______
FIND YOU
CHAPTER FOURTEEN;
( clash. )
❛ elijah's loyalty is tested. ❜
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"WE LOST ALL three of the others... Tim, Crowley, the other one."
"Gargulio," the Governor's scratchy voice reminded Merle, earning a nod from the older male. "Jesus," he hissed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Yeah," Merle breathed, looking over his shoulder at the youngest of the three men, who silently hovered over their whispered conversation, "she cut Tim down, put her sword through him. Then biters got in the middle of it, then I got her."
Suddenly, it made sense why Merle was keeping an eye on Elijah. Aside from the fact that Elijah witnessed Gargulio "accidentally" get caught in the crossfire, Merle must've wanted to make sure that Elijah would keep up with their story. If only Merle knew just how good Elijah was at fabricating reality.
"Damn," the Governor huffed. "Well, we'll dress it up. Give 'em a hero's funeral. You two tell a story: a supply run gone sideways... Do you have 'em?" Things were silent. The Governor oscillated between looking at Merle and Elijah, expecting one of them to at least speak up. "Her head. The sword."
Elijah watched as Merle's body language shifted. Of course, they didn't have the head or the sword, because Michonne was still alive and breathing. But the Governor didn't need to know that. "We did," Elijah stepped forward, clearing his throat. "But once the walkers came, and Crowley and Gargulio went down, they got lost in the fight. We had to leave them behind."
The Governor's eyelids narrowed as he glared at Elijah. For a moment, it really seemed as if the Governor could snap his neck right then and there out of pure anger. However, before the Governor could begin barking, Merle spoke up, "We brought back something else for you, though. A guy I used to know from the Atlanta camp and his pretty little girlfriend."
"They know Andrea and Jack?"
"Mhm."
With an inaudible sigh, Elijah's eyelids fell closed. His jaw clenched and he had to bite his tongue to stop from exploding right then and there. He told Merle, over and over again, that it was a bad idea to bring them back to Woodbury - but it was an even worse idea to get the Governor involved. Because, now, there was no going back. What the Governor didn't know wouldn't hurt him, but his knowledge of Jack and Andrea's old group would definitely hurt someone.
"Anyone else?"
"Don't know," Merle answered. "Found them on the return trip. From the looks of 'em, they gotta be set up pretty good... I'll find out where."
With that being said, Merle sent the Governor off with a small nod, no words spoken, and began to amble towards the exit. Elijah, for a fleeting moment, stood idle until Merle opened the door and beckoned the younger male. As soon as they were outside the building, Merle yanked Elijah closer, shirt balled in his fists. "Now," Merle started, his fetid breath smacking Elijah across the face, "if you go telling Jack about all this, I'm gonna have to kick your teeth in. You understand me, boy?"
Eyebrows furrowed, Elijah reached down to Merle's hands and roughly pushed them away. "What, you don't think she should know?" he questioned, taking a slight step towards Merle. Elijah stood barely an inch taller than Merle, but he tried his best to tower over the older male. Nobody would ever lay a hand on him without permission, especially not in the way that Merle did; Elijah refused to be pushed around.
"I think she can keep her nose out of this one, don't you?" Merle countered, a smirk finding its way to his thin lips. Before Elijah could protest, Merle smacked a hand onto his shoulder and added, "You're doing me a real favor, kid. I'll get you a beer someday."
The moment Merle was out of sight, Elijah reentered the building and rushed his way up to his shared apartment. Not telling Jack was completely out of the question; it was her family, she had a right to know. Merle was ignorant to expect Elijah not to tell the only person in the world he trusted, that two of her friends were probably about to be tortured.
And really, Elijah didn't care about pissing off Merle.
When he walked in, the apartment was seemingly empty. She wasn't in the living room nor the kitchen, and Jack wasn't the type to sleep in the middle of the day. As he stepped in further, the sound of the shower running became more prominent. You could hear the whistling of the valves from across the apartment.
Knowing the door wouldn't be locked, Elijah barged in. "Hey," he said to the shower curtains, "I need to talk to you."
It was only a matter of seconds before Jack poked her head out from behind the curtain with an immediate, "Can't you wait? I'm showering-"
"We found some of the people from your old group." Her mouth closed instantly, all embarrassment from it vanishing. It took her by storm effortlessly, as he knew it would. "I think Merle said one of them is Glenn, but the other one he didn't know. Young girl, short brown hair-"
"Wait," she interjected, "they're here? Why?"
"Yeah, we found them on the way back from getting Michonne," he answered. "Um, they told Merle that his brother is still alive, so now he's trying to find out where the rest of the group's at. They told me not to tell you..."
Her eyes widened. A muttered curse fell from under her breath, but even she paid no attention to it. It was hard enough to process that Glenn and Maggie were in her vicinity, but that they're being kept hostage? And she knew Merle well enough to know that he'd do anything to find Daryl, so they'd probably be tortured if they don't give him what he wants.
She wasn't in shock. She knew exactly what was happening and what was about to happen. It was just incredulity that tore its way through her skin and into her bones. She never wanted to see them again, never wanted to have to face them again. Of course, she thought about them from time to time, but that was just wondering. Having to interact with them for the first time in 8 months?
She didn't want to, but she knew she had to. Who else would stand up for them?
"Okay," she breathed, finally bringing her eyes up to fixate on Elijah. "I'm gonna finish up here, then go see what's up, I guess."
"I don't know if you should," Elijah suggested, shaking his head. "Merle might not-"
"Frankly, I don't really care how he feels," she disrupted. "He can't kill me without there being hell to pay, so why would I be afraid of him?"
"Well, I don't think anybody cares how he feels," Elijah replied softly. "He's just in one of his moods, and... I don't know. Just let me go for you. I'll handle him."
It was then that she realized the whining of the shower head wasn't so loud anymore. It didn't matter anymore. She was always asking him to fix it or find a new one, but this time - she'd have to fix the problem. It was friends, her family, her problem. It was more complex than Elijah could ever know. "No, this isn't... this isn't your fight," she told him. "You can't tell me that two people I used to care about are being held hostage, and then expect me not to do something about it."
"I know, but-"
"I can do this," she assured him. "Trust me."
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WOODBURY WAS PREDICTABLE, or so Jack thought. It seemed like they used the same tactic for every predicament they found themselves in. All it took was for someone to look hard enough, to lift up the rug that everything had been swept under, and their way of thinking would become clear - but it wasn't really their way of thinking. It was just the Governor's propaganda. They would follow him to the edge of the earth, just because he was a smooth talker and seemed to know how to handle himself.
Though, Jack couldn't really judge them, as much as she wanted to. They were all just sheep and he was their shepherd. It was his duty to protect them, train them, support them. She'd never heard anyone doubt his abilities, and those who did never lived long enough to repeat themselves. She supposed that was what happened to Michonne, and that that's what would happen to Glenn and Maggie.
Jack did a lot of thinking on the way down to the catacombs. She realized that she didn't really have any quarrel with Glenn or Maggie, and that they'd both been relatively kind to her. (Especially Glenn, of course. They were supposed to be best friends. However, these days, one of her only defined memories of him is when he walked out on her after she kept zoning out while he was talking. She remembered how shitty it made her feel, but it must've made him feel shittier.) Really, her main issues were within the family: her mother, her father, Shane. Those were the ones that she wished she would never see again, for both of their sakes.
But Glenn, Maggie, anyone else - they were okay. She just didn't know how to explain herself to them.
Focusing on the sound of her boots against the cement, Jack slowly traipsed down the labyrinth of narrow hallways. She could hear two voices, one she thought to be Merle, but couldn't pin where they were coming from. Each room she peered into was empty. It didn't become clear until pained groans and the thuds of punches landing began to sound out; Jack inched closer and closer to the source within the second.
She pushed the steel door open recklessly, letting it swing back and smack the wall. The moment she entered, all eyes were glued to her.
Her plan was to find Glenn/Maggie and see what she could do to help them. She didn't actually know what to do to fulfill the mission.
However, she couldn't even think, not with the way Glenn was looking at her. It was like he was seeing a ghost - and maybe, to him, that's exactly what it was. Eyes blackened and nose bloody, she hardly recognized him. Just the sight of him made her breath hitch in her throat; she'd tried preparing herself to meet him again, but she'd imagined him as bubbly and smiley and happy as ever. Not bloody and miserable.
"Well, would you look at that," Merle spoke up, raised fist hovering over Glenn's swollen face. Jack's wide eyes flickered back and forth between Glenn and Merle, but focused on the latter as he began to speak again: "See that?" he asked Glenn. "She runs down here like your knight in shining armor, but not a peep out of her once she actually gets here."
Jack huffed, eyes rolling. "What are you doing, Merle?" she questioned, though it was more than obvious. She almost sounded disappointed, but both parties knew that she never expected better from him anyway.
"Your buddy's a tough nut to crack," Merle replied, standing. He settled behind Glenn, smacking his shoulders down onto the younger man. "Y'all used to be real close, right? Back in Atlanta? I bet it really hurts your heart to see him like this."
Something like that. Pursing her lips angrily, Jack took another step forward. "You know you don't have to do this," she replied calmly. She wished Elijah was here to commend her for not freaking out; she thought she was doing a pretty good job.
Exhaling slowly, Merle pushed past Glenn and rushed over to Jack, standing way too close for comfort. "Glenn thinks he can tell me Daryl is alive," he muttered softly, "but not tell me where he's at. I do have to do this."
"That's just an excuse and you know it," she fired back before she could give it a second thought, her volume even quieter than his. "You're just angry."
"Aren't we all?" he smirked. "This ain't none of your business, kid. Get out."
Jaw clenched, she brushed past him with no hesitation. There was no thought behind it. She wasn't even sure what she would do once she reached Glenn, but she just knew that that's where she was headed. Mostly, it was to defy Merle, though. He needed to know that she wasn't afraid of him.
Before she could make her way to Glenn, however, her shoulder was roughly pulled back and in one motion, she was pressed to the nearest wall. Merle's forearm immediately began crushing her neck against the cool brick as his blade dragged up to her neck, pressing in with the slightest of force. "I thought you said that you never wanted to see them again?" he hissed. "Can't go back on your words now that your panties are all in a twist, Jack."
Scoffing, her head cocked to the side without full intent. She almost held it back, almost bit her tongue and walked away like a good girl - but within seconds, an utterance of, "Fuck you," fell from her mouth.
A smirk playing on his lips, he was quick to counter with, "Not interested." Eyes rolling, she craned her neck to look past Merle and at Glenn, who helplessly remained bound to a chair. Though there was nothing she could say to help him, she began to speak, mouth falling agape with no words yet escaping. Before she could even begin, the blade of Merle's gauntlet dug deeper and deeper into the skin of her cheek, singeing like a slap of fire across her face. Though the pain wasn't unbearable, it was enough to make her scramble from his grip and take a few steps back. "Bye-bye," he smirked, waving his bloody blade, as he turned away from her and began to inch closer to Glenn.
It was at that moment she was reminded of the gun at her side.
His back was turned - she could've done it. She was so close to pulling it out and ending the entire situation before it got too bad. Though Glenn was bloody and bruised, there was still a chance to make things right. And Merle would have to be dead for that to be accomplished. (And he wanted her dead, anyway, or so it seemed. Jack knew it would come to this at some point.)
She rested her hand on the grip of the pistol. Feeling the casing of the gun, the cool of the leather holster, brought her back down to Earth. She hated to admit that she wanted to just shoot him in the back of the skull right then and there, but that was exactly what she wanted to do. She just knew she couldn't. It'd only bring more trouble. Merle Dixon was many things, but he was not worth killing. He wasn't worth the possibility of being exiled, condemned, or possibly harmed.
She'd just have to find another way to make things right.
______
"ANY LUCK?"
Jack gulped deeply. She was hesitant to face Elijah for many reasons: because she failed to fix things in spite of her promising to do so, because she'd just seen her former best friend in his worst state yet, because of the blood dripping down her cheek. How could she explain all of that? She was only gone for 10 minutes, maximum.
However, she knew she couldn't face the door forever. With a sigh, she quietly closed the front door behind her, eyes sliding shut in an attempt to brace herself. As soon as she turned to face Elijah, she could hear him jump to his feet with an exclamation of, "What happened?" She saw it coming.
Stalling for an answer, she let her eyes open once more as she found her way to the couch, plopping down helplessly. She was debating with herself as to whether or not it was appropriate to completely put Merle to blame so soon. Maybe they could plot his death after everything was said and done. However, at the same time, Jack knew that something needed to be done immediately. "Well," she sighed, "Merle."
A scoff left Elijah's mouth as he sat back down on the coffee table in front of her, first aid kit in his lap. "He did that to you?" he questioned.
"It's nothing," she dismissed. In her mind, it truly was nothing - at least, when compared to Glenn's disfigured face. She could be dead. When Elijah reached out to touch the wound, she instinctively flinched away from him, which prompted him to begin digging in the kit for the proper treatment. "Don't worry about it, Eli."
He glanced up at her for a moment. "Not gonna happen," he mumbled. "You know that."
"But-"
"Merle's been a problem for the past 4 months," he reminded her. "The threats, the comments, and now this? He even told me earlier today that he was going to kick my teeth in. I mean, c'mon, Jack."
"I think he tried to kill me the other day." It was in the air before she could help herself. It fell deafeningly silent after, and she immediately knew of the mistake she'd just made. "I mean," she rushed to add, "I don't know if he did. I'm not certain. That's just how I interpreted it, but that might just be me-"
"Okay," he mumbled, expressionless eyes glued to the kit in his lap. "I deal with it later."
"No," she sighed. "Not today. Not until we get the Glenn and Maggie thing sorted."
"And how do you suggest we do that?" he questioned, gingerly placing a band-aid onto her cheek. "Any ideas?"
Her gaze fell. He was right; she didn't have any ideas. Just desperate hope and a vendetta against the man orchestrating everything. But how far would that get her? "Well, what can we do?" she countered. "Glenn is being beaten... and God only knows what they're doing to Maggie. I tried to stop him, but-"
"It's not on you," he interrupted. "This is Merle. I mean... I probably should've tried to stop him from taking them in the first place, but... We'll figure something out. It's okay."
"But it's not okay," she replied, voice breaking. "If the Governor finds out where the rest of the group is, he'll go there and slaughter them, just like he did with the National Guard."
"So let's go warn them."
"That requires their location," she sighed, standing to her feet and pacing towards the door. "Even if I could get to Glenn long enough for him to tell me, I doubt he would. Maggie, too. We're practically strangers."
"Well, that's not true," he responded, looking up at her as she nervously bit her thumbnail, steadily pacing back and forth, "just look at yourself. If you guys were just strangers, you wouldn't be so bothered right now."
Eyes rolling, she shrugged. "And I don't think we can sneak them out," she continued, as if he'd never spoken up in the first place. "We can't get to them and there's also no guarantee that they'll be able to make it home, with the state that they're in."
"Right."
Jack stopped for a moment, too focused on wracking her brain for a solution to continue pacing. Every time it seemed like she was reaching a conclusion, she was always reminded of a reason why it wouldn't work. They were stuck, but not as stuck as Glenn and Maggie. Eyes glued to the ground, her entire expression contorted with determination. "And it's not like we can just take Merle out of the equation and walk away," she reminded Elijah. "I thought about it. They'll kill us."
"We don't know that-"
His words were cut off by the clamor of distant gunfire.
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hehe
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