setting: episode 8 "Made To Suffer"
Damnation
Chapter 29 - Rescue
They had encountered at least thirty walkers on their way to Woodbury, which had their delayed their plan by another two hours. By the time they finally reached the location it was already pitch black outside, but they actually welcomed it since it also meant better cover. The town was way more impressive than they would have thought. Massive improvised walls were blocking the street. They were made of car tires and all sorts of material the residents seemed to have found, and what was even more surprising was the fact that they had electricity. Floodlights were blinding them, but Rick's group could still see several guards on top of the wall.
"Well fuck me, that's Fort Knox right over there" Connor muttered and looked at the group.
"What are we gonna do?"
Rick and the others were still looking at the wall, and when Rick was just about to answer the woman suddenly walked away and disappeared behind the bushes.
"Hey! Hey!" he whispered but the woman ignored him. Connor wanted to go after her, but then Rick grabbed his arm.
"No. Stay here. We gotta stay together. Plan this through" he ordered and moved back so they could form a circle.
"We need to downsize" he went on and everybody got their weapons ready.
Connor would look over the roof of the car they were hiding next to, so he could check how things were going.
"Well.. They gotta keep them inside one of these buildings. Maybe the building they use as their headquarters.
Or maybe they got a small police station or shit like that" the Irishman suggested and his friend snorted.
"Ain't no way we're gonna check in all them buildings. Not with all them guards there. We gotta be sure and don't waste time in there."
"Well maybe we could distract them somehow. Use someone as bait" Connor went on and Daryl frowned.
"Hell no, you want them shot your ass to pieces? Just look at their weapons. We gotta sneak in and..."
They all turned around abruptly when they heard the rustling of some leaves behind them. The four men expected a walker to appear, but then the woman they had taken with them came back. She pointed at something behind her and tried to get them to follow her. For a second the group looked at each other, then Rick nodded.
"All right, let's go" he whispered and everyone but Connor followed right away.
The Irishman watched the guards through narrowed eyes. He could have sworn that there had been one more very close to them. He didn't like that they didn't have a plan, which was why he was so hesitant to follow them.
"Leprechaun!" he heard Daryl call out and finally moved as well.
They entered hostile territory through one of the buildings. They still didn't have a clue if they could really trust the woman, but she seemed to know where to go and what to do. The rooms of the building were filled with supplies, but there were no people in it. They could see countless jars and boxes on the shelves that were filled with food and beverages, and the group was now facing even more supplies than they had found inside the prison's cafeteria. Everyone had their guns drawn by now. Although Daryl still had his crossbow with him he was now using his automatic rifle. The woman had her katana, Oscar a shotgun and Rick a sniper rifle. Connor knew that he was the least cool fighter right now, but he would always stick to his two Berettas. He was pointing them at whatever was coming, but as soon as they got closer to the room that faced the street they realized that they were alone.
"This is where you were held?" Rick asked the woman when they all came to a halt.
She nodded and took a look around through narrowed eyes.
"I was questioned."
Connor frowned.
"What did they ask ye?"
She turned her head to look at the Irishman.
"They were keeping walkers in cages. I killed them, they asked me why and how."
Connor frowned.
"They're keeping walkers as pets? What te fuck?"
Rick turned around to look at her again.
"Any idea where our people could be?"
Daryl suddenly started running and headed for the windows, which people had covered up with blankets.
Connor watched him and approached his friend, not liking it at all.
"Eh, be careful. We don't want them t'see us."
Daryl could see people outside and frowned.
"I thought you said there was a curfew" he muttered and Connor came closer to have a look outside as well.
"The street is packed during the day. Those are stragglers" the woman answered and the Irishman sighed.
"We see living people fer once and they always gotta be baddies. Very nice.." he growled and walked away from the window again.
Truth was that he still missed crowded streets that were filled with people and chitchat. For the past couple of months they had only come across a bunch of living people, most of them being some evil fucked up bastards. He loved the idea of a town still being there, but he hated the fact that they were supposed to be their enemies. Rick looked out of the window as well.
"If anyone comes in here, we're sitting ducks. We gotta move."
Connor nodded and approached the woman.
"Well what about the shit I just said outside. Are there some sorta headquarters or some sorta police station?"
"They could be in his apartment."
"Yeah? What if they ain't?" Daryl growled and approached the two of them.
"Then we'll look somewhere else" the woman growled back and Connor shifted.
"What if they are? We should check it out. Split up."
"You said you could help us!" Rick spat and approached the woman with an angry growl.
"I'm doing what I can!" she defended herself and glared at their leader. Connor stepped between them.
"Alright. Let's just...everybody calm down. We should split up and search a couple of buildings.
We'd be faster, wouldn't be seen so easily and we would be more successful. Aye?"
The others just looked at him until Rick nodded at the back of the room.
The other three men followed him reluctantly, and once they were further away from the woman their leader started talking.
"If this goes south, we're cutting her loose."
They all looked at her and Oscar frowned.
"You think she's leading us into a trap?"
Connor snorted.
"She's still the only one who can fucking help us getting to Maggie and Glenn."
"Right now it's the blind leading the blind. Think Connor's right. Let's split up."
The Irishman nodded.
"Aye. I could go and try t'distract them. You and Rick form a group, Oscar and mystery woman another."
The hunter frowned.
"Don't be stupid. Ain't no reason to distract them if they don't know we're here. I'll go myself, you and Rick form a group and..."
A loud knock on the door interrupted him mid sentence and the whole group startled.
"Get back! Get back!" Rick hissed and they all started running to get out of the room.
Just a couple of seconds later the door opened.
"I know you're in here. I saw you moving from outside" they heard someone say as they hid in the backroom.
Connor was closest to the door, and when Rick looked at him he nodded. They could hear how the person got closer and closer.
"All right now. You're not supposed to be in here and you know it. Who's in here?"
When the man walked around the corner Connor wrapped his arm around his neck and pressed his gun to his temple, while using his other hand to shut their hostage up.
"Hush and ye don't have t'die" he hissed and the others moved as well.
"Make him kneel. Hands behind your back and shut up!" Rick demanded and pointed his gun at the man as well.
Connor kicked his legs so the guard was forced to kneel. Rick kneeled down in front of him and looked at the Irishman and Daryl.
"Zip tie him" he ordered and the blonde nodded.
While he put a zip tie around their hostage's hand their leader began to question the man.
"Where are our people?"
"I don't know!" the man answered and Connor pulled even harder so the ties were tighter than necessary.
"Stop lying!" he grunted and shoved the man.
"You are holding some of our people. Where the hell are they?!" Rick repeated and pressed his gun to his nose.
"I don't know!"
Connor and Daryl looked up to face Rick. The three men looked at each other for a moment, then they silently agreed that the man was speaking the truth.
Rick shook his head angrily and looked at him again.
"Open your mouth" he demanded and their hostage did as he was told.
Their leader stuffed a piece of cloth in his mouth, and when Rick nodded Daryl knocked him out with a blow to the back of his head.
Connor kneeled down to grab the man by his legs and dragged him further inside the room.
"Well, so how do we do this shit then?"
Rick approached the windows again to have another look outside.
"Let's split up. Search some buildings. You and Daryl will form a group, me, Oscar and her another. Move fast, stay low, try not to shoot, keep quiet."
The Irishman nodded and let go as soon as he had dragged the man into a corner. He searched him for any useful weapons and took everything he could find, then he left the back room to approach the door and windows as well. They all stopped in their tracks when they heard gunfire outside. A couple of seconds later people started shouting at each other outside. Connor walked faster and pressed his back against the wall between the window and door.
"Shit, did they see us?!"
Rick approached the door and opened it slowly and carefully. They could hear how several people were running around outside, heading somewhere else.
Soon the street in front of the house they were hiding in was completely empty.
"I don't think so. But I think I know where Glenn and Maggie are" the policeman said and stepped outside.
They had been watching the house for several minutes until things finally calmed down again. They assumed that only a couple of guards were still inside, because most people had left again. Since there had been gunfire and shouting going on for several minutes the whole group just knew that their people had to be in there, maybe trying to fight their way out. As soon as they had made sure that most of the guards and people were gone they made their way through one of the windows. The entire building was down a smaller alley, and far away from the other houses where families were living in. It was the perfect place to hide things from public, and it was a lot uglier inside than all the other buildings they had seen.
They had never split up, and once again Connor didn't like it. No one was watching the outside, and they were all making their way through the corridor inside with guns drawn and ready to shoot. He knew that they needed all the manpower they could gather, simply because they didn't know how many guards were inside, but that still didn't mean that he liked the idea of having no backup. The Irishman had insisted on staying outside to watch their backs, but Daryl had made it very clear that he would never get to do that, and the others had listened to Rick's orders instead. So here they were, making their way down the hallway, with their leader and his sniper gun right up front. They all came to abrupt halt when they saw a man walking around a corner, and once he was gone they kept walking to get closer to the room they hoped to find Glenn and Maggie in. The group seemed to get closer, because then they could hear someone talking on the other side of the wall. They all knelt down to listen for a second, then the whole group looked at Rick.
"How we gonna do this?" Daryl asked and Connor looked at him and Rick.
"Use the element of surprise. Storm in there and shoot them quick and accurate. Did that back in the old days. Always worked.
Took out bout ten people at once before they even got the chance t'shoot back."
Rick shook his head.
"No. No gun fire. We don't need to draw any more in and let them surround us and we need to save ammo. I got a better idea. Let's use these" he said and pointed at the bag where they kept the flash bangs and tear gas. The whole group looked up when they heard the others move next door.
"On your feet, move! Let's go! Come on!" one of the guards yelled and Connor and Daryl grabbed some of the flash bangs.
"Shit!" the hunter exclaimed and turned around to see if the guards were coming.
They could hear footsteps next door, so it was about time they did something. Rick grabbed one as well, and when he nodded all three men threw the grenades and ran away. A loud bang could be heard, then smoke filled the entire hallway and room. As soon as the Rick's group heard how the others started coughing and yelling they used their chance. Daryl positioned himself by the corner and pointed his gun at the smoke, ready to shoot anyone who could be a threat to them. Rick and Connor ran back to search for Maggie and Glenn in all the chaos, and soon the shooting started. They could hardly see a thing and pretty soon it was almost impossible to breathe. Connor started coughing just as violently, but then he caught glimpse of Maggie, who was crouching on the ground with a bag on her head. He ran to get her, bullets flying all around him. He couldn't even really think about anything, he just grabbed the woman by her arm and dragged her along.
"Move move move!" he demanded and shoved her, a second later a couple of bullets hit the wall right in front of him.
"Connor?!" he could hear her ask but kept shoving her, trying to get out and away from the shooting.
"Aye! Just move!"
In just a matter of seconds all hell broke loose. The shooting wouldn't stop, and there was smoke everywhere. People were yelling at each other and shouting orders, but Rick's group just kept moving. They made their way through the window they had come through earlier, zigzagging their way as far away from the shooting as possible. Now that they were away from the smoke they could actually take a look at Glenn and Maggie for the first time. Rick was helping the Korean because he could barely walk. It looked like he had been beat up, and he was not wearing a shirt because he had given it to Maggie. There was no blood on her, but Connor, who hadn't let go of her ever since he had dragged her outside, was still worried.
"Are ye okay? Did they touch ye or..?"
Maggie shook her head and looked at Glenn.
"No, but look at him" she answered with shaky voice.
Rick hushed them angrily, now that they were still out in the open. Rick and Oscar were to their left and right and kept watch, but they still felt terribly exposed.
When they finally got closer to an other house Daryl ran faster so he could open the door for them.
"Inside! Quick!" Rick hissed and Connor let go of Maggie so he could watch their back.
Rick and Maggie helped Glenn inside, and as soon as they had made sure that the building was secure and no guards were anywhere near them Connor and Daryl finally entered the building themselves. When they got inside they could see that Glenn was sitting on the ground with Maggie right next to him. Oscar was checking the back only return with a headshake.
"Ain't no way out back here" he muttered. Connor turned around to have a look outside the window.
People with guns were running around outside, the wall was still about three blocks away from them.
"And no way out here. Too many people."
"Rick, how did you find us?" he heard Maggie ask and turned around again. He approached the wounded and got rid of his jacket.
"Here, take that" he muttered and offered it Glenn, who took it with a grunt. Because the Korean kept holding his side in pain and could hardly move the Irishman decided to help him with the jacket.
"Don't worry, we're gonna put ye back t'gether" he muttered and Rick approached them.
"How bad is he hurt?"
"I'll be alright" Glenn answered and Connor took a closer look at him.
"Looks like his rip could be broken or sprained."
Maggie looked up and searched the room.
"Where's that woman?" she asked and everybody looked up. Connor turned around and frowned.
"She was right behind me."
Rick headed for the windows and moved a blanket out of the way so he could have a look outside.
"Maybe she was spotted" Oscar suggested and Connor looked at Rick.
"Want me ta go back fer her?"
Their leader shook his head.
"No. We gotta get them out of here. She's on her own."
The Irishman nodded and looked at Glenn again, trying to help him up. The Korean groaned in pain when he was moved, but then he looked at Daryl.
"Daryl, this was Merle."
The hunter looked at him and approached them with wide eyes. Connor froze and was just as surprised. Had Glenn really just said that his friend's brother was still alive? He let go of him and just looked at him in shock. No, this couldn't be true. That man wasn't supposed to be alive. This couldn't...
"It was. He did this" Glenn went on and Connor turned his head to look at his friend.
When he saw the look on Daryl's face he panicked even more. He didn't want it to be true.
"You saw him?" the hunter asked and Glenn nodded.
"Face to face. He threw a walker at me. He was gonna execute us."
"What?" Connor asked and got furious.
For months now he had been with Daryl, had seen himself as pretty much his brother. And after the couple of stories he had heard about this Merle he had always seen himself as the better brother. He remembered what Daryl had told him when he had thought he was dead. All them years I never had anyone. No buddies, no one but Merle. Yah were the brother I've always wanted t'have. And now this? Now the guy was back? And he had tortured Glenn and Maggie?It made him so furious. Because he didn't want to share Daryl. Not with anyone. Because he didn't want Daryl to have a brother, because this had been the one thing that had brought them together: the fact that they had both lost their brothers.
Part of him just wanted to kill this Merle guy, and he knew how wrong it was because he wanted to do it out of jealousy. But then there was the other part in him that knew that he just had to kill Daryl's brother. For all the things he had done wrong with his friend, for not looking after his own flesh and blood and letting him get hurt and shredded with scars. For disappearing and leaving Daryl like that. For torturing and hurting people of the group he had once been part of. But when he saw the look on his friend's face, so shocked and surprised, he knew that he could never kill Merle, because Daryl would never forgive him that.
"S..so my brother's this governor?" Daryl stammered in disbelief and Connor got up to walk away.
He needed a minute to calm down, and he was getting sick of the fact that his friend's brother really was here, so close, that Daryl was talking about his real brother now.
Maggie shook her head.
"No, it's somebody else. Your brother's his lieutenant or something."
Daryl still looked at her in shock.
"Does he know I'm still with you?"
Maggie nodded and so did Glenn.
"He does now. Rick, I'm sorry. We told him where the prison was. We couldn't hold out" he apologized.
The policeman knelt down next to him and put a hand on his knee.
"Don't. No need to apologize."
He went back to check the windows once more.
Connor stood by the wall on the other side of the room and watched his friend walk around. He could see how surprised and torn Daryl was, and he seemed to be so lost in thoughts that he didn't even get that his friend was watching him. Connor knew what it could mean for them. What could happen to their friendship just because of the fact that Merle was back. He knew that Daryl appreciated him as a friend and wanted him to stay with him even with his brother around, but this was the very difference between the two of them.
The fact that Connor wanted more than just friendship. He wanted to be his brother. He wanted to be the closest person in his life. He didn't want to just be his friend. He didn't want to share him, just like he had never wanted to share Murphy with anyone. Not with any women, not with anyone but a few friends like Rocco. He just needed a person in his life that was all his own, and he knew how possessive and selfish he had always been in that regard. He didn't want any of it, and although he knew how cruel and unfair it was towards Daryl to actually wish for something like that, he really wished that Merle was dead.
Daryl couldn't stop walking around. Because right now he was more than shocked. Although he and his brother had always sort of hated each other and gotten into fights more than once, he had still missed him. He had spent over a year wondering where his brother was, if he was still alive, what he was doing. And now this. Now he knew that his own flesh and blood was so close, and that knowledge was slowly tearing him apart. Of course, he hated Merle for doing all sorts of shit again and torturing Glenn and Maggie like that, but at least he was still alive. He had made it, that tough son of a bitch. And no matter how much he hated and even feared his big brother sometimes, he still wanted to see him again. More than anything in this fucked up world.
"They're gonna be looking for us" Maggie said and snapped both Daryl and Connor out of it.
Rick looked at Glenn and Herschel's daughter and nodded.
"We have to get back to the wall. Find a way out. Can you walk?" he asked the Korean and approached him to help him up.
"We got a car a few miles out."
Glenn nodded and tried to get up by himself.
"I'm good" he grunted and both Rick and Maggie helped him.
Daryl approached Rick, panic washing over him now that he realized that they were about to turn their backs on his brother once again.
"Hey, if Merle's around, I need to see him" he demanded and put a hand on Rick's shoulder to stop him.
The policeman shook his head and helped Glenn and Maggie to the door.
"Not now. We're in hostile territory."
Daryl looked at him, begging him with wide eyes.
"He's my brother! He ain't gonna.."
"Look at what he did!" Rick interrupted him and pointed at beat up Glenn.
"He's dangerous, he's one of them now. You still got Connor, haven't you?"
"But it ain't the same! Merle's my real brother, not him!" Daryl protested and wouldn't look at the Irishman, who watched them with a blank look on his face.
So here he had the absolute proof. Daryl wasn't his brother, and although the hunter had said many things that had hinted something that practically meant that a brotherhood was going on between them, now he had heard the truth. It had been going on for a couple of months, but only as long as Merle was gone. Connor snorted and looked away. Of course. How foolish he had been to actually believe that it would stay that way even with Merle around.
After months of being together he had to realize that maybe there had never been a real friendship going on between them. They had just used each other all the time. He had stuck around because Daryl had his dead brother's face. They had become friends because Daryl was practically Murphy minus the accent and personality and blood. And the hunter had stuck with him and clung to him because he had just needed a temporary big brother until his real brother came back. And now he was back. And he was no longer needed.
"Look, we gotta—we gotta get out of here now" Rick tried to reason with the hunter, but Daryl wouldn't listen.
He just needed to see him, why wouldn't their leader get that?
"Maybe I can talk to him! Maybe I can work something out!"
Please. I need to see my brother.
Connor finally shifted and approached them, understanding how important it really was to his friend.
No matter how much it broke his heart, he still wanted to do something.
"Aye. I could help him find his brother. Could also be a good distraction, they focus on us and you can get Glenn and Maggie outta here" he suggested and was surprised how defeated he sounded.
Daryl turned his head to look at him for a second, and he looked like a lost puppy, so very un-Daryl. For the first time the Irishman saw how much of a little brother his friend really could be, and it broke his heart even more, knowing that this was a little brother desperately wanting to find his big brother, the big brother he wasn't and would never be. Rick still wouldn't give in and shook his head.
"No no no. You're not thinking straight" he said and moved closer to Daryl to look him in the eye.
"Look, no matter what they say, they're hurt. Glenn can barely walk. How are we gonna make it out if we get overrun by walkers or this governor catches up to us? I need you!" he said and looked at Connor as well. "Both of you. You're the two people I can always count on, my strongest force. Now get a hold of yourselves and think about Glenn and Maggie for a second! Are you with me?"
Daryl looked at Rick for a moment, and one could see how disappointed and even sad he was, but he still nodded.
"Yeah" he murmured and the policeman nodded as well.
The whole group shifted then to get ready for a possible fight, and as Daryl searched one of the bags for more flash bangs and weapons Connor approached him to kneel down next to him and help him. Both men didn't speak for a moment and just listened to the others talking, but then Connor spoke up.
"As soon as we're done helping the others to the wall I could help ye find yer brother if you want" he muttered and Daryl looked up to face him.
The hunter wouldn't say anything yet, and Connor wouldn't look at him either.
"I know what I'd feel like if I were so close t'my brother but weren't allowed ta see him. I would fuck the rules, too. Family's more important than friendships and rules. And I know what if feels like not t'have yer brother around and ye just wanna see him again, want him back no matter what."
He sighed and let go of the flash bangs to look at Daryl.
"So whatever you wanna do, 'm gonna help ye. Cos that's what..friends do, aye? So just gimme a sign and I'm with you."
Daryl just looked his friend in the eye for a moment and couldn't help but feel guilty, even torn. He could see that Connor was disappointed and upset because of the whole Merle thing, although the Irishman would never admit it. And he hated how shit like this could happen from one second to the next, how people could really make him choose between Merle and Connor. Because he didn't want to choose, but at the same time he knew that he could never have them both. He knew his brother and friend all too well, and he knew that they would end up killing each other over him. Right now he didn't want to choose or even think about it, so he placed a hand on the Irishman's shoulder and nodded.
"Thanks, but I think Rick's right. We gotta help Glenn and Maggie" he just said and let go. He grabbed one of the flash bangs and got up.
Rick and the others were already standing by the door, so Connor took one and got up as well.
"On three. Stay tight." the policeman said and everybody nodded. Their leader counted down, then he opened the door with a determined pull.