Once we were all inside, we joined the others in the cell block. We left Merle outside and locked our gate. There was no way in hell that he was coming in with us. We were all gathered around to see what Rick had to say. Daryl was upstairs along with Beth and Carol. I leaned against one of the cells across from Rick.
"We're not leaving," Rick said.
"We can't stay here," Hershel said.
Hershel was sitting on the steps while Rick reloaded his rifle.
"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds," Maggie said.
"We can't even go outside," Beth interjected.
"Not in the daylight," Carol followed.
"Rick says we're not running, we're not running," Glenn responded.
"No, better to live like rats," Merle said leaning his arms on one of the bars.
I looked over at him and gave him a look of disgust. He'd know what rats lived like.
"You got a better idea?" Rick asked him.
"Yeah, we should have slid out of here by now and live to fight another day. But we lost that window didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now," Merle replied.
"We ain't scared of that prick," I heard Daryl say above me.
"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence thing, that's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. And if he takes the high ground around this place...shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to," he continued.
Although I hated the thought of taking Merle's word, this Governor sounded completely demented. And all that Merle was saying made a lot of sense.
"Let's put him in the other cell block," Maggie said.
"No. He's got a point," Daryl interjected.
"This is all you. You started this," Maggie said looking at Merle, her voice raising.
"Maggie, it doesn't matter who started it," I said.
"What do we do?" Beth asked making her way towards Hershel.
"I said we should leave. Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here," Hershel said.
Rick looked at him for a moment and then turned to start to leave.
Hershel then got up yelled, "Get back here!"
Rick stopped dead in his tracks. We all fell silent as Hershel made his way to Rick.
"You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why. But now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So get your head clear and do something," Hershel finished.
"We need you here, Rick. Here. Not somewhere else," I said making my way next to Hershel, arms crossed.
He looked at me and then at Hershel. He put his fingers to his eyes and rubbed them.
"You're right...You're right. Let me go and check for anything outside," he said.
He took off and we were silent once again.
"Go and check on him will you Carl?" I said.
Carl nodded and followed where his dad had gone.
"If we are going to stay we need a plan and we need it now. If we're gonna leave, we should do it now. We can't sit idly by and do nothing. We have to be on the same page here," I said turning to look at my family.
Everyone nodded.
"Damn, honey, you are one stern woman aren't you? That's such a turn on," Merle said from behind me.
"Merle, shut the hell up," Daryl said.
"Why should I? Our lives may very well be over. Ain't nothing wrong with wanting to bump uglies before we meet the end," he continued.
I turned and looked at him.
"That's never going to happen you ignorant shit. One more outburst like that and I'll knock you out," I said sternly.
"Why not just kill him now?" Glenn asked.
I looked at him.
"Glenn, he's Daryl's brother. I don't care what he's done. That fact still remains. Please don't turn this into something it isn't. So long as we keep him away from us, we should be perfectly fine. We'll just ignore him," I said looking up at Daryl and giving him a nod.
He nodded back at me. Rick made his way back to the cell block moving Merle out of the way and locking the gate when he came inside the cell block.
"Take watch. Eyes open, head down," he told Maggie handing her a rifle.
"Field's filled with walkers. Didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch. Carl's out there now," he continued.
We had all gathered at the far end of the cell block. Daryl had joined us.
"I'll get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence. Amelia can come and help me out if she wants. She's one hell of a shot," he said looking at me.
I nodded with arms crossed.
"Or use some of the cars to put the bus in place," Michonne said.
"We can't access the field without burning through our bullets," Hershel said.
"Let me go out there with my knife then. I bet I can take them all out," I interjected.
"I won't have you out there up close. It's too dangerous," Rick said.
"I can handle myself, Rick," I said.
"Nah. He's right," Daryl said.
I looked at him but he looked away and began biting at his lower lip.
"So we're trapped in here. There's barely any food or ammo," Glenn said.
"Been here before. We'll be all right," Daryl said still looking down.
"That's when it was just us. Before there was a snake in the nest," Glenn continued.
Daryl looked up at him.
"Glenn..." I said somewhat irritated.
"Man, we gonna go through this again? Look, Merle's staying here. He's with us now. Get used to it," Daryl said.
"Hey," Rick started.
"All y'all. The only person I see tryin' to make an effort is Amelia. Why can't y'all at least try? Damn," he said making his way back upstairs.
"Seriously, Rick, I don't think Merle living here is really gonna fly," Glenn continued.
"Glenn, you're the only one who's being vocal about this. Merle isn't what we're concerned about. We've got bigger things to worry about. The quicker you swallow that pill, the better. For all of us," I said pushing my way past him and Rick then going upstairs to my cell.
I passed Daryl on my way. I heard the group continue the Merle conversation when I reached my cell. I tuned out most of it. I sat down on the bottom bunk and rested my elbows on my knees. Not long after, I heard footsteps getting closer. I looked up right when he leaned against the wall inside my cell. He crossed his arms and looked at me.
"You need something?" I asked him.
"Heard what you told Glenn down there. Guess I should thank you or something," Daryl said.
"Or something," I said chuckling.
"What I can't get is why?" he continued.
"Why what?" I asked.
"Why are you the only one giving Merle a chance?" he asked.
"Well I don't particularly like the guy but I figured if he's your brother, he can't be all that bad," I said.
"What did he do to you?" he asked moving a little closer.
"Nothing. What Glenn said, about him being a rapist and all, that didn't happen," I said looking at him.
"But he hit you," Daryl said.
"That was just 'cause I egged him on. He was hurting Glenn. So I thought I could distract him for a while to keep him for doing so. It didn't last long though. But, he almost beat Glenn to death, Daryl. I'm not ready to forget that," I said.
He bit at his lower lip.
"What happened with Maggie?" he asked.
"He took her to the Governor. That asshole humiliated her. She was topless when they brought us all together. She hadn't been raped but...had...had they waited longer, I'm afraid to say she would have been," I said.
Daryl looked down and started to fumble with his fingers.
"You know this is the most we've talked since you all found me all those months ago," I said.
He nodded.
"Just wanted to thank you. You know, for tryin' and all," he said.
I looked at him and smiled.
"He's still an asshole though," I said.
He nodded.
"I know. I'll keep my eye on him," he said.
"Well, better go see what the plan is. You should come too," I said getting up.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes," he said.
"I'll see you down there then," I said giving him a playful punch.
I headed out. The butterflies in my stomach fluttering like crazy as I made my way downstairs.