Tiptoe Through the Tulips

“Do you want to know how many people I’m responsible for the death of?” I lifted my head, straightening my back as much as possible even though the wooden chair back dug into me.

I forced my head upwards, forced myself to meet his eyes, the blood dripping from the side of my mouth onto my shirt more of an irritant than an injury.

The room was cold, stains littered the walls, blood smeared across one. He noticed me looking around quickly and grinned, “There is no way out of this room but the door Miss.” I bit my lower lip,
“Your people killed a lot of Woodbury citizens.” He titled his head lightly, offering me a look of sympathy that barely slipped over his smile.

“Not all of them though. How many got away with you, how many were there when my men took you?” I ignored him, trying to keep my face neutral.

Eventually I sighed, “I told you, just Beth and Daryl, Merle’s brother.”

He shook his head slightly, his arms crossed over his chest, “Merle sent one man in, highly trained, he hasn’t come back yet.”

I smirked at him, “Not my fault you underestimated us. Should have expected it really, Daryl being a bit difficult considering you keep his lunatic brother as your little lieutenant.”

He slammed his hand on the small table, dragging his heels as he walked closer to me, “Stop being so damn cocky, you’re lucky you’re still alive. This is the second time you’ve been within the boundaries of Woodbury...and I told you what would happen the first time you left.”

“Well then they don’t you just shuttup and do it?” I spat, feeling a shiver down my spine as he merely grinned,

“Not yet, not until I have all of you. The people need their villains, they need to watch you burn.”

“But they have you. How much more of a villain so they need?” My breathing grew deep as I started to rant, “Just because you have your little zombie raffle you think you can control them, so many of them must know what you do, going out, sending your little soldiers to kill people and steal their resources. Oh, because Woodbury is so safe, the perfect little hideaway in a world you are making worse.”

The back of his hand smacked across my face and I gasped before sinking back into silence, my cheek stinging and growing warm.

He undid the handcuffs, stepping back once again, “Stand up,” he barked and I complied, desperate not to let him see the tears in my eyes.

I don’t know what I was thinking by provoking him, making him angry would hurt Beth. “Look at me.” He continued, and I pulled my head up staring him straight in the eye.

“Take off your clothes,” I felt my stomach drop.
“No.” I said, my voice wavering, he scoffed, stepping so my face was practically pressed into his chest as he pushed my hair back over my shoulder and bent down to my ear.

“You do what I say.” My heart was beating against my ribs, my breathing unsteady and rapid.

I could not go through this again.

His hands landed on my waist, thumbs catching under the jumper and sliding it upwards, my tanktop rising with it and causing his rough skin to rub along my hips. “Get off of me,” my voice whimpered, my throat dry, flashes of before in my head.
I hadn’t even got over that, I doubted I ever would.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do in my town.” I cleared my throat, forcing myself to swallow before I released, spitting into his face.

“Ask me how many fucks I give about that.” He shook me, thumbs digging into the increasingly protruding bones in a way that would leave bruises before he suddenly shoved me back, an exclamation of pain bursting from me as I fell back into the chair, landed hard on the floor with my leg bent strangely.

He slowly wiped my saliva from his cheek, followed by his hand on his shirt before that sadistic look reappeared, and he shouted a name I didn’t recognise towards the door, stepping and clenching the top of my arm. I was yanked up harshly, my ankle throbbing yet again from where I must have sprained it.

“I can tell you right now about one fuck you most definitely give,”

The door opened and I watched as a body was dragged in, dressed in a bloody shirt. It was the hand, or rather the lack of it that made me gag slightly, it had been sliced off, not cleanly and the bandage around it was dirty and coated with crusts of blood.

The Governor grabbed my chin so I kept my gaze on the man with the bag over his head, “Take it off.” He said lowly and the beast holding him did so.

My stomach turned, my body convulsing as I was sick all down my front, a splatter echoing in the room as it landed on the floor. He grabbed my face again, tears no doubt wetting his fingers as I observed the battered face, the blood trickling over the eye purple and swollen shut.

The damaged face shook side to side, mouth, torn lips opening slightly but only a croak emitting from it, “This is why you give a fuck,” The Governor spat, my jaw flashing with pain as he wrenched my head around to face him,

“Merle,” he ordered and the other Dixon brother stepped in looking uncomfortable, he knew I knew Daryl, I had screamed it from the minute they took the rag from my mouth to the minute I had been placed in here.

“Bring the girl in,” he nodded, disappearing and reappearing quickly with a pale shaking Beth in tow, I felt a tiny bit of relief flood me as I noticed she seemed unharmed, Merle pushed her down on the ground next to what was left of the ruined man.

“You want to fuck around with me darling? I told you I run this town, I run what is left of this state, I keep my people safe. Monsters like you are worse than the Walkers.”

“You’re insane. You don’t make any sense.” I squeaked, my throat clogged, he chuckled, and a gun was handed to Merle from another guard.

“I make sense, I have made sense of this new world.“ I feebly shook my head, Beth’s eyes on my face as tears again reddened her cheeks.

“When this started we had no choice on who died, what happened but now..we choose who lives, we choose what happens to who we care about. And you,” he spat the word venomously, “Darling,...this is your choice. I want to make an example of you, but I don’t need all of you. Now...”

He chuckled again, siding his hand up my shirt and resting it on my hip, I struggled against him but his other arm pinned me against him, squirming as he rested his cheek against me.

“Now which one dies?” he spoke slowly, each word a separate sentence, each one sending my heart lower into my stomach, He spun me again, nodding at Merle who held the gun to Beth’s head, I shook my head, my tears finally pushing past my eyelashes as she silently sobbed.

“Well then,” Merle growled, “I guess we move the gun over to Officer Friendly.”

What was left of Rick looked up at me, his open eye looking into my own as he twitched his head from side to side. I opened my mouth silently, eyes popping as Merle made a show of putting his finger on the trigger.

He wanted too, I knew what had happened in Atlanta, I knew why Merle only had one arm. He hadn’t known Rick was here, this was his revenge, the vendetta he had held could finally be fulfilled. He cracked his jaw, eyes excited.

“No!” I screamed suddenly, my body jerking against the Governor, “Please no. Don’t!!” Merle frowned, looking up at the man holding me, I didn’t see his face, I was bent over, heaving again.

“Please, don’t hurt them.”

“Like I said, you don’t get to tell me what to do in my town.”

A shot fired.