Merle died.
Once again I remained alive while the others around me met their end.
I was the last person from our group besides Michonne to see Merle alive. Daryl came back without his brother and we all knew instantly. His eyes were red and he didn't say a word to anyone. I wanted to say something then, but I didn't feel like it was my place. Not yet.
After a while, Daryl gathered everyone together and told us Merle had taken out some of the governor's men. He has overrun the area the trade for Michonne was supposed to take place. He said Merle had been killed by a person, not walkers. By the level of rage in his wounds, he thought the governor himself had done it.
Merle was on a suicide mission to help us. That's exactly what he did. He made sure we weren't nearly as outnumbered. Even though he was an ass, I couldn't help but thank him in my head. I hoped he got the message wherever he was now.
Now, we packed up mostly everything in the prison. Just enough to make it look like we'd decided to run. I piled up my clothes, ready to put them in my duffel bag. I reached in the bag and pulled out a wrinkled picture. A lump formed in my throat as I stared at the four smiling faces.
"That your sisters?" A voice said behind me.
I jumped a little bit and turned. Daryl stood over me, looking at the picture.
"Yeah," I said. "Those two are my two little sisters, Blair and Dakota. The man next to me is my husband, Will. Was my husband. They're all gone."
Daryl nodded. "I'm sorry about your family."
"I'm sorry about your brother."
The man touched my shoulder in a comforting manner before he walked away. I took one last look at the picture and put it in my bag along with the clothes.
I slung my bag over my shoulder and went outside to the cars. Beth took my bag from me.
"Thanks," I told her.
Carl stomped past me and slammed the door to go inside the prison. I gave Beth a confused look.
"He wants to be with you guys when it happens," she said. "Feels like he's not taken seriously."
"That kid," I signed. "Is it loaded?" I gestured toward the vehicle.
"Should be."
I hopped in the driver's seat and turned the keys that were already in the ignition. Daryl started his motorcycle. The rumble of it vibrated the car. I followed him around the prison to the backside where everything else was already hidden. I parked next to Poe. I had already tied him up here so he'd be protected. I had no doubts those men would kill him just because they could.
I left the keys in the car just incase we needed a quick getaway. I touched Poe's face. He nuzzled against me.
"It'll be okay, boy," I told him. "I'll be back for you."
Daryl and I walked back to the front of the building. Rick was looking through his binoculars toward the road.
"They're coming!" he yelled. "Everyone in positions!"
At the speed of light, everyone bolted. Luckily, Carl, Beth, Hershel, and Judith were already on the perimeter. Maggie and Glenn got on the catwalk and another walled area in their riot gear. The rest of us went to the tombs. Daryl positioned to release the corpses. Carol and Michonne positioned down the hall to take down any men that decided to try to escape at alternate route. They also were the ones to make noise to draw them in. Rick and I were in the generator room. He would throw the smoke grenade and I would trigger the alarm. We also expected people to enter this room because it was near where we wanted them to go.
I heard crashing and gunfire outside. My heart was racing in my chest imagining this going terribly wrong. After a moment, muffled voices echoed throughout the prison. I looked at Rick with wide eyes. The bruise around his eye was still prominent. It wasn't nearly as bad as before. He put his finger up to his lips.
Michonne and Carol started their clanging. It was subtle but just enough to gain the governor's curiosity. Foot steps began in the tombs. By the sound of them, it seemed like there was a lot of people. When they were close to the generator room, Rick held up the grenade. He opened the door slightly, pulled the pin, and tossed it out. That was my signal to trigger the alarm. I flipped the switch and red lights started flashing and the sirens blared. Rick threw another grenade.
People began screaming and firing their weapons. Rick shot through the crack in the door. Suddenly, he was shoved back as two men fell through the opening. Rick fell on his back, knocking his gun from his hand. One of the men fell down on top of him while the other rushed me. Before I could get my gun out of my holster, he body checked me against the wall. His forearm pushed against my throat and he held my right arm up against the wall.
The red light flashed and I saw his face. My legs felt numb as I realized who it was. It was one of the men who had attacked me at the farmhouse. Where I scratched his cheek had turned into scars. That was a minor injury compared to the scars he had given me.
An evil smile spread across his face when he saw who he was holding. "Nice to see you again, bitch," he sneered.
I could see Rick fighting against the other man over my captors shoulder.
"Let me go!" I shouted over the alarm.
His eyes squinted. "I can't let the governor see you. You're supposed to be dead. Wish I could finish what I started, but I'll just have to kill you instead."
With my left hand, I reached behind my back and grabbed my knife out of my back pocket. I swung my arm around and stabbed him in the side of his torso. The pain of my attack made him release me. I stabbed him again in the chest. His eyes widened in fear.
I screamed as I ran into him. We both fell to the ground. Blood was soaking into his clothes and pooling on the floor.
"Fuck you!" I screamed as I sat up on top of him. I started stabbing him over and over again in the chest. He squirmed below me, his last bit of adrenaline shooting through him. The red light that flashed over me blended in with the blood that covered my body. Static filled my ears. My arm felt connected to the weapon.
I kept stabbing even after the man stopped moving. Rage and despair filled my mind.
My surroundings washed over me again when a bullet went through the man's head. My own head shot up to Rick pulling his gun away. The man that had attacked him was already shot in the head. I didn't even notice.
Rick met my eyes. He seemed scared of me for moment as he looked me over. He held out his hand for me to take. I grabbed him, my hand slick with blood.
"Let's go," Rick said. "We drove them outside."
Rick rushed out. I stared at the knife in my hand before chucking it against the wall. I felt disgusted and relieved at the same time. I had become death. The very thing I had been trying to escape.
A deep breath filled my lungs before I went after the man.