XLV

—/<3/—

Axel was sniped out of the blue whilst everyone was out enjoying the sunshine in the courtyard early that afternoon. The governor had come to take his revenge less than twenty-four hours after they'd taken back Maggie and Glenn, and he couldn't have picked a worse time to strike.

Rick was going out of his mind, wandering the river outside the fence for a reason unknown to anyone, Glenn was on a rampage and had driven off to the other side of the prison to scout it out, Daryl was gone and the remaining able-bodied people didn't have guns on them.

He'd brought a van full of soldiers and was open firing on anyone he could see, even the kids. Rory and Archie sprinted to the watch tower, zigzagging to minimise the chances of being hit. There were rifles in the watch tower and they'd be better off with the high ground.

There was one of the Woodbury soldiers in the tower opposite them and Archie shot quickly to protect Carl and Beth, sending a bullet between his eyebrows. Rory took a few shots at the governor, distracting him from Carol, who was using Axel's body as cover and giving her enough time to run to safety behind the wall Beth and Carl were hiding behind. She managed to graze his bicep before the shooting suddenly stopped. Rory thought it was over, but the soldiers didn't move towards the van to leave.

"Beth!" Maggie screamed as she ran from inside the building, three rifles in her arms. She ducked behind cover and shoved one of the guns into her sister's arms. Mikey and Niamh ran out after her, Mikey clutching a pistol and Niamh with a shotgun. Maggie tossed the remaining rifle to Carol and shot at the van.

But then it stopped again, and Rory looked at her brother with wide eyes at the sound of a vehicle approaching fast. They could only watch as a second van tore through their gate. They were stunned when the back end of the van dropped open, and walkers began pouring out, stumbling and groaning hungrily as they headed straight for where Hershel was hiding in the long grass.

Rory and Archie immediately began shooting, aiming for both the driver and the walkers who exited the van. Archie managed to shoot him in the back of the leg, the only part of his body that wasn't covered with protective gear, but the driver stumbled onward until Niamh got him with her shotgun.

Then the governor climbed into his van with his loyal dogs at his side and emptied the rest of his mag shooting aimlessly to taunt them before he drove off, almost crossing right into Glenn, who was just returning.

"Fuck!" Rory shouted angrily as she watched Maggie, Carol and Carl run into the field where Michonne was to help deal with the walkers. She and Archie moved round to the other side and began to take out as many dead as they could before they got anywhere near the prison courtyard.

"Rory! Archie! Leave it, get down here!" Glenn yelled up at them as their guns began to empty. They'd have no choice but to make a run for it through the fields and deal with the walkers another time. It would only be a waste of bullets considering the majority of the walkers in the area were making their way through the gates into the field anyway.

The siblings took down the ones in their path as they bounded towards the courtyard gate, the last remaining barrier keeping their prison safe, and Mikey slammed it shut behind them.

"Is Rick still out there?" Beth asked worriedly. Glenn pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked towards the river.

"He's alive, Daryl and Merle are with him."

"Merle? Seriously?" Maggie said, disgusted.

"Who's Merle?" Niamh questioned, wondering why everyone's moods seemed to sour further at the mention of his name.

"Daryl's brother. Tried to kill Michonne, kidnapped Glenn and me and brought up Rory's foster dad."

"How the fuck does Merle know about him?" Archie raised his voice.

"Forgot to tell you," Rory cleared her throat awkwardly. "Jonah's alive and at Woodbury. He met Merle in Atlanta and travelled with him to Woodbury where the governor took them in. He gave Maggie my guitar and said something about gathering information."

"Jonah?" Mikey's face lit up like a child's on Christmas.

"But he died, he would've come for me in Atlanta if he didn't..." Niamh whispered. "Oh god, does he think I ditched him to save myself?"

"I doubt it, he probably thinks you just got separated, Jonah wouldn't think that," Rory reassured her.

"Jonah also wouldn't tell Merle about you know who." Archie ran a hand through his sweaty hair.

"Apparently he was drunk and thought we were dead," Rory said. "They're coming up, get ready to open the gate."

Carl nodded and got the keys ready as his dad and the Dixon brothers jogged up through the field, weaving through walkers.

—/<3/—

Daryl still wouldn't look at her once they were all safely inside. In fact, he went out of his way to avoid her gaze and her presence altogether. Rory didn't know if it was because she beat his brother to a bruised and bloody pulp, or if he was embarrassed by his brother's actions.

"We need to leave this place." Hershel broke the silence. "It's not safe. Walkers have breached the tombs again, the gates are broken and the governor is after us, we'd be better off on the road."

"We ain't leaving." Rick shook his head.

"We can't even go outside anymore, it's not safe," Beth said.

"We're outgunned and outnumbered by a long shot. We'll die if we stay." Maggie sighed.

"We're not running." Rick reaffirmed.

"Nah, better to live like rats."

Rory rolled her eyes at the sound of Merle's voice.

"You got a better idea?" Rick turned around, giving Merle a dirty look.

"We should've been outta here last night n' lived to see another day, but we lost that window didn't we." Merle shoved his arms through the bars of the locked door.

"We?" Archie scoffed. "Sorry, why is he still here?" Archie looked between Rick and Merle.

"Your sister tell you what happened? She's got a hard punch for a lady, I think I've learned my lesson, I'll be on my best behaviour." Merle smirked.

"You did that to his face?" Archie asked Rory. She nodded and Archie raised his hand for a high five, to which Rory obliged with a smile.

—/<3/—