A Broken World

Fifty-Three

Yn

The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with the katana now lying on the table. I leaned against the wall, trying to process what I’d just heard. Maggie and Glenn were taken. Not lost, not hurt—taken. My heart pounded in my chest, the edges of my vision blurring as anger and fear threatened to overwhelm me.

The woman sat on the floor, her leg outstretched, blood seeping through her makeshift bandage. Her expression was guarded, but her eyes darted between all of us, weighing her options. Daryl stood beside me, his arms crossed, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might snap.

Rick paced in front of her like a caged animal. “How’d you know how to get here?” he demanded again, his tone sharp.

The woman sighed, clearly irritated. “Like I said, they mentioned a prison. Said which direction it was in. I followed the trail.”

Rick wasn’t satisfied. “You just stumbled onto us? Just like that?”

She met his gaze, unflinching. “Look, I came here because I figured you’d want to know about your people. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn’t be sitting here bleeding out, would I?”

Hershel cleared his throat, stepping forward. “Rick, we can ask more questions after we take care of her wound.”

Rick hesitated, then nodded toward the woman. “This is Hershel. He’ll patch you up.”

The woman didn’t respond, just gave a curt nod as Hershel moved closer, his medical bag in hand.

I pushed off the wall, my fists clenched at my sides. “A town?” I repeated, my voice sharper than I intended. “A whole town with paramilitary wannabes running the place? And they took Maggie and Glenn? What the hell for?”

The woman glanced at me, her expression softening just a fraction. “Because that’s what they do,” she said. “They take what they want—supplies, weapons, people.”

“People?” My voice cracked on the word.

She nodded grimly. “Women, mostly. The Governor keeps them close. He’s got his favorites.”

I felt like I might be sick. My mind raced with images of Maggie and Glenn—together, scared, hurt. “We have to go after them,” I said, looking at Rick. “Now.”

Rick held up a hand, his expression unreadable. “We’re not rushing in blind. We don’t know enough yet.”

I rounded on him, the fear and frustration boiling over. “We don’t need to know everything, Rick! They’re out there, right now, with God knows what happening to them. Every second we waste—”

“Enough!” Rick snapped, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. “I get it, YN. I do. But if we don’t do this right, more people are gonna get hurt. You want that?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but Daryl’s hand on my arm stopped me. I looked up at him, his blue eyes steady and calm in a way that made my anger falter.

“We’ll get ‘em back,” he said quietly. “Promise.”

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Okay.”

Rick turned back to the woman. “You’re gonna help us,” he said. “You know the place, you know the people. We need a way in, and you’re gonna give it to us.”

She studied him for a long moment before nodding. “Fine,” she said. “But don’t think for a second this is gonna be easy. You go in half-cocked, you’re all gonna die.”

Rick’s jaw tightened. “Then you’d better make sure we don’t.”

The woman smirked faintly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Guess I better.”