Merle who had been walking through the woods all night after his fight with Martinez, came to a stop when he saw parts of a walker laid out on the ground. "What the hell is this mess?" he asked though he really didn't want the input of the men with him.
"They did this," One of the boys spoke up as he came to stand by Merle.
"It means something, the way it's all set up like that," Merle agreed as he used his weapon on his stub to point at the walker bits.
"The Governor was right to send us out," the boy spoke up again knowing the Governor had made a good decision in having them come after Lucy and Michonne.
"Damn straight Tim," Merle again agreed with the boy before bending down to examine the bits of the walker more. They were clearly here to send a message but he hadn't figured out what it was yet. "We're doing a righteous public service here."
"Go back," One of the other boys spoke up from behind Merle.
Tim turned to look at the boy raising an eyebrow, "What?"
"The arms are a G. The leg makes an O," the boy explained as he pointed to the walker parts. "And that's a back.. It says Go back."
Laughing at that revelation Merle stood up, clapping his hand against his weapon, "This is too good," he mused out loud. "Look at this. They sent us a biter-gram, ya'll."
"I don't believe this is happening," the boy who had deciphered the message muttered as he looked away, feeling a mixture of shock and being scared.
"Hey, hey!" Merle hissed out as he walked to the boy and grabbed him by the shirt. "You knock it off. What the hell's wrong with you? Now, the Governor chose you cause he thought you were ready. I want you to succeed, I do but if you keep announcing to the world that you're pissing your pants I'm going to have to smash your teeth in," he warned being harsh. "Now how do you say your last name?"
"Gargulio," the boy answered after Merle's last question.
"Well, I'm going to keep calling you Neil. All right?" Merle muttered as he let the boy go.
Turning around Merle heard leaves rustling and a tree branch snapping which made him pull out his gun and he watched as the others became alert as well, one of the other men pulling out a gun as well. "What's the deal Michonne and Lucy? Hmm? You gonna leap out of the woods, two against four. All of us armed to the teeth and you two with just a little pig-sticker and a gun? No. no, no Michonne..." he started but got interrupted when he heard commotion from behind him.
Lucy who had jumped down from where she was hiding watched as Michonne did the same and as Michonne beheaded one of the men, Lucy took a shoot, hitting an Asian looking kid in the stomach.
It was after her shot that Lucy heard more gun shots and she looked up seeing Merle firing at her and Michonne and as the guy she shot fell to the ground Lucy turned on her heels, following behind Michonne as they ran through the woods again but as they did she made a face as she looked down when Michonne held onto her leg, having obviously taken a hit there.
"I'm fine," Michonne growled though it was a lie. It was a lie to keep Lucy running because she half suspected if Lucy knew how much it hurt that she'd insist they stop and stopping would get them killed.
Merle who had ran after the girls, leaving Gargulio behind came to a stop once he came to another big clearing after having lost sight of them. "Are we having fun yet?!" he called out menacingly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hello? Is..is someone there?"
"Yes. Yes." Rick spoke as he answered the female voice on the other end of the phone. "Who is this?"
"Oh, my god. I can't believe someone picked up. We've been calling since..since it all started."
"Where are you?" Rick asked wanting to know where this woman was located at.
"I can't say," the woman spoke denying Rick his request.
Rick felt his voice quiver some as he spoke again, "You could be a thousand miles away."
"I'm not going to say where we are."
"Are you...are you someplace safe?" Rick questioned at least wanting to know that.
"Yeah and part of it is because we're careful. I can't tell you where we are. I'm sorry."
"What ma...what makes your places so safe?" Rick again questioned his voice quivering again.
"It's just away...from them."
"I have a son," Rick told the woman. "I..I have a newborn baby. I'm with a good group of people. Would you be willing...could you take in others? We can pull our weight. We can help you."
The woman hesitated slightly before answering, "I'd have to talk to the group."
"Well put them on. Let me make a case," Rick pleaded wanting this group that was seemingly safe to take in his group.
"Let me talk to them first," the woman said, again sounding hesitant.
"Please...please don't go," Rick pleaded as he shook his head. "Just please, we're good people here. We just need some help and..we can help...we.."
"I'll call you in two hours," the woman interrupted.
"Please!" Rick pleaded again trying to get through to this woman. "You don't understand, you don't know. We're dying, we're dying here," he muttered right as the line went dead. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sitting at a table in the main cell area, eating some breakfast Taylor couldn't help but notice how tense everything was right now. Zac was a mess, had seemed that way all morning. Avery well she wasn't eating much, almost as if it made her sick to even look at food while Jessica was either knowingly or unknowingly shooting her daggers and as for him well he just sat in the silence watching everything.
He figured it was best not to speak, no one else was. It was as if they had all lost the ability to speak so they were choosing uncomfortable silences to fill time.
"Everybody okay?" Rick asked as he came to a stop outside the closed cell door, blocking off the main area from where he was.
"Yeah, we are," Maggie answered as she turned her head to look at Rick as he eventually came into the room where everyone else was at.
Hershel who watched as Rick walked to the table where he was sitting, raised an eyebrow. "What about you?"
"I cleared out the boiler block," Rick answered as he nodded his head, his eyes going to look at his son.
"How many were there?" Daryl asked from where he was sitting on the stairs.
Shaking his head, Rick looked up at Daryl, "I don't know. A dozen, two dozen," he answered honestly. "I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl."
"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies," Glenn spoke as he stood up from the table he was sitting at. "You don't have to."
"No, I do," Rick said as he looked over at Glenn. "Everyone have a gun and a knife?" he asked as he looked over at Zac.
Zac nodded his head yes to that, "Yeah. We're running low on ammo, though."
"Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon," Taylor mused out loud after Zac spoke. "Found a phone book with some places we can hit. Look for bullets and formula."
"We cleared out the generator room," Daryl added in as he watched Rick turn to look at him. "Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well."
Rick nodded his head before looking down at the floor, "Good...good," he repeated before quickly turning to leave again.
"Rick!" Hershel called out watching as Rick left, not even stopping to acknowledge him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Let's go!" Merle called out as he made it back to Gargulio. "Michonne got hit so it slowed them down," he said as he looked at the boy who was on the ground, clearly a crying mess.
Looking up at Merle, Gargulio shook his head, "Tim and Crowley...they..."
"We're close to the red zone," Merle spoke as he reloaded his gun. "Them shots just pulled every biter in this area our way. Let's go, get up," he said as he kept his eyes on Gargulio. "Neil!" he called out when the boy refused to move.
Walking over to the boy he kicked him, watching as he landed on his back on the grass, "Now you're gonna rise to the occasion, son. Some serious shit's going down. I need you here. You read me, amigo? I don't want you to die."
"Yes. Yes," Gargulio muttered as he stayed laying flat on his back.
"Get up," Merle told him watching as he obeyed. "Now you know, we don't ever let our own turn," he spoke as his eyes landed on the dead boy that Lucy had shot in the stomach. "Never," he stated as he walked over to him and stuck the knife from his stump weapon into his skull.
Seeing Gargulio still standing there, Merle nodded as he looked down at the decapitated head. "Come on," he said as he tried to build the boy up. "Just do it."
"Atta boy," Merle said once Gargulio put a knife through their fallen members skull. "Come on, let's get going," he told him as he turned to leave. "They ain't running, they are hunting. So are we," he mused as he heard Gargulio begin to follow behind him. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You stayed," Andrea told Kate as she stood with the woman in her bedroom, a place where Kate had been hunkered down ever since leaving the fight last night. "You're a part of this now too, this town," she smiled using the words the Governor had used on her just moments ago when she had ran into him outside.
Kate shook her head at Andrea's words, "I'm not apart of the barbaric twisted shit they do with walkers," she muttered as she stood from her bed and eyed Andrea. "You have to admit yourself that was sick and wrong."
"Maybe it was," Andrea shrugged as she watched Kate stand up. "But it's entertainment. If it makes the people happy, what's the harm?" she questioned as she raised an eyebrow.
Andrea knew this was a different stance than she had taken with Phillip last night herself but that was before she had slowly came out of her denial and admitted to herself that she kind of liked it, though for the time being she still wasn't going to tell anyone else that.
"There's a lot of fucking harm," Kate replied her tone almost sarcastic. "Please don't tell me you actually believe it's okay to keep walkers to have as some form of entertainment? To use them in mock fights."
"I didn't say I believed that," Andrea countered as she looked away from Kate's gaze.
When Andrea looked away from her, Kate heaved a sigh, "You didn't have too," she said being blunt. "It's written all over your face," she muttered out feeling angry. "Tell me Andrea, are you going to fuck the Governor like you did Shane?" she asked knowing she probably shouldn't have gone there but she was angry and hurt and also regretting letting Lucy leave without her.
Seeing Andrea turn to face her again now it was Kate's turn to look away, "I'm...I shouldn't have said that," she apologized feeling truly remorseful. "I'm just....I guess I regret staying here now and I don't see how you can defend what they do. The farm Andrea wouldn't be defending them right now."
"And the farm Kate wouldn't have made it this far," Andrea snapped back implying that Kate had been weak then, hell maybe she still was. "There isn't any use taking your regrets out on me though. You need to man up and pull your weight around here. You should join me today when someone teaches me how to use a bow...I mean in case you're still just as weak as you were on the farm."
Kate went silent at Andrea's digs but she stayed in place as she watched the woman leave, not even sure if she should take her up on her offer or not. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sitting in front of the phone, Rick looked at it impatiently knowing it had to be two hours or almost two hours and he wanted the people from before to call back so that he could get a hold of them, so that he could know what they were going to do about his group.
When the phone rang finally Rick picked it up in a hurry, "Hello?" he asked not hearing anything at first. "Hello?"
"You the guy she was talking to?" a male voice now spoke on the other end of the line.
"Yes," Rick answered quickly.
"And you want to come where we are?"
"She said it was safe," Rick defended hearing a bit of judgement or disdain in the man's voice.
"It is," the man acknowledged. "No attacks, no one's been bit, no one's died. no one's turned, no one's gone crazy."
Hearing all these things Rick knew then his mind was made up, "Yes, we want to come where you are."
"You could be dangerous. Have you killed anyone?"
Swallowing hard at the man's question Rick answered it anyway, "Yes, people who threatened me or threatened my group."
"How many people have you killed?"
"Four," Rick answered, again being honest. "Two outsiders who tried to draw on me. One threw me to walkers. The other one, he was one of our own. He lost it."
"Lost what?"
"Who he was," Rick said as his mind went to Shane. "He threatened me. He tried to kill me, so I killed him."
"How did you lose your wife?"
Rick was taken aback by the man's next question and as he stood from where he sat, he tried to keep control of his emotions. "How do you know I had a wife?"
"You have a boy and a baby," the man countered at Rick's question. "Tell me how you lost your wife."
"I don't want to talk about that," Rick muttered out as he shook his head before hearing the line go dead. "Hello? Hello?" he asked though no response came. "No!" he called out feeling exasperated at this turn of events. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sitting on top of the gate, Kate sighed as she looked over at Haley who was sitting in between her and Andrea. Haley was the girl who was supposedly going to teach her and Andrea how to use a bow but Kate couldn't help but wonder if the girl even actually knew how to use one or if she was just lying through her teeth.
"Thanks for doing this," Andrea smiled as she looked over at Haley as well.
Haley shrugged as she looked at the blonde woman, "When the Gov asks me to do something I do it. I figure we can start tomorrow. There's a training area, some hay bales. There's even a bow you guys can use though you'd have to share it. It was my old one."
"You must be pretty good," Andrea spoke as she turned away from Haley, opening the bottle of water she had and taking a drink.
"Yeah," Haley nodded as she chewed her lip. "My dad taught me. He used to take me hunting, he wanted me to be in the Olympics," she smiled sadly as she looked at the bow in her lap. "This one was his. I mean it's worth more than my car...it's awesome. So I totally killed him for it."
Hearing Haley, Kate turned to face her, "That wasn't why you killed him," she stated knowing that wasn't the real reason Haley had killed her father.
"No," Haley answered as she shook her head. "My dad wasn't himself and my brother wasn't either."
"I had to kill my sister," Andrea stated feeling a bit of sympathy for Haley.
Turning to look at Andrea, Haley nodded her head feeling as if she could get more sympathy from her than Kate because Kate seemed like a rigid bitch. "Sucks, right?" she asked her voice lowering slightly.
"Yeah," Andrea agreed as she nodded her head as well.
Kate who sat there silently as she listened to both of them turned her head as she heard a familiar distinct moan that came from walkers. "Walker," she muttered out rather urgently once she had spotted a walker who was approaching the gates.
As all three women stood from their chairs, Kate looked over intently as she heard Haley muttered for them to watch this and as she did she couldn't help but cringe when Haley tried shooting an arrow at the walker and the arrow basically ricocheted off the walkers head.
Biting her lip as Haley reached for another arrow and got the same result, Kate couldn't help but roll her eyes. It was apparent this girl was no good...or well she was no Daryl with a crossbow.
"I got it," Kate muttered out as she reached for the knife she had been given before coming out here.
"I can do it," Haley told the woman watching as she got down from the wall. "We're not supposed to go over the wall."
Kate who heard Haley telling her they weren't supposed to go over the wall continued to ignore the girl as she jumped down off the wall and once she recovered from the landing she made her way towards the walker who she punched in the chest, watching as he fell down.
Once he was down Kate bent over him and before he even had a chance to lunge for her, she stuck her knife into his skull, killing him for good this time.
Standing back up Kate couldn't help but smile to herself especially as she thought of Andrea's words to her earlier about how she bet she couldn't take care of herself and she had just proved that she could. She could take care of herself without Zac, hell she had been proving that ever since the farm.
"What the hell was that?!" Haley yelled from where she stood on the gate still.
"That is how it's done," Kate replied back still smiling and feeling proud of herself.
Haley glared at Kate after she had spoken, "I said I could do it. What is wrong with you? This isn't a game." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick who was pacing back and forth in the boiler room, slowed down a bit when he heard a door open and he reached for his gun as he walked to where he could see who or what was coming into the room where he was at.
Hershel who had went to check on Rick paused briefly as he made it to the steps and he looked down, seeing Rick looking up at him, almost like he'd have killed him in a heartbeat and Hershel half believed he would have with the way he was acting since finding out about Lori's death yesterday.
Putting his crutches together Hershel used them on one side of his body for support as he used the railing for the other side and he slowly made his way down the stairs.
"May I?" Hershel asked once he had made it down the stairs, his eyes landing on a chair not to far away which he nodded at so Rick would know what he meant.
Rick turned his head and he spotted the chair that Hershel was looking at. Putting his gun away he walked to the chair and brought it over to the old man.
Sitting down once Rick had brought the chair to him, Hershel propped his crutches against the table before looking down at his stump briefly then back up at Rick. "Still feel it," he chuckled softly. "I'm wiggling my toes right now. I'm a ghost from the knee down."
"I'm sorry," Rick spoke though he kept his gaze off of Hershel.
"You saved my life Rick," Hershel finally said as he kept his eyes on the man. "She was sorry for the things that happened, she told me that," he informed Rick as his mind went to his last conversation with Lori on the day after they had found the prison. "She planned on telling you. Take your time, whatever you need. You carried us, you didn't let us give up. You got us here."
"It's not enough," Rick said as he interrupted Hershel, finally looking up at the other man. "It's not safe enough."
Hershel felt sad as he listened to Rick's answer but not once did he look away from him, "There isn't anywhere else," he said as he made eye contact with Rick. "I know you want to get away from this but we've run already."
"I got a call," Rick revealed deciding to tell Hershel about the phone call he had gotten.
"What?!" Hershel asked a bit taken aback at Rick's words.
"Someone called," Rick stated as he picked up the phone and moved it in front of Hershel. "On this phone. A woman. She was young, she was part of a group. She said they had a safe place, they said they were just dialing numbers and I picked up. She said they'd be calling back. If it sounds right, I want to talk them into taking us in."
Hershel who sat quietly as he listened to Rick, picked up the phone and putting it to his ear he was not surprised when he heard nothing on the other end.
"Did she say where they were?" he questioned as he put the phone back on the cradle.
"No, but it doesn't matter," Rick answered as he shook his head. "If it's safe, we'll get there," he stated knowing his mind was made up. "Don't tell the rest of the group, not yet."
Watching as Rick began to pace around some, Hershel furrowed his eyebrows, "I'll sit here with you. That's something I'm pretty good at now days."
"No," Rick sighed knowing he was fine alone.
"All right," Hershel stated at Rick's answer and once he did he began to move off the chair to head back to their cell block. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merle who was running through the woods with Gargulio came to a stop as they reached an opening in the woods and as he did, he held his gun out, looking around them.
Hearing a tree branch snap not long before hearing the distinct sound of Michonne getting her sword out Merle turned around so fast, seeing Michonne aiming for him with her sword and as he made his way towards her he accidentally stabbed Gargulio in the chest.
Lucy who was hidden behind a tree where Michonne had told her to stay, couldn't help but make a face as her heart hammered faster inside of her chest as she watched the fight between Michonne and Merle. A part of her cringed slightly when Merle automatically went to Michonne's injured leg that had been hit by the bullet.
Of course Merle would play that dirty so she wasn't sure why she was really surprised by that.
Reaching for her gun when she watched walkers start to head their way Lucy moved slightly from her hiding place as she watched one going after Michonne who had somehow gotten away from Merle and was making her way towards the katana that she had dropped.
Though Lucy didn't have to use her gun thankfully because right before the walker had a chance to get her Michonne finally managed to get her katana and stab the walker in the stomach which somehow lead to the walker's insides coming out and landing all over the woman.
Merle who had been cornered eventually by the walkers stood up after Gargulio had taken down the walker who had just about had him and when he looked to the place he had last seen Michonne, he glared when he found the woman was now gone, almost like she was some ninja who could just disappear even with her now injured leg. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sitting in the cell she shared with Glenn, Jessica ran a hand through her hair as her mind wandered off to Avery and her sister's current predicament. She really couldn't help but go there but she did because at the moment she didn't agree with her sister keeping things a secret from Daryl like she was.
Daryl deserved to know about this baby sooner rather than later and Avery if given the chance would probably hold it off from him until she was showing.
"Jessie?" Glenn asked as he walked into the cell not surprised to find Jessica there. Ever since breakfast she had been in here. "Are you okay?" he asked as he walked to sit down next to her.
Turning to look at Glenn who had brought her out of her thoughts, Jessica nodded her head slightly. "I'm fine," she reassured him though she had a feeling she wasn't showing it well. "Just some stuff on my mind," she said as she raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you didn't offer to go with Daryl to help clear out some of the bodies from the corridors."
Glenn shrugged as he studied Jessica, not buying her words. "He took Oscar and Carl. I think he's okay enough," he lied because deep down he wanted to go but he had chose to stay here so he could check on Jessica. "Are you sure you're okay though Jessie?"
Going silent when Glenn asked her that, Jessica looked down at her hands, "Avery's...she's pregnant," she confessed not sure if she should feel guilty. "I mean I told you I suspected it but she is and after yesterday well she doesn't want to tell Daryl right now and I really think she should."
"Oh..." Glenn muttered out not even sure if Jessica had heard him because it had been so soft. "I get where you are coming from but it's her decision to make on when she tells him," he finally said this time a bit louder. "There isn't any use in worrying on something that isn't your decision."
Again Jessica went silent because she knew Glenn had a point, "I guess I just hate seeing Avery be a coward," she admitted not sure if she was being harsh now. "She's been so strong before in her life that I'm envious of her and now because of yesterday's set back's she's going to be a coward."
"Or she's doing what she thinks is right at the moment," Glenn argued as he defended Jessica's sister. "Maybe it's not being a coward and it's her coming to terms with her predicament while trying to find a way to think of how to break the news. I mean if I were in Avery's shoes I'd probably not want to tell Daryl either nor would I be too happy in being pregnant." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kate who was walking through Woodbury came to a stop as she spotted Milton, "Have you seen Andrea?" she asked the man before chewing her lip.
To be honest Kate wasn't sure why she was looking for Andrea though maybe it was because she was surprised the woman hadn't came to yell at her for what had happened with the walker today and she suspected Andrea would have because the Governor would have complained to her.
"Last I knew I think she had business to attend to with the Governor," Milton answered as he stopped briefly after Kate had asked him what she did. "That was probably about an hour ago though."
Making a face at Milton's answer Kate's mind couldn't help where it went but who the hell had hour long talks, especially with someone they seemed to fancy and Kate wasn't blind, it seemed like Andrea had a crush on the Governor.
"Do you think she is sleeping with him?" Kate asked before blushing and instantly regretting her words.
Milton shook his head as he looked down and away from Kate, "I don't like to ponder on who he sleeps with," he replied honestly before starting to walk away. "But if I was a betting man I'd say yes," he called out not even looking back to see her reaction. "Science seems to favor it predictability wise." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You rose to the occasion, kid," Merle spoke as he looked at Gargulio. "When we get back, I'm gonna get you a beer," he said as he bent down to grab his fallen gun off the ground.
"Come on, they couldn't have made it that far," Gargulio said wondering why Merle wasn't going after the two women.
Merle shook his head as he put his gun back in it's holster, "No, no, no. We're done," he explained as he turned his head slightly. "We're gonna grab a car, haul ass home. It's been a good day's work."
"But they...they killed..." Gargulio started not getting to finish.
"Tim and Crowley," Merle finished for Gargulio. "Yep, but we messed Michonne up pretty bad. Anyway, they're headed straight for the red zone. They are as good as dead."
Going silent at Merle's words, Gargulio heaved a sigh, "What do we tell the Governor?"
"What the hell do you think we tell him?" Merle asked feeling a bit annoyed with the boy. "Tell him we killed them. Like I said, they are as good as dead."
"I'm gonna keep going," Gargulio muttered knowing he wanted to make sure they really were dead.
Walking to where Gargulio was, Merle just eyed him not believing the words he had just said.
"They ain't right in the head," Merle stated trying to make things clear to the boy. "They are gonna die. Ain't worth our time, definitely ain't worth our blood. Now let's go," he growled before turning to walk away.
"This is some serious shit," Gargulio called out seeing Merle stop and turn to face him again. "That's what you said. I'm not gonna lie to the Governor about it."
Forcing a brief smile at Gargulio's words Merle nodded his head, "You're right," he stated wanting the boy to believe that he was going to agree with him. "Can't cut corners on this one," he spoke as he shook his head. "You've come along pretty quick there, kid. How do you say your name again?"
Merle again nodded his head, "Gargulio," he repeated as a bird made a squawking nose in the distance. "Hear that bird?" he asked seeing the boy began to look around and as he did Merle pulled out his gun, shooting Gargulio in the head when he turned his head back to him.
Walking to the boy's dead body Merle picked up his gun and pocketed it before walking off.