That night as Rick, Michonne, and Carl returned, a woman from Woodbury approached the prison with a long white rag. She waved it over her head as what I assumed was a gesture of peace. From up in the guard towers, Glenn and Carol kept guns pointed at the tree line, keeping an eye out for the Governor or any of his soldiers. I stood with Rick and Daryl at the fence, keeping my gun trained on the woman. Rick spoke to her through the fence with Daryl at his shoulder.
Her name was Karen; I remembered her from my time at Woodbury. She eyed me down with what looked like mistrust. I met her gaze evenly and kept my shotgun aimed at her head.
"What does he want?" Rick asked her the second he was in front of her. He decided to keep the fence between us and her.
"The Governor is calling for a peaceful meeting tomorrow morning." Karen said. Daryl scoffed, glaring at Karen. She blinked at him before turning back to Rick. "He doesn't want war. He wants to be able to sit down and talk to you peacefully."
Rick glanced at Daryl, then at me before turning back to Karen. "I don't trust the Governor enough to willingly walk into what could be a death trap. You can go back and tell him that."
"Wait-he told me that you could bring a guard with you. Whoever you would feel safest with." Karen said quickly, before Rick could turn away and leave. Rick raised an eyebrow at her. Karen cleared her throat. "The Governor wouldn't go alone either. So you can bring as many people as you want to come with you, as long as they don't start fighting."
I exchanged a glance with Daryl. He looked like he didn't like the sound of this meeting. I could practically see the wheels turning in Rick's head. Karen apparently could too, because she said, "The meeting will be at the old grain mill tomorrow at noon. Show up if you want your group to survive." With that said, she turned on her heel and walked back towards the woods.
Rick looked at me. "Is she a soldier?"
I shook my head. "She's a civilian there. He must've sent her because she doesn't look as threatening as one of his main men." Rick nodded to himself and started up the hill back to the prison. Daryl and I fell on either side of him.
"You're not actually plannin' on meetin' him, are you?" Daryl asked.
"If we don't, he'll wipe us out." Rick replied.
"But if you do, he could kill those who go right there. And then come here for the rest." I pointed out. "I'm not saying we should ignore him, but we can't go there empty handed either."
Rick had a thoughtful look on his face, as if he was truly thinking about what Daryl and I were saying. "I'll ask Hershel. He might have a better idea for what to do." I nodded in agreement and Daryl snorted.
The entire group approached us as we entered the courtyard. Glenn and Carol were staying up in the guard towers. I saw Merle standing at the edge of the crowd, still in that awkward position of not knowing if he belonged or not. Michonne was in a similar position on the other side of Merle, but I noticed that Carl was standing close to her.
"What did she want?" Beth asked, Judith asleep in her arms. Rick explained the meeting as gently as he could, but the response was as expected. Nobody wanted him to go and risk his life.
"What'll happen to us if you die while at this meeting and we never find out until it's too late?" Maggie asked, looking angry.
Carl took a step towards his dad. "I don't want you to go." I had to admire that boy's direct manner in addressing his father. He wasn't the kid I had met in Atlanta anymore. This Carl was hardened by the apocalypse, and he knew how to kill Walkers. For a brief moment, I wondered how Lori would react to her son, but then I realized that both she and Carl had that direct way of speaking, neither of them beating around the bush. Carl was just like his mom in that way.
Rick blinked at his son and sighed. "Terry made the point that if we ignore him, we would get attacked without a doubt. If I went to this meeting, then we could get a chance to stop a war before it starts. I'm going, and I'm bringing Hershel, Daryl, and Terry. That way if something goes wrong, there will still be plenty of strong fighters left here to defend the prison."
There was a mixture of fear and anger of everyone's faces. I couldn't blame them; I was having the same feelings. I wondered how many people the Governor was planning on bringing. Rick was only taking the bare minimum he could take.
The group separated and went back to their daily chores. Carl gave his father one last glare before stalking after Beth and Judith. Rick watched him go and sighed again. Merle and Daryl stood together and spoke to each other in low voices. I poked Rick's arm. He glanced down at me with a look that said that he was waiting for me to criticize his decision.
"I'm gonna patrol the perimeter." I said. "Make sure that there isn't any Governor's men out there."
"Be careful, Terry," Rick said. I turned around to leave when he said, "D'you think I'm making the right choice?"
I looked back at Rick and took him in. Although it could only have been less than a year ago, he was already extremely different from the man who found me on the side of the road heading for Atlanta. He seemed older, wiser even. I gave him a small smile and shrugged.
"Under the circumstances, Rick, I think you're doing a hell of a job." I said before heading to the fence.