New chapter is up!

Hope you all enjoyed the last chapter :) Many thanks for the lovely reviews and that one review stating that Maddy is a Mary-Sue, thank you too.

On to the next chapter :) Enjoy!

Chapter 37

From the moment they walked him into the arena, I knew it was Daryl. What I didn't know was what he was doing here. How did Daryl end up in Woodbury and was he alone or were the others with him? My hands formed fists as I watched Philip circle around him and his brother.

"Brother against brother." Philip said aloud, he stopped pacing, "The winner…goes free!"

"Fight! To the death!" He shouted as Daryl's hands were cut loose.

What did he say?!

I had to do something. But wouldn't blowing my cover only put the both of them in more danger then they already were? I looked around the crowd but no one seemed eager to stop this. Everyone was echoing the words, "Fight, fight!"

"Philip, please…don't do this!" Andrea pleaded.

Merle raised his hand, "You know me. I'm gonna do, whatever I gotta do to prove,-" He moved his arm back and struck Daryl down to the ground.

"That my loyalty,-" He lifted his leg and kicked his brother in the guts as he continued to yell at the crowd," Is to this town!

Soft cries escaped my throat as I watched Merle beat the crap out of Daryl. I turned my head around and crawled to the back of the bleachers. I was about to get out when Milton appeared before me.

"We have to go. Philip is bringing the Biters in."

"Biters?"

"It's what we call them." He reached out, grabbed my hand and pulled me from the ground, "Let's get back inside and wait for this to be over."

But the moment I was out of my hiding spot and out in the open, I yanked my hand back and out of his grasp.

"You people are nuts. This entire town is crazy!" I hissed at him. I turned my back on Milton and was about to make a run for it towards Andrea, when a gunshot went off followed by another shot and a loud scream. Next thing I knew, I hit the ground as no one other than Milton landed on top of me.

"Shit! Milton, get off of me!" I grunted.

"Sorry, the gunshot…I,-"

Screens of smoke fell as a veil over us. Woodbury was under attack. That could only mean one thing, the others were here too. I pushed Milton to the side and crawled up on my feet. I had to get out of here before Daryl and Merle disappeared within the cloud of smoke.

I heard Milton calling my name as I entered the fog. If I couldn't get Glenn or Maggie out of Woodbury, I simply had to try and get Andrea to come with me. I knew she was somewhere in the centre of the Arena.

"Andrea!" I yelled as loudly as I could, still hoarse from Nate's choke grip from earlier.

"Daryl! Merle!" I shouted. I had to let them know I was here. This was the best chance to get out of Woodbury and back to my friends.

I made my way through the crowd until I bumped into someone. My heart stopped when I saw the man who I had run into. Philip Blake.

For a few seconds we stared at each other. He cocked his head and narrowed his left eye. Did he recognize me? I didn't wait to find that out. Before anything else happened I rushed past him.

People were screaming, children and women crying.

"Go, go!" I heard a deep voice in the distance. A tinge of hope filled me. That voice sounded familiar. Rick?

"Andrea!?" I yelled again. But still I didn't hear her and somehow I doubted she could hear me too over the sea of screams and gunfire. I needed to make a decision, and I had to do it now. Keep searching for Andrea or follow the sound of what was hopefully Rick's voice.

I'm sorry, Andrea…

Without any idea where this path was leading me, I went into the direction of where I'd last heard Rick. I kept on running and within seconds I was out of the smokescreen, but no sign of Rick or anyone else. Shit, shit!

I hurried down the street looking around me, hoping for a glimpse of someone I knew. I reached the end and stopped in the centre where it split to the left and right.

Oh no, had I gone the wrong way? I ran my hands through my hair as I looked down either ends. Right, nothing and left…

Wait!

A couple of busses stood lined up at the end of the left street. I spotted dark silhouettes slipping between two of the busses. I narrowed my eyes and made a run for it in their direction. As I got closer I recognized the man in front, about to squeeze his way through the vehicles.

"Rick?...Rick…!" I increased my speed as Rick turned his head in my direction.

Immediately Rick lowered his arms and yelled something over his shoulder. When I reached him, I didn't stop running, but crashed right into him.

"Rick." I exhaled deeply. He quickly pushed me behind him, "Go, go!" He said as he had done in the same manner earlier on.

I made my way between the busses and pushed through the opening in the makeshift wall.

The moment I climbed out someone grabbed my arm and pulled me against them. Daryl. I started to tremble as his strong arms wrapped themselves around my body.

"Later, later. We have to go now!" Rick said stepping next to us, followed by a concerned look, "Can you run?"

I nodded, "all night if I have to."

::::::…::::::

I shouldn't have said that. By the time the sun rose I was exhausted. Even though we stopped running a while ago, simply walking tired me out.

"Nearly there." Daryl said to me.

"Good." I replied wearily.

"You okay, Toots? Should have stayed in my bedroom," Merle smirked slyly and glanced sideways at his brother. If only he knew the current state of his room.

"No thank you."

We traversed through the forest quietly. Everyone was tired and it would be dumb to alert any Walkers in the area with our voices. I hoped Andrea was alright back in Woodbury, I couldn't help but wonder if she would have come with me had I found her in the arena. Luckily I learned that Glenn also made it out safely. He and Maggie were rescued by the others. Unfortunately we'd lost Oscar during their rescue. I felt sad at the news. Oscar was a nice man, I never really knew him, but he was kind to me.

Suddenly Maggie increased her pace and waved her arms above her head. I spotted one of our cars on the road, along with Glenn and someone I'd never seen before. They both looked up in our direction.

"Rick, oh thank God!" Glenn exclaimed and he stepped of the asphalt to make his way to us.

"We have a problem here, now I need you to back up." Rick said to him immediately, but the Korean had already raised his gun and aimed it at the man next to me. Merle.

Daryl removed his arm from my waist and jumped in front of his brother. Glenn frantically shouted, "What the hell is he doing here?!"

"Put the gun down!" Daryl snapped back at him.

The dark skinned woman who had been waiting with Glenn by the car had her weapon raised as well. A sword?

"He tried to kill me!" Her eyes widened as she stared directly at Merle. Both she and Glenn had the same infuriated look on their face.

Rick and Daryl both stood in front of the eldest Dixon brother, Maggie held her gun aimed at the stranger's head. I had no clue what was going on. What exactly happened? I glanced over my shoulder at Merle who just stood there as if he had absolutely nothing to do with it.

"Look what he did to me." Glenn yelled as he pointed to his beat up face.

"You beat Glenn up?" I spun round to face Merle, "You told me they were alright."

"Now now, I said they ain't dead." The Dixon brother replied.

"You're so full of shit." I spat.

"Get that thing out of my face, "Daryl shouted from behind me. Glenn lowered his gun as Daryl now turned his attention on his brother.

"And you, hanging with that psycho back there?!

"Oh yeah," Merle chuckled, "He's a charmer, I gotta tell you that." He turned his body towards the sword wielding woman.

"Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea, baby." Merle licked his lips to emphasize the obvious meaning of his words. Now I understood Andrea's reaction when she found out I knew Philip from before the breakout.

"Andrea is in Woodbury?" Glenn asked.

"You know Andrea?" Rick asked the woman. She didn't reply. Her eyes remained focused on Merle.

Instead, Merle spoke up and told the entire story how Andrea and this woman were connected. It dawned to me that this must be the woman Andrea mentioned to me, Michonne.

I made my way over to Maggie as all four men started another rant at one another.

"You okay?"

"Tired…" I told her.

"Me too." She sighed with exhaustion.

The yelling faded as Rick knocked Merle out cold with a blow to the back of his head.

Finally everyone seemed to relax, now that Merle lay quietly on the forest dirt. Glenn walked away followed closely by Maggie.

"We need to discuss what to do with him." Rick said nodding at the man on the ground.

"Leave him!" Glenn yelled from afar.

"I need to sit down for a moment." I groaned.

We left Merle where he was and all stepped onto the road where Glenn and Maggie were already waiting. Rick ordered the woman to stand by the car as we discussed not only Merle, but also her fate.

"I'm glad to see you made it out alright." Glenn said to me the moment the five of us stood together in a circle.

"We didn't even know if you were alive…you were out cold and that man," She paused and shifted her eyes to Daryl, "Never mind. I'm just happy you're here."

"I'm glad to see the two of you as well." I smiled at Maggie.

"What other man?" Daryl furrowed his brow. I was afraid this would come up. If Daryl knew that the man who hurt me was the same man from months ago…Honestly, I wouldn't know how he'd react.

"Did he do that to you?" Daryl brushed my hair aside and nodded to the stitches, "your neck too?"

His voice turned hard and he pressed his lips in a tight line.

"Merle killed him." I said to him.

"Merle?" Daryl sounded surprised.

"Look I know we have a lot of catching up to do, but we need to focus on those two at the moment." Rick interfered.

"No we don't. They're not coming." Glenn said without second though. He glanced at each and every one of us, "Come on, you all agree with me right?"

I wasn't sure. I looked over at Daryl, who stared back at Glenn. Merle saved my life twice. I was convinced he hadn't done it for my benefit…but to get back to his brother. Glenn looked awful. The right side of his face all swollen, and especially the area around his eye. Why Merle had beaten the crap out of him, almost to the point of death was beyond me.

I turned my head and looked through the trees, where Merle was already back on his feet.

"Madison." Rick called my name. He wanted my opinion.

"We need them." I decided. The other couple stared at me as if I'd lost my mind. Even Rick seemed unsure.

"It won't work." He shook his head. The look on Daryl's face shifted.

"It's gotta." He replied.

"He'll stir things up." Rick continued. He was probably right on that point.

"And she won't?" Daryl motioned at Michonne in the distance.

Rick nodded, "She ain't coming back. She's too unpredictable."

"Andrea trusted her." I shrugged, "She saved her life…after Andrea had left the farm on her own." I looked at Rick as I said that.

"Not this again…" Rick groaned.

I raised my hands, "I'm just saying. She seems alright."

"If she's coming so is Merle. Merle, he's blood." Daryl stated firmly. Glenn wasn't having any of that. All he wanted was Merle out of his sight.

"I'm not having it. You can't put Merle in the same cellblock as us." He said with anger in his voice.

"You're part of our family. And he is not." Rick declared.

A pregnant pause fell. I noticed we were all looking at Daryl. Was Rick giving him the final say on this matter? Daryl's eyes shifted to me and lingered there for a moment before turning back to Rick.

"Fine, we'll fend for ourselves. We did it before, we can do it again."

My heart stopped. What?!

"Daryl, are you serious?" Maggie uttered.

"That's not what I meant." Glenn said at the same time.

All I could do was look at him. He kept his gaze on Rick and the others as his body slightly turned in their direction. Within seconds I was looking at the back of his head.

"It's always been Merle and I before this."

I grabbed a firm hold of his arm with both my hands. He finally moved and looked me in the eye, "What do you mean, we're leaving?" I stammered. Daryl licked his lips.

I knew who he meant. He was referring to him and Merle. The two of them, the Dixon brothers united once again. Not me…

"Mads,-"

"You're leaving me?" My voice broke as the last word crossed my lips.

From the corner of my eye I noticed Maggie pulling Glenn away. Rick nodded at Daryl and followed the others.

"If Merle can't stay, I won't stay." Daryl said. I wasn't surprised, but his word did hurt me. It pained me to hear him say those words, as if I meant nothing to him.

"What about me?"

Daryl shook his head, "You ain't coming. You're staying here."

I jerked my hands away from him, "Like hell I am!" I shouted angrily.

"You can't do that to me. After all that has happened…after all that we've been through." My body shook with fury as Daryl observed me quietly. He always did that.

"I thought you and me,- that you and me…us… I have NOTHING left at the prison."

"You do." He replied calmly.

I blinked and a tear rolled down my cheek, "Scuse me?"

"Sophia…" He said it so softly I thought I'd misheard him.

"What?"

"She ain't dead, Mads…I found her."

My mouth fell open and I stared at him with disbelief, "You found her?"

Daryl replied with a nod, "I found her. I promised you I would."

R&R :)

Sophia lives, Daryl is leaving...What will happen?