Chapter 47: Staring at the End
We slowly crept up to one of the abandoned cars just at the outskirts of Woodbury, the sun had set by now, the only thing lighting up the sky was the moon and the dim glow of the lights from within the town. From a distance, I could faintly make out Tyreese and Sasha stationed up on the guard tower. Now that we saw what the Governor had done to his own people, innocent people, we were no longer after Woodbury to put an end to this. It was clear to us now that we had to get Andrea back and help those that were trapped here under the eye of the Governor. It was only a matter of time before each and every one of his residents would do something to displease him that would ultimately cost them their lives. It happened to any outsider that had crossed his path, it happened to his men, it happened to Merle, and it almost happened to us.
All of a sudden a gunshot went off, hitting the ground to our left, Tyreese wasn't a very good shot, but they had spotted us. We began firing back, covering ourselves. They had too many tires piled high along the top of their walls, making it hard to get a good shot at them. In between gunshots, while everyone was reloading, Karen stood up from behind the car.
"Tyreese!" she shouted, raising her hands and making herself known. "It's me! Don't--"
"Get down!" Rick whispered to her, angrily. He grabbed her by the arm yanking her back to the ground.
"Karen!" Tyreese called back to her worried that we had harmed her. "Karen, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine!" She ripped her arm out of Rick's grasp, standing up again.
"Where's the Governor?" Tyreese questioned.
"He fired on everyone. He killed them all." She explained. There was silence for a moment, a state of shock overcoming them.
Rick looked back and Daryl and I like he was unsure what he was going to do next to get us in there.
"Why are you with them?" Tyreese finally spoke up again.
"They saved me!" Karen answered. She understood us now, understood that we weren't the bad guys here.
"We're coming out!" Rick finally shouted, making the decision for us. He stood up first, raising his hands in surrender.
I looked at Daryl, he shook his head like we shouldn't be doing this, but I trusted Rick's gut. I stood up next along with Michonne, raising our hands, walking up slowly to the main gates. Daryl followed reluctantly, he was the last to drop his weapon before he raised his hands. To my surprise Tyreese met us at the door with his sister, swinging open the hatch and meeting us just outside of the entrance.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, he spoke calmer now.
Rick looked at us before meeting eyes with Tyreese again, "We were coming to finish this-- until we saw what the Governor did."
"He-- he killed them?" Tyreese stuttered over his words, the realization of it finally hitting him like a ton of bricks.
Rick nodded, sighing and sinking his head to the ground, "Yeah," he murmured, "Karen told us that Andrea hopped the wall going for the prison. She never made it. She might be here."
Tyreese looked over to his sister unsure of what to do. Thankfully she nodded her head, agreeing to let us in.
"Alright," Tyreese straightened up, agreeing to help us, "Where do you think she could be?" he asked as we walked into Woodbury.
Rick glanced over to me like he was seeing if I was okay to take charge. I'd be lying if I said that being back behind these walls didn't send a silver down my spine.
"We think he could be holding her the same place they kept me," I answered him. Tyreese's eyes met mine, his mouth falling open slightly at the thought of it. They lived within these walls, but there was so much going on behind them that they didn't even know half of it.
"The Governor held people here?" he asked, his tone sounded shocked and disgusted. We entered one of the buildings I remember being taken to, immediately taking the steep set of stairs down underground.
"He did more than hold 'em," Daryl answered for me. As we reached the bottom, entering the hallway, we raised our weapons.
"He gave me this scar so I would never forget, now he's gonna wish I would." I looked at Tyreese and Sasha both, they were taken aback. "You caught us at a bad time. The day we made it out of here was the day we met you at the prison." I explained. They could see it in my face and understand that it was an apology. Tyreese sucked in his pride, nodding his head at me and accepting it.
We turned a corner when Rick raised his hand, stopping in his tracks as he lowered his gun. I turned around the cement wall before I spotted the pool of blood leaking from underneath the steel door panel. My heart raced with the uncertainty of what we would be met with on the other side of the door. Rick walked up slowly, staring down at the amount of blood on the floor. Michonne pulled out her sword while the remainder of us steadied our guns.
Rick looked over at Michonne, "Will you open it?" she asked, trying to keep her cool. She was closest to Andrea out of all of us, but this woman was like ice. She knew the possibility of what we were about to see yet she remained collected.
Rick placed his left hand on the latch while raising his gun in the right, "One… two…" he whispered. On three he slid open the latch, swinging the door open swiftly.
We were met with the Governor's butler laying in the middle of the room, dead. His skin was a murky grey with large purple circles around his sunken eyes. His hands and lower torso had been soaked in blood while droplets of blood spilled out from his skull. He had been a walker at one point.
"Andrea!" Michonne huffed out in concern, running into the room.
That's when I looked down just to see Andrea's feet, coming from the side of the door that leaked with blood. We entered the room, I stood back with Daryl as Michonne leaned over Andrea and propped her up in her arms. She was still alive, although her face was pale and she appeared to be coming in and out of consciousness.
"I tried to stop them," she mumbled. Rick knelt in front of her to get a good look.
"You're burning up," Michonne stated, pressing her palm to Andrea's face.
That's when Andrea shifted, grabbing onto her coat and shirt collar. She slowly peeled it back while she winced in pain, revealing a very large bite mark on her collarbone, a massive chunk of skin missing as the muscle caved in.
I sighed when looking at it, rubbing my hands over my face in heartbreak. Everyone else seemed to do the same when the realities of her fate hit us. She had tried so hard to resolve this peacefully and this is what the Governor repaid her with. The thought of it was unbearable. My gut sank and my heart burned with revenge.
"Judith, Carl, the rest of them…" she asked Rick, refusing to dwell on her own fate.
"Us." Rick cut her off. "The rest of us."
Andrea had been gone for so long, but that didn't mean that she was any less a part of our family. No matter what she always tried her hardest to keep us safe along with herself.
She smiled, nodding her head, "Are they alive?" she asked like it was the only thing she wanted to know before it was the end. That all her efforts weren't for nothing.
Rick glanced back at Daryl and I before meeting Andrea's eyes once again, "Yeah, they're alive."
She huffed out a sigh of relief while smiling. She met Daryl's eyes and then mine and then looked at Michonne beside her, "It's good you found them." She grabbed onto her hand, happy. Michonne nodded her head agreeing, her bottom lip quivered as she tried to hold the tears back. "No one can make it alone now," Andrea said, looking up at Daryl like she was talking to him specifically.
She looked at me as Daryl answered. "I never could," he responded to her while he followed her eyes and looked at me as well. I broke eye contact with her to meet his eyes, understanding what she meant.
"I just didn't want anyone to die," Andrea said to Rick. Her saying that made my heart sink once more because the one thing she tried so very hard to avoid now cost her her own life. She sighed while sitting up, "I can do it myself."
"No," Michonne instantly objected.
"I have to. While I still can." She stared at Michonne like she was trying to tell her it was okay. "Please?" she asked Rick. Rick was silent, gazing at her for a long moment. "I know how the safety works."
Rick finally took his gun from out of his holster, placing it gently in her hands as he held them. He then stood up, leaving Andrea with her request.
"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Michonne choked out.
Apart from Michonne, we all went to leave the room, all of us looking down at Andrea for what would be the last time. She then looked back up at us, "I tried," she whispered out.
"Yeah. You did… you did," Rick nodded his head agreeing, trying to keep the tears from falling.
-------
Returning back to the prison was bitter-sweet. We'd thought that upon return it would be the end and we'd have Andrea home along with us. Although as much praying, and wishing, and hoping you do, nothing can stop fate. In today's world everything action we partake in drives us to our untimely fate. It's a gut-wrenching thing to think about, which decision am I going to make that ultimately ends in my own death? All you can do is pray, and wish, and hope that it won't be today, or tomorrow, or the next. You shouldn't, but it's all you can do.
One thing that I believe Andrea would be proud of if she were here, to know that all her efforts weren't for nothing, with the help of Tyreese, Sasha, and Karen we offered safety to the remaining residents of Woodbury. They came willingly, joining our side of the fight against the Governor. That way, one day when he returns, we now have a whole town that has our back.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
kaboo
kaboo A real tear-jerker here in my opinion! I hope you all enjoyed xx
Like it? Add to library！
Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone