Ok I am officially one of those authors that leaves their readers hanging. I feel terrible how long it's been since I've posted some Merle and Sam. I appreciate all the patience and hope I haven't lost too many folks.
I don't own the Walking Dead etc. OC and non canon storylines are mine.
ENJOY!
Merle was seated across from Deanna as she recorded his statement describing the events at the warehouse. The whole process was ridiculous in his eyes. Who needed documentation during the end of the world? Shaking his head at the thought, he continued with his account of the fatal supply run.
"We couldn't help your boy. He was too far gone." He rasped, his blue eyes tense as he watched Deanna glare at him. "I made sure he wouldn't turn."
"Tell me."
"Don't think ya wanna know the details, lady."
"Tell me." She growled, her hands balled into tight boney fists. "These tapes are a detailed record of events. Tell me all of it."
Grunting, Merle crossed his thick arms and began, "He was pinned by a bunch of metal. Shit went right through 'im. There weren't no way to get him off without pullin' everythin' inside out." He glanced at her as she paled some at the visual but he continued as she ordered.
"The dead were close by and the more he screamed the more crazy they got. Nicholas bailed. Damn yellow-bellied fuck ran like his shorts were on fire. I ended up gettin' Glenn and Noah to follow him out while I stayed with your boy."
"Why did you stay?"
"Nobody deserves to be torn to shit alive by those dead bastards. I made sure he didn't hafta."
"You... killed him?" She asked, her eyes narrowing.
"I put him out of his misery. Kid was speared through and through. It weren't no peaceful way to go, so I stopped it. He didn't know it was comin'. Made sure he wouldn't feel them get 'im."
The room was deafeningly quiet as the news sunk in. Merle had put Deanna's son down, his injuries and the dead didn't kill him. Aiden died from a bayonet to the skull.
Merle cleared his throat roughly and added, "fought off a bunch of biters and then found a way out. I caught up to the van and that's when the coward showed up. Tried to get us to leave the others. Glenn showed up after and told us that the little shit got Noah killed."
Deanna was still silent but croaked, "so you didn't see it happen?"
"Nah but Glenn can't lie worth shit. If he says Nicholas got Noah killed, that's what happened."
The room was quiet except for the clock in the background slowly ticking. Merle cleared his throat again and asked, "we done here?" The situation was awkward and Merle didn't do awkward. He wanted to get back home to Sam. He wanted to eat some food and nail his wife, not talk about the dead and the cowards.
"Yes. I'll be reviewing everyone's statements before I decide if any action needs to be taken." Deanna spoke diplomatically, her gaunt face steely and expression tight.
"Only action that needs to be taken is a swift kick to that coward's balls." Merle growled, leaning forward towards the congresswoman and the camera. "He don't belong nowhere near the outside and nowhere near any of my group. If I go on anymore runs, he won't be on it."
"We'll be discussing it further later." She informed, leaning back to cross her arms.
"Whatever. I see that kid anywhere near mine, I'll kick his scrawny ass into next week." Merle growled while standing up to leave the old broad's home.
"Violence isn't accepted inside these walls Mr. Dixon." Deanna threatened, her beady eyes narrowed and angry.
"Don't call me Mr. Dixon. That there was my daddy and he was a shitheaded coward just like that asshole you're protectin'. What shouldn't be accepted is assholes who cut 'n run when the goin' gets tough." Merle ranted, pacing slightly while pointing at the window, "Ya got people leavin' each other behind when the shit hits the fan out there. If ya want this place to last then ya gotta have people. Only people that are gonna be left are a bunch o' pussies who don' know their asses from their elbows. Those folks out there gotta learn the way of the world. Ya don't get t'run away, ya gotta fight and if ya don't, ya get others and ya'self killed. Ain't room for cowards no more. Ya gotta get this shit under control lady or everybody out there's gonna be six feet under or worse, walkin' 'round eatin' each other…. Your kid confessed ya know?"
"Confessed to what?"
"Last words were that him and that little shit were to blame for all those folks you lost on runs. That when shit got real, they ran. Left all of 'em for the dead."
Deanna's jaw was tight as she sat down again. Speaking through clenched teeth she asked, "Is that all?"
"Yeah, yeah that's all." Merle sneered before adding, "get this shit in order Miss President or more folks are gonna die for no goddamn reason."
Stomping out of the house, he let the door slam shut. Pulling out his smokes he lit his last cigarette before striding towards home. He hadn't wanted to deal with a debriefing after the failed supply run but Deanna had insisted. Merle figured it was her way of coping with the loss of her son but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable. There wasn't any easy way to say he killed her son, even if it was the humane thing to do.
Reaching the home he shared with Sam and the others, Merle found Rick and Glenn on the porch speaking quietly. Nodding to them, Rick gestured for Merle to join the conversation.
Sighing loudly he drawled, "Don't tell me I gotta relive that shit because I'm tired of talkin' 'bout it. Shit went south. Curly ditched us and got Noah killed. End of story. Nothin' we can do about it. Nothin's gonna change it and nobody's gonna come back. All we can do is tell that yellow bellied shitheel, to fuck off if he wants on any missions we do out there."
"We've got to do something." Glenn insisted. "You weren't there. He knew he was getting us killed."
"Yeah well, these fucks know him. They don't know us and they ain't gonna listen to us about shit. All they know is, we showed up and people started dyin'. That old broad ain't thinkin' right. Her kid's dead and that's all she's gonna see or hear."
"They don't know what they're doing." Rick rasped, his eyes scanning the neighborhood for Alexandrians. "Any of them."
"We'll show them." Glenn replied, his eyes hopeful as he leaned against the porch railing.
"I don't know if they can see it. How things really are." Rick spoke, his eyes meeting Merle's. "I don't know if they can. They haven't caught up."
"We have to be here." Glenn insisted, repeating more insistently, "We have to."
"No shit Chinaman. I ain't leavin' and Sam and my kid ain't leavin'." Merle huffed, crossing his arms and looking into the house to see Sam moving around the kitchen. He could see her cooking dinner with Carol, both smiling at each other as the water boiled on the stove. He could smell something spicy and couldn't help but lick his lips hungrily.
"Yeah, we're stayin. But their rules, we don't answer to them." Rick supplied, his gaze sliding over both of them. Merle grunted at the statement, his gaze landing on the men in front of him again.
"We are them, Rick." Glenn claimed, "We are now. Noah, he believed in this place. I'm telling you, we gotta make this work."
Merle snorted, his voice hoarse and exhausted, "We'll make it work, with or without them Shortstack. Ain't nobody takin' this place from us. No way, no how."
The next afternoon Sam was sitting with Carl and Judith when the sounds of breaking glass and shouts caught their attention. "Stay here." She ordered before jogging down the stairs towards the raised voices. As she turned a corner she found Rick and Pete fist fighting on the ground, both covered in blood and broken glass. Pete was pounding on Rick, the giant man pinning him to the ground while landing fist after fist to his face. Pete's wife Jessie was knocked to the ground as she tried to help, causing Sam to try and intervene herself. Grabbing Pete by the hair, she yanked him off Rick, growling, "Enough!"
"Fuck off!" Pete barked shoving Sam hard enough to knock her down, her elbow sliding across the asphalt making her grimace. As Rick climbed to his feet he saw both Sam and Jessie hurt which made him go even more ballistic. A crowd of people were gathering, Carol stood next to Carl who when trying to help was also shoved away by Rick. Deanna and Reg were shouting for the two to quit but neither listened.
When Rick pulled out a gun, Sam cringed further as her elbow dripped blood to the ground. The situation was spiraling out of control and she wasn't exactly sure if Rick could be stopped from executing the man then and there. Merle and Michonne joined the crowd, her husband's eyes landing on her bloodied arm. She watched a violent haze fill his eyes, Merle becoming more livid than ever before.
Stepping forward both Michonne and Merle broke up the fight. Rick was knocked unconscious by Michonne as Pete was almost strangled to death by Merle. Both ended up restrained and thrown into different homes while Deanna decided what to do with them. She scowled at Merle who had gotten out of control while restraining Pete. Words were thrown out between Alexandrians and Merle but when he pointed out Sam's bloodied arm while snarling, "y'all are ok with beatin' up pregnant women huh?", most backed off.
She stood with a hand pressed into her right elbow, which probably needed stitches, her eyes glued to Jessie who had a black eye. It was obvious what the argument was about, Pete was an abusive drunk. Sam wasn't surprised that Rick had gone crazy. She'd noticed him eyeing the woman ever since the welcome party. At first she thought it was amusing, the man having always been no nonsense, but once she realized the woman was married, Sam couldn't help but worry. Now that they were in a larger community, internal drama was going to increase. The last thing everyone needed was a love triangle between new and old residents though. Shaking her head, she walked away from the scene, her body now sore from the fall.
"Sam!" Merle hollered, jogging after her with a deep frown. "Where ya goin'?"
"Home." She muttered, grunting as she climbed the steps, a deep bruise on her hip announcing itself.
"Lemme see your arm." He grumbled as she held her arm under the running water from the kitchen tap.
Gently he cupped her elbow, his thumb brushing away the gravel. Flinching slightly at the motion she complained, "Ouch Merle. Stop."
"Shuddup." He barked, his eyes sharper than she'd ever seen. "Ya stupid or somethin' girl?"
Narrowing her own eyes Sam growled, "Excuse me?"
"Ya heard me. Why in the hell would ya jump in the middle of two assholes fightin'?" He snapped, while grabbing a small first aid kit from under the sink. "What if ya hurt peanut huh? Ya even think about my kid ya carryin'?"
Clenching her teeth Sam growled, "I needed to help. They were killin' each other."
"They're grown fuckin men, darlin'. If they wanna kill each other, they're gonna do it. Ain't no way some lil girl's gonna stop 'em."
Sam's face went icy and she threatened, "you call me a little girl or infer that I can't take care of myself or my kid again and I'm gonna punch you in the balls, Merle. I swear to Christ it ain't the time to be a dick t'me."
The couple glared at each other for a long tense moment before Merle went back to work. He grumbled the entire time, Sam ending up with a large gauze bandage on her arm. The scrape was shallow and wide, making it impossible to sew up.
"Anything else hurtin'?" He rasped tightly, his eyes glued to the splattering of blood on her t-shirt across her stomach. Grimacing at the sight, she slide a hand up her shirt and over the slight curve, feeling for any injuries. Shaking her head she replied, "I'm fine. Probably a huge bruise on my ass."
Merle snorted and muttered, "If I had my way I'd add some more."
Sam pursed her lips before laughing, "Shuddup."
"Ain't kiddin'. Wanna tan your ass." He growled, grabbed the offending flesh in a large palm. Sam yelped as his curled fingers hit sensitive spots, the bruising larger than she thought. Merle eased up, his hand smoothing up and down the curve of her ass. "Better?" He drawled hoarsely, his head dipping to the curve of her neck. "It really hurtin'?"
"Just a bruise." She moaned as he kissed behind her ear, his tongue wetting the warm skin seductively.
"Lemme see." he rasped, pulling back to see her clouded gaze.
"You just wanna see me naked." Sam quipped, her hands sliding up his shirt to feel the muscles defining his abs and chest. God how she loved his thick arms and broad chest, nothing else made her weak in the knees like the 'v' leading to his delicious length. A giant arrow pointing at the weapon in his jeans.
"Now, now." He rasped, a sly grin crinkling his face as he looked over her blushing cheeks, "I'm just a concerned spouse. I wanna make sure my sweetheart ain't in any pain."
"The only pain in my ass is you." She snarked, pulling away despite the desire to crawl up his body and maul his face. Sam knew he liked the banter. Her mouth turned him on just as much as her body, the barbs exchanged like foreplay.
"Oh yeah?" He teased, "that why this titties are all perky and tight? 'cause ya hate me." A large hand slide up her shirt, calloused fingertips tracing the gentle curve of her waist and the ridges of her ribs. "Ya hatin' this huh?"
Biting her bottom lip she tried to hold in her moans, nodding her head she murmured, "obviously hating it."
Smirking slowly, Merle tucked his thumb under the edge of her bra, the rough pad sweeping over the tightened peak. Without any control, Sam groaned low and deep before sighing, Merle reacting instantly by sucking a tantalizing path up her neck. "Godfuckingdamn sugar." He mumbled against the warm skin behind her ear. "The sounds ya make drive me crazy."
"I'm still mad at you, asshole." She grumbled before swallowing another moan as his hand switched sides, his forefinger and thumb rolling her nipple between them.
"Bout what? Me protectin' what's mine? Kicking an abusive shitbag's ass or is it that I'm right, that ya fucked up gettin' involved where ya didn't belong."
"Shuddup Merle." She muttered, her head tilting back as his nipped her earlobe a little to roughly.
"No." he mumbled against her cleavage, "got a right to be pissed off and ya need to admit it."
"Or what?"
"Or I'm gonna stop doin this." He replied, his fingers rubbing a tight and firm path around her clit. The instant stimulation making her knees shake and mouth to drop open. Merle wound her up so quickly she thought she might cum until suddenly he was gone. Sam's eyes fluttered open and she grumbled, "fucker."
"Admit it." He insisted, a sharp grin showing off his pearly whites.
"No."
"Say it Sam. Tell me ya fucked up or ya ain't gettin' fucked."
"Fine. I'll do it myself!" She snapped, her hand sliding into her pants without hesitation. It didn't feel nearly as good and she knew she'd never cum knowing how much better it could feel if Merle was doing it but she wasn't giving him the upper hand. Merle grunted at the sight, his hips pressing forward into her. She could feel his hard on grinding against her thigh as he grabbed her ass tightly.
"Fuck. Ya ain't playin' fair girl." He grunted, rutting against her hip like a desperate animal.
"Who the fuck said I would?" She gasped, with a little chuckle as he growled lowly, the gruff rumble vibrating against her chest.
"Goddamnit woman." He grunted, yanking her off he counter top into his arms. Sam's legs wound around his waist as he climbed the stairs easily with her slung around him. When they reached the bedroom, Merle tossed her onto the bed. His hand began unbuckling his pants as his eyes watched her undress frantically.
"Say it Sugar." He rasped, his hand stroking himself as he eyed the last bit of clothing fall from her body. Sam could only watch, her mouth dropping open as she witnessed his arousal spilling over his knuckles.
"No." she gasped, licking her lips as he thrust into his hand, the blue eyes of a predator watching her squirm on the bed wantonly.
"Say it or I'm bendin' ya over my knee."
"Try it old man." Sam murmured, her eyes crinkling with her smile. Merle's smirk grew as he stalked forward, his hand gripping her ankle. With a firm tug she was yanked down the bed towards him, a squeal escaping her lips from the quick action.
"Now. Now. Be a good girl and accept your punishment."
"Fuck off, Merle." She exclaimed with a giggle, kicking her foot out of his hand.
"C'mere Sugar. It'll only hurt a little." He teased, dragging her down the bed before flipping her onto her stomach. Sam tried to squirm away but Merle straddled her legs while pinning her hips with his large hand. She felt the blunt end of his wrist stroke over her thigh and ass while he rasped, "got a big bruise coming Sugar."
"That a threat?" She snarked, looking over her shoulder at him with a coy smirk. Merle grinned widely and moved his hand to stroke over the curve of her ass, his course nails leaving a trail of goosebumps. Without answering her, Merle began trailing his fingers down her back, dipping at her waist before tracing the curve below her ass cheek. Sam felt his mouth touch the bruised hip, a soft wet heat soothing the ache. She moaned deeply as he began kissing and nipping the thick muscles, the sensation making her roll her hips seeking friction. A squeal escaped her as Merle bit her ass hard before growling deeply, "don't ever do somethin' so stupid again Sam."
Peeking at him over her shoulder she saw nothing but concern, Sam couldn't help but soften under the look. Nodding, she murmured, "I wasn't thinking anything other than that fucker was hurting one of ours. It won't happen again."
"Good." Merle murmured, his mouth closing in on the reddened skin of her injury. Kissing it softly, he then sat up to roll Sam to her back. She watched his hand smooth over her stomach, his thumb brushing across the new curves. "Both of ya safe is all I want. Ain't losin' either of ya, Samantha. I can't."
"You won't as long as I can help it," her hand cupping his rough cheek, Sam feeling apologetic for worrying him. She loved him so completely and knew everything he did was for her and his family. The man would lay down his life for them and she couldn't help but want to do everything in her power to keep that from happening. No more heroics, she had to be smarter and safer.
Merle stood in the townhouse Rick was being held in, the man still sleeping off his concussion. Frowning at the bandages on his face and hands, Merle kicked the man's leg a little too roughly.
"Merle." Michonne complained, her arms crossed tightly as she frowned at their leader.
"What?" Merle barked, kicking his leg in again, "Asshole needs to wake the fuck up and explain his goddamn self."
Rick rolled over, blinking his eyes before sitting up slowly. Merle glared at the man, his arms crossed and eyes piercing. He was pissed off still, he may have forgiven Sam for making a poor decision but Rick had fucked up royally. Not only had he gotten Sam hurt but he had made everyone distrust them that much more.
"Got some explainin' to do asshole." He grunted, his eyebrow rising as if daring him to refuse.
Rick sighed, rubbing his eyes of sleep as he looked over the group standing around him. Michonne was leaning against the rough drywall and Glenn, Carol and Abraham stood nearby. No one looked pleased with his actions.
"I messed up." The ex sheriff drawled, "just everything piled up and it was just one too many things."
Rolling his shoulders he slumped against the wall behind him. Merle huffed out a breath and rasped, "Sam got hurt, ya coulda hurt my kid."
Rick frowned, shaking his head, "I didn't mean for that to happen. Everything just got out of control."
"No shit." Michonne muttered, her hip cocked to the side and her arms crossed. "Where'd you get the gun Rick?" Glenn asked, his brow furrowed. "They confiscated everything."
"He stole it from the armory." Carol spoke up, her gray eyes narrowing at Rick and Merle. Rolling his eyes Merle drawled, "Yeah that's right ain't it Officer Friendly." Giving him a sardonic grin while leaning casually against the dusty unfinished wall. Michonne glowered at him before asking, "That was stupid. Why did you do it?"
Rick shrugged, his beaten face holding no real regret, "Just in case I guess."
Glenn stepped forward and broke the bad news, "Deanna's planning to have a meeting tonight. For anyone who wants to."
"To kick Rick out?" Carol asked, her arms crossed tightly over her cardigan. Merle snorted, "Ain't no way any of us are leavin'."
"They can try though, what then?" Michonne muttered, her angry eyes landing on Merle.
"They can try all they want, don't mean shit." He replied, shrugging his broad shoulders. "They ain't doin' shit besides pointin' fingers like a bunch of pussies."
Carol rolled her eyes at Merle and instructed casually, "At the meeting, you say you were worried about someone being abused and no one was doing anything about it. You say you took a gun just to be sure that Jessie was safe from a man who wound up attacking you. You say you'll do whatever you want them to. Just tell them a story that they want to hear. It's what I've been doing since I got here."
Michonne looked at her with wide eyes, a look of confusion clouding her troubled eyes, "Why?"
Carol deadpanned, "Because these people are children and children like stories."
Chuckling Merle tipped his chin towards Carol and commented, "She's right. These people are livin' in the goddamn clouds. Fuckin' barbecues and housewarming gifts. Should send 'em out in the real world, let 'em sort their shit out reeeeeal quick."
"What happens after all the nice words and they still try to kick him out?" Glenn asked, his brows raised high. "They're guarding the armory now."
"We still have knives. That's all we'll need against them." Rick rasped, resting his arms on his bent knees. Merle nodded along, holding up his metal arm. "I don't even need my blade to take out these poor saps."
"Tonight at the meeting, if it looks like it's going bad, I whistle. Carol grabs Deanna, I take Spencer, you grab Reg, Merle and Abraham cover us, watch the crowd."
"We can talk to them." Glenn spoke adamantly, his hand up as if to pacify Merle's sneering mouth. "We gotta try."
"Yeah, we will. If we can't get through, we take the three of them and say we'll slit their throats."
"Like at Terminus?" Michonne asked, her nose scrunched in disgust. "Like animals?"
"No, we just tell 'em." Rick assured, his eyes betraying his words though. Merle could tell Rick just wanted to get it over with and take over, hell he did too.
"They give us the armory and it's over."
"Did you want this?" Michonne asked, her eyes narrowing as Rick insisted, "No. I hit my limit. I.. I screwed up. And here we are….. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna sleep some more."
Merle chuckled after everyone else filed out, his blue eyes meeting Rick's. "Almost blew it there Sherriff."
"I don't know what you're on about." Rick drawled, stretching out on the bare mattress. Snorting Merle headed towards the door before tossing over his shoulder, "If you say so slick. Just know that when we do this it's gotta be quick and with no damn hesitation."
"Thanks for the advice Dixon." He muttered before adding, "Hey uh… tell Sam I'm sorry she got hurt."
Grunting in response Merle closed the door loudly and headed down the staircase. Passing the men guarding Rick's holding cell, Merle smirked at them while giving them a playful salute, "Ladies."
Sam was sitting in the front yard with Judith on a checkered blanket. The little girl was playing with a few plastic cups and a mini basketball. Her gurgling chatter had Sam smiling while leaning back on her hands, her legs outstretched. Hearing a familiar gait coming towards her, she watched as Merle sauntered down the sidewalk. He had a cigarette perched between his lips as he found her watching him, his mouth curling handsomely.
"Well hello beautifuls." He drawled gravelly, crouching down to pick up the ball Judith tossed towards the street. "Ya got an arm on ya, huh Lil Shit."
"Merle stop calling her that." Sam sighed, laying on her back, her arms resting behind her head. Plopping down next to her, his sat with one leg bent, his sleeve propped on it. Blowing smoke away from the little girl, he informed, "Sherriff's awake."
"He calm the fuck down yet?"
Snorting, he nodded while putting the butt out on his boot heel before dropping it in his shirt pocket. Sam smirked at him keeping it from ending up in the girl's grabby hands and drooling mouth.
"Got a meeting tonight to talk 'bout kickin' him out."
"What?!" Same exclaimed, sitting up instantly. Turning to face him she growled, "They aren't kicking him out."
"No, no they aren't." he replied, shrugging his shoulder. "They can try but we'll take care of it. Don't worry your pretty little head about it darlin'."
"Well tell me what to do." Sam said, combing her hand through Judith's fine blonde hair. She'd never been a kid person, her experience non existent until Judith. However, now that she was preganant she couldn't help but be facinated with the little girl.
"You ain't comin'." Merle rasped, his eyes twinkling as Judith raised her hands above her head and squealed at the sight of a bird in the sky.
"I've got to. I need to tell them why they shouldn't kick him out."
Merle snorted, shaking his head with a wry smile, "It don't matter what we say. They're all stuck behind these walls thinkin' if they ignore what's out there, everythin' will stay the same. They're dumb."
"I should at least try." She insisted, picking up Judith as she began to crawl away.
"I don't want you there." He growled, the firmness of his words rubbing Sam the wrong way despite the reasoning behind it. "If things go south I don't want you or peanut there. Stay at home with Judith for me..please?"
Sighing loudly, Sam eventually gave him a stiff nod. "Alright, alright."
Merle broke into a wide smile and pulled her closer with a large warm palm on the back of her neck. Kissing her softly on her temple, he whispered hoarsely, "Good girl, later I'll give ya something special."
"Oh yeah?" she murmured into his neck, her blue eyes peering up at him. "What would that be?"
"Mmm." He hummed, pulling back to grin at her again, "You'll jus' have t'wait and see sugar."
The Alexandrians were crowded in Deanna's backyard around a flickering fire pit. Merle relaxed against the brick wall, his narrowed eyes watching the housewives chatter about how dangerous Rick was. The group was arguing about Rick's intentions in town and the disgust they had for Deanna's decisions to let them in as well as take over. Maggie spoke out as well as Carol, who hammed it up with her fragile weak woman façade. Rolling his eyes, he turned his attention to Abraham who drawled, "Simply put, there is a vast ocean of shit you people don't know fuck all about. Rick knows every fine grain of said shit... and then some. He's the type you need to follow in order to survive such a shitshow."
Snorting Merle decided to speak up. "Me and the sheriff don't have a reeeal pleasant past. The guy is an asshole and is responsible for some shit I don't feel like revisitin'. Truthfully I don't even like him much."
"See even his…" a woman blurted out, her dyed hair too bright to be real.
"I wasn't done speakin' Sugartits." He rasped, with a shit eating grin as Abraham chuckled next to him. "I don't like the guy but I trust 'im. I trust him with my brother and my girl's lives. Y'all don't gotta like him or his ways but ya should listen when he tells ya how it is. It ain't sunshine and tea parties out there. Rick and us, we know how to do it. Y'all won't survive without us and we wouldna survived without Grimes."
The courtyard was quiet for a moment before Deanna began to speak her mind, her face heavily shadowed from the low burning fire. A sound caught his attention and before he could identify it Merle watched as Rick marched into the yard with a dead walker. His face was covered with blood and the corpse he dropped to the ground with a dull thud, was mutilated. The women and men standing in a circle gasped, most horrified at the sight.
Going on guard instantly, Merle walked to the gateway and peered down the street for more undead. He listened as Rick explained that the front gate was left open. Growling he turned back to the group, Spencer now confessing to leaving his post without checking the gate.
"I didn't bring it in. It got inside on its own. They always will- the dead and the living, because we're in here." Rick drawled, pacing back and forth while the group watched. Merle kept close to the wall, listening to Rick speak but paying attention to their surroundings. He wasn't too sure he accepted that no other corpses were wandering around.
"The ones out there. They'll hunt us. They'll find us. They'll try to use us. They'll try to kill us. But we'll kill them. We'll survive. I'll show you how." The ex sheriff continued, his bright eyes scanning the others. "You know, I was thinking- I was thinking how many of you do I have to kill to save your lives? But I'm not gonna do that. You're gonna change."
Deanna stood behind him, her arms crossed tightly as Rick kept speaking over the others, the dead walker at his feet. "I'm not sorry for what I said last night. I'm sorry for not saying it sooner. You're not ready, but you have to be. Right now, you have to be because luck runs out."
Merle cocked his head to the side as shuffling footsteps headed their way, his narrowed eyes looking into the dark street to see Pete staggering towards the group. Rolling his eyes at the drunken idiot, Merle alerted Abraham to the incoming problem.
"You're not one of us. You're not one of us!" Pete shouted, his hand holding out a bottle of booze while the other gripped Michonne's sword. Merle stepped forward, sliding the blade on his arm sheath down while tightening the strap. He had a feeling their little get together was about to spin out of control.
"Pete, you don't want to do this." Reg insisted, stepping forward with his hand raised slightly. Merle growled as Pete shoved the man away, the sword coming way to close to others as they tried to intervene.
"Get the hell away from me, Reg." Pete shouted, shoving him away while trying to fight off the others approaching. Swinging the blade upwards as he shoved Reg again, the sharpened weapon slit Reg's throat like butter. Blood sprayed out across the courtyard and poured down the front of his button up shirt. The group screamed collectively, everyone running away from the madman. Deanna screamed, her small hands trying to stem the bleeding as Merle and Abraham jumped on top of Pete. The sword was pulled from his grasp as Merle ground his knee into the back of Pete's neck, his bayonette pressed into the drunk's throat.
"This is his fault. All his fault!" he screeched below them, the tall blonde man insisting it was Rick's doing.
"Shut up." Abraham growled, punching the man in the ribs and head to try to keep him from struggling.
"Oh, God! Oh, my love. My love, my love." Deanna sobbed over her dying husband, his face becoming pale and drawn as the last of his blood pumped from his neck wound.
Merle averted his eyes, his glare pinning the man below him with something close to fury. He was happy he had Sam stay at home, if she had been taken from him like Reg was, the world would be burned to the foundation.
Rick stood over Pete, his revolver pointed at his head as Reg died with a rasping gurgle, Deanna whimpering over his limp body. Her deep-set eyes met Rick's both of them having a silent conversation.
"Rick… do it." She growled, her face turning into something close to fury. Without hesitation, Rick pulled the trigger while showing little to no emotion. Merle was splattered with blood and brain, the feel of the warm fluid making him grimace. Stepping back he looked up as three faces appeared in the courtyard's entrance. He made eye contact with Daryl and Aaron, a dark skinned man standing in the middle of them.
"Rick?" the man muttered causing Rick to peer up with a blood covered face and thousand yard stare. The people around them were still crying out, their delicate sensibilities ruined by the grievous actions of their leader and her newly hired executioner. Alexandria was suddenly different, the walls may not have fallen but the outside had officially gotten inside. Blood and gunpowder scented the air and deep guttural cries echoed into the night, the safe zone didn't seem so safe anymore.
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