WHITE FLAG
chapter forty-four : the return to the prison
{ season three - episode nine }
THE NOW CUT short group were sitting in the car that they had left in. The car was a five-seater with a cargo bed, so everyone fit inside. Rick was in the driver's seat, Maggie beside him in the passenger seat. Behind them sat Glenn, Kloe and Zayn. And the cargo bed held Michonne, Vickie, Brianna and Jayce.
They were in complete silence in the car, not a single word. They were either sad, annoyed, or outraged. One of their closest friends had left them by choice. Over a douchebag named Merle Dixon.
The car came to a stop upon seeing a branch across the road, blocking them. Beyond the broken branch was a cherry red truck bed. Rick, Maggie, Glenn and Zayn pushed open their doors, stepping out onto the cement. Kloe followed her brother as Jayce told the females to stay in the cargo bed, hopping out of it.
Once they were all out, they all simultaneously walked over to the abandoned car, stepping over the branch. Rick turned to Glenn, who was a few meters behind him. "Get the brakes."
Glenn weakly nodded, latching onto the car door handle and pulling it open. Making everyone jolt, a walker snarled loudly from the inside of the car, instantaneously lunging for Glenn.
Just as everyone had grabbed onto their guns to put down the walker, Glenn angrily grasped onto the walker's shoulders and slammed it against the ground. He stamped his foot repetitively on the walker's face.
Taking everyone aback, they all watched the raged young adult as he continually slammed his foot onto the walker's now messed up face.
Zayn and Kloe shared a glance, both of them having the same facial expression. Their eyes were widened and their brows were furrowed. They had never seen him act like that. Correction, no one in the group had seen him act like that.
The entirety of the time of knowing Glenn Rhee, he had always been the complete opposite of angry. Glenn then stopped beating the walker's head in, and panted heavily. From hearing the silence behind him where everyone was standing, he knew instantly the looks he was getting from them.
He stepped forward, pressing his hand against the side of his torso where he was beaten. Without hesitation, Rick and Zayn followed him while Kloe, Maggie and Jayce walked over to the back of the car.
"You didn't kill him," Glenn stated while still panting. Kloe stood at the back of the cargo bed, watching the three while the others did too beside her.
"That's not why we went back," Rick told him, shifting his weight on his other leg. Zayn nodded with Rick. Kloe bit the inside of her cheek as she noticed the fire in Glenn's eyes.
"No. That's right. You went back for Daryl," Glenn said, averting his gaze away from the ground and up to Rick and Zayn, now seeing the certain emotion in his eyes. "And now he's gone again and the Governor is still alive." Glenn scrunched up his face on the word 'Governor'.
"Glenn, Daryl was the whole reason we went back in the first place," Zayn said. "We didn't have any plans on killing the Governor. We also didn't plan for Merle to come back with us."
"I should have been there with you," Glenn muttered, barely above a whisper.
"You were in no condition," Rick stated simply, squinting his eyes at the Rhee. Zayn and Rick shared a glance, both agreeing that he couldn't have come with them.
Glenn's brows deepened. "But my girlfriend was?!" He raised his voice, pointing over to Kloe. "She was tortured just like I was, but she had worse than me."
"Glenn, you passed out the second they got us here. This isn't about us," Kloe spoke up, making him scoff.
"I should have been there," he growled, gritting his teeth. Zayn stared into the air, his mind lingering over Glenn's words of 'Kloe having it worse'. He looked over his shoulder to look at her and furrowed his brows at his sister.
"Hey, hey, Kloe is right. You didn't come back with us 'cause you could barely walk and you passed out," Rick retorted.
"What about her?" Glenn pointed at his girlfriend, who crossed her arms over her chest.
"Hey, my leg is not as bad as it seems. Sure, it was cut open twice, but Glenn you were being beaten for a solid fifteen minutes," Kloe reasoned, glaring at him.
Glenn looked away from her and faced Rick again. "Sure, you know what Merle did. But I'm not talking about her leg or Merle. Do you know what he did to her?!"
"Glenn, stop," Kloe said loudly in a warning tone.
"Do you know?! Why do you think she has my shirt on?!" He continued, glaring straight across at Rick and Zayn, who both looked back and forth between him and his girlfriend.
"It doesn't matter, Glenn! Leave it!" She yelled, pressing both of her hands on the side of her head before placing them back down onto the car, staring into the air. Everyone stared at her, confused on what Glenn was getting at. "What the Governor did to me doesn't matter. It's not serious. Let's go."
Glenn breathed heavily, turning around so his back was facing the group as he tried to calm himself down. He turned back to Rick, seeing that Zayn was staring at his sister. "After all that effort, all the risk we took, Daryl just takes off with Merle?"
"Well, he had his reasons," Rick responded, defending the man that left them.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Rick," he snapped. "Doesn't change the fact that we're up to our necks in shit."
"You want me to turn the car around, beg him to come back?" Rick asked sarcastically. "Throw down a welcome mat for Merle. This is a hand we've been dealt!" He shouted in Glenn's face.
Maggie, who was rubbing Kloe's shoulder comfortingly, looked up at the two men that were glaring at each other. "Let's just get this out of here and get back. Get some rest. We can all talk about it later."
Glenn looked between everyone, who were all watching him except for Kloe, who was staring into space. "No, you guys do all the talking you want. I'm done."
And with that, he walked away from them. Kloe let out a shaky breath, swallowing thickly as she glanced up at Glenn walking away. Zayn watched his best friend storm off as Rick stepped over to Kloe and Maggie, stopping beside them.
"Kloe-" Rick started with a soft tone, but got interrupted by her.
"No. He barely did anything to me," she informed them in a quiet voice, catching Zayn's attention. She looked up at the man beside her. "He just ripped my shirt and just barely touched my stomach. He didn't do anything else."
Rick slowly nodded. "Okay. Okay. Are you alright?" He questioned her, getting an immediate nod from her. "Okay. Well, I don't think you're fit to push this truck. Let us do it, okay?"
Kloe hesitantly nodded, gently grazing her finger over her scabbed wound on her lip before walking away. She turned around as she came to a stop, feeling eyes on her. She knew instantly it was Glenn. She lifted her eyes to look at him, seeing that he was already looking at her. They held each other's gaze before Glenn broke it, pulling open the car door as he sat back inside of it.
He sat himself in the passenger seat, which is where Maggie was sitting originally. Kloe's heart dropped slightly, but she looked away from him and watched the group move the car.
...
Once again, the group stayed in complete silence. Kloe kept her eyes shut the whole way back to the prison from exhaustion. Hearing the sound of a gate being slid open made Kloe force open her eyes.
She saw both Carol and Carl, who were pulling open the gates so the car could get through. Rick drove the car inside, Carol pulling the gate shut before any walkers could get inside the prison.
Rick pulled on the brakes, stepping out of the car before turning to Maggie, who was beside Kloe. "Drive 'em up. I'll meet you there," he instructed. Maggie nodded, unbuckling her seatbelt as she climbed over to the driver's seat.
Kloe shuffled over to where Maggie was sitting, pressing the side of her head against the chilled window. Maggie drove the car up to the prison, Axel being the one standing there to open the inner gate.
He pulled it open as Maggie went inside, parking the car up where it usually would be. Kloe smiled weakly as she noticed everyone standing around, waiting for the people to get out of the car.
Kloe grabbed hold of the handle, pushing it open as she stepped onto the concrete. Her exhausted eyes landed on Isabelle, who had a wide smile plastered across her face as Kloe shut the door behind her.
Isabelle hurried over to her, grasping onto Kloe's arms as she examined Kloe's injuries. "Kloe..." she whispered, her eyes landing on her thigh. "What happened?"
"It's a long damn story," she replied, chuckling raspily. "Think you'll be able to stitch me up Dr. Marshel?" Isabelle snickered at the name her friend had given her.
She swirled her neck to the side to look at Hershel, seeing that he was talking with Glenn, who was beaten up. Isabelle grimaced at the way both Glenn and Kloe looked. Both of them had been tortured.
She turned back to Kloe, nodding. "Yeah. My mom taught me how to stitch up cuts since I always fell out of my treehouse," she snickered, remembering the time her foster mother used her stuffed bear to teach her.
Kloe laughed along as Isabelle led her to C Block. While Kloe walked, she could feel the unbearable pain that was erupting from her thigh. Of course, she did feel it every second since Merle and the Governor gave it to her, but from everything happening, it was like the pain had been the least of her worries.
They stepped inside the soundless room, the dim light making Kloe want to just close her eyes and go to sleep. Kloe sat herself down on a metal bench with the help of Isabelle.
She gripped onto the edges of the cut in her jeans, pulling it with force so it ripped more. A larger hole in her black jeans formed, presenting the entirety of Kloe's wound.
Isabelle grimaced as she squinted her eyes. "Kloe, who did that to you?" She questioned her, almost instantly seeing it as a knife wound. Just as Isabelle began to examine Kloe's thigh, Maggie came to her side and placed down a small bag of medical supplies.
"My dad told me to give these to you. He would've given it to you himself to tell you what you have to do, but he's busy fixing up Glenn at the moment," she explained, earning a nod from the teenager.
"Okay. Tell him I got it," Isabelle replied, opening the bag as she reached down for some rubbing alcohol and a cotton pad. Maggie bopped her head, spinning on her head as she hurried over to the cell at the end of the room, which is where Kloe guessed Hershel and Glenn were.
Isabelle poured the rubbing alcohol onto the cotton pad, looking up at Kloe with an anxious look. "This is gonna hurt, you know that, right?"
"I was tortured most of the night. Just get it over with," Kloe breathlessly laughed, biting into her bottom lip as Isabelle placed the cotton pad onto her wound.
...
After around twenty minutes, Isabelle had finished stitching up Kloe's thigh. She stood up from her seat and glanced up at Kloe. She looked extremely exhausted.
Isabelle whipped her head over to the cell where Hershel and Glenn were, her blue eyes landing on the old man with crutches as he stepped out. He looked over at Kloe, instantly making his way over to her as she straightened her back.
Just as she did, the door to the outside behind her closed. Kloe peered over her shoulder, catching sight of her brother. At the same time, both Hershel and Zayn made it to the bench they were sitting at.
Her brother took a seat beside her, leaning forward as he let out a drained breath. They all looked up at the older man, who leaned down to scan Kloe's thigh. "You did a good job there, Isabelle," he complimented, sharing a glance with the teenager who sent a brief smile in return.
"Thanks. Kloe, you know you're gonna have to be super careful for the next week, okay? No more climbing that ladder to the guard tower," Isabelle instructed, smirking at the last sentence.
"Whatever you say, mom," Kloe replied, leaning forward as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand. As she thought about the guard tower, Kloe turned her head slightly to the side to face Hershel, who was patting Isabelle on the shoulder. "How's Glenn? Is he okay?" She questioned him.
The elder man gazed up at the woman, a faint smile on his face. "Why don't you go see," he suggested. Kloe bit the inside of her cheek, her brother watching her from the side as she pondered. She seemed hesitant, which she was.
Seeing the way Glenn acted that morning surprised her. She had never seen him so furious and outraged. Maggie, who was standing a meter behind her father, also noticed the hesitation her friend held.
After around five seconds of debating in her mind, she carefully stood to her feet, nodding at the people that sat around her. She gently limped across the room, maneuvering over to the cell where her boyfriend sat.
Glenn, who heard the presence at the door to his cell, shot his head up toward it. His heart clenched as he laid his eyes on his exhausted girlfriend. She stared across at him for a moment before slowly entering the small cell.
She carefully sat herself down on the stool that Hershel was previously sitting on. She glanced up at him, noticing how he was twiddling with his fingers that were in his lap as he stared at them.
The pair sat in silence for what felt like a minute before Glenn broke the silence. "Are you okay?" He asked her in a low voice, earning a nod from Kloe as she glanced down at her leg.
"Yeah, all stitched up. I'm okay. Are you?" She then asked him. "Well- I know you're physically not great at the moment-"
"I'm fine," he cut her off, holding her eyes as he stared into them. He could see the concern in her eyes, plus the sadness and anger that she tried her best to hide after everything that happened.
No one else could see it except Glenn. He didn't know how, but it was because he could see straight through her. He was the one that knew her best, and so he could tell what emotions she had going on circling around her body.
"I'm not mad at you, you know?" Kloe said, catching Glenn's attention as he set his eyes on his hands again. "It just shocked me that you got that angry. I've never seen that before." Glenn's chocolate brown eyes flickered down to the ground.
"I don't regret anything I said," he muttered, looking back up to his girlfriend. "You shouldn't have gone back."
"I know," Kloe replied. "I can see why you didn't want me going. After everything we both went through? If I was in your shoes, I wouldn't want me going either."
"Then why did you?" He asked, his brows furrowed deeply as Kloe took a deep breath.
"Because I pushed all my pain aside," she answered simply. "I wanted to save Daryl, so that's what I did. Merle wasn't meant to come back with us. Our whole plan was to save only Daryl and bolt it. If I knew he would just up and leave us like that, honestly I don't think I would've gone back."
Then again, the pair stayed in silence while Glenn processed what Kloe explained to him. "I want him dead, Kloe," he stated, referring to the Governor. "I don't care if he 'barely did anything to you' like you're saying. He pinned you to the wall, ripped off your shirt and then touched you. That's sexual assult, Kloe. It doesn't matter what part of your body he touched, if it was without your permission, then it's sexual assault."
Kloe stared at the ground, her eyes slightly watery as she listened to Glenn's words. He wasn't wrong. He never was. She was sexaully assaulted, and all she had done was deny it to make herself feel better.
She blinked away the liquid in her eyes, lifting her head back up to Glenn, who had kept his eyes on her the entire time. She swallowed thickly, nodding her head in understanding before commotion was to be heard outside of the cell the couple were sitting in.
"Whenever Tomas went off, Oscar always stood up for me, you know? He was my friend," Axel announced sadly, making both Glenn and Kloe whip their heads over to the outside of the cell.
They simultaneously stood up, stepping over to the entrance to the cell and stood either side of the doorframe. Maggie and Jayce were standing side by side beside the staircase where Beth sat holding the baby, which Kloe learned was named Judith. Vickie and Brianna were busy wiping off any blood that had managed to get onto them during the fight. Carol was comforting Axel with Carl by his side as Rick and Hershel approached the prisoner. And lastly sat Zayn and Isabelle, who were both still on the bench.
"He went out fighting," Rick told the short blonde man, who's eyes slowly dropped to the floor with grief.
Beth, who watched the group, rose to her feet as she rocked Judith in her arms and walked over to them. "So what now? You think the Governor will retaliate?"
Kloe gulped at the mention of the Governor. Glenn eyed Kloe in the corner of his eyes, noticing as she shared a glance with the ground. "Yeah," she responded to the blonde teen.
"Let him try," Glenn added, his hands in the pockets of the jacket Jayce had given to him at Woodbury. Beth turned her head to the side, looking directly at the couple who both stared at the ground. She looked at them with sorrow, being told what happened to them by Isabelle.
"Sounds like he's got a whole town," Carol spoke up. "We're outnumbered and outgunned."
"We could use some reinforcements," Hershel suggested, referring to the group that Carl had saved in the depths of the prison. They had found an entrance through the back, and it just so happened Carl was doing a check in the tombs and found them fighting for their lives.
The whole group slowly walked over to the steel bar door, Carl unlocking it and letting his father and Hershel in first. They all piled inside, their eyes landing on the group who all instantly stood to their feet.
A colored man with a beanie stopped in front of his group as Rick approached him. The man extended out his hand, offering a handshake. "I'm Tyreese," he introduced, waiting for Rick to shake his hand, but all he did was stare at him.
Hershel pointed to the rest of the group behind Tyreese, raising his crutch. "Sasha, Allen, Ben."
"How'd you get in?" Rick questioned Tyreese.
"Fire damage to the administrative part of the prison," he replied. "Wall's down."
"That side's completely overrun with walkers," Rick stated. "How'd you get this far?"
"We didn't," Tyreese informed. "We lost our friend Donna." Kloe pursed her lips, feeling pity for the group that had lost someone.
"They were lost in the gyms," Carl chimed in, almost immediately making it clear that he was the one that brought the group here.
Rick spun around toward his son with speed, a new small amount of anger in his body language. "You brought them here?"
"He had no choice," Hershel said. Rick looked at the elder man for a couple of seconds before turning back to Tyreese and his small group.
"I'm sorry about your friend. We know what that's like," Rick placed his hand on his hip as he avoided eye contact.
"Hershel said you could use some extra hands," Tyreese began, gesturing over to the man with crutches. He looked over at his sister, Sasha. "We're no stranger to hard work. We'll go out and get our own food, stay out of your hair. You got a problem with another group, we'll help with that, too. Anything to contribute."
Kloe swiveled her head to the side, spotting Glenn who was watching the small group that offered everything they needed. She looked back at them, distinctively nodding since they seemed like they were nice enough to help them out. But Rick had other plans.
He shook his head, staring down at his shoes. "No," he whispered out, declining their offer.
"Please," Sasha begged. "It's like "Ten Little Indians out there. It's just us now."
"No." Kloe's shoulder slumped down, sighing as quietly as possible as she crossed her arms over her chest. If the Governor just so happened to attack them, they were going to need way more people than they had. Rick was taking down the best offer they had ever been given.
"Let's talk about this," Hershel commented, also not fond of Rick's decline. "We can't just keep-"
"We've been through this," Rick interrupted the old man, turning slightly to face him. "With Tomas, Andrew. Look what happened."
"Axel, Oscar and Jayce weren't like them," Carol spoke up.
"And where's Oscar now?" Rick's voice got louder, frustration undoubtedly running through his veins. Kloe's eyes fluttered to the ground, swallowing down the sadness as she got a picture of Oscar with a bullet wound on his heart in her mind. Rick slowly veered back around to Tyreese. "I can't be responsible."
"You turn us out, you are responsible," he replied honestly. Was he wrong though? Absolutely not. The Governor definitely had the upper hand, and Tyreese and his group offering to help out was a help out.
"Rick," Hershel called out, making Rick step over to him. "You've done so much for us. I appreciate that. We all do. We owe you our lives. We've done everything you asked without question. And I'm telling you, you're wrong on this. You've got to start giving people a chance."
There was an awful long silence. It wasn't uncomfortable nor comfortable. It was in between while Rick's eyes landed on everyone in the group, including Tyreese's group. Just as Rick nodded and patted Hershel's shoulder, his eyes set on the balcony above his group.
He began to breathe heavily, making the group frown as he shifted nervously. Kloe looked up at where their leader was staring, only seeing nothing but the upper level that had gaps.
She frowned confusedly as she looked back at Rick, who repeatedly whispered out the word 'no'. She looked over at Glenn, who had the same expression as she did. What was he doing?
"Why are you here?" He asked literally no one. Everyone watched the man with nothing but confusion as he harshly brushed past everyone, still staring up at the empty balcony. "What do you want from me?"
"Dad?" Carl questioned.
"Why are you... no..." the Grimes man continued. "I can't help you. Get out!" He spun on his heel, eyeing Tyreese's group as he yelled at them. "Get- get out!"
"Rick, are you okay?" Kloe inquired, puzzled still. The man glared at her with tears in his eyes, making her even more baffled.
Maggie slowly walked forward, her hands on Carl's shoulders. "Hey, easy, Rick. There's no need to-"
"You don't belong here!" Rick screamed, making everyone practically leap out of their own skin. Kloe's breath got caught in her throat as Rick pulled out his gun, taking off the safety. Zayn wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, hastily pulling her out of Rick's way.
Zayn stood close to his sister, panting as he watched the Grimes man. Kloe shot her eyes over to Isabelle, instantly motioning her to be near her, who did. Isabelle hurried over to Kloe, standing beside Zayn. Jayce pulled Maggie back by the wrist while she tightly grasped Carl's shoulders. Vickie stood in front of her daughter, shielding her as she stood off to the side. And lastly, Axel gripped onto Carol's shoulders, dragging her over to the side as Rick harshly walked forward again.
"Get out! Please! Get out! Get out!"
"Relax, brother, relax. We'll leave. We're going," Tyreese frantically attempted to calm the man, but whatever made him act like that was not going. "Okay, ain't nobody got to get shot here. We're going."
Kloe watched nervously as Tyreese's group grabbed their belongings hurriedly. Did she blame them? Nope. At that moment, she felt like leaving too.
"What are you doing here?!" Rick shrieked at the top of his lungs. "Just get the hell out!" Kloe's eyes landed on her boyfriend, who was the closest to Tyreese's group.
Glenn extended out his arm, thinking it was best to just get the other group out as quickly as possible. "Just go! Go! Go!" He told them, which they didn't hesitate to do. The four ran up the steps, leaving the building within a matter of seconds.
...What the hell just happened?
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words: 4299
26th september 2022
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idk what to put here except I HOPE YOU ENJOYED! i miss tyreese man... rip.