MARCIE GRUNTED AS SHE DRAGGED ONE OF THE ROTTING BODIES TOWARDS THE JEEP.
She wanted the courtyard cleared before everyone was healthy enough to leave their cells. The last thing they needed to see was broken fences and dead bodies everywhere.
A lot of people had died while she and the others were on the run. None of the kids, thank goodness, but a lot of the older ones who were sick.
They needed to rebuild. It was going to take a while, but they could do it.
Rick approached Marcie, who was standing on the trailer with bodies around her, "You need any help?"
Marcie wiped the sweat from her brows, "Nah, go do your farmer thing." She motioned over to Michonne, "I've got all the help I need."
He gave her a nod before walking down the path towards his garden, with Carl running behind him.
The pick up pulled up past the Jeep, Daryl hopping out of the driver's seat. He spoke to Hershel for a moment before turning to Marcie, who just finished helping Michonne put another body onto the trailer.
She gave him a small smile, along with a salute. He nodded towards her with a smirk one his face before walking towards the prison.
"You headin' out?" Hershel asked the two women as he approached,
"You want to come?" Michonne replied,
"Hell yeah."
Marcie jumped off the trailer. She thinks Hershel needed a break. From what she heard, he was in A Block the entire time, keeping people alive, putting people down.
He needed to get outside the fences for a bit. Marcie understood.
So she let him sit in the passenger seat while she climbed into the back, checking the bullets in her gun before Michonne drove out of the gates.
Vivian sat in the grass, a blanket laid out next to her for Liam and Judith to play on. Beth was next to her, making a flower crown as she recounted what had happened with her the last few days.
She glanced over to see Rick and Carl working on their garden. Rick had created a balance for himself. She was proud of him. And Carl.
"You deserve a break." Beth stated,
Vivian looked back over at the blonde, "What?"
"You've been with Judith and Liam nonstop for, like, three days now." Beth reasoned, "You should go on a run or something."
The brunette shook her head, "Nah, I'm good where I am. It's where I'm meant to be." She dragged Judith into her lap and shook her duck toy, creating a jingling sound that the baby giggled to.
"Mama." Liam called out, jumping over to her, "'M hungry."
"Well, we should go solve that problem, shouldn't we?" Vivian stood, letting Judith sit on her hip while she reached for Liam's hand.
Beth stood with them and began to fold the blanket and pick up the toys.
The movement caught Rick's eye and he turned to watch as Vivian bounced the baby on her side. Vivian made eye contact with him and gave him a soft smile, grabbing Judith chubby arm and lifting it as if she was waving at Rick, before the two girls turned to walk back up to the prison to get Liam a snack.
Marcella wrinkled her nose as the smell of burning walkers. Hopefully they were far enough away so the smell didn't float over towards the prison.
"Alright, I've seen enough." Marcie sighed, "Let's get outta here."
Hershel grabbed the gas can and the three walked back towards the Jeep. Michonne went towards the door of the car while Marcie closed the ramp of the trailer.
The sound of a fist hitting skin and a thump caught both Hershel's and Marcie's attention. Marcie quickly grabbed her gun and turned to see a man she thought was gone forever, holding a gun to Hershel's head.
His one eye bored into hers.
The man who caused her so much pain, both physically and mentally, was back. And he had the upper hand.
The Governor.
"Put it down." He ordered, motioning to her gun.
She knew she couldn't win this fight. Marcie lowered the gun, tossing it into the grass.
Tears filled her eyes as pain filled her heart again, "Why couldn't you have just stayed away?"
The Governor bound their hands together behind their backs before shoving them into the Jeep, disconnecting the trailer and driving off.
He brought them to a camp, to an RV and placing them inside. Michonne was still unconscious, sitting between Hershel and Marcie as they were squished onto a bench.
Without speaking, he gave them one last look before leaving the RV, locking the door behind him.
It wasn't long before Michonne woke up with a groan, "Was that who I thought it was?" She asked, tugging on their restraints.
"Yeah." Marcie sighed, standing and glancing out the window to see a man with a gun keeping watch outside the door, "There's a guard."
"I don't think we'll get out of this through fighting." Hershel stated,
"There's no way we can convince that nut job to let us go." Michonne grumbled,
Marcie glanced back at her friend, who was bleeding from her forehead, "Are you okay?"
"I'll be better after I run my sword through his head."
It wasn't long before the Governor returned. Marcie attempted to take a swing at him, but he grabbed her and forced her back into the seat.
He grabbed a first aid kit and placed a band aid on Michonne's wound, "Don't touch me." She hissed,
The evil man grabbed some beef jerky from his pocket and held it out towards them, "You should eat. It's gonna be a long day." He placed it into their laps, "Nobody's gonna hurt you."
Marcie scoffed and Hershel spoke, "I don't believe that."
"Well, I don't care." The Governor responded as he sat down at the kitchen table,
"Just tell us what this is. Please." Hershel begged.
Marcie knew what was going to happen. The Governor was going to bring them back to the prison, either dead or alive, she didn't know the answer to that. All she knew is that someone wasn't going to make it out alive.
It was too far gone for peace.
"It isn't personal."
The brunette narrowed her eyes at the man, "Then what is it?"
For her, it was personal. The man slaughtered her parents, killed Andrea and countless of people. Theirs and his own.
"Michonne, I want you to know... " The Governor continued to speak without looking at them, "Penny, my daughter, she was dead. I know that now. Now, I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt anyone. I need the prison, that's it. There are people I need to keep alive. You three are gonna help me take it. No one needs to die."
Rage filled tears filled Marcie's eyes, "I'm gonna kill you..."
"No, you won't." He responded, his back still to them,
"No, I will. I'm gonna kill you. But I'm not gonna let you rest peacefully. I'm gonna make sure your body comes back, and wanders the Earth for eternity. You don't deserve peace."
"Stop it." Hershel whispered towards her,
She knew he wanted to talk his way out of this, try and convince the Governor to let them go. But Marcie was too upset to listen to reason.
She couldn't let this man get away with it.
"You want the prison?" Hershel asked him,
"Yeah. And I'll take it as peacefully as I can." He answered,
"Governor-"
"Don't call me that." He interrupted Hershel,
"And call you what? Murderer? Monster?" Marcie spat and Hershel elbowed her before continuing,
"Your people, our people, we can find a way to live together. These people you need to keep alive, do you love them?"
The Governor didn't answer the question, "You're a good man, Hershel. A better man than Rick."
"Everything you've said, the way you've said it, you've changed. So has Rick." Hershel tried to reason.
But Marcie knew there was no point. And so did Michonne, since she's been quiet ever since she woke up. There was no convincing the Governor to let them go, to let the prison go.
As long as both were still standing, there would be no peace.
"The two of us will never be able to live together. Michonne, Marcie and I, we'll never be able to live together." He responded,
And he was right. Marcie would never be able to sleep knowing the Governor was so close. She assumed a lot of people would refuse to have him under the same roof.
"We'll find a way."
"I found a way!" He finally turned towards them, "I'm trying hard. There's all kinds of ways I could do this. This way, you get to live and I get to be..." The Governor didn't finish. He stood and went to open the door to leave,
"You say you want to take this prison as peacefully as possible." Hershel's words made him pause, "That means you'd be willing to hurt people to get it. My daughters would be there. That's who you'd be hurtin'. If you understand what it's like to have a daughter, then how can you threaten to kill someone else's?"
The Governor took a moment to make eye contact with the old man,
"Because they aren't mine."