Chapter 11

Rick and Daryl were knocked off their feet by the blast. Both lay stunned for a few seconds. Before they could recover hands were reaching for them, disarming them and binding their arms tightly.

"It seems my men won't be getting the women after all. They're not going to be happy about that. I wonder who they will be taking their frustrations out on" the Governor stood in front of them.

Daryl glanced to where the three women had been. The ground was blackened and some of the undergrowth was still burning. There was no sign of any of the women he considered his friends. He lunged at the Governor, crashing into him, knocking him to the ground. He managed to get a good solid kick to the man's gut before he was dragged back. A rifle butt in the stomach knocked the breath out of him and he doubled over, gasping for air. Another blow to his back bought him to his knees. He could hear Rick yelling as several blows rained down on him.

"Getting sick of having the crap kicked outta me" he thought as they were both forced to kneel, guns jabbed against their heads. The Governor smiled in satisfaction as he sent two of his men to find the women or their bodies.

Michonne let go of Cassie and the two women searched for Maggie. She had seen the Governor's man stand and throw the grenade and she'd managed to grab Cassie and pull her down behind a large tree, shielding them from the worst of the blast. She'd been unable to get to Maggie in time and had seen the younger woman thrown forward with the impact of the blast. They found her slumped in the undergrowth, her face pale and twisted in pain. She was clutching her thigh and breathing harshly. While Michonne stood over them, katana in hand as she kept watch, Cassie gently pulled Maggie's hand away from her injury. A large sliver of wood was embedded in her flesh. The explosion had ripped a large chunk from a tree and the debris had flown everywhere. Maggie had several smaller cuts from splinters and flying wood.

"Can't risk pulling it out" Cassie told the panting woman. "I need your shirt to patch it up" she explained.

With shaking hands Maggie unbuttoned her shirt and handed it to Cassie. Giving her a reassuring smile Cassie tore it into strips and started bandaging the wound. She wrapped several pieces of fabric around the wood to prevent it moving too much then used the rest to wrap Maggie's leg, trying to stop the flow of blood and keep it as clean as possible.

"They got Rick and Daryl" Michonne cursed "and we need to do something, there's two of them heading this way"

"We can't move Maggie, not yet" Cassie's mind raced as she tried to think of a way out of this mess.

Cautiously the two men approached the last place the three women had been seen. They weren't taking any chances; they'd seen what Michonne could do with that weapon of hers.

"Have you found anything yet?" The Governor demanded impatiently.

"Just seen something through the trees, almost there" one of them yelled back.

There was a short laugh.

"It's the bitch with the short hair. She's alive but got half a tree stuck in her leg" The man chuckled "Looks real painful"

"Any sign of the other two?" The Governor wasn't interested in Maggie, he wanted Michonne, and Cassie was only useful as something he could use to get to Daryl.

"Wait up, I can see somethin'" The man raised his gun as he approached the shape he'd seen. The other remained with Maggie.

"Looks like the other bitch, the one with long hair. She's on the ground and aint movin'. I'm gonna check her out"

He approached the motionless woman, lying face down, her hair and clothes covered in leaves and bits of debris. When he was close enough he nudged her body with his foot, when there was no reaction he kicked again, this time harder, again with no response.

"She aint movin', I think she's dead" he called out.

The governor laughed as he glanced at the two men held captive nearby.

"Drag the body out, we'll use it as a distraction from the biters. Bring the injured one as well. That should give us enough time to get back to the town."

Rick and Daryl exchanged looks from where they were kneeling side by side, hands on their heads as they were held at gun point. They knew how badass Michonne was and there had been no mention of her. They were both trying not to think about Cassie, neither wanted to believe she was dead but it didn't sound good. The more immediate concern was the injured Maggie and how they could help her.

There was no reply from the men in the forest and after a few minutes the Governor called again. When there was no reply again he made a decision.

"We'll take Rick back to Woodbury; I want to enjoy his company for as long as possible." His cold eye fell on Daryl.

"Much as I would like to carry on our 'discussions' we need a distraction" He ordered his men to tie Daryl to a nearby tree in full view of the walkers they could hear approaching.

"Make sure he's conscious, I want him aware of every second of it" he told them. Two men grabbed Rick and dragged him struggling to his feet. They followed the Governor as he headed back towards the town. Daryl fought as hard as he could, but with bound hands against three men with lose fists. He hurt from everything he'd already gone through at the hands of the Governor and his men but it still took a lot of effort for the three men to lash him to the lowest branches of a nearby tree. The first walker was just coming into sight as the men turned and ran after the departing Governor.

One of them stopped and watched, laughing as the first reached its decaying arms out, grasping at Daryl.

"I love me a bit of revenge?" he quipped, laying a hand on his ribs. He'd been one of those to restrain Daryl when they captured him after Merle's death.

Daryl kicked out and knocked the snarling walker back a few stumbling steps. Immediately it advanced again, a second close behind. Desperately he kicked again, hearing the man's laughter cut short.

The walker in front of him suddenly stopped reaching and fell, closely followed by the second. He saw Cassie, knife in hand, blood on her clothes, a smile on her face.

"This isn't the time to be hanging around" she joked as Michonne approached, wiping the man's blood off her katana. A quick flick of her wrist and he was free.

"Thought you two was dead" He commented as they headed back to Maggie. They had risked moving her and hidden her in a hollow between two trees, covered in moss and leaves and armed with a rifle. Fortunately the walkers had been focused on following the sounds of gunfire and explosions and hadn't found her.

Daryl carefully scooped her up, mindful of her injury. Even he flinched when he saw the wood embedded in her leg.

"Safest place for her is in the car, even if it don't work" he decided "We can leave her locked in and go after Rick"

Even though she was pissed the decision about her was being made without her input Maggie knew he was right.

With Michonne and Cassie keeping watch and taking care of any stray walkers they made their way back to the damaged car. Once Maggie was safely inside, hidden in the back seat and armed with a rifle the three of them set off at a jog, heading back to Woodbury.