"We're not leaving." Rick declared to the group. It was the morning after the Governor attacked which resulted in Axel dead and Alex with his arm in a sling and Kayla was using the set of spare crutches they found to get around because of the bullet wound in her leg. She slept through the night from the painkillers Hershel gave her and Alex slept at her bedside. Daryl was right outside her cell the whole night, but didn't dare go inside. He knew Kayla was mad at him, she had every right to be for what he did, but he wanted her to hear what he had to say before she just shut him out completely.
Now the group was standing around, trying to figure out what to do. Hershel wanted to leave the prison while they could and Maggie and Beth seconded the idea, but Rick voted against it. "If Rick says we're not running, we're not running." Glenn told them. "No," Merle's voice sounded. "Better to live like rats."
"You got a better idea?" Rick questioned.
"Yeah we shoulda slid out of here last night. Live to fight another day…but we lost that window didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."
"We ain't scared of that prick." Daryl's gruff voice replied from above. Kayla glanced up at him for a moment where he stood near the railing above before looking back at Merle. "Y'all should be." He said. "That truck through the fence thing…that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind but he's got the guns and the numbers and if he takes the high ground around this place…shoot…he could just starve us out if he wanted to."
"Let's put him in the other cell block." Maggie said angrily.
"No, he's got a point." Daryl objected.
"This is all you, you started this!" Maggie yelled.
"What's the difference whose fault it is?" Beth questioned Maggie. "Whadda we do?"
"I say we should leave." Hershel repeated. "Now Axel's dead. Alex and Kayla were both shot. We can't just sit here."
Rick turned around and began to head towards the door, but Hershel stopped him. "Get back here!" he yelled as he stood up and worked his way over to Rick. "You're slipping Rick." He said. "We've all seen it, we understand why, but now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy? Now you've gotta own up to that. Now I've put my family's life in your hands so get your head clear…and do something."
OOOOO
While Rick went to go look outside from the garage, Kayla and Maggie were looking through the supplies. The ammunition, the food, the medical supplies…only there wasn't a lot to look at. The ammunition was dangerously low, there wasn't a ton of food left, and they used almost the rest of the bandages and anti-biotics to treat Kayla's leg and Alex's arm.
"I'm going to check the rounds we already have in the guns." Maggie told Kayla as she stood up and went into where the cells were to check the clips in the guns. A few moments went by when Daryl came over to where Kayla was. She looked up at him and then looked back at the supplies.
"Can I talk to you?" Daryl asked.
"No." Kayla answered.
"Look I know you're pissed at me. You have every reason to be. But Merle, he's my brother."
"Right, the brother who walked out when you were a kid, spent half of his life in juvenile detention, and nearly killed Glenn and Maggie."
Daryl let out a breath. "Merle is family. Blood's blood." He replied. Kayla scoffed. "Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs. The people who accept you for who you are. The ones that who would do anything to see you smile or do anything for you. That's family." She said angrily. "Daryl you…you just left…after you promised me you'd be back. I waited here scared and anxious and afraid that you wouldn't come back. I was scared that you would be shot or attacked by a walker, but you just left…not just me, but this group when we needed you the most. So there is nothing to talk about."
"Kayla could you please try to understand why I left and remember that I came back? Are you forgetting that? Are you forgetting that I came back?" Daryl questioned.
"No, but did you forget that I was here? Waiting for you?" Kayla retorted as she stood up with her crutches. "You don't get to come into someone's life, make them love you, and then just leave Daryl. I loved you and I guess you didn't love me back." Once she said that, Kayla turned around and walked away from the table and to check on Maggie.
OOOOO
When Rick came back in, he sent Maggie out to take watch so he could talk to the others. "Fields filled with walkers." Rick told everyone as Michonne, Daryl, Kayla, Alex, Hershel, and Glenn gathered around. "I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch."
"I'll get up in the guard tower." Daryl suggested. "Take half of them out and give the other guys a chance to fix the fence."
"Or use the cars to put the bus in place." Michonne added.
"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets." Hershel pointed out.
"So we're trapped in here." Glenn said.
"There's barely and food or ammo." Kayla added.
"We've been here before, we'll be alright." Daryl said.
"That's when it was just us." Glenn retorted. "Before there was a snake in the nest. "
Daryl looked at him angrily. "Man we gonna go through this again?" he questioned. "Look Merle's stayin' here. He's with us now, get used to it. All of y'all." Daryl disappeared up the stairs and to his cell.
OOOOO
Kayla ended up pacing back and forth on her crutches as Alex rested in his cell reading. Maggie was on guard and Daryl was cleaning his arrows in his cell while Carol cooked, Michonne fit in a workout, and Beth took are of Judith. Kayla was lost in thought and she wanted to go outside so badly, but it wasn't an option at the moment. After about fifteen minutes she set the crutches to the side and tried to get around without them. It hurt, but she couldn't be dependent on crutches forever. Plus if Hershel's ended up breaking, he needed the spare more than her. Kayla was limping back and forth in the cell block for a good half an hour when Carl came rushing in saying Andrea was approaching the prison. Daryl, Rick, Michonne, and Maggie all went out front while Kayla, Carol, and Glenn took their position on the cat walk with their guns aimed.
Once Rick searched Andrea, he brought her inside. Kayla came limping down the stairs and Alex went over to help her. "I'm fine." She assured him, pushing him away. Andrea immediately went over to Carol and hugged her, Carol explaining that they thought she was dead.
"Hershel, my god!" Andrea gasped when she noticed his missing lower led. "I can't believe this…Where's Shane?" Rick just shook his head. "And Lori?" Andrea questioned. Rick dropped his head. "She had a girl." Kayla told the blonde. "Lori didn't survive."
"Neither did T-Dog." Maggie added.
"I'm so sorry." Andrea sympathized. "Carl…Rick I…" Rick backed away from her as she stepped closer. "You all live here?" she asked. "Here in the cell block." Glenn answered.
"In there?" Andrea asked, pointing towards the cells. "Can I see it?"
"I won't allow that." Rick said, blocking Andrea's path.
"I'm not an enemy, Rick."
"We had that field." Rick told her. "That courtyard…until your boyfriend tore down the fences with a truck and shot us up."
"He said you fired first."
"Well he's lying."
"He killed an inmate who survived in here." Hershel informed Andrea.
"We liked him. He was one of us." Daryl added.
"He shot Kayla and her dad, too." Glenn further listed.
Andrea looked over at Kayla who was standing with a man she didn't recognize. "I didn't know anything about that." She told the group as she turned back to Rick. "As soon as I found out I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shootout."
"That was days ago." Glenn reminded her when she looked at him and Maggie.
"I told you I came as soon as I could…what have you told them?" she questioned Michonne, turning to face her.
"Nothing." Michonne replied.
"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?" Andrea said, growing irritated.
"He almost killed Michonne and he would have killed us if-" Glenn pointed out, but she cut him off. "With his finger on the trigger!" she half yelled, pointing to Merle. "isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you? Look I cannot excuse or explain what Phillip has done, but I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."
"There's nothing to work out." Rick told her. "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when but we will."
"We can settle this." Andrea said. "There is room at Woodbury for all of you."
"You know better than that." Merle chimed in.
"What makes you think he wants to even negotiate?" Kayla questioned. "Did he say he wanted to?"
"No." Andrea said.
"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked.
"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified, they see you as killers. They're training to attack."
"I'll tell you what, next time you see Phillip. Tell him I'm gonna take his other eye." Daryl told Andrea.
"We've taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war he's got one." Glenn said.
"Rick, if you don't sit down and try to work something out, I don't know what's gonna happen…he has a whole town." Andrea reminded him. "Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."
"You wanna make this right, get us inside." Rick told her.
"No." Andrea declined. "Then there's nothing to talk about." Rick said, walking back into the cell block. "There are innocent people!" Andrea called out to him, but he ignored her.
OOOOO
Andrea left a little while later before the sun set and once night fell, everyone gathered around the bottom cells and ate a small dinner before sitting in a comfortable silence. Kayla was sitting against the wall next to Alex with her legs stretched out with her eyes closed. The sound of Beth's singing voice lulled her to sleep after a few minutes and as she slept, all of her worries disappeared.
