AN: Here we are, another chapter here.
Happy New Year everyone!
Also, please let me say that, just like all the characters, some new ones that we meet will have personalities that adapt them to this world in particular. I hope that you understand.
I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think!
111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
Michonne knew where Woodbury was and she easily remembered her way back. She knew, also a good way to enter the town without being immediately detected since going through the heavily guarded front gates wasn't going to be an option. Farther away from the gates, the guard was more of a roaming guard and they were able to watch the people and judge the proper time to enter the town.
Michonne also knew that there was a location where "new arrivals" were taken—the place where she and her friend had been taken—and there was a place that was somewhat removed from the rest of the town where the Walkers had been kept in pens. She didn't know what the buildings in that area were used for, but she had been stopped, by the Governor, from exploring that area, and she had a gut feeling that they might find something there if they were to make it that far.
She also had something, she said, that she needed to take care of while they were there, so she'd be leaving them to their own devices once they were inside the town.
To keep things simple, they'd parked their vehicle some distance away from the town. They'd chosen a meeting spot some distance from that, but about halfway between their vehicle and Woodbury, and they'd walked to Woodbury. They agreed that, if they got split up, they would meet back at the meeting spot. When the sun rose, if they hadn't all returned, they could decide what to do, but the plan offered them a way to ensure that nobody got tangled up while waiting on anybody else.
Michonne left them as soon as they were inside the gates and she'd given them directions to the places she'd mentioned. Daryl, Rick, and T-Dog made their way as quietly as they could through the community until they found the buildings that Michonne had suggested might hold some kind of secret about the town and the man who ran it. The pens that she'd mentioned were there, and they smelled like the rotted creatures that had been held there, but they were temporarily empty. A quick and careful examination of the area told them that Michonne had been on to something.
Glenn and Maggie were there. They were battered and bruised, but they were alive.
Unfortunately, the news that they had to share with them hadn't been something that Daryl had wanted to hear. It had been Merle and two other men that had found them while they'd been loading up supplies at the tiny strip mall they'd intended to clear out. Merle had recognized Glenn immediately, and he and his merry gang had brought Glenn and Maggie back to Woodbury for less-than-desirable questioning about their situation and where they were staying.
Rick was upset that Glenn admitted to giving up the fact that they were living in the prison.
Daryl was even more upset than Rick, though, because this meant that his brother was alive and, somehow, he'd gotten tangled up in what was clearly a very bad situation.
Before they could sneak back out of the town without being noticed at all, something broke out. Apparently someone detected their presence or Michonne's presence, because chaos erupted. Gunfire and screaming swallowed up the previously quiet night.
Daryl wanted to find his brother, but he'd known that it was best, at that moment, to simply get himself out of there before they all ended up in more trouble than they could handle.
The run for the fences had cost them most of the bullets that they'd brought with them just to try to deter those that were shooting at them in the name of "defending their home". They made it back over the fences, though, and they were able to slip away into the woods.
Eventually the people from Woodbury stopped following them.
Eventually they reached their meeting place.
And when they got there, they found that Michonne had beat them back with enough time that she wasn't out of breath.
"Where the fuck were you?" Daryl asked as they walked up. Michonne flicked on the flashlight that she'd been holding—one they'd left there with a bag of supplies for when they returned.
"I had to take care of something," Michonne said.
"Your friend?" Rick asked.
"She didn't come with me," Michonne said. "I didn't think she would. She has other interests in Woodbury. I didn't think she'd come. I didn't go back for her."
"What'd you go back for, then?" T-Dog asked. He sat down on the ground with another flashlight that he fished out of the bag of supplies. The people from Woodbury were done pursuing them for the time being. They'd come to the prison, but it wouldn't be tonight. It probably wouldn't even be tomorrow. For the moment, the only thing they had to actively worry about were the Walkers, and there were none nosing about at the moment.
"To kill him," Michonne said. "The Governor. To end this before it starts."
"You just go around killing people?" Rick asked.
"I try not to make it a habit," Michonne said. "But—some people need to be killed."
"Was that what stirred up the shootout at the O.K. Corral back there?" Daryl asked.
"He's so guilty that he practically sleeps with a full guard," Michonne said. "Some things went down. I got away."
"But you didn't kill him," T-Dog said, his words coming out somewhere between a question and an answer.
"Who is this?" Maggie asked.
It was the first time that either she or Glenn had broken their silence since they'd been found and quickly explained what had happened to them in the torture rooms.
"This—uh—this is Michonne," Daryl said. "She—well, I found her. An' your Daddy saved her life an' I guess—I guess she's one of us now."
Daryl swallowed. He felt odd saying that. He felt odd feeling like it was the truth in his gut even before his brain believed him. Still, he couldn't imagine how they'd exactly be rid of the woman at this point unless she just up and left. This wasn't the kind of world where he really felt comfortable throwing anyone out to try to survive on their own.
"I was in Woodbury," Michonne said. "The place you were being kept. I left and he tried to have me killed."
"The Governor," Maggie said.
Michonne hummed in the affirmative.
"Who is he?" Maggie asked.
"Just some psychopath on a power trip from what I'm hearin'," Daryl answered for Michonne. He plucked a cigarette from the pack that he carried in his pocket, found his lighter, and lit it. "You feel free to correct me if I'm wrong."
"Some psychopath who knows where we live," Rick said. "Knows where our families are."
"Look, man—I'm sorry," Glenn stammered out.
"Ain't nobody blamin' you," Daryl said.
"Nobody's blaming him because it was Merle that tortured him into giving up the prison," Rick said.
Daryl's stomach clenched and he felt a chill rush through his body.
"You don't know him," Daryl said.
"What is there to know?" Rick asked.
"I think we know him pretty well," T-Dog offered.
"You don't fuckin' know him!" Daryl barked out, much more loudly than he meant to.
"I know what he did to me," Glenn said. "I know what he was willing to do."
"And now they know about the prison and there's nothing to stop this Governor and—whoever and whatever he's got—to come trying to claim the prison," Rick said. "Now we don't know what's going to happen. We don't know what's ahead of us."
"Nothin' woulda stopped him from findin' the damned prison anyway," Daryl said. "It's a prison. Not a top secret bunker, Rick. All he's gotta do is go stumblin' around far enough an' he's gonna find it. Maybe he's a got a fuckin' map of the area, even, that it come marked on. It weren't Glenn that gave him no top secret information about where the prison is and it ain't Merle that's responsible for whatever this psychopath does. You don't know. You don't know why the hell he's there. You don't know why the hell he's doin' what he's doin'."
"Evidently because he likes it," Rick said. "It seems like he's been doing it for a while."
"He wouldn'ta had no reason to even be here if you hadn't handcuffed him to a fuckin' roof in Atlanta an' left him for dead!" Daryl barked. "So make sure you don't forget that while you busy pointin' fingers!"
"Well now if that ain't the damned gospel!"
It was pitch black at their meeting point except for the light supplied by the flashlights that Michonne and T-Dog had produced from their supply bag to keep them from being absolutely in the dark while they caught their breath and prepared for the trek back to their vehicle.
They all froze when the third flashlight beam mingled with theirs, but more than the light it was likely the voice that had made everyone freeze.
Merle laughed.
"You tell 'em lil' brother," Merle said. "But—hell—you don't all gotta stop arguin' on my account."
"What are you doin' out here, Merle?" Daryl asked.
Merle laughed.
"What? No hug from my baby brother?" Merle asked. "I was just passin' through. Lookin' for you, actually."
"You mean you followed us," Glenn said. "Why? To kill us?"
"Followed you?" Merle asked. "Hell, no. I wasn't following nobody. I can guess that you got out of Woodbury, and maybe somebody's been following you, but it wasn't me. You can see I came from over there. Wrong direction—or did'ja get lost?"
"So what the hell are you doing out here in the dark?" Rick asked. "If you weren't following us or headed for the prison."
"I don't like your tone, Officer Friendly," Merle offered. It was obvious that Rick didn't really care for Merle's tone either because he backed up a step when Merle spoke. "Yeah—I remember you. Come ridin' into town like you owned the whole damn city of Atlanta. The lil' Chinese boy here saved you an' in five minutes you was actin' like you owned every damn one of us, too."
"He's Korean," Daryl said.
"What?" Merle asked.
"Glenn's Korean," Daryl said.
"Does it fuckin' matter?" Merle asked.
"You beat the shit out of me!" Glenn barked suddenly.
"You tried to kill me!" Michonne offered.
"You still haven't told us what the hell you're doing out here if it's not coming to kill us or follow us to the prison," Rick said, ignoring the two of them.
Merle laughed to himself.
"I was just doin' my job on two counts," he said, waving his hand at both Glenn and Michonne. The flashlight beam danced around with his movement. "Doin' what the hell I gotta do."
"Some job you've found for yourself," T-Dog said.
"You do what the hell you gotta do," Merle said. "I thought you might know a thing or two about that."
"Why would I know about that?" T-Dog growled back, clearly defensive.
"Because we all do!" Daryl said. "We all fuckin' doin' what the hell we gotta do every damn day! An' this ain't gettin' us fuckin' nowhere!"
"I left Woodbury hours ago," Merle said. Tucking his flashlight under his arm, he reached in his pocket. Everyone watched his every move, but he didn't go for a weapon. From his pocket, he produced a cigarette and he waved it at Daryl, seeing Daryl finishing his, and Daryl offered him a light. His eyes trailed to the bayonet that Michonne had mentioned. In the light from the flashlights, Daryl could see that it was rudimentarily attached to some kind of metal cuff that fit over the end of Merle's arm. It was clear that Merle had had it long enough, now, that he was accustomed to it, even if he might have preferred to still have his right hand. "I was comin' to the prison—but not because of why you think I was fuckin' comin'. I was lookin' for Daryl. I been lookin' for him since Atlanta. I said I'd find the prison an' scope the place out. See if I could...see what the hell there was to see. Wanted to get Daryl—maybe tell you to get the hell outta Dodge if you knowed what was good for ya. An' prob'ly right quick like dependin' on how set up you are."
"And you were just hanging around out here when we showed up?" Michonne asked. "This late at night?"
Merle laughed to himself.
"Always got some shit to say, don't'cha Midnight? Mmmmhmmm figure you good an' pissed at me. Good an' pissed. You take it all a bit too personal. Hate me for a helluva lot. But I don't got shit against you that's personal."
"It's all in the line of duty," Michonne said.
"Somethin' like that," Merle said, puffing on his cigarette. "I had some other jobs to take care of out here. Price of my time off work—my so-called fuckin' vacation to find my own lil' lovin' baby brother— was wrappin' up a couple things on the geek ass lil' scientist's list 'fore I traipsed on over to the prison. You don't believe me—walk about a quarter mile in that direction. You'll see there's a fuckin' pit to gather up the Walkers he wants. I been stringin' traps half the damn day."
"What the hell do you want with Walkers?" Rick asked.
"I ain't the fuckin' scientist," Merle said. "I'm just the best damn one they got at buildin' traps."
"Listen—we can't stand out here all damned night," Daryl said. "And we need to figure out what the hell we're up against. So let's—let's just head back to the prison an' we'll figure out what to do about this asshole."
"I'm fine with that," Maggie said, "but not if he's coming back to the prison."
"I agree with Maggie," Glenn said. "He's dangerous."
"He's my fuckin' brother!" Daryl barked at them. "What'cha think he's gonna do? Nothin'!"
"Hey—hold up now. That's enough, lil' brother," Merle said. "I don't go where I'm not fuckin' welcome. No, no. I don't. Besides—I know how you treat people that'cha don't want around. I've seen. First-hand, you might even say." Merle laughed to himself. "Yeah—I did what the hell I did 'cause it's my job. What keeps a roof over my head. My belly full. You done what you done 'cuase you damn well wanted to. Well you can all go fuck yourselves. I wasn't comin' for none of you. I was only comin' for my baby brother—the only damn interest I got in your whole fuckin' group of assholes. Come on, lil' brother. I know a place we can pass the night. Stocked up fine. We'll head back to Woodbury in the morning."
Daryl tried to protest, but he couldn't get the words out. Merle didn't listen to anything that anyone else had to say either. Daryl ignored their words as he watched the flashlight beam dance while Merle walked away from them.
"Fuckin' hell!" He spat. "Fuckin' hell! Put me between me between a fuckin' rock an' the hardest damned place I know! He's my brother!" Daryl directed his comment right at Rick. "He wouldn'ta never met this Governor if you hadn't handcuffed him to a fuckin' roof. You owe him somethin' for that. Fuck you—all of ya! You all owe me somethin' for some shit I done for you. A thousand times over, prob'ly. I ain't asked you to do shit but let him come..."
Daryl glanced over his shoulder. Merle hadn't slowed down. He probably wasn't even listening to them. He was humming. Walking away. Disappearing deeper into the darkness.
"If he'll come back," Rick said with a sigh, "then we'll—we'll figure something out. I don't know what, but we'll figure something out."
"I don't know if he'll come now," Daryl said. "You don't know Merle. He don't believe in beggin'." Daryl shook his head at Rick. "He ain't gonna come right away, no way. I'ma talk to him. You go ahead. Back to the prison. Let 'em know we ain't dead an' start figurin' out what the hell we gonna do about this asshole that's comin'."
"What about Carol?" Rick asked.
"You tell her," Daryl said. "Tell her you all fuckin' run Merle away. Tell her—just tell her I'm goin' after him. I'ma talk to him. She'll understand. Be back to the prison as soon as I can."
Daryl didn't wait to hear Rick acknowledge that he would deliver the message. There were plenty of people there and all of them were capable of getting a message back to Carol. Daryl darted off after Merle, hoping to catch him before he got far enough away that Daryl was searching blindly for him in the darkness.