Out of the Woods (The Walking Dead)
Hounded:
Fifteen...His number was fifteen after the raid with the National Guard...He wanted to stop thinking about it, but the mission today made it appear in his mind again. The only way he could get his mind off of it was either drinking whiskey or pounding Suzy down in their bed. Merle panted in her face above her. She held onto his strong shoulders as tight as she could as her body twitched beneath him. When he finally stopped, Suzy couldn't help but let out a giggle.
"Someone's been needy lately. I don't think we slept a wink all night," She said, looking up at him as she caught her breath. She meant it as a joke, but he groaned in response as he got off of her so he could get dressed.
"What can I say?" Merle said, buckling up his pants, "I already told you I can't get enough of ya."
"I could say the same," Suzy ran her hand through her black hair and sat up, "Got anything important to do today?"
"Yeah," He nodded, then put on his wife beater, "Got a supply run with some of the guys."
"Who's going?"
"Me, Tim, Crowley, and Neil."
She thought about commenting again how his name wasn't Neil, but she knew it would only annoy him.
"I didn't think there was anything we needed," Suzy commented, getting out of bed herself so she could get dressed as well. She put on her bra and underwear, making Merle creep on over to put his arms around her from behind and bury his face in her neck.
"What I would do if I had both my hands," He said after kissing her neck all purely as a means to distract her from the topic. It seemed like it worked pretty well.
"Don't talk like that if you have to leave," She giggled. She pushed his arms away so she could finish getting dressed. He chuckled with her and kissed her temple.
"You're right," He smiled, watching her pull on her high-waisted black jeans, "We shouldn't be gone too long. Should be back before curfew."
"That's good then," She replied, pulling on her black crop top while he buttoned down his gray shirt. "Be careful out there."
"Always am," He smirked, "You got watch today. Martinez will let you know where, kay?"
"Okay?" She nodded, finding that a bit odd. She was never told where her shifts usually were. They had a written schedule every day on who was where on what time of the day. She guessed it was a last minute change.
"Come on," He gestured for her to come back over to him. When she did, she put her arms around his waist and looked up at him. He kissed her on her full-soft lips while he stroked her hair with his one hand. He had to. He was heading out to hunt down Michonne today and he had to remind himself who he was really doing this for. There was also a chance one of them wouldn't make it back. He wanted to savor her while he still could. She could feel the intimacy in it. It made her thoughts scramble like crazy. She smiled against his lips once he pulled away.
"Not a good thing to do to me when you're supposed to be going," She said, making him chuckle.
"I'll see you when I get back." He said, giving one last kiss on her forehead then left. She wasn't stupid. An intrusive thought came into her mind that he was nervous about something. She immediately told herself that was silly. If something big was happening, he would tell her like he always did. Everything was fine. Or so she thought.
Once she pulled on her own black boots and laced them up, she grabbed a protein bar from their kitchen and a bottle of water, clipped her knives around her belt then headed out to the main gate. When she got outside and went to the gate, she noticed Merle and the guys head out on foot instead of grabbing a car. She definitely didn't hear any engine start from outside the wall, so she knew they left on foot. Why would they for a supply run of all things?
"Hey," Martinez said, motioning for her to turn around, "You're on side gate duty today."
"Excuse me?" Suzy said, putting a hand on her hip, "Since when am I doing the side gate?"
"Since now." Martinez replied rather harshly, "Haley's taking your spot on the main gate for now."
Suzy wanted to laugh when he said that. Was that a joke? It had to be. A sarcastic laugh escaped her throat, but Martinez didn't look amused.
"Are you kidding?" She asked. When he didn't answer, she rolled her eyes at him, "They're really putting someone with her aim on the main gate? Over mine?"
"Don't make this harder than it's gotta be." Martinez sighed, lightening his tone, "I'm sorry. I would rather have you on the main wall too, I swear. But it's Governor's orders. It's just temporary."
"Nothing happens on the side parts of the walls." She whined. The Governor gives her an inch by letting her out to grab some biters for his own entertainment then takes another step backwards by putting her at the side wall? That was a guaranteed plan of having nothing to do for hours by herself. "This is bullshit."
"I'm sorry, Suzy-" Martinez repeated, but she didn't want to hear it. She marched away to the northeast side wall.
There was a reason only one person guarded this spot. A single biter would appear in this area maybe once every few days. She didn't even bother grabbing a sniper rifle. If any biters did show up, she thought she might as well use her throwing knives to give herself at least a spec of entertainment. She climbed up the ladder and took a seat in the lounge chair that was already folded out. She begrudgingly sat down and took out one of her knives. She put the tip to her opposite index finger and gently turned it, not enough to break the skin. She observed the edges, figuring it was getting time to sharpen them again. She looked at the red Chinese dragon design carved into the middle. It brought her back to a time when her dad was teaching her how to use them for the first time.
"Great," She whispered to herself. That was what she hated about doing a shift by herself. Her mind had no choice but to wander when she had nothing else to do or someone else to talk to. When Merle came back, she was going to ask him if he knew about this arrangement. Merle said he should be back before curfew. She mumbled, "You better be."
"Why are we going on foot?" Gargulio asked Merle.
"'Cuz I can't track in a car," Merle replied, leading the group into the woods.
"Is it true?" He asked, slight enthusiasm in his voice, "She held her sword to the Governor's throat?"
"Yep." Merle nodded, "And if we don't find her now, she's gonna come back and kill every last one of us."
"Holy shit-" Gargulio gasped, feeling anxiety in his chest, "What if she gets the jump on us?"
"Shut up, boy." Merle groaned, making Crowley chuckle next to him.
"Should we split up?" Tim asked.
"Hell nah," Merle replied, "That's how she'll get each and every one of us. We gotta remind her she's outnumbered."
The four of them walked through the woods for another twenty minutes or so. Merle was right on her trail, but it didn't seem like she was making an effort to hide which direction she was going. Did she want them to find her? As they made their way through the trees, Merle noticed something on the ground in front of them. He got closer to see what it was. A bunch of limbs from biters all on the ground.
"What the hell is this mess?" Merle asked.
"She did this," Tim replied, gesturing towards the body parts.
"It means somethin'." Merle said, pointing at it with his bladed arm, "The way it's all set up like that."
"The Governor was right to send us out," Tim gasped at the sight while Merle got down on one knee to inspect it further.
"Damn straight, Tim." Merle replied, "We're doin' a righteous public service here."
Gargulio gulped nervously, "'Go back'."
The three turned around and all looked at him confused.
"What?" Crowley asked and Gargulio pointed.
"The arms are a 'G'. The legs make an 'O'." Gargulio then pointed at the torso, "And that's a back. It says 'Go back'."
Merle stood up and chuckled, making Crowley and Tim laugh along with him, "This is too good. Look at this. She sent us a biter-gram, y'all."
"I can't believe this is happening-" Gargulio straight up felt himself about to have an anxiety attack. He didn't want to die, especially if it meant a sword being put through his chest. His reaction only made Merle go off on him.
"Hey, hey! You knock it off." Merle went over to him and grabbed him by his shirt, "What the hell's wrong with you? Now, the Governor chose you 'cause he thought you were ready. I want you to succeed. I do. But if you keep announcing to the world that you're pissin' your pants, I'm gonna have to smash your teeth in."
That was always his go-to threat when it came to training this kid. He was always ready to jump in and grab a gun to kill biters. The Governor wanted him to start learning how to kill people. If he didn't, Merle was afraid of what would happen to him. His words seemed to calm Gargulio down so he nodded and let go of his shirt.
"Now how do you say your last name?" Merle asked, patting his chest. Suzy bet him that he would never be able to pronounce it right.
"Gargulio."
Yeah, Suzy wins, he thought and gave Gargulio another nod.
"Well, I'm gonna keep callin' you Neil. All right?" Merle said and the four of them continued on. A rustle in the trees stopped them in their tracks. They all pulled out their guns and pulled the hammer back so they'd be ready to fire.
"What's the deal, Michonne? Hmm?" Merle called out, "You gonna leap out of the woods, one against four, all of us armed to the teeth? And you with just your little pig-sticker? No, no, no, Michonne."
As soon as he said that, Michonne leaped down from a tree and immediately used her sword to cut off Crowley's head. Gargulio backed up into the nearest tree, Crowley's blood sprayed onto his face. He stared in shock as Michonne then put her sword through Tim's chest. Merle groaned to himself and started shooting at her, one of the bullets hitting Tim in the process. She quickly pulled out her sword and started running deep into the woods, Merle running straight after her. As she ran, Merle shot his gun again, the bullet landing in her left thigh, but it didn't do anything to slow her down. Once Merle found a more open area, he stopped and looked around for any sign of her. She was gone from his sight, making him angry. He shouted as loud as he could, his voice echoing through the trees.
"We havin' fun yet!"
Suzy sat at the wall, continuing to twirl the tip of her knife into her finger. She made that her focus so she wouldn't have her mind wander again to things that would only upset her. There still wasn't any sign of biters, making her sigh in boredom.
"Psst-" She heard from below. She turned her head to see Martinez. He smiled that usual sweet smile of his.
"What do you want?" She asked, turning back to what she was doing.
"Thought you could use some company." He said, climbing up the ladder to join her.
"We don't need two people for watch over here." She said, meaning to pass shade for her being there. "How's Haley doing at the main wall?"
"She sucks." Martinez replied, almost getting a laugh out of her.
"I'm not surprised."
"She's there to train Andrea the wall. Apparently she's gonna show her how to use a bow." He said, making her put her knife down and look at him.
"Andrea's gonna do the wall?" She asked and he nodded. "Huh."
"Yeah. If I had a say, I would've had her train with you. She's a good shot, or so she says, but you're the best."
"That's what Gargulio said when I trained him that one day." She smiled at the memory, "He's stupid, but he's a good kid."
"Merle's been teaching him well, I think." Martinez said, "Despite the fact the asshole still can't get his name right."
That comment made the both of them laugh for a good minute. She may not see Martinez in that way, but he was a really good friend. Him and Milton were the only people outside of Merle she felt like she could really talk to about the nitty gritty stuff.
"Why him?" Martinez asked. She knew he was talking about Merle.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you see in a guy like him?"
"You trying to say he's nothing but a redneck asshole?"
Martinez nodded, "Pretty much."
"I mean, you're not totally wrong," She smiled while she thought of Merle, "But none of that matters as much as I love him."
"Whoa-" Martinez gasped, tapping her knee with his knuckles. He smiled so she'd know he wasn't being that serious, "You love that son of a bitch?"
"Mhm," She nodded, "I'd do anything for him and he'd do anything for me."
"Oh you have no idea," Martinez said rather quietly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked, but he patted her shoulder nonchalantly.
"Nothin'." He replied, "I just wanted you to know that I'll always care about ya. Even if you're with him. I wanted to make sure the air was clear so we could be friends."
"Thanks," She replied, "You're a good guy, Caesar Martinez."
He chuckled shyly at her saying his full name, "Anytime."
Gargulio sat on his knees next to Crowley's body, his head right in front of him. Tim had kept taking short breaths on the ground and coughing up blood. Finally, he couldn't take anymore of the pain and he passed. Gargulio wanted to beat himself up for not going over to him to help. He didn't know what to do anymore.
"Let's go-" Merle said, coming back while Gargulio threw up, "She's hit. Slowed her down."
"Tim and Crowley-" Gargulio cried, his body unable to stop shaking, "They-"
"We're close to the red zone," Merle said, reloading his gun, "Them shots just pulled ever biter in this area our way. Let's go, get up."
Gargulio couldn't find it in himself to move. He sat there, feeling like he could throw up again. He continued hyperventilating, annoying Merle to no end.
"Neil!" Merle shouted, kicking Gargulio onto his back, "Now you're gonna rise to the occasion, son. Some serious shit's goin' down. I need ya here. You read me, amigo? I don't want you to die."
Gargulio forced himself to breathe and nodded, "Yes-Yes."
"Get up." Merle commanded, "Now you know, we don't ever let out own turn. Never."
Merle then stuck his blade into Tim's head. Gargulio nervously took out his knife.
"Come on," Merle insisted, "Just do it."
Gargulio took a deep breath and buried his knife into Crowley's skull.
"Atta, boy." Merle nodded, helping him stand, "Come on, let's get goin'. She ain't runnin'. She's huntin'. So are we."
Despite his ambition, he kept hearing Suzy's voice in his head telling him to stop all this. He knew she was fond of Michonne and wanted to come up with a plan involving her. Only she wouldn't tell him what that plan was. It wasn't like he wanted to kill her. He had to. He had to keep the Governor's trust. He had to keep Suzy safe. They couldn't turn back at this point. He also wanted to take the petty approach and spite Michonne by proving he could get her and win. He was also there to set an example to Gargulio. The boy looked up to him so much. He spent so much time having him under his wing. This was the time to have him prove himself to the Governor, something he's wanted to do since setting foot in Woodbury.
They left Tim and Crowley's bodies and headed off into the woods so Merle could continue trying to track Michonne down. She wasn't going to be able to hop out of any trees with her leg shot. She was grounded now, making this easier for them now. He buried that voice in his head, the one telling him to turn back. Why did it have to sound like Suzy? You know you don't want to, it said. Of course I don't, but that doesn't mean I give up. It's her ass or mine, he thought. There was no way out of this. Whether he wanted to kill her or not, it was what had to get done if him and Suzy were gonna live to fight another day.
Another rustle in the trees, made Merle stop in his tracks. Him and Gargulio looked around for a sign of her. A twig snapping behind them alerted Merle she was coming and he shoved Gargulio out of the way before her sword could kill him. He luckily got away with a small cut. Merle used his own blade to disarm her. When he swung at her, she got down on the ground so she could repeatedly kick him in his groin. When he knelt in pain, she kicked him right in the nose, instantly breaking it and drawing blood. He fell on top of her and rolled to the side.
Just when he found his footing, they all realized a large group of biters were right on their tail. Merle held one back while Michonne grabbed her sword to take out the others. Gargulio quickly got up to take his own knife to stab the biter going after Merle and pull it off of him. Merle then used his blade to kill the last one and stood up. They looked around for Michonne, but she was once again no where to be found. They caught their breath, then Merle pulled his nose back to its right position, making him yell in pain.
You know you don't want to, Suzy's voice said to him again.
"God damn it-" Merle muttered. He stood there thinking of a plan. He nodded in agreement with himself once he thought of something that could work. Gargulio was under his wing, not the Governor's. He did whatever he told him to. He trusted he was capable of this, he had to.
"You rose to the occasion kid, I'm proud of ya." Merle said, "When we get back, I'm gonna get you a beer."
"Come on, she can't have made it that far." Gargulio said while Merle found his gun on the ground and picked it up.
"Oh no, no, no, no. We're done." Merle nearly laughed, "We're gonna grab a car, haul ass home. It's been a good day's work."
"But she-she killed Tim and Crowley."
"Yep," Merle said rather nonchalantly. Two less assholes to worry about lookin' for us, he thought, "But we messed her up pretty bad. Anyway, she's headed straight for the red zone. She's as good as dead."
"What do we tell the Governor?"
"What the hell you think we tell him? Tell him we killed her." Merle looked him in the eye, speaking with a warning tone in his voice. "Like I said, man. She's as good as dead."
"I'm gonna keep going." Gargulio insisted, still catching his breath.
"She ain't right in the head. She's gonna die. Ain't worth our time." Merle insisted right back. Take the damn hint, boy. "Definitely ain't worth our blood. Now let's go."
Merle rolled his eyes and went to walk away, expecting Gargulio to follow behind him. He stopped in his tracks when Gargulio raised his voice at him.
"This is some serious shit. That's what you said." He pointed his finger at Merle's back. Merle chuckled to himself, coming to a realization. Suzy kept telling him a while back that this kid couldn't be trusted. He hoped taking him under his wing could change that, make him follow his lead. But it didn't work. No matter what, he was and always would be the Governor's boot licker, "I'm not gonna lie to the Governor about it."
Merle turned around and smiled at him.
"You're right." Merle replied casually, "Can't cut corners on this one. You've come along pretty quick there, kid. How do you say your name again?"
"Gargulio," He replied.
"Gargulio." Merle repeated. Hearing a bird calling in the distance, he pointed towards the sky, "Hear that bird?"
The second Gargulio turned in the direction of the noise, Merle took his gun and shot him right in the head. Sixteen. Merle then bent down to pick up the kid's gun and latch it onto his belt.
"Gargulio." Merle said again then laughed, "Looks like I win, Suzy. Bought damn time."
He then went straight to what Woodbury classified as the "red zone", meaning the area where the biter pile was dangerously high. He pulled off his shirt and draped it over his blade since it was so hot out. After all he went through, he was sweater than usual. As he walked, he thought of what he was going to tell the Governor. He had to have an explanation for what happened to the rest of the guys. He also had to think of what he was going to tell Suzy. She probably wasn't happy sitting at the side wall all day. He had to make it up to her. He couldn't risk driving back to Woodbury with Michonne's dead body and sword in the car with him if she was at either the front or back wall. He had to keep her separate from this. It was the only way to keep her safe and also so he wouldn't have to hear her bitch about how it was wrong and all that.
"Probably make it in time for dinner." He heard a voice in the distance say. He immediately drew Gargulio's gun to be ready in case whoever it was was a threat.
"I like the quiet." Another voice said. He saw it was a woman. She was carrying a red shopping basket to put supplies in. She was young, probably the same age or a couple years younger than Suzy. She had similar short hair like Suzy actually. Only hers was a lighter brown and Suzy's was grown out a little longer now. She dressed in all black like Suzy, too, more similarly to how she dressed when he first met her. "Back there, back home, you can always hear them outside the fence no matter where you are."
Gargulio's gun at the ready, he came out of the trees and pointed it at the two strangers.
"And where is it you good people call it home?" He said, startling them. Maybe they had some supplies he could take back to Woobury, or maybe they would give him their car. It didn't hurt to try. The two kids drew their guns, and when the girl moved out of the way, Merle caught sight at who the boy was, making his jaw drop in shock.
"Merle?" Glenn, the Asian boy from Atlanta. He was another one of Suzy's little friends back at that camp. He had teased her they should get married since he swore Glenn had a crush on her. He's obviously got a type, Merle thought.
"Wow!" Merle grinned, setting his gun down on the ground then continued to move towards them.
"Hey, back the hell up!" The girl said. She had a heavy southern accent like a little Georgia Peach.
"Okay, okay, honey!" Merle laughed, "Jesus."
"You made it," Glenn said, still pointing his gun at him. "Suzy made it, too?"
"Yeah." Merle nodded.
"She's still with you?"
"Yeah." Merle repeated, "Can you tell me, is my brother alive? Huh?"
"Yeah," Glenn replied not so nicely. Merle smiled and sighed with relief.
"Hey, you uh-take me to him, and I'll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelings. Huh?"
Glenn didn't reply. He only glanced at the blade on Merle's right arm and the prosthetic it was attached to. Merle laughed.
"You like that? Yeah-" He said, "Well, I found myself a medical supply warehouse. Fixed it up myself."
He remembered that day. It was also the first time him and Suzy kissed. That was a wild day. If things went right here, he could talk to Daryl and make a plan on finally escaping. They could find a way to sneak out the wall and meet up with Daryl, then the Governor wouldn't know where to look for them. First, he wanted to know where Daryl was holding up to see if it was suitable for them to join or go off on their own.
"We'll tell Daryl you're here, and he'll come out to meet you." Glenn said sternly.
"Hold on." Merle pleaded, but Glenn gestured for him to stop coming closer and to back up, "Just hold up. Hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle. Come on, now. You can trust me."
"You trust us." Glenn said, "You stay here."
Merle gave a sarcastic laugh. He remembered when he was left on the roof that day. Handcuffed, dehydrated, starving, biters coming after him. He swore a long time ago if he ever saw any of those assholes again, he would get in some payback. Suzy said to forgive them, but he couldn't do that yet. He needed them for his new plan first.
Merle yelled and shot his gun at them, blowing out the back windshield of their car. The split up for cover, but he got right on the girl's tail and grabbed her by putting his bladed arm around her.
"Don't you fuckin' move," He whispered into her ear. When Glenn came around, he pointed his gun to her head to stop Glenn from trying to shoot him.
"Hey, hold up, buddy, hold up."
"Let go of her!" Glenn screamed, "Let go of her!"
"Put that gun in the car right now." Merle commanded, "Put it in the car, son."
Glenn did as he asked and put his gun in the car then put his hands up in surrender.
"There you go. Now we're gonna go for a little drive." Merle said, still pointing his gun at the girl.
"We're not going back to our camp." Glenn said. Of course he wouldn't do that, he wasn't stupid. He knew he would have to force the answers out of them somehow.
"No, we're goin' somewhere else." Merle yelled, "Get in the car, Glenn! You're driving! Move!"
Glenn grunted and got into the drivers seat and slammed the door shut. He commanded the girl to get up so she could get in the back seat. He got in next to her, keeping his gun pointed at her.
"Now turn the car around and keep goin' straight on the road 'till I say when." Merle said, Glenn glaring at him in the rearview mirror. "You do as I say, this'll be easy peasy. There's only one way we're all gettin' outta this."
Neither of them said anything in return. Glenn gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles whitened. Merle looked at the girl, trying to remember if he had seen her before. He didn't recognize her besides the fact that she reminded him of Suzy.
"What's your name, girl?" Merle asked. She turned her head and looked at him with an angry look in her eye, as if asking if he was really asking her such a question. "Hmm?"
"Maggie." She replied and turned away from him. Merle's jaw dropped when she said that name.
"Maggie?" He said, remembering what Suzy told him a long time ago. She had a little niece with that name. The same one who died right before he met her in the woods.
"Somethin' wrong?" She said, noticing the look on his face. No, everything was not okay. Now he had to make sure nothing happened to them. He needed them to comply so his new plan could work.
"Just do as I say, then it'll be over before you know it." Merle assured her then lowered his gun and shifted away from her so there was space between them. The girl was a cluster fuck of a reminder of who he was doing this for. It also reminded him this was another something she could absolutely never find out about. She wouldn't approve, but it's what had to get done.
Merle ordered Glenn to drive to the back gate. He got one of the guards, Warren, to help him bring them down under to the basement of one of the back buildings. They separated the two into different rooms and duct taped them to a chair. Warren taped up Glenn, binding his arms to the arms of the chair and his ankles to the legs. Merle delicately taped Maggie's wrists behind her and that was all. He sighed at the sight of her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Just remember," He said, "Don't go talkin' off to anyone else. I'm the one you talk to, ya hear?"
Maggie only looked ahead instead of up at him. He nodded and removed his hand, telling her he would be back later. He went to the infirmary to get his nose checked. The blood was cleaned off and a simple bandaid was put on the broken skin. Once he changed his clothes in his apartment, he left to go give the Governor the knews. As he walked down the hallway of the Governor's building, he could've sworn he heard moaning. It sounded an awful lot like Andrea. He smirked, knowing exactly what was going on in there. He knocked at the door and waited patiently for the Governor to make himself presentable and answer. The Governor opened the door wearing only a robe, confirming his suspicion.
"Company?" Merle teased. The Governor didn't reply at first. He stepped out into the hallway and shut the door so Andrea wouldn't hear.
"Yeah." Governor finally said once the door was shut. Merle decided to cut to the chase.
"We lost all three guys." He said, making the Governor sigh, "Tim, Crowley...The other one."
"Gargulio." Governor said, making Merle awkwardly nod for the sole fact he already forgot how to say it. "Jesus..."
"Yeah, she cut Tim down, put her sword through him. Then, biters got in the middle of it, then I got her." Merle lied.
"Damn. Well, we'll dress it up. Give 'em a hero's funeral." Governor said, "You tell a story. A supply run gone sideways."
Merle wasn't sure if Suzy would believe a bullshit lie like that. She wasn't that stupid.
"Do you have 'em?" The Governor asked, making Merle go blank. Have what? Merle looked at him confused as to what he was talking about. "Her head. The sword."
Merle wanted to kick himself in the nuts for forgetting that part. Thinking on his feet, he came up with whatever he could, "Um-We got caught in a crowd. The kid had the head, Crowley had the sword. They both got all tore up."
The Governor looked obviously pissed at that, but at least he bought it. Thank Jesus, Merle thought, wanting to sigh in relief. Before the Governor could even question it, he decided to bring up the other news.
"I got somethin' else for you though." Merle said, "A guy I used to know from the Atlanta camp and his pretty little girlfriend."
"They know Andrea" The Governor asked, to which Merle hummed in response, "And Susan?"
"The guy at least, the girl I don't know. I've never seen her." Merle replied.
"Anyone else?"
"Don't know. Found them on the return trip. From the looks of 'em, they. gotta be set up pretty good. I'll find out where."
Merle left it at that and went to go back to his own apartment. Curfew was getting close, which meant Suzy's shift would be over. By the time he got back, Suzy was already there, looking for what she wanted to do for dinner.
"Hey," She said with that familiar smile he loved to see. "How was your run?"
"About that-" Merle thought about telling her what happened. He remembered why he couldn't and sighed, "I lost 'em."
"What?" Suzy gasped, coming closer to him, "All of them? Even-"
"Yeah, the kid." Merle frowned for real. He didn't want to kill the kid, that was the part that hurt the worst. He only did because he had to for their safety. He pulled her in so he could hold her and stroke her hair.
"I'm sorry," She said, hugging him, "What happened?"
"A shit ton of biters got in the middle of it." He lied, "We were too close to the red zone."
Suzy looked up at him and noticed the bandage on his nose.
"What happened here?" Her fingers brushed against it, making him sigh again.
"Happened when I was fightin' off one of the biters is all." He smiled, but she could tell it was fake, "Nothin' to worry about."
"Are you sure? It's okay, you can tell me." Suzy assured him. If there was something he was upset or stressed out about, she wanted him to be able to tell her.
"I know, it's fine." He said, making her back away.
"Okay," She said, going back to the kitchen, "Take a seat and I'll start dinner."
"You know what? While you do that, I need to go find Martinez." Merle then went to the door, "I gotta talk to him 'bout the whole thing. Gotta let everyone know what went down."
"Okay," She awkwardly replied. He left after that, making her feel uneasy. Why was he acting so weird? Because Tim, Crowley, and Gargulio died? She couldn't deny it made her upset too, but him up and leaving like that after only just getting in was what put her off.
Something was wrong, something he wasn't telling her. If he wasn't telling her, it was probably something big; something he didn't want her to know about. She knew if he didn't tell her soon, she would find out for herself.
Little did she know what was about to come next...