Chapter 13-Plans to Rebuild
Daryl sat on his bed with maps marking hardware stores he could find. It was two days after the attack. They had finished clearing the bodies the day before. He looked at the door when someone knocked. "It's your brother," Merle says.
"Come in," Daryl says to him. Merle opens the door and walks in.
"What are you looking at?" Merle asks.
"Maps," Daryl says. "We need to rebuild the gate, and I figured we should reinforce the walls and maybe build some watchtowers on some of the roofs and building more defenses for the people on watch,"
"That will take a while to get all those supplies and then build all that," Merle says.
"I know, but it will be worth it in the end," Daryl tells him. "There are three hardware stores around here. I'll send some groups to go there. I'll take Rosita and check one out,"
"You sure? We don't know her very well," Merle says.
"This will be a good way for one of us to get to know her. You take Martinez and T-dog to this one," Daryl says as he hands Merle the map. Merle nods as he grabs the map. "Tell Abraham to take Oscar and Alisha to the third one. This is just scouting. Don't try to bring anything back," Merle nods as he grabs Abraham's map and leaves. Daryl grabs his crossbow and his vest. He throws the vest on and leaves. Daryl walks to the room Rosita was in and knocks. Rosita opens the door and looks at him.
"Hey, what's up?" Rosita asks.
"You up for a run?" Daryl asks Rosita.
"Sure," Rosita says. "I'll meet you downstairs," Daryl nods as he walks downstairs. Daryl sat in the lobby. He looked at Shane as he walks in.
"You going on a run?" Shane asks.
"Yeah, I'm going on a run with Rosita. We are going to check out a hardware store. Merle is talking T-dog and Martinez to another one. And Abraham is taking Oscar and Alisha to the last one. Has he left his apartment yet?" Daryl asks Shane.
"No, Morgan and Daune have been sleeping in his living," Shane tells him.
"He'll be okay. Anything on Tiny?" Daryl asks.
"Same as it was two days ago," Shane tells Daryl, who nods as Rosita walks down the stairs.
"Ready to go?" Rosita asks. Daryl nods as he stands up. He walks outside and over to his bike. He puts his crossbow on the bike and climbs on. Rosita climbs on behind him. Daryl stops the bike and drives to the gate. Shumpert and Morales push the ambulance out of the way, and Daryl leaves.
The Governor's P.O.V
The Governor watches the streets as people walk by. "Where did Daryl go?" The Governor asks.
"I don't know," Morgan says. "He probably went on a run. Come on. You should come outside. You haven't left since you left the apartment building. You and Penny could use the sunlight," The Governor doesn't say anything. Morgan sighs as he walks over to Duane and Penny. "Come on, let's go get some air," Penny and Duane nod as they follow him outside. The Governor turns around and walks to his alcohol cabinet. He grabs a glass and sets it down. He grabs the bottle and buts it beside the glass. He opens the bottle and pours himself a glass. He takes a drink and walks to the window, and watches the street.
Tomas's P.O.V
Tomas and Axel were working on the cars that the men used to attack Woodbury. They were seeing if any of them were still able to be driven. "This one should still run. It didn't hit anything important. Just a few bullet holes," Axel tells Tomas, who nods.
"Most of them look pretty good. They shot at us mainly. Caught us all off guard," Tomas says. Axel nods.
"Do you think Tiny will wake up?" Axel asks him.
"I don't know. I hope so," Tomas says. "The fact that he is still alive is a miracle in and out of itself. I'll be back," Tomas tells Axel as he leaves. Axel nods as Tomas walks away. Tomas walks to the infirmary and sees Alice looking at Tiny. "Where's Stevens?"
"Sleeping," Alice tells him as she looks at him. "How are the cars?"
"They should run," Tomas tells her. "How are you doing?"
"I would be great if he would wake up," Alice tells him. "Or if the Governor would leave his apartment. If our gate was fixed and there weren't more of them who could come and kill us,"
"Okay, I get it. Life sucks right now," Tomas says. "We're alive. We should be happy about that," Alice nods as she stands up.
"You hungry?" She asks him.
"Sure. I'll get Axel. Neither of us has eaten today," Alice nods as Tomas leaves.
Merle's P.O.V
Merle stops the truck outside the hardware store about two hours from Woodbury. He looks at T-dog and Martinez. "Let's go," Merle says as he gets out of the truck. He stabs a walker in the head with his hand knife as T-dog and Martinez kill two more. Merle looks around the small town. "Stay close," He says as he walks towards the hardware store. He taps on the window and waits a moment. They hear growling.
"That isn't inside," Martinez says as he walks around the store. They walk to a fenced-in area behind the store, where they were a herd of walkers trapped inside. There was wood stored in the area. The walkers push themselves up against the fence.
"We could use that wood," T-dog says.
"Yeah, we could," Merle says as he looks at the herd. "We'll bring back a larger group and get rid of this herd," T-dog and Martinez nod as they walk away. The three men go into the store and start to collect supplies.
Daryl's P.O.V
Daryl stops his bike in the middle of town. He climbs off. Rosita follows him and hands him his crossbow. "This place is a ghost town," Rosita says.
"Someone could be watching. Stay alert," Daryl says to her. Rosita nods as she follows them. Daryl and Rosita sat outside the store as they waited to see if any walkers were inside.
"How long have you been in Woodbury?" Rosita asks him.
"About two weeks now," Daryl says. "Shane, T-dog, and I came from the same place. A farm that we left. We had a group too. Merle's my brother," Daryl tells him.
"Why wasn't he with you?" Rosita asks.
"'Cause he's an idiot," Daryl tells her. "He got himself locked up a roof in Atlanta. They left him, and he cut off his hand, and we didn't find him for a while. How did you meet Abraham?"
"I was with another in Dallas, Texas. We were fighting a group of the dead, and Abraham came in out of nowhere. He was with another man. He was named Eugene. Eugene told us he had the cure to all this. I don't know why I believed it, by I did. Abraham asked me to come with him and my group, and we did. I'm the only one who made it. And in the end, it doesn't matter if Eugene did know the cure. He's dead," Rosita tells Daryl, who nods.
"Sorry about your friends," Daryl says to her.
"Thanks," Rosita says. "Sorry about what happened to Woodbury,"
"We'll fix it," Daryl tells her. "Come on," Daryl says as he heads inside. Daryl looks around and sees the store was picked over. "Son of a bitch!" Daryl says as he kicks a shelf.
"There are more stores. Come on," Rosita says. Daryl looks around the store before he follows her.
Thanks for reading. Sorry about the short chapter, but I was busy this weekend. The next one will be longer, I promise. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.
