Wake the Dead

I trashed and yelled, trying to get over to Daryl, but the Governor's grip on me tightened and the gag in my mouth made it hard for me to curse him out. I saw Daryl struggle to get over to me, but only received the same tight grip on him that I have on me. I also noticed that there was Merle standing in this weird arena with us, unarmed.

"It was you." The Governor pointed at Merle. "You led them here.. Lied. Betrayed us all." What the hell was he talking about? I looked back over to Daryl and saw that his face was frantic and full of anger as he looked wide eyed at Merle and then at me.

Gasps of the people standing around the small arena filled my ears. "What should we do with them? Huh?" The Governor yelled out. All the citizens of this jacked up down all started to call out "Kill them!" All the guards that had guns on us said nothing, but i knew they were thinking the same thing.

I frantically looked around from face to face while I struggled against the grip on my arm, but I froze when I saw Andrea in the crowd. Her eyes were wide and she was staring right back at me, she was part of this?! I started to trash out more, but it only resulted in me getting thrown to the ground by the Governor. He then came over and put his foot on my throat so I couldn't get up. "WHAT SHOULD WE DO?!" He yelled out, asking the same question again.

The people started to scream 'kill them' louder and louder while they angrily threw their hands in the air. I tried to squirm out from the governor's foot, but he pressed down harder before he finally released. He kicked me hard in the side, causing me to let out a groan and a cough, but then he walked over to Merle. I quickly crawled backwards away from him and bumped into something. I spun around, but realized it was Daryl. He reached down and helped me stand up as we watched the governor make his way to Merle.

"You wanted your brother...Now you've got him."

Merle, Daryl, and I jut frantically all looked at each other with anger and shock in our eyes. Daryl was trying to catch his breath, breathing hard as he tried to step in front of me each time the governor would circle around to us. Some man came up and cut the zip ties off of our wrists and I yanked my arms free, then ripped the gag out of my mouth.

"I asked you where your loyalties lie... You said here." The Governor said to Merle as he walked in front of us. Having his hands free, Daryl put his arm out and pushed me behind him as he looked around. Andrea tried to come running up, but she was held back and got a gun pointed at her.

"A fight... To the Death." The Governor said, causing the people to break out in cheers and more yells. "Winner goes free."

I highly doubted that....

I tried to take a step forward, but Daryl pushed me back again, keeping me behind him for protection. I saw him look over at Merle, but Merle had a different look in his eye. "Y'all know me!" He yelled out, walking in front of Daryl. "I'm gona do what I have to do" He said taking a step forward. "To prove.." He lunged forward and punched Daryl right in the gut, causing him to double over and then fall forward. "That my loyalty is to this town!" He continued on and then kicked Daryl in the ribs.

My blood boiled with anger and I quickly stepped over Daryl and went over to Merle. His back was to me as he faced the crowd, raising his hands in the air. I came over and kicked him square in the back, causing him to fall. He quickly turned so he was facing me and tried to sit up, but I punched him right across the face as hard as I could, letting my anger out at him from today's events.

I didn't stop when his head fell back to the ground, instead, I kicked him as hard as I could manage in the ribs. How did he like it? He let out a grunt of pain and I saw Daryl get up off the ground out of the corner of my eye, but I quickly focused back on Merle, laying another punch on his face out of pure anger.

Merle managed to get his foot up and swipe at my feet, causing me to lose my balance and fall over. I let out a groan of anger, but before I could get back up, Daryl was already over to Merle. Merle shot up and tackled Daryl to the ground, but Daryl quickly punched him across the jaw, making him stumble backwards.

Daryl went to get up, but Merle put his hands on his throat as he shoved him back down to the ground. I saw Merle whisper something to Daryl, but I was immediately distracted by the men that had walkers on sticks and were coming towards us in a circle. The yells of the people only became more riled up as the walkers started to bite and reach out to us.

I quickly stood up and backed away as Merle pulled up Daryl. I backed up to them so all of our backs were together as we got in tight formation, holding our fists out, ready for the walkers surrounding us. The men would take steps closer to us, shoving the walkers in our faces, but we all would just quickly shove them away and get back into formation.

One of the walkers grabbed onto my bad arm and tried to take a bit out of it, but thank god the improvised cast I had on blocked the walker from my skin. I quickly brought my other arm up and punched the walker in the face right before I shoved it back into the crowd of people. Their yells turned into screams, but then the only sound I heard was a gunshot.

A few of the walkers and the people around us fell over, bleeding out from the bullet holes in their heads. I heard the familiar sound of the grenades bouncing around and then smoke filling the air... This was Rick and the group.

They shot out the lights so it was even harder to see and I felt a hand grab my arm. I went to go shove it away, but then I realized who it was. "Fi! Merle! Come on!" Daryl called out and then pulled me away from the arena.

I saw one of the men using Daryl's crossbow, so I quickly ran over, yanked it from his hands and then hit him upside the head with it. "FI!" Daryl yelled over, noticing I wasn't with him. I spotted him only a few feet away and started to run over to him. He saw me and then pulled me with him as we ran out.

I saw Rick standing in the corner and we made our way over to him. "Daryl!" He called out. "GO!" Daryl yelled and then we all continued to run out, meeting up with Maggie. Rick lead us to behind some buildings and over to a bunch of buses. He must have came this way to get in. "Y'all were just at the arena, this way!" Merle yelled, taking the lead.

"You're not going anywhere with us." Rick hissed at him as he looked around for any signs of danger. "You really wana do this right now!?" Merle called out, receiving no answer from Rick. I handed Daryl his crossbow, which he took and loaded an arrow in while Merle was breaking a way out through the fence.

"Come on, lets go!" Daryl called out when Merle got all the way through.

We were now on the streets and walkers started to run up to us, hearing the gun fire. Merle ran up to one, beating it's face in wile Daryl started to take the others out. "We ain't got time for this!" Merle yelled and then got up, leading the way again.

Rick and Maggie hesitated on following Merle anywhere, hell I wasn't even sure, but what else could we do? "Lets go!" Daryl called over as he ran after Merle. Rick gave me an unsure look, but I just shrugged by shoulders and followed after them.

We ran down the streets and into the forest that was behind a few trashed houses. We all silently ran through, Rick taking the lead back to where he said he had a car. We eventually slowed once we figured we were far enough away, but we still moved fast on our feet, wanting to get back as soon as we could.

Merle was still with us and I could tell Rick was not going to let him come back to the prison. I didn't know what would happen, but I knew it wouldn't be good. I was trying my hardest not to pounce on Merle again, beating the shit out of him for what he did.

The sun started to rise and Rick sped up, probably knowing the car was close. "Glenn!" He hissed out as we saw the forest start to end. "Rick!" He called back and made his way into the forest. "Thank god!" He breathed out.

Rick ran over. "Now we got a problem here, I need you to back up." Rick said, pulling out his gun.

"What the hell is he doing here!?" Glenn yelled, pointing his gun at Merle. Some woman I've never seen before walked up behind him and pulled her sword out. Who the hell was she?

The woman started yelling and her and Glenn tried to run over, but Rick aimed his gun at her and everyone started yelling back. "He helped us get outta there!" Daryl said in a raspy voice.

"Yeah right after he beat the shit out of you and Fiona!" Rick argued, still aiming his gun.

"Hey hey hey, we all took our licks man." Merle said. "Jackass." I called over to him.

"Hey!" Merle started, but Rick cut him off. "Enough!"

"GET THAT THING OUTTA MY FACE!" Daryl yelled at Glenn angrily for pointing a gun at him. Glenn and the woman slowly lowered their weapons a bit, but not all the way. Maggie went to stand by Glenn while she clutched her gun tightly, staring at Merle.

Merle started to laugh. "Looks like you've gone native brother."

"No more than you hangin out with that pshyco back there!" Daryl yelled, turning to face him.

"Oh yeah he's a charmer. Been puttin the wood to your girlfriend Andrea back there." Merle said, towards the woman with the sword, with a smirk on his face. I shuddered at the thought of Andrea sleeping with that man voluntarily... that rapist. I felt my self start to get angry all over again... not that I ever stopped.
"What? Andrea's in Woodbury?" Glenn asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah she's one of them! Right next to the Governor!" I hissed out in my voice, causing that woman to raise her weapon at me. "I TOLD YOU TO DROP THAT!" Rick yelled at her, angry at the whole situation. I stepped forward giving who ever this girl was the death glare for raising her weapon at me when I was in a bad mood. Does she want me to kill her? "Aim that pretty little sword at me one more time." I said in a teasingly harsh voice.

"You know Andrea?" Rick asked her stepping in front of me. "Do you know Andrea?!" Rick asked again, getting in her face.

"Yep, she does. Her and blondie spent the winter together. Mmm mm mmm. My knew bee queen here had two pet walkers. No arms.. Cut of the jaws, kept them in chains." Merle said, causing Rick to look back and forth between him and the woman. "Kind of ironic now that I think about it."
"Shut up, Merle!" Daryl snapped at him.

"So what are you going to do now sheriff?" Merle kept on. "Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cops."

"Oh shut up!" Rick yelled over to him. I was getting so pissed of with everything that I just marched my way over to Merle who kept on talking. "Oh look at this.. Pathetic! All these guns and no bullets in me!"

Glenn and Daryl both yelled at him to shut up at the same time. "Shut up your self! Bunch of Pussies! Yo-" I quickly snatched the gun out of Rick's hand and hit Merle right upside the back of the head with it, knocking him out and shutting him up. "Asshole." I muttered and then handed Rick his gun back.

I looked up at Daryl and he just looked right back at me, not saying anything. I walked off, headed towards the car, leaving Merle on the ground. I looked in the reflection of the car window to see how bad the slice on my face was and saw that I looked like complete ass. The blood completely covered the bottom of my face and neck under the cut and I had a busted up lip and a few more bruises.

I looked at my broken arm and made sure the improvised cast was on tight. You could clearly make out teeth marks in the small pieces of plastic and the tape, but I made sure nothing bit into my skin. "That a bite?" Daryl's voice asked from behind me. I looked in the reflection of the window and saw he was looking down at my arm, worry in his voice.

"Yep, but it didn't go through the cast." I said and then walked over to Rick who was talking to the others, Daryl following behind me.

"It wont work." Rick said, talking about Merle coming back. "It's gotta." Daryl said to him, holding onto his crossbow that was over his shoulder. "It will mess things up." Rick said, his voice set.

"The governor's probably on his way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle." Daryl defended. "He held a gun to our heads. Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell as Fiona? Carol? Beth?" Glenn added. "He ain't a rapists." Daryl said, his voice also set.

"The governor is." Glenn said. I tensed up at what he said, but then realized he was talking about Maggie. "They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night." Daryl argued.

"He's not going to be able to live there.. Not without putting everyone at each others throats." Rick said, beginning to calm down.

"So ya gona cut Merle lose, but bring the last samurai home with us?" Daryl asked, motioning to the woman leaning by the car. "She not coming back." Rick quickly said. "She's not in a state to be on her own." Maggie said right after.

"She did bring you guys to us." Glenn said. I was still a little confused with who she was, but I didn't think much of it as I met Daryl's gaze. "She's too unpredictable." Rick argued.

"That's right. We don't know who she is, but Merle.. Merle's blood." Daryl said, saying the last part as he met my gaze again with pleading eyes. I just looked away over to Glenn. "No. Merle's your blood... My blood, my family, is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison." Glenn said with a firm voice.

"And you're part of that family." Rick said to Daryl. "He's not. He's not."

You could hear the groans of Merle as he was starting to regain consciousness. "Man y'all don't know nothin!" Daryl said, taking a step back, but then setting his gaze back on Rick. "Fine.. We'll fend for ourselves."

I felt like I was just punched in the gut.

"No him, no me." Daryl continued.

"Daryl you don't have to do that." Maggie said over to him. "Don't."

"It's always jus' been Merle and I." Daryl said. I took a step back, feeling anger rush over me.

"You're just gona leave like that?" Glenn asked, seeming angry too. "What about Fiona?"

"She can come with me." He said, looking at me with those pleading eyes again. I could, I could come with him, but I was so angry. "Did you not hear Glenn?!" I snapped at him. "This is our family... THIS IS MY FAMILY!" I shouted at him, starting to feel broken again. "Merle cut me up, beat me, beat Glenn, brought my SISTER into this, and took us to the man that-" I cut myself off and took a step back running my hands through my hair and letting out a grunt of anger. If any of yesterday wouldn't have happened I would have gone with Daryl right away, but now anger was clouding every decision I made.

Daryl didn't seem happy with my answer at all so he just turned around and stormed off to the trunk of the car. I felt the craziness start to come back up in my veins along with undefined anger and sadness. I saw Rick run over and try to convince Daryl some more, but he just continued to pack his shit. And just like that, I snapped.

"Daryl FUCKING Dixon!" I yelled making my way over to him. "I just got you back and now you're going to fucking leave me?! After everything!?" Rick backed up a little, giving me some space, knowing I might lash out. "I told ya you can come with me." Daryl pleaded.

I ran my hands through my hair, completely freaking out by this situation. "Look what Merle did!" I yelled, putting my hands out.

"I can't jus' leave 'em." Daryl said, keeping his voice strong.

"But you can leave us? Leave me..?" I asked, unsure about how to get him to stay. I could always go with him, but I have grown to love these people like my family and I know Daryl did too... Maybe I could convince him to come back later?

"I ain't gona leave ya. You're comin." He said to me, like it wasn't my decision. How could he just asked me to leave the people I cared about?

"And what if I say no? What if I can't just up and leave?" I said, but I was more of asking myself than Daryl.

"What if it was your sister? This was Syd?" He asked, making me completely tense. Syd would never do anything like this and she never would have been a shit sister to me like Merle was a brother. I could tell by the uncomfortableness in Daryl's stance that he regretted bringing up Syd to me, but he still knew it would get his point across.

I quickly pushed away the mention of Syd and cooked up a plan in my head. I then reached into the back of the trunk, grabbing a hand gun and a knife, I won't need anything else, we'll be back soon enough.

I walked over to where Glenn, Maggie, and Rick were waiting and they all looked at me with wide eyes. "You can't be serious." Glenn hissed in a low voice. "I won't be gone for long.. I know Daryl and I know he will get fed up with Merle soon enough. We'll come back, I have a plan." I told them in almost a whisper, not wanting Daryl to hear. I didn't let anyone respond just incase I would change my mind about going.

I turned around and started to walk back towards Daryl, hesitation in my steps, but I eventually got over to him. I turned around and looked at the others once more and noticed Rick was making his way over to me. I met him halfway. "You better come back." He whispered. I quickly threw my arms around him, embracing him in a hug. "A few days, tops." I whispered and then broke away. "Tell Vic the plan." I whispered to Rick and then gave a nod to Glenn and Maggie before I went back to Daryl.

I walked past him and went straight into the forest, hearing him come after me after he said his goodbyes. Merle had a smirk on his face when he saw me coming over. "Look who decided to join us, little miss Daft."

"Shut up. Shut up!" I snapped as I walked over to him. "You shut the hell up before I knock you out on your ass again!" I was still completely furious at him, at Daryl for leaving in the first place, and the fact that I had to leave the group, even if it was for only a few days. Merle's smirk just grew bigger. "Someone's got some fight in 'em."

With anger acting for me I quickly swung my fist across his face. "I said shut up!"
I felt a hand on my arm and turned around to see Daryl. I quickly ripped my arm away and started off into the forest. These were going to be a long few days...