Three Empty Words

Chapter Six

"Time is clicking, but I'm stagnant in the place you left me. I can barely see the face that I fell in love with, it's a memory. Day or two, a month a year, it's all the same. You've been gone and all you left is pain." ~ Arden Cho (Memory)

***

Thea's PoV

"And where is it y'all good people are calling home?" Merle interrupted the couple, walking out with his gun raised over his bayoneted arm. I grumbled to myself, just wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict with strangers. We were only out here to find his brother, not pick fights.

"Merle?" the Korean man asked. Both the man and woman dropped their things and advanced slowly with their own guns. I stepped out behind Merle to give them curious looks. How did he know Merle?

"Wow!" Merle laughed, raising his hands and dropping his gun. What in the hell was he thinking?

"Hey, back the hell up!" the woman shouted to the ever approaching Merle. He stopped, reassuring her he wouldn't go further.

"You made it," the man muttered, in almost what sounded like distaste.

"Can you tell me, is my brother alive? Huh?"

"Yeah."

"Hey, you take me to him, and I'll call it even on everything that happened up in Atlanta. No hard feelings. Huh?" It got tense after he said that. I figured Merle had this well taken care of and decided to check the surroundings. Just in case something or someone else was in the area. Coming up empty, I quickly and discreetly returned to Merle's side.

"We'll tell Daryl you're here and he'll come out to meet you." Merle didn't like that idea. He began to go forward again, causing us all to stir and grow agitated. Like me, the woman didn't say anything, but I could tell she wanted to jump in.

"Come on now. You can trust me," Merle pleaded. But I knew it was fake. Merle was a very untrustworthy person. The gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans in the back was enough to prove my point in this moment.

"You trust us. You stay here."

"Merle, if he knows your brother then we should listen. Waiting a bit longer isn't a big deal," I reasoned, but he payed me no mind. In a swift motion, he pulled out his hidden gun and fired, shattering the glass of their vehicle. As much as I liked Merle, I wasn't about to get shot for him. I dove out of the way and hid behind a nearby car. I put my hands over my ears, tuning out the gunfire and yelling.

"Get in the car, Glenn! You're driving! Move!" Merle's angry voice startled me and I peeked over the car. He had a hold of the woman, using her as leverage. Who I now know as Glenn, got into the drivers seat. "Thea! Let's go!" I scrambled to my feet in got in the backseat next to the woman. Merle had his eyes kept on Glenn, leading him back to Woodbury. A lot of things ran through my head as I zoned out, my knee bouncing up and down. As discreetly as I could, I leaned over towards the woman.

"I'm going to get you guys out of here."

***

"Thea? You came to?" It was Maggie's voice that brought me out of memories. A small tear had leaked from my eyes and rolled down my cheek. Back then, I thought dealing with the Governor and Daryl's brother would be the hardest challenge I would face. How I wish I could travel back in time and do things over again.

"Yea, I'm here. I didn't want to make the trip back home by myself," I muttered. Resting my voice since I got here about an hour ago, and then speaking, left me realizing how sore it felt from all the yelling and crying I did. Sadly enough, I don't think my yelling and crying days are over. Not by a long shot.