"Field's filled with walkers. I didn't see any snipers out there, but we'll keep Maggie on watch." Rick stated.
We should've been more careful the first time. If they slipped through our fences that easily, they won't have a problem doing it again. Because of the bullet graze, I can't shoot that well either so we're already down in numbers.
"I'll get up in the guard tower, take out half them walkers, give these guys a chance to fix the fence." Daryl suggested.
"Or use some of the cars to put the bus in place." Michonne added.
"We can't do any of that. If we do, we'll use up all of our bullets and we need those for when the Governor comes." I argued.
Clearing the field should be done manually though I doubt we have the time or the numbers to do so. It'll have to stay that way until we find a way to preserve our bullets for the bigger fight.
"So we're trapped in here. There's barely any food or ammo." Glenn said.
"Been here before. We'll be alright." Daryl said.
"That's when it was just us. Before there was a snake in the nest." Glenn snarled.
Man, he got bloodthirsty real quick. I have to say, getting beat up can make a person angry. It still hurts to breathe sometimes because of the Governor's kick to the ribs. Not to mention all the bruises and cuts decorating my face.
"Man, we gonna go through this again? Look, Merle's staying here. He's with us now. Get used to it. All y'all." Daryl grumbled.
I went to hold his elbow to stop him from leaving but he moved too fast. A sigh left my lips as we all knew this was going to be difficult. No one liked Merle and for good reason. But he was Daryl's brother.
"Seriously, Rick, I don't think Merle living here is really gonna fly." Glenn grumbled.
"I can't kick him out." Rick persisted.
"I wouldn't ask you to live with Shane after he tried to kill you." Glenn snapped.
Rick tensed at his words and I shifted uncomfortably. Shane's death was what started dictator Rick. Somehow, I don't think mentioning it will be of much help. Even if it does make a valid point.
"Merle has military experience. He may be erratic, but don't underestimate his loyalty to his brother." Hershel stated.
"I agree with Hershel. Merle's an asshole but he's also an asset. We need people like him." I said.
We lost Axel because of the Governor. Merle will be a stronger soldier than he would have been. If Dakota can sweet talk him into being more nice, she's done it before, then he could be more of a pro than a con.
"What if we solve both problems at once? Deliver Merle to the Governor. Bargaining chip. Give him his traitor, maybe declare a truce." Glenn suggested.
My eyes widened at the suggestion. It's one thing to joke about killing Merle and it's a completely different thing to actually do it. It's like no one recalls that the Dixon brothers are as thick as thieves.
"Daryl would never agree to that. You seem to have forgotten what happened the last time Merle was left for dead." I retorted.
Everyone got quiet as I swallowed a lump in my throat. I never thought I'd be the one to stick up for Merle. Though I'm doing it more for Daryl. His brother was his family, no matter how fucked up the family.
I walked away from the small group of us and went to my cell. Only to find Dakota sitting there, waiting for me. A scowl planted itself on my face as I turned to leave. The last thing I wanted was to talk to her.
"I was pregnant."
Those three words made me freeze on the spot. The rage I felt slowly started slipping away as I processed her words. I turned around with a look of pure disbelief etched onto my face.
"I found out a few days before the Atlanta run, Ryan had gotten me the pregnancy test. That's why I went looking for Merle. I didn't want my baby to grow up without a father."
I slowly sat down next to her on the bed. She was leaning on the wall with one of her knees pulled up to her chest.
I didn't know how to react to her news. It did make more sense than her simply leaving us.
"When I found Merle, he was already with the Governor. I stuck around because of the baby but I never had a good feeling about him. A few months after arriving, I had a late miscarriage. The doctor said it's probably a combination of my age and a genetic abnormality." She explained.
The color drained from my face as I swallowed a lump in my throat. Dakota was barely holding it together. Her eyes were flooded with tears and it was only a matter of time before she released them.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I was scared, Jo."
Her voice cracked and I wasted no time in hugging her. Sobs wrecked her body as she finally allowed herself to fall apart a bit. I squeezed my eyes shut as a way to prevent crying.
"I'm so sorry for everything I said. I-I should've listened to you and-"
"You never listen. That's kind of your thing."
She mumbled it jokingly though it hit me deep. Maybe that's why she came to Ryan and not me. She thought I wouldn't listen to her or that I'd judge her. That only made me feel worse.
"Then I'll start listening. Despite how terrible I may be at it."
Dakota laughed through her tears and only clutched me even tighter. Realizing that she didn't feel comfortable enough to come to me with this was like a punch to the gut. She deserved a better sister.
"You were right about something though. I abandoned my family and I don't plan on doing it ever again. You're too important for me to lose again."
"You never lost us. Not a day passed by that we didn't worry about you. Even when I was angry with you, I just wanted you to come back."
Hidden behind all the anger and pain was fear of never seeing my older sister again. She had been my rock for so long that living without her was like living with a giant hole in my heart.
But I had to learn to live with it and to protect our younger siblings. I no longer need her in the way that I did before. I didn't need her to protect me, I needed to protect her. And that was something we were both going to need to get used to.
"I can't promise that I won't be bitter about you not coming to me for help or not being upset with you for leaving. But I'll try to let it go."
Her leaving her family will always hurt and I can't simply forgive her for it. What she did was stupid and selfish. I think a part of me won't ever be able to forgive her. But I can try and move on from it.
-----
"You all live here?"
I rolled my eyes at Andrea's question. She showed up minutes ago as if though all was well between us. She is quite literally sleeping with the enemy. Despite my protesting, they let her in.
She was quickly caught up with some basics of what she missed out on. Shane's death, Lori's death, T-Dog's death. Plenty of death around here. I still don't understand why we owe her anything.
"Here and the cell block." Glenn replied.
"There? Well, can I go in?" Andrea asked.
I stepped in front of her to prevent her from going any further. She is no longer a member of this group. I won't put my siblings in danger just because we share certain memories of the past.
"Sorry, visitors aren't allowed in." I said.
Rick came up to me and gently held my elbow. I could feel him slowly pulling me away from her as he stepped closer. We both knew that I would lunge at her if asked to or even without permission.
"I won't allow that."
"I'm not an enemy, Rick."
"But you're sleeping with one."
Rick sent me a warning look as I shrugged. We were all thinking it. Andrea inhaled deeply as she was trying to remain calm. We never liked each other and this situation isn't helping that.
"We had that field and courtyard until your boyfriend tore down the fence with a truck and shot us up."
I snickered at the way he called the Governor. When he calls her out, then it's all good. But when I do it, I'm apparently rude. The hypocrisy in this group is sometimes too much to bear.
"He said you fired first."
"Well, he's lying."
The Governor likes his manipulation ploys. It's what he tried to do when he captured us. I was able to pretend that Glenn's and Maggie's lives didn't mean anything to me. Which compared to my siblings' lives, they didn't but still.
"He killed an inmate who survived in here." Hershel spoke up.
"We liked him. He was one of us." Daryl said.
Eh, liked is a strong word. More like, I wouldn't have hated him if he had lived. His buddies were the ones that I truly despised, true criminals. Except for Oscar, he was alright, I suppose.
"I didn't know anything about that. As soon as I found out, I came. I didn't even know you were in Woodbury until after the shoot-out."
"That was days ago."
"I told you, I came as soon as I could."
A scoff left my mouth at her defense. It seems like her little boyfriend has been keeping things from her. Why she continues to defend him is beyond me. We proved he's lying and she acts like that doesn't mean anything.
Andrea turned to Michonne and demanded to know what she told us. I only now realized she was in the room. Dakota and Michonne were friendly, but I didn't feel like interacting with her. She was an odd addition.
"I don't get it. I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd man out?" Andrea said.
"He almost killed Michonne and he would've killed us." Glenn replied.
"With his finger on the trigger. Isn't he the one who kidnapped you? Who beat you?" Andrea questioned.
Technically, Merle did kidnap us but he didn't dare lay a finger on me. I like to think that it's because I was too tough, but it was probably because I was Dakota's sister. He'd get into trouble with her, even if they weren't together anymore.
"Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together. We have to work this out." Andrea said.
"There's nothing to do work out. We're gonna kill him. I don't know how or when, but we will." Rick stated.
I looked at Rick in slight surprise. He's been more bloodthirsty since Shane, but I don't recall him ever actively saying we were going to kill anyone. Although I approve of the strategy, it's a bit concerning to hear it from Rick.
"We can settle this. There is room at Woodbury for all of you." Andrea said.
"You know better than that." Merle commented.
Hershel asked if the Governor wanted to negotiate and Andrea told him the hard truth. The Governor did not mention any kind of peace between them. Those were just Andrea's delusions.
"Then why are you here, Andrea? Except to waste our time." I grumbled.
She turned to me with an exasperated look on her face. Okay, maybe that was uncalled for. She is trying to make amends but she's unable to see that it's too late for that. We're already at war.
"Because he's gearing up for war. The people are terrified. They see you as killers. They're training to attack." Andrea said.
"I'll tell you what. Next time you see Philip, you tell him I'm gonna take his other eye." Daryl replied.
He glanced at me and I could feel his gaze go over the bruises still on my face. In the last few days, I've been kidnapped, beaten and shot. The bullet only grazed my shoulder but it still hurt.
"We've taken too much shit for too long. He wants a war? He's got one." Glenn snapped.
I glanced at him feeling like someone should talk to him. Not me, of course. I'm the worst person to convince someone not to be violent and rash. I was thinking of Ryan for that task.
"Rick. If you don't sit down and try to work this out, I don't know what's gonna happen. He has a whole town. Look at you. You've lost so much already. You can't stand alone anymore." Andrea persisted.
We've done pretty well on our own. I'm not letting the Governor anywhere near my siblings.
It's bad enough that he knows Dakota. I can't let him know about Abby and Ryan too. It's still up to me to protect them, all of them.
"You want to make this right, get us inside." Rick demanded.
"No." Andrea protested immediately.
I pinched the bridge of my nose knowing this was all a waste of our time. Neither of them is going to back down and we shouldn't even argue about it. War is inevitable.
"Then we got nothing to talk about." Rick stated.
He brushed past her not looking back. I bit my lip debating going after him. I shouldn't. It's not like I'm of much use to him when it comes to mental sanity. I sometimes think that I'm not sane either, not entirely, at least.
"There are innocent people!" Andrea argued.
But her words only echoed against the prison walls. There was no point in trying to convince us of anything. The decision was already made. We are going to war.