War on the Body [1]

[20] Burning and caught

Almost everyone that was sick had gone back to normal. The plague that had hit the prison was no longer a threat, neither was the walker build up. Carl and Rick had killed all of the walkers that happened to appear through the fallen fence.

Paige had taken it upon herself to burn the corpses, along with Michonne and Hershel. As she prepared to leave for the day she was stopped by Beth and Carl, the blonde holding baby Judith.

"I thought we would stop by and see the doctor, I might have a bit of a cough" Carl said, faking a cough. Paige smiled at the three, happy they were all okay.

"Yeah, I think it's called not wanting to do your farm work" Paige said, messing the boys hair up.

The boy laughed at the woman he had grown to love and adore. As Paige was about to say something again, she was called for by Michonne.

"see y'all later" Paige said as she took off towards her father and Michonne. As she approached the truck, Hershel was situating himself in the passenger seat and Michonne in the driver's seat. Paige placed herself in the back behind Michonne, preparing to leave. Michonne started the truck and started off down the dirt road of the prison.

Paige was stuck in her thoughts as they drove down the road, She was thinking about the past year. It has been a tough one, they had lost so many people they cared for. Carl lost his mother, Judith lost her mother, Beth lost her mother, Maggie lost her step mother, and she lost her own mother. Rick lost his wife, Hershel lost his wife, Daryl lost his brother, Hershel lost his step son, they lost T-Dog and many others. Despite all of that they gained things, people, a shelter, and love. Paige found closure, she found her biological father, she discovered two sisters, and she found a group that has become her family. There are times she wishes she could go back to before the end of the world as they knew it, back to living in a small three bedroom house in the small town she grew up in. But she wouldn't have known her father or her sisters, she wouldn't have met a strong willed boy, like carl. She would never know the katana wielding, dark woman or the redneck with the crossbow, she wouldn't know The sweet Korean boy that became her brother-in-law. She wouldn't have met the man that sacrificed his life for hers or met the pregnant lady that was kind to her before even knowing her. She would have never met Rick, the man that protected the group and put them first through everything. Paige didn't know which life she would rather live but she couldn't change it either.

As Paige broke free from her her own mind, Michonne pulled off of the road into a patch of grass. Paige exited the truck and began carrying corpses with the other woman, eventually creating a large pile. Hershel began pouring gasoline on the bodies as Paige walked away from the pair, out of sight from the others she closed her eyes and let out a breath. As she opened her eyes, they quickly fluttered shut again as she was struck in the back of the head.

Hershel dropped a match on the pile of dead and began walking behind Michonne, carrying the small tank of gas. Before he could reach the truck he spotted the two girls lying on the ground, a tall man missing an eye stood above them. Hershel drew his gun to shoot the man but was stopped by a gun pointing at his face. Hershel dropped the gun and looked back at the two girls.

As the man, known as the governor put the two girls in the truck bed, Hershel sat in the passenger seat. Hershel was frightened, not for his own life but for his daughter's and the woman he had learned to respect.

As Paige's eyes fluttered open she saw she was bound and gagged in a small trailer, looking to her left she saw Michonne knocked out. She whimpered as the door opened, a tall man walking inside. He walked up to Paige and began to take the cloth from her mouth, earning a glare from the young brunette woman.