I do not own the Walking Dead.

Previously:

The next few minutes were spent with Carl reassuring Faye that no, if she hadn't asked to hunting, Daryl still would have gone. And no, she plucked the birds just fine.

After a while, the two lapsed into silence, only standing when they heard movement downstairs.

Time to see how Rick would really handle Tyreese.

The man raised his hand for Rick to shake. "I'm Tyreese."

When nothing was said in reply, Hershel pointed to the rest of the group. "Sasha, Allen, Ben."

The leader didn't seem to be interested in names. This wasn't exactly the start Faye had been hoping for, not if these new people were going to stay.

"How did you get in?" Rick asked. In all honesty, it was a good question.

The reply was calm. "Fire damage to the administrator part of the prison, wall's down."

"Well, that side's completely overrun with walkers, how'd you get this far?"

Here came the awkward part.

"We didn't." What was the name of the woman who died? Dawn, wasn't it? Allen's wife. "We lost our friend Donna."

Close enough.

Carl spoke. "They were lost in the tombs."

The leader spun around, obviously not happy, so Faye stood with him. "We heard screaming from our cell block."

"And you brought them here?"

"They had no choice." Hershel said, nodding to the two children. Exactly! They couldn't just leave them to wander around the tombs! It was better to keep them where they could keep an eye on them.

Rick sighed before continuing. "I'm sorry about your friend. We know what that's like."

Tyreese began to sell their case. "Hershel said you could use some extra hands," That was extremely true, all they needed was for Rick to go for it. "We're no stranger to hard work. We'll go out, get our own food, stay out of your hair. Got a problem with another group, we'll help with that too. Anything to contribute."

Faye couldn't see the problem. Yes, it would take some time to really trust these people, but they looked strong! Well, Tyreese and Sasha did, at least.

There was a tense pause as everyone waited for Rick's reply.

"No."

Come on! What was the problem?!

Sasha, and even members of the group, protested, but Rick held firm. "I can't be responsible."

"You turn us out," Tyreese said. "You are responsible."

Hershel came in and stopped Rick, having quiet words with him. If there was anyone to convince the man, it was Hershel. Everyone saw him as the wise one, the person you went to for advice.

As the two talked, Faye exchanged a look with Carl. He didn't look very positive about the situation. In all honesty, neither was she. Then, everyone watched expectantly as Hershel finished, looking closely at Rick's expression.

For a moment, it looked like everything would work out. Rick ran a hand over his face with a sigh, as if admitting defeat. He patted Hershel's arm, before the hand dropped to his side.

Then his expression changed to one of horror, muttering to himself as he began to stride forward, past the group. "Why are you here? What do you what from me?"

"Dad?" Carl questioned, but was treated as though he had never spoken.

"W-why are you..." The man's breathing was heavy.

Faye tensed as she backed away a step, this scene a little too familiar. Memories of Michael screaming at no one in particular, eyes glazed over: "Why me?! Why are you here?!"

The girl desperately hoped that Rick wouldn't go down that route, that their leader could turn back now and be okay.

But, no, his shouts and pleas simply grew louder.

"I can't help you! Get out!"

He walked back and forth, yelling 'get out' over and over. Whether the words were for Tyreese or whoever, he was scaring people.

Faye found herself backing away again, only for Maggie to place a hand on her shoulder with an attempt to smile before addressing Rick. "Hey, easy, Rick. There's no need to-"

"You don't belong here! Get out!" The leader spun around, gun suddenly in his hands as the woman jumped in shock, immediately pulling Faye and Carl back.

A wave of panic washing over her, Faye felt herself tremble as her breathing grew faster. Clearly noticing the shaking girl, Maggie wrapped an arm around her, lightly running a hand up and down her arm while her eyes were still on Rick.

Forget that, everyone's eyes were on Rick.

Faye stood awkwardly outside Hershel's cell, slightly embarrassed that she had to ask for help.

"Can you look at my hand? I kinda..." Punched the wall. "-hurt it."

Hershel's smile was unwavering, as if knowing what happened. Come to think of it, Carol probably told him. "Of course, dear. Come sit down."

She did so, perching on the edge of the bed, and he motioned for her to hold out the hand in question. Gently, he looked it over.

Damn, it was her right hand, too. She fired her gun with that hand, and used her knife, how could she be so stupid?

Apparently, a look of annoyance must have shown on her face as Hershel spoke, his tone comforting. Although, when wasn't his tone comforting? "Don't worry,you haven't done that much damage. Some minor bruising maybe, but nothing terrible. Care to tell me how this happened?"

Faye was pretty sure she looked guilty as she spoke. Well, this was one way to put it. "The wall gave me a funny look."

"Must have been quite the look it gave you." He said, giving her a look which Faye was pretty sure was mischief.

On the other hand, she could have simply been over thinking the expressions on his face. That was always possible.

"However, dear," He reached back and picked up a small bandage. "I don't think a wall is what's bothering you."

Faye didn't feel like a third lecture. She changed the subject. "I thought you said it wasn't too bad?"

"Nothing wrong with being extra careful." He said, that smile still on his face. It made the girl feel a little more relaxed. "Now, where were we?"

Seeing no way out of the conversation as the old man wrapped the bandage around her hand, Faye sighed before speaking. "I was pissed about Daryl and I felt like hitting something, so I did."

"You were annoyed by Daryl, so your reaction was to lash out. Did it help you?"

"It hurt." Faye shrugged. "I felt less..." She wasn't sure how to finish that sentence.

Hershel pressed on. "Did it fix anything?"

"...No."

"Then I think your lesson has been learnt."

"That punching things hurts?"

He shook his head. "That lashing out and hitting things doesn't help anything."

"Alright." Faye said after a minute of thinking it over.

When he was finished, he gave her hand a light pat and she drew it into her lap. "I get the feeling that Daryl's not the whole problem here."

The girl frowned. "Do you know everything?"

"Far from it. However, I tend to have a knack for knowing when something is bothering a child, don't you think?" He leaned back in his chair. "Now, mind telling me what the problem is?"

"Do you," Faye paused, thinking of how to word it, before carrying on. "Do you know about the group I was with before?"

Hershel nodded. "I've heard bits and pieces."

"Our leader's name was Michael. His wife died and he wasn't the same after." The old man listened silently as she spoke. "It started with just talking to himself. But it got a lot worse. He'd yell at the sky, shouting to someone. Dad said Michael was talking to his wife. Then one day, these three people went to talk to him about stepping down and he just... went nuts. He was screaming, then he just pulled out his gun and shot them. It was really scary. It didn't work having someone like that as a leader, not for a long shot. It happened again later on, and that caused the camp to get overrun, and then..." No, Hershel knew what happened after that. Everyone in the group did now, she didn't need to go over it.

Faye looked back up at the old man. "Do you get what I'm talking about?"

The girl received a nod. "I understand your concern."

"It's just, I don't want that to happen to us, to Rick. I know he's a good guy. When he was waving the gun around..."

"I do believe that Rick is going to be okay. He is a good man." Hershel said. "He just needs rest and for us to keep an eye on him. It's been a rough few days."

Faye was sceptical, but more than trusted Hershel's word. "Are you sure?"

"I'm very sure."

Faye wasn't sure why she had stopped outside Glenn's cell, but she had, and now he was staring at her expectantly. So, she asked the question which was kind of pointless, because she knew the answer to it. "Are you okay?"

She could tell Glenn was putting on the smile, he had been in a really pissy mood earlier. The girl was pretty sure it was because Maggie wasn't talking to him. "I will be."

Well, that was a more reasonable answer than she was expecting.

Then, she realised why she was here, she realised the question she wanted to ask was probably inappropriate. She asked it anyway.

Taking a step further into the cell, Faye awkwardly shuffled from one foot to the other as she brushed her fringe back behind her left ear. "It was- it was Daryl's brother who did that to you, wasn't it?"

The way Glenn's expression turned cold told her that no, it wasn't the right thing to ask. His body was tense as he replied. "Merle."

The girl proceeded cautiously. "So, he was bad?"

"Merle was very bad." Faye got the feeling Glenn was censoring himself when he spoke of his kidnapper. "Daryl was wrong to go with him."

Nodding slowly as she processed the information, Faye decided now was probably time to change topic. "What are we gonna do now?"

"We'll be okay without Daryl, you don't need to worry."

"No, that's not what I meant." She shook her head. "About the Governor. He's gonna attack us, isn't he?"

Glenn seemed determined as he replied. "He can try."

The girl frowned. "What about the walkers that got in? Tyreese said that walls were down; that means more of them should be able to get in."

The man sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "With Daryl gone and Rick wandering-" He apparently stopped himself to think of better words to say to the child. "-and Rick not in the right state of mind, that makes me the leader, right?"

"I guess so."

A surprising amount of confidence in his step, Glenn stood away from the bed before walking to Faye and bending down to her level. "Then I've got to figure out a solution. Do you remember where Tyreese's group got in?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Then you can help me out." Glenn said, knowing the girl would say yes. Faye liked it when she was included in a plan.

Nodding with what she hoped was a grown up look, Faye agreed. "I'll help!"

The man patted her shoulder before turning around to look for what ended up being a piece of chalk. The two walked out the cell and into the main area of the cell block - Faye pausing to nod for Carl to come with them - and Glenn drew out a vague map of the tombs with the assistance of Faye.

(Carl helped too, but Faye decided not to acknowledge this. Glenn had asked her for help, so that made her his assistant! So if Carl helped her, that made him her assistant! Yes, Faye preferred to think of it that way.)

"You said you found Tyreese's group here?" The man pointed to a white square drawn on the floor. Both children nodded. "We secured this."

Faye thought before replying, jabbing what was meant to be a corridor. "He thought he came from this way."

Glenn sighed. "Means there's another breach. Okay, the whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, it's gonna be cake for a group of our men."

Beth stood with her arms crossed. "Why are we even so sure he's gonna attack? Maybe you scared him off."

Faye wished that could be the case, but from the sound of it, the group that went over there didn't do anywhere near enough. Michonne confirmed the girl's thoughts.

"He had fish tanks full of heads, walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming."

There was a pause as everyone took the information in before Glenn spoke up again, looking at the katana-wielding woman. "We should hit him now."

Woah. Wait, slow down. There was no way they were capable of doing that.

"He won't be expecting it. We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."

Okay, Glenn's plan might have been going a little too far for Faye's liking. "We aren't assassins." Carol said, frowning.

The woman was ignored as Glenn moved to stand in front of Michonne. "You know where his apartment is. You and I could end this tonight. I'll do it myself."

It took only a moment for Michonne to nod.

"He didn't know you were coming last time." Hershel intervened. He was probably right to do this, Faye thought. At first, it looked like Glenn would have a plan, but he seemed in over his head. Sneaking in to kill the Governor with just the two of them and so little planning. There was no way it would end happily. "And look what happened. You were almost killed. Daryl was captured. And you and Maggie were almost executed."

"You can't stop me."

Faye had no idea where any of this rage was coming from, but Glenn was pissed. Seriously pissed. I'm going to kill someone pissed. That wasn't a good state of mind to be in, even Faye knew this.

"Rick would never allow this."

Rick wasn't here.

Hershel continued to try and convince Glenn it was a bad call to attack Woodbury again, but the younger man was having none of it. It was only when Maggie left the room wordlessly, footsteps echoing through the cell block, that he stopped.

"Alright. We stay put. We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand."

Well, it was better than the ambush plan, at least.

"Faye, Carl, we'll go down to the tombs. We need to figure out where the breach is." Glenn said, crouching in front of them both again.

"You got it." Carl said, and Faye nodded firmly. Michonne offered to join them, but she was declined. Apparently, she was needed upstairs in case anything happened.

Glenn looked around again before speaking. "Who's on watch?"

It was Carol who replied. "T-Dog. I was going to go tell him what the plan is."

Searching the tombs hadn't gone well. There were more walkers than the three had expected there to be, it was a surprise to say the least. When they returned to the cell block, Beth unlocked the door.

"Tombs outside the boiler room are overrun again." Glenn said, obviously frustrated.

"That whole section had been cleared!" Beth said as she shut the entrance.

Faye caught her breath before replying. "Not clear anymore."

"It's a steady stream of walkers." Carl added.

Hershel was packing things into a bag. "We're wasting time. Governor supposedly on the way and we're stuck in here with walkers."

The old man certainly had a point.

Carol didn't sound particularly optimistic. "Trapped between a rock and a hard place."

Faye frowned. She had never quite understood that phrase. Rocks were little, weren't they? Why would it matter if-

"For the last time, running is not an option!" Faye's thoughts were stopped by Glenn as he snapped.

"Glenn, if the tombs are filled up it may only be a matter of time before they push in here." Carol continued as Beth joined in too.

"Or until some fence gives way."

Axel spoke next. "What if one of them herds is passing through?"

"Can't handle that with just a few of us."

Damn, nobody was happy today. They really needed to make a plan where everyone was happy. However, as Faye looked around at the faces in the room, she thought that might be too much to ask.

It seemed however, Glenn was determined to stay, no matter what the others said. He wasn't turning out to be the leader Faye had hoped for. Maybe he should have waited until he was properly fine instead of settling for 'I will be'.

"Where are you going?"

Faye had been opening the side gate outside the prison after deciding she wanted to get away from everyone for a while. The girl had been trying her best to be in a good mood after Daryl left, but everyone else seemed disheartening.

She made sure to sound sarcastic, just to let Carl know she was joking. "Oh, you know, off to be depressed by my not-a-grave."

When Faye found out the group had given her a grave, her feelings were torn. At first, it felt odd. Simply weird. Everyone had thought she was dead, gone, but here she was. Then, she felt sad. Had the group mourned her when they put the cross in the ground, no body to be recovered?

But now? It amused her. Visiting her own grave, breathing with blood pumping through her veins instead of lying in the ground, cold. Faye saw that as a sort-of achievement.

"Don't do that, it's really boring. You should stay in sight." He replied.

Faye gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I will be in sight. You don't have to watch me, I'll be just down there." Faye pointed down into the field.

"Shout if you need anything." Carl said with a little wave which Faye returned.

Standing in front of your own grave was strange. She hadn't actually seen it before that moment. The idea was that she would come down to take away the cross they had left, in line with the others. Looking along the line, there was Big-Tiny, Oscar, Lori.

That was three too many names.

She wasn't supposed to be alive, it was a miracle that she hadn't died. Faye would call herself lucky if it wasn't for all the bad things weighing against her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rick wandering outside the fence. The girl frowned. He needed more than a little rest. Didn't he realise what he was doing to all of them, to Carl? Glenn meant well, but he wasn't as strong as Rick had been.

There was shuffling to the far side of her, and Faye saw Hershel hobbling down towards the fence. Faye cupped her mouth as she called out to him. Of course, she was careful not to be too loud. "Hershel! You doing okay?"

The old man looked over with a smile. Faye noted that it looked more forced than usual. "I'm fine, thank you."

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Just paying our friend Rick a visit, makin' sure he's okay." It was clear the walk down into the field had tired out Hershel, but Faye knew she wouldn't stop him, he was stubborn. Kind of reminded the girl of herself. She nodded to him before turning away again. Come to think of it, it was probably the furthest he had gone since he lost the leg, but she'd have to check.

Looking back towards the prison, her thoughts of Hershel were deserted as she squinted at two figures.

Was that Carl and Beth? It sure looked like it. So, what, he wasn't in a mood with her anymore?

Faye frowned. He could have at least told Faye that, they were supposed to be best friends!

Not thinking any further on the grave, Faye bent down and yanked the cross from the ground. Carl had been right, this was totally boring, she should be up there with him! That was probably why he went to talk to Beth, yeah, Faye had been busy doing something else!

As she began to walk back, the girl stopped. She had been rude. Faye decided that she should probably pay her respects rather than just leave.

Turning back, however, her eyes did not meet the crosses embedded into the ground.

No, it was much worse than that.

She saw the car, she saw the people, she saw the Governor staring straight at her, gun trained on her head.

In that first moment, her instincts told her to run, to scream for help, but her body froze.

Had she moved the first second, the girl could have probably gotten away unscathed, had she, of course, survived the rest of the fight. But no, it took her that whole moment to run and scream for Carl.

Faye just didn't move fast enough to stop the bullet hitting her, any desperate screams dying in her throat as her body fell to the ground.

Author's Notes:

Aha! I'm back and I'm fully awake! This writing session has had no laptops falling off the bed. I hope this longer chapter makes up for last time!

So, thoughts on Chapter Twenty? I hoped you enjoyed it.

The next update will be on Wednesday/Thursday so I have time to complete some homework. See you then!

Please review, I love to hear your thoughts and advice.

Thanks.

Cobalt Flame.