Ch. 12
"No. Absolutely not."
Michonne had been the first to speak up.
"But he's one of our own -" Hershel began to protest, but Michonne cut him off.
"It would put everyone and everything we have at risk! We were lucky that the Governor didn't retaliate! We should not push our luck!"
Hershel frowned and turned towards the rest of the group.
"What about everyone else? What do you think?"
Everyone was present except Rick and Carl. The latter was keeping watch and Rick was still in his cell.
"I think we should do it," Beth said, softly.
"I do too," Carol agreed.
Glenn and Maggie exchanged looks. Then Glenn spoke up.
"I don't like the idea of going back, but I think we're obligated. I'll go."
Everyone turned to Maggie.
Her shoulders slumped.
"I'm in if you need me," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Hershel had to fight back the urge to smile. He was proud of his daughter for being so resilient - willing to go back for Daryl despite her pain. Instead, he turned back to Michonne.
"It looks like you've been outvoted."
Michonne glared at all of them.
"You're asking for death. Is this what you really want? After all you've done?" She looked at Judith, who was sleeping in Beth's arms. "And what about her? Do you want her to die?"
"I think if we go elsewhere… As long as we don't wait here, we might be alright," Carol replied. "He'll look for us here."
"Where are we going to go? Between myself and your group, we've covered almost everywhere nearby," Michonne countered.
"Actually," David said, "I think I know a place you can go."
The group turned their attention to him.
"You have cars, right? Maybe a van, or something?"
"There's a prison van we can use," Hershel answered.
"Good. That'll help. About sixty miles from here, there's a college. A satellite branch of a community college. If you have a map, I can show you. Anyway, Maria - my wife - went there. It was a nursing college, so there's a lot of medical supplies there. You'll need them, trust me. Daryl will at least. Besides that, it's got an underground parking lot. You could park there and go up and stay out of sight. Pack up the van with your stuff and go. The place is four stories high - you'll be able to see anyone coming."
"What do you mean, Daryl will need them?" Carol asked, nervously. "What's wrong with him?"
David sighed and looked at Hershel, who thankfully spoke.
"Daryl is alright. He will be alright. He's just going to need some help after all of this is all. Now, if I'm right, we're running out of time here," he tried to change the subject. Telling the group about Daryl's condition would just make them fight more among themselves. "David, do you have any idea if the place was overrun?"
"I don't know. I don't think so, though. It's sorta remote, the last time we went past it, it was empty. But that was over a year ago. I doubt he would look there, though. He'll expect us to come back here, or to come to somewhere near here. The college is out West. Odd location."
"Suppose we do agree to this," Glenn said, "How are we going to do it?"
"I would suggest that we leave some people here to pack the van and cars and head to the campus. Meanwhile, I'll take the stronger ones with me. Merle is waiting back there. We show up before dawn and fire two shots when we're close. That's the signal. When he hears it, he's gonna create a distraction. We'll have a better chance of getting inside then."
"And?"
"And then we split. Michonne, Glenn, you can find your way to the Governor's house. I need to get my daughter, then I can meet you. Either at his house or the wall or the car. I can tell you where to find him."
"And Merle?" Glenn asked.
"Merle is going to make sure that his distraction definitely gets the Governor's attention. Makes him come out."
"That's… That's like a suicide mission," Carol noted.
David nodded, "Merle knows."
"He's actually okay with that?" Glenn truly sounded surprised.
David frowned.
"Merle loves his brother. He may be a scumbag - I'll be the first to admit that - but he loves Daryl, and he doesn't want to see him suffer."
"So it's settled, then?" Hershel asked.
"Yeah," Glenn agreed. He looked at the group, "You, Carol, Beth, Carl and Maggie… you stay here and prep. Get the van loaded up. Food, blankets, guns, ammo, all of that. Then you get Rick in too. David, you said you can give them directions?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Carol, get the map. Once that's settled, we'll head out."
00
It wasn't long before David, Glenn and Michonne were coming up on Woodbury. They could see the lights in the distance. As they approached, David said a silent prayer.
The clock in the car read 3:14 am. A good time, David thought. Elena had been born at 3:15.
David parked the car about half a block away from the wall nearest his house. The three got out of the car.
"Michonne, do you remember where to go?" David asked.
The woman nodded, still wearing an angry scowl.
"You'll need these." David reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of three keys on a single key chain. He handed them to Michonne.
She raised an eyebrow.
"You'll see when you get there. The best way to get in is the back entrance. The biggest key is for that lock. You go upstairs, through the living room, and he'll likely be in the bedroom on the left. You get him out. Help him walk if you need to. He might be weak. You get him back to the car. I'll meet you here in twenty minutes after we leave. Does that seem like enough time?"
"It'll have to be," Glenn responded.
"If I'm not here by then, leave. Take him and go."
Both Glenn and Michonne agreed to this.
Then, David took out his gun. He took a deep breath and fired two shots into the air.
00
About a minute after the shots were fired, there was shouting. This was shortly followed by gunfire, and then, an explosion.
No one had really expected that last part, but they assumed that it was part of Merle's distraction and began running towards the wall. They reached it seconds after the last guard deserted, having run off in the direction of the explosion.
The three climbed over the wall together, then separated. David headed to his house while the others went to find Daryl.
00
Glenn and Michonne got a first hand look at what Merle had done. One of the store fronts was engulfed in flames. People were running out of their homes, trying to figure out what was going on. The guards, meanwhile, seemed to be busy trying to take Merle down. He seemed to be holding his own thus far, but they doubted that he would escape.
Oddly, Glenn felt kind of bad about that. Their current mission took his mind off of it briefly though.
As predicted, the Governor was drawn out of his home. They could see him making his way towards the flames. No one noticed as they slipped around the back of his home and unlocked the door.
The two entered quietly, unsure if anyone else was in the building. Hadn't he had an assistant that he'd been sleeping with? Anyone could be there besides Daryl.
They arrived at the second floor, expecting to have to search for Daryl. However, they were surprised. Instead of being in some bedroom, he was standing, the living room, staring out a window.
"Daryl?" Glenn asked.
The hunter was startled. He quickly turned to face them.
"Glenn?!"
"Yeah. Hey. You remember Michonne?"
Daryl's jaw dropped. He was too stunned to answer. He watched as Michonne removed they keys from her pocket.
Michonne stayed calm. So did Glenn. From what they could see, Daryl looked okay. A little thinner than he was previously, but he was wearing clean clothing. The only thing that seemed off was the chain around his neck. Of course, it was dark. Maybe in the daylight they'd notice something else.
The two methodically worked to free Daryl from his chains, unlocking the padlocks.
Daryl just stood there the whole time, seemingly unsure of what to do.
When the chains were finally discarded, Michonne spoke.
"We need to go, now. Can you walk?"
"I… Uh…" Daryl replied. He really hadn't expected this.
"Yes or no?" Glenn asked, annoyed.
Daryl knew that he was still weak. As much as it embarrassed him, he felt that he really had no choice but to be honest.
"I need some help," he admitted.
Glenn nodded and wrapped an arm around Daryl, helping to support him. Michonne led them out.
"We're goin' back to the prison, right?" Daryl asked, as Glenn helped him down the stairs.
"You'll be safe," Glenn answered. "Just, stay quiet. We'll talk when we're out of here."
They came outside to see the fire still burning, but now, Merle was subdued.
Both Glenn and Michonne hoped that Daryl wouldn't notice it, but he did.
Michonne rolled her eyes as she saw him open his mouth to call out. Swiftly, she covered it with her hand.
Then Daryl began to protest, trying to pull away.
Michonne and Glenn were stronger though. Between the two of them, they managed to pull him across the street while keeping him quiet.
The Governor was starting off on some speech, trying to calm everyone down. He seemed to think that Merle's act had been in retribution for what had happened to Daryl. An ulterior motive had yet to cross his mind.
But Glenn and Michonne knew it would soon. As soon as the Governor noticed that Daryl was missing.
As they moved, Daryl continued to fight. It took most of their energy to keep him in place. Ultimately, Michonne took off her headband and used it as a makeshift gag as soon as they were off the streets. It freed up one of her hands.
Soon, the car was near. David was there, too, along with Elena.
Upon seeing the car, Daryl began to fight harder. No matter how much Merle had hurt him, he didn't want to leave his brother behind!
That was when Michonne made a decision.
"Hold him still," she said to Glenn.
Glenn did this as best he could, while Michonne used her katana - still sheathed - to hit Daryl on the head. She must have hit him with a good amount of force, because he went down almost immediately, allowing them to get him into the car.
Glenn sat on one side of him, Michonne on the other. Elena sat up front.
David started the car, and they took off towards the college.