I walked with Hershel over to Poe. He was drinking water out of a bucket someone had brought him while I was kept inside.
"You know how to work on animals too?" I questioned.
Hershel chuckled. "I worked on animals first. I was a vet before all of this. It'll be nice to do that again."
Hershel began his examination of the horse. I could tell he'd done this for many years by the way he went about a practiced routine.
The man with the blue eyes, who I learned was Rick, walked up to us.
"He's beautiful. Where'd you find him?" Hershel asked me.
"At the farmhouse I was at before this. Seemed like someone reinforced the fencing and was taking care of him. They were gone when I got there," I told him. "I was shocked to see him at first. I thought all of the horses and cattle were gone."
"Well, he's certainly lucky you came." Hershel patted Poe. "He has a few scratches but nothing that won't heal on their own. You've brought an old man some long forgotten joy with this one."
Hershel looked at Rick and nodded before he made his way back inside. Rick got closer to me and placed his hand on the animal.
"Are you with us?" he said without looking at me.
I let out a frustrated breath. "You've already questioned me. You know I'm not with those guys."
He turned to face me. A serious expression on his face. "I'm askin' are you with us. You're either a part of this or you're gone. We'll give you supplies and you can go on your way. But we're not goin' to protect someone that isn't goin' to to protect us."
"I don't even know you people. You're obviously on a war path that I'm not involved in," I responded.
Rick nodded and clenched his jaw. "I know. That's why I'm givin' you the option. You saved Hershel. Protected my boy. All after being tied up by us. I'm not sayin' I trust you." He gazed up at the sky. "What I'm sayin' is we need you. You know your way around a gun. You can fight."
I sighed and ran my fingers along Poe's back. "That baby in there. That's your daughter, right?"
He nodded.
"You, Daryl, and Hershel are lucky ya'll still have family."
"They're all my family in there."
"Even Merle?" I asked, jokingly. Rick didn't seem to be amused. I had seen and heard the trouble they had with that man. Being locked up next to him wasn't sunshine and rainbows either. I already had to slap him once.
I looked Rick in the eyes. "Those kids don't deserve to die. I don't know you but I'm not goin' to walk away and let those men take away their lives. Their home. You can trust that."
Rick seemed satisfied with my answer. He reached behind his back and pulled out my gun. He hesitated before handing it over to me. "If you make one wrong move, you're dead."
"Understood."
"What'd the governor's men do to you, anyway?"
I bit the inside of my cheek. Flashes of blood and my own screams filled my head. I blinked it away. "Nothing they wouldn't do to the rest of the women in there."
Rick didn't push any further. He peered at the horse one more time, like he was recalling his own memory, and then walked away. He stopped for a moment to stare up at the fenced catwalk.
"Do I still have to sleep away from everyone else?" I shouted after him.
He appeared dazed for a moment before he said, "For now."
Rick turned back to where he was looking before, but what he saw must have been gone because he stomped back inside, fists clenched.
I didn't know if this guy was crazy or what. I heard talk from the others that he seemed like he was coming back to them. Coming back from what? I didn't know.
___
I was outside feeding Poe some grass when everyone rushed out with their guns drawn. They took cover behind the cars. I instinctively got down and took out my own gun. I remained low and rushed over to the group.
"Are they back? What's goin' on?" I asked.
"We don't know," Daryl told me as he peered above his crossbow.
"Clear!" Merle shouted.
Everyone rushed forward toward the gate. I saw a blonde woman leading a corpse ahead of her. She pleaded for them to open the gate. Rick repeatedly asked her if she was alone. As soon as she entered Rick took her weapon and searched her. They knew who she was.
I followed everyone inside the prison. The woman rushed and hugged Carol.
"Andrea! After you saved me we thought you were dead," said Carol.
Andrea pulled apart from Carol. "Hershel, my god," she gasped when she saw his missing limb. She looked around the room at everyone else. "I can't believe this. Where's Shane?" No one answered her. They just avoided looking at her. "And Lori?"
Rick looked down at the floor at the mention of her name.
"She had a girl," Hershel informed her. "Lori didn't survive."
My eyes widened. I finally understood why everyone was acting strangely around Rick and Carl. From what I could gather, her death was traumatic for everyone involved.
"Neither did T-Dog," Maggie added.
"I'm so sorry," Andrea said sincerely. "Carl... Rick I-"
Rick stepped back. He was somewhere else. Not in the room but in his own head.
Andrea claimed the governor said that we shot at them first and she didn't know Maggie and Glenn were being held captive. She tried to convince everyone to try and make peace with him. No one budged, which was understandable. After everything him and his men have put them through, me through, why would we be friendly?
After a while they sent Andrea back with a car. She was too set in her way that an agreement could be had between the two groups.
As we watched her car disappear through the forest, I walked over to Glenn and Maggie. Glenn looked angry and Maggie seemed defeated.
"How'd ya'll know her?" I asked in a low voice.
"She was with us. At the beginning," Glenn said.
Maggie continued, "When my family's farm got overrun we thought she died. Michonne saved her. They were together all winter."
"Now she's made her choice to stand by the enemy." Glenn stomped off, leaving Maggie and I alone.
We continued to watch the horizon for any sign of intruders. Maggie turned to me. "Do you want to help me on watch?"
I was taken aback by this request. I didn't know the people well here. The person that talked to me the most was Hershel. I didn't know if he was being friendly or if he wanted to make up for me saving him.
"Um, yeah, sure," I said.
I followed the woman to one of the towers. We went up the stairs and stood out on the outside fenced area. Maggie handed me a pair of binoculars while she grabbed a sniper rifle that sat against the wall.
We looked around the prison in silence for some time. All we saw were corpses trying to claw their way in.
I wanted to talk to Maggie about what happened to her when she was held prisoner by the governor. But I didn't know how to broach the subject.
"I know you want to say somethin'. So just say it," Maggie stated as if reading my mind.
I clenched my teeth together. "I know what the governor did to you." Maggie turned away from me and placed her hand on the railing. "I just wanted you to know that you're not alone. I know what it's like."
I placed my hand on Maggie's. She turned her palm up and gripped my hand.