Chapter Twenty-Eight

Volatile

Philip Blake wasn't always a man looking for revenge.

Philip Blake was a normal man once, with a wife, a daughter, and a dead end job. He had a plain and mediocre life once. He wanted so much more from his life, but his wife was happy with their situation. He hated her for it, and cursed her every day for waving him off to work as she stayed home as he worked for the money to keep their mediocre house above their heads. He had always wanted a family, and despite his difficult childhood and upbringing, he was happy when his daughter Penny came along. He was finally able to be a father to her, unlike his own. He never spoke about his childhood to anyone, not even his wife. He knew that she would look at him differently, wondering how he was so normal after everything that happened. So he stayed silent, and just worked his fingers to the bone for the little income he brought in. It was enough to keep the roof over their heads, and enough to put food on the table, but it was never enough to spend on a holiday. He always wanted to go on holiday and experience life for everything it had to offer, but that only happened in his dreams.

Under the façade of the normal working man was a man who hated the world. He hated his colleagues who would boast about their pay rises when he was on the same wage as when he started within the company; he hated his wife for never wanting more from life; he hated his father for inflicting so much damage upon him; and he hated his brother for trying to stand up for Philip when Philip was too young to understand that his father hurting him was wrong.

But there was one thing in his life that he didn't hate. His daughter. The only good thing that came out of a relationship that had been rushed.

Philip and his wife had only been seeing each other for the best part of two months when they found out she was expecting. It had been a shock to them both, with Philip proposing to Angela a few nights after their pregnancy was confirmed. He saw it as a way of starting fresh. This was his child growing in Angela's stomach, this wasn't just nothing. He didn't want to make the same mistakes his parents made with him, he wanted to be there for their child and do everything in his power to ensure their childhood was full of love, hope and fun.

And he was happy, for the most part. He became a father to a bouncing baby girl who they called Penny and he fell in love with Angela for giving him such a precious gift. He saw a future, which seemed almost unbearable before. Every day was special with Penny and he loved every single moment he spent with her. He loved teaching her how to talk and walk; he loved showing her right from wrong; he loved teaching her how to play soccer; he loved teaching her how to draw; and he loved the moments they shared together when he would tell a joke and she would laugh so hard tears would escape from her eyes. He loved her. And they were so close, that the thought of her being away from made him feel sick. He loved reading her stories at bedtime, and watching as his little person drifted off to sleep. He even missed her when she was asleep. When he would have to go on business trips and leave Penny at home for a few days were the moments in which he appreciated his plain and mediocre life. For one, he was able to spend it with a beautiful little person called Penny, and two, he knew that their reunion would be extra special. He always looked forward to coming home to her and being able to squeeze her and tell her how much he missed her.

And then the unthinkable happened, and his whole world crumbled around him.

His wife and daughter were gone.

They had been taken away from him in the blink of an eye. It didn't seem real when he opened the door to the police, thinking it was his daughter ringing the doorbell. Angela and Penny had gone out to get some pizza and ice cream after school for dinner, and he had come home to an empty house looking forward to their end of week treat. He didn't believe it for a moment, thinking that it was some cruel joke. But the police had explained to him again that the driver of the vehicle that had crashed into their own vehicle had been intoxicated and was driving home from the bar when he lost control of the vehicle and he drove head first into his wife and daughter. The driver had been drinking all day and had been so intoxicated that he was able to walk away from the crash unscathed, not realising that his actions had caused another man to lose everything.

He no longer had his daughter to hug at the end of a hard day at work; he no longer had his daughter to tell him about her day at school; he no longer had his daughter to remind him to find the good things in life. He just didn't understand why it happened to him.

The driver was acquitted due to unknown reasons and he was able to walk free. He didn't have to pay for taking his wife and child away. He didn't have to live each day knowing that he had lost the most important people in his life. He didn't wake up in the middle of the night believing that Penny was crying in her sleep from a nightmare only to walk into her room and see a bed that hadn't been slept in for months. He didn't have to wake up each day and contemplate ending everything and joining them.

Philip became bitter to everyone around him. He didn't care if people were offended with his words. He didn't care if he was called into his bosses office after receiving complaints. He just didn't care. Everything in his life had been taken away from him and no one but him was paying for it.

He would often check up on the man who killed his wife and daughter. He would often follow him as he made his way around town. The man would never recognise him. He was biding his time, but he know that one day, he was going to his own revenge and nothing was going to stand in his way. And Philip allowed his name to burn in his mind.

Michael Carlisle.


The devil can disguise himself as many things, and this time, it disguised himself as Philip Blake.

After the death of his wife and daughter caused his life to spiral out of control, the outbreak was the only thing that made the monster rear its ugly head. He had always known The Governor was his alter ego and he felt powerful. He was ruthless. He was a man on a mission. He was obsessed with protecting the people he cared about most, and in the outbreak, that was seen as a heroic thing to do. But deep down, Philip hated heroes. His brother tried to be a hero when he tried to stand up for Philip against their father who was beating Philip senseless, but his brother's attempts were futile. He portrayed a man who cared about other people but underneath it all and behind closed doors, he was only using them for his own protection.

He had a charm about him that men respected and women admired. He captured the attention of every single woman he came into contact with and he enjoyed it. Relished in it even. They didn't know that he enjoyed slaughtering innocent people looking for salvation. They didn't know that he enjoyed welcoming survivors into Woodbury only for them to be escorted down to the tombs where they would be put to death and be served up to the other residents as dinner. No one suspected a thing, and it made him feel invincible.

He never made enemies but when he saw her through the trees that day, he couldn't believe his luck. He had to look twice to make sure that it was really her, and he even had to pull out the newspaper clipping he always kept in his shirt pocket to verify it. He thought it was fate, but he wasn't a big believer in it. He had finally found the reason why Michael had been acquitted. His daughter, the army brat. Her grainy picture in the newspaper had imprinted itself onto his brain as Michael had used her as an excuse. Philip didn't know how that was even possible but it happened.

The temptation to smash her brains in was hard to dismiss when she stood a few metres in front of him, completely oblivious to who he was. She was probably completely oblivious to her own role in getting her father off a huge prison term. She had a similar relationship with her father as he had with his own. And he knew that Merle hadn't killed her that day. The man couldn't lie for toffee. He saw it written all over his face, and he noticed the way Merle avoided eye contact with him. He hadn't fulfilled his orders, and he was biding his time in finding the best way to punish Merle.

He had sent scouts out every hour to look for her. He was hoping that she had gotten away, left Woodbury in her rear view mirror because she didn't know the sort of danger she would be in when he found her again. So when he was radioed by one of the scouts on the wall who had noticed suspicious activity in the tree line, he had a gut feeling that it was her. He was hoping that it was her. And when he saw her talking to a man with a crossbow as they got back into their vehicle, he knew that it was his lucky day. He had followed them and caused them to swerve off the road. He wanted her to be vulnerable. He wanted her to be fearing for her life in the woods. He wanted to feel like she was being hunted. And he got just that.

And seeing her standing in front of him again, her eyes searching the unconscious body of her friend, he saw fear etch across her face.

"We meet again," he said, sarcastically.

Anna's gaze flicked towards him for a moment as she searched his eyes, and then flicked back down to the man on the ground.

"I thought you'd be smarter than that," The Governor said. "To fall for that trick is just stupid."

Anna refused to look at him. He smirked at that fact.

"I like to call it a mirage," he continued, referring to the vehicle. "Look at me."

When Anna refused to look at him once more, he charged towards her. She held her stance and never once faltered when he closed the gap between them. He noticed the height difference at that moment. She was used to this. It happened occasionally that it became a daily habit of her father's to try and make her feel small and insignificant. She had learned the trick of standing tall, and not backing down. It was then that she looked at him, and she saw the hate in his eyes.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm standing in front of you ri-" The Governor was cut off, as Anna spoke.

"I'm wondering why you just knocked my friend out cold," Anna said. "For no apparent reason."

"Let me speak," The Governor hissed.

Anna smirked and never glanced away. "Go on."

"There is a reason for it," The Governor. "All of which will soon be revealed."

The Governor indicated to Martinez to step forward, and Anna watched as the man picked Daryl up like he was a rag doll and slung him over his shoulder.

"Where are you taking him?!" Anna said, angrily. She stepped forward but was stopped by The Governor who in turn stepped in front of her, blocking her from seeing Daryl. "You better step out of my way..."

"Or what?!" The Governor asked, bending down so he was eye level with her. "OR WHAT?!"

Anna's jaw clenched as she stared into The Governor's eyes. Her eyes narrowed at him, as anger coursed through her body. Her eye flinched with anger, which only made The Governor smirk.

"Don't worry, honey," The Governor said. "You're going with him."

And with that, The Governor swung his arm with force so that his fist collided with her face. She fell to the ground ungracefully as blood from her bust lip began to stain her skin. He bent down next to her and let out a chuckle as her eyes refused to open. If it was this easy, he would've done it sooner.

The drive back to Woodbury didn't seem to take too long, and as nightfall descended over the small town, they were able to go unnoticed. The streets were empty and their plans to take their newly found captives down to the tombs went smoothly. The Governor even made a joke to Martinez who smirked in return. Knowing that some of the inhabitants of Woodbury were quite nosy, he didn't want to linger in the tombs for too long and to draw suspicion to where he and Martinez went. He made sure they were strapped to two chairs which were back to back, with their hands tied around a pole. They were still unconscious and he put his faith into Martinez to watch the door, until he found someone else to relieve him from his duty.

He wanted to make sure his plans were all ready.

It was nearly time for the main act to begin, and he couldn't wait to get the revenge he had been waiting for, for so long.