Mara was tending to her sword. She was outside in the dusk, enjoying the silence of Georgia. Sunset seemed to last forever here, hanging heavy in the air before eventually sliding into night. It reminded her of home a little bit.

There were more guards than ever on duty. They expected the Governor to show up any day now and they were ready. Mara's stomach had felt tight for the last few days. She was running on an adrenaline rush that her body couldn't sustain. She was already laden with as many weapons as her body could carry and she had taken to wearing her protective military gear every time she went outside.

She almost wanted the Governor to show up, to march down the path and declare his intentions. That way it could just be over. One way or another, they wouldn't be sitting around waiting.

Mara suspected he would try something underhanded and sneaky though. It wouldn't just be a simple fight with some semblance of honour and regulation. There was no room for that in this day and age.

One thing Mara knew for sure was that she wouldn't be taken. She'd rail and fight before she let herself be a prisoner of the Governor again. She would die first.

Her hand tightened subconsciously around her weapon and a stinging pain bought her back to reality.

She hissed as she unwrapped her fingers and saw a cut along the inside of her fingers just above the rest of her palm. "Stupid," she muttered to herself. They'd taught her how to clean her sword properly in training and it had been a long time since she'd cut herself.

"Ain't no need for the Governor to do nothin' if you're gonna be inflictin' all the violence on yourself," a low voice drawled.

Mara looked up as Merle Dixon emerged from the gloom. Those Dixon brothers could certainly move quietly when the need called. She shot him a withering look and turned her attention to her new injury. It was shallow and wouldn't affect her fighting but it was probably best to get it looked after as soon as possible. Infection could still kill her, even if she had just cleaned her blade within an inch of perfection.

She expected Merle to keep moving on but he lingered. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"Bad habits run in the family I see," Mara noted without thinking. She cursed internally. She didn't want to engage Merle in conversation.

Merle shrugged. He put one in his mouth, taking it directly out of the packet with his teeth, and then offered the pack to Mara. "You want one?" he asked, speaking easily around the cigarette in his mouth.

Mara grimaced. "No thanks."

"That's right," Merle said, flashing a grin and tucking the pack back into his pocket. "You're a hoity toity educated bitch. Probably that you knew better 'an to start."

Mara stared at Merle. He had insulted her but not with any malice. Maybe he just didn't know how to address people without calling them names.

"I hear it kills," Mara said dryly. It struck her that they were having what passed for a civilised conversation in Merle's book. She wondered why the change of heart. She knew Daryl hadn't spoken to him. As much as she cared for him, her lover still avoided Merle like the boogie man.

Merle chuckled and finally lit his smoke. He managed it artfully with one hand. "Worse things out there t'kill ya now, darlin'." He took a deep drag and pleasure spread across his face as the smoke hit his lungs.

Merle took the cigarette out of his mouth, holding it loosely between his fingers. He regarded her steadily. "So you've taken up with my baby bro."

"Is this the part where you threaten me to treat him well?" Mara asking, struggling to keep her tone mild. Merle put her on edge and it took every fibre of her being not to let her words be acerbic.

Merle's raised an eyebrow, his stare hardening. "Didn't think I needed to." He sighed then. "You do good by my brother and we'll be fine."

That was untrue. He was being on his best behaviour for some reason but at some point his possessiveness of Daryl would turn to jealousy and there would be drama again. Still Merle didn't tell her like he was lying, more like he believed it. And Mara appreciated that effort.

"I love him," Mara said quietly, hoping that would mean something to Merle.

"Well shit, someone had'ta!" Merle said roughly. "Not much could be said of our mama or our father."

They lapsed into silence. The whole conversation had been surreal. Mara would almost have called it bonding. Her hand was dripping blood and she had to take care of it before her turn on guard duty.

She opened her mouth to excuse herself when Merle held up his hand. His eyes had narrowed and he was concentrating. He dropped the cigarette to the ground and put it out with the heel of his boot.

"You hear that?" Merle asked.

Mara shook her head, getting to her feet.

"That's a car. Headin' our way."

Mara met Merle's eyes. "Nobody is on a run."

A beat passed between them and then they were moving. Mara picked up her sword, barely feeling the cut in her hand now. She slid it into her sheath and took her gun out of her holster.

They jogged down to gate where Christine was standing looking down the road. Her shoulders were tense. She could hear it too.

She looked over her shoulder as Merle and Mara joined her, signalling to Yussuf and Glenn in the guard tower.

Maggie joined them too. "What's happening?"

"Get Rick and Nathan," Mara said without preamble.

Christine picked up her helmet from the ground. She cut a look at Mara. "Where's yours?"

"Inside. I wasn't on guard duty." Mara switched the safety off her gun and wished she had thought to carry her helmet with her.

Merle was tightening the straps on his prosthetic knife. "If you ladies could finish ya' conversation, we're gonna have company soon."

Christine glared down the road, for once not jumping all over Merle. "Well I'm fresh outta hospitality," she said coldly, before sliding the helmet on.

Merle smirked appreciatively. He looked under prepared standing there with just his knife.

"Here," Mara said, offering him the extra hand gun she had tucked into her waist band.

Merle raised his eyebrows but took it without making a comment.

Casting a quick look over her shoulder, Mara could see that Yussuf and Glenn had taken defensive positions in the guard tower. The sound was clearer now and the grinding of wheels on dirt was echoing.

"They can only come one at a time," Mara said. "There's only that bit of road that connects the prison."

A white bus rounded the corner, swaying dramatically. It was going too fast for its size.

Mara's finger hovered over the trigger. Was there a chance this wasn't the Governor?

"Fuck that," she heard Christine shout and her friend started firing. The bus swerved dramatically as the first bullet pinged into the windscreen but it didn't stop coming. If anything the speed increased.

Mara started shooting as well but she fired low, aiming at the wheels. Her first two shots missed their target because the bus was moving too erratically. The third bullet hit and the wheel exploded. The bus lurched and rolled. It fell on its side but the momentum it already had propelled it forward still.

"Shit!" Merle cursed at the same time Mara realised it was going to come barrelling through the gate anyway. The three of them scrambled to get out of the way.

Christine was the last to jump, managing to fire off a few more rounds into the glass of the windscreen. She just narrowly missed getting hit.

Mara thought she saw the distinctive red of blood and was certain Christine had managed to shoot the driver.

"You're crazy," Merle noted at Christine, making it sound like a compliment.

Mara wanted to scold him for encouraging her but more vehicles were circling the prison. The people driving them got out but stood behind the open doors, using them as shields.

More gunfire echoed but it wasn't coming from their side now. Mara ran for the overturned bus with Merle and Christine hot on her heels.

They ducked low on the ground. Mara looked back into the prison. Yussuf and Glenn had the advantage of higher ground but sometime the rest of the prisons occupants had emptied into the yard. Her heart twisted when she saw Daryl and Andrea trying to take cover. She didn't let the worry overwhelm her. That was the most certain way to die at the moment.

The invading bus had ground to a halt. There was smoke curling from the front. The gun shots seemed to quiet. And Mara took a chance to evaluate the situation. They had broken down the gates with the bus but if they actually wanted to attack they would be forced to leave the safety of their cover or move their vehicles down the road one by one. Each plan gave Mara and her friends the opportunity to pick them off.

Mara was staring at the bus so hard her eyes were playing tricks on her. She could almost swear that it was moving.

"Shit," Mara spat, realising what was happening. She got her feet underneath her

"Spooks," Christine hissed. Both women pulled out their swords.

There was a clatter of metal as Rick shut the fence. He was stopping the dead from over running the prison but at the same time he was sealing them in the yard with them. Mara could almost see the pained expression on his face from here.

The guns exploded again and Rick took cover.

"They ain't seen us yet," Merle said. The dead were climbing over each other to get out of the bus. They were as disorientated as Mara had ever seen them after the crash. But they could smell fresh blood.

Mara flexed her injured hand once before curling it back around the hilt of her blade.

They were scratching at the bus windows, tearing apart the shattered window with their bare hands. Mara heard a thin shriek and realised that Christine hadn't killed the driver.

Mara fought to keep a blank face as she listened to the man die. He had wished her and hers ill. But still, to listen to him get eaten alive was awful.

There was a crack of a gun behind them. Mara didn't hear the impact and realised it must have been fired into the air. It wasn't an attacking shot, it was a beacon. It would distract the walkers away from their dinner and force them to take stock of their surroundings, to see there were other meals available.

"C'mon," Merle hissed. He grabbed the back of Mara's jacket and tugged her backwards. Mara opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off with a hiss, "shut up!"

He pulled them low and then he unceremoniously pushed her into the open roof hatch of the over turned bus. It was difficult trying to manoeuvre around the seats on their side but Mara managed to stand.

She had never really noticed how dirty the windows were. It made it hard for anyone to see in. Merle followed closely behind her and then eventually Christine.

Mara felt better with some shelter though she knew it was an illusion. The walkers may not have seen them climb in there but they would eventually figure it out. The others couldn't shoot them if they were being forced to take cover by their assailants. No, the spooks would find them. Her eyes locked on the hole in the roof which had allowed their entrance.

One of the seats had come loose in the crash. Mara rushed to it.

"Help me," she whispered. Christine was by her side in an instant. Between the pair of them they wrangled the seat towards the hole in the roof. They fitted it neatly against the roof and Merle leaned against the middle using his weight to hold in place.

Mara exchanged a look with her companions. "Now we wait for the cavalry?"

...

Daryl could see just enough from his sheltered position. With the guns they had been prevented from making too much headway. Panic and fury wared in Daryl as he crouched next to Andrea. He had seen those walkers crawl out of the bus with horror and he had watched Mara's whole body language change as the threat moved from outside to inside. The woman he loved was standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother and there was nothing he could do from here.

Daryl watched as Merle shoved Mara into the bus. He and Christine followed. It was smart and it would buy them some time.

He locked eyes with Nathan and Elias, managing to convey his anxiety at the situation. Elias nodded to show he understood but Nathan's face didn't change. The sergeant leaned over to whisper something in Elias' ear. The big man nodded once more and the two men stood up and started shooting.

The rounds lacked precision but it was enough that the men at the vehicles had to duck. The two Australians took the opportunity to dart back inside the prison. With one slam of a door they were gone. Daryl didn't know what Nathan was thinking but he felt certain the man would have a plan. Maybe they were going to fortify their cell where Carl, Judith, Beth, Carol and Hershel were hiding.

Daryl turned his attention to the prison yard again. Some walkers were still eating the driver but the others were lurching about, certain that there was fresh meal close at hand but unable to see it yet.

Daryl thought he saw movement, low in the longer grass. He had to blink and look closer but he could just barely make out a shape. The fading light wasn't helping. Though if the sun would just hurry up and set, the men with guns wouldn't be able to shoot at them quite as accurately.

Daryl's eyes widened as he finally realised the shape was Michonne. He had wondered what had happened to her. If anyone could help Mara and Merle, it was her.

Most of the walkers by passed the bus, though they paused to sniff at it. The scent of Michonne was much closer, fresh on the evening wind.

Michonne got to her feet and began laying into the walkers.

The guns started again but Michonne was a blur of movement. She didn't stay still long enough for any of the men to actually hit her. She weaved through the walkers bodies, cutting them down gracefully.

The walkers by the bus had grown violent and Daryl's gut clenched when he realised they knew there were people inside. What was worse, there were now walkers ambling in over the busted gate.

The commotion had attracted all the walkers out of the woods.

Daryl heard shouts and the sound of shots being fired. It was immediately apparent what Elias and Nathan had done. They had doubled around to attack the men from behind. A wolfish grin crossed Daryl's face. He had his hand on his knife and he really wanted to kill some things. He trusted Elias and Nathan to be able to handle themselves with the men. He had some walkers to deal with.

AN: This was supposed to be one long chapter but my muse is being a bit difficult so I'm going to save the bulk of the action for next chapter when I have a clear vision of it. I'm obviously using elements of the season three attack scene with some differences. Hope you all found this tolerable.

MD666 (Twitter: EJWadePR)