Not Even Death Can Save Us Now

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A sigh escaped from the lips of Maggie Greene as she sat in the cell with her sister, Beth, and baby Judith. Beth was humming a soft song to the small child to get her to sleep and to calm down. It seemed to be helping, but Beth's beautiful voice always helped to calm the storm in people. Maggie could sing, too, but she was a bit more shy than her sister, so she chose to not share her voice. Only one has really heard her sing, Glenn, the man who had her heart before, but now they weren't together. It was more of a mutual decision then a just one of their choice decision.

Smiling as she heard the soft breathing from the small baby, she stood up and gave Judith a peck on the top of her bald head and looked towards Beth. "I'm going on a quick run with Daryl, we're about out of supplies and we need to find some more formula for Judy, we're running low, I think we've got two more cans left." Maggie said to her younger sister. Beth looked up at her, a frown crossing her face. "With who?" She asked. Their group had grown smaller since the flu strained illness took the life of over half the people on the group.

"Daryl." Maggie said and Beth nodded. The youngest Greene sister was quite fond of him, which was good. She needed to find hope in someone, and Daryl was truly a good guy. "I'll be back, though." Maggie said before going to find her father, Hershel Greene. He was in another part of the prison talking to Tyreese and Sasha about something. She found him easily and informed him she was going on a run with Daryl. She gave him a quick kiss on the head before going outside to look for the man.

She stood by the truck they would be taking and patiently waited for him. In the distance, Rick was with Carl repairing the fence the walkers tore down a couple nights before. Michonne was loading a trailer up with bodies of the walkers to take out further and burn. The activity around here had been quite, almost too quite, but they hadn't seen a walker since the other night, which was an improvement. She leaned against the truck as she waited, letting the thoughts run through her head of the past.
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This whole place was unsettling. Daryl walked around the perimeter of the fence looking for any lurkers.. Back in the day, any notion of prison would've set him off. Merle always got into trouble when they were kids. Drugs, violence, and dealing with their pisshole of a father. Places like this weren't foreign to the brothers. Now none of that mattered. There were no police. No more Merle. Just a hell of a lot of walkers. Satisfied that danger was halted for now, he headed back to the main building.

Things were all bad though. Though Rick could be a real pain in the ass, Herschel preaching his goddamn 'get along' sermon, things felt right with him for the first time in a while. He'd been dry and clean for a while now, and the distant notion of 'family' was slowly starting to set in. Daryl certainly didn't drink the 'hurrah everything's just dandy' koolaid, but things were becoming normal. That scared and soothed him at the same time. He just wish Merle was alive. Way far away from him but alive. Dumb ass was his brother after all.

"Daryl!" He turned and saw Rick wave him down. Hoisting his crossbow on his shoulder, he made his way to the sheriff.

"What's up?"

Rick wiped a sheen of sweat off his face as he surveyed the surroundings. "Walkers stopped coming. Checked the supplies this morning, and we're low. Baby formula's almost gone."

Daryl frowned. "I'll see what I can do," he said. "Surrounding area's all cleaned out. By us."

"Maggie's waiting at the truck," Rick said. "I know you're a lone wolf, Daryl, but I insist. Can't afford to take risks now. We got a place. Settled and all. I'm not going to lose anymore. Not if I can help it. Our numbers are down from the sickness."

Daryl grunted as he turned around. "Back in a couple of hours."

"Be careful."

Walking up the hill, Daryl soon spotted Maggie. He went to the drivers side. "Ready?" he asked. "Got to go further out today. Probably to a big town. Best chance of finding formula for the kid."​
 
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Maggie had lost herself in her thoughts and hardly noticed when Daryl approached her. She squinted her eyes in his direction from the beaming sun and nodded when he asked if she was ready. "Let's get this over with." She said. She caught a brief glance of Glenn up at the guard tower, he seemed to be surveying the area, but their eyes met briefly before Maggie broke the contact and got into the passenger seat of the old truck. It still hurt slightly they called everything off, but it was for the best. She wasn't happy anymore with him, and he agreed to it as well, so they both agreed to go their own way. In some ways it may have been stupid, considering there wasn't many survivors left in the hell they were now living in, but that didn't mean she had to be miserable.

As they left the confines of the prison, Maggie gave a nod to Carl who returned her nod and closed the gate behind the truck as it drove down the path. Sighing, she settled back in her seat and looked outside. "How far is the town? I told Beth we'd be back today." She said. She knew it was risky going to a larger town, those and cities typically seemed to have the largest horde of walkers, but maybe they'd luck out and not run into any, it was doubtful, but there was still hope it could happen.

Maggie knew they wouldn't be at the prison much longer, the sickness itself nearly pushed them out. She remember briefly the sickness going around. They lost so many good people, adults and children, and even Glenn almost died from it, having caught it himself. Maggie had never been so scared than she was then, him choking on his own blood. Her father, Hershel, had saved him thought and she was thankful for that, but now there would be something else. There always was something else.​
 
Daryl pulled the truck out of the prison confines. He gave a nod to Rick and Carl as they pulled out. He saw Glenn at the tower. It wasn't secret that Maggie and him had been love birds up until now. Falling out or something. Hell if he knew. It wasn't his business. If memory served him correctly, it happened after the spread of the flu. Damn full almost got himself killed with the sickness. Flu. It'd be one heck of a way to go out considering the many possibilities of passing on these days.

"How far is the town? I told Beth we'd be back today."

Pulling out onto the main road, Daryl kept the truck running at 45 mph. Fast enough to get to their destination yet allow the time needed to adapt if a walker or something else popped out of the blue. "We'll be back," he said. Assuming that the damn walkers didn't horse up the plan. "Places in walking distance is all cleaned. Shouldn't have to go too far. Grab whatever we can and get on back."

The vehicle kept rumbling on as a sign for a town popped up. Daryl grimaced. Population 7,000. Though small in comparison to Atlanta, huge in the walker department. Imagination began to play images through his head. Streets filled with the dead - decomposing as their foul odor plagued the skies. Survivors hunting survivors if they lay claim to the place. He had seen it before. Turf wars were the worst type of business to begin. It never stayed on the streets but came home with the street soldiers. Silently praying, he hoped the town was the opposite. Abandoned streets without a living soul. That'd be a goddamn gift from above.

When they got closer, Daryl pulled over to the side. He hated leaving vehicles by themselves, but rolling on in with the hunk of metal would attract more of those things. Grabbing his worn bag and bow, he got out. "Lets see what we're dealing with," he said. "No noise. Think you can handle that?"
​
 
Maggie looked over to Daryl when he spoke. "We'll be back." He said. One thing she noticed about the man with the crossbow was he wasn't really a man of many words. She just nodded stiffly at him before turning back to look out the window. They were on a dirt road and on each side was nothing but trees. In any other situation, it would have been nice to admire the country side beauty, but Maggie knew what was really inside the woods, nothing but death and grief. She looked back to him when he spoke again. "Yeah, well lets just hope there is anything left. It's been over a year, but we'll see." Maggie said to him with a simple shrug as she settled back in her seat.

They rumbled on down the dirt path for awhile longer before she noticed a sign. The population read 7,000 and possibly more or less. Hopefully the population now wasn't quite as large, because than that could be a problem. It wasn't the dead Maggie was so concerned about, they were no problem, but it was the living. The ones who could actually fight back and they had motive too. They were the ones to be feared of the most, not the walkers.

They inched closer to the town when Daryl pulled the truck to the side. It was easier going in on foot, wouldn't attract as much attention. She glared over at him when he asked if she could handle being quite. Did he think she was some kind of idiot or something? "Let's go." Was all the young farm girl said as she rested her hand on the holster containing her gun, her dagger in her other hand.​
 
Daryl took note of the glare Maggie just speared at him. It wasn't anything personal. Though he had gotten much better at it, working and relying on other folks didn't come naturally to the bowman. Rick and Michonne were the two he went on runs with frequently. Glenn too. Maggie was enitely different matter. He trusted her ability to survive, but subtle? He had yet to see that himself.

Staying within the foliage, Daryl looked out onto the town. His chest instantly constricted. Walkers were everywhere. He knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up, but was it too much to ask for one short burst of luck? Gripping his crossbow, he nodded to Maggie. He made his way down the bluff as quietly as he could. The main road was completely congested, so he went to the alleyway instead.

The grocery was down the street, and he didn't have a good way to cross it without advertising their presence. Trying a door to a building, it swung open as he scanned the interior. It waswathe first floor of an apartment. A death trap. Seeing a walker in the lobby, he let loose an arrow. The corpse didn't move again.

When he was confident they were alone, he stayed a good distance back and surveyed the street. "Got any ideas?" He asked Maggie. "That store could have what we need. The problem is them. Maybe we can look somewhere else?"

​
 
Maggie followed him and mentally groaned to herself when she saw the streets crowded with the walkers. She knew it was too good to be true. It wasn't too many, but enough they couldn't take on on their own. Sighing, she looked towards Daryl at what they should do next. She followed him down the bluff, keeping quite and alert. They came out in an alleyway. She noticed the grocery store they really needed to get too, but there was no way to get there without drawing attention to themselves. She stood behind him on guard as he opened a door to a building and went inside, following him.

Turning, Maggie watched as he took out a lone walker. She looked out across the street with him and bit her lip, thinking on what they should do. She glanced at the walker and back up to the crowded street and an idea came to mind. "Rick told me of something he did in the city.. with Glenn." She said, keeping her voice quite as he walked to the walker Daryl took out. She sat on her knees by the corpse and motioned for Daryl to join her. This was going to be disgusting, but it'd work.

"Rick said the walkers find us by our.. scent, so all we've got to do is disguise our scent," she paused as she clutched her dagger and started from the neck of the corpse, piercing it in as she dragged it all the way down to it's stomach, peeling back the flesh, "mask our scent with their own." She said to him, looking over at Daryl. She took out the intestine of the walker and cut it in half, drapping it across her neck. It reeked and she felt sick to her stomach, but they had to do it. "Cover yourself in the blood and whatever else you can." She said, smearing the dark blood of the walker all over her arms and face and neck, including her clothes. "We really need to fit in. Once we're done, we'll go back out the door we came in and act like them, making it to the grocery store. Don't forget the bag." She said as she stared at Daryl.​
 
How simple yet genius. Daryl knelt beside Maggie as he dipped his hands into the thick black-ish blood of the walker and began to smear it across his body. The smell was certainly terrifying. A rotting carcass with rotting insides. If this couldn't take the stink out of the human scent, he didn't know what would. Whatever the case, a sliver of respect welled inside him as he completed his camouflage. Seemed farm girl wasn't opposed to getting down and dirty. He could respect that.

"Figures why they keep chasin' us," he said as he smeared some blood over his bag. He'd have to wash this all off once they got back to the prison. "You ever hunted? Merle and I did the same thing when we hunted dear. Course, sure as hell wasn't blood we were smearing on ourselves. You tried this before or you just going off what Rick told you?"

Daryl trusted the sheriff indisputably, but there were somethings that even he was tentative to do. Such as what they planned now. If it didn't work, it'd just be simple suicide walking into the crowd out there. However, when was Rick ever the liar? He banished the thought and grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. He retrieved his arrow from the dead walker and waited at the door. "Straight for the store. Get in, take what we need and get out. Oh, see any baby formula, snag as much of it as you can. The little punk's got an appetite."​
 
Maggie watched him as he camouflaged himself, following suite after her. She nodded once they were both covered in the black thick liquid. "Good." She said as she headed to the door. She looked over at him when he had asked if she ever hunter. "A little, not enough to really call it hunting, but I did it more after... well, this all happened." Maggie said, sighing when he asked if she ever tried this. "Nope, never." She said, opening the door as she stepped out. She nodded when he told her to head straight for the store, get what they needed, and leave.

"Just.. act like one of them." She whispered to Daryl as she walked slow, dragging her right foot behind her. She was now out of the alleyway and in the open, but none of the walkers had seemed to take notice of them. Yes, this was going to work. The store was just a few feet away. Maggie didn't risk turning to look back at Daryl to see how he was doing, she trusted her instincts. A couple minutes later she was at the door of the grocery store and she slowly turned the knob, walking in.

She turned and waited for Daryl. Maggie scanned the store and saw there seemed to be plenty for them to take, maybe no one could get to it. She closed the door behind him as she took the bag. "Let's hurry. I'm not sure how long this stuff lasts." She said as she stuffed food into the bag. "Look for any kind of medical supplies, they've got to have something." She said as she found several cans of baby formula, which she stuffed into the bag as well.​
 
Taking a deep breath, Daryl followed Maggie out. Though he tried to pull off a Hollywood worthy emulation of a walker, he failed miserably. He felt tense as his eyes trained on each walker. It would take all but one slip up to have them notice him and turn him into an instant meal. He grunted at one of the walkers as it got close to him. It looked up at him but then kept walking. The blood and gore really did make a difference he thought to himself.

When he stepped into the grocery, he breathed easy as Maggie shut the door behind him. He handed over the bag as he took off in the direction of the pharmacy. The place seemed untouched. Plenty of canned food remained, which could only help. After taking in some of the folks from Woodbury, rationing had been strained. They would've ran out long ago had it not been for the sickness. It took away a handful of souls, but saved the living from starving. It was a grim thought, but he was thankful for it.

Leaving the food to Maggie, Daryl stepped through an aisle as he hurried to the back. A walker stood before him as he let loose an arrow. He walked over and retrieved it. When he came across the pharmacy area, the place had been cleaned for the most part. He took a bag an opened it. Taking what was left, he moved towards the drug area. The windows were smashed and the shelves were empty. A junkie probably got to it first. Trying the door, it swung open. Two dead bodies littered the floor. Daryl went around them.

Other than a few bottles of antibiotics and a bottle of cough medicine, there wasn't anything left to take. Daryl hefted the bag over his shoulders as he made his way back to Maggie.

As he came from behind her, he gave a short, quiet whistle. "Got some medicine and the simple stuff," he said. "Bag looks pretty full. Lets bring back what we got."​
 
Maggie had finished gathering a couple more goods when she heard the whistle from Daryl. It was quite, so hopefully the walkers outside didn't hear. Nodding, Maggie picked up the bag and handed it to Daryl. "I'll take the lighter one, it'll be quicker." She said, taking the bag with the medicine in it and slinging it over her shoulder. "Let's get going, I have to get this stench off me." She said. She turned towards the door and went to go open it. "Remember, dragging and grunting. We just need to get back to the alleyway." She said to him, her voice soft as she opened the door and walked out, acting like one of them just like before.

She kept one hand on the hilt of her dagger, just in case something happened, and it did. She bumped into one of the walkers, and although you could mask the smell you couldn't really mask the warm feel of human skin. Grunting, the walker turned her direction. She acted on instinct and drove the dagger through the skull of the corpse. Now, they were attracting attention as more walkers turned towards the commotion. "Daryl, come on!" She yelled as she ran towards the alleyway.

They still had a little bit to run before they got back to the truck. She took out a couple more walkers on her way to the alley, careful to save ammo since they were real low back at the prison, especially after the sickness took over. Turning, she looked back to see if Daryl was still with her. A pair of cold clammy hands grabbed onto her upper arms, alarming her which led to her dropping her dagger. Despite being dead, the shitheads were still strong and she struggled against the hands on her arms, deciding to step back and slam the body against the wall, but it still wouldn't let go. She heard it's mouth clamping as it tried to bite into her flesh and it took everything she had to prevent that from happening.​
 
Daryl switched bags with her as they began to move back towards the door. He had no complaints about taking the heavier bag. It would certainly be faster if he took it. No offense to Maggie, but it was a no brainer who had the muscle. He hefted the bag full of food into a snug position. "Hope the walkers don't get smart," he said more so to himself. He held his companion bow in his hand. Damn thing could make one nasty club. "Lets go."

Once more he found himself in the company of walkers. He was more relaxed than last time. Probably due to the fact that smearing a walker's blood masked the scent. The question was for how long? Following Maggie's example, he dragged a leg just barely. The run seemed to be going smoothly. Almost to the alley, Daryl cursed as Maggie stabbed a walker and blew their cover.

"Ah hell," he said as he bashed a walker's skull in with his weapon. He made to run after Maggie, but a strong pull yanked him back. A walker had latched onto the bag as he turned to get the thing off of him. The others were getting closer as Daryl fired an arrow into the closet. The sane thing to do was ditch the bag. He would've too if it wasn't for Judith's formula. He ought to kick Rick's ass and tell him to hurry up and get that baby eating. He knew that was impossible though.

Finally breaking the hold on the bag, Daryl booked it to the alley where he saw Maggie pinned on the wall by a walker. Taking out his hunting knife, Daryl yanked the walkers head back and quickly laid the beast to rest. "Come on!"

He grabbed Maggie's arm and got her moving towards the truck. He dared not look backwards. He could imagine the horde chasing after them. Mouths agape, arms stretched out, and moaning. As he willed his legs to get up the bluff they descended from, he saw the truck. Reaching it while clawing for air, he threw his bag into the backseat. He waved Maggie over as he got the car started. A fair distance was between them and the walkers now, but he didn't want to stick around. They had overstayed their welcome. It was time to go back to the company of the living.​
 
Maggie was stealing struggling with the walker then the tip end of the knife went through the skull, the corpse falling. Quickly grabbing up her own dagger and bag, running after him as they booked it to the truck. She made it a mental note to thank him later for getting that walker off her, but now wasn't really the time for thanking. She threw the bag she held in the back and quickly got in the passenger side, slamming the door shut behind her. She was out of breath now from the heavy running and her previous struggling, but they were safe for now and headed back to the prison, the goods safe in the backseat.

She rode in silence for several minutes, still trying to catch her breath, before glancing over at Daryl. "Thank you." She finally said to him as she sat up in the seat. "Well.. it worked for a little bit. The walker I stabbed was going to attack me, so I had to do something." Maggie said. She was sure she'd be hearing it from Daryl about the stupid decision, but either way they would have been screwed. Sighing, she reached around her neck and removed the intestine, rolling down the window and tossing it outside as they drove back to the prison.

It wasn't long before Carl and Rick were opening the gates back open for the duo. When they were parked, Maggie got out and reached back, grabbing the lightest bag. Hershel was outside as well and limped over to the pair. "Everything go okay?" He asked, noticing the dark blood on Maggie. "Yeah, we got all we could, it should be enough for a few more weeks." Maggie said, glancing over at Daryl. She handed Hershel the bag she held as she walked on the other side of the prison, where the barrels of water were kept. She knew she'd feel much better once she got this walker filth off her skin.​
 
As the truck kept moving along the rode, Daryl looked at the rearview mirror. The walkers were slowly becoming tiny dots. He highly doubted they would pursue them all the way back to the prison. They could probably smell them, but the gasoline would probably have thrown off their scent. Whatever the case, the run was successful, but it was a close call. Admittedly, Maggie did alright.

He kept staring at the road ahead as he listened to Maggie. Thank you? Those were words he wasn't expecting from the farm girl. He caught from his peripherals Maggie throwing out the intestine she wrapped around her neck. "You still had that on? Disgusting," he said with a hint of humor. "Your little stunt back there almost killed us. It was the right thing to do. If one of those walkers came at me, I'd do the same. Suppose this method has its limit. Time and proximity. It's good to know."

After getting turning onto the dirt road, it wasn't long until the two were safe behind the prison walls. Daryl smirked at the thought. Safety and prison didn't go well together. As Maggie got out to greet Herschel, Daryl grabbed the other bag as Rick came up.

"How was the run?"

Daryl handed it to Rick. "Maggie told me about your trick in Atlanta. Walker blood for mingling in. Smart girl," he said. "There's formula for the kid. Should be enough for several weeks. Thinking about going back to the grocery along. Still a ton of stuff left."

Rick grinned as he looked in the bag. "Daryl, I gotta admit, this'll keep us going for a while. Why don't you clean up and take it easy? We don't need you on fence detail. Everything's good out here."

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'm sure," Rick said. "I'll holler if we do need you. Sounds good?"

Daryl nodded as he made his way towards the water barrels. He needed to wash the infected juice off of him. Seeing Maggie there, he came up beside her. "Good thinking on the blood, Maggie," he said. He saw Tyreese as he beckoned him over. "Could you get some water? Don't want to infect the tank."

"Sure thing. Saw the spoils of the run. Nice work."

Daryl grunted as he handed the first pocket of water to Maggie then took another one for himself as he began to wash the crusted blood off. "Walk in the park," he said as he cleaned off the blood. "Feeling better already."​
 
Maggie was just about to call Tyreese over when Daryl came up behind her and got to doing it first. "I told you it'd work." She said as he told her the blood was a good idea. "Now, time for the real fun part." She muttered as Tyreese got them some water out of the barrel. Maggie rinsed the blood on her skin off, it took some scrubbing, but she got it. The blood on her clothes was already seeped in and dried, so there was no getting it out, but that didn't matter. She glanced over in Daryl's direction and watched as he washed the dark blood of himself as well.

"I agree.." She finally said after realizing she had been staring at him too long. Getting up from the ground, she nodded towards Tyreese and looked back at Daryl. "You trusted me. You doubted me, but you trusted me. Why? You barely even know me." She said, which was true. She hadn't really conversed with Daryl a lot, and she realized he didn't know much about her, and she didn't know a lot about him either, other then about his ass hole of a big brother.

The ground shook and Maggie held onto a barrel to balance herself. "What the hell was that?" She asked. She looked towards the guard tower and saw rising smoke. "What the hell.." She said, grabbing her gun she ran to the front of the prison, having been knocked to the ground from another rumble. "Rick! We need to talk!" She heard the voice through the wind, the voice sent chills down her spine and she knew who it belonged to. Getting back on her feet, she shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted, then noticed who it was.

The Governor.​
 
Daryl scrubbed at the blood on his skin as the dirty blood washed onto the surface. He glanced over at Maggie, and like her, ignored the blood on his clothes. His vest was already dark, didn't matter if some blood was caked on it. He'd just have to be careful. He caught her lingering gaze and matched them until she looked away. What was that he thought to himself. He barely talked to the woman, but he swore he saw interest there. Was he deluding himself? Yes, he really was. Get a goddamn grip, boy.

When Maggie popped the question, he really had to think about it. She was right. He barely knew her, and the plan - if one could call it that - was pretty iffy from the get go. Other than a few minor perimeter watches and such, today was the first time he had been on a run with Maggie. Even so, he didn't know why. He just went with it. "You've survived so far," he said after a moment. "Call it a gut feeling. I took a gamble, and it paid off."

As Daryl put the bucket of water down, his legs stumbled as a vibration rocked the ground. He looked towards the direction of the sound as the guard tower was decimated. That was when he heard the voice. Memories - very unpleasant ones - pinpointed the voice to the man that had destroyed everything. Grabbing a rifle from Tyreese, he ran towards the fence. He saw Carl sighting down a rifle as he joined the kid. Maggie was close - standing next to Beth.

"Relax boy."

Carl didn't break focus. "I can shoot him right now. I can end it."

Daryl saw the tank. If the carcass smearing wasn't bad enough, this display of firepower was just a downer on an already exhausting day. He sighted the Governor as well. He had to die today. "Or you'll start something bad. Wait for your dad."

"But-"

"Just wait," he said. "Ain't ready to kill the living. Yet."​
 
Maggie ran to take a place by Beth, and that's when she saw something truly horrifying. It was the Governor with a new group, and he brought Hershel out of a vehicle, his hands tied behind his back, along with him was Michonne. "Daddy.." Maggie whispered, feeling the tears spring to her eyes. She felt Beth tense up beside her when she saw her father on his knees. Maggie could barely make out the exchanging of words between Rick and the man who ruined so much of their life, what were they saying? She looked around at everyone who was positioned to fire if needed. She knew the kids were inside and hoped they were okay, that was when everything happened.

Maggie turned back and heard the last bit of what Rick was saying to the Governor, trying to talk some sense into him. For a moment it appeared as if the man was considering it, then he looked towards Rick, an evil glint in his eyes. What happened next brought Maggie and her sister to their knees. The Governor raised the samurai sword that belonged to Michonne, and nearly decapitated their father. "No!" Maggie screamed as the tears rolled down her cheeks. That's when shots started to fire, from their side and and the other side.

She grabbed Beth's hand and ran towards the bus that was already in the process of being loaded of supplies. Several people were already on the bus, Maggie looked towards Beth. "You need to make sure everyone gets on the bus." Maggie said, looking towards her crying sister. "Maggie, no!" She said, not letting go of Maggie's arm. "Beth, you need to." She said and before leaving gave Beth a hug. "We all have our jobs here, Beth, this is yours. Make sure everyone is on this bus and safe." At that, Maggie disappeared to find Daryl and to help take these people down.

Shots and blasts came from all around her, all she could think of was Beth making it to safety as she searched for Daryl so they could leave. She wasn't going to leave him behind. The tank had taken down the fence and all the shots and blasts had attracted walkers, so they were coming in large numbers, feeding on the already dead and looking for the living.​
 
Daryl had already started firing when the Governor decapitated Herschel. Though he didn't know the old man well, he respected him. On multiple occasions, Herschel had guided the group when it almost fell apart. Now some asshole with a power complex just killed the sanest person left in this world. Anger didn't describe what Daryl felt as he rained bullets down upon the hostile group. Rick needed cover, the non-combatants had to evacuate. The kids had to evacuate. Daryl grunted. When did he become such the parental? Merle and his father would've been laughing head over heels. Fuck them.

Daryl left his position as he gripped Carl's arm. "Get to the bus!"

"No! I'm staying. My dad!"

With no patience of being argued with, Daryl pushed Carl away from the fence. The tank was coming. "I'll get Rick! He'll be sure as hell angrier if you die. What are you going to do against a tank huh? Be useful and get the other out of here. Go get Judith!"

Running back, Daryl exchanged gun fire with the tank crew as he saw one go down. He hated killing the living, but just for this occasion, he'd enjoy it. If these folks were stupid enough to follow that madman down there, they deserved nothing less.

Hearing moans from behind him, Daryl backed up as he killed a walker. The bastard thought it could sneak up on him. Dealing with the walker, Daryl used it as a shield as he advanced and returned fire. When he was close enough, he used the single grenade he had and chucked it into the tanks barrel. He looked away as he felt a shudder. Looking back, he saw a survivor. The asshole on the turret.

"Please..."

The gun kicked back against his shoulder. Let the dead finish him off.

The prison was in complete chaos. With the dead coming at them and people running or fighting, Daryl didn't know what to do. That was when he saw Maggie firing into a group of the Governor's people. He came to her side and quelled the threat.

"Maggie, we gotta go!" he said. The moans of the walkers were getting louder. The woman just witnessed something terrible. Her father's death in a most gruesome of manner. Now wasn't the time to mope though. Daryl looked to where the bus was parked at to see it was gone. "Shit. We gotta find another way. That hole in the fence. We'll find the others somehow."​
 
A few of the Governor's men had advanced towards Maggie and she fired, killing the three men before they could raise their weapon at her and fire. She didn't like to kill the living, but it had to be done. This time, anyways. She heard the voice of Daryl and turned towards him. It was obvious she had been crying with her puffy eyes and stained cheeks. She just nodded stiffly as she followed Daryl to the hole, crawling under the fence, then she just ran. She stopped to catch her breath. It seemed clear around so she fell to her knees, feeling sick to her stomach as everything hit her at once.

The gun dropped from her hands as she lost it. The tears rolled down her face and she clutched her stomach, keeping her head down as she grieved. She had lost her father, and now Beth. She wasn't even sure if her sister was alive or not, or if they had gotten to her. She didn't acknowledge Daryl's present, she wasn't even sure if he was still there or not, right now she just let the tears roll down as she thought of her father. She'd never see him again, and it was all because of that awful man.

Memories came back to haunt Maggie of when the Governor took Glenn and her hostage, when they first got to the prison and when this all began. He made her take off her top while they beat the living hell out of Glenn in the room next to her. Merle, Daryl's brother, was actually the one doing the beating. She stared straight ahead as the tears stopped rolling. Maggie grabbed the gun and tightened her grip on it, biting her quivering lip.​
 
When they made it a far distance away from what they used to call home, Daryl slowed down as he heard Maggie's footsteps stop. He turned and surveyed their surroundings before walking towards her. They still weren't far enough, but Daryl couldn't bring himself to tell her to straighten up. He never knew what it felt like to lose a father. Not his sorry little family type, but an actual authentic family. Sure losing Merle left him feeling alone, but even that was a bitter relationship.

Lowering his crossbow, he stood before her at a loss for words. "Hey," he said. "You okay? What happened back there. Well it ain't right."

He was always so awkward with these things. Daryl knew that. He kept looking at the crying woman and felt sorry for her. Though she lost her father, Beth was still out there. Never a death until the body was found. There was a chance. If he could find her and bring the sisters back together...

Daryl noticed that Maggie wasn't crying anymore and her grip on her gun was deathlike. He knew that look. Anger or hatred. They were interchangeable to him. Opting for silence, Daryl stood there. His instincts told him to take the gun away, but he ignored it. Standing ready, he waited to see what would happen next.​
 
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