LI

—/<3/—

Everyone stood up as the Governor threw open the door half an hour later. Rick followed him out wordlessly and everyone got into their respective vehicles without uttering another sound.

Rick looked pensive as he started up the car and as much as Rory wanted to ask about what was said, she stayed silent, deciding not to poke the bear just yet.

It took ten minutes to drive back to the prison and Rick led everyone inside the cell block after the gates were locked, waiting for everyone to gather round before he began to speak.

"He wants the prison," Rick paused, looking down at his feet. "He wants us gone. Dead. He wants us dead for what we did to Woodbury. We're goin' to war." Rick walked away, gun in hand as he stomped out of the cell block with a face like thunder, leaving the rest of the group to process his words. They all looked at each other, scared and angry, before they sauntered off in different directions, all needing some time to think.

Rory sighed as she slumped down into one of the chairs in the main room of the cell block, freeing her hair from her braid. It hung limp around her face, slightly greasy from the harsh heat and coated with dust and grime from the past few days.

She stood up after only moments of sitting and stalked off to try and wash it with some of the water they group had been collecting over the past few weeks. Clear water was hard to come by, especially since they hadn't managed to set up a pumping system from the river by the prison yet with everything going on with the Governor, so Rory held off until now. But everyone else was washing whenever they wanted to, so Rory would too.

She crouched by one of the buckets and dunked her hands in, bringing the water up to the scalp and scrubbing to loosen all the dirt and oil that had accumulated over the past few days.

"I'll do it, you're just going to matt up your hair like that," Maggie said as she walked into the room. "Plus, I nabbed some shampoo a couple days ago on a run," she added, pulling a small pink bottle from underneath the towel she brought with her. Maggie dropped to her knees and flicked open the cap on the bottle, grabbing a small cup from the side of the room and dunking it in the water.

"Thanks," Rory murmured as Maggie poured a small amount of the strawberry and coconut shampoo onto the crown of Rory's head, massaging it into her scalp before she let the water from the cup wash away the suds.

"You can return the favour as soon as we get rid of those knots in your hair," Maggie spoke through a smile. "I've got a hair brush in my cell.

"So this is why your hair always looks silky smooth in the middle of the apocalypse? You're hiding hair products in your room?" Rory joked, wiping water away from her forehead.

"Well, I'm not hidin' them, they're just in there for safe keeping," Maggie said bashfully as she squeezed the last of the soapy water out of Rory's hair.

Rory turned around and took the shampoo and cup from Maggie's hands. "How long do you reckon before they turn up with their so-called army and another truckload of walkers?"

"A day at most." Maggie sighed, tilting her head back as Rory tipped the cup of water over her head. "But we'll get through it, we always do."

"Yeah...I guess."

"My daddy's gonna read the bible for Beth and I later since we can't go to church anymore...You wanna join us? It might make you feel better."

"Thanks but I'm not religious, never have been." Rory finished up with Maggie's hair and stood up, leaving the room to prepare for the war.

—/<3/—

"Have you seen ma' brother?" Daryl asked, rushing up to Rory with a slightly panicked expression.

"Yeah, he was headed down to the breached cell block to barricade the broken wall with Michonne so the Governor can't use it to enter. He said Rick told him to," Rory said. "Why? Are you okay?"

"God fuckin' damn it!" Daryl swore, running his hands through his sweaty hair as he began to pace.

"What is it?" Rory questioned grimly, starting to panic herself.

"Merle's taken Michonne. The Governor cut a deal with Rick; he gives up Michonne and we don't go to war. Rick decided he wasn't gonna do it but Merle's already taken off with her," Daryl explained. "I gotta go after 'em, let Rick know for me."

"You ain't going alone," Rick said as he appeared behind them, slightly out of breath. "I'll go with you."

"Nah, you can't track for shit. You stay here." Daryl began to jog into the breached cell block, headed for the back door.

"Tell Archie I've gone with Daryl." Rory sighed and checked how many bullets her gun had before running after her boyfriend.

Rick called after her but ultimately decided to let her go, turning with a sigh to return to the cell block and inform Archie of his sister's absence.

"Go back, Rory," Daryl said when the younger woman caught up with him, stopping at his side.

Rory clicked her tongue. "I'm here now, I'm not going all the way back."

"We can literally still see the door." Daryl gave her an incredulous look. "Whatever, just hurry up."

—/<3/—

"Isn't that Michonne?" Rory pointed to the figure walking towards them in the distance. Daryl didn't answer but jogged towards her.

"Where's my brother?" He called as she stopped to kill a walker. "You kill him?"

Michonne shook her head with a silent sigh. "He let me go."

Daryl nodded and took off in a sprint without another word, leaving Rory fumbling to catch up. They ran for almost an hour before they made it back to the place they'd visited the day before when they met up with the governor, but judging by the bodies scattered across the grass and the fresh tire tracks, they were too late.

The pair weaved cautiously through the bodies, staring at the morbid scene of rotten entrails and mangled limbs littering the grass with disgust. Daryl shot down the remaining walkers that feasted on the flesh of the Governor's fallen men, collecting his arrows and preparing his crossbow to repeat the action, until his eyes caught sight of the peculiar yet familiar contraption encasing one of the walkers' arms.

He froze and merle stopped chewing as his head moved upward with a sickening crack, focusing on Daryl and Rory who watched him with wide eyes. The walker growled and stumbled to his feet with sinewy flesh hanging from his mouth. Daryl's face crumpled as tears began to form in his eyes.

Rory didn't know if it was better to step in and put Merle down for him to save Daryl the pain of having to kill his own brother, or to leave him and let him do it himself. Knowing Daryl, he'd refuse to let anyone else do the job for him, so Rory simply watched as Daryl pushed Merle's animated corpse back, shoving him again and again whilst sobbing until he finally built up the courage to put him down.

Rage mixed with heartbreak as he drove his hunting knife into the skull of his last remaining family member over and over until he finally rolled off of him and collapsed to the grass, his sobs wracking his body as he stared at his mangled brother lying limp on the grass.

Aurora hesitantly walked over and knelt beside Daryl as he sat up, burying his head in his hands. He flinched away when her fingers brushed over the back on his hand but then he leaned towards her, allowing her to cradle his head against her chest as he cried.

"Do you want to bury him?" Rory whispered once Daryl's sobs had calmed into frustrated sniffles. Daryl paused, considering it, but then shook his head.

"'S too dangerous and we don't have anythin' to dig with," he said, his voice raspy. Instead, he moved forward and grasped the buckle on Merle's metal arm, pulling it off and tucking it into his pack. "Let's go, they might come back."

He brushed her off when she asked if he was sure and began walking back in the direction they came, not looking back at Merle and his caved-in skull.

—/<3/—