A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S3Pt17 - Negotiations

It was the next morning and I felt better. After me and Daryl talked last night, I felt a hundred times safer and closer to him. He was still asleep and I snuck out of the bed, careful not to wake him up. I grabbed the Polaroid camera out of my bag because I wanted a picture of him. Daryl suddenly woke up and I took a picture of him sitting up, looking at me, and his chest was bare.
"Picture perfect, Mr. Dixon." I said.
I shook the picture and the image appeared and smiled at it. Daryl got up, took it out of my hands, and I crossed my arms.
"Hey, I want that." I said.
"You don't need it." He said and hid it in his pocket.
"But I do." I said, starting to get serious.
"I'll keep it safe." He said.
I stomped the floor and started pouting, and I held out my hand for the photo. He walked over to me and smiled. Daryl grabbed my waist and pulled me close, and he kissed my cheek.
"You're so cute." He whispered and kissed my lips.
I lightly kissed him back and walked out of the cell. He followed me and we walked outside to the courtyard. Outside by the cars, we saw Rick and Hershel getting ready to leave somewhere.
"Rick? Where are you going?" I asked them.
"Going to meet the Governor." Rick sighed.
I stared at him and focused on his words.
"I'm coming." I said.
"I am too." Daryl said and wrapped his arm around me protectively.
"Everything okay between you two?" Hershel asked.
I smiled and looked at Daryl who nodded. "We're good." He said, and I nodded in agreement.
Hershel smiled and got in the drivers seat and started up the car. Rick sat up front, me and Daryl in the back, and we left to meet this 'Governor'.
We drove for awhile until we reached an abandoned warehouse. Hershel parked the car and Rick and Daryl left to scout the area. A few minutes later, Daryl whistled at us and we got out of the car, but Rick wasn't there. We walked around the side of the warehouse to the front doors. I peeked inside and saw Rick standing across from the Governor, and I finally got my first look at him. He was tall, well-dressed, and had an eyepatch on.
"I don't see any cars." Hershel pointed out.
"Then how'd he get here?" I wondered.
"It don't feel right. Watch your backs." Daryl said.
At that moment, a heavily armored truck pulled up and we aimed our weapons at them. Two men got out of the car, along with Andrea.
"The hell Andrea." I said.
"Why is your boy already in there?" Daryl asked.
"He's here?" She asked surprised.
"Yup." Daryl responded.
Andrea looked at a man with a baseball bat and threw up her hands. "Seriously Martinez?"
He shrugged his shoulders and Andrea walked into the warehouse to 'help' with 'negotiations'. Hershel sat down on a bench and I leaned against the wall. Daryl was pacing back and forth, and Martinez was watching him. The other guy wearing glasses was leaning against the truck writing in a book.
"Maybe I should go inside." Hershel suggested.
"The Governor thought it's best if he and Rick speak privately." The man said.
"Who the hell are you?" Daryl asked.
"Milton Mamet." He said and continued writing in his book.
"Great." Daryl scoffed. "He brought his butler."
"Daryl." I scolded, but he just shrugged.
"I'm his advisor." Milton clarified.
"What kind of advice?" Daryl asked.
"Planning, biters... Uh, you know, I'm sorry.. I don't feel like I need to explain myself to the henchman." Milton said.
Daryl got pissed and stomped forwards, but I ran in between them. I pushed Daryl back and glared at Milton.
"Watch yourself." I threatened.
Martinez laughed and leaned forwards on his bat. "Look, if we are gonna be out here pointing guns all day, do me a favor. Shut your mouth." He said.
He cracked his neck and clenched his fists.
"We don't need this." Hershel stated. "If all goes south, we'll be at each other's throats soon enough."
Daryl calmed down and grabbed my hand. We walked over to the wall and leaned against it, and I rested my head on his shoulder. Now, all we had to do was wait.
Later, Andrea walked out of the warehouse and we all stared at her. She shook her head and sat down on the bench by herself. Milton sat down my Hershel and started talking to him about his leg, and was amazed that Hershel got bit and survived.
"You know, there's no reason not to use this time we have together to explore this issue ourselves." Milton said.
"Boss said sit tight and shut up." Martinez sighed.
"Don't you mean the Governor." Daryl said sarcastically.
"It's a good thing. They're sitting down, especially after what happened. They're gonna work it out. No one wants another battle." Milton said.
"You might not, but the Governor does. He's bloodthirsty, willing to kill anyone in his way. Including you." I said and pointed at him.
Martinez looked at me and stood up straight. "Watch your mouth girl." He threatened.
"And I advise you to watch yours." I threatened back.
Martinez glared at me. I looked at Milton, who was still shocked by the truth. Daryl smirked and whispered in my ear.
"Still a badass." He said.
I smirked and nodded in agreement. "Yeah I am."
In the background we heard walkers growling and instantly Daryl and Martinez got up. They looked at each other and then raced over to the walkers. Andrea ran after them, but I stayed back. I already knew they were just going to show off, it would be stupid if one of them tried to kill each other. Andrea came back a few minutes later and leaned against the truck.
"Where are they?" I asked.
"Having a killing battle." She said.
I laughed to myself and nodded my head. "I knew it. Guys right?" I said.
We looked at each other and both laughed. I quieted down and looked at Andrea who was also looking at me, but I could tell she was different.
"Andrea.. you know you can always come back." I said quietly.
She shook her head and stared at the ground. "I can't. I can't leave Phillip." She said.
"Who, the Governor? Andrea, we're your family. We always have been." I tried to convince.
She shook her head and refused to look at me, but I knew she was upset. At that moment, the guys came back and looked at me talking to Andrea. She wiped away a few tears and looked away.
"What happened?" Martinez asked. "What did you do?"
I scoffed at him. He had the audacity to blame me for causing her to cry. I shook my head and stared at Andrea.
"Nothing." I said and shrugged my shoulders. "I didn't do a goddamn thing."
Daryl walked over to me and was about to say something when the doors to the warehouse screeched open. We looked over and Rick was the first to walk out, followed by the Governor. We parted ways and walked back to our cars. I looked back over my shoulder and looked at Andrea, who was also looking back at me.
"Please.. please come back with us.." I thought.
She then slowly looked away and got in her car. We all got in our car and Rick sat there silently.
"So, did you find an agreement." I finally asked.
He sighed and started the car. "No."
We drove back to the prison and everything was tense. I felt the bad news coming, but Rick was waiting until we got back with the entire group. Back at the prison, we gathered everyone into the cellblock and Rick began to talk.
"So I met this Governor. Sat with him for quite awhile." Rick said.
"Just the two of you?" Merle asked, and Rick nodded. "Should've gone when we had the chance, bro."
He walked away and everyone was silent. Rick shook his head and sighed.
"He wants the prison. And he wants us gone. Dead.." Rick paused. "He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury."
Everyone shifted their bodies uncomfortably and we all looked at each other. I saw worry in some faces, and anger in others.
"We're going to war."