A/N All characters belong to the writers and creators of The Walking Dead. Except those that arose from my own twisted imagination.

Chapter Twenty Five-Broken Run

Andrea started running the moment her feet hit the ground on the other side of the wall and didn't look back until she was far enough away that she was hidden by the other buildings and trees. She had to circle around the buildings to get the road that would lead her to the prison. From her vantage point, she could just see the wall and Martinez standing guard. She heard the rumble of truck engines and knew that Phillip had returned. That got her running again. Her lungs burned and her heart was pounding but she dared not stop. She knew that Phillip would find out quickly that she had not only returned but had escaped.

Andrea had made it about five miles when she had to cut through the woods to avoid a small herd of about fifteen walkers. She hadn't seen this many together in a long time, with the exception of her brief time at the prison. As she made her way through the trees, careful to not make any sound that might attract walkers, she cursed herself for just running and not at least grabbing additional ammo or even water. Just as she removed her gun from her holster to check her ammo, she froze. In the distance, the roar of a truck was heading towards her on the road. She was on a slight hill so she ducked down behind a fallen tree and watched the road as the roar drew closer. Her heart froze as she watched Phillip's truck fly past her. He was following her and that fact scared her to death. If he flew out of Woodbury the moment he learned that she was gone, she knew he meant to kill her. She quickly turned and began running through the trees, forgetting for a moment that every heavy footstep would probably attract any of the dozens of walkers that were within hearing range. She made it to a clearing and stopped. In front of her was a large open field with no cover for at least a half a mile, save the tall dried grass. She would have no place to hide once she left the safety of the trees. She also wasn't sure where exactly she was, only that she was heading due east. She closed her eyes.

"C'mon bitch grow a pair and get moving." She hissed to herself and ran. About half way across the field, she stepped in a gopher hole and fell hard to the ground, hearing a sickening crack in her right ankle. Biting her lip and grimacing in pain, she rolled over onto her back and checked her injuries. Hands were scraped up but nothing broken. She tasted blood and assumed she must have bitten her tongue. Running it across her teeth, Andrea determined that she had not bitten it off and continued to check herself. She saved her right leg for last because she knew it was bad. She could feel the pulse pounding in her ankle and foot and her shoe was already painfully tight. Holding back a scream she pushed her sock down and saw that her ankle was severely swollen. Touching it brought a new round of pain and she fought the urge to scream. Knowing that she couldn't very well take care of herself in the open, she stood, put the majority of her weight on her left leg and hobbled as best she could, her vision blurred by tears of pain. She stopped once when she thought she heard the truck engine but decided that it was only her imagination. She made to the other side of the field and kept going, trying not to think about the fact that if she ran into another herd of walkers or even Phillip with a broken ankle she was dead.

Milton had never really been a drinking man but after Andrea left his lab he found a bottle of brandy that was stashed in his cabinet. He poured a glass, turned on the record player and allowed the sounds of the Italian tenor fill his brain. He closed his eyes, took a sip and waited. The brandy burned a track to his stomach and he quickly took another sip. Phillip would be back soon and Milton would be forced to tell him about Andrea. He would try to refuse to tell Philip her destination but he knew he would eventually be forced to tell. He had never been very good at lying.

He opened his eyes at the sound of voices outside his door. His door slammed open and Philip and Martinez walked on. Milton tried to hide his fear but soon realized that his hand was shaking.

"Where is she?" Philip's voice was cold and Milton raised his glass to his lips, hoping to delay the inevitable. Philip's face twisted on rage as he slapped the glass from Milton's hand, grabbed Milton and threw him against the wall, sending a shelf of books crashing down on top of him. Before Milton could catch his breath, Phillip grabbed him and tossed him against the lab table. Glass cut into Milton's hands as he struggled to get to his feet. He had managed to get to his knees when Phillip kicked him square in the chest. Milton felt his ribs crack and coughed hard, pain drilling straight through to his spine. He spit blood onto the floor and struggled to focus. His glasses were gone and he could no longer see. Even if he somehow got a chance to run, it would be in vain. Phillip grabbed Milton again and hauled him to his feet. He slammed Milton against the wall.

"Where is she?". When Milton didn't answer, Phillip punched him repeatedly in the face. Dazed, Milton tried to keep consciousness. Philip leaned in, his face inches from Milton.

"Where is she?" Philip's voice was cold.

"Gone." Milton could barely force his mouth and tongue to work properly to form that one word answer. Phillip punched him again.

"I know she's gone dammit! Where is she going?" Milton didn't respond and his head rolled to one side. Phillip growled and grabbed Milton's face in one hand, slamming his head again the wall. He leaned in close again.

"I trusted you, gave you shelter, saved your ass from the biters and you betrayed me." Milton focused his eyes for a moment and held his head steady.

"You betrayed us all a long time ago Phillip."

His mouth twisted with rage, Phillip quickly snapped Milton's neck. As he left the room, he paused next to a stunned Martinez. Phillip motioned towards the body that was crumpled on the floor.

"Take care of that. I'm going after Andrea."

Andrea turned at the sound of the walker's growl. She thrust the broken end of a stick through the walker's eye and it went down. Andrea hobbled faster. She could see at least five more walkers, and two had definitely noticed her. She picked up a large rock and braced herself against a tree, waiting for the first one to get close. It's decayed hands grabbed for her jacket and she swung the rock upwards with both hands, catching the walker in the jaw and knocking it to the ground. Straddling the walker, Andrea brought the rock down again and again, bashing it's skull. The other walker ambled closer. Andrea tried to stand but couldn't place any weight on her right foot. Andrea tried to control her fear and revulsion and waited for the walker to lean down over her, reaching it's gnarled fingers for her, jaws snapping. She swung the rock again, catching the walker on the side of the head and quickly climbing over it to smash it's skull. This one must have been older than the last one because it's head broke open like a rotten watermelon. Thinking quickly, Andrea dipped both hands into the bloody mess that had been it's face and smeared the mess over her clothes. She covered herself with as much of the foul blood and brain matter as she could, then crawled back to the other walker and smashed the rock into it's face again. She rubbed the blood over her pants, over her chest and as best she could across her back. Sufficiently covered now, she forced herself to her feet and began walking again in the direction of the prison. Andrea passed two walkers that didn't even give her a second glance. She smiled slightly to herself. She just might make it.

Tyreese and Daryl stood watch in the tower. Tyreese hadn't spoken to Daryl since the incident with Tripp. When they returned to the cell block with Jeremy, Daryl had walked him up to the second tier and locked him in the end cell. Though Dani protested, Daryl was not going to take any chances and both Rick and Tyreese had agreed.

"It'll just be for a couple of days," Rick assured her. Daryl frowned.

"Unless he causes any problems. Then I'll feed him to his buddy back there.". Jeremy shook his head.

"I promise. I won't do anything I swear!" Daryl walked back in front of his cell and stared the kid down.

"You just keep quiet and do what we tell you, got it?" Jeremy nodded and sat on the bunk. Daryl turned and headed down the stairs, pausing by Glenn.

"Keep an eye on him alright?". Glenn nodded and Daryl had walked outside to stand watch in the tower.

Tyreese glanced over at Daryl, who looked tense. He was shifting slightly back and forth on his feet, his jaw was clenched and his fists balled up like he was ready for a fight. His eyes, however, didn't have the murderous rage they did when he had confronted Tripp. Tyreese was positive that the redneck looked on the verge of tears.

"Hey man, you ok?" Daryl took a deep breath and shook his head. He raised one hand to his mouth and began chewing on the knuckle of his thumb. Tyreese was sure that Daryl wasn't even aware he was doing it.

"I can't stop thinking about what they did to her. Michonne didn't tell Rick exactly but it must have been bad. I know Dani has nightmares but she doesn't remember having them in the morning." He turned his back to Tyreese and ran both hands through his hair. Tyreese shifted uncomfortably and didn't respond. He turned his attention back on the surrounding fields, watching the walkers pour out of the woods.

"Daryl check it out," Tyreese pointed towards the herd. "Those fools from Woodbury would be stupid to try anything with that group down there." Daryl watched the herd hit the outer fence and nodded.

"Never thought I'd ever say I was glad to see a bunch of walkers." Tyreese chuckled.

"I know what you mean. Probably wouldn't be such a bad thing to let them stay by the fence for now and not take them out. It's not like we can go out on a run or anything until this mess is taken care of, you know?" Daryl nodded.

"Our own guard dogs. I like that. We'll just have to watch 'em, keep 'em spread out so they don't gang up in one spot and put too much pressure on the fence." Tyreese agreed.

"Think we should go down and tell the others?" Daryl did one last scan of the woods. Seeing no movement other than walkers, he turned to the door.

"C'mon. We should get back inside. We should stay out of here as much as possible anyway. You know what Danielle and Andrea said about the weapons at that place. They might not know how to use them but that won't stop them from tryin'." The two men walked down the stairs and back into the cellblock just as Andrea finally arrived at the edge of the woods. Her ankle was killing her and she could see the walkers surrounding the place. No one was outside in the prison yard. Her heart began pounding as she realized that she might have made the journey in vain.

She was just starting to give up hope when she saw Rick and Glenn walk quickly towards the fence. They began yelling at the walkers, trying to spread them out along the perimeter. Andrea saw an opportunity and began limping towards the fence. She was aware that she looked like a walker and she hoped she smelled enough like one to keep the herd at bay. She hadn't taken three steps when a hand clapped over her mouth and arms pulled her back into the woods.

"Andrea," Phillip's voice was cold. "Don't you think it's rude to leave without saying goodbye?" Andrea tried to fight him but he dragged her back to his truck. She couldn't believe she hadn't heard him behind her. He opened the door, threw her in the cab and grabbed her broken ankle, twisting it hard. She screamed in pain. As she blacked out, Phillip leaned over her, his lips inches from her ear.

"We're just getting started Andrea. And I promise you one Andrea: you'll wish you were dead when I get done with you."