WITH YOU | TWD

[34] OLD AQUAIATANCE

"Beth!" Maggie called as they ran out of the building with guns. They saw Carol on the ground covered with the body of Axel that was now basically a bloody sack of bullets. "Carol, go!"

Suddenly everything became quiet, no more bullets flying through the air, however, something else brought their attention. Roaring of an engine. Charlie furrowed her brows, worried that maybe it was Glenn coming back. But the car wasn't similar to the one he took. A mini van stormed through the gates and stopped on the field. It didn't belong to them, so there was only one option - more people of the Governor.

But the reality was much worse.

Around twenty Walkers marched from the inside and basically trapped Hershel on the field. The whole shooting brought Walkers from the closest area and trapped Rick outside of the gates. And there was still an asshole on their watch tower who trapped them from helping the other two.

In span of the moment, Charlie aimed at the sniper and pulled the trigger. Everything happened so fast that she couldn't even point a moment when the idea was even born in her head - she did that on impulse.

When the Governor was gone all five of them - Charlie, Carl, Maggie, Carol, and Beth, ran to help Hershel. Reed dropped her gun aside and took out an axe, deciding it would be much more convenient. She heard a scream and stopped in her tracks, looking in the direction of where Rick was.

While she thought Grimes would die just there an arrow cut through the air.

Charlie stood frozen. Her heart both hammered in chest and stopped the beating. She blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. The figure of Daryl didn't disappear or transformed into a Walker - like it used to in her nightmares. It was him. She would recognize him everywhere, even from the distance. The way he moved and how precisely he used a bow, so the arrow didn't go through the head of Rick, but just the Walker. Charlie felt all the muscles relax as soon as her brain understood that Daryl was back.

But there was no time to think about it as she saw Glenn driving back with Hershel and Michonne. And once they passed the gate, Charlie and Carl closed it behind them. At that moment, she could see what the Governor did to their home. Walkers, once again, overran the fields, so there was just one layer of separation from them. Axel was dead on the ground, and whole peace they had was gone.

"We're not leaving," said Rick.

"We can't stay here," Hershel shook his head, still on shock after what had happened.

"What if there's another sniper?" Carol asked. "A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds."

"We can't even go outside," Beth cried.

"Not in the daylight."

"Rick says we're not running, we're not running," Glenn argued.

"No, better to live like rats," said Merle from behind the cell's doors.

Charlie sent him stare full of hate.

"You got a better idea?"

"Yeah, we should have slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day," he said, leaning on the doors. "But we lost that window, didn't we?"

"We?" Charlie asked. "Last time I've checked there was no we."

"Better check again, baby," Merle smiled. "I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."

"We ain't scared of that prick."

"Y'all should be," Merle's smile dropped. "That truck through the fence thing? That's just him ringing the doorbell," he said. "We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to."