Woodbury in the morning was very different from Woodbury at night. Merle comes back in the morning with food for all of them.
"Good morning ya little shit!" According to Tara's watch, Merle comes into the infirmary at 8, pushing a cart with a small serving for each of them. He waited until they all started eating and the guards left before talking with them.
"So, Lizzy's your sister?" He asks Tara. The Alpha nods. "Did you know about this place before?"
"No." Tara shakes her head. "I went to find my family because I knew my dad wasn't able to travel. But they weren't at our house or any of our family's. I stopped looking a few months after that. I haven't seen her since Before."
"I thank you." Merle hums, "For not telling him about me. If he found out-"
"He'd have killed you and used Michonne and Andrea to find the rest of your Pack." Tara finishes for him. "You guys have pups. I understand your need to make sure, 100%, that we're trustworthy, and my sister being the Luna here puts me as a liability. I get it. But me and my sister weren't close; really it was Megan and our dad that kept us in contact for years. Now that they're gone…."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you."
"The Governor wants to meet you, and he'll tried to feed you more food." Merle says, "But that's not until later and he wants me to give you guys the tour."
"Why you?" Michonne asks.
"I told him I knew Andrea from the Quarry." Merle rubs his eyes, "He wants me to find out if you guys have a group or not. They found the helicopter guy's group and killed them earlier at first light. Brought the stuff back and had the guy killed. He wants to know if he can get anything out of you. If anyone here asks…..."
"We have the clothes on our backs." Sasha nods.
"Come on." Merle pats his knee. "Let's get this show on the road."
…
"How many people do you have here?" Andrea asks.
"73." Merle nods at one of the women who are pregnant. "Eileen's almost due so her pup will make 74."
"Is it safe?" Bob asks.
"Wall's haven't been breached by Walker's in over a month." They took note of the word Walkers. People though… "And we haven't suffered a casualty on the inside since early winter."
"How's that possible?" Tyreese huffs.
"Our Governor set a strict curfew. No one out past dark unless they're on the wall." Another hint. "Noise and lights are kept to a minimum. Keeps out the Walkers."
They stay together, and once the other Woodbury citizens are far enough away, Merle turns to the group. "Alphas are on the back and front walls only, Betas on the sides that lead to the forest. That will be your best bet of getting out if they won't let you go out of the front."
"Why wouldn't they let us out the front?" Michonne asks.
"Because they need more Alphas." Merle says, "They don't want Betas on the walls at all, but they don't have enough Alphas willing to do the job, they all want to go outside and scavenge. Four of you are Alphas, plus a Beta and an Omega. Sasha will never be allowed out the front gate, she'll have to go over the walls. Andrea can walk whenever; they like to send Betas as scavengers because as far as the Governor is concerned, we're expendable. The Alphas though, they'll give chase; either kill you or run you through the dirt and make you come back just to get them to leave you alone, but then you owe them."
"How will we get out then?" Tara asks.
"We'll need to think of something." Merle stands up straighter, seeing the Governor and his scientist Milton coming towards them. "Later. The show is on."
…
Michonne was doing her part of the plan and walking around, staring at the walls with intent, then meeting with Tara near the big trucks the Governor and his men got from the Army camp. The two Alphas run their fingers over every bullet hole. Michonne checks the guns for ammo that could have suggested a fight with another group instead of a slaughter. All of them were empty, and there was blood in the truck bed, which she showed to Tara. One of the Woodbury Alphas had to have told the Governor what they were up to.
"Pretty amazing huh?" Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. "We find more ammo and we can cut down a whole pack of Biters."
The two Alphas turn to the man. "We want to leave. And I want my katana."
"That's a shame." The Alpha sighs, "We could use more soldiers like you."
"More Alphas you mean." Tara sees the man's jaw twitch. "Only Alphas on the walls, only Alphas going out on scavenges with a few Betas that like to act like Alphas. Makes me wonder if this place is supposed to be Delta."
The Governor breathes out a laugh like he was relieved that that was their only thought. Interesting. "No. The Alphas and Betas that scavenge are there because they volunteer for it."
"Where are the other Omegas?" Michonne asks, "We don't see them besides Sasha and she's one of ours."
"Ours?" The Alpha's eyes narrow.
"We met out there." Tara cuts in. "My Pack found Michonne and Andrea and offered them a place with us since they lost their old Packs."
"Oh." The man relaxed.
"Come on." Michonne jerks her head toward the road when she realizes she wasn't going to get an answer regarding the other Omegas, "I want to see my Mate."
As they pass the truck again, Tara runs her fingers alongside the door, "Lots of bullet holes. Almost makes you wonder if Walkers have learned to use guns huh?"
…
Andrea hands Merle the map that the Pack had been going over. "The red is the path we've already taken. Sasha and Ty, Bob, Tara, Michonne and I all put down the places we've been since the outbreak. Good luck to the Governor trying to figure that out."
"No shit." Merle laughs, looking at it. "What's the green?"
"False leads on where we'll be going when we get out. The coast, back towards Atlanta, Florida." Merle nods. Andrea clears her throat and points out the orange circles. "The Quarry, the CDC…. and the farm. That was the last place I saw Daryl. I didn't put the town on there; didn't even point it out, in case the Governor sends people out to those areas. They don't need to be anywhere near OUR family."
Merle swallows around the lump in his throat and traces the circle around the farm. "Thank you."
"I'd want the same thing if it was my family; if it were Amy." Andrea says, "I know Daryl means a lot to you."
"Thank you, Andrea." Merle looks at her, "I can't repay this."
"You're family now and Pack." Andrea smiles, "You don't need to. Now let's go over how we're getting the others out of here."
…
The Governor was at the sidewall hitting golf balls off the top during Merle's next shift. He climbs up but stays out of the way, waiting to be acknowledged by the Alpha as was protocol.
"Beta." The next ball hit a Walker with enough force to go clean through its head; a kill. The Governor was frustrated then.
"Prime." Merle knew that just Alpha wouldn't do, not now. All that would have earned him was another punishment, and he still hadn't entirely healed from the last one. Merle would never tell his Pack that bringing them to Woodbury had gotten him a beating by every Alpha in the scavenging party that night. They didn't need to know he suffered to keep one of them alive; wasted resources on outsiders as far as the Woodbury men were concerned. They didn't need to know that each time one of them left, not coming back, it would cost him ten lashes. He'd taken worse at the hands of his Pa and overseas; if it meant their protection, it was a price he'd pay repeatedly. Until it killed him.
"Do you have the map or not?" The Alpha snaps. Merle hands it over without hesitation, having already gone over it with Andrea and working out each kink. The Governor growls at the paper and glares at Merle. "What the hell is this shit?"
Merle explains the map as vaguely as he can, playing it off as if he wasn't sure it was correct. "Andrea's still mad at me for some things that happened back at the Quarry. Me and the Prime there didn't get alone and I was a bit of an ass. She didn't give me much to figure it out but I thought-"
"Don't think next time." He growls, "Get the information and be done with it. Dismissed."
"Yes Prime." Merle leaves and sends another Beta to take overwatch for him. Step two is complete. Now to get Michonne and Tara out of here and back to Morgan. If his Prime would accept Tara, he'd accept her whole Pack, and they'd be that much closer to being rid of the Governor.
…
For some reason, the Governor decided that the next day was going to be a party. They turned all the generators they had on to make cold drinks and a lot of food. Merle could only guess that it was because Michonne and Tara would be leaving the day after, so the Alpha was trying to show them what they would be missing when they left. The whole Pack stays together and tries to keep their distance from the rest of Woodbury, which the people notice. The group plays it off so their plans aren't compromised, giving hints that they were worried their Alphas would get mad if they were found speaking with the other people for even a few moments. Lizzy ignores all those signs and goes straight to her sister. Tara lets her but keeps her away from the others.
"How did you survive alone out there?" Lizzy asks her. "Without an Alpha or anything?"
"Damn it Liz." Tara huffs, "I'm an Alpha. You seem to forget that, a lot. Or maybe the fact that I'm a female Alpha cancels it out in your mind, but I can take care of myself. Plus, I had my Pack."
"But me, dad and Megan weren't with you."
"Not you guys, my Pack." Tara points over to the others. Bob and Tyreese stayed close to Sasha, growling anytime an Alpha or Beta approached her with the wrong intent. Andrea and Michonne were together sitting down, the Alpha keeping an eye on everything and everyone.
"Oh." Lizzy's voice changes.
"Don't act like that." Tara scowls, "You got a new Pack too. And a Mate, who doesn't appear to want to come out and play at his own party."
"He's letting Penny out for some air." Liz stiffens, "I can't stand being in the room with that thing."
"Penny?" Tara digs for information.
"His daughter." Liz almost grins at Tara's horrified expression. "Or what left of her in his mind. He pulled out her teeth and nails and keeps it in a strait jacket, but he still thinks she's alive. He keeps her Walker in the closet in the apartment. I never stay to watch them; it reminds me too much of Megan and the little girl when she was alive. I thought of as her as own my daughter. Now I've lost two."
"What is he doing up there with it?!" Tara keeps her voice down so the other Woodbury people wouldn't hear the conversation.
"Dresses it, brushes its hair." Lizzy makes a face. "It's kind of gross but I guess it's his way of coping."
"That's dangerous."
"Not as dangerous as what he was doing before." Liz argues, "He became obsessed with expanding, wanted more groups to join to expand the empire, so to speak. We lost a good number of Alphas trying to take a prison not to far from here. We were going to use it for crops and stuff. Now though…. This is better."
It's almost an hour later when the Governor shows up to address the people, Liz following him. Tara uses that time to inform the others of the Walker in the man's apartment.
"That's sick." Andrea says, "Keeping the Walkers of passed love ones I can understand, but undressing and redressing them, brushing their hair, bathing them…. That's sick."
"I was here when she died." Merle shakes his head, "Him and Liz were hurting but I didn't realize…. We have to get you out of here. Soon."
While the others partied and kept up appearances, Michonne breaks into the Governor's apartment to get their weapons. She finds a notebook on the table and goes through it, finding pages that describe the walls and the guard rotations. There was a list of names who the Alpha guesses are the people that died there. The last name was Penny, bold and underlined; then there was six pages front and back with dash marks. Then a few more pages of people who died and other things regarding Woodbury.
Michonne sees the Governor on his way up with some of his men and bolts, hiding in a closet out in the hall until they go inside, then makes her way to her Pack. She takes the backway, so the Woodbury Alphas wouldn't see her and finds something strange. Cages with Walkers, their teeth pulled, and nails stripped. She breaks off the lock and draws her sword, killing all of them. One of the guards comes out to feed them and finds her.
The Alpha guards drag her back to the Governor's apartment and send one of the Betas to get him. Merle comes up with him to check on the Alpha. Killing those Walkers hadn't been part of the plan. Michonne has a busted lip and a cut on her cheek; the Beta almost shifts to kill the fucker who hurt her. Then he sees Martinez with a black eye, his wrist being splinted and bound by the doctor; Michonne gave as good as she got.
"Do you get off on killing Walkers?" The Governor's voice was calm. That was dangerous. "Poking around with other people's things? Disregarding the rules? We have nothing to hide here."
"People with nothing to hide don't feel the need to say so."
"That's fair. We all have our secrets, huh?"
"Like the Walkers?" Michonne stares at the other Alpha, "Like Penny?"
The Governor's eyes harden, and he growls. "You know about Penny?"
When Michonne refuses to answer, the Governor laughs. "You broke the rules. Whether you want to believe it or not, the people here think that the rules are what's keeping them alive. I let what you did get out and it causes anarchy. So how about a deal; I'll keep it a secret and you join the research team. You're not scared of biters and you have the skill. But if you say no, remember…. we have your Mate and your Pack. I believe one of them is an Omeg-"
Michonne pulls out her sword and has it at the Governor's neck before he can finish the word. Merle stands up and growls, threatening. The Alpha would assume he was growling at Michonne and didn't bother correcting him, so he didn't see the pure hatred in the Beta's eyes aimed at him. Michonne and Tara were still leaving, but now they had to get Sasha out tonight if possible. They couldn't risk it, not with the way the Governor had used her as a threat to keep the Alpha in line.
Michonne backs away and waits until she's at the door before putting her sword away. She shoots a look at Merle, and he nods for her to leave. He'd be ok here. The Alpha waits until she's gone before turning to Merle. The first hit doesn't come as a surprise, and he lets himself fall to the ground. When the Governor shifts and mounts him, though, he fights back. He shifts as well and goes for the Alpha's throat. Merle had never been mounted thoroughly before, and the only one he would ever allow doing so now was Morgan, his Mate.
The Governor takes the rejection about as well as Merle thought he would and attacks with a ferocity he hadn't shown since Penny died. Their snarls and growls reach the street, silencing most people for a few minutes before they carry on their conversations. Michonne watches the door with an understanding and loathing that makes Andrea wary of approaching her. They watch as Merle's wolf jumps from the doorway when Liz opens it, scrambling to the wall on three legs. He stops in front of Martinez and shifts back, breathing heavily. Michonne hears the others growling when they see the blood on his face. He was talking to the Alpha General, and then they were packing up a truck and leaving.
…
They get back just as Michonne and Tara were getting their weapons handed back to them, Michonne's katana never leaving her back. Merle hops out of the moving truck, but the others stay and keep going until they reach the Walker pin.
"Where ya'll running off to in such a hurry? The party's still going on."
"We're leaving." Michonne says low. She didn't want to go, to leave her Mate and her Pack here. She didn't want to leave Merle. But she walked out the front gate with Tara at her side. She could hear Andrea's whine and almost turn back. Andrea almost ran after her, but Merle closed the gate. They had to do this. Sasha needed to get out of here, and Andrea was still part of that plan. The two Alphas would wait outside the fence for her; the three of them would then push on for Morgan and the pups. They couldn't do that if they didn't let the two Alphas go. Andrea broke down in Merle's arms right in front of the gate.
Michonne got about half a mile before breaking down, sliding down a tree with a quivering lip. It hurt leaving them, and she didn't think she could move any further away. Tara sat on the ground next to her and tried to give comfort as much as she could.
Merle had told all of them what the Walkers were about and what would happen after dark. That was the best time to get Sasha out of there. While everyone was distracted, she would sneak over the wall and meet up with the others, then they would make their way back to the helicopter crash and get to the car of supplies they left there. After that, they would move on to Morgan.
The music was loud, and the fence was unguarded as all the Alphas and Betas were in the stands cheering while Merle and Martinez fought in the circle of Walkers. Bob and Tyreese had escorted Sasha to the wall to get out, under the guise that she was feeling sick from overeating after not having food on the run. They would stay with her to make sure she was ok. Tyreese would make a big deal of accusing the Alphas of taking his Omegan sister and making sure everyone knew they weren't happy at Woodbury in the morning. Especially the Governor. It would take the heat off Michonne and Tara leaving and have all of them scrambling to find a way to appease the pissed Alpha.
Andrea watches as Merle pushes Martinez into a Walker with a kick and then pushes it away, letting the Alpha get up again. She shakes her head and tries to leave, seeing Bob at the bottom of the bleachers, just as planned. He would grab Andrea and head back to the apartment they had been given to wait for the morning with Ty. The Governor stops Andrea before she can reach her Packmate.
"Hey where are you going?"
"What the hell is this?!"
"A way to blow off steam."
"Blow off steam?" Andrea gasps, "No you go for a jog to blow off steam. This- this is sick." She pushes off the Governor's hand and goes to Bob's side. As they leave, they look at Merle to make sure he is ok and see him standing as the victor, the crowd chanting his name. And for the first time in a long time, the Beta seems miserable in the spotlight.