"She's a good person! If not for her, Andrea and I would have died." I walked into the cell block to hear Shay defending Michonne.
"Rick wil-" Hershel started, but Shay cut him off.
"After his little melt down, I'd say Rick is in no shape to be making any type of decisions!" Shay argued. I stopped by the door and frowned at her.
"Got us this far, didn't he?" I spoke up, glaring at the room of people I'd come to know very well.
"All right..." Glenn was drawing blocks on the floor across from where I stood, Carl knelt down in front of him. "Now, you said you found Tyreese's group here."
"Y-ye-" Carl pointed.
"We secured this." Glenn cut him off before he could say anything else.
"Um, he thought he came through here." Carl pointed to another area of Glenn's map.
"Means that there's another breech.." Glenn sighed, staring at the floor. "Okay.. Now, the whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just stroll in, then it's gonna be a kick for a group of armed men."
"Why are we even so sure he's gonna attack?" Beth asked, her voice curious. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Maybe you scared him off."
"Wishful thinkin'." I snorted. "The guy's psycho."
"He had fish tanks full of heads.." Michonne spoke up. "Walkers and humans. Trophies.. He's comin'."
"We should hit him now." Glenn agreed, looking up at her.
"What?" Beth questioned, her voice in disbelief.
"He won't be expecting it. We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head." Glenn replied, his face angry.
"We're not assassins." Carol argued, looking at Glenn as if he were crazy.
"You know where his apartment is." Glenn stood up and was in front of Michonne, ignoring everyone else. "You and I could end this tonight... I'll do it myself." Michonne nodded. "Okay."
"He didn't know you were comin' last time." Hershel spoke as Glenn turned around. "And look what happened. You all were almost killed. Daryl was captured. And you and Maggie were almost executed."
"You can't stop me." Glenn said sternly, a look on his face I'd never seen before.
"Rick would never allow this." The older man assured.
"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?" Glenn challenged.
"Think this through, clearly." Hershel was borderline pleading with Glenn. "T-Dog lost his life, here. Lori, too. The men that were here.. It isn't worth anymore killin'. What are we waitin' for? If he's really on his way, we should be outta here by now."
"And go where?" The anger in Glenn's voice made me wonder if he was right. Go back to Woodbury and finish it once and for all.
"We lived on the road all winter." Hershel reminded him. Yea, and that turned out well.
"Back when you had two legs and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours." Glenn argued, and I agreed.
"We can't stay here." Hershel tried again.
"We can't run." Glenn said firmly. Maggie left the room, walking away towards the cell block.
"We can't keep runnin'." I agreed, and everyone looked at me. "Even if we chanced it with your leg, the baby'd get us killed real quick. She needs this prison. If I'm doin' anything with my shitty life, it's keepin' promises. Carl and the baby need safety. This could be safe. Not the road. We all saw what happened to Cheyenne, remember?"
No one said anything, as I walked away. I could hear Glenn saying something about staying and making a stand, but my vision was blurry and keeping it together was something I wasn't sure I could do. Leaving the cell block, I walked through the big room, and out of the side door. The sunlight hit face face, coating my skin in warmth. I felt a tear fall down my cheek, and wiped it away quickly, trying to make it stop. Make the hurt stop.
"You all right?" Michonne's hard voice caught me off guard and I managed to huff out a small laugh.
"Peachy." I held a thumbs up, keeping my eyes on the ground.
"Don't look peachy." Michonne pressed, and I whirled around to face her. We stared at each other for a moment, and something in her eyes caught my attention. Knowing. I relaxed and snorted out another little laugh, before kicking the concrete step beside me.
"Gone through worse... I guess." I shrugged, looking out at the woods. "Can't believe he just...left."
"Me either. Merle's a real piece of work." She snarled, and I glanced at her.
"When you disappeared back there... Went after the Governor, didn't you?" I asked quietly, watching her eyes. She narrowed them, almost glaring.
"If I wouldn't have, who would've?" Michonne shook her head. "He is worse than this world."
"Do I get to blame him?" I asked quietly, looking out at the woods along the prison.
"For?" Michonne pressed, following my gaze.
"Everything... Daryl." I whispered, looking back at her.
"Daryl made his decision." She replied, not sugar coating anything. "But... Blaming him wouldn't be a sin."
"Don't know what I'm doin'." I admitted, feeling fresh tears forming in my eyes.
"You're on watch. With me." Michonne stated, keeping her eyes on the woods.
"I hope I didn't hurt Carl..." I wiped my tears away quickly, trying to turn my head so she wouldn't see.
"Hurt him?" Michonne questioned, looking over at me.
"I... Glenn's right, we can't just run. I mentioned someone... Just should've been.. I don't know." I shook my head. "I don't know."
"Cheyenne." Michonne was still looking at me.
"Yea." I whispered. It was strange hearing her name from someone else's mouth.
"Spencer!" I heard Sam's voice, and I turned to see him jogging up to where I stood. "You okay?"
"Fine." I nodded, not bothering to fake a smile. He glanced at Michonne, and I looked back out at the fences. "Just watchin'."
"Glenn!" I heard Hershel's voice out near the prison yard. "Glenn!" I ducked away from Michonne and Sam, jogging down toward the yard. I could see Glenn and Hershel talking out by the truck, and then Glenn was walking away. He got into the truck and took off.
"Hey! Wait up!" I called to Hershel, and he stopped, watching Glenn drive away from us. Carl shut the gate behind him. "Hershel I... That Rick?" I stopped, tilting my head, staring out near the outer fences.
"I do believe it is." Hershel was watching him walk.
"Should we...?" I glanced at Hershel.
"Checking up on him would be a great idea." Hershel nodded, and we walked together down to the fences. We reached the yard that we had cleared so long ago, and I looked up at the tower I had been in.
"Calm down, girl." Daryl whispered to me. I closed my eyes as we walked, hearing Daryl's voice right in my ear. I felt my heels touch back onto the tower floor, and I gave him a smile. "Light it up!" Daryl called, signaling with his hand to continue firing. We kept shooting, and I could have swore I saw Rick laugh from his tower. The last walker hit the ground, and I looked at Daryl.
"Well, we cleared the yard before dark." I said quietly. Daryl chuckled, and kissed me on the forehead, before turning to leave the tower...
"Rick!" Hershel called, and I stopped at the fence, grabbing onto the metal. My fingers curled around the links, watching Rick walk around through the thick brush. "Rick!" Hershel looked over at me, then back to the man. "Rick!"
"Rick!" I called softly, but he was already making his way over to us at the fence.
"You know I wouldn't have hobbled all the way down here, if it wasn't important." Hershel spoke softly, watching the man who was broken on the outside of our fence. "Are you comin' back soon? Glenn's on a warpath.. Smart as he is, he can't fill your boots. I'm afraid he's reckless. We need you now more than ever."
"Well, if you're so worried about 'em, you lead." Rick waved us off, looking away.
"Rick, we need you." I said quietly.
"What are you doin' out here?" Hershel asked.
"I...I've been... I've got..stuff out here. Stuff.." Rick mumbled on, as if he were trying to grasp his own words.
"How much longer do you need?" Hershel was patient.
"I dunno." His voice was boyish, innocent. Confused. I felt that connection with him. Everyone goes a little crazy from time to time. "I dunn..." His voice just kind of trailed off, and he looked lost.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" The question was simple, but Hershel's tone was caring. Rick just looked at us, but he wasn't really looking at us. More like through us. Hershel grabbed onto his crutches and turned away from the fence. I couldn't budge, I just looked at Rick. My heart was broken, and I wasn't sure why I was just standing there. Should be out lookin' for him... He don't want you..
"I saw somethin'." Rick's voice made me look up. Hershel turned back around. "Lori. I saw Lor... I'm seeing Lori.. Um.. Look, I-I know it's not really her.. But there's gotta be a reason, it's... It's gotta mean somethin'. You know?"
"Was it her on the phone?" The older man asked.
"Yea." Rick nodded. "Shane, too. In the town."
"Do you see them now?" Hershel asked, and I glanced at him.
"No." The word barely came out as Rick shook his head.
"You're lookin' for them?" He continued asking questions. I just kept quiet. I understood.
"Well, I'm waitin'." The sheriff replied.
"For what?" Hershel asked, his voice still soft.
"I dunno... Some.. There's an answer.. I know it doesn't make sense." He scratched his eye, and he looked tired. "Well, it does, it can make sense. I mean, I-I think in time it will..make sense."
"Rick, come on in." Hershel nodded to the prison. "You need rest."
"Please?" I asked, trying to offer a gentle smile.
"It's not safe out here." Hershel said, and Rick looked away, letting go of the fence.
"I can't.." He walked away. "I can't." He kept walking, back toward the little wooden bridge. I sighed, looking over at Hershel.
"Can't blame him.." I turned away from the fence. "I know how it feels to break."
"You're doin' pretty good right now." Hershel offered me a light smile. He patted my shoulder, before turning away from the fence. We started to walk away, when I heard a gun shot ring out.
"What the hell-" I started to ask, when suddenly the bridge Rick was standing on began splintering wood. I saw the bridge being shot up and Rick running. Hershel grabbed my arm, pulling me down into the tall grass, as bullets whizzed by above us. "SHIT!" I grabbed my gun from my jeans, and crawled on my stomach over to the fence. Gunfire was heavy and loud around us. I started to sit up, when Hershel's voice stopped me.
"Don't! Stay down!" He instructed, and I listened.
"I'm goin' for the tower!" I yelled, crawling through the grass.
"Spencer!" I heard Hershel yelling, but I didn't stop. I reached the concrete wall of the tower, and lifted my head. I couldn't see anything, but the gunfire was loud still, a bullet hitting the ground not far from me. For a moment, everything grew quiet.
Then yelling and more gunfire. I could hear the shots popping off, and Rick was still outside the fence, shooting. I raised up, taking enough time to find a sense of direction. Rick was aimed towards something, but I didn't have time to focus. I popped off two rounds before ducking back down into the grass. I had no cover to really move anywhere else.
The gunfire ceased again, but I heard the sound of an engine. Like a truck or something was coming. Feeling my heart drop into my stomach, I felt every part of my body tense up. I needed to get to the others. To Carl, Beth, Maggie, Carol... Michonne. Hershel wasn't in my sight, and I leaned my head up over the grass.
"Hershel?" I called out in a whisper.
"I'm fine!" He whispered back across the grass. The engine grew closer, louder, and I heard the clash of metal on metal. Jumping up from the grass, I saw a truck in the yard with us. It had burst through the gates.
"GET DOWN!" Rick's harsh whisper from a few feet away on the other side of the fence caused me to duck back down. Kneeling, I watched the truck from the cover of the tall grass. It just sat there, engine running. I was waiting for it to explode or something, ready to dive onto my stomach.
Suddenly, the metal gated ramp fell from the back of the truck, causing me to jump. For a brief second it was quiet again, until I saw the first two bodies come stumbling down the ramp. Walkers poured from the back of the delivery truck, and my blood ran cold. Hershel.. How do I get him outta here... Dammit! I began to panic, trying to think fast. reloading my gun, I carefully crawled back over to Hershel. A person in armed gear jumped from the truck and ran, shooting. The gunfire started again and I looked at Hershel.
"HERSHEL! SPENCER, GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE!" Rick yelled, the gunfire still popping loudly. I raised up in the grass, shooting down two walkers. Hershel was popping off rounds as well, taking down another one.
"Hershel, we gotta move!" I grabbed his arm, jumping up. I could see the others in the distance, rushing to help us, shooting walkers. Helping Hershel up, I saw Glenn pulling up in the truck. He jumped out, and Michonne was close to us. They grabbed Hershel, and guided him to the truck, while I hung back. Covering them, I shot three more walkers.
"SPENCER!" I heard Michonne yell, but the walkers were too close for me to risk trying to get in the truck.
"GO!" I ran, not waiting for them to argue. I shot another walker, and that was my last bullet. I followed the path of the truck, dodging walkers.
"SPENCE!" I swore I heard Daryl's voice. Whether he was with me or not, he was still with me. He kept me going, even when I had lost him...
I ran up to the gate, the walkers right behind me. Maggie and Carl began shooting, covering me as I ran up the incline and over the thresh hold into safety. They closed the gate behind me, and I collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch my breath. Carl ran over to me, his hand outstretched. I grabbed it, allowing him to help me up.
"You okay?" His eyes were wide with concern as he looked me over.
"Yea, yea.. I'm okay." I breathed, and Carl grabbed me in a hug. I squeezed him back, kissing the top of his head.
"Spencer! What the hell were you thinking?" Glenn yelled, jumping from the truck.
"Too many walkers! Couldn't risk openin' that truck door with y'all inside." I replied, still holding onto Carl.
"You could've been killed." Glenn mumbled, grabbing my arm. I let go of Carl, hugging him quickly.
"Wasn't gonna leave 'til I knew Hershel was safe." I said surely, and Maggie was suddenly in my face, grabbing me.
"You're an idiot! I love you!" Maggie cried, and I laughed, holding onto her tight.
"I love you, that's why I couldn't... I couldn't risk anyone." I whispered. We let go of each other, and walked over to the fence. The prison's outer yard still had walkers.
"Who... Is that Daryl?" Glenn was beside Maggie, his hand on her shoulder. I whipped my head over to follow his gaze, seeing three figures walking up toward the gates.
Oh, boy. Daryl's back ! Yay ! But how is that going to go over ? I guess we shall see soon enough ! I feel really bad for Spencer, because she tries entirely too hard to keep herself together. Michonne can see that brokenness inside of her. Daryl's got a lot of making up to do, eh ?
Don't forget to follow me on twitter, kailabrittFF I am doing picture edits for my stories, just a little something to show you all how much I appreciate everyone taking the time to READ/REVIEW/FAVORITE/FOLLOW my story ! You guys are SO FREAKING AMAZINNNNN ! I have the best readers ever.
~Kaila