Make it Till You Don't

A Win and a Loss

I threw the last of my things into a bag, glancing at the now empty cell. I closed my eyes for a moment before grabbing my bag and walking down the stairs. I walked out to the cars, placing my bag into one of them. As everyone got their stuff out, Rick went back inside to do one last sweep.

Carol came up beside me, crossing her arms as she stood, looking at the others. "How's he doing?" I asked, knowing she went and talked to Daryl.

"He's dealing." She replied. "He'll come around eventually."

I let out a snot at those words I've heard before, nodding my head. "Always does."

Rick came back out, looking at everyone. "Let's go."

I pat Carol on the shoulder, giving her a smile before walking over to where Daryl was with his motorcycle. "Let's hope this works."

"It will." Daryl replied, starting up the bike. "It's got to."

I let out a hum before getting on as we followed the others cars to where we will park them. Once we got them out of sight, Carl stayed back with Judith, Hershel, and Beth as the rest of us prepared ourselves.

We went back into the prison, heading into the tombs where the generators were. "When they come down here, we'll distract them, turn on the alarms and let the Walkers handle them." Rick told us. "Don't engage unless we have too."

We waited around for a few minutes, the occasional growl here and there could be heard as I played with my knife to pass the time. Rick heard footsteps coming closer, looking at us with a nod of his head.

Opening the door a tiny bit, we took those flashbangs we found a while back and threw them onto the ground at their feet. We closed the door as they were distracted and turned on the prison alarms.

We could hear the growls of Walkers coming as gunfire erupted. After a second, we heard them retreating, and turned the alarms back off. Confirming it was quiet, we got up and killed any nearby Walkers before heading to the common room, closing the door behind us just as Glenn and Maggie came from outside.

Rick turned to us. "We did it. We drove them out."

"We should go after them." Michone told us.

Daryl looked at Rick, agreeing. "We should finish it."

"It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail it out of here?" Maggie asked us.

I shook my head, looking at her. "I doubt it."

"They could regroup." Michonne told Rick.

Glenn looked to him as well. "We can't take that chance. He's not gonna stop."

"They're right." Carol spoke up."We can't keep living like this." She mentioned, talking about constantly being on defense.

"Yeah, especially now since we don't have a gate." I mentioned.

Maggie looked at all of us. "So we take the fight back to Woodbury? We barely made it out last time."

Daryl shook his head. "I don't care."

"Let's check the others." Rick told us as we went to go get them.

———

"Rick, we're staying. We don't know where the Governor is. If he comes back, we'll hold him off." Glenn told him, motioning between him and Maggie.

Daryl slung a gun over his shoulder. "Just the four of us? Alright."

"I appreciate you staying." Rick told the two, walking to the truck.

I walked over to Daryl as he started his motorcycle. "Ya know you could always take the truck."

I shrugged my shoulders. "I know. Besides..." I trailed off, getting on. "I like this better. Can't get rid of me that easily, Dixon." I received a snot in reply as Glenn and Maggie moved the broken gate as we pulled off with Michonne and Rick following behind in the truck.

A few minutes down the road, we saw the Governor's vehicles on the side of the road. Pulling up behind them, Daryl killed the engine, getting off as Rick and Michone got out the truck.

I took my knife out as Daryl grabbed his crossbow off the bike, shooting a Walker that was busy eating as Michonne and I made our way to the others, taking them out. "The hell happened here...?" I mumbled, seeing the Walker had died recently. I looked to the field, seeing more bodies lying out there as well.

A bang on one of the truck windows caught our attention, turning to see a woman inside. Rick brought his gun up as Daryl opened the door, motioning for her to come out. "What happened here?" Rick interrogated, pointing to the scene.

"The Governor..." She trailed off, seeming shook up. "He- He killed them all... Andrea came to warn you guys, guess she was right."

Rick shook his head. "Andrea didn't come to the prison."

"She hopped the wall, ran off to warn you yesterday..." Now she looked confused. "She hasn't been seen since."

Rick had a look as he turned to us. "Let's go."

It began to get dark as we made our way to Woodbury, parking the vehicles a little ways away from the gates and going the rest on foot through the woods.

Sneaking around, a gunshot went off beside Rick, causing us to fire back. Ducking behind a broken car, we waited until the firing stopped before the woman stood up. "Tyreese, it's me! Don't-"

Rick cut her off, yanking her back down. "Get down!"

"Karen!" Tyreese yelled. "Karen, are you okay?!"

Karen ripped out of Rick's grasp, standing up with her hands up."I'm fine!"

"Where's the Governor?" Tyreese asked her.

"He fired on everyone." She told him. "He killed them all."

I looked over to the others in confusion. The Governor didn't come back here? "Why are you with them?!" Tryeese shouted, motioning to us.

"They saved me." Karen replied.

Rick took a second to contemplate before shouting. "We're coming out!" He put his gun away, standing with his hands up. "We're coming out."

We slowly came out from behind the car; Daryl, Michonne, and I kept a gun pointed to them until I saw Daryl give in. Michonne and I followed their move, throwing our hands up. The door opened as Tyreese and the woman from the prison stepped out. "What are you doing here?"

"We were coming to finish this, until we saw what the Governor did." Rick told him.

"He- He killed them?" Tyreese asked in disbelief.

Rick nodded his head. "Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall going for the prison. She never made it, she might be here."

Tyreese nodded his head, allowing us in. Rick began leading the way, seeming like he knew where to go as we came up to a building, walking in. "This is where he had Glenn and Maggie."

Tyreese, who had followed us along with the woman, spoke up. "The Governor held people here?"

"He did more than hold them." Daryl added.

We came around a corner and saw blood pooled at the bottom of a door. "Will you open it?" Michonne asked Rick.

Daryl aimed his gun at the door as Rick counted down before unlocking it. Pushing open the door, the first thing we saw was the body of Milton.

"Andrea!" Michonne rushed in, kneeling in front of Andrea who was lying beside the door.

"I tried to stop them." She spoke up as Rick kneeled next to Michonne.

Michonne gasped out, placing a hand on her face. "You're burning up."

Andrea pulled her shirt collar down, revealing a bite on her neck. "Judith, Carl, and the rest of them..." She looked to Rick in worry.

"Us." Rick corrected her. "The rest of us."

She gave him a smile of appreciation. "Are they alive?"

"Yeah, they're alive." He assured her, looking down.

"It's good you found them." Andrea glanced towards Michonne. "No one can make it alone anymore now." She looked over at the rest of us.

"I never could." Daryl told her.

———
Published: 06/29/2024