𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗜𝗫𝗢𝗡𝗦

𝗧 𝗛 𝗜 𝗥 𝗧 𝗬 - 𝗦 𝗜 𝗫

"Oh goodie. Does Daryl know how to break into car's too?" Taylor asked sarcastically.

     "Didn't I tell ya' ta' fuckin' shut up?" Merle griped, getting under the dashboard of the car.

     "...You...You don't get it, Merle." She sighed, her feet kicking at the small pebbles that laid on the ground.

     "Get what?" He grumbled, trying to get the car started up.

     "How I-" She was interrupted as the car's alarm began to go off.

     "Aw, shit." Merle cursed.

      "Merle, turn that fucking thing off; walkers are gonna here it." She groaned.

     She saw walkers begin to come out of the woods, slowly making their way to the car.

     "Uh, Merle, their on their way." She warned him.

     She turned around to see Michonne cut off a walkers head with the wire being used to keep her wrists tied together and the pillar.

     "You alright?" Taylor asked her, to which Michonne nodded.

     "Look out!" She shouted, and Taylor spun around, seeing two walkers coming up.

     "Shit!" She panicked, grabbing a sharp, broken glass shard from off the ground, wincing as she felt it cut through her skin.

     She kicked one of the walkers in the knee, bringing her tied hands above her head and back down with all the force she could muster, the glass shard stabbing right through the walkers head.

     The other one got her, grabbing her as it pushed her to the ground, trying to bite into her neck.

     "Shit!" She cursed, trying to get it off of her.

     Suddenly, the blade of Michonne's sword cut right through it's head, and Merle pushed the walker off of her and grabbed her hand, "C'mon, darlin'. We gotta get our asses in gear.".

     Michonne was free from her restraints and joined the two on their mad dash to the car that was now running, Merle pulling out and away from the walkers.

     "...Why don't you just take me and Taylor back to the prison and we pretend none of this happened." Michonne suggested.

      Chuckling, Merle replied, "Sorry miss shogun, but it don' work like that.".

     "...If your worried of what they'll say, Merle. I'll defend you." Taylor said.

      "Well I...I appreciate it, darlin'. But I don' think even Daryl'll take my side on this one."  He replied.

      "...Rick needs your brother. He looks to him; he's an asset to the group." Michonne said, Merle staying silent.

     "Merle, let's just go back. You...You just gotta put forth the effort to change. When you do, Rick will start looking to you too for answers. Besides, me, you, and Daryl; we can be together again. You know...hang out like we did in the beginning." Taylor smiled at him through the rear view mirror.

     He stayed silent as the car came to a stop before he spoke up, unlocking the car doors, "Michonne, you get Taylor back to the prisom safely, ya' here me?".

     Michonne nodded, opening her car door as she got out, "I will.".

     "W-What. Merle, I can't leave you." She whimpered.

     "It's jus' for an' hour or two, darlin'. Ol' Merle's got somethin' he's gotta do." He replied.

Michonne opened Taylor's door, "It's okay, Taylor. C'mon, we gotta get moving.".

"You better come back. Don't you dare leave me again." She cried, getting out of the car as tears ran down her face.

"It'll be okay, darlin'. I promise." And with that, Merle was off.

———

"...DO YOU THINK WERE ALMOST
there?" Taylor asked Michonne, breaking the silence between the two.

"Think we're getting close." Michonne replied.

That's when Daryl ran up, rushing up to Taylor and bringing her into an embrace, "Thank god your okay, babygirl.".

"M-Merle...he..." She whimpered.

"I know, babygirl." Daryl said before he looked up at Michonne, "Where the hell is Merle?".

"He let me and Taylor go. Said he had to do something." Michonne replied.

"An' you jus' let him?" Daryl griped, pulling away from Taylor as he began down the road.

"Wait, I wanna go with you! I-I wanna make sure Merle's okay." Taylor said, catching up to him.

"Kiddo, I need ya' ta' go wit' Michonne, alri'? Me an' Merle'll be back tonight." He told her.

Taylor returned back to Michonne, and Daryl was off to find Merle.

———

TAYLOR STAYED HUDDLED UP IN
the corner of the guard porch, crying as she listened to her music on her Walkman.

She knew Merle was dead, and whatever he had to do was a suicide mission.

His words were just a lie...

"You...you fucking asshole..." She cried, "You meant the world to me...just like Daryl. Why'd you have to leave me...".

That's when she heard a knock on the doorframe, and she took off her headphones and looked up to see Daryl.

It looked like he had been crying too, and that answer was as good as any.

"...He dead?" She whimpered, wiping her teary eyes.

"...Yeah..." He simply replied, "But uh...there's someone here...".

Taylor got up, shoving her Walkman into the pocket of her jacket as she followed Daryl down to the small eating area the group had set up, seeing Beth hand a woman a can of beans and a water.

"Who the hell are you?" Taylor asked the woman.

     "...Jordyn...Jordyn Ford..." The woman replied.

     "She was there when Merle died." Daryl told Taylor.

To Be Continued...
Word Count: 1236
Edited: ❌