A/N: Heyy, happy Friday everyone! Got another chapter for you guys right here. picking up where we left off in Woodbury and where we met the governor, those 3 are going to see how life is like here and there will be some disagreements. I have an idea I'm going to try in this chapter where I have sections of third person Rick POV. Do you guys think you would like that in future chapters? Particularly when they're not in scene together, like now when Rick and the group are at the prison and when we get to season 4 in terminus? Let me know in the reviews if you think it works and you want more of it.
Thanks to everyone who reads and supports my story! Thanks to Jeaniegirl1999 who's just favourited and my lovely reviewers:
Ryane: Haha xD, your wish is my command, A new chapter coming up for you right here! I was going to write more for this chapter but I was so tired last night I just stopped it there.
JasminJW: I guess Merle was a character I loved to hate. Honestly every time he appears in a scene I just want Pol to shoot him xD.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Walking dead or any affiliated characters and storyline, only my OC and plotline.
- Angels and Douchebags
The man left the room as we got up and followed him wordlessly. He opened the doors to a big house as we stepped outside into the night. He turned around to face us, hands on his hips.
"Welcome to Woodbury," He smirked.
We looked around into the street as there were multiple buildings lined by fire burning, acting as lamp-posts. Andrea looked around in wonder as I was curious by how they managed to thrive. Michonne was hanging back with her arms crossed over scanning the area.
"Come with me." The man said walking down the stairs and into the garden to go into the street.
Michonne wrapped her hand around Andrea's arm helping her walk down the steps as I walked behind them with Merle close behind me.
"Impressed yet?" Merle said coming up beside me. I looked around in apprehension. I sure as hell didn't trust this guy, no matter who sort of community he's build. And Merle. Merle did whatever was right for Merle.
We walked down the quiet street and past the gate which was made out of wooden planks and countless number of tyres. It looked stable. Merle climbed the ladder to the top of the lookout on the gate as we followed the man to the front.
"Are you military?" Andrea asked the man who smiled.
"Hardly," he chuckled.
"Couple of feds but we're mainly self-trained." He explained. I stood next to Michonne behind Andrea.
"We should leave in the morning." I whispered. Once we had what we needed we should disappear from this place. She nodded her head in agreement.
"That's heavy artillery." I said as the man turned around to face me.
"Ah British, most of the weapons were scavenged and a few we had when the outbreak began." he said.
"Things got bad back in the UK?" He asked.
"I wouldn't know, I haven't been there in a while." I answered and he nodded.
"As far as we know, things are bad worldwide. Unless you know something we don't?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
"No, of course not." He chuckled.
"The other side of town and the streets, they're all guarded like this?" Andrea asked disbelievingly.
"Can't be," She scoffed when he nodded.
"They are." He said proudly.
"Got us a creeper governor," Merle said loading the crossbow over the gate.
"Governor?" I asked trying not to laugh.
"They actually call you that?" He looked unamused and focused on Merle standing on the gate.
"Some nicknames stick whether you want 'em to or not." He said. The man on the gate switched on a floodlight and focused it out onto the other side of the gate. Merle shot three arrows out into the darkness then turned back grinning.
"We'll move the bodies in the morning. It's the smell, makes people uneasy." The governor said.
"What people? This is a ghost town." Andrea stated looking at him.
He smirked and wordlessly turned around walking down a street. We came to a house as he lead us inside taking us to a room. He unlocked the door and switched on the light as the 3 of us stood in the doorway looking in the room with longing and shock. There was a large king sized bed on one side, with wardrobes, tables, carpet floor and another door presumably leading to the bathroom.
"This is-" Andrea began.
"Luxury," I sighed. I didn't care if I didn't trust him I just hadn't had a shower in so long or a bed to sleep on. The table was full of variety of snacks along with endless bottles of water and I could feel my mouth watering.
"We got food, water, fresh clothes. Hope this works." He said standing on one side. I pushed past Michonne slightly and walking into the room sitting on the bed. I laid back with my feet dangling off the edge and closed my eyes sighing.
"This will definitely work." I said in content. I sat up and saw the new clothes on the side. Feeling them they were soft to touch and smelled great. There was a sofa to one side with a blanket. Michonne walked in the room and went over to the sofa whilst Andrea sat on the bad next to me.
"I know you'd feel more secure with your sword." The governor said to Michonne.
"If you're giving us all this," I leaned on my knees.
"Why are you withholding our weapons from us?" I asked him.
"As I said before, I need to ensure my people's safety." He said.
"What about our safety?" I interjected raising my eyebrows at him.
"You don't know us, that's fair enough but we also don't know you. How do we know we can trust you?" Andrea tugged on my arm gently giving me a look to tell me to ease up.
"You don't." He chuckled.
"In a world like this you're gonna have to go on a little faith." He said crossing his arms over his chest.
"Tried that. Didn't work." I narrowed my eyes at him.
"You're safe here." He said looking at me and Michonne. She turned around from holding the blanket and shot him a look. The atmosphere around us was tense slightly until Andrea spoke.
"We appreciate it." Andrea said smiling slightly.
"What about the pilot, from the helicopter? Will they make it?" She asked.
"Dr Stevens is doing all she can. Now I know you got a lot of questions," The governor said standing in the doorway.
"But I got work to do. My man will be outside the doorway if you need anything else." He pointed to the man outside the other door standing with a gun.
"I'm sure he will," I muttered under my breath.
"Thank you," I said as he nodded.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
He left the room and walked out of the hallway. Michonne slammed the door shut giving us both a look.
"What?" I asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"You said yourself, we're only staying the night. So we may as well enjoy it. Dibs on the shower!" I said running towards the bathroom.
Rick's POV
Rick slid down against the concrete wall tucking his knees towards his chest. He looked up to the ceiling of the prison and sighed. Rubbing his hands in his face he brought them down, blue eyes studying them. They were covered in dirt and grime along with blood. It had been a good 9 months since he had taken a shower so only God knew how much odour he was giving off.
The prison would act as a good fortification for them, if they defended it well. He had faith in his group, they turned from people who were scared out searching for a girl, to an effective team that defended and protected each other. But it was a bit distant and cold between Rick and some of the other members of the group, since he had asserted his authority. They had already lost so many members of their group. Hershel had lost Patricia and Jimmy back at the farm. Amy. Jacqui. Jim. Dale. Shane.
He was proud of Carl. He picked up the skills to survive quickly with the group and protected them well. Lori was 9 months pregnant with a baby. A baby that might not even be his, but regardless he would love that son/daughter like they're were his own. He missed his wife, he missed talking to her, laying with her, spending time with her. But he knew something changed between them. They were no longer close and he couldn't help but feel like that was his fault.
It had been a long day of clearing out the Walkers from the prison and discovering this group of survivor inmates. Hershel had lost his leg, another sacrifice from someone in his group. Rick looked around the dirty prison which was not appealing in the slightest. But it was safe. His family could be safe here for a while. Even if not all of them made it. Like Polaris.
Pol. He felt something inside his chest when he thought of her and it had been a while since that. Where was she? Was she even alive? And even if she was, did she know he was alive? Did she still think of him? Rick had faith that Polaris was definitely alive. But after being on the road for so long he was starting to doubt that. She promised she would come back. Rick clenched his fists. But she didn't. Maybe she left again. Maybe she died. Or maybe she found happiness with someone else.
"Rick," He looked up to the perch where Daryl was standing at the top of the stairs.
"Ya alright?" Daryl asked holding his crossbow.
"Yeah," He said brushing the dust off and standing up. He couldn't waste any more time thinking of her.
"I am."
End of Rick's POV
Me and Andrea took the bed last night with Michonne sleeping on the sofa. That was the best night's sleep I had in over 9 months. We woke up the next morning, got changed into new clothes, letting me finally get out of the dirty jeans. There was a plain black t shirt with black trousers.
I smiled. No jeans. Yes! After changing we ate some of the fruit and food we had left on the table. Last night I swore the water turned black by the time I scrubbed all the dirt of me but I was feeling fresh this morning. I looked in the mirror and saw I no longer had the chubbiness in my face. My hair was to my shoulders and my arms were more muscular. We were escorted by a woman out of the house and lead down the street which was buzzing with activity.
"You guys were out there a long time huh?" The woman looked back to us and smiled. She was wearing a summer dress with boots and had short black hair with a clipboard in one hand.
"How many people do you have here?" I asked her.
"73," She replied waving to people that passed. In the middle of the road looked like a farmer's market as everyone helped pull their weight. This looked like a proper community.
"But Ellie's about to pop, that'll make it 74. Still a work of progress, but Rome wasn't built in a day." The woman smiled.
I walked next to Michonne as we apprehensively looked towards the gate. These people had absolutely no idea what was just beyond those walls, lying in wait for them. Were they even aware of the gravity of the situation?
"Walls haven't been breached for over a month, we haven't suffered casualties since early winter." The woman said proudly.
"How is that possible?" Andrea asked. We looked over to the other side of the road to see rows of cardboard boxes with various plants and vegetables being grown inside them and people trading with each other.
"Our governor has a strict curfew. No one out after dark." The woman said leading us up the hilled road.
"Armed guards on the fence and guys patrolling the perimeter to keep the biters away." She explained.
"Saw what your patrols did the other night." I piped up from behind them.
"They had a dead one strung up like an ornament." I scoffed.
"I won't make excuses, those men put their lives on the line every day for this town. They've lost more than a few friends out there, everyone copes in their own way." She said to us.
"Everyone has lost someone." I said frustrated.
"When you're out there it can be lonely, sad, frustrating and not knowing whether you'll make it day to day. This town you're living in, is a fairy tale." I stormed away from Michonne, Andrea and the woman feeling angry. I rounded a corner and stomped away trying to find the governor.
"Hey!" I turned around and saw Michonne jogging to catch up to me. I stopped walking and waited for her.
"I know you're angry. And I know why." She stated.
"We were just staying the night. We'll be gone." Michonne said looking around.
"It's morning now, Andrea's feeling a lot better. We should go now while we can. I don't trust this governor guy okay, no matter how much of a community he's built. This is fantasy not reality." I said firmly.
"I know. And I get that. But we gotta keep it together, make sure Andrea's fully recovered and then get on the road. But we have to consider the fact this might be where Andrea wants to stay." Michonne said.
We started walking back where we met Andrea along the way.
"Hey, where'd you go?" Andrea asked.
"For a walk." I said stiffly.
"The governor's invited us for lunch." She said brightly as Michonne stayed silent.
"Oh great." I said sarcastically.
"Pol, he took us into his community, gave us a place to stay, food, clothes and security. We should at least be grateful." Andrea rolled her eyes walking off.
"And I am." I called out from behind her.
"But you've got to realise we're not staying." I said crossing my arms.
"Says who?" Andrea said.
"Andrea," I began looking at her disbelievingly.
"The minute you're better, we leave. We can't trust them." I said.
"Michonne back me up." I said looking to her as she raised her eyebrows.
"I agree with both of you. I'm not staying we have to stay forever but maybe just another day or the next few hours at least. Can you both handle that?" She asked looking between us.
"Fine but I don't trust him." I said decisively.
"What's the matter with you? He opened his home to us." Andrea said getting annoyed.
"I can't believe you're defending him." I scoffed at her.
"You shot my sister when you first got to camp but I still trust you." Andrea said. My mouth hung open slightly and I felt hurt by her comment.
"Pol wait!" She called out.
"I'll see you at lunch!" I said angrily.
Me, Andrea, Michonne and another man were sitting at a table which had place settings and glasses as the governor was making food over the fire. The air was awkward between me and Andrea as we sat next to each other at the table. The other man could feel the tension as he did not make a single comment. It really hurt what she said, I thought we had gotten past it but she brought it up again. I felt insane guilt in the pit of my stomach and actually found myself wanting to talk to Daryl. I wonder if he was still the same person. Daryl was a great listener, partially because he didn't actually talk much, but sometimes the front would crack and you'd get an insight into the real Daryl.
It was up to the Governor to break the tension in the room.
"So, 8 months, just the three of you?" He asked bringing over a pan he was stirring food in.
"Hard to believe you ladies lasted so long out there," The Governor smirked.
"Why because we're women?" Andrea challenged him.
"Must be for a man like you," I said twirling the butter knife in my fingers making a point to him.
"What does that mean?" He said putting food into my plate.
"Thank you. It means, you're used to being the alpha male, not having your authority questioned, having everything run smoothly. To put it short: you've got your shit." I stated as he smiled.
"And us answering back to you or demanding we have our weapons back and leave, well I bet that doesn't sit right with you." I smiled sweetly at him. I felt a leg nudge mine harshly and looked over to Andrea who was giving me a look.
I shot her a glare and ignored her, the Governor took no notice and laughed good naturedly.
"I meant because you were alone." He said.
"We had each other." I shrugged and began eating the food on my plate.
"Three of you against the world. Crazy odds." The Governor said as he served everyone food.
"We managed." Andrea smiled at him.
"Oh I'm impressed." he replied.
"Survival on the ground is tough shit. Waking up everyday wondering if today's the day. Will it be quick and final? Or slow and painful?" He commented putting the pan into the sink on the other side of the kitchen.
I looked at Michonne who's attention was directed to the shelf. I nudged her foot and she looked at me then back at the shelf. Her sword was up there, as was Andrea's gun. My knife was there. I could see my colt with the engraved P, hung behind objects as if it was a mantelpiece. As if it wasn't going anywhere.
"Do you think they remember anything? The person they once were?" The man wearing the glasses opposite us asked.
"I don't think about it." Andrea shrugged putting food in her mouth.
"Milton believes there might be a trace of the person they were, somewhere inside." The Governor spoke to Andrea.
"You believe that?" I interjected. Milton poured tea into our cups as I took a long sip, savouring the taste. I had been a good year or two since I last had this. It tasted good.
"Surely it must've crossed your mind?" Milton asked.
"Maybe once, until they tried to bite me." I chuckled.
We finished lunch in relative silence with Andrea sneaking glances at the governor every so often. I looked at Michonne who uncomfortably ate her food, I know she feels the same. Are we safe? My gut was telling me no, and past experiences always told me that I should listen to it. We finished up our food as the Governor answered a knock on the door.
"Sorry, I have to cut lunch short, something's come up." He said continuing the domestic attitude.
"We want our weapons." Michonne stood up assertively. I stood by her side, she was feeling just as uneasy as I was.
"Well you can make these meals to go and your weapons will be waiting for you outside. But you should take time to relax, get your strength back. Hell, even look around. Who knows, you might like what you say." He said his gaze fixed on Andrea.
We shut the door behind the building and walked down the street close together.
"I'm gonna say it again. I don't trust him." I said walking by Michonne with Andrea in front.
"I agree." She said looking at one of the Governor's men who was eyeing us curiously.
"Why? Look just give it a day or two, that's all I'm askin'." Andrea said turning around shaking her head at us.
"He's not planning to give our weapons back anytime soon." Michonne said sourly.
"7/8 months with you Michonne and I feel like we hardly know you." Andrea said as she stopped walking.
"You know enough." Michonne said startled.
"Some things that happen, remain in the past. And you can't change them no matter what." I directed the statement at Andrea.
"Have you ever trusted anybody?" Andrea turned around to face us ignoring my last comment.
"One too many times." I replied.
"Yeah," Michonne said.
"We have time to get our shit together," She said shrugging feeling far too relaxed in the community.
"Our shit never stopped being together, get your head out of your ass and look around." I snapped.
"Pol," Michonne put her hand on my arm but I shrugged her off.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" Andrea asked putting her hands on her hips.
"Look Andrea. I want you to look." I said walking back to the house we stayed in.
I ignored the guards trying to stop me and went back to the room we were staying in. I took one of the blankets and folded it along with spare clothes which were in the cupboard, extra water bottles, and the food that was on the table. Now I just needed to get my weapons. I kept the backpack hidden under the bed and walked back out smiling at the guard.
"Just needed to freshen up." I grinned at him as he nodded and walked out of the building. Keeping low along the street, I checked to see the building the Governor was in and went inside. There were 2 armed guards in front of the door where we ate lunch with him.
"Hi, I had lunch in here today with the Governor and I dropped my necklace, do you think I could get in here and find it?" I asked the guards innocently who looked to each other.
"Sorry ma'am, we can't let you in there. You'll have to wait for him to come back." One of the men said.
"Oh, it's just. Well I left my necklace in there, this necklace was the last thing left I have of my mother since the outbreak." I made my eyes downcast and looked up seeing them whisper to each other.
"Please," I said coming up to the man and batting my eyelids. Man this is not going to work.
"Alright," He sighed opening the door.
"But you'll have to be quick." I wrapped my arms around the guard and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek where they turned a rosy pink colour. One of the guards followed me into the room and stood at the doorway as I found my gun and knife. I couldn't take it when he was watching me.
"Oh do you mind helping, I think I dropped it near the sink." I suggested as he turned his back to me to look. I quickly took the knife and gun off the shelf and tucked them into my trousers hoping I wouldn't get stabbed and shot in the process. I stared at Michonne's katana and realised there was no way I would be able to sneak that out of the building without getting caught. I quickly turned around and bent over the table trying to find it.
"Any luck?" The guard shook his head and turned around.
"I really can't have you in here for long," he said uneasily.
"No worries I'll come back later!" I said brightly leaving the building.
Finding my way back towards the house we slept in, I passed by the woman who showed us around with the clipboard.
"Hey! Anna right?" I asked tugging her arm as she pursed her lips.
"I'm sorry, about getting angry earlier I was just tense." I chuckled and looked at her until she broke out smiling.
"Oh no worries! What can I do for you?" She asked.
"I was wondering if you had a map, of the surrounding area?" I asked.
"I think so, what do you want that for?" She said curiously.
"Oh well I want to see how far I travelled since my last place, it give me comfort keeping track of it." I lied smiling at her. She took out a piece of paper from her clipboard and handed it to me.
"Thank you! Where can I find you to give it back to you?" I asked her keeping up the pretence.
"I'll be over by the vegetables over here." She smiled waving. I tucked the map inside my jacket pocket and walked faster to the house keeping a calm and level head. I don't know where Andrea and Michonne were but I wanted to say goodbye to them before I left. It was sad that they weren't willing to leave just yet, we had been together for long, surviving and defending each other.
I sat on the bed with the map and looked within a 50 mile radius of Woodbury to see any major fortifications. There was a factory about 25 miles away from the town, but it seemed to be surrounded by swamp or a marsh type of area. Within the radius there was no major development or building. There were towns but those were likely to be ghost towns. Just outside the radius I drew, about 60 miles away was a prison. Huh.
It was some distance from where Atlanta was marked but it was possible Rick and the group would go there if they were smart. A prison would have strong defences, well protected, food, supplies, weapons maybe even cars. But it could also be completely overrun. And even if they weren't there, I could stay there and keep looking for them, they had to be alive. They just had to be.
I waited for a while for either Michonne or Andrea to come back but they didn't. I could not wait any longer without arousing suspicion. I looked outside the window of the house and saw we were on a bottom floor. Thank god. I opened the window quietly and poked my head outside looking for any of the guards. Dumping my pack out on the grass I climbed out holding it behind my back. Now how was I going to make it out.
I walked behind the houses and stayed in the alleyways of the town hoping to look for a pothole. There was no way of sneaking out of the front gate, they were too well guarded. I found a manhole cover along one alleyway which also had large dumpster bins. It was near the edge of the town boundary, if I followed it, the likely chance was I'd manage to get out.
I'm coming. I'm coming Rick.
A/N: Yess She's off to get her man! Thanks for reading! What did you guys think? did Rick's POV work? or nah? Will hopefully post the next chapter tomorrow