From the Shadows

It had been hours, and Glenn, Maggie and Teagan had not returned to the prison. They had never taken this long before. Daryl was pacing back and forth. They should be back by now... He was anxious and angry. I knew she shouldn't have gone... God fuckin' damnit. He stayed in the prison yard, keeping his eyes on the gate, impatiently waiting for their return. He saw some movement that didn't look like a walker. The figure waved at him, and he sprinted towards the gate. The figure was a young African American woman, with desperate eyes. Daryl whistled towards Rick in the yard, who agreed to let the strange woman in. Rick and Daryl immediately recognized the bag in the stranger's hands as Maggie's. They escorted her into the cell block, and wasted no time interrogating her.

“Where did you find that?”

“At a small store down the road that way.” She pointed in the relative direction of the store.

“Did you see any people?”

“From a distance, I saw three men and two women. Two of those men weren't friendly. One woman was lying on the ground. I am not sure if she was alive or not... The two men forced the other three into a car and drove away.”

“How the hell can we trust you?” Daryl spoke and was angry. He knew something would go wrong, and he blamed this strange woman.

“I know where they went.” her voice was calm and confident.

“How? Were you with them?”

“Not exactly. I was running away from the two men and their camp. I recognized them, they had tried to kill me before running into your friends. They must have run into them when chasing after me.”

The group fell quiet.

“I believe this belonged to one of them.” She revealed a knife. Teagan's... The same knife she dropped when the siren went off in the prison corridor. Daryl's stomach turned into knots. He couldn't swallow his anger and anxiety.

“You know where they went?” Daryl asked the strange woman directly.

“Yes.” Her voice was serious.

“Lead me to 'em.” Daryl quickly stood up, rolled his shoulders and was ready to go right then and there.

“Daryl, what are you suggesting?” Hershel spoke.

“A rescue, the fuck you think? Three of our people are out there. This woman says those men was tryna kill her. They could be in trouble, we gotta save 'em.”

“Daryl, we don't know these men. If they are as dangerous as she says, how do we know we can stand a chance? How do we even know we can trust her?” Questions and comments were being spewed from everyone.

“She got Teagan's knife. She don't drop that over nuthin'. We need to save our people.” There was fire in Daryl's eyes. He refused to give up on any of them, especially Teagan. He swore to himself to try and keep her safe. The best he could do now is save her before it was too late.

“I will take you to them.” The strange woman stood up and nodded at Daryl.

“Why would you help us?” Andrea's question was sour.

“I dislike those men as much as you. You seem like good people who deserve to have their stolen people returned to them. I just want to help.”

A rescue team quickly formed consisting of Daryl, Rick, and Oscar. The woman introduced herself as Michonne. She was handy with a sword, and was fearless when it came to walkers and survival. Daryl was the only one who seemed to thoroughly trust her. Anything ta get Teagan back...

Teagan dangled from the chains, trying desperately to relieve the strain on her dislocated shoulder, and unsure how much time had passed. Were the others even alive? She wasn't sure she could ask, even if her mouth wasn't taped. She felt sore and broken all over her body. Am I even alive? Several of the Governor's men came in and beat Teagan in various ways. Her wrists were swollen and bleeding from the restraints. Her own mouth tasted like warm copper, swallowing enough blood to make her nauseous. Her chest would only expand so far before seizing in pain, forcing her into only taking shallow breaths. She hadn't been able to relax her muscles in hours. Her head buzzed and ached, and she could feel congealed blood on parts of her face. She was hardly recognizable. The Governor hadn't visited her in a long time. She prayed she would die before he could lay a hand on her again. She felt defeated. Every brick she laid down to make herself stronger crumbled beneath her feet. Every whimper and wince of pain shot down every step of the ladder that brought her to who she was. Or thought I was... She escaped her wretched home to build herself up, to create a person she enjoyed, and a life she felt was worth living. All her efforts shattered like glass before her eyes. She felt insurmountably weak and vulnerable. She was punched, kicked, slapped, cut and taunted. Weak. Useless. Fuck-up. Hideous. She reverted to a helpless child and almost cried at the thought.

The door opened to her holding cell. Even without being able to see who it was, she knew the Governor had come back. She internally screamed and violently writhed against her restraints. The Governor's face revealed he was thoroughly pissed off. He didn't even say a word to her. The Governor walked behind her and stood so she couldn't see him. She closed her eyes at the sound of a belt being undone. That sound could mean only one of two things, and both forced a memory behind her eyes. She tried to fight against the flashback, but realized as soon as the Governor ripped the back of the shirt, that reality was just as unpleasant.

She heard the Governor chuckle, and felt him lightly graze his fingertips across her back. “I see I'm not the only one with the idea...” The tender touch after all the abuse almost made Teagan vomit. She felt if he was going to kill her, he should just do it. But Teagan knew he played mind games better than anyone she ever knew; she just had to not play along and make it worse. Before she could complete her thought, a familiar sting was sent across her shoulders. She forcefully shut her eyes, and she fought hard against tears. Teagan lost count on how many times the Governor belted her, but on the last one, she completely blacked out.

Michonne told Rick, Daryl and Oscar the place they were headed was called Woodbury. Some ways away, she told them to pull the car over.

“We close?” Rick asked.

“Close enough. We'll walk from here.” The three men nodded and followed Michonne.

“So, what's the plan exactly?” Rick squared his shoulders and looked at Michonne.

“I know my way around most of the town. The problem is, I'm not sure exactly where they are being held.”

“I thought you said you could help!” Every setback just made Daryl angrier.

“The Governor doesn't exactly announce when he has captives, especially not where they are being held. I say we go in, and hold someone at gunpoint to show us.” Michonne's voice was smooth and confident.

They managed to sneak in past some of the guards and into a weak spot in the wall. They filed in and crawled in through a window. Once everyone was in, a citizen of Woodbury entered the room with a box of assorted supplies. Upon seeing strangers, he dropped the box and went to yell. Rick cocked his gun and aimed it at the citizen. “Where are captives held?” Rick's voice was all business. He didn't want to be there any longer than they had to, and time was precious.

“I-I don't know what you're talking about. Please!”

Rick repeated his question, but more sternly. The citizen started to shake and sweat. He gulped and agreed to show them. When Daryl walked past the box, he noticed it was full of tools spattered in blood. The fuck's goin on here? They followed the citizen for awhile, until they came across some underground facility. The citizen stuttered, and pointed to inside the facility. Rick kept his gun aimed at him, and the man hesitantly opened the door. Once inside, the man yelled for help, and Rick hit him in the head with the butt of his pistol, knocking him out. Another man came running out of a room, gun raised. Once he stepped into the light, both parties lowered their guns.

“Merle?” Rick spoke.