A Broken World

Sixty-Three

Yn

The tension was thick in the truck as we pulled up to the feed store. Daryl’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, and Rick hadn’t said a word since we left. Hershel sat beside me in the back, his face drawn and quiet. I didn’t know what we were walking into, but every part of me screamed it was a trap.

Still, we had to try.

The building loomed in front of us—worn-down, silent, and ominous. Rick gave a curt nod to Daryl, who killed the engine.

“This is it,” Rick said, reaching for his Colt.

“Let’s be smart about this,” Hershel muttered. “No one goes in hot.”

Rick opened the door. “I’m going in alone first.”

“I’m not lettin’ you go in there alone,” Daryl argued, his voice low and deadly. “We don’t know what the hell’s waitin’.”

Rick turned to him. “You’re staying outside with YN and Hershel. Watch my back.”

I didn’t love the plan, but I trusted Rick. I nodded once. “We got you.”

Rick pushed the door open and disappeared inside. I couldn’t stop the gnawing feeling in my gut. This whole place felt off. I scanned the tree line, then looked at Daryl.

He caught my eye. “Keep sharp.”

No more than a minute later, Andrea pulled up in another truck with Milton and Martinez. She jumped out and froze when she saw Rick’s group already here. Her eyes landed on me, wide with surprise.

“YN?” she said, walking toward us. “You came?”

I crossed my arms, wary. “Guess you didn’t think we’d show?”

“I didn’t think Rick would agree to this,” she admitted. “The Governor just wants to talk.”

“Does he?” Daryl muttered behind me. “Not sure he’s the talkin’ type.”

Andrea sighed and turned away. “Let’s just get this over with.”

She walked into the building with Milton and Martinez trailing her. Daryl and I exchanged a glance, then both turned our attention outward again, watching the perimeter. Every creak of wind, every rustle of brush had me reaching for my knife.

“You trust her?” I asked Daryl under my breath.

He glanced at me, jaw tight. “I trust her to fuck it up.”

I gave a short, humorless laugh. “Sounds about right.”

Time passed in quiet spurts. When Rick finally emerged, his face was unreadable. He didn’t speak right away.

“Let’s go,” he said gruffly.

Once we were in the truck again, he finally spoke. “He wants Michonne.”

The words hit the cabin like a gunshot.

“What?” I turned toward him. “He wants us to give her up?”

Rick didn’t answer right away. “Said if we give her over, he’ll back off.”

“He’s lyin’,” Daryl growled. “He ain’t gonna stop even if you hand her over in pieces.”

“He’s gonna kill us no matter what,” I said quietly. “He just wants us to make the first cut.”

Rick looked down at his hands. “I know.”

I met Daryl’s eyes in the rearview mirror. We both understood—there was no peace coming. Only war.

The engine rumbled the entire ride back, but none of us said a word.

Daryl sat next to me in the back seat, his arms folded across his chest, his jaw tight. Hershel was up front, eyes set straight ahead, like he was already trying to make peace with whatever Rick was planning. And Rick… he was stone. Just like always. But the kind of stone that’s been chipped away too many times.

We rolled through the prison gates, past Glenn and Maggie on watch, and into the yard where the others were already waiting. Carol, Beth, Carl, Michonne—they rushed toward us as we got out.

“What happened?” Carol asked, voice tight.

“Did he say anything?” Glenn added, stepping forward.

Rick didn’t answer right away. He just looked around at the group, then turned his eyes up to the guard tower. For a moment, I thought he might actually tell them the truth.

But instead, he just said, “We talked. He wants the prison. All of it.”

Everyone started talking at once—angry, scared, confused. I didn’t say anything. I just kept my eyes on Rick, because I knew that wasn’t all the Governor had said. Not even close.

He looked at Hershel. Just a glance. And I saw it—whatever the Governor had offered, Rick wasn’t ready to say it out loud yet.

Later, after we regrouped in the cell block, the group started laying out weapons, planning watch shifts, going over escape routes like we always did. I kept looking over at Rick. And when he finally walked off toward the upper level, I followed.

I hung back in the shadows as Rick and Hershel talked quietly.

“If we give him Michonne… maybe that buys us some time,” Rick said.

My stomach dropped.

Hershel didn’t answer right away. “You really think he’ll keep his word?”

Rick looked more tired than I’d ever seen him. “I don’t know. But if there’s a chance—if it means keeping Judith safe, Carl, everyone—we have to consider it.”

“And YN?” Hershel asked. “You think she’d be okay with that?”

I stepped forward then. “She’s not.”

They both turned to me, startled.

“Michonne’s one of us,” I said, staring directly at Rick. “You think giving her to that man is gonna save us? He’ll kill her. And then he’ll come back for the rest of us.”

“YN—” Rick started.

“No,” I cut him off. “Don’t even try to justify it. You know what kind of man he is. There’s no deal that ends with us safe and him satisfied.”

Rick’s face hardened. “You think I don’t know that? I’m trying to keep us alive.”

“So am I,” I shot back. “But not like this.”

Hershel looked between us, a heaviness in his eyes. “We’ve all lost things. People. But this… this isn’t the way.”

Rick didn’t say anything else. He just turned and walked away, leaving me and Hershel in silence.

No one knew about the offer yet—not even Daryl. But that secret was already starting to rot from the inside.

I sat near the wall, watching the others move, talk, plan.

Because whatever came next, I knew one thing for sure:

We weren’t just fighting the Governor anymore.

We were fighting to keep the last of our humanity intact.