Title: A Simple Message
Summary: The Governor sends the prison group a message.
Notes: Violent, nasty Governor type stuff. More notes at the end. I was reluctant to post this because of the many WIP I have but... I did it anyway!

It was a message.

Simple.

Things had been peaceful.

The folk from Woodbury were settling in. They'd planted crops in the fields.

They'd collected everything they could from Woodbury. All the food supplies from the store, any spare ammo and guns they had.

And then they went back for the home comforts. Blankets, clothes, everything they could find.

The cells became more liveable.

The prison became more like a home.

And it was nice. It was community.

It was everything they'd wanted when they made it there.

They ate together, larger groups were able to go on runs, and they left more people back to protect the others.

And at nights they'd share stories and laugh. Sometimes there'd be singing too.

So maybe that was why it happened.

But Rick knew that it could have been worse. It was bad enough, but it could have been worse.

Because when it happened, Daryl had been out with Carl.

He'd been taking him for lessons with the crossbow. Into the woods in the mornings to practice his aim and Carl had already got a couple of squirrels himself. And so Daryl was going to try and track something a bit bigger. Maybe a deer.

He hadn't shown Carl tracking yet. He's shown Rick that.

Told Carl that he'd done it that way so he was spreading some knowledge between more of them, but in truth, it would be Rick who'd have to teach Carl how to track. Something Hershel and Daryl had decided they needed to do.

If it hadn't been for Carl being out with Daryl that morning, then Rick probably wouldn't have realised until it was too late. Because as he stepped outside into the cool fresh air, Carl's yell cut across the peace.

And he saw him at the prison gates. Grappling furiously with something on the gate.

And as soon as that registered, then the herd heading towards Carl and the prison gates heading towards him Rick didn't even think.

It didn't take long for him to realise what was happening down there.

It was Daryl at the gate that Carl was struggling with, he just couldn't understand what the pair were up too. Not until he got closer and realised that Daryl was attached to the gate.

And there was blood.

He didn't really know whether Daryl was alive or not.

But Carl was trying to prise him off the fence and Rick realised quickly that it was barbed wire wrapping around Daryl's arms and wrists. And Carl's hands were bloody from trying to help.

"I'll get Daryl, keep the walkers at bay, Carl," Rick yelled, pulling gloves from his back pocket and ripping away at the barbed wire. He wanted to be more careful but there wasn't time. Not with the twisted mess that had been made here.

He barely registered Michonne passing by. "Rick?"

He dared a glance at the walkers. She'd have to get up close to take them out and they needed to get Daryl inside. "Help me!" he called and she didn't hesitate, starting on Daryl's other arm.

And Rick didn't dare look back at the walkers. Knowing they were closing in and that they had to free Daryl before they got to him, otherwise they'd have to watch them tear him apart and so his efforts were desperate.

A horn blared and Carl was swinging the door wide open, as Glenn drove a car out through the open gate, swinging it round into the walkers and scrambling across to the passengers side to get out away from them, hoping to slow the walkers down.

"Come on, come on," Glenn said, pulling Carl back with him. They needed to get inside now.

"When we get behind the gates," Michonne said, words come harsh with the exertion of holding Daryl up now his body started to sag as they untied him from the wire, " we need to start killing some of this herd. There's too many. They'll break the fence down and we'll be over run,"

"Glenn, grab hold of him," Rick called out, also feeling like Daryl was about to drop to the ground any second.

Glenn raced round to the pair as Carl kept covering them from the open gate. Walkers were starting to clamber around the car now. They didn't have much time.

"Shit!" Glenn exclaimed, "His legs, it's round his ankles."

"We'll never get it off in time," Michonne said.

Tyresse, Maggie and Sasha came and joined them, the women both joined Carl in shooting any walkers straying close but the amount rounding the car was becoming greater and they knew they wouldn't hold them off much longer.

"Ain't got time for this," Tyresse said, squeezing between Glenn and Michonne's legs. He yanked the boots off of Daryl and pulled his feet from the barbed wire. Chunks of skin were left behind but Daryl was free and Rick and Tyresse kept hold of Daryl and carried him inside the safety of the fence.

"He's clear," Rick yelled and the others immediately fell back inside of the gates and locked them.

Michonne and the others worked on keeping the walkers at the fence away.

Rick and Tyresse carried Daryl up to the prison, needed Hershel.

"We can't take him in there with all those people, it'll scare the hell outta them," Tyresse observed.

Rick nodded "D Block. We cleared it out for prisoners that were here before. We'll take him there."

Rick glanced around, he needed to get Hershel over as soon as possible. He spotted Beth exiting the prison. She spotted them and started to come towards them. "Beth, get your Dad, bring him round to D block. Use the yard entrance, okay? Get Carol too. But make sure everyone stays calm, okay? They don't need to know about Daryl right now."

She nodded racing off to do as instructed.

oOo

Notes: Okay, I don't usually do this but this story idea came to me and I wrote this and another small chapter and then I really had no idea what to do with it and this has sat on my PC for a few weeks now, not doing anything.

So I thought I'd throw it out there, see if anyone is interested in seeing more and what people would want to see? I'm not saying I'll do it, but I'd like some feedback and opinions with what the group would do going forward, where the story should go. Would you like to see a story more about the group getting out of the prison, fighting off The Governor, or about them taking care of Daryl?

I'm not sure what scenario I want to continue with this story so yeah... any thing you think... I'd like to hear (about the story, not just random thoughts). :)