Decided to update a little sooner, because I really enjoyed writing this chapter.


Ben's POV:

"So, Ben – Ben, right? – tell me more about yourself."

A man was sitting across from me, his seemingly friendly grey eyes affirmed on me, while his lips curled into a confident smile. His brown-greyish hair was combed into a sideward division, and he was clean-shaven, something I was longing for as I touched my own beard.

"Yes, Ben. And what do you want me to tell?"

He let out a short laugh, and looked up to the ceiling for a second before looking back to me. "Well, I'd like to know more about the individuals I let into my town. For all we know you could be some psychopath, who plans on murdering us in our sleep." I wasn't sure if he meant that as a joke or not.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this guy either, who had told me to refer to him as 'the Governor'. I hated people who flaunted their titles, though I doubted if he had ever been a real governor somewhere. I had never seen his face before, and I was quite interested in politics.

At least my shackles were taken off. My wrists were still sore from wearing them. I had been separated from Andrea and Michonne almost immediately, and I hadn't seen them since. I wondered why that was.

"I'm 29. Lived in the mountains my whole life. Used to work as a bartender for a good while - or is that not of importance anymore?" He smiled, motioning me to continue. "I met Andrea and Michonne a while back, and have been with them ever since."

"Were you with another group, before that?"

He curiously eyed me and I swallowed, uncertain about how to answer that.

"My house got invaded. Not long after that Andrea and Michonne took me in." That wasn't a complete lie. But it wasn't the complete truth, either. He nodded, seeming to be okay with that answer.

"And did you pursue any kind of non-platonic relationship with one of them? The blonde woman - I presume that's Andrea - perhaps?" He tapped his finger on his chin while my cheeks flushed deep red.

"What? No! That's ridiculous. We're just friends. Strangers with the same goal. Surviving." Andrea was an attractive woman, that much was certain, and in earlier days I would have definitely tried to woo her, but the memories of Demi and the way she had looked at me after everything had happened at that camp were still haunting me.

The Governor rose from the table and walked up to the window, gazing outside. "Anything else you'd like to share with me?"

"No. Can I go now?"


Woodbury was actually a nice little town. It wasn't big, I guessed it contained a number of 70 inhabitants or so, but it was lovely. It was one of those gated communities I had read so much about when I was younger.

The Governor had shown me around after our conversation, explaining a few things here and there. He had taken my weapons, as they wouldn't be needed here, something that still didn't feel right with me but I understood his point of view.

After that he had escorted me back to a new room, a place to stay for the night. As of this morning I had been free to explore this town whenever I wanted, so that was how I had spent my entire morning. I was surprised to see they even had a hairdresser.

The place was great, without a doubt. But this small voice inside of me told me this was too good to be true. I kept trying to shut it off, wanting to enjoy every bit of this safe haven, but it kept nagging in the back of my head.

To my pleasure I spotted Andrea and Merle a little further down the road. I hadn't seen the blonde ever since the Governor and his men had separated us for questioning. With a wide smile on my face I quickened my pace and walked up to them.

"How come we never hooked up?" I heard Merle ask Andrea, who rolled her eyes at him. "Because you called me a whore and a rug muncher." The man shot her a smug glance.

"Got a way with words, don't I?"

Andrea shook her head at Merle, and then noticed me. She smiled. "Hey Ben, how was your talk with the Governor?"

I returned her smile with a faint smile. Merle's eyes widened.

"Hey you, boy. How come you look so familiar to me... Were we locked up together once, or somethin'?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow, and I could only hope he wouldn't find out the real reason. Neither Michonne nor Andrea knew about my former group.

"I eh, no, I don't think so. Can I have a word with you, Andrea?" I quickly changed the topic. She frowned, but agreed.

"What was that about?" She asked me when we were out of hearing distance. "Were you and Merle acquainted in another life or something like that?" She sent me a questionable glance, but I just shrugged.

"What do you think of this place? And the Governor?" She softened a little and looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on us.

"Well, at first I was a bit wary of him, especially after he wouldn't let us leave, the other night." I nodded. That had also weirded me out. "But you must admit that what he did with this town is impressive. These people wouldn't have stood a choice without him."

"But... Don't you think this is all a bit too good to be true?" I asked her, which made her a little agitated.

"You know, you are just like Michonne," she snapped at me. "She actually wants to leave this place, can you imagine? Now that we're finally safe. We're finally off the road." She incredulously shook her head. "She just sits there, in our room, sulking all day."

I threw my hands up in the air. "Hey, I never said I wanted to leave, take it easy. I'm just scared this safety will be taken from us again, that is all."

She smiled apologetically and put her hand on my lower arm. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm still not really recovered from this cold. He found us just in time, you know. Without these doctors here I'd be a goner now."

I was silent for a few seconds, wondering why Michonne wanted to leave. This place really did seem like the place we had been searching for since the beginning of all this.

Still, something felt off. I couldn't really put my finger on it. Had my sobriety made me a little more paranoid? I decided it would be an idea to have a talk with Michonne about all this. Maybe we shared a gut feeling over this.

I sent Andrea a cooperative smile. "Yes, this place certainly saved us."


"Hey, Michonne."

I tried to sound as genuine as possible, but the woman didn't even acknowledge me. She was sitting on a knee-high brick wall, her head in her hands. I sat down next to her.

"What do you want?" Her voice sounded agitated.

"I heard Andrea and you had a fight."

She looked up and glanced at me, before she started studying the ground again. "Did she send you?" The coldness of her voice made me shiver.

"No, no, she didn't send me. Nobody did. I just wanted to see if you were alright."

She continued staring at her feet, and for a minute none of us spoke. I started to get a little uncomfortable.

"I don't trust that guy," she suddenly mumbled under her breath. "He's up to no good."

"How come?"

She finally faced me again, though her face still looked gruff. I quickly thought to myself how I had never seen her laugh before. "I've seen those National Guard trucks. Bullet holes all over the place. Those soldiers they've been looking for, they didn't die a walker death. Someone took an aim at them."

Something started dawning at me. "You think the Governor had something to do with it? But why?" The Governor had mentioned to us earlier that he had a searching party prepared to find the men the helicopter had belonged to. They had returned with the sad news those men had been fallen victim to walkers, and there were no survivors left. It was kinda absurd, thinking the Governor had anything to do with that. Why would he do that? He didn't come off as the most genuine or honest guy, but a murderer?

She hung her shoulders. "It's a gut feeling. This guy's hiding something. He's not to trust."

"I'm not sure why, but I feel the same way," I confirmed. She stared at me in surprise, but recovered from that right after. "Andrea does not seem to share the same belief," she muttered instead.

"Yeah, I know," I nodded. "I understand why she wants to stay, it's seemingly safe. It's almost too good to be true."

"It is too good to be true. I'm telling you, this guy's hiding something. And I will find out what." The dark-skinned woman seemed more determined than ever. It scared me a little, and made me wonder what had happened to her in her past that made her react so wary to everyone. What if we were wrong, and the Governor actually was as nice as he seemed?

Yet I was well aware of the strength of my gut feeling.


"Hey boy, can you light my cigarette for me? Kinda fuckin' hard with just one hand." I looked up and saw Merle standing in front of me, with an unlit cigarette in his left hand. I slowly exhaled the smoke from mine.

"Sure thing." I took his cigarette from him, lit it, and handed it back to him. One of the reasons why I did love Woodbury was because of the shitload of cigarettes available. An addiction I didn't hurt other people with. Not really, at least.

"Ahh, this is good stuff." He blew out the smoke and took another puff.

My lips curled into a tiny smile. "Yeah, I was so happy to find a smoke."

The man chuckled. "Too bad there ain't something more mind-blowing, huh?" I stared at him in confusion. "I can tell ye used to appreciate the good stuff too, boy. Addicts recognize addicts. They gotta sensor for this kind of shit. Ever tried meth?" He took another puff and laughed at me as my eyes widened, baring his yellow, damaged teeth. They indeed looked like the teeth of someone who used to enjoy a little more than just a smoke.

"I'm not like that."

Merle shrugged. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, boy. Maybe someday ye'll believe it."

I took another puff from my cigarette. Suddenly it didn't taste as good as I remembered. Despite everything I still didn't really think of myself as an addict. Addicts were guys like Merle, not guys like me. Or was I?

My curiosity got the best of me. "How can you tell?"

The man gave me a smug smile. "So it is true, huh?" He took my blushing for a yes. "Been in this business for too long, kid. Learned a great deal about it in prison. Oh, sweet times..." His voice trailed off, still smiling.

"I haven't used anything in months, and I am still doing fine. That's hardly addict behavior, is it? So much for your theory," I boasted, half-heartedly. Merle finished his cigarette, putting it out with his foot.

"Yeah, well, guess the freakin' apocalypse was a blessin' for ye then, in a way. But still, ye ain't gon' fool Merle here. You and I both know what'd happen if someone offered ye a lil' somethin', right here, right now."

I watched as he walked away, leaving me puzzled.


I sense an unlikely friendship coming up...