This chapter is a long one. Our group has their first encounter with the governor. I do not own the walking dead or its characters.
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Daryl had been Carols shadow for two days now. He even waited outside the bathroom when she had to pee, or when she took showers. It didn't matter that during shower time there were at least two women in there. He didn't know why, but he felt something bad was going to happen. He also took Sophia wherever he went, even if she protested.
Towards the end of the second day, Carol was beginning to feel crowded. She wasn't sure why he felt he needed t be near her every minute, but if he didn't give her some space, she was gonna go off on him. Finally it happened. Carol, Sophia and Andrea were in the kitchen, loading up the serving platters for dinner. Daryl was walking only steps behind Carol and Sophia as they hurried along gathering up bowls and plates and silverware. Carol kept stealing exasperated looks with Sophia, her mother smiling gently. Carol was worried though. She knew that when Ed had been home on the weekend, he had followed her around the house as she did chores, laundry, cooked. He berated her the entire time, slapping at her and kicking her for anything he didn't like along the way. He had done the same thing to Sophia, but just with words. As she cleaned up her room, he had taken all the clothes out of her drawers, thrown them around the room and told her to do it all again. She could see the way Sophia's eyes kept darting to Daryl, almost as if she was just waiting, waiting for him to explode, grab her, hit her.
Carol was paying too much attention to Sophia as she went through the doorway to the dining area. She hit her elbow on the door frame and the tray she was carrying began to tip. Daryl reached out ad gripped her arm to steady her. At the precise moment that Daryl's hand touched Carol, Sophia dropped the bowl filled with mashed potatoes and launched herself at Daryl.
One second Daryl was reaching forward tying to steady Carol and keep her from falling. The next minute, something, or someone had latched onto his back, taking a chunk out of his bicep. Daryl swore as he looked behind him, seeing only Sophia's blond hair. HE calmed himself, not wanting to hurt her, but she continued to claw at him, bite at him. He just stood there and took it.
Sophia wasnt really sure how it happened. One minute she was walking with her mom and Daryl, the next minute she saw a mans arm shoot out and grip her mothers own arm hard. It didn't even register in her brain at that moment that it was Daryl. The only thing that went through her brain was NOT AGAIN! Then she was leaping through the air a growl escaping from her tiny mouth. She felt herself land against something hard then she used her nails and teeth. Anything to get the monster away from her mother. She heard the monster swear and thrash, then he went still. She continued her assault, she barely registered her mother crying and screaming and then she felt two strong arms grab her from behind. She heard the soft voice of Uncle Merle whispering in her ear as he grabbed her in a hug and walked her backwards.
Merle had been looking for Daryl, little fucker had taken his good knife to go huntin this mornin and aint gave it back yet. He walked towards the kitchen and saw Carol, Sophia and Andrea with bowls and plates piled high with food. At least Daryl had killed somethin good usin his damn knife.
In a split second, everything went to hell. He saw Carol stumble, Daryl reach out to her, grabbing her arm. Then he saw Sophia, eyes bulging and glazed over, drop her bowl on the floor and launch herself on Daryl's back, clawing and biting. After his initial surprise Daryl had realized who it was and had stopped trying to throw Sophia from his back. Carol was screaming, crying, trying to talk Sophia out of it.
Merle went up behind the girl and grabbed her around the shoulders and waist, whispering in her ear.
"Calm down sweetie, aint nothin wrong. Yer mommas fine. Come on baby girl, come on back ta me. Let it go now sweetie."
He pried her off of Daryl and walked backwards until he hit the wall and slid down to a seated position with her still locked in his arms. She wasn't struggling, she was just crying. He kept whispering in her ear and Daryl stood there, too shocked to do anything. Carol ran over to Daryl, inspecting the bite marks and scratches he had on his arms and face.
Carol knelt down to Sophia, stroking her hair gently. "Sweetie, it was just Daryl. He would never hurt me. Oh baby, I'm so sorry Ed did this to us."
Sohpia picked her head up through her teary bloodshot eyes and looked at her mother, who was crying, looking from Sophia to Daryl. Realization hit Sophia suddenly and she let out a keening wail, as Merle began rocking her in his arms, still whispering in her ear.
Sophia raised her head to look at her mother, who was trying to get Sophia to look at her. She looked behind her mother at Daryl, at the red marks on his face from her nails, the chunk of flesh taken out of his arm.
"Oh god, what did I do?"she thought.
She struggled against Merle, who reluctantly let her go. She raced out of the kitchen, not bothering to look at anyone. Carol started after her, but Daryl's hand on her arm stopped her.
"Na, let me go." he nodded to Merle, who understood that he was supposed to look after Carol and he followed Sophia.
Carol collapsed to her knees, crying, trying to catch her breath. "Oh God Merle! The life I subjected her to. I thought she would be fine as long as he didn't touch her. Now she attacks Daryl just because he grabbed my arm. What am I going to do?"
Merle sat there, his back against the wall, shaking his head. "Ya gotta give the girl time. This is the first stretch she's had without Ed lurkin, aint it?"
Carol nodded.
Merle rubbed his hands over his face, wrestling with Sophia sure as hell killed his mood. "Don't worry about it too much. Ya just gotta be patient with her. I went through the same thing with Daryl."
Carol looked over at him, eyes wide. She moved to scootch over next to him, enjoying the feel of the cool concrete of the wall on her back. "You did?"
Merle chuckled. "Yeah, a few times. Before our Ma died, our Pa would go out huntin and shit. Be gone for days, sometimes even weeks at a time. We would be like a real family then. Ma would cook huge dinners, get out the fancy plates she saved from her Ma. She loved watchin them fancy cookin shows on the tv. Tell ya what, best meals we ahdin our lives."
Merle chuckled. "She hid those plates under loose boards in Daryl's room just so our asshole father wouldn't pawn em. The only nice thing she ever had."
Merles voice hitched and Carol placed her hands over his. "So, usually about once a month we would have a few good days, maybe even a week. One time, he was gone and a repairman came ta fix the sink. Ma offered him coffee, bein hospitable and all. Well, seems she burned herself pourin the coffee. Repairman came over grabbed her wrist to run it under the cold water. I aint ever seen Daryl with that look in his eyes, until Ed that is. He went crazy, jumped on the man, knocked him down, just kept punchin and punchin til I pulled him off. See, he knew there was nothin he could do when it was Pa, but he thought he could then. He told me after, all he saw was our pa's face, didn't register until he calmed down a bit that it was the repair guy and he didn't mean to hurt him. Ya gotta be patient"
Carol nodded. "Daryl's gonna act different towards her now, isn't he?"
"Daryl? Fuck no. He's probably as proud of her as anythin else. She stood up for her momma. Was tryin to protect ya. He'll be fine. Don't go worryin about him. He aint gonna give up on that little one. No matter how hard she bites." He laughed. "Damn, did ya see how high she flew? Looked like somethin out of a damn horror movie."
Carol laughed and rested her head on Merles shoulder. "Merle, you're going to be a great father."
"I don't know about that sugar, but I'm sure gonna try my damndest. Lets get up and help get dinner on the table. That girl a mine aint none too happy when she's hungry."
He found Sophia outside, sprawled on the lawn near the fence, Axel was sitting near her, just in case.
"Hey now can't be takin a nap this close to the fences, little girl."
"T's watching me," she said, not lifting her head. He looked up at the watchtower where T-Dog was studying them. He gave T-Dog a nod and he resumed his watch.
"Leave me alone Daryl."
Axel looked at Daryl warily wondering if he should intervene or not. He stretched out his legs in front of him to create a barrier between Daryl and Sophia. Daryl thought about yelling at the man, but he was only tryin to protect the girl. He could deal with that.
"Sophia now, I aint mad at ya, but we gotta talk about this shit. Could ya tell yer guard dog ta back off?"
Sophia looked at Axe. "Thanks Axel, I'll be ok."
"Ok, Miss Sophia, but I aint goin far. Just holler if ya need anythin."
Axel walked away, but only about 100 feet.
Daryl snickered. "Got yer own bodyguard now huh?"
As he sat down, Sophia started and backed away from him just a bit. Axel saw and closed the distance by about half. Daryl rolled his eyes. "Sophia, baby, I aint mad at ya. I aint never gonna hurt you or yer momma. Dont ya understand that?"
Sophia looked at the ground and nodded. "I do, but Ed said he was sorry so many times. I just don't want to get fooled again."
"I aint gonna try ta fool ya. I love ya, love yer ma."
"Daryl, I'm sorry I hurt you."
He smirked, "Hurt me? Nah. Just a few scratches and a little bite."
He opened his torn shirt to look at the wound. "Ok, a big bite. But I know you were just tryin to protect yer ma. Now, if ya did somethin like this just cause you were mad at me or somethin, we would have a problem, got it?"
Axel looked over at his tone and closed the gap in half again. "Geez little girl, ya got Axel fallin over his feet tryin to protect ya. He an ok guy?"
"Yeah, he's good. Its not like he likes me in a bad way. He talks to me about his little girl. He has some pictures too. He's never been uh, not appropriate or whatever with me. He tells me what to look out for with all that. Says he was locked up with a lot of them. He wouldn't hurt me."
"Well, I think I trust him. But if he does hurt ya, what ya gonna do?" He was talking loud now, making sure Axel heard him and understood.
Sophia beamed at him. "Stick a knife in his eye, right Daddy?" Axel actually laughed out loud. Well, thats a good sign, Daryl thought.
After he hadn't answered her for a few seconds she chanced to look up at him.
"That's right baby girl. But if ya can come to one of us first, that would be good. Don't want ya gettin blood in that pretty hair of yours."
"So, is it ok, if I um, call you that?"
"Music to my ears darlin. Alright, let's head inside find yer ma."
They walked towards the prison doors, followed closely by Oscar and Axel. Rick came out, leading Milton the scientist guy out into the yard. He looked really banged up and still was walking with a limp. But the minute he took a big gulp or fresh air, some of the color returned to his face.
Sophia and Daryl walked up to the pair, Sophia stopping to address them. "Mr. Milton, I'm glad you're feeling a bit better.
Milton just nodded. He turned and whispered something to Rick. Rick shrugged and laughed.
"Mr. Milton, most of us don't really tell Daryl what to do. Milton here says we should keep our children and women indoors."
Daryl huffed. "If the fresh air makes my girl feel better, shes gonna come out here, dammit."
Milton looked a little nervous as he answered. "Oh No, I'm sorry, you misunderstand me. I'm not one of those children should be seen and not heard people. I just think it would be beneficial for their safety. Some men have a, shall we say, preference for all women and female children."
Daryl moved towards Milton who put his hands up in front of him.
"No, not me, please, I assure you."
Daryl stopped.
"Maybe it would be best if you sent your, um-"
"Daughter." Daryl finished for him.
"Yes, daughter. Maybe you should take her inside before we speak further."
Daryl looked down at Sophia who shook her head. "No, anythin ya need ta say, she can hear it."
Milton looked uncomfortable but continued. "I grew up in Woodbury, with the governor, actually his real name is Phillip. He took over the town just after the outbreak. Everything was great for a while. But, he has some issues. He always liked women, his wife Marguerite even left him over his philandering. He had a daughter Penny and he doted on her. After a while he began pillaging nearby towns, survivor camps. He began bringing people back, mostly women and children. He always said that the men were already dead, gone. But I knew that was a lie. Anyway, I had a research assistant, Michelle who I started a relationship with. She was funny, smart, beautiful. The only woman I have ever loved. One night she came to me, worried. The governor wanted her to report to his quarters the next night. We both knew what this meant." Milton looked at Daryl, then Sophia. He leaned down to get on Sophias level, even though his ribs protested.
"Sophia can you do me a huge favor and put your earmuffs on for just a minute or two?" Sophia sighed, rolled her eyes and put her hands over her ears. Daryl just looked at the man like he had lost his damn mind.
"Earmuffs?"
"Yeah, there is a lot that goes on at Woodbury that I didn't want to talk about with the children around there. They all undertood earmuffs."
Milton continued. "The governor never left the pretty ones alonefor long, even the girls. We made plans to run away the next morning. That was about two weeks after I had released Lori. Someone found out what I did, what I was going to do. The next morning my door bell rang and on my front step was a box, wrapped in valentines day paper, with hearts all over it. I thought it was from Michelle. I opened it and inside were Michelles head and a sonogram picture of our unborn child. They had taken it before they killed her. She had only told me a few days before that she was expecting. He has had an eye on your group since Shane and Lori found us. His men have alrady picked out their favorites, and I ca tell you that all the women are spoken for." He looked at Daryl, grimacing a bit. "Even Sophia. So please, don't take my warnings lightly. He won't stop. He will come for us."
Daryl looked over at Sophia blissfully unaware with her hands over her ears. "Alright, let's get inside then."
As they turned to go a shot rang out through the yard. Milton grabbed his shoulder that had been torn into by a bullet. Axel, Oscar and Rick drew their weapons, firing in the direction the shot had come from. Daryl pushed Sophia through the door, telling her to get down. Oscar lurched and fell, a neat little bullet hole appearing in his forehead. Axel grabbed his friend by the jumpsuit trying to pull him out of harms way. Daryl swore and went to Axel, dragging the other side of Oscar inside while Rick grabbed Milton, dragging him in. Merle and Glenn were now outside firing in the direction of the gunfire, T-Dog shooting from the tower.
After Glenn and Merle had given the all clear, Oscar was dead. He had been killed instantly and Axel grabbed a blanket to cover his friend. Carol and Herschel were working frantically on Milton who had lost blood that he couldn't afford to lose right now.
Daryl and Rick slowly walked out into the yard, crossbow and gun raised, looking for the gunman. After searching, they were relieved that no one had gotten in the fences. Rick looked toward the front gate, seeing a piece of paper hanging there. Rick snatched it off the fence, reading it out loud.
Dear gentleman,
I have been waiting to make your acquaintance for some time now. I understand some of my men have had the honor of dying at your hands. You have proven yourselves to be good soldiers. I extend an invitation to your group to come join us at Woodbury. If we can let bygones be bygones, I believe it would be mutually beneficial to both our groups. Plus, I believe you owe it to me. You took some of my best men from me and also one of my most fertile women. If you refuse, I can tell you that we will take your prison, and we will tear every woman and child from their beds by their hair if we have to. It would be much easier if you brought them to us. You see, the future of this world is women and children fellas, you know what I mean. Every woman at your prison is spoken for by my men. Me personally, I am partial to the silver haired woman, she will make a wonderful mother for my future children. Someone has also spoken for the female child. I have no doubt you wont like that one bit, but I assure you, you will adjust. I will be seeing you gentleman soon. -Your Governor.
Rick crumpled the note in his hands as Daryl stormed off toward the gate.
"Daryl wait, no."
"He aint takin my wife Rick, my girl. I aint gonna let him."
"Daryl we need a plan, you can't go out there by yourself. He has plans for everyone, Andrea, Beth, Maggie too. We need to protect all of them. Come on inside. We need to talk to the people from Woodbury we got here, see if there's a way in."
"Way in? We goin after him?"
"Well I sure as shit aint gonna let him come after us or ours brother. So yeah, The fights going to Woodbury."
