MARCIE AND ANDREA TREKED THROUGH THE FOREST TOWARDS THE PRISON, DRAGGING WALKERS WITH THEM SO THEIR SCENTS WOULDN'T GET THEM NOTICED.
Milton was out there with them, and they came across a group of four people. He brought them back to the prison while the two women continued with their mission.
Marcie was antsy. She couldn't wait to see her family again. And have the time to actually talk to them.
Lori and her baby. She had to have given birth by now. She wanted to see Carl as a big brother. And Liam was older now, she wonder what he could do.
Beth and Jimmy. They must be so strong now. Surviving out there all winter, they must've learned so much.
She needed to see Rick. Sh needed him to know that he didn't leave her behind to die.
Most of all, she wanted to see Daryl. That kiss and very few words they shared in Woodbury wasn't enough for her.
Emerging from the trees, they spotted the prison behind multiple fences. The main gate was broken, and walkers were stumbling in the yard.
The two walked through the broken gate and Marcie grew nervous. The place was filled with biters, and if they were to attack, they were screwed.
A biter was coming up behind them and Marcie was quick to swing her knife towards it, stabbing it in the skull,
"We need to hurry." Marcie hissed,
Vivian followed after Rick, gun in her hand. When Carl told them that Andrea and Marcie were outside the fence, her heart jumped with joy.
But it was quickly replaced with fear. Fear that the Governor was jus behind them, using the two women as bait.
"Are you alone?!" Rick called out as he ran towards the inner gate.
"Open the gate!" Andrea demanded as they caught the attention of more walkers,
"Are you alone?!"
"Yes!" Marcie called out, "It's just us!"
Rick tossed Daryl the keys and he was quick to undo the lock. Marcie stabbed her walker in the head before stumbling into the courtyard, with Andrea following.
Their leader was quick to grab Andrea and Marcie, pushing them against the fence and searching them for weapons, taking their knives and guns away,
Once he was done, he turned to Marcie and wrapped her up in a hug, "Welcome back." He mumbled into her ear,
She squeezed him back before letting go. The brunette turned to Daryl and grinned, "Told you I'd see you again."
He cupped her jaw and kissed her deeply. Everyone watched with wide eyes, Merle even let out a whistle, before Vivian cleared her throat, "Uh, guys, impending war going on? We should get inside."
Marcie broke away and nodded, moving to hug Vivian, "Good to have you back." The older woman commented.
She pulled back and finally noticed the bruises on Vivian's arms, neck, and face. She was about to ask her about them when Daryl gently grabbed Marcie's arm, "Where yer parents?"
She waited for the others to walk away before facing Daryl. She brushed his growing hair behind his ear, "I'm sorry, but I'm not here to stay, not yet. This is a social call."
"You can' seriously think 'm gonna let you go back there."
"Look, the Governor doesn't even know we're here. Andrea and I have to get back before they knew we're gone." Marcie stepped forward and gave him a gentle peck on the lips, "Soon, I promise."
With a nod, Daryl led her inside after the others and they made the rounds. Carl was excited to see Marcie, wrapping his arms around her, "I thought you were dead."
"Takes a lot to get rid of me." She grinned down at him, "But hey," She lifted her shirt to reveal the bullet wound scar, "Matching scars."
"Cool." He smiled,
Marcie turned to see Maggie and Glenn, quickly wrapping her arms around the both of them, "Boy, am I glad to see you guys."
They both gave her gentle smiles, "Glad to see you're alive after all. After the farm, well, we all thought-"
"You all had the right to believe I was dead. I thought I was dead until I ran into Michonne and Andrea after waking up in a tree." Marcie told them,
Daryl stayed practically glued to her side, their hands brushing as she walked down the steps. Hershel entered the room, his crutches clanking on the cement floor.
She glanced down and noticed the bottom portion of his left leg missing,
"Hershel, my God." Andrea gasped after hugging Carol,
Liam ran in after the older man and latched onto Vivian's leg. Marcie was glad to see the little guy still kicking.
Marcie looked around, noticing a few faces missing, "Lori?" She asked, staring at Rick,
He didn't respond and avoided eye contact, "She had a girl. Lori didn't survive." Hershel answered for him,
"Neither did T-Dog." Maggie stated,
Marcie gripped Daryl's hand tightly and Merle didn't miss the gesture, "I'm so sorry." Tears filled her eyes and she looked over at Daryl, "I shoulda been here." She stated quietly,
"Nothin' ya coulda done." He grunted, running his thumb over her star tattoo.
Marcie looked around at everyone. Eight months ago, they looked so different. They were happy. But this world had turned them cold and hard.
They had lost so much.
She felt guilty for not being there to help. It was wrong for her to gain her parents while everyone lost someone they loved.
"You all live here?" Andrea asked,
"Here in the cell block." Glenn answered,
The blonde pointed to the room that Hershel and Liam had come out of, "There? Well, can we go in?" Andrea began to walk towards it and Rick blocked her way,
"I won't allow that."
"We're not the enemy, Rick." Andrea told him,
"We had that field and courtyard until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up." Rick explained,
"He said you fired first." The blonde stated,
"Well, he's lying." He replied,
"I knew it." Marcie mumbled, sitting down next to Daryl on the table,
"He killed an inmate who survived in here." Hershel informed the two,
"We liked him. He was one of us." Daryl commented,
"We didn't know anything about that. As soon as we found out, we came." Andrea defended, "We didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out."
"That was days ago." Glenn stated,
"Woodbury's been on lockdown ever since. They've fortified the walls." Marcie sighed, "We told you, we came as soon as we could."
Andrea turned to Michonne, "What have you told them?"
"Nothing." The samurai responded,
Andrea furrowed her eyebrows, "I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out? You seem pretty accepting of Marcie, and she was in there with me."
"Marcie has a reason to be in there." Daryl defended, "She helped get Merle and I outta there."
"He almost killed Michonne." Vivian stated, "and he would have killed us. No hesitation and no explanation."
Andrea pointed up at the eldest Dixon who was standing by the door, "With his finger on the trigger. Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?"
"He wasn't the one who raped me. That was your boyfriend's doing." Vivian continued for Andrea.
Everyone had already assumed that was what happened to her. But admitting it out loud was something no one was expecting,
Andrea sighed, "Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done."
Vivian let out a curt laugh, "I would love to hear you come up with an excuse for what he's done."
Andrea gave her a look, "But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out."
"There's nothing to work out." Rick snapped at her, "We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will."
"We can settle this." Andrea pleaded, "There is room at Woodbury for all of you."
Merle chuckled, "You know better than that."
Marcie knew better. After the shoot-out, there was no going back. There were only a few outcomes. One group desecrates the other, or they live peacefully and don't come into contact ever again. They weren't going to co-exist with each other. It has gone too far.
Blood has been shed on both sides.
But she knew the Governor wasn't going to stop until Rick's group was all dead.
"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel asked, "Did he say that?"
"No."
"Then why did you come here?" Rick asked them,
"Because he's gearing up for war." Marcie stated, and her mind went to her parents, "The people are terrified. They see you as killers." She looked around at all of them, glancing at Vivian's and Glenn's injuries, "I know you guys didn't start it, but they think you did. They think you want what they have, and you're not gonna stop."
"They're training to attack." Andrea finished,
"I'll tell you what." Daryl spoke up, "Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye."
"We've taken too much shit for too long." Glenn stated, "He wants a war? He's got one."
Andrea turned to their leader, "Rick. If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town." She turned to the others, "Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore."
Rick walked around her so they were face to face, "You want to make this right, get us inside."
As much as Marcie wanted to help them, she knew if they got into Woodbury once again, there would be a slaughter. Innocent people would die, and people she cared about would get hurt.
Andrea shook her head, "No."
"Then we got nothing to talk about." Rick began to walk away,
"There are innocent people." Andrea told him,
"She's right." Marcie stated after Rick shut the cell block door behind him, "The Governor's recruiting kids to fight. He's got the numbers and he's got the bullets. I hate to say this, but... if you go in there, you won't come out."
Michonne made eye contact with Marcie and jerked her head to the side, signalling that she wanted to talk to her outside. Then they both looked at Andrea before conveying the same message. Marcie gave one last squeeze to Daryl's hand before following the two women into the courtyard,
"You poisoned them." Andrea stated, walking ahead of the other women,
"I just told them the truth." Michonne responded,
Andrea paused and turned towards the samurai, "I didn't choose him over you. I wanted a life. Once we entered Woodbury, you became hostile."
"That's 'cause I could see it." She replied,
"See what?"
"That you were under his spell from the second you laid eyes on him." Michonne explained,
"That is not true." Andrea scoffed,
"Andrea, you still are. Even after hearing about all the things he's done, seen the things he's done." Marcie stated,
"No, I am there because those people need me." The blonde looked over at Marcie, "And you're one to talk, I didn't see you packing your bags to come here once you found out your boyfriend was still alive."
"Trust me, I'd rather be here. But my parents still need to be convinced that our people aren't dangerous." Marcie told her,
"And what about these people? You don't think they don't need you?" Michonne questioned the blonde,
"I'm trying to save them, too."
Michonne let out a small chuckle, "I did not realize the messiah complex was contagious."
"Go to hell, Michonne." Andrea scoffed before walking towards the door,
"He sent Merle to kill me." Michonne stated, making the other woman stop in her tracks, "Would have sent him to kill you, too, if you had come with me. But you didn't, did you? You chose a warm bed over a friend. That's why I went back to Woodbury. Exposed him for what he is. I knew that it would hurt you."
Michonne walked away and Marcie sighed, "She's right, Andrea. Woodbury isn't the safe haven everyone thinks it is. I don't know what you're searching for in there, but you won't find it." She told her before going back inside.