Chapter Forty Eight
The thing that unnerved me the most as Rick and I approached the doorway leading outside was the silence. We could hear nothing. No bullets, no screams. Just silence.
Rick paused at the door, glancing back at me with a worried expression. I couldn't bring myself to provide the man any comfort, as all my own resolve was breaking too. Instead, I stared back and Rick's hand lingered over the handle, ready to open it. Ready to face him. Raising his gun, I watched as the leader took a deep breath before pushing hard on the door and walking out. I followed quickly into the light, ready to face our fate.
For an initial shocked moment, we both paused to observe the situation before one of the group - one the Dixons maybe? - told us to get to cover. Quickly we obliged, and rushed towards one of the defence posts where Daryl and Herschel were taking cover behind, our footsteps leaving trails in the snow covered yard.
It was the Governor alright. And he had brought back up. His truck was noticeably familiar in between two large trailer trucks which no doubt contained his vast amounts of reinforcements. The three vehicles were parked beyond the perimeter fences, a blaring obstruction in the white contrasting surroundings, facing towards the prison. Though what took us by the surprise was the fact that that was all they were doing. Just waiting. There was no gun shots, no attacks made. They were just still. Meeting Daryl's gaze, I wondered if that was actually a good thing.
"Where's the rest of the group?" Rick asked under his breath, his eyes trained on our visitors.
"Ya got Andrea up in the guard tower." Daryl muttered, pointing vaguely to the tower that the RV stood beside. "Maggie 'nd Glenn are takin' cover on the landin' across the yard." He pointed over the opposite side to where the couple could be seen crouched behind our make-shift defences.
"Tyreese and Sasha are beside that tower." Herschel nodded to one of the towers that had been destroyed in the last attack. "Michonne and Merle are lingering by the perimeter gate." Rick nodded, swallowing hard. Now that the group had been mapped out, we seemed awfully outnumbered.
"What's the plan then?" Daryl asked, glancing over the top of the defence before turning to Rick. The leader ran an aggravated hand through his messy hair.
"Does anyone have a radio?" He asked, eyeing the one that Herschel clutched in his hand.
"Glenn and Maggie have one between them." The old farmer informed the leader. "As do Tyreese and Sasha. Not sure about the others."
"Didn't get one to Andrea." Daryl breathed. "Don't think Merle or Michonne thought to get one either." Rick sighed and nodded at this piece of information before glancing at me.
"Ruby, I need you off the ground." He muttered, his eyes glancing at the remaining guard tower that wasn't destroyed or occupied and then to the sniper in my arms.
"Ya gonna make 'er run across the yard?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow. "What if they aim for 'er?" Rick shook his head.
"They're not doing anything right now." He pointed out before glancing around. "We're not in positions, that's the problem. I need Andrea and Ruby in the towers, and I need you, me and Glenn all aiming for the Governor. The rest are defence, remember?"
"What about this tactical attack from Merle and the others?" Herschel asked slowly. Rick breathing became ragged as he juggled all this information. The rest of us waited patiently.
"We need to get in contact with Merle and Michonne." He seethed, his hands shaking, before he turned to me. "Right, I need you to head to the guard tower, we'll cover you. Try and meet up with Michonne and Merle on your way, tell them that I need them, Merle especially, where I can communicate with them." Daryl glanced between his leader and I with what seemed to be concern, though I knew that he wouldn't argue against Rick's decision.
"Up to the tower, got it." I nodded, a little war. "I'll be on my own though, I don't have a radio either." Rick nodded regretfully.
"Just watch yourself and keep your eye out incase they decide to blow up the towers again." Rick's words provided me no comfort and I scoffed.
"Great, thanks for that." I muttered. He sent me an apologetic glance.
"Ruby's making a break to the guard tower." Herschel announced over the radio to those listening. "Rick wants to provide cover for her if necessary."
"Got it, Daddy." Maggie's voice called back.
"We're on it." Tyreese's voice followed. I breathed a shaky chuckle before preparing myself to run, crouching low and taking deep breaths.
"This is it, isn't it?" I muttered, glancing back at the three men. "This could be the last time we're all together again." Herschel reached forward and squeezed my shoulder in reassurance. Not just for the break across the yard, but the battle that was going to break out soon. I nodded my thanks, smiling weakly at the old farmer, before being suddenly pulled into a hug by the defiant leader.
"Remember what Merle said; we're not done yet and we're not going down without a fight." Rick told me and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Wouldn't think you'd quote Merle Dixon on anything, Officer Friendly." I pointed out, weakly. Rick smiled slightly and shrugged before he and Herschel took posts ready to cover me. Glancing at the hunter, I saw a conflicted expression on the man's face. Without saying any word, I tried to smile at Daryl, though only managed to well up considerably. Wordlessly, I wrapped my arms around the man and the way his strong arms returned the embrace made me wish that I'd never leave his side.
"Stay safe, ya hear me?" Daryl breathed, so only I could hear. "Don't do anything stupid." I nodded into his shoulder.
"That goes for you too." When we pulled apart, I was surprised at the hesitant kiss Daryl placed on my forehead and for a moment we merely stared at each other with equal understanding. This was it. One of us may not make it out of this. Neither of us might not make it out of this.
With a sigh, I turned away from the hunter before I found myself unable to go and I prepared myself again. The three men readied themselves to cover me and I took three long breathes, silently praying in my head, before I made a break for it. I didn't look at anything but my target; the guard tower. No gun shots sounded, surprisingly, though I wouldn't allow myself to be relieved until I was out of the firing line. The run across the yard seemed much longer than I had expected and my heart pounded heavily in my chest, the rifle on my back no doubt giving my bruises as it smacked against me on every step. The snow crunched beneath my feet and I was in fear of sliding over the ice, though I tried to keep my steps nimble and quick.
Upon the sight of Merle, I couldn't help but smile and practically barrelled into the man as he urged me to cover beside him and Michonne.
"What the hell are ya doin'?" The man hissed as I panted to catch my breath. "Ya tryin' to get yourself killed?" Wordlessly, I pointed to the guard tower we stood behind.
"Rick wants me up there." I replied, glancing between the pair. "Either of you got a radio?" They both shook their heads and I took in this piece of information. "I think Rick wants you to move to a different position, so he can communicate with you."
"What's the plan?" Michonne asked evenly, her katana tucked away as she took a semi-automatic in hand.
"Rick wants us in our positions, before the Governor makes a move." I breathed, feeling sick at the fact the man was beyond the fences as we spoke.
"He's tryin' to scare us." Merle muttered, poking his head around the corner to take a look at the scene before us. "He'll attack soon though, don't ya worry 'bout that." I snorted, heading to the door of the tower and yanking it open.
"I'm not worried." I sighed, glancing at the pair. "Watch yourselves." Michonne reached forward to pull me into a brief hug.
"You too." She murmured. Merle smirked lightly, though it wasn't quite full, before I was engulfed in a bear hug from the man.
"Give 'em hell, darlin'."
Eyeing Andrea's tower from my position at the top of my own, I observed the outline of the blonde as she laid on her stomach, her gun pointed before her. I mirrored her position though my hands shook awfully now. My stomach was uneasy with fear and though this was what I wanted - to make a final confrontation with the man - I couldn't help the dread that overwhelmed me.
The group that was scattered around the prison, Lori and the children inside the cell block, all their faces kept blaring in my mind and I struggled to keep my resolve as I knew that not everyone would make it today. We could live in hope, but that was just the facts. We were outnumbered, out gunned. Even if we won today, successfully killing the Governor and ending his tyrant, it would not be without a loss. But to what extent?
When the door to the Governor's vehicle opened, my body tensed and my eye instantly stared down the scope of my rifle as a figure stepped out.
The Governor came into view, looking the same as the last confrontation between groups, though this time he fashioned a dark eye patch over the eye that Michonne had brutally removed. On the hand that she had mutilated, he wore a single black glove and the side of his head where his ear once was had been bandaged up, apparently not healed yet. Otherwise though, the man stood tall and considering his other injuries, I realised why it had taken so long for the attack to come - the Governor needed time to recover.
In his hand was an unusual object, white and out of place with the black attire he now donned. I watched with baited breath as he raised the object to his mouth.
"People in the prison." His voice carried through the megaphone, instantly striking a wave of fear through me. I noticed vaguely that others were now beginning to get out of the vehicles and as more and more just spilled out, the odds were forever against us. "Today is the day that we end this war between us." Walkers tried to stagger towards the Woodbury lot - drawn to the noise they were making - but they were taken out swiftly by the Governor's men. No hassle what so ever. "Too much blood has been spilt, so many innocent lives have been lost." A pause. "I talk to you directly, Rick Grimes. I gave you an option to consider, a chance of freedom, of peace. But you rejected it. End this now, let us inside and hand over all your weapons. We can talk this out again, Rick. I'll give you a chance to save your people. Your wife, your family."The Governor paused and I knew that he waited to see if Rick would rise to the bait. "This is your chance to save everyone." I glanced back to where our leader took cover behind and noted his frantic hand gestures as he spoke with Daryl and Herschel. He made no move to call the order of surrendering though and I knew that it wasn't an option to Rick. Glancing back at the Governor, I cocked back my rifle and stared down the scope. The sickening smile on the man's face took my breath away for a moment. "No? Alright then." Another pause before; "Kill them all!"
Then the rain of bullets hit us.
At first it was much the same as last time. Bullets fired from either side and I got to work picking out as many Woodbury soldiers as I could. There was no focus to the action around me, just noise and hurry.
I tried to gather all my attention on the Governor, heeding to Merle's words - "we take him out and the rest is easy". Though the man was near on impossible to detect once the battle had broken out. Vaguely, I spotted his outline lingering near his truck and I quickly took aim. After cursing under my breath, I watched as my attempt merely shattered through the passenger door window of the truck and ducked down quickly when the fight was directed at me.
From a distance, I could hear the muffled sounds of Rick's hollering over the chaos of noise though it was unclear when I tried to pick out his words. One thing that struck me firm though was that he was still alive to keep shouting. That thought provided me with comfort. As did the view of Andrea's still living body from my position in the opposing guard tower. Some were still living, at least.
Despite there only being a few of us, this fact alone seemed to work in our favour against the large amount of Woodbury fighters. The more of them meant more targets and from my scope above, more and more seemed to fall at the hands of our group. There was still too many to keep track of but the more that kept falling, the more my confidence grew. Perhaps due to our experience in the art of weaponry, thanks to surviving out on the road for so long, we had the upper hand in comparison to the clumsy inexperienced Woodbury residents, most probably barely knowing how to use a gun.
A bullet skimmed the tower I was in, catching dangerously close to me. Pausing to take breath and reload quickly, I turned back to take a look at the scene on our side.
I was unsure where everyone in the group actually were, save for Andrea, as new imprints in the snow told me that the group were relocating positions. Thankfully no red stained the white coated tarmac. This attack seemed less theatrical than I figured the last confrontation with the Governor to be. The megaphone was a touch I hadn't considered, but so far the Governor had disappointed my expectations of him. This thought only crossed my mind briefly as I knew that this was only the early stages of the fight. There was surely more to come.
Suddenly, the noise lessened and it took me a moment to realise that the Governor's side had ceased firing. In confusion, I stopped too and slowly all noise stopped. For a moment, I considered the fact that perhaps we had done it, perhaps we had won and killed them all. But it was never that easy.
"People in the prison."The Governor's voice blared out again, though he was apparently taking cover from view this time, as were the rest of his people. "I'll give you another chance to surrender. We will back off now and you have one hour to bring all your weapons to us at the helicopter crash site - Michonne and Ruby will know where." At this, I frowned. How did he know that? Had he seen us that day? "Use this hour to bring your people together, tend your wounded. Then bring all your weapons to us and give us your official surrender. You will not get another chance at this, Rick. If you refuse this offer then my people will gun down every single one of you. Every man, woman and child. This was just a taste of what is to come. You will all fall, do not doubt my words." A lingering pause. "One hour."
All too quickly, the people of Woodbury quickly climbed back into their vehicles and their engines roared to life. I thought for a moment that Rick would initiate another attack as they retreated back, though no bullets rained from our side. All was still. I watched the Governor as he lingered, staring at the prison with an eerie smirk, before climbing back into his truck.
Once the vehicles had reversed and retreated into the forest, the silence at the prison was daunting. I scoffed bitterly. So, this was the theatrics.
A strangled cry caught my attention immediately and I turned my head to see two figures sprinting across the yard towards where another two figures were hunched over something. Panicking, I realised that someone must have been injured. Glancing back at the empty tree line, I quickly bolted down the tower in a rush and headed quickly to the commotion. Everyone else appeared to have the same idea and soon the group began to emerge and duck down behind cover near the ones hunched over. As I neared, I felt myself sink at the sight of red on white.
"Daddy?!" Maggie's voice came out strangled as she bent over Herschel. The old man stared at his daughter and attempted to smile through gritted teeth.
"Tell me what to do." Rick demanded on his other side, his eyes lingering to the blood seeping through shirt as Glenn held pressure over the wound. The old man winced slightly.
"You need to-" He paused to wince again. "You need to remove the bullet from my chest and any-" Maggie gripped his hand tightly. "Any remains. Then you need to bind it." Maggie nodded frantically.
"We need to get him inside. He can't just lie here on the snow and freeze." She insisted quickly, turning to the leader. Rick nodded wordlessly, gesturing for Glenn and Tyreese to leverage the farmer to his feet. Herschel cried in pain as they did and Glenn threw out a string of apologises before looping the older man's arm over his shoulder to take his weight. Tyreese did the same and the pair quickly rushed the injured man inside. Maggie followed suit.
Those of us that remained outside, stayed behind cover though our eyes lingered on the blood that stained the snow. It could have been any one of us. It could have been worse. Rick swallowed hard, running a hand over his face and letting out a ragged breath.
"Is everyone else alright?" He asked, glancing around at everyone. I nodded when his eyes passed over me, as did everyone else apparently.
"Ya bleedin', baby brother." Merle's voice mused, catching our attention. My head turned to where the Dixons were crouched together. Daryl glared at his older brother for bringing the attention to him, though Merle stared back unphased. My stomach plummeted at the sight of blood trailing down Daryl's arm and he quickly shrugged as he glanced between Rick's and my gazes of concern.
"Bullet just grazed me, ain't nothin'." He quickly assured. "What we're gonna do 'bout that," He pointed in the direction of the now empty tree line. "Is a bigger concern right now." Rick followed his gestured arm and sighed deeply before nodding.
"So, what do we do then?" Sasha asked, carefully, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"Do we trust that he'll give us one hour to do something?" Andrea continued when Rick didn't answer. "Or do we not just think he'll attack when we leave the prison undefended?"
"Nah, he won't attack." Merle cut in. "He'll relish the idea of us squirmin' 'nd fightin' amongst ourselves for the next hour." His gaze passed over his brother briefly, lingering on the blood on Daryl's arm before shaking his head. "We'll be fine for an hour, reckon it'll be safe for us all to head inside."
"You sure?" Rick asked, carefully, no anger or bitterness in his tone despite who he was talking to. Merle nodded firmly, seemingly forgetting to add an obnoxious comment like he normally would. His compliance spoke full volumes. Fear. Not that Merle would admit that.
Returning back to the cell block, all wary and tired, but unwilling to rest for one moment. Not with each second escaping us and the hour we were given slowly leaving us. As we neared the cell block, the sounds of panic and cries of pain hit us immediately. Maggie was frantically working on her father's injury, already getting to work removing the bullet from his chest as Glenn held Herschel down. Lori and Tyreese sat nearby with the children, keeping them close. Rick quickly rushed to Lori's side to hold her tightly before kissing Judith on her tiny forehead and pulling Carl close to him. I allowed Sophia to wrap her arms around me though no words were spoken between us. Or amongst the group for that matter, other than Maggie's occasional curses.
"Got it." Maggie quickly exclaimed, dropping a small bloodied item onto the floor by her father. Immediately, Glenn passed her some bandages and the pair got to work putting pressure on the wound and binding it. "Like this, Daddy?" Herschel hissed before nodding slowly. By the look of it, Herschel was slowly passing out from blood loss. I swallowed hard, observing the scene with dread and panic.
Right before our eyes, one of our own was in pain, potentially dying. With only Maggie and Glenn really capable of providing help, the rest of us remained useless on the sidelines. I thought of Herschel and all I'd been through with the man and the thought that the wise old man could be gone any moment, made tears prick to my eyes. I willed the man to remain strong, to pull through this with the rest of us.
Once Maggie and Glenn had finished, Herschel was laid in one of the cells on the ground floor. The rest of us merely sat together, no one talking for a moment. We were all thankful that he was alive. The couple sat with Herschel for a time before Maggie emerged and stared defiantly at Rick.
"I don't know what you intend to do now, Rick," She began slowly, folding her arm across her chest. "But Daddy and I won't be a part of it. We're gonna leave." This exclamation shocked the group and Rick stared calmly back at the woman.
"Maggie-"
"No, Rick." She cut him off, shaking her head. Her eyes fumed and tears threatened to break. "I've already lost so many I care about. I lost my mother, my step-mother, my step-brother, Otis, Patricia, Jimmy, Beth- I sure as hell won't lose Daddy too. Look what's already happened to him." She pointed unnecessarily back into the cell. Glenn suddenly appeared in the doorway and shifted uncomfortably under the moment's silence. "I need to get him away from here." Rick observed the woman before nodding slowly.
"I'm going to leave too." All eyes turned to the man behind Maggie, who was only able to meet Rick's eyes. I expected Rick to argue against the pair some more then, demand that they stay and help. I knew that Rick wouldn't leave. He couldn't. I knew the man well enough to know that he'd try and follow this fight through to the bitter end. We'd have a better chance at winning this with the extra number and I was surprised, therefore, when Rick nodded again.
"We'll get a vehicle ready for you." He offered and Maggie managed to smile through her tears before throwing her arms carefully around the man. Over her shoulder, Rick offered Glenn a nod, which was returned. "Does anyone else wish to leave?" He asked, glancing around the group after pulling apart from Maggie. My eyes passed over to Andrea briefly, expecting her to speak up, but then remembered what she had said; she'd follow Rick and his orders till the end. Instead of speaking up, Andrea remained silent. No one else spoke up and I was actually surprised by the number of us who were willing to stay. Glancing at Maggie and Glenn, I knew if Herschel hadn't have been hurt then the pair would have wanted to stay too. No one held their decision against them.
"We still got 'bout over half an hour left." Merle pointed out. "Reckon we can get a vehicle ready for 'em in that time."
"They can leave when the fightin' starts." Daryl continued. "It'll provide a big enough distraction." Maggie smiled thankful at the pair, though neither brother noticed.
"We can put that tactical play into motion too." Michonne pointed out. "Merle, Tyreese and I can make a bid right now. I know where they'll be. We can try take out a few of his men, maybe even the Governor himself." Rick nodded slowly.
"Alright, I want you three geared up and ready for that." The trio in question all nodded and parted quickly to stock up on more ammo and supplies. "Maggie, Glenn; I think it's best you move Herschel now. You have to be ready to leave as soon as the fighting starts." The pair nodded. Glenn paused as Maggie rushed to her father, glancing around the group with an apologetic expression.
"I'm-"
"You don't need to apologise, Glenn." Rick shook his head. "You're doing what you've gotta do." The leader stepped forward and held his hand out to Glenn. The Korean boy gripped Rick's offered arm in his without hesitation. "Good Luck, take care of them." Glenn nodded.
"You lot take care too." Glenn offered, sincerely. Rick smiled weakly and nodded once. For a moment, the boy disappeared back into the cell before he and Maggie returned, Herschel looped between them, near enough unconscious now.
"There should be a vehicle loaded up with supplies, ready for you three to take." Rick stated, his eyes lingering on the old man between the couple. "If Herschel was awake, I'd have liked to thank him for all he's done. For the group, my family, me-"
"He knows, Rick." Maggie quickly assured, smiling. "He knows." Rick nodded slowly.
"When we win this, we'll find you again." Rick quickly stated and everyone shifted uncomfortably on the word when. Not an if, a when. I don't think the rest of us were all too assured by this choice of words. "But I want you to tell your father how thankful we all are for what he's done."
"I will." Maggie promised.
Lori stepped forward to kiss the pair farewell, her eyes welling up. Andrea offered them both sideways hugs - to avoid hurting Hershel. Tyreese and Sasha both smiled and expressed their goodbyes. The Dixon brothers both nodded in the pair's direction - Merle's acknowledgement was surprising and the look on Glenn's face showed his shock, though despite this, the Korean boy nodded in return to the older Dixon. Michonne sent them a tight smile and another nod of approval. I followed Andrea's lead and gave the pair brief hugs.
After farewells were made, the three of them left the cell block and made their way to the garage after Rick ran through the plan for them to wait for the attack to start again before leaving. There was a plummeted mood in their departure and the group had taken a considerable blow with this move. Warily, I stared around and took in each person, noting the tiredness and fear behind everyone's gaze. Rick sighed, breaking the silence and began to string out some orders.
Michonne, Merle and Tyreese were to take on the 'tactical mission', while the rest of us stocked up on more ammo and weaponry for the next plight of battle. Rick had enforced for Lori and the children to prepare themselves to leave if necessary. Most of the vehicles, save for the RV which was parked by one of the guard towers, were stocked up and ready to depart in the garage. If it came down to it, we were to retreat back into the prison in a bid to escape. We counted on the fact that the Woodbury residents would get lost inside the maze of corridors if they followed us in, to provide us with more time to get out. Though we hoped it wouldn't get down to that.
I hesitated in my cell, after gathering all ammo that I could scrounge from my bunk, to think the situation through. It didn't look good; our odds. It was a false dream to think that they wouldn't push through here eventually. We may have the advantage in experience though they had the strength and if they came ploughing at us, we would have little choice but to retreat back. They'd come through here and destroy everything in their path. Another thought then occurred to me. Sophia would be in their path.
I glanced to where Sophia was sat beside Lori and didn't like how close the Governor was now to harming her right now. Memories of my ordeal at the hands of the man came flooding back to me and suddenly Sophia was in my place. I held back to urge to bring up the bile that rose to my throat. She couldn't stay here. I wouldn't let her came to harm.
My steps were quick as I made my way across the landing and down to the ground floor of the cell block. My intention was to head straight for Sophia, though Rick intercepted my path.
"You alright, Ruby?" He asked, hesitantly. I glanced over his shoulder to the little girl and shook my head once.
"I can't-" I struggled to explain myself. I turned to look up at the man before me, eyes focusing on his. "I won't- Sophia, she- Rick, she can't stay here." At this the leader glanced over his shoulder before turning back to me, eyeing me softly.
"What do you want to do?" He asked. I shook my head, knowing what he was expecting me to say next.
"I won't leave you, Rick." I quickly assured him. "I can't leave the group, not now. You know that I can't go without ending this. But Sophia, she doesn't have to stay. I don't want her to stay here, just incase-" Rick quickly nodded, exhaling deeply. "I was thinking of taking her to Maggie and Glenn, see if they'll take her with them. I want her as far away from the fight as possible. I want her to be safe."
"And does Sophia know what you're planning?" Rick asked. I shook my head.
"I've just decided now." I admitted with a shrug, Rick nodded slowly. "What about Carl and Judith, Rick?" The leader studied me for a long moment before shaking his head and sighing.
"I've thought about it, but I know that Lori and Carl won't go without me. Not now. I've discussed it plenty with Lori, believe me." His expression was solemn and I offered a weak smile.
"I'll be really quick." Rick nodded wordlessly and offered some distraction for his family while I took Sophia away.
I didn't tell her where we were going or what we were doing. If I had then I knew she would have kicked up a fuss. As I led the way out of the cell block, telling her I needed her help to check some things, I felt a stomach lurch as she spoke about Carl, Judy and Lori. She hadn't been able to say her goodbyes to them. I regretted this immediately, but knew it was for the best. She would be safe this way.
I led her to the generator room and to the door at the back. Memories flooded back to me to when Andrea and I were making our way down this corridor, intent on finding Rick and Shane all that time ago. I pushed all feelings on that day aside and entered the garage, with Sophia trailing behind.
"Why are we here, Ruby?" Sophia asked, curiously. I didn't answer her and made my way over to the sounds of voices echoing in the large room. My footsteps must have been loud as the voices quietened as we drew closer, stopping completely when we rounded one of the prison buses and into view of them.
"Ruby, Sophia?" Maggie asked, eyeing me curiously as we drew nearer. Glenn was sat in the drivers seat of the red Chevrolet and turned to look out the window at our approach. I noted Sophia's head turn to look at me curiously though I ignored her and smiled weakly at the pair. Herschel lay sprawled on the back seat, still unconscious apparently. "Is everything alright?" I nodded and stopped before her, glancing down at Sophia with an apologetic gaze.
"I'm here to ask if you'd take Sophia with you." At my words, Sophia's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically.
"No! I can't leave you!" She cried, her hands pulling at Eliza the doll frantically. I smiled sadly before turning to Maggie. The woman nodded slowly, offering me a weak smile.
"I don't want her to stay here, I want her away from this prison. Away from him. I want her to be safe."
"Of course we'll take her." Maggie replied, Glenn nodded to enforce the confirmation.
"Thank you." I sighed in relief. At least if we all fell then I knew Sophia would be away from it all. She would be safe.
"I won't leave!" Sophia protested. Maggie and Glenn quickly turned away as I turned to kneel before the little girl, tears welling up into her eyes now.
"Listen to me, Sophia." I breathed, taking hold of her shoulders. "I know you're scared and confused but I need you to listen to me. I need you to be safe and the only way you'll be safe is if you're away from this place."
"But what about you?" She asked, her breath hitching on a sob as tears cascaded down her cheeks. I quickly moved to wipe run my thumbs across her face, drying her newly stained cheeks.
"I have to stay here to help the others, Sophia." I informed her, firmly. "But as soon as we're done then I'll come and find you and we'll all be together again."
"I want to help too!" Sophia tried, weakly. I chuckled softly, shaking my head.
"Herschel is in need of some help right now. Glenn and Maggie could use some assistance to get him better. Do you think you can help them?" Sophia sobbed wordlessly. "I promised your momma that I would take care of you, Sophia, and right now keeping you safe means you have to leave with Glenn and Maggie. But I will come find you again. I promised that I wouldn't leave, I know, but it's not forever. We'll find each other again."
"You promise?" Sophia asked, weakly. I hesitated, knowing that promising that wasn't the best thing but I knew that assurance on the matter would be the only way to get Sophia to leave. To save her. So I nodded slowly.
"Of course." Without warning, the little girl wrapped her arms around me in one last embrace of farewell.
"Will Carl, Judy and Lori be coming too?" She asked.
"They'll follow later." I replied, unsure how the best way was to respond to that question. "You stay with Maggie and Glenn, you hear me? Do as they say. They will take care of you but they'll need your cooperation." Sophia nodded into my shoulder before finally pulling back. Hesitating, I reached into the back of my trousers and pulled out the handgun I had tucked in there. Sophia's eyes widened at the item as I held it out to her. "I want you to take this."
"But that's yours." Sophia protested. I smiled.
"I have a bigger one, remember?" I reminded the girl. "I want you to have this to protect yourself. Just remember your training and remember to be careful when handling it." Sophia slowly took the weapon from me and held it in her hands. I watched with a smile as she flicked the safety off and on before she carefully put it in her pocket. It barely fit and looked awfully odd but I felt better knowing Sophia at least had the means to defend herself without me. "Use that responsibly; it's not a toy. It's fully loaded at the moment but try not to waste your bullets."
"Okay." Sophia nodded, her eyebrows burrowed thoughtfully. I sighed, unsure how I could leave the girl now.
"Love you, remember?" She smiled weakly and nodded once more. I placed a kiss on her forehead before slowly raising to my feet again. Maggie stood beside the Chevrolet, the door open and ready to help Sophia in. The little girl took slow steps towards the woman before pausing to glance back at me. I tried to smile with reassurance and watched as Sophia climbed inside the vehicle, the door shutting behind her with such finality.
"We'll look after her, Ruby." Maggie quickly assured me. I nodded.
"I know. Take care of yourselves as well." I added, eyeing her and Glenn. The latter smiled in return.
"You too." He returned. After parting with one final bid of farewell, I turned and made my way back to the cell block, leaving Sophia in the guidance of Glenn and Maggie and the knowledge that she would be in safe hands.
She would be alright.
"Ya alright?" A voice asked as I made my way back down the corridor towards the generator room. I knew who it was immediately and didn't bother turning to face them. Their footsteps followed my pace. I should have known that he'd follow me down here.
"I've been better." I admitted with a sigh. "But at least I know Sophia will be away from it all now."
"Ya not considered leavin' too?" He asked. I scoffed at the request, leading the way into the generator room.
"I can't leave, Daryl. You know that." I glanced up at the hunter as he matched his pace with mine. We continued down the corridors towards the cell block, our footsteps being the only sounds for a long moment's time.
"It's gonna get ugly." Daryl finally sighed, eyeing the ground with a frown.
"We've known that from the start." I pointed out with a shrug. "I'm not afraid to fight."
"What 'bout losin'?" He countered, meeting my gaze briefly.
"I don't want to think like that." I returned. "All I want to think about right now is watching the Governor fall, hopefully at the claws of a few walkers." Daryl snorted.
"A brutal thought." He mused. "Can't help but agree." In return, I breathed a chuckle and we drifted back into silence. A silence full of so much unspoken.
I was unsure how much time we had left now, but I knew the hour was drawing to a close. The time we all had together was running out and I felt sick at the thought of having to say goodbye to these people, perhaps for the last time. We had gone through so much together and it seemed that our time was drawing to a close. Even if we won today, we were split already. The victory would not be without a loss. It seemed that in this world, we were incapable of holding onto bliss for too long. This 'paradise' that we had created in the prison would not hold out forever and yet we had convinced ourselves that it would. Now the dream was close to being destroyed, everything we had built was crumbling. The group was falling apart and even Rick seemed ready to break under the pressure of his leadership.
In just the space of a few hours or so, the Governor had the capability to destroy everything and everyone we loved. Now that his means were so real, the thought was terrifying.
Death seemed just over the horizon.
"Promise me something, Daryl." I stopped a short way away from the cell block door, grabbing Daryl's arm to bring him to a halt too. The hunter didn't startle under the contact, which I gathered he must have been used to by now, and instead raised an eyebrow in question. "If the prison falls, that you'll do all you can to find Sophia. Make sure she's safe? Please?"
"If the prison falls." Daryl muttered before nodding. "What makes ya think I can find 'er?" I smiled slightly.
"If anyone can find her, it's you." I pointed out, allowing a smug smirk to fall on Daryl's face at the compliment.
"Well, I'll do my best." Daryl nodded, smirking. "But ya comin' with me 'nd we can go get 'er together." I smiled weakly at his optimism of us both still being alive and together after the day ended. Instead of verbally responding, I decided to instead pull Daryl into a tight embrace, relishing his contact in that moment.
"I hope we make it through this." I murmured in Daryl's shoulder. "All the threats of the Governor can end today."
"Yeah then we just got the walkers to worry 'bout." Daryl muttered and I chuckled a little.
"Just the walkers." I agreed softly. After pulling away, I stared up at the man before me. "Promise me that you'll watch yourself today. Don't do anything stupid. Please."
"I'll do my best." Daryl smirked. I took our proximity as an opportunity to lean up and capture Daryl's lips with mine, knowing I might never get the chance again. Daryl's response was instant and for a moment it was just the two of us, no threat of war and death hanging over our heads. Perhaps this would be our lasting goodbye?
"Whenever ya ready, Baby Brother." I felt a growl rumble at the back of Daryl's throat as he pulled back to send a glare at the interrupting figure. I found it surprising how unphased I was by Merle's input and instead I found myself unable to contain a grin as Daryl hissed a few cusses at his brother. "Finish ya neckin', Officer Friendly wants both ya help while Micky, Lover boy 'nd I head out."
"You're leaving now?" I asked, my smile fading. More of the group were splitting and we were rapidly becoming smaller each moment. Merle stood carelessly in the doorway of the cell block, his arms folded, the usual smug expression on his face. At my question, Merle's expression pained slightly before he nodded tightly.
"Gotta leave now, we only got a little time left." He explained. "Won't get another chance otherwise."
"You'll be careful, right?" I urged, causing Merle to snort.
"Careful ain't really my style, darlin'." Michonne and Tyreese made an appearance then behind the older Dixon, both armed and looking ready to make a move.
I realised then that the group was splitting again now and it was time to say goodbye to more dear friends. Perhaps for good. Eyeing the three before us, I frowned with sadness. I remembered how determined I was to find Michonne and Merle again, how I spent endless hours revelling in the anticipation of our reunion. Now, all together again, we had been forced to part once more.
"Don't look all sad 'nd glum, darlin'." Merle cut in, smirking. "Ya should be jealous. We're gettin' a chance at killin' the Governor himself while you're gonna be stuck 'ere. Don't worry, we'll bring back his head for ya." I scoffed, rolling my eyes at the man.
"You always had a way with words, Merle." I muttered, stepping forward to say my farewells and bid them good luck.
"Just watch yourself." Merle offered, patting me on the shoulder. "The Governor is one smart bastard, ya know that. It'll be a tough fight but not one we can't win."
"Always the optimistic." I nodded, receiving myself a reply of a wink. "You're gonna have to keep him in check." I glanced towards the pair beside the older Dixon. Tyreese chuckled, nodding, while Michonne smiled.
"Don't worry, we've got it covered." Tyreese replied, easily.
I noted the proximity between him and Michonne. While they weren't quite touching, they had such a closeness that just screamed intimacy. I couldn't help but smile fondly at this, thanking Tyreese's presence in our lives and his effect on Michonne. My friend had found something special in the man beside her and I hoped and prayed for the pair to pull through today so they could continue on together some more. I embraced the two men separately, both their colossal figures engulfing me. The woman of the trio sent me one final smile that spoke so many volumes of our friendship and I found her arms quickly wrapping around me.
"See you on the other side, Kid." Michonne muttered. I could only nod and observed the trio one last time before turning to leave for the cell block.
"I'll follow ya on." Daryl's voice quickly cut in. I turned to him and he gestured vaguely in his brother's direction. I nodded with understanding, smiling once more at the trio leaving before turning away. When I entered the cell block, Rick was packing a variety of supplies into a single backpack. I gathered that it would be for Lori and the woman herself stood beside her husband, nodding at his words as she rocked their infant daughter gently. I made my way towards them.
"Is it done?" Rick asked, gently, pausing in his movements. I nodded slowly, trying to ignore Lori's confused stare.
"Is what done?" She asked, curiously. I hesitated before answering her.
"I asked Maggie and Glenn to take Sophia with them." I explained, meeting her gaze. The mother stared at me for a long moment before she nodded quickly.
"Are you alright?" She probed and I nodded in return, allowing the topic to drop.
"Right, this is full with enough supplies and few extra rounds for this," Rick held up a handgun before placing it down on the table beside the bag. "You'll remain in here like last time, door locked. If things get too much then one of us will come back and get you. You'll head straight for the garage and get out. You understand me?" Lori nodded at her husband's instructions. "Don't get mad, but I've given Carl a gun too." Lori's eyes briefly widened at this knowledge but she didn't protest. "He knows how to use it and can protect you all if necessary."
"Okay." Lori replied, her face pale with evident fear and worry. She rocked Judith carefully and Rick eyed his infant daughter fondly, a sadness in his eyes. From above, Andrea's and Sasha's footsteps made their way across the landing towards us.
"We've cleared out the security room." Sasha announced. Rick nodded at this information, his eyes still on Judith. "I think most the supplies we had collected have been moved into the vehicles ready to move if we need to."
Just then, Daryl made an appearance into the cell block and Carl rushed over towards his parents, a pile of clothes and blankets in his arms. Silently Rick took the items from his son, folded them carefully and tucked them into the bag before finally zipping it closed. For a moment, Judith's soft murmurs were all that could be heard. On the floor of the cell block, I noticed the new blood stain and felt sick remembering the defeated Herschel as Glenn and Maggie took him away. My eyes trailed around the room, taking in the eight of us that remained in the cell block now - two of whom weren't even adults. Apparently the others were noting this drastic turn.
"You really think we can defend this place with only five capable hands?" Sasha asked, her voice echoing around the cell block that had fast become our home. Daryl sent a scowl in her direction.
"Ya forgettin' the other three." He pointed out. Sasha rolled her eyes.
"Lori and the children don't really count as 'capable'. No offence." She quickly added, turning apologetically to the mother. Lori smiled slightly and shrugged.
"None taken." Lori assured, running her hand through Judith's wispy hair to calm her down.
"We've still got Merle, Michonne and your brother." I quickly added. "They makes it eight." Sasha raised an eyebrow.
"Well that's better then." She muttered, sarcastically.
"Ya know which way the door is!" Daryl countered bitterly, silencing her, even making a point and gesturing violently in the direction of said door. The room fell silent at Daryl's outburst. Beside the woman, Andrea remained silent and I caught her eye briefly as she attempted a smile. Her skin matched Lori's in paleness.
"Right, we better head out. We need to get into our positions, just incase things didn't go so smoothly with Merle and the others." Rick announced with a sigh. There were a collection of nods.
"Everyone be careful out there." Lori declared before everyone moved to leave. "Stay safe, please."
Daryl nodded once at the woman before leading the way to the exit. Sasha and Andrea sent Lori a smile and followed after him. I paused beside the woman and she quickly handed Judith to her son so I could hug her one last time.
"I'm so glad we became friends, Ruby." Lori breathed, holding me so tight. I winced slightly but didn't pull away. "There's not so many to go around right now." I chuckled a little and parted with the woman with one last smile. I turned to Carl then, running my hand carefully along Judith's face and smiling down at the pair of them. Carl gave me a one armed hug and I kissed Judith's forehead before turning to follow after the others.
The stain of red on white was the first thing that drew my eyes when we all marched out of the prison once more. Such a blaring obstruction to the rest of the world. It sent a sickening feeling through me. The four of us all paused in our step, just staring down at the blood stained, snow covered ground with a mutual feeling of dread. We stood waiting our leader to return to us, yet the wait left us all mulling over the bitterness to what could be our upcoming demise.
Rick followed on afterwards, after staying behind to say goodbye to his family, and stopped like we did to stare at the ground.
"He's not here yet." Andrea noted vaguely, nodding to the lack of vehicles parked beyond the prison fences.
"Could mean the mission went well?" Sasha offered, a level of hope in her tone.
"Our hour ain't up yet, don't get too hopeful." Daryl muttered, bitterly. Apparently he didn't seem to hold the same hopefulness for his brother's success as Sasha did for her's. Or maybe he didn't want to get any morals up for them to only be destroyed in an instant. "What's the plan then, Rick?"
"Andrea, Ruby; I want you both in the towers again." Rick ordered, exhaling deeply. "I guess, Sasha, you've taken Glenn's place now in the 'power three'." The woman smiled weakly. "I want everyone to take one of these." Rick quickly distributed the four radios he had brought out to Andrea, Sasha and myself. "Could only manage to get four, you'll have to stay close to me, Daryl." The hunter nodded slowly.
"A couple dozen against five. The odds don't exactly scream in our favour, do they?" Daryl pointed out. I glanced sideways at the man before my eyes were drawn back to the blood.
"Don't you mean a couple dozen against eight?" Sasha countered, half-heartedly smiling as Daryl snorted.
"Right, we need to get moving. We gotta be ready for them." Rick sighed, moving out into position. Sasha quickly followed his lead, Andrea lingered a little before making her way toward the guard tower the RV stood beside, the one she had occupied earlier. Glancing up at Daryl, I nodded once at the man, trying to convey all I could with one look.
"See ya later." He breathed, patting my shoulder once more before walking away, heading after Rick and Sasha.
I watched the hunter go for a moment, realising there was so much left unspoken between us, so much that I wanted to say to him. Perhaps Lori and Merle were right, perhaps we should have found time to talk about this between us. It felt like each step Daryl made away from me, the further he slipped away. Today could be make or break for us both, for everyone. I watched the hunter go and almost willed myself after him, to stop him and maybe just say something. Anything.
But I didn't. I just watched him go. I said nothing.
With a quick pace, I rushed to the remaining guard tower and got myself into position overlooking the prison. Down below, the others took cover behind our defences - which seemed so puny and pointless now. For a long time, we all just stayed. The radio that I had been given was placed on the floor beside me, at the moment quiet. Apart from the walkers that lingered around the fences, there was no movement beyond the prison grounds. The tree line was still. Perhaps the trio's attack had worked? I half expected Merle to emerge between the trees, the Governor's head in his hands, the other two trailing behind. Victory would be ours! Though the forest remained without any movement and we could do nothing but wait. And hope.
After what seemed like an eternity later, what could only be described as the most horrific sound caught my ears. The sounds of approaching vehicles.
"You hear that?" Andrea's voice muttered over the radio.
"Sure do, everyone get ready." Rick quickly followed back. Training my sight on the tree line, I readied my rifle, my stomach churning with the prospect of what may happen next.
The roar of engines neared the prison until the sight of the three vehicles from before, the two trailed trucks and the Governor's pickup, pulled into view. They halted in the same position as before and simultaneously, the engines were cut. Walkers that lingered nearby, seemed interested in the arrivals though figures appeared from the back of the trucks and the Woodbury lot took them out effortlessly. When the door to the Governor's door opened, I held my breath at the sight of him - still alive and well. He studied the prison before slowly raising the megaphone to his mouth again.
"People of the prison." His voice carried again, striking a wave of something that could only be described as sickness through me. "Your hour is up and you have failed to surrender yourselves to us." I gripped my rifle tighter as his gaze passed over the tower I was in. "I must admit, I expected this. You won't go down without a fight, I get that." A sickening smirk before he turned to holler something back to one of his men. "I also must admit that I was a little surprised by the little rogue attempt of assassination that was made on us in the hour time-out we gave you. We respected this break, though it seems you do not hold the same regard." I glared pointlessly at him for his self-righteous comment. Idiot. There appeared to be some commotion coming from the back of one of the trucks and I watched in horror as one of the Governor's goons brought forward a very familiar looking item, handing it to the Governor himself. "People of the prison, I present to you, your rogue friends!"
As he held up Michonne's katana, Tyreese and Michonne, herself, were brought forward apparently bound with their hands tied behind their backs. Oh no. Merle was no where to be seen and I couldn't help but mull over what this meant. Was Merle dead? The pair that were still alive struggled a little against their guards though stopped when they brought to their knees before the Governor, Michonne especially paused to glare at the man.
"What the hell do we do?!" I quickly urged down the radio. What the Governor intended to do now with them, I did not know, but I found myself cocking back my rifle and readied it to fire.
"Do not shoot him yet, you two." Rick's voice hollered down the radio, stopping me from taking the shot. "If you miss then they're both dead. There's a whole lot of men down there who have their sights trained on your guard towers at the moment. As soon as you take the shot, they're gonna start firing. You've gotta hold back for a little while longer."
"You expect us just to sit and watch an execution?!" Andrea hissed back, though she received no reply as the Governor spoke up again.
"A valiant effort, I must say. They took out a lot of my men before we had the jump on them. They're tough." Michonne's eyes trained on the man as he moved dangerously close to the pair, her weapon still in his hand. "Though we're tougher."
Without warning, the Governor had raised the katana high and had brought it down-
-The blade sliced into Tyreese's neck without any effort. The man cried out, a sound so horrific that it was immediately engraved into the horrors of my memories. The first stroke didn't go the whole way, so the Governor moved effortlessly again until Michonne's katana had managed to cut through the neck. Four strokes it took before it finally broke through.
Tyreese's body fell to the floor, his head nearby.
Sasha screamed out down below, a more horrific sound that Tyreese's pain-filled cry, and I glanced down in time to see Daryl tackle her back down behind the defences as she attempted to make a break for her brother. Bile rose to my throat as her bloody-curdling scream still echoed in my ears.
We had just witnessed an execution. Tyreese's execution.
A single shot rang out and I watched as the Governor fell back against his vehicle upon the impact of being shot. The Woodbury residents were stunned for a moment, eyeing their leader in fear. Unfortunately the man heaved himself straight, having only been shot in the shoulder. Bullets began to strike Andrea's tower, the woman apparently being the one to take a shot at the Governor.
"Andrea, get the hell out of there!" Rick's voice screamed. The blonde scrambled back towards the hut of the tower, disappearing from sight. A moment later, however, I noticed one of the Woodbury men pull out a familiar looking weapon, taking aim at the tower.
Glass and bricks shattered upon the grenade impacting the tower, as expected, with Andrea apparently inside. No warning could have prepared anyone, however, for the explosion that followed the impact. With the RV parked beside the tower, it took a blow from the impact, and loaded up to the max with siphoned gas from the garage buses it was practically a bomb waiting to ignite. When the grenade struck, the RV went up, sending flailing car parts everywhere and striking all those standing to the ground. The boom elevated and echoed, vibrations rumbled. For a moment, the battle stopped as the explosion had effected us all.
My ears rang and I grunted to myself, before taking in the final product of the explosion with a feeling of sickness still lingering.
The tower was in pieces, bricks and stone everywhere. The RV was a similar sight. All that it seemed like now was remains. Was that all Andrea was too? Memories of my blonde friend, of Tyreese too, hit me and for a moment I was overwhelmed with agony.
Herschel was injured.
Tyreese was dead.
Andrea was… assumed dead.
Who else would fall?
Chaos followed the explosion. Once the Woodbury lot had gained their strengths again, they began to strike hard against the prison. Bullets struck us again and this time, it seemed they were trying to push through the fences now. We responded as powerful but with our numbers only down to four now, it wasn't as meaningful as we would have liked.
Amongst it all, I tried to spot Michonne but when I turned back to where she once was, she was nowhere to be seen. I wondered briefly if the Governor had killed her too, but saw no extra blood staining the snow beside Tyreese's headless body. I retched slightly at the sight, but tried to push the painful thoughts aside for the fallen as right now we had no time to consider it. I hoped vaguely that Michonne had gotten away. The Governor was no where to be seen either.
We pushed back hard, though I knew now that it was in vain now. Four against a couple dozen was never going to work.
"It's not working." Rick hollered over the noise. "We need to leave." I was stunned by this announcement. Rick wanted to run away? "Ruby, I need you to run back and get Lori and the kids. Take them to the garage, get them out of here."
"Rick, are you sure?" I asked, hesitantly. Rick's response was tired and resigned.
"We can't beat this, Ruby. They'll kill us all."
I swallowed hard and didn't hesitate a moment longer. I heaved myself to my feet, ducking the bullets and rushed down the tower. The break across the yard was a heart-jumping ordeal. Bullets followed my track and I knew my three comrades attempted to cover me. When I made it to the door into the prison, I couldn't have got in fast enough. In the safe zone, I didn't wait to breath, instead I threw myself down the corridor with the intent of getting out of here. The sounds of the battle outside could still be heard, even as I approached Cell Block A. I swallowed back this knowledge, knowing that Lori and the children must have heard the explosion too - that certainly wasn't something I'd forget in a hurry.
"Lori! Carl! Get the door!" I cried on my approach. There was a silent pause before Carl appeared in view, quickly unlocking the cell block door.
"What's happened?" He asked, eyes wide. Lori appeared behind him, Judith in her arms.
"Ruby?" She asked, hesitantly.
"We're getting out of here." I quickly gushed. "Have you got everything?" Carl disappeared for a moment, I gathered to get the bag Rick had provided for them. Lori stared at me, her face distraught.
"Is anyone-?" She trailed off and I swallowed hard and nodded once. "Rick?"
"He was fine before I left." I told her. "But Tyreese," I shook my head and Lori held a hand against her mouth, her eyes wide. "And Andrea."
"Oh God." She whispered. "That noise, what was it?" I assumed she meant the explosion.
"They blew up one of the guard towers." Just then, Carl returned with a bag in hand and Lori's gun outstretched to his mother. "Here, give me Judith." Lori quickly batted down my attempts. "You can't hold a gun with a baby."
"You're a better shot, you take my gun." She offered. I glanced down at the weapons I had already. After giving Sophia my handgun, my weapons were my sniper rifle and knife now. I saw her logic, but didn't like how this hindered the mother. With little time, I chose to just accept the gun from Carl and smiled weakly at Lori.
"Carl, you alright with the bag?" I asked. The boy nodded, taking his own gun in hand. "Right, we need to head to the garage."
The mother, with baby in arms, and son trailed behind, allowing me to lead. The responsibility I had now was huge, but I didn't let it overwhelm me. Death was at our heels and the only consolation I felt now was the assurance that Sophia had got out. I assumed. We rounded the corner, the door to the generator room just ahead, when we were forced to stop. The sight before us startled me as before us gathered a crowd of walkers, blocking the way to the generator room and subsequently the garage too.
"Oh my," Lori breathed.
"Go back!" I hissed, hoping we hadn't been spotted. Lori and Carl quickly turned and retreated, and now I was at their heels.
"Where to now?" Carl asked. "How do we get out?" Panic overwhelmed me as I realised they were looking to me for answers to get them out.
"We've got no choice," I hollered back, glancing over my shoulder to check that the walkers weren't at our heels. "We've gotta head out the yard." And that entailed going out into the midst of battle. Neither son nor mother answered, though their course followed my instruction.
The gunfire could still be heard and that reassured me a little. The others appeared to still be alive to be returning the fire, it seemed. As we crossed through Cell Block C, I took lead, and readied my gun. However as we made to head to the door, a figure came into our path. And they weren't familiar.
"Well, look what we have here." The Woodbury man sniggered, eyeing the three of us, his gun trained. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carl urge to raise his gun but I was glad the boy had enough sense not to. How the hell had he got inside? Had more come through too? "And what would you guys be doing here?" His eyes lingered on Judith as the baby protested in discomfort. "Aww, a baby? Can I see?" Lori brought her daughter closer to her, which made the man smirk.
"Get the fuck out of our way." I hissed, glaring at the man, attempting to bring his attention away from the infant. It appeared to have worked and he tilted his head to observe me.
"You're the girl we took in a while back, ain't you?" He sneered. "The one that caught Merle's eye." I raised an eyebrow at this and suppressed a scoff. "I bet the Governor would kill to have your head." His stare took a dangerous turn and I swallowed hard, awaiting the pain of a bullet.
A bullet sounded out, though the pain didn't follow.
"Reckon this makes it twice now, eh darlin'?" The Southern drawl caught my ears and I exhaled deeply.
"I've never been so glad to see you, Merle." I admitted, sighing a little in relief. The Dixon brother stepped over the body, eyeing it with distaste.
"He was an asshole when I knew him too." He mused before eyeing the three of us. "Ya get lost on ya way to the garage?"
"Walkers have it blocked." Carl quickly informed the man. Merle studied him for a moment.
"That so?" He raised an eyebrow, I nodded in confirmation. "Anyone dead?"
"Tyreese. Andrea." I breathed. Merle eyed me, sighing deeply and nodding.
"Daryl?" His question sent a heavy feeling through me and I could only shrug my head in reply. He nodded slowly again. "C'mon then, lets get movin'."
Merle led us to the door out and paused before opening it. He eyed the boy beside me and the infant carrying mother who lingered behind us with a look of what I could only describe as sadness.
"I'm gonna go find my brother." He told us. "Head to the right, try get out that way. Ain't too overwhelmed with geeks that way. When ya get out, keep runnin', don't look back." He paused, eyeing me softly. "We'll see each other 'gain darlin', no doubt." With one final smirk, that only made me smile sadly at the man, Merle opened the door and was gone in an instant. Gone forever perhaps?
Out in the yard, Lori let out a yelp as the rain of bullets and noise that overwhelmed the area. Judith began to cry and I chuckled bitterly, realising this was the only time I had ever really heard her cry. Urging the Grimes' on, we did as Merle said; head to the right. Eyeing the area before me, I saw that the Woodbury lot had broken through the fences and were dangerously close now.
"C'mon, we need to get to the gap over there." I cried, pointing to the perimeter fence that had been destroyed on the impact of the explosion.
"We need to find Rick!" Lori hissed, gripping my arm, her nails pinching me painfully. I opened my mouth, to tell her that we couldn't but quickly thought otherwise.
"Rick?" I asked down the radio. Beside me, Judith's cries were getting louder and Lori quickly attempted to calm her daughter down, providing soothing words to bring comfort."Rick, the garage is blocked, we've had to make a break across the yard. Rick, where are you?" No response.
I jumped a little when a gun went off nearby, Carl being the source. The body of a walker fell down before us and I sent the boy a small smile of respect. Judith still cried.
"Look, there!" Carl cried, pointing to where his father could be seen, ducked down behind the rubble of the guard tower. Daryl and Sasha were nowhere to be seen.
"Rick!" Lori screamed, getting her husband's attention. He turned, spotting us instantly. His face perked up in panic before he quickly gestured towards the gap we headed towards. Carl sprinted forward, towards his father. Lori lagged behind, due to her still sore injury and weight of the baby. I tried to keep the mother in front of me, watching our backs and keeping an eye out for all the group, Lori especially. Even over the noise, Judith's crying could still be heard clearly. I grimaced at the sound.
Before us, Rick took hold of his son and urged him forward. He paused to turn to his wife, though Lori urged him on; gesturing for him to follow his son towards the way out. With one last glance, Rick followed after Carl, leaving Lori to lag behind the pair with Judith in her arms.
Just then, tragedy struck on the Grimes' family.
I could do nothing but watch as the scene before me unfolded. Though the sounds of bullets echoed everywhere, one whoosh of air sounded far too close for comfort. Lori's body shuddered upon impact as the bullet pierced through her. She made no sound and swayed only slightly before dropping to the ground. I staggered in place, eyeing her still body on the ground and the blood that began to seep through the back of her shirt.
Judith wasn't crying anymore.
A wave of something heavy hit my gut as I stood there for a moment, unsure what the hell to do. Red began to stain the snow and the sight of it ripped through me. Looking up, I saw Rick's face of agony and I quickly urged him on. Carl couldn't lose both his parents. He obliged to my commands, staggering in place, his face consorted with pain, before he turned and followed after his son. I watched in horror as a bullet struck Rick's shoulder, another into his side, though Rick kept on running and successfully made it through the gap. Disappearing from view.
Staggering forward, I fell beside Lori's body, willing anything for her to still be alive. I scrambled desperately, turning her body over though, I knew it would end tragically. Agony swept through me; oh God, please no! There was so much a shaking hand, I tried for a pulse. Nothing. I tried to ignore Lori's fixed, empty expression - not the loving motherly gaze I remembered. Turning my attention to Judith, just taking in the body of the infant I knew that she was gone. Dead. I fell back in the snow, my entire body shaking but not from the cold.
Lori was dead. Judith was dead.
A sob hitched into my throat and I ran a hand over Lori's cheek.
"Wake up, please wake up." I urged, pathetically. "Don't go." But it was no use. She was gone. The sounds of Judith's final echoing cried drawled in the back of my mind, the sounds of gunshots just audible too. Lori's final cry of 'Rick!' lingered somewhere in the background and I swallowed hard, trying to shake the pain away. "C'mon, Ruby. You need to go." I quickly urged myself, staggering to my feet with the intention of following after Rick and Carl. I could mourn for them later, right now I needed to move. Though apparently I couldn't catch a break.
"Fancy seeing you here." The Governor sneered, eyeing me dangerously. I hadn't even noticed that he stood there, but now he stood between my escape. He looked a little dishevelled from the fight and I saw the blood seeping out the bullet wound in his shoulder, the one Andrea had given him. He still managed to hold himself strong though and the sight of him was sickening. Swallowing hard, I bit back the tears. "Was she a friend of yours?" He gestured to Lori's body and I bit back a snarl.
"Get fucked." I hissed, ignoring him as he raised his gun. I felt too exhausted to raise my own to match his challenge.
"You could have prevented all this, you know?" The Governor announced, his tone ever mighty. "If you'd only just handed yourself over, she'd still be alive. All your friends would be safe and sound. Your home wouldn't be depicted into nothing."
"Don't you dare blame me, you son of a bitch." I muttered. "You'll go to hell for what you've done." He smirked, raising his arms.
"Isn't this already hell? What's the difference?" He challenged before chuckling deeply. "God, I'm going to enjoy killing you."
Around us, the gunfire had died down slightly. When I glanced around the area the Woodbury goons seemed to only be concerned with battling down walkers now. Where were the others? Were they dead? Had they gotten out? Some of the Woodbury residents lingered nearby to the Governor and I, just watching on. I swallowed bitterly at this. Was my execution to have an audience too, like Tyreese's?
"Oh my God." A single voice sounded out, however, cutting through whatever the Governor was going to say. An unfamiliar woman, obviously from Woodbury, stepped closer, her eyes trained on the bodies before me. Bitterly, I readied myself to snarl an insult at the woman. How dare she look at them! But the woman turned to the Governor with a look of disbelief. "She had a baby."
"Shut up, Lily-" The Governor began, grinding his teeth together, though 'Lily' shook her head.
"She had a fucking baby!" She screamed. "You made me shoot a baby!" The Governor eyed Lily with anger, though we were taken by surprise when a gathering of walkers staggered over. My death was to be prolonged, it seemed, with distractions.
"Get rid of them." The Governor muttered, gesturing to the decaying dead that appeared to only be a 'nuisance' to the man. Briefly, I met Lily's gaze and found only a guilty expression staring back. Her eyes darkened with grief as they flickered down to the bodies at my feet before turning back to me again. Confused, I frowned at the woman, though she replied by raising her gun.
And aimed it at the Governor.
"Lily, put that gun down-"
He was cut off by a gun shot and he cried out in agony as the bullet pierced his neck. My eyes widened as before me blood began to pour from the Governor's neck, spilling out of his mouth. He hissed and grunted in pain, attempting to stagger towards Lily and hold onto his wound, though the walkers got there first.
One walker sunk their teeth into Lily's shoulder, she was completely distracted and unprepared for the attack. She screamed in agony and was soon dragged away into a crowd of them, her skin ripped and clawed at. Blood was everywhere. Her screams were drowned out as the walkers devoured her flesh. The Governor turned to me then, attempting to grab at me though I stepped away from his grasping hands. He was too weak to put up a substantial fight. Another walker came forward then and though he tried to push it away, the Governor could do nothing but allow the teeth to sink into his outstretched arm. Before me, my wish came true; The Governor fell at the claws of walkers.
Finding no time to watch his demise, I knew this was my only window to escape. Pausing briefly to meet the Governor's gaze - not quite grasping the idea that this was what I had been waiting for for so long - I pushed past him and headed straight for the gap in the fence. The echoes of screams could be heard behind me as the walkers feasted on the people of Woodbury.
A fitting ending perhaps?
With tears staining my face and exhaustion overwhelming my entire being, I rushed towards the tree line, heeding to Merle's instructions; don't look back. The prison had erupted with screams, that I kept behind me as I retreated away. Our home was destroyed and I couldn't bear to look back and see it fall. I didn't want to look back and see another friend die. Suddenly though the sounds of voices could be heard ahead and soon I came across an agony-splitting scene. The remaining Grimes' held each other in a tight embrace, Carl's sobs more noticeable over his father's. Rick appeared to be speaking words to his son, but they were too soft to hear. They were alive though, that was what was important. Right now though, I could imagine that wasn't a positive in their situation.
"Ruby?" Carl spotted me, gently prising himself away from his father. Rick turned to me, his expression pained.
"We should go." I breathed, watching as Carl took in my blood-stained form. It only pained Rick's expression more.
"But the others?" Carl begged, tears still trickling from his eyes. Rick shook his head, before wincing in pain. I eyed the blood that stained his shirt on his shoulder and side, wondering how we would be able to treat that. I couldn't bear for more to die. Not after all that, and especially not Rick.
"C'mon, Carl, it's time to get going." Rick nodded, urging his son further into the forest. Carl staggered a little before gathering himself, hitching the bag on his bag further and sniffing loudly.
"Mom? Judy?" He asked, his eyes trained on me. I knew this was for confirmation for what he already knew. Biting back a sob, I shook my head and Carl bowed his, the sheriff hat obscuring his face.
"The Governor's dead too." I announced, hoping to provide a little good news. Rick sighed.
"Well," He breathed, his voice on the verge of breaking. Wincing again, his hand rubbed against his side. Blood just stained his hand when he pulled away. I swallowed hard at the observation. "That's something."
After nodding in agreement, and drowning out the screams of agony that could still be heard in the distance, the trio we had found ourselves in set off moving. Treating Rick's wounds were a high priority though, I noted. Though we couldn't shake the feelings of despair and uncertainty now. Unsure where we were going or what we were going to do now. Unsure who else was even alive or whether we'd see them again. Unsure whether we had been the only ones left.
Vaguely I heard Rick mutter something; "don't look back, Carl, don't look back." I couldn't help myself and glanced back over my shoulder though there wasn't anything to see. The sentiment still stood though.
We were leaving it behind. The prison, our home. It was gone now. Lost. Everything we'd worked so hard to keep and sustain was gone forever. We had lost people we cared about and that hit me harder than the loss of the prison. There was no going back from this.
The Governor was dead though. He was something that had lost too today. He was dead. Gone. His existence had been something that had always lingered in my world and it was strange to think he had finally gone. He finally wasn't a problem anymore, I didn't have to fear his constant shadow following me, hunting me down. I should have been relieved. I should have been happy. I should have rejoiced in his down-fall.
And yet all I could feel was bitter sadness.
Though the Governor was gone, he had destroyed so much of what we loved before his life had been literally ripped from him.
And there was no happiness to be found in that.
(Author's Note): Dun, dun, DUNN. Yes this does seem to be a strange way to end things, but do not fear! The story continues IMMEDIATELY in the continuation of Loginquitas. Check my profile for its sequel; The New Road. For this story though, things have to end! While Ruby's story has not, this part of her life has. Thank you for all the support of Ruby's story so far! I am over-whelmed constantly by all I get! This is by no means the end for Ruby or myself and I do thank you all for sticking through it, with all the ups and downs - it sure has been a roller-coaster. You guys rock! :) Like I said, check out the continuation and I thank you once more for your constant support!
-jemlou