Out of the Woods (The Walking Dead)
Made to Suffer:
Suzy zipped up her bag once she felt like she had all the main essentials packed. When she was in the middle of packing, Merle decided to excuse himself yet again, giving Suzy a very uneasy feeling. He avoided her questions like the plague. Were they having some sort of problems with another group? Someone had to be here, that was the most information she could gather. She couldn't just go asking around without seeming suspicious, and the people she already tried asking told her to keep her curiosities to herself. They did not want her getting involved in whatever was happening, that was for sure. If it was issues with another group, she could be very helpful. She was the best shot in the whole place and they knew it. If someone was here, that meant more would be coming to find them.
She pulled her .38 from her belt and checked the bullets to see how many she had. It was fully loaded. She hadn't used it since, "Maggie-" She whispered, immediately closing the bullet cartridge and putting it back on her belt. She caught her breath to calm herself then headed out to see if there was anything she could gather from the armory. It was dark now, technically she wasn't allowed out just like all the regular townsfolk. There should be a few stragglers left, so she should still be able to go unnoticed. If her theory was right, she was going to need more than a simple .38 gun. She knew what Merle meant now. They weren't sneaking their way out of Woodbury. They were fighting their way out...
"The prison's the perfect place to hole up." Governor said, pointing at the map then secured his belt around his waist, "What once kept prisoners in now keeps biters out. That's smart."
"You thinkin' of taking it over, moving Woodbury there?" Merle asked, knowing that was a dumb question. It couldn't hurt to give it as an option. It was an opportunity to assure Daryl would live.
"People love it here because it feels like what was. Move 'em to damp cells surrounded by barbed wire? No," Governor glared, "We gotta take out the group that's livin' there. Let the biters move back in. Non one'll be the wiser."
I was afraid of that... Merle shook his head in objection, "The problem is my brother's with them."
Governor shrugged, "Well, you'll talk to him. Make him our inside man. He'll get us in there. We'll wave the white flag like we did with the National Guard."
Merle knew there was a chance that was bullshit. Plus, there wasn't a guarantee Daryl would survive or agree to it to begin with. If he was still with that Atlanta crew, he was probably real soft of them by now. He would have to try to come up with another plan once he finally saw Daryl face to face.
"Nothing happens to Daryl," Merle said like asking for assurance.
"Of course not," Governor replied. Somehow I doubt that. Especially if Daryl was against that plan, he would one hundred percent be killed with the rest.
"What about Glenn?" Merle asked, "And the girl?"
The Governor took a deep breath through his nose like that question triggered something inside of him. Merle still didn't think he could say the girl's name. It was still too weird for him to wrap his head around.
"Well, the longer they're here, the more chance Andrea and Susan will find out," Governor replied, "Take 'em to the screamer pits."
He simply walked off after giving that command. Did he not have the balls to do it himself? Always gotta do this shit head's dirty work, huh, Merle thought. He knew this was what it was coming to the moment the Governor decided to get involved. Daryl would most likely be pissed if he went through with this. Hell, Suzy would be pissed if he went through with this. It wasn't like he could take them himself. Others would have to come to make sure they didn't try getting away. Perhaps he could have a few help put them in one of the trucks then he would say he could handle it from there. Or if someone insisted they come with, he could knock him out once they got to the pits. Then he would be able to just let them go. Then there was the option of none of that being likely to happen then being forced to go through with it anyway. He didn't want to though and he knew it.
Suzy, Daryl, forgive me, he thought as he left the Governor's apartment.
Suzy quietly entered the armory, making sure to check if there was anyone else inside. The coast was clear, so she made her way to the guns so she could pick out what she thought would work best. She should probably grab something for Merle too. She picked up a shot gun and an A.R. 15 and slung them over her shoulder. She went to the locker that had the bag which held most of the ammo. She pulled it out and dug through, trying to find ammo to match the two guns, plus an extra few for her .38.
"What are you doing?" A voice in the dark made her jump and draw one of her knives from her belt. When he stepped out of the darkness and into the moonlight from the upper window, she lowered her knife and sighed.
"You scared the shit out of me," She groaned.
"You're not supposed to be in here," Martinez came closer. He held out his hand to help her stand up, "It's curfew. Come on, let's go."
"I realize it's curfew, Martinez," Suzy unintentionally snapped at him. When she realized her tone, she calmed herself, "I'm sorry. I just-I know there's something happening in here. Something that's only gonna get worse. If there's people coming, I want to be ready."
"That's crazy," Martinez smirked like he was holding in a laugh, "No one's comin' here. Even if they do, they won't make it past the wall with all the guards we got at night. We're fine."
"Don't bullshit me," She said, "I heard you guys talking earlier about who you're holding here."
"Wait, you know about that?" Martinez looked at her with a shocked expression, "What were you doin' spyin' on us?"
"I don't like being kept in the dark, okay? You were all acting weird and I wanted to know why. We have to be ready to defend this place."
"Even after figurin' all this out, you still wanna help defend Woodbury?" Martinez asked, confused. When Suzy looked back with a determined no-fear look in her eye, he shrugged, "Don't let the Governor catch you."
He sighed and left the armory after that, leaving Suzy to continue loading up the guns on her own. She knew if it were anyone else, she would've been dragged out of there so quick she wouldn't know what hit her. He meant it when he said he cared about her. If he wasn't so loyal to the Governor she would've debated bringing him along. Merle would've hated that for sure and probably would've shut it down immediately. It was too late now anyway.
Suzy gathered the loaded guns and brought them outside to hide in certain shrubs so the Governor or the guards wouldn't see them. That way if someone did come to attack, she could just whip them out and start firing. She looked around for any sign of Merle. He was probably in the back where she saw him talking earlier with Martinez and the Governor. She casually walked like she was heading home for the night so no one would give her a second look. The second she could, she snuck her way behind the buildings so she could make her way to the rear end of Woodbury. Did she even remember which building it was? Not really. All she remembered was the red door, but she couldn't simply walk through there at this time of night. She moved as quietly as she could as to not alert anyone she was sneaking around. She was going to find out who was being held here, and she was going to find out now.
Gun shots made Suzy freeze. There was a ton of them, sounding like they came from one of the machine guns. It definitely came from the rear where she was headed. She waited for more, but didn't hear any. What if Merle was in trouble? She found her footing again and turned her walk into a sprint, not caring if anyone spotted her at this point. She heard screams from civilians, running in the same direction to see what was going on. At least she wouldn't be the only one heading towards it. Her .38 at the ready, she ran in hopes to find Merle. If he needed help, she was going to be there.
"Ay, Warren-" Merle gestured for him to follow, "I need yur help loadin' them up in the truck."
"Where are we taking them?" Warren asked as they walked through the red door and down the steps.
"Governor ordered to take 'em to the screamer pits," Merle replied, "Be on your guard, they might put up a bit of a fight."
"They're in for a real shit storm if they do," Warren chuckled.
Once they reached the correct door, Merle had Warren go first to open in. He rolled his eyes and did so, expecting those two to be huddling in the corner fearing for their lives. Instead, Glenn came charging out, shoving Warren to the opposite wall while he went after Merle himself. Maggie used the broken bone from the dead biter that attacked Glenn and shoved it up Warren's neck. He bled profusely and was dead before he could comprehend what just happened. His corpse falling to the ground triggered his machine gun to start firing at the ceiling while Merle overpowered Glenn on the ground. Maggie quickly picked up the gun and pointed it at Merle.
"Let him go!" Maggie shouted, seeing Merle putting his blade hand to Glenn's throat. Merle gazed behind her and saw Martinez, making him smirk.
"Okay," He put his hand and blade in the air playfully. Martinez pointed his machine gun at her, with another one of their guys behind him. When Maggie heard them prepping the guns to fire, Merle used the opportunity to snatch the one she had right out of her hand.
"Give me the gun!" He shouted as he took it from her. He looked down at Glenn still on the floor, "Get up!"
Glenn groaned in pain, unable to get his body to pull itself up. Whatever adrenaline he had coursing through him had worn off, his body succumbing to the beating. Merle groaned and grabbed Glenn by the arm to forcefully yank him up so he was on his knees. Martinez then pulled Maggie over to kneel next to Glenn and called for more backup in case they tried something again. Time to stall, Merle thought, come on Daryl...
Suzy checked the front door to each building until she found the one with the red door. This was definitely where the shots came from. When her hand reached for the knob, she retracted. There had to be a back door entrance. She looked around then paced around the building to find the back door. When she did, she clicked the hammer back on her gun and opened the door as quietly as she could. When she got down the stairs, she ducked for cover behind the wall, seeing Pete walking by. As she went further in, she could hear Merle's voice more and more clearly.
"I tried to tell y'all how it was gonna be," Merle said, calming his tone, "But y'all didn't listen. Now here we are." Merle circled them, gesturing for Martinez to grab the sacks to put over their heads, "Glad we could catch up."
"Just keep looking at me," Glenn muttered to a crying Maggie.
"I love you," She cried, Martinez then putting the bag over her head.
Suzy kept her back to the wall to keep the others from seeing her. She peeked as discreetly as she could to see what was going on. Merle and Martinez were very much in the way, but she could see a glimpse of two people with sacks over their heads on the ground. Two outsiders then, she figured.
"On your feet!" Pete shouted, Shumpert taking hold of Glenn to make him stand. Suzy stepped away from the wall to follow them. Where were they taking these two? Who even were they? Pete shouted again, "Let's move, come on!"
Suddenly out of nowhere, she heard what sounded like little explosions come from where Merle and Martinez were standing. A thick gas filled the area so quickly, making everyone cough and look for cover. Suzy quickly ducked back behind the wall. The gas was so thick she could barely see a thing. It made her eyes feel like they were burning to the point were she was tearing. She used her hand to cough into and held out her other hand to try finding her way to the door.
Merle separated from the others as quick as he could. He could barely see a thing in the cloud of gas, but he knew what was happening. Glenn and Maggie were gone so quick he knew it was Officer Friendly coming back for them. Once he ducked behind the wall for cover, he waved his one hand to clear some of the smoke in his path.
"What the hell!" He shouted through his coughing fit. Within the smoke he could see Suzy blindly trying to make her way through the hallway. He clenched his jaw and immediately grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her, making her gasp. He grunted, "What the hell's wrong with you? Come here!"
Before she could even try answering, Merle pulled a bandana out of his pocket and put it over her face. She used her own hand to keep it over her eyes while he put his on her mouth, then his blade on her back to guide them both out of the building. They burst through the door and Suzy fell to her knees coughing into the bandana.
"What the hell were you doin' in there, girl?" Merle grabbed her arm to help her stand, "Hmm? You tell me right now."
"I heard shots-" Suzy replied, wiping the tears from her eyes, "I wanted to help you."
"You listen to me," Merle looked at her sternly, "I don't care what kinda trouble I'm in. You leave it, you understand that?"
"You can't ask that of me," She sighed, "If you're in trouble I need to help you. That's what we do for each other."
"That was dangerous shit to be walkin' into. You weren't supposed to be down there seein' any of that. You let me handle it, ya hear?"
Suzy frowned at the ground and nodded, "Yes, Merle. I'm sorry. I-"
"Come here," Merle pulled her in for a hug and began stroking her hair with his hand. She buried her face into his warm chest gladly, "Don't be sorry, honey. None of this shit is your fault. I just don't want anythin' happening to ya. Ever."
Martinez came out the back door with a few of the others behind him. He coughed and waved the rest of the gas away with his hand. When they saw him, Merle and Suzy pulled away from each other.
"They're gone," Martinez said.
"Both of 'em?" Merle said like he was actually surprised. He made a fake grunt of annoyance to make it look more realistic.
"Yeah. Their people are already here, maybe got more comin'," Martinez nodded, "We gotta tell the Governor."
"All righty," Merle said, "Let's go and stick together. These assholes can be anywhere."
The group followed Merle and Martinez back into the main area of the town to look for the Governor. They asked around, all the other guards saying he had gone to Milton's office to consult a meeting.
"We're under attack." One said.
"Governor said shoot to kill." Said another.
"We should try to get at least one prisoner," Martinez said, "Use 'em as leverage."
"Tried that already, Brownie," Merle said, "Look where that got us."
"Nah," Martinez said, "That's where you got us."
"Knock it off, boy before I-"
"Jesus Christ, will you two stop it?" Suzy rolled her eyes, "Now is not the time, Martinez. So shut it and stop pointing the finger at people."
"Just pointin' it at who's responsible." Martinez muttered under his breath.
Merle groaned in response as they made their way to Milton's office. When they walked in, they saw the Governor, Andrea, Milton, Haley, and Shumpert.
"Any sign of 'em?" Governor asked after he loaded his pistol.
"Signs of what?" Milton said, "What exactly is happening out there?"
"Some assholes want what we have," Merle lied, making Suzy gaze her eyes at him in confusion. Was she supposed to just go with it? She guessed so, if this was part of his plan.
"Then what are we doing waiting around here?" Andrea asked.
"Damn straight," Merle nodded, "Let's take these sons of bitches out."
"The perimeter must've been breached somewhere if they were able to get in undetected," Suzy spoke up, "Or a blind spot we didn't catch."
"How do we know the perimeter was breached?" Milton asked, "Did anyone actually see them?"
"They killed Warren," Merle lied.
"Killed?" Milton gasped.
"Holy shit," Haley put her hand over her mouth in shock.
"Mhm," Merle continued his story, remembering what Maggie did. He could've easily threw her under the bus for this, but he didn't. He wasn't too sure if he knew why yet, "Got up close, stuck a stake through his neck."
The Governor looked shocked as well, knowing exactly who it was getting in this place now. That group from the prison, whoever they were.
"We need patrols now," Governor spoke sternly, "Can't take chances with these terrorists."
"Terrorists?" Suzy quoted his odd choice of words. While the Governor gave Andrea instructions, Suzy thought about what Merle's plan could possibly be. If there were prisoners here, was the tear gas a means of that group getting them back quietly? They didn't want this place, they just wanted their people.
"Why are we encouraging this?" Suzy whispered.
"You just stick close to me," Merle whispered back. Martinez noticed their secret chat, but couldn't make out everything they were saying. Merle continued, "Do what everyone else is doing."
"The rest of you split up." Governor ordered, "Merle will lead the search."
When the group began scattering the office to leave one by one, Martinez pulled Suzy to the side.
"What?" Suzy asked with an annoyed tone in her voice.
"What are you doin'?" Martinez asked. She couldn't tell if it was out of sincerity or because he was suspicious of her.
"I don't know what you're talking about," She replied.
"Don't bullshit me," Martinez made sure to keep his voice low, "If you two are plannin' somethin', it'd be smart to tell me now."
Shit. He was onto her. Well, she didn't know what the plan was. This was probably why Merle didn't want her to know anyway. The more she was kept in the dark, the safer she would be.
"We have bigger things happening right now," She said firmly, "And I don't know what you're getting at anyways."
"You promise me?" He asked, not breaking his eyes away from hers. She looked back at him.
"I promise." She said, not sure if it was a total lie or not.
"All right," He nodded, bringing her out with him.
When they stepped outside, they saw more smoke in the distance towards the main wall. One of the guards, David, pointed his flashlight spotted them.
"There they are!" He shouted, starting the gunfire.
"Take cover, now!" Martinez ordered her.
"No, wait!" Suzy ran over to the shrub on the side of the road and reached in to pull out the guns she got from the armory. She also pulled out her bag that held any extra ammo and slung that over her shoulder. She passed a shot gun over to Shumpert who was passing by. She then grabbed the two A.R. 15's.
"I'll get this to Merle! Go cover me!" She shouted over the gun fire. Martinez nodded and ran with Shumpert to use one of the benches as cover. They shot at the intruders while Suzy ran in the opposite direction to look for Merle.
"Merle!" She shouted as loud as she could.
"Suzy!" She heard him shout. She looked around, but couldn't see him with the growing amount of smoke from the gunfire. Once he was standing directly in front of her, she handed him one of the guns.
"You need to get outta here, off the street!" He said, taking the gun.
"Are you kidding?" She replied, "No, I'm staying with you."
"We don't have time to fight over this. If you're staying, get cover!" He grunted, "Make sure you have sight of who you shoot, got it?"
Suzy nodded and the two ran to go join Shumpert and Martinez behind the bench. There was so much smoke she could barely see a thing, let alone a moving person. When she squinted, she saw a man in all black running through the smoke, shooting at the guards on the wall. She couldn't get a good look, but started shooting anyway. She saw a few of them run by in a blur. She shot up where she saw a tall black guy climbing on top of one of their buses. He pushed one of their own through then got shot down, but not from one of her bullets. It was another one of their guards charging into the cloud of smoke, only she didn't see him come back out. Suzy crouched down to reload her gun, Shumpert shouting they were getting away.
"They're heading for the main gate!" Martinez shouted.
"Let's move!" Merle ordered.
The four of them stood and ran up to the main gate. They climbed up the ladder and the buses to get the high ground and go after them. There was still so much smoke, even when they reached the top. Suzy ran ahead of the rest to find a clear spot. Through the darkness, one after the other made it over the wall with one jump. Suzy realized she had her sights on the last one. She pointed her gun then paused. It was a girl. A girl with light brown short hair, a lot like her own. She was definitely taller though. She wore black jeans, black boots, and an oversized black V-neck T-shirt. Suzy lowered the gun in total bewilderment. It was almost like looking in a mirror.
When the girl looked back at her, she took notice of Suzy lowering her gun. Maybe she thought the same thing as her, about how similar in type they were. She stared intensely at Suzy and lowered her own gun. She almost seemed confused. The girl then took the opportunity to jump from the wall to make her escape. Suzy ran to the edge and watched her run away, the others in her group already far ahead of her. Once they were out of sight, she turned around to go back down the ladder.
"I saw that," Martinez said. He was standing right in front of the ladder, preventing her from getting down.
"Saw what?" Suzy replied, "Them running away?"
"You had one in your sights. And you let 'em go," Martinez said with a clear shift in his tone. Suzy lowered her head in shame.
"I couldn't," She sighed, "Through the smoke is different. When they're right in front of you looking you in the eye, I just couldn't do it, Martinez. I'm no killer."
"Yeah," Martinez replied, still not sounding too happy, "I know."
The two went down the ladder, the smoke finally clearing. She looked around for any sight of Merle. There was no sign of him.
"We got one!" Pete grinned as he jogged up to them.
"What?" Suzy asked shocked.
"One of the terrorists!" He said, "Stayed behind to cover the rest I think. Any sign of the others?"
"They made it over," Martinez answered. Suzy noticed the slight glare in his eyes when he said that. It was a glare directly at her. "Show me where we're keepin' the son of a bitch. Suzy, you go talk to the Governor."
Suzy nodded and began making her way down Woodbury. It was so eerily quiet now. It was like there wasn't a shootout at all. It went back to a ghost town so quickly, she debated if it even happened at all.
"Suzy!" She heard Merle yell from behind her. She turned and saw Merle with Milton behind him.
"Oh thank God," Suzy gasped and threw her arms around him. "Are you okay?"
"We're all fine." He replied, pushing her back, "Heard you had a scare up on the wall. What happened?"
"They made it over." Suzy sighed, "Now Martinez is pissed at me. He thinks I let her go."
"Who, the girl?" Merle asked.
"Yeah," She nodded, "I think I recognized her from the basement. She had the same shirt and-"
"Guys! Come quick!" They heard Haley yell from down the street.
"What is it?" Milton called back.
"It's the Governor!" She yelled, clear panic in her voice, "He's been attacked!"
The three immediately ran over to Haley, who was standing beside the infirmary building. She told them how he had been stabbed in the eyes with glass and Andrea taking him to get bandaged. Suzy had never seen Milton move so fast in his life. He took the lead and rushed inside the infirmary, checking every door until he found the right one.
"Let me go first," Milton told them, making his way inside the room. Once he was in, Merle looked at Suzy with a determined eye.
"Stay behind me," Merle said, "And let me do the talkin'."
Suzy nodded and the three made their way inside, Haley shutting the door behind them in shock. Merle observed the Governor carefully, seeing the glass was already removed from his eye, a bandage and gauze replacing it. Suzy did as Merle said and stayed behind him with Haley in silence.
"What happened to you?" Merle asked. The Governor stiffened at that question. Suzy saw him slowly turn his head towards Merle. In his good eye, he had the most intensely dark stare she had ever seen. He looked genuinely angry, like he was doing everything possible to not explode in that moment. She didn't even see that look on his face when he took her to his private dwelling. It made her heart start pounding with anxiety.
"I was attacked." Governor finally replied, not even blinking. He was pissed, and it looked like it was Merle he was pissed with. But why, she thought. What did he do?
"They made it over the wall," Merle said like he didn't notice the expression on the Governor's face, "I'll go after 'em in the morning."
The Governor didn't reply. He kept staring at Merle like he just strangled and shot him six times. Suzy was actually afraid he was dangerously close to doing that right here in front of everyone. Suzy put her hand on Merle's back, clutching his black shirt firmly with her fist. Merle even took notice to how he was being looked at. Before he could ask what was wrong, the Governor finally said something.
"Gather everyone in the arena," He said in a low voice, calming his demeanor. He looked away and took a deep breath through his nose, "We're gonna have to have a community meeting."
"Got it," Merle nodded nonchalantly and took Suzy out with him. As they walked down the hall, Martinez passed by with some of the other guards. When they crossed paths, Suzy noticed the look he gave her. He was not happy either. She looked behind her as Martinez strolled into the room and shut the door after Andrea left, strolling behind them.
"What was that?" Suzy spoke in a low voice as they left the building.
"What was what?" Merle said casually.
"The way he looked at you," Suzy said, remembering that angry look in the Governor's eye, "He looked pissed."
"Prolly got his pants in a twist from gettin' his eye almost plucked out." Merle replied, "Don't worry about it."
"Yeah, I guess." Suzy said with uncertainty. She wasn't sure if Merle was just trying to act like he didn't notice, or he knew very well why the Governor looked like he was about to kill him right then and there. Either way, she was thankful Merle promised they would be leaving by the morning. They weren't going to last another day in this place. Now it was under the guise they were going after this group. She didn't know if that was actually true or if Merle was lying, it didn't matter. They were getting out either way.
Andrea joined in gathering everyone to the arena for this meeting. Everyone looked so defeated and scared. Pretty soon Martinez and Shumpert joined her and Merle's side in silence. No one talked, only waited for the Governor to arrive so he could lift their spirits after such an event. Suzy couldn't help feeling like Martinez was still upset with her for what happened at the wall. He wouldn't even look at her let alone speak. She thought about asking Shumpert where he suddenly got a crossbow from, but she retracted. She didn't want to be the one trying to break the silence. She said stuck to Merle's hip like glue. She felt safer the closer she was beside him. The entirety of Woodbury waited and waited, wondering when the Governor would show. Suzy didn't like the eerie silence. It only made her anxiety fester into sheer panic inside her chest. She kept her eyes averted to the ground and clutched the machine gun she still had in her hand, same with Merle. When she glanced up, she saw the Governor slowly approaching, looking just as defeated as everyone else. She averted her eyes again, not wanting to see a re-enactment of the look on his face she saw earlier. He stood in the center with everyone circling around him. He sighed, not knowing how to start.
"What can I say?" He shrugged and shook his head in shame, "Hasn't been a night like this since the walls were completed."
Suzy could remember that day. The breach in the wall. That was when she and everyone feared Woodbury was going to fall. They were wrong.
"And I thought we were past it." Governor continued, "Past the days when we all sat huddled, scared in front of the T.V. during the early days of the outbreak. The fear we all felt then, we felt it again tonight."
That was something she could finally agree with him on. He was right. This was the worst night they've had in so long, they forgot what it was like to be frightened for their lives.
"I failed you. I promised to keep you safe," Governor frowned. She didn't want to think he was lying about that either. It seemed like he meant it. That was his duty, and people came in and shook them all up. It really gave the Governor a run for his money. He was right again. He did fail them.
"Hell, look at me," He gave a fake smile, "You know I-I should tell you that we'll be okay. That we're safe. That tomorrow we'll bury our dead and endure, but I-I won't." His expression darkened and his jaw clenched, "'Cause I can't. 'Cause I'm afraid. That's right."
Suzy's breath hitched when he raised his voice, "I'm afraid of terrorists who want what we have! Who want to destroy us!"
He silenced for a moment. When she looked up, she saw that familiar expression she saw in the infirmary. That same look of pure rage that made her heart feel like it was going to pound out of her chest.
"And worse-" He continued looking around the crowd. She was afraid of what he was going to do with all that rage threatening to burst out of him, "Because one of those terrorists...Are some of our own."
The Governor then raised his arm and pointed at them, making Suzy feel like she was about to burst out in tears.
"Merle!" Governor shouted, causing the townsfolk to gasp and start whispering amongst themselves. Merle looked back at the Governor in just as much shock as she was. Shumpert pointed his crossbow at Merle's head from behind. When Suzy looked behind her, she saw Martinez pointing his machine gun at her side to where it was touching her. That softness and care he always had for her was gone in a flash. She looked back at the Governor, panting to try catching her breath. She couldn't ease it. She was more terrified now than she ever was before.
"The man I counted on! The man I trusted." Governor shouted, "And Susan! They led 'em here! And they let 'em in."
Pete came over and grabbed the guns from their hands then took her knives and Merle's blade from his prosthetic. The Governor then turned to look at the two of them. She wanted to ask why this was happening. She was so confused. She looked back at the Governor with a shocked stare, wanting to scream that she had nothing to do with any of it, that neither of them did. She opened her mouth to speak, but could only muster shaking her head over and over.
"It was you. Partners in crime," The Governor glared at them and pointed his finger. He looked angry to the point where she thought he might tear up, "You lied! Betrayed us all!"
"No-No-" Suzy croaked out, she looked at Martinez who still pointed his gun at her, "Martinez, please-"
"On your knees." He replied coldly. She tried protesting, only he wasn't hearing any of it. He grabbed her by the arm and forced her down onto the ground. She put her hands up to either side of her head in surrender while Martinez had Shumpert come over to point the crossbow at her head from behind her. Martinez brought a shocked Merle to the middle of the arena while two other guards brought their prisoner forth. As they brought him closer with a sack over his head, she saw a familiar vest he was wearing. The one with the angel wings on the back.
"This! Is one of the terrorists!" The Governor announced. The guards let the person go so the Governor could grab him roughly by the arm. He ripped the sack from his head, confirming Suzy's suspicion. It was a face her and Merle thought they'd never see again... "Merle's own brother!"
The crowd gasped and Merle looked at Daryl in shock. Suzy glanced up at Andrea across the way. She also seemed surprised by Daryl's presence. This was the first time she saw Merle speechless.
"So what should we do with them, huh?" The Governor growled. The crowd immediately shouted in unison for the three of them to be killed. The Governor egged them on to be louder, "What? What you want?!"
Kill them...Kill them...Kill them...They only screamed louder and louder...Suzy couldn't take anymore. There she was on her knees with her hands up like a criminal, frozen in place. The tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes, just too overwhelmed by everything. Merle turned around and saw how they had her. She looked back with glassy eyes, pleading for him to think of something. It was the first time Merle had no idea what to do. He turned back to Daryl, realizing he had to think of something quickly. That was when he realized, no matter how hard he tried keeping Suzy separate from it all, it didn't keep her from being punished along with him. And now here was Daryl, facing the same punishment because of him. He knew if he didn't come up with something now, all three of them were going to die.
"You wanted your brother," The Governor grinned evilly at Merle as the crowd continued chanting for their deaths, "Now you got him."
The Governor let out a breath of satisfaction. He turned his eye towards Suzy on her knees. The grin he had made her want to vomit. Her expression gradually changed from pure fear to pure rage. She made no effort to hide it from him now. She wanted him to know how much she hated him. Her tears stopped as her expression darkened. She wasn't afraid of him anymore. Seeing that alone made his grin fade. She wasn't going to let him break her again.
She knew if Merle didn't think of something soon, she would finally be ready to kill the Governor herself...