You Want a Fight, I'll Start A War
"Stop here." Glenn did as he was told, the screech of the breaks loud as the car rolled to a stop. "Now y'all just sit tight."
Where the hell else would we go? Two doors opened and closed, but I waited another 10 seconds just to be on the safe side.
"You guys OK?" I heard Maggie shifting in her seat. "Don't turn around," I all but yelled, instantly regretting my tone, but needing her to stay still less what little time we had to strategize be taken away entirely. "We don't want to give them any more reason than they already have to hurt us."
"What do we do?" Glenn asked, his voice low. He sounded a million miles away, not a few seats.
"They're going to separate us. You've seen what they can do." Maggie sucked in a harsh breath that rapidly descended into muffled sobs at the reminder of my torture, but I kept talking, trying to prepare them as best I could. "Hold out as long as you can, but do what you have to stay alive. Maggie, I don't think they'll hurt you physically, but be ready for anything. They know you two are together and if you hold out long enough they will use that to their advantage."
"You don't think they'll…." Glenn trailed off, his voice dangerous and I swallowed down the bitterness in the back of my throat. I wanted to reassure him that he didn't need to fear that, but the truth was everything was on the table at this point.
"I don't know, but if it comes to that you tell them what they want to know. Do you hear me?"
"But the others," Maggie cried. I didn't have an answer for that so I ignored it. We would just have to deal with the consequences later. If there was a later.
"You tell them. No information is worth that," I insisted. "Keep your eyes and ears open. We may be outnumbered but these guys are sloppy. They will make a mistake and when they do you need to be ready. When you find your opening take it." My voice was full of authority as I tried to pump them full of the confidence they would need to survive this and escape. "You find each other and get the hell out of here any way you can."
"What about you?" Glenn's sounded incredulous, his voice high-pitched and panicked.
I shook my head even though they couldn't see it. "I'll be fine. Worry about each other."
"We're not leaving you." Maggie had stopped crying. She sounded determined which normally would be better than falling apart, but I needed to stomp out that fire. I wouldn't allow either of them to risk their lives for me.
"You can and you will," I stated, my tone leaving no room for argument. I heard muffled voices outside the car and knew we were almost out of time. "They don't know who I am, not really. Don't worry about me. I'll find a way out."
"But Daryl…"
I cut him off, "Keep him out of it. Focus on what they know, not what they don't. They'll want to know where the group is, how we got there, that will be their focus. Leave it there. Listen to what you're being asked and only answer that question. Offer no additional details unless you have to." The voices were getting closer. "They already see our group as a threat, but they think I'm new and have no real ties. We can use that. If they find out that's not the case we lose the only advantage we have." And even that wasn't much of an advantage.
"Alex." Maggie's voice wobbled and I squeezed my eyes closed, forcing thoughts of Daryl from mind. I needed to be strong and the thought of never seeing him again made me feel anything but strong.
"I know." I took a measured breath, men visible through the window now, trying to get myself under control before the shitstorm began. "Just tell him…"
What?
That I loved him?
That he meant everything to me?
That the time we had together was the happiest in my life?
It didn't escape my attention I was thinking in the past tense. I may be trying to convince Glenn and Maggie there was hope for our continued survival, but I held little for myself. I barely walked away from my last encounter with these people and that was only Luke and a few incompetent flunkies. This time around I wouldn't be so lucky.
"Yeah," Glenn promised, his voice a whisper.
The backdoor was yanked open, two sets of hands roughly pulling me out. The gunshot wound to my arm stretched and pulled, the wound still bleeding consistently as they drug me between them. When they stopped I saw two other men standing opposite me. One with a gun aimed at Maggie, the other with a gun aimed at Glenn. Merle stood in front of us all, a smirk tugging at his lips that made me so queasy I had to look away. It was the same smirk Daryl had given me just this morning outside the bathroom.
"Alrighty then, you two take the Chinaman and his sexy little piece that way." He pointing to his left. "And you two take Firecracker over there. Ya know what to do."
My eyes shifted to my friends one last time as we were pulled in opposite directions, and I wondered if it would be the last time I ever saw them. I scanned my surroundings as the two men drug me between them, memorizing distance, cataloging weapons, counting personnel all the while looking for potential escape routes, anything that might give me an advantage. I might not get the chance to use the knowledge, but old habits died hard and luck favored the prepared.
The road we were on was dirt, but when we first entered the compound it had been paved. The smooth surface of asphalt a stark contrast to the bumpy unpaved road we traveled on for the majority of the trip. There were rows of what looked like old shipping containers Mack trucks used to pull behind them on every highway across America not so long ago. Only these containers had been modified to include grated, metal doors that were welded to the sides, complete with hinges and locks. I fully expected to be shoved into one of the many lining the side of the road, but my captors bypassed them and I frowned. Why go through all the trouble to make them and not use them?
We continued passed a tall building that was a factory at one time, but its heyday ended long before the apocalypse. Most of the windows were either missing entirely or covered by metal sheeting and the roof looked on the verge of collapse. Taken together the place reminded me of a third world shanty town, but this was southern Georgia not Afghanistan. It didn't add up. Every single occupant of this community I'd come across was clean and well fed. There was no way they called this place home. It had to be some kind of underbelly in an otherwise pristine compound. Every crackpot leader had dirty little secrets, and I would bet my last can of ABCs and 123s this was The Governor's.
A collection of snarls drew my attention as we passed another shipping container and I blanched as my previous question was answered. Why retrofit a shipping container to function like a prison? Because you needed somewhere to lock up your pet walkers. The men pulling me between them didn't bat an eyelash at the rows and rows of walkers snapping and clawing at the metal grating keeping them confined. I had one question answered, but now I had about a zillion more. Why keep pet walkers at all? What could they possibly use them for? I had no clue and something told me I didn't want to find out. When we passed by an open area with wooden poles arranged in a circle complete with metal chains secured by bolts and bleachers on either side I felt the first real trickle of fear race down my spine. How did they sleep knowing all this was taking place only a few feet away from their beds? It would give Freddy Krueger nightmares and I had only seen a fraction of it.
More questions with no answers. My mind could only come up with two plausible explanations for the…arena? Either they were either using it as some kind of sacrificial ring where they offered up virgins to appease their god or they started their very own Fight Club. I couldn't decide which one was worse. I was hoping it was for sacrificing virgins because I figured at least then I was safe. This place made Christian Grey's red room of pain look like Chuck E. Cheese.
The men veered hard to the right after we passed the fight/sacrificial ring, swinging open a rickety door and ushering me in. The inside of the structure was lined with what looked like tin on one side and old bricks from the original structure on the other. There were electrical wires running across the ceiling, hastily strung and tapped together like electricity to this part of the community was an afterthought. We passed a few doors before they found the one they wanted and shoved me in. One of the men kept a firm hold on me, a knife pressed so hard against my throat it was hard to swallow without the sharp blade nicking my skin. The other knelt down, cutting away the zip ties at my feet before removing the ones on my hands. Before I could relish the feeling of being free of from my restraints they sat me down in what reminded me of a dentist chair, zip tying my hands and feet to the solid steel frame. The man doing the restraining looked conflicted, his eyes darted to mine in muted apology as he tightened them enough to imprison me, but not hurt me. I memorized his face, tucking that little bit of information away for a rainy day.
Someone with a guilty conscience. Interesting.
"Outside Martinez," Luke barked at my guilty captor as he stepped into the room. Martinez paused for a moment, hesitant to leave me alone with Luke. Maybe more than just a guilty conscience then, maybe an ally. At the very least he wasn't a total nut job. I could work with that.
"I'm touched you came to see me Lucy." Martinez covered his laugh with a cough as Luke shot him a nasty glared any second grader would envy. The two men had a quick pissing contest before Martinez shut the door without a backwards glance. Now it was just me and the last Defender.
He smiled at me, obviously proud of himself for reasons unknown, but knowing Lucy that wasn't a difficult benchmark. "Comfortable?"
I shrugged, "Not the first time."
"Probably the last."
"Oooh, was that a threat?" I grinned, "You gotta work on it man. You aren't bringing the scary." He closed the distance between us in two steps hitting me hard across the face with the back of his hand. My head whipped to the side a throbbing headache flaring at my temples. "Better, but you need to put your back into it."
I wasn't goading a man who was dead set on killing me because I was glutton for punishment. Granted it was mildly amusing to watch his eyeballs bulge and the vein in his neck pop out, but anyone could fluster Lucy. He made it too easy. This was just the sideshow. People made mistakes when they allowed emotions to overwhelm them and that was exactly what he was doing. His need to prove he was better, tougher, smarter than me would override his better judgement. It would cause him to slip up. Maybe a little, maybe a lot, but either way it didn't matter. I didn't need much. One tiny mistake and I could level this town with nothing but the contents of my pockets and all I had in there was a discarded wrapper from a stick of gum and a condom. I was a Doomsday MacGyver. He exhaled harshly, bringing his right hand back and slamming it into my face just underneath my right eye. My neck popped loud and violently as my head snapped back. Ow.
"What, no witty comeback?" he taunted with a smile when my only response was a groan. "I just came in here to let you know your friends are settling in. I'm surprised the skinny guy's holding out, but I'm the smart money is on Merle. He always breaks them."
I stared at him impassively. Nothing in my outward demeanor betraying how much his words unsettled me. My anxiety for my friends was so palpable it was difficult to keep my body from vibrating with the desire to snap his twig of a neck. But the Alex tied to the dental chair wasn't friends with Glenn and Maggie so I forced out a lazy sigh, cocking my throbbing head to the side with indifference. The Alex staring back at him didn't care they were being beaten and terrorized.
"Well, good luck with that."
He grabbed a fist full of my hair, yanking my head back, "I thought you were willing to spill all their secrets?"
"That was only if you let them go and my debt to them was repaid. You took them so the deal's off. Try to keep up." His hand wrapped around my gunshot wound and he squeezed, digging his fingers deep into the gaping hole in my skin. I bit down on my lip to keep from screaming.
"I'm going to enjoy watching this." He leaned in close, the pressure on my wound intensifying as blood poured down my arm.
"Go to hell," I spat, tears welling in my eyes from the pain.
He cocked his head to the side, letting go of my arm with a shove. "You first."
He turned on his heel and left, hitting the lights on his way out and plunging the room into darkness and I almost thanked him for the tiny respite. The dull throb in my skull was now a raging migraine. I let my head fall to my chest as exhaustion and pain settled into my bones. I felt my eyes closing even as I fought to stay awake, knowing sleep was a bad idea for many reasons not the least of which was a head injury, but my body didn't seem to care I might never wake. In fact, it might prefer it, but before I could surrender to the darkness music pumped into the room through speakers hanging in all four corners I hadn't noticed. It was loud. So thunderous it made the metal chair vibrate underneath me and my teeth rattle. My ears felt like they might explode from the volume and I struggled to swallow the acidic bile inching its way up my throat from the agony exploding like fireworks behind my eyes.
Psychological warfare it was then. I was well acquainted with the technique so I knew what came next. This song, or one just like it, playing on repeat in an endless loop. I took a deep breath through my nose, holding it for a moment before slowly blowing it out through my mouth. I repeated the action several times until the nausea passed. Once my nausea was relatively under control I was able to focus on blocking out the blaring sounds. I smiled as I let my head fall back against the cushions of the chair, focusing my mind as the music faded little by little until it was so far in the background it was hardly noticeable. It wasn't that this was a bad tactic per say, but breaking someone with this method took time, lots of time. Everything I knew about these men told me they didn't have the patience for it. They would break long before I ever did.
I retreated deeper into my mind where nothing but blissful silence awaited me. I heard the music, could feel it humming through every bone in my body, but I didn't allow it to touch me. I wasn't in this room. I wasn't tied to this chair. I wasn't facing endless interrogation followed more than likely by death. In my mind it was last night and I was in the tower with Daryl. It was quiet and I was safe. He was holding me, his arms firm and solid, grounding me in a moment of pure joy. He whispered reassuring words into my ear he had never actually spoken. I told him things I would probably never get the chance to say in real life. He told me to rest and I let my eyes fall closed, confident in his ability to keep me safe, even if it was a dream.
I'm not sure how much time passed as I sat in the dark, my memories of the previous night my only company. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. The music cut out at the same time the lights flicked on and I blinked rapidly trying to focus, my eyes watering as they adjusted to the stark contrast between dark and light.
When my vision finally cleared the first person I saw was Merle followed by Luke and then Martinez, all three standing by the wall near the door, but my focus was on the man standing in the middle of the room. I had never seen him before now. He was tall, lean but deceptively strong, somewhere in his mid-forties with dark brown hair that was graying around his temples. His jaw was clean shaven and his clothing impeccable. He was dressed as if the world never ended, right down to his wingtip shoes. His dark eyes were like black pools as he critically assessed me as I sized him up. He had an authoritative air that surrounded him, but there was more to it than that. The men behind him didn't have their backs pressed against the wall because they respected him. No way. I saw the way Luke fidgeted nervously, eyes flicking to him then back at the ground over-and-over. Martinez, on the other hand, locked his eyes on the man and hardly seemed to blink as if that tiny moment of vulnerability was all he needed to strike. Merle's reaction was the most telling. Every story I'd ever heard about him said he was fearless, brash and absolutely horrendous at taking orders, but he stood in the back of the room, shoulders hunched like a whipped dog, sweat lining his upper lip, and a slight tremble in his one good hand. I didn't need the three terrified men in the room to confirm what I already knew about the man. He had an underlying current of violence running through his veins. I could feel it like a pulsating wave crashing against me as he stood there motionless. He may be dressed like a banker, but he wasn't one.
He walked forward slowly, eyes sweeping me from head to toe with a clenched jaw that begot concern at my battered state, but he couldn't hide the dilation of his pupils or the slight change in his breathing. It didn't concern him. It excited him. This man was as cold-blooded as they came. He was probably outwardly charming which explained the community he held under his thumb and the firepower he commanded. That was sociopath 101. There were reasons you never saw men like this coming. It was because by all outward appearances they were unremarkable, well-adjusted, friendly and highly educated. They were everyone's neighbor and no one's enemy. Those skills made them exceptional at manipulation. You followed them willingly, right to your death. He was David Koresh in a sweater vest.
"Welcome to Woodbury," he said as he took a seat opposite me, crossing his legs like a woman in that weird way some men thought was sophisticated but was just odd. That could not feel good on the boys.
"You must be The Governator." His lips pressed into a hard line. Mental note, easy to rile up.
My eyes shifted briefly to the men behind him as he gathered himself. Martinez looked uncomfortable, Luke looked ecstatic, but Merle…something was definitely off with him and it wasn't just his fear of the lunatic sitting in front of me. Something had changed, something big. Gone was the brash, insult slinging redneck that found everything funny. In his place was a man who looked scared to death. That did not track with what I knew about Dixon's. They didn't get nervous. They didn't do scared. Those kinds of traits were for other people. Whatever had him spooked was serious. He looked ready for war. I knew because I'd seen the same look on his brother's face. The question was why? A few hours ago he was the confident, cocky, right hand man to this dick weed.
"Your friends tell me you took the prison not far from here." The Governors voice brought my attention back to him, but I merely raised an eyebrow. If he was expecting a dramatic response he was going to be severely disappointed. "Care to tell me exactly how you did that?"
"Not really."
"If what Luke says is true you must have been instrumental in occupying it. That prison is deep in the red zone overrun with biters." He crossed his hands over his knees, leaning back like we were having a conversation over afternoon tea. When I kept my mouth shut he huffed in irritation. "What did you do before all this?" he asked, changing tactics when silence was his only answer.
"Kindergarten teacher." He smiled at me and it made my skin crawl. I could not imagine a person alive who wouldn't find that creepy as hell. He was a crazy lollipop triple dipped in psycho.
"How long have you been with that group?"
I shrugged, trying not to wince at the sting in my arm. "Hard to say. My secretary is shit at keeping my schedule straight."
He was playing a game I'd practically written the rule book to. Ask a question, wait for the subject to answer or not. Sometimes not saying anything was more telling than an answer. Interrogation was one of my many specialties before the world ended so I was well versed in this particular subject. I could dissect a subject like a biology project. A tilt of their head, a slight shifting of weight, diverting their eyes, it was all communication of the non-verbal variety. It was an art form of subtle nuisances that told you everything you needed to know if you knew how to listen. When I wasn't the one zip tied to a chair my subjects refusing to answer made little to no difference. I didn't need answers to wiggle my way inside their head and take up root. People lied all the time even when they didn't have to. Body language, facial tics, changes in breathing, those you could count on to spill all your dirty little secrets.
If The Governor was hoping for the same result with me he was wasting his time. He'd have better luck going back to beating Glenn and terrorizing Maggie. I wouldn't break. Not here. Not now. Not ever. Sure, I might talk, but I would never tell them anything I didn't want them to know. Some might be truth, some might be lies, but they would never be able to differentiate between the two. The key to convincing your captors to accept your lie as truth was to believe them yourself. You had to be all in. There was no room for weakness, fear, regret or second guessing.
"You're quiet loyal to a group of people you say just met."
I smiled, "Or maybe your hospitality is a little lacking. I offered to turn on them willingly back in town and took a bullet for my trouble."
He frowned, glancing over his shoulder at the Three Amigos. Obviously they neglected to share that tidbit of information. "I apologize for their behavior. That's not normally how we do things around here." He shifted in his chair, rearranging his crossed legs. Lie. "Maybe we could come to some kind of arrangement."
I pretended to consider his offer. This Alex wasn't loyal to the group at the prison. I was a woman of opportunity, a mercenary just surviving in what was left of the word.
"Depends on the terms," I finally replied.
"And those would be?" He was intrigued, but not on the hook.
"Well for starters not having the shit beat out of me would be a nice change of pace."
He nodded, "Of course." Lie. We weren't off to a good start.
"Two, I get five minutes alone with that piece of shit. No questions asked." My wrists may be zip tied to the chair, but I could still point and my bloody finger was aimed right at Luke. Martinez took a few steps away from him just so there was no confusion. The Governor grinned.
"Done." Truth. Luke paled and I smiled. Now it was time to swing for the fences.
"Last, you let Maggie and Glenn go."
He shook his head, "Why would someone who cares nothing about them make such a demand?"
"As I told Mutt and Jeff over there," I nodded my chin at Merle and Luke, "I owe them. They saved my life when they could have left me for dead and I pay my debts."
"You have a deal." Lie. I narrowed my eyes at him. "So long as you tell me how your group took the prison."
Now this was a problem. I could give him a play-by-play of how we took the prison and he still wouldn't believe it. It was an anti-climactic story. We were good at what we did and what we did was kill walkers.
"We found it by chance and got lucky," I started, "Had people in the tower covering our man on the ground as he ran for the main fence. Once he got it closed we picked them off one at a time."
He was quiet, face impassive. He showed no sign of surprise at my confession and a tendril of doubt made my stomach clench. "And the rest of the prison?"
I shrugged, wincing slightly at the pain in my arm. "A small group of us cleared out one cellblock. The rest we locked down or barricaded to keep the walkers out." Not the whole truth, but I could already tell from his expression it didn't matter. Not only was he not surprised by my reveal, he didn't seem to care. He hadn't come in here to talk about the prison.
"You did all that with only a handful of people in your group?" I shook my head yes and he smirked. "Sorry, but that's a little hard to believe."
"It's the truth." Taking it hadn't been our greatest challenge. Keeping it was an entirely different story. We paid an incredibly high price to do that.
"I'm afraid I'm going to need more than your word to honor our arrangement." I sooo did not like the sound of that.
"Meaning?" The other shoe was about to drop.
He smiled, "A small demonstration should suffice."
I was afraid he was going to say that. This explained his lack of surprise. He already knew how we took the prison and how many people were in our group. He only asked me because it gave him a segway to what he really wanted. Me. Luke had taken me by force from the shopping center because he believed his boss would salivate over someone with my capabilities. He was right. The smug look on his face right now only confirmed it. He would never honor our agreement. He wasn't letting any of us go.
"I'm gonna have to pass."
He stood up, brushing off non-existent pieces of dirt from his dorky sweater vest. "You misunderstand. I wasn't asking. Take her outside," he ordered.
Luke and Martinez came forward, each cutting the restraints on their side before standing me up and shoving me out the door keeping a gun pressed against my back for good measure. I was led to the sacrificial ring and pushed into the center by Luke. There were dozens of men lining the either side of the ring all eyeing me up and down with open skepticism. Whatever they were expecting I wasn't it. That was understandable. On the outside I wasn't much to look at. The Governor took his sweet ass time walking to a set of bleacher and climbing to the top.
"Two men step forward."
It wasn't hard finding volunteers. I was shot, bleeding, and beaten. To them I looked like an easy target, a way to score brownie points with their psychotic leader. On any other day I would wipe the floor with these ass-hats if only to prove a point, but not today. That was what The Governor wanted and it would only confirm Luke's claims. I wouldn't give him that. I'd been a weapon once before and that was with my consent. I would die before I became one without it.
Two burly men swaggered towards me, identical self-assured smiles on their faces. The slapped each other on the back, pointing at me as they tipped their heads back to laugh at their joke. They stopped a few feet away and took up fighting stances, but faltered when I didn't reciprocate. Sure they were all for beating up on a woman, but only if she hit back. The one on my right glanced over his shoulder at The Governor who motioned for him to continue. He turned around looking a little less enthusiastic about pummeling me. How chivalrous. Stepping forward hesitantly he reared back with his right hand, lips pulled into a thin line. The brawny muscles in his chest and shoulders constricted as he swung his enormous fist straight at my face. I kept my face relaxed and arms loose at my sides as his fist sailed at me in what seemed like slow motion. I didn't move. I didn't blink. It was a game of chicken and I had no intention of losing.
"What the…" he muttered, his hand stopping inches from colliding with his target. His eyes bulged as he stared down at me, hand dropping to his side. "You're fucking crazy."
"She didn't even flinch," the one behind him mumbled as they both looked at The Governor for guidance. The hired help may be shocked I was willing to take a right hook to the eyeball, but he wasn't. If anything his demeanor said he expected as much.
"You really going to make this difficult?" he asked in a bored tone.
"Being difficult is kinda my thing."
He sighed dramatically like my defiance exasperated him, but like back in my cell, he couldn't completely hide his crazy. He liked it. This was like foreplay to him and I wanted to hurl. Just…gross.
"Bring them out."
Two figures were hauled forward, bags over their heads, and I dropped my eyes to the ground. I didn't need to watch the big reveal to know who they were. I told them in the truck they would use us against each other and now they were. If I didn't fight they would kill them one at a time or maybe they would beat them in front of me until I complied. Either way it didn't matter. My time was up. There was no more stalling.
"You want to save their lives and repay your debt?" He motioned towards the duo. "Here's your chance."
Even though I was prepared for it I couldn't stop my blood from boiling as I looked at Glenn. His face was bloodied, swollen and bruised. My eyes shifted to Merle who was hidden in the rear of the group trying to blend into the background, but I saw him. When our eyes met he quickly looked away. If I didn't known better I would have sworn I saw regret, but I did know better. Maggie looked unhurt physically, but her face was far too pale and she was wearing Glenn's shirt. My tenuous control almost snapped then and there.
Turning to The Governor I scowled, "You're making a mistake."
"That's what they all say," he laughed, his men joining in. "Again."
This time when the one in front of me swung he didn't stop. His fist slammed into my cheek with enough force to send me stumbling to the side. The pain radiating from the impact point held nothing on the migraine that was back in full force. Slowly I traced a thumb along my lower lip, inspecting the smear of blood before standing up straight and facing them, making no move to defend myself.
"Again!"
The first one lost his nerve so his companion stepped forward. This time instead of a fist to my face I took one to the gut. My head was grateful for the break, but all the air was sucked out of my lungs like a siphon as I fell to the ground on my hands and knees, gasping painfully for air that wouldn't come. Glenn and Maggie screamed in the background, but I could hardly hear their voices over the wheezing in my chest.
"I don't have time for this," The Governor said in annoyance. "Get them on their knees!" Glenn and Maggie were forced to the ground, two men pressing guns against the backs of their heads.
"Stop," I sputtered, holding up a hand as I slowly made my way to my feet.
"Willing to play now?" I took a deep breath, rolling my shoulders and cracking my knuckles.
"When this is all over remember who started this war." He laughed. They all did. Idiots, every single one. They thought themselves invincible, but they had never been tested.
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," he chuckled, wiping tears from his eyes. "Let's get on with it."
I brought my hands up in a defensive posture, spreading my feet out as I slide my right foot behind my left slightly, sizing up the men in front of me. I didn't dare look at Glenn or Maggie. What I was being forced to do, what they were going see, made me sick. Would they ever look at me the same after this? I couldn't imagine so. How did you look a monster in the eye and feel comfortable? The two men grinned at me, downright giddy with anticipation. They advanced slowly, spreading out as one came at me from the left and the other from the right.
Before they got closer enough to engage The Governor changed the rules. "Keep in mind, you kill one of mine I kill one of yours."
My hands dropped as I gawked at him. He smiled, his teeth so unnaturally white it was practically blinding. Asshole. I refocused on my assailants. He said no killing, but he didn't say anything about maiming. Hello loophole.
I turned to the closest one, sprinting towards him with speed that surprised him. He swung forward with his left hand and I easily avoided the hit, parring his move in order to position myself behind him. As the momentum of his strike carried him in front of me I hooked my left arm under his armpit and around to his shoulder. I swung my body around his like a swing dancer, my legs going up and over his head as I locked them around his neck. The addition of my body weight caused him to stumble, his body pitching forward in an attempt to stay upright, but it only served to advance my position as I reached up and looped my right arm under his chin. He let out a strangled yelp as I twisted my upper body at the same time I released my arms sending him spiraling to the ground on his knees. I untangled my legs before I hit he ground, easily landing on two feet beside him.
Giving him no time to recover I wrapped my right arm around his throat, rotating my upper body with as much force as I could muster towards the ground behind him. His disorientation and unbalanced weight sent him flying backwards. His back slammed into the ground so hard I felt the ground beneath me shake, his head striking the hard packed soil like a blunt force object. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his body went limp, unconscious but alive. In less than a minute he was out of the fight.
"Holy shit," someone muttered in the crowd, but I ignored it.
The sound of footsteps pounding behind me held my entire focus. I spun around just in time to see the second man slashing at my head with a knife. I kicked my feet out from underneath me, my body parallel to the ground as I rotated like a figure skater completing a double axel. The blade passed over my head and body as I reached for the ground with my left hand, reaching across my body so I could roll on my shoulders to lessen the blow as I hit the ground. Popping up I slide on my knee for a moment before skidding to halt and jumping to my feet, now behind my attacker. Grabbing the hand holding the knife I yanked it behind his head, the shoulder joint on the verge of dislocation. He cried out in pain, dropping the blade as I twirled into him like we were dancing except instead of looking at him with doe eyes I slammed my elbow into his nose. Blood exploded from his face as bone and cartilage were crushed by the impact. His vision was impaired by the involuntary watering of his eyes, and his attack stalled due to the pain of his now broken nose. He would probably bow out on his own, but in an effort to expedite the process I spun on my heel, hooking my right leg around his neck and stomping my foot back into the ground. He fell onto all fours and I kicked my steel toed boot into his face, ignoring the sound of his cheek bone shattered as he crumpled. He didn't move again after that.
I stood up, breathing hard as I surveyed the remaining crowd. Want some? Come get some. The once rowdy group was dead silent as they gaped at me. Their eagerness was gone, replaced by fear. They didn't take me seriously before, but they did now. The slow, ominous clapping made me want to march over to the bleachers and strangle The Governor with his sweater vest.
"My, my, seems Luke wasn't exaggerating." He walked down the steps of the bleachers, a seriously sinister smile on his face. "And here I thought we lost our chance for someone like this." The last part wasn't directed at me and I followed his line of sight to Merle who swallowed hard.
"I told ya that bitch is dead," he stated, his normally sure voice anything but right now. That was a lie.
"Yes, but what a waste." The Governor's beady eyes were back on me. He looked like every kid on Christmas morning. If the kid was a deranged sociopath. "If you'd done your job and convinced them both to stay we wouldn't have lost such a valuable resource."
What the hell was he talking about?
"I told ya…"
The Governor's head snapped to Merle in warning and the he instantly went quiet. This explained why he was on the outs. He had failed The Governor in some way and now his ass was on the chopping block. That could be our opening. It wasn't much, but given the redneck looked scared beyond belief it might be enough. Best case scenario we convinced him to help us escape in exchange for taking him to his brother. Worst case scenario he killed us all to wiggle his way back into the inner circle. It was a coin toss.
"I think I'd like to see a little more." The Governor smiled at me, motioning for more men to come forward.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I barked. The two on the ground still hadn't moved and once they did they would need a feeding tube to eat for the foreseeable future, but he wanted more? He was a masochist, plain and simple.
"Afraid not." He winked at me and I glared back. This guy had more dick in his personality than in his starched, corduroy pants.
The mob advanced on me slowly and tentatively. They lost their taste for brownie points around the same time the unconscious men lost their front teeth. I could wait for them to take their sweet ass time getting to me or I could give them a little push and get this over with. Patience wasn't a virtue. It was a pain in my ass.
"Pussy's," I taunted with a sad shake of my head. As expected it did the trick. They came at me like a damn breaking. Men and their sensitive egos, always an easy target.
The first one to reach me was a short, stocky brawler who opened up with a telegraphed right hook. I dodged to my left, pushing on his elbow as his fist sailed by my face missing me entirely and sending him stumbling away from me. I didn't spare him a second glance as Andre the Giant's twin brother bum rushed me. He was at least 6'6'' and over 300 pounds so my options were severely limited. I sprinted towards him, his face clouding with confusion at my tactics, but before he could recover I jumped, extending my body and legs in front of me as both feet connected with his chest. The force with which I hit him caused and abrupt change in his trajectory, his arms and legs flailing, taking out more than a few of his counterparts in the process as he staggered. His massive body hit the ground like a giant sequoia being cut down in a National Park.
I fell to the ground on my back, eyes looking around wildly as the circle surrounding me got smaller and smaller. Pulling my legs up to my chest I put my hands flat on the ground rolling my weight onto my shoulders. In one explosive movement I kicked my legs up into the air as I pushed against the ground. My kick up landed me in a squat just as someone reached down for a handful of hair. Spinning around I delivered a roundhouse kick to his chin that sent blood and teeth flying out of his mouth.
Quickly standing up I had no time to recover as another man instantly replaced the one looking for his molars. I was forced to backtrack as he rained down punch after punch. I could feel my arms and legs tiring as I panted under the exertion of the never ending fight. He clipped my chin with a left hook I was only partially able to deflect and it sent me staggering to the side. Too exhausted for anything flashier I pivoted around to face him, sending my own left hook directly at his face. He was too busy congratulating himself for stunning me to see it coming. As my fist connected with his chin his arms went limp at his sides and he fell on his face at my feet. Night, night dickhead.
Again and again they came. Some I handled without incident while others landed blows that momentarily stunned me. I danced and weaved around them, in-between them, among them. There were at least a dozen out of the fight, some groaning in pain, some clutching broken bones, some knocked the fuck out, but this was an exercise in futility. No matter what I did or how long I did it I would never win this fight. There were too many and I was only one person. My body was nearing its limit. My fighting sloppy and sluggish with fatigue as I tried to hold off the mob trying to kill me.
I wasn't at all surprised when one of them caught me with a roundhouse kick to the side of my head that made stars explode in my field of vision. A part of me was even glad. The quicker they killed me the quicker the pain stopped. They crowded around my prone form as I lay on the ground. Yelling insults and screaming profanity as they kicked, hit and clawed at me like a pack of rabid dogs. I curled myself into a protective ball, trying to make myself as small as possible, covering my head with my arms, instinctively trying to protect the most crucial parts of my body.
"Enough!"
The Governor's shout was enough to break up the feeding frenzy as the group took a collective step back. I could barely hear the metallic click of his ridiculous dress shoes on the bleachers over the flood of pain roaring in my ears. Gingerly I rolled to my side, pausing only long enough to make sure I didn't pass out before struggling to my hands and knees. I squeezed my eyes shut, swallow down the bile as my stomach rolled, my body screaming at me to lie back down. Ignoring the pain and queasiness I pushed myself to my feet through sheer willpower. I would sooner wash my hair with Daryl's cigarette ashes than lie beaten at this man's feet. He stopped in front of me, just out of arms reach. I would have laughed at his bitch-ass if it didn't hurt to blink.
He whistled as he looked me up and down, shaking his head like he couldn't believe I was still alive much less upright. I swayed dangerously on my feet, struggling to remain conscious, my vision cutting in and out of focus as I starred at the three Governor's standing in front of me. I decided to focus on the one in the middle if only for the sake of my equilibrium.
"What's your name?" he asked, genuinely intrigued. Now I really might puke. I did not want this man finding me intriguing.
My unfocused gaze wasn't on him or a shell shocked Glenn or a sobbing Maggie. It was on the lone man standing apart from everyone else. He was watching me, his face grim. He may have shot me and tortured my friends, but his body language screamed he didn't agree with what was happening and an absolutely insane idea struck me. It was a gamble, that much was sure, but given my current state I had nothing to lose. If this was a preview of what my time here would be like I wouldn't survive the night much less tomorrow.
Two tears in a bucket, fuck it.
Turning my attention back to The Governor I held his unflinching gaze with my own. I may be addressing him, but my answer was for the man standing behind him.
"Alex Dixon."
Oh snap!
This was just too much fun to pass up. I hope you're interested (dying) to know how Merle will react and enjoy seeing Alex kick a little ass. Things are really picking up speed now.
Thanks so much for reading! You guys are the absolute best.