From the Shadows

Teagan's eyes grew wide and fearful as the face approaching her became clear. The Governor's face was painfully familiar, but adorned with a new eye patch. He smiled wickedly and opened his arms to convey friendliness.

“No need to be frightened. I'm not going to hurt you... anymore.” Teagan clenched her teeth over the cloth gag. She struggled against her handcuff restraints. “Tsk tsk. Don't do that. You'll only make it worse. Besides, we have another game to play.” Teagan couldn't help but shake. She kept her eyes on the Governor as he leisurely strolled the damp, cold room. “You see, for quite some time now, I have wanted nothing more than to kill you.” He smiled again. “I've thought of hundreds of ways to bring you excruciating agony and displeasure. However...” He paused. “It's come to my attention that physical pain isn't always the solution. See, our last visit, I rattled your pathetic frame with pain, but alas, here you are; still alive and regrettably still breathing. Not even you, a weak minded fool, could be broken by what I had in store for you. Granted, if your friends hadn't come along, I would have killed you. That is a promise.” He laughed. “And I'm thankful for it, because newer, more exciting opportunities have fallen before me. New ideas I would have never had before.” He stopped pacing and stood in front of Teagan, looking her in the eyes. “See, physical pain for you is a simple hurdle. I can respect that. Most of my men would have crumbled. But you had something to live for, something to look forward to. What if that motivation simply... disappeared?” Teagan's eyes grew even wider, her breathing and heart rate quickened. “You were never one to be concerned with your own self, but others? That's a more interesting story. If I can't hurt you through yourself, I'll have to destroy you through someone else.” The Governor stopped talking and straightened his posture. His eyes darkened and his voice boomed. “Bring him in.” The door opened and two of the henchman dragged in a struggling, hooded figure. The Governor kept his eyes on Teagan while hers watched the hooded figure. She clenched her fists in anticipation. When the hood came off, she was filled with seconds of relief before panic seeped through. Merle... where's his blade attachment? “Just as I figured. I know you'd never involve yourself with this useless brute. But maybe someone else? Someone... mutual?” He paused and smiled. “Daryl, was it?” Both Merle and Teagan were still, listening. “Do you think I'm too stupid to put together redneck names and voices like Merle and Daryl together? I knew it immediately. Learned his name later; Martinez told me. Though, I think it was the crossbow and torn sleeves that really gave it away.” The Governor's face went dark again and he faced Teagan. He knelt so his eyes were leveled with hers. “Nothing will make you suffer more than hurting those you care about. You can both die and he loses both of you with no one to be mad at but himself for missing his heroic opportunity, or... you save yourself if you kill the only family poor Daryl has left. Your choice.” Teagan and Merle exchanged panicked glances. The Governor started to walk out of the room but paused in the doorway. “Oh, just one more thing.” He reached out of sight, and was wielding something large. He turned around and pierced Merle through the back and out of his chest with Merle's own blade. Merle grunted loudly as the blade squelched through his abdomen, and he was thrown to the floor. The last thing Teagan heard before the door was shut and locked was the Governor command, “Get everyone ready. We go now.”

After several, drudged minutes, Daryl and Michonne pulled up on the warehouse. Daryl turned off the car quickly, readied his weapon, and proceeded to the scene. The area was a massacre. Some of the dead bodies had turned; the ones that hadn't were food for the ones that had. Daryl checked every body for a familiar face. When all the faces were determined strangers, he inhaled sharply.

“They were here.” Michonne's voice was quiet.

“At least Merle was. One of our guns is in the warehouse.”

“He's not dead. If he was, he'd be here.”

“Yeah, I know.” Daryl was quiet and he bit his lip. “Now what?”

“We go after them. We know where they were taken. That's why I came along. This is where I can be of help.” Daryl tossed Michonne the keys and they got back in the car.

Just as she turned the engine, Daryl stopped her. “Wait.”

“What's wrong?”

“How far away is Woodbury?”

She looked around. “This place is familiar. We're halfway, maybe less.”

Daryl furrowed his eyebrows. Hopefully we make it. “Leave the car here. That is only one main road between us and them, and I ain't getting stuck and ambushed in a damn car. We go on foot.”

“Good plan. We should stay off the roads. Walk along the trees and bushes.”

Michonne parked the car in a more hidden spot, and as the two headed off down the road, they heard a car in the distance.

“Which way is it coming from?”

“Woodbury. Come on!” Michonne dragged Daryl into thick bushes and hid. Neither of them moved as they watched several cars and an armored truck speed down the road. They waited several minutes before getting out of the bush.

“The hell was that?”

“The Governor. I saw him in the first car.”

“Headed for the prison.” Daryl's voice was low.

Michonne sensed the tug in Daryl's mind. “We won't make it back to the prison in time. Even if we ran at our fastest, we wouldn't make it. We have to keep going forward.” No response. “Look, if our group is going to pull through, they still will without us. They have strong aim. Let's not waste time to arrive at what could be a decimation. We can at least save two lives. Let's keep going.” Daryl nodded and they kept walking. After some time, they arrived at a fork in the road.

“Which way is it?”

Michonne thought about it. “I think we keep going straight.”

“You think or you know?”

“I'm pretty sure. Give me a break, I haven't gone down this road more than twice. And only once where I had to navigate myself.”

As they started back on the road again, they heard another car.

“Shit, is that them again?”

“Probably, not worth the risk.”

Once hidden, Daryl spoke under his breath. “Wasting our time with this shit.”

“I'd rather wait a few minutes than be dead. Now be quiet before they hear us.”

The cars pulled to a complete stop. They were close enough to watch, but too far to hear. Daryl held his breath. Shit, shit. Please don't come over here. Please. They saw the Governor get out of the car. The armored car behind them opened up, and a few dozens people poured out. They heard yelling. Neither Daryl or Michonne could make out the words. The crowd fell silent. In seconds, and orchestra of gunshots rang out. Daryl and Michonne watched as the Governor mowed down his own people with enraged gunfire. Only two men were left standing. The Governor got in the car, and the other two men hesitantly followed. The car sped off and made a turn down the road instead of going straight.

“Think they're gone?” Michonne whispered.

“Yeah, let's get the fuck out of here before those bastards turn.”

They got out of their hiding place and looked at the massacre up close. Bodies were strewn and bleeding all over the road.

“Let's go.” As they turned to leave, they heard movement among the bodies. They readied their weapons and were surprised by what they saw.

“Please, don't shoot!”

“Who are you? The fuck happened here?”

“I'm Karen. The Governor, he...” Tears welled in her eyes and she saw the carnage that surrounded her. “He wanted us to attack but it was horrible. We had no reason to. There were children and...”

“What happened?” Daryl asked more sternly.

“We couldn't do it. We stopped firing and the Governor went ballistic and stormed off in the car with Martinez and Shumpert. He stopped the car and we all got out and he just...” She couldn't finish. “Please, take me with you. Don't leave me here.”

“Before we help you, you help us.”

“Sounds fair.” Her voice was shaking.

“Get us to Woodbury.”

“No! The Governor will just kill us there.”

Michonne jumped in. “He made a left down that road.”

Karen was confused. “That... that doesn't lead to Woodbury. Why would he go there?”

“Don't matter. We got people trapped in Woodbury that need rescuin'. We need yer help to get there.”

“No one is trapped in Woodbury. Everyone is free to roam around.”

“He's got prisoners; friends of ours that he wants dead.” Karen looked shocked. “You din't know?” Daryl was as confused as she was.

“N-no. Definitely not. Before today... he seemed like quite a nice guy. Always protecting us and providing for us. I... I had no idea.”

Michonne saw the sun in the sky. “We need to act fast. The Governor won't be there, but who knows for how long. We have to act now.”

To save time, they got in the armored truck and drove to Woodbury. Karen ensured that Michonne was correct about the directions. When they arrived, they got out of the car.

“Stay where you are. Hands up where we can see 'em. Any fast movements and you're dead.” The voice was deep and booming.

“Tyreese! Sasha! It's me! Don't shoot!”

“Karen? Who's with you?”

“New friends. Look, you need to let us in.”

“We don't let strangers in. Not without the Gover-”

“Fuck the Governor. He just slaughtered everyone who was with us.” Her voice was sad.

Tyreese and Sasha exchanged looks and nodded. They opened the gates. Daryl, Michonne, and Karen rushed in.

Daryl spoke to Tyreese. “Prisoners. Where they kept?”

“What prisoners?”

“Fuck, that rat bastard got all ya'll running on damn hamsters wheels.” Daryl was getting angrier by the minute. Each second not headed towards Teagan and Merle was a wasted one.

“I think I know where to go.” Michonne lead the way. Tyreese, Sasha, and Karen went to follow.

Daryl looked back at them. “Stay here in case he comes back. Gun 'em down. We can handle this. Who else is here?”

“Just older folk and children. Ones who weren't soldier material.” Sasha spoke.

“Gather 'em up. Everyone's getting outta here. Tonight. If the Gov'ner comes back ain't none of ya safe.” Daryl turned quickly and ran after Michonne.

“What is he talking about?” Tyreese and Sasha asked. Karen explained everything to them. They nodded and agreed to get everyone out of Woodbury before the Governor came back to slaughter the rest. Sasha, the better shot, stayed on guard while Tyreese and Karen rounded up the remaining Woodbury members.

Michonne and Daryl began to run. They picked several locks along the way, and were able to kicked a few of the doors down. Michonne was autopiloting; turning corners quickly without a second though, and never looking back at unchecked doors. They arrived at a four-way intersection of hallways before she stopped suddenly.

“What's wrong?” Daryl was panting.

“This is as far as I was able to sneak away with. When I stayed here, I knew stuff was happening. I had to search for it. Some of those locks back there were set in place because of my looming curiosity. I found these rooms and tried to memorize them.”

“Why?”

“So if one day I was trapped in one of them, I could find my way out. The Governor was always suspicious of me. He knew that I knew. He kept everyone ignorant, but I knew better. Which is why I left. Left before I was on the other side of these doors.”

In the far distance, they heard a scream.