❪ 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗘𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 ❫

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗅𝗏𝖾  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━
the rescue mission.  ╱ season three, episode seven & eight.

TOBY FELT SUFFOCATED as he sat squished between people who weren't very fond of him. He stared at Michonne in envy as she sat in the passenger seat next to Rick, who would occasionally flick his eyes between Toby and Michonne with an excusatory gaze. Toby could also feel the harsh side eye from Daryl, who sat stiff and tense next to him, gripping onto his crossbow with dear life, ready for anything that was going to be thrown his way. The younger boy felt hesitation when feeling the actual prisoner next to him occasionally shifting in his seat. With his clear broad shoulders and large body, Toby understood why he was uncomfortable getting squashed with two other people in the back seat.

There was a part of Toby's brain that itched to shove one of them out of the car and make a run for the woods. But he stopped himself, knowing better. The urge wasn't strong enough to actually do it, but the thought was getting stronger and stronger. He felt like he was marching toward a minefield of death and sadness. He could feel in his bones that people wouldn't make it out alive. He stared at the people around him, knowing that someone wouldn't be returning. The thought hurt him, but that's just their reality. Everyone was expendable, you barely know if you'll wake up tomorrow. And going into Woodbury, with guns strapped to their chest felt like a disaster waiting to happen. But it's what needed to happen.

The images of Merle holding a gun to his sister's head made his skin burn with anger. Toby was scared of what not only Merle was doing, but also the Governor. They were both capable of horrible things, Toby could feel it in his bones. He knew they held an evil within themselves, simply just by the unsettling arrogance that always swirled in their eyes. He hated being in their vicinity, they always left a fear bubbling in his stomach. They made him feel on edge, within a second they would be right behind him with a knife to his neck. The Governor most definitely had Toby on some list. So obviously there was some hesitance rising within Toby's chest as they began getting closer and closer to Woodbury.

He could practically feel the tension waft through the air. If he pulled out his knife right now, he could slice right through it. There was a tenseness within the leader, Rick's body stayed ridged as he stared at the road with a scowl. Toby could see right through the scowl, the older man was not fond of Michonne or Toby being in his presence. It was clear that the two were a burden for him and he was counting down the seconds until he would kick them out of his vicinity.

Toby didn't know what his plan was. Now that his sister was in the picture, he wouldn't dare leave her side. He didn't know where she stood with the group if she would leave with them. He would eventually figure it out when they found her. Right now, with it in the air, he was nervous. He couldn't imagine leaving his sister behind yet again, the thought made him sick to his stomach. So he pushed it aside, focusing on the car as it was pulled off the road and slowed to a stop.

The people in the car were instantly sliding out of the car without a word, leaving Toby to send them all a questioning gaze. He waited for a second, but eventually slide out of the car with his bat in hand. He watched the people around him instantly going to the back of the car to grab the bags that rested in the trunk. He wavered next to Michonne, waiting for everyone to be ready.

"They have patrols, we're better off on foot," Michonne was the first to speak, her eyes glancing towards Rick as she spoke.

"How far?" Rick questioned, eyes jumping toward the sky. "Night's coming,"

"It's a mile, maybe two," Toby was quick to answer, making brief eye contact with Rick.

There was soon a silence that broke through the small group as they were grabbing the last of the supplies and guns. Growls and groans erupted behind him, turning he was met with a biter a few feet away, picking up her pace as it noticed them. Toby didn't hesitate to walk towards it with his bat raised, ready to swing. But something stopped him.

"Don't, leave it," The commanding order from Rick reverberated through the air, making Toby stop in his tracks.

The boy scoffed in annoyance, turning, he was quick to send the man a glare, "Bold of you to assume that I'd listen to you,"

Without waiting for a reply, Toby wound his bat back and swung with all his might, taking the biter down in seconds with a sickening crunch. There was an instant scowl sent toward the back of the boy's head, but it didn't deter him as he twirled around with a shit-eating smile on his lips. Rick looked like he was about to say something, but Toby didn't bother to stick around for it and waltzed right past him and everyone and into the woods, his bat resting on his shoulders.

It wasn't long before everyone began to follow, tension rising with each second, but no one dared to say anything. Toby could tell that the leader wasn't susceptible to people telling him no and it showed. The boy didn't mind giving him a taste of the real world, with the killer glare that got sent to him by the man was only more satisfying.

As they trekked through the forest, the trees whistled in the Georgia breeze. It was quiet within the tree and leaves, the only thing that Toby could truly hear was the birds. He was surprised that they hadn't run into any of the dead, but he was grateful for that. Toby wished for things to be as smooth as possible, he wanted no blood to be shed. And if they got to Woodbury with no complications, maybe that would be a sign that there wouldn't be much trouble when actually being inside the town itself.

Toby could hear Rick and Daryl speaking quietly behind him, but he didn't bother to listen in, knowing that it wasn't his conversation to listen to. And plus, the moment he heard the word baby he became uninterested. After they concluded their small talk, it wasn't long before they all heard the familiar moans and gasps of biters. Toby's blood instantly ran cold when he heard not one or two of them, but multiple.

The two in the back quickly notices as well and Rick rushed forward to gain the attention of the three in front of him. "Down."

This time Toby didn't hesitate to listen, the boy dropped to a crouch in an instant with his eyes wide and flashing to the woods that surrounded the path. The groans surrounded the small group, and Toby began to panic. He should've known better than to let hope seep into his skin, sooner or later it would only make things worse.

"Get in formation, no gunfire," Rick ordered quickly, then instantly jumped into action, slicing his machete straight through a biter's head.

The boy snapped his head to the woman next to him, sending her a questioning glance, "Formation?"

The woman only shrugged in response and then turned back to the men killing biters one after another. Michonne and Toby wavered, not really doing anything and just simply observing how the small group was taking them down. But it wasn't long before Toby snapped into action when he heard a garble right next to him. The sickening thud of his bat erupted through the chaos, which lead the biter to quickly crumble to the ground.

Toby became overwhelmed as he noticed more and more of the dead circling them. He was at a loss for what to do, there was no way they could kill them all. It seemed as they put down the ones around them, more and more began to flock to their area.

Daryl seemed to be on the same page as he took a step back and stared at the woods around them, "There's too many of them,"

Rick took in his words, eyes snapping to the influx of biters surrounding them. He instantly reached down and scooped up his bag, soon pushing past the group to lead them away from the biters. "This way,"

The older man was quick to push them off the trail and through the trees, Toby didn't hesitate to bolt after him. Even with them rushing away from the biters, the groans and garbles never seemed that far away like the undead were seconds away from grabbing them.

Suddenly a worn-down cabin broke through the trees, which lead to a slight relief to rush through the boy. The others didn't bother to pause as they all ran to it. "Through there, come on," Rick demanded.

A loud snap of the wooden boards broke through the air as Rick kicked the door in. The small group quickly filed into the cabin, but they were instantly hit with the smell of decay. Toby's nose scrunched up at the stench and a grimace fell upon his face, but he pushed further into the room, trying to get away from the dead.

"Get the door,"

After Rick hissed those words, the door was quickly latched shut as they all scanned the room, looking for any possible exit and or any danger that could be around them. There were flies buzzing around the room, Toby flinched as one flew past his head and he quickly swatted it away. Rick requested that everyone keep the noises down, as the sounds of the dead began erupting in the distance. Toby complied, he silently traveled further into the one-room cabin, gun lifted, ready to shoot any threat.

"The smell, it's loud," Daryl observed, scanning the room with his knife gripped tightly in his hand.

They all began walking around, flashlights illuminating the room around them, as they attempted to find the source of the smell. "What the hell is that?" Oscar questioned, as he looked around at the others, attempting to find an answer.

"It's got to be a fox, or what's left of one," Daryl replied, rounding the furnace that was in the middle of the room.

Toby was about to agree with the man, but all words that were about to come out, quickly fizzled as his eyes fell to what was left of a decaying small dog. Toby let out a sigh looking down at the dead dog as sympathy began filling his veins.

"I guess Lassie went home," Daryl quipped, glancing down at the animal. Toby sent him a slight look of disgust, not finding his humor funny at the moment. The dirtied man quickly found his gaze, only giving him a shrug in response.

Seconds after his words were uttered, the dead began pounding roughly at the door. Toby jumped at the sudden noise, instantly swiveling around and aiming his gun at the door. He noticed that biters were not only at the door but began pounding on the sides of the cabin itself.

As Toby turned his gaze away from the door, he found the rest of the group's attention on the bed in the corner of the room. They slowly began moving towards it, with guns risen and aimed at the lump on the bed. Toby was quick to follow suit, gun pointed as he slowly stepped towards the bed.

They barely had time to pull off the covers to see what was under there, before a man with a hunting rifle popped up and aimed it at all of them. He stared at them all with alarm and confusion, "Who the hell are you?"

Rick instantly raised his hand up in a faux surrender, in order to make the man take his finger off the trigger. "We don't mean any harm,"

Toby held in a scoff, knowing the second the man wasn't looking there would be a knife stabbed in his chest.

"Get outta my house!"

"Okay, okay, okay, we will, but we can't right now," Rick argued, giving the man a pleading glance.

"Now!" The man pushed, his gun not leaving the leader's vicinity.

His loud words echoed throughout the small cabin, making Michonne and Toby weary as the walkers began pounding on the door with more power than they had before. Michonne's eyes flashed to Rick's, "Shut him up,"

"Get out right now!"

Rick was getting more and more agitated as time went on, "There are walkers outside,"

The man clearly didn't understand what was going on and just stared back at all the people that surrounded him. It looked like he was at a loss for words, and was thinking about his next move. Toby didn't bother to lower his gun, just in case the man was going to go at any one of them. His heart pounded roughly in his chest, from the loud stranger to the biters pounding at the door, everything seemed like it was an absolute mess.

"I'll call the cops,"

Toby's face rose in surprise, not thinking this man would be that far in the past, it was like he was living in a bubble out here. Toby couldn't understand how he didn't know that the world was in such a state of chaos.

"I am a cop," Rick quickly snapped, making Toby's eyes jump to him. The boy rolled his eyes, with the way the older man carried himself and how he spoke, Toby should've known he was a pig. "Now, I need you to lower the gun, don't do anything rash, everything's fine. Let's just take this nice and slow, okay?"

The man didn't bother to listen to the attempt at calming words from Rick and only cocked his rifle in response, "Show me your badge,"

"Alright, it's in my pocket," Rick started, trying to not act out of line and get shot, "Now, I'm just gonna reach down nice and slow,"

In an instant Rick pushed forward, slamming the rifle with his palm, and shoved the gun to the side. The stranger pulled the trigger at the same time, the bullet shattering the wood that resided on the bathroom door. Toby's eyes widened watching how the bullet barely missed Daryl by a few feet.

The strange was immediately put in a headlock by Rick, the man's grip was getting tighter and tighter as the man struggled and squirmed, "Let go of me! Let go of me! I'll kill you, you let go of me!"

"Shut up," Rick demanded, wrapping a stronger arm around the man's neck, attempting to snap his neck. But the stranger fought roughly, soon digging his teeth into Rick's hand. The man let out a scream of pain and quickly let go of the stranger, giving him a chance to run for the door. "Don't open that door!"

As he pleaded for someone to help him, to save him, Toby felt a twinge of sympathy as he met Michonne's eyes. They were instantly on the same page about what would happen next. With a swift nod from Toby, the infamous katana was impelling the stranger causing his screams of fear to cease altogether. "Hel-"

Toby slightly shuffled up to the man that lay unresponsive on the ground, he watched his fear striking face, seeing the life slowly fade from his face. Toby let out a sigh, his eyes wavering back to the men behind them. The three stared in surprise for a few seconds before jumping into action. Daryl walked past them to glance out the window, he stood there for a second but his eyes jumped back to Rick, "Remember the alamo?"

Rick paused for a second but didn't hesitate to jump into action, "Toby, help me. Daryl get the door,"

The boy wanted to object to the order, but with the walkers beginning to break off the wood board blocking them from coming inside, he decided not to fight, just this time though. When he rounded the dead man, he couldn't stop the grimace that wandered on his face when he gripped the man's back, slowly lifting the man up.

"You gotta be kidding me," Oscar complained, a look of disgust falling on his features.

But Rick just sent him an unbothered look, "He's dead, check the back,"

Grunts and groans escaped both Toby and Rick as they picked the man up from the floor. His dead weight made Toby's joints and muscles scream from the exertion, he silently swore to himself knowing he would pay for this later.

"One, two, three,"

The door instantly swung open, and with a brief look of confirmation between Rick and Toby, they shoved the body with all their might towards the dead that surrounded the porch. As the dead hounded the body, the door was swiftly snapped shut before any of them could see the seeping crimson that was left in their wake.

No one hesitated to stay still as they bolted out the back door with their ammo strapped to their backs. None of them bothered to look back at the swarm of the dead as they hounded the stranger, the sounds were practically vibrating through Toby's ears as he stayed close behind Rick with Michonne and the others in tow. Toby was tempted to let out a gag at the visceral sounds, but he swallowed it, knowing it would only cause more problems for them.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

WITH THE SHINING sun fading behind the mountains, the crickets were beginning to make their nightly music. Even with the night looming over them, the heat didn't bother to dissipate. It eventually became worse, almost like a thick fog as it was sucked in and out of Toby's lungs. The boy was exhausted, the constant running that had filled his day was beginning to catch up with him. He was beginning to internalize all the events that had taken place.

The simple thought of it all caused his lungs to tighten, it was overwhelming to feel his fate slipping from his fingers. He had dodged death many times today, and he was praying to himself that he would make it another day. But with the automatic, clutched tightly in his hands, he knew he was going to have to fight for his tomorrow.

He felt crowded with someone breathing on his neck behind him, and the stench of sweat from the person in front of him. The boy yearned for space, so he could breathe in the clean air, not the smell of someone else.

Instead of the much-desired space from Toby, they were all pushed to huddle behind a car that overlooked the walls in front of them. The boy let out a soft breath, attempting to calm his beating heart. He was finally coming to terms that this was actually happening, he was going to go into a place he was in not even twenty-four hours ago, now guns blazing to find his sister and her people. There was a small part of Toby that feared he would walk in and find her dead body, there was so much on the line for him. And he promised himself, if the governor did anything to his sister, the man wouldn't live to see another day.

Toby was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice Michonne's body fade into the night until there was a gun pointed in his face. "Where the hell did she go?"

"I don't know man, I can't read her mind," Toby hushedly whispered back to the leader, his words curt and frustrated that yet another weapon was getting pointed at him.

"You planning something else?" Rick questioned, his head tilted as he glared at the young boy.

Toby's stomach twisted at the dark look, and he quickly shook his head. While he was nervous about the stare, his attitude didn't hesitate to shine through, "Why the hell would I risk doing something so stupid that could potentially hurt my sister? Come on asshole, have some goddamn faith for once."

Rick took a moment to examine Toby's exasperated expression, trying to read his intentions. The man attempted to speak again, but Michonne suddenly appeared again. The branches snapping sent all of them to aim their guns at the woman. Annoyance flooded Michonne's face as she gestured for them to follow her. None of them hesitated to follow the woman with their weapon gripped tightly in their hands. Once again fading into the darkness around them, ready to strike once they get the chance.

Toby didn't know how to feel as he squeezed himself through the hole in the metal sheet that Michone widened. He felt conflicted as he stepped foot into the place that felt more like a prison than the actual one miles away. Innocent people were walking in the distance, Toby assumed that they were enjoying the warm temperature, and he prayed they went into their homes as soon as they got the chance to.

Michonne led the small group into the last place they were taken to before they made their speedy departure yesterday. There was a large part of him that hoped that's where Sabrina and the others were getting held, but the other part was telling him that they weren't there. Even though he expected it, he still felt deflated as they hustled into a dark and empty previous storefront.

"This is where you two where held?" Rick questioned as he rushed around the room, scoping out the space, and eliminating the threats with each step.

"We were questioned," Michonne answered, gesturing to her and the boy next to her.

The man took in her words, "Any idea where else they could be?"

The two in question just simply shrugged as they thought of any other possibilities where the three could have been taken. While they tried to desperately remember Woodbury's layout, the others either began examining the room around them or looking out the window, to scope out their surroundings.

"I thought you two said there was a curfew," Daryl insisted, his voice gruff as he stared at the two with an accusatory glare.

Toby rolled his eyes at the look, "The street is packed during the day. Those are stragglers."

"If anyone comes in here, we're sitting ducks, we gotta move." Rick hissed, his eyes still glued to the streets just outside their reach.

"They could be in his apartment," Michonne offered the suggestion but was only sent glares in response.

"Yeah? What if they ain't?"

"Then we look somewhere else," The woman clipped, due to her annoyance toward the men in front of her becoming stronger as time pushed on.

"You said you could help us," Rick growled, making his way up toward the two, with a threatening look swirling in his eyes.

"Dude, we're trying here," Toby seethed, pushing himself in front of Michonne in order to be the sole direction of their scrutiny, "We were here for only a few days, it's not like we figured out the entire layout instantly,"

"Then where the hell are they?" The inmate behind them questioned, his words grave as he glared at the two in front of him.

Toby could feel his anger towards the strangers bubbling up his throat, they were being merciless as if they couldn't understand where Michonne and Toby stood. He understood the situation they were in, but it's not like they could magically know where the three were taken. Rick and the other two wandered a few feet away, talking discreetly amongst themselves. Toby rolled his eyes at the group, knowing they were trying to figure out what to do with them.  The moment they stepped into Woodbury, Toby tried to remember every aspect of the place trying to remember any detail that could clue them in as to where the three were getting held.

And then something in Toby's brain clicked and realization dawned on his face. He knew exactly where they were taken, he felt so stupid that he didn't think of it earlier. He instantly remembered the building he was taken to the first night he was there. Where he was interrogated for forty-five minutes about absolutely nothing. Toby glanced up at Michonne, noticing that the woman was already looking at him.

"Hey Assholes," Toby hissed to the group of men a distance away from him. The three instantly flashed their eyes toward him with curiosity swirling in them. "I know where they were taken,"

Rick stared at him for a moment, examining his features, trying to decipher if he was telling the truth or not. "How?"

"I was taken to this building the night they took us," The boy explained with annoyance flooding his tone, frustrated that he had to explain himself. "They interrogated me because I fought back, and it seemed like it was their place designated for interrogation."

"You better be right about this," Rick hissed, sending the boy a small intimidating glare, signifying to the boy that he was very serious.

The boy swallowed his slight intimidation, rolling his eyes in response, "Well, I don't see any other leads we have."

The boy could tell his constant sarcasm was getting to the older man, and it only made the boy feel slight satisfaction, knowing he was getting to him. But when he saw a glimmer of a flashlight in the window, all the satisfaction bled from his features, replacing it was a harsh panic as it flooded his veins. Knowing that they were about to be caught and his sister wouldn't be the only person getting kidnapped.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

✿❣︎ 𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙍'𝙎 𝙉𝙊𝙏𝙀  ❣︎✿

Hello again! Long time no see!

Missed Toby and decided to give
you some content of him beefing
with Rick.

I love it sm I couldn't help it.
I love my little snarky boyyyyy

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!!