stay and choose to fight, we booby trap the place. We've lived here for a while, and know the layout better than the Governor and his men."
"So we catch them off guard. Make it look as if we've left. Some of us will be outside the gate, some hiding inside. We shoot them out. They leave, and we win." Julie explained excitedly. "Afterwards, we follow them back to Woodbury and take care of this bastard who calls himself the Governor once and for all."
"Let's vote. Stay and fight, or leave." Rick seemed pretty confident, and we all chose to stay and fight. Daryl, Merle, and I would hide in the tombs while Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, and Rick hid outside. Hershel, Beth, Julie and the kids were going to take two vehicles and hide out in the woods where they would be safe. If anything went wrong, they could drive to safety.
Luke volunteered to go with the kids; if they ran into any trouble, having an experienced fighter around was a smart idea. Rick agreed, and it was settled. Now all we had to do was prepare the prison for our lovely guests.
Daryl and I loaded several bags with ammo, guns, and other weapons we might need. I found several cans of sleeping gas and a stink bomb. They would be fun to use, and I set them on top of my bag.
"Ready?" he asked. I nodded, and we left for the tombs to set up several traps.
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The next morning, we packed all our things and loaded everything into the various vehicles. Carl was pissed off and I asked Sophia to watch out for him. Belle was following Daryl and cried when Julie strapped her into a booster seat, saying she wanter her Uncle Dawiie to go with her.
"You'll only be gone for a lil while, okay? I'll see you after you eat supper." Daryl told her through an open window, reaching his arm in to ruffle her hair. "Now wipe them tears away."
"Bye, Uncle Dawwie. I love you!" Belle waved as Julie drove away, Hershel following behind her.
"You know, you can say it back to her. It won't kill you." I poked his shoulder. With the kids gone and traps in place, we could go to our designated areas. Rick and Glenn were taking care of the remaining vehicles, hiding them somewhere behind the prison. "Have you seen Merle?"
"Yeah, he's in the tombs waitin' for us. Let's go." Daryl took my hand and we ran into the prison.
Merle was waiting for us in the boiler room, where Julie told us to wait. We readied our weapons and didn't have to wait long before we heard an explosion.
"Let's do this!" Merle led us farther into the tombs where it was pitch black. I'd made sure to grab the sleeping gas; we'd be able to take several prisoners if it worked like it was supposed to.
"I hear 'em. Ready?" Daryl whispered and handed me a gun. Our usual weapons, his crossbow and my katana, wouldn't have much use in our attack, but we had them just in case anything went wrong.
"Come on!" The Governor yelled at his men impatiently and we waited several seconds before throwing smoke bombs, and the sleeping gas. Merle was the first to shoot, and Daryl and I followed suit. They ran blindly out of the tombs, chased by Merle and Daryl. The Governor and five of his men hurried outside, and I signaled Glenn.
"Get outta our prison!" Glenn hollered, bullets flying all over the place. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Merle run back inside, probably to check for any men left behind.
"Shit, they blew up one of the towers." Daryl pointed out. So that's what had exploded!
"Yeah, but we won!" I grinned and we watched and the Governor and his cronies drove away.
"Not quite. He ain't dead, and you know what that means." Rick would take a small group out to follow them back to Woodbury, attacking them before reaching the town.
"Yeah, about that." I didn't really want him to go with them and felt selfish. Although Merle could help just as well as his brother, Rick still didn't trust him all that much.
"You don't want me to go." we stood in silence for several minutes. "Rick needs me."
"But... Nevermind. It's nothing." I shook my head.
"Why d'you do that? Just tell me. I ain't gonna judge you or anythin'."
"It's just, I need you too. I don't want to admit it, but I do. What if something goes wrong and you don't come back?"
"Nothin' will happen."
"You don't know that for sure. Just this once; please stay." I walked back to our shared cell and took off the riot gear. Carl and Rick were fighting over something; Sophia and Belle stood next to my curtain/door.
"Auntie, we come in?" Belle asked and ran in anyway. "Carl shooted someone."
"Why don't you go find Bethy? I want to talk to Sophia for a minute." I gave her a hug. She was really beginning to look more like a four year old; longer limbs, her face was losing that babyish chubbiness. Belle's hair, a dark reddish-brown, was getting so long!
"Okay, Auntie. I see you later!" she smiled and ran out.
"What happened? Did Carl really shoot someone?"
"Yeah. A boy, around Beth's age. He handed over his gun and then Carl just shot him. He's so different than the boy I remembered." Sophia told me with a sad smile. "We both have something in common now. Both our mothers are dead."
"Yeah, that's true. Maybe having a friend his age will be good for him. Did he tell you why he shot that boy?"
"No. Just that it was something he had to do. I'll talk to him about it; he has to feel guilty or somethin'. I know I sure would." she got up to leave. "See you later, Andy."
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Daryl stayed behind like I'd asked, Merle and Luke going in our place. THey both knew Woodbury pretty well; Glenn was still blaming Merle for what happened so he was staying, too. Now was a good time to talk to him about forgiveness. If I could do it, and Daryl could do it, why couldn't Glenn?
Maggie told me where he was, and I made my way to the boiler room thinking about what I'd say to him. I opened the door and called, "Glenn, you in here?"
"Yeah. Everything ok?" Glenn stepped into view. He was still wearing his protective gear, helmet included.
"Fine. I wanted to talk to you; Maggie said you'd be in here. It's about Merle. Whatever grudge you're holding against him needs to stop."
"But he took Maggie to a man who-" Glenn was still really pissed about it, obviously.
"Glenn, the Governor did way worse to me than he did Maggie. You don't see Daryl on the warpath, do you? That man - no, he's not a man. That scumbag had his men beat me senseless. Tied me up and, well, you can figure out the rest. Do you see me blaming Merle? No. He was going to get us out. What he did to your face, that was an act. To make the Governor think he was still on their side."
"And you believe that? Seriously?!"
"Merle's changed, Glenn. He's not going anywhere so get over it."
"Uh huh. Sure he has." Glenn glared at me, and I left the room angrily. Not that I'm mad at him, just his stupidity. I could see where he was coming from but it could have been much worse, like I'd said. Maggie was lucky.
|I've been thinking alot about this the past week, and I've decided to end this story. Don't worry, there will be a part two starting right where I've left off. It'll probably be out in the next two weeks. So keep an eye out for it!
Actually, I think I'll let you guys choose the title - I have several for you to choose from. The one with the most votes wins.
1) Together We Stand, Divided We Fall
2) I Am Titanium
3) Shoot Me Down
4) Angel With A Shotgun
I personally like #4. But, I'm leaving it up to you to decide! Now choose! Please? :) it's wasy, just gotta review!
Thanks, everyone, for reading, even though I know some of it sucked.
SupremeZombieLord :)
P.s - Voting ends May 11th.