For a brief time, Milton was alone with his thoughts... safe and warm with Andrea beside him in bed. Yet these were not the thoughts he had anticipated.

A seething hatred lived within him. A hatred for himself above all things.. even above the relentless undead. His parents had died and left him as a child.. he never had any friends... never even kissed a girl before Andrea. Mistreated.. misunderstood... used, for his intellect..

Surely it was his fault. Somehow. There could be no other reason. What other purpose did he serve? He wasn't particularly skilled in combat, and he knew he could not survive one day beyond Woodbury's safety. He wasn't strong and in control like the Governor. He couldn't protect Andrea.. his courage had long faded after he made love to her for the first time. She would come to her senses and go back to the Governor. He would cease to exist in her eyes.. that night would be nothing more than a foul memory.. a stain upon her psyche. Milton Mamet served no purpose. He was beyond the love of others. He didn't quite know why Andrea allowed him to touch her and be with her.. but he knew that this happiness was fleeting. She was too strong... too courageous.. too beautiful to be with the likes of him.

And it made him sick. He snuck out of bed, careful not to wake her. He was uncertain of how long they laid together.. how many "I love you"'s they had exchanged... No! He could not think of such things. These were lies. Andrea didn't know what she was saying... and she would regret it before long. How could he have allowed it to come to this?

As he slipped his coat on, he stared down at her as she slept.. a deep sorrow arose within his chest.. and it hurt. He imagined even a walker could not harm him now.. not like this. She looked happy... but tomorrow this would be gone. She would realize what a mistake she had made. She would realize Milton was a fling, and nothing more. That this inexperienced nerd held no significance for her.. and would have been better suited as walker bait than her lover.

He touched her cheek softly, and he felt it burn inside his palm.. he already missed her warmth, and he felt his entire world descend into an endless winter.

"Goodbye, my love..." he whispered. It took every ounce of strength within him to walk out of that bedroom door.. but somehow, he did it.. and he had never guessed he could have been seen. That the cries in the night could have been heard...

And when it was done before the sun could rise
Ashamed of what I was, afraid to see your eyes
I stood while you slept and whispered a goodbye
And slipped into the dark beneath a moonless sky

Andrea awoke hours later to an empty bed, and a sound she could not put a name to. Rain drops? No.. but similar all the same. As she sat up, she realized immediately what it was. There sat the Governor across the room.
"Philip! I...You were out so late." her concern was not for him, but for Milton.. had he left before the Governor had arrived? If not... Oh god, what had he done with him? Did she dare even ask?

He smiled and shrugged, "Woodbury is a growing community. We need supplies to keep going... you know that." She nodded, and as if answering all of the questions that were screaming in her head, he told her of Milton's departure.
"Did you hear anything about Milton leaving Woodbury last night? I wasn't here, but Martinez was. Pretty strange... said he was pretty upset."
Andrea couldn't hide her shock any more than she could force words out of her mouth.
"W...Why.." she stammered... "Why was he upset? Did he say?"

"Actually, that's why I am here... he said he couldn't be around you anymore. That you disgusted him." The Governor looked genuinely confused as to why Milton would think this about his beloved Andrea.

She began to feel light headed... how could the man that had just spent the night with her have such vile things to say? How had she disgusted him? Was it her body? Was she not good? She was no pro, but she was far from a shy virgin.. their bodies seemed to fit perfectly together.. there was no touch that hadn't electrified the other person.. there was no moment that had been devoid of exceptional bliss. She was failing miserably at holding back her emotions. Maybe the Governor would only see this as her taking offense to Milton's careless words. Maybe not. It really didn't matter to her anymore. All that mattered was that he was gone... that the night before had meant nothing to him... and that she had destroyed it all...
It all overwhelmed her, and as the Governor left, she found herself incapable of holding back the tears any longer.

And I loved you
Yes, I loved you
I'd have followed anywhere you led
I woke to swear my love
And found you gone instead

"Hey, boss, how's it hangin'?" Martinez asked as the Governor strode through the streets of Woodbury, he couldn't understand exactly why he seemed so incredibly pleased with himself... but he beamed and waved him over, "Never better! It's a shame about Milton, though.. I still can't wrap my head around it."

Martinez was clearly very confused, "What happened?"
The Governor frowned and looked at the ground... Martinez grew impatient, something had happened alright... something bad.
"Last night... he left..." he put on his best, most distraught expression, "...God, help me.. they swarmed him. He wasn't prepared.. he didn't even know how to shoot the gun... they...ripped him apart. There was nothing I could do."

Martinez looked visibly sick, and his jaw fell open as he struggled for words, "Does Andrea know?" "No! The two of them, unfortunately, bonded over a few experiments Andrea helped him with... it would destroy her if she knew. I had to tell her something... well, I told her he left... only that he left... that he couldn't be around her anymore..." Unable to form many thoughts on the situation, Martinez merely nodded and left, but not before glancing over his shoulder, "I'm sorry man, I didn't like 'im much, but I know you did... I know it's gotta suck."

The Governor walked away, his back turned to Martinez, and grinned wickedly.. "Oh, I'm just devastated..."

So what do you guys think? Is he dead? Is he not? WHAT SHALL HAPPEN TO OUR DEAR MILTON? :O