Daryl and I had gone after Merle who had taken Michonne to the Governor. Rick decided last fucking minute that we were no longer giving her up. But, it was too late. At the moment Daryl and I were trying to track them down. They did have quite a head start on us but, we were on our bikes so we had hoped that would give us an advantage.

"How much further do you think they got?" I asked Daryl as we hopped off our bikes.

"Couldn't have gotten too far." Daryl said, looking at the ground.

"You know he's going to get himself killed." I told Daryl leaning against my bike.

"He'll be fine. He's handled worse." Daryl told me before he got on his bike.

"I'm not worried about him. I just feel like this is a trap." I said before getting on my bike.

"Raven." Daryl said and I just wanted to get this over with.

"Let's go." I told him before starting my bike and riding off. Daryl sat there for a moment before following after me. We rode a while longer just in silence minus the few walkers we ran into. It was peaceful. Just riding down the road with Daryl.

"Daryl look!" I said and pointed over to an open field and there was Michonne. We both stopped and got off as we walked over to her.

"Where's my brother?" Daryl asked, her more concerned for him than for Michonne.

"You kill him?" Daryl asked again and Michonne pulled her sword out of a walkers head as she shook her own.

"He let me go." Michonne said and he headed back for his bike.

"Don't let anyone come after me." Daryl told her and he looked at me.

"Take her back." I laughed. "Not happening, redneck. I'm not letting you go into the wolf's den alone." I followed after him.

"Get back safe. Rick will be glad to know you're okay." I told Michonne and she nodded.

"Girl, why are you so damn stubborn." Daryl asked me.

"Would you want me any other way?" I told him, getting on my bike and starting it. I waved to Michonne and we were off once more. Now to find Merle the black sheep.

I followed Daryl for a while as we made our way to where we assumed Merle was going. After a few stops Daryl was able to finally track Merle down. It seemed he was heading for the feed store. In the distance we heard gun fire. I looked at Daryl and he nodded. We knew we were still pretty far from it but, the sounds seemed to be coming from there. The noise seemed to encourage Daryl to drive faster. But as we seemed to have gotten closer the gun fire stopped and so did Daryl.

"There were too many bullets. It had to have been the Governor." I told him as I pulled up next to him.

"It could have been Merle." Daryl said readjusting his grip on his bike.

"Don't be stupid we both know it wasn't." I told him. Daryl started his bike up again and off he went. I shook my head and followed right after him. I didn't know what we were going to be coming to. Or what was waiting for us at the end of that road. But something told me that it wasn't going to be a good thing. Daryl pulled up just outside the place we had met the Governor the first time.

"Come on." He told me just above a whisper. I parked next to him and we slowly made our way around. Both of us had our crossbows at the ready as we rounded a building we took out the two walkers that were eating. Then we kept going and we saw dozens of dead walkers and normal people which meant I was right it was a trap. I heard some growling Daryl took out the walker near us and I kept walking. I rounded a corner and I looked up and my heart dropped to my stomach. I wasn't prepared to see what I saw. Well, not what but, who.

Daryl hadn't noticed yet and I was scared to see what he would do if he did. As an audible gasp left my lips and Daryl looked at me.

"What?" He said and I turned around grabbing his arm.

"Come on let's go. He's not here." I told him, I was trying to put on my best poker face.

"Not yet we still have to check the buildings." Daryl said and he turned to keep walking.

"Daryl wait." I said, trying not to be loud. Daryl froze as the walker that I had seen raised his head. There with a mouth full of flesh and blood was Merle. Walker Merle.

"Daryl." I spoke quietly and I reached out for his arm and he yanked it away from me. I watched as his face broke and for the first time ever I saw tears fall from his eyes. Seeing Daryl like that broke my heart. His cries grew louder as Merle got to his feet and stumbled towards us. I watched as Daryl pushed his brother back.

"No!" He yelled but Merle kept coming towards him. Daryl pushed him back again and again. I felt tears of my own spill down my face as I watched Daryl drive a knife through his brother's heart. Daryl managed to pin Merle to the ground and he drove his knife into his skull repeatedly. After 7 stabs to Merle's head I threw down my crossbow and yanked Daryl off his brother. Enough was enough. He and I both fell back onto the dirt and he cried as he backed away from his brother. I pulled him into my arms and tried my best to comfort him.

"Shh...It's okay i'm here." I whispered and he panted out broken cries. In my arms lied a broke man who had finally lost absolutely everything to this fucked up world we were forced into. We stayed there for a moment longer before I finally got up. Heading over to the feed store I found a shovel and I found a place in the field where it looked like someone had already started to dig a grave. I started to dig and not long after Daryl appeared next to me with a shovel of his own and we both dug a grave for his brother. Once we were done we picked up Merle and laid him in the grave. Daryl and I stayed there for a while longer.

"I'm sorry, Daryl." I finally said leaning my head against his shoulder. Daryl didn't say anything back he just shrugged me off and headed back to his bike. It hurt, for some stupid reason his actions hurt me. I placed my hand on the grave.

"He really did love you Merle." I said before making my way back to the bikes. I picked up my cross bow and luckily Daryl was still there waiting for me. Deep down I figured he would have left me.

After the whole Merle thing the ride back to the prison was quiet. We didn't stop and I rode behind Daryl the whole time. It seemed like he was running from something. Something that I couldn't help him with, or at least something he wouldn't let me help with. I could tell what happened with Daryl. It had changed him for good. I knew from that moment on when I saw the look in Daryl's eyes when we found Merle it was his breaking point. There was no turning back for him and deep down I just wanted to help him. We got back to the prison a lot faster than we had left it. When we pulled up everyone was packing up.

"Rick. What's going on?" I asked him, getting off my bike.

"We took a vote. We're leaving. Quick go pack up." Rick said and I nodded heading into the prison and to my cell. I hadn't really ever unpacked anything so all I had to do was throw my clothes into my duffel bag and head out. Once I did that I walked outside and threw it in the trunk of one of the cars and helped load everything up. Carl handed me his bag after brushing off his dad.

"Carl." I said and he stopped to look at me.

"I know you're mad at your dad. But, he's doing what's best for us all." Carl just huffed and walked off getting into one of the cars. I sighed and headed to my bike loading it up with the small things that I had in it.

Daryl refused to talk to me. But, I could hear him faintly talking to Carol. Rick had headed back inside and once we were all ready I let Michonne know that way she could go get him. Rick headed out and gave the signal and we all loaded up and headed out. We knew we weren't coming back at least that's what Rick made it seem like. It felt like we were leaving the only home we had been able to find since the farm. I knew in a world like this there will always be people like the Governor. People who would try and take what we had or destroy what we worked so damn hard to build. That was the way the world was now. A bunch of men just trying to play who's dick is bigger. That seemed to be the only constant in this world and the world we knew before. Someone always has to control everything. And if they can't they will kill anyone who stands in their way or puts their power in jeopardy. We left or at least that's what we wanted them to think.

Rick had us set up traps all along the lower floors and we moved everything from the cell block to make it seem like we had left. Come on. You think we would have given this place up that easily. Out in the forest we had everyone we cared about. Meaning the kids, Hershel, and Beth. The rest of us were inside the prison. Maggie and Glenn were on the catwalk shooting anyone who came running out. After jamming their guns they retreated like mice. I smiled as I pulled off my gas mask and we made our way back outside.

"We did it. We drove them out." Rick said, looking at the empty yard.

"We should go after them." Michonne said.

"I agree it's a good strategy. We need to make sure they never come back." I said looking out into the tree line waiting for the others to come back.

"We should finish it." Daryl added and Maggie jumped in.

"It is finished. Didn't you see them hightail it out of here?"

"They could regroup." I told her.

"We can't take the chance. He's not going to stop" Glenn said we all knew what needed to be done.

"They're right. We can't keep living like this." Carol added.

"So we take the fight back to Woodbury. We barely made it back last time." Maggie said, I know she was trying to be the dictator and she had good intentions but now was not the time for that.

"I don't care." Daryl said and we all looked at Rick wanting to know his idea.

"Yeah. Let's check on the others." Rick said and we headed inside where everyone was back safe and sound. They already started unloading the cars. Rick kissed Judith and hugged Carl as he walked in.

"Dad, I'm coming to Woodbury." He told his dad. The kid really was growing up, but there was no way in hell Rick was going to put him in the line of fire.

"Carl." Rick said before standing up.

"Dad, I did my job out there. Just like all of you. Took out one of the Governor's soldiers." Carl said and I paused. I turned around and stood next to Rick. Carl had killed someone. A living person.

"One of his soldiers? A kid running away? He stumbled across us." Hershel said and I looked at Carl.

"No, he drew on us." Carl said quickly like he had already planned all of this out in his head.

"I'm sorry you had to do that." Rick told Carl and he looked up at his dad.

"It's what I was there for. I'm going with you." He said and then left to put his bag down. I looked at Hershel.

"Tell me the truth. What happened?" I sounded like a pissed off mother but I didn't care.

"That kid was scared. He was handing his gun over." Hershel explained and Rick jumped in.

"He said he drew." Rick said and Hershel shook his head. I knew Rick didn't want to believe it but I had seen it before. Blood thirsty soldiers killing innocent people, unarmed people, then making up a story just to cover up what they did. That's what Carl just did and Rick didn't want it to be true.

"Carl said it was in defense." Rick said, trying to make sure that Hershel wasn't lying.

"I was there. He didn't have to shoot. He had every reason not to..." Rick cut him off and I just ran my hand through my hair. I know this world changes people but, Carl. He was the last person I wanted to change.

"Maybe it looked like that to you, Hershel..." I stopped Rick.

"Rick!" I yelled at him and he took some deep breaths as Hershel continued.

"I'm telling you he gunned that kid down." Hershel walked away after that leaving Rick and I alone.

I sat down on a table with Rick next to me. "What are you going to do?" I asked Rick to finally break the silence.

"If Lori was here this wouldn't have happened." Rick said, running a hand down his face.

"Well she's not. So what are you going to do about the fact that your son killed a man. Not even a man, a kid. A kid willing to give up his weapon. A scared kid." I said getting off the table and basically yelling at Rick.

"I don't know! Okay, I don't know. Maybe you should talk to him. You've killed people in cold blood before!" Rick yelled back at me and I paused.

"That's not fair." I told him in a cold voice.

"Raven." I stopped him.

"No, you take care of your soon to be serial killer son. And leave what I had to do in the war out of it." I stomped off. I was in complete disbelief of what Rick had just said to me. I threw my bag back into my cell and it collided with the wall with a loud thud. We all were getting ready to go to Woodbury. I pulled up my bike alongside Daryl's. Who still hadn't said a fucking word to me this whole time since we got back. I watched as Rick handed Michonne his gun and he walked over to Carl. I watched as Carl got up, dropping something in front of his dad. Whatever Carl had said got to him. And I couldn't tell if it was in a good way or a bad way. Rick walked over to our small group.

"Rick, we're staying. We don't know where the Governor is. If he comes back we'll hold him off." Glenn said, referring to him and Maggie.

"Just the four of us?" Daryl said and no one seemed to change their minds.

"Alright." I said putting my sniper across my body and getting on my bike. I rode off right behind Daryl and Rick was behind me.

We drove down the road we knew led right to Woodbury and we saw some trucks stopped the ones that had just attacked us. We pulled over and armed up ready to gun down anyone. There were walkers eating the dead so we took them out quietly. That was till some chick hopped out of one of the trucks. She agreed to take us back to Woodbury and let us in. We learned her name was Karen. I fucking hated the damn name. Made me want to shoot her right then and there. It took us the rest of the day to get to Woodbury. Once we got there we parked a bit a way that way they didn't hear us coming. We made our way up to the wall and immediately bullets started flying.

"Tyreese! It's me! Don't..." Karen yelled and Rick grabbed her pulling her to the ground.

"Get down!"Rick yelled at her.

"Karen! Karen are you okay?" He yelled back to her.

"I'm fine!" She screamed back.

"Where's the Governor?" He asked her as she stood up and walked out front.

"He fired on everyone. He killed them all." Karen explained she had already told us this sad story. After they had all fled the prison the Governor had pulled them all over and killed them all for not wanting to be slaughtered like animals.

"Why are you with them?" Tyreese yelled over the wall.

"They saved me." Karen explained and after a moment Rick yelled to them.

"We're coming out!" He holstered his gun and we all followed after him. They opened the gate and I immediately recognized the two. They were the group Rick had scared off.

"What are you doing here?" Tyreese asked Rick.

"We were coming to finish this until we saw what the Governor did." Rick explained.

"He...he killed them?" He asked almost in disbelief.

"Yeah." Rick said nodding and Tyreese and his sister both looked scared to death.

"Karen told us Andrea hopped the wall and was going to the prison. She never made it." Rick explained. Yeah, Karen filled us in on that. Which meant I wasn't crazy. I did see her that day but I kept that to myself.

"She might be here." Rick finished and they agreed to let us in. We headed down where they had kept Glenn and Maggie hoping that she would be there.

"This is where he had Glenn and Maggie." Rick said as we walked through our weapons at the ready.

"The Governor held people here?" Tyreese asked.

"He did more than hold them." Daryl answered quickly. As we rounded a corridor we heard a light thumping. I pointed down a hall that the sound was coming from. On the flood in front of a metal door there was a large pool of blood.

"Will you open it?" Michonne asked Rick who was behind me.

"I got it." I said and I walked over to the door.

"Ready?" I asked and they nodded. I slowly undid the latch and gently pulled the door open. In the middle of the room was a large doctor's chair and a man who looked like Milton the Governor's second hand dead in the middle of the room. I looked over but Michonne was in there faster than I was.

"Andrea." She called out quietly. She looked up at us like we were ghosts.

"I tried to stop them." She said.

"You're burning up." Michonne told her as she placed her hand to her forehead. She reached down and pulled her jacket back to reveal a large bite on her shoulder.

"God Andrea." I said quietly.

"Judith, Carl, the rest of them..." Andrea said she was more worried about them than herself.

"Us. The rest of us." Rick said.

"Are they alive?" She asked him.

"Yeah, they're alive, honey." I told her leaning against the door. She smiled up at me then turned back to Rick before looking at Michonne.

"It's good you found them." Andrea told her as Michonne had tears spilling down her face.

"No one can make it alone now." Andrea said looking up at Daryl.

"I never could." He said plainly.

"I just didn't want anyone to die. I can do it myself." Andrea said, I knew what she meant and so did the rest of us.

"No." Michonne told her and Andrea stopped her.

"I have to. While I still can. Please?" Andrea said Michonne's tears fell harder as Andrea looked at Rick. I never really hated her. I thought she made some stupid ass choices but, she was part of us. And I was so numb to losing people that I couldn't even cry. At that moment, I was dry like the desert.

"I know how the safety works." Andrea said with a small smile on her face. Rick handed her his python and stood up.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Michonne said she was determined to spend her last moments with her.

"I tried." Andrea said and Rick nodded.

"Yeah, you did." He said and we left the room and closed the door leaving Michonne and Andrea alone. I leaned against the wall and waited. We all did. For that life ending sound of a bullet leaving the chamber of a gun and ending the life of a wonderful person. It was quiet, no sound, not crying or even crickets.

I sat on the floor next to the door leaning against the wall. My knees pulled to my chest and my fingers intertwined and my chin in my hands. Rick leaned against the door. Tyreese was sitting on a table gun in hand. Daryl sat a bit away on one knee, the butt of his gun on the floor, and he was chewing on his thumb. The silence was the worst part. Then it came like a lighting storm on a good day. The gunshot rang through all of our ears. I flinched for the first time in 12 years. I flinched at the sound of a bullet leaving the chamber. The clattering of the shell hitting the cement was just another reminder that we lost another person. Then followed the cries from Michonne like nails on a chalkboard. And to think the silence was the worst part.