New update! Andrea is in the picture now!

But what will happen?

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Chapter 36

Was I seeing a ghost before me or was she real? Andrea. I couldn't believe my eyes. Here she stood alive and well after all these months. How did she get here? Did she know about Merle? How did she survive the attack on the farm? For a moment I forgot about my own current affairs, and I dropped my makeshift weapon on the ground.

"Andrea, I don't…I…you're alive." I said with great disbelief.

Andrea didn't seem as relieved to see a familiar face as I did. In fact, she stood there in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and one eyebrow arched as if I'd offended her greatly.

"What happened to your head?" She asked me, "And what are you doing here?"

I blinked with surprise.

"I have no idea where I am, "I replied, "What are you doing here? How did you escape the farm, we all thought you had,-"

"That I had died?" she uncrossed her arms and placed them on her hips, "I yelled and called out to the last car I spotted. I waved. I jumped…I ran."

She shook her head.

"Andrea…I,-"

"Why didn't you come back for me?" She stared at me, her eyes filled with grief and hate, "I was alone, I was broken and hurt…I would have died if it wasn't for Michonne."

Who was Michonne? Andrea's rant left me speechless. I didn't know what to tell her, let alone where to begin. It's been months, almost a year since the farm raid.

The moment I discovered Andrea was missing I wanted to turn round and search for her. A couple of days had already passed by that time.

"Didn't you care about me?" Andrea continued, "I thought we were friends. Not Lori, not Carol, but you and me."

Her comment hurt me. I did consider Andrea a friend. She was the only one who treated me nicely from the very beginning out of everyone, apart from Dale and Maggie. I had to tell her what happened after the farm raid.

"Andrea, I didn't find any of the others until a few days later. Sophia and I were,-"

Mentioning Sophia was probably not the best move. Andrea decided it was not worthwhile to let me finish what I had to say.

"Sophia…really? Again with that little girl?" She shook her head indignantly, "You probably didn't even bother to search for me as you would have done for her."

"That's not true!" I burst out.

"Yes it is." She exclaimed.

"Uh…ladies?" Milton stepped between me and Andrea. The scientist looked nervous standing between the two of us. Andrea and I looked at each other as Milton continued, "obviously you two know each other. But we've got a little crisis going on at the moment."

Andrea licked her lips and nodded as a response to Milton's words, "You're right. But why did Merle send us here in the first place?"

Milton shrugged and turned his attention to me, "I think we should take her to Philip…" he said.

Andrea shook her head, "He's got a lot on his mind right now. He's wounded, hurt…he lost Penny and now with Merle lying to him."

The moment I heard Penny's name I stepped to Milton. I knew Penny. Sarah would take her daughter with her sometimes when visiting the University. I didn't know Philip very well, and I honestly doubted I'd be one of the last persons he wanted to see.

"Perhaps Merle send us here, because he needs her help?" Milton suggested, "Besides Philip knows her."

This last comment caused Andrea to throw yet another harsh look in my direction, "You know Philip?" There was that raised eyebrow again.

"I was friends with his wife. I've only seen Philip a couple of times during parties." I told her firmly with my arms crossed. Andrea nodded and seemed more at ease.

"Alright, let's get going." She said.

"Whoa, wait a just one minute." I raised my hands, "I have no desire to see Philip. Just take me to Merle, and Glenn and Maggie."

"Glenn and Maggie?" Andrea's eyes widened.

"All I want is to get away from wherever this is, with them, you…and Merle."

That last part barely crossed my lips, but I knew I owed it to Merle to take him to Daryl. The man saved my life, twice. I knew Daryl would want to see his brother too.

"Come on Andrea, you're coming with me…aren't you?" I asked her.

::::::…::::::

"A town?"

"With walls build around it to keep the Walkers out." Andrea continued.

My jaw dropped the moment Milton and Andrea revealed where I was. I was in a bloody town, filled with people, cars, gardens, park benches and apparently Sunday barbeques.

Why would Merle keep this a secret? What was he afraid that would happen? Keeping me locked up in his room. I know I was in a bad shape, to be honest I still was in a pretty bad shape, but hiding me away from it all?

Andrea and Milton explained to me that Philip, who went by the name the Governor, pretty much was the leader of this establishment. And with Merle as his right hand man, but after certain incidents happening tonight, it turned out Merle had managed to get himself into big trouble.
I started to wonder if seeing Philip was a smart move, obviously Merle kept me hidden for a reason…so why show myself now? Not to mention Philip will probably have a breakdown seeing me, it's been almost two years since Sarah died.

I halted in the middle of the corridor, Milton and Andrea turned around.

"I'm sorry, "I said to them, "I can't do this. I can't see Philip."

"What?" Milton stepped forward, "What are you talking about?"

"Milton, don't you know what he might do when he sees me?" I searched for his eyes, "He will probably flip. I haven't seen him in years. Do you honestly think after all the stuff that you've told me happened to him tonight, that he'd want to see me? The last person Sarah saw before she drove off and died in a car crash?"

"Car crash?" Andrea interfered. I nodded.

"Sarah, Philip's late wife, was a friend of mine. There was a party at the university. She got invited because she used to work there too, that's how I know her. That night…we were all very, very drunk." I pressed my lips together as Milton finished the story for me.

"They found Sarah in her car, it had crashed. I remembered Philip was devastated and in complete shock…"

"I never saw her leave. I heard of her death two days later."

"It's been what…two years?" Andrea questioned, "Surely he is over that by now."

"Look," I sighed, "If you're not planning on helping me get out of here. I'm afraid this is where we part."

"Whoa, whoa, you can't just get up and leave." Milton jumped in front of me, "You're in no condition to venture out there on your own."

"I won't be on my own, "I countered, "You will bring me to Glenn, Maggie and Merle."

"But I…" he paused a second, "I don't even know who or where they are."

"What about Philip?" I asked, "Does he know where they are?"

"He doesn't, if he did he would have told me." Andrea replied.

I found myself in a real predicament. Nobody seemed to know where Glenn and Maggie were except for Merle. I had no intention of meeting Philip. I had two options, either I'd go look for them myself or find Merle. If I was indeed in a town, finding them would basically be impossible. The latter option was my only option to reach my friends.

"Take me to Merle."

Milton led the way through the building. In a way it reminded me of the prison. Small corridors, a couple of doors and most of the windows were barred on this side. I wondered what was happening at the prison. Were they looking for us? Had Daryl found any trace of Sophia yet? With three people missing there was only a small amount of people left at the prison.

Hershel, Beth, Carl, Rick, Daryl and the baby…

"Wait here." Milton said as we stopped at a corner. He walked ahead and knocked on one of the two doors down the hall.

Andrea stood next me, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. When I caught her looking at me she sighed and brushed a hand through her blonde curls.

"It's just weird seeing you after all these months." She said in a whisper, "I wasn't trying to be rude."

I snorted at her comment, "You weren't trying that's for sure."

"It's been…difficult." Andrea explained, "I already felt a bit of an outcast. The fight I had with Lori, heck all the other women seemed to have an opinion of me." She turned to look at me, "At one point I even compared myself to Shane."

"I wanted to go back and find you…"

"I know." Andrea assured me and a small smile appeared on her face, "But in the end it's always Rick's decision…isn't it?" There was that look on her face again.

She was right. I didn't want to say it. But I bet she knew deep down that I agreed with her.

Andrea cleared her throat, "so, how is everyone? I…I want to know."

It's been 9 months since I last saw Andrea. A lot happened since the raid. I was I suppose to tell her that we lost half of the group? T-dog, Lori, Carol and Sophia…

"Andrea," I grabbed hold of her arm with both my hands, "Come back with me. Help me get out of Woodbury wit Glenn and Maggie."

We both turned our head at the sound of a closing door. Milton came rushing around the corner, halted before us, breathing heavily.

"Arena." He said, "Merle has been taken to the arena."

Whatever this arena was, it didn't sound good and by the confused and slightly horrified look on Andrea's face, I was quite sure it wasn't good.

"What is this arena?"

::::::…::::::

Within a couple of minutes I was hiding underneath a couple of bleachers, having a nearly perfect view of the sight before me. This was an actual arena, with people scattered around it, forming a large circle. Milton positioned me the right corner of the stand.

"Whatever you do, just keep quiet. I'm not sure what's going on at the moment, but as soon as I do I'll come and get you."

Come and get me? "Milton, if everyone is here in the arena, it is the best moment to search for my friends."

But Milton shook his head at my suggestion, " Trust me, you won't find them on your own."

Suddenly people burst out into cheers and I turned my head as did Milton. I spotted Andrea standing almost directly in front of me. She peeked over her shoulder and nodded her head once.

"There's Philip." Milton whispered and he pointed to a tall man walking into the centre of the circle.

I'd only seen Philip a couple of times. Last time was two years ago and seeing him now before me, he looked only vaguely familiar. A white bandage covered his brow and his entire right eye. I discarded the bandage which had covered my head through the duration of my stay. If I intended to blend in with these people, I could not afford to look wounded or hurt, though the stitches on the side of my head were very prominent according to Milton as soon as he had helped with removing the gauze bandage.

"Please Madison…don't run off alright?" Milton asked me, almost pleaded with me. Without waiting for an answer he crawled away and took his place besides Andrea.

I crouched down and kept a close eye on Philip. But it wasn't long until I spotted Merle. Standing amongst a group of men with weapons, though he himself was also holding a gun and the blade on his right arm had also returned.

"Terrorists want what we have. They want to destroy us…and WORSE!" Philip paused for a second. "One of those terrorists is one of our own."

The crowd gasped and small murmurs erupted at this newly acquired information. A bad feeling fell over me, I settled my eyes on Merle. Philip raised his arm and pointed to the right, his finger landing on the same man I had my eyes on.

"Merle!"

Another wave of unsettlement sounded from the crowd. "A man I counted on, a man I trusted! He lead them here, he lead them in!" Philip continued.

Within mere seconds the gun was taken from Merle's hand as well has his blade. He simply stood there, almost unfazed. His gaze focused on Philip.

Were they going to kill Merle?

I placed my hands on the bench in front of my face. They couldn't kill him…They wouldn't…

"You lied! Betrayed us all!" Philip spat at him. Everyone watched silently as their so called leader walked past Merle.

A new noise filled the arena. A man grunted as he struggled against his captors. His face was obscured by a bag placed over his head. Only I knew who this man was. I recognized him immediately. The way he moved, the way he sounded, his clothes, his stature. My breathing hitched and I clasped my hand in front of my mouth…

"This is one of the terrorists." Philip cried out and he yanked the bag off.

"Merle's own brother."

Daryl!

The arena! and Daryl is here!

R&R :)