Fire With Fire // D. Dixon

chapter one

Fire.

Fire was everywhere. The field of crops had been set ablaze, the guard tower blown to bits. All of what once was home was completely abolished into ash and smoke.

It all happened so quickly.

An earth-shattering rumble was heard from within the confines of the prison, shaking the very ground beneath them all.

"What the hell was that?" Chloe spat, looking around for an answer. The walls hadn't collapsed, so maybe they were okay for now. Maybe.

Chloe's feet had moved before she knew they were moving at all, leading her just outside of Cell Block C. She could see her Dad at the gate, looking stunned. Confused, she looked at the field. There he was.

The Governor.

It was then that she had noticed how he stood, atop of the military tank, as if trying to send a message to us all. As if to say he was invincible.

"Rick!" The man shouted, "Come down here. We need to talk."

There was a moment of silence, before Rick spoke. The girl wondered if he was contemplating what to do, how to escape. She could only hope this would all be over soon.

"It's not up to me, there's a council now. They run this place." Rick yelled, hoping this would deter the man from speaking to him alone. With a tank and a good number of people on his side, Rick hardly stood a chance alone.

"Is Hershel on the council?" The man shouted once again, but with a sickening grin, "What about Michonne? She on the council, too?" Chloe was confused, why was he asking? Then she realized.

"Oh my god-" Chloe spoke, watching as his men pulled the pair out of one of their many trucks. Daryl placed a gentle but firm hand on the eldest Grimes' shoulder, as if he was telling her they would be just fine. We'd get them back, no matter what.

"I don't make decisions anymore." Rick spoke again, wishing this man would leave them alone. It's bad enough they have to deal with the walkers on a daily basis, let alone a man as sick and twisted as this one.

"You're making the decisions today, Rick." The man looked down at the council members, "Come down here, let's have that talk."

Chloe shared a few worried glances with Daryl, who stood just beside of Rick. She didn't know what he was thinking and she wasn't sure if he had a plan at all, but she certainly didn't expect him to just open the gate.

Leaving him no other choice, Rick looked at Daryl, "Take care of them, do what you have to do."

"Dad-" Chloe beckoned, her eyes quickly becoming watery. She couldn't just let him go down there and risk being gunned down by that man. After losing her Mom not too long ago, she couldn't lose him too.

"Hey, I know this looks bad..." Rick glances between Carl and Chloe, "We can do this, all right?" Rick sent a look at everyone in the vicinity. He looked nervous, all of them could see that much.

"Just..." Chloe spoke, "be careful." He nodded, opening the gate.

Lost in her rampant thoughts, the girl watched as a walker had made its way towards her. Snapping herself back to reality and with her back to the field, she turned around and slammed the automatic gun against its head. Once. Twice.

She stepped back as the blood began to pool around the body. Taking a sharp breath in, the Grimes girl looked around once again.

Chloe let the darkened smoke surround her as she let the tears flow silently. This used to be home. She could still see her Mom's grave in the field as it burned, the guard tower began to crumble and tumble to the ground as it was blown up, the once-safe fences fell to the ground giving the walkers dominance of the yard once again. The yard they had once fought so hard to clear. Gone.

She saw nobody. The prison was gone.

It was time to go.

"We can't take 'em all on," Daryl spoke in a hushed voice, "We'll go through the admin building, through the woods like we planned. We ain't got the numbers no more."

Chloe nodded her head, still reluctant on this plan to escape. She wasn't going to leave her Dad behind, or Carl and Judith. No way in hell.

"When's the last time someone checked the stash on the bus?" Daryl asked, Sasha glanced at her brother with a sigh. Damn, it probably should have been a higher priority before all of this.

"Day before we hit the Big Spot. We were running low on rations then. We're lower now." Sasha replied with a frown. Daryl only nodded.

"Yeah, we'll manage. Things go south, everyone heads for that bus. Let everyone know." Daryl spoke, starting to move away from the siblings.

"What if everybody doesn't know when things go bad?" Tyreese questions, "How long do we wait?"

"As long as we can."

Chloe looked back at the field, her brown eyes searching for her father. He must have just made it down there. She stood behind the concrete wall, holding the automatic gun in her hands. They shook violently.

"Let 'em go right now. I'll stay down here, talk as long as you want, but you let them go." Rick eyed the Governor, "You got a tank. You don't need hostages-"

"I do." The man interjected, "This is just to show you I'm serious, not to blast a hole in our new home. You and your people, you have till' sundown to get out of here or they die."

"It doesn't have to go down this way..."

"I got more people, more firepower. We need this prison, there it is." He looked around as if he was just waiting for them to leave, "It's not about the past. It's about right now."

"There are children here. Some of them are sick, they won't survive." Rick pleaded. Chloe had noticed some of the fighters looked away in shock, some put their heads down in shame, and some looked at the Governor. Could they really go through with this?

"I have a tank and I'm letting you walk away from here. What else is there to talk about?" An eery silence followed the Governor's statement. Chloe shivered as she watched the two have a stare down.

Chloe looked behind her to see Daryl handing out guns, and she had decided to help him. As the girl reached in the bin, she looked up at the hunter anxiously.

"Daryl..."

"I know," He spoke, "we'll be alright. We always are." He fought himself to smile, for her. He thought, smile for her.

Chloe ran as fast as her feet would carry her.

She ran for the woods, not knowing if anyone would be there or be looking for her. She just ran with nothing but the clothes on her back and the gun in her hands.

She had no idea which direction she was headed, but she knew for certain that she had to get away from the prison as quickly as possible.

And so she did, leaving her home and everyone she once knew behind.