The Lady Claimers

Chapter 42

It had felt hot even walking in the woods near the river. Now that they had been locked inside a shed with very little airflow, the temperature was rising rapidly. Daryl twisted his body, tugging at the tape that held his wrists behind his back. When that didn't seem to be getting him anywhere, he tried moving his legs, testing the bonds that held his ankles together. His hair was damp with sweat and falling down into his eyes. He tossed his head back to remove the hair from his face, splashing his cellmate with beads of sweat.

"What the fuck Dixon," Addy cursed, "I'm sweaty enough already."

Daryl grunted a halfhearted apology. WIth his hair out of his eyes he was pleasantly surprised to see that Addy was making much better progress with her escape attempt than he was. She had already slid her bound wrists under her butt, then hooked her legs through, so that her hands were in front of her instead of behind her. The front section of her hair she kept loose. But the back hung down in long red twisted dreads and braids. She had small silver charms weaved into the locks of hair. Daryl had noticed them before. But he had never guessed they could serve any practical purpose. Addy lowered her shoulder and jerked her head to the left, swinging her hair forward over her shoulder. The angle was slightly awkward but she managed to tuck her chin down and grab the edge of a silver butterfly charm between her teeth. Lifting her hands up, she used the opposite edge of the charm to cut right through the tape on her wrists.

"Well I'll be goddamned," Daryl chuckled.

He had not been happy when he had been partnered with Addy on this mission. But as he watched her effortlessly escape her bindings, he realized there wasn't a single person he could think of that he would rather be locked inside a sweltering shed with.

Addy unwrapped her ankles slowly, trying not to make too much noise with the tape. Once it was off she yanked up her pant leg and pulled her knife from her ankle holster. She and Daryl had been searched. But the man that had padded her down had been more interested in her ass than her feet. He had missed the small knife she kept hidden there. Daryl rubbed the feeling back into his wrists while Addy cut the tape from his feet.

He stood up and took a step towards the door, eager to be out of the heat as quickly as possible.

"Wait," Addy hissed, "we still only have a knife. There are a lot of them and they have guns."

Daryl shrugged and cocked his head at her. Then he waited. It felt like they stayed in the sweltering heat of the shed much longer than necessary. He wasn't even sure exactly what Addy was listening for until she smiled at him. Then he heard it too. The sound of several loud vehicles firing up came from somewhere outside the shed. Once the sounds of their engines disappeared, Addy kicked at the bottom of the door.

"HEY!," she hollered, "I have to pee! Let me out before I pee my pants!"

Daryl didn't think there was any way in hell that the guard outside was going to fall for Addy's crap. But he was wrong. The man was either stupid or overly eager to see the girl drop her pants. Or both. Because the door of the shed swung open before Daryl even had time to get ready. The man paused in the open doorway, staring at his captives with his mouth open. They were not on the floor tied up like he had expected. Their limbs were free. They were standing up. And the hot chick had a knife in her hands. Daryl grabbed the man and pulled him inside the shed, tossing him onto the ground and kicking him. Addy grabbed the man's gun and hit him across the face with it, knocking him unconscious. Daryl pulled the man's second gun, a smaller pistol, out of the holster at his waist.

"He made that too easy," Addy exclaimed with a giggle as she stepped out of the shed into the afternoon sunlight. Daryl followed her, almost getting knocked to the ground as she backed into him.

Daryl cursed under his breath. There was more than one guard. And this one was not going to be taken down as easily as the man inside the shed. He had his gun up and was aiming it at them. Daryl assessed the man. The man looked like he weighed less than Daryl but was slightly taller. Daryl guessed he was in his 20's and had short dark wavy hair. The way he held his weapon suggested that he had some military training.

"No one has to die," the man offered. He took a step back but kept his gun pointed at Addy and Daryl. Daryl stepped out, moving to the side and away from Addy. Two targets were harder to hit than one. "Let's make a deal," the man suggested.

"We don't make deals with people that kidnap little girls," Addy spit back, "Put your gun down and walk away." The man shook his head. He didn't lower his weapon but he did take a few more steps backwards. Away from them.

"I had nothing to do with that," the man insisted. He took another step back. "This whole shit just got totally out of hand. We were just looking for a safe place to stay."

Before Addy could snap back at the man again, a high pitched shriek caught all their attention. The sound came from the woods nearby. It was followed by an even louder scream. And then the girl in the too small unicorn pajamas came barreling towards them at full speed. The three adults froze, each unsure of what actions to take. Addy put her hands up, signaling the girl to slow down. Daryl started moving back and away, out of the path of the wild shrieking freight train. The man that had been holding a gun on them just stared wide eyed at the girl. It became clear very quickly that she was heading straight for him. He had his gun in his hands but was clearly unwilling to shoot the child. Not even when she plowed into him and knocked him onto his back on the ground.

The man dropped his gun and lifted his arms in an attempt to protect his face from the girl's small angry fists. Daryl quickly grabbed the gun and tucked it into the back of his pants. Addy reached for the girl, seizing her by the wrists and pulling her back and away from the man. The girl kicked and squealed, her body writhing in the air like an angry cat. Once she was clear of the man, Addy let her go. The girl dropped to the ground and turned towards Addy, assuming a defensive posture. Her teeth were bared. Daryl was holding his gun on the man and trying to keep an eye on the little wildcat at the same time.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Addy assured the girl, holding her hands up in surrender, "Your grandpa Patrick sent us to find you."

"Yeah," Daryl agreed, "yer cousin Cyndi asked us for help."

As suddenly as she had appeared, the girl dropped her attack pose and stood up, turning her attention towards Daryl.

"You know my Auntie Cyndi?," the girl asked.

It was the first time the girl had even displayed that she could speak or behave in any type of a civil manner. Daryl wasn't sure if this was an improvement of the situation or not. Especially since she seemed to have her focus lasered in on him now. He nodded hesitantly. The girl darted towards him. Daryl braced himself for another attack. But this proved unnecessary. The girl wrapped her arms around Daryl's waist and hugged him, resting her tangled nest of hair against his broad chest. Daryl hesitated for a moment before he wrapped his free arm around the girl, hugging her back. Addy was advancing on the man that was lying on the ground near them.

"What are you going to do with me?," the man asked.

Daryl huffed. The man had asked a valid question. One that Daryl didn't exactly have an answer for. He didn't really want to shoot the man outright. He suspected most of this mess had been orchestrated by the governor. These people were likely pawns that had been lied to in some way. But Daryl still wasn't comfortable just letting the man go. He was relieved when Addy knelt down near the man and told him to put his hands behind his back.

TWD

The moment his men marched their two prisoners into his camp, Phillip's blood ran cold. He made sure the man and woman didn't see him. But he saw them. He knew them. The red haired girl was part of the group od sluts that had killed Penny and cleared out his armory. And the man was Merle's brother. The missing pieces of the puzzle quickly started snapping together in the governor's mind. Andrea going missing. Along with Martinez and Milton. No trace of them anywhere no matter how long he looked. The entire prison being abandoned. An entire group just vanishing that quick. Phillip knew they had to have had help. He had just never thought it would have been the bus sluts. As far as he knew, Merle hated those whores as much as he did. Maybe more. His mind was swarming with suspicions and wild theories. Maybe Merle had been in league with those girls all along? This had all been a plot against Woodbury from the very beginning. Phillip strode towards the door to his trailer, grabbing it and yanking it nearly off its flimsy hinges.

Those sluts were going to pay for killing Penny and making a fool of him. And he would start with the one his men had already caught. First he would torture her for information. Then he would have his way with her. Then he would kill her.

"Brian? Is something wrong?"

Phillip turned. He was confused for a moment by the use of his other name. He had worked so hard to turn himself into Brian Herriot. Into a new man. A better man. One that didn't burn his entire town down and kill his own people because his girlfriend and best friend ran away together and left him to rot. But it had only taken one moment for him to instantly become the governor again. He couldn't just drag that woman into his trailer and torture her. Not without a plausible explanation to the rest of his group. And even then it might not go over well.

"Brian, are you alright," Lily asked again. She reached for his hand as she smiled up at him.

"I'm just fine," Phillip lied, "I'm just hoping everything goes alright without anyone getting hurt today."

Lily nodded. She didn't say anything else. She had already told him she didn't think taking over another camp was a good idea. But Brian said it was. And he had kept her and her daughter alive this long. She trusted his judgment. She trusted him. But for a moment when he stepped out of their trailer he seemed like a completely different person. A terrifying person. One she didn't know and trust. But now Brian was back to himself again. She hurried away to finish hanging up her wet laundry, convinced that she must have imagined the whole thing.

TWD

Phillip was early. Almost an entire day early. It was late afternoon and he had told the group from the orchard that he would be back the next morning. So it was unnerving when he arrived and noticed the entire place seemed to have been transformed in the short time since he left. Mitch drove the tank in first. Phillip followed him in a SUV. Most of them were walking on foot behind his car, using the large metal vehicle for cover. Behind the group, Tara was following a little ways back in an open top jeep, ensuring that no one could sneak up behind them. The drive between the rows of fruit trees was narrow enough that the branches of the trees bent and brushed against the sides of the vehicles.

By the entrance there was a large roadside farm stand that was no longer in use. The sign on the top used to bear the name of the family business. But Husted Farm had been painted over with the word HELL in dripping red spray paint. Phillip hadn't come in through the main entrance on his previous visit. But he had surveyed the place. And he was certain that the sign had not been painted over when he saw it last.

Phillip's group had to pass through several acres of orchards. Then enter a more densely wooded area behind them. That's where the orchard group lived. In large above ground treehouses. Phillip had been impressed with their accommodations. Impressed enough that he wanted the place for himself.

As they slowly made their way through the rows and rows of fruit trees, Phillip began to notice the red paint. Every so often he would see a tree that had been marked with a red X on the trunk. The further they walked, the more frequent the markings were becoming. Phillip tried to tell himself that perhaps those markings had been there before and he just hadn't noticed them. Maybe they just meant something about the tree. But not only was he sure he hadn't seen the red markings before, he could smell the fresh spray paint.

When he saw the bus a fresh wave of anger rushed over him. The vehicle was parked sideways along the edge of the wooded area. The women had made no attempt to hide it. Quite the opposite, it was parked in a spot where it couldn't be missed. A large white sheet hung from the side of it. Welcome was painted across the fabric in red spray paint. Phillip knew this was intentional. He knew those sluts were trying to intimidate him with their presence here. But the knowledge that those whores were here only solidified his determination to take this place. Those sneaky bitches had taken his daughter and his home from him and now he was ready to return the favor. Even if he couldn't take this place, he would blast it to shit before he let them keep it.

The bus was empty. The entire place was eerily quiet. Mitch popped out of the top of the tank, signaling to Phillip that he couldn't drive any further. He pointed the large gun of the tank towards the woods in an obvious threat and climbed out, securing the hatch behind him. Phillip parked his large car facing out and Tara did the same with her jeep. Then all three joined the group as they started down the path into the woods. The amount of trees that had been marked with red paint increased as they went until they were walking down a solid red path.

The woods opened up into a clearing. From his previous visit, Phillip knew that the space had previously served as a dining area for the group that lived here. There had been an area set up for cooking and the rest of the place had been filled with picnic tables. Now the large space looked empty. Only one table remained in the center of the clearing. It was covered with a long red tablecloth. Several baskets of fruit had been placed on top. A large piece of plywood was leaning against the side of the table. WELCOME HOME had been painted across the wood in red paint. The trees around the border of the clearing had all been painted red.

"I don't like this," Mitch hissed. Phillip's body tensed. He would not tolerate having his leadership questioned. And he wouldn't suffer a coward as his lieutenant either. That aside, he couldn't argue that the scene wasn't unnerving. All the trees around the border of the clearing had been painted red. It was hard to distinguish them from the picnic tables that were lying on their sides between them as they had also been marked in the same sloppy red spray or covered in red fabric. Phillip was starting to feel a little like a hog that had been blindly led straight into the slaughterhouse.

Phillip Blake gripped his gun and waited. Time stretched out, every second feeling like an hour. The soldiers he recruited passed nervous glances between them behind his back. There were no birds chirping. No squirrels chasing each other across the treetops. Just the hollow silence. But even though he couldn't hear them, Phillip could feel the eyes on him. He was being watched.

"Maybe they just gave up and left…," Tara whispered. Her voice was hopeful but edged with fear. If this group had simply left, they would have spent their time packing. Not painting all the trees in the area with spray paint.

A single gunshot broke the silence. The bullet hit the ground near Phillip's feet. He knew instantly that the gun had not been fired in an attempt to kill him. That was a warning shot. He lifted his gun and pointed it in the direction he believed the shot had come from. But he saw nothing there to aim at. Just an endless sea of red.

Another shot came from the opposite direction. This time it hit the ground near Mitch's army boots. The man raised his gun and fired back in the direction the shot came from, pulling the trigger on his gun three times. There was no response from the woods. Only more silence.

Every few minutes another solitary shot was fired. Each time the shots came from a different direction and hit the ground near Phillip's group. He kept his good eye on the sight of his gun, waiting and watching for any movement from the woods. Any opportunity to get a hit in. A few times he saw a flash of red, but it was hard to distinguish it from the red that surrounded the area.

The message these people were looking to send slowly became obvious not only to Phillip but to the rest of his group. They were outgunned and outnumbered. They were also surrounded. But he still had an ace up his sleeve. Or rather on his belt. It was the walkie that he could use to radio back to his camp. Where he had Merle's brother and that little redheaded slut captive. One word from him and they were both dead.

"No one has to die!"

Phillip turned at the sound of the all too familiar voice. After everything they had been through together he would know Milton's voice anywhere. They had been friends for years even before the end of the world.

"Anyone that wants to leave can drop their weapons and go now," Milton added as he slowly stepped out from behind a nearby tree.

Milton had a gun in his holster but his hands were up. He looked different from when Phillip had seen him last and it wasn't just the red bandana that was tied loosely around the man's neck. His forearms were much tanner and he was wearing fitted jeans instead of khakis. He looked more ready to go horseback riding than for a day in the laboratory. His posture had changed as well. His shoulders were back and he was standing with his feet apart. There was a strength and determination in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

"No one will be harmed that chooses to leave now," Milton said before he added, "...even you Phillip. All you have to do is give us back the little girl you kidnapped."

Milton didn't say anything else. There was really nothing more to say. Instead he watched the group of people in front of him carefully. They were glancing around at each other with varying expressions of confusion. Some clearly weren't in the loop about the kidnapping. He even heard one of them ask another who the hell Phillip was. Milton made direct eye contact with the man that had saved him after the world fell, silently praying that there was still some small fraction of goodness left inside the man. Assuming there might be was his first mistake. His second was breaking his gaze and glancing several times towards the picnic table in the center of the clearing.

"Maybe you should leave now before you get hurt," Phillip suggested as he aimed his gun at his old friend. "Or before you get someone else hurt."

TWD

Katie held onto the sleeve of Hex's shirt with her free hand. She shook her head. The two women had been hiding under the stupid picinic table for what felt like forever. Katie's back was starting to hurt. Sweat was dripping down and wetting the neckline of her red tank top. She was leaning forward so that she could peek out through the small crack where the two sections of tablecloth came together.

Katie's body was raging with adrenaline. Both from the fear of her precarious hiding place and from the anticipation of the coming fight. She moved her hand from the sleeve of Hex's red t-shirt and placed it on the woman's slim thigh instead to stop her friend's leg from shaking. Katie knew that it was taking everything inside for Hex not to shoot the governor. He was only a few feet away from them. She had a clear shot. And he was threatening Milton.

From the outside, Hex and Milton seemed an oddly matched couple. And most of the girls assumed Hex was just using the man as a temporary bed warmer until someone more attractive came along. But Katie knew better. She had known Hex since they were girls. Hex had slept with men before. Certainly. Maybe even more than her fair share. Katie guessed some of that had been about the woman's need to reclaim her control over her body after what had happened to her. But Hex had never brought one home to the compound. And never ever took a man home to her cabin. Katie understood Hex's interest in the bookish scientist. She knew from her marriage to Davis how peaceful and comforting the love of a gentle man could be. Katie was just glad to see that Milton was not turning out to be the type of coward that the end of the world had turned her childhood sweetheart into.

"Don't do this Phillip," Milton pleaded. His hands were still up but he had taken a step back. He was ready to jump out of the line of fire if he thought it might be necessary.

Hex brushed Katie's hand off her thigh. Her long dark hair fell down her back in a thick braid. Her fingertips were stained with red spray paint. Her body was coiled tightly, like a lioness ready to spring onto her prey. When the gunfire started, Hex moved. But before she could dive out from her hiding spot, the entire table was kicked backwards. The bench seat caught Hex in the shoulder, knocking her onto her back in the dirt. Katie was frozen in complete shock for only a moment. But it was one moment too long. Before she could turn her gun on the man, the governor had kicked it out of her hands.

Phillip caught Katie by the fleshy part of her upper arm and hauled her more forcefully than necessary to her feet. His fingers were digging in, already leaving dark bruises. The rifle he had used to fire off a few shots harmlessly over Milton's head was hanging over his shoulder. He had his handgun out, pressing the muzzle to the side of Katie's head.

"Don't even think about it you little slut!" He hollered at Hex as she reached for her gun.

A thin man in an army green cap darted forward and grabbed Hex's rifle from her. Then he pulled her up and held her in front of him. He was using her as a human shield but did not appear to be handling her as rough as the governor was handling Katie.

"I'm going to kill you and all your little whore friends," he hissed into her ear. Katie jerked her arm. She was thinking about bringing her heel down on his toes and dropping to the ground but he had already adjusted the position of his gun, bringing it up under her chin.

"Fuck you," Katie spit back. He gripped her tighter, yanking her back so that his entire body was pressed tight against hers. Katie was glad at that moment for the extreme height difference between them. At least his dick, which she guessed was probably hard by now, was nowhere near her ass.

"What's the game plan Brian," the thin man asked as he adjusted his grip on Hex's arm. Katie didn't wait for the governor to answer.

"Brian? Who the hell is Brian," Katie asked, "this fucker's name is Phillip Blake but when I saw him last he was going by Governor." The man in the hat looked between her and his companion.

"You know these girls, man?," he asked.

This whole situation was turning into a shit show. Mitch had come here because Brian/Phillip/whoeverthefuckheis had told him that all they had to do was evict a group of lightly armed migrant workers out of an orchard. He said there would be little to no resistance. And this goddamn didn't look like no resistance. This looked like an army of crazy red clad psychos that Brian's ass knew personally.

"Yeah we know him," Katie announced as loudly as possible with a gun shoved into her throat, "... and he's a murdering rapist pervert!" Katie realized she forgot to mention the governor's child kidnapping skills as he was slapping her hard across the side of her head with his gun.

The next person to speak didn't just yell. Merle roared as he stepped out of his hiding spot and into the clearing. His gun was up and pointed at the governor.

"TOUCH HER AGAIN AND I WILL FUCKING END YOU!," he screamed. His face was as red as the bandana tied around his arm. His mouth set in a line of grim determination as he aimed his gun right at the governor's head. "LET GO OF HER RIGHT NOW!"

Merle was on the other side of the clearing, walking slowly towards his target. He was well aware that the governor had a significant number of soldiers with him. And that all of them had a clear shot of him if they chose to take it. He was not aware of the look of absolute shock on the face of the man that was holding Hex in front of him.

"Dixon," the man gaped, "is that you?"

Merle kept his eyes on the governor. But he directed his words towards the other man.

"Yeah Mitch it's me you sorry sack of shit," Merle muttered.

Hex turned her head, surprised and confused that instead of being angry at the insult that had been directed towards him, her captor now had a giant grin on his face. She pulled away from him and he released his grip on her arm. Hex now stood next to the man that had taken her gun, unsure of what to do after this odd development. Her instinct was to run for Milton and make sure he wasn't injured. But she couldn't leave Katie here being held hostage. Hex settled for taking a few steps back and well out of the line of fire between Merle and the governor.

"You know this guy?," Mitch asked. His question was directed towards Merle as he gestured towards Phillip with his gun. Mitch took a better look at the woman that his old army buddy was hell bent on rescuing. He had to admit that it looked like his old pal Merle had been doing pretty well for himself since the world ended.

"Me and him got some unfinished business," Merle explained.

Mitch nodded. Then to Phillip's absolute horror and shock, the man he believed was his loyal footsoldier lifted his gun and pointed it at him. To add insult to injury, Mitch yelled at the rest of their group and told everyone to drop their weapons. A few people, like Tara, were all too happy to toss their guns down. Some others hesitated. But still did as Mitch told them and surrendered.

"THIS IS YOUR LAST FUCKING WARNING," Merle hollered, "LET GO OF HER NOW!"

Katie's vision was fuzzy around the edges from the blow she had taken to her head. Merle was walking towards her. His gun was up, supported by the metal arm sleeve he wore anytime there was a possibility of a fight. His shirt sleeves clung to his taunt arm muscles. And while his pants weren't tight, she could still see the movement of his muscular thighs. She knew it wasn't the time to have the thoughts she was having. And that she may have taken a harder blow to the head than she thought. But as her man strode across the clearing to rescue her, all Katie could think about was how sexy he looked. And about how after Merle blew this rapist creeper's brains out the back of his head she was going to climb him like a tree and have her way with him.

"Take one more step and your brother's dead," Phillip said. His voice was low and even and Merle could tell from the delight in the man's tone that he wasn't making an idle threat. Merle kept his gun aimed at the man's head but he stopped advacing on him.

The governor ordered Katie to take his walkie from his belt. She grumbled but did as she was told and held it up above her head so he could speak into it. She held the button down as the governor barked into the device.

"Pete," he said, "I need you to put the man that we captured on so his people know he's still alive."

There was no immediate response. Phillip spoke into the walkie a few more times, calling out the name of the man he was trying to reach. After a few more attempts, there was a response. But instead of Pete's voice a woman's laughter came crackling over the line. The moment she heard it, Katie began to giggle right along with her friend.

"Sorry Pete can't come to the phone right now, he's a little TIED UP! But this is Addison Carver, what can I do for you Governor?"