Alternate Paths

by can08writer

After Michonne leaves Woodbury and is shot by Merle, she meets Negan who saves her life. The companions find a new home in Alexandria. When another group led by the mysterious Rick Grimes becomes a threat to Alexandria, Michonne must make some hard decisions to protect her home, but certain circumstances have her second guessing who's good and who's bad.

4. Chapter 4

Author's note: I wanted to write Rick and The Family's backstory so readers could understand what they went through, and how this version of Rick ended up exploiting the Hilltop's resources. I also wanted to explain why some characters are/aren't still alive in this version of events. Little did I know how long it would take to rewrite the events of three seasons of television in a way that makes sense, which is why it took me so long to update. This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written, so pace yourself. This story is purposely morally ambiguous, and as a reader you can take the side of any of the groups (The Family, or the Alexandrians and Hilltoppers) because they all have their own point of view and experiences. I hope you like this version of events, and as usual, please leave me a review below. Thanks and enjoy!

Merle crept through the woods silently, his long experience as a hunter giving him an advantage. He preferred to go off alone when he got the chance, when the Governor wasn't sending him here or there to maim and murder some unsuspecting group. The man very rarely did his own dirty work, something that pissed Merle off greatly about him. Merle had accepted being the Governor's lieutenant because the Governor had saved him when he was dying from hunger, and infection. Merle had always been loyal to people who did for him, because there had been very few if any of those people in his life. And since his baby brother was probably dead, he didn't have anything else to do.

He crouched down when he heard some movement up ahead. He'd been tracking something big that had made a trampled path through the woods. There weren't any clear prints, but he hoped it was a deer and not a black bear. He'd seen a grand total of one since the end, probably emboldened by the lack of people around, but once he spotted it he'd made a dash to get the hell out of its way.

A branch cracked loudly, and Merle raised his gun. Something was making its way towards him. His muscles tensed in anticipation, when the crackling of the branches stopped right before the animal would've made itself known. Merle sunk down further, thinking he'd been spotted.

"Come on out!" A voice yelled from behind a bush. "Come out with your hands up or you're 'bout to get shot."

Merle couldn't believe the voice he was hearing. It sounded like… it couldn't be.

"Baby brother? Is that you?" Merle asked.

"Merle?!"

Daryl stepped out from behind a tree, his crossbow aimed at Merle's face. "Merle?!" Daryl yelled, in shock.

"Holy fuck, baby brother!" Merle yelled in glee and he ran to hug Daryl, the both of them clinging to each other. It had been almost a year since they'd last seen each other, both thinking the other was dead. Andrea had told Merle that Daryl was still alive the last time she'd seen him, but Merle had figured he'd probably died like everyone else that they knew.

"Merle I can't believe it. I thought you were dead, we all did. I came back to find you, I found your hand on that roof and I…" Daryl said, still in disbelief that he was talking to his older brother.

"Where the hell have you been?" Merle asked. "Where are you stayin'? I was gonna go look for you, Blondie told me y'all got run off a farm by roamers…"

"Blondie?" Daryl asked.

"Andrea."

"Andrea's alive?" Daryl exclaimed, floored by his second shock in the past minute.

"Sure is" Merle confirmed. "She's back at the place I've been livin' at. Woodbury. Where are you stayin'? You out here by yourself?"

"Nah, me, Rick and the others are all livin' in a prison."

"You and officer friendly huh?" Merle asked, looking Daryl up and down. "So that prick is still alive. Everybody else is alive too?" Merle asked.

"Not everybody, but we made the prison our home. C'mon, you can come back with me. Everyone'll shit bricks when they see you're still alive."

***can08writer***

"Governor, we tracked Merle to that prison that was overrun. It was completely cleared out. There's roamers at the gates, but none on the inside. Merle was inside the gates with some other people" Martinez said.

The Governor leaned forward in his chair, resting his hands on the desk in front of him. "How many?"

"I only saw three. Two men and a kid, we couldn't tell if there were more inside."

"Were they holding him hostage? Did they have their guns on him?" the Governor asked.

"No sir. It was like they knew him. He didn't seem to be trying to get away."

The Governor sank back into his chair as he considered what Martinez said. Merle had gone hunting two days ago and never returned. Concerned, the Governor had sent a small group after him.

"They have to be a big group, to clear out that whole prison. Dozens of them. And if Merle knows them they may be friendlies. We'll give him some time to come back, see if he clues us in on what's going on with them. Keep tabs on that prison. If Merle isn't back in two days, we'll attack. We'll tell the people they kidnapped him and this is a rescue mission."

Martinez nodded. "If we get the opportunity, should we try to signal Merle? Let him know we're out there?"

The Governor took a second to think about his answer as Martinez nervously waited in front of him. The Governor had respected Merle as much as he respected any of the other lackeys who did his bidding. He never thought Merle had a hidden agenda or was plotting against him, but something never sat right about the story Merle had given him about killing Michonne a few weeks earlier. He'd come back with a few bruises, none of the men that'd left with him, and no trophy from Michonne. The Governor had specifically asked for her head or her sword, both being what he really wanted, but he wasn't a greedy man. Merle had returned with nothing, and even worse, the Governor was now short three men. Ever since then, he'd kept his eye on Merle, but he decided to give him the benefit of a doubt.

"No. Just watch him. And try to get as much information about that group at the prison as you can" he ordered.

***can08writer***

Two days later, Merle still hadn't returned to Woodbury and the Governor was livid. The spies watching the prison reported that Merle had left the gates multiple times and had plenty of opportunities to get away, but didn't.

"Seems we have a traitor on our hands boys" he said to his most loyal lieutenants. "Merle's left us, after everything we've done for him. He chose to go live with thieves, and rapists, and murderers. Didn't even tell us he was leavin' or why. And now, I have reason to believe he's told these people about Woodbury. They could attack us any day, at any time. These people cleared out an overrun prison. They're a threat. And a threat that knows where we live, and what resources we have thanks to Merle. Merle was one of our own, but now we're not safe unless he's dead. We're gonna go there in full force. All able bodied men and women must come defend this town. You tell the others Merle is a prisoner and we're going to rescue him, but if any of you get him in your sights you take him out."

"Sir, what about the people in the prison?" A man asked.

"The Governor scowled at the man's question as if it should be obvious. "We kill them all."

***can08writer***

"Why are we gearing up for war?" Andrea asked as she watched the guns being handed out to the residents of Woodbury.

"Merle's been kidnapped by a large group. Seems like intimidation may work on them. We roll up in there with numbers and guns they may just give us Merle back without a fuss.

"So you're handing guns to teenagers as a scare tactic?" Andrea asked, hands on her hips.

"Exactly. We need the numbers. If they know what's good for them they'll let him go and we'll be back in a few hours."

"And if they don't?"

"Well, then we'll have to show them we're not fooling around."

"What does that mean?" Andrea asked.

The Governor took a step towards Andrea, and placed a hand on her cheek. "We owe it to Merle to try to bring him back, don't we? I mean, if it wasn't for him finding you, you would've died of the flu out there with that woman. What was her name again?"

"Michonne" Andrea said distractedly.

"Yea, Michonne. Merle probably saved your life by bringing you here to us. Can you imagine still running around out there with the roamers and the wild animals? Eating God knows what? Sleeping out in the open? We owe it to him to bring him back. We have to go get him."

Andrea was distracted for a few moments as she thought about what the Governor said. Coming back to Woodbury, getting treated for her sickness, it was all because Merle had found them. She and Michonne had lived together for months, and over that time Andrea had watched her go from a silent loner, who communicated only when necessary, to a woman who enjoyed and sought out her friend's company. Michonne had taken care of Andrea so many times while they were on their own, and now Andrea had no idea what had happened to her friend. She'd felt guilt that she didn't leave with her, but she had felt more guilt that she was happy here in Woodbury and Michonne was God knows where. She hoped that her friend was safe, but chances were she'd never see her again, and Andrea had never thanked her for everything the woman had done for her.

"So if the people at the prison give us Merle back that's it? No retaliation?" Andrea asked.

"They give us back Merle and that's the end of this" the Governor lied. "Now, do I have you by my side?"

Andrea looked away as she considered his words. He moved even closer to her, forcing her to look back into his eyes.

"Okay" she agreed. "Okay" he repeated after her.

***can08writer***

"Daryl" Rick called as he noticed the man walking past him going towards the gates. Daryl turned when he heard Rick's voice and headed over.

"Yea" Daryl grunted in his usual gruff fashion.

"Where's Merle?" Rick asked. "You're supposed to be keeping an eye on him. You vouched for him."

"I did, and he ain't do nothin' wrong yet" Daryl said. "He's turnin' over a new leaf. Been helpin' with watch, and huntin'. What more do you want from him?"

"I don't trust him" Rick said, standing up from his kneeling spot amongst the pea plants.

"He's my brother. I said I'd keep an eye on him and I will. I'm just gonna go check the traps real quick, that's all."

"Look" Rick said with a sigh, "I know you wanna believe he's changed, but we don't know what he's done these last few months. Last time we saw him he tried to beat T-Dog to death, and was shooting rounds off the roof of a building, putting all of us in danger. Your brother is unstable, and I don't want him around my children unsupervised. If you weren't my friend I never would've let him in here. We need you, not him."

"He's my brother" Daryl repeated. "I know he's done some messed up shit, but how long you gon' hold it against him? He just needs some forgiveness is all."

"Until I'm convinced he's reformed, he needs to be with you at all times."

Daryl let out a huff of frustration. "Fine" he spat. He turned on his heel to head back inside and gather Merle, when three bullets whizzed past Daryl's head and hit the wall ahead of him, sending up three puffs of smoke.

Daryl and Rick immediately dropped to the ground and took cover. Rick lifted his head slightly to determine where the bullet came from, and he was shocked to see five trucks parked in front of the prison gates.

"That was a warning!" someone yelled loudly. "We missed on purpose, just to show you we're serious. You have one of my people, Merle. We want him back. You send whoever is in charge down here, and we can have a civilized conversation about you giving him back."

Daryl looked at Rick in surprise. Merle had told them that he was living in another community and the man in charge was pretty brutal. He'd also told them that the other community knew about the prison, but wouldn't come looking over here because they thought it was overrun.

Behind them Rick heard the prison doors open as the others were drawn by the shots. Maggie, Hershel, Carl and Glenn spread out behind the barrels and structures that were strategically placed in front of the prison's inner gates, taking cover. Beth was still inside with Judith he assumed.

"Where's Merle?" Daryl called to Glenn. He didn't see his brother come out.

"I don't know" Glenn called with a shrug. "What the hell is going on? Who are they?"

"You have three minutes for your leader to come down here peacefully, or we'll start shooting again" the voice called.

"We're not holding Merle here against his will!" Rick called. "He came here on his own. He's not a prisoner!"

"Let me hear Merle say that with his own mouth!" the Governor yelled back.

"Daryl, go get him NOW!" Rick barked. It was clear they were outgunned and outnumbered, and if these people wanted Merle back they'd get him. Rick wasn't going to put Merle over the safety of everyone else.

"Better hurry, you got two minutes left!" the Governor yelled from the gates.

Rick looked back towards the prison and saw Carl hiding behind the wooden pallets with everyone else. He had his shotgun up like the others, ready to fire at the first command. Rick knew if these people started firing, someone would be killed. The only thing protecting them was the prison's high gates and walls. He didn't want Merle staying here from the beginning, and now the man's crooked past was catching up to him, and putting his family in danger. Rick wouldn't have it.

He stood up from his crouched position and gave a quick reassuring nod to Carl before he walked towards the gates to meet the intruder. The Governor saw Rick walking towards the gates and he hopped down off the back of the pick-up truck he was standing on.

"Get ready, who knows what they're up to" he yelled back to his people before strolling towards Rick and the fence.

Rick and the Governor met each other at the fences, the two layers of chain link separating them.

"What do you want?" Rick asked.

"Merle. You took him prisoner. Kidnapped him." The Governor yelled, loud enough for his people to hear from a few feet behind him.

"We didn't. Merle came to us. He wanted to stay here, and he told me about you. You're the Governor, right? He told me about how you raid other groups, kill them and take what they have-"

"Lies!" the Governor interrupted. "You say you're not holding Merle hostage, but where is he? You people are liars and thugs. You probably are just prisoners who escaped and killed the guards. You need to give us Merle back, or you die."

"He's comin'" Rick said. "He'll tell you himself…"

"Rick?" Andrea yelled from her spot behind one of the car doors. She hadn't been able to hear or see the conversation that was happening until she looked through the scope of her rifle and spotted him.

"Rick!" she yelled, and raced towards the gate, her blond hair flying behind her.

"Andrea!" Rick called, happy to see a friendly face on the other side of the fence.

"Phillip, these people aren't criminals, these are my old friends from Atlanta. They didn't kidnap Merle, Merle knows them. His brother is here. Call everyone off, we can work this out." Andrea said confidently, with a smile.

The Governor's eyes flashed and his lips curled into a grimace. He had no intentions of ending this peacefully. These people had supplies and a huge protected building with fences and concrete walls. They knew where Woodbury was thanks to Merle, and there was nothing stopping them from attacking his town. He didn't care if Merle had joined them voluntarily, Merle would die for being a traitor. He didn't care if Andrea knew these people, they would die because they were threats.

The Governor glanced back at his people who seemed somewhat relieved that Andrea had recognized the new group. They trusted Andrea, and if she said these people were friendly, they were willing to believe her to get out of the impending fight. Many of them had already pointed their weapons downwards, but the Governor had a plan and he would see it through.

"If they're so friendly, why haven't we seen Merle yet?" he asked Andrea with a grunt.

Just as he said that, he noticed Merle and Daryl making their way towards them, walking down the prison's long front pathway. This was his chance. The Governor rubbed his chin, a signal to his snipers that were hiding away from the rest of the group to fire on Merle. There was a pause for a few seconds, and a gunshot rang out through the air, startling everyone.

Merle screamed "Daryl!". All eyes were looking towards Merle and Daryl when Daryl suddenly slumped to the ground.

Idiots, they can't even aim! The Governor thought. Using the distraction to his advantage, the Governor swiftly pulled his gun and shot Andrea in the chest. Rick spun from gawking at Daryl and Merle, to watch Andrea look downwards at the hole in her chest.

"Andrea!" Rick and the Governor yelled at the same time, and Andrea fell backwards into the Governor's arms. "They shot Andrea!" he screamed at his people who looked around startled, "Kill them all!"

Thinking they were under attack, the people of Woodbury opened fire on Rick and the rest of the group. Rick barely had time to process what was happening before bullets were whizzing past his head. He stumbled backwards behind the overturned bus, and right before he completely got behind it a bullet tore through his thigh.

"Ahh!" Rick screamed, pulling his injured leg behind the bus. This man was insane. Daryl was shot, and he'd executed Andrea right in front of him. He heard his family opening fire on the intruders, bullets bouncing off the bus he was hiding behind, and whizzing past his head.

The Governor held Andrea to his chest in fake grief. Andrea, who was still alive, looked up at the Governor in horror, her chest wound pouring blood.

"Wh- why?" She managed to push the words out as her chest got tighter and tighter. It was almost impossible to breathe.

"It was good while it lasted" the Governor said, already looking towards the prison hoping to find Merle who was his real target. He dropped Andrea to the ground as she struggled to breathe.

"Martinez! Go through the fences in your cars, we're going in!"

"Roger that!" Martinez responded, "move in!"

Meanwhile, Merle was trying to drag his brother back into the safety of the prison. Daryl had been hit in the stomach, and a red stain was slowly spreading across his shirt.

"Hold on lil' brother" Merle called to Daryl as he dragged him towards the prison's inner gates.

Daryl gasped and clutched his stomach. "M-Merle" Daryl stuttered.

"Shhh just hold on. Hershel will fix you right up." Merle said, struggling to drag his brother with one arm while dodging bullets.

"Merle..." Daryl said again, sputtering as he tried to finish his sentence. From the gurgling sounds coming from Daryl, Merle could tell he was seriously injured. He pulled Daryl behind a wooden pallet that was barely protection from the bullets that were flying, and crouched down next to him.

"This group… is… family" Daryl said to his brother, grabbing Merle by the front of his shirt to make him listen. "It's good you found 'em. You can't… make it alone. They're… your family… now."

"Shut up. You gon' be just fine brother." Merle said, patting Daryl on the shoulder. "Soon as I get you inside."

Daryl let go of Merle's shirt and his eyes rolled up in his head. "Daryl!" Merle called, but his brother was unresponsive.

"Hershel!" Merle called towards the prison where the others were firing at the cars that were pushing their way through the fences.

Hershel saw Merle crouched over Daryl, desperately calling to him, and he could tell by the way Daryl was lying that he was already dead. But someone had to get Merle. It was obvious he wasn't going to leave his brother behind.

"I gotta go get him" Hershel said to Maggie. "No!" Maggie screamed, grabbing his arm. "Daddy, no!".

"I have to" Hershel replied. "He won't leave Daryl out there."

"No!" Maggie yelled, holding him tighter.

"Get Beth and Judith, and get to the cars" Hershel ordered, looking at Maggie. "They're knocking the gates down, this place isn't safe anymore. We'll all meet at the rendezvous point. You know where it is."

"But daddy…" Maggie began, but Hershel quickly kissed his daughter on the head and made his way towards the gates.

Merle refused to believe his brother was dead. Hershel can fix this he thought. He saw Hershel running for the gate to get to him and Merle provided cover for the slow moving veterinarian. By the time Hershel made it over to Merle and Daryl, the cars from the Governor's people had smashed through the outermost fence and were quickly knocking through the second.

"Merle I'm sorry, Daryl's gone. We have to go, now!" Hershel said, pulling on Merle's arm.

"What d'you mean he's gone?" Merle said, his eyes tearing up. "He ain't gone, you barely looked at him. He's hurt goddamn it, he ain't dead!"

"We have to go now!" Hershel yelled at Merle, pulling his arm to get him away from Daryl.

"That's my brother!" Merle yelled, shaking Hershel's hand from his arm.

"There's nothing I or you can do for him. He's gone, and if you stay here you will be too!" Hershel yelled, trying to talk some sense into Merle.

"I ain't leavin' him!" Merle yelled, ignoring Hershel and continuing to drag his brother back towards the prison. The bullets flew past their heads as the men continued to argue. The Governor's cars had flown through both gates and were now slowly rolling up the walkway.

Rick managed to drag himself through one of the windows and inside the overturned bus. He could hear the bullets bouncing off the bus around him, and he could see the cars rolling past him towards the prison. His family was trying their best to defend their home, but it was obvious that it was over. They had to leave. The gates were down now, the noise would attract more walkers, and they were greatly outnumbered. Once the intruders rolled past him, Rick noticed the leader, the Governor, casually walking behind the cars towards the prison's inner gates. Rick cocked his gun and aimed for the maniac, but quickly realized he was too far away, and Rick was practically trapped inside of the overturned bus. Drawing gunfire to himself wasn't the wisest thing to do.

He wondered where Carl and Judith were. He hoped someone had gotten them away from the gunfire. His group had an escape plan, a rendezvous point in case something went wrong. They were all to meet at the small waterfall where they'd spent the night before they'd found the prison. And it was very symbolic that that was where everyone would go if they got separated. It was at that waterfall, situated near the ruins of an old home, that Rick had declared to his people that "this isn't a democracy anymore." He had made it clear that all the future decisions for the group would be his. And look where his leadership had gotten them? They were in the middle of being attacked, their home was destroyed, and he, their leader, was unable to walk and cowering in a junk bus. The guilt washed over him. He had a job of protecting these people, and he had failed.

***Can08writer***

"Carl, let's go!" Glenn yelled, grabbing the boy by the shoulder. The attackers' cars were rolling straight up to the gates, and it was clear that their group was losing this battle. Carl was still blindly firing his gun, seemingly unable to stop.

"No! My dad is out there! He's in the bus I saw him crawl inside. We have to go get him!"

"We can't. I will. You go get Judith and get to the cars with everyone else. I'll get your dad to the rendezvous point somehow."

"No I have to…" Carl started.

"You have to make sure Maggie, Beth, and Judith are in those cars. Can you do that? I will get your dad and meet you. I'm trusting you to do that Carl."

Carl opened his mouth as if to argue again, and Glenn yelled "I'm trusting you with my family, will you trust me with yours?"

Carl, seeing the determination and agony in Glenn's eyes at leaving Maggie behind understood that his job was just as important as Glenn's.

"I'll get them there" Carl promised, "you get my dad."

Glenn nodded, and Carl turned and sprinted towards the cars.

Hershel realized his pleading with Merle wasn't going anywhere. The man wasn't going to leave his brother's body behind, and Hershel had to worry about his girls. Reluctantly, Hershel turned and hobbled backwards towards the gates, firing shots at the vehicles that were quickly approaching himself and Merle. He had to make it to the cars. Merle was still trying to drag Daryl's limp body towards the inner gates.

Just as Hershel made it back to the inner gate, Glenn ran past him with his riot gear on, firing rounds as he ran, heading towards the gate that lead to the woods flanking the prison. "Hershel, get to the cars! Get out of here!" Glenn commanded as he ran past him.

"Where are you going?" Hershel yelled incredulously at his son-in-law. "To get Rick!" Glenn called as he whizzed past.

"Glenn!" Hershel screamed, but Glenn continued running full speed towards the side gate. Hershel had to do something. The least he could do was give Glenn some cover fire. Hershel opened fire on the cars that were now directly in front of the prison. The Governor strolled behind the cars which were giving him cover, until he spotted Merle still crouching next to Daryl's body.

When the Governor stalked over to Merle, Hershel aimed and shot him in the left arm before running out of ammo.

"Ahh!" the Governor screamed, clutching his arm to him. He pulled his gun with his right arm, and unleashed bullets into the pallet Hershel was hiding behind until the older man dropped.

The shots directed towards Hershel snapped Merle to his senses. Agonizingly, Merle stabbed Daryl in the head before running for the gates, finally leaving Daryl behind. He dove behind Hershel's pallet as bullets flew past his head. He landed next to Hershel who had a bullet straight through his neck. The brave man's eyes were open, and his fingers were still clutching his shotgun,

Merle shook his head and gently closed Hershel's eyes. He then stabbed Hershel in the head with the knife on his missing hand.

"Stop firing, there's no one shooting back!" the Governor yelled at his people. The wave of bullets slowed down and then eventually stopped. Merle looked around for an escape. He knew in a few seconds the Governor was going to kill him.

"Stay here" the Governor ordered. "I'll tell you when it's safe to move in." In reality, he didn't want his people to see him murder Merle. This was supposed to be a rescue mission after all. Holding his injured arm, the Governor gestured for Martinez and a few others to come with him into the prison's empty courtyard.

"He's mine" the Governor growled at the other men, before moving into the prison's inner gates. Merle crawled behind two empty water barrels, knowing that they would offer no protection against bullets.

Well, imma be with my lil' brother real soon Merle said to himself.

The Governor stopped to observe Hershel's body before continuing towards where Merle was hiding. Merle, bulletless, resolved himself to taking out the Governor before he died. His muscles coiled as he prepared to end this monster for good with his knife hand.

A hail of bullets suddenly rained down on the group from Woodbury, taking them by surprise. Martinez and a few of the other men dropped to the ground, groaning from their injuries. Merle's head shot up, realizing the bullets were coming from the treeline near one of the fences.

"C'mon!" he heard a woman yell. Not knowing who was shooting, and not really caring, Merle dashed towards the fence while the bullets of the Woodbury soldiers that were waiting outside of the inner gates followed him. When he got closer, he saw Carol firing at the invaders, giving Merle cover. Just as Merle slipped through the fence, one of her bullets struck the Governor and his head snapped back violently. He crumpled to the ground while Merle took off into the woods with Carol.

"Good shot" Merle huffed as he ran. "Where you been?"

Carol's mind quickly went back to being exiled by Rick for murdering Karen and David, two drifters that they'd allowed to join the prison, but had soon come down with a contagious illness. Carol had killed them to keep everyone safe, but Rick didn't see it that way, an unbeknownst to the others, he had told her to leave and never come back.

"Mini vacation" she joked. "What the hell is going on?"

"We're fucked, that's what" Merle replied.

***Can08writer***

Glenn had run around the entire perimeter of the prison to get to the front gates where Rick was hiding in the bus. All of the Woodbury soldiers were rolling up to the prison's inner gates, so he effortlessly snuck back in through the front gates, to where he last saw Rick.

"Rick!" Glenn called, knocking on the side of the bus.

Rick who was hiding between the bus seats, slowly pulled himself towards a window.

"I'm here" Rick called.

Glenn reached through the window and grabbed Rick's hand, pulling the man out and onto the grass. Glenn turned around to make sure they weren't attracting attention before lifting Rick to his feet.

"I'm shot in the leg" Rick explained. "Just go, get back to the cars, I'm gonna slow you down. Where's Carl? Just make sure Carl and Judith are safe." Rick said to Glenn.

"Carl's already at the cars. I told them to leave. We're gonna meet them at the rendezvous point, just hold on. I'm gonna get you there." Glenn said, wrapping Rick's arm around his neck.

"I can't slow you down" Rick said, "I don't wanna risk it. I won't."

"Just shut up. I'm getting you back to Carl and little asskicker, and I'm getting back to my wife. I promised. So just worry about moving as fast as you can so we can both get out of here."

"Okay" Rick said, putting most of his weight on his good leg and then hopping on his shot one. "Let's go."

***Can08writer***

"We have to go back!" Carl shouted at Maggie.

"We can't" Maggie said, shaking her head. "We can't, the Governor is still in there. They'll kill us."

"My dad is still in that bus! Glenn is still out there, we have to get them!"

"They'll get here" Maggie said, nodding to herself. "They'll get here with my dad. Daddy said he was just gonna get Merle, they got a car and they're comin'."

"It's Merle's fault that man even came here! He was looking for Merle, and now we don't have a home, we don't have anything!" Carl yelled.

"Carl, lower your voice" Maggie snapped. "You think I don't want to go back and get Glenn and my dad? You think I don't feel that way too? You want to be a grown up? You want to be treated like a grown up? Then you have to understand that we can't always do something because we want to. You have a little sister to look after. You promised your mom you would. And when you have someone to look after you have to think about them."

"But…"

"Carl! No matter what happens, you have to look after Judith now, and she needs you" Maggie said sternly.

Carl looked from Maggie to Judith who was in Beth's arms. In that moment, he understood some of the decisions the adults were making. Even if you wanted to do what you thought was right, sometimes you had to hold your feelings at bay to do what was needed. Carl walked over to Beth and took Judith from her. The little girl clung to her brother, burying her face in his shoulder.

Carl nodded and squeezed his sister tighter. "Okay."

"Okay. We may be here for a while, waiting for them. We have to be quiet, and keep Judith quiet. No fires, no noise. Beth, you and I are on watch, Carl, try to get Judith to go to sleep. We'll wait here until nightfall. If no one comes…" Maggie paused for a moment and looked up into the sky. "We'll wait until they get here" she said more confidently.

***Can08writer***

First Carol and Merle arrived, to Maggie's relief, followed by Glenn and an injured Rick an hour later.

"Where's Daddy?" Maggie asked Glenn happily, after she'd squeezed the life out of him.

"He's not here?" Glenn asked, confused.

"Sorry. He didn't make it" Merle mumbled.

"What?" Glenn, Maggie, and Beth said simultaneously.

"He was a tough son of a bitch. He saved me. Got the Governor in the arm too. But the Governor took him out."

Maggie burst into tears, and Beth ran over to hug her. "The bastard would've killed me if Carol hadn't come rescue me. She took him out. I had to leave my brother there. Just on the ground like… like nothin'."

"Daryl's gone?" Carol asked in surprise.

Rick shook his head in shock. Daryl was his right hand man, almost his brother. They had been slightly at odds since Merle had arrived, but Daryl was part of the reason they'd survived so long. And Rick was surprised to see Carol there as well. He'd banished her and she came back to help them anyway.

"It's your fault the Governor even came here!" Glenn yelled at Merle. "It's your fault Daryl's dead."

"The fuck you'd just say?" Merle growled, stepping up to Glenn.

"Stop it!" Rick yelled, hobbling towards the two, but he could barely walk and Carl allowed his father to lean on him so he wouldn't fall over.

"No one wanted you here but Daryl, and now he's gone. So you can leave." Glenn spat.

"You say my brother's name again and I'll stomp you out" Merle said, brandishing his knife arm. "I helped protect you people. While I was livin' with you I stayed on watch for you people. Went huntin'. Helped with whatever you needed. None of y'all complained. Now you got shit to say? Fuck you. All of you. You don't want me with you, I'm gone. Daryl thought of y'all as fuckin' family, but y'all aint nothin' but fuckin' parasites."

Merle looked each member of the group in their eye. "I'm out of here. Thanks for the save, Carol." He turned around and began to stalk away.

"Wait!" Rick called. Merle stopped walking for a moment. "Merle, we have to get out of here. I can barely walk. We lost a lot of people today, and we need to stay together."

"I don't need y'all" Merle said.

"I know. We need you." Rick admitted.

Merle turned around slowly. "We need every able bodied person we have to get out of this situation alive. When you first came to us you said you had turned over a new leaf. Is that true?" Rick asked.

Merle's eyes narrowed. "What you think? You see I'm standing here ain't I?"

"Okay" Rick said. "We need to work together if we're gonna survive. We need to trust each other. Merle is here with us. He's one of us. We're a family. The only family we have. Now let's get the hell out of here before those people find us."

***can08writer***

For a week, the group lived in a house they'd found, a few miles away from the prison. Rick needed to recover from his gunshot wound, and Judith had to stay inside, so often the group would leave Rick and Judith in the house while they went to scavenge for food. Carl and Beth stepped their skills up, clearing houses, and taking down walkers with the rest of them. Maggie, Carol, Glenn and Merle held down the responsibilities of going on runs. Glenn had to put aside his mistrust of Merle in order for them to work together.

After a week, Rick's leg wasn't completely healed, but he was capable of limping. He was lucky the bullet went through the fleshy part of his leg and didn't damage any major muscles or nerves. It just hurt like hell.

Supplies were running low, and Merle, Carol, Maggie, and Glenn wanted to go on a run to a large shopping center they'd found advertisements for. There were a few grocery stores in the advertisements, and they figured there had to be something of use left behind. They couldn't find a car, so they would have to walk there and back, and hopefully find shopping carts to push the supplies they'd hoped to find. It was an extremely dangerous run, and Rick didn't like it one bit.

"Beth, Carl, and Judith can stay here with you" Maggie said.

"I can help!" Beth inserted. "I've gotten better with a gun, and my knife."

"Yes, you have" Maggie agreed, running her hand down her sister's hair. "That's why I need you to stay here with Rick. He still can't move that well and he needs someone responsible to protect this place. You too Carl." Maggie said, turning to the boy. "Y'all keep an eye on Rick and Judith. We shouldn't be gone longer than two days."

"Okay" Beth said.

"Try not to go outside unless you absolutely have to. We don't want to attract any attention to this house from walkers or people."

Once the others left, Rick, Judith, Carl, and Beth spent an uneventful day in the house. While Judith napped, the rest of them played card games in the kitchen until it got too dark for the game to continue.

Carl took first watch as Beth and Rick attempted to rest, and a few hours later Carl woke Rick up so he could take over. Rick gazed out the window as Carl, Beth, and Judith slept. He had never felt the weight of leadership press so heavily on him than he did now. His family had no permanent home now, no store of supplies, and no foreseeable future. He didn't know what was in store for his children, and it bothered him.

Rick saw movement in the street outside of the house that snapped him back to attention. He squinted into the darkness to see better. The moon wasn't very bright so he could only see some movement coming from across the street. He couldn't tell if it was walkers, animals, or people. He had long run out of bullets in his gun, so he pulled his knife as the movement continued, now getting closer. The hairs on his arm stood up. He didn't want to wake the kids if he didn't have to, so he watched closely until he heard the whispered voices. There were men outside, at least three, probably more.

Rick stumbled from the window and into the living room where the kids were sleeping. He silently shook Beth and then Carl, placing his finger to his lips. He didn't want to wake up Judith.

"There's men outside" Rick whispered, "At least three. Get all our stuff and wait by the back door. We may need to run."

"I got Judith" Beth said softly, lifting the girl so she didn't wake up.

Carl gathered their meager belongings as Rick returned to the front window. His heart sunk when he saw they were on the porch.

"This one's as good as any" a voice said. "It was Lou's dumb idea to keep walkin' even though it was getting dark."

"Hey we made good time, ya pussy. I already put a claim on a bed, I'm not sleeping on the floor one more day."

Rick spun around and hobbled towards Beth and Carl who were waiting by the back door.

"Go!" He whispered. The men were going to come in.

Carl pulled the door open and it made an ear-splitting creak that tore through the night.

"Fuck!" Rick cursed. "Run!"

Beth and Carl took off down the porch steps as Rick struggled to go as fast as he could. He had only just gotten down the stairs when two men grabbed Beth, and a third yanked Carl by the arm. Rick tried to bodyslam the man holding his son, but was easily knocked to the ground.

"I claim the girl!" one of the men said loudly, "she looks like a goodun'. Don't want the baby though."

"Let go!" Beth yelled, twisting in the man's grip. The three that Rick saw on the porch made their way around to the back of the house.

"Lookie here, a whole fuckin family. Ain't that sweet. A mama, a daddy, a little boy and a baby. Though, she does look kinda young" the man said turning to Rick. "You like 'em young huh?"

"Let them go" Rick said, trying to get himself off the ground, but another man easily pushed him back down.

"We like 'em young too" the man continued. "Ain't much choice in the matter sometimes."

"You can have our stuff" Rick said. "Take it. Take it and let us walk away."

"Since no one else said it, I'm claiming the boy" the man holding Carl said. "He'll have to do."

"Get off of me!" Carl yelled, continuing to struggle.

"Please. Let them go." Rick begged, attempting to stand again. The same man shoved Rick down so hard he fell flat on his back.

"Now why would we go 'n' do that?" The man who seemed to be in charge said.

"What do you want?" Rick asked, trying to keep the man talking while he figured out what to do.

"Well first we're gonna have the girl, then the boy… then we're gonna kill you. And the baby? Well… we'll just see where the night goes" the leader said.

Carl elbowed the man who was holding him in the stomach, but only succeeded in making the man angry. He threw Carl down on the ground and sat on top of him, pushing the boy's face into the gravel.

"Joe, I think we may just have to start with the boy" the man said.

"Stop it!" Beth yelled, struggling to get free from the men holding her.

"Don't worry little lady" one of the men said, "you'll get your turn."

Rick growled and tried to get up again, when one of the men kicked him in the face.

Judith started to scream, and the leader yelled "shut the baby up or I'll feed her to whatever comes by."

The man sitting on top of Carl continued to push Carl's face into the ground harder while simultaneously unbuckling his belt.

"Let him go!" Rick screamed, but he was ignored. One of the men holding Beth ripped Judith out of her arms and plopped the girl on the ground. He then came back and wrapped his arms around Beth, pressing her to his chest as she screamed, the man staring at Rick the entire time.

Rick attempted to get up again, and when a man kicked at him, Rick grabbed the foot and yanked, knocking the man off balance and on to the floor. Rick pummeled the man until another one grabbed Rick around the neck and threw him to the ground again.

"This fucker thinks he's gonna fight us?" one of the men taunted. "Oh, we're just gonna make you watch." The man grabbed Rick's hair with one hand and used his other hand to punch Rick in the face repeatedly.

Meanwhile, the one that had hold of Carl began laughing hysterically as he tried to remove Carl's clothing, and the two that had hold of Beth were crushing her between them while Judith screamed and cried hysterically on the ground.

Summoning every inch of strength and rage he had in him, Rick leaped from the ground, swung his fist back as far as it could go, and punched the man who was attacking him in the jaw. His fist connected with the jaw with a sickening crack. The man fell backwards and hit the ground so hard he was knocked unconscious.

Carl tried to get his knife out of his hip holster, but the man on top of him quickly snatched it away, and used the opportunity to flip Carl on to his back. Carl continued to struggle, punching and kicking at his attacker.

Beth stopped struggling against her attackers. She stayed still as they sandwiched her between them, one pulling her against his chest, the other pressed against her back.

"See? This one knows how to behave. Don't you girl?" The man in front whispered before leaning down to nibble on her ear.

Beth slowly pulled her knife unnoticed. "Please let us go" she whispered back.

"Maybe. If you behave I might let you and the baby walk out of here. Deal?" the man asked.

Beth nodded quickly. The man smirked and ran his hand slowly up her shirt when he let out a scream and stumbled backwards falling on his butt, a wound in his side gushing blood.

"Len, what is it?" Joe, the leader asked. Confused, the man standing behind Beth went to check on his friend, still holding Beth by the arm. Beth twisted in his grasp and jammed her already bloodied knife into the second man's arm.

Carl bit into the hand of the man on top of him who was holding a hand over Carl's mouth. When the man let go of Carl's face, he headbutted the man hard in the nose. He crawled backwards to get out from underneath the man, and as soon as his legs were free, Carl kicked the man in the face and struggled to his feet.

While Beth and Carl struggled for their lives, Rick pounced on Joe and got a good hit to the solar plexus before Joe wrapped his arms around Rick's arms in a bear hug, preventing him from fighting further.

"What you gonna do now, sport?" Joe asked haughtily. Carl and Beth's struggle to get free rang in Rick's ears, and Judith's screams pierced the night. His daughter was screaming in terror.

Bundling his rage into a final roar, Rick slammed his head forward and bit into Joe's neck, blood and fluids pouring from the opening that Rick made. Joe tried to cry out, but he only managed a few gurgles before he fell to his knees. All of the other men paused to stare as Rick spit a chunk of Joe's flesh on to the floor.

Carl, realizing this was his opportunity to strike, grabbed his knife that had been previously tossed away by his attacker, and stabbed it into the man's left eye. Beth shook off the hand of the man she had stabbed, and scooped Judith up from the ground. The girl clung to Beth tightly. One of the two men left ran for Rick and Rick tackled him, forgetting his injured leg. Rick punched and pummeled and tore at the man savagely as he screamed for his life. The final man, realizing that he was now outnumbered, pulled a gun and pointed it at Beth and Judith.

"He's mine" Rick snarled, his face still dripping with Joe's blood. He looked like a wild monster, rage still painted in blood across his face.

"I'll shoot them!" the man screamed, his hand shaking, "I'll… I'll shoot them!"

Rick continued to advance on the man when his gun went off. Rick and the man both looked startled at the noise.

Beth let out a gasp and stumbled backwards. Judith screamed, and then both of them fell to the ground.

"Beth!" Carl yelled, running towards her.

Rick completely forgot about the man in that instant. He ran towards Beth and Judith hoping, praying, that they were fine. The last man ran off into the darkness.

"Beth are you okay?" Carl asked, taking a screaming Judith from her. He immediately noticed blood on Judith's leggings, and blood on Beth's shirt.

"Dad!" Carl screamed, but Rick was already there, pulling up Judith's leggings to get a better look. She had been hit by the bullet, it had grazed Judith. Her leg was bleeding badly, but it didn't look life threatening.

He then looked at Beth and saw the blood pooling through her shirt. He gently raised Beth's shirt to show her stomach, and the hole that went straight through and out her back.

"Oh Christ. It went through Judith into Beth" Rick said, pressing down on Beth's stomach. "Shit, shit, shit."

"What do we do?" Carl asked, beginning to panic.

"You... you press down on Judith's leg" Rick ordered Carl. "Hard. And take her back in the house."

Carl turned and ran back inside with his sister who was crying and hysterical due to her pain and fear.

"Beth, you still with me?" Rick asked.

"He… he shot me" Beth said, looking down at her wound.

"Yea he did" Rick said, pushing down harder to stem the flow of blood.

"Am I dyin'?" Beth asked.

"Not on my watch" Rick said. "I have to get you inside so I can treat that. I'm gonna have to pick you up."

"You can't. You can barely walk." Beth reminded him. "Just help me to my feet."

"Okay" Rick said, impressed at the girl's bravery. "You ready?"

Beth nodded, and Rick quickly pulled her up until she could stand on her own feet. She let out a groan of pain and blood quickly dripped from her wound, making a trail on the ground. He held one of her arms as he led her back into the house. He could hear the growls of a few walkers drawn by all the commotion, and he knew they'd take care of the dead and dying men who were in the backyard.

When Rick entered the house, Carl had laid Judith on the kitchen table and had wrapped his own shirt around her leg to stem the flow of blood. He was also pressing on the wound firmly as the baby screamed.

"Dad, she won't stop crying. What do I do?" Carl asked.

"Just keep holding the shirt there, just like that."

Rick helped Beth into a kitchen chair, and looked at the exit wound in her back that was also pouring blood. It was more severe than he first realized.

There's nothing I can do to close this. We have no stitches, no bandages, no way to keep it clean. I'm not a doctor. God, I can't help her.

After staring at the wound on her back for a few seconds, Rick moved to crouch in front of Beth who was sitting. She studied his face for a few seconds.

"You can't fix it, can you?" Beth asked.

"We can try to stop the bleeding with pressure. That's all we have." Rick said.

"It won't work" Beth said, looking down at her wound. "It hurts."

"We're gonna try" Rick said determinedly. They had already searched the house to look for medical supplies for his gunshot wound, so Rick knew there were none, but there was a soiled sheet upstairs that they'd have to use to keep pressure on the injury.

"Carl, bring Judith over here and go get the sheet off the bed."

Carl scurried upstairs quickly as Rick simultaneously pressed on Judith's and Beth's wounds. Judith who was still traumatized by her experience, reached out to her daddy and clung to his neck. He tried to hold her on his lap but still provide pressure to Beth's stomach wound, even as her back wound continued to pour blood.

"It's not gonna work" Beth said again. "I've seen my dad treat dogs and cats that had been shot. If it's this bad, if they're bleedin' how I'm bleedin', plus you don't have sutures or anything else, there's nothin' you can do."

"You're not a dog or a cat" Rick brought up.

"Can you tell Maggie what I did? Can… can you tell her I was brave, and I fought them?"

"Beth" Rick said, leaning closer. "You're gonna make it."

A tear ran down Beth's cheek and she looked at Judith. "Can you tell her about me? Like how I took care of her? I know she won't remember me."

"Beth!" Rick breathed, shocked at the girl's hopeless attitude. Carl came back with the filthy sheet and took Judith from Rick again. Judith didn't want to be passed around and clung to her father tightly, screaming even louder.

"It's okay, I'll do it" Carl said, placing Judith back on Rick's lap. Carl helped Beth lean forward slightly, and wrapped the sheet around her middle as tightly as he could. When he was finished, Beth leaned back against the chair again.

"Tell Maggie daddy would want her to go on. Tell her I'm gonna be with daddy and mama, and everyone else. Tell her we all got jobs to do, and livin' is her job. We don't get to complain. We don't…" Beth wiped a tear from her eye. "We don't get to complain. Promise me you'll tell her."

"I promise" Carl said, answering Beth before Rick could. He grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"Thanks Carl" Beth said.

Rick and Carl both noticed the sheet already had blood stains seeping through it. She was bleeding faster than they'd realized. They gave each other a look, realizing that the odds weren't in Beth's favor.

"Let's move you somewhere more comfortable" Rick suggested. Beth nodded, and the two of them helped her up and walked her over to the couch in the living room. Once she laid down her eyes began to get heavy.

"I dunno if I should sleep or not" Beth said with a chuckle, "that may not end well, right?"

"Well I'll stay and keep you awake if you want" Carl volunteered. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Uh, you know any stories?" Beth asked.

Rick pressed on Judith's wound and rocked her side to side to calm her as Carl told Beth a story that Lori had once told him. It touched Rick's heart to see that Carl remembered it, as he must've been very young when she first told him. As Carl spoke, Beth listened quietly, smiling at the funny parts, as Carl held her hand. Once the story finished, Carl started another one, and Rick watched as the life slowly drained from Beth. Her eyes began to close, but Carl continued talking for another ten minutes. He knew she could no longer hear him, but he wanted to finish the story just in case. After a while, Rick noticed Beth had stopped breathing.

"Carl" Rick said softly. Carl looked at his father, tears dripping down his face.

"I'll do it" Carl said, pulling his knife. Without hesitation he drove it through the top of Beth's head.

Rick wrapped his arms around his son, and Carl hugged him back, but he had a serious look on his face.

"We have to go" Carl said. "We have to find the others. That guy who escaped knows we're here, he could bring more people back. And maybe the others found medical supplies we can use on Judith."

Rick looked down at Beth. Carl followed his gaze.

"We have to leave her here. We can't bury her."

A pang went through his heart at how quickly his son had grown up. The boy had just become a teenager and already he was hardened enough to throw his emotions away and make hard decisions. He was willing to do what he had to, to protect his father and sister. At the age of 13, Carl had become a man.

Rick placed a hand on Carl's cheek. "You're right", he agreed. "Get our packs."

***can08writer***

After walking for hours, Rick, Carl, and Judith met Glenn, Maggie, Carol, and Merle who were pushing a shopping cart they'd snagged from the store. Maggie collapsed to her knees screaming when she saw that Beth was nowhere in sight. She was inconsolable. In a matter of weeks she'd lost her father, her sister, and her home. Rick followed Beth's final wishes, and relayed to Maggie everything Beth asked them to tell her. Maggie's spirit was crushed.

The horror of Beth's death and what had almost happened to Beth and Carl was topped by the bullet wound in Judith's leg. They hadn't found medical supplies after they raided the grocery store, but they'd found food staples like instant rice and pasta, and cans of soup. Merle had scavenged a bottle of cooking shandy, and limited on what else they could do, Rick had poured it on Judith's leg to disinfect the wound as the girl screamed in pain. Afterwards she had drifted off to sleep, the events of the night before and her painful leg acting as a tranquilizer.

The group walked for miles, towards an uncertain future. With two injured group members, and a woman who was completely broken, Rick hated to admit it but he didn't have much hope for their future. His most pressing concern was Judith, who hadn't woken since the shandy was poured on her leg, and who's cheeks were flushed a red color. Rick was sure she was coming down with a fever.

The next day after they'd continued their wanderings, they'd come upon a sign for a place called Terminus. Written on a train map was the message 'Terminus. Those who arrive survive.' In the middle of the map, a station was circled.

"This is it" Glenn said. "They'll have food and supplies there. Maybe even medicine for Judith. If they're strong enough to put up signs we have to check it out."

"Or we could be walkin' into a trap" Merle said. "Why would they wanna draw more people towards themselves. That's leavin' them open to attack."

"Well we have to find out. Judith is sick. If we don't go she could die." Carl said.

"It's risky" Carol said. "If we go, it should be with caution. We don't know who they are."

"They don't know who we are" Glenn said. "If they're no good, we can handle ourselves."

***can08writer***

With the insistence of Rick, the group watched the perimeter of the compound for a while, noticing a few people walking through the buildings from time to time but nothing overly suspicious. Carol and Merle volunteered to stay outside of the gates as snipers in case something went down and they needed backup. Rick felt relieved that they had someone on the outside just in case. Especially Carol. He had apologized to her for exhiling her earlier. Now that things happened the way they did, he understood her reasoning for executing Karen and David. Honestly, if the same thing happened again he'd do what she did.

Rick, Carl, Glenn, Maggie, and Judith were greeted at the gates of Terminus to the sound of laughter, and the smell of meat barbecuing over a grill. Rick opened the gate with his knife raised as he no longer had bullets for his gun. The starving, exhausted family, trudged past the planted flowers, their pots painted with rainbows, smiley faces, and other colorful art projects.

They kept their backs to the wall of one of the buildings as they made their way forward, until they approached a clearing between the buildings. A woman wearing a barbecue apron looked up, slightly startled to see the group cautiously approaching.

She flashed them a smile as her eyes swept over their ragged appearance. Her eyes then fixated on Judith in surprise. There was something in her look that made rick's blood run cold. The woman's smile didn't match the predatory glint in her eye. Rick's guard was up immediately, but for the sake of his sick child, he had to get her help.

"You look like you've been on the road a while" the woman said, her eyes flicking once again to their worn clothing.

"We have" Maggie said tiredly.

"We'll come on in, I'll make you a plate. My name is Mary, welcome to terminus."

***Can08writer***

The first hour in terminus went fairly well. Rick rejected the offer for food, holding Judith's leg up and asking them if they had a doctor. Mary checked out Judith's leg with a concerned look.

"Is that a bite?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"She was shot" Rick said gruffly, "she has a fever, it might be gettin' infected. Do you have antibiotics? Tylenol? Anything?"

"Wait here" Mary said, and she walked off into a building. A few of the others from Terminus were standing outside of buildings or sitting in chairs in the courtyard, observing the group curiously. A few were whispering and pointing, or staring. When Rick made eye contact with them they'd flash a smile or nod, but again there was no warmness in these people's eyes. It contrasted with the easygoing, visually pleasing aesthetic of Terminus.

After a few minutes, Mary returned with a bowl. Inside was some sort of paste.

"This is a poultice, it causes clotting to stop the bleeding, and it's also a pain reliever. Works pretty well. This is all we have."

Rick nodded, willing to try anything to help Judith. He held the girl up so she was sitting in his arms, and Mary smeared a generous amount of the substance on Judith's leg. The girl who was listless and in pain already, howled loudly at the old woman's ministrations.

"Oh it's okay little sweetie. I bet you're nice and sweet aren't you?" Mary cooed. "All chubby and sweet as pie. We'll find out won't we?"

Rick stared at Mary again, unsettled by her words. When the woman was done she wrapped a bandage around Judith's thigh.

"Thank you" Rick said softly.

"No. Thank you. We haven't seen a baby in quite a while. They're the sweetest little things aren't they? Quite the treat."

"Yea" Rick grumbled.

"So now that we've taken care of that, would you like a plate of food?" Mary asked.

"Why do you take people in?" Glenn asked, ignoring the woman's previous comments.

"When people join us, it makes us stronger" a man said, coming up behind the older woman and planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm Gareth. I heard we had some newcomers. And a darling little baby" he said, glancing at Judith.

"How were you able to… to keep all this?" Maggie asked, the first words she'd said in a long time.

"Well, it's the people. Every person is a resource. They add to our strength, one way or another. We made a place where everyone contributes in whatever way is best for the group."

"How do people contribute?" Glenn asked.

"Well, funny you asked, because I was just gonna talk to y'all about that. Now that the baby has her medicine. But first, you all must be hungry, traveling all that while. Come sit down, take a plate. We'll talk over barbecue."

Carl's stomach growled loudly. The group followed Gareth over to where a large piece of meat was roasting over the fire.

"Smells good" Glenn said, "do you have lots of animals around here?"

"Something like that" Mary said, cutting off a piece of the meat and dumping it into a plate for Carl. She then continued to cut pieces for everyone in the group.

"So how do people contribute?" Rick asked, his guard never dropping.

"Well, we have folks on perimeter watch who keep us safe, we have our sign makers who make the signs that undoubtedly brought you here, and we have people like our butchers and cooks, who feed us" Gareth said.

He nonchalantly leaned against a post that created an awning that blocked the sun over the barbecue grill. "And now, getting back to how you can contribute" he said, his eyes narrowing. "You can join us, or you can feed us."

***can08writer***

"You aint like how you was at the camp in Atlanta. A little mouse, scared of her own shadow" Merle said, as he and Carol watched Terminus through the scopes of their guns.

"It wasn't my shadow I was scared of, it was my husband's" Carol said gruffly, rolling her neck as she stared ahead.

"Yea, I remember him. He was an asshole."

"You weren't so great yourself" Carol quipped, and Merle let out a snort.

"Never said I was. But you either take me or leave me. I always been what I am. Never hid it. My baby brother though…" Merle said, and then allowed his sentence to fade away.

Carol looked away from her gun briefly to eye Merle. "Daryl was a good man" Carol said. "I'm sorry about what happened to him."

Merle didn't glance at her. "My baby brother tried to be like me, tough. But he always was a softie. Never had it in him. I tried to make him like me, but it never took."

"I'm glad" Carol said, and she continued looking through her scope.

Merle snorted again. "Yea, you're definitely different from how you was. Maybe you're a late bloomer."

"Maybe you are too" Carol said back.

A commotion drew their attention back towards Terminus. They could hear someone yelling in pain, and then gunfire.

"Something's happening" Carol said, moving her gun around to try and figure out where the noise was coming from.

"We ain't got a good vantage point. We gotta move" Merle said. The two of them picked up their guns and ran around the perimeter gate, trying to get a view of their group through the fence.

***can08writer***

When Gareth told them his group ate humans, Rick had immediately slapped Carl's plate from his hand and placed his children behind him. He'd tried to leave, but Gareth's people pulled guns and tried to force them all into a train car. Rick threw a knife that pierced Gareth's skull, and the termites had opened fire. Rick, Carl, Glenn, Maggie, and Judith ran through Terminus in terror, trying to avoid the bullets of the people who were shooting from the rooftops, although Rick noticed the bullets were aimed at their feet, not their heads.

They burst through the door of one of the buildings into a room full of lit candles. The group all paused to look around. There were names written on the floors and walls, and in large lettering, a sign that said 'We First. Always.'

"What is this?" Maggie asked disgusted, "is this all the people they've eaten?"

"I don't think they're trying to kill us. And if they don't want to kill us I think we all know what they want to do" Glenn said.

"We have to get over the fence" Carl said. "Or close enough to the fence for Merle and Carol to see us."

"Okay, we run for the fence. Don't stop, no matter what. Carl, you hold Judith. You just run, and I'll look out for anyone coming after us" Rick said.

"But they know where we are, they were shooting at us. They won't let us get there" Carl countered.

"Maybe a distraction will work" Rick said, looking around the room. He approached a large candelabra and knocked it over, sending candles and wax flying everywhere. Rick continued knocking and kicking candles over, and the flames ignited the old wooden floor. The rest of the group continued taking aim at the candles, Maggie was especially vicious, sending candles flying across the room, and purposely setting anything in the room on fire.

Once the fire took and began to make smoke, the group opened a door on the opposite side of the room and continued to run, gunshots once again following them but purposely missing them.

"There's the gate!" Rick yelled, pointing straight ahead. "Carl, go!"

Carl sprinted towards the gate with Judith in his arms. Bullets bounced off the concrete, and Rick tried his best to stay between Carl and the snipers on the roofs, shielding his son's body with his own. Glenn and Maggie were right behind him. As they approached the gate, suddenly they heard a rattle, and 5 people stood on the opposite side of the gate with their guns leveled at them.

Carl stopped short and Rick nearly crashed into him. Glenn grabbed Maggie's arm to slow her down and they realized they were surrounded on all sides.

"Turn around and face us" someone on the roof yelled. Rick glanced at his children. Carl was looking to Rick for a clue as to what to do next, but Rick was at a loss. Carol and Merle had the guns and the few bullets they had left, so the rest of them were helpless. He decided to stall until Carol and Merle who he knew was out there and probably were trying to figure out a plan, created a way for them to escape.

Rick slowly turned around with his hands up, and the rest followed suit. Mary stood above them on a roof with others, scowling down at them.

"You killed my son" she growled, pointing her gun at Rick. "It didn't have to be this way. You could've listened to what the world is telling you! You're either the butcher or the cattle. There's no in between. And now you've decided to be the cattle."

Glenn quickly caught Rick's eye and gestured with his head towards the building that had the candle room. Thick smoke was billowing from underneath the door. The building was burning.

"You. Ringleader", Mary said, gesturing towards Rick. "Put the baby down, and stand in front of that train car."

"No. She comes with me" Rick said defiantly.

"Put the baby down or I'll shoot her right now" the woman threatened.

Judith, sensing the tenseness in Rick's arm clung to him tighter and began to whine. She remembered the last time someone put her down on the floor and she wasn't having it.

"Please" Rick said, "please let her come with me, she's been through enough. She's scared."

"Put her down now!" Mary called. "And walk to that train car, or I'll kill the boy."

Glenn and Maggie both stepped in front of Carl to shield him. Rick, having no choice, slowly placed Judith on the ground and she screamed and clung to him desperately.

"It's okay sweetheart. It's okay, daddy's right here" he tried to comfort her, but her cries got louder, bouncing off the building's walls.

"Go on!" Mary yelled. Rick gave Carl another glance before slowly walking towards a train car whose doors were open. As he walked there he had to pass another train car, and he was shocked when he heard people banging on the walls in the inside screaming for help. Rick froze for a moment when he saw fingers and eyes peering out of the cracks in the doors at him.

"Help us!" They yelled. "Let us out!"

Rick continued to walk towards the open train car thinking Where is Merle and Carol?

***Can08writer***

"Over there" Merle called, the two of them following the gunshots to an area of the compound where train cars were stored. They could see Rick and the rest of the group running towards gates on the end of the compound, but stopping short when people with guns ambushed them from the opposite side of the fence. Carol spotted a few other people on the roofs, pointing their guns down at their group.

"Well shit, so much for this place" Merle said. "How 'bout I get the folks at the gate, you cover the ones on the roof?"

"No" Carol said. "We don't have the bullets for that. We have to do this smart."

Carol used her scope to survey the surroundings.

"There's a gas tank over there" Merle said, pointing. "You thinkin' we explode the tank, make a distraction, and pick the people off?"

"Well we need to distract these people somehow, just to get our group over the fence safely. Once the ones on the roof are distracted, we take out the ones by the gates and they can escape."

"Okay" Merle said, aiming for the gas tank, but before he could fire, the snipers on the roof began to shout at each other and point.

One of the buildings were on fire. A few of the people on the roof ran off to handle whatever was happening.

"This is it!" Carol yelled. "Take out the ones left on the roofs, I got the ones by the gates."

The two of them opened fired on the Termites, taking them by complete surprise. Rick, who was standing in front of the train car ran back to his children, scooping Judith off the ground, and holding on to Carl.

The people hiding behind the gates opened fire in the direction of Merle and Carol, and the group took the opportunity to run towards them. By the time they got there, all of the people at the gates were dead. Glenn hoisted Carl up, and the boy flipped over the top of the gate. Glenn then lifted Judith, and passed her to Carl who was on the other side. Rick and Glenn hoisted Maggie up the gate, followed by Glenn, and then Rick who Glenn helped pull over the top. Rick, Glenn, Maggie, and Carl grabbed the guns from the dead Termites at the gate, and ran towards the gunfire where Merle and Carol were hiding.

"Thanks for the save" Glenn huffed as they approached.

"Let's get the hell outta here" Merle said, ducking down as a new barrage of shots hit the trees around them.

"No" Rick said. "There are people trapped in those train cars, we get them out and they're on our side. We need people. And the rest of them, they don't get to live."

"What happened in there?" Carol asked.

"They're cannibals" Maggie said. "They eat people. They need to die. Rick is right. What if they come lookin' for us when we leave?"

"How d'you expect to go back in there and kill them all? In case you haven't noticed, we barely got y'all out."

"Guys?" Glenn said, pointing to the distance. They all turned their heads and saw a large herd of walkers heading towards the noise from the gunfire and the smoke from the fire.

"This is perfect" Rick said. "All we need to do is get them inside and they'll take care of everything for us."

"There's a gas tank" Carol said, pointing. "It'll blow down the gates. We were gonna use that as a distraction until the fire broke out."

"Ok. We blow down the gates, let the walkers in. Me, Glenn, and Merle will release the people from the train cars. Maggie, Carol, and Carl, you do sniper duty, watch our backs. We'll try to take out as many of their people as we can, but if the walkers start to swarm us we'll get out."

Everyone nodded at the hastily made plan, Rick quickly kissed Carl and Judith, and then he, Glenn, and Merle ran back towards Terminus' back gate. Carol aimed her weapon and in one shot punctured the gas tank which exploded with enough force to blow a hole in the surrounding gates and set everything nearby on fire.

The walker herd immediately started towards the explosion, their slow moving bodies stumbling forwards. The Termites on the roof had all dropped and taken cover from the explosion, and Rick, Glenn, and Merle took the lull in gunfire as an opportunity to climb the fence again and dash towards the train cars. There were two that were closed with a latch on the outside, and Merle went to open one while Rick ran towards another, and Glenn kept his gun raised in case the Termites started firing again.

As Rick approached he could hear the banging and yelling coming from inside the car. He pressed his mouth against the opening and hissed "Shhh, be quiet, walkers are coming, I'm letting you out!"

The banging immediately stopped and Rick slid the door open. He was shocked to see people packed inside the dark car. They raised their hands in front of their eyes as the sunlight filtered in. Rick could see untouched bowls of powdered milk on the floor of the train car, but most of the people were skin and bones.

Merle had opened the second train car releasing more people into the daylight. They were in various stages of starvation. Rick could tell some had been in that car much longer than others.

Once they recovered from the bright light, they streamed out of their prison, some running in any random direction. Others just standing there in shock.

"Hey! Hey wait!" Rick called. "You're gonna get killed!" but they didn't stop.

A few dozen stayed behind to see what Rick had to say, and he ushered them against the side of a building. "There's a herd of walkers headed this way and we're gonna get out of here, but before we do we need to kill the sons of bitches that locked you in there. We need your help though. We need you to help us find every one of them and make sure they're dead. Are you with us?"

A tall man who Rick could tell used to be very muscular before being locked in the train car stepped forward and held out his hand. "Thanks for letting us out. We're with you. I'm Tyrese. This is my sister, Sasha."

***can08writer***

Carl watched as his father's group freed the prisoners in the train cars and they poured out into the sunlight. Although some ran away, about thirty stayed. Carl kept his gun trained at the rooftops and took out a Termite that stood up.

"Good one" Maggie whispered to him as they watched the rooftops. Suddenly, the door of one of the buildings opened and four Termites with guns ran at the group of prisoners. Merle shot one of them, but the others opened fire on the group, causing everyone to scatter. Maggie, Carl, and Carol fired at the Termites, forcing them to hide behind the train cars to get out of the way, but all of a sudden the freed prisoners descended on the attacking Termites, punching and kicking them, and then snatching the weapons out of their hands and shooting them.

"Let's go!" Carl heard his father yell, and the group of thirty ran into Terminus on the hunt for any Termites that were still around. They were no longer in the view of his weapon.

"They can't stay long" Maggie said, pointing at the wave of walkers that were now entering the gates near the explosion. Many of the walkers went right through the fire, setting themselves and other walkers on fire. As the herd trampled through the hole in the gates, they spread the flames throughout Terminus, and within a matter of minutes there were fires breaking out everywhere.

Ten minutes later, Carl could hear gunfire rattling in various parts of the compound, but he no longer saw any Termites on the roofs or outside of the buildings. He didn't see his father or any of the prisoners either.

"Where are they?" Carl asked, "the walkers are getting worse, they need to get out now."

"They'll be out" Maggie whispered. "They'll be back soon."

They waited in silence, their guns trained on the compound that was now crawling in burning walkers.

"Over there!" Maggie yelled, pointing.

A large group of people were running towards the gates carrying guns and other items in their arms. They got to the gates and were throwing the items over before attempting to scale the fence. The walkers noticed them, and shuffled towards the fleeing prisoners, the fire on their bodies not ending their hunger for human flesh.

Carl opened fire on the walkers, giving the people time to flee. He spotted his father, helping to push a woman up and over the top of the fence. Two walkers were closing in on them, and Carl shot one in the shoulder, barely slowing it down. His second shot got the walker in the head, but it was his last bullet.

"Dad watch out!" Carl yelled, even though he knew Rick couldn't hear him over the walkers, and fires, and distance. Rick, hearing Carl's gun shots, turned around just as the second walker lunged at him. Rick pushed it up against the gate as it's jaws snapped at him. Tyrese grabbed the struggling walker from Rick, lifted it up by its legs and slammed its head into the ground, causing its head to smash open like a watermelon.

"Thanks!" Rick said.

"No problem" Tyrese replied as he and Rick both climbed up and over the gates.

The group, now 37 people strong, and loaded with food, clothing, water, and supplies, walked away from the burning compound of Terminus, not looking back. When Rick finally reunited with his children, he hugged Carl and Judith tightly, grateful that they were still alive.

"I think we got 'em all" Rick said to Carol, Maggie, and Carl. "If there are some hiding, they won't be for long."

The group set off through the woods, making their way away from the fire of Terminus. They found the shopping carts of the meager supplies that Rick and his group had hidden in the forest in case their encounter at Terminus went bad, and dumped all the things that the large group had taken from the collection tables that they'd found inside.

Teddybears, clothes, watches, cameras, weapons and anything else that they'd confiscated from their unwitting victims were sorted and stored for the Termites' use. The dolls and baby supplies caused Rick to shudder. There were no children in the train cars, so he guessed the fate of whatever children entered the gates of Terminus, and he pulled Judith closer to her chest. He felt the little girl's head, and glanced down at the poltice that Mary had put on her leg. Surprisingly, her fever had gone down a little. She was quiet, but glancing around her at all the new faces, wide eyed. Rick's heart hurt for what she had gone through in her short life so far.

The group walked for the rest of the day in no specific direction, until it was time to stop for the night.

That night, Tyrese suggested that they try to make their way to Washington D.C. He explained that was where he and Sasha were headed before they came upon Terminus and decided to visit. He mentioned that before all communication went dead he'd heard on the news there was a large refugee camp there, and with all the guns and security in that city, if there was a government left at all it would be there.

Rick realized that the decision couldn't and shouldn't be his alone. He didn't want the responsibility of leading all of these people to their deaths. He asked everyone to vote if they wanted to go or not, and since the majority agreed, they took off in the direction of Washington D.C. the next morning and didn't look back.

***can08writer***

Through various hardships and deaths, the group made it to Virginia. The trip solidified the bond between the group members, and they began to consider each other family. Rick never thought that people outside of those who left with him at the prison would be family, but the others, Tyrese, Sasha, and those who survived the trip to Virginia had all risked their lives for Rick, and Rick for them. They had even developed a motto, stolen from the monsters at Terminus. 'Family first. Always'.

They found an old abandoned factory where they decided to hold up in while a scouting party went into Washington D.C. to assess the situation. The party returned 3 days later and informed the group that Washington was overrun. Their trip, and the losses they'd taken on the way was for nothing.

They decided to make the factory their headquarters. It was large enough for the family to spread out. It had fenced in areas where they could grow crops or keep livestock if need be, and it was large enough for them to expand their population.

Although Judith's recovery was rocky and painful, both she and Rick healed from their gunshot wounds, and Maggie slowly recovered from the loss of her father and sister. Rick's group started to grow vegetables, but getting crops going took months, and they hadn't been in Virginia long enough to depend on crops for food. They got most of their food from scavenging and hunting, but it was never enough.

A month after moving in to the factory, their people stumbled upon a town with high walls and sentries at the gates. Rick, Maggie, Tyrese, Merle and a few others approached the town cautiously, while a second group that included Carol, Glenn, and Sasha stayed unseen incase things went bad. Rick had learned his lesson from Terminus, but hoped that these people would be different. He could clearly hear children laughing and playing on the other side of the wall, and that was a good sign at least.

Rick and the others held their weapons up in the air as they approached the town's gates.

"Stop right there!" a man yelled down to them, holding a spear and aiming it at them.

"Hey, we don't mean any harm, we're here to try to make a deal with your people" Rick said. "We just want to talk to whoever is in charge. We're with another community…"

"They have guns!" another man yelled, "there's people with guns at the gate!"

A few more heads popped up from the look out post that the others were standing on.

"We don't mean any harm" Rick repeated.

"Drop your guns right now!" The first man called.

"I won't be doing that" Rick said. "If we were gonna start shooting we would've started."

"You give up your weapons, then we'll talk" the man said.

"Why don't you come down here and get em'?" Merle asked with a chuckle while he glanced at the spears and wooden weapons that these people were holding. "What you gonna do? Poke us to death?"

Rick turned around and held out a hand for Merle to be quiet. He didn't need him to make enemies of these people already.

"We are not your enemies, we're just trying to make a trade somehow. Maybe we have something you need, and you have something we need."

After a few seconds of staring, the sentries reluctantly opened the gates and Rick and his group walked into the town. The people looked at them in curiosity, and Rick suddenly had a flashback of walking into Terminus, but he didn't have that feeling in his gut that was telling him something wasn't right. Rick looked around at all the crops that these people were growing, and the livestock that they had. Compared to the amount of people living here, it seemed they had food to spare.

As they walked into the town, an older man with a suit jacket, button down shirt, and slacks approached them. His face was crinkled in disgust at the sight of the visitors before him.

Ignoring the look, Rick held out his hand. "My name is Rick, I come from a community…"

"I'm Gregory. I'm the boss here. What do you want?" he asked, looking Rick up and down. Rick withdrew his hand.

"Like I was saying, I come from a community and we are interested in…"

"We don't give out charity here" Gregory interrupted. We work hard for the food that we eat, and we don't have enough to give away things for free."

Rick took a moment to breathe before speaking to Gregory again. If this man interrupted him one more time he was about to get violent.

"I didn't ask you to give anything away for free" Rick said between clenched teeth. "I was saying we're interested in trading with your people. Maybe we can exchange items that we could part with, and both of our communities need."

Gregory scanned the rest of the people with Rick, the guns they were holding, and then Maggie. Gregory's eyes widened slightly, and Rick felt a gnawing feeling in his gut.

"Follow me" Gregory said, and he turned on his heel and made his way towards a huge multi story house. The inside was ornate, with antique rugs, mirrors, and furniture.

"This is Barrington house. Bet you've never seen anything as magnificent as this huh? Of course you haven't." Gregory turned around to look at Rick's group, and noticed their muddy shoes. "Richie, Why don't y'all go get cleaned up, hmm? Y'all go get clean, and when you've washed up you come back down here when you're ready. It's hard to keep this place clean."

Rick's face contorted into a growl and before he could open his mouth, Maggie stepped in. "Gregory, that's very kind of you to offer, but we can't stay here long. I understand you want to keep this place clean, so can we offer that you speak to one of us, and the rest of us will wait outside?"

Gregory's eyes scanned Maggie's body, and Maggie's eyes narrowed, but she maintained her calming presence.

"Sure young lady" Gregory said. He reached out and grabbed Maggie's hand, raising it to his lips and pressing a kiss to it. Maggie quickly snatched her hand away and wiped it on her pants. Rick's hand went to his gun, and Maggie held her hand up again to maintain the peace.

"I'd love to talk to you about this deal. What's your name?" Gregory asked.

"Maggie" she said.

"Margaret" Gregory said, opening his office door. "Come on in Margaret. The rest of you can wait on the porch."

Maggie turned to eye Rick and Merle who were scowling, and she rolled her eyes and then followed Gregory into his office.

Rick, Merle, and the others waited outside on the porch for Maggie to return. Five minutes in, Rick heard yelling coming from Gregory's office, and a crash. Rick cocked his gun and raced back inside the house, throwing open the office door to see Maggie with Gregory in a headlock, forcing his head down against the office desk.

"Help!" Gregory yelled, "H-help. This woman… she's trying to kill me! She's attacking me!"

"Maggie, what happened?" Rick asked, as she continued to press Gregory's head down.

"He tried to touch me. He tried to kiss and… and grab me. He said he'd agree to the trade if I made it worth his while, if I spent some one on one time with him to hash things out…"

"I… I didn't mean anything by it!" Gregory said, and Maggie slammed his face into the desk again.

"You're a creep!" Maggie said.

Rick had a flashback to the night that Beth died, when he almost saw Beth and Carl raped in front of him, when the men even threatened to molest his baby daughter. Men like these were what was wrong with the world. Using their power to subjugate others. Rick unholstered his gun and grabbed Gregory who Maggie quickly released. He pressed his gun to Gregory's head.

"I'll kill you for what you tried to do" he growled, "I'll kill you." Rick grabbed Gregory at gunpoint and dragged him onto the porch of Hilltop. The people who were nearby stared in shock.

"W-wait now Ricky, let's not get ahead of ourselves, it was just a misunderstanding. I think Margaret interpreted what I said incorrectly. I… I was just..."

"Do you want me to tell your people who you really are?" Rick growled.

Some of the people from Hilltop approached Rick's group with spears at the ready, and in return, Rick's group cocked and pointed their weapons.

"Look, we can come to some sort of deal. That's what you came here for, right? What do you want to offer?"

"Your people will give us food and supplies. A truck a month. In return, we'll keep your roads clear."

"Sure… sure Ricky… um… Rick. That's a deal." Gregory said, his eyes flitting back and forth between Rick and his gun. Rick removed his gun from Gregory's head and pushed the man, causing him to fall against the side of the house. Maggie gave Gregory one last glare before she and the rest of Rick's group stalked towards the front gates. The residents of Hilltop all moved out of the way, and the gates were opened, as the armed group marched from Hilltop. When they met up with Glenn, Carol, Sasha and the others, Glenn asked "Did everything go okay? Do we have a deal?"

Maggie rolled her eyes and grabbed Glenn's hand. "Yea" she said, "we have a deal."