⌜ chapter eighteen ⌟

"What are you doing with the horsemen rings?" Dean whispers as he sits down next to his sister.

"Nothing." MJ glances at him. They're in the common area.

"Don't lie to me."

"Worry about yourself." She says as she turns back to her food.

"No, see... That's the problem, M. I am worried." He tells her. "You've been closed off." He sighs as he shakes his head. "Ever since—"

"Ever since what?" She looks at him, not whispering like he is. "Since Daryl left? Since his brother beat me to a pulp and tried to kill me, then he left us to go and be with him?" She questions. "Merle's his blood. I guess that's more important to some people."

"M—"

"I may look like shit, doesn't mean I can't function." She says. "You want something to do? Go take over watch for Sam. Stop worrying about me. I'm fine." She gets up and walks away from him.

"Mom?" Jr. walks over to her. "Uncle Dean's right. You haven't been yourself."

"A lot's changed since the last time we saw each other, bud." She tells him and then looks at the boy behind him. "Carl, you wanna tell me where you found those people wandering around? We need to figure out what's secure and what's not."

Glenn draws up a diagram on the floor with some chalk. Carl and Jack help him map out the information that they need.

"Now, you said you found Tyreese's group here?" Glenn taps a spot on the diagram.

"Yeah." Carl nods.

"We secured that." MJ says, she's looking at the drawing over Glenn's shoulder.

"He thought he came through here." The teenager points, and she sighs.

"Means there's another breach." She mumbles to herself, and Glenn looks up at her. "The whole front of the prison is unsecure. If walkers just strolled in, then it's gonna be a cake walk for a group of armed men."

"Why are we even so sure he's going to attack?" Bela asks. "Maybe you scared him off. There are plenty of us, you said you told him how many we have."

"He had fish tanks full of heads." Sam says as he walks into the common area from outside.

"Walkers and humans." Michonne adds.

"Trophies." He tells his sister. "He's coming."

"That's sick." Dana says from where she's standing, Jack now beside her.

"We should hit him now." Glenn says.

"What?" Beth questions.

"He won't be expecting it." He says. "We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."

"They weren't expecting it last time. They had no idea that our people knew where we were." MJ says. "They killed Oscar."

"We're not assassins." Mary says, not liking the look on Glenn's face.

He stands up and looks between Michonne and Sam. "You know where his apartment is. You and I could end this tonight." He says, and they look at each other. "I'll do it myself."

"No." MJ says, and Glenn turns to look at her.

"You can't stop me."

"You wanna bet on that?" She asks, and he walks over to her. "We lost Oscar. They almost killed us and Maggie. They captured me and Daryl. You're not going. End of story."

"You really think you're in any position to make that choice?" He questions. "Or Rick?"

"You think I'm unfit​ to lead?" She scoffs. "I admit, I'm a little off. And Rick's worse than I am, but you? You're not thinking about protecting the group. You're thinking about getting revenge. And I get it. I'd love to kick his ass six ways to Sunday and then leave him to the walkers. But that's not who we are. We're not killers, we're survivors. You understand that? The difference?"

"So what do you suggest?"

"We're not going after them. We're staying right here, in our home. If they come for us, we protect ourselves. We survive. Whatever means necessary." She tells him. "And that's not a suggestion, Glenn. It's what's gonna happen, whether you like it or not."

"Fine." He reluctantly agrees.

"You, Sam, Adam, and my dad are gonna go down to the tombs — figure out where the breach is." She says. "And take Michonne and Addy. Dean's on watch?" MJ looks over at Sam, and he nods. "Okay."

"What about us?" Jack asks.

"Dana's still not a hundred percent, so she's staying in the cellblock with Beth. You, Ellie, and Jr. are all staying here as well." MJ gives out orders. "Matt, stay here. I want you with Dana in case she needs anything." Then she runs through what she wants from the others.

—

"The tombs outside the boiler room have been overrun again." Glenn says as they get back from checking the prison.

"That whole section had been cleared." Beth says as she closes the gate.

"It's a steady stream of walkers." Sam says, and MJ looks at him.

"We're wasting time." Hershel says, gaining their attention. "The Governor's supposedly on the way, and we're stuck in here with walkers."

"Trapped between a rock and hard place." Carol says.

"We're not leaving." MJ says. "We went up against the friggin' devil and won. We're not running from a one-eyed douchebag."

"We didn't go up against the devil." Beth says. "That was your brothers. We're not like the rest of you."

"If the tomb has been filled up again, it may just be a matter of time before they push in here." Carol says.

"Or until a fence gives way."

"What if one of them herds is passing through?" Axel asks. "Or settled?"

"Run or assassinate the Governor — that's all you guys can think to do?" MJ questions as she looks around the room. "Is that really what you guys want? To give up everything that we fought so hard for?"

"We'll scout the far side of the prison. Find out what's going on." John says. "I'll take a car, won't be too long."

"I'll come with you." Glenn says.

"No." MJ shakes her head. "Dad, take Mom with you. You two work well together."

"Are you afraid I'll somehow get control of the car and head for Woodbury?"

The brunette smirks as she looks at Glenn. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that there's no danger of that happening." She says. "No. There's somewhere else that you need to be right now."

"And where's that?" He asks as he turns to face her directly.

"With your girlfriend." She says as she then walks over to him. "I've been where she is, and it is hell. Especially trying to get through it alone. She may think that that's what she wants, but she needs you. Now, you can run around the prison and do what I can easily have someone else take care of, or you can do what you and only you can do." She tells him. "It's your choice, but choose wisely."

He sighs as he looks past her, toward the cellblock. Maggie disappeared into there earlier and she hasn't come back out. Glenn nods and then goes to find his girlfriend.

"And the rest of us?" Adam asks, and she looks back at them.

"You, Carol, Axel, and Ash set up the catwalk so that we can have something to shield us while we shoot." She tells him, and the four of them go to get it done.

MJ lists off a few other things that need to be done, giving the others stuff to do. They need to be prepared. Her parents already left. She's struggling with everything, trying to lead the group all on her own. She's used to having Rick or Daryl around to help her.

Glenn leaves the cellblock and walks past them. Hershel gets his crutches and goes after him as quickly as he can manage. Ellen walks over to MJ, and she glances at her.

"Can you and Jo stay in here with Matt and the kids?" She asks. "Jack watches me and he thinks that he has to take some of the responsibility, especially with them. That's probably my fault, the way I was always telling him to help Lori, Carl, and Ellie... He wants to be with Dana while she gets better, so can you help in here?"

"Of course." Ellen nods. "Just between us, nothing getting back to your brothers... Are you alright, sweetie?"

"I'm fine. I just need—"

"To keep moving, keep busy." She finishes, and MJ looks up at her. "Yeah, I know the line quite well. Just don't overdo it."

"I'm alright, really." MJ tells her and then looks past her. "Bela, can you take over for Dean please? Stand watch for awhile?"

"Yeah, no problem." Bela nods and then heads out to do like she asked.

"Can I suggest something?" Ellen asks, and she turns back to her.

"What's up?" MJ asks.

"Maybe you go and talk to Maggie." She says. "I think it'd be good for both of you."

"I..." She sighs as she looks down. "I can't help her. I can't even help myself. And I can barely lead this group." She says, her voice low. "I can't help her."

"You have to, MJ." Ellen tells her. "The only one here who knows what she's going through is you. You both need to face it, so you can move past it."

MJ takes a deep breath and then starts into the cellblock. She heads over to Maggie's cell and looks at her, she's sitting on her bed.

"You wanna hear a stupid question?" MJ asks, and Maggie looks up at her. "How are you doing?"

Maggie smirks as she looks down. "Not as good as you, apparently."

"Me?" She shakes her head. "I put on a good show. Trust me, I'm not alright. I guess I like to think that if I say it enough, I'll will it to be true. And then I don't have to deal with what's wrong, then I can just ignore it."

"How's that working out for you?" She asks as she stands up, and MJ shrugs.

"Gets me up and around, I guess. Keeps me quiet mostly." She tells her. "I don't wanna talk. Not about what happened. Not about anything at all really. I just want to keep—"

They hear something outside and both of them turn. "Was that..."

"Mom?" Ellie comes out of her cell.

"That sounded like a gunshot." Matt says, and MJ looks at him.

More rounds pop off, and it very quickly sounds like a warzone outside. They all immediately spring into action.

"Dana, Jack, you two keep an eye on the kids. None of you are allowed out of the cellblock." MJ quickly says as all of the adults inside are getting their weapons together. "You keep the baby and each other safe. Do not come out under any circumstance. Do you understand me?"

"Carl and Beth are out there." Jack tells her, and MJ looks over at him.

"Son of a bitch!" She curses and then tosses a gun to Dana, then one to Jr.

They run out, and Maggie takes a gun to her younger sister. MJ gets a gun to Bela, and the others are finding cover so that they're safe from the bullets whirling past them.

"Shit." MJ sees Carol laying on the ground, she's using Axel's body as a shield against all of the gunfire.

"Carol, go!" Maggie yells as she starts​ shooting someone in the guard tower. Carol runs over toward Carl, Beth, and Jess.

"The Governor?" MJ looks at Bela, they're hiding together.

"The one-eyed douchebag." She nods.

"M!" Dean yells, and she turns. "We got a truck coming!" He tells her and then they all hear what he saw first.

A truck barrels down the dirt road and rams through the two gates, into the field. It just sits there for a few seconds and then the back door drops. Walkers exit the truck and start to fill the field.

"My dad's out there." Bela says. "And Rick's outside the fence."

"We'll get them." MJ tells her.

"How?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Not really." She shakes her head.

"Well, you're gonna have to." Their leader says. "Because I'm not letting them die."

A man in a fully​ padded suit gets out and immediately goes for Michonne. She's hiding behind the overturned bus in the field. One of the Governor's men is shooting at Rick, so he can't cover her or Hershel.

Their people are scattered and trying to fight back. Jo kills the man in the guard tower, and Matt looks around for any others that they may not have seen yet.

"Glenn's with Rick." Bela tells MJ. "He must've gone out there to try and bring him back before the Governor showed up."

"Our best chance of getting your dad is for my parents to come back. They already have a car, we don't need to get one." MJ says and fires off a couple shots, killing walkers in the field that are headed for Hershel.

The Governor and one of his men get back in their truck and then head away from the prison as the Impala's pulling back up. The others are running for the gate, trying to get out fast so that they can help kill the walkers before they can get to Hershel or Michonne.

"You're still hurt!" Bela grabs MJ when she pulls her angel blade out of its sheath. "You can't go out there. You'll get yourself killed."

"So cover me." She says as she then jerks her arm away from her.

Rick and Glenn are struggling to keep the walkers from getting them. They no longer have any bullets. Michonne's using her sword to kill as many walkers as she can. MJ sees the Impala headed for Hershel, so she doesn't make him her main concern.

John and Mary get Michonne and Hershel into the Impala as quickly as they can. MJ's running toward the main entrance, killing walkers as she goes. She hits a piece of ground that isn't level and she goes down, landing on the shoulder with the stitches.

A walker lands on her, and she's struggling to keep it back as she reaches for her angel blade. A bullet goes through the walker's head, and then Bela helps her up as quickly as she can manage.

"Rick and Glenn."

"Daryl's got them." Bela tells her, taking her by surprise. "Come on!" She pulls her back to the others, and they close the gate as soon as they're through.

MJ turns and she looks out at the field that's now overrun by walkers. Rage fills her body as her people walk up behind her, taking in the sight before them.