Broken Bars

Sorrow and Euphoria

The air stilled within seconds of entering the building.

I couldn't see anyone. We crouched low, ducking behind crates and weaving around machines. Every breath felt dangerous, like the slow, descending tick until the bomb went off. I expected The Governor to be there at every turn, wielding a gun and smiling like a psychopath. I felt fear, both for us and for Andrea.

Tyreese and I were halfway across the room before a soft, jaunty whistle piercing the cold silence. It was a merry tune I faintly recognised, now tainted by the knowledge that The Governor was in fact here. Somewhere. It didn't sound too close, but I didn't dare take a single step. My bones froze over, gluing me to the ground and refusing to let my brain take control.

Tyreese's breath quickened. The Governor's whistle felt like a banshee's scream in that moment. It warned of death to all who came close.

SMASH. The sound of glass shattering jolted me back into this very real situation. I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop the yell that had threatened to break loose. SMASH. What the hell was he doing?

SMASH. This time, I saw the glass scatter across the ground, just a few feet away from us. He wasn't as far away as we had thought then. Did he know we were here? Or was this all part of his cat and mouse game with Andrea?

The heavy weight on my shoulders lessened. If he was doing this, it meant Andrea was alive. Thank God, we still had a chance to save her.

If we made it out of this alive.

My breath abandoned me as the thought finally escaped my mind. I could die here, and I hadn't even said goodbye to Josie. What if nobody ever found us? My heartbeat raced against my thoughts as they swirled into the darkest vortex of my mind. My sister might live on, thinking I had abandoned her and left. I might never see her, or Judith or Carol and Sophia ever again.

This was the first time I had really understood what everyone meant to be. They weren't just my friends, my group. They were my family. My amazing, strong, badass family, and I loved them. All of them. I would die for them. I might be about to die for them now.

Even though I was trapped in my thoughts, Tyreese was not. He elbowed me. When I turned around to him him a half-hearted glare, he jabbed a finger at the small space ahead of us.

The person I had once described as blonde and angry was crouched there. And she was looking right at us.

I had never wanted to scream "Andrea!" so badly in my life. She was a little ragged; her clothes were dirty, and there was a bloody smear on her cheek. Her eyes were shiny, like a deer caught in headlights, moments before collision. Time seemed to stop as we stared at each other, equal feelings of relief and horror.

Still crouched low, Andrea made an attempt to move towards us. The glass crunched beneath her feet, and she froze. Smashing the glass hadn't been a scare tactic. He knew she was nearby, and has broken the glass to hear her footsteps. It was clever, a brilliant tactic that I'd have praised if it wasn't being used against us right now. How many people had The Governor hunted down like this? And how many had been able to escape.

I pressed my lips together, roughly barricading all those negative thoughts into a corner. Michonne had been hunted by The Governor's men and survived. We could do the same.

The top of his head came into view over the crate we were hidden behind. Andrea crawled backwards and out of sight as Tyreese and I ducked further and shuffled the opposite direction. We needed to find her again and get out. Fast.

I could see under the conveyor belt, and saw The Governor's boots as he stalked the warehouse, whistling that merry tune. The glass was crushed beneath his shoes as he peered through the nooks and crannies, hoping to catch a glimpse of Andrea. I spotted her hair every now and again, much to close to The Governor for me to be comfortable. She was only a step away from being caught.