Curative
By Kaimaler
Oh shit we found the Atlanta survivors! Carol has been reunited with them, but has to help clear the prison before finding Sophia! Review replies are posted at the bottom. ;)
Everything is just now starting to come to a head. Things are tense.
Laura and Merle develop an unspoken bond, their companionship going beyond just survival and becoming something driven by camaraderie.
Carol and Red's group find the prison in an emergency. Complicated feelings of mistrust of Red and his but the trust and affection for Carol make things difficult to handle.
Two people arrive in Woodbury by the Governor's wishes who, instead of capturing or killing them, attempts to befriend them and welcome them into the community. Wonder who they are...
We've got a bit to go through, it's a heavy action / dialogue chapter to buckle the fuck up! We're going for a ride! :D
When the alarms started everyone saw the undead filtering through the woods to the outside fences. Rick put two and two together quickly, him and Glenn attempting to shoot out the alarm system but there were more speakers blaring.
Red watched Daisy to make sure she got Melanie safe from the undead and the two prisoners. When Daisy approached the gate the young blonde girl pulled the crutch off the door and was going to let them both in, but Daisy listened to Rick's instructions. Melanie was pulled inside, Daisy said something to her, and handed a loaded pistol to Hershel. He was cautious just like the others, but took the pistol.
Daisy remained at the door, her pistol up and ready for anything. The rest of the ground spread out to surround the group in a ring, just as they had always done with protecting the center. Red and the group practiced it, made sure they were all on the same page. Glenn and Daryl certainly noticed the group surrounding them, but they turned their backs to face outwards to watch for more walkers approaching.
Had Rick not been angrily yelling at the prisoners he would have noticed in sooner, perhaps taken it as them surrounding his people with ill intent. Only when he pulled the prisoners behind him did he see Red's group guarding their backs. They had long since adapted to life on the road with a herd on their heels; constant vigilance was the only saving grace they had out there.
Red's protection was welcome especially knowing they needed to watch everyone.
"Spread out, we can't all go. We're going to shut off the generators." Rick directed and Red agreed. Stuffing the halls inside with all of their group would end up being a hindrance rather than a help. So Red turned around to the others and waved them over.
"I'm going with Rick. Michael, Braddock watch the main gate. If he's right any they manage to open it we're going to need someone up there." The two men nodded and hurried off for their assigned task. "Markus, Carol stay at the entrance. If we get in a bad spot we'll need a way back out. If things so south get Daisy to help. Let's make it happen."
Rick lead Red through to cell block C. Glenn, Daryl, and the prisoners following. They entered the fence, climbed the short stairs up to the door, and Rick threw it open. He was in a rush to help his people, but he had to turn off the alarms first. If he did not they all risked the prison being overrun in minutes, with the added threat of the gates opening.
They were met with a multitude of walkers immediately flooding the area of cell block C. There were enough to make things difficult. Red put his hand out in front of Rick, telling him he'd head in first to draw the walkers to him. Rick allowed him that at least and Red stepped into the room, walkers all turning to see the people entering the building.
Red fired on two close to the door, the others seeing him and stumbling after him. Rick and Daryl came in next, his pistol and the other man's crossbow taking out another three filtering in through other rooms. Glenn came in with his own pistol taking down another that began to get close to Red.
Rick rushed the room after that, heading straight into the cell block where they had been sleeping. Walkers shuffled through on the floor above and ground floor. He took aim and blew two more walkers to the ground, desperately searching for his people while they made their way inside. Glenn and Daryl picked up the pace to follow him, before entering the door Daryl gestured Red aside to help clear the hall beside them.
Red followed Daryl to the barred door, when he opened it the dead came spilling out. A crossbow bolt took one down, Red's pistol took another two, and Daryl got close to the last two with his knife. Red shot the last one in the head, sending some blood splatter on Daryl. They both looked down the doorway, blood soaking the entrance and saw no more inside.
More gunshots from behind them and Red shut the barred door, heading back to Rick, Glenn, and the prisoners with Daryl. They both checked over the walkers they had already put down in case someone missed or only grazed one. Finding them all completely dead, they reentered the cell block with Daryl finding Rick putting down the last walker inside.
"Lori! Carl!" Rick called for, but no answer came. Red figured here had to be more to the group than just these few. A whole prison to themselves? It was quite a luxury if it was not overrun with walkers.
"We just took down five of 'em in there." Daryl stopped to reload the crossbow as Rick jumped down from the stairs, looking into the cells beside them as he passed. The space was entirely empty, no one who made it into cell block C remained in the cells.
"There were four more in here." Red figured the arrival of the dead inside the building was a surprise to them. Either they cleared it already or something else was going on. "But no sign of Lori or any of them." Red picked up that any of them did suggest more than just this Lori and Carl they were searching for. He kept quiet, listening as they tried to figure out what was going on.
"They must have been pushed back into the prison." Glenn offered, but it did not much help their situation. Red remained at the door ready to move.
Rick was immeasurably angry, if someone was really behind all this Red would hate to be that guy. "Somebody is playing games!" He exclaimed, turning towards the door. "We'll split up and look for the others. Whoever gets to the generators first, shut 'em down!" Red stayed with Rick while Glenn and one of the prisoners took a separate tunnel through.
The walkers were denser inside the hallways of the prison, tightly packed and threatening to overpower them. Rick took point, but when he had to reload Red took over. The two worked together flawlessly, their ideas of strategy inside these narrow halls played well with each other. There were three paths to take and Rick turned them down to the left passage, the entire group clearing out more walkers ahead of them.
With the three armed men working together, they brought down groups of walkers much easier than they feared, but as they went deeper into the catacombs they found the numbers were too much to take on while rushing through the hallways.
It took time to make headway, time they did not have. Red was thankful he had a pistol with more rounds than Rick's, but it was not enough to clear all the dead out. They were pushed hallway to hallway, having to turn every time there was a group too tightly packed. The prisoner behind Red did not have a gun and was just hoping the three armed men could handle what they were facing.
When they buckled to another group and ran down a side passage, the prisoner pointed to a sign on the wall. "He-hey, the generator room - it's just down there!" He tapped the faded sign and Rick looked, just to be sure he was telling the truth. He was of course and confirmed it with the electrical warning sign on the wall, a stripe painted to help direct anyone searching for it.
The stripe followed down a passage dense with more walkers. Red pulled an axe from his pack, holding the long wooden handle horizontal to push the undead group back. He tried to keep himself ducked down as Rick and Daryl opened fire, the crossbow bolts and colt pistol clearing out the first line, but Red was putting himself at high risk. If he slipped he'd land into the undead teeth and arms.
With a heavy push he shoved the next line down, holding his axe to the side and raising his pistol to clear out three more in front before having to reload. He spent too many bullets on this one. He stepped back, letting Rick and Daryl handle the last four while he reloaded. The prisoner behind them began calling to them. "They're coming from behind us!" Red turned around and saw the group they had to dodge from finally catching up to them.
"Ah shit." Red reloaded as quickly as he could, racking the slide on his pistol as he took aim. They hurried to the end of the hall, stepping over the corpses of the undead. Red fired behind them, but the narrow corner was too close and he could not get decent enough aim on the walkers as they stepped around the bend. This pressed them all tightly together, Red could feel the prisoner's chest just behind him as he pushed him away from the incoming herd.
"Daryl, get the door!" Rick called, the hunter shoving the metal door wide open to let them all through. Rick entered the room with his pistol drawn to check the room. The prisoner rushed in behind him while Red came in last taking out one last walker before slamming the door shut with Daryl. There was no lock on the door and nothing to brace against it.
The walkers hit the door, their weight pushing back Daryl and Red as they struggled to keep it closed. Without anything to hold onto they were just leaning against it trying their best to resist the push of what appeared to be another half dozen or more walkers. Red grunted under the strain Daryl just below him slipping on the smooth concrete floor.
Rick checked the room, finding no walkers inside he was relieved. The generators were here, but he had no idea how to operate them. The prisoner who had been with them came to look at the machines, trying to remember how to operate them. He had mentioned he never worked inside for long, but he would do what he could to stop the alarms.
They went from machine to machine, overlooking the collection of switches. Red was far too preoccupied with holding the door shut and wondering why there was no bolt working on the door. Every hit from the walkers shook the door and they had to push harder just to make sure nothing slipped through. The two men using what strength they could muster keeping it shut.
From behind them came a could crash with sparks flying, both of the men tried to look at what was happening. Rick was behind the machines with someone, all Red saw was an axe being flung and knew something was wrong. Burdened with the door they could not offer any support, trying to keep the walkers out was not easy.
They heard grunting, yelling, and the sound of metal hitting metal before Red knew they had to make a decision. Either they try to help or risk Rick being harmed by whatever was going on. Red used one hand to pull his pistol from its holster and push it to Daryl. "Help Rick, I'll hold the door!" Red braced his back against the door and Daryl took the pistol.
The strain became far more than Red bargained for, without Daryl's help the door was almost knocked open. He pushed harder, trying to keep it shut.
Daryl raised the pistol in his hands and came closer to the machines, seeing Rick beings pushed against one of the machines by an axe handle. He struggled against the smaller man who had a desperate look in his eyes. Rick had lost his pistol, but Daryl had one now. The man shoved Rick away and Daryl took the chance while Rick was not near the attacker.
He took his shot, knowing it was either him or Rick. The man hit the ground just as the other prisoner shut off the generators and alarms. The generator room powered down and finally the alarms stopped ringing. One major problem had been solved.
Red was still pushing against the door, each hit straining him more and more. Rick turned to Daryl, giving him a thankful nod. The banging on the door broke the moment and the two men came to stand just behind Red. Rick had collected his colt python and Daryl raised Red's pistol, the two men checking their aim. "Ready?" Red asked earning a nod from both men as he dove out of the way.
The door flung open and Red picked up the crossbow that Daryl dropped when they first entered the room. Rick and Daryl fired first, Red came up and fired a crossbow bolt into the skull of a walker coming through. He took it down to reload the bolt, the two men with guns clearing out another four walkers by the time he was ready to fire the crossbow again.
The corpses piled at the doorway and soon there were no more walkers, but a hallway full of the now completely dead. Relieved, panting, and covered in sweat the group took a moment to compose themselves.
Red was impressed with these two, entirely capable survivors. Most people could barely coordinate themselves let alone cooperate with others to form an effective team. But these people did it, working effortlessly together as they fought through the narrow corridors of the prison. They did it as a tight knit group and Red believed Carol was right about these people.
They fought hard and did not just lose themselves in the violence, they were quick and effective. With a small group of four they wiped out over a dozen walkers in a confined space. To say Red was happy to have met them was an understatement. Training, practice, and cooperation made for a survivalist group that would stay alive. That's how Red lead his group and they were still alive despite the hardships.
Rick turned to Red, panting and held out his hand. Red accepted it, "It's nice to meet you too." Red grinned, thrilled to have the hard part over, but he knew they still needed to find the others in his group that had gone missing.
"Yeah, think you got something of mine." Daryl interrupted, pointing to the crossbow in Red's hands.
Red held it up, "Only if you give me something in return." Daryl handed him his pistol while taking up his crossbow and swinging it over his shoulder. The three men coming to an agreement even though Red knew he was a stranger to them. This was enough to show some level of loyalty, willing to risk his life for them without truly knowing anyone aside from Carol here.
"We need to find the others, come on." Rick started up, having taken long enough to catch his breath. Daryl followed right behind him and Red behind Daryl.
They made their way deeper into the halls, clearing out what little undead there were left roaming. Red used his axe for the most part, not needing to waste bullets on easy targets like these. The group did still try to remain careful about going around corners or into certain rooms with the doors open. There was no need to take unnecessary risks and put the group in danger.
One section at a time, one walker at a time, they cleared the halls. Without the alarms blaring the silence made working in the dark halls a bit easier, now they were able to listen for the dead around corners or behind doors.
Most of the undead were standing or stumbling around slowly, having lost sight of any food they just waited for something to show up. By the time the group would come across them they were already swinging an axe or aiming at the walkers. They put down the undead faster than they could react.
Red helped clear as best he could, but it seemed like Rick and Daryl were on a mission that he had no part in. They were far more aggressive when it came to clearing the hallways, so Red figured it best to let them have this.
Rick did not seem like an overly angry type. He was put in a bad position between the arrival of a new group and the potential of having lost some of his people. The prison was overrun for just a moment, telling Red that this all came as a surprise to Rick. His group, specifically Rick and Daryl, together wiped out entire herds in the halls. So it was not that much of a challenge for them.
The crossbow wielding man was a bit different. He seemed more focused than Rick and definitely quieter. In this situation they were all worried about losing their own, everyone of them tense as they rounded another corner. Daryl spared Red a few strange looks that told Red he was trying to figure him out. Nothing came of it from what he could tell and eventually Daryl just stopped.
There were sounds from up ahead, just around another hall corner. Red stayed in the back letting Rick see he was watching their backs, not challenging for authority or threatening his leadership. Before they turned the corner though Red saw light flashing from down another hallway beside them. From it came Glenn and the other prisoner, his flashlight aiming at Red before seeing the others.
Glad to see them he started to say something before hearing the walkers ahead. He would wait until later to be happy about uniting with his friends.
Rick and Daryl took lead, Rick turning the corner first to see two walkers stumbling around. He shot them down as the group looked through the rooms around them. Nothing came of it, the hall and the smaller cells were completely empty. The area was clear and their only choice was to head back out to the courtyard and hope they had shown up.
The hallways took them in a giant circle around the courtyard anyways, they were not far from the door out.
Rick turned back down the hallway and brushed passed Red, they headed back outside weapons still drawn and checking side passages in case they missed anything. They hurried back out and Red was happy Rick remembered the way out because he had no idea, the prison was a massive labyrinth of halls, rooms, side passages, and more rooms.
They stalked through the halls, making it back to one of the cell blocks and opening the door outside. Red felt so much better in the light instead of the dark halls. It took a moment to readjust to the light, but Rick ran out to see Hershel and Beth had opened the gate, standing outside with Daisy and Melanie.
"You didn't find them?" Hershel did not see their missing people behind Rick and he grew more worried. His daughter one of the missing people.
"We thought maybe they came back out here." Glenn answered, the group stopping at the base of the stairs by Hershel and the others. There was no sign of anyone else here, the others had not moved from their positions at the gates. Micheal and Braddock were at the far fence cutting down walkers that came too close. Markus and Carol standing at the entrance to cell block C.
"What about T?" Hershel asked, concerned though he knew the man was bitten.
"Ain't no sign of him, searched through the blocks and didn't find anyone." Daryl answered seeing Rick's growing panic about his wife and son still missing. Time was against them and they had no idea where they could be.
"We'll go back in, they have to be in there somewhere. Daryl and Glenn take go back the way we came and double check all the rooms between that door and cell block C. Red and me will start in C and work our way around to you. We meet in the middle and if we don't find anything, we'll just have to go deeper." Rick formulated a plan and Red did not argue. The man was desperate, there was no time to argue about who was giving orders.
A short whistle caught Red's attention, the same whistle his group used to gain focus of another. Red turned to see Markus and Carol opening the door, allowing a young boy and a woman to exit. He figured that had to be Lori and Carl returning safely from cell block C. He was glad to see them alive, but they were both covered in blood.
Markus met Red's eyes and shook his head. These people surviving was good, but something was wrong. Red held off celebrating and approached the two exiting cell block C, Markus and Carol behind them.
There, in the woman's arms, was a baby and the toddler did not look any older than a week. The article of clothing holding the baby was bloodied, but it was wiped blood not splatters. The infant cried and everyone looked, Rick taking a few steps forward to see for himself.
The woman was obviously struggling, on the verge of tears. Carol was beside her, trying her best to help support her. Rick stood in front of the others, dropping the axe he took from his assailant to the ground. Just looking at Rick broke the dam and the woman struggled for words, doing her best to compose herself to them. This was all wrong.
Red and Markus took a step back, allowing the group to handle their business.
"Where- Where is she...? Where is she?" Rick knew the answer just from looking at the woman, the baby, and his son. He did not need her to tell him, but did not want to believe it. Rick was visibly shaken, the clear realization etched on his face. He was partly in shock from the news and Red could figure they just lost someone.
Rick went to pass the woman holding the infant, but she tried to stop him. He dismissed her and could not stop himself from crying, opening sobbing. His son off to the side of this remained unresponsive to his father's cries. He was working through it on his own, he was there for it, Carl was done crying. Rick just turned away and fell to his knees.
Red saw Carol helping the woman with the baby, Glenn approached them and held her close to him. The group was silent, allowing the family to grieve.
But time was short and they all knew it. A newborn needed to have food soon, it was imperative they find something at all to give the infant. Daryl took charge, skipping over Rick's mourning. The man was incapable of thinking, moving, or realizing what was happening around him. Daryl leaned over to face him, waving his hand in front of his eyes and finding next to no reaction. "Rick, you with me?" He tried, but found nothing.
"Let me see the baby." Hershel spoke and Carl listened, he took to infant directly to him hoping his newborn sister was healthy.
Daryl walked beside him, "What're we gonna feed it? We got anything a baby can eat?" He asked, but the answer was negative. They only had supplies to support people capable of eating solid foods and processed foods. A newborn would die even attempting it.
"The good news is she looks healthy, but she needs formula." Hershel turned to Daryl, "And soon or she won't survive." He emphasized, the baby needed a lot of support from the group just to keep her fed.
"Nope. No way. Not her." Daryl put his crossbow over her shoulder, "We ain't losing nobody else. I'm going for a run." He was more than ready to get out of the prison to find whatever the newborn needed. While Rick was struggling through shock Daryl stepped up and took charge.
"I'll back you up." Her voice was shaking, but she was still determined to help.
Glenn was not about to let them go alone, "I'll go too."
"You're stuck with us, we'll spread out to find formula elsewhere. Double our odds." Daisy offered the group's support and Red nodded, showing he approved of the call she made for them all. The group was unsure, but still not in a position that they could turn down help. Red was more than prepared to lend a hand and his group wanted to keep face with Rick's.
Daryl agreed, though largely because of Red's actions inside the generator room. He was not sure how reliable Red was, but he did them right so far. He had to take what he could get.
"You two get the fence. Too many pile up, we got ourselves a problem." He took charge without faltering, Red figured they must have discussed and clarified the workings of the group long ago to function so well. They did good work together, Red wanted to bring what his group could to into the mix. "Glenn, Maggie. Vamonos."
Rick had stood up and taken the axe from the ground, turning to cell block C and disappearing inside. No one had time to stop him, they had to focus on the baby. So they let him go to do whatever he had to do. They needed to refocus on the task at hand.
"Get the gate." Daryl called, seeing everyone still slowed up. "Come on or we're gonne lose the light!"
Red turned to his people, "Daisy you know what to look for right?" The woman nodded, having had to find formula for babies before helped out here. "Then come with us, we'll go where they don't and maybe have a better chance at finding something. I'll go fetch Braddock to come with us. Micheal and Markus will stay behind and help them with whatever they need and to look after Melanie. Everyone good?"
The group had no arguments. "Let's help these people and get back on track. We need to move fast." Red broke the group, seeing Braddock and Micheal still down watching the gate.
The others took their posts, Daisy at his side as he went to catch up to Daryl. The crossbow wielding man was heading down to the vehicles they had, Glenn and Maggie not far behind.
"Hey man, we're going to go out where you don't. Any ideas what's around here?" Red caught up to him, the man on a mission to feed this baby. "We're not forcing it, but we could use a ride to make the trip faster." He gestured to one of the cars beside them.
Daryl paused and nodded, "Yeah, but take one of ours with you. Ain't gonna let you run off with one of our cars alone." He was still heavily suspicious and not just because they were strangers. The underlying distaste for these people came from his affections for Laura. That was something he could not let go. "You'll just have to find a place yourselves, go no idea where to find formula around here."
"There's a piggly wiggly on 85." Glenn offered only to be shot down by Maggie.
"No the baby section's been cleared. Lori asked me to keep an eye out, haven't had much luck." She explained, having already searched for baby supplies there. A disappointing bit of information was that the area surrounding the prison was mostly cleared out.
Daryl scoffed, "Is there any place that hasn't been completely looted?"
"We saw signs of a shopping center just north of here." Glenn was good with directions and with places. He remembered the signs and thinking about finding a way out to the center.
"Yeah but there's too much debris on the road. A car will never get through there." Again Maggie dispelled the idea.
Daryl just looked between the two, "I can take one of you." He always had his bike, which proved useful for situations just like this. Getting through tight spaces, but they still needed to move fast.
Red sighed, they could use a car but they had to find something on their own. "Daisy, can you go get Braddock, tell him we need him to come with us. We need to do some scouting, maybe we'll get lucky." Daisy nodded and took off jogging back to the courtyard to fetch Braddock.
"You gonna risk your ass for a buncha strangers?" Daryl asked, knowing Glenn and Maggie were talking before they left. Red glanced to them before putting his hands on his hips.
"Not strangers. Carol's told us a lot about everyone here. She's told us about Glenn and Maggie, quite a bit about Rick. So you aren't total strangers, but I know we are to you." He cleared the air, trying to convince Daryl his intentions were good. He had no reason or desire to hurt this group, Carol cared for them and that was enough for him.
Daryl went to his bike to get ready for the trip. "You just happen to show up right as everything goes to shit?"
"Only reason we did show up at all. We have been scouring this area for supplies, haven't come across much. My people are hungry, we're facing starvation or dehydration. Which ever gets us first." Red watched Daryl store his pack on the bike. "If you guys hadn't fired off so many shots we may never have found you. Carol took off after the gunshots, said she heard someone she knew calling out. She followed it to the prison and we came in to lend a hand."
"Lend a hand, just like that huh?" Daryl sat on his bike, seeing Glenn and Maggie wrap up their goodbyes. "Throwing yourselves out there like that, risking your people for our people. Might come off like you're doing it cause you feel guilty about something." It was a snide comment for sure. Red did not know how to respond without
Red sighed, running a hand over his face. "Look, -"
"Let's go." Maggie interrupted and Daryl did not spare Red another look. He was friendly as he had to be, but the hunter had some strong feelings about their situation. He did not press the matter while they did not have time, Red needed to get his group and find formula.
Daisy came back with Braddock in tow, each one carrying their own pack emptied and ready to pick up whatever supplies they could. Red knew getting along with Daryl would be difficult, he seemed to hold a grudge about this, something he was not a part of. There was no way to fix these problems and there was more important work to be done.
They needed a member of their group to join them and Red was sure Carol wanted to stay and find her daughter. He had not seen her so far and was worried about that, but it appeared as though the other cell block was cleared and they were checking someone inside. Wondering who would be willing to join a couple strangers for a supply run, Red was hit by the volunteer immediately.
Glenn was left behind when Daryl took Maggie on the run. He still wanted to help, after such a trying day. Red saw Glenn beside the SUV that Daryl was initially going to take on the run. He was still ready to move and Red did not complain.
"We have to move quickly, if none of us can find formula we'll have to go out further." Red stepped to the passenger side, near Glenn. "You drive, you direct us. We don't know the area and," Red gestured to the car, "I don't want to give the wrong idea if we drive off with you in a car."
Daisy came up behind Glenn who stood at the backseat passenger door. "Let's bring back some food for that baby." She encouraged the man and popped the car door, sliding into the car with Braddock on the opposite side.
Glenn nodded, the keys already in his hand. "Yeah, alright." He was nervous about traveling with strangers, but they had not given off any bad vibes yet. They were friendly, they helped, and they all needed each other right now.
So they headed out, Glenn driving, Red in the front passenger with Daisy and Braddock checking over the weapons in the backseat. They worked as a team and Glenn lead the new group out of the prison in search of baby food. Definitely not how they all thought they would be spending their day, especially after the news that Lori died in childbirth and T-Dog had been bit.
No one had found T-Dog just yet, he was somewhere in the prison suffering from a bite wound if Beth was right about seeing him be bit. Glenn was close to T-Dog, they spent their time back in Atlanta always hanging out. He was a good person and Glenn hated the thought of him bleeding to death or slowly dying to the infection. It was a slow, painful way to go.
They left the prison hoping to find a way to save the newborn daughter of Rick and Lori. Though privately they all knew the math did not add up and the baby was Shane's. It did not change anything, the infant was still an innocent who deserved a chance to survive. As if to prove that humanity would survive and could raise their children in this new, harsh world.
Glenn could not understand how, but it was important to the group. It was important to Lori and she was gone. They would fight to keep this child alive both for themselves and for Lori. Rick was struggling if his reaction to Lori's death was any indication of that, he would not be capable of helping them. Only together could they hope to survive and keep the baby alive.
Red was in the passenger side watching the road. He kept an eye on street signs and landmarks, something to help in case they needed to get back or get out. Daisy and Braddock were loading the pistols and making sure all their melee weapons were in good shape. Weapon maintenance was important to them after nearly losing Micheal to a hatchet that's handle broke off.
They picked up speed on the open roads, seeing Daryl and Maggie turn off to the north to find that shopping center. Glenn continued straight down the main road, hoping to find anything that could help. Even if it was just clothing, a carrier, or some toys for the baby. They had to do something.
Glenn glanced somewhat nervously to Red, his machine pistol in his hand. It was an impressive artillery they scavenged up, the rare weaponry certainly contrasting the domestic guns Glenn's group had found. His wariness to Red beside him did not go unnoticed, as Red scanned the area he caught Glenn's tense eye contact with him before his eyes darted away sheepishly.
Red grinned, "We haven't met properly. I'm Red." He held a hand out, trying to appear like a peace offering to the anxious younger man. Clearly very unsure Glenn accepted it anyways.
"Glenn." He was still very guarded, but accepted Red's attempt to be polite. It was a good sign, even if it was a small one. "So you guys know Carol?" Glenn glanced to Red who gave him a 'well yeah?' face. Glenn shook his head, "I mean- you guys... Like you showed up with Carol. How'd you guys meet? You said Laura was with you?"
Braddock and Daisy looked up from their weapons, then to each other before continuing their maintenance. The tense silence did not go over Glenn's head, he felt the air thicken.
"We met Carol months ago. Markus was on his way back to the farmhouse we were staying in. Laura and Carol were near the road we follow when heading into town for a run - one thing lead to another and they ended up in a firefight." Red explained as best he could, not knowing all the details of their running into Markus. "When Laura and Markus recognized each other, Markus brought them back to the farmhouse." It was a complicated day, seeing a woman they all thought died a long time ago back in Atlanta.
It was rough finding out she was alive, but also extraordinary news. The conflicting feelings in the group made welcoming Laura back difficult. "So you just let Laura and Carol in?" Glenn found that a bit strange.
Red sighed, "Yeah, yeah we did. Gave them a place to sleep, food, water, whatever they needed. Carol is kind, it would be hard trying to think of her betraying our trust." He chuckled, "But Laura... We owed her and we knew it. It was... hard to see her again. I won't mince words. When we saw her standing in front of the farmhouse we all knew we had made a horrible mistake." Red remembered the day in Atlanta clearly. Seeing her so scared of them, knowing they had hurt her, attempted to kill her - he would have it etched in his mind as long as he was alive.
"We heard, y'know. Laura told some of us and then word spread. Small town." He offered a short, awkwardly placed laugh. Glenn tried to make it easier to swallow. "Laura said she was with a group before us, said they thought she was a walker and tried to kill her. She seemed pretty messed up about it."
"Laura is our friend, or was our friend." Red swallowed, his hand tapping his knee anxiously. The 'is' and 'was' catching Glenn's attention sharply. "Things were complicated when she came to the farmhouse with Carol. She hated us and I don't blame her. We did what we thought was needed, but that doesn't excuse nearly killing a friend. She held it against us the entire time, barely spoke to anyone; only glared and her glare-" Red whistled, "-it's something else. She's pretty amazing to be out there alive, keeping Carol alive too."
Daisy put the final weapon back into the pack, the machete cleaned and ready for use. Braddock watched Red try to be nice to Glenn. It was not that he disliked Glenn or the group, but Red was not the talkative sort. He was conversing with Glenn purely to put the young man at ease. Red knew he would have to explain what happened anyways and talking to Glenn privately, away from the rest of the group seemed to be good practice.
The group together could become enraged quickly, but one alone may be able to think about the events and form their own opinion without mob mentality. Glenn was a person who thought through questions of morality as they came to him. He did what he could with the little he had.
"Laura is a good person, she's my friend. She's our friend and we all miss her. Rick said she left because she was worried about turning while with the group..." Glenn frowned, "Did she...?" He was scared of the answer but it would explain why she was not with them anymore. He knew the group was worried about the same thing.
"No, no." Red squashed the very idea, "She never turned on us, never did anything to hurt us. Sure she gave us hell about what happened in Atlanta, but she didn't even try to retaliate. She can hold a grudge for sure and I understand... Laura isn't here because she made her last act for us self-sacrifice, despite everything that happened." Red let out a deep breath he had been holding. They were all wondering how Glenn would react to that, hoping that the meaning was not lost on him.
Glenn deserved more credit than that though. He gave Red a sad smile, "That sounds like Laura." Red laughed and nodded happily to Glenn. "How did it happen? If you don't mind telling." He continued, hoping to hear something good. Though Laura not being with them anymore was bad news, Glenn wanted to know Laura did it for a good reason.
"The farmhouse was attacked." Daisy answered for Red, knowing Red was still having some issues with what Laura said to him before she let go. "We spotted someone outside the farmhouse and we planned to leave in the night, try to slip out undetected. But they came as we tried to leave. They probably knew and were waiting..."
Braddock agreed, "The first man came in a car, talking about being friendly. We had a back exit and took it, we filtered out the backdoor and tried to escape. By the time we started to make it over the fence the group starting combing the yard. It was all fenced in, they were inside and out; we just ran out of time."
"Laura covered the rear and when it was her turn to come over, she... she just didn't." Red twitched, "She stayed back to give us the time we needed to get out. The fence was part brick wall and the group was closing in on us. We had to leave, we couldn't go back. So we got away and..."
"There was gunfire and then it went quiet." Daisy finished, "They got Laura, but they were too distracted. Their patrols outside the fence turned around to help the rest of their group and we just ran. We didn't have a choice."
"I get it." Glenn could see from the group they were not happy about the outcome and still were not to terms with it. "We've lost people too, left people behind because we couldn't go back for them. That's why Carol was out there in the first place. I understand exactly what it feels like."
Daisy gave Glenn a wide, sorrowfully thankful smile. "We only wish we could've brought Laura and Carol back, but we told Laura we'd get Carol to her daughter. So we did that finally, it's been a long winter and haven't had any luck scavenging the area. I guess that's because you guys were here and cleaned out the local town already."
Glenn looked around them to the desolate town he had already been through. "Yeah, this place doesn't really have anything anymore. Barely anything when we arrived. We probably wouldn't have made it if Daryl wasn't such a good hunter. He brought the group food when we couldn't find anything."
That guy. Red's brow furrowed and he looked down to the pistol in his hand. "Daryl, that guy with the crossbow. He's not really friendly."
"Don't feel bad, it took forever to Daryl to even tolerate anyone." Glenn chuckled, "He's actually a really good guy... just rough around the edges. So don't take offense he was like that to everyone at first, even attacked Rick when they met." They had come a long way since those days, since Daryl was the despondent member of the group who hated everyone except his brother.
"It's more than that though... Did he know Laura?" Red asked and immediately Glenn hesitated. It was obvious from Daryl's earlier comments that he disliked them for something they did, not that they were new. He made that perfectly clear. Daisy wondered where Red was going with this, but did not stop the man from asking.
"He and Laura..." The answer started and Glenn tried to find the right words. "... They were together. Like... together together. They were never far from each other, Laura stayed with him, she hunted with him, and Daryl protected her from... another person who was with us. I guess you could say they were boyfriend and girlfriend?" Labeling the relationship between Daryl and Laura was hard, nothing sounded quite right. They were romantically involved, but saying girlfriend, fiancee, or anything about them felt strange. It is what they were though so explained it the only way anyone could.
Red found that surprising, Laura involved with someone. Not so much that she would want to be, but that her condition did not frighten anyone away much less someone pursue a relationship with her. He was glad to hear she found people who accepted her though. "They were really... an item?" Daisy asked, curious and a little in disbelief.
Glenn glanced to the rear view mirror, spotting Daisy's astonishment. "Well yeah, Laura's... I mean she's unique, but she's attractive. I guess, not that I would really know. I have a girlfriend-" He grimaced, "Oh that just made it worse... What I mean is that Laura isn't infectious, she's cured to a degree. She can't turn anyone by biting them or whatever. She's just a person like the rest of us even though she doesn't really look like us."
"She has blue skin, black and white eyes, and really sharp nails." Daisy described the woman, "When we saw her she looked... hungry and... not like the Laura we met back in Atlanta. I didn't mean it as an insult, but is Laura even human anymore?"
That earned her a look from Glenn that came off a bit hard to read, but was very disapproving. "Laura is human. She doesn't look like us, but that doesn't make her a walker. She's a good person. Shane thought the same thing and we all hated him for it, we hated him for a lot, but treating Laura like she wasn't one of us..."
"I said it wrong, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase." Daisy stuttered, "Laura is unique. She still thinks and feels like any of us, but she's... well, technically she's dead. If she was mindless like the other walkers than that'd be simple. If she was still medically alive that would be another. But she's neither of those, so does that make her something else entirely? Like some kind of... new, uh, specie?" She struggled to find words in her vocabulary to explain what she meant to say without sounding like she thought less of Laura. Daisy loved Laura, thought the world of her, but the question was still valid.
Glenn and Red had no answers for that, Braddock just leaned back in his seat. "I don't... know?" Glenn answered, confused. He got the idea of what Daisy meant, but figured that kind of question was well over his head.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter." Daisy sat back, leaning onto Braddock's large shoulder. "I miss Laura and we want to make a good impression with your group. Truth is we need help and you need help, we can either work together or go our separate ways. We're hoping Carol is the connection we all need to get along and work together."
"I trust Carol and I know the others do." Glenn shrugged, "So maybe that's enough."
"Carol's been good to us, good to Melanie. She looks after her a lot and I know she misses her daughter. We almost lost hope we'd ever find you, but the path Laura and Carol were following finally put us in the general area." Daisy smiled numbly, thinking back on the kind older woman. "We're thankful she was with us, she always knew what to say."
"Carol's like that, she's been pretty motherly to the group." Glenn reminisced with Daisy. "Sophia must've cried for days after Carol didn't come back. We thought we lost her for good, so Lori took care of her and Carl. It just made it a bit easier to handle with another mother in the group. I think if Sophia was older she would have appreciated that."
"I'm sure she would. I'm sorry about Lori, I assume she was Rick's wife from what happened back there." Glenn nodded. "But the baby made it, that's amazing. So many women died in childbirth before modern medicine. It wasn't too far a stretch to think the baby wouldn't make it either. I'm glad to see she pulled through."
"We all are."
Laura was detained until further notice. The man Merle had hit, the man who forced her into the alley, went straight to the Governor. He did not like being put down by Merle right as he took what he wanted. The Governor was not a forgiving man.
He had already warned Merle once about Laura, about how he treated her. Now it went too far and the Governor restricted Laura to confinement until he could find out a punishment he thought would get the idea through her head that she was not to associate with anyone. Merle landed himself in hot water too, the Governor was beyond pissed to hear about the incident.
The rapist was not punished for his acts, the Governor could not care less about what he did. Merle crossed a line and Laura proved she still retained some small part of herself in the shell of a person they were trying to create.
Her punishment was more brutal than what she anticipated. When the guards entered with the Governor she fought trying to resist, but found her fear of what was coming next stronger than her conditioning. Pure, abject terror struck her body and she found herself struggling. The man was relentless, her desperation failed to reach any humanity he had left.
Merle was brought in to watch, the Governor never included him in the tests they performed before or her torture. He figured the best way to stop two people from breaking the simple rules he put down was to show them the results of it. Laura knew resisting would only have ever made it worse, but Merle standing up for her meant more to her than she could rationalize in her head.
This final attempt to wipe clean what was left of Laura would not be torture that took so long just to get her to this point. Merle leaned against the cabinet and bit his tongue, watching them pull her into the room and force her into the chair. Leather restraints were buckled over her wrists and ankles. A hot iron already prepared as they kicked the chair back.
"Now see, things are so much simpler when everyone plays nice." The Governor stood beside Merle, a veiled threatening tone. "Since you two seemed to have gotten so close, I guess it's time to remind you that this shadow of the doctor's daughter is nothing more than a tool for us here in Woodbury. Somewhere between cattle and a dog." He had the usual smirk on his face, a signature expression when he felt like he was winning.
Merle did not express anything at all. He knew this was going to hurt, but letting the Governor get to him was something he hated more than anything. He crossed his arms and gritted his teeth, trying to be ready to watch.
The medical lights were all turned on, the brightness of the pure white lights blinding Laura. The seat was dropped back and a hand pulled up the fabric of her shirt, leaving her abdomen exposed.
"We all have a role to play here in Woodbury. I trust you leading my men and I trust that thing to protect my men. I can't have any kind of favoritism between them, that just complicates things... and I thought I gave pretty clear rules about how we treat our biter friend here." He continued on, his rambling grating on Merle's nerves. The Governor looked to him with that smug grin, "I figure if you are so attached to this biter than this... this will be hard to watch. If you can make it through without getting in the way, I'll let you off the hook."
Merle kept his focus on Laura in the chair, he could sit here quietly if he had to. That would not be too much of a problem even though this depth of depravity went further than what Merle was ever willing to do. He knew it went on in Woodbury, but he was never part of it. Even Merle had his limits. He was a hateful, angry man, but this went to dark place he never touched.
The iron was pull from the fire, the old wood burner they used before was certainly hot. This time they used a gas fire that was hot enough to turn blue and let the iron sit in it for plenty of time to heat up. The punishment in mind was to damage her irreparably. If anything could do it - this would be it.
The man holding the iron had a thick glove on insulating his hand and brought the iron to the soft, sensitive flesh of the abdominal oblique. The iron they used before was heated for a short time in a wood burner and pressed against the scarred but thicker skin on her back. A smaller iron on her collarbone, but it would fade more than the other.
Instead of using the branding tool as a torture method, they were going to use it simply to cause pain knowing that they got more of a reaction last time than anything else they did. It was largely for her, but the Governor would enjoy teaching Merle a lesson about breaking the rules here. This punishment was reserved for Laura certainly, but the threat was real.
Merle could admit to some complicated feelings for the girl. He was not attracted to her, this was not romantic involvement; he found her appearance... not to his tastes. However, he found himself actually caring if something happened to her inside or outside Woodbury. When he pulled the man off of Laura he hit him before he thought twice about what was going on.
The man was on the ground, holding his face. Laura was naked in front of him and he found the sight... disturbing at the very least. He never thought about Laura undressed, never considered seeing her in that position. Were he like the man on the ground her vulnerability would make her an easy target. Again though, Merle could not bring himself to see Laura... sexually.
She is strange to him, to everyone. Merle did not think of her as human in the same way he is or the people of Woodbury are. He saw her as a creature, but one with sense. Merle was not the kindest man, not the most considerate; he never had concern for anyone in Woodbury. Merle knew Laura was a capable being, a fighter who could even run with him.
Right now he did not see any of that. Laura was not the fierce creature she was outside these walls. She was defenseless, terrified, and he felt responsible for the position they were both in. Helping her made everything much worse.
He knew he gave a fuck about her well being and he knew she thought the same for him. Their partnership put them in a dangerous position in Woodbury, especially with the Governor putting so much of his efforts behind Laura only to find Merle undermining all his work.
"Do it." The Governor saw them waiting for the go ahead. The heated iron only a foot away from her abdomen. They all looked between each other and double checked the restraints. If there was a way to move none of them could see it.
The iron made a sickening hiss as it was pressed into the skin. To his credit Merle did not flinch when he saw Laura's reaction.
Laura arched back, pulling against the restraints. Her body screamed out and she could not find anything to hold onto, only a guttural sound came from her chest during the first second the iron hit her skin. They applied more pressure and she screamed louder than she had ever heard herself before. Her voice scratching and high pitched, her body twitched and thrashed involuntarily.
The smell of burnt flesh hit everyone pretty quickly. Merle chewed the inside of his cheek just waiting for it to be over.
Laura's as the burning spread through her body the shock drove her mind entirely blank, unable to think, see, or feel anything other than the fire in her skin. It crept into her body, her mind whiting out as the sensation hit her top to bottom. It cleared everything from her mind, the agony driving her to try and beg for it to stop. With the bit in her mouth, the nails of the muzzle cut through her jaw but she could not feel it.
Nothing compared, nothing came close to Laura. The Governor found the pinnacle of punishment he could and exploited it.
The iron was removed from her abdomen, the seared mark burnt into the external abdominal oblique. It was clear and the severity of the burn meant that the scar would never fade. The intention of the punishment was both made to be understood immediately and remembered for as long as she was around. The Governor intended to keep her until she no longer proved useful, then he would just let the doctor use her corpse to study.
The restraints came off, Laura was unresponsive, but he knew she had not died. The overwhelming experience would take time to recover from and he did not intend to give her the time to do so.
Carelessly the guards dragged her back to the cell she was kept in. The threw her inside and the lights all switched on. They required some deal of power, but the Governor was more than happy to redirect a few lights to make sure his threats were followed through. The room was bathed in light bright enough to make their eyes sore, but were torture for Laura.
A stereo was placed on a small stand in front of the cell and the Governor turned the volume up and let the static of dead radio fill the room. The speakers loud enough to frustrate any human listener, but he knew from the doctor's tests that the light, the sound, the burn - it was excruciating to Laura.
"Maybe this will get the message through." The Governor turned to Merle standing behind him. "What do you think?" He goaded Merle openly, displaying the capacity for punishing those that crossed him.
Merle nodded, "Yeah, I think it got through."
The Governor smiled brightly, "Good, just what a wanted to hear." He put an arm around Merle who regarded it with a certain level of disgust. The Governor began to walk him away from the cell, away from Laura. "I'm glad to know the lesson got through. You know it's not easy to do this, I don't take this lightly. It's important we're all on the same page, because if we're not-" He turned to Merle, staring him down, "-people could die and we don't want that to happen."
The threats were over, the Governor feeling like Merle knew it was all directed more at Merle rather than Laura. She had not broken any rules technically, she did as she was told. When the man made his intentions known and bent her over the table, she did not resist.
This lesson was for Merle, because he resisted. He did exactly what the Governor told him not to do. Merle considered Laura a person, their trips outside Woodbury creating a bond of mutual survivors. Merle took it further than that and he did not do so lightly. He made the decision to attack the man he found raping Laura, he took care of her.
From this act, breaking the Governor's rule about staying separate from Laura, Merle got himself stuck in a bad situation. He knew Laura was thankful for what he did, he was the only person she had ever willingly touched at all. She was in shock and held onto him for dear life, the ordeal having gotten to her. Merle was good to her, he held her while she just let it out.
Laura struck a cord with Merle and she suffered for their strange companionship. Merle could not put into words how enraged he was when the Governor brought him to the lab.
Whatever protectiveness he had for Laura the Governor tested and Merle began to formulate a plan. He was fiercely loyal the Governor had decided to push Merle further than he was willing to go.
Animecrzygrl99:
Haha yeah I now there's a lot to read in this story. About to hit 50 chapters and nearing 400,000 words! Microsoft Word tells me that's like 780 pages.
The last update happened just before I went to bed and this one is coming at the very end of my work day. So I'm trying to move out chapters to keep readers interested! :D
I'm glad you're enjoying it! I've gotten pretty dark these last few chapters. It's a long journey for Laura.
adelphe24:
Oh yeah, Laura seeing the group again... it's not gonna be easy. So much has happened, so much will happen; it's going to be complicated to write! xD
Merle is a strange person. He expresses his opinions hatefully, but he isn't what he shows everyone else. As presented in the show, Merle is complicated and his development during childhood years was marred with struggles and permanent mental damage.
In a way Laura and Merle understand each other, they're both stuck in Woodbury and they're both working through stuff. Though Laura's situation in considerably worse currently, they acknowledge each other equally anyways.
Gemini's Revenge:
Oh yeah, Daryl's going to be... well... there's many words to describe what will happen, how the group will react seeing Laura. Both alive and what she has been turned into through months of torture.
And that's an excellent quote for this situation and exactly her position. It will be a struggle to lose the food, but a welcome end to torture. The trouble comes from the mental trauma and inhumane cruelty. She would want it to end, but it's all about if she can recognize that it could end if she takes the right steps. ;)