A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.
Thank you to all the new followers and thank you to everyone who has left reviews. Know that you are loved & the only reason I'm still fighting writers block to keep this going!
Chapter Twenty Four-The Bed They Made
"So what are you going to do with them?" Sasha asked Rick after he finished telling everyone about Tripp and Jeremy.
"You should kill them both." Michonne's voice was cool and firm. Rick turned to look at her but her face was impassive. No emotion passed through her eyes. Like Glenn, she knew what needed to be done and didn't see the point in discussing it. Tyreese raised his hand.
"Now hold on. You're talking about executing a young kid. He's younger than Beth here and Ben." He looked around the room and noticed two people missing. "Where are Allen and Ben?" Beth looked worried.
"I thought he was in the tower with his dad. Allen called him out there after you all came and got Dani." Everyone was quiet for a moment before Tyreese turned and quickly walked outside. Tyreese called towards the tower.
"Hey Allen! You up there?" When he didn't receive a response, he opened the door and ran up the stairs. The control room was empty. He quickly scanned the grounds but couldn't see any movement save the numerous walkers in the field. Looking towards the front gate he say the chain and lock dangling and the gate slightly open. A few walkers were nearby but they hasn't yet noticed the chink in the prison's armor
"Tyreese!" He looked down and saw Rick, Daryl and Glenn in the yard. He motioned towards the gate.
"They're gone! Get the gate locked up before those walkers get in here!" Not having to be told twice, Rick and Glenn ran down the driveway to secure the gate. Tyreese heard Daryl climbing the stairs to join him in the tower.
"What do you see?" Daryl asked as he opened the door to the control room. Tyreese shook his head.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Dammit I should have known he'd do some stupid shit like this. Rick talked to me about it. Oscar almost shot Allen the other day for talking about leaving the prison." Tyreese looked at Daryl, who didn't look entirely surprised. "You knew he'd do something like this, didn't you?" Daryl nodded.
"I figured he would. He wasn't one of us. And if his boy was dumb enough to follow, then they both deserve what they get." Daryl opened the door and motioned for Tyreese to follow.
"C'mon. We got bigger things to worry about."
Andrea knocked on Milton's door as she opened it. He jumped and turned to her, fear apparent in his eyes.
"You're back." He sounded surprised. "Did you see your friends?" Andrea nodded and walked into the room.
"I did. Where's Philip?" Milton flinched and turned his back to her, looking down again at the open book in front of him.
"Oh, you didn't see him?" Andrea caught the hint of a tremor in Milton's voice. He was hiding something.
"No, I didn't Milton. Where is he?" When he didn't answer she quickly walked across the room and forced him to turn and look at her. "Dammit Milton! What the hell is going on?" Milton tried to avoid her eyes but couldn't.
"He went to the prison. A group of them. They're heavily armed. They decided to attack them. The Governor wants the prison. He wants that group dead. And I think he plans on killing you too." Hearing her worst fears confirmed, Andrea stepped back.
"My god. What happened to him Milton? What made him change?" Milton pushed his glasses up his nose, his hands shaking.
"It was Penny. So long as he had Penny, he had a reason to live. He wanted her to get better. Now that she's gone, I think he's lost his mind." Andrea let that sink in and thought about Danielle and Abigail.
"So that's why he had you experiment on Abigail Robertson." She looked at Milton, her expression pained. "How could you do that? How could you look at that beautiful little girl and see a science experiment?" Milton cleared his throat.
"I had a theory about this virus and the effects on children. When the doctor said that Abigail had pneumonia, Phillip said that I had the opportunity to test that theory in order to try to find a cure. I thought the sacrifice of one would save everyone. I learned later that Phillip only wanted Abigail because she was the same age and blood type as Penny. He only wanted to save his daughter. He could have cared less about everyone else. I see that now and I know I was wrong to have been involved in that." Milton took Andrea's hand, a move that surprised them both.
"Will you please tell Miss Robertson that I'm sorry? I'd tell her myself but I'm not leaving Woodbury. And I know that you won't either if you don't get out of here. Phillip wants to kill you but I don't know what he'll do to you before he gets around to that. He wants Michonne and Danielle too. What he has planned for them…" His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes. "Cash and Tripp were with Phillip and I before we came to Woodbury. There was a small group of us then, a few families like there are now but there were others too. Young men who would take off and go on supply runs. We were heading for Fort Benning. One night I heard them talking after they got back about what they did to these two girls in front of their father. They left almost every night, Cash, Tripp, Dave, Tony and Randall," Andrea's eyes widened "and I know they were doing more than just bringing back food. I know Phillip knew this too. He saw it as boys being boys but told them to keep quiet about it for the rest of the group. One night, only Cash and Tripp came back. They said they got ambushed by a group in a bar, got attacked by biters and took off.". Andrea could barely breathe. Milton was talking about Randall. Randall had been with Phillip, Cash and Tripp before Woodbury. Cash and Tripp had been the ones to fire on Rick, Glenn and Hershel at the bar. Daryl had been vague in saying what he had learned from his interrogation of Randall, only saying that the "men would be dead and the women would wish they were" if Randall's group arrived on the farm. Now she understood. If Shane had not killed Randall, the group could have been in a position where they would have had the option of joining the Governor or face the consequences. Knowing how Rick, Daryl and Shane were, they never would have joined anyone like that and it would have been bloody.
"Milton, when did they leave? I didn't see anyone on the road when I left this morning." Milton shook his head.
"I don't know. They could be back at any moment though. You have to get out of here Andrea. He will kill you if you stay." Andrea nodded and walked back to the door. Just as she was about to leave, she turned back to Milton.
"Come with me." Milton looked up and shook his head.
"I don't belong there Andrea. I've made my bed here. Now I have to lie in it." He met her eyes one time and smiled quickly before looking back at his books. Andrea turned and hurried quickly for the wall.
Hershel and Tyreese returned to the cellblock after checking on the prisoners. Hershel recommended that, if Tripp were to live, they would have to amputate is leg. Sitting with Dani on the stairs, Daryl snorted back laughter.
"I've got a dull ax you can use." Hershel frowned.
"I don't know what you have planned but that boy will die if we don't take that leg. Now if that's what you're doing, then fine but you have to make a decision real quick before it's too late for me to do anything." Michonne shook her head.
"We need to just send them out there. Give them some food if it makes you feel better but get them out of here. Let the walkers decide who lives and who dies." When her statement was greeted with silence, she turned to walk back to the other cellblock. "I'll take care of this." Rick grabbed her arm to stop her and she fixed him with an icy stare.
"What's wrong Rick?" Her voice was low and dripping with sarcasm. "I thought you were the leader. Can't make decisions on your own now? Or are you just gonna stand there and wait until he dies of natural causes so you can avoid any guilt? You know the world we're in now. That man in there, he would have killed us, killed your son, killed your baby girl." She turned to make sure that Dani wasn't close by and leaned in to Rick, lowering her voice to ensure it didn't carry.
"I saw what they did to Danielle that night. She doesn't remember all of it, I'm sure because if she did, there's no way she'd be able to let Daryl touch her this soon no matter how she felt about him. I saw her in that room, I know what they did to her and I'll tell you this: she was not the first woman or girl that they did this to. I know given the chance, they would do any one of us women here the same way. So you keep that in your mind while you wrestle with your conscience." She backed up, glanced again at Danielle and caught Daryl's eye. He was angry, not at her but at what she said. How he had heard her while Danielle obviously hadn't, she didn't know. He stood, ignored Dani's questions and practically ran towards Cellblock D.
"Daryl!" He didn't turn at Rick's call and heard at least two people running behind him. When he got to Cellblock D, he walked right up to Tripp's cell and stared down at him. Tripp was sitting on the blood stained floor. He was sweating, his breathing ragged but he still managed to glare at Daryl in defiance.
"What's goin' on Hoss? Miss me already?" Tripp started to laugh at his own joke but it trailed off into a hacking cough. He sat back up and wiped his mouth. Daryl continued to stare down at him.
"I came in here to shoot you." Tripp's eyes widened in fear. "But I decided that would be to easy for you, given what you are." Rick and Tyreese walked into the room at that moment but Daryl didn't turn around. Rick was shocked at how cold Daryl's voice was as he handed down Tripp's fate.
"Instead, we're gonna let you sit here. Let that leg rot. Let that infection move through your body and eat you alive. Let you sit right here when the fever hits, knowing that no one is comin' to help you. Leave you here helpless and alone, knowing that no one can hear you screamin' as you die slow." Daryl squatted in front of the cell and stared Tripp down. "I'm gonna do to you what you did to Danielle. Leave you alone, in the dark, scared, hurtin' bad, and prayin' for someone to do somethin' to make it stop." Daryl paused and allowed his words to sink in, taking pleasure in watching the asshole squirm. "And when you've turned and you wake up hungry with no food nearby, then I'll come in here and put a bullet in your head. Because then, you'll just be another walker and there won't be no arguments about puttin' you down." Daryl stood and walked to Jeremy's cell. He unlocked the door and grabbed the kid, dragging him out of the cell. Leading him by the arm he pulled Jeremy out of the room and started back towards Cellblock C.
"Don't you try nothin', understand?" Jeremy nodded quickly and allowed himself to be dragged down the hallway.
After Daryl left, Tripp stared at both Rick and Tyreese.
"C'mon man, you can't leave me to die like this. Please." He grabbed the bars and pulled himself closer to the door. "C'mon please. Don't let me die this way. I'll tell her I'm sorry. Just…" His voice trailed off and tears spilled over onto his cheeks as Tripp realized that neither men had made a move to help him. "Please, please, please. Don't let me die this way." Rick and Tyreese turned and left the room and ignored the screams that finally faded when they returned to Cellblock C.