Getting back inside Woodbury is easy.
The streets are empty. Voices can be heard in the distance.
Rick and Y/N make their way towards them.
They find the Woodbury people in an arena-like place. In the center, are Merle and Daryl.
They are fighting. Surrounding them, are walkers.
They're tied to chains and poles, reaching their rotting arms out towards the brothers.
Y/N, who crouches behind a dumpster, peeks her head out, firing off shots into the closest walkers.
Rick, who is beside her, throws a smoke grenade into the middle as people scream in terror.
He begins firing as well.
Smoke fills the air.
Just barely, Y/N spots Daryl stealing his crossbow back from a man. Merle is close behind him.
The four of them run as fast as they can, getting near the wall.
Merle starts running ahead. "They're all at the arena. This way."
"You're not going anywhere with us." Rick says aggressively.
"You really wanna do this now?" Merle asks.
He breaks part of the wall, allowing them to sneak out through the crack. Walkers are approaching because of all the gunfire.
They quickly make their way into the woods, getting back to their car by daybreak.
Michonne, Glenn, and Maggie all lean against it.
"Oh thank god." Glenn says when he sees them.
"Now we got a problem here. I need you to back up." Rick says.
Glenn spots Merle behind them and pulls out his gun. "What the hell is he doing here?"
Michonne draws her sword.
Rick holds up his hand to her. "Put it down."
"He tried to kill me!" She says.
Everyone's shouting. Daryl is standing in front of Merle. Maggie and Glenn hold up their guns. Rick and Michonne are arguing.
Y/N just stands there. She doesn't know what to do. What to say.
"He helped us get out of there." Daryl tells Glenn.
"Yeah, right after he beat the shit out of you." Glenn retorts.
"Hey, we both took our licks, man." Merle says.
Daryl shoves Glenn's gun away. "Get that thing out of my face!"
"Man, looks like you've gone native, brother." Merle says with a chuckle.
Daryl turns around to face the redneck. "No more than you hanging out with that psycho back there."
"Oh, yeah, man. He is a charmer, I got to tell you that. Been putting the wood to your girlfriend Andrea." He points at Michonne. "Big time, baby."
Y/N looks over at Merle, mouth slightly ajar. "Andreas alive?"
Everyone else is just as shocked.
Glenn furrows his eyebrows. "Andreas in Woodbury?"
Michonne nods. "Right next to the governor."
Rick looks at her. "You know Andrea?" She doesn't reply so he pulls out his gun, pointing it at her. "Do you know Andrea?"
"Rick." Y/N warns.
Merle nods his head. "Yep, she does. Her and blondie spent all winter cuddling up in the forest. Mm-mmm-mmm.Yeah. My Nubian queen here had two pet walkers. No arms, cut off the jaws, kept them in chains. Kind of ironic now that I think about it."
"Shut up, bro." Daryl tells him.
"Hey man, we snagged them out of the woods. Andrea was close to dying."
"Is that why she's with him?" Maggie asks.
"Yeah. Snug as two little bugs." He looks at Rick. "So what you gonna do now, sheriff. Huh? Surrounded by a bunch of liars, thugs, and cowards."
Y/N rolls her eyes. "Shut up."
"Oh man, it is good to see you again sugar tits." Merle says, licking his lips.
Rick turns around to face him, knocking him out with the handle of his gun. "Asshole."
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"It won't work." Rick says.
"It's gotta." Daryl replies.
"It'll stir things up."
"Look, the governor is probably on the way to the prison right now. Merle knows how he thinks and we could use the muscle."
Maggie shakes her head. "I'm not having him at the prison."
Glenn looks at Daryl. "Do you really want him sleeping in the same cell block as Carol or Beth?"
Daryl scoffs. "He ain't a rapist."
"Well his buddy is." Glenn counters.
Maggie looks at him with wide eyes.
"They ain't buddies no more. Not after last night." Daryl says.
"There's no way Merle's gonna live there without putting everyone at each others throats." Y/N says.
Daryl grinds his teeth. "So you're gonna cut
Merle loose and bring the last samurai home with us?"
"She's not coming back." Rick says.
Y/N looks at him. "She isn't in a state to be on her own."
"She did bring you guys to me and Maggie." Glenn says.
"And then ditched us." Rick says. "She's too unpredictable."
Daryl nods. "That's right. We don't know who she is. But Merle, Merle's blood."
Glenn looks at him. "No, Merle is your blood. My blood, my family is standing right here and waiting for us back at the prison."
Rick nods. "And you're part of that family. But he's not. He's not."
Daryl waves his hand dismissively. "Man, y'all don't know. Fine... we'll fend for ourselves."
"That's not what I was saying." Glenn says.
"No him, no me." Daryl says. "It was always Merle and I before this "
"Daryl, you don't have to do that. Please." Y/N says.
"Don't ask me to leave him. I already did that once. "
Rick puts his hand on Daryl's shoulder. "We started something last night. You realize that right?"
Daryl purses his lips. "No him, no me."
Nobody says anything.
Y/N steps closer to him. "There has to be another way."
Daryl shrugs. "Take care of yourselves. Take care of lil ass-kicker. Carl. He's one tough kid."
With that, he motions for Merle and the two walk into the woods, away from the group.
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YOU ARE READING
Sheriff's Lover ||| Rick Grimes x Reader (TWD x Reader)
Fanfiction32 year-old Y/N was all alone on the streets of Atlanta when a man in a sheriffs uniform trots down the road on top of a horse. She decides to join him on his journey to find his family because she doesn't want to be left behind. The two run into a...
