Broken Bars

Meeting Satan

It only made sense that my conversation with Merle would backfire.

"You let Merle Dixon -Merle Dixon- near Judith?" Rick was pacing the gravel outside, his ears tipped red.

I rolled my eyes. Wrong move. His glare held the power of a thousand suns, pinning me to the spot as he continued to rant, spittle flying from his teeth.

Good news, at least I was off my crutches.

"I didn't think I'd have to come back to news that Merle was being allowed to wander around my daughter -my daughter- after we all talked about makin' sure it was safe first."

Beside us, Hershel and Daryl looked uncomfortable. I almost thought that Daryl, being Merle's brother, would come to his aid. But instead, he stood there and watched, glowering as usual, as Rick tore into me.

I didn't bother asking who told Rick. I didn't care about anybody 'snitching' if they honestly thought they were helping the group. But the way Rick was laying into me was new. He'd come back from his hometown, the others in tow, with a new chip on his shoulder. His buddy Morgan was not only alive, but apparently batshit crazy. Figures.

I sighed heavily as Rick came closer. "He weren't gonna do nothin'. I would have killed him before he even thought about hurting her, and you know that."

Daryl shifted on his feet, rolling the leather strap of his new crossbow further onto his shoulder. I'd never seen a man look so happy as he did, the moment Michonne handed him the damn thing.

Today was the day. Through some miracle, Andrea had managed to convince The Governor to hold a meeting with Rick. I'd been the first to volunteer to go, having just been given the all-clear by Hershel. My leg, whilst not completely healed, was able to hold my weight. I'd never been happy to have sore feet in my whole life.

Hershel had still insisted on accompanying us, if only to make sure I didn't tear through my stitches and bleed to death in the middle of nowhere. I'd been more than happy to have the company. Until Daryl also volunteered his services. Couldn't he leave me alone for at least five minutes? Every time I looked at him, I could only remember our talks, our many, many arguments, and a small handful of moments where he would brush his hand against my shoulder, or I would lean against him playfully and-

Gah. There I went again.

Rick and Hershel made silent eye contact. Hershel's brow was furrowed, his mouth pulled into a firm thin line, jaw tensed. I didn't understand why he would have my back on this, though it could have something to do with the fact that his daughter have been threatened by The Governor, all the while Rick was going crazy. I didn't pry too far into what happened, afraid of the answers I'd find. Maggie had been a lot quieter since returning.

The Governor didn't deserve a peaceful agreement. He deserved a bullet in the head. For Maggie and Glenn. For Oscar, who had died helping people he barely knew. And for Axel, who had paid for our rescue mission with his life. If Andrea thought this could end peacefully, she was stupid. Stupid, and naive.

Carol and Sophia held open the gates, allowing the others to surge forward and kill walkers whilst we drove through. I made eye contact with Josie as we passed, and saw my own fears reflected in her eyes.

How many more people could we lose before this came to an end?

The gates closed behind us as we drove through the prison yard. Walkers gnawed at the window, pressing their bloodied hands against the glass. I leaned back, lips curled back in disgust, as a bug-eyed creep pressed their face against the back window, crushing it's torn cheek against the car and streaking it with blood.