Chapter 25: One Of Us

All the preparations for what was coming at us took all night. I knew all of the human occupants were exhausted, but adrenaline was the only thing keeping them awake. Myself included. I felt ready for what was to come. But I couldn't help but still be worried that we weren't going to win.

Everyone packed all of their belongings and hid them inside the cars that were going to be outside the prison and the woods. We had to make it seem like if we had fled the prison, no sign of us living there. Would it work? I guess we were going to find out.

Myself and Daryl were in charge to lure in some walkers inside the tombs and have them ready for when the Governor came. I couldn't help but glance at him as he quietly walked by my side on our way there. He still hadn't said much and it was starting to make me worried for him. I placed a gentle hand on his arm and stopped him.

I was surprised he actually spoke up.

"He was a fuckin' moron. Should've fuckin' waited for me. Maybe we could've killed the Governor together." His voice was angry and dripping with a murderous tone. It made me shiver but I held his gaze as he looked at me.

"We are not sure what would've happened Daryl… but regardless he did what he thought it was right. He looked out for you and for us. He gave us the chance we needed."

"He's still a fuckin' idiot."

"I know… and know that I'm always going to be here for you. Nothing or anyone is going to change that. How many times have you helped me? I love you Daryl."

I saw the slight conflict in his eyes, the conflict of whether or not to let me in and help him with his own pain. I placed a hand on his cheek and smiled at him. I got on the tip of my toes to kiss him softly on his lips. However as I pulled away I felt his hands grabbing me by my hips and kissed me again, this time with more force. I could feel the need and desperation as I wrapped my arms around his neck, moaning softly against his lips.

"We are supposed to be getting walkers," I said barely above a whisper as he finally gave me a chance to breathe.

He picked me up and I instantly wrapped my legs around his waist. His hot breath was on my neck, sucking and nibbling that I let out a gasp in pleasure.

The walkers can wait for a little bit.

Back at the cell, everyone was almost done with loading up their belongings. I had gone back to my cell to make sure I didn't leave anything when I heard footsteps behind me. It was Rick. I knew what it was going to be about. I felt slightly guilty, I really did. But in that moment I had been so angry.

"I talked to Michonne," he said as he looked anywhere but me.

"What did she say?"

"She understood why I considered it and forgave me."

My eyes widened. Part of me thought the woman would want nothing to do with Rick since he had considered throwing her in the wolves den. Apparently not.

"I'm glad to hear that Rick."

He took a hesitating step towards me, "I'm sorry Kagome… again I made a foolish decision. Doesn't matter that I didn't want to go through with it, I still considered it. And you were right. I did put your life above hers."

He didn't even notice me walking up to him since he slightly jumped in surprise when I was right in front of him.

"I forgive you Rick. Don't worry." To assure him, I gave him a big genuine smile.

He exhaled deeply, looking at me and smirking, "I'm glad. I don't think I want to get slapped by you again. That's twice now."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't give me a reason to and I won't."

He let out a chuckle and scratched the back of his neck. "Is everything ready with Carl and Sango?" I curiously asked him since I hadn't seen the young boy around.

"He's not talking to me at the moment. But I believe he's on his way already to the car with Hershel, Beth, Sango, and Sophia."

"He'll be fine. We need to start getting to our places."

I could hear the cars coming in the distance. The cold metal of the gun against my fingers made me shiver since I knew this is what we were waiting for. I was hiding in a corridor with Maggie, both of us wearing our riot gear. Glenn was supposed to be on our other side once we were outside to cover that area as well. Daryl, Inuyasha, and Shippo were somewhere in the tombs. Rick, Michonne, and Carol were by the alarm system. We all were patiently waiting for the signal.

The sound of cars slamming into our gates reached my ears and I knew they were here. Now it was just a matter of time. The prison shook as they destroyed two of our towers. I closed my eyes and silently prayed, thankful that we decided to not put anyone on the towers.

Seconds turned into painful minutes as we were waiting and waiting. I heard the flash and gas bombs go off, Shippo's screaming hazelnuts started screaming loudly and then commotion.

I gripped my gun tighter. Almost there. Almost.

Then I finally felt it. The rise of immense demonic aura and I knew it was time. We quickly got up and opened the door to a small bridge that we had barricaded and we waited for a door at the bottom to open. The alarms started blaring loudly and echoing all over. I knew it was going to attract walkers but that didn't matter at this point.

The door busted open and we started firing instantly. Bodies started falling but more kept running out of the prison. I could tell that the Governor had brought his whole group. They were so many. A few were firing towards our direction and Glenn's but our barricades were thankfully taking the fire. I felt the demonic auras coming closer and both Shippo and Inuyasha came out. I'm not sure how Inuyasha was able to convince Michonne to use her sword, but he had it in his hand and was slicing any human that was near him. Both of their powers were flaring as they moved so quickly, almost a blur, and were killing with no mercy. They were making sure they aimed for the head but if not, Shippo was burning them.

I could hear their animalistic growls and snarls from my spot. They were powerful as they slashed at them, blood splattering everywhere. Tearing them apart.

The Governor's followers were screaming at the top of their lungs as they were trying to shoot a dragon that was chasing them. I realized it was one of Shippo's illusions and he used it to distract them and then burn them alive with his fox fire, their incinerated bodies just landing on the floor in a pile of ashes.

There was one group that were making their way to the cars and I instantly cursed. We had missed the Governor. He somehow made it out alive from there.

As Shippo and Inuyasha were finishing off those that were left behind, we made our way over to them. Rick, Daryl, Carol, Glenn and Michonne were already there, just staring as they saw the demons move in perfect synchronization. It was honestly a beautiful but terrifying sight.

"We did it?" Maggie asked, excitement rolling off of her as we saw the cars driving away.

Rick nodded as we all walked towards the field, "We did it. We drove them out."

"We should go after them." Me and Michonne said at the same time.

Daryl nodded his head, agreeing with us. "We should finish it."

Maggie gave us an incredulous look, "It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail out of here? We drove them off. They were terrified."

Shippo and Inuyasha walked up to us, clearing hearing our debate and they too voiced their opinion.

"If we don't go after him, he's going to come back." Inuyasha said gruffly as he handed Michonne her katana back with a nod.

Shippo looked at Maggie, "They can regroup and come back. We can't give them that chance."

Carol looked at Rick with wide eyes, "They're right. Besides, I never saw Andrea with them. I'm worried about her."

I pointedly looked at Inuyasha and Shippo, "You didn't see her right?"

"Down at the tombs all I could smell was walkers. But out here no. Nothing." Shippo answered.

Maggie still seemed unsure, "We barely made it back last time we went to Woodbury."

"We can't continue living like this," I said, "If we don't finish this off now, it's never going to end."

Rick spoke up, "We will take the fight over there. We need to check on the others and get rid of the walkers in the tombs before we leave."

Shippo cracked his knuckles and smirked at Inuyasha, "I bet I can finish faster than you."

"Shut it runt, you know damn well I can slash them faster than your furry ass."

Shippo put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head as he gave Inuyasha a pitiful look, "You poor half-demon. Always hallucinating."

Shippo barely ducked a clawed hand that had aimed at his head and took off towards the prison, most likely the tombs with a pissed off Inuyasha right on his tracks.

"They seemed a little too happy with all this violence," Glenn nervously said as he looked towards the direction of where the other two took off.

I pinched the tip of my nose while I closed my eyes, "They may live with us and be our friends, but at the end of the day they're demons. Fighting and killing is like a second nature to them. A simple game that they're too stupid to realize when it's time to stop."

It didn't take long for everyone to be back together inside the cell. Rick instantly went up to Beth to retrieve Sango as she was cooing contentedly. The relief of seeing her safe was evident in Rick's body language that I couldn't help but smile. Sophia quickly went and hugged Carol and then the young child jumped on me. As I looked over at Hershel, I saw he wasn't taking his eyes off of Carl.

"Dad, I'm coming to Woodbury!" His young voice filled with determination. Rick handed Sango back to Beth as he put a hand on his face.

"Carl-"

"I just did my job there like all of you! I took out one of the Governor's soldiers!"

I looked down at Sophia and she had a somber look on her face as she was glaring at her friend.

"One of his soldiers? A kid running away? He stumbled across us."

Carl instantly jumped into the defensive, "He drew on us!"

I heard Sophia quietly mumble from my side, "No he didn't."

However it was obvious Rick was believing Carl. I couldn't bring myself to do so. Something didn't feel right.

"I'm sorry you had to do that."

Carl raised his chin as he stared at his father in the eyes, "It's what I was there for. I'm going with you." And with that, Carl walked away towards his cell. I had Sophia go back to Carol as I approached Rick. Hershel was shaking his head, clearly disappointed.

"That kid was scared. He was handing his gun over."

Rick's eyes widened but narrowed as he stared at Hershel, "He said he drew."

Hershel's eyes didn't leave Rick as he shook his head.

"Rick," I started, "Even Sophia says he didn't drew on them."

"Carl said it was in defense."

"Carl had every reason not to-"

"Maybe it looked like that to you Hershel-"

Hershel's voice grew deeper and louder, "Rick!"

Rick snapped his mouth shut and looked at him. I even jumped at the sound of Hershel's voice.

"Rick, I'm telling you. He gunned that kid down."

And with that he finally walked away. Rick was still in disbelief as he looked at me. I was surprised as well, but not really. Carl had already been showing signs of defiance, wanting to get rid of his child like self and grow up already. Taking off in his own at the farm was just the start of it. It's like he needed to prove himself that he could do the same things us as adults can do.

"Rick, it's better if Carl stays here. Whether he intentionally shot the kid or did it in self defense, he still killed someone and he's just a kid."

We were finishing loading things up when I noticed that Rick was talking to Carl. I saw Inuyasha's ears twitch and he kept sending Carl irritating looks. It had taken a bit longer than expected for Inuyasha and Shippo to get back, both of them now even more filthy than what they already were. I handed the guns I had to Daryl and motioned Inuyasha over.

"What is it?"

He snorted and rolled his eyes, "He's blaming Rick for the death of his mom."

Even Daryl stopped what he was doing and looked up from his spot as he was putting guns away in the trunk, giving Inuyasha his full attention too.

"What you mean he's blaming Rick?"

"He said since Rick didn't kill Andrew, his mom is now dead because of that."

I put my face on my hands. I could just imagine how that made Rick feel. Lori's death was still a very sore and sensitive topic. I saw Carl storm off to inside the prison. I was glad he wasn't coming with us. Maggie and Glenn approached us with Shippo just as Rick was walking our way.

"Rick, we're staying," Glenn said as he motioned himself and Maggie, "We don't know if the Governor is really at Woodbury, he can come back."

Shippo cleared his throat, "I'll stay with them. If he comes back I can distract them long enough."

Rick put a hand on their shoulder and agreed. So now the only ones going to Woodbury was myself, Daryl, Rick, Michonne, and Inuyasha. Carol had decided since the beginning that she would stay back and help care of Sango with Beth.

I cracked my neck as I got behind Daryl on his bike. The others would be taking the silver truck we had. Beth and Carol quickly opened the gate for us and we took off.

The temperature started to drop as the day was slowly fading away. But that's how it always was. Whenever you fought for your life the day just seemed to pass by as a blur. However, I was unsure if the sudden cold was really because of the weather or because something horrible was going on. I tightened my grip on Daryl when I felt his back tense. I looked over his shoulder and gasped at the sight. He slowed down his bike until he came into a full stop. I heard the truck doing the same thing but I couldn't remove my eyes. I could just feel the dead swiftly moving in the air.

We found the rest of those that fled the prison but they were all dead. Some of them turned into walkers and were feeding off of the dead corpses. We killed off the walkers and I could feel myself shake. There were pools of blood everywhere and this was not a walker attack.

"He killed them," I whispered in both horror and shock. Was he seriously that evil that he turned his back on his own people?

I was walking right next to their military truck when something slammed against the window. I let out a scream and jumped towards Daryl who had been right behind me. Inuyasha snorted at me as he walked up and opened the door, roughly grabbing the young woman and pulling her outside.

She was beautiful, but currently covered in dirt and blood. Her eyes were wide in fear as she stared at all of the corpses laying around. Rick had his python directly at her.

"Start talking."

She opened her mouth but the moment she saw Inuyasha more clearly and noticed the ears she collapsed on the floor.

Said hanyou rolled his eyes in irritation, "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

It took Karen a while to finally wake up after she fainted. She was about to scream again but I was able to keep her calm. That's when I was able to get a name out of her.

"Karen, what happened?" I kindly asked as I grabbed her hands, "We are not going to hurt you. Inuyasha is just a big puppy."

"Oi!"

I ignored Inuyasha's complain and gave her a reassuring smile. She was still hesitant but agreed.

"H-He was furious. He called all of us cowards. He wanted to go back but none of us wanted to. We started walking away when he just started firing at us. I had to use my friend's body to cover myself so they wouldn't notice me."

Rick leaned over to her, "Did he go back to Woodbury?"

She shook her head as her hands trembled against my own, "I'm not sure honestly. It's a possibility."

"Is Andrea still back in Woodbury?" Michonne asked as her eyes were filled with concern for the blonde.

Karen shook her head, her curly bouncy locks moving with her head, "I haven't seen her in a while. No one has."

Rick started pacing, "She's not dead. She's probably where he kept Glenn and Maggie."

"We need to go now," Daryl said as he started walking back to his bike.

Karen nodded her head, "I can help you guys get inside. There's still women and children back at Woodbury."

By the time we got to Woodbury it was pitch black. The only thing that was helping us walk around the woods since we didn't want to bring the truck and the bike was Inuyasha's capability to see in the dark. He finally got a scent on Woodbury and were able to travel faster.

Karen slowly made herself visible to the guards. Which I was surprised to see it was Sasha and Tyreese.

"Karen! Where's everyone else?!" I heard Tyrese's booming voice question her immediately.

"They're all dead!" She answered with grief on her voice, "The Governor killed them all."

She motioned for us to come into the light and we slowly did with our weapons raised.

Sasha and Tyreese raised their weapons again and pointed it at us.

"Lower your weapons! They're looking for Andrea!"

Sasha shook her head, "No way, she left to go to the prison with them!"

Rick shook his head as he put his gun away, "She never made it to us."

There was a small moment of hesitation from the siblings but thankfully they quickly opened the doors for us. I wasn't here the last time so I had to follow Rick in order to know where to go.

Rick turned to Sasha, Karen and Tyreese, "Gather up the rest of the people. Tell them to pack their bags and to meet us back here. All of you are coming back with us."

His decision on bringing everyone that resided in Woodbury caught us off guard. I wasn't expecting a decision like that from Rick. Bt… regardless of what the Governor had done, there were still good people here. He was right on taking them with us. We couldn't leave them here alone.

Rick took the lead to where they found Maggie and Glenn. As we were walking the corridors I heard Inuyasha curse from behind me.

"I smell a lot of blood straight ahead."

Rick's eyes widened as he looked at Inuyasha and took off in a full sprint with the rest of us close behind. We found a room and we could clearly see a puddle of blood on the floor. Daryl kicked the door open and he had his arrow ready.

Andrea was leaning against the wall, a dead poor Milton a few feet away from her. I quickly rushed to her and removed the backpack I had brought with me. I grabbed a pair of bloody pliers that were right next to her and tossed them aside. She had cuts everywhere and bruises all over her. I couldn't imagine what the Governor had done to her.

She gave me a tearful smile, "You guys are here…"

Michonne came to my side to help me figure out her injuries in an instant while I opened the first aid kit. Andrea's eyes were filled with tears, "I tried to stop him Rick, I tried… Is everyone safe?"

Rick got down next to me and grabbed her leg, "Yes."

She smiled gratefully as she heard the news.

Michonne placed a hand on her forehead, "You're burning up."

Andrea coughed and moved her jacket to reveal her collarbone, where we could see clearly the painful bloody bite from Milton. My eyes widened as I stared at her.

"No! You can't die on us Andrea!" I cried out as I placed a gauze to stop the bleeding.

My hands were shaking as they got covered in blood, "I can bring you back. The moment your heart stops I can bring you back!"

I felt a clawed hand on my shoulder, "You know Tenseiga has a mind of its own."

I shrugged him off as I started crying, "We can't let her die like this!"

Michonne was in tears as she looked at her friend. They kept each other alive for so many months. I could hear them apologizing to each other and it made my heart break even more.

"It's good you found them," She told Michonne as she grabbed her hand and continued to smile. She turned to look at Daryl, her smile never faltering.

"No one could make it alone now."

He swallowed hard and directly looked at me as he answered, "I never could."

She continued to smile but it faltered a bit as she looked at Rick.

"I'll do it… I don't want any of you to do it."

I was gripping her hand as I continued to cry. She wanted to end her own life before the virus took over and she became a walker.

"Andrea, please. Maybe I can bring you back."

I begged her. Oh Kami knows how much I begged her to let me use Tenseiga on her. I was silently begging at the sword as well to let me use it on her.

She shook her head as she let out a shaky laugh, "It's my time. Besides, I want to see my sister again," her eyes turned to look at Rick, "Can I? I know how the safety works."

I let out a choking sob since only Rick, myself, and her knew what she meant by that. I saw Rick's eyes filled with tears as he handed her the gun.

"You're one of us Andrea."

And for the first time in that moment, her smile brightened up the room and made us forget the cloud of sorrow that was filling our hearts. In that moment, she was the sunshine in our lives. I moved her messy blond bangs from her forehead and gave her a small kiss like if she were a child.

"This isn't fair," I said brokenly to her.

Michonne decided to stay with her until the very end. I was numb as Rick pulled me up and helped me out the room. Daryl instantly held me and pulled me close as more tears continued to spill now on his jacket. Inuyasha closed the door and we waited.

The sound of the gun going off echoed all over as it ended the life of a friend that tried to do the right thing. Regardless of everything, all she wanted was for everyone to be safe. She didn't want more people to die.

At the end, Andrea remained one of us. From Atlanta, to the Farm, to her final breath tonight she was one of us.

But what made this more difficult for me was that I did feel Tenseiga pulse. I did feel it call me. But she didn't want to come back. She wanted to be with Amy and I couldn't take that away from her. The Governor had done enough by doing what he did, what he took from her.

All I could do was grip Daryl's jacket tighter and cry in frustration and pain.

It wasn't fair that Andrea was now dead and Philip was somewhere alive.