Fear the Dead, Fight the Living
A/N: I know I kind of put the first few episodes in one chapter on the last one but I honestly can't stand short chapters lol. I do hope everyone is still enjoying though.
Daryl POV...
"Man, you couldn't have waited till we got back?" I asked Rick as I paced
"Until Tyreese got back?" He asked me
"I could've handled that." I tell him
"Hey. Hey. She killed two of our own. She couldn't be here. What if would have been Phoebe?" He asked me and I looked at him
"She would never hurt her daughter you know that"
"She's gonna be all right. She has a car, supplies, weapons. She's a survivor." He says
"Stop saying that like you don't believe it."
"She did it. She said it was for us. That's how it was in her head. She wasn't sorry." He says
"Man, that's her, but that ain't her. What are we supposed to do about those two girls?" I asked him, "What about Phoebe?"
"I told her we'd look after them, I don't know about Phoebe, I'm hoping she will understand and I haven't told Tyreese yet. I don't know how he's gonna take it."
"Let's go find out." I tell him
Phoebe POV...
"Don't touch me." Michonne says to the Governor as he tried to put a band aid on her head, when he took us she tried to fight back but he hit her
"Stay still." He says and got the bandaid on, then he grabbed Hershel and helped him over to the seat Michonne was at next to me then grabbed something out of his pocket, "You should eat. It's gonna be a long day. Nobody's gonna hurt you."
"I don't believe that." I tell him and he looked at me
"Well, I don't care."
"Just tell us what this is. Please." Hershel asked
"It isn't personal."
"Then what is it?" I asked him
"Michonne, I want you to know... Penny, my daughter, she was dead. I know that now. Now, I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I need the prison, that's it. There are people I need to keep alive. You three are gonna help me take it. No one needs to die."
"I'm gonna kill you." Michonne says to him
"No, you won't."
"I'm gonna take my-" She started to say but Hershel cut her off
"Stop it. You want the prison?" Hershel asked him
"Yeah. And I'll take it as peacefully as I can."
"Governor-" Hershel says
"Don't call me that."
"Your people, our people, we can find a way to live together. These people you need to keep alive, do you love them?" He asked
"You're a good man, Hershel. A better man than Rick."
"Everything you've said, the way you've said it, you've changed. So has Rick." Hershel told him
"The two of us will never be able to live together. Michonne and I, we'll never be able to live together."
"We'll find a way." Hershel says
"I found a way! I'm trying hard. There's all kinds of ways I could do this. This way, you get to live and I get to be..." He started to say and walked over to the door
"You say you want to take this prison as peacefully as possible. That means you'd be willing to hurt people to get it. My daughters would be there, Phoebe's husband and mother would be in there. That's who you'd be hurting." Hershel says
"If you understand what it's like to have a daughter, then how can you threaten to kill someone else's?" I asked him
"Because they aren't mine." He answered and walked out
We got moved from the RV to a truck and drove to the prison, I looked at both of my friends as we got closer then looked out the window, next thing I knew there was a loud explosion and I saw a guard tower on fire, "Rick! Come down here. We need to talk." The Governor says and there was a pause, "Is Hershel on the council?" He asked and the truck door opened and a guy grabbed out Hershel, "What about Michonne? She on the council, too?" He asked and another person grabbed her, "What about Phoebe?" A guy grabbed me and walked me over to the others and made me kneel down next to Michonne, I looked up at the prison trying to see everyone but since we barricaded the fence it made it hard. I knew Daryl was standing there and was most likely boiling with rage that the Governor had me.
"I don't make decisions anymore." I hear Rick shout to the Governor
"You're making the decisions today, Rick. Come down here. Let's... Let's have that talk."
"Let 'em go right now. I'll stay down here." Rick tells him as he walked down to the other side of the fence by an tipped over bus, "Talk as long as you want. But you let 'em go. You got a tank. You don't need hostages."
"I do. This is just to show you I'm serious. Not to blast a hole in our new home. You and your people, you have till sundown to get out of here or they die."
"Doesn't have to go down this way." Rick says
"I got more people, more firepower. We need this prison. There it is."
"It's not about the past. It's about right now. There are children here. Some of them are sick. They won't survive." Rick pleads
"I have a tank. And I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about? I could shoot you all. You'd all shoot back. I know that. But we'll win and you'll be dead. All of you. Doesn't have to be like that. Like I said, it's your choice." The Governor tells him and we hear a walker snarling, the Governor shoots it and I jumped, normally I don't but when you're kneeling on the ground with your hands tied behind your back you can't help it, "Noise will only draw more of them over. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to get out of here. You got maybe about an hour of sunlight left. I suggest you start packing. The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna be for you to get out of here."
"We can all- we can all live together. There's enough room for all of us." Rick tells him
"More than enough. But I don't think my family would sleep well knowing that you were under the same roof."
"We'd live in different cell blocks. We'd never have to see each other till we're all ready." Rick mentioned
"It could work. You know it could." Hershel says to the Governor
"It could've. But it can't. Not after Woodbury. Not after Andrea." The Governor says and I clench my jaw
"Look, I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. Fact is, it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder than standing here shooting at each other. But I don't think we have a choice." Rick brought up
"We don't. You do."
"We're not leaving. You try and force us, we'll fight back. Like you said, the gunshots will just bring more of them out. They'll take down the fences. Without the fences, this place is worthless. Now, we can all live in the prison or none of us can." Rick says and I see the Governor get down from the tank and walk over to Hershel with Michonne's sword, No
"You. You in the ponytails. Is this what you want? Is this what any of you want?" Rick asked the other people behind us
"What we want is what you got. Period. Time for you to leave, asshole." The guy in the tank tells him
"Look, I fought him before. And after, we took in his old friends. They've become leaders in what we have here. Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates... you're one of us. We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. I know... we all can change." Rick says to everyone
"Liar." The Governor says and swung the sword to Hershel's neck and for a moment I couldn't move as Hershel's body fell over
"No!" Rick yelled and shot at the Governor
"Michonne!" I yelled and we both rolled to get away as everyone fired their guns, I saw a guy move forward as I moved to the side of a vehicle and kicked his legs knocking him down then swung my foot onto his head knocking him out then I grabbed the knife from his belt which is very hard to do when your hands are behind you and I cut my bindings then hid behind the vehicle
"Go through the fence in your cars. Get your guns, we go in. Kill them all." The Governor tells everyone
"Roger that. Move in!" The guy in the tank ordered and they all moved forward, I saw Michonne's sword on the ground and I ran over to hit killing a couple more people and saw her running
"Michonne!" I yelled and ran over to her handing her the sword as I picked up a gun, "I need to get up there!" I started to move forward but she stopped me
"You can't"
"Daryl's up there! My mom!" I tell her
"It's to dangerous we can't. Come on!" She yelled and I looked back up at the prison, "We'll find him, I promise." She says and I followed her then we saw the Governor beating up Rick she rushed over to and stabbed the Governor through the chest
"Rick?!" I rushed over and helped him up
"Carl? Where's Carl?"
"I don't know. Where's Daryl?" I asked but he walked away, "Rick!" I yelled but Michonne pulled me back
"We got to go, come on!" She told me and we ran. Once we made it a safe distance away we looked back and saw our former home up in flames. I looked at Michonne and we continued moving until she stopped and lured 2 walkers over to her and cut off their arms, grabbed a rope and tied them around her waist, I walked next to her when we came up on Hershel's body, I saw his head on the ground growling. I looked at Michonne and reached my hand out for her sword, she handed to me and I fought back tears then lifted it up and stabbed it.
"Goodbye old friend" I said and handed the sword back to her and we continued to move. Now my next mission was to find Daryl, my mom and the others, I wasn't gonna stop until I was back in my husband's arms again.
"We should find a place to rest" I told Michonne as we continued walking through the woods coming up on a road, she nodded her head and we moved towards a broken down car. I got in the back seat and she got in the front hooking the rope holding the walkers the the door, "Get some rest" I told her and she laid down, I however couldn't sleep, just sat there looking at my ring trying to fight back tears. I needed to find Daryl I just had to, and my mom, I had this empty feeling inside me that I couldn't explain but I know seeing them would fill it, to be in Daryl's arms, to know my mom is okay. I was broken out of my thoughts when Michonne jerked awake, "Hey you ok?" I asked her and she looked at me
"I'm fine. How long was I out?"
"I think about 10 minutes" I told her and she looked at me
"Did you rest?" She asked and I shook my head
"I can't turn off my brain" I said and she grabbed my hand
"We'll find them. we'll find them all" She says and I sniffled then laid my head down and fell asleep
As we walked down the road I looked down and stopped, "What is it?" she asked
"I see shoe prints here in the mud," I showed her and followed them with my eyes, "This way" I tell her and we follow them with memories of Daryl teaching me how to track flooding my head
We made our way to an old restaurant and walked in, we see a dead walker on the floor and looked at each other, I rushed to the back to look around and didn't find anything then came back out and saw Michonne sitting on the floor talking to herself so I just stood there and listened.
"Mike. I miss you. I missed you even when I was with you. Back at the camp. It wasn't you who did it. You were wrong. Because I'm still here. And you could be, too. And he could be. I know the answer. I know why." She says and I walk over to her and sit down next to her. I didn't know a lot of things about her past but I wouldn't push it, right now I would just be there for her, she looked at me and gave me a sad smile then we got up and continued on, "Do you think about your life before all this?" She asked me
"Sometimes, part of it is slipping away but other parts remain. Graduating out of the police academy with Rick and...Shane, doing what I could to protect my mom and my sister from my dad, getting stabbed by a robber and almost dying. It feels like forever ago even though it wasn't" I said and she nodded, "You?"
"All the time"
We get near some houses and saw a giant can on the ground and walked over to it seeing it was pudding, we looked at each other then a house that was on our left so we made our way up to it and looked in the window. I smiled and cried in relief when I saw Rick and Carl sitting on the floor, I smiled at Michonne as she wiped a tear away and went over to the door and knocked.
Daryl POV...
"We should do something. We should do something. We aren't the only survivors. We can't be. Rick, Michonne, Phoebe they could be out here." Beth says and I stare at the fire feeling a pain in my heart when she said Phoebe's name, last I saw of her she was on her knees with the Governors people. I wanted to rip that damn prick's head off for taking her. I didn't know if she was alive but I really hoped she was and that we would find each other. I can't lose her, "Maggie and Glenn could have made it out of A block. They could've. You're a tracker. You can track. Come on. The sun will be up soon. If we head out now, we can- Fine. If you won't track, I will." She tells me and grabbed my knife out of the ground and walked away, I watched her go then after a moment I got up and put out the fire
"Could be Luke's. Or Molly's. Whoever they are, it means they're alive." She says looking down at the shoe prints I found in the dirt
"No. This means they were alive four or five hours ago." I tell her
"They're alive." She said and walked away, we followed the tracks
"They picked up the pace right here. Got out in a hurry. Things went bad." I pointed out
"Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith."
"Yeah, faith. Faith ain't done shit for us. Sure as hell didn't do nothing for your father." I said and regretted it instantly, I turned around and saw her looking at me, I looked at her saying sorry with my eyes and she started picking berries
"They'll be hungry when we find them." She mentioned and I grabbed the bandana I had and tapped her arm with it so she could put them in there, I walked into the grass heading to the woods and she followed but then I stopped looking at two dead walkers, "What?"
"That ain't walker blood." I point out
"The trail keeps going. They fought them off."
"No. Got walker tracks all up and down here. At least a dozen of them" I mentioned and moved away, I hear a twig snap and next thing I knew a walker grabbed Beth, I aimed my crossbow but couldn't get a good shot so I dropped it then reached for my knife but forgot she had it so I grabbed the walker off her and threw it to the ground, I saw her pick up the knife and I nodded rolling it so it was on top and she stabbed it. I got up and grabbed my crossbow then we moved on and found a set of train tracks seeing a few walkers eating some bodies, I shot two of them then stabbed another with my arrow and looked at the bodies then heard Beth crying.
Phoebe POV...
"Did you see Daryl at all?" I asked Rick as we stood in the house
"No..I'm sorry"
I swallowed the lump in my throat, "My mom? Did you see my mom?" I asked and he looked at me then the ground, "Rick?"
"She-she wasn't there"
"What do you mean?" I asked him and we looked at Michonne and Carl
"Why don't we go see what we can find around here" Michonne says to Carl and they walk away
"Rick, what do mean she wasn't there?"
He looked at me and shifted, "She-she killed Karen and David" He told me and I looked at him shocked
"What?"
"When we found their bodies, she did it" He says and I shake my head
"No, no there's just no way. She wouldn't do that"
"Phoebe, she told me she did it, when we went on that run" He told me
"So..so then..what..."
"I sent her away" He tells me and I looked at him with shock and disbelief
"You what?" I asked him holding back tears, "You did what?!"
"Shh.."
"That's my mom!" I yelled at him moving to him but I backed away, I wanted to hit him but he was still healing, "You son of a bitch"
"I couldn't have her there, not with everyone getting sick who knows what she would have done."
I stood there with my hands on my hips looking at the ground, "You should have came to me when you started to figure it out, I could have talked to her"
"I'm sorry, I am. I gave her a car and some supplies and who knows we may see her again"
I scoffed, "You know if people telling me that I just might scream," I said fighting tears, "I don't know if I'm gonna find her, or Daryl for that matter. I'm trying, I'm trying really hard not to lose hope but I'm slipping Rick...I haven't found anything leading me to Daryl and I can't breathe because I don't.."
"Hey, hey it's ok" He says pulling me into a hug as I cried
Me and Carl sat at the table in the house the next day eating dry cereal when Michonne walked over and Carl started to laugh
"Do you have something to say about my extremely comfortable and attractive shirt?" She asked him and I smirked
"No, no, no. It looks great. Oh, you missed a..." He indicated to a button she missed
"I wish we had some soy milk." She says and I looked at her
"Seriously?" I asked her
"Yes, seriously. Have you ever tried it? Either of you?"
"My best friend in third grade he was allergic to dairy" Carl told her
"Uh-huh."
"And every day he would bring this soy stuff to lunch. I tried it." He says
"And?" I asked
"I threw up." He says and we chuckled
"Oh, yeah, right." Michonne says
"All right, all right. I almost threw up. But I was like, ugh. It was so gross. I mean, literally, I would rather have powdered milk than to have to drink that stuff again. I would rather have Judith's formula-" He started to say but stopped, I looked at him and felt my heart break, "I'm gonna go finish my book. I have a couple chapters left." He says and got up
"Carl..." I said but he continued walking then Rick walked in
"Thank you. I heard him laughing in there. Almost forgot what that sounded like." Rick pointed out and I give him a small smile, "I can't be his father and his best friend. He needs you. I know that's a lot to throw at you. So if you're ever feeling like you need a break..." He started to say to Michonne and me
"I'm done taking breaks. So what's the plan? This place, is it home or just a stop along the way?" I asked him , I needed to continue looking for Daryl and my mom
"Well, let's- let's just stay here while we figure it out."
"Well, we'll need more supplies. I'll go with Carl and get some." Michonne tells him
"I'll come, too."
"You were unconscious yesterday." She tells him
"I'm awake today."
"We need you strong. Just rest. Just one more day. I'll go with them" I tell him and Michonne nodded at me
"How long you think you'll be?" Rick asked us as we walked out the door
"Fill a couple bags, shouldn't be too long." Michonne told him
"It's 8:15 now."
"We'll be back by noon." I said
"All right, you follow their lead. You understand?" Rick asked Carl handing him his gun, "Hey. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just... hungry."
"All right. I'll see you in a couple hours." Rick tells him
"Clean yourself up, rest, you look like ass" I say to him and he chuckled then we make our way down the steps
"Find anything good? Candy bars? Comic books? Crazy Cheese?" Michonne asked him as we walked out of one of the houses
"Huh?" He asked her and I saw her reach into her bag
"Bam, Crazy Cheese." She says holding a can and I giggled, "Found it still sealed and everything. Now I'll be nice and let you have the first pull." She offered him
"No, thanks."
"Are you sure?" She asked
"I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine." I point out to him
"I'm just tired. Okay?" He says and I nod then see Michonne spray some cheese into her mouth with some hanging out and started hissing I looked at her and my head smiling but Carl didn't seem phased and continued walking, she wiped the cheese away and I wrap my arm around her shoulder as we catch up
"I'm sorry. I'm not very good at making boys your age laugh." She tells him
"I was laughing. Inside." He tells her as we knock on the outside of another house
"Toddlers find me funny. Two, three-year-olds."
"What do you mean toddlers?" He asked
"I had a three-year-old son and he happened to find me extremely funny." She says and I looked at her confused as she opens the door to the house and we walk in, "We need food, batteries, water, in that order."
"Why didn't you ever tell me you had a kid? What was his name? Did you have any others? Were you married?" Carl kept asking
"Okay. I'll answer one question at a time, one room at a time, and only after we've cleared"
"Okay." He tells her and she looked at me
"You game?" She asked and I looked into a room
"Sure" I said and we began searching
"What was your son's name?" Carl asked her as she stands there looking at a painting
"I said after."
"Well, these are actually two separate rooms and we already cleared that one, so..." He pointed out
"Andre. His name was Andre Anthony. Make sure there isn't a box of cookies hiding in there." She pointed to a cabinet
"Did you have any other kids?" He asked her
"Rules of the game, my friend."
"So? Did you?" He asked following us int the hallway and she looked at another picture
"You know, you could be a spy."
"Or a cop." I add
"No. One was enough for me. And Andre was a handful, like you."
"Does this hallway count as a room?"
"If you can find something we can use."
"This is the only thing I could find. Does it count?" He asked bringing over a covered painting
"Technically, yes." She says and grabbed it
"Phoebe," He says to me and I looked at him, "What's your best memory, with Sophia?" He asked and I sighed
"Her 10th birthday, I had the day off and my dad was at work so I took her and my mom to the circus that was in town, granted I really didn't want to go due to my massive fear of clowns," I said and they both laughed, "But I took them, we went on rides, pet the animals saw a few shows, ate more then we could handle and finally headed home. My dad found out and tried to take it out on my mom but I stood in the way telling him it was me not her. That night I went up to Sophia's room and tucked her in, she thanked me and said it was the best birthday ever then I laid with her until she fell asleep." I said wiping a tear away and sighed, Carl grabbed my hand and smiled at me then I continued walking through the house with them getting to another room
"So? How long has it been?" Carl asked Michonne
"It happened after- you know, after everything happened."
"Does my dad know?" He asked
"Never told him. Never told anyone till just now"
"Your secret is safe with me." Carl tells her and I smiled
"Me too" I added
"It's not really a secret."
"It's still safe with us." He says then me and him went into another room, "Did you and Daryl ever think about kids?" He asked me after we cleared the room
"We did, we were planning on it but...then all this other stuff happened" I tell him and he nodded
"He's ok, I know he is" He tells me and I smile at him
"Thanks buddy. Let's go find Michonne" I said and we walked out of the room hearing a door slam and made our way to a kids room
"Michonne? Everything okay?" Carl asked her and we see her leaning against a door
"Yeah, it's fine."
"There's a baby in there." Carl brought up
"It's a dog."
"My dad let me name her. Maybe- maybe her, Sophia and Andre are together somewhere." Carl says and I wrap my arm around his shoulder
"I'm sure they are" I said
"Come on. It's almost noon. Your dad will wonder where we are if we're late." Michonne told him and we walked out of the house and made our way back to the one we were in when we see Rick running over to us
"Go! Go!" He quietly yelled and we hear gunshots go off in the house and run away. After a while we came up on an old train car with a sign for a place called Terminus,
"What do you think?" I asked Rick
"Let's go"
If any of our people saw this they could be there. Daryl could be there
Daryl POV...
We ran out of the woods as a storm was coming and walkers followed us, I opened the trunk of a car and Beth climbed in then I followed closing it as the storm blew through and walkers bumped against the car. Next day I shot a a snake then started to skin it and Beth looked at me, we sat by a fire after I cooked it and I continued eating my half. Food was food right?
"I need a drink." She tells me and I threw the water bottle at her, "No, I mean a real drink. As in alcohol. I've never had one. 'Cause of my dad. But he's not exactly around anymore, so... I thought we could go find some." She says and I continue eating, "Okay. Well, enjoy your snake jerky." She says and got up walking away,I walked up on her as walkers walked away and she looked at me, I walked away leading her back to camp, although she didn't know that, "I think we made it a way. I'm pretty sure we got to go that way to find the booze." She says and hit our hubcaps that she hung, "What the hell? You brought me back. I'm not staying in this suck-ass camp." She says flipping me off and I grabbed her had
"Hey! You had your fun." I tell her
"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you feel anything? Yeah, you think everything's screwed. I guess that's a feeling. So you want to spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes? Screw that. We might as well do something. I can take care of myself and I'm gonna get a damn drink." She said and walked away, I looked back at the camp. I do feel something, an emptiness that Phoebe fills, that's why I need to find her.
"Golfers like to booze it up, right?" She asked as we came up on a golf resort, "Come on." She says and we walk to the building, "Might be people inside." She tries the door with no luck so we headed to another one and walk in, I ready my crossbow and we see a couple walkers hanging from the ceiling. I bent down and found a purse on the ground with money and jewelry sticking out, I started putting it all back in the bag, "Why are you keeping all that stuff?" She asked me and I looked back down and saw something that caught my eye, I grabbed it and put it in my pocket then we hear banging on the door we came in
"Come on." I tell her and we headed out of the room and walked through a dark hallway, I looked up at the shelves and grabbed a few things while Beth walked away. Then I hear her grunt and I rushed over to see her above a dead walker
"Thanks for the help."
"You said you could take care of yourself. You did." I tell her and walked away then we headed down some stairs, I crawled under a tipped over cabinet and lifted a clock, it chimed and I waited a moment then got out with Beth following
"Help me take her down." She said indicating to a dead body that was displayed with a piece of paper that said 'Rich Bitch' on it
"It don't matter. She's dead."
"It does matter." she tells me and I grab a blanket
"Here." I drape it over the body and we headed down another hall then a clock chimed, I turned down a hall shining my light and saw walkers at the end of it, "Move." I tell her and we moved down a different hall ending up in a bar part of the resort with the walkers following us, I shoot one in the head and pushed another hitting it with the golf club as another came in and I stabbed the club through its head, another one came and I kicked it then stabbed the other that came through with my knife as the one I kicked stood up, I knocked it to the ground and started beating it with the club then swung it splattering it on Beth. She took off her top shirt and walked towards the bar.
"We made it. I know you think this is stupid. And it probably is. But I don't care. All I wanted to do today was lay down and cry, but we don't get to do that. So beat up on walkers if that makes you feel better. I need to do this." She says and walked away, I found a framed piece of paper and broke the frame with my crossbow, "Did you have to break the glass?"
"No. You have your drink yet?" I asked her
"No. But I found this. Peach schnapps. Is it good?" She asked and I walked past her
"No."
"Well, it's the only thing left. Who needs a glass?" She asked as I grabbed some darts throwing them at the pictures of some rich assholes on the walk and I hear her start to cry. I looked at her then threw the last dart and walked over to her grabbing the bottle and threw it on the floor
"Ain't gonna have your first drink be no damned peach schnapps." I tell her and grabbed my crossbow moving to the door, "Come on." I tell her and we left
"A motorcycle mechanic." Beth says
"Huh?"
"That's my guess. For what you were doing before the turn. Did Zack ever guess that one?" She asked me
"It don't matter. Hasn't mattered for a long time."
"It's just what people talk about, you know, to feel normal." She pointed out
"Yeah, well, that never felt normal to me." I tell her and we come up on a cabin, "Found this place with...Phoebe." I tell her and she put her hand on my shoulder but I walked away
"I was expecting a liquor store."
"No, this is better." I tell her and we head over to a shed and I grab out a grate
"What's that?" She asked and I handed it to her
"Moonshine. Come on." I said and we headed into the house, I blow into a cup then put some into it handing it to her, "All right. That's a real first drink right there." I tell her and she looked at it, "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. It's just... my dad always said bad moonshine can make you go blind."
"Ain't nothing worth seeing out there anymore anyway." I point out and she takes a sip
"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted." She poured herself another one, "Second round's better." I said and she pours some into a cup, "Slow down."
"This one's for you."
"No, I'm good." I declined
"Why?"
"Someone's got to keep watch." I mention
"So, what, you're like my chaperone now?" She asked
"Just drink lots of water." I tell her walking away
"Yes, Mr. Dixon." She says and I stop
"Are you worried about me Mr. Dixon?" Phoebe asked me when we were back at the prison
"Always" I tell her and kissed her
"What would I do without my strong husband?"
"Find someone better" I say and she smacked my chest
"Stop it, you are perfect and I love you"
"I love you too" I replied
"Who'd go into a store and walk out with this?" Beth asked bringing me out of my thoughts pointing at a glass bra
"My dad, that's who. Oh, he's a dumb ass. He'd set those up on top of the TV set, use them as target practice."
"He shot things inside your house?" She asked me
"It was just a bunch of junk anyway. That's how I knew what this place was. That shed out there, my dad had a place just like this. You got your Dumpster chair. That's for sitting in and your drawers all summer drinking. Got your fancy buckets. That's for spitting chaw in after your old lady tells you to stop smoking. You got your internet." I point out picking up a newspaper then we hear growling, "It's just one of 'em."
"Should we get it?" She asked
"If he keeps making too much noise, yeah."
"Well, if we're gonna be trapped again, we might as well make the best of it. Unless you're too busy chaperoning, Mr. Dixon." She says and I sighed, I wanted to hear Phoebe call me that again
"Hell, might as well make the best of it." I tell her grabbing the jar and sat in the chair, "Home, sweet home."
"So first I say something I've never done and if you have done it, you drink, and if you haven't, I drink. Then we switch. You really don't know this game?" She asked me
"I never needed a game to get lit before." I tell her and took a drink
"Wait, are we starting?"
"How do you know this game?" I asked her
"My friends played. I watched. Okay, I'll start. I've never shot a crossbow. So now you drink."
"Ain't much of a game." I said taking a drink
"That was a warm-up. Now you go."
"I don't know." I told her chewing on my thumb
"Just say the first thing that pops into your head."
"I've never been out of Georgia." I point out
"Really?" She asked, "Okay, good one." She took a drink, "I've never... been drunk and did something I regretted." I took a drink
"I've done a lot of things."
"Your turn." She says
"I've never been on vacation."
"What about camping?" She asked me
"No, that was just something I had to learn to hunt."
"Your dad teach you?" She asked
"Mm-hmm."
"Okay. I've never... been in jail. I mean, as a prisoner." She says and I look at her
"Is that what you think of me?" I asked her
"I didn't mean anything serious. I just thought, you know, like the drunk tank. Even my dad got locked up for that back in the day."
"Drink up." I tell her
"Wait. Prison guard. Were you a prison guard before?" She asked me
"No."
"It's your turn again." She says and I stand up
"I'm gonna take a piss." I said and smashed a jar
"You have to be quiet."
"Can't hear you! I'm taking a piss!" I yell
"Daryl, don't talk so loud."
"What, are you my chaperone now?" I asked then zipped up my pants, "Oh, wait. It's my turn, right? I've never- never eaten frozen yogurt. Never had a pet pony. Never got nothing from Santa Claus. Never relied on anyone for protection before. Hell, I don't think I've ever relied on anyone for anything." I tell her
"Daryl."
"Never sung out in front of a big group out in public like everything was fun. Like everything was a big game. I sure as hell never cut my wrists looking for attention." I said and the walker outside pounds against the wall, "Sounds like our friend out there is trying to call all of his buddies." I point out grabbing my crossbow
"Daryl, just shut up."
"Hey, you never shot a crossbow before?" I asked her, "I'm gonna teach you right now. Come on. It's gonna be fun."
"We should stay inside. Daryl, cut it out! Daryl!" She yells as I pull her outside
"Dumbass. Come here, dumbass." I yell at the walker and shoot it's shoulder pinning it to the wall outside the house
"Daryl."
"You want to shoot?" I asked her
"I don't know how."
"Oh, it's easy. Come here." I tell her putting my arm around her holding the crossbow in front of her, "Right corner." I shoot it in the leg
"Let's practice later."
"Come on, it's fun."
"Just stop it. Daryl!" She says
"Come here." I put the crossbow in front of her again, "Eight ball." I shoot it again
"Just kill it!"
"Come here, Greene. Let's pull these out. Get a little more target practice." I tell her and she walked over then stabbed the walker, "What the hell you do that for? I was having fun."
"No, you were being a jackass. If anyone found my dad-"
"Don't." I cut her off, "That ain't remotely the same."
"Killing them is not supposed to be fun."
"What do you want from me, girl, huh?" I asked her
"I want to you stop acting like you don't give a crap about anything. Like nothing we went through matters. Like none of the people we lost meant anything to you. Like Phoebe never meant anything. It's bullshit!"
"Is that what you think?" I asked her
"That's what I know."
"You don't know nothing." I said
"I know you look at me and you just see another dead girl. I'm not Michonne. I'm not Carol. I'm not Phoebe. I'm not Maggie. I've survived and you don't get it 'cause I'm not like you or them. But I made it and you don't get to treat me like crap just because you're afraid."
"I ain't afraid of nothing." I tell her
"I remember. When that little girl came out of the barn after my mom." She says and a pain goes through my heart again, "You were like me. And now God forbid you ever let anybody get too close. Other then Phoebe"
"Too close, huh? You know all about that. You lost two boyfriends, you can't even shed a tear. Your whole family's gone, all you can do is just go out looking for hooch like some dumb college bitch."
"Screw you. You don't get it." She says
"No, you don't get it! Everyone we know is dead!"
"You don't know that!" She argued
"Might as well be, 'cause you ain't never gonna see 'em again. Rick. You ain't never gonna see Maggie again. I don't even know where Phoebe is."
"Daryl, just stop." She says moving to touch me but I moved away
"No! The Governor rolled right up to our gates. Had Phoebe there. Maybe if I wouldn't have stopped looking. Maybe 'cause I gave up. That's on me and now I don't know if my wife is alive or not."
"Daryl."
"No- And your dad. Maybe- maybe I could have done something." I said and couldn't help it, I started to cry, I've only ever cried in front of Phoebe. I feel Beth wrap her arms around me from behind
"We'll find her"
"I get why my dad stopped drinking." Beth says as we sat on the deck
"You feel sick?"
"Nope. I wish I could feel like this all the time. That's bad."
"Hmm. You're lucky you're a happy drunk." I tell her
"Yeah, I'm lucky. Some people can be real jerks when they drink."
"Yeah, I'm a dick when I'm drunk." I point out, "Merle had this dealer. This janky little white guy. A tweaker. One day we were over at his house watching TV. Wasn't even noon yet and we were all wasted. Merle was high. We were watching this show and Merle was talking all this dumb stuff about it. And he wouldn't let up. Merle never could. Turns out it was the tweaker's kids' favorite show. And he never sees his kids, so he felt guilty about it or something. So he punches Merle in the face. So I started hitting the tweaker, like, hard. As hard as I can. Then he pulls a gun, sticks it right here. He says, "I'm gonna kill you, bitch." So Merle pulls his gun on him. Everyone's yelling. I'm yelling. I thought I was dead. Over a dumb cartoon about a talking dog."
"How'd you get out of it?" She asked me
"The tweaker punched me in the gut. I puked. They both started laughing and forgot all about it. You want to know what I was before all this? I was just drifting around with Merle...doing whatever he said we were gonna be doing that day. I was nobody. Nothing. Some redneck asshole and an even bigger asshole for a brother."
"You miss him, don't you?" She asked and I nodded, "I miss Maggie. I miss her bossing me around. I miss my big brother Shawn. He was so annoying and overprotective. And my dad. I thought- I hoped he'd just live the rest of his life in peace, you know? I thought Maggie and Glenn would have a baby. And he'd get to be a grandpa. And we'd have birthdays and holidays and summer picnics. And he'd get really old. And it'd happen, but it'd be quiet. It'd be okay. He'd be surrounded by people he loved. That's how unbelievably stupid I am."
'That's how it was supposed to be." I tell her
"I wish I could just... change." She says
"You did."
"Not enough. Not like you. It's like you were made for how things are now." She pointed out
"I'm just used to it, things being ugly. Growing up in a place like this." I point out
"Well, you got away from it."
"I didn't." I said
"You did."
"Maybe you got to keep on reminding me sometimes." I mention
"No. You can't depend on anybody for anything, right? I'll be gone someday."
"Stop." I said
"I will. You're gonna be the last man standing. You are. You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon."
"You ain't a happy drunk at all." I tell her
"Yeah, I'm happy. I'm just not blind. You got to stay who you are, not who you were. Places like this, you have to put it away."
"What if you can't?"
"You have to. Or it kills you. Here. We should go inside. We should burn it down.
"We're gonna need more booze." I mention and we got up then started pouring the moonshine all over the place then went outside, I held a bundle of money from the golf course as she light it and then I threw it at the house, we watched it go up in flames, she nudged me and I saw her hold her middle finger up so I did the same then we left.
Phoebe POV...
"I think we got about a day's worth of water left. We're lucky it's cooled off a little bit, but..." Rick started to say and we both looked back at Michonne and Carl walking trying to balance on the train tracks, "What are you doing?"
"Winning a bet." Carl says
"In your dreams." Michonne argued
"I'm still on." He says and started to wobble
"You spoke too soon, wise guy."
"This might go on a while. Maybe we can speed this up." Rick says to them
"Yeah, you're right. Shouldn't be fooling around. We should probably- Carl!" Michonne yelled trying to psych him out but ended up stumbling off
"I win. Pay up." He tells her and she reached into her bag pulling out two candy bars, "Is that really the last Big Cat?" He asked and reached for it
"Oh, come on."
"Hey, but you said winner's choice." He tells her
"Go ahead, take it. It's yours. You won it fair and square." She says and puts the other in her bag and he handed her half of it
"Come on, we always share." He told her
"Fork it over."
"Shall we continue now?" Rick asked and I looked at him
"Oh hell no I got winner," I smiled going to Carl, "Come on" I said and he smiled then we got on and competed while Rick and Michonne laughed. After a while Carl eventually stumbled off and I laughed
"Alright, what do you want?"
"I wanna wear the hat for a bit," I said and they looked at me confused, "Hey all I had was a stupid baseball hat" I told Rick and he chuckled then Carl handed me the hat, "That's Sheriff Dixon to you" I tipped the hat and Carl smiled then we continued walking.
Daryl POV...
I slowly crept up on a rabbit I was hunting and shot it but then another arrow hit it the same time mine did, "What the hell are you doing?" I asked the guy named Len from a group I ran into after I lost Beth
"Catching me some breakfast."
"That's mine." I tell him walking over to the rabbit
"My arrow's the one that hit first. Cottontail belongs to me."
"Been out here since before the sun came up." I point out
"You see, the rules of the hunt don't mean jack out here. Now, that rabbit you're holding is claimed, boy. Claimed whether you like it or not. So I was you, I'd hand it over. Now before you get to wishing you ain't never even got out of bed this morning."
"It ain't yours." I said
"You know, I'll bet this bitch got you all messed up, hmm? Am I right? Got you walking around here like a dead man who just lost himself a piece of tail. Must have been a good'un. Tell me something. Was it one of the little'uns?" He asked I knew he was talking about Beth, I never told them about Phoebe, I reached down and grabbed my knife, "'Cause they don't last too long out here." He says and I was just about to attack him when Joe, the leader walked over
"Easy, fellas, easy." He says putting my hand down, "Let's just put our weapons down. See if we can't figure out what's really the problem here, huh? Did you claim it?" He asked Len
"Hell, yeah."
"Well, there you go. That critter belongs to Len." He tells me and I stood there looking at him not giving in, "Looks like you may be wanting an explanation. See, going it alone, that ain't an option nowadays. Still, it is survival of the fittest. That's a paradox right there. So I laid out some rules of the road to keep things from going Darwin every couple hours. Keep our merry band together and stress-free. All you got to do is claim. That's how you mark your territory, your prey, your bed at night. One word, claimed."
"I ain't claiming nothing." I said to him
"We're gonna teach him, right?" Len asked Joe, "The rules say we got to teach him."
"It wouldn't be fair to punish you for violating a rule you never even knew existed."
"There ain't no rules no more." I point out
"Oh, there are. You know that. That's why I didn't kill you for the crossbow." He says and grabbed the rabbit and I jerked, "Easy there, partner." He lifted the rabbit up but I didn't let go then he took his machete and cut the rabbit in half giving Len the head, "Claimed. That's all you got to say. Hey, ass end is still an end."
"So what's the plan, Daryl?" Joe asked me
"How so?"
"You're with us now, but you ain't soon?" He asked
"Yep."
"So what's the plan?" He asks
"Just looking for the right place is all." I tell him
"Oh, we ain't good enough for you, huh?"
"Some of you ain't exactly friendly." I mention looking at Len
"You ain't so friendly yourself. You know you need a group out here."
"Maybe I don't." I said
"No, you do. You should be with us. People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brothers in arms. We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don't lie. 'Cause that's a slippery slope indeed." He explained
"What happens if you break 'em?" I asked
"Oh, you catch a beatin'. The severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much 'cause when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours." He says and we come up on a shed, "Right there. It's our abode for the evening."
"Hey. There ain't no us."
"You leaving right now?" He asked me, "No? Then it sure seems like there's an us. You a cat person, Daryl?" I shook my head, "I am. Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures. Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat." He says and we head inside, the others walked around to old cars claiming them, I gave up and went to the middle then laid on the floor looking at Len then looked at the ceiling and ran my thumb along my ring, I had only hoped I was getting closer to finding her and hoped I wasn't with this group when I did, who knows what would happen. As I laid there my mind drifted into a memory
I was lying in bed with Phoebe watching her as she slept and I moved some hair out of her face, "I know you're looking at me" She says and I smiled then she opened her eyes and I kissed her
"Good morning Mrs. Dixon"
She leaned up and kissed me, "Good morning to you too, Mr. Dixon" She moved and started to get up but I pulled her back down
"Where do you think you're goin'?" I asked her and she giggled
"I have stuff to do before our run today" She started to say but I started to kiss her neck and flipped her over, "And here I thought you would be to worn out after last night." She says, it was impossible for me to keep my hands off her
"I'll never get enough of you, I love you too much"
"I love you too, and I can't imagine what my life would be like without you." She says and I kissed her
"You'll never have to worry about that, I told you, I'm never going anywhere" I said and she kissed me and we continued what we were doing
I have to find her.
"White Lightning. Easiest thing to make with the least amount of supplies." He says handing me a flask, "I'd start slow if I was you. Your stomach's probably emptier than you think."
I take a drink and hand it back to him, "Mmm. I ain't been lit at dawn since before everything fell apart."
"Fell apart. I never looked at it like that. Seems to me like things are finally starting to fall together. At least for guys like us. Living like this, surviving. We've been doing this from the start, right? Getting closer." He said and we come up on a sign for Terminus,
"You seen this before?" I asked him, I wonder if Phoebe saw these and was heading there, maybe looking for me
"Oh, yeah. I'll tell you what it is. It's a lie. Ain't no sanctuary for all. Ain't gonna welcome guys like you and me with open arms."
"So is that where we're headed?" I asked him
"So now you're asking?"
"That's right." I replied
"We were in a house minding our own business and this walking piece of fecal matter was hiding in the home. Strangled our colleague Lou and left him to turn. Lou came at all of us. He lit out. We tracked him to these tracks, one of those signs, and thus we've got a destination in mind."
"You see his face?" I asked
"Only Tony. That's enough for a reckoning." He says, "You married before all this Daryl?" He asked and I looked at him, "Couldn't help but notice your ring"
"No, after. I lost her" Wasn't a complete lie, I just didn't want to put her in danger by telling him the truth."
"Sorry to hear that. It's hard to find love nowadays is it?" He asked and I nodded
Phoebe POV...
"Here" I tell Rick handing him the last bit of the rabbit I caught
"Aren't you hungry?"
"You're still healing, take it and be quiet" I tell him and he chuckled
"It's a good thing Daryl taught you this stuff" He says and I sat down giving a small smile, "Hey, don't lose hope. We'll find him"
"I know." I said and he finished it up
"That was one small rabbit"
"It was something" Michonne pointed out
"It traveled well. Sucker was harder to catch then normal" I add and they smile
"Have you noticed that's all we talk about anymore? Food. I forgot what this feels like." Rick says
"Me, too. I hope we're able to forget again soon." Michonne mentioned
"We're close. Just got to make it through another day. If folks there are taking people in, they have to be strong. They have to have a system." Rick said
"I wonder if the whole thing's legit." She says and I hear a branch snap and look into the woods but don't see anything
"We let people in." Rick tells her
"We did. So did the Governor."
"Yeah, it's always the same, isn't it? Don't get to know until we know. Maybe this place isn't even there anymore." Rick says and suddenly there's a gun pointed at his head then mine and Michonne's. Someone took my gun away and kicked Michonne's sword.
"Oh, dearie me. You screwed up, asshole. You hear me? You screwed up. Today is a day of reckoning, sir. Restitution. A balancing of the whole damn universe. shit, and I was thinking of turning in for the night on New Year's Eve. Now who's gonna count down the ball dropper with me, huh? Mississippi. Nine Mississippi. Eight Mississippi."
"Joe! Hold up." I hear someone say and I see Daryl run over, I looked at him, my heart leaped and I wanted to run over to him so badly but I couldn't, he looked at me but lightly shook his head
"You're stopping me on eight, Daryl."
"Just hold up." Daryl says again
"This is the guy that killed Lou, so we got nothing to talk about." Another guy told him,
"The thing about nowadays is we got nothing but time. Say your piece, Daryl." Joe says
"These people, you're gonna let 'em go. These are good people." He told him and glanced at me
"Now, I think Lou would disagree with you on that. I'll, of course, have to speak for him and all 'cause your friend here strangled him in a bathroom."
"You want blood, I get it." Daryl told him and put his crossbow down and dropped his knife which I noticed landed next to me but I didn't react, "Take it from me, man. Come on."
"This man killed our friend. You say he's good people. See, now that right there is a lie. It's a lie!" Joe yells and two men grabbed Daryl bringing him over to the car Carl was in and started beating on him, "Teach him, fellas. Teach him all the way." Joe says and another guy grabbed me pulling me away
"No!" I yelled as I struggled, I glanced over at Daryl's knife and tried to grab for it
"What are you reaching for there princess? Huh?" The man asked as he held me down but I stretched as hard as I could and finally grabbed
"This" I said and stabbed him under his jaw, he gagged above me then I pushed him to the ground as a shot went off and I see Rick go after Joe and Michonne took down the guy pointing the gun at her. I went over to the men beating Daryl and kicked one in the back of the knee and stabbed him in the head as well, the other one looked at me and I kicked him in the gut and did the same to him. I then stood there in shock and Daryl looked at me
"Phoebe?" He asked and I dropped the knife as he slowly got up and rushed over to me, "Phoebe" I collapsed into his arms and started crying, partly because of what I just did and the other because I found him, I finally found him
"I-I didn't..."
"Hey," He put his hands on my face, "Self defense" He told me and I nodded my head and he kissed my forehead
"I can't believe I found you" I told him as he held me to him
"Me too baby, me too"
I sat in the car with Michonne and Carl while he rested on Michonne's lap and I looked out the window seeing Daryl walk by then sat down, "You ok?" Michonne asked me
"I killed three men."
"To protect someone you love" She says and I smile
"That's what is keeping me from losing my mind right now" I tell her and look at Carl
We walked along the train tracks and Daryl held my hand, I looked at him and smiled, "You alright?" He asked me
"I am now" I tell him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder pulling me to him
"Me too, I found you"
"I love you" I said and he kissed me
"I love you too"
"We're getting close." Daryl tells us as we see the sign for Terminus on the ground, "Be there before sundown."
"Now we head through the woods. We don't know who they are." Rick says
"All right." Daryl agreed and we make our way into the woods and come up on a fence seeing a train depot
"We all spread out, watch for a while, see what we see, and get ready. We all stay close." Rick says and I walk with Daryl
"Can I ask yo something?" I asked Daryl
"Of course"
"Did you know Rick sent my mom away?" I ask and he looked at me
"He told me after you, Hershel and Michonne went out to the woods"
I sighed and looked down fighting tears, "What if-what if she's.."
"Hey, she's fine, believe that. You found me, we'll find her" He reassured me and I kissed him
"I missed you"
"I missed you too, and I ain't ever going anywhere again, not without you" He tells me and I smile
"You better not"
We bury the bag Rick had with weapons in it and he looked at me and Daryl, "Just in case" He adds and we head over to the fence and climb over, I stayed by Daryl and we walked through the train yard with our weapons ready. We open a door leading into big room hearing a woman talk
"Terminus-those who arrive survive. Follow the tracks to the point where all lines intersect. There are maps at the crossings to help guide youwith your journey. Sanctuary for for all. Those who arrive survive. Terminus, sanctuary for all. Community for all..."
"Hello." Rick says and they all look at us
"Well, I bet Albert is on perimeter watch." A man says and walked towards us, "You here to rob us?"
"No. We wanted to see you before you saw us." Rick told him
"Makes sense. Usually we do this where the tracks meet. Ahem. Welcome to Terminus. I'm Gareth. Looks like you've been on the road for a good bit."
"We have. Rick. That's Carl, Dary, Phoebe, Michonne." Rick introduced
"You're nervous. I get it. We were all the same way. We came here for sanctuary. That what you're here for?" Gareth asked
"Yes."
"Good. You found it. Hey, Alex." Gareth called to another guy and he walked over, "This isn't as pretty as the front. We got nothing to hide, but welcome wagon is a whole lot nicer. Alex will take you, ask you a few questions. Uh, but first, we need to see everyone's weapons. If you could just lay them down in front of you." Gareth says and we hesitate
"All right." Rick tells him
"I'm sure you understand."
"Yes, I do." Rick tells him and I put my knife on the ground then my gun and we put our hands up as Alex came over and pat us down, I saw Daryl shift next to me as the guy patted me down
"I'd hate to see the other guy." He says to Daryl moving over to him
"You would." I told him
"They deserve it?" Alex asked Carl patting him down
"Yes." He replied
"Just so you know, we aren't those kind of people, but we aren't stupid either. And you shouldn't be stupid enough to try anything stupid. As long as everyone's clear on that, we shouldn't have any problems. Just solutions. Okay." Gareth says and Alex hands Michonne her sword and I grab my knife and gun then Daryl's hand
"Follow me." Alex says and we follow him
"So how long's this place been here?" Daryl asked him
"Since almost the start. When all the camps got overrun, people started finding this place. I think it was instinct, you know? Follow a path. Some folks were heading to the coast, others out west or up north, but they all wound up here." Alex answered and we walked up to a woman who was cooking some meat on the grill, I looked at Daryl with question, it didn't look like any kind of meat I've ever seen
"Hi. Heard you came in the back door. Smart. You'll fit right in here."
"Hey, Mary, would you fix each of these new folks a plate for me?" Alex asked her
"Why do you do it? Why do you let people in?" Michonne asked
"The more people become a part of us, we get stronger. That's why we put up the signs, invite people in. It's how we survive. Here." Alex says and handed Carl a plate hen Michonne.
I see Rick walk up to him and knock a plate out of his hands, reached in his pocket and grabbed a watch, Glenn's watch, "Where the hell did you get this watch?" Rick asked him putting his gun to Alex's head, Daryl raised his crossbow at the woman and I raised my gun up at the people who did the same, "Where the hell did you get this watch?"
"You want answers? You want anything else? You get 'em when you put down the gun." Alex said to Rick
"I see your man on the roof with a sniper rifle. How good's his aim? Where'd you get the watch? Where'd you get the watch?!"
"Don't do anything! I have this! You just put it down. You put it down! You want to listen to me. There's a lot of us."
"Where did you get the watch?" Rick asked again
"I got it off of a dead one. I didn't think he'd need it."
"What about the riot gear? The poncho?" Rick asked
"Got the riot gear off a dead cop. Found the poncho on a clothesline." Gareth says behind us and I turned to face him pointing my gun at him
"Gareth, we can wait."
"Shut up, Alex."
"You talk to me." Rick tells Gareth
"What's there left to say? You don't trust us anymore."
"Gareth." Alex says
"Shut up."
"Gareth, please." Alex begged
"It's okay. It's okay. Rick, what do you want?" Gareth asked him
"Where are our people?"
"You didn't answer the question." Gareth says and Rick threw Alex and people started shooting at us, we started to run in one direction but they shot at our feet and we doubled back, Daryl grabbed my hand keeping me by him as we head in another direction but they fired at our feet again and we ran another way into a building and started running for the door but someone shut it
"Here" Daryl called and tried a gate but it wouldn't open and Rick pointed to another door and we went through it then they fired at our feet again, I got stopped when shot hit by my feet and Daryl pulled me back and we switched directions
"Let us out! Help!" I hear from a container
"Keep going." Rick says and we went into another building
"What the hell is this place?" I asked looking around the room, it looked like a shrine
"These people, I don't think they're trying to kill us." Michonne mentioned
"No, they were aiming at our feet. There." Rick pointed to a door and we head to it but it shuts
"There." I said seeing another one and we went out it then as we did shots got fired in front of Daryl who grabbed my hand again, we head to the fence but men pop up and raise their guns at us and we stop
"Drop your weapons! Now!" Gareth yells down to us from the roof but we just stand there, "Now!" he yells and I set my gun drop then drop my knife as the others do too and I feel Daryl grab my hand, "Ringleader, go to your left. The train car, go." He tells Rick and we look at the train car, "You do what we say, the boy goes with you. Anything else, he dies and you end up in there anyway." He says and Rick walked over, "Now the archer." Gareth says and I look at Daryl, he squeezed my hand and followed him, "Now the samurai." Michonne followed Daryl, "Now the Wife" Gareth says and I looked at him confused, did he see my ring? I walked over and stood behind Michonne, "Stand at the door, ringleader, archer, samurai, wife in that order."
"My son." Rick tells him
"Go, kid. Ringleader, open the door and go in." Gareth ordered
"I'll go in with him."
"Don't make us kill him now." Gareth warned and Rick walked up the steps opening the door and we walked in, he pulled Carl to him and I moved to Daryl as he wrapped his arm around my waist and the door shuts
"Rick?" I hear someone ask then Glenn appeared, then Maggie, Sasha and Bob and 4 other people we didn't know
"You're here. You're here." Rick tells him and we look at the others
"They're our friends. They helped save us." Maggie told us
"Yeah. Now they're friends of ours." Daryl says
"For however long that'll be." The red headed guy said
"No." Rick says and walked over to the door, "They're gonna feel pretty stupid when they find out."
"Find out what?" The man asked him
"They're fucking with the wrong people"