DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead. This is for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: I feel like the rest of the story will be a breeze now that this one is finished. I could be wrong though… And I might have put too much into this chapter and somewhat rushed it along. I feel like I have a bad habit of that. My apologies for any mistakes: I only read through this once after typing it.
Start The Shooting.
It was a late morning before everyone got a start to their day, rolling out of their beds and out of their rooms. The threat of this Woodbury place still loomed over their heads but with no other place to go, they stayed put.
Daryl noticed Rick was looking over the map laid out on top of one of the abandoned cars still left in the parking lot. He joined his side and set the crossbow down beside him. "What d'ya got?"
Rick scratched at the stubble on his chin, his brows furrowed as he was focused on the map. "I was thinking about what you said yesterday, about these people. I was just thinking that if I could find someplace else we could go then we could leave here."
"Could always head back to the house we were at. We didn't have any problems there, just a little tight," Daryl suggested.
"I guess so," Rick pinched the bridge of his nose. "We don't have any other options."
"You wantin' to start moving back now?" Daryl questioned.
"Not quite yet. I want to talk it over with Lori first, and the others. I want to do what's best for everyone but if everyone wants to stay here…"
Daryl nodded, picking his crossbow back up and leaving Rick to his business. He spotted Leah talking with Carl and Sophia and caught himself slightly smiling. He never would have guessed Leah felt that way about him, especially with the outburst she had before all of that.
"Are you smiling?" Skyler approached him, teasing. "Are you sick?"
"What?—No," Daryl crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about…"
Skyler laughed, "I'm glad you too are okay. And I'm guessing she must have talked to you."
"Yeah, we're good." Daryl glanced over at Skyler. She too was watching Leah with Carl and Sophia, a smile playing on her lips. "You, uh… You doing okay?"
"I certainly can't complain," Skyler replied. She turned to face him now with the same smile. But her smile quickly faded as Daryl noticed she was now looking a little passed him.
Daryl took note of the two vehicles that were slowly coming to a stop just outside of the parking lot out on the road. They were both while, one being a Ford Excursion and the other a Dodge Ram. They both sported a bull bar and a winch and this Woodbury place instantly came to mind.
A handful of men exited from the two vehicles armed with semiautomatics and it was pretty obvious they weren't there to talk. They immediately opened fire, catching everyone stunned and half unarmed within the parking lot. Rick took cover behind the car he was still standing near and the others all ducked down and ran for cover. Daryl grabbed Skyler and pulled her behind the next closest vehicle for protection, looking over towards Leah's direction and noticing that Carol and Lori were ushering the kids into one of the rooms.
By the time Daryl had gotten himself and Skyler situated safely behind one of the abandoned cars, he noticed she was holding her arm. He moved in front of her while her back was propped up against the automobile to get a look for himself, his eyes drawn to the blood.
"I'm fine, just grazed me," Skyler bit her lip.
Daryl didn't say anything as he gently pulled her hand away from the damage. A bullet had indeed grazed her left arm but it wasn't entirely superficial. It looked deep enough to be releasing a line of curses, which Daryl somehow managed to contain.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled the red bandana out. Luckily it was clean, or at least clean enough, as Daryl carefully wrapped it around the wound. He pulled it snug to help stop the bleeding as Skyler hissed in pain, grabbing onto his shoulder with her right hand.
"Sorry…" he muttered. "Stay put." Daryl grabbed his crossbow and slowly glanced over top of the car towards the road. Rick was still in the same place and as far as Daryl could tell, he was the only one who was left over there. It appeared that most everyone else was able to make it into one of the motel rooms.
But Daryl caught a glimpse of Glenn, and two of the men were dragging him towards their vehicle. But with all the gunfire, there was no way he could make a run for it and get Glenn back—not like this.
The gunfire slowly let up after a couple minutes and the men all returned to their vehicles, their tires peeling out on the pavement as they drove on down the road. Daryl ran for Rick just as he was getting back on his feet.
"They got Glenn—" Daryl started.
Rick nodded, sighing, "They got Olivia too. I saw… I just couldn't get them."
Everyone began to emerge from the motel rooms now once they noticed it was quiet again. And it didn't take them long to notice the two missing group members.
"We have to get them back. We can't just leave them," Beth spoke up.
"I already plan on going. I got a bone to pick with 'em," Daryl shouldered his crossbow. The bastards were lucky Skyler wasn't worse off, not to mention the number they did trying to take Leah the day before.
"Now, hang on—" Rick stopped him. "We can't just go barging in. We need at least some sort of a plan."
"Who said 'we'?" Daryl questioned. "If we all go in there swinging together, we'll only be tripping over each other. Less is more. One or two of ya can come with me. We sneak in and we do what we gotta do."
"If you're going, I'm going too. For Glenn. And I've at least kind of seen what this place looks like," Maggie stepped forward, volunteering herself.
"Count me in," T-Dog stepped forward as well.
"If we leave on foot now, we should get there right at sundown. We can actually use the night to our advantage." Maggie pulled her pistol from her waistband and checked the clip. "Like Daryl said, we could sneak in and sneak right back out."
"See? Under control," Daryl started walking for the road. "You hold down the fort here."
"That's where guards were stationed yesterday was on top of that wall… I don't understand why they're not there anymore," Maggie kept her voice down as the three crept along the trees in the dark. They had just reached Woodbury since leaving shortly after the attack they staged on them back at the motel.
"Maybe they're taking a break," T-Dog suggested. "They could come back at any minute."
"Don't matter, we still gotta find a way in and it ain't gonna be through there." Daryl surveyed the surrounding area. There was a little bit of light emitting from this so-called 'Woodbury' but there didn't appear to be any walkers in close proximity. He started towards the side of the town, walking away from the front gate where guards were more than likely to return to their posts. "There's gotta be another way in. Something a little less conspicuous than knocking on their front door."
"S'damn shame we can't just barge on in like they did to us…" T-Dog sighed.
"We don't have the weaponry or the power in numbers like they have. It'd just be suicide. Daryl's right about trying to approach this in a stealthy manner," Maggie voiced her input.
"Just c'mon and stop bickering. Don't know where these guys could be and if they hear any of us, we're screwed," Daryl shot back at the two. He kept the crossbow steady in front of him just to be on the safe side as they made their way around the corner of the town. Daryl immediately spotted a breach in the wall they had surrounding Woodbury and made a move for it. He glanced around before shouldering the crossbow and grabbing onto the metal, slightly pulling it back. It groaned in protest as Daryl grit his teeth.
"Oh, and they'll hear our voices?" Maggie hissed.
"You got a better idea?" Daryl pulled the metal sheet back far enough that they could squeeze through. Walkers weren't smart enough to break in but they had a little more intelligence than the walking dead.
Daryl led the way in and made sure Maggie and T-Dog followed right behind him. They ended up in what appeared to be an alleyway, still hidden away in the shadows of the night. Daryl slowly inched forward towards the center of the town that provided a dim glow that was casted from various kerosene lamps. It was eerily quiet on their half of town. It seemed like everyone must have been gathered together in one place. It looked similar to some old abandoned warehouse with the multiple broken windows scattered about the walls. It was also more lit up than the rest of the town and chatter was stemming from that same location.
As the three approached the run down building with caution, they could hear one voice that overpowered the entirety. Daryl managed to peak around the corner through the wide doorway while Maggie and T-Dog each picked a different window to sneak a glance.
There stood a man towards the middle of the dirt covered floor, that very man who was droning on and giving some sort of speech, "…attacked our men. Crowley's in critical condition because of what this man's group has done. We've lost good people and I refuse to let these—these terrorists take what is ours." The town's people roared in agreement that something must be done, that they wanted avenged.
Daryl noticed that same man was sporting an eye patch, which seemed very unusual. He figured he had to be this 'Governor'. And that's about the time he realized Glenn was standing out in the middle of the dirt arena as well. He seemed okay, but there was no Olivia in sight.
"We have to do something—" Maggie looked to Daryl for a plan. "What can we do?"
Daryl was already searching the place over from where he stood. There were a handful of men who were carrying semiautomatics and different assault rifles while all Daryl, Maggie, and T-Dog had were pistols and a crossbow. Peachy.
"Ain't got much of a choice. Maybe take out a few men and hope that puts the rest of 'em into a frenzy, giving Glenn enough time to get out of there," Daryl explained.
"And what's the plan after that? We just gonna run back the way we came in?" T-Dog questioned, trying to think through the scenario. "What're we gonna do about Olivia?"
"I'll stay," Daryl volunteered himself. "As soon as we get Glenn, you three make a run for it. I'll try to find Olivia."
"I know this is going to sound wrong to say but… is she worth it? We can get Glenn right here and we can all get out of here together, no splitting up," Maggie lowered her voice as if Olivia would be able to hear her.
"She's part of our group," T-Dog shrugged.
"As easy as it would be to go along with that, we can't just leave her," Daryl shook his head. "Doesn't feel right. She deserves a chance too."
"Amen to that," T-Dog nodded. "So we good to go then?"
Daryl gave a slight nod in return as he brought the crossbow up and lined up his target. Maybe it was just him, but he really only had one target in mind—and that was the man who kept running his mouth front and center. He steadied the crossbow and waited for just the right moment, making sure he was lined up. He pulled the trigger and watched as the bolt hit. Only it didn't hit the original target he had planned, but it hit another man who had stepped forward the second Daryl fired.
That particular man's lifeless body hit the ground and set the arena into a panic. Everyone began gasping and shrieking, and when T-Dog and Maggie fired a couple rounds each, it only increased the terror.
"Glenn!—" Maggie screamed his name over the mobs of Woodbury citizens as they flooded out of the place and ran right passed them. Glenn had joined right in with them in trying to escape and T-Dog managed to grab him and pull him aside. Maggie quickly threw her arms around him and kissed him before looking him over for any injuries.
"I'm fine," Glenn reassured her.
"You know where Olivia is?" Daryl questioned, keeping an eye out for the men with guns.
Glenn shook his head, "After they brought us back here, I haven't seen her since."
"Daryl…" Maggie's voice was full of warning, which Glenn picked up on.
"You're going to look for her?"
"Yeah," Daryl replied. He reloaded the crossbow, "You guys get out of here and I'll cover ya if need be. Otherwise I'll lay low. Whatever happens, don't look back and just keep going. Get back to the motel and warn the others."
"What about you?" T-Dog asked.
"I'll figure something out. Now get your asses moving," Daryl waved them on.
Maggie took the lead with Glenn and T-Dog following right behind her, keeping Glenn in the middle since he was weaponless. Daryl watched them for a brief moment before he made his way towards a nearby alley to keep hidden in the shadows. Though feeling paranoid, he turned back one last time and it was a good thing he did.
A few men had spotted the three trying to make their escape. T-Dog and Maggie shot at the men as Daryl even took aim from where he was standing. More gunfire had erupted and rang throughout Woodbury sending the civilians into even more of a frenzy. They managed to take out a few of them but T-Dog was shot in the process. Daryl cursed under his breath as he watched T-Dog cover Glenn and Maggie while they escaped. Two more gunshots and T-Dog was on the ground.
Daryl felt a surge of regret for being so damn stubborn and wanting to try and find Olivia now. This was the risk they took coming in here to get Glenn and Olivia back. Not only that, but the group back at the motel was at risk as well. Since the little tangle in the woods, they were on Woodbury's radar. And for some reason, Daryl was pretty confident that it wouldn't have mattered if they'd killed three of their men or not—this place still would have attacked just because they existed.
T-Dog had kept the armed men from following Maggie and Glenn too closely and Daryl had fired a bolt, killing another man, and throwing them off. At least it kept them stunned for a moment trying to figure out where the bolt had come from, though it wasn't too hard to pinpoint a direction with the way the bolt had lodged itself into the man's head.
Daryl rounded a corner and kept low, sticking between the outer wall and the backside of the buildings. He kept the crossbow ready and glanced down every little alley possible, getting a glimpse of what was out towards the center of the town. He spotted a two story with double doors that looked like it could be their headquarters, the place where their apparent leader probably stayed. That was his best guess for finding Olivia. The only problem was that he now had to get to the other side of the town, which meant he would have to go out into the light and chaos, exposing himself.
Daryl kept to the shadows in the meantime, continuing to walk behind the buildings. He glanced back just to make sure he wasn't being followed. Of course when he turned to face forward again, he could only register a quick flash of something flying towards him. He managed to just barely avoid it, stumbling back. It was a man with a backwards baseball cap and the object that had come flying towards him was the aluminum baseball bat the man had gripped in his hands.
Another man had appeared from around the corner and Daryl smacked him upside the head with the crossbow, knocking him back. Though it didn't take long for the men to seemingly multiply and surround him. And Jesus fucking Christ, had he not just gone through this about 24 hours ago?
Daryl tried to fight them off but he felt a pair of hands grab onto him, followed by another, then another. They ripped the crossbow from his hands just as he managed to punch the damn smirking Mexican in the face. He'd give him something to smirk about.
Baseball Cap spit to the side, glaring. "Take pendejo here to the Governor. I'm sure he'd like to give him a warm welcoming."