"Falling in love. And say, it's crazy. Falling. You see? We don't say 'rising into love.' There is in it the idea of the fall." -Alan Watts
This isn't just some story where the boy and girl fall for each other, and everything is okay. It's a story w...
"Because I know if I look at you, I won't be able to stop."
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***
The day after Rick, Michonne, and Carl arrived back from their run, Rick, Daryl, and Hershel left to speak with the governor to work things out.
"Carl, come here," Glenn beckoned him over.
"You stash these at the loading dock. All right?" He asked, handing him a couple of boxes of ammo.
Everyone was gathered and working together to prepare if the governor ever attacked.
"If anyone gets pinned down, we need to make sure that they have plenty of ammo. I'll go work on the cage outside," Glenn ordered, starting to walk outside.
"What we should be doing is loading some of this firepower in a truck and paying a visit to the Governor. We know where he is right now," Merle spoke up.
I rolled my eyes at his stupid idea.
"Are you suggesting that we just go in and kill him?" Glenn asked.
"Yeah, I am."
"We're supposed to stay here. That was the plan. We told Rick and Daryl that we'd stay put," I said to him.
"I've changed my mind, sweetheart. Being on the sideline with my brother out there ain't sitting right with me," I rolled my eyes at his stupid pet name for me.
"The three of them are right in the middle of it."
"They could get taken hostage or killed. A thousand things could go wrong," Glenn backed me up.
"And they will," Merle retorted.
"My dad can take care of himself," Carl snapped.
"Sorry, son, but your dad's head could be on a pike real soon," Merle spoke. I looked at him in disgust.
"Don't say that to him," Maggie glared at Merle as she spoke.
"It's not the right move. Not now. Can't take the risk of putting them in the crossfire. That's my decision. It's final."
***
Rick had come back from meeting the governor and was now talking to us about it.
"So, I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite a while," Rick started.
I was now really intrigued and listening intently.
"Just the two of you?" Merle asked.
"Yeah," Rick confirmed.
"Should have gone when we had the chance, bro," Merle stated while walking away. His input was angering me. He was barely a part of this group.
"He wants the prison. He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury. We're going to war."
A few days later
"When I met with the Governor, he offered me a deal," Rick started. He called a meeting and was now speaking.
"He said- he said he would leave us alone if I gave him Michonne. And I was gonna do that to keep us safe. I changed my mind. But now Merle took Michonne to fulfill the deal, and Daryl went to stop him, and I don't know if it's too late."
I hadn't even known that Daryl was gone, and I was now worrying like crazy.
"I was wrong not to tell you. And I'm sorry. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are, it's not my call."
"I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good. We're the reason we're still here, not me. This is life and death. How you live, how you die-- it isn't up to me. I'm not your Governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together. We vote. We can stay, and we can fight, or we can go."
We chose to fight. Daryl came back and told me something. He said to me that Merle had died. After he told me, he just walked away. I didn't know how to react, so I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to feel. He was never like an uncle, or even family at that.
I was in Carl, and I's cell, packing my things. I didn't have much, but I packed what I had. I peered from the top bunk, seeing that Carl was looking at an old picture of him and his family. I bit my lip and sat there, waiting for him to get ready.
After he did, he put in his hat, and we grabbed our stuff, walking to the car and loading it. Carl was furious about leaving the prison and was starting to shut me out.
We hid in the woods and watched our home being torn apart. The governor's men all moved in and raided our now-empty home. We couldn't do anything but stand and watch. I still had hope; Maggie and Glenn were ready to put the plan into action.
I heard the alarms go off and guns firing. The governor and his men started to flee, making me crack a small smile.
Carl snapped me out of my thoughts by saying, "I should be there."
I just watched as they all frantically ran and drove away. My head snapped around, and I brought my gun up, coming face to face with a boy not much older than us.
"Drop the weapon, son," Hershel ordered.
"Here, take it."
He started to hand his gun to us, surrendering. His actions were interrupted by a silenced bullet, right between his eyes.
We were all shaken up and surprised at Carl's actions. The boy was surrendering. We walked into the prison, and I made a beeline to Daryl, enveloped in a hug.
"Dad, I'm coming to Woodbury," Carl told his father.
I let go of Daryl and looked at them.
"Carl."
"Dad, I did my job out there. Just like all of you. Took out one of the Governor's soldiers," Carl urged.
"One of his soldiers? A kid running away? He stumbled across us," Hershel corrected.
"No, he drew on us," Carl lied.
"I'm sorry you had to do that," Rick sighed.
"It's what I was there for. I'm going with you," Carl told him and walked away.
I sat beside Carl outside, not saying a word.
"Are you okay?" I asked him quietly. He nodded.
"You're not mad, are you?"
"No. I understand why you did it," I told him.
He nodded, and Rick walked up to us; I left him to talk to Carl. I walked over to Daryl and said my goodbyes. He was going to Woodbury with some of the group. They all drove away after talking a bit.
After waiting for a while, they arrived home safely. A bus arrived, and out came an array of people. They were from Woodbury and needed a place to stay. Carl was upset about it, but I didn't mind. I showed the kids the block, and they were so thankful.
"Hey, guys," I tried to work up confidence and greet them. They all introduced themselves; Lizzie, Mika, Patrick, Luke, Molly, Joshua, Abby, and Josh.
It was around 5:30, and we started to cook dinner.
In the cafeteria, there were metal picnic tables, and everybody got a tray, and we're served corn, deer, and beans.
It was amazing to see how our communities came together.
