Sweet Surrender

A change of scenery is what we got today, finally, I could stare at something other than concrete walls and the walkers that went in circles around our field. This day would have been nice too, apart from the circumstances for it. I sat in the backseat of our SUV, Herschel in the driver's seat and Rick in the passenger side. Daryl drove just ahead of us on his bike, pulling up onto the grass in front of an abandoned dairy farm.

After Andrea had left the prison, retreating to her precious Philip, she managed to get what she wanted. A meeting was arranged between the Governor and Rick, they were to sit down and talk things out to hopefully prevent any more lives from being lost. In the back of everyone's head though, we knew, this was all just for show. As hopeful as I try to be for a resolution, I knew better than not to expect anything less than the Governor still wanting revenge and Rick protecting us from a threat the only way he knew how. Killing it.

Herschel pulled the SUV to a halt, while Rick looked around the vicinity to make sure it was clear. I kept my eyes focused on any areas around the main barn where one of the Governor's men could be hiding if they got here before us. The place looked well preserved considering the state of some of the surrounding towns nearby. The large steel barn looked intact, surrounded by a cluster of tall standing silos. There weren't any dead walkers laying around, which means another group hasn't been through here yet.

Rick turned to Herschel and me, raising his hand to signal for us to stay put in the meantime. Rick took Daryl around the place, scoping out the area while we remained in the car. I was okay sitting this one out.

"What do you think is gonna come of this?" I asked Herschel, both of our eyes remaining locked on our surroundings.

"Nothing good," he responded. His body language was telling me that he was displeased with the whole situation. I gripped my gun tighter in my hands. Herschel moving about caught my attention, he raised his torn apart khakis on his amputated leg, checking to make sure that the extra gun and clip he had taped down to his thigh was still in place. I snickered to myself slightly, this man always had a trick up his sleeve.

Rick and Daryl were gone an awfully long time, I shifted my weight in my seat, becoming uneasy. "Maybe we should bring the car closer, see what's going on," I suggested, I couldn't sit and wait any longer. Herschel nodded his head agreeing. He put the car in drive and brought the car around the other side of the barn until he spotted Daryl walking back to us.

"He's already in there. Sat down with Rick," Daryl explained as he approached the window. We all looked around to try and spot his men, questioning why the Governor would come alone. Was he really that cocky?

"I don't see any cars," I said.

"Yeah," Daryl sighed, "it don't feel right. Keep it running," he told Herschel. The sound of a van speeding up beside us made my heart begin to race. "Heads up." Daryl tapped the hood of our car. The tan van screeched to a halt just in front of us, blowing up dust around the SUV. Daryl had his crossbow raised at the vehicle, I finally got out of the car to back him up.

Three men stepped out of the car, one of them being the dick that had me trapped in that room for interrogation. My blood boiled upon laying eyes on him, but I had to keep myself collected. Another man hopped out of the backseat along with Andrea, he didn't look like one of the Governor's typical minions. A scrawny little guy with perfectly parted hair and beady spectacles on the edge of his nose. He looked nervous like he knew that even I could pummel him in a fight.

"What the hell? Why's yer' boy already in there?" Daryl questioned, his crossbow locked in place on his shoulder.

"He's here?" Andrea asked like she was just as shocked as us. Her face flushed with anger, pissed that she was being left out of the plans.

"Yup," one of his men responded matter of factly. He was the one to drive the van up to us, just by his demeanour I could tell he was now next in rank to the Governor once Merle split. He side-eyed Andrea as he smirked, she sighed in frustration and walked into the barn they were conversing in.

Something compelled me to follow her in there. I don't know if it was curiosity or stupidity that was guiding me, but if she was going in I was too.

"What's going on?" Andrea questioned the two men as she strode up to the table. Rick's eyes landed on me as the sun's glow from outside followed me into the dusky aroma of the barn. I stood back, for now, keeping my distance from the table the Governor was seated at. Rick gave me a slight nod, approving my presence for now.

"Nothing," the Governor answered, "Your friend isn't much for small talk."

My eyes finally landed on the Governor, this was the first time I've stood in the same room as him since that night. I'd be lying if I said that even looking at him didn't make the hairs on my arms stand upright. I could see the eye patch on his face now, the results of the fight he got into with Michonne when she disappeared that night. It was an odd feeling to see him like that, he deserved what he got from her, but for some reason it also made him look more intimidating. Less human.

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Rick gave him the floor.

"I wanted you to talk," Andrea interjected, "too many people have died for no reason. Let's end this. Save the bullets for the real threat." She spoke like she was tired of their behaviour, which I couldn't blame her for. She didn't want to see her friends suffering, but she was also in love with the Governor, leaving her to excuse any of his actions. "We can solve this. That's why I asked you to come here." She rested her arms on the table, looking between the both of them.

The men kept their eyes locked on each other, disregarding Andrea like she wasn't even in the room, to begin with. They were trying to size one another up, hatred lingering on both of their expressions when looking at the other.

"I know what you've done," Rick finally spoke. "I heard about the raids, the heads, Maggie--"

"Merle did that," the Governor cut him off, he had a grin playing at his lips.

"How about Scar?" Rick asked him, pointing over to me.

The Governor looked in my direction, I felt my shoulders sink into myself as his eyes trailed along to me, "Ah yes, what a beautiful name," he responded. He knew exactly what to say to get under my skin without actually addressing what he had down. His words urged me to fix my posture, standing up tall and returning a dagger of a glare back to him. "So, you know all about me and I know all about you." The Governor returned back to the conversation with Rick. "I don't care about any of that. We're here to move forward," he smiled, a big toothy grin to piss Rick off.

"I've known you both at different times, but only after the world went to shit. And you both stepped up for the good of others at great personal risk," Andrea finally said her spiel, like she was leading up to her own solution.

"Get to it!" The Governor snapped his fingers, cutting her off.

Rick threw a map down onto the table, the only plan we could think up of to avoid a fight. In all honesty, though, we only prepared this suggestion to the Governor to truly see where his head was at. We already knew we wanted blood.

"Woodbury gets west of the river. The prison gets east," he explained. The Governor picked up the map, analyzing it. "No one crosses, no one trades."

"He's right. We should hammer out boundaries, then leave each other--" Andrea started to say.

"I'm sorry, what is this?" The Governor asked, looking up at Rick as he held the map in his palms like it was a disgrace.

"It's a solution," I spoke up for the first time this entire discussion, malice in my tone.

The Governor simply laughed, throwing the map back on the table, "Absolutely, not."

"What the hell am I doing here? You told me--" Rick started to grow angry while speaking with Andrea.

"Told him what?" The Governor asked as well like he was eager to know what Andrea said.

"You told me he was willing to talk!" Rick raised his voice, he wasn't yelling but you could hear the clear frustration.

"I am," the Governor stepped in, "but the truth is, Rick, she's in no position to make such an offer anyway," he completely discredited Andrea. "I'm here for one thing only-- your surrender."

"Oh, you want a surrender? Come get it," Rick threatened. "You think we hit Woodbury heavy last time?"

"Just take it easy, alright?" Andrea attempted to diffuse them. "We're here to settle this."

"You're right. Would you two, step outside?" The Governor pointed to the door, excusing Andrea and me.

"What?" Andrea sounded shocked by his request.

"Rick and I, we got a lot to talk about."

"I'm not leaving," Andrea stood her ground.

"I came to talk to him," Rick agreed, wanting to speak to the Governor alone now. My eyes studied Rick, watching his demeanour. He knew there was no resolution here, but he wanted to get into the Governor's head anyway. He looked over at me and I already knew that the best thing to do was remove myself. I nodded my head and exited the conversation.